All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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On Wednesday, March 16, the Boulder County Planning Commission reviewed a revised Hillside School's proposed expansion application, submitted on Nov. 10, 2021. The Planning Commission approved the Community Planning and Permitting staff's determination that it met all applicable criteria for the Boulder County Land Use code for Special Review and recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) conditionally approve the application. The school described the purpose of the application,...
Bert Steele of Niwot Market was a bit flabbergasted by friends and patrons with a surprise party in honor of the market's 20th anniversary. Joined by his son Seth, while new mom daughter Alison missed the party, Steele thought there was an emergency at the store when he was called from his meal to return to the store Saturday afternoon. Complete with cake and champagne, Steele toasted all who were there by saying," This is a great town and we're really happy to be here." All of Niwot is "really...
It's a testament to Karen Behne's 25-year career at the Niwot Sanitation District when past sanitation board president Jim Jones said, "People come in to pay their bills in person so they can talk to Karen. She really is the face of Niwot Sanitation." Jones feels that Behne has an encyclopedic knowledge about the district. "She knows the answer off the top of her head." He added, "The only time people are concerned (with sanitation) is when their toilets don't flush." For Jones, Behne has been...
^%$# happens. We all know it, and a good Plan B is the best defense. Say your child wants to have an outdoor swim birthday party – in July. You’d still better have a back up plan, because while it won’t snow in the Front Range, you must consider the chances of hail and lightning with the accompanying hurricane force winds and tornado warnings. Planning a wedding and you think you have the vendors all lined up? You’d be advised to have a Plan B for that too, because you never know when the florist might wig out and end up living in a van, down b...
Gunbarrel Estates residents received notice from Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting Department (formerly Land Use) that the Hillside Learning Center is requesting modification to an existing special review and site specific development plan for a new school building and the modification of the existing structure. HIllside, located at 7415 Lookout Rd. in Gunbarrel, has been in this location since 2017. The school provides half-day, small classes and individualized instruction for...
ATTENTION FARSIGHTED PEOPLE OF AMERICA – Wear Your $%!&*^% Glasses. Who do you think you're fooling? No one. And you are doing nothing but aggravating all the people who either can see or who actually wear their glasses. Take a hint; it is easier to see, read, dial a phone rather than fumbling around either looking for glasses or making up excuses as to why you're not wearing them. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I wear glasses, although I can whip them off faster than a speeding bullet at t...
Kids stink. Oh sure, they smell great when they first come out of the bath, but you have to remember why you put them in there in the first place. The problem is that just as the adult olfactory gets used to, or in our case gets burnt out in one range of odors, the kids grow some and a whole new set of smells start. Consider the harrowing story of one friend who had just brought their first-born home from the hospital. It was the dreaded 2 a.m. feeding. Mom made sure that baby was topped off and handed him over to the second string to finish...
There's a meme which depicts two paths as to what your road of life may look like. One path shows a straight line going up at a steep angle labeled "What you thought your life would be like." The other path shows lots of spaghetti-like lines with the caption "What your life is really like." Gunbarrel resident Mike Hamers knows these two sides very well. What he's learned is when the road of life gets complicated, a map, dictated by the healing power of art, showed him the way home. The Kenosha,...
If you're a frequent driver on Highway 52 you have probably noticed a new farm stand, Lazy J. The "J" is for John Scaggs, who is anything but lazy. Scaggs raises pigs, which he's been doing since 2015. "I run a unique, pretty exotic set of genetics," Scaggs said. The backbone of his herd is the Mangalitsa breed, which is from Hungary. These pigs are very well adapted to the Front Range. They are all dark colored pigs with woolly coats that take about 50% longer than commercial pigs to get to...
Anne Postle of Osmosis Art and Architecture couldn't have been happier with the outcome of this year's Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show. "We are so excited because this is our 10th year (and) we had 60 people turn in ballots," Postle said. The juried art show runs in conjunction with Niwot's First Friday Art Walk, and is sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association. That number translated into 60 people visiting every business where the artwork was exhibited. "Three times that do half (of the...
