Clear Creek Courant June 19, 2025

SHOUTING OUT FUR-LING FEST

Testing shows PFAS in many mountain water systems

BY JANE REUTER

Conifer resident Ralf Topper was taken aback earlier this year when he saw a noti cation at his doctor’s o ce warning of chemical contamination of the domestic water supply.

In a random state test conducted in April 2024, Conifer Medical Center tested positive

for PFOA or per uorooctanoic acid, part of a larger group of manmade chemicals known as PFAS or forever chemicals.

Topper has since learned the center is among many places in the area with systems containing PFAS.

“When I went on the (state) website and looked at where they had positive results, I was very surprised to see how

ubiquitous this contamination was,” he said. “ is is not point sourced. is is now throughout our environment, and that’s really scary.”

Conifer High School also tested positive for the chemical, along with 26 water systems identi ed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in 2024 as exceeding the new federal stan-

dards.

Treatment systems

PFAs are human-made chemicals that resist oils, stains, water, and heat. e chemicals are common in non-stick coatings on cookware, coatings for carpets and fabrics, paper and cardboard food packaging, re-

Colorado fire risk grows as federal funding wanes

Uncertain federal support undercuts preparedness in Colorado communities

BY LINDSEY TOOMER NEWSLINE

Wild re experts say the best way for Colorado to reduce the destructive power of wild res is to prepare a proactive response supported by the federal government.

But it’s uncertain whether federal resources will continue to support re mitigation and resilience projects, and organizations that work on those projects are no longer sure whom to talk to at federal agencies they’ve previously worked with. In a re-prone state that’s entering the warm months, this has reduced momentum on re prevention e orts some experts say are essential to protecting Colorado communities. e Trump administration has upended federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management with sta reductions and reorganizations. And the federal hiring freeze Trump implemented on inauguration day has meant many open positions are left un lled.

Rebecca Samulski, executive director of Fire Adapted Colorado, a nonpro t that supports wild re resilience professionals around the state, said the energy around proactive mitigation has “kind of stalled right now,” as organizations determine how to stay a oat without the guarantee of federal support. With all of the moving pieces, prevention experts have again become reactive while trying to “stay sane.”

“I just think it’s really important that

Same parking contractor, better deal

Idaho Springs reaches new contract with Interstate Parking

BY CHRISTOPHER KOEBERL CHRIS@COTLN.ORG

Idaho Springs City Council voted to sign a new contract with the current parking contractor, Interstate Parking.

is was after city sta and council members reviewed o ers and terms from nine competitive bidders for the parking contract in the downtown area.

e new deal, approved June 9, shifts the percentage of parking pro ts from a 50/50 split between city and Interstate to a 66.6% and 33.3% split in the city’s favor. e same percentages will apply to revenue from parking violations, according to Mayor Chuck Harmon.

“When I say we were expecting a revenue of $580,000 from parking this year, that was also $580,000 for Interstate under the 50/50 agreement,” Harmon said.

“So you can see a 66.6% on our end, and a 33.3% on their end, is a six- gure improvement for the city.”

e new contract also shifts the percentage of revenue from parking violations written by Interstate employees.

“Interstate used to take 65% of the ticket revenue because of the rather exhaustive time for collection,” Harmon said.

e city has taken that o the table, according to the Mayor. Going forward, Interstate will gets 33.3% of the ticket revenue, with the city receiving the other 66.6%.

Harmon stressed the city is not looking to make money with a larger percentage of the violation revenue. In fact, Harmon said he’d like to see the revenue from parking tickets go down, along with the number of citations written overall in the

how long.

ghting foams, ski wax and other products. ey don’t break down easily and can stay in the environment and in the human body for a long time. In fact, the American Cancer Society says studies have found PFAS worldwide at very low levels in just about everyone’s blood.

Both the Conifer Medical Center and the high school, which volunteered for the testing, have since implemented treatment systems to mitigate exposure.

“No one is serving water in the area with PFAS above maximum containment levels,” said David Dani, emerging contaminants coordinator for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “ ey did detect levels about the EPA’s national containment levels.”

e EPA announced strict new maximum levels in April 2024, prompting the round of testing. At the same time, the federal government also tagged more than $10 billion to help communities test and treat drinking water — money intended for rural or disproportionately impacted areas.

While studies are ongoing, they suggest links between several health factors and PFAS exposure.

“If you don’t treat it and people are exposed to these chemicals for a long time, they may be at higher risk for certain health e ects,” Dani said. “ e risk of health e ects depends on how much of it you’re exposed to, how often and for

downtown area.

Last year, the city took in $118,000 in parking violations, according to budget gures.

Downtown business leaders requested an attempt to decrease the number of violations written to keep people and revenue coming back, according to Idaho Springs Director of Business & Community Promotion Sadie Schultz.

“Nobody wants to get a parking ticket associated with coming to Idaho Springs, so by reducing the incentive on parking violations and creating more of a warning-based system, we feel we should see a decrease in parking violations,” Schultz said.

“We want people to have a great experience and return, not leave mad,” Harmon said. “We want to ticket only the most egregious violators and have happy return customers.”

A new website ParkIdahosprings.com provides an interactive map of where to

“ e reason we are concerned is that there is strong evidence some PFAS can a ect the immune system, decrease infant birth rate, increase cholesterol, and increase the risk of kidney cancer.”

Bottled water and filters

Conifer Medical Center has taken steps to protect its clients.

“We did test positive, and they told us to post signs that no one should drink the water,” said practice administrator Denise Stuart. “Our patients are given bottled water, and our employees have a reverse osmosis system that lters the PFOA.”

Conifer High School did not return calls requesting comment, but Dani said it uses water- lling stations and carbon lters.

“One of the solutions for schools is to put in some of these treatment units that remove the PFAS and have students and faculty ll their bottles and get drinking water from those locations,” he said. “With water used for consumption for cooking, there are carbon units you can install that’ll remove the PFAS from the water.”

Help for private testing

e state provides free testing, Dani said.

“We launched a PFAS testing and assistance system to support residents with private wells to test their water,” Dani said, adding that results are inconsistent within small areas. “We may nd it in one well and a neighboring well may not detect PFAS. at’s why we encourage ev-

park in the downtown area and the associated fees, some now as little as 50 cents for short-term parking.

It also has a link for Idaho Springs and Clear Creek residents to register vehicles for free downtown parking anytime.

eryone to test and take advantage of our program.

“If they do nd PFAS in their well, we help explain what the results mean. And if they have PFAS levels above EPA drinking water standards, we have support to help certain people with water lters.

ere are a lot of solutions out there.”

e lters are available to those with speci c PFAS levels who meet income eligibility requirements.

Topper, a retired senior hydrogeologist with the Colorado Division of Water Resources, wants his neighbors to know about the possible contaminants in their water. Despite his knowledge of groundwater, he said he knew woefully little about PFAS.

“I thought of PFAS or any contaminant as emanating from some sort of point source,” he said. “ e one you hear most often is re ghting foam, which is not a common use in the mountain communities. So I might expect areas around a re station could have some contamination because they certainly train with it.

“But there are a lot of sources, including cookware and clothes. Maybe it washed out in the laundry or dishwasher and ends up in our septic, which of course recharges our groundwater. And we pull it up through our well and recycle it again.”

He wants his neighbors to be aware and take action if they discover it’s an issue in their home. Private wells, common in the mountains, are not regulated by maximum containment levels, so owners must test their water themselves to nd out if it’s an issue in their home.

“What really bothered me is that the only way I happened to stumble on this is

because of a piece of paper posted on the door of my medical o ce,” Topper said. “ e problem is, while they’ve identi ed some health e ects of it – and clearly the EPA thinks it’s a very serious matter – it’s relatively new. We don’t have medical data for decades to show what this stu is doing.

“ e upside is you can treat the water. It can be ltered out, and it’s not that expensive,” he added.

Finding PFAS everywhere

Topper had his home water tested, but said he’d prefer not to share the results. But he wonders if others, including area restaurants, are doing the same.

Dani, who spoke about PFAS at the April Conifer Area Council Town Hall, said the issue isn’t limited to the foothills.

“ is isn’t just an isolated area where we’re detecting PFAS,” he said. “We’re nding PFAS above the EPA’s maximum containment levels in di erent areas statewide.”

Topper believes far more should be done to address the problem than testing and ltering out PFAS.

“We as a society need to take some action here and sue these manufacturers,” he said. “ e fact that manufacturers are still making products with these chemicals in products is unacceptable. Let’s shut that down.”

For more information on PFAS, including the state’s testing and assistance, and grants program, visit this page dedicated speci cally to the issue.

CDPHE also has a map on its website that map that shows PFAS-positive areas and their levels throughout Colorado.

This map created by the Colorado Department of Health shows where PFAS has been found in the state’s public water systems. COURTESY IMAGE Water in Conifer High School tested positve for PFAS, so-called Forever Chemicals.

JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS

Downtown Idaho Springs on June 11. City Councilors are hoping to reduce parking violations. CHRIS KOEBERL

Sellers Are Putting Homes on the MLS, But Buyers Are Playing Hard to Get

In this article, I’m going to provide a market analysis that you won’t find anywhere else. Using my access to the Denver MLS, I will show you what is happening among listings within a 25-mile radius of downtown Denver that are active, pending and sold between $550,000 and $650,000.

I chose the price range because $600,000 is the median sold price in our market, unchanged from a year ago. I chose the 25-mile radius because that defines the metro area in my opinion. Every other statistical report you’ll read analyzes listings in 7 to 10 metro area counties, some of which extend many miles into the mountains (Park county) or out onto the plains (Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties). If you live in the Denver metro area as most people define it, my statistics are going to more accurately reflect the reality of our metro market.

Currently, as I write this on Tuesday, there are 1,543 active single family homes listed in that price range and in that 25-mile radius on REcolorado. Only 180 of them have been on the market 7 days or less, so 88.3% of them have been on the MLS over a week without selling

dian listing sold for its listing price, but 20 sold for between 5 and 14 percent below the listing price.

Median days on the MLS is 38

738 listings are “pending,” and 219 of them went under contract within 7 days, so 70.3% of them lingered on the market over a week before selling. Median days on market for the pending listings is 11

Now let’s look at the 561 listings which closed in the last 30 days, not the month of May. Ten of them sold before they were entered on the MLS, and another 224 went under contract in 7 days or less. So, 57.9% of those closed listings lingered on the MLS over a week. Median days on the MLS before going under contract was 11. The me-

Denver Leads the Nation in Increase of Unsold Listings

Compare those percentages, which I have put in bold for easy spotting. There’s over a 30% difference between the percentage of sold and active listings that have lingered unsold on the MLS for over a week.

Also compare the days on MLS. The median pending and closed listings went under contract in 11 days, but the active listings have a median days on MLS of 38. Any real estate professional will tell you it’s pricing. Many active listings may now be at a price that would have sold quickly, but they were overpriced in the beginning and now fail to get buyers’ attention.

979 days on the MLS — 95 have reduced their prices, but not enough to go under contract yet. Some of those price reductions are pretty dramatic, too. Nine of them have reduced their prices by $100,000 or more, and one by $250,000 — and they still haven’t gone under contract! As mentioned above, I would wager that if those listings had started out at their current price as new listings, they would have sold quickly and possibly above their current listing price, but they remain active today as stale listings, which are harder to sell at any price.

The bottom line of this analysis should be clear by now. If a home is not priced right in the beginning, it runs the risk of lingering on the market. Price reductions should be considered within a week if there are few showings and no offers. Don’t wait a month or longer to reduce the price.

The above article first appeared on the real estate page of last Saturday’s Denver Post.

Decline in First-Time Homebuyers

The chart from realtor.com displayed below shows the wide disparity in the increase of active listings compared to before the pandemic. The darker the red, the greater the increase over pre-pandemic levels, and Denver is the darkest at a 100% increase, or double the number of pre-pandemic listings. Coming in second was Austin with 69% increase, then Seattle with 60.9% increase.

