Redstone May / June 2023

Redstone stands with President Zelensky and the people in Ukraine

VOLUME 24, NUMBER 4

CDOT begins surface work on U.S. Hwy. 36

BOULDER COUNTY — The Colorado Department of Transportation began resurfacing and widening efforts on May 15. Work will take place along U.S. Hwy. 36 between Boulder and Lyons.

This project will take place over an approximately 17-week period within the following mile point ranges: MP 19.80 to MP 21.86; MP 21.86 to 25.80; MP 25.90 to 27.12 and MP 27.55 to 27.80.

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. is the contractor for this project. This project will improve the safety capabilities on U.S. 36 for pedestrians and bike riders. The route between Boulder and Lyons is a commonly used bike corridor, but unfortunately a significant number of accidents occur here.

Daytime work hours range from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Motorists and cyclists can expect various shoulder closures throughout the project’s duration, and right lane closures at Left Hand Canyon and Nelson Road. Night work will take place between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., and feature mobile closures. Both northbound and southbound traffic will be affected. The project is expected to last through August. For additional information about this project, contact the project team. There is more information on the CDOT website. Project information hotline: 720-7708178 ext. 9061; project email: US36Improvements@gmail.com.

Lyons Resource Fair set for May 31

LYONS – The Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) and partners invite community members to attend the Lyons Resource Fair on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. in the community room of the Lyons Regional Library located at 451 4th Ave. in Lyons. Community members will learn more about resources available to the public, and talk with representatives from the BCAAA, OUR Center, LEAF, Town of Lyons Recreation Department, Mobility for All, Center for People with Disabilities, and TruPace.

On World Labyrinth Day, May 6, 2023, the group Song Circle was in attendance at the Lyons labyrinth. Guests walked the labyrinth singing “You don’t have to know the way. The way knows the way.”

sculptor John King enjoyed a more meditative solo walk when the celebration had ended.

Town Board deals with unpaid fines, parking issues and discusses a Pride Celebration

By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review

LYONS – The Lyons Town Board held one of its shortest meetings on record at its regular meeting in mid May, lasting about one hour and 24 minutes.

The board held two executive sessions prior to the meeting, one on the potential renewal of the land lease between Spirit Hound Distillers and the Town of Lyons, and the second one on the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Town of Lyons and Boulder County.

Mayor Hollie Rogin announced at the beginning of the meeting that the Lyons Pride celebration will be held on June 17 in the afternoon in Sandstone Park in Lyons following the Garden Tour, which will be held in the morning.

Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen announced that the Raul Vasquez Stage in Sandstone Park will be expanded before the concert season begins and the Vasquez company will do the work on the stage. There will be more room for storage and easier access to the stage.

Mayor Rogin said she and the

board were grateful for all the Vasquez family has contributed to Lyons.

Finance Director Cassandra Eyestone told the Board in a written report that sales tax revenues were down in April by about $16,000 over the previous month. Administrator Simonsen told the board that the Finance Director was not worried at this time about the slowdown in sales tax and said that the sales taxes for April were down to the 2022 level.

Simonsen also told the board that Mayama Dance and Wellness Studio is planning to do a small expansion, which will be discussed at an Urban Renewal meeting to be held on Thursday May 18 at the Town Hall, 432 5th Ave. Mayama plans to use tax increment financing for the project, which will include a new entrance to the building. See the Town website for the time.

The town will once again open the Visitor’s Center in Sandstone Park; open hours will be daytimes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this summer.

The board discussed the ongoing problem of parking on High Street after Mayor Rogin

said that the Sunday crowd at the Moxie coffee shop was huge and the parking was a problem with a number of people parking their cars to unload their bikes and leave their cars parked on the street all day taking up parking for businesses.

Mayor Rogin suggested the possibility of enforcing the two-hour parking rule for High Street, and Administrator Simonsen said that the parking problem and enforcing the two-hour parking rule was under discussion and, now that the parking lot on 2nd Avenue is completed and open to the public, more people are finding it and using it. She said that it will take more education and maybe using flyers.

Attorney Brandon Dittman said that most bikers get their information from apps and it would be easy enough to submit Lyons parking information to some of the apps that pertain to the trails around Lyons. The town staff said they would work on that suggestion.

The Town Board passed ordinance 1146 unanimously on second reading after a public hearing to change the town

code on the failure to pay fines and the collection of municipal court monetary sentences and fees.

Town Clerk Delores Vasquez told the board that it costs the town between $2,000 and $2,500 just to hold municipal court and often people are not showing up for their court dates. Many of these are traffic violation fines.

Attorney Brandon Dittman told the board that, after speaking with Lyons Municipal Judge Kristin Brown and town prosecutor Jacob Starkovich, and finding that the language in the town code was weak, they worked on creating stronger language so that the town could turn the fines and court costs over to a collection agency and potentially collect up to 25 percent of the fines. Clerk Vasquez said the collection agencies have a very good success for collecting fines.

Administrator Simonsen said that right now they have four pages of unpaid parking tickets totaling $12,000 and $43,000 in outstanding default cases. The staff was directed to find a collections agency to collect the fines.

The board head from the Historic Preservation Commission, Chair Sarah Lorang, told the board that the HPC had received a $25,000 grant from History Colorado.

Lyons

PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

J. Bradley Combs

April 5, 1971 – April 21, 2023

J. Bradley Combs (more commonly known as JB), a beloved member of the Lyons Colorado community, died on Friday, April 21, 2023, at the age of 52. JB was known as an incredible father, dedicated partner/husband, a dutiful son, a skier, a biker, a climber, a racecar driver, a man with questionable fashion sense (socks and sandals), and a brilliant mind.

Born on April 5, 1971, in Laramie, Wyoming to his mother Patty Bostwick and father Hank Combs, JB grew up with a fierce passion for competition on and off the snow ski hill. In childhood JB developed a shared love for racecars, music, and adventure with his father and lifelong best friend.

With his mother, JB spent hours dancing, sharing a fondness for Western culture, and a love of all things history and learning. Showing immense athleticism and drive, JB was raised on the ski slopes of Wyoming and Mt. Hood. Skiing at an extremely high level from an early age defined JB in his future endeavors. Propelled by a childhood filled with adventure, JB went on to compete on the collegiate level in Alpine Ski Racing before graduating from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business.

A man of many talents and passions, JB explored multiple different career paths. From working in the oil patches and Ideal fencing, to building Carbon-worx water skis and snowplow driving in Copper Mountain, JB was always proud of the work he did. In the second half of his career, JB developed a special talent for home rehabilitation and real estate. More than fitting into any particular mold, JB was an innovator in everything he cen-

tered himself around. His affinity for real estate continued to be one of the aspects of his life that filled him with so much passion and pride.

At the age of 22, JB became a father to his daughter Ashley. Being a young father made no difference to the type of parent he became. Even in the darkest times, soldiering through the difficulties of raising a child with cystic fibrosis and managing life as a single dad, JB never skipped a beat.

her to believe and invest in herself. From hospital sleepovers to big moves across the country, there was no place he’d rather be than supporting his favorite person. A superhero, a best-best friend, and truly the most wonderful father.

Hi dad,

From early on, JB worked very hard to give Ashley every experience and opportunity possible, even taking a large part in redefining the way patients with cystic fibrosis are treated in the clinical setting. During a time when physicians were more interested in conserving calories and incorporating feeding tube protocols, JB fought hard to help his daughter resist the need for additional medical procedures and lead an extremely active and rewarding lifestyle. Ashley grew up into a very brave, optimistic, and resilient person due to the lessons and unconditional love given from the special relationship between a father and his little girl. He was truly her biggest fan, always building her up and teaching

We had a neat ocean moment last night. Just after our rosette went in the water last evening I was talking to my boss on deck and noticed a fin. What could it be? I scanned a while, but finally I noticed a shark had come over to the ship to check us out.

It was a beautiful shark. A white tip, and over four to five feet big. We watched it for a while, and eventually I waved some others over to see it too. Then the word spread quickly and we were all out there checking it out, and now there were two sharks hanging out, and some flying fish scattering around.

I think I watched them about an hour before heading in to go to the gym before our sampling. After sampling, I came out of our clean van, and there were now six sharks peacefully swimming outside the boat. And hundreds of fish. It was quite a party. So much life. There were a lot of flying fish zipping about, but even some bigger ones of many different colors. It was so wonderful.

I’m not sure what was going on there, because I thought

In 2001 JB met the love of his life Dianne Pierson and began embarking on a lifelong journey of blending two families into one. As nuclear families go, a small family of two (JB and Ashley) forever turned into a family of five, as he welcomed Dianne and her two children Brian and Amber, into the unit. From then JB went on to support Dianne as she triumphantly graduated from Dental School, bought her own practice, and embarked on the most liberating and successful journey yet. From grassroots beginnings, Dianne and JB used their dedication and resilience to build a beautiful life together, eventually settling here in Lyons, Colorado. Here they have cultivated friendships that have turned into family, never missing an opportunity to share what they have created with every single person they love. JB built Dianne the homestead of her dreams, from the beautiful and abundant garden to the welcoming features that support their community gatherings. JB enjoyed putting his heart and soul into his love for his wife and wore their love story like a badge of honor.

JB was not only a staple in other’s lives, but he was a man with a great sense of adventure. In the first 49 years of his life JB was a competitive water skier and snow skier, rock climber, and mountain biker. From countless regional and national tournaments to endurance races like 24 hours of Moab and 24 hours of old Pueblo, JB was always looking ahead to the next thrilling challenge. JB never forgot what a privilege it was to be able to use movement to experience the world around him.

In 2020 JB suffered from an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck

we were getting out of the productive upwelling region, but maybe not yet? We have been getting weird currents and changed this cruise. The currents aren’t behaving normally, maybe related to the warming oceans from climate change? Guess we’ll figure it out eventually

It was totally rad seeing so many sharks though.

Love Kati

Kati’s dad, Ron Gosnell from Lyons, talks about Kati’s research ship and their mission

Lyons High School graduate Dr. Kathleen Gosnell who lives in Kiel, a German seaport on the Baltic, is presently aboard the German Research Vessel RV Sonne, conducting biochemical research, April 14 through June 2. This SO298 cruise is part of the International GEOTRACES program, and she is participating as part of her postdoc contract responsibilities with GEOMAR. This is Germany’s ocean research, equivalent to America’s Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.

The cruise findings will have global significance for un-

down, leading to a devastating and triumphant road to rehabilitation. Though JB was unable to regain mobility after the initial injury, he went on to not only adjust to the adversity but also to develop mastery level skills in the challenges of being a quadriplegic. Shortly after becoming a quadriplegic, JB volunteered for a spinal cord stem cell trial. This trial was performed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN, where JB dedicated his body to the science and betterment for those with similar conditions and hope for the future. He was always fighting to discover more ways to make a difference, as well as turning a negative situation into something positive. Upon his passing, JB was also a viable organ donor, to which we are all certain he would be very honored.

