All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Almost from the first day of school, most kids start looking forward to summer vacation. The average school year is about 180 days, which is a long time to wait if you’re a kid. Fortunately, aside from winter and spring breaks, the academic year is peppered with a day off here and there, so a kid can get a break from the daily grind. Then add in a few late start days, or early release days, just to keep things interesting. For working parents, these seemingly random days off can present a challenge—what will I do with my kiddo while I’m at work...
Two long-time Niwot health professionals are turning the page to new chapters in their lives. Dr. Leigh Charley relocated her chiropractic practice, Triad Wellness Center, to Niwot 11 years ago. She closed her office at the end of July. Dr. Felicia Santelli will be closing her natural health practice at the end of September. Her business, Santelli Healing Center, opened in Niwot 20 years ago. Leigh Charley Jamaica was home for Dr. Charley for 20 years and it’s where she raised her two c...
The words “social media” don’t always inspire warm, secure feelings in most of us. Nextdoor, the private neighborhood-focused social media app designed to connect neighbors, is an online platform with good intentions that can sometimes degenerate into just another place for folks to air grievances or behave in a less-than-neighborly fashion. And while Nextdoor’s mission is “to provide a trusted platform where neighbors work together to build stronger, safer, happier communities, all over the wor...
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 an unannounced move at their Sept. 20 business meeting, the Boulder County Commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on new development applications in the Niwot Rural Community District (NRCD), the three-block span of Second Avenue that comprises the downtown commercial zone. Citing concerns from community members about the pace and scope of new building in the district, commissioners Elise Jones and Cindy Domenico agreed to the temporary halt in order to give county planning staff time...
It was Sept. 12, 2013, when rain from a stalled storm began to swell and overrun the banks of nearly every waterway in Boulder County, assaulting massive amounts of personal property, streets, bridges, rocks and vegetation, disrupting lives for what would be years to come. Left Hand Water District’s emergency response “I have to say one of my least favorite things is revisiting the flood,” Left Hand Water District (LHWD) Manager Christopher Smith said. “I like the fact that it’s behind us...
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...
High spirits and friendly crowds marked Niwot’s inaugural Homecoming Carnival, held in the concourse outside Everly-Montgomery Field immediately prior to the Cougars football game on Sept. 14. During halftime, the 2018 Homecoming courts were announced. This year, each teacher nominated up to ten students for the court, and that list was then narrowed down to 10-12 candidates per grade. Voting then went to the student body, and the top-three vote getters in each class were selected as H...
Performances from this year's Jazz on 2nd Avenue festival, held Sept. 15-16 in downtown Niwot....
The Boulder County Land Use department is accepting public comment on a requested land use variance for a restroom to be built on N. 83rd Street. The variance would allow for permanent restrooms to be built 71 feet from the roadway, while the current setback is 90 feet. The restrooms are part of LoBo trail improvements and an expanded parking lot at Left Hand Valley Grange Park in Niwot. Jennifer Severson with the Boulder County Planning Department said that while the location is owned by Parks and Open Space, the variance request will...
In a surprise announcement on Sept 10, St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) Superintendent Dr. Don Haddad informed those attending the school year’s first community meeting at Niwot High School (NHS) that the district has decided not to store an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the school as proposed by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff’s proposal earlier this year was described as a way to allow school resource officers quicker access to a long range rifle to compensate for longer emergency response times to Niwot and L...
It’s the end of a special evening and you’ve been satiated by delicious food and drinks, and all night you knew you were amongst a group of caring people. To top it off you’re leaving with a favorite new piece of art, tickets to a Pink concert, a gift card for a massage or maybe a seven-day wine tour in the Burgundy region of France. That’s the afterglow of Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement’s (HOPE) biggest annual bash. The benefit event raises nearly a quarter of the non-profi...
Not everyone learns the same way. For a person with a learning difference, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia or dyscalculia, those differences can create a gap in learning that can last a lifetime. Hillside School in Gunbarrel has a mission to close that academic gap for each and every child that walks through the doors. The small half-day school has been providing options for families and helping hundreds of students since 2005. Kathy Sherman, Hillside’s director and co-founder, has devoted her e...
At their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4, members of the Niwot LID advisory committee considered just a single funding request, but members had plenty of new business on their minds, including funding alternatives for future capital projects and upcoming development projects in Old Town. Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin presented the monthly financials to lead off the meeting. As of Aug. 31, the LID has approved $155,105 in disbursements, about $22,000 over the budget, which is...
In an effort include a broader cross-section of the community, Niwot High will be hosting a carnival at Everly-Montgomery Field ahead of this year’s football game, instead of the traditional Homecoming parade through Old Town Niwot. “It’s going to give all of our feeder schools a chance to participate and get excited about becoming Niwot Cougars,” Principal Eric Rauschkolb said of the upcoming event, which is being modeled after similar events at other district schools. Niwot’s official...
