Redstone April / May 2020

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LYONS, COLORADO

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

B •R •I •E •F •S

Cokie Roberts enjoys a quiet sit in a box while ignoring the Redstone Review.

Send us your shelter at home photos with Redstone LYONS – Since very few of us can travel around at this time, we don’t have any new photos of people traveling with their Redstone Review newspaper, showing us all the wonderful places that they are visiting all over the world. We thought that due to the current shelter-at-home policy we would ask our readers to send us photos of what you are doing at home for fun or work. Show us your home activities with your pets, kids, games, repairs, exercises, cooking, Zoom meetings, etc. and put your copy of the Redstone in the photo.

We will run your photos in the paper. Send your photos to redstarnews5@gmail.com.

Lyons Cleanup Day for May 16 Cancelled

Lyons resident River Maureaux, age 2, helped her mom put up an encouraging sign on 5th Avenue, reminding everyPHOTO BY CHERIE MAUREAUX one to stay safe and stay strong during this difficult and strange time.

LYONS – To ensure volunteer and participant safety, the community cleanup day scheduled for May 16 has been cancelled. The Town and Sustainable Futures Commission are exploring options to offer the service day in the fall.

Lyons wades through disasters, welcomes a new mayor and town board

By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review Editor

The Lyons Share – A small business economic relief fund LYONS – The Lyons Share: the Lyons Community Foundation small business economic relief fund has been created in collaboration with the St. Vrain Market (SVM). As a local response to businesses enduring forced closures during the COVID-19 crisis, the fund is designed to provide immediate economic aid to Lyons businesses.

Continue Briefs on Page 7

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I •N •D •E •X LYONS

2

MAYOR’S CORNER

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EDUCATE

4

OPTIONS

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MAYOR/BOARD ELECT 6 INSIGHT

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EXPRESSIONS

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A&E

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COMMUNITY

10

ISSUES

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FOUNDATION

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WELLNESS

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LYONS – In the last six and a half years the Town of Lyons has suffered two major disasters that have brought the town to its knees.

The flood in September 2013 ripped apart the infrastructure, over 70 homes, a fire station, hundreds of trees, roads, bridges, and structures and sent it all down the river. The now present COVID-19 threatens to devastate the town once again as small businesses grapple with huge loses and the town is still repairing bridges damaged from the flood.

While residents are hoping that we are not on a six-year disaster cycle, everyone has steeled themselves for the challenge ahead. In their usual fashion, people have sprung into action, stretching their resources to the bone.

Help has come from every direction. The Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund, Lyons

Community Foundation, Lyons Volunteers, Lyons Chamber of Commerce, businesses that are able as well as residents have enhanced the Food Pantry, created loan programs for small businesses, delivered meals, provided supplies, checked in on neighbors, etc.

While residents work to help each other, a new mayor and town board will be sworn in on April 20 to work on fixing the town’s most pressing problems.

Former Mayor Nick Angelo will take over as the new Mayor of Lyons. The new board of Trustees will include three incumbents, Mike Karavas, Wendy Miller and Mark Browning.

Three newcomers will be sworn in, Greg Lowell, Hollie Rogin and Kenyon Waugh.

The new board will have its work cut out and will need to hit the ground running.

The old Town Board, which is still in place, just finished off its tenure with a major win on a project that the town has been working

on diligently since the flood: affordable housing. The board approved two resolutions to pave the way for Summit Housing Group to build affordable housing in the Lyons Valley Park area.

The board voted 7 to 0 to uphold the approval of the Summit Housing Development Plan by the Planning and Community Development Commission. The PCDC’s approval of the Summit Development Plan was challenged by a group of residents who felt that the PCDC did not follow the guidelines set up in the Lyons Comprehensive Plan. The Mayor and Trustees had to decide if the PCDC failed to interpret the Comprehensive Plan correctly, and if there was evidence of how decisions were interpreted differently in the past, among other things.

Mayor Connie Sullivan said, “I would say that the PCDC process was not flawed in any way.”

Trustee Mark Browning stated that the PCDC followed all the procedures correctly.

A former Trustee Dan Greenberg, said, “The PCDC clearly did their due diligence. The

Lyons municipal unofficial election results The Town of Lyons held a municipal election on April 7, 2020, for the offices of the mayor and six trustee seats, along with four policy issues.

The State Election Law requires the Town to send ballots to registered overseas voters per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The law allows ballots from UOCAVA voters to

be postmarked on Election Day and be received by the eighth day after the election to be counted. In addition, a 2018 mandate requires mail ballot signatures to be verified by the election judges. Any ballots the judges are unable to verify must be cured within eight days after the election to be counted. The final canvassing of the election results will be held on the tenth

day after the election, with final official election results available April 17, 2020.

The newly elected officials will be sworn in at the Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for April 20 at 7 p.m., in the Shirley F. Johnson Council Chamber at Lyons Town Hall, 432 Fifth Ave. The unofficial results of the April 7, 2020 Town of Lyons Municipal Election are listed here:

Continue Town on Page 14

Candidate for the office of Mayor *Nicholas Angelo 485 Jocelyn Farrell 448 Candidates for the office of Trustee *Mark Browning 712 *Gregory Lowell 653 *Hollie Rogin 652 *Wendy Miller 603 *Mike Karavas 595 *Kenyon Waugh 522 G Robert Brakenridge 414 *Elected Continue Results on Page 14

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REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

LYONS Lyons Fire District election for Board of Directors LYONS – The Lyons Fire Protection District is asking for help to protect the fire district. It’s a simple request, they want to encourage as many eligible voters as possible to request absentee ballots and to vote by mail instead of in person.

In the middle of everything else, the Lyons Fire Protection District has a Board of Directors election coming up on May 5. Per Colorado State law and the timetable for Special District elections, the election was set up last year before any of us had heard of COVID-19, and it was set up as a regular election, meaning people would come to Fire Station 1 to vote in person.

Since then, Chief JJ Hoffman has taken extraordinary measures to reduce the risk of exposure of the team of firefighters, who are also our community’s emergency medical first responders. One of those measures is that the fire stations have been closed to the general public, except in the case of emergencies. But state law requires that the fire

district must still hold the election, and it’s now too late to switch to a fully mailed ballot election.

In an attempt to satisfy the legal requirement that we go forward with the election, while still reducing risk, we encourage as many eligible voters as possible to request absentee ballots and to vote by mail instead of in person.

Request an absentee ballot if you are eligible to vote in our District election ( a resident of the District or owner of taxable real or personal property within the District; or a person obligated to pay taxes under a contract to purchase taxable property within the District).

The process is simple. Please act as soon as possible to allow plenty of time for completion.

Read about the election and download the PDF of the application from the LyonsFire.org website: https: // www. lyonsfire. org / 2020 - special - district - election /.

Please note, you have to enter your full name twice when

G U E S T •E D I T O R I A L

No such example has been presented. Instead, LURA’s attorney suggested looking at Arvada, a home rule city of over 110,000 located on I-70 with RTD commuter rail service. Next, LURA commissioners were treated to a one-sided, incomplete URA cheerleading session by the URA director from Wheat Ridge, a home-rule city of over 30,000, also located on I-70 with RTD rail service.

He termed my resignation from LURA “foolish.”

So what Mayor Sullivan didn’t tell you was that Lyons may be a “guinea pig” for a URA in a small, slow-growth, built-out statutory town. She and LURA boosters haven’t identified a comparable URA to study. Being the guinea pig has risks. Let’s look at some of them, asking tough questions Mayor Sullivan didn’t ask or try to answer.

Loans to URAs – What Wheat Ridge’s URA director didn’t tell LURA commissioners is that Wheat Ridge has made multiple large loans to its URA for projects, including a $500,000 loan the month before his presentation.

Lyons, unlike some large cities, has no excess funds to loan to LURA. Even before the Covid-19 virus created a budget crisis, Lyons’ general fund and utilities fund reserves were insufficient to fund badly needed capital projects. Where would Lyons get the money to loan to LURA? And would Lyons end up having to do things like Erie just did – write off a $2.9 million loan to its URA? Annual subsidies – Wheat Ridge subsidizes its URA to the tune of $300,000 every year. While Lyons has subsidized LURA’s start-up costs (mostly lawyer and consultant fees projected at $129,000 through 2020), LURA was supposed to eventually stand on its own and repay those costs to the Town. If Wheat Ridge, with its I-70 location, RTD stop and “big box” stores throwing off a lot of sales tax, is still relying on subsidies from city taxpayers 43

Setting the Record Straight on the Lyons Urban Renewal Authority

By Mark Browning Redstone Review No, I don’t propose “dismantling” or “throwing out” the Lyons Urban Renewal Authority (LURA), contrary to misrepresentations of my position set out in Mayor Connie Sullivan’s column in the March / April Redstone.

Browning Instead, I believe LURA, particularly its downtown area, should be maintained, but with careful restrictions to avoid risks to Lyons taxpayers inherent in plans for the Eastern Corridor (EC) area.

Mayor Sullivan’s column presented, in generalities, standard cheerleading points for URAs. They can cure blight. They can attract new development. They can help small businesses. They can grow the tax base. Many cities use them.

But missing from her column were all-important details. Beware of politicians “selling sunshine.” It’s what they don’t tell you that’s often critical.

Here’s one thing Mayor Sullivan didn’t tell you. Months ago, I issued a challenge to LURA’s attorney, its commission (chaired by Mayor Sullivan), and its director (the Town Administrator). The challenge: show me a successful URA in a comparable small Colorado town (say, 10,000 pop. or less, so up to five times Lyons’ size) that isn’t a ski town or located on a busy Interstate. With such a model, we could study how a Lyons URA might work.

you’re requesting a ballot for yourself – it would look like this: I, Your Full Name, am requesting an absentee ballot on behalf of (select one): [x] Your Full Name, whose birth year is ...

You can scan the completed application form and email it to kurt@specialdistrictsolutions.com, or you can mail the completed printed application form to Kurt Schlegel, Special District Solutions, Inc., 2370 Antelope Ridge Trail, Parker, CO 80138-4235.

Upon receipt, Schlegel will confirm your eligibility, and will mail a paper ballot to you. Fill out your paper ballot and return it to Schlegelat the same address. Your mailed ballot must be received no later than 7 p.m. on May 5, 2020. In order to ensure meeting that deadline, please mail your ballot no later than Friday, May 1. Because of the extra load being handled by the amazing folks at the post office, I recommend mailing it even earlier, if possible.

Thanks so much for helping our fire district. Whether you are or are not eligible to vote in our Please pass this information along to anyone you know who is eligible to vote in our District election.

Please note that Longmont Humane Society has extended our public closure through April 26 to align with the Governor’s statewide Stay-at-Home Order.

We remain open for lost and found and intake services by appointment. Please call 303-772-1232 or email info@longmonthumane.org.

We are closed for adoptions through April 26 or until further notice. We do however encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about any of the available animals on our website to contact us to learn more about the animal or our current processes. You can reach us at 303-772-1232 or email info@longmonthumane.org.

The Well Pet Clinic is open for essential and urgent veterinary care services. In order to keep our community and staff healthy, we are following updated protocols.

Visit our web page or call 303-651-0610 to learn more.

Donations – For those of you who are able, your monetary donation means so much to us right now. We cannot do what we do without the support of our community and donations of any amount will make a big difference during this difficult time. Thank you.

Continue LURA on Page 14

Travels with Redstone Peter Baumgartner, swimming in the waters around Exuma Land and Sea Park, Bahamas, tring hard to keep his Redstone dry.

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 3

MAYOR’S CORNER Farewell

By Connie Sullivan, Mayor of Lyons Redstone Review LYONS – This is my last Redstone column as the Mayor of Lyons. Serving this community as your Sullivan Mayor for the last four years, and as a trustee before that (2012 to 2016), has been an enormous privilege. I have enjoyed every minute and want to thank you for your support and encouragement over the years.

I never imagined that I would be leaving office under these circumstances, but I have complete confidence that the staff will provide the continuity needed as the new board members transition into place. I would be remiss if I did also not thank Victoria Simonsen and her dedicated team for their countless hours of service to the community. They are the backbone that keeps our town moving forward, and they are deserving of our appreciation and respect. I must also mention the many volunteers on the town boards and commissions whose expertise and energy help the board to make informed and effective decisions.

Lyons benefits greatly from the individuals who volunteer their time and talents by serving on commissions.

I am proud of the progress we have made over my eight years on the Board of Trustees. The floods of 2013 have dictated much of the agenda between then and now, but each board has also dealt with other initiatives that have shaped the Lyons of today. While a handful of floodrelated infrastructure projects remain on the to-do list, Lyons has accomplished a recovery that many larger cities experiencing similar disasters have not.

Not only have we rebuilt most of our

utility infrastructure, roads, and parks, we have grown our economy in the process.

When I joined the board in 2012, the annual sales tax revenues were just over half a million dollars. In 2019, sales tax revenues contributed over 1.3 million dollars to parks and the general fund. While coronavirus is going to negatively impact sales tax in 2020 and possibly even 2021, Lyons’

facilitate achieving common goals. The eastern corridor has been a priority for Lyons for nearly two decades due to the significant opportunity for future economic growth, but the property remained idle due to a citizen petition requiring a public vote for all annexations over five acres.

The “five-acre rule” was a lethal deterrent, despite a multi-year effort to recruit

Construction on the last of six Habitat for Humanity homes at 114 Park St. is complete.