From traveling to Washington to walk his daughter down the aisle, to continuing the traditions of weekends out at Laku Landing Waterski Lake, and participating in an intensive spinal cord medical trial, JB and his family refused to shy away from any challenges.

JB remained steadfast in his ability to show up for those he loved, never wavering in his art of making any person feel welcomed and at home in his presence. A man of principle, standing firmly in the foundation of his family and friends, continued to build life-changing connections with people in his community even after his injury carved its path.

In honor of JB’s life and legend, a memorial will be held on Saturday, May 20 at 12 p.m. beginning at Johnny Park. Arm in arm with his family and his friends, his loved ones will be hosting a Bike n’ Hike followed by an outdoor barbeque (beginning at 4 p.m.) to celebrate the life of this amazing man.

From his Daughter Ashley: “I love you until the end of time Dad. May we all continue to #move4jb, and BMoist.”

derstanding ocean chemical environments and their changes, in which ecosystems operate. The RV Sonne has been pushing against an unexpected four-knot surface current slowing its progress westward. Normally and planned for, the equatorial flow was expected to go east to west with the ship and the changed current cause is not yet determined.

Fortunately, the weather and seas have been kind so far, and the research team has many different nationalities aboard for an excellent muti-cultural work environment. This post is one of the most lonely and least studied ocean regions on earth.

Kati Gosnell from Lyons writes a letter to her dad from her research ship near the equator

Kati Gosnell’s ship, the RV Sonne, is sailing from the equator at Guayaquil, Ecuador to Townsville, Australia.

At Cities Summit of the Americas, Mayor Rogin shares ideas, meets five mayors from Ukraine

By Hollie Rogin, Mayor of Lyons Redstone Review

LYONS – People often ask me what surprises me most about being the Mayor of Lyons. Even as a Trustee and a member of the Planning and Community Development Commission, I did not fully comprehend how much collaboration takes place at the municipal, county, state and even national levels. We are one small town, but our relationships with our partners transcend our distinct borders. This was never more apparent than at the Cities Summit of the Americas last month in Denver.

The inaugural Cities Summit was convened by the U.S. Department of State to promote regional cooperation, convening subnational leaders from across the entire Western Hemisphere with diverse and inclusive representatives of government, civil society, business, academia, youth, culture and the arts, and indigenous and underrepresented groups. Denver’s Mayor Hancock kindly extended an invitation to all mayors in the region to attend at no cost.

At the summit, I was asked by National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) to sit on a panel discussion regarding the challenges of transitioning to a clean energy future. The panel was moderated by the Secretary for Renewable Power from the U.S. Department of Energy, and I was joined by Boulder’s Mayor Brockett as well as representatives from the Energy Offices of Colorado and Denver. I discussed how important it is for Lyons to be resilient and efficient while providing our ratepayers the highest levels of service at the lowest cost possible.

I also discussed the difficulties in accessing available funding; for every Federal grant, Lyons has to provide a local match in dollars. Those matches can be 20 percent of the total grant, so a $1M grant means we have to provide $200,000. For a town of our size, with a small annual budget and critical infrastructure needs, that is incredibly difficult to do. Fortunately, our counterparts at all levels of government, including NREL, are willing to work with us to find potential solutions. This may take more time

than we’d like, but it’s important to keep moving forward.

I also attended a panel discussion regarding countering disinformation in the Americas. This panel was led by General Laura Richardson, the Commander of U.S. Southern Command, and included Secretary of State Jenna Griswold and Claudia López Hernández, the Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. General Richardson shed light on how disinformation begins and spreads, and how it affects us even at the hyperlocal level (generally through social media). Secretary of State Griswold expressed that she has never been more hopeful about the state of our democracy.

On the final day of the summit, I watched a group of five mayors under 30 years old talk about their hopes, challenges, and accomplishments. I also had the opportu-

nity to attend a special session with five mayors from Ukraine, including those of Kiev and Kharkiv.

Each mayor spoke about what it was like to go from normal day-to-day business, such as making sure streets are paved and the budget is balanced, to being under siege by the Russian army and doing their best to protect their communities. Mayor Klychko of Kiev remarked that he never thought anything like this would happen in his city, and that the war in Ukraine is just the beginning of Russian aggression in Europe. Hearing from these mayors drove home that no matter how smoothly local government can be running along, everything can turn on a dime.

Lyons experienced a version of this during the 2013 floods. We are more resilient as a result, both in terms of infrastructure and spirit. As we watch what is happening around the world, let’s take a moment to appreciate the peace we’re able to enjoy and send our best wishes to our neighbors across the globe who are fighting to maintain their freedoms.

Rep. Neguse introduces act to provide

firefighters with health care

By Joe Neguse, US State Representative Redstone Review

New Mexico. It is in his memory that we continue the fight to address the challenges that have plagued the federal wildland workforce for decades.

This bill recognizes the heroic work our wildland firefighters do each and every day. And I am proud to announce that this Congress, I teamed up with Colorado Senator Michael Bennet to introduce this critical bill. Together, Senator Bennet and I are working to ensure that these hard-working individuals are paid a wage that reflects the value of their work. Our federal firefighters sacrifice so much, and they deserve fair pay, benefits, and the resources necessary to do their jobs.

Neguse

BOULDER – As many of you know, in Colorado and across the U.S., we no longer have wildfire seasons – we have wildfire years. And it is our federal wildland firefighting crews that bear the heavy burden every day of keeping us safe from these encroaching threats.

Earlier this month, I reintroduced Tim’s Act to provide our federal wildland firefighting workforce with a living wage, comprehensive health care, hard earned benefits, and more. The bill is named in honor of Tim Hart, a brave smokejumper from Cody, Wyoming, who tragically lost his life on May 24, 2021, while battling the Eicks Fire in

There was more progress on legislation related to wildland firefighters in the last Congress than over the past three decades. While we celebrate this effort, we also know we can do more. And that’s exactly that we will do. Onwards.

Congressman Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s Second District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first African-American member of Congress in Colorado history. He serves as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Monument of Independence of Ukraine. The monument is located in the center of Kiev on Independence Square.

The G.I. Bill

By Jim Ramsay Redstone Review

PINEWOOD SPRINGS

– The third Saturday in May is Armed Forces Day, the day when we honor our men and women in uniform. Unlike Memorial Day (May 31), which honors those who gave their lives in service to their country and Veterans Day (November 11) which honors those both living and dead who served in the past, Armed Forces Day is for all members of the military whether currently serving or not, living or dead.

I don’t usually go in for the parades and patriotic speeches associated with these holidays, but this year I will be thinking of my dad, who was a World War II veteran. He was not a big fan of the military and never rose above the rank of corporal. Like many young men of his generation, he was traumatized by the war, and the scars of surviving the Battle of the Bulge stayed with him for the rest of his life.

But he was grateful for one thing that came out of that experience: the G.I. Bill. Formally known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill made it possible for returning WWII veterans to attend colleges and universities, among other things, previously affordable only to the rich and privileged. With the government picking up the tab, my dad was able to attend Iowa State University where he got a degree in agricultural engineering, which led to an international career in agriculture extension that wouldn’t otherwise have been open to a guy from small town Iowa with only a little experience working in gas stations.

The 1944 G.I. Bill covered more than college tuition. It included vocational training, low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start businesses or farms, and a year of unemployment compensation, all of which enabled returning vets to participate in the booming post-war economy. By the time this G.I. Bill terminated in 1956, almost 8 million veterans had used the Bill to further their education, resulting in a highly educated workforce.

Since 1956, updates to the G.I. Bill have made these educational benefits

available to Vietnam era veterans and post 9/11 era veterans. Both the Vietnam Era G.I. Bill and the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill are referred to as the G.I. Bill. In fact, more Vietnam veterans (72 percent) than World War II veterans (49 percent) or Korean War veterans (43 percent) used G.I. Bill benefits to further their education.

Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, if you served at least 36 months of active duty, then you’re eligible for coverage of up to 36 months of college or career training.

The 36 months of classes or training won’t have to be consecutive.

Jim Ramsay was raised in Iowa, Iran, Nigeria and Afghanistan. He studied English at CU in Boulder and taught English as a Second Language in Tanzania, Botswana, the University of Illinois and the Economics Institute at CU. He moved from Boulder to Pinewood Springs in the early 1990s to follow a dream of mountain living, and he’s still up there.

Lyons third annual Garden Tour returns on June 17

More grows in the garden than the gardener sows. SPANISH PROVERB

By Sara Erickson Redstone Review

LYONS – Planning for the Lyons Garden Club third annual Mountain Blooms Garden Tour is in high gear. We currently have 10 sites of garden delights set for the tour, which will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine.

The gardens will inspire conversation, relaxation and ideas for creating an oasis in your own garden. We have everything including unique hardscaping, rock gardens, xeric gardens, vegetable gardens and colorful blooms throughout. The tour is also a great opportunity to visit different areas of Lyons and see private gardens you would not normally get to visit.

Plan ahead for open space visits

By Deborah Huth Price Redstone Review

LYONS – Getting outdoors is an easy thing to do in Lyons. Parks, trails, and bike paths are accessible in all directions, and nearby open space provides opportunities to hike, bike, bird watch, go fishing, enjoy photography, and more.

As the population increases in Colorado, these places get more and more crowded. Where is the best place to go, what time, and what day? Fortunately, this information is not hard to come by, due to resources provided by Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) and the City of Longmont Parks and Natural Resources.

Every five years since 1990, BCPOS conducts a visitor use survey of their properties, to determine questions related to things like visitor numbers, type of recreation, trail conflicts, and opinions about the sites. The survey was due to happen in 2020 but with the Covid pandemic, the survey was delayed until 2021.

Some of the BCPOS properties close to Lyons include Hall Ranch (Hwy. 7), Heil Valley Ranch (off Hwy. 36 at Lefthand Canyon), Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain (north of Hwy. 66), and Pella Crossing (just south of Hygiene). All are popular sites with lots of visitation, and all four remain very busy, particularly in the summer months. According to recent survey results, Hall Ranch and Heil Valley Ranch have the highest number of Lyons residents visiting, with 14 percent of visitors at Hall coming from Lyons and 21 percent of visitors at Heil Valley Ranch from Lyons. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t find a time to go and not be crowded out. Due to the survey results, you can find the least busy days of the week and times to visit, especially if you have a flexible schedule.

Michelle Marotti, BCPOS Education and Outreach Specialist, wants to make sure visitors know that you can go to the website for each property to see a chart exhibiting the visitation on a daily and hourly basis. Weekends are obviously busiest, and she suggests visiting on Tuesday through Thursday, or in the evenings. She also suggests signing up

Registering for the event will enter participants in a drawing for one of two $100 gift cards from the Flower Bin Garden Center and Nursery in Longmont.

