Arvada Press 031623

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e celebration included live music, vendors, specials from local restaurants — calling all corned beef

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the rural communities of Sierra Leone, women who are experiencing sexual abuse, gender-based violence and restricted bodily autonomy often have just one hope when seeking justice; the intrepid journalists at Media Matters for Women Sierra Leone.

Now in its 10th year of operation, MMW has grown from a small local podcasting network to a nationwide community news service that serves over 60,000 listeners.

In a traditionally patriarchal society where women are often not taught to read or write, MMW’s journalists create targeted podcasts translated into over 30 local dialects to reach and inform listeners — often in the country’s most remote corners.

Recently, MMW’s Executive Director Florence Sesay and Senior Journalist Alinah Kallon traveled to New York and Colorado to attend the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and convene with a data journalism team of grad students at the University of Denver, respectively.

Sesay said the U.N. convening was particularly poignant because she and Kallon were able to feel

SEE LIFEBOAT, P2

In Sierra Leone, local journalism is a lifeboat for women in rural communities

solidarity with women around the world working through similar challenges and learn tools to implement in her work when she returns.

“We are learning from other countries in terms of response to sexual and gender-based violence,” Sesay said. “Listening to stories, it’s like sometimes when you work on women’s issues, we need that solidarity. Sometimes just listening to all the stories from women from across the globe gives you that energy. You keep going like you’re not alone in this ght.

“I want to see how I can learn and share best practices when I go back,” Sesay continued.

e MMW team has carved out a dedicated listener base by continually challenging norms.

In Sierra Leone — as well as most other states in the world — newsrooms have been historically controlled by men, and men typically hold positions of power. In rural communities, this often leads to a pervasive culture of violence against women, and a lack of accountability for those who commit crimes within the justice system.

“I think journalists, the media, we have very powerful women now — before, the newsroom was controlled by men,” Sesay said. “ e space was controlled by men. For Media Matters for Women, we are in charge, and we are taking the lead in telling the stories of women — especially those who are in the last mile.”

To bridge that information gap

— especially for women in remote, “last mile” communities — MMW’s journalists must gain the trust of — mostly male — community leaders. at work, Kallon says, has taken years of building trust to develop.

“Sierra Leone is a country where we have a high number of illiteracies; many women do not have the ability to read and write,” Kallon said. “ e gap of gender inequality is huge. We ensure that we work with key traditional and religious leaders — these are key stakeholders at the community level — and these are in uencers of change. If we want to create an impact, it is important to try and target these people who are in that position and can help us make a change.”

While MMW is women-run and primarily creates content for women, the NGO is not a liated with any political party or ideology. eir mission is simply to inform women of their

rights.

In Sierra Leone, when new laws are passed — such as the country’s recent Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act — word does not always travel to last-mile communities, which may or may not enforce new ordinances and statutes. is contributes to a continuance of old patriarchal roles in remote communities, despite e orts by the legislature to promote equality. is, Sesay says, is the importance of MMW gaining the trust of local leaders.

“Traditional and religious leaders are well-respected gures in our communities, and they demand respect within these communities,” Sesay said. “So, it is easy for us to use them as a vehicle of change. eir buy-in makes a whole lot of di erence. We win and they win as well.”

Kallon said that while many leaders were skeptical at rst, they’ve begun to see the bene ts of MMW programming — and female empowerment — within their own communities.

“Obviously, you have some resistance, because we are preaching equality, we are preaching women empowerment — men don’t want to hear messages like that,” Kallon said. “We back our podcast with what the law says, and if you have the backing of the law, they understand that it’s something they have to join hands and work with.

“In the beginning, they’d say ‘Oh, you want to give voices to our women, you want to challenge us, you don’t want our women to be submissive,’ because that is how it operates in rural communities; women are submissive, they answer to everything even though they are su ering inside,” Kallon continued. “Over the years (leaders) begin to understand, ‘ is is not about us, it’s about the women, and when women are happy — have happy homes, happy families, their children are well taken care of,’ they begin to see that it’s for the good of everybody. And so, they join forces.”

In one instance, a powerful man in Bombali, Sierra Leone, raped a 9-yearold girl and — because of his status in the community — the legal system did not seriously prosecute the case, Kallon said.

“We’ve had so many issues where women are victimized, or sexually harassed, or young girls are being penetrated by in uential men in society, then the (legal system) would want to play games with them; the police would lose the les,” Kallon said.

at’s where MMW’s activist bent comes in. e newsroom worked to alert advocates and residents to the situation, and within months, a public

uproar had been kindled.

“What they did at the initial stage was bribe the family, but the girl’s mother was very determined to get justice for her daughter,” Kallon said.

“So, what they did was the bank where he worked, instead of sacking him, they transferred him to another region. And then the civil society, all of us, we took up that matter — it was a whole journey, over a year after that.”

Finally, Kallon said, the man was brought to justice, thanks in large part to the media coverage and outrage from community members.

“ e police said they lost the le, the justice system cannot charge any case, so we had to go back and forth, and because civil society were not quiet about it, the media were making a lot of noise about it, so they had to bring the man back and he had to face justice and now he’s in prison for a lifetime,” Kallon said.

e road has not been easy. MMW started with ve listening centers each in three major population hubs, totally 15 listening centers in all. But when Sierra Leone was struck by the Ebola virus epidemic in 2014, the journalists had to gure out a di erent strategy.

Kallon and Sesay, along with their team, began reaching out to “ambassadors” in rural communities who they could electronically send podcasts to and then have the ambassadors distribute the podcast to folks quarantining in their homes. at model proved to be e ective for MMW, which was able to reach a larger listener base at a time when many Sierra Leonians would have otherwise gone without pressing public health information.

Many remote communities still rely on town criers to disseminate information, so MMW has partnered with them as well to distribute their podcasts. Kallon said these e orts — plus the occasional boat visit by an MMW journalist to remote villages — have given their newsroom the ability to reach truly o -the-grid locales.

“ at was how we began getting into the interior regions because initially, we were just at the city centers,” Kallon said. “Over the years we progressed into getting more listenership because we’re not just stationed in one area… We have created that impact over the years; we go to last mile communities — sometimes you have to use a boat to cross over — but these are places we must go.”

With a general election coming up in June and tensions between rival political parties mounting, MMW has made it their mission to inform the public — particularly women — about issues, candidates and their voting rights, all in a nonviolent, nonpartisan fashion.

“We were very strategic in sending out nonviolent messages,” Kallon said.

“We are for all of Sierra Leone, not a particular politician or party. We also encourage and support women during elections; we let people know it’s their right and responsibility to vote. But as journalists, we don’t want to be partisan. We don’t promote a political party.”

MMW is also faced with confronting one of the most persistent spreaders of misinformation — social media.

“Tension is really high among the two rival parties,” Kallon said. “ ere is a lot of fake news going on, so we have to nd a way of going around that and sending the correct message because

Media Matters for Women Sierra Leone’s Senior Journalist Alina Kallon interviews a local stakeholder for a story.

COURTESY MMW

LIFEBOAT

people use social media — especially WhatsApp — to send all kinds of messages.

“We listen to what’s happening on social media, especially on WhatsApp, and then we send the correct information out in our podcast,” Kallon continued. “If we are not on the apps, our listeners will be misled, so we have to take the lead in ensuring that people get the correct information that will prevent violence during the election because tensions are aring around things like that, so we have to be on top of the situation, otherwise, it will be disastrous.”

Despite the issues they face in providing news to last-mile communities, Sesay and Kallon said that the inspiration they have provided to women across Sierra Leone makes their e ort

worth it.

they want to become journalists now,” Kallon said. “We’ve become kind of an inspiration for these young girls who want to be journalists, advocates, all of it. It’s really triggering that kind of

where women are building condence, we can speak hope, we can share our stories to each other,” Sesay said. “We’ve really inspired and created that space for women to speak

up. And de nitely, I’m sure, most want to be like Auntie Alina.”

“We just keep telling them, ‘Just stay in school and you’ll be like me,’” Kallon replied.

Sesay said she hopes that the next decade of MMW will bring even more female empowerment and equity to Sierra Leone.

“MMW is 10 years in operation in Sierra Leone, and that means 10 years of resilience, working with communities and building a movement,” Sesay said. “So, by the next decade, we want to see strong women, stronger communities where we end violence against women, and have a very peaceful society.”

In the meantime, Sesay and Kallon will convene with a team of DU grad students assembled by Professor Renee Botta to help MMW with data collection and analysis, which will be used to create more tools to reach lastmile communities in the west African nation.

Here Are Some Ways to Make a Home More Accommodating for Seniors

Even if you live in a home with stairs, there are ways to make your home more senior-friendly, so you can age in place instead of moving.

Stairs are the single biggest reason that most seniors want to downsize into a ranch or patio home, but almost any staircase can accommodate a stair elevator — a chair which can transport you from one floor to the next, even around curves. We had a stair elevator on the stairs to our basement in the ranch home we sold last year. We used it mostly for transporting heavy items to and from the basement, including those big purchases from Costco which didn’t fit in our kitchen cabinets or pantry.

The seat on a stair elevator folds up so you can walk past it easily.

Some homes are built with 4-foot square closets one above the other which could be sacrificed later on to install an elevator. If you’re having a custom home built, consider that idea. Even if you never make that conversion, it’s a feature that could improve the resale value.

A handyman can often design and build ramps onto your front porch, into your back yard or between your garage and mudroom.

Rita and I are big fans of “chair height” toilets, which cost no more than regular height toilets and can be swapped out by a handyman, making it a pretty affordable enhancement. A handyman can also install grab bars in multiple places around your home, especially in bathrooms.

‘Cord Cutting’ Becomes Common; Here’s Our Story

Over the years, Rita and I have bounced around from cable TV to DirecTV to Dish Network because of the astounding increases in monthly fees. Add some premium channels and the cost can approach $200/month, which is $2,400 per year, just for TV! Perhaps your story is similar.

A year ago, when Rita and I moved into a 55+ rental that only offers Comcast TV and doesn’t allow satellite dishes, we finally did what so many have done before us: we abandoned both cable and satellite TV, or “cut the cord,” as it’s called.

So now we only stream, and our primary TV provider now is YouTubeTV, not to be confused with YouTube. And I recommend it as an affordable solution.

We have Comcast/Xfinity for our home internet, which is a business expense for

me, and their basic internet speed is fast enough for streaming YouTubeTV (which is $64.99/mo.) and Netflix. I love two things about YouTubeTV.

First, it has unlimited cloud DVD storage. (No equipment for us; just connect to our WiFi signal.) Second, like Netflix, I can watch it on my laptop, phone or iPad, such as at the office or when I’m traveling anywhere in the U.S. (I watched some Denver programs while I was in Hawaii recently.) We don’t watch any programs live anymore, because we want to fast forward through commercials. We preferred Dish and DirecTV over Comcast because they have a 30-second fast forward button. Comcast has no such button. YouTube has a 15-second button, which is good enough. BTW, I get nothing for this free plug.

Meet Our New Broker Associate: Austin Pottorff

I have known Austin for over a decade. He’s one of the hardest working Realtors I know, and he has been very successful, especially in finding and listing development sites which he recognizes as having great potential. Previously self-employed under the name Mountain Opportunities Real Estate, he has now joined Golden Real Estate, bringing with him a new development listing which you’ll be reading about in a coming column. He is also a licensed drone pilot, and you’ll be impressed as I was by the aerial photos and videos which you can view on his website, www.MountainDrone.com

Austin’s politics also align with my own, and I am really impressed by his commitment to the banning of assault rifles, as evidenced by his website, www.KidsLivesMatter.org. I look forward to a great relationship with Austin. You can reach him anytime on his cell phone, 970-281-9071, or by email at Austin@GoldenRealEstate.com. Welcome to the Golden Real Estate team, Austin!

