e Elizabeth Education Foundation (EEF) held its annual STARS event on April 1, honoring 50 Elizabeth School District students.
Along with the honorees and their families, new Superintendent Dan Snowberger and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Bill Dallas attended the
VOLUME 128 | ISSUE 9
5 schools participate in annual Stampede to Read Program
BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Students from across Elbert County and Franktown gathered at their respective schools to welcome Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo volunteers and kick o the annual Stampede to Read Program. Among the volunteers were Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo Queen Kyra Doud and Queen’s Attendant Isabelle Piche. ey were also joined by PRCA Rodeo Clown and Barrelman J.W. Winklepleck and junior rodeo clown Vincent Piche, the brother of Isabelle Piche.
On March 31, the volunteers visited Franktown Elementary, Legacy Academy and Singing Hills Elementary to promote the program that encourages literacy among students in grades kindergarten through ve. e volunteers also gave their presentation to students at Kiowa Elementary and Kiowa Middle School.
e Stampede to Read Program is designed for elementary school students in Elbert County and at Franktown Elementary School. Students read a designated length of time each week depending on grade level. Each week students will receive a sheet to keep track of their reading. is must be signed o by parents and will be managed by teachers.
At the end of each week, students who nish their reading will win
SEE RODEO, P4
event in the Elizabeth High School
e master of ceremonies for the event was Jace Glick, former Elizabeth Stampede president and longtime volunteer with the Elizabeth Education Foundation. He gave a speech at the start of the
event to praise the students and their parents. is year’s STARS event was his 15th year as announcer.
e STARS awards (Students Taking Accountability and Responsibility Seriously) are given to students nominated by their teachers for modeling responsible behavior, making good choices and spending time involved with
clubs and organizations in school and the community; and for being committed to learning, caring and helping their fellow students and school.
A STARS award recipient must demonstrate some of the following characteristics:
1. Model responsible behavior.
2. Spends time involved with clubs or organizations at school and/or actively supports the community.
3. Committed to learning, motivated to do well in school, actively engaged in learning, and cares about their school.
4. Places high value on caring and helping other people and accepts personal responsibility.
5. Makes good choices, has empathy, sensitivity, friendship skills, and resists negative peer pressures.
A student may only receive the STARS honor once in their academic career, though some students have received many nominations over the years. Past recipients serve as volunteers for the next year’s event.
“ e foundation was able to provide a festive environment for family, friends, teachers, principals and the superintendent to acknowledge some pretty amazing students,” commented EEF President Kathy Ja ee in an email correspondence from April 3. “It’s our intention to encourage good behavior and determination in
students and help build them up for a successful future.”
e EEF is a self-funded organization. Income is generated by encouraging neighbors to shop with King Soopers loyalty cards, American Furniture Warehouse, and Premium Auto-Glass; a portion of the purchases are then given to the designated charity. In addition, support can be given by participating in monthly fundraising events and donating directly to the foundation.
“ anks to our many business sponsors such as CORE Electric Cooperative and the Elizabeth Stampede Foundation, we were able to celebrate the positive efforts of 50 Elizabeth students,” said Ja ee. “It’s so important to take the time to recognize the hard work of students that make a di erence in the community.”
e 2023 STARS recipients are:
Elizabeth High School
• Alexandra Bahr
• Hayden Baker
• Kody Bauer
• Athena Cantrall
• Taryn Crookshanks
• Kinsey Curo
• Christian Dansdill
• Allison Dillard
• Creig Dunn
• Avery Goettge
• Josephine Hayes
• Ella Hedman
• Tyler Hemans
• Caden Long
• Jordan Lust
• Alexis Murphy
• Matthew Sauter
• Ava ielen
• James Tucker
• Jessica VanAernam
• Gri n Widhalm
• Hayvin Wilder
• Jackson Zander
Elizabeth Middle School
• Hudson Baker
• Bailey Barnhart
• Ava Dunlap
• Shiloh Lynch
• Cooper Mankin
• Mya Mills
• Annabelle Nelson
• Estelle Norwood
• Austin Reynolds
• Luciana Samaco
• Brooke Schaben
• Cameron Spencer
• Jonathon Spencer
• Trista Traxler
• Zoey Wilder
Legacy Academy
• Elsie Brunker
• Bretton Galaway
• Olivia Lee
• Brooke Lidke
• Hayden Lynds
• Symon Tang
Running Creek Elementary
• Arthur Dee
• Aiden Hammer
• Kaleb Kelley
Singing Hills Elementary
• Ella Conner
• Lyra Edwards
• Callen Mann
More information on the Elizabeth Education Foundation can be found online at elizabethef.org.
To contact the Elizabeth Education Foundation, email ElizabethEducationFoundation@ outlook.com or call 303-646-6761.
FROM PAGE 1
small prizes provided by the Elizabeth Stampede. If a student nishes the entire four-week program, they receive a free ticket to the Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo and a coupon for a free ice cream cone at the Elizabeth Dairy Queen.
“Not only do I get to promote the Elizabeth Stampede, but I also get to encourage kids to read more so they can win a ticket to the rodeo in June,” commented Kyra Doud in an interview from April. 4. “I loved seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces when we told them their reward for meeting their reading goal was a ticket to one performance of the Elizabeth Stampede.”
After the students were introduced to the Stampede to Read Program, the Elizabeth Stampede queen and attendant gave a short presentation and Winklepleck and Vincent Piche did barrel demonstrations. Some students later did stick horse races while their classmates cheered them on. Rodeo royalty Doud and Piche even took
FROM PAGE 4
their turn racing each other across the gym.
“Stampede to Read has already been one of my favorite events as the Elizabeth Stampede queen,” said Doud. “Seeing the next generation get so excited about rodeo and reading was an amazing experience. I was so glad I was able to be a part of this year’s Stampede to Read assemblies, promote the Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo, and participate in the stick horse races. e Stampede to Read Program
volunteers did a tour of all local elementary schools. School visits were restricted during 2020 and 2021. In 2022, only the Kiowa Schools hosted the presentation while others received a recorded video explaining the program. is year, the Stampede to Read tour returned to normal with the exception of Running Creek Elementary, which is currently not holding large assemblies of students.
To learn more about this year’s Stampede to Read program, visit elizabethstampede.com/index. php/about-us/stampede-to-read.
