All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Contributing to Niwot’s festive holiday decorations around town was on the minds of Niwot Community Association board members at their Dec. 5 meeting. The NCA put up holiday decorations this year at the Niwot Road entrance into town and board members agreed that they would like to add to that display. An informal subcommittee group, headed by Pat Murphy and Julie Breyer, are planning to hit the post-holiday sales to snap up decorations. In addition, board members expressed interest in working i...
The winning word was ‘diminutive’, but the accomplishment was just the opposite for Niwot Elementary fifth-grader Andrew Hudgins. The second-time finalist outlasted 12 other talented spellers to claim victory in the school’s annual bee, which was held at the school on Dec. 5. “I read through the list every night and memorized most of the words,” Hudgins said of his victory strategy. “I also practiced with my mom every day. She would read me words and I would spell them.” That daily commitm...
The tradition of giving books as gifts is practically as old as the printed word itself and, in fact, books were among the first items mass-produced and marketed specifically as Christmas gifts, back in the 1820s. Nearly 200 years later, books remain a popular choice for both givers and receivers, and not just for the holidays. A book can be a token of intimacy, of friendship, or even of just shared interest. A book can sometimes say what we can’t, and giving one at just the right time can m...
Last year at this time, Dale Peterson’s bold vision for building and equipping a new classroom and then shipping it overseas seemed like an impossibly complex undertaking. But thanks to a willingly conscripted army of both local and districtwide students, a brightly painted two-story structure wired for electricity and solar power will be trucked out of Niwot on Dec. 8, bound for its new home at the Mwebaza School in Kyengera,Uganda. “I’m feeling overjoyed that we could have so many kids invol...
Mwebaza Foundation founder and president Dale Peterson was in good spirits after the closing ceremony for ‘Cougars/CDC Creating Classrooms,’ held at Niwot High on Nov. 29. “I’m feeling overjoyed that we could have so many kids involved,” he said about the months-long project to convert two shipping containers into a functioning classroom that will be used at the Mwebaza Infant Primary School in Kyengera, Uganda. “I am also feeling relief that I will get more time with my family, but mainly just...
May 3, 1933 - Nov. 2, 2018 Donald Richard “Dick” Hicks was born on May 3, 1933 to the union of Chester Carl and Anna Louise (Hubbard) Hicks of Olathe, Colorado. He graduated from Western State College in 1955 with a BS degree in Accounting and a minor degree in drafting. Dick married Ann Josephine Warfel on June 14, 1953, in Olathe, Colorado. Dick and his dad operated a logging operation and sawmill for several years. In the early 1960’s, he moved his family to Longmont to work on the new water...
Communities within St. Vrain are thriving and leading the way as Colorado continues to build and attract the top workforce and companies who want to call our thriving state home. St. Vrain Valley Schools is the educational home to more than 32,000 of Colorado’s students, with every school and feeder system committed to providing exemplary programming. While all schools share a high standard of excellence, as a district of choice, St. Vrain Valley Schools readily embraces a systemic approach t...
Residents of Niwot showed up in force at the community meeting to both question county officials and for many, to hold their ground regarding what their preferences are for development within the business district of their town. For the residents on 3rd Avenue, many of whom have lived in Niwot for several decades, two topics were high priorities: the county’s process around the development and the moratorium and secondly, the sanctity of the alley between their homes on 3rd Avenue, and the m...
This year’s Jazz on 2nd Ave, the eighth year for the event, welcomed more than 1500 participants over the weekend of Sept 15-16, according to organizers. With the event’s profits used to fund jazz education, Colorado Jazz Group, the 501(C)3 non-profit organization that stages the festival, hopes to expand its visits to Front Range schools and continue to inspire a new generation of musicians. 2018 Jazz on 2nd Ave’s Funk and Jazz Festival Festival director Rachel Cohen said total sales were...
There’s a school in Kyengera, Uganda named Mwebaza. Two hundred students and six teachers spend their days learning and teaching there. More than 8,000 miles away, at Niwot Elementary School (NES), 450 students and 18 teachers spend their days doing the same thing. Dale Peterson is one of NES’s teachers and he has helped bring together the hearts, minds, and souls of the people of Mwebaza and NES. Peterson began his career as an educator 23 years ago as a student teacher at NES. As part of a w...
