Highlands Ranch Herald 112422

Bicycle Colorado launches Greenhouse Gas Exchange tours

Highlights transit-oriented development

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For years, city officials and staff have been working to make traveling without a car easier in Lone

Tree — a strategy used to attract residents and jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The success it’s seen so far led to Bicycle Colorado, a nonprofit advocating for bicyclists, launching its series of “Greenhouse Gas Exchange Tours” in Lone Tree, highlighting the city’s transit-oriented developments.

Colorado has a statewide goal to

reduce 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% of the levels of emissions that existed in 2005, per House Bill 1261.

Transportation is the largest contributor to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Colorado Energy Office. Opting to use public transit, biking and/or walking instead of driving will help reduce transportation emissions,

the office reported.

“We’re really looking at our transportation holistically and trying to figure out: How do we build a transportation system that works for everyone, that’s really leading with multimodal solutions?” said Rachel Hultin, Bicycle Colorado’s director of sustainable transportation.

SEE TOURS, P6

School district plans for universal preschool

Early childhood programs to remain

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Ahead of the launch of statefunded universal pre-kindergarten in 2023-24, the Douglas County School District is working out its role in the new program.

Commissioners highlight ARPA designations

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In honor of the multi-generational impacts of public services to Douglas County, the annual State of the County address focused on the 20 years of partnership and the commissioners distribution of federal funds.

Douglas County Commissioners George Teal, Abe Laydon and Lora Thomas came together to speak about the intentions of the county’s $68.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, or ARPA, during the Nov. 16 event.

Teal said the ARPA funding decisions were based on five investment principles focused on ensuring a legacy benefit, responding to immediate needs, being forwardlooking, integrating board core priorities, avoiding duplication and leverage partnerships.

“These investment areas were informed by consultations with stakeholders, citizen in business community engagement, including live town meetings,” said Thomas.

Based on the investment principles, Douglas County has seven priority investment areas where ARPA funds will be distributed.

The largest investment is in water and wastewater with $35.7 million in allocated funds.

As wildfires are one of the biggest threats in Douglas County,

the first

During the Nov. 15 board meeting, the district staff gave a presentation covering some details of the universal pre-kindergarten program. Through its charters and early childhood programs, the district will be one of several pre-kindergarten providers participating.

“We are able to absolutely accommodate the 10 hours of free preschool for our 4-year-olds at,

public safety was

priority listed by the three commissioners who took turns speaking at the event held at the Denver Marriot in Lone Tree.

Kane honored by Colorado Parent Advocacy Network

Launch event draws big crowd

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County School District’s superintendent was honored as part of the launch event for the

SCHOOLS

FROM PAGE 1

very likely, but to be determined, no cost to our familes,” Deputy Superintendent Danelle Hiatt said.

Next school year, the Colorado Department of Education will fund at least 10 hours per week for 4-yearolds for one year of preschool. Under the program, the state is expected to provide 40% of the base pupil rate for each participating child. However, many details remain unfinalized.

Graham said many of the specifics regarding funding, number of hours and eligibility will be discussed at an upcoming state committee meeting on Nov. 21.

In the meantime, Hiatt said the district’s existing early childhood programs meet the requirements for universal pre-kindergarten and a new task force has been created to implement the first few years of programming and see where expansions are possible in the future.

new organization, Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, which opposes diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in schools. The group promotes parents’ rights and school choice.

During the Nov. 13 event at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, the group gave awards to a number of people for their “support in restoring parent voice in education,” including Douglas County Superin-

tendent Erin Kane.

Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, highlighted Kane’s work to improve communication in the district.

“Since Erin’s appointment in March of 2022, she has worked

ents, educators and the board of directors,” Gimelshteyn said. “Her commitment to implement and support high academic standards for all students to succeed on their individual pathways is a model for all superintendents in the state and across the nation.”

Other award winners include

of those 2,700 age-eligible students within the county given all of those options available for families to choose from,” Director of Early Childhood Education Lisa Graham said.

The enrollment process is planned to begin mid-January and Graham said interested families will apply through a universal application available through the local coordinating organization. The application system will match students with providers and families will then have to register their student with their provider.

point has been … in year one, not to significantly alter our preschool programming in the district,” Hiatt said.

“There are many variables right now that are unknown.”

A recent estimate from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood anticipates that between 2,400 and 2,700 Douglas County children will be eligible for universal pre-kindergarten. The program is voluntary for families.

childcare, with the program allowing any licensed childcare provider to opt-in.

Between the district’s early childhood education and before and after school enterprise programs, there is capacity to serve 1,192 students, with additional capacity available through charters.

“Currently, we are projected to be on par with being able to serve all

“Families will be able to select up to 10 of their preference providers and they will prioritize that list of providers according to their first, second, third choice and they’ll answer several questions within the system,” Graham explained.

“The system will generate a match between the families’ priorities and those providers.”

Hiatt and Graham said they would return to the board with updates as soon as the state finalized the details.

The Douglas County School District headquarters are located in Castle Rock. FILE PHOTO

Deborah and Jonathan Flora, who produced the film “Whose Children Are They?”; conservative radio host Kim Monson; Alexandra Campana, director of Center for 1776; Laureen Boll, a Colorado coordinator for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism; and Pam Benigno with the Independence Institute.

Around 250 people attended the event, including Douglas County school board members Mike Peterson, Christy Williams and Becky Meyers.

After the event, Kane said she hoped the award would signal to parents that the school district does not promote critical race theory, “woke curriculum or indoctrinating kids.”

“Douglas County is an amazing public school district, we have awesome school choice, we’re focusing on academic excellence, we’re not being political,” Kane said. “As you’ve heard me say many times, we’re not promoting woke curriculum or indoctrinating kids. I’m excited to get this award because I think it will help us show our families in Douglas County that we are not doing those things and we do stand apart.”

She added that she supports all parents participating in their child’s education.

“I am dedicated to empowering parent voice across our district for every family regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, identity, etc,” she said.

The event also featured a panel with Deborah Flora, Erec Smith with the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, and Cain Young, founder of Task Force Freedom. The panelists lambasted critical race theory, teachers’ unions and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, while encouraging parents to get involved.

Several questions the panel addressed focused on giving advice to parents who may be concerned about curriculum in their child’s classroom. In response to a question about why schools are assuming the role of parents, Flora blamed it on the spread of Marxism and the belief that children belong to the state.

“The good news is that’s not who we are, that’s not going to happen and we are not going to let them replace us,” she said. “We will step forward, with a smile on our face, and say those are not your children.”

Young went further in his response, saying schools are at war with parents and claiming that a lack of parent voice in education is akin to taxation without representation. Young then made a veiled reference to the Second Amendment in his answer.

“Pretty sure there was a big ‘ol giant war started about that. I didn’t say that out loud, FBI,” Young said.

“I’m just saying we have solutions. Our founding fathers gave us solutions to fight these people.”

Young and Flora later railed against schools for supporting trans students and suggested schools were encouraging students to transition.

Throughout the hour-long conversation, panelists also promoted individualism in education, the traditional family unit and school choice, such as homeschooling and charters.

While Kane said Douglas County schools aren’t political, she encouraged any parent with concerns to speak with teachers directly.

“One of my core values is to presume positive intent, so we always have to start there,” she said. “I think our parents and our teachers in Douglas County work together really well to make sure that our kids are getting the best education possible.”

Conversations are also at the heart of Kane’s plan to address the district’s equity policy, which involves engaging the community to learn what they want and don’t want from the policy. She said she plans to have more conversations with parents in Douglas County from all backgrounds as part of that process.

“The more you really listen to what differing sides are saying, I sometimes want to be like ‘you’re all saying the same thing,’” Kane said. “Nobody wants to lower expectations for any group of kids. Everyone wants us to take care of each and every child and help them reach their own individual potential. We want our kids to have the brightest futures possible.”

The district will begin hosting community conversations on the equity policy in January, Kane said.

Douglas County offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Many county services are available at DoItOnlineDouglas.com

Need help with home heating costs?

Eligible low-income households in Douglas County may apply for energy assistance through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) now through April 30, 2023. For more information or an application, please visit douglas.co.us and search for LEAP or email LEAPHELP@discovermygoodwill.org

Funds available to veterans

Emergency assistance is available for veterans struggling with housing (mortgage/rent), transportation, employment, healthcare or other emergency needs. To apply for the veteran assistance funds, visit douglasveterans.org or call 303-663-6200

Skip the trip - motor vehicle services just a click away

Renew your driver license or motor vehicle registration and more from the convenience of your smartphone, tablet, desktop or laptop. You can also renew vehicle registrations at MVExpress kiosks. Find information at DouglasDrives.com

Voting open for Art Encounters outdoor sculptures

26 sculptures are showcased throughout Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker and Roxborough. You’re invited to visit the sculpture locations and nominate your favorite for a People’s Choice Award by Jan. 31, 2023. For art locations, voting online and more, visit artencounters.douglas.co.us

December 6 is Colorado Gives Day

With more than 300 organizations serving Douglas County, there are plenty of choices for your Colorado Gives Day donation. No matter the size, your financial gift will help make a difference in our community. Visit dccf.org/givesday and donate to a local cause that matters to you.

Douglas County Superintendent Erin Kane received an award for restoring parent voice in education from the new organization, Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, which promotes parental rights in education.

PHOTO BY MCKENNA HARFORD

Education leaders discuss equity, injustice

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Making the education system equitable is no easy feat, but education leaders across Colorado continue to push for positive change and share the lessons they’ve learned in hopes of creating a more just system for future generations.

Four community leaders came together in early November for a panel discussion, “Equity, Educators and Workforce Transformation,” held at the Lone Tree Arts Center.

The panel was part of a series, “Changing the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity — Conversations for One America,” presented by the nonprofit Colorado Humanities, one of 56 humanities councils across the U.S. that receive funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities.

“Each panelist brings a very specific background and skill set, and they all work in different sectors of education,” said LaNaya Butler, the conversations programs coordinator at Colorado Humanities. “I feel that everyone (is) working to fix issues in their respective areas.”