Tour details and registration info can be found at www.lyonsgardenclub.com. In lieu of tickets, the Lyons Garden Club is accepting donations to register for the Mountain Blooms Garden Tour. Options for donations are available on the website. Prior to the tour, participants will receive a map to the gardens and descriptions of each garden. The map will also serve as each participant’s entry ticket.

In-person registration will also be available at Sandstone Park on Saturday, June 17, along with printed tour maps. Garden club members will be there to answer questions and provide information about the tour.

Look for more information during the next month on Facebook, local media,

town email blasts and the town utility bill. Our website will provide all details of the tour and informational updates.

Proceeds from the event will go towards maintaining our current gardens, purchase of tools, seeds and other supplies and supporting gardening projects throughout Lyons. Our motto since our founding is “Making Lyons Beautiful, One Flower at a Time.” This event certainly is in keeping with that motto. Please join us for this exciting and fun event, which will involve the whole community.

Don’t you want to get outside on June 17, and see what nature has to offer through the inspired work of local gardeners enhancing our environment? Treat your eyes and mind to the beauty that is all around you and take home the knowledge you gain. Invite your neighbors, friends and family. Support making Lyons more beautiful one flower at a time.

Hall Ranch is a favorite destination for Lyons hikers.

for text notifications to alert visitors to when trails are closed. Go to www.bouldercounty.gov/open-space/parks-andtrails/trail-closures to find out about trail closures. You can also sign up there to receive

email and text alerts regarding trail closures and openings. To see a list of all county properties, go to www.bouldercounty.gov/openspace/parks-and-trails and you can click on

PHOTO BY GAUTAM BHAN

LCF awards $35,000 in college scholarships to local students

By Kate Schnepel Redstone Review

LYONS – Lyons Middle Senior High School celebrated the accomplishments of graduating seniors at its awards ceremony on May 10. During the ceremony, seven students were awarded a total of eight scholarships from the Lyons Community Foundation. These

scholarship program, “The Lyons Community Foundation is proud to support the young people of Lyons as they continue their journeys into higher education. Scholarships such as those endowed by the LCF Board and generous families in our community act to give students some well deserved support to undertake the challenges of going to college and beginning their careers. Scholarships are also excellent indicators of the hard work and dedication to their future success that these

LCF Events in June

students have shown extraordinary leadership and meaningful work in the local community in addition to their academic and extracurricular achievements.

This year, thanks to the generous donations given by our financial supporters, LCF was able to substantially increase the amount of money awarded in scholarships. Instead of the $21,500 originally budgeted, the LCF Advisory Board voted to award a recordbreaking $35,000 in scholarships for 2023.

Gwydion Winkelmeyer, chair of the LCF Scholarship Committee, said of the

young people have displayed.”

The Lyons Community Foundation Mission Scholarship was awarded to Maya Caplan. This $5,000 scholarship recognizes a student from the greater Lyons area who embodies LCF’s mission of improving the quality of life, building a culture of giving, and encouraging positive change for the greater Lyons area.

The Lyons Community Foundation Two-Year Study Scholarship was awarded to Lochlan Osborne. This $5,000 scholarship recognizes a student who plans

History of a house long gone

By Monique Sawyer-Lang Redstone Review

LYONS – In the early morning hours on January 12, 1975 a stately home located on the northeast corner of 4th Avenue and Evans was destroyed by fire. The owner of the home, architect John Knudson, who had only owned the home for about six months and was in the process of restoring it, was away.

The January 16 edition of The New Lyons Recorder newspaper described the scene: “Ample water was available but the –10 degree temperature made the job extremely difficult. Firemen were soon encased in ice from the fire-quenching water and billowing clouds of steam rose from the building.” The fire brought to an end the storied history of one of the earliest homes built in the newly founded town of Lyons.

A second article in the January 16 newspaper recounted a list of the previous owners of the stately mansion that now lay in ruins. The following is a brief biography of some of those homeowners.

The home was originally built in 1882 by Lyons town founder Edward S. Lyons. He lived in the home with his second wife Adaline and his four children Lillie, Leonard, Eva, and Frank. Adaline passed away in 1889 and Edward married Carrie Byrd in 1890. Tragedy struck the Lyons family in November of 1893 when their two-year-old son, who was suspected of playing with matches, accidentally set his clothes on fire and died. Edward and Carrie divorced soon after and in 1895 Edward left for California,

to attend a two-year program at college/university, trade school or other technical/vocational training. The scholarship was also designed to recognize a student who embodies LCF’s mission.

The Uncle Louis “Bud” Winkler Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Hunter Powell. Honoring the memory of businessman Louis Winkler, this $5,000 scholarship is intended for a student who plans on majoring in business or finance.

The Janet Orback Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Samantha Rickman. Established in 2018, this $5,000 scholarship honors the memory of lifelong Lyons resident Janet Orback, who along with her husband Dave, tirelessly helped to provide support and friendship to her neighbors whose homes and lives were destroyed in the 2013 floods, as well as being stewards of the Lyons Cemetery for over 15 years.

The Gerald Boland Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $5,000, was awarded to Cambria Burton by Amy Hoh. This scholarship was created to honor the memory of Gerald Boland, a 54-year resident of Lyons who taught in Lyons Schools for 31 years. Mr. Boland was a coach, Boy Scout Leader, and mentor who had a passion for learning and the outdoors. This scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who shares these passions.

The Scholarship in Memory of Steve Ralston was awarded to Cole Thomas. Created in 2009 to honor the memory of Lyons resident, businessman, and community supporter Steve Ralston, this scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who best expresses their passion for learning and sharing their interests, skills and joyful life experiences with their community.

The CEMEX Environmental Stewardship Scholarship, which is brand new for 2023, was awarded to Keara Ping by Michael Clausen of CEMEX. This $1,000 scholarship is open to students with a planned field of study in natural resources,

• Artisan Market – Sunday, June 4 in Bohn Park

• Movies on the Lawn –Thursday, June 1 at A-Lodge

• Sandstone Concert Series –Wednesday, June 21 at Sandstone Park

• TOL Adult Softball League –Thursday evenings

• Ride the Rockies – Friday, June 16 Lyons is a rest stop for riders on this multi-day bike race

To volunteer at any of our upcoming events, please visit https://www.lyonscf.org/volunteer.html and fill out the volunteer interest form.

engineering, wildlife biology or geology. The Lyons Garden Club Scholarship, in the amount of $4,000, was also awarded to Keara Ping by Sara Erickson of the Lyons Garden Club. This scholarship, which is new in 2023, is open to students who intend to study horticulture, agriculture, landscaping, botany, plant ecology, forestry, plant pathology, or any field of study involving plants.

Student scholarships have been an area of focus for LCF since its inception in 2006, and in that time approximately $110,000 has been awarded to Lyons-area students. If you are interested in learning more about these scholarships, or in contributing, please visit http://www.lyonscf.org.

Kate Schnepel is the Marketing and Communications Associate for the Lyons Community Foundation. She has worked in the non-profit sector for more than two decades, primarily with animal welfare organizations like Best Friends Animal Society and Wildlife SOS India. She moved to Lyons in 2019 with her husband and daughter, and spent nearly three years as a member of LCF’s Advisory Board before moving into her current consulting role.

of the Lyons Mercantile Company, which was located on the northwest corner of 4th and Main. Gilger’s youngest daughter, Claudine, was born in the house on April 29, 1911. His eldest daughter, Zella Mae, married Carl N. Frank in the home on October 5, 1917. Mr. Gilger made a number of changes to the property and house. He landscaped the yard and planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. Additionally, he added a circular stone veranda and white pillars to the house. Gilger and his wife Mattie divorced in 1920 and the house was sold in 1924.

never to return to Colorado.

Following Edward Lyons’ departure from the home, the house operated as lodging for tourists arriving by train to Lyons. An advertisement in the 1899 The Lyons Herald newspaper noted that Mrs. Lillian McAlpine managed what became known at that time as the Lyons House and that they specialized in the accommodation of Estes Park tourists because of their convenient location one block south and east of the Depot.

In October of 1900 Swedish emigrant Anna Halliday operated the Lyons House, where she served meals and ran a boarding house for railroad and quarry workers. In November of 1905 she leased the house to William F. Cantwell. Mr. Cantwell was one of the owners of the Lyons and Estes Park Stage Line and briefly operated the Burlington Hotel on Main Street from 1908 to 1909.

In 1906 the house was purchased by U.G. Gilger, owner

Lyons Redstone Museum

For several years the history of the house is quiet. A Mr. and Mrs. L.A. Lynch lived there in the 1940s and in the late 1950s Daisy Moffit operated the Moffit Nursing Home in the house for a short time. The stone walls made the house difficult to heat and by the early 1960s the Moffit Nursing Home moved a block down the street. The home was then owned by Mrs. Scott Pease who converted the house into apartments.

In 1963 the property was purchased by Dick and Ann McDowell and an extensive restoration was begun. They spent over ten years working on the house before they sold it to its last owner John Knudson who was continuing the restoration at the time of the fire. The fire brought an unfortunate end to a long and storied history of a stately home in Lyons.

If you would like to learn more about Lyons’ history visit the Lyons Redstone Museum at 340 High St. The museum is open weekends in May and on Memorial Day, May 29. It will be open daily June 1 to October 1. Hours are MondaySaturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Monique Sawyer Lang is the Collections Manager of the Lyons Redstone Museum. She is also a volunteer with the Lyons Food Pantry and a former member/chair of the Lyons Community Foundation Board. She lives in Spring Gulch.

Sawyer-Lang

Mrs. Mattie Gilger and daughter Claudine in front of the home on 4th Avenue and Evans Street.

LCF scholarship winners, left to right: Cole Thomas, Samantha Rickman, Hunter Powell, Lochlan Osborne, Cambria Burton, and Keara Ping. Not pictured: Maya Caplan.

Schneppel

Online reviews: acquisition addiction can lead to creativity

By Peter Butler Redstone Review

LYONS – Back in the 20th century, if you wanted or needed something, you boarded the bus and went to the shops. When I was young this was exciting because I might persuade my Mom to buy me something nice. There was a difference between home, which was a fixed and known quantity, and Peascod Street in Windsor or Slough High Street, which promised exciting new discoveries and unpredictable lusting.

But the local shops eventually lost their dazzle when I got into slot car racing. I had a Scalextric set but this was better. Magazines showed how you could get a few tools and some modest materials, like sheets of brass and piano wire, and solder up a 1/32 scale chassis that looked great and went like stink. Now the only way to get my geeky widgets was to mail an order to an ad in the back of Model Cars magazine.

But look at us now. We have unfettered access to the whole planet. Delve the sum of all human knowledge on Wikipedia.

Learn almost any skill on YouTube: mending your fridge; installing headlamps in your car or how to play the guitar solo from Stairway to Heaven. And to soothe the incurable disease of your stuff acquisition syndrome there are Amazon and eBay who provide access to every factory on the planet. All you have to do is choose the good stuff and avoid the bad. The dawn of

fake reviews is here.

