All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Terry Olkin and Mike Ott, founders of Left Hand Robotics (LHR), are bringing the SnowBot to market and the name says it all. Unlike a human, this autonomous snow clearer doesn’t think twice about heading into the dark, frigid night to work tirelessly. “The genesis of the company is that I never had to deal with snow until I moved to Colorado,” Olkin said. “When I first moved here, I thought, yeah, I’ll get a snow remover and do my driveway. But after a short period of time, I realized this was...
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...
Nearly 300 people attended the Aug. 21 grand opening celebration of the Dining Commons at Alexander Dawson School in Lafayette. The Dining Commons is the first new building to be built on Dawson’s 107-acre campus in 20 years. The LEEDS-certified space will also function as a large-scale meeting and event space for the school, which is at a record-high enrollment of 535 students. The new building’s footprint is more than double that of the former dining hall, which will soon be renovated int...
Each year around this time, about half of Jerry and Marsha Slepicka’s eclectic antique tractor collection gets dusted off and transported two by two from their place in Niwot to the Yesteryear Farm Show at the Dougherty Museum in Longmont. This year’s exhibit featured 12 of their carefully refurbished vintage farm vehicles, including a 1927 Fordson that originally came from Marsha’s family farm in the midwest. According to Jerry, it’s the oldest gasoline powered tractor at the annual show, t...
Members of the Niwot High baseball team, under the supervision of local contractors and other volunteers, helped erect framing inside one of a pair of shipping containers bound for Uganda as part of the Mwebaza Foundation’s Cougars Creating Classrooms project. While in Colorado, the containers will be transformed by Niwot students and other volunteers into a functional classroom, then shipped and reassembled in Uganda at the Mwebaza school....
World-renowned distance runner Melody Fairchild is bringing her vaunted Boulder Mountain Warriors school-age running club to Longmont. Launching in September, the 13-week Fall Cross Country program is open to students ages seven to 14 who have a passion for running and want to develop their skills both on and off the course. “We want students to leave with a solid knowledge-base about how to be a healthy balanced runner,” Fairchild said of her six-year old program. “I want them to have the n...
It sounds like the beginning of a math question - two men, each with one kidney and one bike, pack into a car and take turns driving seven hours to a destination where they will compete in a 20K and a 5K cycling race. Those men were kidney transplant recipient Jim Eastman of Niwot, and his kidney donor, Scott La Point. Both men participated in the annual Donate Life Transplant Games of America Aug. 2 to 7. This year’s games were held in Salt Lake City, UT just 14 months after Eastman and La P...
Inkberry Books in Cottonwood Square Shopping Center in Niwot is a gem of a store for reading enthusiasts. While independent bookstores have seen better days since the advent of eBooks and online book distributors, Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters decided their take on a bookstore was just what was needed. In doing so, they have succeeded in bringing literary class to the area by virtue of the types of hardcover books offered and the events they host. On a weekly basis, the store has scheduled...
As expected, the a cappella group Face drew an enthusiastic crowd at the Aug. 16 Rock & Rails concert. The group, which has its origins in Boulder, can always be counted on to bring out music lovers. The concert also brought out the hungry and thirsty, with food trucks doing a bang up business. The beer tent had its second biggest night in sales. Best of all was the record-breaking tip jar, with over $1,700 going to the Niwot Historical Society to support its lecture series. Only two concerts...
Sunset Middle School (SMS) is welcoming 10 new staff members to its team this school year, starting with the top two administrative positions in the school - principal and assistant principal. Additional new staff members coming onboard include language arts, science, art and special education teachers, a new band director, a new school psychologist, attendance clerk, and school registrar. Anthony Barela is SMS’s new Principal. He grew up in Durango, CO, earned his master’s degree in edu...
In 2016, The Atlantic featured a story determining the markers of thriving American communities—towns and cities that were able to be successful after the 2009 recession. Among the findings of the three-year project was the common factor that those communities all had craft breweries. Small breweries often revitalize older neighborhoods, bring life to industrial parks and create public meeting spaces for the locals. It’s clear that Colorado, with our mind-boggling array of craft breweries and...
Bob Faus, age 59, of Niwot, CO passed away at home on Aug. 10, 2018 surrounded by his family after battling pancreatic cancer. Bob was born in Honolulu, HI, to Robert Bert Faus and Patricia Brown Faus. He grew up in Honolulu, but had the opportunity to briefly live abroad with his family in the Philippines, Spain and Italy. He attended and graduated from Hawaii’s Punahou School. Bob received a BSEE from Kansas State University and an MBA from CSU. He had a very successful 34-year engineering car...
