Basketball adjustments top CHSAA Legislative Council meeting

BY STEVE SMITH SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

AURORA - e second of two decision-making meetings from the Colorado High School Activities Association’s legislative council gures to include a lot of talk about basketball, softball rosters and classi cation alignments.

e meeting begins at 9 a.m. April 18, at the Douglas County School District Legacy Campus, 10035 S. Peoria St., Lone Tree.

Basketball

High-school basketball added an extra classi cation this season. It also meant stu ng three classi cations of state playo games into the Denver Coliseum over the span of two weeks last month. e result was

A publication of

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To subscribe call 303-566-4100 e Continental League is proposing to allow class 6A teams (the schools with the highest enrollments) the chance to move playo games - starting in the quarternal round - to the schools with the highest seed. If approved, the schools could play the games on Friday nights or Saturdays. Or, if the school doesn’t meet capacity requirements, they would have to choose and organize an o -site location. e agenda said the current socalled “Great 8” schedule put too many games in the Coliseum over those three days.

8:45 a.m. start times on some occasions and 9 p.m. nightcap games as well. Some games took place on school days.

“ ese 24 games put CHSAA in

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

SCOTT TAYLOR Metro North Editor staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com

BELEN WARD Community Editor bward@coloradocommunitymedia.com di cult situations with schools and communities,” the council’s agenda said “With 6A opting out of the Coliseum games, it will open up time and space for games to be more appropriately scheduled.” ose in favor say it cuts down the number of morning and midday games on school days, and it means less time out of class for the athletes and students who are in attendance. It also would lead to a reduced workload for CHSAA in terms of event planning and hiring game workers. e down side, said the agenda, is schools needing to nd o -site locations if that’s necessary. e nancial impact could be good for CHSAA. e venues are free, and more games at separate locations mean more revenue.

STEVE SMITH Sports Editor ssmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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CHSAA won’t need to hire as many game workers, said the agenda, and there won’t be parking fees. In other basketball business e Denver Prep League wants to let members of high-school teams compete on other teams, in other school activities or events in that sport during the sport’s formal sports season with the approval of the principal. e permission is dependent on any impact on the student’s class attendance and the student’s academic standing. e exception is participants on speci c sports teams that aren’t part of the school, such as club teams. ose athletes would not be able to compete for their school if

SEE MEETING, P9

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Warm Hearts Warm Babies serves hospitals, agencies across Colorado

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Surrounded by colorful fabric patterns, handmade baby items and frequent laughter, volunteers of the Warm Hearts Warm Babies nonpro t went to work on a Friday morning to put together layettes for organizations who need them.

e nonpro t has a list of roughly 40 agencies it delivers items to throughout Colorado, said Kathleen Williams, the nonpro t’s grant coordinator. e list includes the Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Platte Valley Medical Center and Denver Medical Center.

“Warm Hearts is totally made up of volunteers,” said Sandi Powis, president of the board of directors. “Everyone’s volunteering with their heart and skills to make things for newborn (babies), preemies to help them get a good start in this world.”

Volunteers sew, knit, crochet and quilt items such as bibs, burp pads, jackets, hats and blankets. e items are assembled into a layette, which is a collection of clothing and accessories for newborn infants.

Each layette contains a quilt, two receiving blankets, bibs, burp pads, clothing and a goodie bag containing items such as a bottle, some diapers and a small toy. ese items are delivered in a handmade tote bag.

“All these items are made with love,” Powis said. “We don’t connect to the individuals personally. We deliver the layettes to hospitals, birthing centers, food banks — anyone that can help us help the newborn.” e nonpro t also o ers items for the neonatal intensive care units at hospitals in Colorado, such as positioning roles that are used to help support the infants.

A number of the mothers who receive these items are experiencing homelessness, sometimes living in shelters or in their cars, Williams said.

“We also provide clothing for babies that don’t survive, from tiny little babies to full-term babies,” Williams said. “We have clothing for them that we hand out at the hospitals.”

Included in those burial layettes is a cloth-made envelope intended for the parents to hold important items and memories, Powis said.

“It’s sad, but it’s so important,” Powis said. “And to know that a mom wouldn’t have to go out, or send her mom or her sister to go out and nd things for her precious one that has passed — that it can be given to them and that’s not a worry for them.”

How it began e nonpro t’s origin dates back to 1996, when a woman named Victoria Swain gave birth to a stillborn infant, according to the nonpro t’s website. e hospital she was at could not provide a blanket or clothes for her infant, prompt- ing Swain to look into how she could help donate these types of items.

After recruiting some volunteers and spending a few years working through a di erent organization called Newborns in Need, in 2000, Swain and the other board members decided to create their own nonpro t: Warm Hearts Warm Babies.

Powis estimated the nonpro t currently has about 200 volunteers and 12 work groups throughout the state including in Arvada, Brighton, Littleton and ornton.

Powis is part of the work group in Conifer, where she lives. She joined the organization roughly six years ago.

“I’ve been doing things for babies for many years, donating to other groups, but they were all missing something. ere was no social connection with anyone else making things,” Powis said. “I found that they had a local organization up here in Conifer and it was like, that’s it — that’s one I can link up with. I can meet people right here in our community.”

Williams learned about the nonpro t through a quilt show, as representatives of the organization had a table at the event. Living in Aurora at the time, she initially joined the Aurora group. Since then, she has moved to Colorado Springs

SEE IN NEED, P9 not t Colorado’s current and future needs.

“(SB23-213) is drafted to provided 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