I was an early adopter of eBay because it offered a plethora of gems like vintage woodworking tools and old music CDs. I used Amazon as a alternative source when eBay failed to deliver. Because of my mind meld with all the other specialized gear consumers of the world, I started writing reviews.

Reviews of stainless steel hinges. Yes I know it’s sad, but you can write hundreds of words rejoicing in metal hardware. It was my personal rebuke to those reviewers for whom the pinnacle of creativity was “My husband loves this.” Over the years I started to enjoy the freedom to wax lyrical about a door knob or a birthday card. Avoid naughty words and you can say almost anything you like. It’s an under-exploited area of creative writing. Hey, if David Bianculli can be a Professor of Watching Television at a real university, I can be the Tolstoy of domestic junk. But then my harmless pastime got serious. I received an invitation from Amazon to join a program called Amazon Vine. I could become a Vine Voice. I was granted access to secret pages where I could select products. Free stuff with fast shipping. I always thought there was no such thing as a free lunch, but here I am apparently approaching midday in the All-You-Can-Eat Saloon. My first item was a tungsten carbide router bit – sorry I did warn you that this was nerdsville. Barely suppressing the smuggest grin on the planet, I earnestly frothed 414 words of poetic genius and awarded five stars. Would Jeff be impressed I wondered? Then a pair of cut-resistant

When the “pterodactyls” return to Colorado

When the herons return to Crane Hollow, Summer then will certainly follow, Their young are raised on nests of sticks, High in the trees they have their picks. Of places to roost year after year, And raise their young without any fear.

(With apology to Sally King)

By Greg Lowell Redstone Review

LYONS – Great blue herons are among the most dramatic birds we have here along the Front Range. Four to five feet tall with a wingspan of seven feet, their appearance in flight harkens back to prehistoric pterodactyls.

Among the most ubiquitous of North America’s wading birds, the great blue heron can be found in nearly every state from freshwater ponds and rivers to seacoast marshes and even beaches, where I once watched one stalk the Florida tidal wrack dodging sunbathers and swimmers.

They’re solitary birds, except when they pair up and nest every spring in large rookeries that are used year after year. Like the proverbial swallows returning to the same cathedral in Capistrano, blue herons gather every year in the same rookeries to mate, nest and raise their young.

Communal nesting

Locally, there’s a rookery off the misnamed Crane Hollow Road in Hygiene. Early settlers to the region incorrectly called the herons “cranes,” which suggests that there may have been a rookery there as long ago as the 19th century.

The Crane Hollow rookery can be seen from the road. It’s best to keep your distance from the rookery during nesting season for the benefit of the birds. Boulder County Parks and Open Space owns the land the Crane Hollow rookery is on, at the back of Pella Crossing Ponds, and enforces such protection. It also goes without saying that observers should respect the landowner opposite the rookery where birdwatchers have a vantage point.

Rookeries are a congregation of large, roughly built nests of sticks where the herons incubate their eggs and raise their young.

The nesting sites can’t be missed. The trees – generally large cottonwoods – are denuded from the constant rain of heron droppings, the ground underneath smells like week-old fish and the cries of the young birds have you looking for troupes of monkeys.

In Colorado, great blue herons usually lay one clutch of three to five eggs, which are incubated by both adults. The

gloves, some sanding disks, a kitchen radio.

Time passed, and 166 items and 30,000 to 40,000 words later, our house, by some miracle, has avoided becoming a candidate for Storage Wars. Yes, there was a period that I could not quite reach my desk, due to the barricade of boxes. And when I handed over the yellow card at the Post Office, there would be a squeaking sound in the distance as an overflowing cartload of brown boxes rolled in my direction. But now, with the benefit of experience, when I see something that tickles my yearning itch, it must also have an immediate home and be something which is plausible to write about. Ceiling lamps that need a contractor and a room rewire are tedious to review, but a box of 72 red Sharpies is merely the work of a jiffy.

I’m not quite sure how to advise you if you would like to join the Vine gang. Buy some cheap items and write reviews about them. I wrote about 20 before being tapped on the shoulder. Be interesting and lengthy if necessary. There are screeds of really dull reviews out there, but it only takes a bit of thought to add some real value. Imagine an ordinary person like you or me, trying to decide which dog-proof chewable understuffed dragon they should buy.

Peter Butler was born in India and lived in a house facing a giant kapok tree. Growing up in England there were trees but never quite enough. After qualifying as biochemist there as a gradual evolution into being a graphic designer. He and his wife Deirdre moved to the States in 1997 and to Lyons in 2000. Finally there are enough trees.

and cackles hoping to be first in line for the adults’ fish or frog deliveries.

While young herons can fly at 60 days, some of the more stubborn fledglings may stay as long as 90 days at the nest before departing.

The rookeries tend to be used continuously for many years, but the acidic excrement of the birds stresses the cottonwoods and causes them to lose their leaves, exposing the nests to marauding eagles. Then they will be abandoned, and a new rookery site will be established.

Empty nests in a rookery are commonly used by great horned owls, which breed earlier in the winter and who seem content to reside side by side with the herons.

While herons have always been in Colorado, the creation of ponds and reservoirs here along the Front Range has created an ideal environment for them and their numbers have increased. The birds are generally non-migratory, although they will come down to lower elevations in the winter.

What’s for dinner?

Everything Herons are commonly seen standing in ponds, marshes and streams peering intently into the water for fish, frogs and crayfish. The birds are patient hunters and move slowly and deliberately until they uncoil with lightning speed and thrust their bill into their prey.

eggs hatch in 25 to 30 days. For the next two months, the adults feed the young by regurgitation.

As the young herons prepare to fledge, they can often be seen standing hunched over in silence at the edge of the nests until an adult approaches, at which point every one of the young in the rookery lets loose with shrieks

While fish and frogs are their primary food, they are opportunistic hunters and will also take turtles, rodents and birds. They’ve been seen stalking mice and voles in fields (and even prairie dogs here locally), raiding bird nests.

Night or day, herons will eat whatever comes their way.

Lyons’ resident Greg Lowell, is a former Lyons Town Board Trustee and serves as the chair of the Ecology Advisory Board.

Dan’s Quality Tree Care

Lowell

A rookery, like this one, can be seen off Crane Hollow Road in Hygiene.

Butler

How do we treat the root of the gun violence problem?

By John Gierach Redstone Review

LYONS – I recently spent four days fishing the Frying Pan River on Colorado’s west slope with some friends. This is an annual trip and although we’ve never officially declared it to be media-free, that’s how it works out. By unspoken mutual consent, we don’t watch the news in our motel rooms or check the headlines on our phones or even glance at a newspaper when we’re filling our thermoses with coffee at the 7-11 each morning. And if anyone does weaken in a private moment, they keep what they learn to themselves. As responsible adult taxpaying voters, we feel we deserve a few days off now and then to worry about nothing but whether or not the trout are happy.

But back home all bets are off and the first story I was greeted with was the mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas that left eight dead and seven injured. I know I’m supposed to say I was shocked, appalled and infuriated, but the fact is I wasn’t even surprised. We’d gone fishing for four days in a country that lately averages at least one mass shooting per day, so frankly I expected more. And maybe there were more. There are so many of these shootings now that there seems to be a minimum threshold of mayhem that has to be passed before the press will cover them. Otherwise they just fade into the daily background noise of intentional and accidental gun violence in America and in the interest of self-preservation, many of us have developed compassion fatigue for the simple reason that if you let your heart break every day, you’ll go insane.

Meanwhile, according to ABC News, 13,900 lives have been lost to gun violence in America so far this year. That’s over 90

people a day for 150 days straight with no end in sight.

I couldn’t bring myself to watch much of the coverage because, like the rest of us, I’d heard it all so many times before that I could have recited the lines along with the grim journalists, paid legal and law enforcement consultants, activists and politicians.

So yes, it was devastating to the entire community, and yes, chances are the guns used were purchased legally, and yes, as usual the shooter was either certifiably nuts, a racist, a radicalized insurrectionist or a little of each, and yes, this can’t go on; something must be done, even though nothing ever gets done.

The politics of it does come to seem like a nightmarish perpetual motion machine whereby whatever one side manages to accomplish the other side undoes, so we endlessly spin our wheels while nothing changes. You might even wonder if politicians would rather have the fight than the solution because it’s the fight that raises campaign funds and keeps them in office with all the power and the perks. That’s why liberals sponsor gun safety legislation that they know will never pass and in some cases will never even come to a vote, while right-wingers say that gun violence is a mental health problem while they continue to loosen gun laws and cut funds for mental health.

I’m one of what polls suggest is a majority of gun owners who’d like to see a few basic gun safety measures taken as a way to get started on a cultural problem that will take generations to solve, but banning the pri-

vate ownership of military grade weapons seems like a reasonable first step. Maybe you remember that in the mid-1990s we had a ban on the sale of assault rifles and nothing much happened except that gun manufacturers made a little less money and murder rates declined significantly. But it was a tenyear ban that expired in 2004 and wasn’t re-

newed, even though it had been proven effective. What happened? Money, politics and right-wing hysteria, even though no less a conservative icon than Ronald Reagan said, “You don’t go deer hunting with a machine gun.”

In fact, by Reagan’s time, machine guns – that is, fully automatic rifles like Thompson sub-machine guns or “Tommy Guns” – had long since been made illegal by the 1934 National Firearms Act. That was a reaction to the mob violence of the time – Al Capone, Frank Nitty etc. – and the bill was endorsed by none other than the National Rifle Association. That would be the old NRA, which used to be an organization of reasonable gun owners who didn’t want to see their fellow citizens mowed down by gangsters.

Those who say no gun safety measures will make any more than a small dent in the problem are, of course, correct. Will background checks and waiting periods keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them? In a country that currently has more than one working firearm for every man, woman and child, not to mention plenty of ammunition, it’s usually easy enough to borrow, steal or buy one illegally.

For that matter, will banning 30-round clips make a real difference or will people just get three legal 10-round clips? Over 600,000 people died in the American Civil War at a time when the vast majority of firearms were muzzleloaders that would fire once and take five minutes to reload. Farther back in history we used swords and spears and before that rocks, but we’re an endlessly inventive species and we always seem to get the job done.

In the long run, the ultimate solution is to somehow transcend the hatred, prejudice and paranoia that makes us want to shoot each other in the first place, but universal enlightenment may take longer than we’d like. In the meantime, we can at least try to treat the symptoms while the disease continues to run its course.

on May 30. Join to discuss chapters 17 to 35 on June 13. Registration is limited and required; call or email the library to reserve a copy of the book.

By Kara Bauman Redstone Review

LYONS – Mark your calendars for the first installment of Pints and Pages, a book club co-sponsored by the Rock Garden at A-Lodge and your Lyons Community Library, and facilitated by your Library Director. The first meet up will take place on Sunday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Rock Garden and the title up for discussion is The Leavers by Lisa Ko. Enjoy great book-ish conversation and BOGO drink specials each third Sunday of the month from May through October.

