The Denver North Star November 15 2023 Online Edition

Your Guide to Community, Politics, Arts and Culture in North Denver DenverNorthStar.com COMMUNITY Books Weighin’ You Down? North Denver’s Got You PAGE 4

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Volume 5, Issue 2

| November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023

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ALWAYS FREE!

Littlest Sprouts Bloom Sandoval Seeks to Revive City-School Year-Round Coordinating Committee

By Cassis Tingley ince City Council members Amanda P. Sandoval and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez proposed the revival of Denver’s City-School committee in late August, the City Council and the board of Denver Public Schools have been at odds.

Complete with “surprise” press conferences, lawyers and claims of “blindsides,” Sandoval’s and Gonzales-Gutierrez’s hopes to update the historic committee have turned into something of a saga.

“It’s been really eye-opening, to be honest,” said Sandoval, who is also president pro tempore of the council. “There’s been pushback from Denver Public Schools of wanting to re-establish this committee for a reason that I just don’t understand.”

S

COMMUNITY A Day Honoring Veterans and Connecting Generations PAGE 5

COMMUNITY Hundreds Gather for Día De Los Muertos PAGE 6

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF DENVER

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ONE Denver Fosters a New Jazz Age for Youth Band PAGE 7

COMMUNITY 48th & Julian Community Garden Takes Shape PAGE 8

HISTORY Historic Berkeley Regis Wins Historic Denver Award PAGE 9 Postal Customer

Toddlers feed colorful scarves into this feature, then watch to see where the scarves rain down from.

By Kathryn White

B

loom, a new interactive exhibit for newborns and toddlers, opened Oct. 16 at the Children’s Museum of Denver.

The nature-inspired space features details designed to promote many types of learning and play: sensory, constructive, physical, social and imaginative.

“When we set out to design this experience, we took a hard look at the latest research on the different types of play and their role in the cognitive, emotional and physical development for early learners,” said Museum President and CEO Mike Yankovich.

“Based on what we learned, we designed Bloom to promote adult-child interaction as well as the curiosity, exploration and empowerment of the museum’s youngest visitors.”

Toddlers enjoy an exhibit favorite, the scarf blower (or scarf tree), situated just inside the entrance. They experiment with cause and effect as they feed brightly colored scarves into holes built into a large tree trunk. A light suction takes the scarf out of sight into the trunk. Then, they watch — or wonder — as scarves reappear above to travel through plexiglass tubes and drop from overhead “flowers” back into the room.

Adventuring from there, little ones can launch soft PRESORTED balls along an interactive STANDARD wall, climb or toddle up U.S. POSTAGE turf-covered steps to a soft slide or crawl through a Denver, CO cave-like tunnel.

Permit No. 2565 A smart glass peek-aEDDM boo potted plant and other

PAID

Bloom features encourage adults to initiate what the National Institute for Play (NIFP) calls the most valuable aspect of play caregivers can practice with infants: attunement.

“As they gaze into each other’s eyes,” states the NIFP website, “the baby radiates an involuntary but compelling smile and the parent automatically smiles back, feeling a surge of verbal and bodily joyfulness. The baby usually makes little sounds, a babble or light gurgling laughter, and the parent responds in a rhythmic, sing-song voice — the universal nonsense language of baby-talk. This is a phenomenon seen across all cultures around the globe.

“This experience is the most basic state of play,” states NIFP, “and it becomes a foundation for the much more complex play states that we engage in throughout life.”

Attunement opportunities abound at Bloom as young learners and their caregivers explore elements of light and sound, delight together in an imaginative fairy garden, and activate sensory delights along a “moss” wall perfect for investigating color and texture.

“We wanted art and beauty layered into the entire exhibit, not just something that hung on the walls.

We worked with four different artists and numerous craftsmen who designed in tandem to bring the museum’s vision for Bloom to life,” said Kerri Atter, director of special projects, “I like to think of it as a meadow; all the pieces flow together, but as you look closer, you see all the individual details that make Bloom a truly magical world.”

See BLOOM, Page 10

According to a committee and public comment meeting on Oct. 18, the committee would serve as an avenue for the city of Denver and DPS to communicate and collaborate to address the effects of Denver’s housing crisis, the ongoing “gun violence epidemic,” the influx of Venezuelan refugees and other dynamic issues facing both the city and DPS. The bill in question would revive an existing ordinance mandating a City-School Coordinating Committee which, originally written in the 1930s, was decommissioned in 2011. According to a committee and public comment meeting on Oct. 18, the committee would serve as an avenue for the city of Denver and DPS to communicate and collaborate to address the effects of Denver’s housing crisis, the ongoing “gun violence epidemic,” the influx of Venezuelan refugees and other dynamic issues facing both the city and DPS. DPS School Board President Xochitl Gaytan said she began discussing a forum for DPS-city communication last year with City Council President Jaimie Torres after a shooting at East High School injured two administrators.

“For me, it’s about, ‘How can we speed up the avenues of communication so that the information is being sent and received in a timely manner and we can determine what resources or funding need to be allocated?’,” Gaytan said.

Communication lapsed during the mayoral election and didn’t pick up again until Sandoval emailed Gaytan and the other DPS board members the proposal for the new coordinating committee in August. In her email, Sandoval requested that the DPS board

See COMMITTEE, Page 11

/// COMMUNITY ///

Near Northwest Area Plan Nears Completion

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By Rebecca A. Hunt

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HERE FOR YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. Whether you are in the planning stage of your dream pursuit or you’re looking to safeguard all that you’ve accomplished, I will meet you wherever you are in your journey.

Let’s talk about your plans, and how I can help you protect them.

n 2016, Denver Community Planning and Development (CPD) started a process to help each neighborhood envision, get feedback on and develop solid plans that would help each become an even better place to live.

By 2021, Far Northeast and East Denver neighborhoods had completed their plans and others were in the works. In March 2023, the West area plan received approval from the City Council.

In 2021, CPD appointed a steering committee of residents and business leaders from what it calls the Near Northwest area – the neighborhoods of Chaffee Park, Sunnyside, Highland and Jefferson Park – to begin work on their own plan.

The process involved meeting monthly, and sometimes more often, brainstorming ideas for neighborhood improvements that could carry forward to 2040. It was an ambitious project.

The city had committed members of its planning staff to shepherd the committee, and also engaged consultants to help implement the group recommendations. Key to the process was a considerable amount of community comment. Because the four neighborhoods are diverse, including many Spanish speakers, the project included using promotoras, trained interviewers who reached out into the Latino community to ensure equitable input.

Project leaders held listening sessions at community festivals, community centers and dedicated meetings, and they sent out online surveys, held focus groups and basically went anywhere people would come to say what they wanted their neighborhoods to be into the future.

While these four sections of Northwest Denver have similarities, they also have significant differences. Jefferson Park is on the south and has had the largest percentage of its older housing replaced with large, rental residences. Highland is the oldest neighborhood with a blend of old and new housing and many small restaurants and other businesses. Sunnyside to the north is the most like Highland but has a large industrial area on its northeast

side and the Quigg Newton public housing complex. Chaffee Park mostly dates from the 1940s and has the largest concentration of Latino homeowners.