I am not a princess. Really - despite any rumors you’ve heard to the contrary. My problem is that I’m just not a handy person. I don’t sew, decoupage, scrapbook, paint, refurbish or generally do crafts. Oh sure, when I was little, during the holiday season, my mother and I would make little things. One year I remember making a kaleidoscope, which consisted of a decal gingerly placed at the bottom of a baby food jar with some glitter. Hey, it was the mid-1950s - that was as high tech as it got. When things need to be done around the house, I usu...
Adriana Torres, Espana Duenas, Denise Dolan and Eva Tanner from Via Mobility Services manned the booth as tip jar recipients for the July 15 Rock & Rails concert. The concert, headlined by Chris Daniels & the Kings, with opening act Tim & Jenny, brought in an enthusiastic crowd. The tip jar collected over $2,900 for Via, a private nonprofit in Boulder which provides clients with access to transportation and mobility options for self-sufficient life throughout Boulder County and...
When talking about the return of the Why Not Niwot? juried art show and First Friday Art Walk, Anne Postle of Osmosis Art and Architecture said it best. "We are so excited to start it up again ... with the Art Walk and to feel like the town is having a rebirth." Postle, who is vice-president of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, was ecstatic about the community coming together and having the Why Not Niwot? juried art show, along with First Friday Art Walk, back on track. The NCAA, under the...
Congratulations to the Courier’s editor Jocelyn Rowley for her first-place win in the Colorado Press Association's Better News Media Contest. Rowley’s Sept. 9, 2020, article “St. Vrain parents group seeks return to in-person learning” won first place in the Best Education Story. The awards committee said, “Excellent, timely and comprehensive coverage of a critical issue for the community. Wonderful use of interview material and links. Strong analysis of the underlying issues. Very well done!” From everyone at the Courier, congratulat...
It was a perfect evening for an Easter parade. That's right, evening. Besides organizing Niwot's traditional pancake breakfast, sadly without the Easter egg hunt for a second year, Pat Murphy decided that an evening motorcade was the perfect antidote to what has been a very hard year. With a combination of fire trucks, vintage cars and motorcycle clubs, Murphy was able to bring some cheer to Niwot on a warm Saturday night. "We need more cheer," Murphy said. "And we all need to brighten our...
On Saturday March 13, like the old Burger King commercial, everyone was asking where's the snow. We all found out the next day. Fifteen or so inches of heavy wet spring snow fell in Gunbarrel and Niwot. Besides testing the flexibility of trees and bushes, the snow also brought a short power outage to Gunbarrel Estates....
You never know who or what you're going to find on a walk around Niwot. On a lovely day, in-between a bitter cold day, and a foot of snow the next, Karin Antoni and her daughter Alma Boyd were out for a combined horseback ride and dog walk. Alma, a Sunset Middle School sixth-grader, was happily at home reading a book, when Mom insisted on going outside. Everyone seemed happy with the decision....
In the nearly 24 years that I've been reporting for the Courier, I've taken quite a few odd photos. There have been photo shoots of dirt piles, potholes, with gigabytes of prairie dog pictures. But a pole? This is no ordinary pole though. I was looking for a photo op with a caption about waiting for spring. What could be better than the left hand bike racks and the blue hopscotch squares that reside just on the west side 7916 Niwot Road in Cottonwood Square? Then I noticed it; a pole with bike...
Drought and high winds continued to create havoc in Boulder County. On Saturday, Oct. 17, a fire broke out near the CalWood Education Center in Jamestown. The fire quickly spread, and within the first 24 hours, became the biggest fire in Boulder County history. Evacuations were immediate. But within the chaos caused by the fire, there are those who want to help. Lefty's Pizza in Niwot donated pizzas to the Hygiene Fire Department. A quick look on Nextdoor also revealed those who were ready to...
A walk around Niwot usually reveals a few interesting sights. Maybe it's the coming of fall, but the bird watching has been extremely good lately. A stroll in the park found some free range, semi-rural clucking chickens. The chickens seemed unconcerned about a crazed photographer and were very focused on the abundant bugs that were hiding the grass. It is, however, the turkeys that stole the show. According to the turkeys' mom Amy Vinson, "We've had them since March, and they were raised inside...