Join us in welcoming local author Junior Burke on May 23 at 7 p.m. Burke will read from his latest novel, Buddha

Was a Cowboy, shortlisted for the Mark Twain 2022 Book Awards for Humor and Satire. He will follow the reading with an audience Q&A. Burke’s The Cold Swim (2020) was one of five finalists for a Sidewise Award, the annual prize for novels of Alternate History. His short fiction was included in the anthologies Litscapes: Collected U.S. Writings 2015 and Collectibles (2021). Lyons locals just might recognize themselves or their neighbors in his novel A Thousand Eyes (2018), a tall tale about a small mountain town nearly wiped away by a monumental flood. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with one of our local talents.

Keep the book chatter going on May 25 when the Busy Readers’ Book Club discusses Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. Join for tea and cookies in the library’s community room at 11 a.m. Limited copies of the book are available at the information desk. Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author, describes Wrong Place, Wrong Time as “a brilliantly genre-bending, mindtwisting answer to the question: ‘How far would you go to save your child?’”

Tweens entering grades 3 through 8 are welcome to their own twicemonthly book club to discuss and participate in fun enrichment activities. First up is chapters 1 to 16 of The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson, from 3:15 to 4 p.m.

Area teens entering grades 6 through 12 are invited to attend an end-of-the-school-year celebratory movie night on May 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. Teens will watch a G-rated film, eat pizza and desserts, and generally relax with their friends at this summer kickoff.

We all know Lyons is an artistic community, and as such the library is pleased to host an Open Studio workspace. Open Studio is a space where adult artists of all abilities and interests are invited to create, share, and connect through art. Once a month, beginning June 19, we will provide a dedicated space for local artists and crafters to come together to create. Artists are invited to bring works-in-progress, such as knitting, crocheting, drawing, sketching, embroidery, painting, and other portable projects. The library will provide limited supplies such as paper and paint, but we encourage artists to bring their own projects to work on while engaging with and growing their community.

Summer Reading Program

School is almost out and that means the library is preparing for its annual Summer Reading Program. We’re looking forward to celebrating our vibrant community through this year’s theme, All Together Now. With events for kiddos of all ages as well as fun reading activities, the library aims to help children develop positive attitudes about books and reading, and to enable them to

Hours: Mon- Sat 8 am- 8pm • Sun 8 am- 7pm

At the library: Junior Burke reads from Buddha was a Cowboy; summer reading program begins

Bauman

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert holds up a shirt showing a graphic of an assault rifle with the words “Since we’re redefining everything, this is a cordless hole puncher.” The photo was taken at a gun range just hours after five people, including a 9-year-old child, were fatally shot in Texas by a suspect with an an AR-15 style assault weapon when they asked him to stop shooting his gun outside so their child could get to sleep.

Author Junior Burke will read from his latest novel, Buddha Was a Cowboy,

LHS GRADUATING SENIORS 2023

ROBERT BAER THOMAS BECKETT JORDAN BROWNSBERGER CAMBRIA BURTON OLIVIA CHIVERS SOPHIE CLAVIERE ANGUITA

ALEXANDER DUGAN NATHAN DURAN PIERCE EDDY BROOKLYN ENNY ANNA FELT

ALYCE GANTZER VIOLET JOHNSON HENRY JONES IV DEQULYN KELLER SIERRA LAUREN JASIAH LEVERNIER

WYATT LEVY SNOW MATHEWS JACKSON MENCIN CHLOE MERS ALISSA MOE OTTO MOELLENBERG

AUTUMN OLSON ANTHONY ORTIZ

RAEANA ORTIZ LOCHLAN OSBORNE KEARA PING HUNTER POWELL

ZANE RAMEY NATHANAEL RICHARDSON SAMANTHA RICKMAN KYLEE ROBERTS RAGAN ROBERTS JHOELI RUIZ

JEREMIAH CRONIN

My love song for non-conformist Ann Ripley

By Sally King Redstone Review

I met Ann about 20 years ago

We were new to the neighborhood and invited to a party and there she was an in a white shirt with that white shock of hair

Looking like Amelia Earhart or Gertrude Stein

I knew I was in the presence someone significant Glorious in her mid-seventies (a timeline I now find myself in)

Ann lived on Antelope Road, just a short walk up hill

And during our visits. I would learn of the latest outrage

In politics and government. Her values were clear

She was a woman of Conviction –she didn’t hold back.

Completely contemporary in her views and understanding.

We’d drink coffee and talk out back by her garden

Taking turns… holding forth, as friends will do.

Ann began writing garden murder mysteries

In her retirement years

And then she took up painting in her 80s

Hosting a Monday morning art class, Clearing off the dining room table

Transforming the room into an art space

Where a loyal crew of artists would faithfully arrive

Bringing their art materials for a few hours of camaraderie

While making their art.

Ann’s painting style was a kind of folk art

Paintings that tell a story

Like the painting of a woman in her bathing suit smoking a cigarette (sexy women in her day, used to smoke)

And I especially loved the painting of her Venus on the Half Shell – Self Portrait

It’s of an old-fashioned bathtub

And a woman stepping away from us

As she stepped out of the bath

And as we sat in Ann’s room with her during her last day.

My eyes were drawn to this painting –of Ann stepping away

Just out of the bath

And she made it look doable

Just a peaceful step – out of the bath

We need our artists

People who are resourced from within. Self-authorized people.

And in sitting with her those few days of her life

This wild awareness entered my consciousness

It dawned on me

That I was in the presence of a Master

A person who had claimed life as her own. And this is the task Ann sets us to To fully move in And be in-house Inside ourselves.

Creatively, dynamically. Powerfully

Bringing in the creative life force

Through our own glorious selves.

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, a kinetic sculptor artist, near Lyons. You can find her on her blog and website: hersoupot.net and sallywhiteking.com.

King

Clarifier Community Mosaic Love Day, Saturday, May 13

Thirteen volunteers, including many who worked on the original Clarifier mosaic sculpture, gathered to clean up, spruce up, and make needed repairs in anticipation of warmer weather and more visitors. The group weeded and weed-whacked the surrounding areas, as well as cleared the roof in preparation for fall switchgrass planting. We also cleaned the Clarifier’s surface and made needed repairs, and planted hens and chicks between the surrounding large buff sandstone boulders.Thanks to LAHC and Town of Lyons and all CCM supporters.

At the far left is Melinda Wunder, LAHC member, who worked tirelessly with Priscilla Cohan and Cathy Rivers on the content and creation of the new Clarifier Community Mosaic sign. PHOTOS BY CATHY RIVERS

Hailey Pierce – Silver Creek High School

Henry Joseph Barone – Silver Creek High School

Ryan Bruckner – Longmont High School

Maya Caplan – Silver Creek High School

Nataya Marie Cook – New Vista High School

Izzie Hayden – Silver Creek High School

Lily Hirt – Silver Creek High School

Isabella Kauffman – New Vista High School

Jamieson Legh – Niwot High School

Sophie Vivian Pike – The Colorado Rocky Mountain School

Kristen Jean Quinn – Niwot High School

Oliver Nunez – Longmont High School

MAYA CAPLAN

LILY HIRT

HAILEY PIERCE

HENRY JOSEPH BARONE

ISABELLA KAUFFMAN

IZZIE HAYDEN

JAMIESON LEGH

KRISTEN JEAN QUINN

NATAYA MARIE COOK

OLIVER NUNEZ

RYAN BRUCKNER

SOPHIE VIVIAN PIKE

WOMEN IN BUSINESS SERIES

Betsy Burton takes a village and builds a world around it

By Tamara Haddad Redstone Review

LYONS – Walking into Betsy Burton’s home is like walking into Southern Living magazine for Rosie the Riveter. One gets the immediate sense that something is happening, and you want to be a part of it. It could be felting a row of alphabet balls for a three-year-old Farmette friend to managing the participants and recipients of the philanthropic Farmette Farm Dinners, which support local employment, statewide exposure for Lyons, and international nonprofits.

Burton, co-owner of Farmette and River Bend, has an authentic charm, is exuberant with ideas, and possesses the business acumen to back it up. Some might say that Burton, with her passion for animals, the arts, and sustainability, is a zealous philanthropist; those who know her say, “Betsy doesn’t know how to live any other way.”

A native of Tennessee, Burton, at 26 years old, packed her bags and moved to Colorado. “I wanted to be a hippie,” said Burton. “So I moved to Eldora and lived in a 500-square foot wood-burning home for 15 years.”

While there, Burton taught kindergarten classes and founded Little Bear School, a thriving preschool, for two decades. When she took a trip to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival around 2000, the trajectory of her life turned to the unexpected; she met her equal, her soul mate, her husband, Mike Whipp. “Yes, we became inseparable. He had a thermostat,” quips Burton.

Rarely is the bond between two best friends so intoxicating. It is only possible to talk about one by referencing the other. Whipp came with a serial-entrepreneur spirit, and Burton brought a passion for philanthropy. The wife and husband team harnessed the unique ability to combine their skills and resources to create a powerful force for good. This type of “caring capitalism” is a form of philanthropy that uses its business acumen to benefit society

in meaningful ways. In the mid-1980s, when the term was coined, names like Ben and Jerry, Patagonia, and later, E-Town came to mind.

One of their earliest business ventures began when Whipp and his friend Gordon Knight purchased Lyons Old Post Office and opened a community-centric coffee shop. “My mama named it,” said Burton. “Betty Burton named the coffee shop, the

Alliance and Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission. “We hosted the event at our home in Apple Valley in the early years.” Said Burton. “And then the Farmette, and now we host it at River Bend.”

River Bend is a beautifully maintained property on the banks of the St. Vrain River under the towering, dramatic red stone cliffs Lyons is known for. Before River Bend, the picturesque event space was a trailer park, an example of Whipp’s authentic stewardship of affordable housing in Lyons.

and flowers to its roster.

“We started the farm growing vegetables and flowers,” said Burton. “Zinnas, zinnias, I had so many zinnias. Thank goodness for my helpers. They took the flower farm to a whole new level.”

Stone Cup.” The Stone Cup wasn’t your average coffee shop. For almost three years, Burton and Whip created a culture that empowered musicians, artists, and employees. In its third year, Stone Cup was sold to one of those employees, Mindy Tallent, who, with her family, built the legacy into a Lyons staple for decades to come.