The hour-long conversation, moderated by Executive Director Janiece Mackey of the nonprofit Young Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism (YAAS-

— and need — for change.

What drew the panelists to education

One of the reasons Rosanne Fulton, the director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Northern Colorado, was drawn to a career in education was because she grew up very poor, and in the classroom, she found there were opportunities for people.

Tim Hernández, a teacher who gained media attention earlier this year when his contract was not renewed at Denver’s North High School, grew up in the kinship foster care system in Colorado, going to seven schools in seven years.

As a young person, he realized education is one of the only sustainable systems for people who “exist in systems that are designed to be unsustainable for them.”

and partnerships for the nonprofit YAASPA, had with her parents about the injustice they received from their teachers brought her to the field, wanting to ensure no other students endure the racism her parents felt.

Natalie Lewis, the vice president of leader development at DSST Public Schools, was pulled by a desire to help her community and teach young people the legacies they come from, and not the stories they are often told in schools.

The value of love

When asked what values they bring to education, Lewis said a belief in leadership and love.

“I think the charge in education is to ensure that all know that love exists across and within different communities,” Lewis said.

Trinidad reflected on how she displays love, saying, “It’s being humble and knowing that you don’t know everything, and that you have so much to learn from the young people.”

Sometimes in the classroom setting, educators feel they need to have power over youth, she said.

“And I think through honoring youths’ lived experience and the knowledge that they already bring to the classroom is a way we can show love and the way we can really change what education looks like,” Trinidad said.

Fulton said when people develop deeper relationships with others, they develop more love. And with that comes more energy to think outside the box to support their growth and development.

“My core values are love and compassion and sensitivity,” she said. “And, you know, spending the energy that it takes to get to know people as individuals, because when you do that, then the support that we can provide to people can be very transformational.”

Love is foundational, Hernández said, and part of that foundation is also urgency — something he brings.

“I don’t think that we have the time to wait,” he said, explaining if people are unhappy with the education system, they have to take action to change it.

“As Paulo Freire writes, school does one of two things — it either upholds a just society, or it dismantles an unjust one. I don’t think anybody in this room tonight believes that we exist in a just society,” he said.

“And if we live in an unjust society, we have to have an urgency towards love, we have to have an urgency towards community, we have to have an urgency towards responsibility to make something better,” he said.

What should be removed from the schooling experience?

Hernández has a long list of what he would like to do away with in the education system, including standardized testing and standardized education.

Ultimately, he wants to remove “the foundational nature of education as separate from community” and “anything that is not determined by a community,” he said.

“If families and students do not want something in their education, it shouldn’t be there,” he said.

He understands people’s affinity for national standards and making sure that students can perform well, clarifying he’s not opposed to that. Standards are part of offering students shared common knowledge, and educators have to get everybody on the same page, he said.

“But to place the idea that standardized education and the needs and wants of a community are diametrically opposed is to say that communities cannot thrive academically on their own, separate from the systems that we exist within,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s the reality.”

Building off Hernández’s points, Trinidad asked who are the “standard” and “traditional” students.

“I think, really, communities need to create their own schooling, hire their own educators and go off a curriculum that they know will support their students in being the best person that they can be,” Trinidad said.

The current education system has taught people to be more compliant than to be critical thinkers, she said.

“That’s why schooling right now is a microcosm of our larger society. It’s a battleground, and we see this as we’re voting and passing legislation about what can and cannot be taught in schools,” she said.

Expectations in the education system are one-sided, as they are determined outside of students and families, Lewis said. Moving forward, it’s important to engage families and students as part of the conversation of what the expectations should be.

Cultural responsiveness versus cultural sustainability

Fulton would remove anything in schools that does not fall under the umbrella of cultural responsiveness, which she said involves teachers forming relationships with families and making decisions together.

“I just think it’s very important for everybody to have their own definition of cultural responsiveness and then to act on that on a daily basis,” Fulton said.

Hernández, however, said he does not believe in culturally responsive education. Instead, he believes in culturally sustainable education.

“Culturally responsive education affirms the idea that culture and

Tim Hernandez speaking during the panel at Lone Tree Arts Center on Nov. 9

Love, culture and community highlighted

State to receive $8.3M under privacy settlement with Google

BY OLIVIA PRENTZEL THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado is expected to receive more than $8.3 million from a settlement reached with Google over accusations that it misled users about its location-tracking practices in their settings while continuing to use the collected data to sell ads.

The settlement, worth $391.5 million nationwide, marks the largest multistate attorney general privacy settlement ever in the U.S., the Colorado Attorney General’s Office said recently in announcing the deal.

“By misleading consumers into believing they could control their location data and privacy, Google violated our consumer protection laws,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “Today, we are holding them accountable.”

EQUITY

FROM PAGE 4

education are two separate entities that must respond to each other,” Hernández said. “The culture is already there. Our job is not to respond to it. Our job is to sustain it.”

Students deserve to have their cultures represented in the classroom, he said, and schools should actively sustain a student’s culture by centering cultural knowledge and expressions. Otherwise, the culture students walk into the classroom

The violations date back to at least 2014, the attorney general’s office said.

The recent settlement caps a nearly four-year investigation, prompted by an Associated Press reporting project that revealed that Google collects data through two Google account settings. Location History is “off” unless a user turns on the setting, but Web & App Activity, a separate account setting, is automatically “on” when users set up a Google account.

The state attorneys general claimed that the internet search giant gave a false impression that when users turned off location tracking services, Google was no longer collecting geolocation data from them. But through other Google services and apps, Google continued to collect users’ history

with could disappear.

“I think that every teacher deserves pre-service education, especially pre-service teachers of color, deserve (an) education that teaches them about how to sustain culture in the classroom,” he said. “Because if we are given tools and resources to sustain culture in the classroom, those are inherent resources to sustain our own culture ourselves.”

Feeling like their culture is not being sustained is partially what drives educators of color away, Lewis said.

According to a 2021 article by the Pew Research Center, white teachers

and location data, according to the settlement.

Under the settlement, Google must show additional information to users when they turn a locationrelated account setting on or off and make key information about location tracking noticeable for users. Google must also give users detailed information about the type of location data it collects and how it is used.

The agreement also limits Google’s use and storage of certain types of location information and requires Google account controls to be more user-friendly.

Thirty-nine other states joined Colorado in the settlement.

Colorado will use the money received through the settlement for future consumer fraud or antitrust enforcement, consumer education

outnumber educators of other races and ethnicities by a wide margin, with 79% of U.S. public school teachers identifying as white.

“If 80% of teachers are white, those aren’t just racist conditions of teaching. Those are colonial conditions, too,” Hernández said. “It’s very important that if we exist in racist and colonial systems of education, that we have to be very honest with that — about what those systems are — with our students.”

In 2019, The Denver Post reported more than half of Denver’s public schools are as segregated as they were in the late 1960s.

or public welfare purposes, said Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

The settlement was based on outdated product policies that the company changed years ago, José Castañeda, a Google spokesman told The Sun via email. The company has made improvements to policies and plans to add several news features to boost transparency for its users, including a way for users to easily delete their past data.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

“We have the power within us to demand something better from what we’re existing in,” Hernández said. “The question is not what do we want to do, it’s how long are we willing to wait to get there?”

What gives Trinidad hope is seeing how the resistance of young people has evolved, saying she’s interviewed young people who have challenged the textbooks being used in the classroom and held meetings with school leaders about what they’d like to see in schools.

“I think that’s what’s given me hope, because they, too, will be leaders and educators,” she said.

“Lone Tree is doing — has been doing a great job for 20 years, and their vision for the next 20 is even more inspiring,” she said.

A large group of people — including representatives from the City of Centennial, Regional Transportation District (RTD) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) — gathered on Nov. 9 for a tour that highlighted Lone Tree’s light rail stations, bicycle networks and mixed-use developments.

“We plan, today, to take you through Lone Tree’s past, present and future, one light rail stop at a time,” said Lone Tree Mayor Pro Tem Wynne Shaw.

The past

When Lone Tree was formed in 1995, city founders wanted to create a connected and walkable community, Shaw said.

“One of our first actions was to realize transit was central to our bigger planning efforts,” she said.

In 2002, the City of Lone Tree asked RTD to evaluate the feasibility of joining the RTD District, given the entire city was not within the legal boundaries of the district at that time, according to an RTD report.

Lone Tree voters approved annexation into the district in 2003. According to a 2004 report from the Colorado Department of Revenue, the RTD sales and use tax rate was 0.6%.

“That was an intentional decision

by Lone Tree voters to tax themselves for no service, because they wanted this light rail extension and they recognized how important it would be to the community,” said Lone Tree Mayor Jackie Millet.

Lone Tree is now home to five RTD light rail stations.

Originally, the RTD Lincoln Station, located at 10203 Station Way, was the end-of-line station for the southeast rail line, Millet said.

However, in 2019, three additional light rail stations opened in Lone Tree — Sky Ridge Station, Lone Tree City Center Station and RidgeGate Parkway Station.

“We are so proud to have seen that vision come to fruition,” Millet said.

Transit-oriented developments

To develop transit-oriented communities in Lone Tree, the city has focused on establishing multi-family housing, retail space and office space near the RTD stations.

Within a half-mile of Lincoln Station, for example, there are 2,900 multi-family units and 30,000 square feet of retail, Millet said.

Sky Ridge Station, despite being relatively new, is built out already, said Jeff Holwell, the city’s economic development director.

He credited its growth to employers like Sky Ridge Medical Center and Charles Schwab that, prior to the station’s establishment in 2019, invested in the area.

They understood that living in a mixed-use community next to transit was beneficial for their real estate values and employees, he said.

Employees are looking for ways to move more efficiently, said Sheryl Machado, director of communications and public affairs for the Denver South Transportation Management Association and the Denver South Economic Development Partnership.

“If you don’t have mobility and movement, you don’t have job creation. You don’t have employees that want to live, work and play where they can’t move efficiently,” Machado said.

Denver South works with six jurisdictions to support transportation and economic development in the region, and it helps provide funding for local projects, she said.

“Now, of course — more than ever — transportation issues matter as the population density continues to grow in Colorado,” Machado said.

Housing a ordability

Although Lone Tree has been able to attract jobs and residents through providing multimodal transportation, a downside has been the housing cost increase, Millet said.

“I’m sad to see how expensive it is to live in the City of Lone Tree right now,” Millet said, explaining the property values have dramatically increased.

“So, as you are thinking about these choices in your community, I would encourage you to think about the affordability of your housing when you do that, because we have seen our home prices go up dramatically,” she said. “That is the downside of providing it all.”

Kelly First, Lone Tree’s community development director, said a lot

of multifamily housing is planned near RidgeGate Parkway Station. One of which is Koelbel and Company’s Talus apartment building — Lone Tree’s first affordable housing project.

“We, in Lone Tree, are really trying to find ways to keep that affordability coming through additional projects. This one happens to be 67 units,” First said. “It’s small, but it’s mighty.”

RidgeGate development

An important vote was in 1999 when Lone Tree voters approved the annexation of the 3,500-acre RidgeGate property, Millet said.

RidgeGate is 3,500 acres located both east and west of I-25 and south of Lincoln Avenue, First said. It incorporates the Sky Ridge Station, Lone Tree City Center Station and RidgeGate Parkway Station.

“It has a single master developer, which has been key — Coventry Development — key to having a shared vision with the city,” First said.

The vision was to create something more urban, mixed-use and transit-oriented, she said.

“It kind of comes down to: How do we continue to create a place where people want to be, where they can live and have a diversity of housing options?” she said.

The ongoing development of RidgeGate East involves an 80-acre regional park, Lone Tree City Center and three residential villages.

“The mobility hub and the urban trail network that we’re planning is more than just a recreational trail system, but it is hopefully getting people who work and live in the area to be able to commute and take advantage of all the great spaces (and) employment options,” First said.

The city also has a microtransit service called Link On Demand, which offers transit throughout the city, Holwell said.

“We’ve partnered with (an) entity called Via, which develops an app much like Uber,” he said. “Using your smartphone, you can summon the vehicle directly to you and take it to any other location in Lone Tree for free.”

Long-term planning, collaboration

The development of Lone Tree’s transportation systems and transitoriented communities has been purposeful, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the partnerships of organizations like RTD and CDOT, Millet said.

“We had a unique set of circumstances,” she said. “But I would say in each and every one of your communities, you have a unique set of circumstances and opportunities and challenges, and so please go look at those. And redevelopment is (a) great opportunity.”

Hultin encouraged those at the tour to communicate what they learned with their agencies and to collaborate with others on strategies to meet the 2050 greenhouse gas emissions goals.

“You have to think of what you want to see happen 15 to 20 years from now, because some of the decisions that resulted in all of this were made by people like you, many, many years ago,” said Brian Welch, RTD’s acting assistant general manager of planning. “We want to work with you to make things better for our community.”

An RTD light rail train arriving at Sky Ridge Station in Lone Tree on Nov. 9. PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

By Jason Harris of Foothills Kitchen & Bath

During the holidays, our customers are so involved with planning next year’s makeover, they often forget about the stocking stuffers. I always think hubby should go big and earn a decade of hall passes by giving his lovely bride the kitchen she’s always dreamed about, but we all know men don’t know how to wrap presents, so I think most men just rely on their natural romanticism instead.

There is one gift, however, that tucks nicely under the tree and would be worth at least a week of taking out the garbage; just be prepared for constant decla rations of, “No, I swear it’s not a toy — it’s a tool!”

Sonos.

You know you’ve hit the big time when one word says it all. Sonos was founded in 2002 with the sole purpose of creating a family of crystal clear speakers that utilize WiFi to access a virtually limitless musi cal library. Twenty years later, in the world of wireless speakers there is Sonos and then there is everyone else. A recent survey of custom integrators — professionals who design and install automation systems — found they use Sonos in 76% of their wireless audio installations, more than four times as often as the next closest brand.

Were you among those who once saw their Super Bowl commercial and thought, “I don’t get it. You walk from room to room and the lights change colors??” Close. You walk from room to room and the music changes.

And it couldn’t be any simpler. Unpack a speaker and plug in its power cord. Download the Sonos Control ler for your tablet or smartphone. Press a couple of buttons and, voila!, the speaker is now part of the

Sonos ecosystem. After a few minutes placing speak ers in more rooms, take out your iPhone or Android, and within seconds you could be listening to any song on your phone. Or maybe you’ll want to play internet radio, or local stations, or your LP collec tion, or Pandora or SiriusXM or Apple Music or….

Okay, let’s see who was paying attention. What did I forget to say during all that fine print? That’s right, I never mentioned the words “speaker wire,” because you don’t need any with Sonos; all you need is access to an electrical outlet and WiFi.

I had a friend who spent a full weekend working on what he called ‘wire hygiene’ for his Corvette. After that, I was scared straight and knew I couldn’t get away with tucking wires under a rug, so I hoisted myself into my 100º attic to try to atone for my sins. Maybe it was the contact high, because after twenty minutes of breathing spray foam insulation, I found myself hoping my wife knew where the life insurance paperwork was. But all that effort is so passé wen it comes to Sonos, because it can accomplish the wireless feat right out of the box!

Not all wireless is created equally, though, because Sonos is the super highway of wireless. You’re proba bly aware of Bluetooth. It’s particularly useful in the car, because once you hop in, your phone automati cally connects to your stereo, allowing you to hear calls via your car’s speakers.

The same thing happens in your home. Walk into the house and the song on your phone echoes through your bookshelf units. The problem is Bluetooth is limited by distance and the number of connections a device can make, so if you were to continue walking, you’d quickly be out of range and the music would

stop. Or maybe you drop the needle on your 500th bootleg of the Dead just as the phone rings. With Bluetooth, the music would go away, so you have to pay attention to your mother’s complaint that your father left all the wrapping for her to do; with Sonos, you can still absorb the essence of Jerry’s solos, while pretending to be listening to Mom.

What Sonos does is use your router to create its own SonosNet, which offers many benefits. The more speakers there are on this mesh network, the stron ger the signal becomes. WiFi sends between 10 to 75 times as many bits of data as Bluetooth, leading to a more robust sound. Most importantly, the Sonos network allows 32 hookups versus just one at a time.

Are you with me so far that Sonos allows you to play any song from any source in any room at any volume? Well, better yet, it can play multiple songs from multiple sources in multiple rooms at multiple volumes....at the same time!

Uh oh, I just ran out of room. We might have to survive this cliffhanger until we get back together in two weeks....

Imagine walking into a store where you’ll find every product for your remodeling project….and….people who actually know what they’re talking about. Now imagine no more!

One trip to our beautiful showroom and you’ll see why we’re unlike any other store. From cabinets to flooring, windows or more, you’ll find hundreds of samples to match your colors in one place. Even better, our prices are affordable — apples to apples, we’re usually less than the Big Boxes on higher qualities — and you’ll always be greeted by the same friendly experts.

The commission announced an investment of $3.6 million in ARPA funds for wildfire suppression and mitigation.

With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the county’s Developmental Disabilities Mill Levy Douglas County, commissioners recognized the mutually beneficial partnerships and investments, including programs and services to help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The county committed $6.7 million in funds to programs aimed at helping citizens with intellecutal and development disabilities.

Abe Laydon introduced the ARPA fund investments for homelessness, comitting $1.17 million for the Douglas County homeless initiative.

Mental health programs remain a priority in the county, as commissioners dedicated $9.6 million to the program originally started in 2019.

In commuinty and economic investments, the counthy committed just over $5 million in ARPA funds.

Improving broadband

technology was labled as priority this year, with an $8 million investment.

As the population continues to increase in Douglas County, commissioners said maintaining and improving transporation is a priority. With a population

of more than 369,000 and growing, commissioners said they remain dedicated to building and expanding roadways, including the US 85 expansion that is now under construction.

In concluding the 2022 event, commissioners

thanked outgoing elected officials, including Recorder and Clerk Merlin Klotz,; Coroner Jill Romann,; Assessor Lisa Frizell; and Sheriff Tony Spurlock.

These outgoing elected officials will end their term in January of 2023.

Also recognized were the unoffi cial newly elected representatives, including Coroner Raeann Brown; Clerk and Recorder Sheri Davis, Assessor Toby Damisch; Treasurer Dave Gill; and Sheriff Darren Weekly.

Commissioners George Teal, Abe Laydon and Lora Thomas lay announce ARPA fund investments during the annual State of the County event.

PHOTO BY THELMA GRIMES

Early-season snow o to good start in high country

BY CHRIS OUTCALT THE COLORADO SUN

Snowpack on the Western Slope is off to a good start, but experts caution it’s difficult to draw many meaningful conclusions from snowcovered, high-country peaks this early in the season.

“It’s kind of like leading a football game by a field goal halfway through the first quarter,” Jeff Lukas, an independent climate researcher, wrote in an email.

As of early November, the statewide snowpack was 140% of the median from 1991 to 2020, and 142% in the Colorado River headwaters area specifically, according to SNOTEL data compiled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The averages were slightly higher elsewhere on the Western Slope. Still, there’s a long way to go. Typically, on Nov. 9, Colorado is about 8% of the way to achieving statewide median snowpack, Lukas said. Right now, the state is about 12% of the way there, he said. But, Lukas cautioned that there’s very little correlation between mountain precipitation in October and early November and the final totals across an entire snow season.

A fox ventures through the snow on Conifer’s Shadow Mountain.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBBIE FORD

Republican silver lining

They pushed conversation on crime, public safety

BY ALLISON SHERRY COLORADO PUBLIC MEDIA

In conceding his Republican bid for state attorney general, Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner said that despite his party’s losses last week, they single-handedly forced state leaders to pay attention to public safety in a way they weren’t before.