Families will move in soon. PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS status as a day-trip destination on the front range will sustain our local businesses if we strike the right balance once social distancing can be relaxed. Additionally, the formation of the Lyons Urban Renewal Authority (LURA) will be instrumental in facilitating investment in redevelopment in downtown, and eventually on the eastern corridor if the plan is approved.

I consider the purchase, annexation, and re-sale of the eastern corridor one of the significant accomplishments of my tenure.

It was also an example of how fostering good relationships with our neighboring communities (Longmont in this case) can

Good News from LEAF

By Lory Barton Redstone Review LYONS – Our community is suffering now, but even more importantly, we are rising, and howling, and looking out for each other. We’re running a marathon, not a sprint. But we got this, Lyons. Read Barton on for updates and good news. Because in spite of Covid-19, there is so much good news.

Financial Help – The Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund (LEAF) has two new financial projects to partner with community members who are in need due to Covid19-related financial losses. Led by Lyons’ own Laura Levy, the first project is called Gig Grants. This resource helps working musicians and artists in the Greater Lyons area who have experienced significant financial loss due to Covid-19. Email Ellen@leaflyons.org or visit LEAF’s website or Facebook page to learn how to donate or how to apply for a Gig Grant. This is good news.

The second project is called Basic Needs 2020. Thanks

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developers. During my first term as Mayor, the board agreed to purchase the defunct water treatment plant from Longmont using reserves in the water and wastewater funds. Once owned by the town, the board was able to relax the five-acre rule for the eastern corridor (to ten acres) and then annex the property into Lyons. The property was recently sold to Paul Tamburello who has plans to improve the property.

The water and wastewater funds are replenished and Lyons can finally expect to see improvements to these blighted parcels.

Replacing the affordable housing lost in the floods has been another major initia-

in large part to a $10,000 grant from Lyons Community Foundation and the generosity of our community, LEAF is prepared to offer up to $40,000 in Basic Needs 2020 grants over the next three months. These grants are for people in our community who find themselves struggling financially due to Covid-19. Before Covid-19, LEAF’s Basic Needs grants budget for each month was $1000. Our new $40,000 Basic Needs 2020 fund reflects an increase of more than 1300 percent for three months. This is big and good news.

Email Ellen@leaflyons.org, or visit LEAF’s website or Facebook page to learn how to apply for a grant.

Food – LEAF’s food projects, Lyons Community Food Pantry and Lyons Meals on Wheels, are responding to changing needs, too. The number of families attending the weekly Food Pantry has doubled over the past few weeks. As our Food Pantry team works hard to access food and to prepare and distribute it safely, we are thrilled when our old friends or new acquaintances come to get food. It’s why we’re here.

Food Pantry operates from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Wednesday at Lyons Community Church. We have moved to a “curbside pick-up” model. Volunteers pre-prepare boxes of food based on household size. When you pull up (or walk up), a box containing a variety of nutritious and

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tive – one that has been challenging to solve. While we have made positive strides with the Habitat for Humanity homes, policies favorable to accessory dwelling units, as well as restricting short-term vacation rentals, more needs to be done. I hope the next board will remain focused on identifying additional solutions to ensure the workforce we depend on locally can afford to live in our community.

These are but a few examples of the issues that come in front of the Board of Trustees in a given term. Along the way I grew to appreciate the process as much as the progress. I tried my best to ensure everyone who engaged with the board felt heard and respected. I have been fortunate to serve with many talented elected officials and have valued their individual contributions as well. I’ve learned from them and they helped me a grow as a leader.

Public service is humbling, hard, and rewarding. I encourage everyone to consider serving in some capacity when the opportunity presents itself. I guarantee the experience will positively exceed your expectations.

The next few years will be a trying time for our country and our community. Please consider how you can help and then follow through with action. All in all, Lyons is a strong and resilient community, and we have shown that by working together we can overcome any challenge. I believe in you, Lyons, and thank you for allowing me to serve.

Connie Sullivan was elected Mayor on April 5, 2016. Prior to becoming Mayor, she served two terms on the Town Board of Trustees beginning in 2012. Mayor Sullivan did not run for re-election and Nick Angelo was elected Mayor on April 7, 2020 and he will replace Mayor Sullivan when sworn in with the new board on April 20. For comments or questions, Mayor Sullivan can be reached by email at csullivan@townoflyons.com.

tasty food will be placed in your vehicle. We will also offer milk, eggs, your choice of bread, fresh produce, and your choice of meat. The food we have is different every week and we have plenty for everyone. This is good news.

There’s no shame in coming to the Food Pantry. It’s a community-supported project, and many members of the community attend each week. If extra food and virtual hugs would be helpful, please come over to Lyons Community Church on Wednesdays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Lyons Meals on Wheels continues to deliver meals to clients who aren’t able to shop for or prepare at least one healthy meal each day. If you or someone you know needs a healthy and tasty daily meal, please contact Eris Andresen at andresen_eric@hotmail.com. We are also able to deliver boxes of supplemental food for people who aren’t able to get out and access food due to the current health crisis. Send email to Cindy Grundmeier at cjgrundmeier@gmail.com for more information or to sign up for supplemental food. This is all good food news.

Even More Good News – Care Calls are daily social phone calls to community members who find themselves quarantined at home and with limited social interaction.

Thank you to the caring volunteers who make these calls.

Continue LEAF on Page 15

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PAGE 4

REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

EDUCATE Lyons schools go remote learning programs during pandemic

By Tracy Pearce Redstone Review LYONS – On March 30, all St. Vrain Valley Schools including Lyons Elementary School (LES) and Lyons Middle / Senior Pearce High School (LMSHS) implemented a new online learning program for students during school closure.

The goal of the St. Vrain remote learning program, also referred to as distance learning, is to engage students in learning while maintaining strong relationships between students and teachers. This online learning program consists of a district curriculum, a teacher-led learning platform through Seesaw (grades PK-3) and Schoology (grades 4-12), weekly class meetings on Webex, occasional small group meetings, email consultations, and regular office hours.

LES second-grade teacher Wendy Parker said, “Going from business as usual to delivering a completely new paradigm of distance learning was a challenge. However, our staff developed a plan, learned new technology, and delivered it to Lyons families within days. Sure, it wasn't seamless, but with the support of our amazing students and their families, it is filling the gap and allowing our kids to progress – and, more importantly, to stay connected.”

Students will be issued their third-quarter grade as long as they continue to remain engaged and turn in assignments.

However, students who are unsatisfied with their third-quarter grade or would like to work towards a higher grade may

contact their teacher and discuss a plan for additional work.

Students without learning devices such as tablets or laptops can check them out through the district’s Community Resource Centers. St. Vrain has also provided hotspots for those without wi-fi throughout the region.

Although the district, administrators, and teachers have set up a robust remote learning program, some parents report feeling overwhelmed by the task of both working and teaching at home.

April Krause, a Lyons local and mother of four children (ages 14, 10, 5, and 16 months) said, “I feel the most difficult part of distance learning is trying to find enough time for each kiddo and helping them stay on task, while also keeping a close eye on a very curious 16-month-old.

It requires a lot of patience from all of us as I move from one child to the next, helping them with questions, struggles or guiding them through a lesson.”

Dawn Hunt, another parent of a student in Lyons schools, says that she has a new-

LES second grader Greer Hunt, 7, completes his math work using the new distance learning program.

Lyons Valley Preschool adapts to new strategies

By Heather Santesteban Redstone Review LYONS – Greetings, neighbors. It is important that we all bond together during this time and keep connected as a community. We at Lyons Valley Preschool (LVP) would like to say hello and let you know what we are doing for our very special part of the community – our LVP children.

LVP was founded after the 2013 floods, when the preschool in town closed and it was necessary to get the children back in school as soon as possible. We are a non-profit organization that provides educational and

community services to enrolled students. LVP has become a strong organization that prides itself on giving great care to students, families, and the town.

During this new, developing time, we’ve been challenged to adjust our teaching and learning strategies. Our teachers, parents, and children have risen to the task with amazing grace and skill. LVP is providing a holistic approach to engage with the community, providing family, parent, and schooling resources to our members. As a Montessori school, we are now providing Montessori inspired remote enrichment classes to our children, as well as finding resources that support at-home parenting and

found appreciation for teachers. “As a parent who works full time, working from home has been a challenge. However, when you add the additional challenge of also becoming your child's teacher, it becomes much more apparent of just how much schools and teachers really do for our children, and how important each and every teacher is in helping our children grow and develop,” Hunt said.

Even though parents are asked to do a balancing act, some see the distance learning program as an opportunity. Andrew Moore, the principal at LES and father of three students said, “As a parent myself, one thing that I’ve worked hard to do is to better understand my children’s learning style. By supporting them as they engage in academic tasks in a more relaxed environment than homework time, I’ve been able to sink in and listen a bit more to their thinking about math, for example. This time has provided me with a nice window into future ways to support their learning.”

Others, though, do feel a sense of lingering sadness at being without their school community. “We mostly just miss the kids: their smiles, their infectious positivity, those stolen moments to help kids overcome struggles and grab success,” said Parker. “We live for those moments, and so you can imagine how tough it is to suddenly be removed from that environment.”

Tracy Pearce is a writer and former English teacher whose work has appeared in The Colorado Review and Chicago’s Hyde Park Herald among other publications. She is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA in Creative Writing Program. She lives in Lyons with her husband and two children.

mental health support during this time. With all of our hearts, we thank each and every community member who has stepped up to support us during this period of adjustment, providing resources, personal time, and internet classes. We are grateful beyond measure.

We at LVP are committed to our teachers, parents, town, and most importantly our children. As part of the Lyons community, we want to send a strong message to our neighbors. And that is: Keep your chins up, Lyons. Hang in there. We all are capable of adapting in very healthy and successful ways, and we really are all in this together.

Heather Santesteban is the director of Lyons Valley Preschool and she serves on the Lyons Emergency and Assistance Fund Board as treasure.

Lyons Community Library becomes the virtual library full of services

By Kara Bauman Redstone Review LYONS – Storytime and crafts are back. Join McCourt Thomas on Tuesdays and Fridays starting at 10:30 a.m. on our webBauman site (lyons.colibraries.org).

Many publishers have graciously allowed their materials to be used for a wide and virtual audience, but we want to do our part to respect intellectual property and will only keep each story time available for 24 hours following its initial posting.

Remember the Busy Readers’ Book Club? Well, you might be less busy now (though it somehow feels much, much busier, I know), and we wanted to reschedule the discussion that was to happen on March 25. We will host a discussion of last month’s selection, Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy, via Zoom on Wednesday,

April 22 at 6:30 p.m.

On May 20 at 6:30 p.m., we will discuss My Antonia by Willa Cather. This title is available for unlimited download on OverDrive/Libby and Open EPUB. What does Open EPUB mean, exactly? In the United States, titles published before 1925 have no copyright and live in the public domain. My Antonia, the third in Willa Cather’s prairie trilogy behind O, Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark, was published in 1918. Of course, both of those titles are also readily available for download.

To participate in the book club discussions, email us at info@lyonlibrary.com to receive the Zoom sign in information.

We’ll also send the link to those we already have on our book club attendance list. Why not post the log-in information publicly? Well, you might have heard of “Zoom bombing” or “Zoom raiding.” Zoom bombing happens when an uninvited guest intrudes on your meeting – how

Scott Young

rude. Zoom hosts are encouraged to use a per-meeting ID instead of one’s personal meeting ID and to require a meeting password. Hosts should also enable the “waiting room” feature so they’re able to see who is attempting to join before allowing access. Other tips to avoid unwanted guests include disabling the “join before host” option, disabling screen sharing for nonhosts, and also disabling the remote control function. Don’t forget that Dana Petersen will help you with remote oneon-one tech, too. Schedule an appointment by visiting the library’s webpage.

While we’re talking about programs we’re offering via Zoom, let’s not forget our Italian Conversation Table. Now the table is your own, but it’s a little easier to bring wine. Michelle Visser will offer the first Zoom conversation on Tuesday, April 28 at 6 p.m. All levels welcome. Once again, please email info@lyonslibrary.com for meeting login information.

While we’re currently unable to circulate physical items, we offer several ways to check out and download digital materials.

Wanting to expand our downloadable options even before the COVID-19 crises was upon us, we contracted with well known OverDrive. By complete accident, the company set our go-live date as Friday, March 13, which happened to be the day we closed the physical library to the public. OverDrive (also accessible via the slick Libby app) will be a familiar tool for many of you as it is a popular platform at a number of public libraries. The app is free to download in the App Store and Google Marketplace and is the only app currently compatible with Kindle. In addition to an increased selection of ebooks and eaudio books, you also have the option to download popular magazine titles such as Backpacker, Good Housekeeping, Sunset, and Taste of Home.

You also still have access to the AspenContinue Library on Page 14

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 5

OPTIONS Giving teens a voice in local government

By Don Moore Redstone Review

dents’ Commission and to give its members a feel for what it’s like to be an elected official, the students operate their meetings more formally than most commissions.

At a recent video conference of a Commission meeting each member addressed each fellow member as “Commissioner,” Chair Cope held to the written agenda, and insured discussions were concise and related to the specifics of a given topic. Votes were taken at the conclusion of discussions – both on the agenda item being discussed and to advance the discussion to the next agenda topic.

It’s Sullivan’s hope that “someday this experience will make running for office seem less intimidating since they will have essentially done it.”