Other easy and affordable improvements could include installing lever door handles to replace door knobs. Another might be to install a video door bell so you can see who’s at your door from your chair (or from a distance when on vacation — a stranger ringing your bell wouldn’t know you’re not inside.)

There are also internet-connected electric deadbolts which you can lock or unlock from a smartphone. Speaking of security, you can also install internetconnected cameras which not only give you a live view of your interior or exterior spaces but also store that video in the “cloud” for later viewing.

You might also appreciate having various lights in your garage or bathrooms turn on when you enter — that’s another easy handyman installation of a motion-detecting light switch available at any hardware store.

One reader suggests a countertop microwave oven as being more convenient for a wheelchair-bound senior.

For bathing, you can buy a walk-in bathtub, but that’s a pretty expensive improvement that won’t necessarily improve your resale value. It could even hurt it. Most seniors prefer a shower, and one that you can roll into is best. At

least build one with a bench and shower hose attachment.

A home with zero outside maintenance is ideal for seniors, but “patio homes” are few and far between and in high demand when they go on the market. I’ve had clients lose bidding wars for a patio home.

The primary feature of a patio home is that the HOA takes care of all outside maintenance, mowing unfenced yards front and back, removing snow up to your garage door and porch/front door, trimming trees and bushes, etc. Many patio home HOAs even take responsibility for repainting your home’s exterior on a schedule (typically 6 years) and have a master insurance policy covering the structure and your roof. You just purchase renter’s insurance.

But you can hire vendors to mow your lawn and shovel the snow. We had a wonderful Vietnamese family which not only mowed our lawn as needed but did a spring and fall yard cleanup for a reasonable fee. Of course, now that we live in an apartment, we have none of those concerns, and I’m a big advocate of doing what we did — cash out by selling your home if it will produce enough cash to live out your remaining years.

Price Reduced on Your Golden Dream Home

$1,545,000

This solar-powered home at 359 Canyon Point Circle was a model home for the Village at Mountain Ridge, the subdivision west of Highway 93 backing to the Mt. Galbraith Park. (There’s a trailhead to the park’s 5 miles of hiking trails within the subdivision.) The seller has made many improvements to the home since buying it in 2002, including a total renovation of the gourmet kitchen and master bathroom, plus adding 11 5 kW of solar panels which meet all the electrical needs of the home. The main-floor deck was also completely rebuilt with composite decking, metal railings and a breakfast bar for enjoying the sunrises over South Table Mountain and the City of Golden, which are visible even from the walk-out basement. A walking path near this home allows children to walk safely to Mitchell Elementary School via a pedestrian bridge that crosses the highway. To appreciate all the features of this 4,106-sq.ft. home, take the narrated video tour at www.MountainRidgeHome.com, then come to the open house this Saturday, 12 to 2.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851

Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401 Broker Associates:

JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727

CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855

DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835

TY SCRABLE, 720-281-6783

GREG KRAFT,

Field workers in a last mile community in Sierra Leone gather around a megaphone to hear MMW’s latest podcast episode. COURTESY MMW

PATTY’S DAY

and hash lovers — and, of course, green beer.

“St. Patrick’s Day in Olde Town has not only become a staple for the community but attracts visitors throughout the metro area and across the Front Range,” Olde Town Arvada Business Improvement District Director Joe

Hengstler. “It is a great opportunity to highlight Olde Town and what makes it special. From City of Arvada sta down to each individual business, everyone comes together to really make this a great event. is is certainly an event the Olde Town Arvada BID is proud to present.”

Over 3,000 people attended the event, which ran for most of the day. Five bands played, including Big Paddy, Chancer’s Hooley, Celtic Legacy, the Barlow and Wrecklunds.

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Olde Town Square full of folks celebrating the occasion.

Leprechaun rice crispy treats for sale in Olde Town.

A celtic folk band kicks o the Arvada St. Patty’s Day festivities.

PHOTOS BY RYLEE DUNN

Heist or hijinx? 1800s statue goes missing from Georgetown museum

Hotel de Paris is missing

Putti with Pan, a statue from the 1800s

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e tracks along the snow-covered roof told o cers the crime couldn’t have happened much more than 48 hours prior to inspection, but who could have carried the 40-pound statue o without being noticed?

A statue was stolen from the Hotel de Paris museum in Georgetown sometime on or before March 4, according to Kevin Kuharic, executive director of the museum.

After exiting the restroom on March 4, Kuharic noticed the Putti with Pan statue was missing. His rst thought was the wind blew it o the roof. After inspecting the premise, he realized it was something more sinister.

“I quickly realized it was nowhere to be found, so I contacted the Georgetown police,” he said.

Georgetown police arrived at the scene and carried out an investigation for the missing art. ey analyzed footprints, and o cers found that suspect/s accessed the roof on the south side of the annex, which allowed access to the statue located on the roof of the west courtyard wall.

Georgetown Police Sergeant John

Gaskins responded to the incident. Based on the footprints he examined, Gaskins believed the impressions revealed a timeline for the theft.

“I do believe it could’ve been within two or three days of the report,” he said.

e statue resembles a bird bath, is about 36-40 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. It was made in 1890 and is a part of a pair of culturally signi cant statues at the museum, according to Kuharic.

is isn’t the rst time someone attempted to abscond with a piece from the museum. In 1954, the year the Hotel de Paris became a museum, some kids tried to steal a lion statue. Ultimately, the kids damaged the statue but never got it o the property, according to Kuharic.

Kuharic isn’t convinced this theft is the same kind of pubescent prank. He believes someone strategically removed it, heist-style.

“It appears someone scoped out the item,” he said.

But what could someone want with a glori ed 1800s bird bath? Well, Kuharic said it could fetch you a bit of money on the lawn ornament black market.

“An item like this would be highly desirable as a garden ornament,” he explained.

Truthfully, the museum just wants the statue back. e museum is a Site of the National Trust for Historic

replace it.”

Hotel de Paris was a hotel originally opened by French immigrant Louis Dupuy in 1875. A man with a criminal history himself, the museum won’t forget its ties to Dupuy, who struggled before he found success.

“ e story of Louis Dupuy is that of second chances,” Gaskins explained. “( e museum) agreed that if someone would return the statue, there would be no questions asked.”

The matching, identical Putti with Pan statue at Hotel de Paris.

A statue was stolen from the Hotel de Paris museum in Georgetown sometime on or before March 4, according to Kevin Kuharic, executive director of the museum. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOTEL DE PARIS

Denver Skates Shop gets fresh start in Olde Town Arvada

Arvada skaters of all varieties now have a new spot for all their gear, maintenance and training needs. Denver Skates Shop in Olde Town opened its doors for a soft opening on March 6 and will host a grand opening on April 1.

e shop, as the name suggests, caters to all conduits of skating; quads, inlines and skateboards.

Owner Afton Hill said the shop will be a retail store, maintenance shop and the site of lessons for skating and roller dancing. e shop will also o er skatepark lessons.

Hill said her goal for the shop is to become a one-stop shop for all skating needs — including getting the fundamentals down in order to safely cruise around.

“It’s somewhere you can come, try good skates on, and get a free 30-minute lesson with your rst pair of skates,” Hill said. “It’s important to build your foundation, your con dence — skating for the rst time can be like Bambi on ice.

A skater grinds a rail at a Denver Skates Shop park lesson at Trailwinds Skate Park.

I want to make sure (clients) are safe.”

e classes o ered at Denver Skates Shop will span the spec-

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trum of skill levels, starting at basic fundamentals — how to roll, stop, and skate backward — and continuing to roller dance and learning park basics, such as how to drop in, hand plants and grinding on rails.

Maintenance services o ered will include bearing cleaning, wheel rotation, and mounting for custom builds. e shop will also assemble custom skateboards for interested customers.

Hill said she started the shop after working in the industry for years — she’s been involved in the Denver roller derby scene since 2017, and previously worked at Death and Glory Skate Shop — a Denver mainstay that closed its doors at the beginning of the year

After a somewhat tumultuous ending to her tenure there — an old general manager of the store purchased the Death and Glory name and opened another location, which isn’t a liated to the original store —Hill sought out a clean slate.

“After (the old GM) took over that location, moving from there to here seemed more manageable,” Hill said. “It gives us a fresh start to show the community who we really are and who we’re targeting towards.”

Hill hopes the shop will become a safe haven for families, young people, beginners and experts alike.

Lessons at the shop will be o ered frequently, with fundamental classes held between 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Monday through ursday; dance (which is geared towards beginners) will be from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through ursday; and dance two (for experienced skaters) o ered between 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through ursday.

Memberships are available for folks who would likely attend multiple classes. Park lessons will be held at Cushing Skate Park in Englewood.

e shop will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for retail sales. Hill says she has a core team of four employees that she would like to grow as the shop evolves and hosts more lessons.

Hill explained that Arvada was o ered a great location to open the type of shop that she wanted to.

“Arvada’s always been family oriented; I wanted the shop to be inclusive and shared together,” Hill said. “Arvada really ts that boot of being family oriented but still having an edge to it.”

e shop is located at 5777 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. Hill said the shop will post updates on social media @thedenverskateshop.

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In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and non-partisan journalism. It covers everything from

politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education.

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun. com.

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GOLDEN COMMERCECITY

A skater works on their tricks at Trailwinds. PHOTOS BY @RICHVOSSLERPHOTOGRAPHY

New digs and a change of scenery bring new beginnings for Afton Hill and co.

TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

Rocky Mountain Refuge helps unhoused Coloradans fi nd peace in the face of death

BY LINDSEY FORD, DANA KNOWLES ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

As the population of unhoused people continues to grow across the country and Colorado, thousands of people die every year, often while living in the streets, in cars or tents.

Despite this, there are few organizations that o er services to help the unhoused navigate sickness and eventually death.

“ is a respite before I die,” said Daniel, somberly, while talking with Rocky Mountain PBS. He’s 63-yearsold, unhoused and dying from cancer.

“It’s comfortable in here. I don’t want to die on the streets,” he said. “I’d rather be in here and be comfortable until I’m deceased.”

Daniel is staying at Rocky Mountain Refuge, an organization in Denver that provides hospice care for those experiencing homelessness.

Rocky Mountain Refuge has created a space to make unhoused people comfortable.

“ ey do everything they can for you here. is room is also cozy,”

Daniel explained, gesturing across the space which ts two hospital beds, a dresser, desk and a nightstand. e few possessions Daniel has, he keeps close. He became unhoused almost three years ago.

Rocky Mountain Refuge o ers end of life care for those experiencing homelessness regardless of race, age, gender, gender expression, age, nationality, disability or marital status. ere are three beds rented out of a room in the Denver Rescue

Mission. Certi ed nursing assistant Timisha Buskey helps keep everything running.

“ is is personal to me because my mother passed and watching my mother inspired me to want to take care of others who have illnesses

that they will eventually die from,” Buskey explained.

e organization is planning to expand and add more beds. Sta and volunteers o er basic care, help with laundry, and cleaning, while nurses and physicians o er basic medical services. eir mission is to help those who are unhoused nd a comfortable and safe space to spend their last days before the end of life.

At least 20 people a day die without a home to live in across the United States, according to Homeless Death Count, a nonpro t that tracks those numbers. In 2020, nearly 8,000 unhoused people died in the streets.

