LOCAL

stained glass, and Heritage Window Restoration restored the wood that held the framing together.

“There were only a few pieces that were not fi xable, but the rest of the stained glass was renovated. The original glass could not be sourced out because it was created in 1916,” Kopfmann said. “The funding support for the windows was from the congregation, memorials, funeral support, endowment gifts and community donations.”

Fort Lupton’s Sue Davis Hubert, who updated the history of the First Methodist Church from 1836 through 2001, said restoring the stained glass was been a remarkable, long-term project.

“The latest restoration was completed because of the diligence of our trustees and was fi nished this year,” Hubert said. “After many months of windows being removed and restored, one by one, the windows are all returned and beautifully restored.”

Hubert relied on written histories from the 1836 First Methodist Episcopal Church history by C.G. Phillip in 1912; “The Echoes from Peak to Plain” by Reverend Beardsley; and the “Church Program” by Phyllis Ceretto. Edessa Anderson wrote the 75-anniversary history book from 1912 to 1933 and Harvey Sells, Iva Thiessen, and Loren Willey wrote the history from 1933 to 1982.

The church has gone by many different names throughout its history. It began as the Methodist Episcopal

Seeing a need

According to Hubert, Reverend R.R. Adams, chairman of the Colorado Sunday School Association, served as pastor from September 1912 to 1915. He was also the fi rst pastor at the church to conduct the Sunday school.

The community of Fort Lupton, seeing the need for extra worship services and Sunday school, increased membership to fund and build a new church. They chose a centrally located lot at the corner of Third and Park avenues to build the new church. They paid $1,000 for the lot and another $10,000 to build the church.

Rev. George G. Saywell replaced Adams as head of the congregation from 1915 to 1919. He continued the construction and completed it by 1916. It was built in a missionstyle architectural style with an art nouveau-infl uence in the design of the stained glass windows.

The original stained glass for the whole church was built in 1916 by McMurtry Manufacturing Company of Denver for $387.29.

The building committee, including Sanford Davis, William Keetle, U.B. Peckman, H.H. Ewing, W.S. Decker, Wylie W. Burge, C.G. Phillips, H.B. Allsebrook, J.C. Buck and E.S. St. John, contributed to the construction process and completion. Cecil Philip donated the piano, and the Ladies Aid Society donated the pipe organ for sanctuary.

The church’s fi rst restoration was in 1970. A second restoration project began in 2017 and was completed this year. Kopfmann has overseen the upkeep of the building since the beginning of the latest project.

“It was very rewarding to see a project where you knew they were failing,” Kopfmann said. “And now that it’s sound and secure, it leaves a good, established history for the city of Fort Lupton.”

The Art Nouveau-infl uenced design on the stained-glass windows from 1916.

PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Fort Lupton rec center upgrades are front and center

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fort Lupton’s Recreation Department would love to see some upgrades to the city’s Recreation Center, some of which made their way to the Fort Lupton City Council during an April 12 town hall.

Voters approved a bond package in 2002 to build the center. That bond is due to be paid off in November. Parks and Recreation Director Monty Schuman said the original plan was to add another gym, an aquatics area and extra fi tness space to the building.

“We wanted to pay off the current bond fi rst before looking to expand,” he wrote in an email. “The good thing is this expansion would have minimal impact on staffi ng. Current staff would be able to accommodate the impact.”

Aquatics Coordinator Doug Cook targeted the fi tness room – he called it “packed” and Councilman Carlos Barron agreed – more than once during his April 12 presentation.

“There’s not a lot we can do in there,” Cook said.

Cook also discussed a new, smaller pool — 28-by-60 feet in size and four lanes wide — that wouldn’t use as much water as a regular lap pool.

Schuman hopes to expand the aquatic area and add a programming pool.

“These pools are much smaller than traditional lap pools,” he said. “It would serve lessons, water aerobics and senior classes. The water temperatures in these environments are generally much warmer than current lap and leisure pools, making them much more user friendly.