Of course, many of those active listings which haven’t sold will either be withdrawn from the MLS or will expire without selling. Indeed, there are already 87 listings in that price range in that area that were “withdrawn” from the MLS in the last 30 days. That means they are still subject to a listing agreement but have been withdrawn from the MLS for one reason or another. The median days on the MLS before being withdrawn was 41.

The cities in blue still don’t have as many active listings as they did prior to the pandemic. Worst cases are Hartford at minus 77.7%, Chicago at minus 59.3%, and Virginia Beach at minus 56.7%.

See http://RealEstateToday.substack.com for additional analysis.

Check Out My Two Blogs

Everything you read in this ad (and more) is posted on our Real Estate Today Substack blog. Scan the QR code at left to open and subscribe to it — free of course. Each article and listing is there, often with additional content and graphics, plus useful hyperlinks.

My other Substack is Talking Turkey, a left-of-center political blog. It is not in print anywhere. Click on the QR code at right if you would like to see what I have to say.

There are 760 listings in that price range and area which “expired” without selling in the last 30 days, with a median days on the MLS of 70. Of them, 51 expired despite price reductions of up to $125,000.

Of the 100 oldest sold listings (between 68 and 339 days on the MLS) that went under contract in that price range and in that area, all but 9 of them only sold after reducing their listing price at least once. The average price reduction was $39,000, with the highest being $251,000.

Among the 100 oldest listings that are still active on REcolorado — ranging from 152 to

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports only 24% of housing sales last year were by first-time homebuyers, down from 50% in 2010. The typical purchaser is also older than in the past, with an average age of 38, or about 10 years above historical norms.

Roughly 20% of listed homes in March were affordable for households with $75,000 in annual income, according to a NAR analysis of property listings. Today, a household with annual income of $50,000 can only afford 8.7% of listings, down from 9.4% a year ago, according to the data.

These are national figures, however. The NAR report (for which you’ll find a hyperlink at http;// RealEstateToday.substack.com) does not provide separate figures for our market, which is probably even more severe in this regard.

These Past “Real Estate Today” Columns May Interest You

Clickable links for each column can be found at www.JimSmithColumns.com

Feb. 20, 2025 — We Have a Tool to Help You Find the ‘Perfect’ Home That’s Not on the MLS

Dec. 26, 2024 — As Pro-Tenant Laws Expand, Some Small Landlords Are Considering Cashing Out

Dec. 19, 2024 — What Are the Costs of Buying or Selling a Home in Colorado?

Nov. 7, 2024 — We Need to Take Seriously the Pollutants Emitted When Cooking With Gas

Oct. 31, 2024 — Cooperative Living Presents an Attractive Alternative for Downsizing Seniors

Sept. 26, 2024 — Some Thoughts on Keeping Your Death From Becoming an Undue Burden on Your Heirs

Sept. 5, 2024 — What Knowledge and Skills Should You Expect Your Real Estate Agent to Have?

Aug. 8, 2024 — Seniors Over 70 Might Consider Downsizing Into a Rental, Not a Smaller Home

July 25, 2024 — Many Homeowners Don’t Understand Title Issues, Which Could Lead to Big Problems Later On

June 6, 2024 — Here Are Some Simple Steps to Take to Avoid Unpleasant Surprises After Closing

Mar. 21, 2024 — What’s Behind the Buzz About ‘Indoor Air Quality’ and ‘Sick Building Syndrome’?

Feb. 22, 2024 — Most Sellers Don’t Know How to Interview a Listing Agent. Here’s Some Guidance.

Dec. 21, 2023 — D.R. Horton Inks Deal to Build Homes With OSB Made From Grass Instead of Wood

Nov. 23, 2023 — Scamming Has Become Its Own Industry, and We’re All Prospective Victims

Sept. 28, 2023 — Insurance Companies Are Pulling Out of California. Is That in Our Future?

Aug. 10, 2023 — What Are Some Common Mistakes That Homeowners Make When Selling?

June 15, 2023 — Don’t Let Capital Gains Tax Deter You From Cashing Out on an Investment Property

May 11, 2023 — Do Agents Inflate the Cost of Buying or Selling Your Home with ‘Junk Fees’?

Apr. 20, 2023 — What Are Some Affordable Ways to Make Your Home More Attractive to Buyers?

Mar. 16, 2023 — Here Are Some Ways to Make Your Home More Accommodating to Seniors

Feb. 9, 2023 — Understanding Indoor Air Quality and How It’s Managed in Super-Insulated Homes

Oct. 27, 2022 — Sales Taxes May Be Lower, But Property Taxes Are Higher in Unincorporated Areas

Oct. 6, 2022 — How to Make Sure That the House You Buy Will Not Be a ‘Money Pit’

Sept. 22, 2022 — What Steps Can You Take to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient?

July 28, 2022 — Aging in Place vs. Moving to a 55+ Community: Here Are Some Considerations

May 26, 2022 — Reflections on Selling Our Home and Moving Into a 55+ Rental Community

Jan. 6, 2022 — Marshall Fire Is a Wake-up Call for Building More Fire-Resistant Homes

Dec. 2, 2021 — My Favorite Home Improvements When Purchasing a New-to-Me Home

Oct. 14, 2021 — Court Rules That Sending an Email Can Bind You, Even Without Signing It

Oct. 7, 2021 — What Are the Most Common Foundation Issues You Might Encounter in a Home?

Idaho Springs Elks Lodge yard sale a bargain

Locals set up at least a dozen tables filled with unique stu for sale

BY CHRIS KOEBERL CHRIS@COTLN.ORG

Tents covered table after table at the lot adjacent to the Idaho Springs Elks Lodge 607 at 1600 Colorado Blvd for a community yard sale.

e sale also featured dozens of live plants, herbs and other greenery o ered to the shopping public at a price. e price for renting space at the Elks sale was just $25.

“We’ve made our money back, it’s just a central location to hold a community garage sale,” said Todd Russell, leading Knight of Elks Lodge.

Tourists and some locals kept the community sale packed with shoppers at the event June 7.

“We just moved to Georgetown and we had double of everything, so we’re here to sell half our stu ,” Lauren Borghard and Steven Crowe said, sitting next to their tables of treasure.

e couple moved to Denver from New York before they realized the Mile High City was not for them.

“We were down in Denver, and we gured everyone down there wants to be invisible, they want no connection, they want to do whatever they want and it was not the lifestyle we were looking for,” Borghard said. “We gured in the mountains we’d be able to get a nice sense of community and we’d be able to meet some people with similar interests as us. It’s been great so far, we’ve been here two months and we love it.”

Russell said the Elks hold the event to give locals a chance to bring their unwanted stu from around the area to a central location on Colorado Boulevard that gets lots of drive-by or walk-by attention from locals and tourists.

Any money raised from the event, the Elks plan to donate to one of their many charities, according to Russell.

The Elks Lodge community sale in Idaho Springs on June 7 was a perfect spot to find some bargains and am live plants.

Elks Lodge in Idaho Springs holds community garage sale June 7.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KOEBERL

Lauren Borghard and Steven Crowe of Georgetown mind their booth at Elks Lodge community sale in Idaho Springs June 7.

BY CHRISTOPHER KOEBERL CHRIS@COTLN.ORG

Downtown Idaho Springs goes to the dogs

Kids, locals, tourists and a whole lot of dogs lled the streets of downtown Idaho Springs as music and fur lled the air for the 2nd annual Fur-ling Fest.

e Furlings Fest is an adaptation of the annual Fruhlingsfest in Germany, which means “spring festival,” according to event organizers, including Tommyknocker Brew Pub, again this year, and Charlie’s Place.

According to the support group Friend’s of Charlie’s Place, it is a 501 (c) non-pro t designed to help support the Clear Creek/ Gilpin County Animal Shelter, a non-kill shelter in Dumont, Colorado.

“We are a sta of dedicated volunteers who strive to do all that we can to help with the needs of the animals at Charlie’s Place, and to o er assistance, when we can, to the companion animals and their owners within our community,” reads a statement from Friends of Charlie’s Place.

Dozens of vendors, along with several animal shelters including Charlie’s Place, set up information booths for their shelters and how the adoption process works. Big dogs, big hearts

and Golden.

“We’re bringing people into our story, we want people to experience all things Idaho Springs and the authentic mountain town experience. Small town, big heart you get to know your neighbors, it’s a fun place to be,” Schultz said.

e band “Coyote Circle” out of Gilpin County provided the music outside Tommyknockers for the day.

Jessica Gallagher recently moved to St. Mary’s from Denver with her dog Gracie

“ is community is so dog friendly, it’s just so cool you don’t have to leave them at home you can bring them, you know we’re all part of a family so we can enjoy it together,” Gallagher said.

Shortly after moving in, she started seeing another dog in the area hanging around her house and playing with Gracie.

“Lulu lived in our neighborhood and she would come visit Gracie when she would break free from her yard, they were friends,” Gallagher said.

“ en she (Lulu) started hanging around the house a little bit longer, she wasn’t going home, so we took her to Charlie’s Place and discovered that her owner had passed away in a car accident, so she was homeless for about 10-days,” Gallagher said. “So now we foster her from Charlie’s Place. She found me.”

“ ey’re harder to get placed and they’re more expensive to foster and so we really did decide to concentrate on the big kids and it’s been very good,” Harken said. e big dog group said they rely on

Kati Harken and husband, Dale, were at the event supporting their organization “Big Dogs Huge Paws” out of Denver. “We are a giant breed rescue, all of our volunteers foster dogs in their homes,” Harken said. e couple brought their two big dogs “Wolfgang” and “Arnie,” an Argentinian Masti .

grants and donations to support the project.

Free caricatures and pet photography sponsored by the city, according to Sadie Schultz, Idaho Springs’ director of Business & Community Promotion. e event brought families and couples with their dogs from Clear Creek County communities as well as Denver, Arvada

One-year-old Jackson Rangler, from Idaho Springs, smiled and laughed at the puppies and the people crowding the street — all while tightly strapped to her mother Jessica Rangler.

“We love it, all the tourists coming in giving business to the downtown merchants. It’s a great way to kick o a summer of events,” Rangler said.

Lulu stands in front of her play pal Gracie while Jessica Gallagher from St. Mary’s keeps it together in Idaho Springs June 7. CHRIS KOEBERL

Clear Creek closed to swimming, tubing amid rising water levels

Restrictions go into e ect June 9 in Golden, unincorporated Je co

BY CORRINE WESTEMAN CORRINE@COTLN.ORG

Rising river levels promoted the Je erson County Sheri ’s O ce and the Golden Police Department to implement red ag restrictions as of noon June 9, closing Clear Creek to swimming and tubing.

ese restrictions extend from Je co’s western edge through Golden city limits, including Vanover Park, according to a June 9 Sheri ’s Ofce press release.

Under red ag restrictions, only kayaks, whitewater canoes, multi-chambered professionally guided raft and riverboards may operate in the creek. ese users should wear life jackets and helmets at all times, and proceed with extreme caution as water levels grow higher and faster in the coming days.

e restrictions will be strictly enforced to minimize the risk to those using the creek, the Sheri ’s O ce said. Violators may be issued a pettyo ense summons, punishable by a $100 ne.

As local rescuers have previously explained, water in Clear Creek can reach about 15 mph at peak ows. While that doesn’t seem fast compared to a car, rescuers have stressed that it’s much faster than people can swim. Plus, water temperatures are so low, people without proper gear can become hypothermic very quickly.

“ e river is powerful,” Lt. Joe Bechina of the Golden Fire Department said last June. “It’ll win every time.”

Authorities will lift restrictions when water levels and speeds decrease. Based on recent years’ run-o trends, that may be in late June or early July.

In the interim, Clear Creek visitors may see reghters and other rescuers conducting swiftwater training along the creek this month. It remains a popular training spot for rescuers from all over the country, including several local agencies.

Before recreating at the creek, visitors should check the ag warning status either online at VisitGolden.com or via the physical ags posted on the bridges over Clear Creek.