For two years the community advisors, city planners and citizens built up a list of things they felt were necessary for quality of life. At the top were livability, affordability, maintaining a diverse population and giving people a diverse set of housing options.

Sung Han, the lead planner on the project, laid out the goals this way, saying the plan will “help residents build wealth and stay in their neighborhoods long-term; support local businesses and ensure neighborhood commercial areas that residents have come to depend on and identify with continue to thrive; ensure access to a variety of housing options; balance the preservation with new construction that's compatible with existing architecture, including both residential areas and small-scale storefronts on historic ‘street car’ corridors; connect the area through an inter-neighborhood trail network and mobility improvements that prioritize pedestrians and alternative modes of transportation.”

A key piece of the process has been posting drafts of the plan for committee and public input. Three areas came to the fore in the comment sessions. They included reducing displacement; recognizing the importance of the neighborhood histories, including those of an area’s ethnic groups; and the need for keeping walkability by building safer intersections, broader sidewalks, ground floor businesses in new buildings and adding tree canopies and other greenscapes. Sustainability was another element brought up by those commenting on the draft plans.

The two-year project is winding down to a close. City staff are making final refinements to the plan after one last round of community input. The plan goes before Denver City Council in January 2024.

Rebecca Hunt is a columnist for The Denver North Star and serves on the steering committee for the Near Northwest Area Plan.

/// NEWS SHORT ///

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Page 2 November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023

Regis University to Host Conversation About Homelessness

By Denver North Star Staff

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egis University will host a panel discussion “Regis Conversations: An Informed Dialogue Around the Complexities of Homelessness” on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. at St. Peter Claver Hall on the Regis University campus.

The panel will include Josh Geppelt, vice president of programs for the Denver Rescue Mission; John Thexton, director of community life at Denver Rescue Mission; Meghan Shay, executive director of STEP Denver; and Dr. Robert L. Davis, founder and executive director of Seasoned With Grace UnBoxed. Amin Asfari, an associate professor and program chair for the undergraduate and graduate criminology programs, will moderate.

“Homelessness is a multifaceted problem with various complexities, including eco-

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nomic, social, systemic and individual factors,” said Asfari. “These complexities make it a pressing and relevant topic of discussion, especially in times of economic downturns and public health crises.”

“In these conversations,” Asfari added, “we’re seeking to raise awareness about homelessness, generating solutions to reduce it and fostering community engagement to support homeless individuals.”

The panel will explore potential solutions, covering strategies to address challenges, establish initiatives for affordable housing, enhance support services and advocate for policy changes aimed at tackling the underlying causes of homelessness.

The event includes an opportunity to bring a nonperishable item to benefit the Denver Rescue Mission.

GET INVOLVED! You can make a contribution, sign up to receive email updates and submit events for our community calendar at DenverNorthStar.com.

DISTRIBUTION: The Denver North Star prints over 34,000 copies each edition and is mailed free of charge to homes and businesses in North Denver.

Additional copies can be found at local businesses in the community.

New editions are published on the 15th of each month.

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Inner Workings: Denver Parks and 2024 DOTI Budget in Focus Recreation Advisory Board

By Jill Mullen

D

id you know that in 2022 Denver Parks c housing and Recreation (DPR) recorded 16.5 s from the million visits to Denver parks? Fun tration offact: In North Denver, Berkeley Park, located at the corner of 46th Avenue and Sheridan visors, cityBoulevard, was the sixth-busiest regional park t of thingswith 357,444 visits. So what Denver park was of life. Atthe busiest? You might be able to guess it’s Red maintain-Rocks Park, with 3,495,146 visits in 2022. g people a Several years ago when I moved to Denver, I remember people telling me how Denver has he project,lots of green space. I’m originally from Texas e plan willwhere there are a lot of golf courses, but um, ay in theira little lacking in parks. Denver residents were local busi-not joking. Denver has more than 250 urban ommercialparks and over 14,000 acres of mountain parks. depend on We can see from the numbers Denver resive; ensuredents not only brag about their parks, but they ns; balanceare utilizing them. The numbers from 2022 are tion that'sbased on aggregate cell-phone data accessed by cture, in-DPR to help determine how our parks are being mall-scaleutilized and where resources should be allocatcorridors;ed. The cell-phone data (which is both deiden-neighbor-tified and aggregated when purchased from a improve-company called Placer.ai) was recently used to nd alterna-determine where efficient and effective places are to put portable bathrooms in Denver parks. en posting If you are interested in learning more about and pub-our parks, let me introduce you to the Denver ore in theParks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB). reducingThe board includes 19 members appointed by ortance ofeach Denver City Council member, the mayor ng those ofand Denver Public Schools, and meets regud for keep-larly on the second Wednesday of each month ersections,from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The meetings are currently sinesses invirtual and are always open to the public. At the nopies andbeginning of each meeting, the board receives as anotherpublic comments. Then, the PRAB receives menting onpresentations from DPR about upcoming initiatives and changes DPR is proposing, and has down to aa voice on various park policies as needed. finements As an example, the board heard a presenf commu-tation in April regarding proposed changes to enver City

the park turfgrass policy. The city was planning to update the turfgrass policy to limit its use as the primary landscaping groundcover in areas identified as providing limited to no recreational value. The goal was to replace the water-greedy grass with drought-tolerant and ecosystem-restorative species.

The new policy would be used to transition low-traffic areas, usually those spaces between a roadway and park walk or pockets of grass in the middle of parking areas, with native grasses that require less water. This not only promotes water conservation but also prepares our parks to be more climate-resistant landscapes. Apparently, having move native grasses along lake shorelines also assists with geese management. Geese are less likely to linger in parks that have long grasses along the edge, as opposed to nicely cut bluegrass. The PRAB voted in favor of the proposal, which moved on to City Council for approval.

This is just one example of the types of initiatives the PRAB learns about and can weigh in on.

I am the Denver City Council District 1 appointee to the PRAB and would love to hear from folks in the district about what’s going on in their favorite park. The PRAB is a link from DPR to the community and works best when the community is engaged and provides feedback regarding new park and recreation initiatives.

If you have a question about a recent park renovation or a suggestion to make a park better, I would love to hear it. Or, if you just want to talk about how cool our parks and recreation system is, I’m always game, because I completely agree.

I hope everyone is able to enjoy a park this month. With the colorful leaves and changing season upon us, there is no better time to savor a green space. Go parks!

Jill Mullen is an attorney and local park enthusiast. Email her with comments for the Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board at jmullenPRAB@gmail.com.

for City Council

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ity Council has of traffic deaths, on pace to surpass last year’s taken an interest record. As of Oct. 31, 71 people had died in in the Denver De- traffic crashes.