“We could use it for a senior aerobics class,” Cook explained. “The temperature is about 92 or 93 degrees. Our pool right now (with two lanes) is about 86. It’s warm, but it’s not what little kids should use.”

Cook also outlined plans for two pickleball courts at Railroad Park, across the street from the Rec Center and close to a new outdoor fi tness center. He wants to spend about $41,000, including labor and materials, to construct a 64-by-64-foot concrete slab. The total cost for the courts is about $55,000, which would include an 8-foot fence around the courts.

Schuman said total cost for improvements was about $10 million, not including a bond payoff plus interest rate, which could add an additional $8 million to $10 million, depending on the rate at the time of purchase.

Cook told councilors the price tag “isn’t going to go down.”

“Luckily, when we did the original building, we put some things in place to be able to add on,” Cook said. “We tried to anticipate the time when we would look at expansion.”

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TUCSON SOUTH

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

We are assembling the conveyor and expect to complete it by fall 2022. When the mine is operational, the conveyor moves material from the Tucson South site, under 168th Street, to our existing processing plant in Weld County. Using a conveyor eliminates 400 daily truck trips. If the weather continues to remain favorable, we anticipate restarting slurry wall construction in May.

Conveyor sections being assembled

QUESTIONS?

For more information visit our website at tucsonsouthmineproject.com.

You can also call our construction hotline at (303) 716-5220 or email us at tucsonsouthproject@gmail.com.

Certain school fees may be on the rise in Fort Lupton

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fees for such things as Chromebooks and in-school meals may be increasing next year.

That was the word from Weld RE-8 School District’s Chief Operating Officer Jim Roedel, during an April 14 school board study session.

There wasn’t a mention of specifics, and the board couldn’t make a decision because of the meeting’s format. Roedel said more information would be forthcoming next month.

In 2020, revenues from food service totaled more than $1 million based on 500,000 served meals.

“This is going to be a shock to parents,” Roedel told the board. “We’ve been trying to keep the price down since 2017, and we’ve always said ‘no’ to increasing the price. In May, we’ll give you an estimate on where this might land.”

SWAP

The School to Work Alliance Program, which provides services and cases management to young adults with disabilities, wants to have a footprint in the district.

At the Weld RE-8 board workshop April 14, program coordinator Joella Vallejo-Forsyth said her program takes over after the district’s career assessments and pre-employment screenings.

“SWAP takes the next step with families. It’s an important introduction to families to the services that are available while their kids are in high school,” she said. “We try to align all that so the transition from high school to adulthood is as seamless as possible.”

Funding comes from the state division of vocation rehabilitation. SWAP has contracts with local districts, such as Adams 12 in Thornton and Academy 20 in Colorado Springs.

“In the first year, we had lots of training partners working in district classrooms, and they worked well there with the 18- to 24-year-olds,” she said. “We had a workshop where more than 50 kids attended handson career fairs. They learned about particular career tracks and got some of that hands-on work experience. We have lots of students who are ready to work this summer.”

Vestal outlines future wastewater needs for Fort Lupton

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The city of Fort Lupton is eyeing a projected population growth rate of 3% a year. City staff said it received 195 housing permits in 2021.

Public Works Director Roy Vestal wants to find a way to reserve 2 million gallons of wastewater in anticipation of that growth rate. He outlined his plan to Fort Lupton City Council during an April 12 town hall.

Large, commercial entities aren’t on the city’s radar just yet, but Vestal cautioned a business such as a data processor could use rather large amounts of water because of the need for cooling towers.

“I’ve seen one or two operations, like a cannery, come into towns and then shying away because of the cost of water,” Vestal said. “Frankly, with the economy, I don’t know how they can afford to do something like that.”

“Do you see a large commercial growth?” asked Mayor Zo Stieber.

“I found nothing that’s feasible,” he said.

At its peak last year, the city treated 1.6 million gallons of wastewater per day, an amount Vestal called “still within our operating parameter.” Vestal said the future flow capacity could be close to 6 million gallons a day, about twice the existing plant capacity.