“Throughout this campaign, which was so focused on public safety, we charged a lot of hearts and minds,” Kellner told a crowd of supporters.

“We convinced Gov. Polis to get behind a bill that says, hey I want to increase the penalties for car thieves. That happens because of campaigns like this.”

Colorado’s crime rates, particularly around auto theft and fentanyl overdoses, were an omnipresent theme on the campaign trail.

In his state of the state speech earlier this year, Polis said that he wanted to make Colorado among the top 10 safest states in the nation. He often characterized fentanyl as one of the biggest threats

posed to Coloradans and told CPR News he would support criminalizing possession of any amount of the drug — a departure from others in his party who believe criminalizing possession of drugs only punishes addicts.

Then in September, Polis wrote a letter to the state’s bipartisan Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice commission saying that he wanted to strengthen the penalties for car thefts.

In his proposed budget, there is more money funneled toward local law enforcement than in previous years and an overall 26 percent increase devoted to public safety.

A policy priority, or a cynical position for political gain?

Despite all that, many Democrats say the GOP mantra throughout 2022 that Colorado is crime-infested was a cynical position to promote for political purposes.

“The public-safety issue raised in this campaign was basically a fear tactic,” said Maureen Cain, legislative and policy director for the Colorado State Public Defender. “It didn’t work. I think voters rejected their fear tactics. But has there been a fear-based response in the Democratic party to this political message? Yes, I

John Kellner lost in running for state attorney general. Kellner remains the district attorney in the 18th Judicial District.

PHOTO BY THELMA GRIMES SEE GOP, P11

think so.”

Cain said that the language on the campaign trail — from 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer falsely accusing her Democratic opponent of “legalizing” fentanyl, to attacks on a bipartisansupported misdemeanor reform bill that Republicans attribute to increasing auto theft rates — did not actually advance public safety.

“I don’t think it helps the public’s understanding,” she said. “One side is fear-mongering, are we going to say: too bad, so sad, we’re not going to talk about it?”

For outgoing Colorado House Speaker Alec Garnett, a Democrat, the high-profile conversations about public safety, and who launched them, is a kind of chicken-egg question.

“The governor has said he wants Colorado to be one of the safest states in the country. That’s not because Republicans brought the issue up on the campaign trail, it’s because communities want to see crime go down,” said Garnett, who is about to become Polis’ chief of staff. “Republicans are stretching to figure out some silver lining in what ended up being a historically bad night.”

On the campaign trail throughout the state, Kellner said he heard from people concerned about crime rate increases — not only violent crime, but also catalytic converter thefts and business break-ins. He thinks the attention paid on that, including attention driven by some media coverage, was effective in elevating the policy issue for Republicans.

“It’s durable and it will stick with people going into the next legislative session. This is really

not a Democrat or Republican thing,” he said. “It cuts across party lines and it’s something I’m really proud of that we were able to elevate that conversation … and put it on the media’s radar, the statistics around our state.”

What’s next for John Kellner and other Colorado politicians

Heading into the legislative session, where Democrats have large majorities in both chambers, Kellner said he hopes to keep the importance of crime relevant — even though he is returning to his day job as elected district attorney for Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties.

He plans to urge lawmakers to strengthen penalties for additional possession of illegal drugs, not just fentanyl, and get rid of the system that doles out varying sentences for auto theft depending on the value of the car. Kellner also wants to strengthen laws around people with criminal records possessing firearms.

“We recognize that legislators are not subject matter experts,” Kellner said. “We’ve gotten more feedback that there is more engagement.”

Kellner said even Democratic legislators have reached out to him.

In a statement from Polis’ spokesman Conor Cahill, he said the governor’s overwhelming victory last week showed that “the people of Colorado, regardless of their political party, support the governor’s work to improve public safety in Colorado.”

“It’s clear the governor’s commonsense approach in support of improving public safety resonated with Coloradans from across the spectrum,” Cahill said.

This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

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‘We convinced Gov. Polis to get behind a bill that says, hey I want to increase the penalties for car thieves. That happens because of campaigns like this.’

John Kellner,

Republican candidate for state attorney general

Missing tradition

As Thanksgiving approaches and plans are being made regarding who is hosting, who is coming and what to expect — this year has a bit of a gloomy feel.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a total family holiday. We had our family of six, and multiple others came regularly. From the food, the laughter, the family football game to watching the Dallas Cowboys – I treasure those memories.

In a recent call with one of my brothers, whom I am closest with as an adult, he can’t come this year. Plane tickets are too much, he has had some unexpected bills and just paying for gas to fill up his truck these days is a stretch.

While the daily realities of a struggling economy are hitting my brother particularly hard, for me, it was the idea that he won’t be here this year playing with my sons, which may not always be parent approved, but has become a tradition that my boys look forward to with uncle Brian.

My other two brothers rarely make appearances on holidays these days. They live elsewhere, have separate lives and just can’t make the get-together.

We no longer have the football games in the yard as much. Even when they do, they do not carry the magic those traditional ones as a kid do.

Then, there’s the tradition of holiday television shows.

Every year, growing up, the night before Thanksgiving we would watch “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” My brother reminds me of Charlie Brown and I am not surprised it’s one of his all-time favorite characters.

Now, there is no waiting until the night before for the show to come on a cable channel. Today, the show can be easily found and watched any day of the year if one chooses. The same goes for those traditional Christmas holiday favorites such as the Grinch, and the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

As technology has advanced, the world became busy — we no longer look forward to some of those traditions because they really are not traditional anymore.

As an adult, while I try to instill the importance of family and family traditions in my children, I have to admit, being busy and being always on the go, takes away some of that.

I am thankful for those holidays I had growing up. I can’t imagine the person I would have become had I not had those close family relationships as a kid. I am very much devoted to my family now. I am always available in the emergencies and bad days. But I miss being together and enjoying the feeling of coming together for the happy ones.

Maybe this year, or in the near future, putting more emphasis on valuing family traditions and creating more memories for my current household will become a priority. Looking to next month — maybe that will be a New Year’s Resolution for 2023.

That goal will start with watching Charlie Brown the night before Thanksgiving this year with a smile.

More than just attitude of gratitude

WINNING

She worked hard on her presentation and had practiced several times before she had to stand in front of a large audience and share her thoughts and insights. She even woke up extra early to be at the venue hours before she would be speaking. She had asked the audio/video technician to meet with her to make sure everything would be perfect before she took the stage. Before she left, she took the time to sincerely thank the technician for coming in early to meet with her. As the technician received her gratitude, he smiled and nodded in

His smile wasn’t just any smile, and his nod just not any nod, there was something heartfelt in his body language. So, she asked him if he was OK. He looked at her and said that he has been an audio/video technician for many years, and he has worked behind the scenes for many speakers including some very big and well-known names. He also shared that he loved the work that he did as it brought him great joy to know he was responsible for people receiving a powerful message, training or motivation. But he also shared that very few, hardly any, even took the time to thank him in such a sincere way as she had. After her presentation she went backstage to remove the microphone and collect her things. As she turned to leave, she found the technician and said, “Thank you again, the videos

I shared were flawless and the sound levels were just perfect. You helped make sure that everything I said and shared were received, and hopefully a few people walked out having learned something.” His eyes glistened as he smiled warmly, nodding with appreciation while patting his hand gently against his heart.

Two words, “Thank you,” make all the difference, don’t they? Is the story I shared above our story? Do we say thank you enough? How many times do we simply take for granted that it is someone’s job to serve us or help us, and we forget to tell them how important they are and just how grateful we are for their service? If we thought about it, probably too many.

I learned the concept of the attitude of gratitude from my mentor and boss Zig Ziglar. One of Zig’s many famous quotes is this, “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.” And we all know he was the master motivator, the greatest provider of hope and encouragement, and just an allaround amazing man. For Zig, it was always more than just the words he spoke or that he wrote in his books, it was more than just having a positive mental attitude, it was about living out that attitude of gratitude.

As we go through these times of change in our country, economy and in business, and as we try and hold on to the talented people on our team, so they do not wish to leave, allow me to share a lesson that I learned from Zig Ziglar when it came to appreciating the people in the company. When Zig wasn’t traveling,

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

AUDREY

ERIN

LINDSAY NICOLETTI

Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Thelma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

Thelma Grimes

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 advice on maintaining healthy skin. Here are some tips that can help 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. This drier weather and lack of humidity can wreak havoc on our skin. Those 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 fissure.

The 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

NORTON

FROM PAGE 12

he would come to the office, and he would walk around and check on all of us. And I will always remember that he would stop by someone’s cubicle or office and say, “Thank you for all you do for our company, I appreciate you so very much. With your skills and talents, you could have gone to work for anyone else,

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Did COVID affect voting?

If my information is correct, Douglas County voters made history by casting more votes for a Democratic governor in the 2022 midterms than his Republican challenger. Women of all ages, especially young women between 18 and 30, deserve the lion’s share of credit, but Republican men should not be overlooked.

Say what. Again, if my infor-

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GUEST COLUMN

Dr. Adam Vaudreuil

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.

The most important step is to moisturize every day, sometimes multiple times daily if necessary. Choose a thicker cream or ointmentbased 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 humidifier in your bedroom at night, as this can also help to improve skin hydration. Applying petroleum jelly to fingertips and cuticles can also be helpful for those who struggle with brittle nails or fingertip splitting.

I am so very grateful you chose to work here.” I can share that employee turnover was minimal.

As we go through this Thanksgiving week, there is no better time to do a self-assessment when it comes to our own attitude of gratitude. And more than just having an attitude of gratitude, recognizing how we are demonstrating our appreciation for others in our lives. I would love to hear your gratitude story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we remember to always give a sin-

mation is correct, conservatives, mostly men, make up 60% of the COVID-19 unvaccinated, refused to wear masks or practice social distancing during the height of the pandemic. Their reward was a higher COVID infection rate. The COVID pandemic has negatively transformed our lives in a multitude of ways. Could it have affected voting rolls as well?