Councilman Darrell Watson noted that partment of Transportation and Infrastructure the Transportation Mobility Special Revenue (DOTI) budget for 2024. Fund was created with a commitment to enDue to the nature of Den- hance bike, pedestrian, transit and Vision ALLEN COWGILL Zero projects. The Speer Bouver’s strong mayor system, the levard tunnel project involves administration of Mayor Mike revamping the fire suppression Johnston controls the majorisystem in the tunnel to bring it ty of decisions on the budget, up to standards. Watson said but Denver City Council has that funding the Speer Tunnel the opportunity to influence improvement project, while the budget during the fall important, should be funded budget process. from elsewhere in the city budThe current City Council has get, since upgrading the fire been much more aggressive in suppression system does not asking for amendments to the fall in line with the intention mayor’s budget. At the Oct. 30 of the Transportation Mobility City Council meeting, CounPHOTO BY ALLEN COWGILL Special Revenue Fund. cilman Paul Kashman noted A memorial sign where In a roll call vote, council it was a historic $80 million in a fatal crash happened unanimously voted for this budget amendments requeston Sheridan Boulevard amendment to direct addied by council, when normally next to Sloans Lake. tional funds to Vision Zero. council would only ask for $3-5 million. Kashman noted in the initial round Denver’s 2022 Vision Zero action plan calls of budget negotiations that the mayor agreed for annual funding of around $6-10 million to hit its goal. While many DOTI budget line to a historic $12.5 in amendments.

A budget amendment sponsored by coun- items contribute to Vision Zero, this proposed cil members Parady, Lewis, Hinds and Wat- increase would bring the total dedicated Vison sought to restore Vision Zero funding by sion Zero line item to around $2.2 million, $550,000. The mayor’s budget had redirected a along with an additional $150,000 for Vision portion of Vision Zero funds to a Speer Boule- Zero marketing, still well short of the funding called out in the action plan. vard tunnel upgrade.

The DOTI-proposed budget for 2024 inVision Zero is Denver’s goal to reduce traffic deaths in Denver to zero by the year 2030. cludes an expansion of the popular Denver During remarks, Councilwoman Shontel Connector micro transit program to Denver’s Lewis said that “traffic deaths and severe in- west side. Started in Montbello, and recently juries are unacceptable and preventable, and expanded to Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, safety must be the most important consider- the Denver Connector is an on-demand miation for every Denver street.” She noted that Denver is headed toward another record year See DOTI BUDGET, Page 10

he Denver g commitn.

The Denver North Star

November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023 | Page 3

/// COMMUNITY ///

Books Weighin’ You Down?

North Denver’s Got You

By Kathryn White

A

re last year’s book club picks still sitting on your bedside table? Have you kept those college textbooks from 20 years ago?

If your inventory of old books no longer brings you Marie Kondo-style joy, North Denver is here for you.

West Side Books on 32nd Avenue takes appointments for Tuesdays to look at up to three boxes at a time of your used books.

Owner Lois Harvey said she most Iikes to see books that are fairly new or really old. Harvey sifts through what you bring and makes you an offer, which you can take as used-book store credit (to shop from their vast supply of well-organized used books) or a smaller amount in cash.

Denver Public Library branches take up to two boxes a day of your used books, music CDs, DVDs, BluRays and records (think milk crate-size boxes). Your supply may include items the library was already looking to add to its collection or your donations may go into one of the library’s popular book sales organized by the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation. The library does not accept magazines, broken or damaged items and anything in formats they don't circulate (like cassette tapes and videotapes).

BookGive, a nonprofit that gives away new and gently used books from a converted gas station on Lowell Boulevard, takes book donations on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. They accept books in good condition and are especially interested in books in Spanish. Their website says to “think giftable.” Visit BookGive online for a list of things they do not accept (magazines, comic books, reference books and more).

Still hanging on? DreamBooks Co. features a map of places around the city where book donations are accepted. Or, as always, you can

deposit your book offerings around the neighborhood in any number of Little Free Libraries.

If, after all those options for letting go, you are still stuck thinking you will someday read those books again (heck, you might), consider your stacks and shelves loaded down with books from the vantage point of the people who will be left to deal with them when you are gone.

Margareta Magnusson has written about this angle in her refreshingly short and wildly popular book, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.”

Perhaps you can pick up a copy of this title, as inspiration, at West Side Books. Stop in and see.

Letting Go of Used Books: West Side Books www.westsidebooks.com/contact 3434 W. 32nd Ave. Denver Public Library www.denverlibrary.org/donate • Smiley Branch, 4501 W. 46th Ave. • Woodbury Branch, 3265 Federal Blvd.

• Corky Gonzales Branch, 1498 Irving St. BookGive bookgivedenver.org/give-books 4890 Lowell Blvd.

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The People’s Budget

By Kathryn White

E

very year from mid-September to mid-November, a formal process unfolds between the City Council, the mayor and members of the public that determines how the city’s annual budget will be allocated.

The bulk of Denver’s revenue comes from sales and use taxes, which Mayor Mike Johnston estimated in his 2024 proposed budget (released Sept. 14) will add up to approximately 57% of the city’s 2024 operating revenue. Property taxes are estimated to account for around 11%. Johnston’s proposal set the 2024 general fund budget at $1.74 billion.

The budget year ending Dec. 31, 2023, was set by former Mayor Michael Hancock and a City Council with six members no longer in office. With a new mayor and nearly half of City Council members in their first few months on the job, this year’s process was destined to be different.

The stage was set last spring when City Council developed its budget and policy priorities for the upcoming cycle. For example one of the Council’s six priorities for 2024 was, “Increase affordable housing and support those experiencing homelessness throughout our city. Mitigate and reduce the involuntary displacement of community members.”

Council revisits its priorities after new members are sworn in over the summer. This time, for example, “funding for the city to be able to pay off outstanding medical debt for all Denver residents” was added by a vote of 11-2 under the above priority.

By summer’s end, a long letter was sent to the mayor describing all the things City Council members — new and longer-serving — would like to see in the mayor’s budget when released in draft form in September.

Once the mayor’s budget is announced, City Council and anyone with an interest in city spending is welcome to pour through the hundreds of pages of detail. This year At-Large

Council Member Sarah Parady hosted community sessions to review the budget and hear from constituents about their priorities.

Denver residents attended budget workshops and hearings, signed up for public comment and held rallies on the steps of the City and County Building. They spoke out in favor of the Denver Basic Income Project, rental assistance, programs to prevent eviction, and funding for Vision Zero to reduce traffic fatalities. Groups like Together Colorado, Housekeys Action Network Denver and Denver Metro Tenants Union, among others, organized members to speak at sessions where council amendments would be considered.

Amendments were presented and voted on

by City Council Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, with an eye toward how much support each amendment had garnered.

While the mayor can veto council amendments, the City Council may override a veto with a nine-vote supermajority.

At the time The Denver North Star went to press, three amendments had the support of both the Council and Mayor Mike Johnston.