Support for Medicaid cuts low in Colorado

Just 21% favor decreased Medicaid spending

BY DELILAH BRUMER NEWSLINE

Just 21% of Colorado voters want Congress to decrease Medicaid spending, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Concerns about gutted health care access come as U.S. Senate Republican leaders work to push through a tax and spending bill that would cut Medicaid by an estimated $625 billion over the next decade.

e poll zeroed in on the 8th Congressional District, which includes the northern Denver metro area and parts of Weld County. In the district, where1 in 4 residents receive Medicaid bene ts, 63% of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to cut Medicaid.

e 8th District is represented by Republican Gabe Evans, who voted in favor of the plan that would reduce federal Medicaid spending when it was brought to the U.S. House of Representatives in May.

A spokesperson for Evans defended the vote, saying a proposed provision to institute parttime work requirements for some people to

retain Medicaid eligibility would make “the program more e cient by cutting out fraud, waste, and abuse.”

“Congressman Gabe Evans has been steadfast in his support of protecting Medicaid for the vulnerable populations it was created to serve — pregnant women, kids, and disabled people,” said spokesperson Delanie Bomar in a statement Tuesday.

Evans, who was elected to the House last year, represents one of the country’s few congressional swing districts. According to the poll, 42% of voters in the district want to see increased federal Medicaid spending, 20% want it to stay about the same and 28% want it to decrease.

Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for lower-income people and some with disabilities, serves more than 70 million U.S. residents.

e poll of 675 registered Colorado voters was conducted by Broom eld-based rm Magellan Strategies on behalf of the nonpro t Healthier Colorado. It has a margin of error of 3.7%.

“Politicians are saying that they want to cut Medicaid to make it better, but the poll shows clearly that voters aren’t buying what they’re selling,” said Jake Williams, CEO of Healthier Colorado. “It shows that there’s real political peril for any candidate who votes to cut Med-

icaid.”

Bomar pointed to the poll’s ndings that many respondents, especially those who are Republicans or una liated, said Medicaid “should only be for U.S. citizens or legal residents, with some calling for stricter eligibility enforcement.”

Immigrants who are in the U.S. unlawfully are not eligible for federal Medicaid bene ts, but Colorado and 13 other states provide some state-funded coverage to immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Under the proposed federal cuts, an estimated 7.8 million people, most of them citizens or lawful residents, would lose access to Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget O ce.

Some of the main reasons cited in the poll by respondents who said they have favorable opinions of Medicaid are the bene ts it provides to low-income Coloradans, seniors, children, people with disabilities and single parents.

“ e poll shows that Medicaid cuts would have devastating e ects for both our health and economy here in Colorado,” Williams said. “I also think it shows that Colorado voters aren’t dummies.”

is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.

Clear Creek Courant (USPS 52610)

A legal newspaper of general circulation in Idaho Springs, Colorado, the Clear Creek Courant is published weekly on Thursday by The Colorado Trust for Local News, 1630 Miner St., Idaho Springs, CO 80452.

PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT Idaho Springs.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Clear Creek Courant, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110

Call first: 1630 Miner St., Idaho Springs, CO 80452

Mailing Address: 143 S. 2nd Pl., Brighton, CO 80601

Phone: 303-566-4100

Web: ClearCreekCourant.com

To subscribe call 303-566-4100 or Scan this QR

SCOTT TAYLOR Editor scott@cotln.org

CHRIS KOEBERL Community Editor chris@cotln.org

JOHN RENFROW Sports Editor john@cotln.org

SUZIE GLASSMAN Education Editor suzie@cotln.org

DONNA REARDON Marketing Consultant dreardon@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

BUSINESS INQUIRIES For advertiser or vendor questions, please email our business department at accounting@ coloradocommunitymedia.com

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Courant. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to scott@cotln.org

Deadline Tues. for the following week’s paper.

A publication of CORRECTIONS

Colorado Trust for Local News asks readers to make us aware of mistakes we may have made.

Email scott@cotln.org if you notice a possible error you would like us to take a look at.

Dive Rescue International trainees practice contact rescues June 4, 2024 in Clear Creek near Golden City Hall. DRI and local rescue agencies have been training for swiftwater rescues along the creek in recent weeks. FILE PHOTO

Ben Bohren kayaks May 20 at Golden’s Clear Creek Whitewater Park. Golden’s section of Clear Creek is a popular spot for kayakers year-round, but particularly during the summertime run-o season FILE PHOTO

We the People: America Is an Idea

What is a country? What makes it up? Is it an enclosed area populated by people speaking a common language, honoring certain customs and traditions, and practicing similar religions? Are there traits a country’s people share? Perhaps love for a particular sport: football, sumo wrestling, rugby. Or cuisine: lasagna, frog legs, sushi. What about size and history? Ideas abound when thinking of a country’s makeup.

My questions aren’t meant to be a query into geo-political dynamics but instead to prompt thinking about how America is distinct relative to other countries.

Peggy Noonan says America was invented. I prefer constructed or built since it was a matter of our Founders piecing together building blocks that had been created over the ages including democracy, trial by jury, and due process. Maybe it’s a matter of semantics because in the end we’d probably agree America’s founding was unique.

A few countries are ancient despite undergoing iterations throughout their history. China and India along with Egypt and Greece come to mind. Others formed through evolution. Due to the migrating tribes that swept into Europe over the millennia, sometimes displacing and sometimes blending with the native populations, Europe is lled with such countries. It’s a fascinating story, one that might add

JERRY FABYANIC

When we, as Americans, see the word “freedom,” our minds move quickly to the political nuances of the idea.

We celebrate our constitutional freedoms of speech, press, assembly and a host of other things. We are so steeped in appreciation of these precious political freedoms that sometimes we forget about the myriads of freedoms we experience in other ways in our lives.

For school-age youth, summer brings a celebration of freedom from the perceived grind of school. At 16 years old, I distinctly remember the freedom I felt holding my driver’s license in one hand and keys to a car in the other.

at feeling grew when my father sent me to the local grocery store to get things for dinner, and I chose a di erent route to the business than he would have taken. Young adults living on their own for the rst time experience the freedom of deciding when to go to bed or clean their space and what to eat for dinner. As a parent, I still smile thinking about the freedom that came with the end of diapers and car seats over 25 years ago.

At some point in our lives, we encounter freedom-stealers, things that rob us of spontaneity and impact us physically.

For me, my MS diagnosis in 2009 initiated a progression of freedom-stealers. It started slowly. I did not have the freedom to run up and down the basketball court as I had. e heat of summer days began to drain my energy.

Eventually holding my wife’s hand on walks was stolen because my gate was too unsteady, and I was forced to navigate my foot drop. In the last 18 months, walking downstairs without a railing has not

spice to your research into your family’s origins.   America, though, is di erent. Other than the native populations, people didn’t happen upon here; they intentionally came, initially from Spain, France, and England mainly. Most carried with them their birth country’s traditions and practices, especially religion.

But the English colonists’ experience di ered from the other two. First, they were primarily Protestant, not Catholic, and largely guided by the Calvinistic Puritan Ethic. Further, their unifying principle centered around one broad idea: freedom. And with that came diversity, tolerance, and acceptance, even if they weren’t ideally practiced.

With the Magna Carta, the instinct for liberty became ingrained in the English consciousness. It was enhanced by the rise of mercantilism and the schism between the English and Roman Churches. So by the 1770s, it became a fool’s errand for King George III, Lord North, et al to try to whip the Americans, who no longer consider themselves English, into shape. It was that mindset that led to the Americans to take up arms. ey fought, bled, and died for freedom. ey bequeathed it

to us, and that idea is a tenet of America to this day.  at said, there are some in great positions of power who have a di erent view about the meaning of America. eirs is a transactional, self-serving perspective. It’s not principled. Rather, it’s utilitarian, which according to Merriam-Webster, means “the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain.” ey see America as a playground, a venue to accumulate wealth. It’s a tension currently being played out in our socio-political exchange.  at and them aside, there’s more than the sanctity of freedom and opportunity that bind us. ere’s social trust, among us the people and in our institutions. ere are commonly shared traditions and customs like reworks on the Fourth of July and football on anksgiving Day. ere are honored and sacred sites that should be inviolate—places of worship and learning and forums for free speech, from sidewalk soap boxes to press rooms— even if one doesn’t believe in their preachings and agree with their teachings and opinions.

It’s been an ongoing struggle to defend and expand that fundamental idea of America. It got especially ugly in the Civil War, but it didn’t doom the American experiment. A poignant tale from it is telling and relevant.

In “ ese Generals Were the Closest of

Enemies,” Peggy Noonan recounts an anecdote, originally told in Michael Shaara’s “ e Killer Angels,” about the enduring friendship between two Civil War generals, Win eld Scott Hancock of the Union and Lewis “Lo” Armistead of the Confederacy. As fate would have it, they nearly met face to face at the Battle of Gettysburg. Scott was wounded but survived; Armistead died of his wounds in a Union hospital tent.

When the war began, Armistead sent Hancock’s wife a package that she was to open only in the event of his death. She honored his request. It was Armistead’s family Bible.

Peggy says stories like these are part of our history and shouldn’t be lost because if we lose them, we lose part of ourselves and “part of the gift we give our immigrants.”

“We’ve overcome a great deal,” she writes. “We see this best if we don’t deny our history but tell the whole messy, complicated, embarrassing, ennobling tale.” Now, there’s an idea for you.

Postscript: My thanks to reader Gary for reminding me that Steve Goodman, not Arlo Guthrie, wrote “City of New Orleans.” My phrasing in “American Pie” implied otherwise.

Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.

The meaning of freedom in the eyes of Americans

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

been possible. For my mother-in-law who lives with us, walking with a walker and sometimes needing a wheelchair has been her freedom-stealer.

Losing those subtle freedoms means adjusting my perspectives and nding ways to be resilient. It Is why I write this column; it is why I started Voices We Miss which captures the stories of our elders. As my physical freedom has declined, I have dedicated more of my time to demonstrating the expanse of freedom that we give ourselves by being resilient.

While I work diligently to remain resilient, the fact is that freedom stealers are exhausting. For example, at our home, I had been reduced to one way in and one way out. Our rail-less front and back doorsteps made it impossible for me to use those doors. Going to the front yard or our beautiful backyard meant going through the garage, the only way I could safely navigate in and out. ese cumbersome actions were frustrating, and the height of the garage steps made the journey somewhat precarious. For my mother-in-law, navigating the single step to the front porch before being wheeled down a steeply inclined temporary ramp required heroic courage. Holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day remind us of the service work so many did to secure our political freedoms. Last ursday, the Home Builders Foundation and a volunteer team from Berkeley Homes gifted us

with freedoms of a much di erent kind. In six hours, this team sel essly, joyously, built a ramp that allows us to open our front door and walk into our front yard. ey added a railing to the steps to the back yard to make it more accessible and redid the steps into the garage to facilitate safer access. ese changes are transformational.

To those who have the freedom of moving up and downstairs without issue, this will seem minor, as it always did to me before. Now it feels like they have opened the world. ey have given us the freedom to walk out our front door. ey have given me the opportunity to age in this house in a way that would have been impossible without their support. ey have restored an element of freedom to our lives.

I don’t have the words to describe how incredibly thankful I am to those who have given of their time to expand our freedom. ose special people include:

• Luis Carrero, the By the Brush contractor, who saw how I struggled to enter the house, suggested that I reach out to someone he knew could help.

• Michael Solano, a disabled American veteran, the person Luis knew who provided me a temporary ramp for entering the house and put me in contact with the service organization Home Builders Foundation (HBF).

• HBF the service organization who has helped so many by providing experts, supplies, and volunteers to create home modi cations for people with disabilities.

• Berkley Homes and their incredible team who volunteered their time and expertise to transform our home.

I am over owing in appreciation for what they have given us.

Beyond the freedom we gained, there was for me a lesson about my perspectives of service. I have dedicated my life to serving others. I spent 34 years in public school education, a job steeped in service to others.

I cherish my years of service and the joy I was able to bring to those around me. But there was an arrogance in my attitude about service that spoke to the idea that I serve, I do not receive the gift of service. I only saw service as what I did for others thinking I did not need help from anyone. Today, I wake up and see receiving service in brand new ways. I understand now that to accept the service of others requires being vulnerable, open to sharing the way your freedoms have been stolen and having a willingness to accept gifts.

