LIFEGUARDS

guards are generally seen as rst-time, fun summer jobs, they must possess crucial knowledge regarding saving human lives. A full-course lifeguard training at South Suburban through Red Cross costs $175. Community First Aid, CPR and AED training/ blended learning costs $80. After 75 hours of work, South Suburban reimburses course fees, excluding the $40 certi cation fee.

Despite such incentives, lifeguards still make less than sports o cials at South Suburban. A youth sports o cial starts at $20.00 per hour.

North of Denver, in Federal Heights, the Hyland Hills Parks and Recreation, a youth baseball/softball umpire makes $65 per 90 minutes. A Pilates instructor for Brighton makes $1 more than a lifeguard per hour. e discrepancy is notable, especially considering most lifeguards work on a part-time basis.

Yet, the lifeguard numbers are booming for Hyland Hills. Generally, the district employs roughly 300 lifeguards per season. is season, it’s closer to 375, according to Director of Communications Joann Cortez.

e main focus in hiring and retaining their lifeguards at Hyland Hills pools and the massive Water World water park is legacy, Cortez said. Water World is in its 43rd operating season.

“We’ve been in the water park business for over 40 years, and we’re very aware of the nationwide shortage of lifeguards,” she said. “I think what has helped us is we have a legacy pool of candidates. Kids often know Water World just from coming for the experience, and if one of their older siblings takes a job with us, eventually the ones that are following can’t wait for their turn. We’re just very, very fortunate in that way.”

Cortez said Hyland Hills is committed to creating a memorable rst-job experience. It should be fun, but also taken seriously. It’s a constant balance of managing a “fun job” and literally monitoring people’s lives daily. Recruiting is big, and so are the incentives. e employees get free soft drinks, free membership, and even fun events like “prom night” during the season.

Hyland Hills has an end-of-season bonus as well, with the ability to earn an additional dollar per hour’s pay. e lifeguards’ pay ranges depending on the position, such as a guard lifeguard, a shallow-water lifeguard and a deep-water lifeguard.

On the Water World website, lifeguards are hired at $16.15 per hour. A “lifeguard attendant” makes $16.00 per hour. Returning lifeguards make slightly more depending on experience. Cortez said the main factor in keeping employees is how they treat them.

“We’re in a very favorable position, but we’re sad there aren’t enough lifeguards to go around,” Cortez said.

Meanwhile, local pools and recreation centers around the Denver area have conducted pointed campaigns to ensure their numbers are sustainable and their pools are ready for the masses.

While it remains to be seen if that strategy will work for South Suruban, it seems to be working elsewhere. Recreation centers in the City of Brighton, for example, are fully sta ed ahead of the summer. ey were last year, too.

“It’s been tough at di erent agencies, municipalities, and neighborhood pools. ere was de nitely a lifeguard shortage the last several years, especially last year,” said Je rey Hulett, assistant director of recreation services for Brighton. “But we were fully sta ed last year.” ere have been a number of initiatives and incentives they’ve introduced to get ahead of the lifeguard shortage crisis, he said. It was a top-tobottom e ort in Brighton to make sure the crisis was minimized. Pay was a main focus. It wasn’t too long ago they were paying lifeguards just $13 per hour, he said. Now, it’s up to $17. And it goes up each season for returnees. Head lifeguards make roughly $1.50 more per hour. ere’s also an end-of-season bonus for those that work the entire summer. e grants from the governor’s o ce gave Brighton exibility to expand e orts in hiring and retaining employees. According to Aquatics Supervisor Nicole Chapman, it can be di cult to retain lifeguards for pools and centers too big or too small. Brighton, fortunately, was right in a “sweet spot.”

Recreation bene ts were expanded to the sta and their families, even part-time employees. at includes complimentary membership to the recreation center and discounts on youth programs.

“Some of the much larger municipalities are running into an issue where, physically, the sta we hire are local kids who want to work at their local pool,” Chapman explained. “And if they get hired on by a larger municipality, the expectation is to expect your sta to be willing to work at any of your city rec facilities, and that’s just not feasible for a lot of younger kids that don’t have their own transportation. ey’re really there looking for a summer job around the corner.”

Brighton only has two locations — the Brighton Recreation Center and Brighton Oasis Family Aquatic Park — and Chapman said, and there are options for those living on either side of the city. But it’s still a small enough area that employees can work at both locations.

Perhaps back in the day, they could wait for the applications, and they’d have more than they knew what to do with come pool season. Now, that’s simply not the case. Recruiting is essential, both in the high schools and at job fairs, as well as providing a ordable training opportunities and classes in-house — something Hulett said they’d never do before.