One added $550,000 to Vision Zero, a program that aims to eliminate traffic-related fatalities in Denver by 2030, bringing total funding for the program to $2.2 million. Another made it less likely the city will run out of rental assistance funds next year, as it has already this year, by bringing next year’s funding up to $29.1 million. The third amendment added $450,000 to the Safe Routes to School program, bringing its total funding to $2.7 million.

The activity of newly elected members Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Shontel Lewis, Parady and Watson contributed to the record number of budget recommendations and amendments put forth by the Council.

Final budget approval was due Nov. 13, after this paper went to press. Story will be updated online to reflect significant changes in Denver’s final budget.

/// NEWS SHORT ///

Library Branch Hours Extended

By Denver North Star Staff

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eginning Nov. 13 Smiley and Woodbury Branch library hours were expanded to include additional open days. Both are now open Monday through Saturday. Corky Gonzales Branch, now open seven days a week, began its expanded hours in July.

Expansions of library hours in 2023 were funded by Strong Library, Strong Denver, funding created by voters in November 2022 that adds $32 million a year to the Denver Public Library’s budget. Visit www.denverlibrary. org/locations for details.

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The Denver North Star

/// COMMUNITY ///

A Day Honoring Veterans and Connecting Generations

By Kathryn White

W

hen the Mile High Fife and Drum Corps wrapped up its music performance the morning of Nov. 9, a full schedule of commemorative Veterans Day activities was just getting underway at The Gardens at St. Elizabeth retirement community.

U.S. Navy veteran Rick Wohlers orchestrated a day-long schedule of events that included patriotic music, refreshments and a tabletop display that covered over 200 years of military history, including photographs and newspaper clippings from residents’ personal collections.

Volunteer Barb Chomko greeted each guest with a handmade red poppy, a symbol used to remember Allied soldiers killed in World War I. Paul McMenamen shared the history of the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Lt. Col. John McRae (1872-1918), before reciting the stirring poem to the several dozen residents and guests who gathered.

Months in the making, the day continued with an afternoon segment opened by the Denver North H.S. Army Junior ROTC’s Presentation of Colors and Pledge of Allegiance.

The commemoration went on to alternate between moments of appreciation and remembrance, and the sharing of stories.

U.S. Air Force "Buck Sgt." Bruce Jacobson shared about his three-day Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to visit the monuments and memorials dedicated to his service. Joey Wall shared the story of her family’s efforts from the homefront during World War II, and about her two older brothers who went off to serve. One, George, became missing in action when his plane was shot down, and he never returned home. Her story transitioned into an opportunity to remember the over 81,000 women and men still missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and later conflicts.

The printed program for the day told its

Denver North Star Columnist, Jill Carstens’

Book Launch Event Wednesday, December 13 5-8 pm

Wolf + Wildflower Wine Bar 7190 W. 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge Jill will do a reading from her memoir and local crooner, Peter Fischer will perform festive Rat Pack tunes before and after.

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JillCarstensWriter.com PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE

Event organizer Rick Wohlers (U.S. Navy) walked Denver North H.S. Army Junior ROTC cadets through a tabletop display that covered over 200 years of military history.

own story. The Gardens at St. Elizabeth is home to 19 veterans from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines. Thirty-six residents’ late spouses were veterans, two staff are veterans and three residents worked as civilians for the Coast Guard, Air Force and the U.S. Department of Defense.

“And so may every veteran of our nation's armed forces feel truly and appropriately honored by the attention and appreciation of their fellow citizens,” said Chaplain Aram Haroutunian in a closing benediction. “Let no one feel forgotten or neglected. Let PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE every man and woman, young or U.S. Air Force "Buck Sgt." Bruce Jacobson old, feel the deep and enduring shared about his three-day Honor Flight to gratitude of our nation.”

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The Denver North Star

November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023 | Page 5

/ / / A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T / / /

Hundreds Gather for Día De Los Muertos

By Denver North Star Staff

PHOTOS BY KATHRYN WHITE

SINCE 1970

The annual Día de los Muertos celebration on Nov. 1 began with a ceremony and procession starting from Troy Chavez Memorial Peace Garden on Shoshone Street and ended at La Raza Park. Grupo Tlaloc lead the procession.

Community members and local organizations created ofrendas to honor the spirits of loved ones.

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Page 6 November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023

O

ccasionally, writers get something wrong. In my October 2023 column I mistakenly gave credit for assisting Mother Cabrini REBECCA A. HUNT to the wrong man. Instead of Michael Notary, it should have been Frank Damascio. And the house that I said belonged to Michael Notary was the Frank Damascio house, which was the home used by Mother Cabrini. I want to thank Father Blaine Burkey, the archivist for the Capuchin Brothers in North Denver, and my friend and fellow historian Phil Goodstein for catching my error.

This month I am going to tell a story about how one man’s dream had an enormous im-

pact on generations of Denver boys. And about how a building can have many meanings when adapted and reused.

In 1890, John and Emma Olinger, with their son George, opened their first mortuary at Fifteenth and Platte Streets in Denver. In 1908, at 2600 Sixteenth Place, they built what the Colorado Funeral Directors Association called “the first building built as a mortuary in the Rocky Mountain Region.” The lower building at Boulder Street and Sixteenth housed the offices, the viewing rooms and chapel. The upper building was the crematorium and the embalming rooms. This was the finest mortuary in Denver, with a broad range of services. When he died in

See HISTORY, Page 11 The Denver North Star

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ONE Denver Fosters a New Jazz Age for Youth Band

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S

tephen Brackett doesn’t sleep.

As a founding member of the Flobots and Youth on Record, and as Colorado’s current music ambassador, Brackett has set his sights on reinventing the nighttime economy of Denver.

As part of Mayor Michael Johnston’s transition committee for arts and venues, Brackett is advocating for safer and sensible nighttime policies and a new “night mayor.” The role has met with great success in other cities and helps facilitate a vision and collaborative dialogue across public and private sectors.

For Brackett, it all starts with the kids. He believes Denver currently doesn’t have places for youth to gather and express themselves after dark.

“If we neglect Denver’s youth, we ruin its future,” Brackett said. “Where is there a space for children and teenagers to experiment and develop their creativity? If we don’t make space and allowances for them then we aren’t making space for our future.”

Brackett, Alex Whittier and Matt Runyon have launched a nonprofit called ONE Denver, in which “ONE” is an acronym for Office of Nighttime Economy. Formerly known as 87 Foundation, ONE Denver’s vision is to make Denver a world-class city for music, creativity and nightlife.

Brackett believes that youth are part of that mission. As a test drive for the theory, ONE Denver hosted an electrifying kids’ jazz jam series last summer at the legendary downtown jazz venue, El Chapultepec. The “Pec,” home to jazz greats throughout its 87 years, was shuttered in 2020.

“For generations, aspiring jazz musicians used to gather outside this very venue, even when they were underage, just to catch a glimpse and listen to the renowned musicians who played inside,” Brackett reflected.

“It holds a special place in the heart of jazz

PHOTO BY BASHA COHEN

enthusiasts and serves as a symbol of inspiration and ambition.”