After a summer of cancelations, on Saturday, Sept. 12, Niwot saw its second weekend of outdoor events with its second sidewalk sale. Merchants in Cottonwood Square and 2nd Avenue put up tents and welcomed customers into their shops, though with limited capacity. The weather even cooperated. Following the Friday, Sept. 4, first Art Walk of the year, the Sidewalk Sale was a smashing success, with most merchants giving the event a thumbs up. Liz Gould of Little Bird said that people were buying...
Need is everywhere. To fill that need, and as part of its ministry, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church's pastor Janet Kettering said an important part of the church's history is feeding those in need. Kettering said that there are many people in the Gunbarrel community who, while not part of an organized worship group, still want to help. In 2017, that energy was put to good use with a food drive. Pardes Levavot, the Jewish Renewal Congregation that also worships in the church building on...
Gunbarrel resident Julia Williams has been an artist her entire life. A graphic design major at CSU, she has been wanting to paint a portion of the north side Lookout Road underpass for a long time. An opportunity to create her dream piece presented itself, "courtesy" of COVID-19. As the Courier reported in a July 15 article, The City of Boulder through its Boulder Creative Neighborhood Murals Program offers grants to support public art, especially local artists. Williams submitted several desig...
This "beautiful" sunset belies a very dangerous fire. Taken on the Cottontail Trail in Gunbarrel, Saturday Sept. 10, the Cameron Peak Fire exploded to over 34,000 acres, growing over 10,000 acres over the weekend. Saturday's 101 degree temperature, added to the already tindery dry conditions. The fire, which started on Aug. 13, shot smoke and ash 40,000 feet into the air. Area residents have experienced extremely poor air quality, breathing issues as well as falling ash....
Several weeks ago, Gunbarrel Estates residents noticed several workers, along with their trucks, marking up the street. Thoughts immediately turned to street repair and the hope that Boulder County finally was going to do something about the deterioration of county subdivision roads. Unfortunately, actual road repair is not in the current picture, according to Communications Specialist and Public Information Officer for Boulder County Public Works Andrew Barth. "We like to keep an eye on basic q...
Thursday, July 2 saw the Plein Air Artists Colorado practicing their outdoor painting skills along the Cottontail Trail in Gunbarrel. According to coordinator Carolyn Bradley, the group meets every Thursday in various Boulder County locations to celebrate the love of outdoor painting. The "paint outs", as they are called, are open to everyone regardless of skill. For more information go to pleinairartistscolorado.com/Boulder....
When longtime Gunbarrel resident Lori Highfill left Colorado on Saturday, March 14, for a week's vacation in her home state of New Jersey, she never thought that it would turn into a two-month ancient Greek, Homer-esque odyssey. But instead of finding danger with the one-eyed Cyclops giant, she found her trip imperiled by the microscopic Coronavirus. The original plan was to be gone for a week, returning to Colorado on March 23. The first sign that things might not go as planned was that...
Just because it's been the snowiest winter on record, it doesn't mean that spring isn't right around the corner. April snow has one great quality; it holds a lot of water. While Colorado champagne powder is great for skiing, anyone who grew up in a more humid climate knows that means the snow packs well. Gunbarrel Estates has the perfect example. This mother ducky and her chicks illustrate what can be done with good snow and an eye for detail....
It's been a long time since my friend Sadie and I have connected. When I was writing this column on a regular basis, Sadie and I would often talk about kids, husbands, work, and dealing with the ups and downs of life. But kids grow up, and husbands retire and decide to dedicate their lives to fixing the house, sometimes where "fixing" isn't really needed. Like a lot of people "our age," both of us have been lucky enough to be able to travel. It was the subject of travel that made us realize...
Congratulations to third grader Beau Fronckiewicz for placing in the top 10 for the K-3rd grade division for his submissions in the Creative Communication's Poetic Power contest. Beaus' poem "Snowy Owl" was selected from thousands of entries. He will receive a poetry anthology and a check for $25. Beau is a third grader at the Mackintosh Academy in Boulder. He and his family live in Niwot....