Brighton had 88 lifeguards in 2022, which is considered fully sta ed. ey currently have 70 lifeguards for the upcoming summer, but Chapman said she expects those numbers to ll out to 88 again considering guards in training are set to graduate from classes by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, back in South Suburban, Brehm is looking for dozens more lifeguards to fully sta pools this summer.

High school students and student athletes are encouraged to apply. ey can learn valuable skills and essential life-saving procedures they’ll carry with them forever, Brehm said. Plus, it’s an ideal time for student athletes to make money, considering many sports are inactive over the summer.

As the pandemic continues to dwindle, the lifeguard participation numbers are expected to make a leap. But the job itself, and those working it, must be valued consistently to hire and retain those numbers season after season.

“We really look for not just kids, but really anyone who is going to take the job seriously and understand just how much of a vital role they play every summer in keeping the community safe,” Chapman said. “We really try to emphasize that with our sta , and there are always sta members that really take that to heart, and those are the ones we want to see come back.” part in our primary elections as registered Republicans themselves.”

Finding a balance between making sure lifeguards understand the seriousness of the role and not taking all the fun out of the job is a ne line to walk, she said. But they have to walk it every season.

Arapahoe County GOP chair Anne Rowland thinks the party can bring more voters in by selling their issues and, more importantly, by building relationships.

“If we’re going to win, we must work together,” she said. “And not only do we have to work together, but we have to persuade una liated and moderate Democrats. Otherwise we’re gonna lose every time.”

The drivers of division e other division in the party, Rowland said, is about how much weight to put on speci c issues.

In Rowland’s experience, there are two main causes of division within the party. Some Republicans, she said, are divided in their grassroots versus establishment attitudes.

“Some of us are divided because there’s an issue or another that we’re personally attached to, and that overrules everything,” she said.

During the Arapahoe County Republicans Breakfast in April, the issue dividing the crowd was abortion.

Gun control, contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election and Trump also cause divisions among Republicans.

During a debate leading up to the 2023 GOP state chair election, in which Dave Williams was elected, several candidates said they believe Trump won the 2020 election and the party needs to focus on transparency and election security.

“We need to be bold, we need to stand up,” said then candidate Aaron Wood. “We need to not be afraid of people calling us ‘the Big Lie’ or ‘election deniers’ — Trump won. Plain and simple … I want to see without a doubt that elections are won legitimately and we need to be proponents of that.”

In 2020, President Joe Biden was declared the winner with 306 Electoral College votes and just over 81.2 million popular votes. According to the o cial results, Trump nished with 232 Electoral College votes and just over 74.2 million citizen votes.

Williams also believes Trump won the 2020 election.

When running for the state legislature in 2022, he led a lawsuit to try to force Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to allow his name to be listed on the primary ballot as “Dave ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Williams,” using a coded phrase that means “F--- Joe Biden.”

A judge ruled that Griswold had the authority to disallow the use of the phrase.

Erik Aadland, another candidate for the state’s GOP chair position and former congressional candidate, said election integrity is important, but focusing so much on the 2020 results is hurting the party.

“ is rehashing 2020 is not serving Republicans,” he said. “Whether fraud dictated a role in the outcome of 2020, well sadly, we’ll never know, folks … Our republic hangs in the balance, and if we keep trying to ght 2020 over and over again, we’re going to lose this war.”

Tina Peters, a 2023 state chair candidate and former Mesa County clerk who was indicted last year on charges related to a security breach of the county’s election system, said focusing on the results is important for the party going forward.

“We need to learn from the past,” she said.

Peters was also recently convicted of obstructing government operations after an encounter in which police said she resisted investigators when they tried to seize an iPad that she had used to record a court proceeding.

Williams said he has o ered the six other candidates who ran for Colorado GOP chair, including Peters, titles and roles within the state party, as reported by e Colorado Sun.

Taheri said di ering perspectives on the 2020 election results are causing Republicans to turn against each other.

“I think what is driving the wedge in the party is that there is a group who doesn’t want to really talk about (other issues), they just want to talk about stolen elections and they want to sling mud at, not just the Democrats, but other people in the party that don’t want to talk about their issue,” she said.

For the party to be successful, Taheri said she thinks it needs to move away from Trump. Because of his prominent role in people’s perception of the party, she said his in uence trickles down to how people vote in local elections.

“ e saying used to be ‘All politics is local,’” she said. “Now I feel like all politics is national … I think if we are better at the federal level of articulating our issues, then people start to identify our candidates with our issues instead of just identifying our candidates with Trump.”