Currently the Commission, meeting about once a week,

LYONS – “Sometimes teen voices are not heard, so I want to help give them a voice. This committee is a way to get involved,” said Maya Rooney.

Rooney is a member of the Lyons MidMoore dle/High School Student Advisory Commission to the Lyons Board of Trustees (BoT), the purpose of which is to lend a voice and provide needed data to the BoT on issues that are of importance to the teen community of Lyons.

The Commission was formed about a year ago as the brainchild of Mayor Connie Sullivan, and LHS students Ava McCall and Olivia Cope. McCall graduated in 2019 and Cope, a current senior, took up the mantle as Chair, with Harrison Abernathy, senior and Vice Chair, Cate Richardson, junior and Secretary. Charlie Gau, junior, Beck Farrell, sophomore, Maya Sol Rooney, sophomore, Cassidy Batts, sophomore, are all voting members; and Peter Brent, junior and Chloe Els, sophomore round out the Commission as non-voting members.

As a champion of getting young people interested and directly involved The Lyons Middle/Senior High School Student Advisory Comission was in local government, Sullivan saw the formed by (L to R) Mayor Connie Sullivan, Ava McCall and Olivia Cope. lack of a program to engage high school students. When Cope, McCall, and others reached out to her in 2019 she asked the BoT is studying such issues as teen and preteen vaping, lowerto form this new commission as part of a change to the or- ing the voting age, better transportation to and from Bouldinance governing commissions. der, and ridding Lyons of noxious weeds with Because of her dedication to getting LHS students in- environmentally safe products and methods. volved in town government, Sullivan herself serves as the “At the BoT March 2, 2020 meeting, the Commission liaison to the group for the BoT as a non-voting represen- gained full support regarding all those issues and we were tative, and helps to connect the Commission to the BoT’s to study each of them further in an effort to come back priorities. To ensure a more robust experience for the stu- with more specific recommendations,” Cope said in a re-

Environmental Hydroponics Club starts up at Lyons Middle/Senior High School

By Charlie Gau, Lyons Middle/Senior High School student Redstone Review LYONS – Lyons has always been very accepting of ideas that pertain to increasing sustainability, with many businesses using compostable cups, forks, and spoons. The festivals held every year at Planet Bluegrass use reusable silverware, and station compost and recycling bins are available across the property. The purpose of these efforts is to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills.

The area non-profit organization, EcoCycle, received a two-year grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to partner with the town of Lyons to help the community achieve zero waste. Part of this outreach included internships that were offered to Lyons Middle/Senior students to help the cause. I became one of those interns, as did a high school friend of mine, sophomore Arjen Wynja.

At the end of our internships, Arjen and I decided to direct what we’d learned to help make and keep the school’s waste clean and have some fun. The school’s Environmental Club was born.

The club’s first project was to conduct a school audit to assess how accurately the school was using its then-current system, properly employing compost, recycle, and waste bin stations placed throughout the halls and classes. We discovered that most students had been following the system, and we concluded that the placement of bins, together with signs above them directing people where each item of waste was to go, would be sufficient.

Instead, we focused our attention on improvement. The club wanted to make something meaningful that had the potential to help the school and possibly the community at large. I had an idea that had intrigued me for a while that I also believed would be an engaging project for our club.

During a discussion we had about potential food sources in space, high school senior Nick Johnson had told me about an agricultural food growing system known as hydroponics, a growing method in which soil is not needed. The plants’ roots are enveloped in a nutrient-rich water solution to grow with artificial structures supporting it.

As I learned more about hydroponics, I thought it to be beneficial in sustainability and beneficial for the environment and the ever-growing human population.

The population could save resources, including land by planting food three-dimensionally as hydroponics provides the opportunity for plants to grow in any direction from any place.

I learned in biology class that plants’ cycle of producing fruit and vegetables are regulated through times of exposure to sunlight that happens naturally with seasonal changes. I proposed as a club we grow fruits and vegetables hydroponically, experimenting with changes in light cycles to see if we could increase the speed in which a plant could produce crops.

With my love of technology and Arjen’s love of gardening, we thought this would be a great way in which we could work on something to help the environment. With the help of our other club member, sophomore Sam Bostic, and our

cent interview.

By studying these issues and to learn more on individual issues, Batts is involved in the Ecology Commission regarding weed removal, and Farrell is further studying vaping with his involvement in a county-wide committee that is studying the issue in depth with plans to make recommendations to the Boulder County Board.

Sullivan believes that not only does this Commission bring invaluable perspective to town issues, but mostly, she wants “to help cultivate future community leaders by showing them the value of public service and the sense of community one feels from giving back through service.” Further, she said, “These students bring an invaluable perspective to town issues. I also think they have a powerful voice since they will inherit the outcomes of the decisions we make today.”

Sullivan further highlights the necessary research done by the Commission, as the BoT itself in dealing with a wide range of issues must rely upon the legwork done by the Commission to educate the BoT on where it goes with new policy.

Sullivan also has a broader vision of the Commission.

“I would love to see the school embrace this program and potentially offer students credit for the work they are doing. There aren’t many opportunities for students to get hands-on experience with local government, and Lyons can offer opportunities that might be more difficult in larger cities. I also think the town benefits a great deal from hearing from this constituency. I hope we keep it going and continue to attract more student commissioners.”

There is great mutual respect and admiration between Commission members and the Mayor. Even though Sullivan will cycle off Town government when her terms ends later this month, Commission members would like the BoT to find a way to keep her as its board liaison.

For her part the Sullivan says she is “extremely proud of this group of leaders. They have embraced the process and the responsibility of being advisers to the Board of Trustees. Working with them has been one of my all-time favorite experiences as Mayor.”

Don Moore is a retired lawyer and the author of Love is a Verb: Healing Yourself through Love, Gratitude and Compassion. He lives in Longmont with his wife Joanne.

club advisor, biology teacher Jefferey Klipstein, we got to work.

Our club meetings were fun as we bounced ideas back and forth on how to make our project, out of which came the idea of possibly grafting stems of plants to make mixtures of produce. As we kept

ered in cheesecloth to hold the seed of the plant. Finally, above the tank, we would place a grow light.

We were making slow and steady progress finishing the prototype, but in the two weeks before school closings due to COVID-19 that progress was stunted by

Charlie Gau, left, and Arjen Wynja, students at Lyons High School, founded the school’s Enviormental Club after completing a two-tear internship with Eco-Cycle. talking, we decided before we could do anything, we first needed to make a prototype of some sort of containment unit to grow the plants in. So, we started drafting up our design.

Klipstein had some unused fish tanks in his classroom and some aerators that were donated by a parent. The design we created used the fish tanks to hold the nutrient solution and the aerators sat on the ridge to keep water flow. On top of the nutrient solution, we would float Styrofoam cubes with a hole in the center and cov-

other commitments the team had. Then school was shut down because of the virus and we have not met since.

Our team still wants to finish this project though. So, we sit, wait and add this project to our list of things we look forward to doing after the Coronavirus pandemic passes Charlie Gau is a Junior at Lyons Middle/Senior High School and a member of the Lyons Student Advisory Commission, which is the student commission that advises the Lyons Town Board of Trustees on issues relevant to students.

Take care and stay safe!

XO, The Farmette Family

LyonsFarmette.com

PAGE 6

REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

MAYOR & TOWN BOARD ELECT The new Mayor elect and town board elect will be sworn in on April 20 at the regular Town Board Meeting LYONS – Between the time when the candidates decided to run for office in February and the time they will be sworn in on April 20, the world has changed dramatically. The goals and objectives that they talked about in February may have nothing to do with the challenges that they will face now.

The new board elect and the new mayor elect had a little time to reconsider what they think is the most important issue facing the town right now.

Nicholas Angelo, Mayor elect Nick Angelo became a town board trustee in 1995 when he won a coin toss. In 1996 he won his first fill term as a trustee.

In 1998 he won his first term as Mayor of Lyons and won a second term in 1998.

On the most challenging issue Angelo said, “Given the gravity of the current situation the Board of Trustees’ foremost responsibility is the public health and safety. The most challenging issue facing the Town of Lyons at present is the pandemic and to remain safe. To abide by the stay-athome order and the preventative measures of wearing a mask in public and social distancing are key elements that will enable us to return to normalcy as quickly as possible. After speaking with the Town Administrator recently, I reiterated that I would not lift our emergency proclamation any later than possible to provide for the resumption of economic activity nor would I lift it any sooner risking the public health. We must be vigilant as the curve flattens and not assume that all is well, far from it. I've asked Congressman Neguse to consider recommending the closing of open space to help protect Lyons as well. Obviously, the weather was fortunate as it will render the open spaces inaccessible for the next couple of weeks. Good. I was not elected to provide recreation for people who are not obeying recreating close to home, I was elected to protect the health of the people of Lyons. It would be inexcusable if the Board of Trustees neglected their duty. There is no policy that is overly aggressive, not when it comes to saving lives. Please be safe everybody.”

Hollie Rogin, Trustee elect Hollie Rogin moved to Lyons in 2018

and currently serves on the Planning and Community Development Commission.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in English from Illinois State University and a Master’s degree in Literature from Northeastern Illinois University. Rogin has lived in Boulder County since 1996.

She owns her own marketing strategy company, and her clients include large technology and medical device corporations as well as small cleantech startups.

Rogin said, “The most challenging issue is

heads the Lyons Volunteers.

Karavas has a B.S. in business administration with an emphasis in anthropology, economics and geology.

On the most important issue facing the town, Karavas said, “Our budget. How will our revenues be affected by the current shutdown, not only in the General Fund (i.e. sales taxes) but in our Utility Funds as more and more people stop paying their utility bills, while we still have continuous needs for capital improvements and re-

LYONS – Lyons Volunteers (LoV) is a Colorado non-profit corporation and IRS approved 501(c)(3) charity organization that was established after the 2013 flood devastated Lyons and surrounding communities. LoV’s original purpose was to recruit and organize local volunteers to provide the labor needed for the initial flood response and for long-term flood recovery efforts. LoV also served as a liaison and coordinator for the many out-of-town volunteer organizations who came to help Lyons residents.

In the first few years after the flood, LoV directly provided and coordinated thousands of hours of volunteer labor to answer flood impacted residents’ help requests.

LoV provided tools, building materials, and supplies for volunteers to accomplish the recovery work.

Kenyon Waugh, Trustee elect Kenyon Waugh is a 17- year resident of

Above, left to right, Lyons Board of Trustees elect: Hollie Rogin, Wendy Miller, Michael Karavas, Mark Browning, Greg Lowell, Kenyon Waugh. Far left, Mayor elect Nicholas Angelo. keeping our residents safe and healthy while minimizing the economic impact to the town to the greatest extent possible.”

pairs. How do we assist our businesses recover from the current shutdown and\or a longer duration shutdown.”

Wendy Miller, current Trustee and Trustee elect Wendy Miller will be serving her second term on the Board of Trustees. She has lived in Lyons for 15 years, being a renter most of the time. She has been on the Town Board since 2016. She said, “I represent the lower income class, the blue collar folks; the ones who have lost their voice as housing costs have soared and been systematically pushed out due to the changing demographics. I have fought for affordable housing since just after the flood, as a member of the Affordable Housing Commission.”

On the most important issue Miller said, “The most important issues facing the board now are definitely the budget because of the loss in sales tax revenue that we will be facing, and the safety of the residents is always an issue and figuring out the best way to deal with that.”

Mark Browning, current Trustee and Trustee elect Mark Browning will be serving his second term as a Lyons Trustee. He moved to Lyons in 2012 and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2018 after serving on the Planning and Community Development Commission and previously as Library District chair.

Browning received his Bachelor of Journalism and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Texas, then for 30 years as a lawyer, seven years in private practice and 23 as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas.

Browning said, “Most challenging issue facing the town board now? The budget.”

Michael Karavas, current Trustee and Trustee elect Karavas was first elected to the Lyons Board of Trustees in 2016. He serves as the Town Board liaison for the Ecology Board, Utilities and Engineering Board, and on the Lyons Urban Renewal Board and

Greg Lowell, Trustee elect Greg Lowell moved to Lyons in 2012 and was previously a lifelong resident of New Hampshire. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. in English in 1973.

Currently he is a member of Ecology Advisory Board (since 2013); Parks and Recreation Commission (since 2018); Lyons Volunteers (from 2013 to 2014).

Lowell said, “The most important issue

Lyons Volunteers joins Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund

By Rick DiSalvo Redstone Review

facing Lyons right now are if the COVID19 restrictions continue through the summer, the Town faces a budget shortfall.

The sales tax revenue last year was $1.3M, much of that from visitors and festivalgoers. Additionally, parks revenue will take a hit with loss of parking fees, camping revenue and festival leasing of parks.

The shortfall is not a huge issue now, according to Finance Director Jill Johnson at last week’s BoT meeting, as Town has about seven and a half months of cash flow reserve. But the sooner this crisis passes, the better the budget outlook.”

In the last few years, LoV’s flood recovery volunteer work has been reduced. The need for organizing and coordinating large groups of volunteers working for days or weeks on these projects seemed to be gone. While LoV continues to provide volunteer labor and materials to a few flood-impacted residents who are still finishing projects, LoV’s focus has shifted to providing volunteer labor for community service and beautification projects. For example, LoV has a “weed posse” group that helps the town control and eliminate noxious weeds and invasive species by hand-pulling these pests during the growing season, thus eliminating the need to use chemical control on many acres of Town property each year. LoV volunteers also help Habitat for Humanity build the affordable town homes at the east end of Park Street.

