SPORTS

Practice good skin health even in winter

November is Healthy Skin Month, so this is a great time of year to emphasize the importance of good skin care and share some GUES advice on mainCOLUMN Dr. Adam taining healthy skin. Here are some tips that can help

Vaudreuil Coloradans adopt healthy skin habits to care for our skin year-round.

As the weather gets cooler, we turn on our furnaces and prepare for the cold, dry winter months. is drier weather and lack of humidity can wreak havoc on our skin. ose with eczema or other dry skin conditions may notice that their skin worsens, and even those without a predilection to dry skin may notice the occasional dry crack or painful ssure. e best way to combat the dry weather is with good gentle skin care. Showers and bathing should be kept short and use lukewarm water, as either too hot or too cold can dry out the skin. I recommend using a gentle hydrating cleanser that is free of harsh soap that can strip the skin of its natural oils and moisture. e most important step is to moisturize every day, sometimes multiple times daily if necessary. Choose a thicker cream or ointment-based moisturizer over a lotion, as these will be more hydrating. Apply immediately after a bath or shower while your skin is still damp to lock in the moisture.

You may even want to consider running a humidi er in your bedroom at night, as this can also help to improve skin hydration. Applying petroleum jelly to ngertips and cuticles can also be helpful for those who struggle with brittle nails or ngertip splitting.

Although most Coloradans may not be thinking about their sun exposure as much during the winter months, it is a great time to remind ourselves of the risks of skin cancer as we prepare to hit the slopes.

It’s important to remember that Colorado’s higher elevation and our love of outdoor activities means Coloradans are exposed to a higher UV incidence than the rest of the country.

Although it may not seem as sunny, it is still just as important to use our sunscreen when skiing and enjoying other outdoor winter activities. Choose a sunscreen that is SPF 30 or higher and make sure to reapply every two hours while hitting the slopes, and don’t forget to use a lip balm with SPF in it as well.

After getting home from a fun day in the snow, it may also be a good time to get into the habit of using a nightly retinoid. Retinoids are helpful in reducing wrinkles and ne lines, as well as improving overall skin tone, preventing pores from clogging, and helping to combat some of the skin aging e ects from chronic sun exposure. Side e ects of retinoids can be redness, irritation, and sun sensitivity, so it’s always a good idea to start with the lowest strength initially and work your way up. Starting slowly (only a few nights per week) and using a good moisturizer can help to mitigate these side e ects. And don’t forget to continue to use your sun protection during the day.

While November reminds us of the importance of healthy skin, let’s make skin care a year-round habit.

Dr. Adam Vaudreuil is dermatologist at Vanguard Skin Specialists, with eight locations in Colorado, including Castle Rock and Parker.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Spaghetti dinner a big success

e city of Fort Lupton held its annual spaghetti dinner at the start of the school year to help raise money for school supplies for Weld Re-8 School District. About 300 people enjoyed a complete spaghetti dinner, courtesy of Wholly Stromboli, and bid on items ranging from $20 to $200. e dinner raised $4,886.

We want to thank the donors and sponsors who made this possible: Aims Community College - Fort Lupton campus, OZY Zero In, Basalite, Bank of Colorado, United Power, Whipsaw Liquor, Collision Brewing, the Lincoln Family, North Range Behavioral Health, Platte Valley Medical Center, Little Caesars Pizza, Wholly Stromboli, and a special thank you to the community who showed up to the event. e supplies have been purchased and distributed to all schools of Weld Re-8 School District, and students received the donation with a smile on their faces. is truly could not have been possible without the support of the community. Our most sincere appreciation to everyone. Gaby Rivera,