For other Republican voices and voters, Trump is the only way forward for the GOP.

During a March town hall hosted by several state House Republicans, several Douglas County citizens said Trump is the best choice to x not only the party, but also the country. When asked if they would only support Trump, the Castle Pines and Castle Rock residents said they would support whoever wins the Republican primary.

Unifying issues

To move forward as a party, some Republicans think the key to winning is to focus on the issues that a ect voters’ day-to-day lives.

“I don’t like to lead with (abortion and gun rights) because those are hotbutton issues,” Rowland said. “If it’s a topic that’s very partisan, I don’t think that’s where you start the conversation. I think you hold your values, but start with the things that you can agree on.”

In Rowland’s eyes, some of those things are crime, in ation, homelessness, school violence and fentanyl. “ ese are all issues that should not be Republican or Democrat issues,” she said. “ ese are not partisan is-

SEE RED, P18

Thu 5/18

Arkaik

@ 6pm

The Roxy Theater, 2549 Walton St, Denver

Son Little @ 7pm Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 W. Florida Ave., Denver

FIDEL RUEDA @ 2pm

Stockyards Event Center, 5004 National Western Dr, Denver

CRL CRRLL: Somebody's Friend

Movement and Music Festival 2023 @ 7pm The Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer St, Denver

Geoff Rickly @ 7pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Den‐ver

Alamo Black @ 8pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

Patrick Dethlefs @ 8:30pm

Hi-Dive, 7 S Broad‐way, Denver

Sat 5/20

Suzi Moon @ 9pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broad‐way, Denver

Sun 5/21

Retro Vertigo @ 4pm Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St, Denver

Mon 5/22

Oona Dahl @ 9pm Bar Standard, 1037 Broadway, Denver

Fri 5/19

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

Fitness FIELD DAY at Belmar @ 10am / Free Belmar, Lakewood. info@belmarcol orado.com

Float Like A Buffalo @ 12pm

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, 200 S Kalamath St, Denver

Akeem Woods: Akeem Headlines in Denver! @ 7:30pm

Denver Comedy Underground, 1201 E Col‐fax Ave, Denver

Alestorm w/ Gloryhammer @ 7pm

Oriental Theatre-CO, 4335 W. 44th Ave., Denver

Skating Polly @ 8pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

GZA @ 8pm Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

Tue 5/23

MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE @ 6pm The Roxy Theater, 2549 Walton St, Denver

Wed 5/24

The Stone Eye @ 6pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

The Nocturnal Affair @ 6pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

Stryper @ 8pm Oriental Theatre-CO, 4335 W. 44th Ave., Denver sues. ese are issues of life and community.”

Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker, said ideas that already have broad consensus in the Republican party, like addressing crime, keeping government small with low taxes and fewer regulations, educational choice and promoting individualism, have the best chance of recruiting una liated voters.

While campaigning in 2020, Hartsook said he found that una liated voters and Republicans shared the same concerns with growing in ation, crime and cost of living.

For Edling, the core values of the Republican party are scal.

“What truly is not divisive in politics is people’s money — their wallet,” he said. “People often vote with their wallet. Money is money. So if we could somehow turn our politics back into something we all agree on, and we want to protect — our nancial freedom, our nancial resources.”

For Baker, core conservative values are limited government, property rights, the rule of law and supporting law enforcement and public safety o cers.

Instead of mainly focusing on the importance of these Republican ideals, state GOP chair Williams said party leaders need to show voters why Democrats are corrupt.

“Here’s the truth: swing voters are not driven by ideology, otherwise they would a liate,” he said during a February debate. “If we’re going to win, let’s provide that bold contrast because our issues do, in fact, win. Swing voters, speci cally, just want to be able to vote for someone they can trust. And I assure you, if we call out the Democrats for being morally bankrupt and corrupted, we’re going to earn their trust.”

In an email to Colorado Community Media, Williams said the GOP needs to “show that Colorado Republicans care about resolving their very real kitchen table, pocketbook issues while exposing radical Democrats for making hard working citizens’ lives harder and more expensive.”

In addition to pointing out Democratic failures, Rowland said Republicans need to o er a better way.

“We have to say, ‘ is, this and this are going wrong — here’s a better way to x them,’” she said.

State Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, said the lack of improvement on many issues will be a motivator for people to start voting Republican.

“We’re not seeing an improvement in crime. We’re not seeing an improvement in homelessness. We’re not seeing an improvement in a ordability,” she said. “Democrats have had years to x these problems and they have been unable to.”