Rocky Mountain Refuge says it is the only shelter of its kind in Colorado and just one of four in the country that focuses exclusively on people experiencing homelessness.

Daniel says he’s grateful for the organization’s services.

“Some people would rather die on the streets, but I’m not one of those people,” Daniel said. “I’d just like to be comfortable until I’m deceased.”

is story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonpro t public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

The 2023 Black Box Repertory Season is underwritten by Diana and Mike Kinsey

Rocky Mountain Refuge has created a space to make unhoused people comfortable.

PHOTO BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Summer Camps & Programs 2023

COUNTY AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Arapahoe County Libraries

Locations: Multiple locations in Arapahoe County

Website: arapahoelibraries.org

Details: Each year, Arapahoe libraries hosts a variety of reading events and gatherings to help fill the summer hours.

Arvada summer camps program

Location: 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada

Website: www.arvadacenter.org/ education/summer-camps

Details: This summer, the Arvada center is offering a variety of half day camps and full-day camps — including prescheduled Awesome Art Packs. Awesome Art Packs are combinations of our most popular summer camps that provide full day activities for students. These camp packages are a creative and convenient way to give your child a multi-disciplinary arts experience this summer.

City of Golden

Locations: See website

Website: www.bit.ly/3Sm6Y1X

Details: Summer camp registration opens Feb. 28 for residents and March 2 for nonresidents. Golden addresses are not all within city limits; some are actually part of unincorporated Jefferson County. Check if your Golden address is within city limits at addresslookup.jeffco.us.

City of Northglenn summer programs

Locations: See website

Website: www.northglenn.org/ rec_and_events/childrens_programs.php

Details: Participants will enjoy their time at the Northglenn Recreation Center swimming two times a week, playing games/ activities in the beautiful gym, going on fi eld trips, having in-house experiences, riding pedal boats at Webster Lake, playing daily at E.B Rains Jr. Memorial Park, plus much more.

City of Thornton – 2023 summer camps

Locations: Varies by camp

Website: www.thorntonco.gov/recreation/ Pages/registration-information.aspx

Details: The annual summer program is already underway with registration for residents beginning on Feb. 1. Nonresidents joined on Feb. 2. From physical activities and sports camps to arts and more — the annual program will continue to register participants.

Clear Creek County Library District

Locations: Multiple locations

Website: www.cccld.org/ programs-and-events

Details: Watch the calendar for summer events and programs being hosted by the Clear Creek County Library District.

Clear Creek Recreation Center

Locations: 98 12th Ave., Idaho Springs

Website: www.clearcreekrecreation.com/ summer-camp-1.html

Details: The Clear Creek rec center offers a

variety of camp options this summer. With all of the camp options, parents are able to pick day by day. Children are not required to attend the full week of camp.

Commerce City Parks & Recreation

Locations: Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Drive, Commerce City

Website: www.recreation.c3gov.com/ classes-programs/camps

Details: Youth Camp Venture is a traditional camp for children ages 6 to 10 and offers arts and crafts, STEM, active play, swimming and field trips. Camp takes place primarily outside at Eagle Pointe Rec Center. Adventure Trek is an outdoor adventure program that provides a new experience every day. Those ages 11 to 15 travel offsite for hiking, survival skills training, water activities and nature-based programming.

Douglas County Libraries

Locations: See website

SUMMER CAMP PAGES

CONTINUED

Website: www.dcl.org/camp-dcl

Details: Choose from weeklong half-day camps at six DCL locations or full-day camps at select locations from June 5 through Aug. 4. Camps are facilitated by subject matter experts and supported by trained staff and volunteers. Camp themes include science, robotics, creative arts, LEGOs, cooking and baking, with each camp geared to a specific age range.

Englewood – 2023 KidConnections

Summer Camp

Locations: See website

Website: www.bit.ly/3YRWCcC

Details: The program is a fully licensed day care by the State of Colorado, Department of Human Services for children 5 years old (and completed kindergarten) through 14 years old. There is a registration fee of $10 per child.

Evergreen Park & Recreation District

Locations: Variety of locations

Website: www.evergreenrecreation. com/201/Camps

Details: The annual programs provide options for kids starting at 3 years old.

Foothills Parks & Recreation District

Location: 6612 S. Ward St., Littleton

Website: www.ifoothills.org/ school-care-camps/#camps

Details: Details will be posted online for the 2023 summer program in March.

Highlands Ranch Community Association

Locations: Recreation centers throughout the community

Website: www.hrcaonline.org/ classes-camps-activities/camps

Details: Every year, the Highlands Ranch Community Association works to provide something for everyone in its summer camp program. For children into sports, there are plenty of athletic camps available. For those looking to improve in art, arts and education programs are plentiful.

Jefferson County Library

Locations: Events in Lakewood, Arvada, Golden, Evergreen, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge and more

Website: www.jeffcolibrary.org

Details: With summer coming, the Jefferson County Library system is already holding information sessions and planning events, such as the Cosmic Conversations: Telescope Highlights of the Midnight Sky in June.

Town of Castle Rock Summer Camp

Program

Locations: Vary based on camp

Website: www.crgov.com/3270/

Summer-Camps

Details: From sports camps to jedi training and science and arts — the Town of Castle Rock prevents a full slate of summer camp programs in 2023. Visit the town’s website to learn more about ages, prices and details.

Town of Parker/Parker Fieldhouse

Location: 18700 Plaza Drive, Parker Website:  www.parkerrec.com/2029/

Summer-Day-Camp

Details: Ages 5 to 13 can join this camp for themed games, activities, crafts and a ton of fun at the Parker Fieldhouse. Campers will be separated into age groups 5 to 6 years, 7 to 9 years, and 10 to 13 years. Expect swimming days and field trips too.

Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation

Location: 4355 Field St., Wheat Ridge Website: www.rootedinfun.com/191

/Sun-Camp

Details: Wheat Ridge Sun Camp is a state-licensed day camp for children ages 6 to 13; offered during Jefferson County Public Schools’ spring, summer and winter breaks.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

The Giggling Life Care Farm

Location: 14583 Cherry St., Thornton Website: www.thegigglinglife.com/ summer-farm-fun

Details: If your kids love animals you need to check out The Giggling Life Care Farm in Thornton for summer activities. The Giggling Life Care Farm is special for a lot of reasons, but the most important one is Kristi — the owner. She has a BS in psychology and a master’s in education, has studied life coaching for the last eight years, and is certified in Equine Assisted Coaching and Pet Therapy.

Highlands Ranch — Camp Backcountry

Location:  6005 Ron King Trail, Littleton Website: www.hrcaonline.org/ classes-camps-activities/camps/ camp-backcountry

Details: Nestled into 8,200 acres of wildlife conservation property just south of C-470 on Santa Fe Drive, Camp Backcountry is the spot for a build-a-fort, hikejust-to-explore, and don’t-forget-yourbinoculars kind of summer for your kids. The Backcountry believes that children learn, grow, and thrive best when outdoors and immersed in nature. Our week-long, full-day outdoor camps support the needs of children by using a whole-child, experiential learning approach. From minicamps to leaders-in-training programs, the camps are for ages 5-17.

Great Outdoors Summer Camp Location: Miller Activity Complex

1375 W. Plum Creek Pkwy, Castle Rock Website: www.crgov.com/3270/ Summer-Camps

Details: This regional park includes the Miller Activity Complex (MAC), Millhouse, Amphitheater, Challenge Hill, ziplines, Adventure Tower, Sky Trek, and adventure playground area as well as over ten miles of hiking and biking trails.  For ages 10-15.

Chatfield Stables Horse Camps Location: 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road, Littleton Website: www.chatfieldstables.com/ horse-camps.html

Details: Chatfield Stables is the longestrunning horse camp in the area. Every child has their own horse for the entire week. Kids get to lead, feed, water and work with their horses every day. Campers learn horse care, including grooming and bridling. They water and feed their horses, learn to groom them, and take care of

them at the end of the day. We ride daily, whether in the arena or on the trail.

Community Sailing of Colorado

Locations: 4800 S. Dayton St., Greenwood Village

Website: www.communitysailing.org

Details: Community Sailing of Colorado provides premier sailing programs (summer camps, adult classes, adaptive sailing, and community partnership events) at Cherry Creek and Boulder reservoirs. The weeklong summer camps range from beginner through advanced sailing for youth ages 5-17. It’s a perfect fit for any adventurous spirit who loves the outdoors.

YMCA SUMMER PROGRAMS

At the YMCA of Metro Denver, our youth development philosophy is grounded in 150 years of lifting up kids and helping them reach their full potential. It’s a philosophy centered on two critical factors: creating a unique sense of belonging and always incorporating the pure fun and joy of childhood.

Camps include adventure camps, sports programs, art that focuses on ceramics, painting, drawing, digital media and more. To find camps in local communities, visit the website at www.bit.ly/3Kg6GYM.

Summer camp programs are available in the following Denver metro cities:

• Arvada

• Aurora

• Broomfield

• Centennial

• Commerce City

• Denver

• Golden

• Lakewood

• Littleton

• Thornton

• Wheat Ridge

MAD SCIENTISTS

Kookalooz Space Playground: STEM

Summer Camp

Locations:

6805 W. 88th Ave., Westminster

Website: www.kookalooz.com/ westminster-co/summer-camps

Details: 5 different camps from the basics of space to engineering. Each camp is one week long. For ages 5-10.

Colorado Adventure Point

Location: 10455 W. 6th Ave., Suite 150, Lakewood

Website: www.coloradoadventurepoint.org

Details: CAP’s STEM Camp isn’t your typical science camp. Our campers get to experiment with chemistry, physics and engineering through a variety of materials, experiments and challenges to meet their curiosities and skill level in our challenge by choice model. In addition to building engineering models and friendships, the campers get to enjoy our climbing wall, archery range and more — and learn the science behind these fun activities. Camps are available for ages 6-12.

Butterfly Pavilion

Location: 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster

Website: www.butterflies.org

Details: Starting June 5 and running through Aug. 11, the Butterfly Pavilion hosts all the creepy crawlies and your children at camp. There are five themes, which repeat once and include spider

Whether

Camp Ozobot is a one-of-a-kind coding summer camp that incorporates STEM principles using our award-winning robot. Taught by credentialed educators, students will engage in critical thinking and problem solving to enhance their skill set and learn real-world applications. Woven throughout each day’s agenda are opportunities to collaborate and play with peers, express creativity and further computer science knowledge, all in a top notch campus.

HIGHLIGHTS:

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SUMMER CAMP PAGES

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE week, junior zookeeper and survival stories, where kids can learn about how insects adapt to survive.

Mad Science

Locations: Multiple locations in the Denver metro area, including the Littleton area, Denver and Broomfield

Website: www.colorado.madscience.org

Details: These camps are designed for ages 6 to 12, though sessions such as Red-Hot Robots and Advanced Robotics camps are more appropriate for ages 8 to 12. Instructors are mostly college students pursuing degrees in education or science and teachers off for the summer. Themes include chemistry, space science, forensics, engineering and more. Each camp is weeklong, though times can vary.

Air & Space Camp

Location: Wings Over the Rockies

7711 E. Academy Blvd., Denver

Website: www.wingsmuseum.org/ education/camp

Details: Ready for an aerospace adventure?