Weld Re-8 School District

The spirit and reality of Santa Claus

Last week I happened to catch an article about our Generation Z population regarding Santa Claus. e Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary de nes Generation Z as “ e generation of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.” e message was based on interviews with a few people from that generation and their belief in Christmas, or primarily their belief or disbelief in Santa Claus. e few people that were interviewed expressed their opinion that they would not raise their children to believe in some chubby Christmas elf called Santa Claus. ey were not willing to lie to their children about some mystery man who went to each home delivering presents, and they were certainly not going to sign the label on the gift “From: Santa Claus.” e questions that popped into my head were about how they may have been raised. Did they enjoy the mystery of Santa Claus? Were their gifts signed, “From: Santa Claus?” And if so, where, and how did they become disillusioned? is isn’t the rst time someone, or a group, has tried to cancel Santa Claus. For some reason they just feel like sharing the mystery of Santa Claus is a lie that shouldn’t be perpetuated. So now I feel it’s time to help defend jolly old Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Santa Claus against those who wish to see his name and the tradition disappear. e origin of Santa Claus stems from a monk who was from what is now modern-day Turkey known as Saint Nicholas in A.D. 280. Saint Nicholas was known as the saint who watched over children. It is also said that he gave away his wealth and helped the poor and sick. So indeed, there was a real Saint Nicholas. And over all these hundreds of years, the spirit of Saint Nicholas has continued to grow the tradition of giving, helping, and giving hope to one another. e season between anksgiving and Christmas is the greatest time for giving, during this time we see the spirit of abundance everywhere.

I have such great admiration for all those volunteers who represent the Salvation Army, ringing their bell as they help drive donations to an amazing organization. Do we want to cancel those volunteer Santa Clauses too? at would be an absolute shame. And a huge shout out to all of you who take your shifts being Santa and ringing in the Christmas spirit of giving, and doing it regardless of the weather, you are all awesome.

My guess is no one wants to intentionally lie to their children about a mysterious and magical Santa Claus. As I think back to how I raised my own children, we emphasized Santa Claus, we had them meet Santa Claus and get their pictures taken, they

wrote letters to Santa, and yes, we even left cookies and eggnog for jolly old Saint Nick. But we also spoke to the spirit of the season and what we WINNING could do for others. Maybe it was paying some utility bills for someone, WORDS donating money or time to the rescue mission, helping a neighbor who was in a di cult spot and couldn’t a ord gifts that year. e real reason for the season is obviously the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. May we never forget this, no matter the numerous attempts that try and commercialize the season or the day. And going back to our origiMichael Norton nal Saint Nicholas in A.D. 280, may we remember where the spirit of Santa Claus began, and may we do what we can to ensure that the spirit of Saint Nick lives on and in us all. How about you and your family? Is it all about the gifts and only the gifts? Or does the spirit of Santa Claus help you to embrace the season and the day with abundance, giving, helping, and providing hope to our family, friends, and those who need a hand up? I would love to hear your Santa Claus story at gotonorton@gmail. com, and when we can stop trying to cancel the spirit of Santa Claus, it really will be a better than good life.

people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.” e message was based on interviews with a few people from that generation and their belief in Christmas, or primarily their belief or disbelief in Santa Claus.

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.

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A legal newspaper of general circulation in Ft. Lupton, Colorado, Fort Lupton Press is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 143 S. 2nd Pl., Brighton CO 80601. . PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT Ft. Lupton and additional mailing o ces. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Fort Lupton Press, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110

to support migrants and asylum seekers, Hancock said. Denver Health is providing mobile medical services to migrants who need it, local churches are o ering beds space and volunteers to help provide shelter and nonpro ts are collecting donations for migrant families. Hundreds of Denver residents are donating clothing and other supplies, the mayor said. e emergency declaration will allow the city to free up and secure resources, and streamline certain processes, including funding and sheltering options, to help support migrants while they’re in Denver, as o cials work to reunify them with friends and family and get them to their nal destinations. e city has spent more than $800,000 since it started the emergenthe importance of healthy skin, let’s cy operations center to accommodate new arrivals. at cost includes payment to people working long hours at local shelters and other centers, and costs for food, clothing, security, sheltering and transportation to reuni cation, Hancock said. e city is using money from its general fund and it is seeking federal reimbursement to help cover the costs, o cials have said.

Approximately 600 migrants have arrived in Denver over the past several months, including nearly 400 who came within the past couple of weeks, prompting the opening of the two emergency shelters.

In addition to the second emergency shelter, Denver has designated a third recreation center to serve as a reception center for newly arriving migrants, where they can access emergency shelter and/or receive reuni cation assistance.

As of Dec. 14, 271 migrants were being housed at the city’s emergency shelters, 48 had been relocated to a church-run shelter and 52 new arrivals spent the night at local homeless shelters. Another 35 people left the city’s emergency shelter with plans to reunite with loved ones, the city said Wednesday in a news release. e city opened its rst emergency shelter for migrants at a recreation center on Dec. 6.

Denver is a so-called sanctuary city and county, meaning it doesn’t cooperate with federal immigration o cials in attempts to deport residents living in the city without legal documentation.

