All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 401 - 450 of 843
For seven years the Bowhaus in Gunbarrel has provided furry family members with daycare and boarding. While the pooches are playing with friends and relaxing in a safe environment, they're likely to spend time with two long-time employees, Klare Black and Suzi Hendrix. We wanted to learn more about these two familiar faces in the community. Left hand Valley Courier (LHVC) - Where did you grow up, and how did Colorado become your home? Klare Black (KB) - I'm the middle child of seven siblings,...
Roses are red Violets are blue Here are things we love (About living in the LHV) And we bet you do too Our Incredible Trail System Whether you are out for a leisurely stroll, a serious hike, run, or a bike ride, the Left Hand Valley's miles of trails offer something for everyone. Every season offers its unique vistas near and far, from snow-capped peaks in the distance, to the beautiful architecture of bare branches against the sky in winter, to the verdant fields and flowers in the summer....
Eli Earl Buzas, 70, of Arvada, Colorado, lost his battle with COVID-19 on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. He is remembered by his mother Saveta Buzas, loving wife Christine Brott Buzas, sister Elizabeth "Betty" Buzas, brother George Buzas married to Kim Buzas, daughter Melinda Holt married to Don Holt residing in Arvada, son Matthew Buzas married to Sandra Buzas residing in Evergreen, and Joseph Lonn married to Anthony Lonn residing in Sydney, Australia, and grandchildren Thomas and Natalie...
Growing up, I remember a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" playing regularly on the radio. The last lines of the chorus have always stuck with me: Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone / They paved paradise to put up a parking lot. Truly, I didn't know what I had growing up in Colorado until I took a short excursion to live in another state. I traded the Rocky Mountains for a brief stint in central Texas, and it didn't take me long to see that I...
When COVID first appeared on the public radar last year, there was a lot of inconsistent information around masks, social distancing, what you could do and what you shouldn't. Confusion caused by inconsistent government orders and signs continues to be a problem, and has led to hostile encounters on public trails in and around Niwot and Gunbarrel. "One of the things we noticed at the very beginning was we wanted to make sure people knew that going outside for a walk, taking a hike, was...
Eli Earl Buzas, 70, of Arvada, Colorado, lost his battle with COVID-19 on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. He is remembered by his mother Saveta Buzas, loving wife Christine Brott Buzas, sister Elizabeth "Betty" Buzas, brother George Buzas married to Kim Buzas, daughter Melinda Holt married to Don Holt residing in Arvada, son Matthew Buzas married to Sandra Buzas residing in Evergreen, and Joseph Lonn married to Anthony Lonn residing in Sydney, Australia, and grandchildren Thomas and Natalie...
A Gunbarrel trail that washes out nearly every year will get a permanent fix this spring. Boulder County Commissioners approved the realignment and resurfacing of the Cottontail Trail that runs north of Lookout Road at 75th Street and connects with the regional LoBo Trail to Highway 52. The plan to fix the trail wasn't a hard sell. Commissioner Claire Levy said she wasn't sure it was even a real trail because of the damage she noticed when riding her bike on it. Boulder Open Space and Mountain...
On June 11, 2020, a beautiful flower bloomed somewhere in Japan. That same day in Colorado, Gunbarrel resident Beniko Olsen drove home with her family after 45 days in the hospital fighting for her life after contracting COVID-19. But first, she directed her husband and two sons to stop off at Starbucks for a long-anticipated Matcha latte. Olsen is a petite woman with a radiant smile and a joyous laugh. In her late 60s, she worked for over 20 years as a teacher's aide at a local preschool while...
A local teen who stutters and his speech therapist have an extra reason to watch Joe Biden give his inauguration speech next week. For the more than three million people in this country who stutter, the silver-haired, president-elect is a symbol of what's possible. "It is amazing. He is really an incredible role model for everybody like him," said Longmont High senior Adam Benes, who has stuttered for as long as he can remember. "I think that's the most impressive thing about him - being...
Diners attribute the quality of their eating out experience to the people they interact with – the front of house workers. For 17 years, Leslie Middleton has been the most noticeable front of house person at Gunbarrel’s Café Blue American Grill while her chef husband Kevin runs the kitchen. These days, because of COVID, Leslie isn’t just taking orders and bringing out delicious drinks and food to diners at the restaurant, she’s also driving freshly prepared meals to patrons’ homes. She’s doin...
In 1997, the Southwest Acupuncture College was founded in Boulder, its mission is to educate and license students in acupuncture and Chinese medicine so as to provide affordable services to the local community. But in mid-March of last year, COVID forced the Gunbarrel college to close its doors for in person classes. "Rather than go from zero to 100 mph in one week with a full return to campus, our didactic, practical and clinical coursework would be rolled out slowly," explained Nate Mohler,...