To see the Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo queen and attendant
Rising heating costs may be hard to budget for this year, but help is available to Douglas County residents who are struggling. If you or someone you know needs assistance, apply now through April 30, 2023, for energy assistance through the State of Colorado’s LowIncome Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). For more information, visit douglas.co.us and search LEAP or email LEAPHELP@discovermygoodwill.org
Do you have hazardous waste from a painting project, old oil from your car’s maintenance, or other waste from your recent DIY project? This curbside service is available to Douglas County residents for $30. For details call 1-800-4497587 or visit douglas.co.us and search Household Waste Management
Payments must be received by the Treasurer’s office by April 30, 2023. Payments received after the due date must include applicable interest. To obtain the amounts due or to pay online, please visit douglascotax.com and search for your account.
If you live in unincorporated Douglas County, Flood Insurance Rate Maps and zone information are available by request. Visit douglas.co.us and search Flood Plain Information. A form may also be requested by calling 303-660-7490 or visiting Public Works, 100 Third St. in Castle Rock.
Do you have...
Mysterious insects? Trees in trouble? A need for
CSU Extension is here for you. We provide answers and education. For more information call 720-733-6930 or visit https://douglas.extension.colostate.edu
According to authors of the land use bill making its way through the Colorado Legislature, the primary goal is stopping communities from exclusionary zoning that prohibits the construction of multifamily housing.
Known as SB23-213, the land use bill was unveiled in March by Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats as a solution to the growing housing crisis.
While municipalities statewide are voicing opposition to the bill, authors are saying the 105-page document is vital to the state’s future in providing an adequate supply of a ordable housing.
In this case, a ordable housing does not mean more single-family homes, but instead duplexes, triplexes, other multiplexes, townhomes, condos and apartments.
According to the authors of SB23213, some Colorado cities and counties have implemented zoning policies that decrease or completely bar the construction of multifamily housing.
Rep. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver, co-authored SB23-213 with Rep. Iman Jodeh, D-Arapahoe County,
and Majority Leader Sen. Dominick Moreno, a District 21 Democrat covering Adams County, Commerce City, Federal Heights and Westminster.
Woodrow said while some communities have done an “exemplary” job at addressing a ordability, others have not and state interven-
tion is required to stop the growing crisis where housing costs are at an all-time high and availability is at an all-time low.
“ is bill really does increase individual property rights,” Woodrow said. “If you are a property owner, you have the right to build an accessory dwelling unit and the government will not be able to prevent that. Some feel like we are taking away rights. We are adding to them. is bill will have some exibility, but it does set forth some minimum standards.”
Since the bill’s introduction, several Denver metro communities have passed resolutions to oppose the bill, including Westminster, Castle Rock, Lone Tree and Centennial. Other communities have said they may take similar votes.
At the center of the opposition is the plan for the state intervening in local development decisions, removing home rule authority. Home rule is a form or structure of governing de ned by the citizens of a municipality or county that allows for more control over matters of local signicance.
According to the proposed bill, municipalities will be required to submit land-use codes to the state.
e state will review the proposed codes and if they are deemed insufcient, the state will impose its own codes.
Arapahoe County Commissioner Carrie Warren-Gully said the bill takes a one-size- ts-all approach and it will not work for all Colorado communities.
Woodrow said he disagrees, that the bill allows communities to develop and plan growth, but they have to meet minimum standards to avoid state intervention. He stressed the bill has tiers to address all populations, including suburban, urban and mountain towns.
“It is not a one-size- ts all,” he said. “ is only goes into e ect if a community refuses to adopt the (minimum) required standards. e only time you are a ected is if you
decided to ignore it.”
e reason the state is taking steps to intervene in local control is because of the excessive use of “exclusionary zoning,” by some Colorado communities, Woodrow said. Exclusionary zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a neighborhood. Oftentimes, these laws prohibit multifamily homes and set limits on building heights.
Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, said SB23-213 is a misguided piece of legislation that does nothing more than declare war on single family home construction.
“It’s built on a faulty premise that everyone wants to live in high density housing,” she said.
Frizell said if the Democratic-led legislation wanted to adequately address the housing crisis, it would focus on the impact fees and permit fees that cities and towns are charging developers.
Pointing to Castle Rock as an example, Frizell said home prices have skyrocketed due to the costs home builders are having to pay local entities to build.
According to the fee sheet on the Town of Castle Rock website, a developer building a 2,000 square foot home can pay over $21,000 in impact fees, which includes a line item for parks and recreation, re protection, municipal facilities, police and transportation. at total does not include other required permit fees. e construction of a multifamily building is more than $17,000 per unit, according to the fee schedule. In drafting the legislation, Moreno said the authors looked at what other states have done, speci cally naming California and Oregon, which have also implemented landuse codes.
Moreno said the steps taken by both the Democratic-led states would not t Colorado’s current and future needs.
“(SB23-213) is drafted to provided
Opponents of proposal not swayed by claims of a ordability, availability
A 19-year-old Elbert County resident is facing two charges of attempt to commit rst-degree murder in connection with threats involving a Colorado Springs school district.
An arrest a davit identi es the defendant as William Whitworth and notes that the suspect uses the name Lily, which is used throughout the rest of the a davit.
Elbert County sheriff’s personnel arrested Whitworth at home a few miles south of Kiowa on March 31 and noted in the affidavit that a drunken Whitworth described plans to carry out a shooting, with Timberview Middle School referred to as one of the “main targets” and with plans including a “layout of the school, active firearm planning and starting a manifesto.” Other potential targets were described as churches, Prairie Hills Elementary School and Pine Creek High School.
FROM PAGE
local options for municipalities to choose from,” he said. “ is sets goals and gives choices on how to meet those goals. It’s easy. If (municipalities) don’t then the state will step in. ere is a bit more choice than other states.”
In its early stages, Moreno said lawmakers have agreed not to immediately take votes on the proposed legislation, instead opting on April 6 to listening to debate, concerns and ideas.
Moreno said he has heard complaints that the bill does not address a ordability enough. e Adams County senator said amendments are likely as the bill moves through the process.
Moreno said the bill does address a ordability in the area of availability. Moreno said it increases stock, which means added supply will drive down home prices.
According to a monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the median price for a single-family home in February was around $600,000, a more than 5% decline from the month before.
Whitworth described attending Timberview Middle School as recently as seventh grade with only home schooling afterward, the a davit says.
e sheri ’s o ce responded to the home after a report from Whitworth’s sister. e a davit says the sister described a disturbance at the home and said Whitworth had made threats to shoot up a school on March 31 and March 29.
e a davit says Whitworth showed sheri ’s personnel the manifesto with a list of rearms and how to 3D-print them, a list of “numerous named individuals to be killed” and information about building improvised explosive devices. Other writings included references to the Columbine and Sandy Hook killers.
In addition to the attempted murder charges, Whitworth has been charged with criminal mischief, menacing and interference with educational institutions. Whitworth was jailed on $75,000 bond with a preliminary hearing set for May 5 in Elbert County District Court.
e median price for a condo was around $400,000 in February.