Denver leaders said they did not know why the city suddenly became a draw for migrants. But Hancock on ursday said political and economic struggles in countries like Venezuela are driving the current waves of migration. ere had been speculation that the migrants had been sent to Denver by another state’s governor, similar to recent moves by governors in Texas, Florida and Arizona to transport migrants to Democrat-led states, on the claim they should share in the expense of managing the costs of immigration. But Denver leaders said last week they had found no evidence that happened here.

Instead, the city leaders said, some of the 120 migrants who arrived in Denver earlier this month used social media to plan the trip themselves.

Most are from Central and South America. e group includes young adults in their 20s and 30s and a few children. As many as 90 arrived on a bus, and city o cials are still trying to determine where it originated. e city is arranging transportation for migrants who had planned to stop in Denver but did not intend to make it their nal destination, said Mimi Scheuermann, CEO of Denver Human Services. She said ursday that bad weather has complicated some of those trips.

City leaders have established a drop-o location for donated items at Iglesia Ciudad de Dios located at 5255 W. Warren Ave. in Denver. e church will accept donations on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hats, gloves, scarves, boots, coats (men’s small and medium and women’s medium), pants (waist 30 to 33), socks, underwear and children’s clothing for kids age 10 and younger are urgently needed.

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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DUNNING Randolph (Randy) Scott Dunning

September 30, 1946 - December 10, 2022 Graveside services for Randy Dunning will be held at the Holly Cemetery in Holly, Colorado on ursday, December 15, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Paul Floyd o ciating. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel in Holly. Randolph Scott Dunning, known a ectionately as Randy, was born on September 30, 1946, in Denver, Colorado. On Saturday, December 10, 2022, our muchbeloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, and friend to many passed away at 76 years of age after ghting a courageous battle with Parkinson’s. Randy was surrounded by love, prayers, and family. Randy was the son of Guy O. and Doris (Pinkerton) Dunning and grew up on a farm north of Commerce City, CO. He was a 10-year member of 4-H in Adams County where he was a member of the County Livestock Judging Team for four years. Randy graduated from Adams City High School in 1965 and attended Lamar Jr. College (participating in the Livestock Judging Team under James “Red” Heath), Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and Sul Ross University. Randy married Delaine Seufer November 26, 1970. ey lived in Idaho Springs, CO where Randy worked for Harrison Western Mining Company then moved to Holly to farm and ranch. In 1985, Randy worked as an appraiser for Prowers County Assessor’s O ce and in 1987, Randy became a contractor for the State of Colorado to audit County Assessor O ces in 18 eastern Colorado counties and continued this until 2005. He then worked at Colorado Beef until his retirement. Randy was a dedicated citizen participating in several community organizations including Lamar Community College Council, Vice-Chair 1985-87; Prowers County RE-3 (Holly) School Board 1979-87; Colorado State Council for Vocational Education 1984-87 and Committee Chair of Education and Annual Report Committee 1985-87; Colorado Commission for Higher Education Task Force Committee 1985; State Board of Community College and Occupational Education; Vocational Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee; Colorado State Board of Education Joint Task Force, Colorado Young Farmers Education Association, President 1982, Secretary 1981, SE Vice President 1980; National Young Farmers Education Association, 1979 Life Charter Member; Colorado Cattlemen Association, member; and served on the Prowers County Planning Commission 2007-15. His grandkids were the light of his world and Randy loved watching all the sporting activities they excel in. Randy will always be remembered for his quick wit, numerically savvy math skills, and great laughter. Randy is survived by his wife, Delaine; son, Brian; daughter-in-law, Rachel; grandchildren, Sydney and Jacob; sisters, Debra Young and elma Auternrieth; and brothers, Guy O. Dunning II and Charles Dunning; as well as many nieces and nephews. Randy is preceded in death by his parents, Guy O. and Doris Dunning, and nephew Guy O. Dunning III. Our family would like to thank Lamar Area Hospice for their tremendous kindness and assistance. In lieu of owers, donations can be made in Randy’s memory to Lamar Area Hospice, P.O. Box 843, Lamar, Colorado 81052 or Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, 1325 S. Colorado Blvd, Suite #2048, Denver, Colorado 80222, in care of Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 950, Lamar, Colorado 81052. To leave online condolences, please visit www. valleymemorialfc.com.

– with another on the way; Juniper is pregnant – live on the McIntosh’s dairy farm in Brighton.

