Week of December 18, 2024
Week of December 18, 2024
After an investigation into increased traffic incidents, CDOT has decided to permanently close the Monarch Road intersection at CO 119 (the Diagonal). CDOT will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6:00 p.m. at Niwot Hall in Niwot (formerly the Grange). Ongoing road impacts, on a week to week basis, Sunday to Saturday, have been posted on CDOT's website at CO119 Project Road Impacts on the bottom right hand side of the page under "Project Newsletters." Although CDOT has not...
Boulder County Commissioners are proposing significant changes to residential building regulations that would curb the size of new homes and remodeled homes in unincorporated areas, citing mounting environmental concerns and affordability issues. The proposed changes would mark the most substantial shift to the county's Site Plan Review (SPR) regulations since their introduction in 1993, reducing the maximum allowable home size from 125% of the neighborhood median to simply matching the median....
The proposed Niwot Community Master Plan was presented at Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) community meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, at The Wheel House in Niwot. Approximately 60 attendees, including Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy, listened to the presentation by Dave Lee and Chad Fletemeyer of Fletemeyer & Lee Associates, a Niwot architectural firm hired by the LID to create a long-term blueprint for the physical, economic, and social development of Niwot. Dave Lee and Chad...
Like a reverse mullet, Chuck Rodgers' property on 79th Street is all party in the front and all business in the back. At the end of 2023, Rodgers said he was probably done with the huge amount of work it takes to put on his annual holiday display. He was hoping he and his wife Heidi would be in a warmer climate during the 2024 Christmas season. But, they were at home, and Rodgers looked at their dark yard and said, "I couldn't stand it." Then a call from Longmont Meals on Wheels (LMOW) asking...
At the Commuting Solutions membership meeting on Dec. 11, officials from the Colorado Energy Office and Governor Polis' office presented updates on how the state is addressing greenhouse gas concerns alongside growth and related transit requirements. Kelly Blythe, Senior Policy Advisor for Land Use and Transportation, gave a roadmap outlining what Colorado is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting state transit needs. The greenhouse gas roadmap consisted of the following action...
The Left Hand Valley Courier has been fortunate to have devoted staff members who bring you the news every week. We profiled many of our staff members a year ago, and have had some new valuable additions this year, and thought you might want to know who is reporting what you like to read. Joan Schaefer I began writing for the Left Hand Valley Courier in early 2024. Last December, Managing Editor Biff Warren spoke at a Niwot Community Connection meeting to recruit "no experience necessary"...
In recognition of his two decades of dedicated service, Boulder County's new alternative sentencing facility will bear the name of former Sheriff Joe Pelle, following a 2-1 vote by county commissioners on Oct. 29. Commissioners Ashley Stolzmann and Claire Levy cast the decisive votes in support of the recognition, while Commissioner Marta Loachamin opposed the measure, suggesting instead that the naming opportunity be used to recognize Indigenous communities. Loachamin also noted that she...
The Niwot Holiday Market wrapped up Saturday, Dec. 14, after spreading holiday cheer to the business district of Niwot. One of highlights every year is the opportunity for younger Niwot residents to meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa and Mrs. Claus have been attending the Niwot Holiday Market since at least 2016. With Christmas only being one day a year, it is rumored that Mr. and Mrs. Claus have day jobs as well. Kim King, who closely resembles Mrs. Claus, works as an insurance broker. Her...
The Niwot Community Association (NCA) held its final board meeting of 2024 on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The board reviewed not only updates since the previous meeting in November, but also reflected on their objectives from the past year and welcomed special guest speakers from the Boulder County Sheriff's Office (BCSO). Molly McDonald, program manager of the BCSO Co-Responder Team, along with team members Ashley Partin and Sarah Windholz, spoke to the NCA Board about the services the Team provides....
Do you know of a local event, interesting story or local person the Courier might be interested in covering? Do you have comments about what you have read in the Courier or suggestions to make? We would like to hear from you at [email protected]...
The Left Hand Valley Courier is featuring each of the nine Niwot High School students who signed National Letters of Intent on the Nov. 13 fall signing day to continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level. From soccer to track and field, these athletes represent a diverse array of sports and dreams fulfilled. For Kenji McCracken, soccer has always been more than just a sport. It is a passion that has shaped his life, forged lifelong connections, and now opened the door to...