Rosemary Allen Bruce, 87, of Niwot, CO, passed away in her home on Aug. 15, 2018. Rosemary was born on Sept. 28, 1931, in Bairdsford, PA. She graduated high school as valedictorian. She attended the University of Pittsburgh where she met and married George Bruce, “the love of her life.” After for 68 years together, George passed away in February this year. Rosemary was an energetic and involved member of the Niwot community. She was the President of the Left Hand Grange in Niwot. She att...
Local families have known for some time that the Niwot Children’s Park is an exceptional place, but now there is hardware to prove it. In a small ceremony held in storybook corner on Aug. 9, representatives from the Colorado Lottery and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) formally presented the park’s 2018 Starburst Award, which recognizes “excellence in the use of Lottery funds for community and conservation projects.” In her opening remarks, Colorado Lottery Communications Manager Jennifer Churchi...
The agenda may have been light, but the concerns were weighty at the Aug. 7 meeting of the Niwot LID Advisory Board. Facing a supplement budget allocation in order to continue funding activities for the remainder of the year, the board discussed its finances and, more broadly, setting priorities for upcoming expenditures. Board members also considered a funding proposal from the Niwot Business Association (NBA), and heard about some upcoming transportation projects slated for the area. Boulder...
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...
Three Gunbarrel kids are tackling obstacles, but not out of necessity. They’re doing it for fun. The three Heinrichs girls—Anabella (14), her sister Secorra (11), and cousin Sorenne (9)—are all Junior American Ninja Warriors. They run, balance, jump, hang, scramble, climb, fall, get up and do it over and over again, simply because they love it. Based on a Japanese show, American Ninja Warrior is a burgeoning sport that began as a television reality show of the same name, in which compe...
Niwot-based performer Nalani may be spending a lot of time with her music pals in Nashville these days, but she will always have a soft spot for her hometown concert series. “I was practically raised at Rock & Rails,” the bassist and vocalist said. “That environment is where I learned to love music.” Nalani returns with her bass to Rock & Rails on Aug. 16 as the opening act for the vocal band Face, another local act garnering nationwide following. Nalani’s mother is Satir Demarco, a longtime...
Joey Dapolito started volunteering at the Rock & Rails summer concert series four years ago for a very simple reason. “I like helping out my community,” the 10th grader said. “It’s important to keep these parks clean.” But, like many of his longtime gargoyle cohorts, it’s the music that brings him back year after year. His favorite show so far this year has been The Long Run, even though the large crowd the band attracted added both to his workload and stress level. “The hardest part is tryin...
Tara Kpogoh-Narh is one of the welcoming faces you’ll see when you belly up to the bar at the Niwot Tavern. Her genuine caring and kindness along with her expertise in pouring the perfect draft brew or whipping up a well concocted cocktail hits on all the high notes for patrons of the pub. At her job, she offers hospitality, great drinks, excellent fare and a good ear. Learning about the people we regularly cross paths with is a way to find out what brought them to this place in their lives a...
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...
Mountain View Fire Rescue District Chief Dave Beebe met with Niwot Community Association (NCA) board members Aug. 1 to discuss the district’s proposal to put a mill levy increase on the November ballot. MVFR includes Niwot and some of unincorporated Gunbarrel in its service area. “We are in fact-finding mode now, but our district’s board needs to make a decision soon so we are gathering as much input as possible,” Beebe said. The district held four public open forums, including one July 17 in Niwot, and sent out mailings and surveys to district...
The act of a person, animal or thing that runs is what you will find in the dictionary when you look up the word running. For David Perry, running is that and so much more. It embraces what he does – twice a day; what his job revolves around – partnering with Adidas on creating their apparel and footwear; how he helps others – motivating groups of runners in the community. It’s a conduit for expressing creativity and using his business sense – pouring it into his own clothing brand, and it di...
To the Editor: RE: Von’s Colorado Concepts Development on 2nd Ave. We are residents of 3rd Ave. in Old Town Niwot and many of our homes border the alley corridor between the commercial zone on 2nd Ave. and our residential zone on 3rd. Many of us have lived on 3rd Ave. for over 30 years. We read the article in the Courier regarding the mixed-use project proposed by Von’s Colorado Concepts on the parcels at 364 2nd Ave. and 376 2nd Ave. We were particularly struck by Von Eschen’s comment acknowledging neighbor’s concerns about “the alley sit...
Thanks to his regular gig as a Rock & Rails gargoyle, Griffin Harris was able to check two major items off his summer to-do list: earn 10 community service hours, and have some fun. “I’m trying to get a rank, so I started doing this to get Boy Scout hours,” Harris said. He is hoping to earn his first and second-class ranks in Niwot Troop 161. “But, I’ve already surpassed 10 hours, so I’m just doing it because I love volunteering here. It’s so fun.” Harris especially enjoys hearing from ap...