Recently, LoV built the Santa Sleigh for the Town’s 2019 Parade of Lights float, which will be used in many pa-

rades to come. LoV is also helping the Rocky Mountain Botanic Garden nonprofit organization construct the Lyons Botanic Garden at the former Foothills Mobile Home Park. LoV also helps Lyons meet its Green Star Community/Zero Waste goals at Lyons’ Zero Waste events like the Outdoor Games and Lyons Cleanup Day, and regularly collects scrap metal and block Styrofoam from residents and delivers these recyclables to the CHaRM facility in Boulder for recycling. In the spring and summer this year, LoV intends to help the Town with a number of maintenance projects, such as repairing and staining the Dog Park fence and refurbishing the archway at the Fourth Avenue footbridge to Bohn Park.

So, even though LoV has pretty much

Lyons. He grew up outside of Philadelphia and went to college in Washington, D.C. and Boston. He graduated from Bentley College with a B.S. in finance. He moved to Colorado in 1994 and worked in the software and consulting businesses. He graduated from the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder in 1999 with an M.B.A. Waugh said, “The most important issue facing the board will be the impact of COVID-19 on our community. Small business and many individuals have had their lives upended in the matter of a couple of weeks. Many of the great organizations in town have already sprung into action: the Chamber, Town EDC/RLF, LEAF and others. The town will also see a very significant impact to revenues, sales tax and other sources, while our utilities and other services are pressed to the limit from the stay-at-home order. Open communication and great flexibility will be needed to weather the next several weeks/months. The Town must also start preparing for rebound from this impact and a return to a new normal in our community. Support of residents, public health, businesses and the town itself will come from many sources and take many years to implement and deploy. Town staff has begun the work of prioritizing and modeling impact. It will take the same resiliency Lyons showed after the flood as we face this international event.” completed its original flood recovery mission, there is still a need for a volunteer labor organization in Lyons. In addition to these community projects we lead, we also believe it’s beneficial and important for Lyons Volunteers to be available and ready in the event of a crisis or disaster.

But maintaining a non-profit organization like LoV also involves administrative costs and volunteer hours to maintain the website and volunteer database, and to fundraise. It also requires the large expense of carrying liability and accident insurance coverage.

To minimize administrative expenses and ensure LoV can continue to provide volunteer labor help and leadership to Lyons residents and the Town, the LoV Board approached Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund’s (LEAF) leadership about Continue Volunteers on Page 15

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 7

INSIGHT Coronavirus: Learn to thrive, not just survive in seclusion

By John Gierach Redstone Review LYONS – Anyone who ever dreamed of helping to save the world probably imagined something more heroic than staying Gierach home and doing nothing, but when it comes to once-in-a-lifetime catastrophes like the Covid-19 outbreak, you don’t get to pick your moment; the moment picks you.

So here we all sit – at least the smart ones – stuck sheltering in place with whoever we’re living with and worrying about our livelihoods, our friends, our families and ourselves. It’s not easy. In confinement, otherwise normal kids can become a plague of locusts and husbands and wives begin to feel more like cellmates than a couple. But the basic rules for good relationships still apply: fold on the things that don’t matter, discuss the things that do, and hold the line on the few things that are non-negotiable. On the plus side, dogs are getting extra walks and cats have a surplus of laps.

It seemed to me that the Covid-19 situation dawned on us first gradually and then suddenly. It was only in the second week in March that things had begun to look ominous enough for me to run my travel plans past my doctor. (As a fly-fishing and travel writer with a new book about to come out, I had a pretty full schedule.) She said, simply, that anyone in my situation – early 70s with an underlying condition – would have to be nuts to even go to an airport, let alone get on a plane with hundreds of other people, all breathing the same recirculated air for hours at a time. The same went for book signings. I don’t draw stadium-sized crowds, but on a good day they’re crowds nonetheless – the exact opposite of social distancing.

When I emailed my friend Scott to cancel our fishing trip to British Columbia, he said he was leaning that way himself and added that he also wouldn’t be going to an upcoming family wedding. He lives near one of the hot spots, and although he felt fine, he said the thought of hugging his 94year-old mother made his blood run cold.

Within a week or so all my other trips

sided football game.

Trump has bungled the federal response from the beginning with no end in sight and events were cancelled – either by me strangers. When the shows were abruptly and he still doesn’t seem to be taking it seor by others – and Susan and I were shel- cancelled, he went home and sat there for riously, but he’s reportedly delighted by the tering in place, going out only for walks, 14 days to see if he’d get sick. He didn’t. high ratings his daily briefings are getting. groceries and, in my case, the occasional My niece, who’d been studying in He must not understand that most of us solitary afternoon of fishing. And we were Spain, escaped that country and is now who do watch the briefings are just waiting checking in with friends and family. In staying in Wales with her boyfriend and for him to shut the hell up so Dr. Anthony times like these we all have the same im- his family. Maybe rural Wales looked safer Fauci can tell us the truth. If nothing else, pulse as a mother duck to gather our duck- than the U.S. Or maybe she just preferred those who’ve been saying we won’t know lings for safety, even if all we can do if one the company. how bad a president Trump is until there’s turns up missing is to swim in circles and Another friend said, somewhat mysteri- a national emergency must feel a twinge of quack. Meanwhile, every sniffle or tickle ously, while he was holed up in New Mexico grim satisfaction. in your throat is worth a sleepless night. with a new girlfriend, a situation he deSo, what now? The rosy predictions from the White House that everything will go back to normal at the end of April have been contradicted by those who actually know what they’re talking about.

Fauci and other epidemiologists are saying it could be more like18 months before we have a vaccine and “herd immunity” begins to kick in, so it seems wise to hunker down for the long haul and learn to not only survive, but thrive in seclusion.

And you have to wonder what normal will look like when we finally peek from our burrows like rabbits. The big corporations will still be here – no worries there – but how many of the mom-and-pop restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores and such will be gone? For that matter, how many of the people we know will still be employed and solvent? In the two weeks prior to this writing, ten million people applied “In times like these we all have the same impulse as a mother duck to gather our ducklings for safety, for unemployment, and that’s even if all we can do if one turns up missing is to swim in circles and quack.” just the ones who could get through the crashing governSusan and I are among the lucky ones, scribed as “interesting.” However that turns ment phone lines and websites. Some of since we’re both writers used to working out, it’ll go down as one hell of a first date. the relief legislation at least sounds promfrom home anyway. Many of my friends are With extra time on our hands, many of ising, and I hope it is, but there’s a reason in the same boat: freelancers of one kind us can’t help watching endless news cov- why we tell cynical jokes about the govor another who work alone and are never erage of the outbreak, even though there’s ernment being here to help. sure where their next paycheck will come nothing new and the repetitiousness of it In the meantime, all most of us can do from, so they’ve grown frugal and some- is so mind numbing that even some jour- is stay home as much as possible, wash our what reclusive. As one friend put it, “Fi- nalists are advising us to take a break from hands until they’re raw and avoid other nally I have a skill that’s relevant.” the news once in a while. It makes sense. people, both to protect ourselves from Another friend had spent the winter We know it’s bad and getting worse, but I them and to protect them from us. You can promoting his book at trade shows where wonder how beneficial it is for our mental think of this as self-preservation or as alhe’d been in large crowds every day, shak- health to see the death toll read off nightly truism; it doesn’t matter which because ing hands with dozens if not hundreds of as if it were the halftime score of a one- both will yield the same behavior.

B •R •I •E •F •S Continued from Page 1

Economic aid grants of up to $1000 each will be made available to businesses with registered Lyons licenses and may be used to cover expenses such as rent and utilities.

The St. Vrain Market will initially seed this fund with a $10,000 contribution with a match by LCF. Funds will continue to accumulate through ongoing contributions from St. Vrain Market proceeds as well as individual donations. LCF and SVM are continuing to address basic human service needs in the Lyons area, serving those most vulnerable in our community.

Applications are available at https://www.lyonscf.org/thelyons-share.html. Should you wish to receive an electronic copy of this application to submit via email, please contact us directly at lyonsshare@lyonscf.org All applications must be submitted online by 5 p.m. April 20. First round of recipients will be notified around may 1, 2020

Dial 2-1-1 Colorado to connect with resources LYONS – In partnership with Mile High United Way, the Colorado State Emergency Operations Center activated 2-11 Colorado to connect Coloradans with human service resources statewide.

Coloradans can reach 2-1-1 Colorado online at 211Col-

orado.org, by dialing 2-1-1 or texting your Zip Code to 898211. Do not call 911 for COVID-19 questions unless it is a medical emergency.

The 2-1-1 Colorado number is a confidential and multilingual service connecting people across the State of Colorado to vital resources in their local community. Also 2-1-1 serves as one central location where people can access over 7,500 health and human service resources.

Callers may experience long wait times, as demand for information is high. In order to reduce wait times and meet Coloradans’ needs, 2-1-1 Colorado is hiring. Coloradans can also reach 2-1-1 Colorado online at 211Colorado.org.

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REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

EXPRESSIONS Plague of bullfrogs here on the Front Range Bullfrogs eat almost anything, including each other.

By Greg Lowell Redstone Review LYONS – The deep bass call of a bullfrog is to many a welcome sound of summer nights, but here in Colorado it’s a call of death for many of the state’s marsh and pond dwellers.

Lowell Jeremiah was a bullfrog (in the most popular song of the year in 1971, Joy to the World, sung by Three Dog Night), but he’s hardly a good friend of Colorado’s native wildlife. The American bullfrog is an invasive species here in Colorado that has found a too-comfortable niche. While bullfrogs are native to the eastern United States, they were not found in the West until an appetite for the French delicacy, frog legs, caught on with California restaurateurs in 1898 and some of those gastronomically-targeted amphibians escaped into the wild and literally leap-frogged their way from wetland to wetland over the next 120 years.

With an indiscriminate appetite, bullfrogs dine on everything from their fellow frogs to birds as large as ducklings, wreaking environmental havoc here in the West. In their natural environment, bullfrog numbers are kept in check by water snakes, alligators, herons and snapping turtles, but here in Colorado effective bullfrog predators are largely absent or unable to make a dent in bullfrog numbers.

Bullfrogs, which can weigh two pounds, dwarf native amphibians in size and fecundity. And as global warming destroys the habitat of native species, it expands habitat suitable for bullfrogs. The threat of invasive bullfrogs is not confined to the American West. Their numbers also threaten native species worldwide from China to Europe to the Caribbean islands.

Opportunistic feeders, and cannibals Bullfrogs eat just about anything they can fit into their wide mouths: birds, mice, snakes, lizards, turtles, fish, other frogs and even each other. While other frog species are also cannibalistic, bullfrogs take it to another level going so far as to use each other as meal tickets to extend their population. Bullfrog tadpoles take two seasons to grow into adults. While fish will prey on the smaller tadpoles of other frog species, the larger bullfrog tadpoles are less attractive, thereby increasing their odds of making it to adulthood.

The two-year maturation cycle supplies adult bullfrogs with a reliable source of prey – their own progeny. Bullfrog tadpoles gorge on abundant algae, then transform to juveniles that the adult frogs eat in a self-perpetuating food chain. This reliable food source allows bullfrog populations to grow large and put pressure on the native ecosystem. To escape predation by their moms and dads, young bullfrogs move from their birth areas. A study in Arizona showed the young frogs, taking advantage of summer rains, will move from wetland to wetland, covering up to six miles in a few weeks.

The opportunistic predators can easily find areas to thrive and not only displace but eat threatened native

species like the northern leopard frog and the threatened Prebles meadow jumping mouse, which lives in streamside wet areas. In the absence of predators, bullfrogs are prolific. One female bullfrog can lay 20,000 eggs in a single clutch, whereas most native frogs lay 2,000 to 3,000.

“Once you have bullfrogs you don’t have native frogs; they’re able to wipe them out in two weeks,” said David Hall, University of Arizona research scientist, in a recent Cool Green Science online article.

Bullfrogs everywhere along Front Range Here along the Front Range, this threat to native species is apparent and a move is underway to blunt it.

Employees of Boulder County Parks and Open Space, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, Jefferson County Open Space, the cities of Longmont and Fort Collins, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have teamed up to form the “Northern Leopard Frog and American Bullfrog Working Group.”

The geographical breadth of the group speaks volumes about the spread of bullfrogs along the Front Range. The impetus for creation of the group was a severe decline of the northern leopard frog, which is a Boulder County “species of special concern” and a Tier 1 species of greatest conservation need as identified by CPW, along with a concomitant increase in bullfrog numbers at the leopard frog habitat areas.

“Eradication would be ideal but that’s simply not possible given the widespread introduction of bullfrogs,” said Mac Kobza, Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) wildlife biologist.

Kobza said the group identifies the most important areas under their control to remove bullfrogs and then encourage native northern leopard frogs and other native amphibians

The Census creates money for roads and projects and power for states to redistrict

By Katherine Weadley Redstone Review LYONS – Online, over the phone, on paper: there are a variety of ways to fill out the Census. Online and phone response is available through July 31. If you have not self-responded by then Census Takers, often called enumerators, may come to your door. These census field workers are cur-

rently scheduled for May 13.

However, 2020 Census field operations may be delayed due to the evolving Covid-19 crisis. To avoid an inperson visit at any time just self-respond to the census. A special code is not required, and you don’t need to wait for any reason. If you are one of the many people in small and rural communities across Colorado who use a P.O. box, you must take initiative yourself to take the Census. A census code will not be mailed to your P.O.

box. A code is not required to take the census.

