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.
Was Christmas just a week ago? It seems like ages ago, so many things have happened since then. I shared my Christmas ham (in boxes) with two families, and I got long-distance and local phone calls from all my Loved Ones! It seems they all were “Home Alone” but no screaming! Just laughs. ~~ It was wonderful! (How did you celebrate?)
We had lovely weather all week –around 60 degrees, and then it dipped this week to around 30 degrees and an inch or two of snow in most of the Front Range. The roads for New Year’s Eve will not be dangerous this year, but driving in cars together or going to events will be Very Dangerous! STAY HOME! please. Celebrate with your Household. Watch the celebrations, safely, on television. Rock’n New Year’s Eve and more, will still be televised, including live musical entertainment, and the dropping of the crystal ball, but NO Attendees on the New York streets. (The Denver fireworks are cancelled).
BUSY DOWNTOWN LYONS: If you were out of town for Christmas weekend, check out our “Photo Spread” where we captured some of the local events and lights! I send out to you good wishes for a Happy New Year weekend, and a Joyful Healthy New 2021 Year!
So, let’s get started with the News…
TOWN NEWS
ICE SKATING: in Lyons LaVern M Johnson PARK. See last week’s NOTES for details. Click here to see rules, hours, and rental facts: https://www.townoflyons.com/591/Ice-Skating-at-LaVern-M-Johnson-Park
LYONS PARKS PARKING PASS: Remember to get your new 2021 free resident’s car parking permit for Lyons parks! They expire in January. Parking fees help to support the park amenities. (See last week’s NOTES for more details)
The Annual Polar Plunge is taking place on New Year’s Day. See FLASH or FACEBOOK for more details; and watch out for PHOTOS in our next edition! (Thanks Jason Stillman for bringing back a “normal”(?!) activity to town!)
The Lyons Library will have an AUTHOR TALK, virtually. See FLASH or FACEBOOK for more details. Sarah Adleman, 2020 Colorado Book Award Finalist for Creative Nonfiction, on Thursday, January 14 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. She will read from and discuss her book “The Lampblack Blue of Memory: My Mother Echoes.” Check the library to order your book through inter-library loan.
CONTESTS: The “Christmas Lights” contest and the “Lyons Vet–Naughty or Nice contest” are coming to a close this week. Watch for cool PHOTOS!
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BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FACILITY BREAKS GROUND: The health facility that Larimer County voters passed in 2018 (with a 0.25% sales tax) has now entered a new phase. On December 16 the official spades dug into the soil for the ceremonial toss of earth on the site of the new Larimer County Behavioral Health Services campus in southwest Fort Collins. Located on the northwest corner of Taft Hill and Trilby Roads. It expands behavioral health services and constructs a facility to coordinate those services, addresses gaps in services, and makes them affordable, accessible, and available to residents of all ages.
We almost forgot about the drug epidemic that the US was facing, with all the COVID-19 concerns. But, the facility and what it will do will change lives for the better for decades to come. The 64-bed facility will offer six levels of service including: behavioral health triage, 23-hour observation, professional mental health assessment, and substance use diagnosis, …with a campus type grounds. Crisis stabilization and short-term residential treatment will also be available. A suite of withdrawal management services will also be available including social detox, and ambulatory medication-assisted treatment. This was a well-thought out project!
Criminal Activity is on the rise
Boulder County Sheriffs remind us that we need to stay vigilant. We have recently seen an increase in criminal activity associated with package theft around Boulder County, but especially recently in and around the Town of Lyons. It appears we have criminals who come into the area, often driving a stolen vehicle that is used to drive around and steal packages from porches. The stolen vehicles are then often “dumped” nearby after they have been used by the so-called “porch pirates.” ==Report suspicious activity to law enforcement. ==Keep your vehicle locked.
TIME FOR EXERCISE? After eating hardy over the holidays, we often look for places that we can go to work off some of the extra weight we put on. We have right here in Lyons “Defined Motion,” (formerly Mayama) with online classes. I believe they are all taught by locals, including Lori LeGault. Lori has a degree in this field, and for a few years led exercise classes for Lyons Seniors—both easy ones and more strenuous ones. The owner of DM says that her business is down to maybe five percent of what it was in previous years when she was able to offer classes for all ages. She put on those wonderful dance performances at Town evetns, like Good Old Days = with costumed kids, on up to seniors. Obviously, these classes have been put on hold. Support your local business and your body! Check out their web page for more information. https://www.facebook.com/Defined-Motion-157358940521/
Also they have a one-hour Nina body-mind-spirit dance, plus a one-hour meditation session this Friday, January 1st, at 11a.m. – 1 p.m., to start out the year called “Invoking Your Heart’s Desire.” https://www.facebook.com/events/690253348318283/
GOOD NEWS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES!
BOTH the Colorado “economic” funds and the US federal funds have been approved and money will be coming into Colorado businesses and homes beginning this week, and over the coming month.
NOTES: Steps were put in place to discourage large companies from applying for the new government loans and grants –both because of the restrictions and because it may not be worth it to them: The maximum loan amount is down from $10 million to $2 million. Small businesses with over 300 employees no longer qualify for forgiveness plans. Those with 100 or less employees can apply for those loans. Priority is given to minorities, including women and veteran run businesses, applying for as much as $500,000. There is a special pool of money for those with fewer than TEN employees! It will roll out next month.