I have seen the impacts of service from both sides now. What I learned was thar one does not exist without the other. I also learned that both take courage, both take openness, and both are beautiful.

I hope my words encourage you and that you will share them with those who need support. ank you to everyone who has shared their stories with me so far; I truly appreciate hearing about the valuable ideas you nd in these columns and how you use them to uplift those around you.

Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife, Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one-two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences. Contact him at jim.roome@gmail.com.

Columnist

Jim Roome

anShaara’s enduring generUnion Confednearly Gettyssurvived; Union sent to She Armistead’s of because ourselves immishe deny comfor not Orleans.” implied “Sisyphus on Georgetown. there perspectives servschool othjoy me. attitude I service. others anyone. sernow requires way havfrom thar also take that need has truly valuable how wife, education. punch before termias his inspire, and at

State utilities see no beauty in the federal budget bill

Two U.S. representatives from Colorado, Je Hurd and Gabe Evans, will be walking a tight rope posed by One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

How exactly will they explain why they voted for the sprawling 1,000-page bill. If adopted by the Senate as written, the law would certainly raise electricity rates and slow the adoption of electric vehicles.

Together with the topsy-turvy tari s imposed by President Donald Trump on China, the bill may help drive up prices of gas-fueled cars and trucks, too.

In Durango, La Plata Electric Association has already seen impacts of the bill. e electrical cooperative received bids for its all-sources solicitation for 150 megawatts of generation. Wind, solar, natural gas — even geothermal and nuclear were eligible. Because of the uncertainty of federal tax incentives, all bids were higher than otherwise expected.

Chris Hansen, the chief executive, said most interesting to him were impacts of the proposed bill coupled with Trump’s 50% tari s on steel and aluminum. e cost of new electrical transformers has already gone up signi cantly.

We discussed the development of socalled emerging technologies like geothermal. Developers need long-term certainty to justify their investments. “ ey’re much more di cult to do if you have policy uncertainty,” Hansen said. Hurd and Evans were among 21 Republican representatives who in March signed a letter to legislative leaders that asked tax credits for clean energy be preserved to “increase domestic manufacturing, promote energy innovation and keep utility costs down.” Hurd signed another letter in early May asking that the incentives for innovation in nuclear energy remain.

Trump visited Capitol Hill two days before the vote, threatening any Republicans who voted no to expect opposition in their primaries. Two Republicans in the House did anyway, although two others did not vote and one merely showed up. All Democrats opposed the bill.

Evans won election last November by a whisker in the purplish Eighth Congressional District north of Denver. Hurd has a more comfortable margin in the Republican-leaning ird Congressional District. It covers much of the Western Slope and sprawls eastward to Pueblo and within shouting distance of the Oklahoma border.

Colorado, particularly along the Front Range, has become a hotspot for energy innovation and investment. Will a contraction occur if the House bill survives Senate scrutiny?

Vestas, the manufacturer of blades and nacelles for wind turbines at factories in Brighton and Windsor, invested $40 million in expansion and hired 700 people in expectation of orders for 1,000 turbines during 2025.

At Namaste Solar in Boulder, chief executive Jason Sharpe said he is unsure whether to plan for expansion or constriction. “As a business owner, how do you plan a business with this amount of uncertainty, trying to thread the needle between coping with political change and not creating panic among my employees? It’s challenging,” he said.

BIG PIVOTS

Republicans hold a three-vote advantage in the Senate, but four Republican senators in April sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John une cautioning against “the full-scale repeal of current credits.”

And Evans was among 13 Republicans in the House who led a letter on June 6 to une calling for the Senate to “substantively and strategically improve clean energy tax credit provisions” in the budget reconciliation bill.

“We just hit half-time. We’re still very much in the middle of this game,” said Harry Godfrey, who manages federal priorities for Advanced Energy United, a national industry association that monitors Colorado and 16 other states.

“ ey really went after just about everything that they could in the realm of clean energy and electric vehicles,” said Will Toor, who directs the Colorado Energy O ce. “I would certainly hope that cooler and wiser heads will prevail in the Senate.”

Soon after the House vote on May 22, Sen. Michael Bennet got an earful from leaders of Xcel Energy, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and other Colorado’s electrical utilities.

“ is casts a broad shadow on lots of the progress that the state has made in terms of power supply,” United Power CEO Mark Gabriel told Bennet.

“I am a practical businessman. I don’t have dreadlocks. I don’t wear Birkenstocks. is is not a crusade,” said Gabriel in a later interview.

At issue, he emphasized, is resource adequacy and reliability for his utility, which serves one of Colorado’s fastest-growing areas north and east of Denver, including many oil and gas operations. Because electricity is increasingly used in oil and gas extraction and transport, it could raise their fossil fuel costs, too.

“ ese tax credits are critical to keeping costs, and therefore rates, stable for our members,” said CORE Electrical Cooperative, which serves Castle Rock and other south-metro areas, including part of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s district, who also voted for the bill.

Holy Cross Energy has a goal of 100% emission-free electricity by 2030. In October and in April it surpassed 90%. For 2025, it expects to end up north of 80% compared to 50% just a few years ago — while maintaining among the lowest electrical rates in Colorado.

One of its programs, Power+FLEX, would be especially impacted. It encourages Holy Cross members to install batteries in a way that bene ts the homes and businesses but also allows Holy Cross to draw upon them when needed. Loss of the tax credit will make the batteries more expensive, dampening future demand. e bill before the Senate is indeed big. Beautiful? Not to Colorado’s electrical utilities.  is was extracted from a deeper dive on the budget reconciliation bill that can be found at BigPivots.com.

We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visit www.clearcreekcourant.com/calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email ckoeberl@coloradocommunitymedia. com

UPCOMING

Meet Clear Creek County Commissioners: 6 p.m. Wednesday June 25 at the Idaho Springs Health and Wellness Facility 1969 Miner St.

Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation District:8 a.m. Sat. June 28 Slacker Half Marathon Loveland ski area parking lot (Exit #216 o I-70).

Idaho Springs 4th of July: 10:45 Fri. July 4 music starts on Miner St. Fireworks will start at dark over the Water Wheel in Idaho Springs.

Georgetown 4th of July: 10:30 a.m. Fri. July 4th. Events at City Park and parade along Rose St. other events through-out the day.

GTIS Half Marathon: 7 a.m. start Aug. 9. Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon. Race starts at Georgetown Lake and nishes near the Idaho Springs Sports & Events Complex101 East Idaho Springs Road.

Rapidgrass Bluegrass Fest 2025: 4:30 p.m. Fri. Aug 15-16 Shelly/Quinn Fields, 101 East Idaho Springs Road, Idaho Springs, CO 80452

Empire Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup: 8 a.m. Sat. Sept 13 Help us tidy up 2 miles of Hwy 40 through Empire, CO. Meet at

the Empire Visitors Center 30 Park Ave, Idaho Springs.

ONGOING

Idaho Springs Lions Club meetings: 7:30 a.m. every rst and third ursday of the month at Marions of the Rockies, 2805 Colorado Blvd., Idaho Springs. Come join us and help to serve our community. For information – www.islions. org, email info@isLions.org or call 720608-1140.

Clear Creek Democrats: 5-7 p.m. “ irsty 3rd ursday” at the Vintage Moose, 12 16th Ave. in Idaho Springs. Non-alcoholic options and snacks are provided.

CASA of the Continental Divide seeks volunteers:CASACD promotes and protects the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in court proceedings through the advocacy e orts of trained CASA volunteers. Be the di erence and advocate for the youth in our community. e o ce can be reached at 970-513-9390.

Clear Creek EMS/Evergreen Fire Rescue Launch Mugs for Rugs Campaign: Bring an old throw rug and you’ll leave with a bright green mug! You can bring them to Station 1A in Dumont, 3400 Stanley Road, or you can email captains@clearcreekems.com and CCEMS will come to you to make the trade. Clear Creek EMS also o ers fall-risk assessments by bringing someone from the re department to make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. To request a visit, ll out the form at clearcreekcounty.us/1388/Com-

munity-Outreach.

Blue Spruce Habitat volunteers needed: Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers. A variety of opportunities and exible schedules are available on new construction sites as well as for exterior minor home repairs. No previous construction experience needed. Contact volunteer@ bluesprucehabitat.org for information.

Resilience1220 counseling: Young people 12 to 20 can get free counseling through an Evergreen-based organization called Resilience1220. Composed of licensed therapists, Resilience1220 serves individuals and groups in the foothills including Clear Creek County. ey also facilitate school and community groups to build life skills in wellness and resilience among youth. For more information or to schedule a counseling session, visit R1220.org, email Resilience1220@gmail.com or call 720-2821164.

Dental clinics: Cleanings, X-rays, dentures, tooth extractions and more. Most insurances are accepted including Medicaid. Sliding scale/low-cost options are also available. No appointment necessary. is is a mobile dentist that comes once a month. Call program manager Lauralee at 720-205-4449 for questions.

Clear Creek Rotary 2000 meetings: Clear Creek Rotary 2000 meets at 7:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Marion’s of the Rockies. 2805 Colorado Blvd., Idaho Springs. For more information, email loe er806@comcast.net.

Support after suicide loss: A safe place to share and learn after losing a loved one to suicide. is group meets every fourth Wednesday of the month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. via Zoom or in person at the Resilience1220 o ce. For ages 14 and up. Suggested donation for this group is $15. Register at resilience1220.org/groups.

Sensitive collection: Resilience1220 strives to inform and support highly sensitive people to live healthy and empowered lives. It meets the third Wednesday of each month from 6-7 p.m. and is o ered via Zoom or in person at the Resilience1220 o ce. Register at resilience1220.org/groups.

Public Health o ering sexual health and family planning: Clear Creek County Public Health is now o ering Sexual Health and Planning Services at the Health and Wellness Center in Idaho Springs. Public Health o ers counseling, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, STI and HIV screenings, basic infertility services and birth control options and referrals. ese services are con dential. Public Health can also now bill Medicaid and most private insurance. However, if you do not have insurance, fees are based on a sliding scale — and no one will be turned away if they are unable to pay.

Clear Creek County Lookout Alert: e CodeRED alerts have been replaced by the Lookout Alert. Residents can sign up for emergency alerts county-wide by signing up at www.lookoutalert.co. e new site replaces CodeRED following the switch to Je Com911 for emergency dispatch earlier this year.

the federal government continue to have a role in the proactive wild re resilience work,” Samulski said. “We know that it’s a lot more cost e ective to do the work up front with communities than to wait and to respond to disasters or recover from them.”

Matt McCombs, Colorado State Forest Service director, said that in what is expected to be an average wild re season — which “is a really bad year in Colorado” — work to improve resiliency and protect communities and watersheds is essential to safeguarding Colorado’s billion dollar recreation and outdoor economy.

e Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s 2025 Wild re Preparedness Plan warned that Colorado may have “slightly above-average wildland re activity” this year, as well as the potential for delayed response times and fewer re ghting resources because of concerns around federal funding. at can jeopardize communities, natural resources and infrastructure in Colorado.

e wild re season is longer and more intense in Colorado and the West due to the e ects of climate change, as well as prolonged drought and a buildup of dry fuels. e three largest wild res in state history all occurred in 2020, and the most state’s most destructive re — the 2021 Marshall Fire — leveled entire subdivisions during winter in an urban area once thought relatively safe from wild res.

Vail Fire Chief Mark Novak said there are three tenets to the nationally recognized “cohesive wild re management strategy”: resilient landscapes, re adaptive communities, and a safe and e ective response. In Vail — where the town is 4.5 square miles surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of U.S. Forest Service land — collaboration with the federal government is essential to successfully reduce the threat forests can pose in the event of a re.

“In a community like ours where we’re surrounded by the forests, there’s a lot we can do to protect our community by creating that re-adapted community and by having a good response, but ultimately we have to have all three pieces of the cohesive strategy and we need to have resilient landscapes,” Novak said. “If that pipeline of the work that needs to be done slows down, it makes us more vulnerable, so that’s very concerning.”