Brackett introduced this old-school venue to new-school jazz greats from the Denver School of the Arts. “Great” is putting it mildly when it comes to these young musicians known as DAES. They curated nights of free-wheeling jazz called “The Sandbox.” Performers ranged in age from elementary students to high-school graduates heading to the tony halls of The Juilliard School and Berklee College of Music on fullride scholarships.

“Our goal is to give aspiring young talents mentorship to navigate what is often a fraught music scene,” Brackett explained.

“We teach them how to negotiate contracts, set times and work with promoters on marketing budgets. We want these students to know they deserve to be paid equitably.”

As a result of the Sandbox series and ONE Denver’s vision to cross-collaborate and amplify youth opportunities throughout the Denver community, DAES has become a regular part of the Northwest Denver music scene. They jammed at the Little Man “CAN” in LoHi this summer and opened for Jamming on the Jetty in September. DAES was featured live on KUVO in November.

You can catch DAES on Santa Fe First Fridays at Invisible City (941 Santa Fe Drive).

They will also perform at Little Man’s “Santa’s Factory” (4411 West Colfax) in a Fa-LaLa Friday Live Music series in December.

ONE Denver is planning a family friendly New Year’s Eve party on the Tivoli Quad from 5 to 9 p.m.

“We love the kids from DAES,” Whittier said, “and if we can raise the funds, we hope to have them as part of the magical night.”

Make sure to save upcoming dates to see DAES in performances that honor the past, embrace the present and carry the legacy of Denver’s jazz heritage into the future.

/// NEWS SHORT ///

Housekeys Action Network Denver Seeks Winter Gear for Houseless People

By Denver North Star Staff

H

ousekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) is seeking donations of winter survival items for their Campaign 5280 Winter Gear and Clothing Drive.

“It is freezing cold and snowing,” HAND said.

“People living on our streets need warm gear to survive the cold. Mutual Aid Monday, Friends of SoDen, many individuals, and Housekeys Action Network Denver are on the street distributing what we can to houseless people, but the community needs donations of winter gear to get out to those in dire need on the streets.”

HAND has created an Amazon Wish List that includes items like insulated food and

The Denver North Star

QUALITY FISH MARKET SINCE 1974

beverage containers, petroleum jelly and body lotions, flushable wipes, hand sanitizer, paper soap sheets and more. The group is also looking for donations of tents, tarps, sleeping bags, blankets, coats, warm clothes, winter gloves and hand/foot warmers.

Donations can be dropped off on Mutual Aid Monday, and any Monday, from 4-7 p.m. at 14th and Bannock. To schedule a pickup or for more information, contact HAND at 701484-2634 or info@housekeysactionnetwork. com. For more information about Mutual Aid Monday, visit https://www.facebook.com/MutualAidMonday/

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/// COMMUNITY ///

/// BOOK REVIEW ///

‘To Shape 48th & Julian Community Garden Takes Shape a Dragon's A Breath’

By Kathryn White

I

n “To Shape a Dragon’s Breath” by Moniquill Blackgoose, 15-year-old Anequs sees a dragon on her home island of Masquapaug, where no native dragons – WENDY THOMAS Nampeshiwe – have been seen for many years. The next day, she goes to the temple to make an offering of tobacco and juniper, and discovers that the dragon has left behind an egg. Following tradition, the egg is brought to the meetinghouse where the villagers sing to it and keep it company. When it hatches, the dragon, Kasaqua, imprints on Anequs and they are bound to each other for life, changing the course of Anequs’ future.

A dragon’s breath can be destructive if not properly shaped, and there are rules and restrictions around who can have a dragon and how they raise it. Dragons can react unpredictably and sometimes violently to strong emotions in their dragoneers, and Kasaqua is no different. Anequs has no choice but to attend Kuiper’s Academy to learn to shape Kasaqua’s breath or risk her being taken and destroyed. The Academy is filled with wealthy and privileged students who don’t approve of Anequs’ way of moving through the world and teachers who think she is an uneducated savage, but she is fortunate to have an advocate in the first woman dragoneer who opened up the world of dragoneering for females.

At its heart, this is a story of colonialism and the subjugation of Anequs’ people to the laws and ways of the Anglish. Known as “nackies,”

See BOOK REVIEW, Page 10

vacant lot at 48th Avenue and Julian Street has begun its new life as a food forest and community garden.

On Oct. 13, dozens of volunteers and staff from Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) spent the day spreading mulch, constructing frames and hauling compost to fill in garden plots.

Nessa Mogharreban, DUG’s director of corporate partnerships, said the garden will be open and ready for planting in spring 2024.

The garden is designed to be ADA accessible with 5-foot firm pathways constructed around the garden plots, and some plots built to 1-1/2 feet high.

Sara Fruithandler and Jake Goldman, who both work in healthcare, live nearby in the Regis neighborhood and spent the day pitching in.

“Research shows just having a garden you can access increases your happiness and your satisfaction with daily life,” Fruithandler said.

“It's one of those things we tell our patients, that they should have hobbies that bring them joy, that getting out into the sunlight and seeing stuff grown from seed can definitely bring a lot of joy.”

“We’ve made a genuine effort to get to know our neighbors,” Goldman said. “This garden is a way to connect with neighbors that we haven't met yet around a hobby we already enjoy, which is really nice.”

Leslie Tremayne lives a few houses away and first got involved during the community input process earlier this year. She learned gardening from her dad while she was growing up in Ohio.

“I have a garden in my backyard,” Tremayne said. “But I'd like to put the bigger plants out here, like squash and cucumbers. My garden at home is very small, so I could put the smaller herbs there instead.”

“This garden is for anybody in this neighborhood, in this community,” Mogharreban

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUG

Volunteers help convert a city-owned vacant lot into a community garden that will be ready for planting in spring 2024.

RENDERING BY SKYSCAPE GARDENS

Conceptual rendering for the garden and food forest at 48th and Julian.

said. “Anyone who can walk or ride or roll here. If someone is apartment dwelling and would like to garden but doesn’t have the space to do it, this is for them. For first-year gardeners, we'll be with them every step of the way.”

The garden also includes a food forest, an

assortment of food-bearing trees, bushes and vines that will grow to varying heights, maxing out at around 15 feet. Signage will identify plants and help community members determine when the fruits, nuts and berries are ready to eat.

“Next year, we're looking at some berries that will be producing,” Mogharreban said.

“The apple trees and nut trees will be in production in probably three to five years. In 10 years, we’re going to have thousands of pounds of fruit here.”

The garden, DUG’s 200th in Denver, makes productive use of one of four oddball parcels of city-owned vacant land that were cut off from Rocky Mountain Lake Park when I-70 was constructed back in the mid-1960s. Three smaller parcels along 48th Avenue between Julian and Hooker streets will be incorporated into the project over the next couple of years.

To put your name on the list for a garden plot or to inquire about volunteering, send an email to 48thandjuliancommunitygarden@dug.org.