It wasn’t all rainbows. In 2007, Burton opened and closed an art gallery in Estes Park. “That one cost Mike Whipp a chunk,” said Burton. This is short-sighted because the art gallery experience gave the Burton-Whipp duo the impetus to conceive and host the charity event now known as Art at River Bend, a collaborative benefit between Boulder County Arts

He purchased the trailer park business and nurtured it until the devastating flood of 2013. After he cleared the land and filled the deep rivercarved crevices with mud, everyone’s hands were tied. From FEMA to Lyons BOT, the uncertain regulations and curiously missing water taps made it impossible for Whipp and Burton to rebuild the 50+-year-old trailer park. They looked at the things working at the Farmette and decided that the River Bend property could also fill in as a unique event venue Burton and Whipp created the Farmette over 15 years ago as a sustainable farm. They opened the house on the property to the Boulder County Homeless Shelter, where the residents could work on and learn about growing their own food. Burton has long supported sustainable farming and community gardens and is an advocate with SlowFood, (501(c)(3). “I really enjoy seeing the long-term positive effects of locally-grown food and environmental sustainability.” said Burton. The Farmette has evolved with these values by adding educational workshops, weddings, special events, international fundraising dinners,

Indeed, in the same way they empowered Tallent to take over the Stone Cup, Burton and Whipp continue encouraging their employees to be partners and break out on their own. Kim and Grant Hamil, and GarrisonSchulte worked on the Farmette and opened Plume & Furrow, a cut flower farm and design studio. “I’m so proud of them’” said Burton, “We don’t have employees, we have family, and we want them to succeed.” Kayla also came to Betsy’s mind. “Kayla is the Farmette’s wonderful venue manager. She started her own business, Dahlia Events and Designs.” Part of Burton and Whipp’s support is in the form of profit sharing, “We hope they (the Farmette family) take the business over one day,” said Whipp.

The most recent philanthropic partnership of Burton and Whipp is the fundraiser for the Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) and Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund (LEAF), the Hootenanny. It is a wild success that brings in more money than the Farm dinners, and 100 percent of the proceeds are disbursed equally between the two nonprofits that distribute the money to help, people, groups, volunteers, Food Pantry and others.

By leveraging their joint capabilities, Burton and Whipp make an even more significant impact than either could do alone. Through this partnership, they create jobs and opportunities for others. And keep caring capitalism at the forefront of business.

Betsy Barton and Mike Whip are cofounders of the Farmette at 4121 Ute Hwy., Lyons, and a leading part of an investment group and facilitators at 501 W. Main St., Lyons.

Tamara Vega Haddad is an advocate for small businesses and Lyons’ economic development. She has an Interior Design Certificate, specializing in Biophilic Design, and works with Tucker Real Estate Group as an agent.

BETSY BURTON AND MIKE WHIPP

SEASONS

Consider local options and make local a habit

By Kim Mitchell Redstone Review

LYONS – Somewhere right now in Lyons someone in our community is doing something good for the benefit of all of us. Simply put, we’re all on the same team, working in tandem to create the best for Lyons.

Trusting that our friends and neighbors have good intentions, and the simple act of assuming positive intent, creates a snowball effect of positive vibes permeating throughout our small town. As a community we have a wide diversity of talents, skills, expertise, and opportunities to share with each other. Whether it’s joining the local knitting circle to get help on a project, taking a class at the library, creating art for the quarterly art shows, or volunteering time with a local organization, you don’t need to search very far to make a difference.

How to make local a habit? Consider a local option before looking elsewhere. This could be any simple thing; needing a massage, new tires for your car, a tune up for your bike, or a funky creation to hang in your home. Perhaps you want to learn to play an instrument or join a local band. It’s likely right here for you in Lyons.

Continued support of our local service business, retailers and restaurants helps to benefit our entire community. Graduation is coming up quickly and teacher appreciation gifts or gift cards can be found right here in Lyons. Our local services and shops have something for each of us. Plus, they would love to see you.

As we switch gears into summer and spend more time

LEAF searches for new headquarters

By Lory Barton Redstone Review

LYONS – LEAF had entered into an agreement to purchase the building at 440 Main Street in Lyons. After pursuing the brown shed that the Town of Lyons had offered for LEAF’s use, the opportunity to own a facility, and a larger one, was appealing to LEAF’s leadership. As we explained when we entered into contract, the due diligence process is a long and detailed one, and the purchase would not be final until all due diligence issues had been addressed. Unfortunately, we were unable to successfully navigate the due diligence process and the contract to purchase 440 Main was terminated. We remain in close partnership with the town of Lyons, and are grateful for staff's and leadership’s efforts to support LEAF’s acquisition of a new headquarters. We look forward to a long and continued friendship with the town as we look to the future together.

Lory Barton is the executive director of LEAF.

outdoors, the Lyons Community Foundation and the Town are hosting the Third Annual Artisan Market at Bohn Park, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Sunday, June 4. Local artisans will have their fabulous creations on hand. We have 30 small vendors, many of whom live here in Lyons.

Rockies makes a stop in Bohn Park. This is a 1,400 rider cycling event covering six days of cycling in Colorado. This rest stop will have plenty of music and energy as the riders gear up for the final stretch from Lyons to Ft. Collins. If you are able to volunteer and join the festivities, please visit lyonscolorado.com/rtrvolunteer to sign up.

Their talented work will be on display and for sale to our community. Whether it’s made of wood, ceramics or upcycled fibers you’ll find them here. We hope you will come out and enjoy local music by the Blue Canyon Boys and the delicious creations by local chefs. Come on over, join in the fun and continue to make local a habit.

Nearly two weeks later on Friday, June 16, Ride the

Summer heats up on Wednesday, June 21, kicking off the summer solstice, with Joe Kuckla and Irons in the Fire for the first concert of the Sandstone Summer Concert series. Mark your calendars for Wednesday nights, meet old friends and new neighbors and share in the celebration of summer and live music in the park. The Sandstone Summer Concert Series is the culmination of the best of Lyons; talented local artists, funding from the Lyons Community Foundation, great music, positive vibes, and community celebration. Our small, but mighty community continues to work for the benefit of all of us. Our small, independently owned businesses are the meeting places for bringing the community together, sharing news and stories and fostering that positive vibe. Many of them have fun gathering events on their summer calendars too. Make local a habit is a consistently great way to support our artists, businesses and non-profits year-round.

Kim Mitchell is the Community Relations and Communications Director for the Town of Lyons, and has called Lyons home since 2009.

Lyons Lions and LEO Lions Service Clubs

A Call for New Active Members!!!

Interested in serving your community?

Our great little town has a number of organizations that can help you do this, and each one is making a difference! The oldest and longest running organization is our Lyons Lions Club, chartered in 1946. The Lyons Lions Club is currently recruiting new members… come “join the club”!

Local Lions success stories:

✓ Eye glasses recycle program, needs-based exams and new glasses

✓ Highway 7 roadside trash pickup twice per year

LEO

Our LEO Club was originally established to allow teens 18 and under to help with the aftermath of the 2 013 flood. The LEO Club must have the support of our local Lions Club in order to exist and operate.

THE COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU!

Become a member of the Lions Club to ensure that our young people have support, build lasting friendships, and help bring new ideas and energy to this vital organization and our community.

✓ High school scholarships and Outstanding Athletes recognition

✓ Lifesaving water safety lessons for elementary students

✓ Replacement of Lyons street trees and volunteer plantings

✓ Establishment and sponsorship of 9News Health Fairs

✓ Sponsorship of the LEO Lions Club and support for their community youth service projects

✓ Annual Fundraiser: a fun golf tournament now in its 29th year

Register your team at lyonslionsclub.com!

The Lions and LEO Clubs’ goal is to preserve and foster our Service in Action capability for the Lyons Area.

Contact us today to learn how, together, we can continue to make a difference!

Jerry Tabor, President— gtabor6710@gmail.com

Scott Leiding, Secretary— scottleiding929@gmail.com

Abby Wynja, LEO Club Mentor— Abby@fitismed.com

Sage Wynja, LEO Club President— Wynja.sage06@svvsd.org

PHOTO BY CATHY RIVERS

Take only memories, leave only footprints: a guide to leave no trace principles

By Zack Bertges Redstone Review

LYONS – Hello, Lyons community. Building off last month’s article about offleash dog requirements, this month I want to share with you the importance of Leave No Trace (LNT) principles, and why the town is embracing LNT in your beautiful parks and nearby open spaces, like Bohn Park, Hall Ranch, LaVern M. Johnson Park, and along the St. Vrain Creeks. Leave No Trace is a set of outdoor ethics and principles that promote responsible outdoor recreation while minimizing environmental impact and encouraging future generations to be good land stewards. At some point, we have all noticed trash, rock cairns, stacked logs, and used dog poop bags while exploring the great outdoors.

It’s important for us to lead by example and teach our kids and young adults how to take care of nature by following Leave No Trace principles. This way, we can help keep the wilderness pristine while ensuring that our local animal habitats and ecology can thrive.

The Leave No Trace program was founded in the 1960s in the United States by the National Outdoor Leadership School

B R I E F S

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Corrin Godar, Client Services Supervisor, for BCAAA is the facilitator. You can email Godar at bgodar@bouldercounty.org, for more information or check the website at BoulderCountyHelp.org. Also find BCAAA on Facebook. The resource line is 303-441-1617.

Mayama’s 14th annual dance production

LYONS – Mayama’s annual dance show, In Your Element, will be performed at Lyons Middle/Senior High Auditorium, 100 McConnell Dr., on Saturday, June 3, with two shows, one at 11 a.m. and one at 3 p.m.

Tickets are now on sale and we highly recommend pre-purchasing your tickets as there are limited seats and last year’s shows were both

(NOLS) and has since been adopted by a range of organizations worldwide.

The core principles of Leave No Trace are simple, but they require conscious effort and planning to be effective. They are as follows:

• Plan and prepare: Proper planning and preparation can help minimize damage to the environment and ensure that your outing is safe and enjoyable. This includes everything from packing dog waste bags to packing the right gear, studying maps and weather reports, and checking regulations and permit requirements.

• Travel on durable surfaces: Stick to established trails and avoid trampling on fragile vegetation or disturbing wildlife habitats. If you need to go off-trail, do so on durable surfaces such as rock, gravel, or snow.

• Dispose of waste properly: Pack out all trash and litter, including food scraps, dog waste, and used dog waste bags.

• Leave what you find: Do not disturb or remove natural or cultural artifacts, including rocks, plants, logs and sticks. Leave them for other humans and animals to enjoy and for future generations to appreciate.

• Minimize fire potential: Avoid piling logs into one area and do not make any kind of fire rings in areas that do not allow fires,

very close to selling out. Please note our youngest dancers, second grade and younger, will only be performing in one of the two shows; be sure to double check that you have the correct showtime if you are purchasing tickets to see a dancer second grade and younger.

Classes performing in only one show:

• Creative Movement with Jasmine on Mondays: performs at 11 a.m.

• Movement Exploration and Discovery with Ali on Thursdays: performs at 3 p.m.

• Hip Hop, 1st with Wendy on Tuesdays: performs at 3 p.m.

• Jazz and Hip Hop, kindergarten with Wendy on Thursdays: performs at 11 a.m.