Fire Adapted Colorado and the Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network wrote to Colorado’s members of Congress in April asking them to intervene because of how funding freezes and executive orders are “severely hampering” wild re prepared-

ness. at includes the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

e state’s Fire Prevention and Control was in the process of applying for the resilient communities grant under FEMA to support education and training for local jurisdictions as it looks to roll out its newly developed wild re resiliency code. Christopher Brunette, chief of the division’s re and life safety section, said the division is looking for other ways to provide that training without federal funding.

At the end of April, Colorado’s entire Democratic delegation in Congress, as well as Republican U.S. Rep. Je Hurd of Grand Junction, wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and asked her to reinstate Forest Service sta who were trained to respond to wild re incidents outside of their primary work duties.

“ e Forest Service is now entering peak re season in a compromised position, placing an even greater re danger on communities across Colorado,” the lawmakers said in their letter.

U.S. House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse of Lafayette and U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, both Democrats, also sponsored legislation that would reinstate all sta at the Forest Service and the National Park Service who were “wrongfully terminated” by the Trump administration.

Novak said he’s heard estimates that 25% of the Forest Service’s resource posi-

tions in Colorado, such as those who conduct environmental analysis on projects and verify eld work is being done properly, are open and likely won’t be lled.

“People have left them or there’re seasonal positions that won’t be lled, so we’re very concerned about being able to actually implement projects, even projects that already have approval,” Novak said.

A statement from the U.S. Forest Service said that wildland re ghting positions are considered public safety positions, which are therefore exempt from the federal hiring freeze under an April order from Rollins. e forest service “remains operationally ready to support wild re response e orts” with state and local partners, the statement said.

About 5,000 “non- re” Forest Service sta have left their positions or are in the process of doing so across the country, the statement said, but it did not provide more information on those positions or what they did.

While many of the “primary re” positions have been exempt from reduction in force e orts, Novak said many “secondary re” positions, like biologists who could help as a resource adviser in the event of a re, have left their roles.

“So if we look at re suppression as a system, we know that system has less capability than it did just last year,” Novak said.

Vail Fire hires seasonal foresters to help with projects during the warmer months, and Novak said it just hired someone who

left a full-time forest service position for a six-month seasonal position.

FIRE RISK FIRE

“I don’t want to speak to their motivations, but I think it’s pretty telling when people are leaving full-time positions to take seasonal positions,” Novak said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees the BLM, cited a “joint re memo” signed by Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to ensure wildland re ghting in the U.S. is “highly coordinated and focused on ghting wild res quickly and e ectively.” at order allows an exemption from the federal hiring freeze for certain positions.

“ e Department is working to hire key positions that will continue to protect public and tribal lands, infrastructure, and communities from the impacts of wild res through hazardous fuels management, wild re preparedness, and close collaboration with interagency partners,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Dependent on federal funding McCombs said Trump’s budget proposes a wholesale elimination of an arm of the U.S. Forest Service that provides support on non-federal lands and is a core component of the state forest service’s funding. He said Colorado State Forest Service is proud of how it uses the resources it receives from the federal government, which it and other state forestry services have done for decades.

In the 2024 scal year, running through the end of June 2024, the CSFS spent about $11.1 million from federal grants, which is just under 36% of the state forest service’s budget.

Samulski said many wild re prevention organizations do their work with the support of federal funding, with several becoming reliant on those federal funds to continue operating. Some groups have reduced their work or shut down entirely because of the fear that they will lose funding, or because there aren’t projects being funded right now, she said. Many long-standing grant programs shifted to receive funding from the Ination Reduction Act under the Biden administration, even though they were previously funded from other sources, and were frozen by the Trump administration, Samulski said. While some grant programs have been unfrozen, others haven’t, and the uncertainty has led some groups to search for other revenue sources.

“Many of the organizations are trying to gure out how to pivot and be less reliant on federal funding, and I’ve already had to pause … projects on the ground or cancel projects because they don’t know if they’ll get the reimbursement,” Samulski said. ose projects include removal of haz-

Quadra-Fire Discovery Series Wood Stove

The East Troublesome Fire burns north of Granby on Oct. 22, 2020. CHASE WOODRUFF/COLORADO NEWSLINE

FIRE RISK

ardous fuels on the ground or vegetation surrounding state, federal or private lands near communities, homes or watersheds, Samulski said. She said organizations focused on wild re prevention have been growing in recent years as they realized they need to be more proactive.

“No amount of re ghting is actually going to change the outcomes that are happening on the ground that much,” Samulski said. “We need to do more in advance of the res, and so there’s kind of been this recognition and a shift in terms of trying to build up that capacity.”

Dissolving partnership agreements On top of its primary responsibilities of overseeing state and private forestry projects in Colorado, the CSFS has agreements with the federal Forest Service and the BLM under the Good Neighbor Authority, a concept McCombs said started in Colorado. e Good Neighbor Authority allows federal agencies to establish agreements with state agencies to conduct forest management activities such as fuels reduction, forest health improvement and habitat improvement on federal lands.

e CSFS has about 25 active projects under the Good Neighbor Authority, with 15 full-time employees sta ed through funding from the GNA. e state forest service has completed over 15,000 acres of forest treatment through the GNA on federal, state and private land.

“I don’t think there’s a national forest in the state where we are not under agreement to do some work to support and build capacity for the (U.S. Forest Service) so they can accelerate the critical forest health wild re mitigation work that needs

to be done,” McCombs said. “Our people know each other, they trust each other. Sometimes it’s not easy for federal and state entities to work well together. We do this really well in Colorado.”

As agencies potentially a ected bynancial cuts at the federal level wait to see the nal outcomes, McCombs said CSFS leaders remain in consistent communication with their USFS counterparts to determine how state foresters can best help and continue working together.

“ at’s a really positive thing that even amidst all of this rapid and in some instances, unwanted or unwelcome change, we’re still striving to try to stay in communication and keep moving things forward, because the wild re is not going to wait,” McCombs said. “We’ve got to keep driving forward under whatever context we’re operating in.”

Coalitions and Collaboratives, a Colorado-based nonpro t that advocates for resilient ecosystems, also works under a cooperative agreement with the Forest Service to help with wild re resilience and mitigation. Jonathan Bruno, CEO of COCO, said the group helps local programs working on resilience and mitigation e orts ensure they have long-term sustainability. e nonpro t also distributes grants funded by the Forest Service.

After the Trump administration took over, Bruno said all of his organization’s grant agreements with the Forest Service were put under review and frozen. He said about 90% of the funding his organization works with comes from the federal government.

“ at delay thankfully was short-lived, thanks to the courts, but I’m scared because it feels as though maybe those court rulings may not hold up,” Bruno said. “How do you budget if you don’t know that you’re going to even have a dollar?”

Bruno said his organization is “being re-

Keep your home safe with concrete repair

Worrying about your uneven or cracked concrete can make owning a home very stressful. By investing in concrete repair, you can fix your driveway, walkways, patio, and more in one easy lift.

ANY PROJECT

MENTION CODE GET250

Cannot be combined with any other offer, must be presented at time of appointment. Limited time offer.

ally cautious” about entering into any new agreements since he’s unsure they will get all the funding they have been promised. While COCO already selected recipients for their spring grant cycle this year, they haven’t executed any contracts yet.

Under the ve-year agreements COCO historically enters with the Forest Service, Bruno said it makes adjustments every year depending on actual funding needs and developments in its projects. As he is planning adjustments to those agreements with his federal partners this year, both parties are unsure what to expect.

“ e challenge is that the internal people that I’ve worked with for years and the people that I’ve trusted, they don’t know either,” Bruno said. “ ere’s a lot of uncertainty in the system, which makes everyone really nervous and uncomfortable.”

Bruno said the mitigation work of many people in the Forest Service is already thankless, and they do it simply because they care about protecting their communities. He’s had to pivot from working with those local, on-the-ground Forest Service sta to working with the higher-ups now making the decisions.

“It’s never what we wanted, because those that have the most to lose and gain are those people in a community, not the politicians,” Bruno said. “We need to make sure that those that are in these powerful, decision-making positions have the information they need to make well-de ned, well-reasoned sort of judgments on who’s going to live and who’s going to die.”

Historically, Vail Fire has collaborated with the Forest Service to get federal approval for fuels reduction projects, and the two entities split the costs for the review process as well as the actual fuels management once projects are approved. Recently, it’s become unclear whether funding previously guaranteed to projects

with Vail will come through.

“Pretty much every kind of landscapelevel project we’ve done has been on Forest Service land,” Novak said.

e process can take years and can cost millions. One project Vail Fire is currently working on with the Forest Service took about three and a half years to plan and get approval, Novak said, and Vail paid about $300,000 throughout that process with the understanding that the Forest Service would pay for the actual treatment. ey’ve received “some direct funding,” but not nearly all of the funding needed to fully implement the $3 to $5 million project, he said.

While apprehension around federal re mitigation, prevention and suppression capabilities continues, local government re ghters will still be there to protect their communities, Novak said. For about 80% of all res, the initial response comes solely or partially from local re ghters and responders — though prevention should be prioritized, he said.

McCombs said he views the success of the Forest Service and the BLM’s work in Colorado as Colorado’s success, and less funding and sta for those agencies is “an explicit translation to less work.”

“ e alternative is uncharacteristic wild res that have damaging, just wildly disruptive impacts and long-term impacts to things that are really important to Coloradans,” McCombs said. “We’re communicating through our partners and engaging with those that have a vested interest to make sure that folks are aware of some of the trade-o s that exist when funding is reduced and when sta ng in particular is reduced.”

is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.

BY RYLEE DUNN

For many, the feeling is all too familiar: hands awkwardly gripping the fretboard, the sharp bite of the strings digging into ngertips, an out-of-pitch buzz emitting from the soundhole — the early days of learning to play guitar can dissuade even the most persistent student from the pursuit.

Yet those who persist often discover the hard-earned spoils of guitar playing. Camp res become enlivened with sound, impromptu jam sessions serendipitously come together and in some cases, bands and long-standing musical careers are formed.

While many guitarists learn the instrument when they’re children, others come by it later in life – and the instrument has plenty to o er folks no matter when they pick it up. David Gilbert, a father of two from Englewood, began playing recently because he wanted to expose his young children to the magic of live music.

“I’m pushing 40,” Gilbert said. “At this point, the likelihood that I’m going to end up some guitar virtuoso is pretty slim, but what I recognize is that I can get to a point where I can subject my family to some camp re songs.

“And I think that kind of speaks to the essence of guitar — kind of as this common man’s instrument that doesn’t take too much to get to a point where you can play

some simple sing-along songs with kids, or get to a point where you can just make a fun sound or a little tune,” he continued. “So at this point, that’s my goal; to learn enough chords that I can play some music.”

Gilbert, like many other later–life guitar learners, has turned to a common source of information in the modern age for instruction: YouTube.

e widely utilized social media site is sought out by both novices and seasoned professionals alike.

Warren Rubin is a lifelong guitarist who began playing at an early age and now plays bass guitar in the Arvada-based band, Dive Bar Diva. Rubin works as a soundman for artists such as Hazel Miller and operates an ampli er repair shop out of his garage. He is sometimes known as the “Amp Whisperer.”

Rubin says that there are more resources out there for aspiring guitarists now than there have ever been.

“You don’t have to take classes every week or every month; as much as you need to just pursue interesting ideas,” Rubin said. “Watch other people who have other approaches to the instrument. We live in a golden age for this sort of thing, because you can turn to YouTube and there are people who are just absolutely brilliant guitarists showing you what they do and how they do it.”

Guitarist Kevin Pounds has played in a number of Colorado bands, including We Are Not A Glum Lot (pictured). PHOTO BY MACHKNE RUDNICKI

GUITAR

FROM PAGE 14

Some of the YouTube channels Rubin and Gilbert recommend are Rick Beato, Justin Guitar, Paul Davids, Andy Guitar, and Wings of Pegasus.

While Rubin acknowledges the utility of something like YouTube, he also continues to take in-person lessons at the Olde Town Pickin’ Parlor in Arvada, despite having played the instrument for over six decades.