The annual Fall Crawl fundraiser hasn’t been a Sunset Middle School tradition for very long, but it has quickly become a favorite among parents and students alike. Last year’s event raised nearly $20,000 and helped the school purchase a new scoreboard, a sound system for the choir, and a 3-D printer. Now in its third year, the 2018 Fall Crawl is coming up on Friday, Oct. 5, and the Sunset Parents Advisory Council is inviting past and future students to come out and lend their support. “All of ou...
In a ceremony at the Longmont City Council chambers, the Longmont City Council designated Sept 11 as Mwebaza Day. The proclamation acknowledged the work of the Mwebaza Foundation, an organization founded by Niwot Elementary School teacher Dale Peterson to build and improve schools in Uganda. The proclamation reads: Whereas, the citizens of Longmont recognize that cross-cultural awareness and service learning enrich and strengthen a community; and whereas, the Mwebaza Foundation has been...
On Sunday, Aug. 26, the Niwot Cub Scout Pack 161 held its annual rocket launch at Niwot Elementary School. More than thirty excited scouts and potential recruits built and then launched the projectiles, with assistance from several older boys from Troop 161 as well as adult volunteers. The rockets were capable of altitudes up to 400 feet in the air, although the prevailing windy conditions were sometimes a hindrance....
World-class jazz will be wafting through Niwot, Sept. 15 and 16. The once secret-ish festival, Jazz on 2nd Ave, will be staging its eighth event with high caliber entertainers letting loose in Niwot’s unique small town outdoor venue. This year’s musical line-up welcomes back Liquid Soul and Jeff Coffin as festival headliners along with several groups new to the scene. The first day’s five acts begin with Niwot High School’s (NHS) jazz band which will have worked with Mars Williams of Liquid...
Niwot Elementary School (NES) starts this school year with Kylea Winka as the newly appointed dean of students and Avery Bounds as the new digital media technician. Kylea Winka has worked at NES since 2012 as a special education facilitator. She holds a master’s degree in special education and an interdisciplinary education specialist degree in educational administration and special education administration. She has worked in special education for 17 years. Winka’s new responsibilities as dea...
A parade can’t organize itself. There are participants to approve, cars to be rerouted, decorations to be purchased, and the parade lineup had better not have any horses in front of a Girl Scout troop without a cleanup crew in between or it might get messy. Julie Breyer knows these things well because for the past five years she’s given a lot of thought to organizing Niwot’s Fourth of July parade. Breyer is a member of the Niwot Community Association’s (NCA) Fourth of July committee, which i...
On July 27-28, students from Niwot High kicked off the fabrication phase of ‘Cougars Creating Classrooms,’ a building project spearheaded by the Mwebaza Foundation to transform used shipping containers into instructional space for the Mwebaza Infant Primary School in Kyengera, Uganda. Over the two days, representatives from the football, girls tennis, golf, cross country, and track teams, as well as the IB program, Robotics Club, and Boy Scout Troop 161, unpacked materials for the project and...
In three seasons with Niwot’s varsity baseball team, Joey DesEnfants has played every single position on the diamond, including a memorable nine-game stint at starting catcher as a freshman. Now, on the cusp of his final season, the “true utility player” is ready for yet another important role: team leader. “Having a strong veteran leader is important no matter the ages of athletes on your team,” Head Baseball Coach Adam Strah wrote in an email. “However with a young team it is extremely i...
Jared Lizakowski’s family is taking the sorrow of their loss to bring happiness to others, making his memory all the sweeter. Lizakowski died at age 19 on Oct. 26, 2016 in a motorcycle accident on Niwot Road. His family has put their energy into making sure others have the opportunity to experience what made Jared happiest – music – through the J.A.R.E.D. Foundation. Surinder Dahiya, Lizakowski’s step-father, said, “We created The J.A.R.E.D. (Join a Revolution Educate Drummers and Other Musician...
Sponsored by Fabulous Finds The work of a few who quietly and reliably give from their hearts becomes the powerful way in which people’s lives are touched and forever changed for the better. Jim Jones is one of those people - a humble, caring man who has joyfully provided Niwot with his energy and positivity in a whole host of ways for more than 25 years. Jim and his wife Pat, both originally from Michigan, moved to Minnesota after college where Jim began his professional career as a software e...