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is once again teaming up with the Niwot Community Association (NCA) for National Night Out, an annual countrywide celebration that brings police and first responders into local neighborhoods for an evening of camaraderie and fun. “It’s a way to get the community, especially kids, more comfortable with first responders,” NCA President David Limbach said. “We want to build that trust.” This year’s free event is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 6-9 p.m. in Old T...
The risk for rabies in Colorado has been increasing, and with so many wild and domesticated animals around, it’s important to know how to best prevent rabies and how to manage it when it occurs. The CDC website instructs bite victims to immediately wash any wounds. “One of the most effective ways to decrease the chance of infection is to wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water.” It’s also mentioned that rabies can only be contracted when saliva or nervous system tissue makes direct...
Toastmasters International, the community group that has helped millions of people find their voice, tell their stories with confidence and gain valuable leadership skills since 1924, has come to Gunbarrel and Niwot. Victoria Bard of Gunbarrel and Dia Kline of Niwot co-sponsor the Gunbarrel Community Toastmasters Club that Bard started last year using a neighborhood online bulletin board middle-of-the-night call-out for interested members. “My first post was at 2 a.m. on July 27 and within 20 h...
Taking the pulse of commercial leasing within Niwot and Gunbarrel, there was a general consensus among local experts that the business environment is in a robust state overall. The recurring themes were that vacancy rates are low, and that brick and mortar retail businesses are harder to attract than businesses in the service and food sectors. Some prominent spaces on the market or soon to be on the market include locations on Second Avenue in Niwot, and within Cottonwood Square and Gunbarrel...
As reported on Von’s Colorado Concepts’ website, the local building company is planning a development project in Niwot. The website states, “This development in the heart of downtown Niwot, Colorado will offer a combination of charming single family homes and a commercial boutique space.” Von’s Colorado Concepts, run by Bob Von Eschen and his brother Scott, plans to build the project on the corner of Second Avenue and Niwot Road. According to Bob Von Eschen, it would include the property presently occupied by Lefty’s Pizza at 364 Second Aven...
The Courier would like to welcome Jocelyn Rowley as our new editor. Rowley, a Colorado native and current Mead resident, began writing local sports for the Courier, quickly moved into general reporting, and is now the editor. Rowley was instrumental in adding the Student-Athlete of the Week and Volunteer of the Week features to the Courier. She has a son who will be a freshman at Colorado State University, and her daughter attends Niwot High School. Rowley is a frequent volunteer at the Rock &...
Beaders had a chance to try their hands at making a bracelet on Saturday, July 21. The class was held at Pebble Art Jewelry to mark the store’s fourth anniversary. Owner Kate Head sponsored the event, which offered food, wine, music and a chance to create some wearable art. “It’s been an honor to be a part of the Niwot community,” Head said. Located next to the Niwot Market, Head added that she also likes being part of the market....
Gunbarrel’s Isaiah Cormier is telling a lot of people a pretty crazy story these days and hoping that more lives are saved as a result. That Cormier was struck by lightning when it didn’t seem terribly threatening is the start of the story. But, the fact that his girlfriend Juliette Moore, who had taken a class in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the past month, was able to restart his heart - twice - was an even more remarkable event. On the second day of a camping trip, just as rain beg...
Below is a list of facilities in Boulder Country providing classes in CPR, first aid and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC) to healthcare professionals, first responders, employees or the general public. There are also on-line courses available through the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross. Note that not all courses award completion or certification cards. Mountain View Fire Rescue 9119 E County Line Rd., Longmont http://www.mvfpd.org/general/webform/cpr-first-aid-classes...
When asked about his favorite part of being a Rock & Rails gargoyle, Niwot sophomore Jesse Horn was quick to answer. “I get to boss other gargoyles around,” he said, chuckling. As a third-year volunteer at the weekly concert series, the 10th-grader has certainly earned that privilege. Often working alongside twin brother Thomas, Horn serves as one of the gargoyle team leaders, and is instrumental in keeping the grounds tidy during his shifts, whether from his own efforts hauling bins and collect...
Trees in Colorado tend to be wild, scraggly and often sprout directly from stone faces in the mountains. They’re used to unpredictable weather, frequent droughts and the occasional fire. All of these events can change the way they look and grow, the same way that human beings are shaped by experiences. The Longmont Buddhist Temple at 606 Pike Road at the corner of Pike Road and Highway 287, includes some beautiful bonsai trees donated by Ted Matsuo, a bonsai artist. Matsuo was born during a diff...