Being a strong leader means more to Taylor Rodanski than to--- most other seniors. In truth, Rodanski made leadership one of his top priorities before his final season with the Niwot High School boys basketball team began earlier this month. He was inspired by last year's seniors and wanted to pass their wisdom down to his younger teammates. "In my junior year, we had two seniors (Jackson Carano and Brighton Langenegger) who were really big leaders on the court," Rodanski said. "They inspired...
The Niwot High School girls varsity basketball team endured a bruising defeat in their Centaurus Tournament opener, as the Standley Lake High School Gators dominated the court with a commanding 66-21 victory Wednesday, Dec. 11. The lopsided matchup left the Cougars searching for answers against a relentless Gators squad. The game began with high energy as the Cougars worked to establish momentum and make early plays. They focused on building an offensive rhythm while maintaining defensive pressure. However, the Gators quickly responded with...
The "Pride of Niwot" Cougar Marching Band and Silver Creek High School Marching Band once again marched and performed together in the Longmont Lights Parade on Dec. 14 as the re-formed "Ni-Creek-Wot" combined marching band. Band members refer to this particular parade as their "crossover episode" as students from both schools make new friends, see old friends, and dress up in outrageous holiday lights with ugly sweaters. Together they performed "Feliz Navidad" down Main Street in Longmont....
Arts Student of the Week Parker Jean Tatic clearly recalls being inspired by the actress Florence Pugh the day she saw Pugh perform Amy in Greta Gerwig's version of "Little Women." "I thought it was really interesting," Tatic said, "how she was portraying Amy. Because in the original movie and the book Amy is a little girl, and even in the musical. But in her version, Pugh played both young Amy and adult Amy. And for some strange reason it stood out to me how she was portraying a younger child,...
The third annual Niwot High School Art Show began Dec. 6, with winners announced on Dec. 11, and an awards ceremony on Dec. 12. The NHS Art Show was sponsored by the Niwot High School Music, Performance, and Art division of the Niwot Boosters Club. The Art Show coincided with the winter concert series, featuring the NHS bands, choirs, orchestras, and the Mariachi Ensemble. This year, a separate Art Gala event on Dec. 9 was dedicated specifically to showcasing the NHS and feeder schools'...
The December 11 issue of the Left Hand Valley Courier noted that Niwot's Legend Ridge trail loop had been completely resurfaced by Boulder County and reopened. The article quoted the county's trails supervisor as saying, "Our legal team could not find any information about the county officially accepting the trail, but since we have been maintaining it for 20 years or so, it would indicate that the county has accepted it." In contrast, the county's legal team already has the documents in hand showing that the county accepted responsibility to...
Ok. Are you stressing out about the holidays? Maybe you are someone who doesn't give the holidays much attention. Or you might be somewhere in the middle. The holidays bring a gamut of feelings and depending on where you are in life, the excitement, or in some cases, anxiety, changes over the years. The meaning of the holidays also transforms a bit. When you are very young Christmas is filled with excitement and anticipation. The most stressful thing you worry about is talking to Santa. I must...
It is that time of year filled with parties and cheer. Whether you are hosting a party or bringing an appetizer, these are tried and true simple appetizers that will be gone well before the end of the evening. Next week we will explore those cookies you only make during the holidays. Send your recipes to [email protected]@lhvc.com. MEDITERRANEAN ONION DIP A Mediterranean twist to the traditional onion dip everyone loves. Ingredients: ½ envelope onion soup mix 2 cloves minced...
ACROSS 1. pasta 3. defensive 4. Moy 6. director 10. softball 12. Loachamin 13. White 14. ten DOWN 2. sweater 4. median 5. Ohtani 7. Cougar 8. hooping 9. Pelle 11.... Full story
Calling all photographers, intentional or accidental! The Left Hand Valley Courier’s Photo of the Week feature is open to any area resident who personally photographs Niwot-Gunbarrel area sights, including people (with permission, of course), buildings, animals, birds, plants, flowers, events, or anything else. Naturally, there are a few rules to follow: • The photograph must be submitted in jpg format via email to [email protected]@lhvc.com in high resolution. • Please include a caption describing the photo, your name, email...