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Denver’s Oldest Cultural Venue Page 8 November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023

The Denver North Star

/ / / E L E C T E D O F F I C I A L U P DAT E / / /

apeWhen We Invest in Each

en that

Other, We All Win

H

ello, North Denver!

I’m honored to serve you as one of your atlarge members on City Council. Before entering elected CITY COUNCIL office this year, I began my career at Colorado Legal SerMEMBER SARAH PARADY vices, fighting to protect older Coloradans, young families and other vulnerable homeowners from foreclosure. I later cofounded a small public interest law firm focused on representing Denver workers. I’ve spent my career fighting for the constitutional, civil and workplace rights of everyday people.

That is the energy my team and I bring to our work on City Council. Over the past months, we’ve been busy getting staffed up, settling into our new office and getting up to speed on the city’s systems in order to serve you. Since September, we’ve been deep in the weeds of Denver’s city budget process.

Here’s a little look behind the curtain on the budget process: Within the city charter (basically Denver’s constitution, or main governing document), the mayor and his executive branch agencies draft a budget for the city’s spending over the next year. It’s City Council’s role to amend and then approve or reject that budget. The mayor released his budget for 2024 on Sept. 14, and following a week of agency budget hearings, City Council began our budget amendment process.

It’s important to remember that Denver’s charter requires a balanced budget, so these amendments are not additions to the total budget, nor are they requests to increase overall spending. Instead, they are proposals to shift funding from lesser priorities to higher priorities. With the help of more than a dozen community volunteers, my team and I crunched numbers and challenged assumptions to arrive at 11 proposed amendments to our city budget.

All of my proposals — from increased dollars for rental assistance to funding traffic safety improvements through Vision Zero — were aimed at alleviating poverty, preventing homelessness, and making our neighborhoods and streets safer for all residents. Based on my experience in and out of government, there’s one thing I know for sure: The more we invest in meeting everyone’s basic needs, the more we shift from destructive and costly cycles of displacement, homelessness and criminalization to virtuous circles, with benefits that ripple out through our communities, our relationships and our daily lives. When we invest in each other, we all win.

In mid-October, Mayor Johnston provided his response to City Council’s budget recommendations, and he agreed to partially fund some of our amendments. Of the proposals I submitted, he included five in his revised budget: $3 million for increased emergency rental assistance; $3 million funding to support Denver Health’s unreimbursed care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; $2 million for continuing support of the Denver Basic Income Project; $1 million for the next cycle of the city’s participatory budgeting pilot; and $1 million for traffic safety improvements through the Safe Routes to School, Vision Zero and speed table programs.

Even with those additions, there are several key antipoverty proposals that I’d like to see included in the city’s budget for 2024. City Council can still amend the city’s budget further by submitting them as floor amendments before we hold the final vote on the budget.

By the time you read this column, we’ll have made our final vote on the city’s budget. But as I write this column, I don’t yet know which of our floor amendments will pass (and override a potential veto from the mayor) to get included in that final budget. So for now, I remain hopeful that we’ll be able to obtain these additional funds, especially for the additional emergency rental assistance required to meet the scale of the eviction crisis facing our city.

And I celebrate the wins we’ve been able to gain so far, and the trust and collaboration between council members that it’s taken to get us to this point.

And most of all, I also celebrate the hard work of community members that has been the foundation of our work throughout the budget process — from all of the volunteers who helped my team and I digest all 1,000 pages of the proposed 2024 budget to the 60plus people who spoke up for their values at the public hearing on the budget that was held at City Council’s Oct. 23 meeting. All of your input informed my budget proposals and floor amendments. With so many important issues at stake in our city, and so many competing priorities, it’s crucial that residents make their voices heard. I can’t wait to see what else we’ll be able to accomplish together over the next four years!

Council Member Sarah Parady is one of two at-large members of City Council elected to serve the entire city and county of Denver.

If you'd like to contact her, email ParadyAtLarge@denvergov.org or call 720-337-7713.

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DOTI Budget Continued from Page 3

cro transit service that allows residents to request to be taken around the neighborhood in smaller vehicles like minivans, often to places that conventional RTD routes do not serve.

While details are forthcoming, the expanded service is likely to include Denver’s west side as well as Sun Valley.

Also proposed for 2024, DOTI plans to repave about 365 miles of city streets and replace some of Denver’s vehicle fleet with electric vehicles. And the city plans to spend about $15 million on multimodal improvements for pedestrians, safe routes to schools, transit users and bike lanes.

The final 2024 city budget must be approved on or before Nov. 13.

Allen Cowgill is the City Council District 1 appointee to the DOTI Advisory Board, where he serves as the board secretary.

Book Review Continued from Page 8

Anequs’ people live peacefully off of the land and have great respect for themselves, others and the natural world. The Anglish have very specific rules of etiquette and value conformity and prosperity above all else. Anequs creates waves by asserting herself against the arbitrary Anglish values while creating a community around her of others who may not fit the Anglish standard of appearance or behavior.

Combining fantasy, historical fiction and Indigenous folklore, the many facets of this story make it a multilayered read. This is the first book in the Nampeshiweisit series and is written by a member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe, making this a perfect read for Indigenous People’s Month. Check out this and other great books by Indigenous authors at a Denver Public Library Branch near you.

Join the Smiley Branch Library for a Ghanaian cooking class on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Find more information and register at denverlibrary.org/events.

Wendy Thomas is a librarian at the Smiley Branch Library. When not reading or recommending books, you can find her hiking with her dogs.

Bloom

Continued from Page 1

Caregiver-friendly amenities border the exhibit’s quietest space at the far end of the exhibit, the area devoted to infants. Amenities include an alcove equipped for changing diapers and washing hands, a station with bottle warmers, and two cushioned nooks for breastand bottle-feeding. Here, babies can settle into tummy time in the infant space’s hot-air balloon. Board books are on hand as well.

The exhibit took longer than expected to pull together, said staff. Work started before the pandemic hit. And then a torrential rain caused flooding in the space. When Bloom was finally ready for the public in mid-October, the long list of people who contributed to its creation — staff, board members and donors, designers, artists and construction crews — could add perseverance to the list of reasons to celebrate.

“The museum leaders are quite impressive, kind and have engaged a talented community of supporters,” said board member Judy Pottle at the exhibit’s opening event.

“Together, with you, we have created an enriching space to be proud of for the next generation to fully blossom.”

For those forever in love with the museum’s former space dedicated to its youngest visitors, there is a cleverly hidden homage within the walls of Bloom.

Bloom is intended for the museum’s youngest visitors, those up to 3 years old. Older siblings are welcome to join caregivers in enjoying the space and guiding a younger visitor’s experience.

Children’s Museum of Denver is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2121 Children’s Museum Dr.. Memberships and one-day tickets are available, as are discounts for those age 60 and over, military, groups of 10 or more and anyone receiving SNAP benefits. For details visit https://www.mychildsmuseum.org/visit.

