All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 3737 - 3786 of 4144
Mother’s Day is a special holiday for Denise Dollar, not only because she values her role as mother to her two children, but also because motherhood is the theme of the community service endeavor she created three years ago. Denise and her husband Tony Ricke relocated their family from Wisconsin to Boulder County in 2013. Their son has Type 1 diabetes and is on the autism spectrum. As the stay-at-home parent, the responsibilities of having a child with multiple disabilities fell mainly on D...
Collin Blatchley (a second-grader next year) and Reid Porter (going into third-grade) will be representing Team USA and Niwot in this year’s world BMX competition next month. The boys earned their tickets earlier this year in Austin, Texas and Rock Hill, S.C., respectively, and will be making the trip to see how they fare with bikers from around the world against the best of the best. “They’ll be competing against kids their age from all around the world,” Collin’s father Rob Blatchley...
Hillside School has moved into the long vacant building formerly occupied by Joycare at 7415 Lookout Road near 75th street in Gunbarrel. The school opened in 2005 and is expected to have 64 half-day students in grades 1-9 this coming fall, which marks 13 years for the school. The rest of the day is spent at the student’s public, private, or homeschool location. While at Hillside, students receive specialized academic instruction skills in a class size limited to four students per instructor. H...
Mid-April to late June is a typical time for honeybee swarm season in Colorado. “We will be expecting swarms to emerge in the next couple of weeks,” Beth Conrey, Past President of the Colorado State Beekeepers Association (CSBA), said. The Colorado State Beekeepers Association (CSBA), a statewide organization of beekeepers, is dedicated to honeybee health. For the last 10 years, they have been running the “Swarm Hotline” and are asking folks to keep an eye out for swarming honeybees. The swa...
The Washington Post, which recently named Niwot High School to its U.S. Most Challenging School’s list, confirmed what NHS students and staff already know - the school does an excellent job of preparing students for success in college and beyond. But it’s not just the AP and IB classes that make the school great. Four exceptional IB students from the Class of 2017, Vidhya Dev, Eva Kitlen, Tina Mo, and Qing Xia, spoke to the Courier about how a variety of aspects of their four years at Niwot hav...
Dark clouds gathered on the horizon as students, families, and friends gathered at Niwot High School to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2017. Typically, graduation is held outdoors on the football field east of the school. But this year stormy weather drove the event inside. Teacher Jason Watkins, who has been at NHS for 20 years, said this was his first indoor graduation. Fortunately, the change in venue didn’t detract from the significance of the day for the more than 280 students w...
Boulder County Assessor Cynthia Braddock sent out notices to many residents in the county on May 15 advising that the assessment notice mailed on May 1was incorrect. Braddock’s letter stated, “We discovered a data input error in the time trend used to establish the value of your property. We have since corrected the error.” The error correction resulted in a reduction of value for most properties. In one case in Niwot, the valuation went from $633,000 down to $560,700. Braddock also noted that the deadline for filing an appeal of the adjus...
The fourth-annual St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) High Schools Reunion will take place on Friday, June 9 from 6-9 p.m. The Reunion will be held during the first Downtown Summer Concert of the season on Fourth Avenue between Main and Kimbark. Boulder-based band The Goonies will play all the hits from the 80’s. The night’s festivities will get underway with a Niwot High School student Jackson Cloud who will showcase his talents on the guitar and vocals, along with the rest of his Jackson Cloud Band. Alumni from all graduating years at...
Forty-one years ago, Susan Burnett stepped up to the chalkboard in her first classroom. Always up for a new challenge, Burnett has held many titles at many schools over her long career, including assistant principal at Niwot High, but in her heart, she’s always been a teacher. For Burnett, the call to education was clear. “When I was about third or fourth grade, I wanted to be just like my teachers,” Burnett said, recalling the path to her career. “I’ve just been in education the whole tim...
The heavy, wet snow on Thursday, May 18 played havoc with many Gunbarrel area trees. David-Michael and Glenda Monasch lost a tree in a manner they can only describe as being “explosive.” “Glenda saw one of the bigger branches starting to quiver,” David-Michael said. “She called me. We were looking out of the windows. Before we could go out and shake any of the branches, right there and then, in seconds, ‘boosh!’” “The whole tree exploded, all at once,” Glenda said. “Not one branch came down...