And although you will never see them on a rooftop, you might have seen them out in public this holiday season, behind a fence at a shopping mall or at a holiday event with an educational display about the mysterious and magical species.

“When showing the reindeer, adults and kids ask questions about them, and we tell them fun and interesting facts about reindeer,” David McIntosh said.

“ ere is nothing like the excitement about reindeer and the lore of reindeer. ey feel very mythical when you see kids come to these events to see the reindeer. We get to partake in giving a piece of Christmas excitement, joy and magic to the people around us,” Kayla McIntosh said.

Reindeer are, in fact, a real species.

In North America, they are known as caribou. Caribou and reindeer are the same species, but reindeer hail from Europe and have been domesticated for some 6,000 years. North American caribou have never been domesticated and tend to be a bit bigger.

And while they don’t y, McIntosh has a perfectly good explanation, cribbed from a friend and fellow breeder Chris Jessen of Loveland.

“My Reindeer are the ‘B’ team so when Santa’s Reindeer get tired they are dropped o here. We take care of them for a while and Santa uses my reindeer for a little bit,” he said.

Reindeer, a labor of love

e trio of reindeer lives alongside McIntosh’s other hooved animals. A fth-generation dairy farmer, he owns the McIntosh Dairy in Brighton, which has been in operation since 1906, providing milk from their 600 cows for much of the metro area.

While cows are their livelihood, the McIntosh family always been interested in raising other farm animals.

“We have been agriculture all our lives. My family has been into caring for all kinds of animals and doing the best they can for them. My grandpa liked llamas, and he raised llamas in his pen,” McIntosh said.

When his grandpa passed away, McIntosh’s dad took over the pen and raised elk. When his dad moved to another property, McIntosh took over his elk pen.

David had been curious about reindeer since he was a little boy but began researching them earnestly about eight years ago.

“I researched if you could actually have reindeer in the lower 48 and also to see some people with reindeer,” he said. “For the most part, they were so few and far between, I didn’t really think they actually raised reindeer down here.”

David said he wanted to know if it was feasible and e ective to raise them and to ensure a good quality of life, to keep them happy on his farm.

“I got in contact with lots of people in other states. ere is a whole reindeer community throughout the U.S.,” he said. “I learned how to best take care of some health problems and to watch out for other health problems to raise them at their happiest and healthiest they can be.”

e Macintosh’s reindeer halfsisters Juniper and Cranberry came from the Jessen ranch in Loveland. And Khristoph comes from a South Jordan ranch in Utah.

“ e European species, the reindeer have been domesticated – depending on which article you read – for about 6,000 years and have been domesticated longer than horses and canines,” David said. “ ey have found cave paintings they have been domesticated for that long, pulling sleighs and helping the northern Europeans.”

Reindeer come from Lapland, in the extreme northern part of Finland bordering Norway, Sweden, Russia and the Baltic Sea. Only the Laplandnative Sami people kept the animals domesticated, with herds of thousands moving between Scandinavian pastures.

“In 1890 the U.S. government imported the rst domestic reindeer from Europe to the Inuit tribes of Alaska to trade for land,” McIntosh said. “ e caribou herds there bred with the reindeer. “

His small herd is a mix of the two, and there are di erences beyond size, he said.

“ e North American reindeer is mostly reindeer with a few caribou genes. My bull has caribou, with his larger body and longer face,” McIntosh said.

“ ere is a big di erence between reindeer and caribou. A herd of caribou will stick together, and are very diligent to their hierarchy, and staying in big herds,” McIntosh said. “ e reindeer will grow in small groups, but those small groups will change if a couple of caribou get into a reindeer herd.” e Sami people kept the herd size under control by eating them, McIntosh said. at’s not the case with his herd.

“In the United States we don’t eat them, they are my family,” he said. “We bring them to events for children to see them and learn about how amazing the reindeer are.”

He notes that, although they are not magical creatures, they do have some peculiar adaptations that other animals do not.

“ ey are the only mammal that can see in ultraviolet light,” McIntosh said.

Wild herds rare

And while there are wild caribou in Canada and beyond north, they don’t exist in the continental U.S.

Kayla McIntosh said there are no wild herds of reindeer caribou in the lower 48. e native Kalispel tribe in Washington state has been trying to reintroduce them, however.