At its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 5, the Niwot LID Advisory Committee considered funding requests for the eighth annual Jazz on 2nd Avenue festival, as well for mowing of the future parking lot west of Old Town. Before hearing the evening’s applications, members reviewed Treasurer Harris Faberman’s report through the end of May. So far, the LID has committed to $109,314 in expenses in 2018, leaving $23,686 from the budget to spend for the remainder of the year. However, the report...
A public meeting was held at the Left Hand Grange last week to discuss an upcoming project in the Morton Heights neighborhood of Niwot. The project will update and improve sidewalks around Niwot Elementary School, specifically on Morton Road, Walker Avenue and Marathon Road. Dave Webster with the Boulder County Transportation Department led the meeting, which was attended by over 20 people. The project somewhat started with the asphalt bicycle and pedestrian track that was laid on Morton Road la...
At Niwot High School, the name McKynzie Clark has become synonymous with “leader.” In fact, it might be easier to list the clubs and organizations that she hasn’t helmed over the past four years than the ones she has. A non-exhaustive list of her titles just from senior year includes President of National Honor Society, captain of the Forensics interpretive team, lead prosecutor for Mock Trial, and co-director of The Drowsy Chaperone. Her talents also extend to the classroom, where she’s...
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national organization, and two students from Niwot High School will be representing the state of Colorado at the national competition this summer. Juniors Ayesha Hayat and Hannahy Chacon Gonzalez are heading out with one other representative from Colorado thanks to their project on diversity at Niwot Elementary School. Their project was called “Focus on Children,” and included educating the NES students about four different cultures including coloring pages with themes related to the...
Up-A-Creek Robotics Team 1619, comprised of primarily St. Vrain Valley School District students, came away from the 2018 FIRST Robotics World Championship competition in Houston with a third-place alliance finish, making this the most successful finish to a season for the team. Adding to the excitement of the finale, the team also earned the General Motors Industrial Design Award, which recognizes “form and function” for the robot that best performs each year’s assigned challenge. Prior to th...
Longtime president of the Niwot Community Association (NCA), Dick Piland, presided over his final meeting, Wednesday, April 18, at the Left Hand Grange Hall. Piland announced at the January NCA board meeting that he would not seek re-election this year, marking the end of five years heading up the board. Voting for available board positions concluded at the annual meeting, signifying the conclusion of two-year terms for half of the board. Each nominee ran unopposed. The other half of the board...
It might be presumptuous to say that more handwritten messages made their way through Niwot Elementary School (NES) than digital messages for a five day period, but it could be a close match. Here’s the figure — at least 1500 Lucky Grams were directed to students. And the sweet bonus an electronic message couldn’t begin to compete with — there was a Jolly Rancher or Starburst taped on each Gram. Every year, the 12-member NES Student Council sells the candy-decorated Lucky Grams to raise money f...
For recognition of her “truly extraordinary understanding of service, leadership, and duty,” the National WWII Museum has selected Niwot senior Mary Stischer as the Colorado recipient of the Billy Michal Student Leadership Award for 2018. Stischer will be recognized at the Museum’s American Spirit Awards Gala, which will be held June 7-8 in New Orleans. Stischer was nominated for the award by Niwot social studies teacher Beth Lozen, who noted the senior’s penchant for “enriching the lives of...
February 21, 1947 – April 7, 2018 Dennis Jerome Hurianek, 71, passed away on April 7, 2018 at his home in Niwot. Dennis was born February 21, 1947 in Denver, CO to Jerome W. and Lois E. (Cushatt) Hurianek. Dennis grew up around the world with his family wherever his father was stationed as a US Army medic. He graduated from Kaiserslautern American High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. As a young man, he was a Boy Scout, achieving the Order of the Arrow, and a camp counselor. Dennis earned a B...
The Centennial State Ballet will be presenting The Sleeping Beauty at Niwot High School on April 21 and 22. This marks the 20th season for the ballet, so it’s going to be a big one. For the first time in those 20 years, the production of The Sleeping Beauty will be the entire show. “We’ve done pieces of The Sleeping Beauty in the past, but the full production is a prologue plus three acts and two intermissions,” Lawrence said. “So the full piece is extensive, so we hadn’t taken it on previously....