Longmont based HOPE, short for Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement, cares for some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Founded in 2007, HOPE has supported the homeless community with the end goal being self-sufficiency. The organization exists to fill people's most basic needs of shelter and food, in addition to providing forward momentum resources such as one-on-one advocacy. Gunbarrel resident Erin Hofer-Shall is an angel of HOPE. While that sounds very ethereal, she and...
Technically, there wasn't a special occasion, but it felt like one. Just going to dinner at a restaurant felt like celebration enough after not doing it for 10 months. We've been take-out and stay-home people during the pandemic, but we made an exception to try out Aperitivo Restaurant's new snow globes where we could dine in our own airspace. Three plastic globes arrived at the Gunbarrel restaurant just before Christmas. Owner Edward Vanegas ordered them in early November. "We were worried...
Boulder Housing Partners is now free to close a real estate deal to buy a property for an affordable housing project in Gunbarrel. But concerns about the development were centered more on the process of the land use change, rather than whether it's a good site for affordable housing. Last spring, Boulder City Council allowed the city planning staff to move forward with a proposed land use change after the deadline had passed. At the council meeting last week, citizens and some council members...
The Christmas holidays may be a lower-key affair this year, so what you serve on your table can bring festivity back into the day. The pressure is on for cooks, and but you're not sure what to have to make your menu extra special, the answers could be closer than you think. The Niwot and Gunbarrel areas have their share of exceptionally talented chefs, mixologists, and even a world class cheese supplier. Some of them were willing to share their expertise so that your meal is everything you want...
The coronavirus pandemic forced churches across America to close their doors. The shutdown caused church leaders to look towards different platforms to spread their message. Many churches switched to online platforms like Facebook to live-stream Sunday services, including Niwot United Methodist Church on Lookout Road. Reverend Emily Kintzel was appointed as the new pastor of Niwot UMC on July 1, 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Pastor Emily entered the role while the church still struggled t...
We're in the home stretch of the holiday shopping season, and for those of you with a few names left to check off your gift list, be sure to consider one of the dozens of unique items from the artists, authors and crafters that call Niwot and Gunbarrel home. Niwot in watercolor Niwot's historic downtown is a frequent subject of resident and renowned artist Jane Langdon, whose graceful style evokes warmth and nostalgia. Recently, her wintry depiction of 2nd Avenue was featured on the Niwot...
This wonderful Familiar Face suggestion was courtesy of co-owner of the Niwot Tavern, Tara Kpogoh-Narh. Kpogoh-Narh wrote, "Jennifer Morrison lives and breathes Niwot. She is a local who helps support everyone...small businesses in Boulder, Hygiene and Longmont. She's just amazing. She's always advertising for everyone. I'm sure you've seen her posts." The posts Kpogoh-Narh is referring to are on a public Facebook page called Nifty Niwot. Kpogoh-Narh added, "She brings Stacy [Szydlek, co-owner]...
In 1975, the Lutheran Medical Center Foundation was created as a way to support a nonprofit hospital in West Denver. Since then, it has been renamed the "Community First Foundation" (CFF) and has sought to create change beyond just the Denver Metro. Then, CFF became involved with ColoradoGives.org, an online tool that is a way to connect with and support nearly 3,000 nonprofits around the state. In 2010, CFF and ColoradoGives.org kicked off Colorado Gives Day, which has garnered $355 million in...
The bad news is that more people than ever are in Boulder County hospitals with COVID-19; the good news is that patients have a better chance of avoiding the most serious or deadly outcomes compared to when the pandemic began. “We have been thrilled with the progress we’ve made since March as health care providers, learning how we take care of these patients,” said Boulder Community Hospital Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Attlesey-Pries. “We are able to support them in a different way than we first did in March,...
Due to the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases, many Thanksgiving traditions are off the table in 2020. But thanks to a Gunbarrel chef, pumpkin pie won't be among them for Boulder County residents in need. For the last three weeks, Mary Capone of Simply Clean Eats has been hard at work crafting and baking 125 holiday desserts for the Boulder and Longmont Food Rescue organizations, which distribute nutritious food to "feed hungry, homeless, and low-income populations directly". "We're all...
This year, 3,207,983 votes were cast across Colorado, resulting in a voter turnout rate of 84.83%. Boulder County's rate was comparable at 84.81%, with 230,721 votes cast. Traditionally seen as a more liberal part of the state, the Boulder County results tend to lean blue this election cycle. The average turnout across the sixteen precincts that make up the Courier's readership was 90.74%, higher than both the county and state rates. Of those sixteen precincts, the lowest turnout was 80.87% and...