Roy Legg Highlands Ranch

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

cere, “Thank you,” it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach,

nightly retinoid. Retinoids are helpful in reducing wrinkles and fine lines, as well as improving overall skin tone, preventing pores from clogging, and helping to combat some of the skin aging effects from chronic sun exposure. Side effects 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 effects. 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.

consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

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

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In 1928, two Black dancers in a dance marathon in Harlem — George Snowden and Mattie Purnell — broke away from each other to throw in some solo freestyling. With that, they started the process of creating one of the most popular swing dances ever: Lindy Hop.

It obviously spread from Harlem, and today exists across the country, including in Denver. The dance — along with swing music itself — has ebbed and flowed in popularity

over the last few decades, but the fast-paced swing-outs and stomping beats have held onto Denver, developing a small community that’s easy for beginners to start in and experts to explore.

“I think there’s a lot of room for growth to provide many opportunities for people that want to dance,” said Kenny Nelson, founder of Swingin’ Denver — a swing school and local dance party hoster.

Nelson himself has experience teaching

around the world, but the last eight years he’s been teaching Lindy Hop across Denver and hosting social dances from the Mercury Cafe to the Savoy.

The current big three places for Lindy Hop in Denver, according to Nelson, have been the Mercury Cafe, the Savoy and the Turnverein as they are what have survived the ebb and flow.

‘Forest of Stories’ comes to libraries

SONYA’S SAMPLER

More than 120 decorated holiday trees will be dressed up with stories. From Nov. 19 to Jan. 7, all Douglas County Libraries branches will have a “forest of stories” — trees filled with references to favorite children’s books and a related scavenger hunt with prizes. Families may need to go on tour to check these out during the holidays! DCL.org/ forest-of-stories.

Holiday Art and Gift Market is open at The Depot Art Gallery, 2069 W. Powers Ave. in downtown Littleton from Nov. 22 to Dec. 31, while Littleton Fine Arts Guild members also offer gift ideas nearby at Town Hall Arts Center’s Stanton Gallery, 2450 W. Main St., with the Affordable Art Show.

Koelbel Library art exhibit

Danielle See Walker’s art will be exhibited during November, Native American Heritage Month, at Koelbel Library, 5955 S. Holly St., Centennial. Walker is Hunkpapa Lakota and a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux

Tribe. She has recently published a book: “Still Here: A Past to Present Insight of Native American People and Culture.”

Symphony concert

Littleton Symphony Holiday Concert is at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 S. Datura St., Littleton.

Musical fairy tale

“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” plays Nov. 25 to Dec. 31 at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada. Tickets start at $56. An American Sign Language interpreted program will play at 2 p.m. on Dec. 30. arvadacenter.org. 720-898-7200.

‘Newsies’

Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St. in downtown Littleton, presents Disney’s “Newsies” through Dec. 30. Tickets: $35, $44, $50. 303-794-2787. townhallartscenter.org.

‘Labyrinth’

“Labyrinth” is the title for the 2022 Own an Original Art Exhibit at the Littleton Museum, 6028 S. Gallup St., Littleton.

Farm evening

The Littleton Museum, 6028 S. Gallup St., is also the venue for the festive annual “Holiday’s Evening at the Farm,” presented by the Friends of the Library/Museum with wagon rides, food, music and costumed interpreters. Dress warmly — it’s all outdoors with candlelight. 5:30-8 p.m.

‘Brrlesque’

Wonderbound dance presents “Brrlesque” from Dec. 8-18 at 3865 Grape St., Unit #2, Denver. New work by Garrett Ammon and Sarah Tallman.

Pottery sale

The Arapahoe Ceramics Guild at Arapahoe Community College will hold its annual pottery sale in the

LINDY HOP

“The Mercury Cafe got its start in the ‘90s when neo-swing was happening, and they’re the one place that remained when everyone else was gone…it kind of all fizzled out,” Nelson explained. “I mean, it went with the ebb and flow of popular music. The pop bands tried to grab that sound and it lasted for a bit, but it didn’t last.”

The Mercury Cafe now hosts the teaching and party-hosting group Swing Nights twice a week, every Tuesday and Sunday evening, with Ceth Stifel teaching many of the classes from beginner to intermediate. “The Merc,” as it’s also called, has a live band almost every

The Turnverein, a 5,280 square foot ballroom, hosts a broader range of dance classes from many different teachers like argentine tango and general ballroom, but also a free Lindy Hop class at 7 p.m. every Friday and a dance right after.

Nelson himself found a home at the Savoy near Five Points in the city, where he teaches beginner and intermediate classes and hosts a live band and dance on the first Wednesday of every month.

Music is, of course, a central aspect. The right variation in tempo, a swinging sound that will convince dancers onto the floor, mixing songs from wellknown to gems — all harder than it may

“Swing dancing is inevitably tied to the music, having some music that is really good and swinging, and DJs that are paying attention to the dance floor is very crucial for having creative dancing,” Nelson said.

He describes a talent loss around 2008 and 2012 though, in DJing, dancing, and teaching, but has seen it start improving since 2013.

“I really feel like, in certain areas, live

Summit Room, Littleton Campus, Dec. 1 and 2 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Great for holiday shopping.

Sand Creek

New at History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver: “The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal that Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever.” Audio Guides in four languages,

Nutcracker

Colorado Ballet will hold a sensory-friendly adaptation performance of “The Nutcracker” at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Ellie Caulkins Theater. Tickets: $20 to$40. 303-8378888 ext 2.

Central City Opera

Central City Opera presents “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16 and 17 and 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at Trinity Methodist Church, 1820 Broadway, Denver. Tickets $12, kids; $42, adults.

Chorale

Cherry Creek Chorale presents “Ring in the Season” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9 and 10 at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave., Cherry Hills Village. Tickets: CherryCreekChorale.org or at the door.

music has stepped up, and it’s great, whereas DJing definitely hasn’t come back,” Nelson said. He references some of the bands that he’s hosted before like La Pomp, that play “swingin tin-pan standards” and “soulful originals” according to their Instagram, putting them in a category “of the new current bands, with younger members, who are really talented and really hard-working.”

In terms of the stability of the scene now, it’s hard to tell.

“It’s kind of hard to get the complete pulse post-pandemic on the scene here. It certainly feels like it’s getting more stable,” Nelson said, pointing to venues having live music again as a promising step.

The dance’s history as a Black dance is a focus Nelson tries to give when he teaches.

“There’s been a lot of international conversations around the role of teaching, how we ought to be teaching, and how we can best respect the fact that we are teaching a Black dance — how can we best provide solid representation and appreciation for the dance,” he said.

“I still think there’s lots of room for improvement there too.”

Specifically, the idea that the dance had a “revival” is what is pushed back on. As Nelson puts it, it “presents a whitewashing of the current popularity of swing dancing - i.e. it paints a picture of an activity ‘saved’ from extinction by white people, rather than a living art form still practiced within Black communities.”

Within Denver though, it is far from extinction or needing to be saved. Tuesday nights at “The Merc,” Friday nights at the Turnverin, and Sunday nights back to “The Merc” again, Lindy Hop is going strong in the city and welcomes beginners, experts and intermediates all alike.

Take a hop, skip and a jump into the city and see what you can do to the tune of “swingin tin-pan standards.”

Dancers at a social dance at the Mercury Cafe on a Tuesday night.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

Douglas County Libraries will have trees filled with references to favorite children’s books through Jan. 7.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY LIBRARIES

Welcome the holiday season to the Denver area

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

At this time of year, people are constantly searching for fun ways to explore the metro area and all it has to offer — maybe you have family in from out of town and need to entertain them, or perhaps you’re just looking for an alternative to the typical holiday fare.

With the following four options as a starting place, I hope you’ll find a great way to kick off the season.

Return to the moon at the DMNS

With interest in space exploration on the rise all over the world, it is difficult to imagine a more fitting time to take a look back than right now. And that’s just what visitors can do at “Apollo: When We Went to the Moon,” which is running at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science , 2001 Colorado Blvd. in Denver, through Monday, Jan. 23.

The exhibit takes visitors back to the space race leading up to the moon landing in 1969 and features more than 100 artifacts from the U.S. Space and Rocket

Center’s archives, according to provided information.

With more than 400,000 individuals contributing to the success of the American space program, there was a huge range of materials to go through for the exhibit. Visitors can explore the development of the Saturn V rocket, get up close and personal with the Apollo A7L spacesuit and learn just some of the stories behind the people who made it all possible.

Find tickets and information on the exhibit at www.dmns.org.

Immerse yourself in the holiday season at the Cherry Creek Holiday Market

One of the great joys of the holiday season is spending time outside with a warm drink, festive atmosphere and surrounded by great people. For all that and more, you won’t want to miss the Cherry Creek Holiday Market .

Now in its third year at Fillmore Plaza , 105 Fillmore St. in Denver, the market has built up a reputation as one of the best shopping experiences in the metro area. And it is easy to see why: it features more than 50 vendors, including artisan creators who make puzzles, tabletop campfires and high quality tea products; live music Wednesday through Sunday; and a topnotch bar program that showcases local companies like at st, The

Family Jones and Uncle Tim’s Cocktails. Once you add in some beautiful light features, it is difficult to go wrong.

The market runs through Saturday, Dec. 24. All you need to know can be found at www.cherrycreekholidaymarket.com.

Explore a brewing winter wonderland

LUKI Brewery , 14715 W. 64th Ave., Unit A and B, in Arvada, has all manner of activities scheduled for the holiday season, but one of the most appealing must be its Cirque Du Snow Winter Wonderland Wednesdays events.

Held from 3 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21, the festivities begin with a cookie decorating kit from Elevated Pastries (which includes six plain sugar cookies in classic holiday shapes, icing and sprinkles) and from their brewers serve beer using the Bierstacheln tradition. According to provided information, “this German process involves heating beer with a hot poker and caramelizing the complex sugars from the malt-forward varieties on tap.” Finally, Classic Holiday Movie Bingo begins at 6 p.m.

There will also be holiday markets, live holiday music and even a “a paint your pet” event.