The historic preservation of old buildings is one way to remember the people who’ve helped shape the character of a community. Factor in the agricultural and economic forces of the past, and a historic building serves as a cultural reminder of a bygone way of life. Guests of the lecture on historic preservation at the Left Hand Grange Hall on May 17 learned how the county has invested in our shared cultural heritage—through five historic properties in particular, a painstaking process des...
At the beginning of May, The Washington Post’s Education Columnist Jay Matthews released his annual rankings of how well the nation’s top high schools challenge their students. This list, called America’s Most Challenging High Schools, ranked Niwot High School at number 360 in the country, which is in the top two percent of all US high schools, and number three in Colorado, the first public school behind charter schools Peak to Peak in Lafayette and Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora. Accor...
Rock & Rails will kick off its 12th summer concert series on June 1 with Mojomama w/ Bass Legends as the headliner at Whistle Stop Park in Niwot. Nick G and Nalani will open the event with music starting at 5 p.m. The headliner usually begins around 6:30 p.m. The weekly event is sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association in conjunction with the Niwot Business Association, and is free to the public each Thursday from June 1 to August 31. One of the three event managers, Vicki Maurer, said...
The IBM Connector Trail between the LOBO Trail and the Coot Lake Trail south of Tom Watson Park near the IBM plant was initially scheduled to open May 16, but construction issues have pushed out the opening by at least a month. “Unfortunately the IBM trail project ran into some delays as we worked through some technical items with the railroad,” said Andrew Barth, communications director for Boulder County Transportation. “Both the county and the railroad owner want to make sure that everyone who rides or walks along and under the tracks remai...
The Mountain Shadows Montessori School Board of Directors has named Liana Oram its next Head of School, effective July 2017. Bringing more than two decades of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) experience as a teacher, school co-founder/director, and administrator, Oram will lead Mountain Shadows into its fifth decade. “Liana demonstrated that she is a model of AMI pedagogy and values,” said search committee chair and Board President Polly Buster. “Her Montessori and real estate busines...
Boulder County residents recently received a mailer concerning property values in the county. For some, there may be some sticker shock, but the point of the mailer is to let people know what is going on. The fact that valuations increased substantially does not mean your taxes will increase by the same percentage. Colorado law limits the tax burden which can be applied to residential properties, and governments are constrained to limit tax increases, accounting only for population growth and...
Last month, Boy Scout Troop 161 held a Court of Honor, a regular event to recognize scouts for their achievements. This one marked something special - Niwot High School senior Isaac Robare officially earned the rank of Eagle Scout. What makes this special, former scout leader Johnny Barrett said, is that Robare joins four of his peers as Eagle Scouts who all started together in Cub Scouts as first graders. “Only about five percent of scouts make the rank of Eagle,” Barrett said. “So to have...
The goal to help low-income students have access to drum lessons continues this weekend for Boulder Drum Studio and the Drumming for Jared program. Larry Bennett, who owns and operates the studio, established Drumming for Jared earlier this year following the tragic October 2016 death of 19-year-old Niwot resident Jared Lizakowski in a motorcycle accident on Niwot Road. Lizakowski had been a long-time student of Bennett’s, and thanks to Drumming for Jared, many more youngsters are able to take lessons, get equipment and continue their m...
A memorial ride was held over the weekend for Charles Crenshaw, a cyclist who was killed on Monday of last week. The ride was coordinated by Longmont Velo, a bicycle shop on Francis St. where the ride started. It ended at the site of the crash, N. 65th St. and Nelson Road. Anthony Hardwick, who is the head service mechanic at Velo, said that it was a somber day. “It was about Mr. Crenshaw and his family,” Hardwick said. “I really wish we could have met all of these people under different circu...
*The dates for the work have changed from the original post. These dates are an estimate from the transportation department and are subject to change. Pay attention to signs along the road for the most up-to-date closure information. In order to accommodate a flood recovery-related culvert installation project at Boulder/Lefthand Ditch, Boulder County Transportation will need to fully close 71st Street between Highway 52 and Lookout Road starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 22. The road closure will be in effect 24-hours per day, seven days per...