As amendments for better language, and clarifying information on water and infeasibility are already on the table, Rep. Mark Baisley, a District 4 Republican, which covers parts of Douglas County, Fremont County and Je erson County said he is “pleasantly surprised” that both Democrats and Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill’s current language.
Even with possible amendments coming to the bill, Baisley said it still wouldn’t work because the entire bill lacks “humility” and the only way to x it is to redo it completely.
No matter what concessions are made in areas of a ordability and language, Baisley said at the core of the bill is taking away home rule, which likely will not be eliminated.
e state intervening just means more government, more state oversight and less local control, Baisley said. at aspect alone makes the bill unlikely to ever be successful.
Woodrow said it is sweeping legislation and can take time, noting that success will be gauged in 10 or 12 months. Instead, he said this bill addresses current needs while allowing Colorado to grow in a more strategic way.
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Workers who care for kids in residential treatment centers say they feel powerless to prevent them from running away because of a Colorado law that limits their authority to restrain them.
Sta reported in a new study that they’re regularly confused and paralyzed by what’s known as the Colorado “Restraint and Seclusion Act,” which says they cannot physically prevent a child from leaving a residential treatment center unless the child is in imminent danger. Even police o cers who respond to a barrage of runaway calls often do not understand that treatment center sta cannot restrain or block kids from eeing, sta reported.
In one case, a worker watched helplessly as a 13-year-old boy ran from a center in the middle of a blizzard wearing only sweats and ip- ops. Instead of trying to catch him, she kept an eye on the boy from her car until, gratefully, the child returned to the facility on his own. She feared that he would freeze to death while she also wondered if she would lose her job if she touched him.
e study is part of legislation passed last year that set up a task force overseen by the state child protection ombudsman to determine why so many children and teens are running from foster care placements
and residential treatment centers.
A 2021 joint Colorado Sun/9News investigation found that kids are running from the centers nearly every day and that two boys who ran away from di erent facilities were struck by cars and killed. e Sun investigation found that Denver police were called to Tennyson Center for Children about once per day and to Mount Saint Vincent center about twice per week.
Each year, 20-30 kids run away from foster care placements in Colorado and are not found. eir child welfare cases are closed.
e new study, by researchers from the University of Denver’s Evaluation and Action Lab, included interviews with 15 sta as well as 21 young people ages 12-17 who have run from placements.
A key reason they run is that they are looking for “connectedness,” the researchers found, often by running to family members. Also, they are living in “ ght, ight or freeze” mode, a constant state of stress. Children are typically “dysregulated at the time of a run” and are “unable to access parts of their brain that allow them to make rational decisions and understand consequences,” according to the study.
ey run when they are triggered by upsetting events. ey run because they are not connected to sta members and they’re seeking connection. ey feel ignored and unseen. Some run to nd drugs or alcohol. Many run to a place of familiarity, the study found.
Children are placed in residential treatment centers either because they are in foster care due to abuse and neglect, or because their behavioral and mental health issues are beyond their parents’ control.
In the past few years, updates in state law and regulation have attempted to strike a balance between children’s safety and the use of restraints and seclusion. One new law came in response to concern that the youth corrections division was relying too heavily on solitary con nement and straitjackets to control behavior. Other state regulations say that residential treatment center sta cannot use physical restraint on children in out-of-home placements unless there is imminent danger to themselves or others.
Sta interviewed for the study said they want the state to de ne “imminent danger” so they have a clearer understanding of when they are allowed to prevent a child from running either by restraining them or physically blocking a doorway. ey also want help from the Colorado Department of Human Services, which includes the child welfare division, in creating better collaboration between youth residential facilities and local law enforcement o cers who respond when children try to run.
Workers also reported that when they write required reports about children running from a center, they take the blame, feeling “the assumption was that they had not done everything in their power to keep youth from running.” Often, the only option is calling the police.
e law that prevents physical intervention leaves no room for what a parent would want, sta complained.
“If I was the mother of one of those children, I would want a voice,” one sta member reported to the study authors. “I don’t think we listen to our families enough in that interpretation. I used to get numerous phone calls, ‘How do you let my kid run away? I put him there for him to be safe. How can you just say that you guys let them walk away?’”
Kids who have run away say that when they are returned to residential centers they feel like they are punished, the study found. “Like you
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can’t change your clothes. You can’t wear shoes. You have to wear your slides. You have to only wear scrubs,” one child said. “You can’t wear your personal clothes. You’ll be separated, so you won’t be with the unit.”
One child described it plainly — they run because they want to go home.
“I honestly just didn’t want to sit here and do another six months of treatment,” the child said. “It’s really hard because a lot of us, me, we, have so many people at home that we care about. For my speci c situation, I have two little sisters, and I’m missing my little sister’s rst days of kindergarten, and she’s getting bullied in school right now. And I have to hear about it over a phone. It really sucks. So, I guess I just wanted to leave. at’s pretty much why I ran.”
e task force is named for Timmy Montoya-Kloepfel, who was 12 when he ran from Tennyson Center for Children in Denver in June 2020 and died after he was hit by a Chevy Tahoe. His mother did not know for 26 hours where he had gone after running from the center.
Timmy and Andrew Potter, 15, were killed in separate incidents with similar details — both were struck by cars late at night after running away from di erent centers, two years apart. eir deaths and the escalating runaway problem at some residential child care facilities sparked calls for investigation and allegations from residential centers that they were suffering from years of inadequate state funding. Some called for review of state regulations that prohibit centers from locking their doors or using physical force to prevent children from running away.
e task force, which includes former foster kids, foster parents, social workers, a police o cer and county child welfare o cials, must submit reports to the legislature by October 2024.
is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.
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In the aftermath of the earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, the Rotary Club of Parker raised over $22,000 to aid ShelterBox USA in their e orts to supply emergency shelter, tools and supplies to those impacted by the damage.
ShelterBox USA is a global humanitarian relief organization that brings emergency shelter and essential supplies to set up a household when families have lost everything in a disaster or con ict situation.
“We’re based on the premise of what are the things that you need to sustain your life if you lose everything in an instant and you’re forced to ee your home,” said President of ShelterBox USA Kerri Murray. e devastating series of earthquakes has resulted in millions of people being displaced, damaging nearly 57,000 buildings and over 50,000 people have been killed. With people sleeping in the open in freezing temperatures, those at ShelterBox USA are focusing on providing temporary shelters to families.
“What we’re concerned about at Shelterbox is ensuring that in the middle of winter, these families have a temporary place to call home in
the aftermath of what’s likely the worst time of their life,” said Murray.
e Rotary Club of Parker is one of thousands across the country and globally and provides an annual donation to ShelterBox USA. In addition to the annual donation to the relief organization, the 66 members of the rotary club raised money in four di erent ways.