Check out www.lukibrew.com to get all the details and to make your plans.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Wild Pink at Globe Hall

Over their four albums, New York’s Wild Pink have somehow managed to get better with each new record. Their most recent album, “ILYSM,” might be their best yet, and that could very well be because it is their most personal. At 34, lead singer John Ross received a cancer diagnosis that would rock back any person, and he used that experience as the ultimate muse. The resulting album is searching, funny, sad and expansive - all descriptions that equally apply to the story of a human life.

In support of the album, Wild Pink will be performing at the Globe Hall , 4483 Logan St. in Denver. They’ll be joined by indie rock/folk favorites Trace Mountains and Knuckle Pups.

As we head into the final stretch of the year, this is the perfect show to look back at what we’ve all endured and case a hopeful glance to the coming horizon. Get information and tickets at https://globehall.com/.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke. Reader@hotmail.com.

Clarke Reader

Thu 12/01

ARTS: Holiday Youth Ceramics @ Cook @ 12am Dec 1st - Nov 30th

Cook Park Recreation Center, 7100 E. Cherry Creek South Dr., Denver. 720-9130654

Denver Pioneers Hockey vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Hockey

@ 7pm

Magness Arena, 2201 E. Asbury Ave., Denver

Sat 12/03

Sons of the Pioneers

@ 7:30pm

Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St, Lone Tree

ARTS: Cookie Making @ Cook @ 11pm

Cook Park Recreation Center, 7100 E. Cherry Creek South Dr., Denver. 720-9130654

Fri 12/02

Blitzen's Ball Dance & Gift Train for friends with special needs!

@ 6:30pm / Free

Cornerstone Church, 9941 Lone Tree Parkway, Lone Tree. scott@all starsclub.org

Ninety Percent 90s @ 7pm

Pindustry, 7939 E Arapahoe Rd, Centen‐nial

The Boy Band Project @ 7:30pm

Town of Parker, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker Keith Hicks @ 8pm Private, Castle Pines Phat Daddy @ 8:30pm

Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker

Gateway Classic Cars of Denver - Holiday Party @ 10am

Gateway Classic Cars of Denver, 14150 Grasslands Drive, Centen‐nial. marketing@gatewayclassic cars.com, 866-662-1874

Denver Pioneers Hockey vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Hockey @ 6pm

Magness Arena, 2201 E. Asbury Ave., Den‐ver

A Winter's Eve Concert with David Arkenstone & Friends @ 7:30pm

Newman Center

Sun 12/04

Mon 12/05

Modern Swing Mondays @ 6:30pm / $10

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Tue 12/06

Holiday Light

Jenny Shawhan @ 7pm

The Barn at Raccoon Creek, 7301 W Bowles Ave, Littleton

Marty NIghtengale @ 7pm

Earls Kitchen + Bar, 8335 Park Meadows Center Dr, Lone Tree

Agresivos De La Sierra - Los Caudales Del Norte - Del Rancho Al Norte @ 9pm / $20

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr., Parker. 303-805-6315

Wed 12/07 Thu

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‘Her Brush’ illustrates women’s world from Japan

Denver Art Museum exhibit runs through May 13

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

“Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection” just opened at the Denver Art Museum, introducing more than 100 works from a lesser-known and really rich realm of Japanese culture: women artists from 1600-1900. “Her Brush” is an introductory peek at the collection, more than 550 artworks recently donated by Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone. Painting, calligraphy and ceramics are included in this exhibit at the Ponti Building.

Kiyohara (Kano) Yukiroba (16431682) was taught by her father and by the Kano School, based in Kyoto and run by her uncle, a famous artist. He is said to have merged the brushwork tradition that came from Chinese art with the color and pattern of Japanese style. She managed to layer her own style into those traditions. Her painting of “The Goddess Benzaiten and Her Lute” (The Goddess of Love) is outstanding.

An art career was rare for a woman, but her father is said to have taught her and encouraged her. She also managed to fit a marriage to another artist into her life. Her art often depicted legendary and historical women, painted on silk scrolls.

The exhibit was curated by Andrew L. Maske, professor at Wayne State University, and co-curated by Einor K. Cervone, associate curator of Asian art at the Denver Art Museum, and will continue until May 13, 2023.

This beautifully presented ex-

IF YOU GO

The Denver Art Museum is located at 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway (Hamilton Building) and to the north across 12th Street is the Ponti Building. Parking garage. Adult entrance is ticketed unless a member. Children are admitted free. denverartmuseum.org. 720-865-5000.

hibit is a subtler, quieter experience than the rousing “Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks” that opened recently in the Hamilton Building and would probably cause visual overload if one tried to do both in a day, but perhaps out-of-town art lovers will try it with a lunch break!

These women came from different backgrounds according to curatorial staff.

Wealthy families produced daughters who studied the “Three Perfections,” painting, poetry and calligraphy, which theoretically prepared them to be proper wives. Some, such as the multi-talented Kiyohara Yukiroba, managed a multifaceted lifestyle.

Talented women from artistic families established themselves as professional artists.

Buddhist nuns had a sort of freedom from society’s expectations and could travel more freely and train as artists.

Entertainers: geisha, musical performers, actors and sex workers at times became recognized artists as did literati society members: intellectuals and art enthusiasts.

Allow time to contemplate the life stories presented here and to enjoy the cherry blossoms!

“The Floating World” is a descriptive name sometimes given to this somewhat dreamy Japanese scene.

Exciting classes in theater, music, art, science, culinary, dance, technology, and STEAM for all ages!

“The Goddess Benzaiten and Her Lute” is a painting by Kiyohara Yukinobu from the 1600s. It is part of the exhibit “Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the FongJohnstone Collection” at the Denver Art Museum.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER ART MUSEUM

Native artist and author shares her work, journey

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Whether it be painting captivating murals on a high school’s cafeteria wall or decorating the decks of skateboards, the versatile artwork Danielle SeeWalker creates is representative of what she wishes she had seen growing up as a Native person.

SeeWalker, a Denver resident, is , which is the band that stems from Chief Sitting Bull, she said. She is a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.

The media representations of Native people that SeeWalker saw as a child, often depicting derogatory images, made her feel ashamed of her identity, she said.

Now, she’s working to change the narrative through her work as an artist, author and activist.

She recently collaborated with Arapahoe Libraries as part of the libraries’ featured artists program, displaying some of her artwork in the Koelbel Library in Centennial for the month of November, which is Native American Heritage Month.

To celebrate, the library hosted an opening reception at Koelbel Library in early November, attracting a large group of attendees to view SeeWalker’s artwork and hear about her journey.

“I’m excited to welcome you to our first featured artists program,” said Nicole Dumville, a volunteer services and art galleries coordinator for Arapahoe Libraries.

“The Arapahoe Libraries’ Featured Artists program showcases the work of a local artist who uses their art to shed light on diverse communities, discuss history and social justice, and spark important community conversations,” Dumville said. “Our featured artist, Danielle SeeWalker, she exemplifies all of these things.”

The power of imagery

Growing up, SeeWalker split her time between the Standing Rock Reservation and Bismarck, North Dakota, where she went to school.

It was a conservative area and there wasn’t much diversity of people other than Native people and white people, SeeWalker said. At her school, she was often the only Native child in class.

“Kids would put gum in my hair. They’d call me Medusa. They would say, ‘You’re dirty. Your parents are probably drunks,’” she said. “These are the things that I constantly had to face, these microaggressions, growing up.”

When November came at her school, students would have to make headdresses to wear during the school’s Thanksgiving celebrations.

“My family taught me the truth about Thanksgiving, and that it wasn’t something to be celebrated.

It was very, very hard for our people — for Native people,” she said.

Most media representations of Native people at that time were harmful, she explained, showing examples of derogatory cartoons and representations of Native people as “savages.”

“These are the things that I had to deal with and had a big effect on me, and a lot of children my age and a lot of people my age,” she said. “Made me feel like I was stupid and … very dehumanized at times.”

Some people don’t understand the harm of something like a mascot of a Native person or a non-Native person wearing a headdress, SeeWalker said, explaining she’s heard people say they are celebrating the culture.

“But would you dress up in blackface and act this way?” she said. “We all know that you wouldn’t. So why is this OK?”

Seeing these representations of Native people made her feel very ashamed as a child.

“Today, we’re so lucky that kids have that opportunity to have dolls, and see public art, and read about those themselves, and have representation of who they are,” she said. “That’s so important, and I wish I would’ve had that.”

A versatile artist

To cope with her dysfunctional, traumatic childhood, SeeWalker turned to creating art.

“My dad was an artist,” she said. “I come from a very talented family. All self-taught.”

Around the time SeeWalker was entering high school, she moved to

Nebraska with her mom for a short period, and then to Philadelphia with her mom.

Moving from a small town in North Dakota to Philadelphia was a shock, she said. She recalled going to the Philadelphia Art Museum and seeing art in person that she’d only previously seen in books.

“I remember just crying, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m in front of a painting,’” she said. “It was so touching for me to be able to leave that bubble and sort of experience a new life.”

Today, SeeWalker’s art takes many forms, such as beadwork done on moccasins, crafting jewelry, quillwork, making ribbon skirts, painting canvases and decorating skateboard decks.

A more recent artistic endeavor has been creating murals, which she started doing in 2020.

“I was invited by one of my friends to do a mural. They were starting a mural festival called Babe Walls,” she said. “Babe Walls is an all female, non-binary mural festival that was formed in 2020 and it was by invite only.”

Although she felt uncertain about how to approach creating a mural, she ended up helping paint an entire house and soon began looking for more opportunities, she said.

Since then, she’s done murals for the Denver Indian Center, at an Airbnb location, in the cafeteria of North High School in Denver, and on walls in the RiNo Art District, often depicting Native people or

Danielle SeeWalker standing beside some of her artwork on display at Koelbel Library in Centennial on Nov. 10.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

Danielle SeeWalker an artist, author and activist

aspects of Native culture.

“A lot of the things I do is because of what I wish I had at one point,” she said about her artwork.