Michelle Welsh, an American Family Insurance agent for 31 years, was recently recognized for providing outstanding customer service under the American Star Excellence in Customer Experience Certification Program. This doesn’t mean she is above giving a leg up to younger, less experienced agents, especially when that agent is her own daughter, Brie Welsh. Brie has been an independent American Family Insurance agent for two years and enjoys the proximity to her more experienced mom since they shar...
Walk into Niwot Market and you’ll see artist Tom Studholme hard at work. Studholme, who created a mural in the store, has been commissioned by Bert Steele to do a painting honoring a cousin of his children, Jay Knaus. Steele said the painting has a lot of meaning for him. “It is a tribute to Jay Knaus, who passed away last year. He was a very good football player. He played for Longmont High School. He [had] many concussions as a player.” The painting, which shows Knaus catching a footb...
Yvonne and Tegan Hammell share much in addition to being mother and daughter. They share custody of their elderly dog Evie, activities such as bowling league, and a commitment to volunteer work in their community. Yvonne started as a donor to Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) having been connected to the agency through friends and because there have been so many people throughout her life affected by HIV/ AIDS. At the urging of her daughter, she began to spend time volunteering, and now has a...
For the last two years, Niwot High School’s Education Foundation has hosted a spring festival to showcase the work of aspiring student filmmakers. But when the foundation announced that it would no longer be able to support the event, NHS teachers Jim Asmus and Jason Watkins teamed up to ensure the show would go on. In the process of taking over the festival, Asmus and Watkins made several changes, including renaming the event the St. Vrain Valley Student Film Festival. “That was because I’m...
The event is Wednesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Grange Hall in Niwot. "Come learn about square nails, see how old wood has been matched, vintage and aged buildings that use different building materials and the trails restored. See the outstanding changes and restoration projects that have happened in Boulder County."...
The rescheduled spring cleaning of Niwot Children’s Park saw 18 people, young and old, show up to rake wood chips, pick up a few pieces of trash, pull some weeds, and spruce up the park last Saturday. Park fundraising coordinator Riki Frea was on hand with her children, and reported that the damage caused by vandals last fall has been repaired at no cost, thanks to the manufacturer’s repair kit. Concrete bugs, bats and frogs which had been damaged are now restored in the play structures. The...
Longmont Velo, a bicycle shop in Longmont, has planned a memorial ride for Charles Crenshaw, the cyclist that was killed on Monday. It will be a seven-mile ride beginning at the shop, 1111 Francis St., and will end at the site of Crenshaw’s crash — N. 65th Street and Nelson Road. Crenshaw, 69, became the second cycling death in the last week in Boulder County, and the seventh in the last year. The ride will start at noon and is open to anyone. This tragedy brings to light that motorists need to remember to share the road. As summer app...
Members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Boulder County are holding a drive to help the OUR Center in Longmont. The event is leading up to Armed Forces Day, which celebrates all branches of our military. This year it will be observed on May 20, always the third Saturday in May. The drive is from noon to 4 p.m. on May 20 at Shoes and Brews, 63 S. Pratt Parkway in Longmont. Senior Vice-Commander John Reid of MOPH Chapter 434 and fellow veterans are having a “Battle of the B...
*Editor's note: This is a press release sent out by the Boulder County attorney's office. If you received the mailer, contact information on what to do and who to call is below. District Attorney Stan Garnett is asking residents to reach out to the Community Protection Division of his office if they have recently received a mailing purporting to be from the "National Processing Center" advising them that they may be entitled to certain federal benefits. This follows recent complaints from residents about this mailer. "These mailings try to...
At its May 2 meeting the Niwot LID Advisory Committee heard a preview at what’s shaping up to be another busy summer around town. Before considering the four funding requests on the agenda, the Co-chair Laura Skaggs reviewed the February 2017 revenue report. According to figures from Boulder County, LID sales tax collections for that month were $15,898, which is nearly 40 percent higher than the same period last year ($11,390). Members were surprised and pleased by the sharp increase, but m...