The Niwot Community Association (NCA) announced at its September board meeting that all three candidates for the Boulder County Commissioners District 3 position have accepted an invitation to participate in a public candidate forum on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Left Hand Grange, 195 Second Avenue, Niwot. The election for the position being vacated by three-term commissioner Cindy Domenico is being held Nov. 6. Candidates hoping to replace Domenico are Matt Jones (D), Gary Cooper (R), and Cliff Wilmeng (G). Suggested questions for the candidates...
While the long, hot dogs days of summer ended in mid-August, if you are a dog owner, you know that every day is a dog day. Feed the dog. Pet the dog. And walk the dog. Every dog, no matter how small, needs to get out and about for their health and sanity. Whether it’s an elderly greyhound, a three-legged retriever or a border collie puppy, dogs need walks. And it’s good to know some local dog rules and etiquette when you’re out roving with Rover. Boulder County requires all dogs to wear a curre...
Where in the World has hit the jackpot this week and it’s keeping the World staff very busy. Three very savvy families have found our mystery chair. First to thanks to Megan Nowak. Nowak writes, “The chair mentioned in the Aug. 29 edition of the Left Hand Valley Courier is in Whistlestop Park. Below is a photo of my daughter Savannah Nowak and friend Xander Ware at a Rock & Rails concert a couple of weeks ago.” Next there’s the intrepid Sascha. No hiding place in Niwot is safe with her eagle e...
Mike and Nong Nicholas of Niwot will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary on September 30, 2018. The couple met at an Air Force base in Thailand, where Mike was serving as pilot, and they were married in New Fane, NY. In 1980, they came to Colorado, but relocated four years later after Mike joined the U.S. Foreign Service. The couple then spent time in Washington D.C., Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines before Mike’s (semi)retirement in 1998. During this time, Nong held v...
The aorta is the human body’s main thoroughfare for supplying oxygenated blood to limbs and organs. A very simplified description is that the aorta is an artery slightly wider than one inch in diameter, originating in the heart, descending through the abdomen and branching into two at the pelvis and down each leg. September was designated Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection Awareness month to draw attention to a possibly fatal condition if not diagnosed and treated. The incident of an a...
The Courier wants to hear your stories It’s been five years since the September 2013 flood that devastated portions of Boulder County. According to Wikipedia, the county received a total of 26 inches of rain from Sept.12 to Sept. 15, 2013. Boulder County’s average yearly precipitation is 20 inches. Two hundred and sixty-two homes were destroyed and over 1,600 people were evacuated. Niwot High School was designated as an evacuation center. Many evacuees were flown in from Jamestown, which was especially hard hit. The high school received hun...
Lamya Deeb may look familiar because she and her family are longtime residents of the area. Shopping, running errands, or taking children to and from school, it is inevitable that we all cross paths many times over the years. But you might find Deeb out in nature too, facing a glorious scene she’s capturing on her canvas. Or you may have met Deeb while she worked at Osmosis Art Gallery on a First Friday Art Walk. In any of these settings, you’ll find Deeb appreciating a connection with the envir...
Initiative 97—the Fracking Distance Initiative—will be on the ballot this November, thanks to volunteers who collected the 98,942 signatures required to get it on the statewide ballot. What does Initiative 97 entail? Currently, oil and gas wells that utilize hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are allowed to be drilled 500 feet from homes and 1,000 feet from schools. If Initiative 97 passes in November, that distance will increase to 2,500 feet from any occupied structure, to also include dri...
Boulder Country Day (BCD), a K through eighth grade school in Gunbarrel, will be 30 years old on Sept. 16, marking three decades of commitment to academic excellence and character development for local students. BCD’s focus on small class sizes has been one of its guiding tenets. The school limits enrollment to 18 students in each elementary grade, and it’s a commitment the school intends to keep as it moves into the future. “Our middle school is a little more flexible, as far as class sizes...
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...
The 2018 season of Rock & Rails closed out with two terrific groups. The concert opened with Summerland Sun to start the evening off, while the incomparable Hazel Miller had the audience up and dancing for the last two hours. Comments from attendees ranged from “Wonderful,” and “Fantastic,” to “I can’t believe my ears.” Thanks to everyone who contributed to the tip jar. Proceeds, which went to Whistle Stop Park for planned improvements, including a small building to house the beverage bar,...
While the days are soon to get cooler, many folks are currently up to their elbows in weeding, watering and hopefully harvesting. Those that have lush and bountiful gardens have probably been working hard since early March. Bounties are now being harvested and giant zucchini are being left on doorsteps under cover of darkness. No rest for the wicked. For those who want to keep that harvest going, or for the latecomers who couldn’t quite get their spring garden prepared in time, there’s always co...
Back to school season is a sensible time to be evaluating who influences and makes decisions for our area’s educational institutions. November 6 is election day for the Colorado State Board of Education member from the Second Congressional District (CD2). A Niwot resident since 1989, Johnny Barrett (R) is challenging incumbent Angelika Schroeder (D) for the position. Schroeder is the chairwoman for the predominantly democratic board and has held the CD2 position for nine years. She was a...
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...