“We need to plan forward, and we don’t want to do this for another 20 years,” Vestal told the council. “We want to make the next piece a retrofit. We won’t reach 6 million gallons for at least 40 more years.”

“I’d like to look at this every five years,” Stieber said. “There are a lot of things we let slide.”

New cars, new radios

Fort Lupton Police Chief John Fryar said he was “delirious” with the work of Enterprise Car Rental to fix his police vehicles.

However, when he changes out four squad cars by the end of the year, he needs to install four new police radios. Fryar told councilors he wasn’t sure if that was part of a service agreement with BearCom, which provides wireless voice and data communications equipment.

The potential cost is $22,500.

“I want to buy the four radios and then work something out with BearCom later,” Fryar said. “I want to make sure we get the radios.”

Other business

Vestal announced the city’s clean-up day would take place Saturday, April 30.

“The (COVID) figures didn’t change,” he told the council. “They are hanging down there .. low.”

Clean-up day is a chance for residents to dispose of household and yard items for free if they bing a copy of a utility bill or driver’s license to prove residency. Eligible items include electronics, computers, CRT televisions and monitors. Ineligible items include industrial and commercial waste, concrete debris, regular curbside trash and items for shredding.

The pick-up day for senior citizens and people with disabilities is Thursday, April 28. To schedule, call 303-8576694 no later than Tuesday, April 26.

Certain school fees may be Weld marks April as Child Abuse Prevention Month

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Weld County has declared April as Child Abuse Prevention Month to prevent child abuse and help children and families with resources.

“We appreciate the county’s efforts in assisting Life Stories Child for so many years and our services to kids,” said Gwen Schooley, Life Stories executive director in a news release. “Unfortunately, we are still doing it, and hopefully, we learn every day how to provide even better services for kids. Still, we appreciate our partnerships and couldn’t do it alone.”

In its declaration, the Board of County Commissioners stated, “All children deserve safe, loving, nurturing homes and communities to foster their healthy growth and development.”

The Weld County Department of Human Service provides resources and services to prevent child abuse in the family. They recommend communities work together by educating themselves on the warning signs of child abuse, sexual abuse and neglect and providing resources to help the well-being of youth and children.

Signs of abuse

CO4Kids is an organization that campaigns to raise awareness about ways to prevent child abuse, neglect and the need for foster homes and adoptive parents. According to CO4Kids, the warning signs of child and youth abuse can include physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and isolation.

“In Weld County, we are grateful to have solid and enduring community collaborations and partnerships, which allow us to leverage programs and resources and create strong and thriving children and families by working together,” said Jamie Ulrich, director of the Weld County Department of Human Services. “The future prosperity of our community depends on our ability to foster the health and well-being of the next generation.”

Physical neglect is abandonment, banishment or being left in custody with other people for days. It can also include nutritional neglect such as weight loss or emaciation or medical negligence if the child is sick and not taken to the hospital or if health care is delayed. Educational neglect

allows absenteeism from school for months with no valid reason, failing in homeschool or and neglecting educational services for a special needs child. Physical abuse of a child or youth can include unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, black eyes, fading bruises tion to families to the services that are or other identifying marks after an absence from school. Children that seem frightened of parents, communicate abuse and crying when it’s time to go home, or that make reports of an injury by a parent or adult caregiver. It can sion of vocation rehabilitation. SWAP also include animal or pet abuse. Emotional abuse could be inadequate nurturing or affection, chronic or extreme spousal abuse and allowing drug and alcohol abuse. Also, regular delinquent behavior such as assaulting or bullying that the parent is aware of but does not intervene could be signs of emotional abuse. If the child is isolated from socializing with other people or of that hands-on work experience. We adults outside of the home, shows have lots of students who are ready to evidence of a lack of supervision, exposure to smoking or safety hazards such as guns and other weapons, could also be a concern. It can also include living in unsanitary conditions, lacking car safety restraints, leaving the child with inappropriate caregivers or not picking up a child for several hours or days. Sexual abuse warnings include exhibiting refusal-to-change behavior in gym class and demonstrating bizarre, sophisticated or unusual sexual knowledge and behaviors. A child younger than 14 who becomes pregnant or contracts a sexually transmitted infection should also be reported. They might also attach very quickly to strangers or new adults in their environment; fear particular people, places or activities; regression to early behaviors such as bed-wetting; sleep disturbances; or victim of sex trafficking. To report signs of abuse or get help, call the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 844-CO-4-Kids. It is available every day, 24 hours a day. If anyone witnesses a child in a life-threatening situation, call 911 immediately. For more information about Weld County Department of Human Services and the prevention division, visit https:// www.weldgov.com/Government/ Departments/Human-Services/ Family-Resource.