This month’s First Friday Art Walk kicked off a juried art show spread throughout various businesses. Michelle Henzel, with Osmosis and other Niwot Cultural Arts Association board members, launched the Why Not Niwot Juried Art Show in eight different businesses for the May art walk. There are a total of 22 pieces — all have to feature Niwot in some way — displayed in eight different businesses around town. Those businesses are ShopGirl, Pebble Art Jewelry, Painted Primrose, Niwot Inn, Niwot Jewe...
Heatherwood Elementary second graders are singing and dancing about economics this spring. The students have spent the last six weeks working with professionals from the Boulder theater group, The Catamounts, to create an original, curriculum-based production. This second-grade tradition began in 2011, when teacher Jolie Evans teamed up with her longtime friend Amanda Berg Wilson of The Catamounts to bring theater education to Heatherwood. Berg Wilson had recently moved to Boulder from Chicago...
The Niwot High School Education Foundation is currently holding an online auction, and the clock is ticking. With over $17,000 worth of locally-donated good, services and gift certificates, this marks the first time the foundation has tried to raise money through an online auction. Teresa Parrot, who is with the non-profit foundation, said that they are different from other boosters because they focus on raising funds for classroom materials instead of athletics. “We were looking for new and d...
The clean-up day for the Niwot Children’s Park planned for April 29 was a casualty of the late-April snowstorm. Jason Thomas was the only one to brave the snow and cold to walk the park with Niwot Cultural Arts Association staff, picking up two pieces of trash. Longtime park supporter Stacey Secatch came by the park earlier in the week and removed dog waste which had been left behind. The NCAA will try again for Saturday, May 6 at 9 a.m. Free donuts will be provided. Volunteers are asked to b...
A need for sturdier event, detour and road closed signs in Niwot led to a spring project for welding students at St. Vrain Valley School District’s Career Development Center (CDC). “This is a win-win for everyone,” said Niwot Community Association President Dick Piland.”We get better road signs and the high school students were able to put their skills to use on a community project.” Last winter, NCA board members investigated purchasing five stands for road signs, but were concerned about high...
As part of the 2016-2017 “Niwot, Now & Then” Niwot Historical Society lecture series, a vintage fashion show organized by Susie Reisser was presented Thursday evening, April 27, at the Left Hand Grange Hall in Niwot. The event was well attended and the crowd was treated to a skillfully narrated fashion show and exquisite examples of men’s and ladies’ fashion from several periods of the 20th century. Dance troupe Watch Your Step!, under the direction of Dorothy Vernon, gave a fashion show wi...
Sunset Middle School’s 2016-2017 year is closing with a showcase that has something for everyone. Community service projects will be displayed by students, showcasing the school’s authorization as an IB World School. The seventh grade jazz band, a string group and a cappella singers will be performing at the event as well. Eighth-grader Cynthia Ragland focused her service project on helping those in need. She volunteered at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, cooking and serving meals to peopl...
Colorado Wilderness Rides and Guides recently moved their headquarters to Gunbarrel with hopes to continue expanding the business.Joshua Baruch, CEO, general manager and jack-of-all-trades for the company said that they’re gearing up for the busy season, May to October. “That’s typical with tourism in Colorado,” Baruch said. “It’s really more due to the weather and the environment being nicer to where you can get more access to the mountains and rivers.” The company re-branded last year and...
District Attorney Stan Garnett is warning residents of Boulder County that recently there has been a huge surge in the number of complaints to his office reporting bogus law enforcement calls. Victims receive a call or message from a person claiming to be an official from "Boulder County Sheriff's Office". When they return that call, they are connected to an "officer" and told that they have failed to appear for either jury duty, or Grand Jury duty, and that they have received citations as a result. The caller will tell them that they have...
A Boulder County Parks & Open Space employee was killed in an ATV accident near the Lobo Trail on the Bielens-Hock property Niwot - Just after 11:00 am this morning, a Boulder County employee called 911 to report that one of his co-workers had been found along the Lobo Trail, unconscious, with his ATV on top of him. The man's two co-workers were able to move the ATV off of him; while one began CPR, the other called for help. Despite resuscitative efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene...