Many of the members provided individual donations, the Rotary Club of Parker Foundation donated money and a member decided to do a one to one match with another member’s donation.
As the motto of the Rotary Club of Parker is “service above self”, a member of the club wished not to be named when speaking with the individual.
“We were able to raise $22,500,” said a member of the Rotary Club of Parker. “ at means almost 23 shelter boxes, which is a record for us.”
ShelterBox has been airlifting humanitarian relief tents into the impacted areas as well as solar lanterns, water puri cation units and containers to store clean water.
“A tent is a key item for forced survivorship whether it is a beach or earthquake or hurricane,” said a member of the Rotary Club of Parker. “ ey need immediate help, these people, because they lost everything.”
Murray said ShleterBox USA is intune to types of displacement situations and therefore brings high thermal blankets, sleeping bags, clothing as well as lightweight mat-
tresses, sleeping mats and cooking equipment depending on the situation.
“I think the worst part of this awful disaster situation that both southern Turkey and northern Syria are facing is that so many people who’ve been a ected were already displaced by the civil war that is coming from Syria,” said Murray.
Many people a ected in Syria were already IDPs, so these individuals were already vulnerable. According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, more than 15 million people in Syria were in need of assistance prior to the earthquake.
Teams from ShelterBox USA on the ground overseas are coordinating with local rotary partners in Turkey and partners in Syria to help mobilize the large-scale emergency response.
ShelterBox USA has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in
2018 and 2019 for their continuous work in Syria. e organization has been supporting this area of Syria for 11 years due to an ongoing civil war con ict.
As ShelterBox relies on private charitable donations, the donation from Parker Rotary helped the team in Turkey in Syria provide more supplies.
“ ey were really much the rst group and the rst of rotarians that stepped up,” said Murrary. e Rotary club has been just so awesome and is helping to provide charitable support to help fund the response in Turkey and Syria.”
In addition to raising money for organizations such as ShelterBox USA, the Rotary Club of Parker has three major areas of focus. e club provides monthly scholarships for Parker students, community service and international humanitarian services.
BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e south metro area’s Voices West Chorale will have one more season performance on April 29, called “TV eme Songs,” before members take a summer break.
It will be a cabaret-style concert and fundraiser at Wildcat Mountain Auditorium at Southridge Recreation Center, 4800 McArthur Ranch Road in Highlands Ranch. Tickets are available at voiceswest.org. ere will be two performances, at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., according to chorale president Kelli Chan, who lives in Highlands Ranch.
Chan says the chorale will reach a 45th anniversary in August of this year.
It started as the Littleton Chorale and was rst directed by Bud Nicholson, with musical members of the Friends of the Littleton Library joining together to make music and entertain local friends.
Subsequent directors included Vicki Burrichter, Larry Johnson, Glen McCune and James Ramsey. Many of the original members were also involved in creating “Fiasco,” a musical spoof of Littleton: its city council, school board
and whoever else was active around town. at show was created by members for a number of years and was a source for lifelong friendships
Since that was just a beloved spring event, they continued to gather and sing together through the year, performing an occasional concert at Littleton United Methodist Church, another
church, or a school.
Chan says Voices West membership is about 50 right now, although it had reached 70 before the COVID scene hit the world of entertainment hard. All members are volunteers except the director, assistant director, accompanist and assistant accompanist.
Michael Krueger, who is director of Voices West, is
also director of music at King of Glory Methodist Church in Lakewood.
“ e chorale is a lot like a family. We are getting younger and younger members,” she says of choir members, who o er a mix of age, economic status, political views and abilities.
Chan said that when she joined the choir, she had not sung for over 30 years, but on
the rst night, she could feel her voice coming back. When she was a child, she joined a band, a choir and sought out music wherever she could.
“For other members and myself, making music together brings joy to us and the audience.”
“Members cover a wide range — not all are music teachers, music majors — there’s a wide range of interests.”
“We’ll watch for opportunities to collaborate with other area groups. Our rst event after the pandemic was a collaboration with Ballet Folklorico,” she said. After the nal concert for this season, planning for the next season will be underway. e group will travel to Spain and Portugal, leaving a day after Christmas.
Smaller groups from the membership perform throughout the community during the year and Chan hopes to have a quartet or two to sing at the August Western Welcome Week booth the group is planning. (Near the ice cream store.)
Prospective members can see the chorale in the Western Welcome Week Parade and inquire about membership, Chan says, or can go through the website at voiceswest.org.
powered by
Thu 4/20
Texas Hippie Coalition
@ 6pm Wild Goose Saloon, Parker
Creeping Death @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood
Sacred Reich @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood
Die Like Bothans: WP1313 presents
Jetboy @ 6pm
Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver
Rend Collective
@ 6pm
Cherry Hills Community Church, 3900 Grace Blvd, Highlands Ranch
TJ Miller @ 6:30pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, En‐glewood
Fri 4/21
School Break Camp - 4/21 @ 6:30am / $45 Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr., Parker. 303-805-6315
Municipal Waste @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐
wood
Frank Reyes @ 9pm Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora
Sat 4/22
Dear Marsha,: DM @ her Freaky Band @ Toleys @ 7pm Toley’s on the Creek, 16728 E Smoky Hill Rd Suite 11C, Centen‐nial
Mon 4/24
School Break Camp - 4/24 @ 6:30am / $45
Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr., Parker. 303-805-6315
Wed 4/26
Carcass @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood
Barkin' Dog Duathlon @ 7am / $58.50-$72
4800 S Dayton, Englewood
easy life w/ Support from SAIAH
@ 8pm
Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood
Tue 4/25
Dave Mensch - Tailgate Tavern - Parker, CO @ 5pm Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker
Ladies Night @ 5pm / $10 Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora
Fleming Mansion Walkthrough (about 45 days before event) @ 7pm Fleming Mansion, 1510 S. Grant St., Den‐ver. 720-913-0654
DJ Rockstar Aaron @ 7pm Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan
Thu 4/27
The King Stan Band in Paradise @ 6pm Paradise Tavern, 9239 Park Mead‐ows Dr, Lone Tree
Vamonos Pest/Mobro: Vamonos Pest at Wide Open
Saloon @ 5:30pm
Wide Open Saloon, 5607 US-85, Sedalia
Rave On Productions: Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience @ 6:30pm
Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker
Tony Medina Music: The Alley Open Mic Hosted By Tony Medina @ 5:30pm The Alley, 2420 W Main St, Little‐ton
Last Train To Juarez: The En‐glewood Tavern, South Broad‐way, Englewood, CO, USA w/ Special Guest Tom McElvain @ 5pm The Englewood Tavern, 4386 S Broadway, Englewood
Tom Mcelvain Music @ 5pm The Englewood Tavern, 4386 S Broadway, Englewood
Jamie Lissow @ 6:30pm Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Pl, Greenwood Village
Afew weeks ago I wrote about the need for school resource o cers, or SROs, in local schools. I did not have crystal ball, but days after the editorial went live the shooting at East High School occurred.
