If there ever is an emergency in town, or timely news needing to be distributed, you can trust the Lyons Recorder to put it online immediately.
Greetings my wonderful Lyons readers! This week we are bringing some Holiday Spirit! The stars are sparkling and hearts are warm. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday.
So, let’s get started…
We approach Thanksgiving with mixed emotions. On one hand, we are getting multiple warnings to only interact with people in our own household this Thanksgiving to help slow the alarming spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, we have received news of three high-quality vaccines that will be available within months, potentially ending this pandemic.
I hope you are able to reimagine what togetherness can look like and come up with creative ways to celebrate loved ones while making sure they stay healthy for many more years to come.
Send in your photos of your version of the “New Thanksgiving family dinner”! Was it you and your dog? Was it you and your grandkids? Was it you alone and a giant turkey? Send us your smiling faces, and we’ll post it next week! One year my sister made two turkeys and we sat our grandfather in front of one of the turkeys on his plate, with its bones stripped clean, and took the fun photo!
There are a few activities cancelled in town for both Thursday and Friday, including the Town offices. See FLASH NEWS for all the details and dates.
THANKFULNESS CRAFT: In last week’s issue, we had a “craft” article where families could paint stones together with words that represented what they are thankful for this year. Like “Mom” ”KittyKat” “Teddy Bear Bobby” ”No Fires!” These can also be given away as gifts this week or for December holidays.
GAME DAY: Some people on Facebook were exchanging puzzle (boxes) and games. The Lyons library has a “jigsaw box” in front of their building.
TV STREAMING: Well, it seems that home-bound people are still hungry for TV shows. Netflix has reported that the new show about a young lady in the chess competition world called “The Queen’s Gambit” is its biggest scripted limited series in history, launching to a record-breaking 62 million households over its first 28 days of release.
TV THURSDAY: Macy’s says that they will be doing a virtual Parade on Thanksgiving Day. And, the National Dog Show is always popular with people of all ages. (The NFL night game is cancelled, due covid in the Ravens camp)
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: Lyons has the town streets and Sandstone Park lit up for Thanksgiving and December Holidays, and are working on doing “float scenarios” around town, so that you can “drive by” floats, instead of stand on the curb watching a parade go by. In the meantime, you can go to Denver’s Multiple Light Shows = take a family drive around town (see below)
BEER: For those of you who love to brag about our local brewery’s latest “batch” – and try it out. We’re glad to announce to Premium beer lovers that the Brewery announced the release of “Bourbon Barrel-aged Ten FIDY” and “Volumes 3 and 4 of their BA20 Barrel-aged Series: Angel’s Vera and Zuccotto” which were infused with ultra premium ingredients. These BA beers are available in four-packs of 12 oz. cans for a limited time. The beers spent months inside oak bourbon barrels that have mellowed the massive stout into a 12.5% ABV.
DAY-VACATION IN DENVER: The upcoming December holidays will also be subdued. With the Town of Lyons cancelling all events, including the Bazaar, the Parade, and potentially the fireworks… I have given you an alternative to brighten up your December days. I’ve put together an article for a MINI-DAY-VACATION in Denver. There are some amazing things going on – in downtown Denver, at the Botanic Gardens and the Zoo. It all began last Friday, November 20, when the Denver mayor switched on the colorful lights on its Municipal and Capital buildings, which are choreographed to music. They also have a new Mile High Tree on the 16th Street Mall, at Welton Street, made out of metal and lights. It’s the largest installation of its kind in North America. The tree was created by ILMEX Illumination, a globally renowned decorative lighting production company in Spain. And, who doesn’t love the Denver Zoo and Botanic Gardens annual displays? Remember, there is limited capacity due to COVID-19, so reserve your ticket early.