Citing a years-long increase in admission requests, an independent school for students with learning disabilities is seeking Boulder County's approval to add a classroom building to its one-acre campus in Gunbarrel. In an application filed with the county's Permitting and Planning Department, the Hillside School, located at 7415 Lookout Road in Gunbarrel, is requesting a modification of the site's existing development plan to allow for the construction of a 10,500 square-foot building that will...
Whether you read the Nov. 4 issue of the Left Hand Valley Courier on our website or in our print edition, you will notice some big changes. While the pandemic had forced us to stop weekly printing for several months, we recognized that we needed to enhance the Courier's website to attract new subscribers to help us through this crisis. We were fortunate enough to receive a Facebook Journalism Grant that recognized the importance of community journalism. These funds helped us subsidize advertisin...
Married for 51 years, Gunbarrel residents Mike and Becky Fellows are partners in life and community service. As a couple, they deliver meals to seniors and those who aren't able to shop for food and prepare meals on their own through the non-profit organization Meals on Wheels Boulder (MOWB). Lisa Hughes, MOWB manager of volunteer services, said, "Mike and Becky are such great volunteers. They deliver meals for us every week to Gunbarrel and often substitute drive as well. They are very...
The craft beer business hasn't been immune to 2020. Even the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) was forced to evolve into a virtual version of itself, with the event's highly regarded awards program, now in its 34th year, revealing winners online. Among all of the changes at GABF, one Boulder County brewery with Gunbarrel roots stood tall. Wibby Brewing beat out 110 other entries in the American amber lager category to win a gold medal for its Volksbier Vienna Lager. A slightly crisp but malty...
On March 5, 2020, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's public health laboratory confirmed the first presumptive positive COVID-19 test result in Colorado. What followed is well known to Coloradans, but looking back to March, there are some behind-the-scenes heroes from the early months of the pandemic who deserve some added thanks, namely the volunteers and organizations who helped support early mask-making endeavors in local communities. When COVID-19 cases were first on t...
Last week, Renee and Bill McDermid of the Hampton Inn in Gunbarrel needed help feeding firefighters working on the CalWood and Left Hand Canyon fires, as many area restaurants were closed for dining. That spurred a number of Niwot residents into action, and before long, firefighters from Oregon, Nebraska, and elsewhere were well fed and ready to battle the blazes. Niwot Community Association donated $500 to be used towards the purchase of food. The Niwot Cookie Moms also chipped in with home...
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...
Niwot High School athletic director Joe Brown has found his man in Kyle Bachrodt to take the reins for the Niwot swim team. “I really couldn't be more excited,” Bachrodt said. “Niwot is a very well-known program in all of their athletics (and) all of their academics. I've had a few meetings with the other head coaches in all of the sports and with our AD, and I couldn't be more proud to be working alongside with all of those folks.” Bachrodt, who grew up in Evergreen, attended the University of Colorado Boulder and helped win a national champio...
For five years, Niwotian Rich Anderson has brought nurturing and nutrition to homebound community members through Longmont Meals on Wheels (LMOW). The organization's motto is Delivering Hope One Meal at a Time, and Anderson does that in batches of 12 to 16 deliveries per shift, each one providing greatly appreciated smiles and sustenance. "Being retired," Anderson said, "I felt I needed something besides the activities in life I normally get engaged in. I just can't sit around the house. I...
In 2020, the public receives news from an enormous number of electronic as well as traditional sources. The information onslaught is relentless, can be frustratingly inaccurate, and isn't always able to portray what occurs in a localized area. Local journalists have an important role to fill in this kind of potentially confusing environment. Community newspapers such as the Left Hand Valley Courier tell stories about businesses, schools, parks, open spaces, neighborhoods, local infrastructure,...
While many school and local events have been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Mwebaza Foundation is getting creative in gathering the community together for engaging, safe activities. On Oct. 29, Proto's Pizza will donate a portion of its proceeds to the Mwebaza Foundation's micro industry development plan at its partner school in Gulu, Parents' Junior School. Pick up a pizza, drinks, and dessert from the Gunbarrel, Longmont, or Broomfield locations and mention "Mwebaza Foundation"...
Locals seem to be heeding the fervent advice of health experts to get a flu shot this year. The King Soopers pharmacy in Gunbarrel went through three batches of flu vaccines by the end of August, according to a pharmacy employee. That doesn't usually happen until early October. Public health experts are advocating flu shots more than usual, worried that the normal seasonal flu hospitalizations combined with COVID-19 patients could overburden the health system's ability to handle both...
Have you recently stepped outside to the smell of a campfire? Or been surprised to find your car covered in white ash? Or been shocked by the size of the setting orange sun? It's not the apocalypse, although the orange light does seem a bit eerie. It's simply the end of a hot, dry summer in Colorado. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as the summer of 2020 comes to a close, the entire state of Colorado is currently experiencing drought conditions. For the first time since 2013, 100% of the...