At Wings Over the Rockies that’s exactly what kids ages 8 to 14 can expect in these week-long camps. The fun starts June 5 and goes on until Aug. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

EMERGING ARTISTS

Center for the Arts: Summer in Color

Location: 31880 Rocky Village Dr., Evergreen

Website: www.evergreenarts.org/ summercamp

Details: Camps explore various media, from clay sculpting and wheel throwing, to pop art and mural painting, to the art of different cultures and the art of the masters. Several of our camps also incorporate outdoor components, including hikes, yoga, and opportunities for photography and eco-art projects. Let kids explore their creative side with imaginative and inspiring camps at CAE this summer. For ages 5-17.

Denver Art Museum

Location: 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver

Website: www.denverartmuseum.org/en/ summer-camps

Details: The camps at the Denver Art Museum get broken into three age groups: 5 to 6, 7 to 8, and 9 to 11. Overall, the themes remain the same — there are camps about art in nature, how to draw, learning about color and sculpture. Each camp runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and includes plenty of time in the museum to garner inspiration.

Craftsman & Apprentice

Location: 1335 E 22nd Ave., Denver

Website: www.craftsmanandapprentice.com/ pages/summer-2023

Details: Ages 5 to 11 can spend the summer creating worlds out of cardboard, paint, hot glue, ribbons, corks, buttons and more at this Denver kids’ crafting studio. Themes include toys, crafty critters, fiber arts and more.

ON THE STAGE

The Apollo Center Summer Camps

Location: 2655 Industrial Lane, Broomfield

Website: www.theapollocenter.com/ summercamps

Details: The Apollo Center offers a variety of skill-based camps for kids and adults alike. Aerial Performance Camps for kids ages 5-17 years focus on learning aerial technique and choreography throughout the week which will culminate with a camp performance based on the camp theme.

Front Range Theatre Company Triple Threat Summer Camp

Locations: 15035 Performing Arts School, Parker

Website: www.frontrangetheatre.org/ triple-threat-summer-camp.html

Details: Working with professional instructors with years of experience, your child will learn the three major elements of any stage performer: Voice, Dance and Acting. The camps are designed to challenge performers in the entire range of life in the theatre, including a live performance in a mainstage venue!

Audience of One Youth Theatre Camp

Location: Highlands Ranch

Website: www.AO1Theater.org

Details: Whether a student is looking to try out theater for the first time, polish skills or have fun with friends, the AO1 has one-totwo-week camps can work in the summer schedule. AO1’s summer programming includes kids’ productions for ages 5-12, workshops for ages 8-18, and a two-week intensive program for teenagers.

The Arvada Center

Location: 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. Arvada

Website: www.arvadacenter.org

Details: If your kid is 5 to 12 and loves a bit of drama and/or art, the Arvada Center has a slew of full- and half-day camps available. The best and most economic way to sign up for camp is to do it in three- or four-week blocks, and the venue offers combinations of visual art, musical theater, drama and music.

Kent Denver Performing Arts Camps

Location: 4000 E. Quincy Ave., Englewood

Website: www.KentDenver.org

Details: Summer at Kent Denver School offers all children ages 4–18 the opportunity to experience innovative, creative, handson learning in the arts, athletics, our Tiny Farm Day Camp, academics, innovation and technology.

St. Lukes Performing Arts Camps

Location:  8817 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch

Website: www.StLukesPAA.org

Details: From preschool age to high school students there are a large variety of summer camp shows planned in Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock areas. Registration is now open.

Castle Rock Dance Academy

Locations: 140 S. Wilcox St. Suite A, Castle Rock

Website: www.castlerockdanceacademy. com

self-discipline are taught, and students learn skills they can carry with them through life. The program offers weekly dance classes in five-week sessions for ages 3–18.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

Details: At Castle Rock Dance Academy (CRDA), best friends are made, etiquette and

Bowlero

Locations: Multiple locations in Cherry Creek, Littleton and Lone Tree Website: www.bowlero.com

Details: Fun for all skill levels, Bowlero’s modern spin on bowling is the perfect way to spend quality time with the kids. Celebrate every strike, spare and yes, even gutter balls, with the most famous lanes in the game and a delicious menu of classic American eats.

Golden Goal Sports Complex

Location: 2650 Alkire St., Golden Website: www.goldengoalsc.com/ summer-soccer-camps

Details: Golden Goal offers spring break camps and summer camps for all ages from under 5 to high school.

Camp Urbie at Urban Air Adventure Park

Location: 15400 E. Briarwood Circle, Aurora

Website: www.bit.ly/3IuCQOO

Details: Let ‘em Fly for a whole week of play, in-park activities, snacks and more. Camp Urbie’s Adventure Camp is the best way to beat the summer heat and play in the best indoor playground in town. The weeklong camp is open to kids 7 years and up.

Gold Medal Athletic Camp

Location: Castle Rock Recreation Center

Website: www.crgov.com/2628/Camps

Details: Athletes will participate in small- and large-group instruction, drills and games or scrimmages. We welcome beginner athletes to learn how to use proper mechanics and fundamentals of the sport and intermediate or advanced athletes who want to continue to grow their motor skills and skill in the sport. For ages 7-12.

Tigar Gymnastics Camps

Location: 4860 Van Gordon St. Unit B, Wheat Ridge

Website: www.tigargymnastics.com

Details: A variety of programs at a variety of ages is available at the gymnastics center, including ninja classes and programs for older ages.

RMF Soccer Camp

Location: Aurora Sports Park 19300 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora

Website: www.rmfsoccercampsusa.com/ soccer-camp-denver

Details: From July 17 to July 21, this prorun soccer camp will come to Colorado. It’s run by experienced Spanish UEFA coaches, and goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Kids from 6 to 16 can sign up.

Aerial Cirque Over Denver

Location: 4605 Quebec St., Denver.

Website: www.aerialcirqueoverdenver.com

Details: If your child is thinking of joining the circus, or just wants to bend, twist and soar through the air, this is the camp for them. Dates run from May 29 through August 14, and include morning and afternoon camps (9:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3 p.m.) for ages 6 to 16.

LET’S GET MUSICAL

Maestro Music Institute

Location: 6478 Ward Road, Arvada

Website: www.maestromusicinstitute. com/2023-instrumental-summer-camp

Details: Instrumental Summer Camp is back this year covering a myriad of ensemble opportunities. We will be offering Rock Band, Orchestra, Choir/Theater, Piano ensemble and composition. Summer campers will have the opportunity to learn new instruments in addition to honing their skills on their primary instrument. Students will work in large and small ensemble groups and perform a variety of music at the end of the week.

Kidzrock Rock Band Camp

Location: 2842 S. Broadway, Englewood

Website: www.musicallifedenver.com/ summercamp

Cost: $319

Details: Rock Band Summer Camp teaches children ages 4 to 7 how to play in a rock band. Campers learn to play drums, electric guitar, keyboard and sing. On the final day, campers perform a short (adorable) concert for parents and family. In addition to rock band time, students get to make music-related arts and crafts, create a fantasy band identity, and play outdoor games at the park next to the school. No prior musical experience is required. No investment in gear is required.

OVERNIGHT CAMPS

Avid 4 Adventure

Locations: Various spots

Website: www.avid4.com/ summer-camps

Details: For two weeks kids get to bask in nature, away from their parent, at either Camp Windy Peak near Bailey, or Camp Blue Sky near Evergreen. The kids sleep in cabins and build their skill sets in nature and with outdoor sport activities.

Cheley Colorado Camps

Location: Cheley Colorado Camps 3960 Fish Creek Road, Estes Park. Website: www.cheley.com

Details: If your kid is 9 to 17, send them off to a 27-day overnight camp in Estes Park. Full term is June 13 to August 6, or chose a half term from June 13 to July 9, or July 11 to Aug. 6. Activities include horseback riding, water sports, art and plenty of outdoor adventure.

Camp Granite Lake

Locations: 11902 Camp Eden Road, Golden

Website: www.campgranitelake.com

Details: Located in the mountains about an hour from Denver, the camp covers 135 acres including a private lake. It’s a co-ed camp for grades second to ninth. Choose from two sessions, either June 19 through July 8, or July 10 through July 29. There are also minicamp options for grades 1st through 4th, covering the week of July 31 or Aug. 7.

Being a life-long learner, a ritual I love opening my day with is reading the MerriamWebster email with the day’s word. Sometimes it is one with which I am familiar, but often it is a word whose de nition I have forgotten or am unacquainted with. Merriam-Webster is not my only source for expanding my vocabulary. I learn new words while reading books, essays and even op-ed columns.

I was introduced to one in an article about the escalation of teen loneliness and its correlation to the smartphone: phubbing. It is a portmanteau, a word formed by combining elements of two di erent words, like smog or brunch. In this case, the words combined are phone and snubbing.

Phubbing is the act of ignoring others by focusing your gaze on your smartphone. While adults are becoming more practiced in the art, teens have perfected it, much to their social and psychological development detriment. It has a precursor that evolved with the invention of the elevator. e uncomfortable quiet we experience on a ride between oors is understandable given the con ned space. But it tells us something about our nature: We have an innate need and even compulsion to communicate with others, and when we enter a complex in which the normal rules of chitchat are not applicable, we become uncomfortable. Ignoring people in close quarters feels unnatural. e saving grace for elevator passengers is that uncom-

Phubbing: A social disease

JERRY FABYANIC

fortable silence generally ends relatively quickly.

Phubbing moves the concept of elevator discomfort to a stratospheric level. It is in a league of its own and has disturbing implications for the loneliness pandemic, which can lead to antisocial behavior among the young and the old alike. Because among our survival needs, human companionship and communication is as vital as food, clothing and shelter.

Columnist

the teen years, young people transition from childhood dependency to adulthood self-reliance. is time is so critical that since the days when we roamed the African savanna and hunkered in caves, cultures have developed rituals to help move the young through their coming-of-age years. ey have done so to help their soon-to-be men and women become e ective members of the community. Unfortunately, over the past few millennia, such rituals have pretty much become the domain of religions (e.g., con rmation in Catholicism and Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Judaism) and educational institutions with their proms and graduation ceremonies.

underway. Phubbing short-circuits that process, which means the mental health of the individual is compromised. And that impacts their ability to function e ectively in their personal lives.

Phubbing, when practiced by tweens and teens, has major implications for their future professional and civic roles. And that in turn has immense rami cations for our entire society. Growing societal ssures are threatening our democratic processes. If they continue to widen, we will be in danger of becoming socially and thus politically dysfunctional. And if that happens, we can kiss o the American experiment.

In his play “ e Devil’s Disciple,” the playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote, “ e worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indi erent to them: at’s the essence of inhumanity.” Note Shaw’s use of negative expression with the words indi erence and inhumanity and how they correlate. Flip the words to positive expression: acknowledging others is humane. So when you’re strolling down the street or through a store with your phone plugged into your ear and you are chatting away, you are evincing a callous indi erence to everyone around you.

Feeling you’re being treated indi erently can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and lead to worse: depression, suicide and antisocial behavior.

Phubbing sows the seeds of antisocial behavior at an early age. During

I’m not sure, however, if phubbing completely captures what is happening. Snubbing is an intentional act of disrespect. Showing deliberate disdain for another might be happening in certain phubbing cases, but the reason many—especially teens and young adults—bury theirnoses in their phones is insecurity and poor social skills. When that is the case, it would be better to consider phubbing a symptom rather than a disease.

