Sentinel Lakewood
July 11, 2013 A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 89, Issue 48
City ready to get kids moving Lakewood joins fight against childhood obesity By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
Digitize Me owner Greg Hill works on transferring data from analog – such as vinyl, cassettes and VHS – to modern media like CDs, DVDs, and digital formats. Photos by Clarke Reader
Have copy will copy
Digitize Me makes old media new By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
V
ideotapes, cassettes, 8-tracks and vinyls have largely all fallen by the wayside, but still contain some of people’s most treasured memories, images and sounds. Digitize Me, owned and operated by Greg Hill, provides a way for people to convert these analog medias into digital formats. Run out of his home in Lakewood, Hill came upon the idea for Digitize Me in August after leaving his previous job in the insurance industry. “I just brainstormed, and this was something I’d be doing for myself for some time,” Hill said. “Right now it’s a really small business, and almost more of a hobby than anything.” Once Hill decided to get into the business, he invested in all kinds of equipment, from a digital record player and reel-to-reel Some of the devices Greg Hill uses to transfer media, including a digital turntable, player to a VCR and 8mm camera. videorecorder and VHS player. Clarke Reader From there it was a matter of getting the proper software on the computers, hooking up the devices to the computer, and learning the process for the various media. One of the things that makes Digitize Me special is that it is Hill said he has a knack for figuring these things out, and af- dedicated exclusively to this media transfer. ter quite a bit of experimenting and trial and error, he said he’s “There are several companies, and some recording studios, mostly got the processes figured out. that kind of do it as a side,” Hill said. “Not many just do this like He is still finding ways to refine or improve the process, but I do.” he can now transfer music from vinyl with a high level of quality, Hills rates depend on the amount of media being transferred, and retrieve home movies from old video tapes. and includes cleaning and inspecting the media. Depending on the media, Hill will transfer it to a hard copy — “I like the music collection I have, but I just can’t go mobile CD or DVD — or digital files - MP3 and MPEG. The digital mate- with it,” he said. “This is a way to preserve some of these things.” rial can be stored on external hard drives or flash drives. For prices and more information, visit www.digitizemellc.net.
Fire season brings heat to state, Jeffco Six fires in less than a month By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com Things are getting hot in Jefferson County this fire season. In the last four weeks, six named fires have occurred within the county’s borders. “And I’d say we’ve lost count of the small fires that went unnamed because they were quickly extinguished,” Jeffco Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Jacki Kelley. The Jeffco Sheriff’s Department handles organization, evacuation and security duties for all fires within unincorpo-
rated county land. The sheriff’s department was the lead agency on the Bluebell Fire last month, which burned 10 acres in the Evergreen area, forcing the evacuation of hundreds. “In the grand scale of fires, it was pretty small. But for the people affected, they definitely felt it was a major event,” Kelley said. So far, Jeffco residents have been spared the level of fire devastation experienced by the Black Forest Fire victims near Colorado Springs this year, or the Lower North Fork Fire last year. The latter fire claimed three lives, 23 structures and charred more than 1,400 acres of Jefferson County. Still, Sheriff Ted Mink warns that the
dry, hot weather being seen along the Front Range is similar to what was seen last year. At the end of June, he announced a fire ban for all land to the west of State Highway 93 and C-470. Kelley said the area would need days of considerable rain to defuse the level of fire danger. Beyond the potential loss of life and property, all these fires have other effects, straining law enforcement resources and costing county taxpayers. Only five deputies are typically on patrol in the mountain regions of the county. “If we’ve got two of them chasing fire Fire continues on Page 20
Lakewood is looking to reduce the cases of childhood obesity by joining the Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties program. LMCTC is a key part of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, which aims to solve the childhood obesity problem by encouraging exercise and healthy eating. “This program is the Let’s Move initiative combined with the National League of Cities (NLC),” said Allison Scheck, marketing and community relations with Lakewood. “The mayor heard about it, and thought it would be great if Lakewood was able to participate.” Mayor Bob Murphy said that the call to be healthier reminded him of when he was a kid and president John F. Kennedy pushed for healthier living for the country’s children. “I feel like this is an issue that we sort of forgot about for a while,” Murphy said. “This is an issues that costs everyone, and can become a productivity issues as well.” Murphy has been considering the program for a while — ever since he had a chance to hear White House chef Sam Kass talk about the dangers of childhood obesity. When the NLC announced that they would be taking part, he thought it was a good time for Lakewood to get involved. There are five goals that the program aims to achieve: Goal I: Start Early, Start Smart: Promoting best practices for nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in early care and education settings; Goal II: My Plate, Your Place: Prominently displaying MyPlate in all municipal or county venues where food is served; Goal III: Smart Servings for Students: Increasing participation in school breakfast and lunch programs. Goal IV: Model Food Service: Implementing healthy and sustainable food service guidelines that are aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; Goal V: Active Kids at Play: Increasing opportunities for physical activity. “Goal V is a great goal, because at the city we’re really proud of our playgrounds, and residents can take their kids there every day for free,” Scheck said. Scheck said the city will be working with Jeffco Schools, which is already doing a lot to combat this epidemic, to find ways to give children healthier food options and more exercise. For more information on the project visit www.healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org.
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