This puts communities whose residents largely depend on P.O. boxes at risk for not getting a complete count, and thereby missing out on federal money and government representation. That’s why it is important to take initiative on your own to fill out the census. Small and rural communities are considered “hard to count populations.” Work done by the statewide Colorado Complete Count Rural Subcommittee determined the main challenges for rural census response are lack of internet and use of P.O. boxes. Not everyone has a computer or access to internet.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “households without a standard street address, e.g., households in primarily rural areas that receive mail only though a post office box will be hand-delivered a census packet.” P.O. boxes can be used to retrieve mail in any place and can be used by business. It is for these reasons the Census Bureau does not mail census forms to P.O. boxes. The bureau explains that census data is driven by where people live and not by where they get mail.

Census Questions There are ten main questions on the 2020 Census. Only one person in the

to recolonize and thrive. BCPOS is focusing on their open space areas out on the southern plains, including Rock Creek Farm (the Carolyn Holmberg preserve) and the Mayhoffer open space. The Mayhoffer open space is next to a City of Boulder open space parcel where bullfrogs have been controlled and leopard frog numbers have rebounded.

“The entire BCPOS open space system has been affected by bullfrogs,” said Kobza. “But the southern grasslands were until recently a stronghold of leopard frogs.”

Those leopard frogs are being seriously threatened by bullfrogs who are usurping the ecosystem and also preying on the leopard frogs.

Let’s go electrofrogging Frog hunting is typically done at night when the bull-

frogs’ eyes reflect light from hunters’ headlamps. A shocking device known as an electrofrogger is then placed in the water near the frog and stuns it. The bullfrog is then humanely euthanized with a sedative. The dead frogs are then donated not to French restaurants but to the St. Vrain Valley School System for use in their biology and anatomy classes. Bullfrog tadpoles are netted in shallow ponds or wetland pools to stem the population.

Other control methods include draining ponds at the right time of year, or improving the habitat by restoration such as removing overly dense cattails.

“Through these methods, we expect to see gradual reduction of bullfrogs and gradual increase in leopard frog numbers,” said Kobza.

By repeated annual removal of bullfrogs in high priority areas, the group hopes to reduce bullfrog numbers to zero in select zones, and then keep that number flat with minimum annual control followed by a gradual recolonization of breeding leopard frogs.

Lyons resident Greg Lowell serves on the town’s Ecology Advisory Board and Parks and Recreation Commission. He was recently elected to the Lyons Town Board and will serve a two-year term.

household needs to reply to the census.

The census is based on what was happening in your household on April 1, which was Census Day. Everyone in the house needs to be counted including babies. If you have joint custody of a child, count that person where he or she lives most of the time. If a child is living equally in two separate households then wherever that child was staying on April 1 is where he or she is counted.

There is not a citizenship question on the Census, however, it does ask questions about race. It specifically asks if people are of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. You can skip this question if you wish. You do not have to answer every question on the census in order to get counted in your

community. If you skip a question or two nobody from the Census Bureau will follow-up looking for the information. Of course, it is preferable to our government that the census is filled out in its entirety, but it is a not a requirement.

Why fill out the census?

Continue Census on Page 15

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Staying Healthy: A poem

By Sally King Redstone Review Deep breaths on her daily walk Hands in the dirt, turn it over Centering prayer Thieves oil on her hands and feet Vit C, D with turmeric and ginger Hot Nettle tea Remembering to gargle with salt before bed I’m going to turn 70 in early May, so much for any big party plans. Anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, preschool play dates, dates, marriages, and all the other celebrations that will go unmarked this year; at least in the way we had planned. To all the seniors in High School, know that your community is proud of you, WAY TO GO! Social distancing is a new term for wellness, my own and others. It’s completely counterintuitive. There will be no taking of chicken soup to my neighbor.

Being a philosophical type I am speculating on how this shared experience will inform us on a collective level. Will we be more aware of our shared humanity?

The thigh bone’s connected to the knee bone. A new level of consciousness has been delivered to us whether we want it or not.

I have heard that there is an increased interest in poetry as we turn toward the inner where our emotional wisdom resides. Perhaps the heart knows the way?

While in incubation The unformed butterfly heart of the nation, somersaulted like the hang-man in the tarot deck.

Upside down she tumbled into the unfamiliar, viewing life’s constructions with revived creativity. “ What now?” she whispered.

Sally King is a local artist who has created whimsical bears and delightful wild flower acrylic paintings to enhance the appearance of Lyons all over the town. She lives with her husband John King near Lyons.

Her Victory Garden, 4’x4’ acrylic on canvas, by Sally King

Jane, the Turtle who Fell from the Sky Illustration by Sally King, story by Sunshine Swan and Sally King One day Kai’s Mother walked out into a big grassy field.

When suddenly she heard a thunk At first she didn’t see anything but When she looked down again She saw a small green turtle, about the size of a half dollar.

She turned to look up into the sky and saw a big bird flying overhead.

Kai’s mother picked up the small turtle and held it in her hand.

She noticed that the turtle’s shell was cracked.

She brought the turtle home and glued the shell together.

When Kai came home from school he named the turtle Jane.

They looked the turtle up in a book and discovered that she was a Western Painted Turtle.

Who is that masked heroine?

It’s Priscilla Cohan, helping out in times of trouble.

As part of her quarantine practices Priscilla is working with Lynda Barry’s book of daily drawing projects, Making Comics.

Artists are especially active in times of upheaval and change. Artists are translators, articulating their own experience as a reference point for the viewer. With these comics, Priscilla Cohan honors comic artist Lynda Barry and her book, Making Comics, a book of daily practices to help one become a comic artist. Priscilla had only been working with the exercises for a few weeks before this time of response to a threat of deadly illness. Now her drawings are a personal reflection of these events. The character is Priscilla herself. The Batman mask was a suggestion in Barry’s book, but it appears to be a perfect fit in these times. Perhaps it’s a character that Priscilla will keep.

PAGE 10

REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

COMMUNITY LCF launches the Lyons Share: a small business relief fund

By Kristen Bruckner Redstone Review LYONS – With all that is happening in our community and our world, Lyons residents want to know how to help. While many Bruckner in town experienced the reality of taking care of our own through the floods of 2013, the nature of this crisis is different and may be leaving residents at a loss for how to contribute. Fortunately, area non-profits and service organizations excel during crisis and have sprung into action.

The first and most important action we can take is to STAY HOME. By following the recommendations on social distancing, stay at home orders and mask wearing, we can affect the trajectory of this horrible virus. There are other community-minded actions we can take such as sewing masks for others, the “8 p.m. howling,” supporting the Lyons restaurants that are open, as well as reaching out to those who are living alone and feeling especially isolated.

Beyond this basic adherence to social practices, there are many groups spearheading important work to aid those most vulnerable. The Lyons Community Foundation has launched “The Lyons Share: a small business economic relief fund” in partnership with the St. Vrain Market.

The fund, seeded with proceeds from the market and matched by LCF, is designed to help local businesses survive the impact

ping practices, customers automatically contribute to this fund.

Economic aid grants of up to $1,000 each will be made eligible to business with a registered Lyons business license and may be used to pay rent, employees or other operating expenses. Applications are available now at www.lyonscf.org.

The deadline for the first round of submissions is April 20, with the first round of grants awarded around May 1. Individuals The Lyons Community Foundation has launched “The Lyons may also contribute to this Share: a small business economic relief fund” in partnership fund by making a direct with the St. Vrain Market donation to the LCF Lyons Share fund. There of COVID19’s forced business closures. are other federal and state economic aid and Neil and Connie Sullivan, owners of the granting programs kicking off. The Lyons St. Vrain Market, recognized their unique Chamber is doing a great job of informing position as an essential business and local businesses on how best to navigate reached out to LCF to establish this fund these options. in the hopes of providing economic relief The Community Foundation of Boulder to others. By diverting some of their in- County, LCF’s parent organization, has creased revenues into this fund, they hope also responded to the crisis in a big way. It to aid local businesses with immediate has launched a COVID19 Response Fund, needs such as rent and utilities. By shop- already raising almost $400K. Within days ping locally for items such as fresh produce, of announcing the first round of funding, in-house baked goods and other grocery es- LCF was able to secure $5,000 to help sentials in an environment of strict social Lyons Emergency Assistance fund (LEAF) distancing, deep cleanings, and safe shop- with those most vulnerable in our commu-

nity, boosting services for the food pantry, meals on wheels and other basic needs.

Beyond Lyons, other area nonprofits are addressing tremendous needs. The Boulder Homeless Shelter is offering a program where individuals can donate to provide meals to the homeless. A restaurant group in Boulder has collaborated to provide meals to hospital workers. With all the options to help, it can be overwhelming. The following is an abbreviated list of some organizations doing critical work to aid in this crisis.

Please visit these websites for more information and be sure to verify for legitimacy with any online donation or funding sites.

• Lyons Community Foundation: Lyons Share: small business economic relief fund, www.lyonscf.org.

• Lyons Chamber of Commerce: navigating economic relief, www.lyonschamber.org.

• Community Foundation of Boulder County: directing a wide variety of responses, www.commfound.org.

• Boulder Homeless shelter: providing assistance for area homeless, www.Bouldershelter.org.

• Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund: food pantry, meals on wheels and other services, www.Leaflyons.org.

• Bch.org: Boulder Community Hospital Foundation, assistance for front line workers, www.bch.org • Town of Lyons: COVID website http : / / www. townoflyons. com / 652 / COVID-19.

Kristen Bruckner is a volunteer on the Lyons Community Foundation Communications Committee and writes columns for the LCF. She lives in Lyons.

Information on senior programs during COVID-19 outbreak

By Kathleen Spring Redstone Review LYONS – Just a couple of months ago, shelter-in-place was something we were more likely to hear about in a movie when there was a monster tornado coming, or a zombie attack And, forget about Spring the days when trying to scare the grandkids with tales of walking two miles to school in a blizzard was a commanding story. This COVID-19 pandemic will likely be the worst thing that has happened on Earth in our collective memory and vocabulary until the day we die.

Bits of life go on. Seniors are getting around to cleaning out closets and organizing photos. They are also learning new skills, like how to use Zoom for video conferencing family birthday parties, and how to use services like Food Grub to get groceries or meals delivered.

Here is a list of closures that pertain to Lyons seniors: Only essential services are open, like the grocery store, post office and restaurants doing carry-out orders. The Walter Self Senior Center and the Lyons Regional Library doors are locked. There is no need to return your library items to any Front Range library until further notice. The boxes are locked, and there will be no late fines. The Town of Lyons’ senior programs, and the Loving Lyons Senior Group (LLSG) activities are cancelled, including the April three-year anniversary celebration of the rejuvenated Senior Center. The exercise program is cancelled, and the instructor encourages seniors to take short walks around town, wearing facemasks, and/or participate in the free online senior-oriented exercises offered by Silver Sneakers.

As far as meals, all Monday night senior church suppers and pot lucks have been canceled until further notice.

The Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) is continuing to provide lunches at the Walt Self Senior Center for now. Lunches are served in boxes, and distributed at noon in front of the Senior Center (next to the post office) on Wednesdays and Fridays to take home. New and continuing participants should call 303-441-1415 before 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays to order a meal for the following day. Boulder County seniors 60 years old and over pay $3, or what they can afford, when they pick up the boxes.

All four Lyons area churches’ services and programs are canceled, due to no more than ten people allowed to

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gather at a time in public places. If you go to their web pages, there are spiritual guidance series on video, and some have current audio messages. If you are in need of some spiritual counseling, seniors can call Pastor Emily Kintzel, Lyons Community Church at 303-823-6245, or Pastor Mickey Lohr, the River Church at 303-823-6469, no matter what your religious affiliation is.

It is wise to sign up for Facebook and join the “Lyons Longevity” group, as I post the latest information there daily. Get on the LLSG email list to be notified when the senior meals and activities resume: LovingLyonsSeniorGroup@gmail.com.

The Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund (LEAF) operates several programs to aid seniors in need. First, it runs Meals on Wheels, which delivers five meals a week to people who are unable to shop for or prepare at least one healthy meal per day. The charges are on a sliding scale. Call 720-8644309 or go to www.LEAF.org.

LEAF also runs the Food Pantry for people in the Greater Lyons area on Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Volunteers now operate the distribution on the sidewalk in front of the Lyons Community Church. Participants pull up in their car, and volunteers will place a food box inside the car for you. For the safety of everyone, it requested that you wear a mask and remain in your car. Or, if you want to donate a box of food, you can

call to arrange for drop-off on Wednesday mornings.

LEAF has a Basic Needs and Resource Matching program.

Director Lory Barton and her team are re-evaluating what can be done in the form of financial grants to help locals due to the dramatically increased number of applicants. She is also working with Lyons Volunteers to see if there is a way to meet the needs of homebound seniors who require someone to run errands, like medication refills or urgent grocery needs.

Seniors who are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, alone, and more, can contact Cherie Maureaux of LEAF’s mental wellness program for help by sending her a confidential email to MentalWellness@LEAF.org or by leaving a message at 720-295-9227.

LEAF will bill Medicaid for clients who carry this health coverage. Other clients will be asked to contribute to the cost of services using a very generous sliding scale. Nobody will be turned away due to inability to pay. Currently the sessions are being done online.

