Three Arvada-area middle school students move on to statewide Civics Bee

18 | ISSUE 45

City Council decides on ‘Little Raven’ name for new park

Arvada’s newest park name honors

area’s indigenous history

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Arvada’s newest park will be the rst in town to honor the area’s indigenous heritage. Little Raven Park is located to the north of Van Bibber Creek Trail and southeast of the intersection of Ward Road and 58th Avenue.

e name was selected as the o cial name of the greenspace by city council on April 17 out of a pool of three nalists: Little Raven Park, Strawberry Park and Vista Verde Park.

e name honors Chief Little Raven, an indigenous leader who advocated for peace between local tribes and white settlers. e name was suggested by local resident Jennifer Hobbs, who recently moved to the area and wanted to honor those who lived on the land many centuries ago.

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Arvada Chamber of Commerce hosted the rst Arvada local competition of the National Civics Bee on April 18, where three middle schoolers quali ed to move on to the statewide nals in Denver on May 19. e National Civics Bee is organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

At the Arvada local competition, the rst-place winner was Tally Smith from Falcon Blu s Middle School. Ella Engebreston from Mandalay Middle School placed second, followed by Sriram Yalavarthy from

“If you look around that area, you have Van Bibber Park named after a recent landowner, Sabell is a recent landowner — and the history of that land goes back thousands of years,” Hobbs said. “I felt like we needed to be fairer to the centuries past and shed a little light on the centuries before those two men.”

Hobbs added that he loved that Chief Little Raven was dedicated to peace.

“And he was actually run o his lands a couple of times, so in the eyes of fairness and karma, even though this is only posthumous, in a way we’re giving him back the land we took from his people when the white settlers came,” Hobbs continued.

Arvada’s Director of Vibrant Communities and Neighborhood Enessa Janes said she was happy with how the naming process went.

“In general, the parks department

Students from local middle schools answer civics questions in a quiz-show style format.

Drake Middle School.

Contestants answered questions about civics in a live quiz show format run by a panel of judges. Smith won a $500 prize for winning the local competition, and all local nalists will have the opportunity to compete for further cash rewards at the state nals; $1,000 for rst place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place.

Arvada Chamber President and CEO Kami Welch said she was happy with the knowledge and enthusiasm displayed by the nine students who competed and added that she hoped the event would help develop a new generation of civic leaders.

“We are so proud; all nine students represented their schools and our community exceptionally well today,” Welch said. “It’s been an honor to host the National Civics Bee and play a small role in developing an active pipeline of civic engagement in Arvada. We can’t wait to root on our students at the state level.”

Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman said she looks forward to the Arvada nalist competing in Denver next month.

“We’re thrilled to recognize young Coloradans interested in civic engagement and to inspire the next generation to be involved in shaping our communities,” said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman. “We congratulate this year’s winners from the Arvada competition and look forward to seeing them next month in Denver.” is is the rst year Arvada has hosted a local Civics Bee competition. Buena Vista, Pueblo, Denver, and Craig’s respective Chambers of Commerce are also hosting local competitions this year.