“All of the best guitar players I know — including my teacher, who has a master’s degree in jazz — continue to take classes,” Rubin said. “If you can a ord it, take lessons, not because it’s the only way to learn the instrument, but it gives you a strong set of fundamentals.”

e Denver metro area is awash with music schools that o er guitar lessons. Arvada’s Pickin’ Parlor, Denver’s Swallow Hill Music, Englewood’s Denver Music Institute and the Littleton School of Music all o er lessons for a variety of di erent styles and skill levels.

While many continue to take lessons long after rst picking up the instrument, other players eschew them altogether. Kevin Pounds — a Colorado Springsbased musician who records under the name Kevin Lbs. and has played in bands including We Are Not A Glum Lot and e Short-TERM — is completely self-taught and learned the instrument by ear.

“I spent my rst year playing, probably hours a day, sounding out Nirvana songs by ear,” Pounds said. “Just dragging my ngers up the strings until I heard some semblance of what was coming out of the speaker across from me. I became a bit more literate with time. I started to realize that certain chords that I was learning matched individual notes on my fretboard.”

Pounds echoed Rubin’s sentiment about trying to learn from others.

“Try not to compare yourself to others,” Pounds said. “It can be very discouraging. But on that note, don’t be afraid to steal their tricks or techniques. You’re always going to put your own scent on it anyway.”  Gilbert said the main hurdles he’s dealt with as a newer player are developing the muscle memory to be able to quickly change chords and nding time to practice.

“It reminds me, actually, somewhat of where I started to feel a little stumped with learning a foreign language,” Gilbert said. “Doing rapid chord changes is still something I’m training my ngers to do. “ e other big challenge for me right now is just time,” Gilbert continued. “You know, I’ve got a full-time job and I’ve got kids, so, if I’m lucky, I’ve got half an hour in the evening to sit down with a YouTube tutorial and mess around with guitar. But that’s sort of the bene t of the YouTube thing. I don’t have to build lessons into my schedule. I can t them in where it works.”

Rubin said that instead of seeking out mastery, one should play simply for the enjoyment of the instrument.

“If it brings you joy, you already play well enough,” Rubin said. “And you know, what brings you joy? Is it just playing three chords and being able to sing some of your favorite songs? Is it being able to sit in your chair and noodle a little bit while you watch television? Do it. It’s never too late to start.

“You don’t need to become a virtuoso,” Rubin continued. “I’m not going to live long enough to be a virtuoso, but you don’t need to be a virtuoso for playing to bring you joy.”

Guitarist Kevin Pounds learned the instrument by figuring out songs by ear, demonstrating one of the many paths one can take on their way to learning to play.

PHOTO BY MACHKNE RUDNICKI

Folks of any age can learn to play guitar, and there are lots of methods available by which to do so.

PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT

Though Warren Rubin has been playing most of his life, he advocates for players to continue with lessons and keep sharpening their skills. COURTESY PHOTO

A Collection of Summer Artistic Activities

Summer is o cially here, which means Colorado truly shows itself as a place with cultural options for every interest and activity. e days are lovely and long, so you’ll want to take advantage of all there is on o er.

I’ve gathered a range of activities to celebrate the start of the season — nd something you like and head outside.

Take an Artistic Rest at SeeSaw Art Gallery ere are few things summer is better for than getting some relaxation time, something that SeeSaw Art Gallery, 5 W. Radcli Ave. in Englewood, is celebrating with its new exhibition,Rest Awhile. It’s on display until Aug. 3. e rst solo show from artist Amanda K. Snyder, Rest Awhile “re ects on how oftentimes it’s the carefree moments in life that are relished most; the instances when there’s permission to relax, let go and re ect,” according to provided information. ey become cherished memories and moments we aspire to return to. e exhibit features “rediscovered” mid-century paintings that capture familiar places of leisure. Find more information at www.seesawgallery.com.

Thornton Pride Throws a Retro Beach Party e City of ornton is celebrating Pride Month in the perfect summer way

COMING ATTRACTIONS

— with aRetro Beach Party e free event is held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 at ornton Arts and Culture Center and Lu Murray Park, 9209 Dorothy Blvd. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the beach and have fun putting together an out t.

At the Culture Center, visitors will enjoy live entertainment and more, while at Lu Marray Park, visitors can dance to music from a DJ and other live performers. ey can also dine at food trucks and participate in a range of activities, including arts and crafts, cornhole, limbo, face-painting, beach ball volleyball and more. is is a great way to blend all the fun of summer with the important recognition of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. All the details are available at www.thorntonco.gov/community-culture/festivals-events/2025-thorntonpride.

Plenty of Music and Tasty Food at Edgewater Music Festival

Delicious barbeque and killer blues music just seem to go together, which is one of the reasons that people ock

to Edgewater every year for the annual Edgewater Music Festival. e 28th iteration is from 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 at Citizen’s Park, 5401 W. 22nd Ave. All the proceeds from the event bene t Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver and other a ordable housing programs.

Some new features this year include a Harley-Davidson ra e and two stages of live music, including performers like Hand Turkey, Wild Love Tigress and Chris Daniels and the Kings.

Attendees will get to peruse the wares of a fun and eclectic range of vendors, like Puppet Me is, e Metaphysical Shop and Skultin Wire Works. And don’t forget the food—it’s a critical and ngerlicking component to the proceedings.

For more information and tickets, visit www.edgewatercomusicfestival.com.

Work Up a Sweat at Lakewood’s Family Fun Day

Summer is the time when you want to be outside and getting really active, so the City of Lakewood is throwing an event to let families do just that.

Lakewood’s Family Fun Day is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 atCarmody Park, 2200 S. Kipling St. e aim of the free event is to celebrate tness for all ages and features a variety of ways to get going.

Some of the events people can partici-

pate in are a color run, scooter obstacle course and sports and tness demos, including Zumba, hip-hop and pickleball. ere also will be water games, parachute play and a gymnastics course. Fun prizes will be available for some of the winners.

Attendees can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the park and then get a cold treat from Kona Ice to cap things o . More information is available a twww. Lakewood.org/FamilyFunDay.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Tash Sultana at Red Rocks

Australia’s Tash Sultana is one of those musicians that once you catch wind of, you wonder where they’ve been your whole life. e singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist writes tunes that can get under your skin, with immaculate grooves and a sly wit. ere’s elements of pop, blues, R&B and even hip-hop in their music. Plus, Sultana is a top-tier guitarist but can play just about anything — and often does.

Sultana is coming to Red Rocks, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway in Morrison, at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 20. It’ll be a great evening of music under the stars, so get tickets at www.axs.com.

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

Clarke Reader

Seeing stars among new NWSL team

Colorado sports titans rally to bring professional women’s soccer to town

BY JOHN RENFROW JOHN@CTLN.ORG

Since the announcement in January, Colorado has been abuzz about Denver being awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League team, set to begin play in 2026.

Between powerhouse additions to the ownership and investor groups and the groundbreaking on a new state-of-the-art performance center in Centennial, Coloradans have made it clear that professional women’s sports are long overdue in the area.

e club also unveiled plans for a future stadium district in downtown Denver, which will represent the largest investment in women’s team sports infrastructure in history.

e exclamation point came on June 3, when Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (and obvious Denver legend) Peyton Manning joined the club as a Denver NWSL investor.

e Sheri announced his involvement in a cheeky video of him FaceTiming his brother, NFL legend Eli Manning, a minority owner of Gotham FC in New York.

But the ve-time NFL MVP and twotime Super Bowl winner’s addition is just the icing on a star-studded cake of owners and investors for the new soccer club.

See the full list below, with details pulled from DenverNWSL.com.

Olympic Alpine Skier Mikaela Shi rin

A Colorado legend is joining the Denver NWSL group as an investor. Shi rin has 101 World Cup victories, is a two-time Olympic champion, an eight-time World Champion and a ve-time Overall World Cup Champion.

“I’m beyond thrilled to join the ownership group of Denver NWSL and support something so meaningful in the community I call home,” Shi rin said in a statement. “ e sport culture in Colorado is rich and deep, and — most notably — the

growth of women’s sports is one of the most exciting movements in our culture today.”

General Manager Curt Johnson

With seven major NWSL trophies under his belt, Johnson already has a decorated resume in the sport.

According to Je Kassouf at ESPN, “Johnson left the North Carolina FC and North Carolina Courage organization in December after 14 years combined with the men’s and women’s teams. As chief soccer o cer, he oversaw the rise of the Courage’s NWSL dynasty that included back-to-back NWSL Shields and NWSL Championships in 2018 and 2019.”

Johnson is a two-time NWSL champion, a three-time NWSL Shield Winner and a two-time NWSL Challenge Cup Winner.

President Jen Millet

A Colorado native, Millet is Denver NWSL’s rst employee.

According to the club’s website, Millet joins Denver NWSL from Bay FC, where she served as chief operating o cer for the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) 14th expansion franchise. Millet will return to the Mile High City to lead all of Denver NWSL’s business operations, including partnerships, ticket sales, marketing, and venue operations.

Founder Rob Cohen

Cohen is the chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group, Inc., a top-25 North American insurance brokerage specializing in risk management, insurance, wholesale brokerage and wealth management headquartered in Denver.

In 2001, Cohen founded the Denver Sports Commission, whose mission is to proactively identify, pursue and attract regional, national and international amateur and professional athletic competitions and events to Denver. e commission has helped bring notable events such as the All-Star Games of MLB, NBA, NHL, Women’s Final Four and Hockey Frozen Four to the greater Denver area.

Cohen also served as a founding member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation (USOPF) and is the chair of the Games Hospitality Committee. He most recently was on the Salt Lake

City Bid committee, which was awarded the Winter Olympic Games for 2034. He has served on the board for the United States Olympic Museum and has attended 15 di erent Olympic Games in his lifetime.

Alternate Governor Mellody Hobson

Hobson is co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments, LLC (“Ariel”), the rst and oldest African-American-owned mutual fund company in the United States. Ariel is the parent company of Project Level, which is investing in the Denver NWSL franchise.

Led by Hobson and former Washington Commanders President Jason Wright, Project Level’s mission is to level the playing eld in women’s sports through investment and ownership. In 2022, Hobson made history as one of the rst Black owners in the National Football League, as part of the Denver Broncos’ WaltonPenner Family Ownership Group. She is also a shareholder of the Chicago White Sox, the Women’s National Basketball Association and League One Volleyball.

The Borgen/Moritz Families

Working closely with Cohen and in alignment with the team at For Denver FC on the nearly two-year journey, siblings and founders Jon-Erik Borgen and

Kaia Borgen Moritz were key contributors in the early movement and eventual bid to bring an NWSL team to Denver.

Together with their spouses, Brooke Borgen and Misha Moritz, and the recent addition of sister Randi, the Borgen family has a distinguished legacy of nancial, athletic and philanthropic impact and success in Colorado. is communityfocused investment through their FirstTracks Sports Ventures, LLC, represents their passion for women’s athletics, elevating opportunities for all and their commitment to bringing the rst professional women’s soccer team to Denver.

Molly Coors

It’s not Denver pro sports if Coors isn’t involved.

Coors is a fth-generation Coloradan. She played collegiate lacrosse at Connecticut College and worked for AllianceBernstein for 14 years (in the U.S. and abroad) from 2008 to 2022.

Coors is also on the Young Guns Committee for the National Western Stock Show.

Brooke Woody

Another connection from North Carolina, Woody entered the women’s

Renderings of the planned National Women’s Soccer League Stadium in Denver’s Baker neighborhood. COURTESY OF POPULOUS AND DENVER NWSL

Five major parcels for sale on Morrison’s main street

BY JANE REUTER JANE@COTLN.

Morrison’s main street may be perched on the precipice of major change.

At least ve large Bear Creek Avenue properties or businesses are currently listed for sale, and two other currently shuttered buildings are planned for major renovations. ose potential changes are in addition to construction of the Red Hotel, which is just beginning, and required the demolition of two older buildings.