A key purpose of providing positive coming-of-age experiences for pre-adults is to foster healthy interpersonal relationship development. It is essential to their wellbeing. One of the ironies of teaching tweens and teens is that while the incessant chatter could drive a teacher batty, it is an indicator of healthy growth, assuming the chatter is appropriate and task oriented when the lesson is

We have survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Cold War, social upheavals and many other crises. And we are confronted with other existential crises, the per dious threat to our democracyand climate change being at the forefront. But I wonder if phubbing might be the most insidious and potentially destructive crisis of all, one that no miracle vaccine or social program would be able to halt. e reason is a successful democracy is totally dependent on a healthy, respectful exchange of ideas among an informed,fact-based citizenry. And phubbing helps sabotage that. For as George Bernard Shaw points out, hate is bad enough, but callous indi erence to others is quite another.

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

Chronicle of an abandoned oil and gas well — one of millions

Even from a distance it’s clear that an oil and gas well called “State Senate #2” in New Mexico has seen better days.

e pumpjack sits idle, tumbleweeds surround the once-moving parts and the earth smells of crude saturating the soil.

According to state records, this well last produced oil in 2007, and even then it was at a rate of about 25 to 50 barrels per year. ough the state inexplicably lists the well’s status as “active,” it’s not. And the listed owner is a company that no longer exists in any solvent form.

In other words, State Senate #2 meets the criteria for an “orphaned” oil and gas well. It’s just one of more than a million such wells nationwide, which are a growing environmental threat resulting from

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decades of policy failure by state and federal regulators.

“Orphaned” is an inaccurate term.

e parent companies that originally drilled and pro ted from these wells mostly didn’t die— they ed. Once the wells stopped making money, they were sold to smaller, less solvent companies that then vanished into a haze of bankruptcy. e unplugged wells were left to ooze methane and other nasty stu with no one around to clean it up.  It’s abandonment, plain and simple.

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e State Senate #2, for example, was originally drilled by Standard Oil Co. of Texas — yes, that Standard Oil — back in 1960, but the hole was dry, so workers plugged it and moved on. Two decades later, Raymond E. Sitta, Jr., took over the lease and applied for a permit to reopen the well. When oil came bubbling out, he named it State Senate #2.

After Sitta died in 2008, his estate sold the well to BIYA Operators, a local mom and pop company, which sold it in 2014 to Coloradobased Diversi ed Resources.  ree years later, Diversi ed led for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and abandoned its interest in all the mineral leases in the Horseshoe Gallup eld. at’s how State Senate #2, along with some four-dozen other

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wells and a leaky pipeline network, became wards of the state.

It’s a common story. e Horseshoe Gallup eld is rife with such stories. Another group of wells down the road changed hands several times before being acquired by Chuza Oil, owned by the Dallas producer of a reality television show called  Cheaters . Now Chuza is bankrupt, and its wells and assorted other detritus are a methaneoozing mess.

e pattern repeats across New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Wyoming has at least 1,500 “orphaned” wells.

In theory, the companies took care of the cleanup tab as a condition of their drilling permit. In

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Jonathan Thompson

Arvada Center takes audiences back to ‘Our Town’

There are some 20th century plays that are simply synonymous with the theater. And right at the top of that list is ornton Wilder’s immortal story of small-town life and love, “Our Town.”

When a show has such a strong reputation, it can be easy to think of it as rigid and traditional, with no production having anything worthwhile to add. But as any regular of the Arvada Center can attest, the company never does a production without giving it a unique spin.

“Our production, to me, feels like the product of pure artistic collaboration,” wrote Archer Rosenkrantz, who plays Joe Crowell and Wally Webb at the Center, in an email interview. “I feel lucky to work under leadership that values everyone’s voices in the room, and I think that our production is a re ection of that.”

As part of the 2023 Black Box Repertory eater season, “Our Town” runs at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., through Saturday, May 20. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. ursday through Saturday, 1 p.m. on Wednesday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

e play, directed by Geo rey Kent, is set in the ctional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from 1901 to 1913, and follows the lives of some of the residents as they grapple with major life events and attempt to get a handle on the eeting nature of existence.

“Geo ’s vision for the show was that it isn’t just a show you see, you as the audience feel like a part of the story, and a part of the process, almost like being let in on a secret,” wrote Claylish Coldiron, who plays Emily Webb, in an email interview.

“We perform in the round in a very intimate theatre, which we have utilized every corner of, so that when

THOMPSON

reality, the required bond amounts don’t get close to covering the costs. e Bureau of Land Management, for example, requires an operator to put up just $10,000 per individual well. Bigger operators can take out a single, $150,000 blanket bond that covers all of their wells — whether it’s ve or 500 — on public lands nationwide.

Yet the average cost to plug and reclaim a single oil and gas well, according to a 2021study, is a whopping $76,000, with costs for deeper wells shooting up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

at would add up to a $3.8 million cleanup bill for Chuza Oil’s 50 wells in the Horseshoe Gallup eld.  Court records show the company’s reclamation bonds with the Navajo Nation and federal government add up to less than $130,000, or about $2,500 per well. at means federal taxpayers — you and me — are on the hook for the remaining $3.7 million and change. And that’s just for one company’s

COMING ATTRACTIONS

the show starts, the audience is being invited to join the world we create for the next two

17 through Sunday, April 2 at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway. Performances are at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.

masculinity, sex and the challenges men deal with on the daily. Get tickets for the show at https:// wheatridgetheatrecompany.ticketspice.com/the-irish-curse.

Clarke Reader

One of the decisions that adds a more personal touch to the experience is to allow Rosenkrantz to portray Wally as autistic.

“As an autistic actor, I’m ecstatic that my director was on board with allowing Wally to be autistic as well for this production. Wally has special interests like most autistic kids, and he thrives when he’s able to engage with them,” they wrote.

“Even though Emily and Wally don’t always see eye to eye, Wally loves Emily deeply. He looks up to her, and sometimes envies her ability to succeed in school where he often struggles.”

One of the many things that makes “Our Town” so timeless is how applicable it is to every person, whether on stage or in the audience.

“ is script… brought to light how beautiful and spectacular life really is, and how precious, not in a way that is fragile but in a way that made us all want to hold it a little tighter and do a little more with whatever time and space we have,” Coldiron wrote.

Visit https://arvadacenter.org/ events/our-town for information and tickets.

Take a ride on the ‘Carousel’ at Lakewood Cultural Center

e Lakewood Cultural Center and Performance Now eatre Company are teaming up to copresent the classic musical “Carousel,” which runs from Friday, March

wells in one location.

Equally maddening is that the regulators must have seen the warning signs but didn’t — or couldn’t — act to make the responsible parties take responsibility while they were still somewhat solvent.

e 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized $4.7 billion in federal funds for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells. On the one hand, it’s necessary to end this massive threat to the climate, the environment and public health.  But the truth is that it’s also a corporate bailout.

e antiquated federal royalty rate of 12.5% must be jacked up considerably — 25%, anyone? — to bring it in line with what states charge. A portion of the royalty should also go into a reclamation fund so that corporate owners pay to clean up the messes they leave.

Jonathan ompson is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonpro t dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is the editor of the Land Desk and a longtime Western journalist.

A traditional favorite from the legendary duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein, the show features standards like “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Find detail and tickets at Lakewood.org/LCCPresents.

Wheat Ridge Theatre invokes ‘The Irish Curse’

Sometimes the best way to tackle touchy subjects is to do so with a funny and irreverent approach.

at’s the method author Martin Casella uses in his black comedy, “ e Irish Curse,” which is currently running at Wheat Ridge eatre Company, 5455 W. 38th. Ave., Unit J. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, through Sunday, March 26.

Directed by Selena A. Naumo , the show is “about a self-help group for men with a particular physical `shortcoming,’” according to provided information and dives into thorny questions of identity,

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — MIKE at Lost Lake Lounge

If you’ve been paying attention to underground rap for the last couple years, you’ve probably come across the Google-proof musician MIKE He specializes in the kind of insular, atmospheric rap that is made for headphones and evenings spent laying on your oor. He’s released numerous critically acclaimed albums and his latest, “Beware of the Monkey,” ranks as one of his best. In support of the album, MIKE will be stopping at the Lost Lake Lounge, Address, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22. Lost Lake is the perfect venue for a rising star MIKE and openers 454 and Anysia Kym. Details and tickets can be found at https://lost-lake.com/. Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Af ter more than 20 years of collecting pinball machines, Dan Nikolich’s basement had run out of space to store them all. So Nikolich opened the Colorado Pinball Pub in Littleton to share his collection.

“Pinball is a unique thing because it doesn’t matter what your background or walk of life is, pinball will draw you in,” he said. “It’s a great equalizer because it only takes one ball.”

While the concept of offering drinks and games at one location is nothing new, the Denver area is host to a number of unique takes on the Dave and Buster’s business model.

Colorado Pinball Pub is one of the newer additions to the barcade scene, having opened in 2020. The pub offers 22 pinball machines, plus a few classic arcade games like PacMan and Centipede, for unlimited play for $15 per hour.

Nikolich’s love for games started young, when he was growing up in Las Vegas and working for the MGM Arcade, so he was happy to see the recent rise in pinball’s popularity.

“Pinball is having a great resurgence right now. The last few years it’s been really hot,” he said. “We have parents who will bring their kids who have never played pinball and, at night, we get a lot of adults and date nights, stuff like that. All people seem to like pinball.”

Like the pub’s patrons, the pinball machines available range in age and theme, with Nikolich’s oldest machine being from 1981. The walls of the pub also pay homage to the history of the game, including its prohibition from 1940s to the 1970s, with pictures and news clippings.

In addition to pinball, the pub features over 150 kinds of whiskey, craft cocktails and Colorado brewed beer.

Nikolich said the goal is to have something for everyone and to make it approachable, whether that’s pinball or whiskey.

“We want you to come and learn about it and not be intimidated to ask if you don’t know something, we want to teach you, so that you can enjoy something new,” he said.

On the opposite side of the metro area, another

BARCADES

one-of-a-kind barcade is Akihabara, which, while located in Westminster, transports visitors to the Tokyo gaming district that gives the business its name.

Owner Brandon Osha said he was blown away when he had the chance to visit Akihabara and take in its blocks of multi-story arcades.

“The first time I went to Akihabara I knew I wanted to bring that here because it’s amazing,” Osha said.

He did just that by opening Akihabara in 2016.

Similar to Nikolich, Osha grew up with a love of gaming and worked at a local arcade and GameStop. Instead of pinball though, Osha’s games of choice came in arcade cabinets, which he began collecting at age 16.

Currently, Akihabara offers 52 arcade cabinets with around 65 games, but Osha has plans to expand his location with 25 new games and additional space, which he said will be complete this summer.

Osha said the game selection, which includes fighting games, rhythm games and nostalgic classics, definitely sets Akihabara apart.

“You never see this many (arcade cabinets) in one place,” he said. “We have such a different variety of games that you won’t find anywhere else in Colorado.”

One of the stranger and more rare games Akihabara offers is a Japanese table flipping game called Cho Chabudai, but more well-known games include Third Strike, Monkeyball, Typing of the Dead and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. All of the games are $1 or less to play.

Osha said a lot of people come in seeking a specific game that’s hard to find anywhere else, but he encourages visitors to try whatever piques their interest, even if they can’t necessarily read the Japanese instructions.

“I think it’s a lot of games that people have never seen, but they might find something that they like,” he said. “Plus, it’s usually only three buttons and a joystick, so they’re not too hard to learn.”

Akihabara’s focus on Japanese culture carries over into the bar offerings, which include Japanese beers and cocktails made with Japanese liquor, as well as a variety of packaged snacks and ramen options.

Overall, Osha said he tries to provide a space that’s both niche and for everyone, describing the Akihabara crowd as a welcoming hodgepodge.

“If you’re looking to find a friend, you’ll find one around here somewhere,” he said.

