Lochbuie Centenarian turns 100-years old

BY JESSE PAUL AND ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

When a group of Colorado lawmakers in 2020 sought to end the state’s statute of limitations for lawsuits in child sex assault cases, some victims and victims’ advocates wanted them to try to go even further.

eir request was that Colorado give victims of abuse for whom the statute of limitations had expired a window to sue not only their abusers, but also organizations that shielded the perpetrators or negligently allowed the abuse to continue.

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lochbuie’s Betty Martin, a former City Clerk for Commerce City, retired some ten years ago. is month, she marks another milestone – her 100th birthday.

Martin is scheduled to celebrate her 100th birthday July 9 with a birthday soiree hosted by her family at Chilis in Brighton. Her actual birthday is July 17.

Martin’s daughter Nan Johnson said her Mom loved to work and did jobs across the country. e family nally convinced her to stop when she turned 90.

“She worked with attorneys, did police work and worked in politics. She enjoyed that kind of work until she was 90, “ said her daughter Nan Johnson.

Martin grew up in Benson, Minnesota but moved to New York City after graduating high school. She went to secretarial school and found work as a secretary, worked her way up to legal secretary writing legal documents for an attorney.

“She met my dad in Brooklyn, New York in 1944 and then came to Colorado in 1946,” Johnson said. “I was born in 1947.”

Johnson said after her father died, Martin went to work in Estes Park for the police department and also did some work for the Stanley Hotel.

“It was when Stephen King came to the Stanley Hotel and was signing autographs for the book ‘ e Shining,’” Johnson said.

Nan said her mom later married e nonpartisan O ce of Legislative Legal Services, which o ers state lawmakers legal advice, said such a window would violate the state’s constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from reviving a claim for which the statute of limitations has run out. It turns out that opinion held merit. e Colorado Supreme Court last week struck down the part of Senate Bill 88, a law passed by the legislature in 2021, giving victims of child sex abuse dating back to the 1960s a three-year window starting on Jan. 1, 2022, to le lawsuits against their abusers and the institutions or organizations that failed to stop the abuse. e high court’s decision was unanimous. ere were many concerns about

Signing up for Citywide yard sale e city’s annual Citywide Yard Sale is on July 7 & 8.

If residents are interested in hosting a yard sale at your property and would like to be included on the City map for the event, they should submit their information by June 26 online at https://forms.gle/zx52bfmjXCks37NP9

Event maps will be available online at https://www.fortluptonco. gov/556/Citywide-Yard-Sale, in the Fort Lupton Press and shared on social media.

Lawnmower manufacturer Toro o ers greenspace grants e Toro Company is pleased to announce this year’s Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program, open to qualifying nonpro ts in Longmont and surrounding communities within 40 miles of the city.

As part of e Toro Company’s Land. Water. rive. initiative, the Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program provides funding opportunities for qualifying nonpro ts to revitalize and preserve the outdoor spaces in their communities.

Grant support in previous years has gone towards building neighborhood gardens focused on sus- tainable agriculture, transforming neglected park spaces and playgrounds, and educating communities on the importance of water conservation – among other projects. Public greenspaces provide a signi cant environmental and social value to the community, which is why e Toro Company is dedicated to helping organizations cultivate beautiful and functional outdoor environments to enjoy.

Qualifying organizations for this program must be located within 40 miles of e Toro Company location. Applications must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. (CDT) on July 31 for the Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program. For more details and to apply, visit https://www.thetorocompany.com/toro-community.

GOCO grant to help Weld County anglers e Great Outdoors Colorado board awarded the grant to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and United Way of Weld County through the United Way’s Housing Navigation Center. e grant is part of the Director’s Innovation Fund, a partnership between Great Outdoors Colorado and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to create a funding source for one-time projects that would not otherwise receive funding from either organization. e Housing Navigation Center helps its unhoused people get back into and keep housing. e current grant will cover the cost of annual shing licenses and shing gear as well as programming through CPW’s Angler Education Program for 300 Weld County residents over the next three years. It’s designed to help the unhoused or county residents that are at-risk and do not have su cient nancial means to pay for shing licenses and gear.

A $23,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado will be used to help 300 Weld County residents get shing licenses and shing gear over the next three years.

Platte Valley Medical Center earns recognition for breastfeeding program e initiatives are part of the state’s work to promote healthy eating and active living to reduce rates of death and disease from chronic illness among Coloradans.

Platte Valley Medical Center is one of 45 hospitals recognized by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for e orts to promote breastfeeding and o er healthier food and beverage options through the Colorado Healthy Hospital Compact and Colorado BabyFriendly Hospital Collaborative.

Platte Valley was recognized at the Gold Level for the Healthy Hospital Compact.

Learn more about the Colorado Healthy Hospital Compact and the Colorado Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative at cdphe.colorado.gov/ colorado-healthy-hospital-compact and at BreastfeedColorado.com.

Farm to Market tickets on sale

Tickets for Farm to Table, a fundraising event for the Platte Valley Medical Foundation scheduled for Aug. 17 are on sale now. e Foundation’s biennial fundraising campaign will bene t women’s health services to help women connect with the care they need throughout their adult years and to support area women who do not always prioritize their own health needs. e foundation hopes to raise $500,000 in the campaign cycle. ey conduct multiple fundraising e orts annually with Farm to Table as the largest event.

Farm to Table will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 on the hospital campus. Platte Valley Medical Center’s Chef Mike