This year, at SeeWalker’s suggestion, Babe Walls held its mural festival at the Standing Rock Reservation.

“There’s so much talent on the reservation, but zero resources,” she said, explaining she wanted to give back to the artists there.

Twelve Denver artists paired up with 12 artists from the reservation who had zero experience with murals, SeeWalker said. The Denver artists brought the paint and collaborated with the Native artists, working together to create murals throughout the reservation.

“It’s by far probably one of the most proud projects that I’ve ever gotten to do,” she said.

She said witnessing the cultural exchange between the artists was mind-blowing.

“That was one of the highlights of my life,” she said.

SeeWalker said she wishes she could go back and tell her younger self that one day she will be proud of who she is.

“As I’m painting, or creating, or writing, or talking, I think about my ancestors and how they fought so hard for me to be here. I’m their wildest dreams coming true,” she said. “I shouldn’t even be here.”

SeeWalker said her grandmother was born before Natives were considered American citizens, and

her dad was born before all Natives were allowed to vote.

“That’s why I say I’m my ancestors’ wildest dreams, because I was born with all these privileges that everybody else has. And I’m, sort of, now thought of as human,” she said.

The Red Road Project

With a desire to show people the beauty and resilience of Native culture and people, SeeWalker and one of her best friends, a professional photographer, decided to combine their talents to tell those stories.

Thus began the Red Road Project, a photo and film documentary project that started in 2013.

“We just started talking to people, and documenting them, and started telling the stories of these people and giving (an) accurate portrayal of what Native people look like today and how we are,” she said.

“Showing that we are successful, contributing members of society in our communities.”

Some of the depictions she loves to show is how Native people walk in two worlds, she said, such as showing how Native people may wear traditional regalia but they also wear sneakers and baseball caps.

Currently, SeeWalker is researching the Indian Relocation Act in the 1950s and 1960s when the government enticed Native people to move off reservations and come to cities like Denver, she said.

She also documents Native traditions and ceremonies, the connection people have to the land and stories from Native elders.

A lot of people will lump together

all Native people, she said, but there are more than 570 different tribes that are unique to one another.

“Learning from my counterparts and peers in different tribes is so — it’s so important, and enlightening and healing for my own identity,” she said.

In 2020, the Red Road Project work came to a halt as travel restrictions went into place, she said. A book publisher reached out to her and asked if she’d be interested in writing something on a Native topic.

“I had a lot of time to reflect on a lot of learnings from the past decade, and I had the time to sit at home and write,” she said, explaining her book stemmed from her work with the project.

Her book, “Still Here: A Past to Present Insight of Native American People and Culture,” was published in 2020 and is currently in Arapahoe Libraries’ collection.

Legislative work

Shortly after moving to Colorado in 2018, SeeWalker, whose day job is working in business for a Fortune 500 company, applied to the Denver American Indian Commission.

The commission is a group which advocates on behalf of Denver’s American Indian community, the city’s website states, and for the past two years, SeeWalker has served as the co-chair of it.

She loves being a part of it and said it puts her in a position to participate in legislative efforts, such as helping get Senate Bill 22-150 passed this past summer.

The act created an office of liaison for missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. It also requires the

department of public safety to improve the investigation of missing and murdered Indigenous relative cases, according to the Colorado General Assembly.

Teaching others

In her work to create accurate and insightful representations of Native people, SeeWalker welcomes questions from others.

“I want people to feel like they can ask questions in a safe environment,” she said, explaining one of her favorite parts of the event was engaging with people. “Because if we don’t, and we’re not talking about it, then that’s a form of erasure.”

Ellen Theis, a Highlands Ranch resident, said she has always been interested in Native American culture and art of all forms.

Wanting to get out of the house and get inspired, she decided to attend the event after learning about it through Arapahoe Libraries’ newsletter.

Theis described the event as wonderful and inspiring, saying SeeWalker’s artwork was beautiful. She also learned a lot from it, she said.

“It is a different perspective, and we need different perspectives,” Theis said. “It allows us to connect, to feel empathy, to understand someone’s point of view, why they are the way they are.”

“Especially in today’s climate, we really need to be understanding where people are coming from,” she said. “I think it’s just a really great opportunity to come and learn.”

Those interested in learning more about SeeWalker’s work can visit SeeWalker.com.

Outreach program launched for the unhoused

5-year grant approved

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

AllHealth Network, a mental health nonprofit with locations across the south metro region, recently unveiled a new outreach program to connect unhoused residents with mental care.

Funded for five years through a grant from the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, or PATH, the nonprofit said it would be able to provide outreach in Arapahoe County cities such as Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan as well as all of Douglas County.

“What we know for our people that experience homelessness is that at the root of that there’s some type of mental health thing that has happened,” said Cayla Steffy, a behavioral health provider for the nonprofit.

Mental health, Steffy said, presents a systemic issue for unhoused residents. A University of Denver study, which surveyed 121 people in the Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan area found that 30% said mental health issues were a reason they became homeless. The top five

reasons, according to respondents, were all economic.

While AllHealth’s PATH grant will not secure any direct funding for housing, Steffy said the nonprofit’s outreach team helps connect area residents with social programs that can lead to housing, education and workforce training.

Shellene Martinez, a case manager for AllHealth, said staff can help navigate people through the bureaucratic process of applying for safety net programs such as SNAP (formally called food stamps) and vouchers for Section 8 housing, which is heavily government subsidized.

“What I’m finding is there’s a lot of hoops to jump through, there’s a lot of red tape even to get a free phone, even to get food stamps,” Martinez said. “There’s lots of things that people go through when they’re just basically trying to survive.”

The outreach team appears regularly at known safe spaces for the unhoused, Steffy said, such as GraceFull Cafe in Littleton, which began with the mission of letting customers pay what they can. Outreach also extends to streets where AllHealth staff can screen unhoused residents for mental health issues and substance use dis-

orders and either provide them with treatment or refer them to another resource.

The program also makes use of what Steffy called peer support, which called a way to link unhoused residents with people who are formally homeless. This, she said, allows for greater trust and understanding.

“Peer support is such a bridge to getting someone connected to treatment,” Steffy said.

Shellene Martinez, case manager for AllHealth

Littleton City Manager Jim Becklenberg said he was confident the cities of Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan could “integrate PATH team resources” into their multiyear action plan to reduce homelessness in their region.

The three cities have been working together for years on a multipronged approach to address homelessness, with their first year of implementing action items coming to a close.

In a September 2020 file photo, a man dismantles a canopy during a sweep of a homeless camp along the South Platte River. There is currently no permanent emergency shelter in Littleton, Englewood or Sheridan for those who are homeless.

FILE PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT

‘What I’m finding is there’s a lot of hoops to jump through, there’s a lot of red tape even to get a free phone, even to get food stamps. There’s lots of things that people go through when they’re just basically trying to survive.’

East outplays Valor in state soccer semis

Two second-half goals send Angels past Eagles

BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

The Valor Christian boys soccer team was seeking retribution. What the Eagles found on Nov. 9 at Randy Penn Stadium in Englewood, however, was a cruel kind of déjà vu.

Exactly 53 weeks after losing by a single point to Denver East in one of the bigger upsets of the 2021 Class 5A state playoffs, the top-seeded Eagles were once again the spectators as their No. 2-seeded opponents jumped up and down in jubilation after a hard-fought duel, this time in the semifinal round of the 5A state tournament with a berth in the championship match on the line.

East 2, Valor 1.

Last year, the Eagles, as the No. 2 seeds, were stunned 1-0 by 15th-seeded East on their home pitch in the second round of the state playoffs.

“They played their hearts out,” 14th-year Valor coach Brian Shultz said of his senior-laden group, ranked No. 1 in Colorado and 45th nationally. “Give credit to Denver East for playing a great game.”

What made this one even tougher to swallow for the Eagles was that they had the win in their sights after taking a 1-0 lead more than halfway through the contest.

In the 49th minute, after a throw-

in from Valor’s Grant Walters about 35 yards away from East’s goal, Zac Brooks executed a perfect flick pass to Zach Winkelman, who controlled it, spun and stuck the ball in the bottom-left corner of the nylon.

“We’d been trying [that play] all year. That was the first time it actually worked,” Winkelman said.

“Perfect throw, perfect flick, tap-in for me. It felt great to go up 1-0.”

But when there’s history and perhaps some bad blood between two teams, rarely do matches end without some kind of fireworks.

Less than 8 minutes after Winkelman’s netter, East’s Grant Elliott drove a long free kick in the direction of Valor’s cage. Goalkeeper Dennis Polzin came up to get it, but Gus Sundstrom barely beat him to the ball and headed it in for the equalizer.

“I thought [Polzin] did a great job of coming out and challenging for it,” Shultz said. “[Sundstrom] just got his head in there a split second earlier. It was a great goal by [East].”

Then, with less than 12 min-

utes to play, the Angels’ Theo Scott launched a 60-yard free kick into the mass of humanity camped out in front of Valor’s goal. The ball caromed a few times before Clayton Thomas’ header found the back of the net for a 2-1 East advantage.

East largely played keep-away the rest of the game, and the final whistle sent the Angels sprinting toward their fans in the stands.

“They’re a great team,” East coach Kirk Bast, in his 10th season,

Looking back at years of hockey

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

George Gwozdecky remembers his first season as Valor Christian’s hockey coach and now can look back on how high school hockey in Colorado has improved.

The 60-year-old Gwozdecky has seen and coached plenty of hockey.

He is the only person to win an NCAA championship as a player (Wisconsin in 1977), an assistant coach (Michigan State in 1986) and as a head coach (University of Denver in 2004-2005).

Gwozdecky will be starting his eighth season as Valor Christian’s hockey coach and he has guided the program to a 111-29-5 record and two state championships in the previous seven campaigns.

“The thing that is easiest to see is the level of hockey, at least every year that I have witnessed and experienced, is rising at the high school level,” said Gwozdecky. “Teams are more competitive and more kids that were on the fence years ago are now playing high school hockey.