Reindeer grows the largest, heaviest antlers of any species of deer, she said. Both males and females have antlers and yearlings usually grow their rst set of small two-prong antlers three months after birth.

“Khristoph, when he was a year old, grew his rst set of antlers,” she said. “And after a year, the antlers dropped and he grew another set of even larger antlers, with up to 50 points.”

Bulls lose their antlers every year, growing a new pair with a velvet nish, McIntosh said. at’s why they rub their antlers on trees or fences, scraping o the velvet and leaving the hard antler underneath,” she said.

Having antlers does determine their rank in the herd, she said. Khristoph, with his huge antlers, is dominant now. But once they drop, Juniper and Cranberry will be back in charge.

“It’s natural in the wild that the female becomes dominant in the winter when food is scarce and hard to nd,” he said. “ ey must defend their food from the bull, because they are growing a baby.

“ e bull does not need that much food but can starve nding their own food,” he said. “ e female will also take whatever food the bull has to feed the baby in their bellies, and they can be feisty.”

David McIntosh with his Reindeer at Denver Premium Outlets a few weekends ago.

PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD

The mighty Kristoph with the giant antlers. His magnifi cent antlers currently make him the leader of his small herd. He’ll lose them soon, and will be less dominant until they grow back.

World champion athlete redefi nes ‘trailblazer’

Arvada duathlete Carol Whipple claims gold in Romania

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

By day, Arvada’s Carol Whipple is a project manager for the National Park Service.

When she’s not handling those responsibilities, she’s a pretty good duathlete, a sport that combines two segments of running sandwiched around bicycling. She’s done that for 25 years and recently won an international title. She’s nished in the top 10 at world championships.

In 2021, she won a bronze medal in the spring duathlon and a gold medal in cross duathlon.

If you add it all up, Whipple has competed in more than 20 world championships in 13 countries.

Trailblazer #1

Whipple said she’s been athletic, starting o in elementary school.

“We had eld day competitions and the president’s tness test,” she said. “I would usually be among the fastest and most t in my class.”

Title IX was in its beginning phases when Whipple got into high school. Cross-country for girls wasn’t an option then.

“Since I loved to run, I gathered up my courage along with several other girls and approached the boys’ cross country coach about having a girls’ team,” she said. “He wasn’t too thrilled but agreed, requiring us to do the same workouts as the boys. Finding comparable girls cross country meets were few and far between as there were only a handful of girls’ high-school teams around the state.”

Her girls team entered the boys junior varsity meets. Whipple said the girls squad nished in the top half of the eld. At the end of the season, she participated in her rst “pioneer role” experience; her team won the rst-ever state girls cross country title and, she said, “won the coach over. He was really proud.” at fall, two members of that team entered the Seattle Marathon. ere were four women in the eld.

“Marathoning was just beginning to become popular, but women running them was rare. It had just been a couple years, at that point, that there were actually ‘o cial’ women’s divisions,” Whipple said. “Nationally, there were approximately only 50 or less of us that competed in a marathon.”

It wasn’t her “favorite distance,” but Whipple quali ed for the rst women’s Olympic marathon trials in 1984. She started duathlon competitions in the late 1990s. She won the rst Colorado State Games duathlon and quali ed for her rst USA Triathlon and competed with the national team at the world championships.

Training regimen

Whipple and her coach developed a training plan several months in advance of the world championships. O season work is slower and longer running sessions and miles on the bike for endurance. In the spring, she adds “speed intervals” and starts racing two or so times a month. It totals about 10 to 15 hours a week.

“As I’m still racing the sprint duathlon distance, I vary up my cycling workouts between the road and mountain bikes,” she said. “While Colorado is ideal for cross-duathlon training, with so many nearby trails, I do mix it up and train out of state to get experience with different types of terrain.”

Her strength in cross duathlon comes from a running background.

“I have really taken to the ‘cross country’ o -road trail running, the courses that feature steep descending and climbing in addition to log and stream obstacles. ese are the most fun,” she said. “On the mountain bike sections, I enjoy the mental focus of reading the trails and riding over di erent types of terrain. In racing, however, one of my strengths has always been to have a very e cient and fast transition from run to bike and from bike to run. is is where a race can be won or lost. Precious seconds can mean the di erence.”

Whipple said it’s important to build skill levels on all types of terrain. For her preparations for the world championships and other races, she said it’s important to get out and either run or ride the course as many times as possible before the actual race.