All of this is underway in a town that’s seen minimal commercial development for six decades.

e properties include not only Dave Killingsworth’s Holiday Bar and the adjoining properties, but the parcel just west of Killingsworth’s that had housed Morrison Liquor, a retail parcel at 120 Bear Creek Avenue home to e Moxi Poppy and formerly Meadowsweet Gifts & Wellness, the building that houses Sundance Sensations, and the Morrison Inn restaurant.

Additionally, while the owners of the former Morrison post o ce and Morrison Carworks aren’t selling, they have plans to remodel those main street properties into new businesses.

“It’s like the whole town’s for sale,” said commercial broker John Becker, whose Fuller Real Estate company has listed three of the properties. “It’s all based on the recent sale of the Red Hotel site. at’s what most properties are using as a sales comp.”

Exciting time for Morrison

Two lots formerly home to Blend and Morrison Glass sold for $1.15 million to the Red Hotel Fund in August 2024. at equates to nearly $180 a square foot in land value, which Becker said other property owners are using as a guideline in setting their prices.

“It’s a very exciting time for Morrison,” said architect Chad Wallace, a partner

NWSL

sports arena with a minority ownership stake in the NC Courage.

She recently served on the board of the Community Impact Fund, is a director of a local foundation and volunteers at a community food bank.

Neelima Joshi and Dhiren Jhaveri

Two powerhouse investors also joined the group. Denver NWSL’s page details their experience below.

Joshi is a Colorado native and seasoned nance professional with experience in corporate nance, community leadership and non-pro t board governance. Currently, she serves on the Board of Direc-

in the Red Hotel Fund and COO of hotel builder Root Architecture.

e hotel underwent a period of 15 months of scrutiny, contentious public debate and a signi cant redesign to gain the town’s approval. at process revealed inconsistencies in the town’s code. After the hotel’s approval, the board and its attorney revised the codes to further guard historic areas and “protect the scale and character of existing development from the encroachment of incompatible uses.”

It also dissolved its planning commission, something trustees said would streamline the approval process.

“With the planning commission out of the way, and I feel like some more progressive people on the board, I’m excited about what could be coming,” Wallace said.

He believes the urry of sales activity is “probably tied to the fact that something actually got done, less than what we paid for the property.”

“Ultimately, had the town of Morrison not approved a progressive project (the hotel), I don’t believe property values would be where they are today,” Wallace said. “I think the more development that happens in Morrison, the better it is for everybody.”

While the listed properties may sell, not all the uses would necessarily change, or change quickly. Sundance Sensations is leased through February 2027, and e Moxi Poppy through June 2026. Meadowsweet Gifts & Wellness recently closed, and owner Talia Franz said she is moving the business to Golden later this year, leaving a vacant space on the town’s east end.

Does not have to be seasonal

While Red Rocks brings people to town during concert season, the town is quiet during the winter.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Wallace said, noting that neighboring Golden is

tors of the Food Bank of the Rockies. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Biennial of the Americas, an organization which was established by the Colorado Governor’s o ce to promote cultural exchange, innovation and collaboration throughout the Americas.

Jhaveri is the founder, chairperson and CEO of Kuvare, a global technology-enabled nancial services platform with $46B in assets that provides insurance, reinsurance and asset management solutions. Additionally, Kuvare has a strong commitment to community enhancement, infrastructure development and sports-related investments. More information can be found at denvernwsl.com.

Cordillera Investment Partners

According to Denver NWSL’s website, Cordillera Investment Partners is an in-

busy year-round. “What Morrison needs are better o erings so people are coming all year round.”

Wallace said the continued build-out of adjacent Red Rocks Ranch, at C470 and Morrison Road, and the town’s development of 16 mixed-use acres on the former Bandimere Speedway property, will bring more tra c and prospective customers to the area.

“ ere are exciting times ahead for all of us,” he said.

Becker agrees.

“As they build a boutique hotel in town, that’ll get people to stay and spend the night and do things in Morrison after the show,” he said. “I think some of the uses might change, but if they can keep the small-town charm and have people there in the evenings, I think that’ll be a very good in uence on it.”

The town’s response

Town Trustee Paul Sutton said the number of for-sale commercial properties “is surprising.”

“Let’s face it, it’s guaranteed income,” said Sutton, who has criticized some of the town’s restaurants for food he describes as poor quality. “You get so much tra c from Red Rocks. A lot of people in town would be happy to eat in the restaurants if they were a ordable and provided decent food.

“We need to have a regenerative society. e turnover of those properties is not necessarily bad; it could be awesome. e Morrison inn might get a Casa Bonita makeover.”

Town Manager Mallory Nassau, in an emailed response, o ered a similar view.

“It is an interesting time for the town, and there is potential for a great deal of change for downtown Morrison,” she wrote. “ ere is no doubt that the departure of downtown businesses will be impactful, as many of the businesses have become a part of Morrison’s identity.

“ at being said, recognize that change

vestment management rm focused on investing in niche, non-correlated assets. Its investments are generally in sectors that are misunderstood, undercapitalized and uncorrelated with traditional assets. Cordillera manages approximately $1.8 billion of capital on behalf of endowments, foundations, family o ces, wealth advisors and other institutional investors.

The Soin Family, led by Vishal Soin

Raj Soin and Vishal Soin represent two generations of entrepreneurial leadership and philanthropic commitment of the Soin Family. More online at denvernwsl. com.

For

Denver FC Capital Partners (SPV)

Founded in 2022 by Ben Hubbard, Tom Dunmore, Jordan Angeli and Nicole Glaros, For Denver FC launched the move-

is inevitable. We will embrace new businesses and opportunities for Morrison, while balancing ‘keeping Morrison, Morrison.’”

An irksome business partner

Property owners gave di erent reasons for their decisions to sell. None mention the Red Hotel speci cally, but some cite declining revenue linked to a town reputation they see as tarnished by parking and historic speed citations. At least two said it’s time to retire, and others point to the town government as an irksome business partner.

“Sales have dropped o pretty considerably the last couple years,” said Morrison Inn owner Butch Luedtke, who’s run the business for 31 years. “Most businesses here feel it’s a real ght against the town. ere’s a general feeling that they’d just as soon not have the businesses.”

Morrison’s speed camera, which automatically issued speeding tickets for six months in 2024, was vandalized and removed from the town shortly before the board voted to disband its police department. e town still contracts with Interstate Parking for its paid parking program, which some have criticized for issuing an abundance of parking violations.

“Once you create damage, it takes a considerable amount of time to reverse it,” Luedtke said. “Some of those people that had a bad feeling about coming into town, who knows when they’re going to come back.”

But Luedtke has other reasons for listing the business.

“Some of the business owners in town, including myself, are getting older,” he said. “I’ll be 70. It’s tough running up and down the stairs 100 times a day.

“All of our costs have risen considerably over the last few years. It’s harder to make a dollar now than it used to be.”

Luedtke said he’s gotten “a number of o ers” for the inn, but has declined them so far.

ment that ultimately brought professional women’s soccer to Colorado. e club’s site reads, “For Denver FC’s work was instrumental in the early stages of Denver’s pursuit of an NWSL franchise, helping lay the foundations for Denver’s successful bid by generating deep grassroots enthusiasm, exploring infrastructure solutions, and engaging Rob Cohen and other key members of the ownership group. In early 2025, Hubbard, Dunmore, Angeli and Glaros were joined by Stacy Carter to form ForDenverFC Capital Partners, which includes Yoav Lurie and Lana Kimayeva, Jodi Asarch, Sebastian Somen, omas and Carrie Hutchinson and others.

Follow Denver NWSL on social media channels for updates on stadium-building, partnerships and more. All other information can be found at denvernwsl.com.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GEORGETOWN

812

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ

1. MOVIES: What is the title of the rst James Bond lm?

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the color of the “black box” that records an airplane’s performance?

3. TELEVISION: What is the theme song for the long-running sitcom “All in the Family”?

4. LITERATURE: What is the name of Ron Weasley’s family home in the “Harry Potter” series?

5. GAMES: How many dice are used in a game of Yahtzee?

6. SCIENCE: What does a mole measure in chemistry?

7. MYTHOLOGY: What is the Greek god of darkness called?

8. FOOD & DRINK: Which type of liquor is traditionally used in a gimlet?

9. ASTRONOMY: How many moons does Saturn have?

TrIVIa

10. CHEMISTRY: What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Answers

1. “Dr. No.”

2. Orange.

3. “ ose Were the Days.”

4. e Burrow.

5. Five.

6. e amount of chemical substance.

7. Erebus.

8. Gin.

9. 274.

10. Au.

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.

MARKETPLACE

Careers

Help Wanted

Seasonal Laborer

City of Idaho Springs

Maintenance work including parks, streets and public buildings. This is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly, seasonal position working 40 hours per week during the summer with occasional weekend work required. Minimum 16 years of age; Valid Colorado Driver License; Acceptable Drug Test.

$20.04/hour. Apply by June 30, 2025 with completed City job application to the Acting Public Works Superintendent at esigward@idahospringsco.com or City Hall, 1711 Miner St., P.O. Box 907, Idaho Springs, CO 80452. Required City application available on-line at www.idahospringsco.com . The City of Idaho Springs is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

Maintenance Worker I & II

City of Idaho Springs

Performs general labor and routine maintenance functions supporting the municipal streets, parks, buildings, utilities, and services infrastructure. This is a full-time, non-exempt hourly position working 40 hours per week that requires occasional work on weekends and holidays and overtime work as needed. High School Diploma or GED required. Minimum 18 years of age. Valid Colorado Driver License. Acceptable drug test. Hiring ranges: Maintenance Worker I -$20.79-$23.91 per hour. Maintenance Worker II$22.92-$26.36 per hour with comprehensive benefit options including health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance plans, retirement plan, deferred compensation plan, employee assistance program, and recreation center passes. Apply by June 30, 2025 with completed City job application to the Acting Public Works Superintendent at esigward@idahospringsco.com or City Hall, 1711 Miner St., P.O. Box 907, Idaho Springs, CO 80452. Required City application available on-line at www.idahospringsco.com. The City of Idaho Springs is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

Real Estate

Land

3 acres overlooking Continental Divide in Dumont. $23,000 or reasonable offer. Call 303-881-2147

Dental insurance from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 400+ procedures. Real dental insurance - not just a discount plan. Get your free Information Kit with details! 1-855-526-1060 www.dental50plus.com/ads #6258

Miscellaneous

Jacuzzi Bath Remodel can install a new, custom bath or shower in as little as one day. For a limited time, waving all installation costs! (Additional terms apply. Subject to change and vary by dealer. Offer ends 6/30/25. 1-844-5013208

Water damage cleanup & restoration: A small amount of water can lead to major damage in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! Call 24/7: 1-833887-0117. Have zip code of service location ready when you call!

Eliminate gutter cleaning forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris -blocking gutter protection. Schedule free LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-833610-1936

Home break-ins take less than 60 seconds. Don’t wait! Protect your family, your home, your assets now for as little as 70¢/ day! 1-844-591-7951

Wesley Financial Group, LLC Timeshare Cancellation Experts

Over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt & fees cancelled in 2019. Get free info package & learn how to get rid of your timeshare! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. 833-308-1971

SunSetter. America’s number one awning! Instant shade at the touch of a button. Transform your deck or patio into an outdoor oasis. Up to 10-year limited warranty. Call now and SAVE $350 today! 1-855-914-1148

DIRECTV Stream - Carries the most local MLB Games! Choice Package $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once. HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/ Choice Package or higher.) No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866859-0405

Miscellaneous

Inflation is at 40 year highs. Interest rates are way up. Credit cards. Medical bills. Car loans. Do you have $10k or more in debt? Call National Debt Relief and find out how to pay off your debt for significantly less than what you owe! Free quote: Call 1-844-9554930

Bath & shower updates in as little as 1 day! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts available. 1-877-5439189

Portable Oxygen Concentrator May Be Covered by Medicare!

Reclaim independence and mobility with the compact design and longlasting battery of Inogen One. Free information kit! Call 877-305-1535

Become a published author We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation, production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author`s guide 1-877-7294998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ ads

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM

DAMAGE? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing available. Call 1-888-878-9091 Have zip code of property ready when calling!

MobileHelp America’s premier mobile medical alert system. Whether you’re home or away. For safety & peace of mind. No long term contracts! Free brochure! Call 1-888-489-3936

Replace your roof w/the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install (military, health & 1st responders.) 1-833-370-1234

Prepare for power outages today with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 5-Year warranty with qualifying purchase* Call 1-855-948-6176 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.

Don’t let the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today! 1-833-399-3595

Consumer Cellular - same reliable, nationwide coverage as the largest carriers. No longterm contract, no hidden fees free activation. All plans feature unlimited talk & text, starting at just $20/mo. Call 1-877-751-0866

Doodle Puppies Golden Doodles and Bernedoodles Home-Raised Heath Tested and Guaranteed Standard and Mini Size available Schedule a visit today! (970)215-6860 www.puppylovedoodles.com

Donate Your Car to Veterans Today! Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800245-0398

IDAHO SPRINGS

Creek County,

Ordinance No. 9, Series 2025 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 21-15 AND 21-50 OF THE IDAHO SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF EFFICIENCY DWELLING UNIT AND TO DESIGNATE THE

City of Idaho Springs

APPLICATIONS IN WATER DIVISION 1 Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are notified that the following is a resume of all water right applications, and certain amendments filed in the Office of the Water Clerk and/or ordered published during the month of MAY 2025 for each County affected. (This publication can be viewed in its entirety on the state court website at: www.coloradojudicial.gov)

CASE NUMBER 2025CW3058 (2018CW3143 and 2010CW317) APPLICATION FOR FINDING OF REASONABLE DILIGENCE IN CLEAR CREEK COUNTY. Applicant. TOWN OF GEORGETOWN, Colorado (“Georgetown”), c/o Dennis Durham, Town Administrator, P.O. Box 426, Georgetown, CO 80444, (303) 569-2555. Counsel for the applicant are Andrea L. Benson and Gilbert Y. Marchand, Jr., Alperstein & Covell P.C., 2299 Pearl Street, Suite 400-C, Boulder, CO 80302. Name of structure: Georgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant Well (“WWTP Well”). Description of conditional water right, with required information from the prior decree. Decrees: Original Decree: July 27, 2012, Case No. 2010CW317, Water Court, Water Division No. 1 (“Original Decree”); First Diligence Decree: May 10, 2019, Case No. 2018CW3143, Water Court, Water Division No. 1. Well Permit: 74747-F. Legal Description: GPS Location Information in UTM format: 440977 Easting; 4398506 Northing; Zone 13, Datum NAD 83, Units set to true North. The following legal description based on feet from section lines was obtained using the UTM coordinates stated above, and input into the Colorado Division of Natural Resources AQUAMAP program: SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4, Section 5, Township 4 South, Range 74 West, 6th P.M., 1443 feet from the North and 771 feet from the East line of said Section 5. Applicant and its counsel state that although the legal description based on feet from section lines may be determined using AQUAMAP, it may not provide an accurate description for the structure, and the GPS location information in UTM format cited above should be used. The location of the well is shown on Exhibit A attached hereto. The well must be located within 200 feet of the permitted location. Source: Clear Creek, tributary to South Platte. Depth: 95 feet. Amount Claimed in GPM: 32 gpm (10.5 gpm is absolute and 21.5 gpm is conditional.) Date of Appropriation: November 14, 1968. Use: Municipal and industrial uses. Location of Use: The WWTP Well will be used at the Georgetown wastewater treatment plant, for use in connection with treatment of its wastewater as well as for sanitary and emergency uses within the wastewater treatment facility. The wastewater treatment plant is located generally in Section 5, Township 4 South, Range 74 West of the 6th P.M. in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Owner: Applicant. Detailed outline of what has been done toward completions or for completion of the appropriations and application of water to beneficial use as conditionally decreed, including expenditures: Georgetown owns and operates an integrated water supply system, with infrastructure currently consisting of the WWTP Well, the Georgetown Intake, Georgetown Lake, water rights, water mains, lines and distribution systems, water treatment plant and related infrastructure, which provides water for municipal uses to Georgetown’s customers. The WWTP Well is part of Georgetown’s integrated water supply system. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-92-301(4)(b), when an integrated system is composed of several features, as is the case here, work on one feature of the system is considered in finding that reasonable diligence has been shown in the development of water rights for all features of the entire system. During this diligence period, Georgetown has continued to develop its integrated water supply system, of which this conditional water right is a part. In particular, the following work and expenditures demonstrate the steady application of effort to complete the appropriation of the Georgetown WWTP Well in a reasonably expedient and

WWTP Well in accordance with the terms of the Original Decree, and has accounted for and reported operation and augmentation of the WWTP Well as required by the Original Decree. Georgetown spent $3,175 for a new pump for the WWTP Well and related equipment. In addition, Georgetown spent approximately $160,000.00 for general engineering services, including water accounting and operations support for the WWTP Well and Georgetown’s other water rights, and engineering services related to water court applications and oppositions. Georgetown has defended its water rights, including this WWTP Well, against applications filed by others in cases in which Georgetown has determined that injury to its water rights could occur in the absence of appropriate protective terms and conditions. During this diligence period, Georgetown has expended approximately $58,000 in water counsel attorney fees, in filing and obtaining decrees for the applications and in opposition to water court applications filed by others in order to protect and defend its water rights. During this diligence period, Georgetown has continued to improve, operate and maintain its integrated water supply system, of which this WWTP Well is a part. To enable Georgetown to more effectively provide water service to its existing and future customers, in this diligence period Georgetown has spent approximately $2.3 million in the overall maintenance, construction, repair and improvement of its water system infrastructure and related infrastructure and projects that are part of the efficiency, operation and maintenance of its integrated water supply system. These efforts have allowed Georgetown to continue to provide reliable water service to its customers. Names and addresses of owners of the land upon which any new diversion structure or storage structure, or modification to any existing diversion or storage structure is or will be constructed or upon which water is or will be stored. No new or modified diversion structures are associated with the subject water right. However, the owner of the land on which the WWTP Well is located is the Applicant. WHEREFORE, Applicant Town of Georgetown, having demonstrated that it has steadily applied effort to complete the appropriation of this water right in a reasonably expedient and efficient manner under all the facts and circumstances, having demonstrated that it has exercised reasonable diligence in putting to beneficial use the remaining conditional portion of the water right decreed to the WWTP Well, the Court orders that the remaining 21.5 gpm conditional portion of the WWTP Well water right should be continued for another six years, or such period as may otherwise be permitted by law.

THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THESE APPLICATIONS MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE OR BE FOREVER BARRED.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or an amended application, may file with the Water Clerk, P. O. Box 2038, Greeley, CO 80632, a verified Statement of Opposition, setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions. Such Statement of Opposition must be filed by the last day of JULY 2025 (forms available on www.courts.state.co.us or in the Clerk’s office), and must be filed as an Original and include $192.00 filing fee. A copy of each Statement of Opposition must

All

Ste. #200 Lakewood, CO 80401

Legal Notice No. CCC1104 First Publication: June 19, 2025 Last Publication: July 3, 2025 Publisher: Clear Creek Courant

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Danna Katherine Cuin, also known as Danna K.

Case Number: 2025.IR30003

Division: C

Attorney for Adoption Choices of Colorado VIRGINIA L. FRANK, ESQ. Virginia L. Frank, PC 1434 Spruce Street, Ste. I 00 Boulder, CO 80302

Phone Number: (303) 756-4673

E-mail: ginny@virginialfrank.com

Atty. Reg. U33906

NOTICE AND SUMMONS by PUBLICATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

TO: William James Zeleznik, Legal Father of Baby Poppy Joan O’Connell.

You are hereby notified that a Petition has been filed in the above named Court in which the Petitioner asks that the Court terminate the parent-child legal relationship between you and baby Poppy Joan O’Connell.

If you believe that you are the father of this child, your failure to appear may likely result in termination of your parental, or your alleged parental rights to the minor child. The Petition for Termination of your parental rights states that you are unfit. you have not established a substantial, positive relationship with the child, that you did not take prompt responsibility for the child after birth to present and that you do not have the ability or desire to personally assume legal and physical custody of the child.

You are hereby advised of the following rights:

I. The allegations in the Petition must be proven by clear and convincing evidence.

2. You have a right to understand the nature of the allegations contained in the Petition

3. As a party to these proceedings, you have a right to counsel. If you arc indigent, you may be assigned counsel as provided by law.

4. As a party of these proceedings, you also have the right to an independent expert. Jf you are indigent, you may qualify for a court-appointed independent expert.

David

5. Termination of the parent-child legal relationship means that the subject child would be available for adoption.

6.You have the right to cross-examine witnesses.

7.You have the right to testify on your own behalf

8. You have the right to subpoena witnesses to testify on your behalf.

9. Any party to this case has the right to appeal any final decision made by the court.

The matter is set for virtual hearing on the 24th day of ,July at 12:15pm before the District Court .Judge Cheroutes in Clear Creek County, Georgetown, Colorado.

Virtual Meeting link: https://juclieial.webex.com/meet/judgeeheroutes. You are notified to be and appear before this Court at this time. Your presence is required at this hearing. and in the event you fail to appear, a judgment by default may be rendered against you.

DATED THIS 4 day of June. 2025.

Issued by the Court Clerk, Clear Creek County on this 4th day of June 2025.

CLERK OF COURT

WARNING: TERMINATION OF YOUR PARENT-CHILD LEGAL RELATIONSHIP WILL OCCUR

IF THE PETITION IS GRANTED, WHICH WOULD MEAN THE CHILD WOUL.D BECOME A VAIL.ABLE FOR ADOPTION.

District Court, Clear Creek County, Colorado Court Address: PO Box 367 Georgetown, CO 80444 Phone Number: (303) 569-0820

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF: COLLEEN CRYSTAL O’CONNELL, BIRTH MOTHER, PETITIONER FOR THE RELINQUISHMENT OF THE CHILD, POPPY ,JOAN O’CONNELL

(DOB: 04/09/2025) AND CONCERNING, WILLIAM JAMES ZELEZNIK, LEGAL FATHER, RESPONDENT AND CONCERNING, ADOPTION CHOICES OF COLORADO, CO-PETITIONER

Case Number: 2025.IR30003

Division: C

Attorney for Adoption Choices of Colorado VIRGINIA L. FRANK, ESQ. Virginia L. Frank, PC 1434 Spruce Street, Ste. 100 Boulder, CO 80302 Phone Number: (303) 756-4673 E-mail: ginny@virginialfrank.com Atty. Reg. #33906

PETITION TO TERMINATE THE PARENT-CHILD LEGAL RELATIONSHIP OF THE LEGAL HUSBAND, WILLIAM JAMES ZELEZNIK

ADOPTION CHOICES OF COLORADO, by its attorney, VIRGINIA L. FRANK, petitions this Honorable Court pursuant to C.R.S. § 19-4-107.5(2)(b)(d) and C.R.S.§19-5-105 to enter its Order tem1inating the parent-child legal relationship that the husband & legal father, William James Zeleznik, has to the child. IN SUPPORT HEREOF, IT IS REPRESENTED TO THE Court as follows:

1. This action involves a Petition by the birth mother of the subject child to relinquish her parent-child legal relationship and thereby make the child available for adoption.

2.The birth mother executed an Affidavit of Paternity on January 21, 2025 in which she stated that William James Zeleznik is her legal husband but he is not the biological father of the child.

3. Attempts were made to serve William James Zeleznik but were unsuccessful as the process server could not find his residence nor serve him personally.

4.The Affidavit of Non-Service from goServe, LLC, has been filed with the administrative notice on May 29, 2025.

5. The licensed child placement agency, Adoption Choices is asking the Court to grant custody and guardianship of this child to the agency after reviewing the file & terminating the rights of the parents. Adoption Choices of Colorado is supervising the adoptive placement in this matter.

6. The best interests of the child and the community will be served by termination of the presumed legal husband’s parent-child legal relationships to the child, and one or more