PROM

“We’ve never had a single board member miss three consecutive meetings,” board President Susan Browne said. Bovee’s first business meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28. Among other items on the agenda is Kaylor’s performance review, which will take day, April 28. To schedule, call 303-857- place in an executive, or closeddoor session.

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Change the thought and change the outcome

Last week fans were treated to some great golf as we watched The Masters golf tournament. There were lots of incredible shots made over the four days of play, including some spectacular shots from so many of the players. Although they were not winners, Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa both holed out their bunker shots on the 18th hole. It was a magical and memorable moment.

A weekend golfer myself, I really enjoyed this year’s Masters tournament. Something I observe when watching professional golfers is the way that they manage the course. And part of the course management is what is referred to as the “swing thoughts” of the golfer before each shot. For some reason, this part of the game really stood out to me this year as I realized that although we are all not professional or even amateur golfers, our thinking most times will determine and drive our actions.

In golf, the swing thought will determine the outcome of the shot. If the thought is positive, they can almost see the ball going into the hole before even swinging the club. Conversely, if it is a negative thought, they can almost visualize the ball going into the pond before they hit the ball. It’s funny because some amateur golfers when faced with a shot where they must clear a creek or a pond, will take out an older ball just in case it goes into the water. They are planting the negative thought in their mind before they even take the shot.

Let’s look at the tasks, projects and conversations that we have on any given day. If we see a task or project as being too diffi cult, doubts will creep into our mind, and we will continually put it off. The task or project doesn’t go away, it just keeps getting bumped down the list, creating anxiety and stress because we know that at some point, it still must get done. If our pretask or pre-project “swing thought” is positive, We are more than likely to get after it and get it off the to-do list.

It’s no different with conversations. Whether the conversation will be a disagreement or confl ict, or if is just a diffi cult subject that we must deal with, our pre-conversation swing thoughts are critically important. If our thoughts are nervous, negative, or angry, those thoughts will manifest themselves in the conversation. And we know that the opposite is true as well. If we go into the conversation or challenging topic that we must discuss with a confi dent and positive outlook, we are more than likely going to have a positive outcome, giving us even greater confi dence as we move forward throughout our day.

Is this true 100% of the time? No, there are always exceptions. We could have the greatest positive attitude and still make mistakes. When faced with a diffi cult conversation, no matter how confi dent we are and hopeful that the outcome will be what we desire, we still may walk away with no resolution or compromise. But we do know what Zig Ziglar said to be true, “A positive mental attitude alone will not allow you to do anything, but a positive mental attitude will allow you to do everything much better than a negative attitude will.”

We have all heard that we become what we think about. Or if we think about something long enough and powerfully enough, sooner or later it will come to pass. We also know that the most important and most powerful story that we tell is the story we tell ourselves. Those stories show up in our thinking, so why not make them positive, encouraging, and fi lled with the expectations and outcomes that we desire?

Are your thoughts taking you closer to your goal or further away? Could you use an adjustment in your own “swing thoughts?” I would love to hear your story at mnorton@xinnix.com and when we realize that our thoughts do determine and infl uence our outcomes, it really will be a better than good year.

WINNING WORDS

Michael Norton

Michael Norton is the grateful president of XINNIX, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

What does the future hold for Colorado coal plants?

For all electrical utilities, R is the fi rst letter of the alphabet. Reliability, keeping the lights on, comes before A, affordability.