I have listed other items covered in my past “NOTES” column. The $300 Stimulus check will be dropping into some people’s accounts this week (the funds will be distributed the same way as the March ones were.) But the unemployment funds may take a few weeks …to get the system rolling.
COVID-19 NEWS
Colorado – Good News and Bad News —
Good News: Same as last week – Good News: hospitalizations are going down, and positivity rate is — “weekly around 6 percent” and recent “daily around 8 percent.” The bad news is deaths are going up.
Vaccines are being administered to Phase 1A people — but, now, as we enter Phase 1B, those who qualify to be in this phase has been increased to also cover = elders above 70 = teachers = essential workers like grocery store workers, postal workers, and other front line workers who are exposed to high numbers of people.
115 skilled nursing facilities and 250 assisted living facilities have been visited with the vaccine given to residents and any staff who wanted it. The goal is to get it done by the end of January.
And, Gov. Polis is going to take most counties back from the “red’ to the “orange” level next week–first week of January.
Thanks for your help folks in slowing this surge.
Lyons – as of Dec. 29 —59 cases; Dec. 21–57 cases // up from Dec. 14—53 cases.
RESTAURANTS: GOOD NEWS: 100s of restaurants have reopened in the past two weeks under the new “5 Star” certified business variance program.
OTHER COVID NEWS:
In the US, December had the most ever deaths, with 65,000 dying, for a total of 334,116.
It’s been 16 days since the first vaccine was given. 65,282 vaccine doses have been given to date. — The number nationwide is well below the Administration’s predictions (2 million vs 20 million by year’s end), but they hope things will speed up as procedures become better figured out.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he agrees with President-Elect Biden that the worst is still yet to come in the COVID-19 pandemic — and Americans should brace for post-holiday season “surge” in cases.
Colorado has the first reported case in the US of the new variant COVID virus. It was in Elbert County, and the person has not done any travelling outside the US. So far, reports say it may spread quicker but it doesn’t seem to be worse and the current vaccine will work on it.
For more details and statistics and a list of who will get the vaccine in Stages 1, 2, and 3, go to our COVID article, this week.
THIS WEEK’S ARTICLES
==Lyons Fire Protection District – In our ongoing effort to inform you on all entities serving the Lyons area, this is our newest Community Resource page which gives you all the information and links you might need. It lists their NEW Web Page AND Facebook page! The web page has written comments by the current interim Chief and the past ones. A lot of interesting information. We also have a photo of the “brush fire truck.” Wait till you see all the gadgets and hook ups it has! Captain Gregory Schrodt couldn’t have had a bigger smile when he showed off the truck, than a kid on Christmas day getting his first fire engine!
==BOARD MEETINGS: You can find brief summaries of parts of the meetings of the Town Board of Trustees, and the Parks Commission in the “About Town” columns. But, to make it easier to find, I have put those sections on ONE page.. for the month of December.
==TOWN OF LYONS “CARES” FUNDING PACKAGE: The Town of Lyons announced this past week their CARES funding grant awards to 23 small businesses and two non-profits in Lyons. All of them have been impacted by COVID-19. ENJOY this list, and the details.
==POEM “Yestertomorrow” – Martin Soosloff gets deep into his subjects, and is popular among Lyons poetry groups and poetry lovers. I found the first part of the poem took me down a scary rabbit hole, but then I was able to come up and see more clearly the many things that we have dealt with this year. He was able to capture what we have been going through on a daily basis. We seem to focus on the one thing in the moment, and don’t realize how much we deal with in a single day.
==ADDICTION. As some people sit alone on New Year’s Eve, they may feel the effects of this year’s isolation, depression, loneliness, deaths, anxiety and reach for something to dull the pain. Starting with a remarkable title “We Are Only As Sick As Our Secrets,” local addiction counselor James Hart, makes us look at what we are doing to ourselves, and asks us if that is “fine”?
==ITALIAN New Year’s TRADITION – LENTIL SOUP. oh, yes, let’s end on a lighter note! From Miss Linney’s Kitchen, here in Lyons, we will hear both the benefits and delights in making, sharing and enjoying this thick, nutritious soup on New Year’s Day! (it includes yummy sausage!)
==FLASH NEWS — general events and deadlines, listed by date – it’s pretty light this week, now that the Christmas events are over!
==About Town — weekly column by LaVern Johnson of snippets of Town news.
==NOTES from Your Editor — that’s me! You are reading it right now! thanks.
MY WEEKLY MESSAGE OF CARE:
It’s a week to be lazy. To enjoy family. To have some fun. So, let’s make this simple….
Take care of yourself over the New Year Day weekend!
Celebrate with your immediate household,
to try and assure that all your Loved Ones will be around next January 1st.
Say a prayer for those who have suffered,
and those who have passed away during this COVID-year.
From the lips of those who have suffered:
Show your gratitude to God and the Universe…
and hug your Loved Ones…
and tell them YOU LOVE THEM….
I send out to you good wishes for a Happy New Year weekend, and a Joyful Healthy New 2021 Year! ….Kathleen Spring
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