/ / / E D U C AT I O N / / /

LETTERS FROM MISS JILL

Easing Your Child into Scary Things

I

will never forget a particular moment when a friend offered to babysit my 3-year-old. She had older children, about ages 7 and 9.

JILL CARSTENS I came to pick him up later to find that he was glued to the television watching an extremely scary and violent movie with her children. My heart stopped and I blurted out, “This is too scary for him!” My friend thought I overreacted.

I did not necessarily see an immediate or obvious effect from my son being exposed to such blatant frightening images, but my instinct told me that there were more gradual ways to transition my young child to scary things. There is a difference between being scared and being traumatized and a lot of it depends on the age a child is exposed and the nature of the source.

As an example, when my son was about 4, we went to see my aging grandmother.

She was in her 90s, had lost her sight and during our visit she started bleeding slightly from the mouth. She was OK, but that night and several subsequent nights my son had nightmares of his great grandmother bleeding from her mouth with the added detail of all of her teeth spilling out in his dream.

I could not have predicted this scenario and, later, felt bad about exposing my kid to a real-life difficult part of aging in a nursing home. How do we know how to expose our kids gently? How do we deal with impromptu scary things when they are out of our control?

Each family has their own perceptions of what is scary. I suppose I scare easily. I am a worrier. So I am protective of my kid this way. I learned that scary movies did not seem to affect him as much as a real-life challenging circumstance, like seeing

his great-grandmother in her last days, or more recently, how badly people drive on the highway.

We cannot control everything our kids are exposed to so I recommend going with your instinct when it comes to situations that are controllable. Although it seems many children are not obviously affected by media violence, I wonder, when they are exposed at very young ages, whether they may become desensitized.

With Halloween just under our belt, make-believe scary has been said to have its benefits. According to a 2021 National Geographic article, sociologist Margee Kerr contends that experiencing “safe fear” helps children to practice their reactions to scary stimuli, managing their emotions around it, which can in turn boost self-confidence.

There are definitely enough real-life scary things going on if you watch the news: COVID, wars, climate change. Who needs a scary movie when you can stream scary on the news. Don’t take for granted that young children are immune to the news playing in the background. Although they might look like they are immersed in play while you watch a news broadcast, it has been shown that many children do take in some of what is going on in the background. This can get internalized if we don’t help them process such information.

I was teaching 2- and 3-year-olds when 9/11 happened. Our instructions from the school director at the time were to avoid discussing this tragedy around our students, and parents were highly discouraged from turning on the news in front of their young children while the images of the planes hitting the World Trade Center played over and over on the screen.

I adhered to these directions. I was pretty

uninformed at that time also. But my young child did not see that image on repeat. He later heard all about it in social studies class when he was in third grade, a much more appropriate time to learn and see about that event. He reported to me that he was the only kid in the class who had not seen the video of the towers falling in 2001 and was a little mad at me about it. I will take him being mad at me over possibly being confused or traumatized during that time period.

My advice to parents is to do your best to scaffold exposure to the scary things in life and then provide kids with tools on how to handle them. My grown son and I have regular conversations these days about how to cope with the difficult events happening not just in the world, but also in our fast-changing neighborhood. When stimuli around us becomes too much we take a break from the news, get outside and talk about the things we are grateful about.

Do what you can to head off possible early exposure to violent media. There are controls you can put in place on televisions, computers and phones. Before accepting invitations to play dates make an effort to learn the culture of the household your child is visiting. Get on the same page as the other parents and share your boundaries about media and exposure to potentially violent or scary content.

Again, we can’t be everywhere and we cannot control the world. But we can be intentional and involved in how our children cope with these challenging situations.

Jill Carstens taught for 30 years and now enjoys writing for this publication. You can view more of her writing on Instagram @lettersfrommissjill. Email her with comments or story ideas at jill@denvernorthstar.com.

/ / / H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S / / /

COMMUNITY WELLNESS INSTIGATOR

Holidays Make us Fat and other Holiday Legends

T

he holidays are a perfect time to focus on fitness. I know, it sounds like I’ve been into the egg nog early. Even just our regular lives can make self-care ERIKA TAYLOR seem like a fantasy. Add our holiday list and 20 minutes to exercise feels as real as the “prancing and pawing of each little hoof” that precedes a magical chimney visit.

But self-care can stay on the list! Not just can, must. With planning and prioritizing, those things we do to stay well can even help us bring more joy to the season for those we love most, including ourselves. I’m not just saying that to get on the “Good List.”

Why do we think that overeating, not exercising and losing sleep at this time of year are required? It is almost as if the health-club industry promotes how easy it is to get fat between Halloween and New Year's so we’ll all give in to excuses and those same clubs will be bursting with re-resolved clients on Jan. 1.

We are bombarded with advertisements, images and examples of ways we can overindulge. Parties are largely alcohol- and sugar-fueled. Shopping trumps sleeping and perfectionism reigns supreme.

And if you can’t reach that “perfect” mark?

Don’t worry. The world is overflowing with antidotes: products to help keep us slim, recover from the flu quickly, meet family gathering expectations, and deal with a whole host of other conventionally normalized holiday-related stress inducers. Read or watch enough sales pitches and you'll probably think that gaining weight, getting sick and stressing out over the perfect gift/meal/celebration just go with the holiday territory. Why should that be?

It is true, we add things to our calendar

Page 10 November 15, 2023-December 14, 2023

during the holidays, but our schedules go on all year long. We have stress in our lives daily but somehow many folks make time – other times of the year – to do things that contribute to their health and then fall off as November rolls around. The lie that our health must suffer during the holidays is just that, a Santa’s belly-sized lie. And it’s a myth that needs busting.

Let's think about the kinds of things we usually do to stay healthy: Move. Even two minutes of walking after a meal can help manage blood sugar and aid in digestion. Do a set of squats while wrapping. Get your niece to do it with you! Maybe even let her post it on TikTok – start a holiday wellness trend.

Eat. Better than usual. Including holiday treats. The ones you really love. Don't apologize to anyone for saying “no thank you” to break-room leftovers that are not the ones you love. Your generous coworker likely just needed them out of their own house. At the holiday party, I promise you can find naked veggies and lean proteins if you look hard enough.

Hydrate. An easy one. And if you need help, there are even apps for that. I admit, I’m a Plant Nanny addict. See if you can front load your day with water and other no-sugar drinks.

Wash your hands. Hey look, another easy one.

Sleep. Even if it means you skip a couple workouts or those Facebook posts go unliked.

I promise your real-life friends want you well rested to enjoy their company more than they want you to see how cute their cat looked in his Santa hat.

Connect. Make dates with people who make you feel good about yourself. Spending time with friends and family members who support your healthy choices and are living the

kind of wellness life you aspire to will help you remember that fitness can stay on everyone's holiday list.

Get support. Tell your friend you are sticking to club soda at the office party and join your kids in that snowball fight. Make your holiday Girls Night a yoga class instead of a happy hour. Take your neighbor for a walk or join our Walking Accountability Crew every Monday, Wednesday and Friday leaving from Sloans Lake Pirate Park at 9:15 a.m. I promise, the people you include in your healthy holiday will thank you.