Colorado’s utility regulators soon will decide the role of Comanche 3, the state’s youngest but most unreliable coal-fi red power plant, in ensuring reliability, and whether more natural gas generation will be required.

Xcel Energy, the operator and primary owner of the 750-megawatt coal plant, wants to keep the plant operating on limited, then seasonal-only, terms until 2034. It says the plant will meet peak demands during winter and summer. Several state agencies plus other groups have concurred.

Evidence for Comanche 3 serving this purpose is thin. All fossil fuel plants must occasionally be idled for repairs and maintenance. Comanche 3 has been fi rst in this class. A 2021 report by the Public Utilities Commission staff found the coal unit from 2010 to 2020 “had the lowest availability” of all of Xcel’s coal and gas-fueled units in Colorado.

Comanche 3 was down for most of 2020. It’s down again this year, and until June at the earliest it won’t be generating any more electricity than a solar panel at midnight. At least the solar panels that now surround the plant on the edge of Pueblo generate electricity when the sun shines. This should provide no comfort to Xcel customers in Grand Junction or Denver, Sterling or Alamosa, who expect air conditioning if temperatures soar to 116 degrees as happened in Portland last summer.

In a March meeting, two of the three PUC commissioners reported seeing no good argument for the plant operating beyond 2029. John Gavan, the commissioner from Paonia, was adamant in that. Megan Gilman, the commissioner from Edwards, was more inclined to kick the decision down the road until next year. Eric Blank, the chair of the PUC, who is from Boulder, observed that requiring the early retirement would in effect make the PUC responsible for ensuring reliability.

What may matter immensely is that Comanche 3 still hasn’t been paid off.

How different from just 18 years ago, when Comanche 3 was approved unanimously by a different set of PUC commissioners. Utilities and their regulators in 2004 saw a future that looked much like the past, giant coal plants gobbled coal delivered by a virtual conveyor belt from mines in Wyoming and Colorado. The plant that PUC commissioners approved was expected to continue operations until 2070.

Winds of change were even then picking up. Colorado Green, the state’s fi rst wind farm, had begun operations between Lamar and Springfi eld earlier that year. That November, voters approved the state’s fi rst renewable portfolio standard. Xcel easily met that initial 10% requirement years in advance of the deadline.

Today, Comanche 3 looks like a billion-dollar blunder. If ensuring winter lights or summer chillers is the goal, the relative grandfathers of Xcel’s coal-burning fl eet, Hayden 1 and 2, completed in 1965 and 1976 respectively, might be better options for ensuring reliability. They’re currently scheduled to close in 2027 and 2028.

Xcel and other Colorado utilities now say with confi dence they can achieve 80% carbon-free energy by 2030. Nobody, however, claims complete confi dence in existing technologies and business models to go even higher than 90%. Holy Cross, the electrical provider for the Aspen and Vail areas, has a goal of 100%. Inconveniently, it also owns 8% of Comanche 3. CORE Electric Cooperative, which serves Castle Rock and other southmetro suburbs and exurbs, owns 25% of the plant.

Xcel wants more natural gas generation to ensure reliability. This could potentially result in the better part of $1 billion in new infrastructure. But would those assets be stranded by new technology in another 20 years?

A decision may not be immediately necessary. In 2016, the last time Xcel submitted a plan to state regulators, it also wanted a ton of new natural gas generation. When it went shopping, it got bids for renewable generation in late 2017 that dropped jaws across the nation. The economics of renewables had become compelling.

Now, reliability remains a concern, but many ideas are percolating. Homes will likely become energy sources, the batteries of electric vehicles supplying household needs when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. The grid increasingly will be two-way and with dispersed energy sources. Today’s electric grid that relies on a few big coal plants in a decade will look as quaint as a desk phone from … well, 2004.

By late next year we’ll have a much better idea whether new natural gas plants will be needed for reliability. As for Comanche 3, if it were a car, it’d already be in the automotive graveyard.

GUEST COLUMN Allen Best

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, an e-journal. See more at bigpivots.com

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