Don Haddad, Superintendent of Saint Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), is on the short list of candidates to be at the helm of Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada, the fifth largest school district in the country. Haddad was named as one of four finalists for the superintendent position from an initial pool of 77 applicants. Haddad, 56, has been an educator for 33 years and progressively moved up the ladder from being a teacher to entering the administration ranks, including a stint...
Niwot Elementary is proud to recognize Ben Codevilla as our student of the month. Ben is nine years old, and a third-grader in his second year at NES. Ben is a student who demonstrates responsibility and bravery. In January, Ben was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. At first, Ben was sad about his diagnosis. But now he feels good and reports that he is figuring it out. The office staff at NES are impressed daily by his desire to understand and be independent with his disease. “It’s different hav...
When Niwot student Jackson Cloud’s eponymous band beat out Golden-based Thunder and Rain in the final round of the Oskar Blues Battle of the Bands contest last month, it is fair to say he was a little awestruck. At the tender age of 17, Cloud and his blues-infused classic rock combo band outplayed five other competitors to claim the 2018 crown and will perform on the Oskar Blues BolderBOULDER Expo Stage during the iconic race, which commemorates its 40th anniversary in May. “I was surprised jus...
Local robotics Team 1619, based in Longmont, earned a significant honor this month at the Hub City Regional Competition in Lubbock, Texas - the Regional Chairman’s Award. Along with their alliance teams, the team also took first place out of 41 teams at the same event. Since the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) team was formed in 2004, and dubbed Up-A-Creek Robotics, membership and facilities have dramatically improved. Its beginnings were humble, with the first meeting in a t...
Kim and Alan Schwarz have racked up thirty some years of odd jobs for their resume. A little of this and a little of that adds up to a whole lot of doing good. When you have kind hearts, some really cool tools, and simply notice that something needs to be done, your hometown is fortunate to have you waiting in the wings. One of Niwot’s stealth power couples, the Schwarzes have made it their second nature to jump in and plow parking lots, cart around 300-pound Left Hand cement chairs, buy h...
With summer just a few months away, families and students are busy registering for camps and booking vacation plans. One Sunset Middle School eighth grader, Aleah Keppler, already knows what she is doing this summer. She was selected to attend the NYC Summer Academy hosted by The School of The New York Times. “My parents get The New York Times and there was an ad in the paper,” Aleah said when explaining how she learned about the program. “When we first found out about it we realized it was a lo...
Having their students perform at Carnegie Hall even once is a lifelong dream for many choir directors, so imagine Niwot High Choir Director Laura Marshall’s excitement when it happened to her twice in February. Two weeks before she and Principal Rauschkolb accompanied a group of 20 NHS singers to New York City, talented Niwot vocalist Liam Benson took the hallowed Carnegie stage to perform with the Honors Concert Choir, an elite group of young singers selected for the High School Honors Performa...
Although there weren’t any Cougar wrestlers at this year’s Class 4A State tournament, a talented Niwot student had the crowd buzzing before the championship finals nevertheless. On the final night of the three-day tournament, Niwot junior and home crowd favorite Ellie Brown brought members of the overflow Pepsi Center crowd to their feet with her uniquely beautiful rendition of the national anthem. “Ellie is such a gifted singer, and she has done such an amazing job for us here at Niwot, I tho...
For recognition of her efforts in technology education and outreach, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has selected Niwot senior Michelle Tran to receive the 2018 Award for Aspirations in Computing. Every year, NCWIT recognizes high school women “for their demonstrated interest and achievements in computing, proven leadership ability, academic performance, and plans for post‑secondary education.” Tran was one of just 41 students selected out of 3,600 appli...
The February nominees for students of the month are the members of the NES Robotics team. The team, consisting of third to fifth-graders, participated at a competition last Saturday at Flagstaff Elementary where they worked on individual design robots. The students on the Robotics team love building and competing with their robots. “There’s nobody telling you what you can and can’t do,” said fifth-grader Riley Herchert. “The biggest thing is watching the students grow individually and watching t...