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the commercial real estate market in Niwot and surrounding communities in Boulder County was robust. While some properties such as the former Colterra restaurant have remained visibly vacant, generally the commercial market here sees low vacancy rates and high demand. The Courier checked in this week with Jim Ditzel, co-owner and founder of Summit Commercial Brokers in Niwot, for an update on the local commercial market. Summit Commercial is a full service commer...
The craziness of 2020 can be quelled a wee bit with the reverent calmness of Chris Doyle's sunset serenades. The long comforting notes of his bagpipe feel like the entire community is taking deep healing breaths. We asked Doyle some questions to learn a little about his life story. Left Hand Valley Courier (LHVC) – What was your hometown and how did Niwot become home to you? Chris Doyle (CD) – I grew up on the east side of Cleveland and finished high school in Chesterland, Ohio. I went to Mus...
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....
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, area churches and synagogues have responded with incredible nimbleness, creativity and generosity in meeting the heightened spiritual, communal, and practical needs of their parishioners. Many congregations quickly transitioned to live streaming their services to parishioners and the wider community, and some even have experienced an increase in attendance as a result. One local pastor attributed this increase to the fact that there is no travel time to and fro, and to the fact that now parishioners can...
Boulder Country Club has been moved to the list of resolved COVID-19 outbreaks by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, CDPHE. The Gunbarrel club had six positive cases, including employees working in the restaurant and a lifeguard. If an organization has two or more cases within a 14-day period, it must report that to the local health department. Boulder County Public Health was notified when the first two positive cases turned up in late June. The health department did contact tracing and worked with BCC on how to manage,...
Thieves made off with a van and food cart from Sancho's in Gunbarrel and then drove it to Safeway in Longmont and shoplifted, according to owner Shawn Camden. He said the vehicle was parked behind the restaurant in the Gunbarrel Shopping Center when it happened early Saturday morning, Aug. 15. "Our infamous food trailer goes around the community selling food. Now that we don't have that, we can no longer operate that business. It's a fairly big tragedy for us," Camden said. The restaurant also...
The scramble for a viable plan to reopen schools amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many area parents to weigh their students' health and safety against the quality of their education. But officials at private schools Boulder Country Day and the Dawson School say they've found a way to provide families with both for the 2020 fall semester, and are eager to welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning later this month. "In general, school leadership teams are not made up of...
A virtual town hall was held in late July regarding a concept proposal for a 268-unit development on Gunbarrel land currently zoned as light industrial. The 9.8-acre parcel in question is located just to the west of Spine Road and east of Celestial Seasonings - the owner of the property - and south of Sleepytime Road, up to the current single-family housing development there. Gunbarrel residents recognize this area as open space that the tea company designated as a prairie dog preserve in 1999,...
The State Highway 119 First and Final Mile Study, facilitated through transportation non-profit Commuting Solutions, is seeking input on how to make multimodal transportation more accessible to commuters along the Diagonal Highway. The study seeks to complement a Regional Transportation District study, finished in 2019, that considered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as a way to improve commuter traffic along SH 119 (https://www.rtd-denver.com/projects/state-highway-119-brt-study). RTD found that with projected increases in traffic along the highway,...
About now, Clarence Kneebone would be setting up the last metal corral panels, straw bales and exhibit tables at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. For more than 25 years, he's been the man behind the scenes, making sure the grounds are set up so the 4H kids, animals and fairgoers can have a great experience. But the 87-year-old volunteer got his work done a week early this year. There just wasn't much to it with the fair curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic. "It's going to be a whole different...
A new group has formed in Gunbarrel to go along with the decades-long conflicts between the City of Boulder and the inhabitants of the unincorporated areas to the north of the city itself. The Gunbarrel Community Alliance (GCA) started the process to become a non-profit organization earlier this year after some homeowners received a flyer notifying them about a proposed development on land that they believed was designated to be open space and a preserve for prairie dogs in 1999. The concept proposal, which at this point is only out for public...
Gunbarrel Estates photographer Tim Benko captured Comet Neowise from the top of Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road Thursday, July 24. Discovered on March 24, Neowise, or C/2020 F3, stands for near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. With an orbital period of 6,766 years, this was a once in a lifetime photograph....
It has been about three weeks since the primary elections in Boulder County. This election, 55% of Boulder County residents came out to vote. While this may seem like an impressive number-and it is an increase from the 2018 midterms-Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Communications Specialist Mircalla Wozniak was quick to point out that voter turnout depends on many variables and is very localized. For the June 30 primary, there were reportedly 95,610 Democratic, 29,744 Republican and 1,978...