“ at way you have the equipment (shoes, tires) for the conditions, you know where the most challenging sections are (roots, rocks, drop-o s, switchbacks, etc) and how you’re going to ride it,” Whipple said. “Visualization is key, including keeping mentally focused in the race. It takes the most e ort.”

Trailblazer .. a few years later

“Duathlon race distances range from the shorter 5K run/30K bike/5K run format to the standard Olympic distance of 10k run, 40K bike, 5K run and longer distances equal to that of a half-Ironman (13.1K run, 70K bike, 10K run),” she said. “I’ve competed at all distances for Team USA.”

To qualify for the national team, athletes have to nish in the top six of their age groups at the national championships.

Whipple won the world championship in cross duathlon race earlier this year in Romania. She quali ed for the world sprint duathlon in that country when she received an invitation to compete in cross duathlon at the World Multisport Championships

“I was intrigued by the challenge of learning new skills, training and preparing for this inaugural race,” she

Carol Whipple

SEE WHIPPLE, P16

Arvada school closure to impact Bluedevils football

BY STEVE SMITH AND RYLEE DUNN SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA AND RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA

e recent announcement that Faith Christian Academy will close at the end of this school year may cause some athletic scheduling issues for its opponents, including Fort Lupton High School.

FCA is closing because of mounting debt, according to school Superintendent Andrew Hasz and the Rev. Jason King. ey announced the news in a video message to families.

Grace Church of Arvada acquired the school for $12 million and plans to open the school for the 2023 school year under a new name, according to the Rev, Rick Long with Grace Church. ere will be a new leadership team too. e Bluedevils and FCA were in the same football conference this season. e two teams played in the last game of the season.

“I have seen that, too,” said FLHS Athletic Director Richard Jacoby. “I also read they are being bought out and will reopen under a di erent name in 2022-2023. Hopefully, they will have a team. If not, we will discuss, as a league this spring, on the appropriate approach.” e 2022-23 school year is the second year of a two-year league alignment cycle for high-school sports teams. Schools schedule home-home games during a given cycle, both with out-of-conference opponents and those within the same athletic conference.

Football teams often play in di erent conferences from other sports. e Colorado High School Activities Association allows a separate enrollment count – with lower enrollment gures than, say, basketball or baseball – for the schools that play football.

Financial woes

Faith Christian Academy celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021 but mounting nancial woes had been plaguing the church over the past two decades, according to King’s comments in the video message to families, posted to YouTube on Nov. 18. e ministry’s K-8 school started in Denver in 1971, with the high school opening the following year.

In an interview with the Arvada Press last year, Hasz said the school’s total K-12 enrollment was “a little under 850,” a gure he said was up 100 from the previous school year. Hasz said his father, Martin, founded the school with the goal “to have a school where the focus on God could be central and students would be encouraged to have a personal relationship with Jesus.”

Faith also has been embroiled in a number of high-pro le lawsuits, including a racial discrimination suit led by former teacher Gregg Tucker and a suit led by FCA against the Je erson County Public Health Department over the department’s COVID-19 protocols. e discrimination suit is ongoing after the 10th Circuit Court declined to review it en banc, while JCPH was granted an injunction in the COVID lawsuit.

Long said that he was a parent at Faith Christian when Tucker was red and that he was aware of FCA’s lawsuits, stating that Grace Church’s legal team would be “investigating every single detail” of the events that begat the legal proceedings.

“When we launch, with whoever we launch with, we’ll be sure it’s exactly the standards and ideals of Grace Church,” Long said. “We pull no punches with how we operate as a ministry.”

Balloon payment

In the video, King said that between 1991 and 2000, FCA took out a $6.8 million loan to purchase its Carr Street campus. In 2002, Faith took out an additional $14.2 million to nance the building of its worship center.

In 2014, the ministry converted the interest-only load to a conventional load, and by 2017, the ministry had only paid o about $1.4 million, leaving Faith with a debt of $19 million. At that point, the ministry began working to cut its overhead, with King stating that they were “led of the Lord.”

“ e Board of Elders felt that the Lord was leading us to make some decisions that were di cult, but we truly believe they were led of the Lord,” King — who became Faith’s pastor in 2017 — said. “From day one decided, we’re going to live between our means, we’re going to trim the fat, we’re going to restructure, we’re going to run lean and run hard.”