• Jazz, 1st and 2nd with Ali on Thursdays: performs at 11 a.m.

Doors will open 20 minutes prior to showtime. Reserved seating is only available for our volunteer helpers. We will have flowers and refreshments available for purchase. All proceeds go towards our dance scholarship program.

including the Martin Parcel. Additionally, if you or people with you stack logs into a structure or fort, make sure it is taken down and removed when you leave the area.

• Respect wildlife: Observe wildlife from a distance and do not feed or approach them, including deer, squirrels, moose,

Bring cash.

Single show tickets: adults $24, kids $12 (18 and under), children three and under, no charge. Dancers do not need tickets. For both shows: adults $40, kids $20. All tickets will be held at Will Call under the purchaser’s name. For information and tickets, go to Mayama’s website, Mayama Dance & Wellness. You can contact Mayama at 720-2455448 or info@mayamastudio.com.

Phoebe Hunt offers Ukulele Sprouts Summer Camp

LYONS – Ukulele Sprouts Summer Camp will be held from July 10 to 14 at Alchemy Art Barn at 1005 Apple Valley Rd., Lyons. Hosted by Phoebe Hunt, who has been a facilitator at the Rockygrass Kids Academy for the past six years as well as a performer at Rockygrass and Folks Fest, this camp is all about planting the seeds of music through teaching the basics of playing the ukulele while having a great time.

bears, lions, and our local rams.

• Be considerate of other visitors: Respect other people’s privacy and maintain a reasonable noise level. Yield to others on the trails and use appropriate trail etiquette.

By following these principles, you can help protect the environment and preserve the natural beauty of outdoor areas for future generations to enjoy. Leave No Trace is not just a set of guidelines, but a way of life that fosters a deep respect for nature and a commitment to responsible outdoor recreation.

By planning ahead, traveling on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, leaving what you find, minimizing fire potential, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors, you can set a good example and help protect the environment while preserving the natural beauty of the outdoors for future generations. So, next time you head outdoors, remember to Leave No Trace.

Zack Bertges is the Lyons Code Compliance Officer. His boy (dog) Luke is a therapy dog at Boulder Community Hospital (BHS). You may see them walking around town. Luke likes to be petted by his new friends in town. Bertges does not want to be petted.

This will be a half-day camp, 9 a.m. to12 p.m., where we focus on singing songs in small groups and playing ukulele. On Friday July 14, families of the campers are welcome to join for a lunchtime concert at the Alchemy Art Barn where we will perform the music learned through the camp experience. Hunt utilizes a lot of Montessori principles in her teaching style.

Hunt has trained over 50 parents to teach their own children to play ukulele in her Ukulele SPROUTS Parent Teacher training program and a few of her trainees will be at camp as her teaching assistants implementing the curriculum they have been exploring with their own children.

This camp is intended for children 5 to 10 years of age. Enroll at ukulelesprouts.com. Click on Locations and Teachers and you will find the Lyons, CO Ukulele Sprouts Camp listed for $225. All campers will receive a Ukulele SPROUTS Level 1 flipbook to accompany the

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Luke packs it in and packs it out.

WHAT’S NEW

Jalapeño corn muffins

By Barbara Shark Redstone Review

run wild in my garden. We have a salad made with these delicious greens for lunch most days often accompanied by a loaf of Moxie bread or these corn muffins.

Shark

LYONS – The wild plum trees on Apple Valley Road once again perfume the air with their intoxicating aroma. One of my favorite scents. If only I could find a soap that captures that smell. Or perhaps the fleeting nature of the seasons makes them more precious, to be enjoyed in the moment.

We’re still in the pre-spring vegetable season with asparagus, herbs, and salad greens about the only local or garden veggies available. We eat a lot of asparagus and I relish the hardy arugula and red orach that self-seed and

Combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup unbleached flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, (use three teaspoons at a lower altitude than here in Lyons), 1 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar. Add 1 large egg, 1 cup of milk and 6 tablespoons safflower (or canola) oil. Stir in 1 large chopped pickled jalapeño (or 12 pieces of nacho jalapeño slices, chopped) or other chilé. Sometimes I include 1/2 cup of little cubes of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Pour batter into a well-buttered or paper-lined muffin tin. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. This makes 10 to 12 muffins.

Barbara Shark is an artist and author of How I Learned to Cook, an Artist’s Life. She lives near Lyons, Colorado. For more recipes, read her blog www.howilearnedtocookanartistslife.blog.

Crunchy Amish salad – indulge your Midwestern veggie cravings

By Catherine Metzger Redstone Review

LYONS – Last month we brought you Ann Ripley’s potato salad. Our son Antoni admonished me for cutting back on the butter in mom’s original recipe. I stand accused: bump up the melted butter if you feel you need to.

Returning to the salad theme this month, and to restore my salad reputation, we will remind you of the broccoli salad made popular by the Amish.

This simple recipe has been around a lot longer than I have and appears at many

summer barbecues. Its delicious crunchy tang bears creating and eating at least once in your lifetime. If not twice. Or three times. I’ve lost count.

This Americana mainstay from the Midwest will add vitamins, minerals and lots of brassica fiber and pizzazz as a salad or side dish to your spring table.

Amish Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1 head broccoli, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup stevia or monk fruit or 1/4 cup maple syrup or 1/2 cup maple sugar)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound bacon, fried and crumbled

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

• Cut bacon into lardons and cook until crispy. Drain and set aside.

• Wash and chop broccoli and cauliflower into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cheddar cheese until well mixed.

• In a small bowl, mix the mayo, sour cream, maple sugar and salt until well

combined.

• Mix the mayonnaise sauce into the cauliflower-broccoli mix and thoroughly stir in the bacon until fully incorporated.

• Chill and serve cold.

Catherine Ripley Metzger has been cooking professionally and privately since 1979. She was a French cuisine journeyman at the celebrated Henri d’Afrique restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Today she is the proprietor of the food blog www.foodfortheages.com and cooks with curiosity from the ground up in her log cabin home on the Western Slope of Colorado.

CHOP VEGGIES, ADD CHEESE MIX IN PREPARED MAYO SAUCE ADD THE COOKED BACON SERVE COLD

May is Mental Health Month: LEAF expands its mental wellness and addiction program

By Cherie Maureaux Redstone Review

LYONS – Mental health care is for everyone, no matter what age or place in life, and is an imperative part of our personal and social wellbeing. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and provides a timely reminder for each of us to take pause and reflect on the standing of our own health, which is a blend of our physical, psychological, and spiritual makeup.

Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month by rolling out expansions to its Mental Wellness and Addiction Recovery program. We are grateful to announce two new members who have joined the LEAF team to address our town’s expressed needs around addiction recovery and youth programming.

Lyons’ own local Certified Addiction Specialist James Hart is currently facilitating a no-cost addiction recovery support group called Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART). The SMART recovery model has helped millions of people around the world manage addictions and lead rich, healthy lives. This group is for any person over 18 years of age, with any addictive problem. The first gathering began on Monday, May 8 and will continue each Monday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for the next eight weeks, when the group will be renewed based on participation and need. The group meets at the lower level of Lyons Community Church at 350 Main St. To ask questions or sign up formally, email James Hart at consultjames@gmail.com. Drop-ins without registration are also welcome. As always, all communications are confidential.

Lyons local Jennifer Jarrett is an art therapist who has

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songs they will be learning together. There are limited spaces available.

If you need a ukulele, make sure to enroll soon. Ukuleles will only be available to those who enroll by June 15. The recommended beginner ukulele is a Kala MaKala brand basic beginner ukulele. This is a great beginner instrument that stays in tune.

Weed Posse starts eighth season

LYONS – Lyons Weed Posse will start its eighth season Thursday, May 18, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Thursday sessions will continue weekly through October. The Weed Posse is part of Lyons Volunteers which is part of Lyons Emergency & Assistance Fund. The posse focuses on riparian areas and other public spaces, such as the Lyons Cemetery. The posse manually removes toxic, invasive weeds (like thistles and knapweed), eliminating toxic herbicide use and encouraging native plant growth, for a more beautiful, safe environment. Private homeowners and businesses are encouraged to be mindful of removing weeds, especially before they flower and go to seed.

For more information, email Cathy Rivers to get on the list for volunteers, weekly locations, at harmonize@colorworks7.com.

BoCo Commissioners Town Hall on property values

LONGMONT – Join the Boulder County Commissioners for a Town Hall with Assessor Cindy Braddock, and a presentation on the recent property valuations sent to county residents, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday May 18 at La Vita Bella, 471 Main St., Longmont. This public meeting will include a question-and-answer session and all residents are welcome and encouraged to attend. All are welcome to attend, no R.S.V.P. necessary. Questions can always be sent to commissioners@bouldercounty.org as well.

For additional background on property valuations, visit: the Boulder County Website and look up property values.

Broadway improvements update

LYONS – The Board of Trustees approved a contract for the Broadway St. Improvements at its May 1 meeting. The contractor has been selected. Next steps are to work with the contractor on the estimated start date; the Town will send an update when we have that information. The bid pricing came in low enough for the project to also move forward with the frontage road paving option.

Organic turf fertilizer application

LYONS – The Town of Lyons Parks and Public Works Department will begin services in the next two weeks of May for an all-organic fertilizer, to be applied in Bohn, LMJ

recently begun art therapy for high school students. This pilot program, Teens Explore, began on Tuesday, May 9, and continues each Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. until May 30. It is not too late to join in and all current high school age youth are welcome. This innovative program is one where students can safely ex plore and express emotions and life experiences.

The meetings are the first slated in a series to address the needs of area youth, and these beginning meetings are important to set the stage for future group series topics. Teenagers who would like their voices heard should consider attending. The group is free, with all art supplies as well as light snacks provided. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, confidentially email jennifer@3greenhearts.com.

This gathering also meets at the lower level of Lyons Community Church at 350 Main St. Again, all communications are confidential.

As LEAF continues to expand mental health services, we’d like to announce that interviews are open for another licensed mental health professional to join our team. We are looking for an integrative mental health clinician who is interested in trauma-based and addiction-related modalities to lead groups, administer individual counsel-

and Sandstone Parks. The service will be done by SavATree and should be completed in two to three days, weather permitting. The product being applied in Assure 8-0-6 Organic Fertilizer. It is all-organic and has no synthetics. It will be applied per the recommended application rates.

Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS)

LYONS – All residents are encouraged to sign up for Boulder County Everbridge alerts to receive messages about imminent wildfire threats and other hazards. Multiple improvements have been made to the alert and warning systems used by the four 911 dispatch centers in Boulder County in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire.

Everbridge is the software used to send emergency alerts to landlines, cell phones, text, TTY/TDD, emails, or faxes. Community members who are not already registered are encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts by going to www.BOCOAlert.org.