Get the brand out like Tony the Tiger

To get the party’s message out, Edling said the party needs to do a better job marketing through social media, schools and extracurriculars. He said the GOP could even consider hiring a consultant to help.

“We have to do a better job of marketing to all our young people for both parties to get the future talent of politicians (and) leaders,” he said. “I want young, new, bright faces, new ideas to come out.”

Andrews, who ran for Arapahoe County assessor, said this messaging needs to start in schools.

“We keep talking about reaching out to the young people,” he said. “ at’s just lip service — unless we start creating some young Republican clubs in every high school, it’s not gonna matter because all of the teachers and the media are speaking the language of the young people, and we’re not even in the game.”

In Taheri’s eyes, the party will be di cult to brand as long as Trump is still the national focus. Trump, facing criminal charges in New York, has already announced he will run for president in 2024.

“I just think it’s going to be really hard (to sell the issues) in Arapahoe County if Trump’s still in the picture.” Taheri said. “I just think his tone, I mean, I just don’t see many suburban women supporting something like that. Arapahoe is a very educated county. I just don’t think any of us wanted that in our living room.”

From her perspective in the Capitol, Frizell said divisions in the party can distract from policy e orts to tackle constituents’ problems.

“We have to come together and unify if we’re ever going to succeed,” she said.

In Rowland’s eyes, the one true key to uniting the party and xing its image is to put real e ort into building relationships such as doing more community service, an idea she got from Boulder GOP Chair George Tristan.

“I think if the person you know — the person that came and helped build a tiny house for you, the person that came and did whatever service project your church was working on, and you meet that person, and you get to know them — that’s the person you vote for and you don’t pay attention to whether there’s an R or a D by their name,” she said. “Here in Colorado, it almost seems as though the R is like a scarlet letter.”

Both in the greater community and within the party itself, Rowland thinks the only way toward unity is giving each other a chance — sitting down for a cup of co ee over disagreement, and nding common ground.

“We have a Tony the Tiger problem,” she said. “For years, Tony the Tiger has taught us that Frosted Flakes are great. We grew up knowing that. But kids today grow up thinking Republicans are mean on social issues, that they’re too narrow-minded and too traditional and they don’t like any new ideas.”

“We have to be able to have discussions, respectful discussions, to come to a place where we can message,” she said. “And if we can’t agree on something, where can we work towards?”

Editor’s note: “Paperboy” is a selection from Jerry Fabyanic’s forthcoming memoir, “Uphill into the Wind: Seizing the Day and Finding Meaning in the Ordinary.” e work will be in essay and short story format, the topics of which drawn from Jerry’s life experiences.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” So goes the uno cial motto of the United States Postal Service. e line is taken from the Greek historian, Herodotus, who wrote those words in e Persian Wars in reference to the Persians’ system of mail delivery. Regardless, kudos to mail deliverers from the ancient Persians and our Pony Express to today’s workers. But postal workers take a backseat to paperboys and papergirls, the gone-withthe-ages McJob that was the entryway into the workforce for a few boys and fewer girls long before the golden arches were conceived. It’s a relic of Americana’s days of yore.

Delivering newspapers seven days a week in rain, snow or sunshine was more than a way to earn a few coins for a boy to buy candy, pop and popsicles. It was an interactive, on-the-job primer for learning and developing practical life skills. Being a paperboy was not much di erent from apprenticeships boys like the young Benjamin Franklin underwent.

I was a paperboy twice, the rst time at the age of nine. By the fourth grade, I was learning aspects of quality service and adopting values I hold to this day. Responsibility and punctuality were among them. When in the classroom, I tried to instill those values into my students. I would tell them, “Your job is to be on time and do your work as best you can.” To this day, I stress whenever I might be late for an engagement. I’d rather show up thirty minutes early than be ve minutes late.

At rst, I was an assistant — apprentice — of sorts to my older brother, Rich. He delivered papers to about two-thirds, the more spread out portion, of the route. My responsibility was to deliver the papers to neighbors closer to home. Still, it was quite a chore for a skinny boy. e o -white canvas paper sack with a ame-orange shoulder strap nearly scraped the ground when I hoisted it onto my shoulder. And it caused other problems. During the summer months, I wore shorts, and the sack would rub irritatingly against my shin. And in the winter, it presented a di erent challenge if it snowed. To problem solve, I’d pull the strap over my head to my left shoulder so it would hang on my right. But on days when the edition was bulkier, even the left-shoulder solution didn’t resolve the issue. en, I simply hoisted and toted the

JERRY FABYANIC Columnist