Local real estate agent Laura Levy initiated a monthlong Facebook fundraiser to aid LEAF, and it raised $10,000 the first day. Levy contributed $2,000 to get it Continue Seniors on Page 15

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APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 11

ISSUES Summit Housing development plan, last Habitat unit completed and two new ADUs

By Amy Reinholds Redstone Review

COMMENTARY: AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN LYONS

LYONS –While we are sheltering at home during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic under the Colorado governor’s executive order, decisions about housing in the Town of Lyons still continue. Updates this month include affordable rentals subsidized and monitored by federal funding programs; the final Habitat for Humanity duplex, which is affordable home ownership funded by federal funds, nonReinholds profit dollars, and volunteer hours; and accessory dwelling units, lower-cost yet market-rate rentals.

Affordable rentals in Lyons Valley Park The Lyons Board of Trustees approved a development plan agreement with Summit Housing Group at an April 13 virtual meeting, the final step in multiple approval processes for 40 affordable rentals in the Lyons Valley Park Subdivision.

Summit is under contract with landowner Keith Bell to purchase both Tract A of Filing No. 8 for 21 townhomes, and 19 existing platted single-family-home lots in the subdivision, all affordable rentals to households at 60 percent of the area median income, required and monitored through federal funding programs. The funding comes from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and also the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. An affordability covenant for the site is required for a minimum of 35 years, based on both the LIHTC and Disaster Recovery funding requirements and oversight, and Rusty Snow, president of Summit Housing Group, told the Lyons Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC) during the March 10 Development Plan Review that Summit typically looks at re-syndicating the tax credits and extending the affordability period another 30 years.”

In February 2019, the State of Colorado Housing Board approved Summit’s application for CDBG-DR funds (at a maximum of $100,000 per home, $4 million total for 40 total rental homes).

In the Town of Lyons, Summit will be paying all required development fees, impact fees, and connection fees, and won’t receive any tax breaks for the development. The development plan agreement approved April 13, and available on the town website, spells out the water share dedication requirements for the developer (Summit) to purchase for the total 40 homes to be built: either 49 Lake McIntosh water credits or 35 Colorado Big Thompson water shares. The water share prices vary based on availability and market prices. The agreement also describes that requirements for the developer to provide infrastructure like electrical service, public improvements, and landscaping.

The 19 single-family Summit homes are on lots already platted and entitled, requiring only standard building permits like elsewhere in town. For the 21 multifamily buildings, “Lyons Valley Townhomes” on Tract A of Filing No.

B •R •I •E •F •S Continued from Page 7

Lyons Resources during COVID-19 LYONS – Watching the world-wide events of late reminds us that Lyons is a community that has always prided itself on taking care of our neighbors and local businesses, many of which have felt the pain of a downturn in sales.

As citizens, we are all making adjustments to our daily routines to ensure the health and safety of our families, friends, and neighbors.

Many of our local businesses have also made great strides and efforts to keep their stores and restaurants safe, clean and open for business, including expanding their services to have de-

114, and 116 Park St. Applicants were selected to purchase each of the six homes by April 2018, and the process to make Habitat for Humanity homes a reality in Lyons started at least three years before that. The first duplex at 112 Park St. was completed in April 2019, and the second duplex at 8, there was an earlier step on March 10 where the PCDC 116 Park St. was completed in August 2019.

Building Habitat for Humanity to Lyons was a long road held a public hearing, reviewing the Development Plan application and listening to comments from the public that started in 2014. The proposal for Second and Park Streets started in 2015, and we will be forever grateful to and a presentation from Summit.

The PCDC approved the development plan for the 21 Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley for not givtownhomes, all with two bedrooms. The plan shows five ing up on affordable housing in the Town of Lyons.

Two more market-rate ADUs approved buildings: four two-story fourplex buildings and one twoAt the April 6 Lyons Board of Trustees meeting, two more story fiveplex building. The PCDC approval came with more than a dozen conditions, including required bike accessory dwelling units, also known as ADUs, mother-inparking of at least one per home, electric vehicle charging law apartments, or carriage houses, were approved for resistations, enclosed storage units for each home, an ease- dential lots in Lyons that already have a main house. One ment to allow access from Carter Drive to the adjacent application was for a traditional-style carriage house in back 12993 N. Foothills Highway property and easements for of the lot at 306 Stickney St. The other was for the first aptown utilities, bear-proof trash receptacles, and a deten- plication for a tiny home on wheels ADU at 225 Evans St., tion pond concept to be added and implemented in the more than a year after tiny homes on wheels were first aldevelopment plan to prepare for a 100-year stormwater lowed as ADUs in Town of Lyons code.

Even after the changes were made to town code in 2016 event, approved by a town engineer before a building permit is granted. The PCDC commissioners also added a to allow ADUs to share utilities with the main house, there have been only six other ADUs approved in those past four years. Adding eight new market-rate but smaller longterm rental units to Lyons in the sixand-a-half years since the flood is helpful, but it is not an overwhelming success. Our town can do more to ease the affordable rental problem. There are two future changes that we need to see related to the ADU policy that will support safe and affordable rentals in the Town of Lyons.

First, as intended in 2016 with the changed policy that waived the additional utility connect costs, the now estimated 55 non-compliant ADUs in the Town of Lyons need to be brought A development plan agreement with Summit Housing Group has been approved into the program. This was a need pubfor construction of 40 affordable rentals in the Lyons Valley Park Subdivision. lic safety officials expressed so they would know which single family home prohibition against short-term vacation rentals in the lots have other households living in the back, to respond lease agreements as a condition. The conditions came appropriately when there are emergencies.

Secondly, I would like to see incentives to property ownfrom concerns from neighbors, PCDC commissioners, and consulting agencies such as the Lyons Ecology Board and ers who build ADUs to rent at below market rate. Hollie Rogin, elected to the new Board of Trustees in this month’s the Lyons Utilities and Engineering.

New homeowners will soon move into the final election, has suggested swapping increased allowable square footage on ADUs for guaranteed limits on rent inHabitat for Humanity duplex The good news from Habitat for Humanity is that the creases. Over the past two terms, Trustee Wendy Miller construction on the final duplex building at 114 Park St. has stated that she wanted a way for ADU property owners to commit to lower rents, make ADUs affordable to loweris completed.

“There may be a subcontractor finishing up the land- income renters, or agree to take tenants with housing scaping, but we should have a Certificate of Occupancy vouchers. However, there was not enough support from any day now as we finished inspections and punch list,” other trustees, or implementation ideas from town staff at said David Emerson, Executive Director of Habitat for that time to pursue those requirements. Now that Miller Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley. “The families will be has been reelected to the Board of Trustees in this week’s election, and Rogin is also speaking out in favor of affordmoving in any day now.”

Since January 2018, volunteers from Lyons and commu- ability requirements for ADUs, there might be enough monities across the region have been working weekends and mentum for the future board to take this up. I hope to see weekdays on constructing three duplex buildings at 112, Miller’s and Rogin’s ideas supported by the next board.

livery and curbside pickup that will reduce too many people-to-people interactions.

We appreciate that many of you are also limiting exposure and practicing safe, social distancing. The Lyons Chamber of Commerce has a page at https://www.lyonschamber.org/newsevents that is continually updated regarding local business offerings. Town of Lyons has a dedicated COVID-19 webpage at https://www.townoflyons.com/652/COVID-19 with resources and information all in one spot.

Need a volunteer pick-up service?

LYONS – Lyons Volunteers (LoV), in collaboration with Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund (LEAF), is working on a plan for picking up essential items for at-risk area residents.

Please let us know if you or someone you know has an urgent need for a service like this.

If you have an urgent need, please fill out a Help Request form on the Lyons Volunteers website. If you have family or neighbors who can meet your needs, that may be your best alternative, especially if they can consolidate trips and minimize close contact with others.

If you or someone you know still needs someone to get items, let us know so we can plan accordingly. At this time we are only assessing need. We can’t yet to commit to specific services until we understand the needs.

Any service would adhere to current recommended practices: Recipients will stay inside and volunteers will stay outside and practice social distancing (sixplus feet apart from anyone in public)

Hand washing, use of sanitizer and avoidance of contact with un-sanitized surfaces is essential.

Volunteers will wear fresh gloves to minimize potential contamination Travel between communities should be held to a minimum.

Use of paper money or coins is to be avoided.

Pre-payment on-line or electronic payment such as PayPal is the alternative.

We all need adequate, but NOT EXCESSIVE food, medicine, and hygiene supplies.

We all need to heed the instructions of public health officials as they develop.

For questions about this service, use the www.lyonsvolunteers.org help request form.

Someone will respond to you by phone or email. To serve as a volunteer, please email Volunteer@leaflyons.org.

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REDSTONE • REVIEW

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

FOUNDATION Teamwork and coaching bring success to wrestling program in Lyons

By Matt Booth Redstone Review LYONS – Lyons Middle/Senior High School’s motto is “Small and Mighty.” Many of our programs illustrate how true this motto is and the wrestling teams are no exception.

When I moved to Lyons, I didn’t know we had a wrestling team and I certainly didn’t realize the longstanding success our team has had. This success is not serendipitous though. We’ve been blessed with outstanding coaches over the years.

Coach Linn Long has been with the Lyons wrestling team for decades, and Coaches Brandon Lohr and Gary Gantzer are infusing our program with a level of excitement and passion that is unmatched.

Most of my experience is with Coach Gary Gantzer since my daughter wrestles on the middle school team. He is a Pittsburgh native, Iron City, who grew up wrestling. Gantzer teaches his wrestlers many lessons beyond technique. He teaches the kids what it takes to be successful, to be good people, and to be supportive of others. He loves these kids and watching how he gives the same level of intensity, guidance, encouragement and is amazing to witness. I asked Coach Gantzer why he is so passionate about wrestling.

“In my humble opinion, I don’t believe that there is a better sport out there that helps kids and young adults to become responsible adults. Wrestling creates ultimate accountability. One on one. No place to hide on the mat.

No one to blame for losses. And no one to take credit for your wins,” he said.

Here’s what some of the middle school parents think about our wrestling program: Lori LeGault said: “Coach Gary Gantzer is a really great coach and is so encouraging and patient with all of the kids, especially since many are new to wrestling. I’ve

Left to right: Ashely Booth, Cullin Lawhon, Mebratu Duckwitz, members of the Lyons wrestling team. learned what an emotional sport wrestling is, and so the support of the coaches and peers is really important. I also like the discipline of wrestling, and the good sportsmanship I saw between wrestlers at matches/tournaments. I also like how encouraging the teammates were with each other, good teamwork skills.”

Lynne Johan said, “I’d say to any parent to just let your child try it. Coach Gary has been so good about teaching the kids the basics of wrestling, the safety and hygiene that go along with it, and how to be a part of a team. The Lyons coaches provide a safe environment for the kids to try it out. So many kids end up loving it.”

Ben Lawhon said, “Participation in the wrestling program builds self confidence in the kids who participate.

Wrestling is a challenging sport, and it provides a great opportunity to help kids learn what they are capable of. “

Here are some Lyons Wrestling results for High School and Middle School teams for this past year, with coaches Linn Long, Brandon Lohr and Gary Gantzer. The team members for Lyons High School were Hunter Powell, Xander Keelick, Oran Huff, Christian Keller, Dequlyn Keller, Lochlan Osborne, Monte Pickering, David Gardner, Logan Odell, Wyatt Bashor, Karson Bean, and Garrett Roberts. Team members for the Middle School were Connor Schew, Grady Pickering, Leo LeGault, Angel Bustos, Cullin Lawhon, Ashley Booth, Mebratu Duckwitz, Mike Ping, Henry Neal, Jack Johann, Kayden King, and Trevor Moore.

Lyons finished second as a team at the Limon Badger Invitational; Lyons finished first as a team at the Wiggins Invitational; Lyons finished second as a team in 2A Region 4; and Lyons finished seventh as a team in 2A State.

Both Karson Bean and Oran Huff notched their 100th win of their high school careers.

Seven wrestlers qualified out of Regionals to State: Hunter Powell (106), Oran Huff (126), Christian Keller (132), Dequlyn Keller (138), David Gardner (145), Logan Odell (160), and Karson Bean (195).

Three Lyons Lions went to the State Finals: Oran Huff (126), David Gardner (145), and Karson Bean (195).

Oran Huff went 46-1 during the season and secured his second straight State Title.

In Middle School SVVSD District tournament highlights, Connor Schew finished fourth at the 6th grade District tournament; Leo LeGault finished third at the 6th grade District tournament; Ashley Booth finished first at the 7th and 8th grade District tournament; Trevor Moore finished first at the 7th and 8th grade District tournament.

Congratulations to the entire High School and Middle School wrestling team and coaches. We are Lyons Wrestling and we’ve got GRIT.

At Home with Redstone At left, Cathy Rivers and her assistant Louie take a break from trying to be productive in the office. On the right, Tio and Olive Stott relax and discuss town news.

Since travel is restricted, send us photos of what you are doing at home for fun or work. Include your copy of the Redstone in the photo and we’ll run your photos in the paper. Send photos with names and a description to redstarnews5@gmail.com.

One important thing you can do while we’re all stuck at home is fill out your 2020 Census Form!

An accurate count affects everything from funding for public services to representation in Congress.

It’s important that everyone in LYONS is counted.

When completing the census, include everyone living in your home on April 1, 2020.

If you don’t have your census invitation, don't worry!

You can still respond online or via phone.