We can do this! Keep making choices you can feel good about and keep giving your beautiful body what it needs. We’ll finish off this year feeling great and head into New Year’s Resolution Season miles ahead of the game.

Holidays are the season of believing. Believe that you can make the holidays your healthiest and most truly wonderful time of the year. Celebrate the ways you win at that and remember the other equally important message of this season: grace and gratitude. Let’s give ourselves grace when we miss the mark, and practice gratitude wherever we can find it. Not because it's easy, but because that is how we learn to truly give those things to each other too.

Wishing you wellness this holiday season and always, Erika Erika Taylor is a community wellness instigator at Taylored Fitness, the original online wellness mentoring system. Taylored Fitness believes that everyone can discover small changes in order to make themselves and their communities more vibrant, and that it is only possible to do our best work in the world if we make a daily commitment to our health.

Visit facebook.com/erika.taylor.303 or email erika@tayloredfitness.com.

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Committee

History

and Superintendent Alex Marrero provide edits for the proposal.

To Gaytan, this was not a collaboration.

“It was brought upon us through an email by City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval saying, ‘Here’s the updated draft of this old ordinance, here’s how we’re gonna do it, give us some feedback,’ and that was it,” Gaytan said. “There was no real … back and forth.”

Now in its seventh round of edits, the proposed committee would have nine members and would meet once every two months. The committee would have two administrative city representatives, the mayor and the director of the Office of Children's Affairs; three legislative city representatives, comprised of two City Council members and one Denver resident appointed by the City Council president; and four DPS representatives, including two DPS board members, the superintendent and one Denver resident who is also a DPS educator or principal and would be appointed by the superintendent.

While the proposed committee would use bylaws “as rules of procedure,” Sandoval and Gonzales-Gutierrez insisted that these bylaws would not give the committee policy-setting power.

1917, Buffalo Bill Cody’s body was reared for his final repose on Lookout Mountain.

By the 1930s, after 40 years of service, George retired and turned operations over to his daughter Gwendolyn Van Derbur, her husband, Francis, and their partner Joseph Bona.

Over time, the new owners bought out many rival undertaking firms as well as developing their own cemeteries along the Front Range.

Later they sold out to S.C.I. of Houston, Texas.

Running a mortuary was not George Olinger’s only passion. In the 1910s, he had an idea. He organized a baseball team in the Highlands neighborhood with the idea that he could use it as a way of introducing boys to principles and ethics that would turn out good and productive men. In 1916, he named the group the Highlander Boys. This referred back to the Highland identity of the neighborhood. Soon he introduced military-style uniforms paid for by his business.

Youths joined when they were 9 years old, and through their later childhood and adolescence learned to be patriotic and to have good spiritual and ethical underpinnings. Olinger emphasized physical activity as an essential part of the program. Overall, the organization used a military structure as a way of instilling skills and good qualities in the youth. They had military drill, but also a band.

In 1916, after George recruited the first 50 Highlander Boys, he created a nonprofit and moved the organization to the area of Fourth and Speer in central Denver. They built their first building there. But in the 1920s they found that they had difficulty recruiting because of the Great Depression, and the group shut down in 1933.

Another man, Rev. David Bayless, restarted the Highlanders in 1936. They built a clubhouse at 300 Logan St. (site of the current Channel 9 building). By 1938 there were 12,000 boys involved in the group’s activities. Olinger served on the board until his death.

Continued from Page 1

“It doesn’t supplant power or decision-making of any of the authorities, whether it’s the mayor, the school board, the council or any of the departments.”

– Amanda P. Sandoval, City Council member “It doesn’t supplant power or decision-making of any of the authorities, whether it’s the mayor, the school board, the council or any of the departments,” Sandoval said. “I’m not interested in doing the jobs of Denver Public Schools.”

“That’s what they’re saying now,” Gaytan responded. “That’s not what was being said before.”

Sandoval and Gonzales-Gutierrez took the proposal to committee on Oct. 18. Former educators, DPS parents and DPS board members voiced support for the proposal and brought up concerns over collaboration, bylaws and the composition of the committee during public comment.

Speaking on behalf of DPS, DPS Government Political Liaison Deep Singh Badhesha requested that another DPS representative be added to the committee to give both the city and DPS five committee seats. He also requested that committee bylaws be waived.

“We believe there is no need to create formal bylaws of the committee as the purpose of the committee is simply to study, discuss and collaborate,” Badhesha said.

Several DPS parents voiced their support for and expectations of collaboration between DPS and the city, citing issues of gun safety and the COVID-19 pandemic as remaining unaddressed.

“For our own kids, and honestly all of our young folks, we need to work together to have regular communication between the city, our school district and legislation that takes their experience into account,” said Katie Terrazas-Hoover, parent of two DPS children and former DPS employee.

“We pay the same tax bill, so to us, there’s no division between city council and the school district,” said Steve Katsaros, DPS parent and a founder of Parent Safety Advocacy Group.

“However this mess was created, we don’t care.

However it gets sorted out, we’ll be watching.”

While Denver City Council members expressed overwhelming support for the committee, Councilwoman Shontel Lewis and Councilwoman At-Large Sarah Parady raised concerns about co-creation versus collaboration between DPS and the city, as well as the proposal’s quick timeline. The council agreed unanimously to pass the proposal out of committee. At the request of Parady, the proposal will go to a final vote no earlier than Nov. 13.

Continued from Page 6

COURTESY OF ALBERT DREHER

George Olinger.

A NEW ERA Beginning in the 1960s, the Highlanders struggled to find their way in an evolving world.

It faced arguments that it was militarist, sexist and elitist. It went co-ed and recruited heavily in ethnic neighborhoods. By 1976, when the organization shut its doors, it had served more than 100,000 boys (and girls) in the metro area through music, military and sports activities.

George Olinger’s good idea helped create mul-

Linger and Little Man.

tiple generations of good citizens.

In the 1990s, the former mortuary buildings in Lower Highland moved into the next stage of their existence. Denver developers Paul Tamburello and Stephanie Garcia purchased the Olinger buildings to create a restaurant district on the northwest side. Lola and Vita were two of the eateries in the Olinger building. Tamburello also built Little Man Ice Cream in the yard between the upper and lower buildings.

Eventually the upper building housed a restaurant called Linger, using the old Olinger roof sign (without the O) to mark the eatery’s location. The remainder of the building now houses trendy shops. Tamburello has turned the plaza between the upper and lower buildings into a public space that hosts live music and family oriented events. The place formerly focused on the end of life has become a center for community gatherings.

For more information on George Olinger and the Highlanders go to the Highlander Boys website at http://highlanderboys.org/index.htm.

Dr. Rebecca A. Hunt has been a Denver resident since 1985. She worked in museums and then taught Colorado, Denver and immigration history at the University of Colorado Denver until she retired in 2020.

PHOTO BY CAROL HIGHSMITH, COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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