If you drove south on 71st to Lookout Road the week of Dec. 8, you probably experienced some delays. Xcel is repositioning power lines in advance of the long-awaited upgrades to 71st Street. Although the project was originally slated to begin in spring 2019, the Courier reported in April that the schedule had been pushed back to early winter 2020. As previously reported, the project is divided into two phases. However, the first phase, which runs from Lookout Road to Winchester Circle/...
The end of October always brings great excitement and joy. From fun decorations and displays to Niwot's annual Great Pumpkin Party, there are plenty of family friendly fun festivities. Many thanks to the Niwot Business Association, the Niwot Local Improvement District, Pat Murphy, along with Charlie Nygren and Premier Mortgage....
This article is the fourth in a series, which explores various subdivision-paving issues and points of views in unincorporated Boulder County. Peter King-Smith, head of the HOA Roads Committee for the Pine Brook Hills subdivision, has been working with the Boulder County Commissioners and the Boulder County Transportation Department for over 10 years trying to figure out how to fund rebuilding and rehabilitating county subdivision roads. The key words for King-Smith are “working with” these dep...
If you stopped by the white tent outside the Niwot Market last week, you were treated to a community art project. The object of the project was to create a mosaic mural. Samagra Melville, who owns the building at 7980 Niwot Road, has, for the last two years, gone to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, along with David Schaldach “to do art,” Schaldach said. “We took a mural making workshop with (Laurel True) last December. We were so inspired we wanted to bring the art here as a community art proje...
Pastor Walter “Skip” Strickland has known what his calling was since he was a high school junior in Tacoma, Wash. Strickland, the new pastor at Niwot United Methodist Church (NUMC), was very active in youth ministry and served as the conference youth president for the Conference Council of Youth Ministry for Washington and northern Idaho. It was this drive that brought him to Colorado in 1977 after he obtained a degree in urban planning from the University of Puget Sound. Strickland enr...
If you’ve been into Osmosis Art and Architecture lately, you’ve probably seen some interesting purses displayed on the wall. Created by Anne Postle, all the purses are made from plastic bags. But not just any plastic bags. Wondering about Wall Street (and who isn’t), the Wall Street Journal delivery bags are now a purse. Searching for a super supper? The brown purse, with just a hint of red, is from King Soopers. But don’t forget the best bag of all. There are little green ones made from th...
When asked how they got into the honey business and started Meadow Lake Honey, Dawn and Jeff Server both smiled. “We bought this house and they had hives, “ Dawn said. The hives were technically an “add-on” to the cost of the house, but one that both Servers were very happy to bear. Dawn grew up in Niwot and graduated from Niwot High School in 1983. Her father, Don Reeb, was the Niwot Community School Director for many years. With the exception of college and a four-year stint in Westmin...
This article is the third in a series, which explores various subdivision paving issues in unincorporated Boulder County. Of HOAs and PIDs Jeff Maxwell, the new director of Boulder County Transportation, is well aware of road conditions and the ensuing issues involving subdivisions in the unincorporated county. He was very clear about what county transportation can and cannot do. Whether working with HOAs or creating a PID (Public Improvement District), county transportation can only act as...
Motorists who were trying to drive on 79th Street north of Highway 52 on Saturday, July 6, were in for a bit of a surprise. Detour signs were up. The problem was a sinkhole due to a failed culvert. As a safety precaution the hole was marked and the road was closed just north of the Niwot Loop Trailhead and recycling center. It was estimated that the culvert would be fixed and the road repaved by Tuesday afternoon or early evening, July 9....
The following is part of an ongoing series dealing with road conditions in Gunbarrel and Niwot. The Courier previously has covered what types of road problems are currently being fixed. The following article covers how the Burgundy Park subdivision created a PID to fix and maintain its roads. While everybody talks about the poor conditions of subdivision roads, there is one small community that has done something about it. In 2017, the Burgundy Park subdivision in Niwot formed a Public Improveme...