SUPPORTING LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES:
==HOLIDAY SPECIALS. The Lyons Recorder is doing a big push to promote supporting our LYONS BUSINESSES! It all starts with THIS Saturday, November 28, being the nationwide “Shop Small Businesses Day.” We’ve put together a whole page of special items that local stores have for sale during December that will make great gifts (for your friends and YOURSELF!) — unfortunately we had a bunch of stragglers sending in “specials” or changing them, and we have to update the page before we can publish it confidently, so it will come out on FRIDAY.
==A GREETING CARD TO LYONS RESIDENTS: Next, we are getting ready a very cute “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the Town of Lyons” page, which features old-time Victorian postcards “photo spread” with the names of local stores. This has been a long-time tradition at the Lyons Recorder over the decades. It will be available from December 3 to 31.
==ADVERTISING MERCHANDISE: And, third, we are available for businesses to place ads for the first time this year! We hope to be a quick and easy place for residents to go to see almost all the stores of Lyons on ONE PAGE! Again, this will happen for the month of December.
***Contact us if you want to participate in any of these three events: LyonsRecorder.Editor@Gmail.com ***
==WORK ZONES: The State of Colorado has seen an uptick in fatal crashes in construction work zones in 2020, according to data gathered by the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol. Statewide there have been 10 traffic fatalities in construction zones, up from seven this time last year. While texting is a problem, speed is the #1 problem! With fewer people on the roads, drivers are driving faster.
==DUI ENFORCEMENT: With holiday excitement growing as Thanksgiving approaches, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and local law enforcement agencies statewide will unite for the Thanksgiving Week high-visibility DUI enforcement period from November 20–30.
==FIRES: I am no longer doing daily updates online of the fires. The four that were threatening the Lyons area are almost fully contained. You can go to the main article on “fire preparedness” and see links to each reporting entity and get their direct reports. Report 11/25/20: Snow-covered and wet fuels are leading to minimal fire behavior. People travelling the newly reopened roads near the fire damage are warned that precipitation, as well as freezing and thawing temperatures, create hazardous road conditions. A drier air mass is expected to move in today with low humidity and sporadic wind gusts of up to 50 mph. All reports are under “Community Resources” category. A temporary donation center has opened in Loveland for the fire survivors of the Cameron Peak fires.
COVID – REFERENCE PAGE. You will want to bookmark our article this month, as it is full of “common questions asked,” plus links.
FREE COVID-19 TESTING in LYONS: I wanted to include all of the names of the agencies who are offering this wonderful testing right in our small town: Boulder County Public Health, in partnership with Boulder Community Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. NOTE: No appointment is needed, and individuals do not need to have COVID-19 symptoms to be tested. Individuals who are 65 years old or older or are essential workers are encouraged to attend. There will be no testing the day after Thanksgiving, nor on Christmas day. ONLY three Fridays left to get the free test locally! ====Note, some people have experienced long waits for the test results. Call the phone number on the paper you are given, and have the medical results emailed to you.====The Town would like you to know: In order for Boulder County Public Health to have the most accurate location data for cases in Lyons please use both your physical address and PO Box (if you have one) on the form.
UPDATED NUMBERS: As of Wednesday afternoon, November 25:
WORLD: 60,258,815 confirmed cases
USA: 12,765,039, the most of any country, and 262,090 deaths.
#2 India, with 9.2 million cases, and #3 Brazil, with 6.1 million cases, had the next highest amounts of reported infections.
The nation is averaging 165,000 new virus cases per day as of Tuesday, up more than 70% in two weeks, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The daily U.S. coronavirus death toll rocketed past 2,000 on Wednesday, November 19, following weeks of rising infection totals, making it the first time the fatality numbers have gone past that number. Experts warn the coming weeks will likely be brutal. Per the CDC: As of November 24, 2020, large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials are in progress or being planned for five COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. The FDA reports that they have scheduled a meeting on December 10 for emergency use authorization of a vaccine from Pfizer.
Colorado is reaching 200,000 cases this week. One in 41 people is contagious.