King said that Faith has paid down $4 million of the $19 million-dollar debt. Nevertheless, with a looming $7 million balloon payment due in June, the ministry’s Board of Elders unanimously decided to sell the Carr Street property to Grace Church, which is led by the Rev. Rick Long. King called the move a “Kingdom Transaction” that would improve Faith’s K-8.

“In a chain of events that can only be attributed to the leading of God, Faith Church and Grace Church became the answer to each other’s prayers,” King said. “Please know, this decision was not made lightly. With this Kingdom Transaction, it will signi cantly reduce our debt and allow us to come closer to fully walking out God’s call and purpose for us as a ministry.”

Thu 12/22

A Winter's Eve with Megan Burtt and Sturtz at eTown

@ 6pm eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St, Boulder

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Elf: The Musical @ 7pm / $10-$25 The LoCol Theatre, 800 South Hover Road, Longmont

Fri 12/23

Featured

Christkindlmarket Countdown @ 11am Denver Christkindlmarket, 101 West 14th Avenue, Denver. events@gacc-co.org, 720-6298708

Featured

Fireside Serenade With Vio The Violinist @ 2:30pm Anythink Commerce City Library, 7185 Monaco Street, Commerce City. rcardenas@anythinkli braries.org, 303-287-0063

@ 6pm The Bluegrass - Candelas, 18068 W 92nd Ln #400, Arvada Featured

Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers @ 7pm / $22-$3970 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Beauty And The Beast

@ 7:30pm Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Ar‐vada

Sat 12/24

Mean Girls

@ 2pm Buell Theatre, 1031 13th St., Denver

Sun 12/25

Christmas Jingle Run 5K/10K/13.1 VR Denver

@ 5am / $6-$40 Dec 25th - Jan 1st Anywhere USA, Denver

Featured

Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns @ 8:30pm / $42-$6705 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Mon 12/26

The Immersive Nutcracker Denver

@ 1:30pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Den‐ver

Denver

@ 6pm Verse, 500 16th St Mall, Denver

Tue 12/27

Basketball "Warm Up" Camp - BR

@ 3:30pm Dec 27th - Dec 28th Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760 Featured

Drop in Tech Help @ 5:30pm College Hill Library, 3705 West 112th Avenue, Westminster. wpl-in touch@cityofwestminster.us, 303658-2303

Wed 12/28

Volleyball camp

@ 12:30am Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Featured

Birds of Winter Camp @ 9am / $138 Dec 28th - Dec 30th Bird Conservancy's Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton. 303-6594348 ext. 53

Holiday Snowshoe

@ 4pm Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Wii Bowling 12/28

@ 5pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Lost World of Genghis Khan (12/28)

@ 5pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Ryan Hutchens at ALOFT Broom�eld

@ 6pm Aloft Broom�eld Denver, 8300 Arista Pl, Broom�eld

Thu 12/29

Basketball "Warm Up" Camp - EP

@ 3:30pm Dec 29th - Dec 30th Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 East Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Featured

DJI Robomaster: An Introduction @ 4pm Anythink Wright Farms, 5877 East 120th Avenue, Thornton. mhibben @anythinklibraries.org, 303-4053200

Featured

KGNU Presents: WhiteWater Ramble @ Nissi's @ 6:30pm Nissi's Entertainment Venue & Event Center, 1455 Coal Creek Dr unit t, Lafayette

Featured

Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings @ 7pm / $84-$999 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Solution

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

TRIVIA

1. TELEVISION: What is the primary setting of the Netfl ix series “Bridgerton”? 2. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the Republic of Maldives located? 3. LITERATURE: What is the subject of Walt Whitman’s poem “O Captain! My Captain!”? 4. LANGUAGE: What is the third letter of the Greek alphabet? 5. HISTORY: When was the last time the Liberty Bell rang in Philadelphia? 6. MOVIES: What was Henry Fonda’s jury number in “12 Angry Men”? 7. MATH: What is a heptahedron? 8. BUSINESS: In what year did McDonald’s introduce the Big Mac to all of its customers?

9. U.S. PRESIDENTS:

Which president tried to ban Christmas trees from the White House?

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM:

What do bees collect from fl owers and use to make honey?

Answers

1. London, England.

2. Indian Ocean.

3. The death of President Abraham Lincoln.

4. Gamma.

5. 1846.

6. Juror No. 8.

7. A polyhedron with seven faces.

8. 1968.

9. Theodore Roosevelt.

10. Nectar.

(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.