On Feb. 6, the Niwot LID Advisory Committee considered five funding requests, got a sneak preview of the NBA’s 2018 budget and heard after-action reports for two popular events from last year. They also said goodbye to AC members Tony Santelli and Howard Treppeda, who will be stepping down at the end of the month when their latest five-year terms expire. Treasurer Harris Faberman led off with an update on the District’s 2017 finances. The LID collected $13,253.70 in sales tax revenue for Nov...
A Niwot mainstay will be bidding farewell to the community when the Neighborhood Learning Center of Niwot closes its doors at the end of the school year. The property, located at 304 Franklin Street, is slated to be revamped for the care of four-pawed family members. The transition will mark the end of a Niwot-based preschool and daycare program, which has run for nearly 40 years on the site. The building, first built as a church by what is now the Niwot United Methodist Church on Lookout Road,...
In the Niwot community, Scott Tibbitts is known as an entrepreneur. Tibbits is the founder of the company, Katasi, and his distraction-free driving product, the Groove, recently hit the market. But at Niwot Elementary School, Tibbits is known for a different role: the school’s favorite storyteller. “I like that he always does this spooky voice when it’s spooky,” said third grader Luke VanMiddlesworth. “I also like how he makes them up by himself.” On the last school day in December, Tibbitts vis...
Retiree Joan Grunzweig is doing a poor job, … a poor job of retiring that is. After closing the chapter on the traditional working life of an elementary school teacher in California, she’s reinvented herself as a fabulous, frenetic, full-time, self-employed baker. These days she can be found in Niwot being a churning ball of energy that’s measuring, mixing, baking and decorating. Her Niwot-based business, Joan’s Petite Sweets, carries the tagline, “a few bites of confection perfectio...
Born in the age of rumble seats, ice boxes, and boys’ knickers, Bill Yoh has seen and experienced an enormous number of changes in the world over the past 100 years. Yoh will officially become a centenarian on Dec. 19, 2017. Born in rural Pennsylvania, and residing in Philadelphia for most of the first two-thirds of his life, Yoh has called Niwot his home since 1984 - over 33 years ago. It was a snowy winter day in Eureka, PA, when Yoh’s mother went into labor. As if the urgency of the situation...
Weeks of rigorous memorization drills paid off for Niwot Elementary fifth-grader Greta Stauch last week when she claimed first place in the school’s annual spelling bee. Stauch correctly spelled ‘orthopedic’ to claim victory in the 12th round, after her lone remaining competitor, fellow fifth-grader Roland Pridgen, stumbled on ‘endeavor.’ “My dad was watching me when Roland was spelling his word,” said Stauch, who survived three rounds of written elimination tests before the final verbal round....
The Rocky Mountain Christian Church had a busy October, particularly one busy day. Over 700 volunteers from both the Niwot and Frederick campuses showed up for an amazing feat of service to area communities. They served breakfast to the public at Indian Peaks Elementary School, built a community garden, packed 100,000 meals to send to hurricane victims in the Houston area, did service projects at the Longmont Children’s Home and did several clean-up projects in Longmont and Frederick. All of t...
Niwot has the good fortune of being Alyson Bell’s family. And, as it is with the best of kin, Bell’s positive impacts are deep and immeasurable. “I like to keep a full plate and keep it rolling” Bell said. And that truly is the Alyson Bell effect. Her personal touch on Niwot’s signature events such as Let’s Wine about Winter, Rock & Rails, and The Great Pumpkin Party, through her organizing and hands-on effort and by ensuring that graphics, printed materials and online presences are emblematic,...
Niwot High School will soon have a new roof, but not the kind made of shingles. Thanks to a power purchase agreement, the St. Vrain Valley School District will be installing solar panels at NHS, Erie Middle School and Red Hawk Elementary over the winter. Dara Ward, energy and sustainability manager for the district, said that this will become a great opportunity for the students as well as the facilities and constituents. “Going into this project for the district, it was really important to n...
Imagine a place in Gunbarrel where neighbors can chat, check out the latest books and even create objects with a 3-D printer. Boulder Public Library is currently drafting its 10-year Master Plan, which includes plans to open a branch library in Gunbarrel. On Oct. 5, the library hosted an open house at the Boulder Rural Fire Rescue station to give community members the opportunity to preview the goals for the master plan and provide their feedback. The event was one of several, which have been...