We have a lot here in Boulder County—high quality of life, beautiful surroundings, friendly people, a high intellectual capacity and abundant cultural activities. We also have poverty. Right now, one out of every seven Boulder County residents is living in poverty. That’s 44,000 neighbors, coworkers, and schoolchildren who are struggling to get by every day. While it’s easy to equate poverty with the homeless person standing at the intersection, holding a clever sign, the sobering truth is that...
If you haven’t gone to a Friday Night Dinner at the Niwot Market you’re missing out on a great summer experience – Good food and great music. With the band Late for Supper playing, diners enjoyed fried chicken with all the fixings....
Officials from the Mountain View Fire Protection District are asking for public input on a proposed mill levy increase that they say will help offset the costs of serving a rapidly growing population in east Boulder and south Weld counties over the next ten years. At a July 17 public information meeting at the Niwot Fire Station, Assistant Chief Keith Long and Finance Director Tonya Olson made a case for the potential tax hike, which will fund what they described as urgently needed equipment...
You tilled, planted, hoed and weeded, so all that’s left to do is sit back in the July heat with a tall glass of lemonade and enjoy those beautiful blossoms. Well, not if you want to do it right. With a little bit of daily maintenance, you can enjoy nature’s second bloom as summer’s heat wears on. That daily task is known as deadheading, and it has nothing to do with dreadlocks or tie-dye shirts, unless you want it to. Deadheading is the term for the simple process of removing the dead or faded...
Where in the world is this treasure? Wander around at your leisure. Someone has taken trash, Turning it into more than cash. Your journey may be hot and dry I promise you it’s not a lie. Take your camera to use as proof, Just to show you’re not a goof. But be careful, if you do, You may hear a big COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO....
Photo Gallery: Rock & Rails - July 19...
Managing Editor’s Note: When the Left Hand Valley Courier partnered with a Kansas newspaper almost four years ago to take the newspaper from a monthly to a weekly publication, we had the great good fortune to work with Jesse Murphy, who helped guide us in that process and eventually became our editor. Although he lived in Kansas, Jesse brought a valuable perspective and years of journalistic excellence to the Courier. He mentored writers, traveled to Colorado to get to know the community, and wrote many outstanding articles for us. When our p...
Jackson Erb first showed up at Rock & Rails for the same reason that most people do—to see a great concert. Little did he know that his love of music would lead to a regular community service stint. “Jill [Whitener] came to me at the right time,” Erb said. “I was just getting into volunteering at the Humane Society, and I liked coming here, so I just started doing it.” Now in his fifth season, Erb is one of the most veteran Rock & Rails Gargoyles. Over the years, he’s helped the clean-up sq...
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...
Every winter, there’s a good chance you’ll see young girls outside of your local grocery stores and similar establishments selling cookies. Scouts are encouraged to sell as many boxes of cookies as they can, but there can be significant variance in sales between different troops and different individuals. This year, the highest seller in the local troop, number 70658, was Francesca Fowler, sitting pretty at 1,288 boxes sold. Francesca said that while she “wanted a challenge,” she was also dr...
Congratulations to our very observant explorers, Zoey, Zeke and Cleo Baker. According to proud dad Tom Baker, the intrepid trio “took note of last month’s winner being in the paper. When they noticed this issue of LHVC on the counter and saw the Where in the World picture, they knew exactly where it was. Then promptly jumped on their bikes to take this picture.” Good work kids. You were outside, getting exercise in a place that you obviously know very well. Our other fearless explorer is Chris...
Vinny and Celene Andreano will be serving up a whole lot of family and food soon. The family of six moved from Florida to their Colorado home, and they plan to swing open the doors of their new breakfast and lunch restaurant, The Morning Table, by the end of July. “We’ve always congregated our family around good food and good conversation,” Celene said. “Our kids have grown up having meals together and that was always important to us.” The Andreanos, who have been married almost 30 years, ar...
The hail storm three weeks ago tore through Niwot, destroying roofing and carpeting the ground in ice. Plants in local gardens were stripped as well as those in nearby farms. Though some crops, like the corn in the fields just east of Niwot, have made excellent recoveries, other patches of ground would be mostly barren if not for the hard work of the farmers who manage them One such farmer is Michael Moss, of Kilt Farm, just northwest of Niwot. Kilt Farm supplies Niwot, Boulder and Longmont...
Holly Owens notices when things need some of what she’s good at – adding a little sparkle. When she moved to Gunbarrel, she sensed Heatherwood Elementary School (HES) could blossom with her loving touch. Because of her enthusiasm and hard work, Owens has been selected as this month’s Left Hand Laurel. Owens had never heard of Gunbarrel when she lived in South Boulder. But when friends moved to the area and the Owens’ family was invited for a barbeque, they too were lured by the larger yards a...