At the very least, residents should check to make sure their information in the Everbridge system is up to date. Emergency alert messages and an interactive map are now automatically posted to the www.BOCOAlert.org website any time an emergency alert is sent in Boulder County using the Everbridge software. Each alert will contain a web address to access more information about the specific alert.

Bark Rangers

LYONS – The Town of Lyons is sharing an opportunity for residents, and their furry best friends, to make a positive impact in our beautiful parks. The Bark Ranger Volunteer assists by walking the Town of Lyons Park grounds, modeling good dog-owner behavior, reporting poor dog behavior directly to Town Code Compliance Staff, and educating visitors about the parks and their history. By simply walking the grounds with their furry friends, Bark Rangers can assist the Town of Lyons in keeping the parks welcoming and safe for all residents and visitors. The only requirement of the program is to walk with your pets and observe and report (via phone or text message) anything suspicious or unwelcoming in our parks. That’s it. Training will be required and provided by Boulder County Animal Control Officers and the Town of Lyons Code Compliance Official. Program runs from May to September, 2023. Go to the Town of Lyons website for more information or call the town at 303-823-6622.

Golf carts have new registration requirements

LYONS – New in 2023 and per Lyons Municipal Code 8-3-10 (b)(4), all golf carts shall be registered in Lyons. Town staff has been working on a program for residents to register their golf cars to help ensure the vehicles are safe and have the correct mirrors and signage

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ing, and help expand new programming around youth and addiction recovery. Those interested in part- or full-time work are encouraged to reach out. To view the job description, visit LEAF’s website at leaflyons.org. To apply or ask questions, email work@leaflyons.org.

LEAF is committed to our community’s mental health and is dedicated to destigmatizing mental health concerns. We stand fast in our commitment to provide resources and provide our community the tools it needs to thrive. We will continue to listen to individual and collective needs, and provide services based on what we hear. Please consider finding ways to honor Mental Health Awareness Month by taking intentional time to focus on your own growth this month and provide to LEAF feedback on what you feel your community may need as well.

As always, if you or someone you know needs mental health support, please email me, LEAF’s primary therapist and addictions counselor, Cherie Maureaux, at mentalwellness@leaflyons.org to discuss options. All communications are strictly confidential. We are honored to be on this important health journey with you and our community.

Cherie Maureaux is the Program Manager for LEAF's mental wellness program. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Addictions Counselor. She is a long time resident of Lyons and enjoys spending time outdoors with her daughter.

Travels with Redstone Mystie Brackett and Chuck Esterly on the island of Burano, outside Venice, Italy. They were on a Viking cruise from Barcelona to Venice. Take the Redstone with you on your next trip and send us your photos showing where the Redstone has traveled. Send your photos to redstarnews5@gmail.com

Maureaux

Bentley

Do you need an excuse to get outside and enjoy Colorado? Bentley would be the perfect companion for all your adventures. This 3-year-old boy loves to go on new quests and could match your pace all day. Some of Bentley’s favorite things are playing tug, giving kisses, going on walks, and eating all the treats. New people and new things make him a little nervous so he will need time and patience. Bentley needs a home with adults only and would love the possibility of another friendly, playful, and confident dog. Do you think Bentley could fit into your home?

Come in today and set up a visit. For more information go to www.longmonthumane.org or give us a call at 303-772-1232.

More than 200 animals are waiting for forever families at Longmont Humane Society. Visit them at the shelter at 9595 Nelson Road.

the property you’re interested in visiting, and find out information about trails, the site itself, and visitation data. People often wonder why trails are closed so often, and this usually occurs frequently after rain storms or when snow has melted. “When the trails are muddy,” notes Marotti, “often people will walk outside the mud widening the trail causing damage, and it takes years for the vegetation to come back and recover.” To keep maintenance at a minimum, Marotti says that it’s easiest and best for the property in general to just close the trails until conditions improve.

At Heil Valley Ranch, the main trailhead parking lot may sometimes temporarily close due to heavy rains or flooding. Again, information about closures can be found on the webpage or obtained through cell phone alerts.

Button Rock Preserve, owned by the City of Longmont, also has resources to help you plan. A 2019 community survey showed that 16.3 percent of visitors to Button Rock come from Lyons (second only to Longmont).

Pryce Hadley, Senior Watershed Ranger for the City of Longmont, says that trails are not closed at Button Rock for muddy conditions, but the site is sometimes temporarily closed due to wildfires. There is also a seasonal closure of the northwest corner of the preserve December 1 to March 30 to protect wintering elk. Closure information can be

found on the COTREX app/website at https://trails.colorado.gov. Closures and other pertinent information can also be found in press releases sent by the City of Longmont at www.longmontcolorado.gov/news/news-releases.

Hadley adds that the Button Rock parking lot fills up by mid to late morning on weekends, spring through fall, and he reminds visitors that there is an overflow parking area located .9 miles up CR80 from the preserve.

Most open space properties are open sunrise to sunset. In all cases, be sure to take note of regulations for each property you visit. Following the recent acceptance of the Button Rock Management Plan by City Council, Hadley notes that dogs are no longer allowed at Button Rock. On Boulder County open space properties, pets are also not allowed at Hall Ranch and Heil Valley Ranch, but are allowed on leash at Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain and Pella Crossing.

The best tips to remember as you get outside are to plan ahead, treat other visitors and the properties you visit with respect, and be thankful we all live in a place where these amenities are available. Enjoy summer.

Deborah Huth Price is a retired environmental educator, with interests in wildlife education, astronomy, and preserving dark skies. You can follow her wildlife blog at www.walk-thewild-side.blog. Email her at dhprice@comcast.net.

Travels with Redstone

During a two and a half hour, 45 mph jet boat ride along the Dart River in South Island New Zealand, we stepped off for a photo. You can see that the mountains here, the southern Alps, are forested all the way up. New Zealand has about 12 species of beech trees which grow on very steep slopes. They grow on a bed of moss, not dirt, and the roots grow sideways, not down, to form a huge mat.The roots are all intertwined to hold onto the slopes. It rains almost every day in this area. It was, unfortunately, too wet to bring the Redstone. From left: Gail Frankfort, Barb Kuffs, Susan McCann, Kim Freymiller.

Take the Redstone with you on your next trip and send us your photos showing where the Redstone has traveled. Send your photos to redstarnews5@gmail.com

Local, family-owned, and proudly serving the Boulder & Lyons area since 1983

siddallteam@gmail.com• www.gateway-realty.com

SPECTACULAR 64 ACRE PRIVATE PARADISE WITH STUNNING BACK RANGE VIEWS AND EASY ACCESS JUST MINUTES FROM THE TOWN OF LYONS ADJACENT TO NATIONAL FOREST LAND! Heavily forested with pine and aspen groves, along with two gorgeous wildflowerfilled mountain meadows. Abundant southern exposure for your solar projects, and plenty of usable terrain. Former Boy Scout camp. Numerous rock outcroppings. Hike or bike right from your front door!! 948 Spruce Drive, Lyons / $524,000

RARE, UNIQUE LIVE/WORK OPPORTUNITY PERFECT FOR RETAIL, CLINICAL, OR OFFICE BUSINESS! Located in beautiful downtown Lyons, this was the original livery built by Mr. Lyon in the 1880s. The 2-level apartment features a remodeled kitchen, bath & laundry and private outdoor living space. Beautiful garden studio is fenced for privacy and offers a covered patio & garden shed for outdoor enjoyment. Several rooms for retail/office or personal use. 1 off-street parking space. Zoned commercial downtown. Exceptional property! 418 High Street, Lyons / $775,000

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maintain their literacy skills during summer vacation. There will be plenty of events for adults, too.

We’re going analog this year with bingo-style reading logs that have 25 suggested activities; earn a prize for fivein-a-row in any direction. Keep reading after that first bingo for additional chances to earn a free book for the kiddos and entries into a grand prize drawing for all. Throughout the summer, don’t forget to check our events calendar for all our great programs and events.

This year’s Summer Reading Program begins May 27 and runs through August 4. There’s plenty of time to join the fun. Check our website to download and print your bingo card or pick up one from the library.

The Lyons Community Library opens Monday through Saturday at 10 a.m. We close at 5 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays; 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Our online catalog is available 24/7 at lyons.colibraries.org and we’re always open for digital downloads on both the Libby and CloudLibrary apps. Give us a call at 303-823-5165 or email info@lyonslibrary.com with any questions. Please see the calendar on our website for additional program information and for registration instructions.

Kara Bauman is the Director of the Lyons Community Library and holds an MLIS from the University of Kentucky. She’s an avid fly angler, enjoys craft beer, and in non-Covid times travels extensively to see her favorite band, Widespread Panic.

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(i.e. slow moving vehicle). This registration program is free and is for the safety of all drivers. In addition, the program shows where golf cars are allowed to be driven and where they are prohibited. For more information and to register your golf car, visit townoflyons.com/golfcar.

To view a map of where golf cars are allowed to be driven in town, visit the town website.

Hall Ranch and Button Rock Reserve

LONGMONT – The City of Longmont, Colorado State Forest Service, the Boulder Valley and Longmont Conservation districts, and Boulder County Parks and Open Space agencies are collaborating on forest restoration projects in and around Hall Ranch open space and Button Rock Preserve.

Crews will be doing road work on the Hall Ranch access road to widen and stabilize the road for heavy equipment and emergency vehicle access. Please give heavy equipment and operators the right of way to do their work.

During the forestry work on the western edge of Hall Ranch open space and Longmont’s Button Rock Preserve, heavy equipment will be travelling along the access road and crossing designated trails. The trails will remain open, but extra caution is warranted.

SWEET LITTLE LOT 17 MINUTES FROM LYONS FOR YOUR MOUNTAIN RETREAT! 2/3 acre size makes for affordability, rare these days! In the middle of a forest , so plenty of tree energy! Features of this lot include fairly easy road and driveway access, good sun, and mostly usable terrain, gently sloping to the south. A magnificent backrange view would most likely be accessible from a second story. Enjoy unlimited access to Roosevelt National Forest right across the road! Owner financing a possibility with a minimum of 25% down payment... 49 Pine Drive, Lyons / $75,000

GORGEOUS VIEWS, EASY ACCESS, AND EXCELLENT SOUTHERN EXPOSURE ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF THIS 1.36 ACRE LOT ADJOINING 99 ACRES OF PRIVATE OPEN SPACE WITH HIKING TRAILS AND LITTLE THOMPSON RIVER FRONTAGE! Just 10 minutes from Town of Lyons with all of its highly rated schools, music & art festivals, restaurants, parks & trails. Electricity and shared well at the lot— no water tap fees! Amazing geological features, river valley, and abundant wildlife! Sunship is a small community sharing a vision of peaceful & sustainable living. Minimum square footage is 1,000sf. Covenants prohibit manufactured and tiny homes. 1115

Dan Siddall broker/owner Colleen Dickes associate broker Ian Phillips associate broker Dot Fears associate broker