August 20, 2015 VOLUME 149 | ISSUE 37 | 50¢
August 17-23, 2015
Race Day Guide Inside GoldenTranscript.net J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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First bell at Bell Middle Eighth graders help welcome new students By Glenn Wallace gwallace@coloradocommunitymedia.com Amber morning sunlight, and a bevvy of school staff greeted new students to Bell Middle School on Monday for the start of the 2015/16 school year. “It’s a great day,” said P.E. teacher Erin Ourganian, better known as Mr. O, as he helped direct the flow of parental traffic dropping off new students. The day was specifically for new seventh graders to get introduced to the school, while the eighth graders would officially start Tuesday. “When they (seventh graders) come in, they’re so small, and they have that excited and terrified look in their eyes,” said Ourganian. He said one of the reasons he’s kept teaching at Bell for 15 years was the chance to see those students grow in many different ways by the time they graduate up to high school. The new students congregated outside the school doors, some with parents by their sides, some with old friends from elementary school. Among them was Caden Gerig, who said he was excited to start a new school. He said
he came here from Lakewood specifically to take advantage of the school’s iSTEM program, which offers hands on science, technology and engineering project-based learning. Mom Danika Gerig said she was more nervous. “ H e ’s — Students going to be fine — Staff though,” she said, — Teachers patting C a d e n’s — Schools on ... back. — Campuses I n side the s c h o o l ’s gymnasium awaited dozens of eighth graders, all wearing bright green shirts, marking them as WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) Leaders. As the new students pass through the gym doors, they were greeted by a long line of WEB Leaders, cheering, with hands
JEFFCO SCHOOL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERS
86,000 14,000 5,200 155 185
New students mill outside the front doors of Bell Middle School on Monday morning, as the late-summer sunrise shines off the windows of the arriving school buses. Photo by Glenn Wallace raised for high fives. “It feels awesome helping kids,” WEB Leader Luke Maestas said between shouts and high-fives. Once inside, the new students were given name tags by more eighth grade volunteers, while uptempo pop songs blare over the PA system.
Eventually the new students took their seats in the Bobcats’ gym. School councilor, and WEB Leader organizer Lynn Renter took the mic, greeted the new students to their middle school. “We are all about teamwork and excellence at Bell Middle School,” she said.
School of Mines boasts new stadium Marv Kay Stadium to host first home football game Sept. 5 POSTAL ADDRESS
GOLDEN TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 0746-6382)
OFFICE: 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Golden Transcript is published weekly on Thursday by Mile High Newspapers, 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210, Golden, CO 80401. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT GOLDEN, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 722 Washington Ave., Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legals: Fri. 11 a.m. Classifieds: Mon. 5 p.m.
PL E ASE RECYCLE T HI S C OPY
By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Orediggers may be playing on the oldest college football field west of the Mississippi, but housing that field is a brand-new $24 million stadium. The new Marv Kay Stadium at Campbell Field on the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden will affect the university’s athletics department in a positive way, athletic director David Hansburg said. But, he said, “this is bigger than Mines. This is a great facility to rally the entire community.” The complex not only belongs to Mines, Hansburg said, it belongs to Golden and Jefferson County. And he hopes the new facility can imbue everyone with a sense of spirit and pride. “It brings a cool atmosphere to the city of Golden,” he said. Along with Mines athletics, the complex will provide host graduation ceremonies, Golden High School homecoming games and other community events, Hansburg said. The 60,730-square-foot, state-of-the-art stadium will house football, and men’s and women’s track-and-field and cross-country athletes. It boasts 130 lockers in the home locker room, seven meeting rooms and classrooms equipped with smart technology, 14 racks in the weight room and a seating capacity for 4,090 fans. The structure will provide all School of Mines athletes a facility that is just as good, if not better, as any in the country, said Kay, the school’s former head football coach and athletic director for whom the stadium is named. Kay, who lives in Golden, is “truly humbled and very, very honored.” He graduated from the School of Mines with a mining engineering degree in 1963. His faculty career with the school began in 1966, and in 1969 he was named head coach—a position he held for 26 years. Kay became director of athletics in 1994 and retired from that position in 2004. Stadium continues on Page 40
Workers wrap up the finishing touches on the new Marv Kay Stadium at Campbell Field, which is located on the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden. The 60,730-square-foot stadium will house football, men’s and women’s track and field and cross-country athletes. Photos by Christy Steadman
The Colorado School of Mines’ Orediggers have the first practice of the season Aug. 13 on Campbell Field. The field is the oldest college football field west of the Mississippi, but the Marv Kay Stadium on campus is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility.