WEBB

FROM PAGE12 districts from hiring more school resource o cers. Regardless of the percentage, the salient point about unfunded mandates is that they usurp the priorities that Coloradoans have in how our state should be run. ere are competing priorities in the budget appropriation process and some things are desirable often get cut or eliminated. But those cuts should not happen because

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Writers On The Range

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, written at a time when muskets were the weapon of the day? Some conversations aren’t worth having.

What I am interested in is brainstorming real solutions — with like-minded people who also felt a real crack in their hearts every day that innocent people are mowed down, which, it seems, is nearly every day. A day without a shooting now seems the exception.

It strikes me that besides gun zealotry or idolatry, the other tragedy here is our seeming unwillingness to act. Really act. Act like grownups. My daughter and her friends helped organize a walkout to protest gun violence, which spread to other schools. Kids poured out of the high schools and toward the town center, and parents rode their bikes or walked alongside — especially near the coal-rolling trucks lled with counter-protesters that heckled them from the roads. is was the rst act of civil disobedience for most, borne out of a mix of desperation and courage.

Even as the kids gathered to pass the mic and speak, my heart was sunk even lower. Why? I knew what you know: Nothing would really change. Not until the adults of this country protested seriously, left work, took to the streets. e students protested, marched, wrote letters, made calls, and I watched, knowing. Adults wouldn’t go the distance. ere’s not enough will.

It’s ironic: I grew up with guns, but of outsider interference.bWhile some programs that are the result of unfunded mandates are well intentioned like Medicaid, I would argue that Colorado and its’ elected leaders could run Medicaid better than any mandate from the federal government. Reasons exist for everything. When conservatives rail against wasteful government spending there is more often than not a reasoned and considered point behind those complaints. my salient memory of childhood was peaceful summer walks through a green eld, carrying a .22 to go practice shooting. Tragically, that is not true for youngsters today. ey might not shoot as much, but they’re the ones forced by our irresponsibility and inaction to have it forefront in their minds and hearts. e big thing we can do is ban assault weapons immediately, and, even more importantly, elect gun-sensible politicians who don’t take NRA money. tion in the following week’s newspaper.

Joe Webb is the former chairman of the Je co Republican party.

So, solutions. I celebrate Moms Demand Action, a group founded by a mother of ve right after the Sandy Hook tragedy, based on her belief that all Americans should do more to reduce gun violence. No group has “risen so far, so fast, in uencing laws, rattling major corporations, and provoking vicious responses from hardcore gun rights activists,” according to Mother Jones.

Although I’m all for background checks and safety locks, these seem like tiny bandages on a gaping wound.

If not Moms Demand Action, there is the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Gun Owners for Safety. All these groups need people willing to spend some time calling legislators, step up, protest. People like you. People who believe in common sense. People who believe in childhood.

Laura Pritchett is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonpro t dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She is the author of several novels and non ction books and directs a program in nature writing at Western Colorado University.

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BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Spring is in full swing, bringing many folks around Colorado out of the doldrums of winter with the promise of outdoor recreation.

For folks who aren’t fans of “traditional sports” — think baseball, basketball, football, soccer — there are plenty of unique, exciting alternatives throughout the Centennial State. From roller skating to parkour, there is no shortage of variety in Colorado’s recreation options.

Roller skating, roller hockey and roller derby

Roller sports are alive and well in Colorado. Folks have quite a few options for activities revolving around wheeled feet; from roller skating to roller hockey to roller derby, there is no shortage of options.

Roller skating lovers have a plethora of skate parks in the metro area and can get all of their gear — and some lessons — from the newlyopened Denver Skates Shop in Arvada. e store provides ttings and skating lessons for folks ranging from novices to experienced park skaters.

Brina Wyss, a sales associate and coach at Denver Skates Shop, said that roller sports experienced a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic that’s since died down, but has nonetheless roughly doubled the community’s size.

“I think there was a big surge in interest in wheels and skating during the pandemic, but it was a trend” Wyss said. “I people had a lot of spare time and were looking for something active to do. e community has de nitely grown at least twice as much during the pandemic.”

Wyss participates in roller derby, which is played at the professional and recreational level in Colorado. Wyss said the competitive nature and team atmosphere of roller derby came to be a replacement for volleyball, which she played competitively growing up.

“A lot of people do (skating) for joy and exercise,” Wyss said. “I do it as a way to escape, and it’s also a great way of community meeting.”

Denver Roller Derby operates a large number of recreational and traveling teams and has opportunities for new players.

Folks looking for a non-contact alternative to ice hockey might nd roller hockey appealing — Skate City operates rinks in Arvada, Westminster and Littleton that o er roller skating and hockey, while Rocky Mountain Roller Hockey operates youth and adult leagues out of the Foothills Fieldhouse in Lakewood, and the Parker Fieldhouse also hosts youth and adult roller hockey.

Ultimate frisbee/ disc golf

Frisbee sports have come into favor in Colorado recently — a semiprofessional ultimate frisbee team kicked o their inaugural season in Golden this month — with two main ways to play.

Ultimate frisbee resembles American football in that teams must complete passes in an end zone to score points. As the name suggests, disc golf resembles “traditional” golf, but is played with a disk instead of a ball. e Denver Summer Ultimate League is the oldest ultimate frisbee competition in the state, and just nished registration for its 2023 season.

Disc golf fans may nd more frequent playing options. In Arvada, the Johnny Roberts Disc Golf

Course and Birds Nest Disc Golf Course both operate at city parks.

Colorado Christian University operates a disc golf course in Lakewood, and Foothills Parks and Recreation operates the Fehringer Ranch Disc Golf Course in Morrison. For those looking for a more secluded experience, the Wondervu Disc Golf Course in Golden is considered to be one of the most scenic — and challenging — courses around.

Parkour

According to gym owner Lorin Ball, the de nition of parkour is simple: “Using environment to get from point A to point B in the most e cient way possible.”

Ball is the owner of Flow Vault, a parkour and ninja warrior — yes, American Ninja Warrior — training gym in ornton. Flow Vault opened in 2008 and o ers classes to people ages 5 and up. His gym has even graduated some ninja warriors to the popular NBC show.

“It’s a full curriculum, similar to that of gymnastics, where you have di erent levels of progressions,” Ball said. “We’re training people to be more intentional with their movement and apply that to other sports or physical activities that they do.”

Other parkour gyms in the area include APEX Denver, Path Movement in Littleton and Ninja Intensity in Parker.

Aerial Adventures

Finally, Colorado has no shortage of arial adventure options. Ropes courses and adventure parks are plentiful in the Centennial State and are often and family-friendly way to recreate uniquely.

e Colorado Adventure Center is based in Idaho Springs, e EDGE Ziplines and Adventures is in Castle Rock, and the Treehouse Adventure Park is based in Bailey.