“The fall season just wound up with championship overtime game between Valor and Monarch. In the fall season, there were multiple

Valor Christian hockey player Aiden Owen PHOTOS BY JIM BENTON Valor Christian’s Noah Fekete

Valor Christian hockey coach George Gwozdecky.

‘Teams are more competitive and more kids that were on the fence years ago are now playing high school hockey.’

George Gwozdecky,

Valor Christian hockey coach

Valor Christian’s Keegan Adams sends a free kick toward his fellow Eagles. No. 2-seeded Denver East beat top-seeded Valor 2-1 in the semifinal round of the Class 5A state boys soccer playo s Nov. 9 at Randy Penn Stadium in Englewood.

PHOTO BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ

said of the Eagles. “It takes everything we have to beat a team like Valor. All credit to their coach. All credit to their players. Those guys played great soccer. We just won some key moments in the game. That was the difference.”

Said Sundstrom of trailing with more than half the match gone: “We’ve been down before. We don’t quit.”

Much of the star power on this year’s Valor squad — Brooks (goals, assists and points leader), Wal-

HOCKEY

FROM

overtimes. Cherry Creek, Denver East, Monarch all went into overtime games and there were some upsets. To me that’s a great indicator as to how close, hard fought and challenging the upcoming CHSAA season is going to be.”

Gwozdecky, who has been a coach for 42 years including 19 at DU, claims Denver’s declaration as a hockey championship city has helped the sport at the high school.

The Colorado Avalanche won the NHL’s Stanley Cup, the University of Denver captured the NCAA title and Denver East took the national high school championship last season.

“Everybody was wrapped up in the Avalanche, their Stanley Cup playoff run and winning the Cup,” added Gwozdecky. “And obviously DU. At every level they have reconized the national champions. Not only was it tremendous boost for hockey in this area to have Denver East as part of the Stanley Cup parade and to recognize high school hockey that way and I don’t know if there is any better way to help advance high school hockey.

“You still see the banners around, the city of champions. From my standpoint I really appreciate what the Avalanche has done in their success by winning the Cup.”

Valor’s senior center Noah Fekete welcomes the added attention. “It was really cool to be living in

ters (most steals), Zeke Anderson (second-leading goal scorer) and Daniel Schuylar (third-most goals), just to name a few — won’t be on the Eagles sideline next season as Shultz will lose 15 of his 22 players to graduation.

But the 2022 Eagles can take solace in knowing that they took Valor the furthest that an Eagles boys soccer team has ever gone in the state playoffs in the 17-year history of the school.

“[The seniors] have meant the world to me,” Winkelman, a junior, said. “They took me under their wing. This was the best class Valor’s ever had. I’m really going to miss them next year.”

Colorado when that happened and to be playing high school hockey,” he said. “It just brings a lot of recognition to the game. More people are going to have their eyes on Colorado at all levels.”

Gwozdecky is enjoying the depth he has on this season’s team but it hasn’t always been that way.

“That first year we had 14 hockey players,” Gwozdecky recalled. “One of them was a goalie, 13 skaters and they all liked hockey and without being condescending, we didn’t have any hockey players. But those kids that were on that team were the building blocks for what is to come. And it was a challenge for us.

“So a lot has developed over the years. When I think back to seven years ago and that first team and some of our first practices and some of the things that occured that year, I just kind of chuckle now because it’s been fun to be part of the growth.”

The top seven scorers of last season’s Eagles team were all juniors returning this years including Fekete, who led the team with 16 goals and 29 points. Owen Walsh, who had nine goals and 23 points, is also back and will also be one of the team leaders.

“For me I’m big on encouragement and letting players know they are doing the right thing,” said Walsh. “That’s really important and just kind of guiding them when I see things that they can do better.”

Valor opens the season on Dec. 2 and has a game Dec. 3 against Ralston Valley at the South Suburban complex.

CROWSS UP DRO ELZZ

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In about a third of the past 35 years, early-season snow totals looked something like they do so far this year, Lukas said. The season-ending snowpack across those 12 years, however, runs the gamut, from a handful of aver age years to a very good 1995 and a dismal 2012.

Nevertheless, it’s better to have snow on the ground than not, he said.

“Every little bit helps. Just like a field goal early in the first quarter,” he wrote. “But it needs to be followed up with a lot more scoring.”

Given the challenges facing the Colorado River, water managers across the region will be watch ing the snowpack especially closely this year. More than 40 million people rely on the snow

that accumulates high up in the mountains in the Colorado River Basin and then flows into the riv er and its tributaries. The water is also used to irrigate millions of acres of farmland. However, a series of subpar snow years and dry soil conditions paired with sustained water use has drained the country’s two largest reser voirs — Lake Powell and Lake Mead — and strained the entire Colorado River system.

So far this year, the biggest in-state beneficiary of the earlyseason snow has been southwest ern Colorado and the San Juan Mountains, a region that has been hard-hit by drought and dry soil conditions the past few years. The southwestern part of the state registered 217% of the median snowpack as of Nov. 10.

“We’re in the best shape we’ve seen for about five years — it’s a good start for sure,” said Ken Curtis, general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy Dis

trict, which manages the Dolores Project.

In addition to the early snow, a steady pattern of monsoonal rains throughout the summer helped southwestern Colorado quite a bit, Curtis said.

“Depending on how you feel about trends or odds or statis tics, we are looking better, and you might say we’re due,” Curtis said.

In 2021, farmers and ranch ers who rely on water from the Dolores Project received a 10% supply. This year, the project operated on a 35% supply.

Becky Bollinger, the assistant state climatologist, said it’s good to get a head start on snowpack now so that the state is less reli ant on big storm after big storm during the heart of the winter.

“For me, seeing these storms kick off and that we’re a little ahead on snowpack is good,” said Bollinger, who is part of Colo rado State University’s Colorado

Climate Center. “In general, I feel pretty positive about this.” The snow in the high country this week was especially nice, she said, because the next week or so looks like it’s going to be drier across the state. How ever, temperatures are likely to remain cooler, which is good, Bollinger said. “What that means is that while the snowpack isn’t going to accumulate, it’s prob ably not going to melt in those mid-to-high elevations,” she said. “When you have those cold temperatures, that will help sup port the snowpack that’s already there.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news out let based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to sup port The Colorado Sun, visit colo radosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Legals

Public Trustees

PUBLIC NOTICE

Lone Tree NOTICE OF SALE

Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0148

To Whom It May Concern: On 9/15/2022 11:09:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: BETHLEHEM A EYOB Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR LEHMAN BROTHERS BANK, FSB, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as Trustee, Banc of America Funding Corporation Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2007-4 Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 4/15/2004 Recording Date of DOT: 5/17/2004 Reception No. of DOT: 2004049943

DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $659,200.00

Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $290,232.76

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower's failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property:

LOT 116, CARRIAGE CLUB ESTATES FILING NO. 1, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO.

Which has the address of: 10561 Lieter Place, Lone Tree, CO 80124

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s),

First Publication: 11/10/2022

Last Publication: 12/8/2022

Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 9/15/2022

DAVID GILL

DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

ALISON L. BERRY

Colorado Registration #: 34531 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 22-028198

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE

due and payable.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: ALL THE REAL PROPERTY, TOGETHER WITH IMPROVEMENTS, IF ANY, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE COUNTY OF DOUGLAS AND STATE OF COLORADO, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: LOT 32, HIGHLANDS RANCH FILING NO. 110-H, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Being the same property conveyed to Jordan Obertier and Nancy A. Obertier, not in tenancy in common but in joint tenancy from Richmond American Homes of Colorado, Inc. by Warranty Deed dated July 16, 1997 and recorded July 21, 1997 among the Land Records of Douglas County, State of Colorado in 9739484. The Property address and tax parcel identification number listed are provided solely for informational purposes, without warranty as to accuracy or completeness and are not hereby insured.

Property Address: 9967 Silver Maple Road, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 Tax Parcel ID No.: 222916207011

Which has the address of: 9967 Silver Maple Road, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 11/10/2022

Last Publication: 12/8/2022

Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 9/7/2022

DAVID GILL

DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 22-028267

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE

DATES on the Public Trustee website: https:// www.douglas.co.us/public-trustee/

Legal Notice No. 2022-0144

First Publication: 11/10/2022

Last Publication: 12/8/2022

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

PUBLIC NOTICE

Littleton

NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0150

To Whom It May Concern: On 9/16/2022 11:43:00

AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: MARY J. DANKO AND JEFFREY G. DANKO

Original Beneficiary: NEW CENTURY MORTGAGE CORPORATION

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR NEW CENTURY HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2003-4 ASSET BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES

Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 8/1/2003

Recording Date of DOT: 8/6/2003

Reception No. of DOT: 2003118295

DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $386,750.00

Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $513,615.22

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower's failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED

Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 11/10/2022

Last Publication: 12/8/2022

Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 9/16/2022

DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

ALISON L. BERRY

Colorado Registration #: 34531 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994

Attorney File #: 16-012398

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: https://www.douglas.co.us/public-trustee/

Legal Notice No. 2022-0150

First Publication: 11/10/2022 Last Publication: 12/8/2022

Publisher: Douglas County News Press ###

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE OF SALE

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: This is a Home Equity Conversion Deed of Trust or other Reverse Mortgage. Borrower has died and the property is not the principal residence of any surviving Borrower, resulting in the loan being

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

ALISON L. BERRY Colorado Registration #: 34531 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112

The

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street,

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on December 6, 2022 beginning at 2:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Commissioner’s Hearing Room, Philip S. Miller Building, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Douglas will conduct a public hearing concerning the proposed adoption of a resolution amending the 2022 adopted budget. Any interested elector of Douglas County may file an objection to the proposed amendment to the budget at any time prior to it’s final adoption by the Board of County Commissioners. A copy of said resolution may be obtained for inspection at the offices of the County Commissioners at the above address in Castle Rock, Colorado, or viewed on-line at www.douglas.co.us.

Legal Notice No. 944234

First Publication: November 24, 2022

Last Publication: November 24, 2022

Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.