I Have A Wand And I Know How To Use It I am not a princess. Really - despite any rumors you’ve heard to the contrary. My problem is that I’m just not a handy person. I don’t sew, decoupage, scrapbook, paint, refurbish or generally do crafts. Oh sure, when I was little, during the holiday season, my mother and I would make little things. One year I remember making a kaleidoscope, which consisted of a decal gingerly placed at the bottom of a baby food jar with some glitter. Hey, it was the mid-1950s and that was as high tech as it got. When...
The first thing Ted Plank, division manager for Boulder County Transportation Department, wants people to know is, it’s a big misconception that the county doesn’t maintain roads. “The county does a ton of maintenance, starting with potholes,” Plank said. “We do crack sealing operations in all our subdivisions. We sweep them, we snow plow them. We clean culverts and drainages.” Whatever the issue might be, maintenance is done. What the county has to do though is prioritize projects, with safety...
According to its 2017 original schedule, 71st Street in Gunbarrel was due for complete reconstruction beginning in spring 2019. Instead, the project has been rescheduled to start in early winter 2020. In terms of the total project, it still included: - Full reconstruction of 71st Street from Lookout Road to Highway 52 - Widening the road to include paved shoulders - Improved pedestrian crossing for the LoBo Trail - New mixed-use path on the west side of the road from Lookout Road to the Gunbarre...
This April marks the Left Hand Valley Courier’s 22nd anniversary. Like most things I’ve started, I’ve often wondered, if I had really known what I was getting myself into, would I have done it? This is the type of thing that pops into my head around 2 a.m., when sleep eludes me. We started the Courier to give recognition to those in the community who might otherwise be overlooked. At its core, the paper strives to keep our readers informed and to create a dialogue about events that can and have changed the shape of our area. From the propo...
Chris Wathen of All-Pro Lawns, Inc., has been a staple in Niwot and Gunbarrel neighborhoods for many years. Wathen said the business has grown steadily since he bought it from his father-in-law, Charlie Schulze, in 2008. The time has come, however, to refine his business model. The business has grown steadily over the years, Wathen said. “We had to sit down and redefine what we want to do and pinpoint what our business is.” Starting this spring, he’ll be concentrating on commercial buildings, HO...
Good morning, this is I.R.I.T.A.T.E. - International Responders Including Telemarketers and Telepathy Ecosystems. How may I help you? Oh I see, you're finding that people are using call blockers. Just one moment and I can connect you to our anti-blocking hackers. Yes, they can hack just about any phone system. Also, we're working on all types of government systems, but that will be an upgrade and quite pricey. Hello, I.R.I.T.A.T.E. on the line. We're so good we don't need the second "R." Wait a minute. Slow down. You're talking like a...
While it’s a myth that Ben Franklin wanted the turkey as our national bird, he did think that the turkey was “a more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America.” As for the bald eagle, he believed that the “Bald Eagle… is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length ta...
What is it about hair? If we listen to the ads, it’s just one more body part we need to feel overly self-conscious about. From the picture-perfect Breck Girls of the 40s and 50s to the Miss “If I have just one life, let me live it as a blonde” Clairol girls, to the poker straight hair of the 60s and the Afro of the 70s, hair is one of the root causes of why women are so dissatisfied with themselves. I know, because I’ve made most of these companies rich. As a child I whined, because I wanted Toni Jr. perm and Spoolies, while as a teenager I ran...
I knew it. We’ve been hoodwinked, flimflammed and just plain ripped off. Really. After years of aerobics, anaerobics, Pilates and fitness centers foisted on us, which created a gazillion dollar industry based on guilt, bogus studies and ibuprofen, we’ve finally been told that exercise alone won’t help you lose weight. Well, duh. Thank you Time Magazine, you’ve confirmed what I’ve always known – “exercise alone” will not cause you to look like Princess Kate, even 10 minutes after she gave birth. What does exercise really do? It makes you reall...
On Oct. 18, HPD (High Performance Devices) was recognized as and presented with the Photonics Company of the Year award at the Colorado Photonics Industry Association’s annual meeting. The Gunbarrel company received the award for achieving distinction in the industry and its contribution to the photonics economy in Colorado. According to the OP-TEC website, “Photonics is the technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon.” This...