Colorado Pinball Pub owner Dan Nikolich poses with the oldest pinball machine in the pub, from 1981, on Feb. 23. On top of more than 20 pinball games, the Littleton pub also o ers a vast selection of whiskey.

Patrons play pinball at the Colorado Pinball Pub on Feb. 23. The Medieval Madness pinball machine is one of the pub’s most popular.

Akihabara owner Brandon Osha plays a fighting game at the barcade on Feb. 23. Located in Westminster, Akihabara o ers Japanese inspired games and drinks, with a unique selection of arcade cabinets.

PHOTOS BY MCKENNA HARFORD

Sheridan Taylor and Austin Brown play Chunithm, a rhythm game, at Akihabara on Feb. 23.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

We need these programs

Some elected o cials have signaled they want to eliminate socalled “entitlement” programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Veteran’s Bene ts. ese programs are not gifts; look at your paycheck and you will see that you pay for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid each time your employer pays you. Even if you have your own business, you have to pay into the program.

It is wholly irresponsible to even discuss the elimination of these programs, given society’s existential crises related to high cost of living and the widening wealth and income gaps. Also, minimum wage workers still must pay Social Security payroll tax and Medicare payroll tax – because these programs are not gifts.

Our older residents devoted their entire lives serving our society and helping the economy. It is heartbreaking to listen to wealthy politicians demonize these life-saving programs that were established to make sure that our residents can have some support and live with dignity during their lifetime. Currently, in the richest country in the world, 4.9 million seniors live in poverty, according to the Congressional Research Service. e average Social Security old age bene t is $1,400 per month. is is not enough to pay

rent and eat. In Westminster and Arvada, 40-60% of whatever is left over of income is spent on the ridiculously high costs of housing. Now add to that the need to also pay for utilities, transportation, food, healthcare, and everything else. ese economic stressors not only make it impossible to establish actual nancial security (e.g., savings, investments), but eliminating these programs disproportionately impacts older residents, rippling nancial burdens throughout the family.

Medicare is not free. Monthly payments to Medicare currently are $170.10 for Part B, plus Supplemental insurance costs range from $0 to $400 per month. And there are deductible and co-insurance to be paid, as well. ose of us who use prescription plans are well aware of the “donut hole” causing us to pay privately for the $300 per vial cost of insulin out of that $1,400 per month.

e bottom line is that we need to reimagine and decentralize the shaping of policy decisions related to these life-saving bene ts, towards a design that re-centers the interests of marginalized populations in the policy process and enable policy that actually helps their quality of life.

Obi Ezeadi, Westminster City Councilor

Bonnie Sellers, Federal Heights City Councilor

Illegal drug lab bill progresses to Senate Finance Committee

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A bill introduced to the local government and housing committee of the senate about illegal drug laboratories in homes was approved on March 10.  SB 23-148, presented by Colorado Sen. Lisa Cutter, adds to current laws about remediation. Currently, the department of public health and environment certi es people who assess, decontaminate or sample property that once were sites of illegal drug laboratories.

e bill adds a requirement that the department will inspect the work of each certi ed person once every three years. If errors are found, remedial education or decerti cation will ensue for the responsible party.  e bill also requires the department to create a public database of buildings that have been used as illegal drug laboratories. A building can be removed from the database ve years after the property has been decontaminated.

Next, the bill will be heard by the Senate Finance Committee for adjustments to the budget.

Thu 3/23

Bodies @ 6pm Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver

Schism @ 8pm Bluebird Theatre, 3317 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver

Sat 3/25

Nick Critchlow @ Empourium Brewing @ 3pm

The Empourium Brewing Company, 4385 W 42nd Ave, Denver

Scott Slay @ 6pm New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden

Suitable Miss w/ Saints of Never After, Redamancy, Harbor @ 6:30pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

Tony Medina Music: The Bluegrass at Candelas @ 6pm

The Bluegrass - Can‐delas, 18068 W 92nd Ln #400, Ar‐vada

Signals Midwest, Calamity, Tuff Bluff @ The Skylark Lounge @ 8pm Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

"The Irish Curse" @ 7:30pm / $21

Wheat Ridge Theatre Company, 5445 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge

Nathaniel Riley @ 8pm Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, 1624 Market St, Denver

Fri 3/24

Sun 3/26

Covenhoven - The Candlelight Concerts @ 6pm Enigma Bazaar, 4923 W 38th Ave, Denver

Keep Flying @ 7pm / $15

Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Mon 3/27

Airiel @ 7pm Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

Thunderpussy @ 8pm Ogden Theatre, 935 E Colfax Ave, Denver

The Heavy Heavy @ 8pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Den‐ver

Tue 3/28

Jeffrey Dallet @ 12:30pm

InnovAge Colorado PACE - Lakewood, 8405 W Alameda Ave, Lakewood

Lexi Weege @ 5pm

Number Thirty Eight, 3560 Chestnut Pl, Denver

Inhaler @ 7pm Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St, Denver

Julia Pratt: Vancouver Sleep Clinic Tour @ 7pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver

Grant Livingston @ 6pm Evergreen Brewery, 2962 Evergreen Pkwy #201, Evergreen

Archer Oh @ 7pm Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Brainstory @ 7pm Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Tiffany Day @ 8pm Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St, Denver

Wed 3/29

Worry Club @ 6:30pm

Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Adelitas Way @ 7pm

Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers @ 8pm Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Station, 1338 1st St, Denver

Dogs in a Pile @ 8pm Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

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Lawmakers look to expand ‘red flag’ law

Club Q a main reason

BY ANDREW KENNEY COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Colorado lawmakers on March 7 debated whether to expand the state’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law, along with two other proposed gun laws.

e existing ERPO law is meant to disarm people who might be a risk to themselves or others, before anything happens. But it has seen relatively little use in Colorado since it was instituted in 2020, leading Democrats to propose changes this year.

“ e changes we have made … are a result of the actions taken or not taken prior to the Club Q shooting last November,” said state Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Democrat, at the beginning of a day-long committee hearing.

Sullivan is a sponsor of a bill, SB23-170, which would expand the state’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law. It was the focus of the hearing’s rst hours.

What the bill would do

e biggest proposed changes are:

• Expanding the list of people who can initiate the “red ag” process.

• Requiring the state to spend money on a public education campaign about the law.

A red ag case begins when someone les a petition in court. Currently, those petitions can be led by law enforcement o cers, and also by individuals close to the person in question. at includes current and former romantic relations, roommates and family members. If a petition is led by anyone else, it is automatically dismissed.

e new bill broadens that, allowing a range of new professionals to le the petitions, including psychologists, social workers, family therapists, counselors, doctors, physician assistants, teachers, school counselors, administrators, school nurses and college faculty, and district attorneys, among others.

Backers say these professionals are well-positioned to spot warning signs, and that giving them the power to seek a red ag order can serve as a backstop in areas where

law enforcement isn’t using the law.

“We have some communities around our state that either can’t, or won’t, le or enforce extreme risk protection orders,” said Senate President Steve Fenberg, referring to the fact that many law agencies have never led an ERPO petition. Adding new petitioners “provides di erent options,” he said.

Proposal draws objections from sheri s in conservative areas, among others

Sheri Darren Weekly of Douglas County said that people might avoid seeing a counselor if they’re worried it could result in a red ag petition.

“ e very people who will need help will be reluctant to seek it,” he said.

Weekly’s predecessor, Sheri Tony Spurlock, was a key supporter of the original ERPO law.

Weekly also argued that the existing law violates due process protections. A judge can order someone’s guns be taken for up to two weeks without giving them an immediate chance to respond.

e red ag law says that a judge

must nd a “preponderance” of evidence of a “signi cant” risk before issuing a two-week ban. A one-year ban requires “clear and convincing” evidence, and can’t be issued until the judge holds a court hearing and gives the person an opportunity to

Sheri Joseph Roybal of El Paso County disputed the idea that an expanded red ag law could have stopped the Club Q shooting.

“ is proposed bill is here to try to predict the future or rewrite the past, both of which are awed,” he

Authorities in El Paso County have come under heavy criticism because they did not le a red ag petition against the suspect. e suspect had allegedly threatened a mass shooting and engaged in an armed stando with police a year earlier, and authorities con scated the suspect’s weapons at the time. But the court case was dismissed and the suspect faced no known restrictions on acquiring new weapons at the time of the shooting.

However, in his testimony, Roybal indicated the suspect could have acquired the guns illegally — which a red ag order would not have stopped.

“I will tell you, the weapons that were used in that incident would not have applied to ERPO,” Roybal said. He added later: “People are making the assumption the weapons that (the suspect used were) obtained legally.”

9News and other outlets have reported that so-called “ghost guns” were used in the attack.

Social worker, teacher, medical groups support proposal, while gun rights group threatens to sue

e gun rights group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has threatened to sue the state, should law-

Vigil outside of Club Q on Nov. 21.

COURTESY OF CATHY LEES

‘The changes we have made … are a result of the actions taken or not taken prior to the Club Q shooting last November.’

State Sen. Tom Sullivan

RED FLAG

makers pass the new legislation.

Erik Stone, a commissioner in conservative Teller County, said that teachers aren’t ready to take on the burden of considering red ag petitions.

“It extends responsibilities to people who already have enough on their plate,” he said.

e American Federation of Teachers’ Colorado branch is supporting the bill. e state’s largest teacher’s union, the Colorado Education Association, has not led to lobby on the bill.

Leanne Rupp, executive director of the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, acknowledged concerns about protecting client con dentiality, but said her organization supports the proposal, arguing it could save the lives of clients and others.

“ ere are times when we as providers may be able to prevent a catastrophic event from occurring,” she said.

e bill requires that judges must place health records under seal, and it includes legal protections for professionals who make ERPO decisions in good faith, including if they don’t le a petition and their client goes on to commit an act of violence.

Dr. George Hertner, president of Emergency Medical Specialists in Colorado Springs, said that emergency room doctors are well-posi-

tioned to identify dangerous cases.

“We are able to identify and treat these individuals. We treat the victims of these violent crimes,” he said. “What we are lacking is the ability to raise our hands and cry out, ‘Help, this person is at risk.’”

e Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Psychiatric Society have both requested amendments to the bill, according to lobbying records.

“CMS understands the issues in this bill and wants to ensure that in situations where physicians are trying to help that they do not either unintentionally get exposed to other risks per other laws and regulations,” wrote a spokesperson for CMS in an email.

Other witnesses said that expanding the red ag law could save lives.

“You think about all the ‘what ifs,’” said Jane Dougherty, whose sister Mary Sherlach was killed while trying to stop the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. “What if the shooter didn’t have access to those guns?”

e ERPO bill passed the committee on party lines with a 3-2 vote. It heads next to the full Senate. Later in the day, the committee was set to consider bills that would create more legal liability for the rearm industry and raise the rearm purchase age to 21.

is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr. org.

Democrats unveil e ort to shield abortion, transgender patients

Prevents out-of-state consequences

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado Democrats on March 9 unveiled a trio of bills aimed at ensuring abortion and gender-a rming care in Colorado isn’t subject to legal action initiated in other states, as well as reshaping health insurance regulations around the procedures and prohibiting deceptive advertising by anti-abortion pregnancy centers.

e measures, which haven’t been introduced yet, come a year after the legislature passed a bill enshrining abortion access in state law. at happened just before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling protecting the right to an abortion without excessive government restriction.

Since Roe was overturned, conservative areas of the country have passed abortion restrictions, leading to an in ux of people coming to Colorado to terminate their pregnancies. Colorado has almost no abortion restrictions. Republican state legislatures and governors have also begun enacting laws limiting transgender care for young people.

