Littleton Independent 0114

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January 14, 2021

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LittletonIndependent.net

VOLUME 76 | ISSUE 12

LPS opens search for new board member With Carrie Warren-Gully leaving for county post, officials say replacement should rise above politics BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

lic for four months, staff quickly turned their attention to online offerings. “It’s amazing how quick you move when you have to,” said Tim Nimz, the museum’s director. “We had an art exhibit scheduled to open the week after we closed down. Two days after it was supposed to open, we had our first-ever virtual tour up online. We suddenly realized we may not know exactly what we’re doing, but it’s an opportunity to stretch our muscles.”

As Carrie Warren-Gully leaves the Littleton Public Schools Board of Education for her new role as a county commissioner, district officials say her replacement should be someone who is ready to leave political agendas at the door and tackle the tough issues facing Warren-Gully schools. Warren-Gully is scheduled to be sworn in as an Arapahoe County commissioner on Jan. 11. She tendered her resignation from the LPS school board in December, leaving a vacancy on the five-member board. The board officially announced the beginning of its search for her replacement in a special meeting on Jan. 6. Applicants must have been a registered voter within the district boundaries for at least the last 12 months. Applications, which are

SEE MUSEUM, P9

SEE LPS, P16

Kelli Narde, left, and Tim Nimz stand outside the Littleton Museum’s Bemis House, which portrays life in 1890s Littleton. Narde, who heads the department that oversees the museum, and Nimz, the museum’s director, said while the museum has PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT taken some hard hits from the pandemic, they have high hopes for its future.

Littleton Museum looks to future Despite layoffs and closures, one of city’s cultural gems works to keep shining BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Littleton Museum’s farms are fairly quiet these days. On the 39-acre living history farms portraying life in pioneerera Littleton, the blacksmith’s

hammer seldom rings against an anvil. Rarely does kindling crackle in the Bemis House’s iron stove. There’s no clopping of Clydesdales’ hooves on festival day hayrides. Hit hard by COVID-era restrictions and budget cuts, the museum — one of the crown jewels of Littleton’s cultural offerings — begins 2021 denuded, but led by a determined, innovative staff dedicated to carrying on the mission of connecting people with the past — and building back stronger for the future. When COVID struck last March, shuttering the museum to the pub-

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 7

JUST SHOE IT! Learn about a simple, inexpensive way to get your winter outdoor fix

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