PROTECTING OUR PLANET: Ideas from around the world at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival P12
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February 15, 2018
ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Legislators step up pace of move to rural broadband Plan would transfer money from state fund that subsidizes phone service BY JAMES ANDERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
Elizabeth High School Performing Arts is presenting “The Drowsy Chaperone,” in which a die-hard theater fan plays a record of his favorite musical, the (fictional) 1928 hit “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and the lively musical comedy
comes to life onstage. Performances will take place on at 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 23 and 24, plus a 2 p.m. performance on Feb. 24, in the Elizabeth High School cafetorium. Tickets will be available through a cast member or at the door.
ring, character shoes, and ripped jeans; on him, wingtip shoes and a T-shirt. Just weeks before opening night, Elizabeth High School students did their first full runthrough of “The Drowsy Chaperone.” While the narrator, played by Michael Brend, played a recording
of his favorite old-timey musical, the extras sat around and did homework or chatted quietly. In an era rife with bullying and young suicides, this group turned out to be ripe with love and support. Between songs, one kid takes off
Colorado’s Republican-led state Senate gave initial approval Feb. 7 to a bill that would expedite the construction of high-speed broadband service in rural areas by taking money from a state fund that has long subsidized rural telephone service. Rural broadband is a top session priority for lawmakers and for Gov. John Hickenlooper, who acknowledge that Colorado’s eastern plains, Western Slope and many mountain towns have missed out on the economic boom that is centered in metropolitan Denver. Republican Sens. Don Coram of Montrose and Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling argue their bill will boost economic development and curb depopulation of rural Colorado by providing jobs in an economy that runs on broadband. Also co-sponsoring the bill are Democratic House Speaker Crisanta Duran and House Majority Leader KC Becker. Beneficiaries are many: Cattle ranchers and feeders who must sell their goods in real-time markets; pupils with online homework; patients who live hours away from hospitals and aroundthe-clock care centers; small towns seeking grants to revitalize their main streets; and even sportsmen who must get their hunting licenses online. “Broadband is what will level the
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Elizabeth High School students rehearse “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
JULIE A. TAYLOR
Troupe pulls together for stage show Cast members form tight bond as they prepare for ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ BY JULIE A. TAYLOR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
A kitchen scene, a wobbly door set into a drywall structure, and a comfy chair and record player embellished the cafetorium stage, but the spotlights stayed dark. Teens dotted the stage wearing bits of costume mixed with school clothes — on her, a giant wedding
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“People do unthinkable things to people. Now and then, someone appears, like Zackari Parrish, and reminds me that life is worth living.” Craig Marshall Smith | columnist, Page 10 INSIDE
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VOLUME 123 | ISSUE 3