This week’s issue contains an “Second Wave” article with many LINKS to PAGES where you can find updated statistics and the answers to many common questions=== do I have the virus or a cold? what are long-term haulers? How do we compare to Europe? What vaccines are being approved? and CDC information you can find easily and quickly on your own.
==COVID-19 SECOND WAVE – information and links for timely individual research; answers to common questions.
==SHOP LOCAL SATURDAY — National Small Business Saturday – list of items being offered by local businesses for Holiday gift giving
==PLANETS/ ASTROLOGY – Keith Gleason, our astronomy writer, tells us about Jupiter and Mars in this month’s sky. He always boggles the mind with sentences like these: “When on the same side of the Sun as the Earth (as it is now) Mars is only about 38 million miles away”== only! And… Saturn and Jupiter will appear to almost merge to our eye, but in actuality Saturn “will be about a half a billion miles beyond Jupiter.” Learn about this event that won’t happen again until 2080!
==DENVER CHRISTMAS, DAY TRIP – Information and links to some fabulous Light Displays and activities in the Denver area.
==PHOTO SPREAD: Many people I’ve talked to are planning to go hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing this Holiday 4-day weekend. Here are some photographs by Ann Hall of a nearby hiking adventure from a month ago, contrasting fall and winter landscapes! Enjoy!
==LEAF Report: A truly “thankful” article about the people who volunteer for LEAF. And, opportunities for community members to use their resources. (Thanks to new writer Rebecca Major!)
==BOOK REVIEW: “12 Days of Peace” If you love dreamy western mountain landscapes, as well as exploring rugged primitive terrains, this books captures them in photographs and watercolors, by local Jimmy Lange. (We hope to do one book a week for Holiday Gift Giving Suggestions!)
==LIBRARY NEWS: our monthly report on the Lyons Community Library from Bill Palmer. A local artist has donated a big huggy bear statute for the property! And back to “curbside book check out.”
==CD Review: “See Through” Our Bluesologist Dave McIntyre says, I have been enjoying Lyons-based Monica Marie LaBonte’s beautiful, emotion packed voice for a long time and am sonically pleased to hear a solo record from her.
==ABOUT TOWN by LaVern Johnson: Quick bites of news on every subject you can think of in town, including Town meetings, and birthdays.
==FLASH NEWS: Items are in order by date – deadlines to enroll, apply, get your Christmas tree, closings, classes, donations, and more.
==NOTES FROM YOUR EDITOR: yup, that’s me! Newsy news about life in Lyons, and more.
These Centers, located in Denver, and rated 4.5 stars and up, are in need of funds for their traditional Elders dinner in December, and restocking their food shelves. The Denver Indian Center said it had a 400 percent increase in food bank needs this year. Become a donating member and hear about events, music programs, history, talks, volunteer opportunities, and more.
The Denver Center officially stated: On August 11, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Being allowed to freely exercise our right to pray and conduct tribal ceremonies in our own homeland seems strange, but this law allowed us to openly dance, sing, and pray as our grandfathers did without retribution… Each day I hear of people in Indian Country contracting COVID-19, and sadly, many tribal elders with the virus dying before their time. This disease is deadly and it is real, please continue to do what you can to help slow the spread and practice healthy habits as much as possible. The Creator gave each of us a brain and a will to make choices. Ask for strength and wisdom through prayer in your own way and help everyone by washing hands regularly, practice social distancing and please, please, please, wear a mask in public places…
==Denver Indian Center (empowerment programs; help for elders; food assistance) (303) 936-2688
==Denver Indian Family Resource Center (family services; classes; programs; 501(c)3 founded in 2000) (720) 500-1020
==Denver Indian Health & Family Services (the only urban health clinic) (303) 953-6600
==Four Winds American Indian Council (community center: people meet, eat, pray, empower; a “liberated zone”) (303) 893-6890
Stay well, and stay informed! Keep reading the Lyons Recorder!
See you next week! Kathleen Spring, Your Editor
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