Dawson middle school science teacher Bill Meyers has brought together students and scientific organizations such as NASA for many years. One such partnership is with GLOBE - Global Learning and Observation to Better the Environment (globe.gov) - a worldwide science and education program aimed at getting primary and secondary students involved in hands-on research that materially contributes to the understanding of researchers around the globe. Last September, eighth grade students Lindsey Bartol...
Students from all over the world are preparing right now to leave their countries to come and study in America for the upcoming school year. These students are leaders in their schools. They exhibit great academic skills as well as a heart for volunteer work. These are the students who will impact their countries when they return home with the experiences they have had while living here in America. The students are placed with volunteer host families throughout the US. Host families are families with kids or without kids, retired, single,...
4-H Club gives to Eagle Place The Niwot Nifties 4-H Club gave an Easter surprise to residents at Eagle Place. It wasn’t just a one-time gift; this is something that the club does every month for the residents at the county-owned housing unit for people with a fixed-income. New co-leaders Cindy Shepherd and Mary Klingbeil said that they do projects for the residents as part of their community service requirements, as the club uses their facility for monthly meetings. “We really appreciate tho...
Architects Jack and Rebecca Weise decided to rethink their lives. For starters, their to-do lists were too long. They needed more freedom, and wanted to spend more quality time together as a family. Taking a clear-headed look at their priorities, they opted to put their 2,800 square-foot home on the market. In exchange, they designed a 1,900 square-foot home for a small lot in Longmont’s Prospect neighborhood. Before moving in December, they tossed out about 80 percent of their “stuff.” Their mo...
Girl Scout Troop 179 is on a journey to Get Moving. The eleven Heatherwood Elementary fourth graders of Troop 179 have spent the school year exploring the theme of movement and energy through an intensive, collaborative study called a journey. “We’re learning about all types of energy,” troop leader Nancy Renken said of the project, which requires more in-depth study than a typical girl scout badge. “One part of the journey was animal energy. Observing animals in nature is a little tricky so I reached out to Greenwood [Wildlife Rehabil...
Wendy Mariscal is the new owner of Chico’s Grooming Spa for pets in Cottonwood Square, taking over the location previously occupied by Puppy Paws Pet Spa. Mariscal hails from Dacono where she is still active in her original shop one day a week. Tuesday through Saturday she is busy building her new business in Niwot. Mariscal chose this location through a lucky break. She has her car serviced at Gunbarrel Imports and noticed the appeal of the area’s business district. She says owning a shop in such a great neighborhood is a “dream come true...
Three “absolutely outstanding volunteers” were honored by the Niwot Community Association at its annual meeting April 19. Heidi Storz, Julie Breyer and Neal Anderson were recognized for their service to the organization and Niwot. “We are so appreciative for everything these people have done for both the NCA and the town,” said NCA President Dick Piland. “They really exemplify service and the giving spirit of our town.” Storz served on the NCA board, as vice president and as president of the NCA. She organized and coordinated the annual Niwot C...
The Niwot High School Booster Club got a special donation for this year’s after prom. One lucky student will be winning a used Chrysler Sebring convertible at this year’s event. With the donation, Pollard Jeep out of Boulder joins Stapp Toyota and Sill-Terhar Volvo as the three biggest donors for the event. Other prizes include gift cards. Linda Herring, who is one of many boosters helping to organize the event, said that students have been excited about the raffle. “The kids are really excited about it,” Herring said. “Last year we had 400 s...
Originally published April 1, 1997. It’s my personal view that most people would love to have more time to communicate. In many cases, with our busy world, we don’t have the time or the patience to have a really great talk. Oh! For the days spent around the campfire just getting to know each other. (I was a Girl Scout, can you tell?) Instead of taking a time out, we sign up for one more class or exercise program that is supposed to teach us how to be healthy and relax. What we really need is to drop all the extra things we do. Sound sim...
I distinctly recall thinking, “How hard could this be?” when seven of us got together in November 1996 to talk about starting a newspaper for Niwot and Gunbarrel. I assumed that everybody could write well, that people would jump at the chance to send us photos and cool stories of their kids and that businesses would be knocking down our door to advertise. Except that we didn’t have a door. And my expectations were, to put it kindly, wildly optimistic. All of us had other things to do, like...