Republicans are likely to ght the Colorado bills, but they are in the minority in the legislature and have few tools to stop the policy changes.

Here’s what the legislation would do,

according to bill fact sheets provided to e Colorado Sun and interviews with the measures’ sponsors:

Blocking out-of-state legal action

e most substantive of the three measures takes aim at abortion restrictions passed in other states in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, as well as laws passed by other states limiting gender-a rming care for transgender people.

e bill would mandate that Colorado not recognize criminal prosecutions initiated in other states for people who receive, provide or assist in access to an abortion or gender-afrming care in Colorado. at would explicitly outlaw abortion-related arrests, extraditions, search warrants and court summons or subpoenas.

e bill would also bar state employees from participating or assisting in interstate investigations into abortion and gender-a rming care, and it would prohibit wiretapping related to an investigation of abortion or gendera rming care.

Additionally, abortion- and gender-a rming-care-related lawsuits wouldn’t be recognized or enforced by the state under the measure.

State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and a lead sponsor of the bill, said the idea behind the legislation is to prevent investigations into things that are legal in Colorado.

“Gender-a rming and reproductive health care services are lawful here in Colorado, so why would Colorado law enforcement agencies, courts or

people with information on abortion access. Additionally, state medical boards would be prohibited under the measure from leveling professional consequences against people who provide or assist in abortions and gender-a rming care.

Prohibiting deceptive advertising

e second measure would prohibit “deceptive advertising,” namely around abortion pill reversal. e legislation is targeted toward anti-abortion pregnancy centers, but would apply to any organization purporting to o er pregnancy services.

It would also be considered deceptive advertising to falsely purport to o er abortion services or Plan B.

“ ese centers open up near college campuses and in communities of color in order to persuade people to make decisions without understanding their full range of medically accurate reproductive health care,” said Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat and one of the bill’s lead sponsors.

Additionally, prescribing, o ering or facilitating abortion pill reversal would become “unprofessional conduct for licensed, registered or certi ed health care providers.”

Some states require abortion providers to tell their patients that they can reverse the procedure. e American College of Obstetricians and Gyne-

science” and that reversal procedures

Advocates say it would reduce surprise billing and remove patient cost sharing for treatment of sexually transmitted infections, as well as sterilization and abortion care.

It would also:

Create a state fund that providers may on behalf of patients receiving abortion or reproductive health services who are concerned about con dentiality

• Ensure that the exemption from step therapy and prior authorization requirements for HIV medications applies to medications prescribed by any authorized provider, not only pharmacists

• Include family planning related services in the existing state reproductive health care program

• Clarify that Medicaid’s non-emergency medical transportation service can support patient transportation to abortions

• Modernize a 1971 Courts and Court Procedures statute to specify there is no minimum age restriction for people seeking contraceptives.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

The state Capitol stands January in Denver.

PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

Board defers vote to rename Mount Evans

Unexpected twist in process

BY TATIANA FLOWERS THE COLORADO SUN

In an unexpected twist on March 9, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names deferred a vote that would have changed the name of Mount Evans.

Many had expected the federal board to approve a new name, Mount Blue Sky, proposed by many Native American tribal leaders and representatives, Gov. Jared Polis, a Colorado renaming board and other community members.

But March 9 before the federal board’s meeting, Jennifer Runyon, executive acting secretary for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, said the federal board had “received a request from a tribal government for government-to-government consultation,” and that a decision had been made to defer a nal vote. e U.S. board did not initially say which tribe asked for the request.

At the start of the meeting ursday, the federal board noti ed attendees that no decision would be made and there would not be any discussion about the pending proposals for Mount Evans.

If the federal geographic renaming board had voted, the organization’s decision would have marked the end of a lengthy process to give the prominent 14er, visible from Denver, a much less controversial label.

“As you know, the proposals that have been submitted to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to change the name of Mount Evans have been added to the docket for a vote at today’s meeting. However, the BGN (Board on Geographic Names) and the Department of Interior have received a request from a tribal government for federal government-to-government consultation and in accordance with the Department of Interior department manual 512 DM 5.5.A.6, titled ‘Intergovernmental Relations: Procedures for Consultation with Indian Tribes,’ the decision is made to defer today’s vote on the Mount Evans name change,” said Susan Lyon, vice chair of the board.

“ e manual states, ‘A tribe may request that the department initiate consultation when the tribe believes

that a bureau or o ce is considering a departmental action with tribal implications,” Lyon said. “So, no decision will be made on Mount Evans today and we won’t be discussing any of the pending proposals.”

Clear Creek County o cials and Native American tribe representatives said ursday that they wanted to wait to comment until they had more information about the request to defer a vote.

However, during the Colorado board’s meetings last fall to hear proposals on renaming Mount Evans, Northern Arapaho tribe members had advocated for Mount Blue Sky and Northern Cheyenne tribe members supported the name Mount Cheyenne Arapaho. Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board members had asked proponents of the name Mount Blue Sky if they had plans to meet with those who advocated for Mount Cheyenne Arapaho to negotiate an agreeable name.

“If we have two names, both with support from di erent Indian nations, is there any room for the two groups to discuss this further or do you want us to decide?” state Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, a renaming committee board member, asked during that November meeting.

A member of a coalition that gathered input from tribal representatives said the group tried many times

to engage members of the Northern Cheyenne tribe in discussion, but were unsuccessful.

“I think the time is long past due for the acknowledgement that that is not an appropriate name,” Clear Creek County Commission Chairman Randy Wheelock said. He coled, from November 2020 to March 2022, educational, public comment and deliberation meetings before Clear Creek County o cials recommended the new Mount Blue Sky name to the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory board. He said he had no comment about the deferral, until he and other local o cials had more information.

“Generally speaking, my attitude was — and the board’s attitude was — that we were giving the biggest credence to the two indigenous proposals, and when they didn’t combine (and agree) on one proposal, we looked at the level of support that each of them had and there was much, much greater support that we saw from both the Indigenous community and the non-Indigenous community for Mount Blue Sky, and so that was the reason we went ahead and made that choice,” Wheelock said before the vote was deferred.

For some Native American Coloradans, renaming the peak has been a decadeslong process. And for state o cials and other community members, who engaged in research to support four other name change proposals for the Clear Creek County landmark, the process has taken more than a year to complete.

e renaming process, so far, has aimed to strip former Gov. John Evans’ name from the 14,265-foot landmark. Evans, who served as ter-

ritorial governor from 1862 to 1865, was forced to resign for his role in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, a deadly attack on Native Americans that led to the deaths of more than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women, children and older adults.

e Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board in November voted unanimously to change the name to Mount Blue Sky, a move supported by Clear Creek County o cials, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, and many Native American tribe leaders and members who contributed to the renaming process.

Anne Hayden, John Evans’ greatgreat-granddaughter, noting that she did not represent all members of her family, testi ed at a public meeting about renaming the peak and said she favored changing its name.

Gov. Polis earlier this month wrote in a letter to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names that each of the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado deserves “a name be tting their majesty.”

While many Coloradans have grown up knowing the name Mount Evans, Polis wrote, it’s clear that people want a new name that unites the community and does not divide it. In the letter, Polis cited research by scholars at the University of Denver and Northwestern University, both of which Evans helped found, saying their work showed “Evans’ culpability for the Sand Creek Massacre, without question.”

During the formal process to consider renaming the peak, Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board members received more than 200 written and verbal statements from Native American tribe leaders, local government o cials, community members and loved ones of those who perished in or survived the Sand Creek Massacre, Chris Arend, a spokesman for the state naming board wrote in an email to e Colorado Sun on Wednesday.

“Considering there were six proposals and hours of public testimony, it was clear that there was a strong shared desire to rename Mount Evans,” he wrote in the email. “Ultimately, Mount Blue Sky struck the appropriate cord to garner support of Clear Creek County, the (Colorado Renaming Advisory Board) and Governor Polis.”

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

A pika gathers food on Aug. 18, 2022 atop Mount Evans. COURTESY OF ANN ZIMMERMAN

Advocates want to send schools a message: It is not OK to hit kids

BY JASON GONZALES CHALKBEAT COLORADO

Colorado would ban corporal punishment by schools and day care centers, if a bill proposed by two Democratic legislators becomes law.

e state is one of 22 states that allows corporal punishment in education.

It’s not clear how often it’s used —the state doesn’t collect that data and federal student discipline records show no Colorado cases —but advocates for children with disabilities say they hear from parents who see bruises on their children’s arms, legs, and even faces.

e bill to ban it has the support of disability and mental health advocacy groups that want the state to send a clear message that it’s never OK to hit a child.

“Most people are surprised we still allow it,” said state Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat who is co-sponsoring the bill. “It’s not the right message we want to send to administrators and schools.”

e bill is also sponsored by state Rep. Regina English, a Colorado Springs Democrat.

House Bill 1191 would prohibit an employee or volunteer from using corporal punishment on a child in a public school, a state-licensed child care center, a family child care home, or a specialized group facility. e bill de nes corporal punishment as “the

willful in iction of, or willfully causing the in iction of, physical pain on a child.”

e bill would require school districts and the Department of Early Childhood to prohibit the practice.

Colorado doesn’t collect data on corporal punishment, according to the Colorado Department of Education. e federal O ce for Civil Rights didn’t record any complaints from Colorado about corporal punishment of students in 2017-18, the most recent data available.

Nationwide, the O ce for Civil Rights reports boys are about four times as likely as girls are to be punished with corporal punishment. Black students also receive corporal punishment at twice the rate of their peers. e majority of corporal punishment reports come from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas, according to the federal o ce.

Emily Harvey, Disability Law Center attorney team leader, said students with disabilities are also at high risk. Her o ce regularly gets calls from parents about physical pain in icted on their child, she said. ose incidents often aren’t investigated, she said.

e bill makes a statement that physically hurting children, especially students with disabilities, in Colorado is unacceptable, she said.

e bill “is just one extremely small step towards creating more inclusive and welcoming, and therefore safer,

schools in Colorado,” Harvey said. is is at least the second e ort by Colorado lawmakers to ban corporal punishment. In 2017, a bill cleared the House, but stalled in a Republicancontrolled Senate. Republicans didn’t explain their vote.

At the time, sponsors and advocates couldn’t point to a single complaint about corporal punishment used in Colorado schools, a sticking point for some Senate Republicans.

Advocates say this year’s bill is backed up by a body of research that physical discipline leads to a greater risk of health risks such as depression, antisocial behavior, and suicide. School corporal punishment also may cause more aggressive behavior or low self-esteem in students.

To address behavior, Colorado schools should strengthen their support for students, said Vincent Atchity, executive director of the advocacy group Mental Health Colorado.

As a good example, he pointed to the I Matter program, which can provide a student six free virtual counseling sessions. He is pushing for the state to provide mental health assessments and referrals for students in sixth and through 12th grade.

Fields said her bill would move Colorado away from violence against students and toward respect, she said.

Allowing school sta to hit students, she said, “is not appropriate when we have a nation and a state that’s deal-

ing with an increase of violence and crime and where kids don’t feel safe in schools.”

Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools.

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Ralston Valley hockey comes up short against Valor in title game

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

DENVER — Valor Christian claimed its third hockey state championship in four years March 7 at Magness Arena on the University of Denver campus.

e Eagles nished o a 20-game winning streak with the highest scoring state hockey title game since 1992 with a 7-3 victory over Ralston Valley.