It was a tragic day. Not only were two innocent administrators shot, but a young man who was allowed to continue coming to school despite his troubled record died. Had that student been placed in online learning or so many other options we as parents have today — would we not have lost him and would our teachers not be feeling like they are in a war zone?
I was impressed to see the superintendent of the school district stand up and say something has to be done and that means SROs back on campus protecting our students.
I can’t imagine what those parents in that district are feeling as details come out and the constant political debate continues. I had a sinking feeling to nd out the student who is now dead had attended my own children’s school district. A little too close for comfort.
Bottom line — teachers and administrators deserve protection too. at means school boards, superintendents and principals are going to have to speak louder as politically correct decisions are being placed above their safety and our general student population. A teacher being shot by a 6-year-old is not OK. A teacher videoed being beaten unconscious by a student who was mad she took his game is not OK.
en, we had another mass shooting at a school in Tennessee. ree children at the age of 9 were killed. ree adults trying to save lives were also killed. Like every shooting, as soon as tragedy strikes — we lack the ability to come together as a country today. We lack the ability to be empathetic and sympathetic because it might create a problem in subjecting political will.
My son is 9 years old and with each shooting I become even more disheartened. ese children should not be the target in a world where adults have created a politically driven war zone in every aspect of our lives.
Of course, the gun debate comes up almost immediately. I saw articles and comments online where a father of one of the innocent victims said simply that he hopes his daughter nds peace in heaven. He was put down for taking that approach. I saw comments where people thought he should be angry and point to gun control.
I say this — He lost his daughter. He has a right to comment and react however he chooses and we as a society should be sympathetic and supportive.
en, I saw a troubling statement online about the fact that stopping these shootings may be causing political division and debate but stopping them is not so simple.
Our country has an astounding mental health crisis on our hands and when you have a gunman decide that they are going to take weapons and kill innocent people with the objective of dying that day themselves — What do we do to stop it?
In the end, I want an SRO, a trained member of law enforcement, posted at the front doors, back doors and in each hallway of schools. ey are trained to go ahead and complete the wishes of the disgusting people who are on these suicide missions. And they may do so before innocent lives who deserve none of this are killed.
elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.
He picked up his grandson from preschool and for a treat the grandfather decided to take his grandson to McDonald’s. It was late afternoon and hardly anyone was in the restaurant at that hour. As they ordered their meal and sat down at a table, the grandson was fascinated by the people cleaning up, sweeping the oor, wiping down tables and taking care of the trash.
As they nished their meal, the grandson was holding his grandfather’s hand as they were leaving the building.
e grandson tugged on his grandfather’s hand and said, “Let’s go this way so we can say thank you to the people who work here.” e grandfather smiled, and walked with his grandson as he said thank you to the McDonald’s team. e look on the faces of those behind the counter was genuine warmth as they received the young boy’s gratitude. e only smiles bigger than the grandfather’s, were on the faces of the people working that day.
e boy was only four years old. What a lesson for all of us.
Last week I wrote about another season of new beginnings. If we have been challenged, in a rut, or facing di culties in our lives, we
have every chance to start over, give ourselves a new beginning and stop doing what we have always done and expecting di erent outcomes. And maybe our new beginnings begin with gratitude.
New beginnings mean change. Whether we are doing really well and just want to raise the bar for ourselves, or we are struggling in some way, we nd ourselves looking to change something. A change in attitude, behavior, strategy, or maybe learning or elevating a skill. And when it comes to changing our attitude I like to think about one of my favorite Jimmy Bu ett songs, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. “
A part of the lyrics go like this
“It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane”
Our attitude has so much to do with the way we choose to live, laugh, love, work and play. And it has been said that gratitude is one of the strongest human emotions. It’s also been said that the more we show our gratitude for what we have, the more we will have to be grateful for. So I think back to the story of the 4-year-old boy and his grandfather, ask-
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25 long years after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rst determined that this magical dancing bird could go the way of the passenger pigeon.
What I remember most about that dark early morning of crouching on the prairie is the rhythmic sound of pounding. It was so loud I wondered if someone had put a microphone near the skinny legs of the dozen birds dancing on the turf. As the sun rose above the horizon in southeastern New Mexico, the male lesser prairie chickens continued their ritual performance, each hoping to entice a female. ey strutted, leaped in the air with feathers spread, and bowed, but the greatest thrill was watching them pu up the garish, red-orange air sacs on either side of their necks. Concealed in a blind, we watched late into the morning that spring of 1999, until the last birds — members of a rapidly vanishing species — ew o .
I recalled that wonderful day recently, because in late March, after countless lawsuits and scienti c opinions, the lesser prairie chicken in New Mexico, Colorado and eastwards nally got what it so desperately needs — federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. e designation, however, comes
In June 1988, the Service did something seemingly mundane, though it had profound consequences. It relegated the lesser prairie chicken to what might be called endangered species purgatory — making its protection status “warranted but precluded” under the Endangered Species Act. Precluded apparently meant, “We should list the birds but nd it impossible to do that.”
For decades, the Fish and Wildlife Service, under pressure from opponents in Congress and powerful industries, has used this designation to delay Endangered Species Act protections for hundreds of species that need an ecological safety net, including the lesser prairie chicken. e result since 1998 has been predictable: e bird’s numbers have plummeted. In many parts of the West, it has disappeared entirely. Lesser prairie chickens now number about 30,000, less than 2% of what they were in the 19th century when the birds ourished in the hundreds of thousands.
Controversy around granting Endangered Species Act protection for the lesser prairie chicken has mainly been about oil and gas development. Meaningful protection of this bird, whose habitat covers millions of acres across New Mexico, Texas,
it comes to showing gratitude, I am sure you have your own too, but feel free to put these to good use as well.
Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, would mean restraint from the oil and gas and agricultural industries. Pump jacks and plows are the greatest threats to prairie chicken survival.
Kansas Republicans, namely Sen. Roger Marshall and Rep. Tracy Mann, have already pressured the Fish and Wildlife Service to delay the date that the listing takes e ect. Texas has also led a lawsuit to block the listing, and Kansas and Oklahoma are threatening to sue. e long struggle to keep the birds alive is far from over.
Fifty years ago, Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act to recognize the importance of endangered and threatened species, citing their “esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational and scienti c value to the Nation and its people.” e Act’s vision was remarkable, and Americans are fortunate that the law fought for a half-century ago continues to be fought for today.
I am proud that our nation passed this powerful law to protect the diversity of life. But for our nation’s laws to really mean something, they must be enforced, even when — especially when — opponents are
among the most economically and politically powerful industries.
You’d think that identifying a species as “endangered” meant that there was still time to save it. But the prairie chicken, along with its high-pro le distant cousin, the sage grouse, is running out of time. e birds need lots of open space, and the new designation only puts some constraints on existing oil and gas operations, while limiting new development.
Later this spring, I intend to return to the prairies near the town of Milnesand, New Mexico, this time with my nine-year-old twins in tow. I can only hope that the birds are still dancing. I also hope that my boys have the opportunity to watch and wonder about why these birds return to woo females at the same place each spring, and what we, as a society, must do to ensure that the dance continues.
John Horning is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonpro t dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is the executive director of WildEarth Guardians and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
ing myself: Am I saying thank you enough? Am I showing gratitude to everyone, not just those closest to me? Am I living out the actions of living and working with an attitude of gratitude?
Again, it’s spring, it’s less than a week past Easter, and it’s the perfect time for new beginnings as life seems to be blooming all around us.
You have all probably heard about this thing called a gratitude challenge. It’s where we are challenged to come up with a few things every day that we are grateful for. One of my close friends, John Brokken, does this every day and posts his gratitude list on social media. It’s one of my very favorite things to read each day.
Here are a few ways that I am changing in my word choices when
“ ank you very much.” “I appreciate you so very much.” “I am so grateful for you.” “I am so thankful that you are in my life.” “ ank you for being such a blessing to me.”
How about you? Is it time for new beginnings in your own life? And would a new beginning have a better chance of success if you started with lling your gratitude bucket? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we remember to show our gratitude, even just a simple and sincere “thank you,” it really will be a better than good life.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
An tiques might seem like a eld that’s struggling to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the local scene in Elizabeth — and elsewhere in Colorado — suggests a renaissance of sorts might be occurring in the industry.
Randy Wallace owns Randy’s Antiques and Art on Main Street in Elizabeth. e bustling scene in town — featuring e Prickly Pear Antiques, e Carriage Shoppes and 1897 House of Antiques, among others — breeds community, not competition, he said.
“ e more stores in town, the better,” Wallace said. “People love to come antique shopping when there are multiple stores. Each one of our shops has a di erent niche, each one has just a little bit di erent style; I think customers enjoy having a di erent variety when they come to Elizabeth.”
Wallace said that while his shop specializes in antique art and furniture, others cater to di erent interests, like the Prickly Pear’s tearoom.
Over in Littleton, owner Joe Crawford of Old Crow Antiques had the novel idea to add a root beer bar to his shop, with the eventual goal of making the soda section — which currently carries between 60-90 varieties of vintage soda pop at any given time — the largest root beer bar in the world.
Crawford said Old Crow — which he opened three years ago with his brother — is one of the “new kids on the block” in the local
antiquing scene, but said they’ve been welcomed into the scene with open arms.
“I feel like we’re part of a larger community in the metro area,” Wallace said. “ ere are stores throughout the area, and we’ve gotten to know the people who own and work there — some have been here a long time.”
Nostalgia and good, old-fashioned, quality craftsmanship
Antique shops can often sprawl thousands of square feet — Old Crow’s showroom is over 45,000 square feet — packed with items from all eras and purposes. Shopkeepers say that a sense of longing for a di erent time helps people nd what they’re looking for out of the scores of inventories, in addition to the fact that many antiques have stood the test of time for a reason.
“In antique furniture, it’s already lasted 100 years, and — if you take care of it — it’ll last another 100 years,” Wallace said. “A lot of today’s stu is kind of throwaway.”
Julie McCoy, who runs own Unique Treasures Antiques and Collectibles in Wheat Ridge with her parents, echoed Wallace’s sentiment.
“(Antiques are) made so much better,” McCoy said. “ ey’re around 100 years later for a reason. It’s not like Ikea stu that you put together and throw away. It’s good quality
FROM PAGE 14
stu that’s built to last. It builds a lot of memories with people.”
People also point to childhood nostalgia or family memories as reasons for antique shops’ sustained popularity.
“(People seek out) childhood memories,” McCoy said. “Stu that’ll last, people come in and say, ‘My mom had this,’ they need to have that again to relive their childhood.”
Crawford said his family got into the antiques business because of a love for history and historic items cultivated from time spent with grandparents as kids.
“We tell people it’s a walk down memory lane,” Crawford said. “You’ll see something that reminds you of another time, maybe a simpler time, or childhood. Something you haven’t thought of in maybe 50, 60 years.
“I’ll be reminded of my grandma, my family and that’s what it is for me, the stories and experiences of everything that’s here,” Crawford continued. “We say, ‘ ere are a lot of ghosts under this roof.’”
In exchange for o ering nancial aid to more in-state students, Colorado universities soon could be allowed to admit more students from out of state who pay almost twice as much in tuition.
Universities such as the University of Colorado Boulder have been allowed to admit two out-of-state students for every student they admit who participates in the Colorado Scholars Program. e number of students who can be double-counted has been capped under current law to 8% of in-state students in the incoming freshman class.
House Bill 96, which is close to becoming law, would raise that cap to 15% of in-state freshmen in the program. at higher cap would create an incentive to enroll more Colorado Scholars, who can get $2,500 a year or more in merit aid, so that universities can also enroll more high-paying, out-of-state students.
State o cials and others want Colorado colleges and universities to bene t Colorado students as much as possible, since they get taxpayer support. But lawmakers have cut state funding for schools over the years while allowing tuition hikes. at has led schools to look toward out-of-state students to bring in more revenue.
At the same time, the rising tuition has made some students rethink whether universities, especially the state’s agship, are worth the nancial burden, or if they can nd a better deal elsewhere.
e bill would likely have the biggest impact on the University of Colorado Boulder, which backs the proposal. State law requires that an average of no more than 45% of incoming freshmen at public universities come from out of state, and CU Boulder is near that limit.
University of Colorado System o cials say they would use the increased money from enrolling more out-of-state students to o er Colo-
School o cials said the university accepts every quali ed Colorado applicant. But many Colorado students never end up on campus, and the school is able to consistently enroll only about 80% of Colorado students who were accepted. Last year, however, was an outlier, with the school enrolling 92% of all Colorado students who were accepted.
Colorado funds its public higher ed institutions at some of the lowest rates in the nation, leading colleges to raise tuition and recruit more outof-state students who can pay more. Meanwhile, Colorado families carry high tuition burdens compared to other states.
Colorado students pay about $30,000 a year in tuition. Out-ofstate students pay about $57,000.
Across all classes, CU Boulder provides $15.5 million in merit aid for about 4,200 students, school o cials said in a statement. It also supports about 1,700 students through a need-based program that pays for a student’s share of tuition.
O cials at the school said enrolling more out-of-state students is a way to sustain and increase that aid.
University of Colorado System spokesman Ken McConnellogue said in a statement the Boulder campus’ primary focus remains on recruiting, retaining, and graduating Colorado students.
“We believe this bill will increase
school that’s considered how to weigh in-state student enrollment versus out-of-state enrollment, according to Tom Harnisch, State Higher Education Executive O cers Association vice president for government relations.
Because out-of-state students pay higher tuition, universities around the country have lobbied to lift enrollment caps on them as states’ overall spending on higher education has declined in recent years, he said. is year, for instance, North Carolina increased how many outof-state students its universities can admit.
Similar to what the Colorado bill proposes, some schools have increased merit aid while also increasing the overall number of out-of-state students on campus, he said. The change doesn’t mean there are fewer in-state students, Harnisch added, just a shift in the share of students not from the state.
e bill has passed the House and Senate and needs approval from Gov. Jared Polis. It is sponsored by state Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Democrat from Avon, Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, and state Reps. Judy Amabile, a Boulder Democrat, and Matt Soper, a Delta Republican.
e bill initially raised eyebrows among some state leaders.
Colorado Department of Higher Education Executive Director Angie Paccione said in February that she didn’t want to see schools become
predominantly out-of-state student
eligible in-state students are accepted at the school — and that accepting eligible resident students is a priority. Paccione no longer has concerns about the legislation. e bill will also require schools to report how many out-of-state and in-state students schools enroll before the double count occurs, how schools use revenue for the purpose of aid, and where students that qualify for aid come from in the state.
Colorado needs more homegrown talent from its universities, especially because that state has large gaps when it comes to who gets a degree, said Katie Zaback of Colorado Succeeds, which brings together business leaders to advocate for education.
Zaback, the organization’s vice president of policy, said a priority for Colorado Succeeds is to examine what solutions there are to get more Colorado students access to a high-quality education, such as at CU Boulder.
CU Boulder enrolls a group of students that aren’t representative of the state’s high school graduates, she said. And she worries the bill, if it’s enacted, would send a message that Colorado’s best and brightest can only be educated if the state recruits more out-of-state students.
“I wonder if that’s true,” Zaback said. “I wonder what the overall equity implications are.”
is story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
Cap would increase under proposed law
e healthy snowpack whitening Colorado’s mountain peaks has given water o cials some breathing room to manage the Colorado River Basin’s ongoing drought. e challenge will be not to squander it.
As winter storms wind down, water managers and policymakers are mulling over decisions about how to release and retain water in shrunken reservoirs across the basin, which supports 40 million people across the West. is year, many Colorado reservoirs will have the chance to re ll, but the situation is still grim for the two largest reservoirs in the system, Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
“While having a decent year of snowpack doesn’t solve all of our problems, it does give us a little bit of breathing room to focus on longerterm issues,” said Amy Ostdiek, chief of the interstate, federal and water information section at the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the state’s leading water agency.
Western Slope basins that feed the Colorado River have seen above-average snowpack this year, and some areas of the Colorado River Basin have reported record levels of snow, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service data.
“ e challenge that the basin states face is, what will people do in response to this gift, this tremendous success?” said Chuck Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, an interstate water administration agency. “Are we going to squander it? Or are we going to store it and rebuild resiliency in this potentially once-in-a-decade, potentially once-in-a-century, type of runo ?”
Reservoirs that capture Colorado River Basin water can hold, in total, about 60 million acre-feet of water.
e system helps water managers control when and how water moves through the diversions, ditches, streams and rivers in the basin, and acts as a savings bank for dry years. Together, Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border and Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border hold about 83% of the total storage capacity for the basin.
e issue is that the Colorado River Basin is in a 23-year megadrought and those reservoirs are running short on water savings. If Lake Powell and Lake Mead fall too low, they cannot produce hydroelectric power — or release water to downstream users at all.
As of early April, the basin’s entire reservoir storage system held about 19 million acre-feet, or about 32% of its capacity, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. An acre-foot is enough water to supply two to three U.S. households for a year.
“It would take something like six years in a row like this year to re ll these reservoirs, and no one thinks that’s very likely,” said Brad Udall, senior water and climate scientist at the Colorado State University Colorado Water Center. “I don’t think we’re ever going to see these reservoirs ll fully again, based on what we’ve seen in the last 23 years and based on what climate science tells us we’re in for in the future.”
Lake Mead and Lake Powell have fallen to critical levels in recent years, prompting emergency releases from upstream reservoirs. Last summer, the federal government
directed states to develop a plan to cut water use by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2023.
“We’ve had a wet winter; we’re all joyous. is is in no way any kind of a solution,” U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said in a recent news brie ng in Grand Junction with Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton and other o cials. “It gives us a little more time to gure out what the solution will be.”
e water elevation at Lake Powell was at 3,522 feet above sea level and about 22% of its full capacity. Below 3,490 feet in elevation, Glen Canyon Dam can’t produce hydroelectric power, and below 3,370 feet, it can’t send water downstream to Lake Mead.
e last time Lake Powell hovered around 3,522 feet was in 1967 and 1968 when the reservoir was still lling, according to Bureau of Reclamation historical data.
At the end of March, Lake Mead’s water elevation was 1,046 feet, about 183 feet less than its full capacity.
Below 895 feet in elevation, water can’t pass through Hoover Dam to downstream users, and below 950 feet, the dam can’t produce hydroelectricity.
Each month, water insiders keep a close eye on projections from the Bureau of Reclamation about how much water will likely enter and leave reservoirs around the basin.
e reports, known as the 24-Month Study, project scenarios of monthly conditions in the Colorado River Basin two years out, including a most probable outcome and best- and worst-case scenarios.
In the most-probable scenario, Lake Powell will likely see about 10 million acre-feet of water ow into the reservoir by the end of September, and the dam will likely release about 7.8 million acre-feet downstream, according to the March report. By the end of the water year in September, the lake is projected to rise by about 35 feet to an elevation of 3,557 feet.
at downstream release is on the low end of what’s allowed by management guidelines set in 2007. e
reservoir is still on the knife’s edge, Udall said.
Lake Mead will likely keep dropping, the report showed. Hoover Dam is projected to receive about 7.8 million acre-feet from Glen Canyon Dam and to release about 8.7 million acre-feet of water during the water year. Lake Mead’s elevation will fall by about 12 feet to 1,034 by the end of September.
at’s driven largely by the amount of uses in the Lower Basin as of March 1, Cullom said in early April during a Southwestern Water Conservation District event.
“People should live within the supply that’s available. In the Lower Basin, that means rebuild your storage by managing your uses downward,” he said. “I believe they will, but we will see.”
In Colorado, this year’s snowpack gives the state’s reservoirs a muchneeded opportunity for recovery, Ostdiek said.
In 2021, Upper Basin states, which include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, released a total of 161,000 acre-feet from Blue Mesa Reservoir in western Colorado and Flaming Gorge in southern Wyoming to shore up the water supply in Lake Powell. In 2022, Flaming Gorge released over 400,000 acre-feet.
Cullom said the debt from those reservoirs will be repaid this year.
“In the Upper Basin, we’re taking this opportunity to repay the loans from Flaming Gorge and Blue Mesa. at’s not squandering this opportunity,” he said. “A failure is when we have in ows of this magnitude and we do not rebuild storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. at’s a challenge for Reclamation. It’s, more importantly, a challenge for how the Lower Basin manages its water use.”
is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com.
e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.
BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE
e pandemic forced many Americans to work and learn from home, and health experts are increasingly concerned about the potentially harmful impact of blue light that comes from screens in telephones, tablets and televisions.
Amanda Melendez is an optometrist with the Monfort Family Clinic in Evans. She said patients who spend hours in front of screens should be on the lookout for symptoms of digital eye strain.
“Which can sometimes be alarming,” said Melendez. “Blurred vision is one of the more common ones. But even if you’re getting things like a little bit of dizziness, dryness and even neck pain, those could all be indicators of digital eye strain. Something that might prompt you to come see us. We might want to do something about that.”
Blue light, a short-wavelength high-energy light similar to ultraviolet light on the visible spectrum, is still being studied to determine safe exposure levels. Ultraviolet light has been shown to harm eye health over time.
A recent report found that since the onset of COVID-19, the average American spends 13 hours a day looking at some kind of blue lightemitting screen.
Dr. Scott Edmonds — chief eye care o cer for UnitedHealthcare Vision — said exposure to blue-light is of particular concern because of how close the user’s eyes typically are to screens, and for how long.
“ e photoreceptors can certainly process blue light, but it puts a lot of
strain on them,” said Edmonds. “And we’re concerned that over time, the retina will become damaged, and we’ll start to see age-related macular degeneration from this, like we did with UV light.”
Using blue light lters, which are available for most types and sizes of screens, can help reduce exposure. Eyeglasses with an anti-re ective coating may also help.
And Melendez said if you’re working and really can’t get away from the computer, use the 20-20-20 rule to prevent digital eye strain.
“So every 20 minutes, taking a 20 second break, to look at something 20 feet away,” said Melendez. “And so it really just allows your eyes a break from that blue light. And it allows your focusing muscle to take a break as well, because that’s active as well when we’re on the screen.”
Public News Story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare, which Colorado Community Media participates in.
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In the spring of 2019, as the state mourned the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch and lawmakers began eyeing a raft of new rearms-related legislation, e Colorado Sun analyzed 38 years of state data on gun deaths.
At the time, e Sun found that 20,669 people died from rearmrelated injuries between 1980 and 2018, and the death rate, after dipping in the early 2000s, was on the rise.
Now, with the reverberations from a shooting at Denver’s East High School still ringing and lawmakers again hotly debating a slate of gun bills, e Sun decided to revisit that earlier analysis.
e number of those who have died from rearm-related injuries has increased, of course. Between 1980 and 2021 — the most recent year for which nalized mortality data is available — 23,493 people
were killed by gunshot wounds, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
But more surprising is that the rearm-related death rate in 2021 was the highest since at least 1980.
e new analysis shows the state recorded 18.2 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, far exceeding any other year in that time span. e previous high was in 1981, at 16.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
ese numbers include all deaths caused by rearms — homicides, suicides, accidents and incidents where the intent cannot be determined.
ough still preliminary, the rearm-related death rate appears to have declined slightly in 2022.
e state will likely have nal data on 2022 deaths next month, and it is possible that the preliminary gure
— 16.8 deaths per 100,000 people
— could rise as more deaths are
o cially recorded.
e reason we stop the analysis at 1980 is because that’s how far back CDPHE has data on rearm-speci c causes of death.
e state does have data on suicides going back to 1940 and homicides back to 1970. But, because those numbers do not record whether a gun was involved in the deaths, they are not comparable to post-1980 numbers.
Gun deaths are increasing across most age groups in the state. e only age group where a trend is difcult to discern is for children from birth through age 9. Deaths in that age range can be few enough in a
given year that CDPHE won’t release the actual numbers — it is common in health statistics for small numbers to be withheld for privacy reasons. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.
thousands of years, will be critical to address the scale of the challenge.
BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICEAs wild re seasons in Colorado and across the American West become longer, less predictable and increasingly destructive, a new report aims to provide an equitable roadmap for protecting communities, watersheds and wildlife.
Rob Addington, Colorado forest program director for e Nature Conservancy, said engagement with tribal nations, who have been successful stewards of lands for
“Developing tribal partnerships and really looking to tribal knowledge, ecological knowledge that many of the tribes hold from their centuries in many cases of working with the land, working with re,” Addington outlined.
Addington pointed out the roadmap represents a paradigm shift in modern forest and wild re management. After decades of re prevention strategies, for example, experts said prescribed burns will be necessary to thin fuel supplies across thousands of acres of dry western lands. e report also called for advanced computer modeling and unmanned drones to improve early
detection, help battle res more effectively, and to reseed and restore scarred forests.
e roadmap, created by e Aspen Institute and e Nature Conservancy, compiled input from more than 250 experts in forest and re management, federal, state, local, and Tribal Nation authorities, and the private sector, including the forest products and insurance industries.
Addington noted many of the report’s recommendations are shovel-ready, due to recent public investments such as the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the In ation Reduction Act. “But what we need in parallel to complement that funding is this set
of policy recommendations,” Addington urged. “To really make best use of that funding, and have it hit the ground in the most e cient and e ective way that we can.”
Addington underscored building successful partnerships will be key for work that needs to happen in metropolitan areas and across tribal, federal, state and privately owned lands. e report also identied some potential roadblocks, and o ered policy solutions requiring action from Congress, the executive branch, and partners like states, Tribal Nations, nonpro ts, and industry.
is story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare. Colorado Community Media is a participant in Storyshare.
Tribal partnerships are seen as key to e ort