Be safe. Be well. Be counted!

RESPOND TODAY! Online: www.2020census.gov or Toll-Free: 844-330-2020

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

PAGE 13

WELLNESS Finding ways to enjoy life in this time of stress

By Cherie Maureaux Redstone Review LYONS – Each of us is facing many concerns these days. The healthier we keep our thoughts, emotions, and actions, the Maureaux better suited we are to navigate the expectations of today – and the days ahead. It is important to remember that we are all in this new, different time together. We are the Lyons community, and everyone knows that “We’ve got grit!” Yet, feeling a connection to our community can be difficult in this odd time, when we are not allowed to physically be together.

We, as fellow humans, are wired to reach for safety, certainty, and control of our environment. In times of uncertainty, we experience stress which taxes our mental health. This is normal for all persons, and we may not even recognize that distress is happening. A large part of anxiety comes from a sense of uncertainty, a perception of lack of control, or simply being thrust into a different daily schedule. If you feel more on edge than normal, angry, helpless, sad, frustrated with others, or want to avoid reminders of what is happening now, all of those feelings are normal. It is important to know, however, that we are not helpless during this time.

In the spirit of our strong individual and collective spirit, please consider the following tips to meditate on and practice. Some may seem like common sense, but it never hurts to be reminded of the basics. I’ll be sharing more tips in the weeks to come, and also am hosting a weekly online Zoom town mental health meeting to welcome community members’ ideas and concerns

about getting by in this time, and for us to stay connected and encouraged as a community. Please remember that the Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund (LEAF) is here for you during this time, continuing to provide its core services, including individual mental health teletherapy.

Tip #1: Stick to a routine. Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time. Prioritize what is important to you in normal life and physically write out a schedule that is varied and includes time for work and selfcare. As simple as it may seem, actually take pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write out a schedule for the day. Selfcare can include normal grooming and dressing, exercise, eating and hydrating properly, connection with others, and creative expression. Write it all down.

Tip #2: Remind yourself daily that this is temporary. Take time to remind yourself that although this time may be scary and difficult, it is a season and will pass. We are able to get through uncertain situations more easily when we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and in this situation the light remains unclear. Rest assured, even though the length of time we are looking at is undetermined, we will return to a more stabilized and regular way of life. People are using the term “the new normal.”

Tip #3: Help others. Finding ways to help others is a major determinate of strong human spirit, connection, and mental health. Find the way that is best for you, even if it is a simple or small effort.

Support our local restaurants, check in with elderly neighbors, create a virtual group, email, or text chain, share positive memes, or wave to others walking on the other side of the street.

Tip #4: Move each day. If you do not

feel comfortable going outside, there are many online videos that offer free movement classes. Check our own local Defined Motion dance studio online offerings. You can simply turn on music and move to the music at home. If you feel comfortable, go outside while practicing physically safe practices. Try less travelled areas and be aware of safe distancing and not touching common areas. We live in a beautiful area. As a note, the hummingbirds have returned to Lyons this week.

See if you can spot a hummingbird.

Tip #5: Practice staying in the present.

Worry can be compounding – we can worry about the past and project our worries into the future. If you find yourself worrying about something that has not yet happened, gently bring yourself back to the present moment. Notice the sights, sounds, tastes, and other sensory experiences in your immediate moment and name them (out loud, if you can).

Tip #6: Identify what is controllable and what is not. There are many things we can do now to control our environment and the environments of those we care for.

There are other things that are out of our control. Wash your hands and remind others to do the same. Protect yourself by disinfecting when necessary and keeping the vulnerable and children safe. Limit your consumption of negative news or indulging in situations that are not influenceable. Seek out factual based news venues and do your best to be informed without adding unnecessary fear.

Tip #7: Practice patience and kindness.

This applies in two ways: self-compassion and compassion for others. In relation to others, give others the benefit of the doubt. During this period, there will be times we are not at our best. Significant time in isolation or being cooped up can indeed bring out negative traits. When we practice kindness and understanding towards others, we model good behavior. It is also in these pressure-packed times that the best can come out in people.

Tip #8: Ask for and use help. Now is the time to turn towards each other. CompeContinue Enjoy on Page 14

Sandy Spellman gives a big masked thumbs up at a social distance birthday gathering in her honor at a friend’s home in Apple Valley . PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

Betsy Burton shares a snuzzle with Fiona the sheep, while alpacas Amelia, Rachael and Violet line up for a turn, at the Lyons Farmette. PHOTO BY RYAN MUGLIA

Jonelle Tucker 303-902-6250 jtucker@realtor.com www.tuckergroupinc.com

We are temporarily closed until further notice due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

We hope that you and your loved ones are staying healthy and well during this difficult time.

We look forward to seeing you on the other side of this!

452 Main St, Longmont (303) 651-1125

As of April 7th, certain real estate activities are deemed essential (completing existing contracts and closings). In-person showings and open houses are currently considered non-essential. We continue to get new information and have established strict protocols for any current activity.

Contact us or visit our Facebook Page for updates.

UNDER CONTRACT!

SOLD!

179 2nd Ave 5A, Lyons $410,000 Lovely green-built 2BD/2BA in the Lyons Valley Village co-housing community. Open floorplan, wood floors, solar hot water, borders park, near trails, schools & open space.

100 Cherokee Rd, Lyons $481,000 Sweet, affordable, 3BD/2BA ranch home on 2+ park-like acres w/ lovely foothill & valley views.

Hardwood floors, gardens, large deck w/ hot tub & easy access.

SOLD!

SOLD!

1243 Hummingbird Cir, Longmont $398,000 Fabulous, green-built, move-in ready 3BD/4BA + study with mountain views, bordering openspace! Near Longmont Rec Center, museum & St. Vrain trails.

400 Emery St #305, Longmont $250,000 Hidden gem in Old Town Longmont near library and downtown! Private, move-in ready 2BD/1BA condo w/ new carpet, paint; fireplace, private balcony & covered parking.

We have 5 great properties ranging in price from $370K to $795K, three with acreage, we hope to activate from mid to end of April. We also have a number of qualified buyers looking for specific types of homes in the area, so if you’re considering a move, give me a call to see if there may be a fit.

PAGE 14

Town Continued from Page 1 points brought up in these letters are clearly delay tactics.”

The board then voted 7 to 0 to approve Resolution 2020-66, a resolution approving a development agreement with Summit Housing paving the way for the first substantial amount of affordable housing units to be built in Lyons since the flood.

Six Habitat for Humanity units have been built near Second Avenue in Lyons.

Passage of this resolution brought tears to some on the board who have struggled for over six years to finally get this project, which has promised to give preference to those who live and/or work in Lyons, off the ground. (Please see Amy Reinholds’ story on the new Summit Housing Project on page 11 of the Redstone.)

In other news, Utilities Director Aaron Caplan said in an update on the waste-

REDSTONE • REVIEW

water treatment plant, “The town is required to have a certain number of homes tested each year to determine if there might be copper or lead leaching from their pipes. Last year the town was required to submit samples from ten homes in the high likelihood category for copper and lead. All the tests came back negligible indicating it is unlikely copper is coming into the wastewater system from residential customers water lines. I think it is important to advise residents that the copper and lead levels in ten homes most likely to have higher levels of these came back with negligible results indicating there is not a concern for these in the water system, and this also indicates the copper issues in the wastewater are most likely NOT coming from copper in the water system.”

The new centrifuge was recently in-

LURA Continued from Page 2 years after forming its URA, can little Lyons do any better?

Downtown businesses are subsidizing the Eastern Corridor – LURA property tax revenue comes entirely from the downtown URA area, consisting of most commercial property from downtown to the Stone Canyon / US 36 intersection. Not one dime of that property tax money, projected at $22,600 in 2020, has gone or is going to downtown improvements. Where is it going? To consultants and lawyers for the EC URA area. Shouldn’t at least some of taxes downtown businesses pay to LURA be reserved to benefit the downtown area?

Sales tax diversion – Mayor Sullivan cites “growing the tax base” as a URA benefit, and indeed expanding Lyons’ tax base to the EC was a touted LURA goal. But what she didn’t say was what both Arvada’s and Wheat Ridge’s directors acknowledged: it’s extremely difficult, maybe impossible, to make URAs work without municipalities contributing sales tax to them. URAs get property tax “increments” when values increase, but they often need sales tax, too. Is Lyons prepared to divert substantial EC sales tax revenue to LURA, instead of using it for muchneeded projects in existing Town limits?

Land speculation – Big cities often provide raw or “blighted” land to URAs, essentially speculating that URA projects will succeed and either repay the land cost or produce other benefits (like sales tax) that will exceed the land cost. Erie did that, for example, with its controversial Nine Mile Corner project. But Lyons owns no developable land to contribute to a URA, and there is little undeveloped land left in Town limits. With 100 percent build-out near, Lyons land is also very expensive. Lyons has no excess money to buy it anyway. Even if Lyons wants do land speculation to spur development, can it really do so?

Guarantees – Colorado towns can’t pledge their credit

Results Continued from Page 1 Ballot Question #1 Shall the Town of Lyons, Colorado be authorized to publish ordinances by title rather than by publishing the ordinance in full, in accordance with CRS 31-16-105 and CRS 31-16-106, substantially reducing the cost of publication, so long as such ordinances are posted in full on the Town’s official website upon adoption?

Yes 707 No 236 Ballot Question #2 Shall the Town of Lyons, Colorado be

Enjoy Continued from Page 13 tent persons may rely on being a “do-ityourselfer” and even take solace in being independent. This is a time to practice grabbing another clear-thinking person and seeing what they would do about issues like stockpiling food, taking a plane trip, or talking to a child about what’s going on. We are not alone in this.

Tip #9: Value your health daily in small and big ways. Now is the time to double down on healthy rituals and practices.

Check out Tip #1 and prioritize your schedule and write it down, no matter how simple or silly it may feel to do so. Then do whatever activities help you re-center, recharge, and reset your headspace. Exercise. Stay hydrated and eat well. Get sleep.

Meditate. Journal. Connect.

Tip #10. If overwhelmed, break it down.

Instead of looking at entire situations that may seem overwhelming and unsolvable, focus on a small part of a challenge that seems manageable. Set aside a timed period for worry (an example can be ten minutes)

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

stalled at the plant and now the town is waiting to receive its new updated permit for treating BOD or Biochemical Oxygen Demand. The plant has an overload of BOD coming into the plant which needs to be pretreated, an added expense that the town wants businesses who create BOD to pay for.

The town board approved a new eight-year contract for Town Administrator, Victoria Simonsen. Simonsen said some people have questioned the length of her contract.

“Originally, I had asked for a ten-year contract, but the board talked about it and came up with an eight-year contract, which I agreed to. The ten-year term is a standard contract recommended by the Colorado Municipal League and the International City Managers Association.

I worked with our attorney and we

to back debts of developers or URAs without a citizens’ vote, under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). But that hasn’t stopped clever URA attorneys from crafting an end run around the TABOR hurdle. It’s called a “moral obligation” agreement – not directly guaranteeing developer or URA debt, but rather more generally agreeing to step in and rescue a URA project if it runs into trouble. Several Colorado cities (including Broomfield and Westminster) have done that. Is financially strapped Lyons prepared to backstop a bank loan to a developer for a URA project?

Here are two more things Mayor Sullivan didn’t mention about LURA. LURA was formed in 2015, but until 2019, when I started asking questions, the Town and LURA had failed to keep an accurate account of how much money the Town had transferred to LURA. Annual budgets badly understated the subsidy amount, which turned out to be more than $77,000 through 2018 instead of the $13,000 erroneously shown in budgets.

Also, though a 2015 agreement obligates the Town to provide free staff services to LURA (another large, unquantified subsidy), that same agreement requires LURA to reimburse the Town’s out-of-pocket costs for things like publishing LURA notices. But guess what? The Town hasn’t kept track of such costs and hasn’t billed them to LURA. Lyons taxpayers may wonder why someone occupying the dual positions of Mayor and LURA Chair would let years go by without accurately tracking what LURA owes the Town. Not doing that benefits LURA, but disadvantages the Town and its taxpayers. That is one example of a conflict of interest. When I resigned from LURA, I cited conflicts of interest between LURA and the Town as the main reason.

So, with all those risks and problems, why not “dismantle” LURA, as the Mayor misstated my position to be?

A big reason is because the Town has a financial incentive to keep the downtown URA area. Town property

looked at contracts that other city managers and town administrators have in this area. This is a typical contract for people in my profession.”

Simonsen went on to say that Section 9 of her contract states that she is an “at will employee,” meaning that the majority of the board can remove her at any time.

The new contract sets her annual base salary at $120,000.

“My last contract (with the board) was for an unlimited time. It did not have an end date,” Simonsen said. “The town auditor, the last time we had an audit done, suggested that we update my contract because it had been ten years since my last contract was approved.

The same severance package was also in place. This protects both sides. I have to give six months notice if I want to terminate my contract.”

taxes make up only about 14 percent of LURA tax receipts. The other 86 percent comes from other tax authorities – primarily Boulder County and the St. Vrain School District, but also the Fire District and Library District. The Town, through LURA, can use “other people’s money” – really, other tax authorities’ money – to fund Town-directed projects. That may seem unfair to other tax districts (which is why the Legislature reformed URA laws in 2016), but it benefits the Town.

For that reason, and because downtown URA formation costs are mostly paid for (“sunk costs”), it’s arguably a step too far to abolish LURA. That doesn’t mean LURA’s costlier and riskier plans for the EC (where other tax authorities will contribute a much lower percentage of property tax revenue and where Town sales taxes may be needed to spur development) should proceed on their current track. Before the Town finds itself “in a box,” faced with taking some of the problematic steps discussed above to support LURA, a serious, in-depth, objective analysis of LURA’s future is in order.

No such analysis has been done. It would include determining if Lyons is really a “guinea pig” for small town URAs, or whether an undiscovered model for success is out there somewhere in another small Colorado town. It would also include examining carefully what resources a built-out town of 2,000 can really bring to the table, instead of swallowing hook, line and sinker the advice of attorneys and consultants who stand to gain financially from URAs and views of the Metro Mayors Caucus, reflecting experience in cities unlike Lyons.

We need to undertake that analysis in Lyons. After five years and $129,000 with no tangible results, it's about time.

Mark Browning is a Lyons Town Board Trustee. He was re-elected to the town board on April 7 for a second two-year term as a trustee.

authorized to post financial information on the Town’s official website relating to payment of bills and statements concerning contracts instead of publishing in accordance with CRS 31-20-202 substantially reducing the cost of publication?

Yes 800 No 138 Ballot Question #3 Shall the voters for the Town of Lyons adopt an ordinance requiring the Town of Lyons to hold an election of the qualified electors of the Town prior to the Town of Lyons providing residential waste services, contracting with a waste hauler to provide

residential waste services, or requiring the use of or the imposition of a fee for residential waste serviced in all or a portion of the boundaries of the Town? The ballot at such election shall include a description of the proposed service and the initial year cost?

Yes 607 No 313 Ballot Question #4 Shall the Town of Lyons, Colorado be authorized to contract with Western Disposal Inc. to provide residential waste services and if yes, shall the Town of Lyons implement fees to pay for residential waste

services provided by Western Disposal, Inc. which will include weekly curbside trash pickup, every other week curbside compost / yard waste pickup, and every other week curbside recycle pickup, costing in the first year: $18 monthly for a 32gallon trash bin, with a 32-gallon compost bin and 96 gallon recycle bin; $31 monthly for a 64-gallon trash bin, with a 32-gallon compost bin and 96 gallon recycle bin; or $44 monthly for a 96-gallon trash bin, with a 32-gallon compost bin and 96 gallon recycle bin?

Yes 323 No 622

and agree to stop the worry when the timer goes off. When we move through stress in pieces, anxiety subsides substantially.

Finally, and you guessed it: connect with others. If you are not used to internet-based connection, find a friend, coworker, or family member that can teach you new ways of connecting. Each day, for at least 20 to 30 minutes minimum, connect with other people to both provide and seek support. Remember that children need this interaction as well. Our regular robust town howl to support medical workers is a great example of community connection. Keep connected.

It’s an important thing in normal, everyday life, and even more important now.

Practicing these healthy coping strategies will increase your resilience, emotional wellbeing, and promote attitudes of hope and gratitude. Please tune in for the LEAF weekly mental health town meeting, which provides a space to share your experiences, give your own tips on getting through this time, vent, connect, and encourage your community members. This event is hosted by LEAF through the in-

ternet application Zoom and will take place every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Please check the LEAF webpage at leaflyons.org for a link to join, and for instructions on how to join Zoom if you are not already enrolled. Also, as always, feel free to send

a completely confidential email about any mental health service inquiries to: mentalwellness@leaflyons.org.

Library Continued from Page 4 Cat-provided CloudLibrary. A couple of months ago, our friends at the City-County of Pueblo Library District offered all AspenCat Libraries access to their digital collection. That increased the holdings by more than three times. The CloudLibrary is a separate app from OverDrive, but is also available as a free download. Once downloaded, look for “AspenCat” under the “Colorado” heading. Please never hesitate to email or call with any questions.

A handy tip to remember during this time of increased use is the “return title” feature. Returning titles when you’re finished with them and not just letting them expire allows you to check out more materials and frees up the title for download by

Cherie Maureaux is the Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund’s mental health therapist. the next person waiting. They get a nice surprise and you get to do a good deed!

The library staff very sincerely misses our patrons. Rest assured, we’re working on the best ways to help you all through this trying time and what future services might look like. There are still many question marks, but that’s what librarians are good at; please reach out. We’re always available by email at info@lyonslibrary.com and phone at 303-823-5165. We’re regularly checking and returning messages. Remember, no items are due at this time and the book drop is closed until further notice. Be well, Lyons and beyond.

Kara Bauman, MLIS, is the Director of the Lyons Regional District Library.

APRIL 15 / MAY 13, 2020

REDSTONE • REVIEW

Census Continued from Page 8 Money and political power (representation) are two of the reasons to fill out the census. The results of this once-every-tenyears census determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. The census data is also used to draw congressional districts.

The census count directly impacts how

federal funding is spent on over 100 services in our communities. This includes roads, Medicaid, Head Start for kids, block grants for community mental health services, fire departments, affordable housing, new schools, school lunches and more. It is estimated by the Colorado Counts organization that every person counted in the 2020 census is worth $2,300 every year for ten years. Doing the math that’s $23,000 each

Hang in there everybody.

We’ll get through this—we’re resilient!

FABULOUS AND RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN AND ENJOY 115 FEET OF MIDDLE ST VRAIN RIVER FRONTAGE INCLUDED WITH THIS CHARMING HOME! Large deck overlooking the river, spacious kitchen and living areas, high-efficiency Rinnai Energy-Saver ES38 wall heater, Rinnai tankless water heater, newer windows. Totally dialed-in for year-around living, or enjoy as a vacation home. Full-size, nearly stand-up crawl space for easy access to mechanicals. Good spacing between the homes —hard to find in this area! Just 16 minutes to Lyons; Allenspark, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park are also nearby. A gem!

664 Riverside Drive, Lyons / $376,000

HARD-TO-FIND AFFORDABLE 35 ACRE BUILDING LOT WITHIN EASY DRIVING DISTANCE OF LYONS (ABOUT 18 MINUTES).

Driveway is in and is fairly level, good solar access, approximately 1 acre building envelope is fairly level. The other 34 acres is yours to enjoy for hiking, trail-building, riding, etc. National Forest access nearby. Electricity at property—a huge cost savings! Recent survey available.

374 Spruce Drive, Lyons / $160,000

ENJOY SPECTACULAR BACKRANGE VIEWS + TOWN AND VALLEY VIEWS FROM THE DREAM HOME YOU CAN BUILD ON ONE OF THE LAST LOTS AVAILABLE IN THE TOWN OF LYONS! Quiet culde-sac location surrounded by upscale homes; Walkout basement possible. Lot next door to the north is also available for $235K (620 Overlook Dr., Lot 19 MLS#892961). Approx. $27k for water & sewer tap + approx. $60k for required water share.

618 Overlook Drive, Lyons / $200,000

ENJOY SPECTACULAR BACKRANGE VIEWS + TOWN AND VALLEY VIEWS FROM THE DREAM HOME YOU CAN BUILD ON ONE OF THE LAST LOTS AVAILABLE IN THE TOWN OF LYONS! Quiet cul-de-sac location surrounded by upscale homes; plenty of level ground to build on + walkout basement possible. Lot next door to the south is also available for $225K (618 Overlook Drive, Lot 20). Approx. $27k for water & sewer tap + approx. $55k for required water share.

620 Overlook Drive, Lyons / $235,000

PAGE 15

person until the next census in 2030. If you are a family of five people and you don’t fill out the census, then that’s $115,000 your community will not receive for vital services. If 22 people in your community don’t fill out the census, then that’s $506,000 lost to your community.

The census only happens once every ten years (decennial) so it’s a short shot at getting federal dollars into your community.

However, avoid census scams. The Census Bureau never asks for Social Security numbers, bank or credit card information, money or donations, or anything on behalf of a political party. Only use official channels to answer the census or you could get scammed as well as not counted.

Census information is also used by businesses both small and large to determine where to put new stores, restaurants, offices, etc. This information is collected by your state demography office. Census information is also used by people to research family history and ancestry.

Information from the 2020 census won’t be released for another 72 years in the year 2082. The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the U.S. Code to keep your information confidential until that time.

Response Rate – Colorado’s current census response rate as of April 9 is slightly better than the national average according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The national self-response rate is 47.1 percent and Colorado’s self-response rate is 50.6 percent with 48.2 percent of citizens responding online. In 2010, which was the last census,

Colorado had a self-response rate of 67.2 percent. By comparison Texas has a selfresponse rate of 42.6 percent.

Boulder County, as of April 9, has a selfresponse rate of 58.3 percent. Compare that to Summit County which currently has a self-response rate of 12.5 percent.

Jackson, Colo., a rural county near the Wyoming border, has a current self-response rate of 6.3 percent. Up-to-date response rates for counties, states, and the nation are found at https : / / 2020 census . gov / en / response - rates . html.

Census Information: Fill out the Census online: my2020census.gov Phone: 800-923-8282 or 301-763-INFO Colorado State Demography Office: https://demography.dola.colorado.gov/ Response Rates: https : / / 2020 census . gov / en / response - rates . html Text: get answers to simple questions via text at 303-622-5881. The number is live 24 hours a day with immediate response and service is available in both English and Spanish. No personal information needed.

Website: Together We Count which is an official organization to for statewide census efforts can be reached by email at admin@togetherwecount.org or via website at www.togetherwecount.org.

LEAF Continued from Page 3

Last but not least, LEAF is thrilled to welcome Lyons Volunteers to the LEAF family. As our fifth program, Lyons Volunteers will provide needed and valuable service and leadership throughout our community. Thank you, Lyons Volunteers, for this very good news.

LEAF’s many volunteers are working night and day to be the human services safety net in the greater Lyons during this unprecedented season. We are grateful to weave this safety net together with the entire community. Please let us know if you need help or if you can help. After all, we’re all in this marathon together. It’s such good news that we are all here to support one another.

Please email ellen@leaflyons.org if you would like to sign up to receive a daily Care Call. This is such good news.

Community Zooms meet on Thursdays at 2 p.m. These virtual community-wide mental wellness meetings are led by LEAF’s own mental health therapist, Cherie Maureaux. Join these Community Zooms for caring, sharing, connection, learning, and growth. Check Facebook for more information, or email her at mentalwellness@leaflyons.org. Anyone is welcome to join! Additionally, if you are struggling for any reason, Cherie Maureaux is meeting with individual clients using a virtual video tele-health model.

Email her to learn more. LEAF’s Mental Wellness & Addiction Recovery is still here for everyone in the Greater Lyons area. This is healthy good news.

Volunteers Continued from Page 6 joining forces. Both teams quickly realized working together in a formal partnership makes great sense for our community, our organizations, and the people we serve. To finalize this transition, LoV will terminate its Colorado non-profit corporation status and close out its 501(c)(3) charity and transfer its remaining funds to LEAF. The leadership of LoV and LEAF are excited about the new possibilities before both organizations now and going forward.

Lory Barton, LEAF Executive Director said, “We welcome the LoV organization and its wonderful volunteers as LEAF’s newest program. LoV will maintain its identity and continue to provide volunteer services to individuals and the community and be a repository of expertise to respond on a larger scale if there is another natural disaster affecting Lyons.”

Mike Karavas, LoV Board Chairman said, “We really weren’t sure whether to disband LoV because the flood recovery mission was winding down and it was hard to justify some of our operating expenses for smaller projects that needed only a few volunteers at a time to accomplish. But we

Katherine Weadley is a librarian who works for the statewide Colorado Library Consortium as a library consultant and is a member of the Colorado Complete Count Rural Subcommittee.

Lory Barton serves as LEAF’s hopeful Executive Director. Email her at lory@leaflyons.org if you’d like to connect. know there is a continuing need for volunteers in the community and LEAF serves so many people who need help. Especially now with the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery, we believe we made the right choice by pursuing this partnership. We think this will be a really good fit for our two organizations.”

The LoV website, lyonsvolunteers.org, will continue to operate at this time and is the place where you can fill out help requests for LoV services. LEAF and LoV will work to integrate services and processes as we build this powerful partnership together.

The best news is that two of Lyons’ top helping organizations, Lyons Volunteers and LEAF, will now work together to continue serving in our community.

We will need new volunteers as our capacity increases. If you are interested in joining the team of volunteers, please send email to volunteer@leaflyons.org.

Our newly-formed LEAF and LoV team will be sure to include you in our volunteer rolls and project possibilities.

Rick DiSalvo has served on the Board of Lyons Volunteers and is helping to spearhead the organization’s transition to LEAF.

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Seniors Continued from Page 10 started. Funds of more than $17,500 went directly into LEAF’s account.

There is a new Care Calls daily phone call program, which is especially important to seniors who have no family or close friends to check on them. Every Lyons service group that does senior-related activities in town has been collecting names of enthusiastic local volunteers, and they have come together, under the direction of LEAF, to figure out a way to offer support to seniors. The first step has been to

coordinate Care Calls. Seniors who are interested in a daily phone call for social interaction and a wellbeing check should email Ellen Keane at ekeane@q.com or text 970-985-5523. Twenty volunteers started working in March.

Many thanks go to the following groups for putting this together in just two days: LEAF, the Lyons Housing and Human Services Commission, including Trustee Wendy Miller and Lisa Ramsey, coordinator of senior programs for the Town of Lyons, and BCAAA staff. To volunteer to help make calls, email volunteer@leaflyons.org.