“We were an hungry as ever,” Valor senior captain Noah Fekete said after being handed the state trophy by CHSAA assistant commissioner Justin Saylor. “We knew coming into this game that this is where we need to be and wanted to be. We were for sure thinking about last year standing at the blue-line and watching the other team celebrate. at wasn’t going to be us this year.”

Denver East prevented Valor from winning a third straight title last year. e Angels took a 6-3 victory over the Eagles at Magness Arena in 2022.

“ ese guys have worked really hard to get back to this game and have this opportunity,” Valor coach George Gwozdecky said. “I think they sensed with 17 minutes to go it was their’s if they wanted it. It was a matter of going out there and executing like we’ve done all year long.”

Valor held a slim 4-3 lead going into the third period. e Eagles scored three unanswered goals to win going away. Fekete had a huge goal 45 seconds into the third period and then Valor scored its third power-play goal of the game by freshman Maddux Charles with 12:04 left in the period to extend the lead to 6-3.

“I don’t know if it was really any Xs and Os,” Gwozdecky said of the third period. “ e power-play goal and early goal in the third period was obviously a huge one.”

Fekete put in his second goal of the period with three minutes to play to make it the highest scoring state championship game on the ice in more than three decades.

“Going into the third period in the locker room we were kind of over the back-and-forth game,” Fekete said. “We were due for a couple of goals to put on top of each other to nish them out. at was the focus heading into the third period.”

Valor (20-1 record) never trailed thanks to a solid start in the rst period with goals by seniors Garrett Covney and Alec Al eri to open up a 2-0 lead. However, Ralston Valley got a much-needed goal in the nal minute to cut the lead in half.

A heavy shot from senior Cole Francque got through Valor goalie Cooper Robinson and trickled across the goal-line before Robinson could drive back to keep the puck

Ralston Valley captains — Blane Keller, Tsavo Cole and Nickita Alexeyev — pose with the Class 5A hockey state runner-up trophy on the ice at Magness Arena on March 7. The Mustangs lost to Valor Christian 7-3 in the state championship game.

PHOTOS BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ralston Valley junior Gabriel Kennedy (21) races up the ice during the Class 5A hockey state championship game March 7 at Magness Arena. The Mustangs su ered a 7-3 loss to Valor Christian in the title game

HOCKEY

FROM PAGE 24

out the net. e Mustangs’ goal came with 38.9 seconds left in the rst period.

Valor and Ralston Valley traded blows in the second period. e Eagles got power-play goals by seniors

Aidan Owen and Nick Maronna, but the Mustangs answered each goal with one of their own.

Senior Tsavo Cole picked up a short-handed goal with 12:28 left in the second period to cut Valor’s lead to 3-2. Cole went end-to-end to eventually put in the rebound from a shot by Ralston Valley senior Devin Strong.

“It was one of those strange games where at times I thought we had complete control,” Gwozdecky said. “ en … Ralston Valley would take advantage of a bad miscue on our part. I don’t know if we gave up a short-handed goal all season long.”

After Maronna’s power-play goal with 6:03 left in the second period to give Valor back is 2-goal lead, Strong took a sharp-angled shot into the back o the net o a face-o with 3:53 left in the second period to again make it a 1-goal game heading to the nal period of regulation.

A huge key for Valor was its

penalty killing. e Eagles took ve 2-minute minor penalties, but killed off all five.

“Our penalty kill did an outstanding job,” Gwozdecky said.

It was the rubber match between the 5A Metro League squads.

Ralston Valley (14-5-2) handed Valor its lone loss of the regular season with a 4-3 overtime win Dec. 3. Valor evened up the series with a 4-2 home victory Jan. 7 on the Eagles way to a 19-game winning streak entering the championship game Tuesday.

Ralston Valley’s first-year coach Nick Spinder — a 2012 Ralston Valley graduate — got the Mustangs back to the state title game for the first time since 2014. Spinder graduated from Ralston Valley just after its back-to-back state titles in 2013 and 2014.

It was Valor’s fifth trip to the championship game over the past six seasons with Gwozdecky at the helm. The legendary coach spent 19 years at the University of Denver, coaching the Pioneers to back-to-back NCAA National Championship titles in 2004 and 2005.

Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Jeffco Public Schools. For more Jeffco coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.

Ralston Valley seniors Cole Francque and Spencer Lagrange celebrate the Mustangs’ first goal in front of Ralston Valley’s student section March 7 at Magness Arena. Ralston Valley eventually lost the Class 5A hockey state championship game 7-3 to rival Valor Christian.

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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State warns of avian flu surge amid migration

takes months and millions of dollars to recover from a mass death event.

From avian u to zoning permits, here’s what you need to know about raising backyard chickens

BY PAOLO ZIALCITA COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Highly pathogenic avian in uenza, the disease spreading among wild and domestic bird populations nationwide, is expected to have a surge in cases as the migratory season begins in Colorado.

It’s been nearly a year since the rst outbreak in Colorado, and while cases have slowed, Colorado state veterinarian Maggie Baldwin said the risk will go up as more ocks of birds pass through.

“[ ese wild birds] are bringing more virus, they’re shedding more virus in the environment, and we’re likely gonna see more spillover of that virus into our domestic poultry operations on both the commercial and the backyard side,” Baldwin said.

So far, about 6.4 million chickens have either been killed by the virus or put down to prevent outbreaks within a ock. Hundreds of wild birds, mostly geese and ducks, have also been killed by the virus. Death is all but guaranteed for birds that contract it, and symptoms include sudden fatigue, decreased egg production, and nasal discharge.

e avian u has recently been

linked to deaths in mammals that consumed infected birds.

e nationwide outbreak has driven up egg prices across the country. According to federal data, a dozen eggs cost an average of $4.83 as of January 2023, up from the average of $1.93 recorded a year prior.

“What we can likely expect is across the nation, we’re going to see another increase in cases this spring, and that’s really what led to

consumer impacts was when we had a lot of our commercial egg laying populations impacted around the same time,” Baldwin said.

With the length of the outbreak hitting “unprecedented” levels, Baldwin acknowledges that fatigue may be setting in for commercial and domestic owners. However, she urges owners to keep up their biosecurity measures. When big, commercial farms are impacted, it

Baldwin, along with experts from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado State University, will host a webinar next week to share more information about the avian u and how to keep ocks safe this spring.

Avian u cases among humans are extremely rare, and they usually occur only when people are heavily exposed to infected poultry.

e federal government is discussing the possibility for a large-scale avian u vaccination program for poultry, and e New York Times reports a potential vaccine is already being tested.

“ e USDA is really the rst step in getting that approval process started because, if you vaccinate, there are potential trade implications,” Baldwin said.

In the meantime, agriculture o cials and veterinarians are still searching for other solutions.

ere’s “no clear end in sight” for this avian u outbreak, Baldwin said. With no treatment available and the uncontrollable nature of bird migration coming back into play, it appears this strain of avian u is here to stay.

is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Great horned owls are kept in the hospital area of the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins. The program rehabilitates around 300 birds a year, 78% being treatable cases that can be returned to the wild.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA SUN; THE COLORADO SUN VIA REPORT FOR AMERICA

As flocks head north, increase in virus shedding will heighten risk

After capping insulin copays, states sets sights on EpiPens

Cap at $60

BY HELEN SANTORO KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Almost four years after becoming the rst state to cap insulin copayments, Colorado may limit what consumers pay for epinephrine autoinjectors, also known as EpiPens, which treat serious allergic reactions.

A proposed state law would cap out-of-pocket copays at $60 for a two-pack of epinephrine autoinjectors. In 2007, the wholesale price of a single EpiPen was about $47. Today, two brand-name autoinjectors cost just under $636 at a Walgreens in Denver, according to GoodRx. At some pharmacies a generic pen sells for $100 to $200, which is still expensive for many people.

e bill is the latest example in a nationwide push by states to address the soaring prices of lifesaving drugs. New Hampshire passed a law in 2020 requiring insurance to cover the autoinjectors, and Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a similar measure this year. No state has capped what consumers pay for EpiPens, though the New Jersey Senate passed a bill in June to do so; that measure is pending in the legislature’s lower house.

e average launch prices of drugs in the United States increased nearly 11% every year from 2008 to 2021, according to a study published last year. Price increases can skyrocket even higher for items such as epinephrine autoinjectors, a market dominated by EpiPen maker Viatris, a global pharmaceutical company.

“If you have very little competition in the market, the way the U.S. drug pricing system works is that the manufacturers get to set the price at which they want to sell the drug, and they can increase it whenever they so choose,” said Erin Taylor, a senior health care policy researcher

at Rand Corp., a global policy think tank. “One way to shift costs back to health plans and manufacturers, and to help patients pay less for their drugs, is to apply these caps.”

e Colorado legislation would cap EpiPen copays for both insured and uninsured people starting in 2024. Almost 566,000 Coloradans have life-threatening food allergies, according to the bill. People can also have severe reactions to insect bites, medications, and latex.

“ e need for EpiPens doesn’t discriminate based on who you are,” said state Rep. Iman Jodeh, a Democrat who is sponsoring the bill. “ is unfortunate trend we were seeing of lifesaving medication being completely unattainable or out of reach for people is something that we are really trying to put an end to.”

Colorado was the rst to limit copays for insulin

In 2019, Colorado became the rst state to enact a law that set a $100 limit on monthly copays for insulin, a hormone that regulates the blood sugar of people with diabetes.

Since then, 21 other states, plus Washington, D.C., have implemented laws limiting insulin costs. Congress imposed a $35 insulin copay cap for seniors on Medicare, and, in his recent State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called for expanding this cap to every American.

“Insulin has been the poster child of copay caps,” said Geo rey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California Schae er Center for Health Policy & Economics.

However, the caps are an imperfect solution to high prescription costs. Decreasing the price of a drug for some insurance members means increasing premiums for others, said Taylor. “A cap doesn’t lower the list price of the drug, so somebody else has to pick up the di erence,” she said. Caps also don’t address why drugs are so expensive in the rst place.

signi cant role in drug pricing, Joyce said. Besides pricing their products high enough to ensure a hefty pro t, manufacturers often give PBMs a rebate in exchange for having their product included in the PBM’s list of preferred drugs, which in uences what consumers buy. Rising rebates demanded by PBMs are associated with increasing prices for prescription drugs, according to a white paper by USC Schae er.

“Everybody has their hand in the trough,” said Joyce. In response to broader concerns about the drug pricing system, diabetes activists have been pushing for caps on insu-

It’s hard to say whether more states

specialty drug costs, said Taylor. “It bothers people fundamentally and ethically that these lifesaving drugs are inaccessible for people,” said Joyce. “People need access to these drugs.”

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

public hearing on the First Amendment will be held by the City Council of the City of Arvada (the “City Council”) on Monday, April 17, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at City Hall, 8101 Ralston Road, Arvada, Colorado 80002, or as soon thereafter as the City Council may hear such matter (the Public Hearing”).

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the First Amendment and to form a basis for adopting a resolution approving, conditionally approving,

or disapproving the First Amendment. The First Amendment adds property to the Inclusion Area Boundary Map. The First Amendment does not change the financial powers of the District including, but not limited to, the mill levies, the fees, and the debt limit.

A general description of the land contained within the boundaries of the District is as follows: approximately 25 acres of residential land generally located on the southeast corner of West 58th Avenue and Ward Road in the City of Arvada, Jefferson County, State of Colorado.

The District is a metropolitan district.

The maximum debt mill levy for the District shall be fifty (50) mills subject to certain adjustment provisions as contemplated and

As the state took charge of insulin costs in 2022, this year, focus is on Epipen costs. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE