Notes from your editor, 1/14/21
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.
Many people, including me, felt that January 1st was the start of a new fresh year with hopeful, positive possibilities. Instead, we were confronted with a violent shocking insurgence. President Trump was quickly Impeached, in a historic rebuke. And, yet, there is still great fear of even worse actions taking place in the coming week. I am hoping that next week at this time, I can say that the proper democratic process of installing the next president into office is done, and a new Administration and a new Plan is happening. I hope you can join me in sending prayers and positive thoughts to our capitols of democracy and its people.
So, let’s get started with the News…
TOWN NEWS
SECOND STREET BRIDGE: The next week or two, they will be begin working on retaining wall work; and sanitary sewer work continues.
COVID TESTING – FREE – The testing IN Lyons has resumed this month – Fridays from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Watch FLASH NEWS for any changes in this program.
LIBRARY – This week, we have our monthly article from the Library Board about “library news” —but I will briefly point out three activities (1) Name the new bear statute in front of the library: https://lyons.colibraries.org/name-that-sculpture/ (2) AUTHOR TALK: *TODAY THURSDAY* Reminder! January 14 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. See the Library Facebook page for more info. (3) In mid-January the library will be starting its first Winter Reading Program for three months, with ideas on both books and activities to do and earn points for prizes. Winter Reading Program: Warm up to Great Books ==And, one last note, always check their web site for changes in their hours, due to COVID-19 restrictions getting lighter in coming months.
BUSINESSES: There is a new Italian food truck by the U-Pump It gas station, which replaces the “coffee truck” (The Red Tablecloth truck continues to serve food on Tuesdays and Thursdays; see their Facebook page for more info).
The Town has started a “Get Some Lyons Love” campaign to get more tourists and visitors to our town, stating that we are (mostly) virus free, and a close, convenient and fun easy trip from other cities.
DMV – The Drivers license bureaus are now open.
Go to FLASH NEWS for more activities and deadlines.
COVID-19 NEWS
See January 7th NEW article on everything COVID in Lyons, Boulder & Larimer County, and the state of Colorado – easy access, at your finger tips to all the news – I have gathered it from the various state’s web pages and news organizations to save you time. It includes a place to sign up for Boulder County vaccines notices. https://lyonsrecorder.org/2021/01/07/colorado-covid-update-1-4-21/
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Colorado is doing better at lowering the number of cases, and the current focus is on getting more vaccines into arms. It is improving: on January 12, 198,000 had gotten their first vaccines, and 41,000 their second; on January 14, 253,000 total had been vaccinated. Unfortunately, at this time, we are only getting 77,000 vaccines a week; but the federal Administration is promising to increase this within the next two weeks.
In Colorado, some pharmacies have a contract with the federal government to distribute the Phase 1 doses of the vaccines, but they have been slow in distributing them, and the State is asking for permission to take them and use them elsewhere. Some mayors across America (including from Colorado) have sent a group request to the federal government to give them the vaccines directly to distribute. CVS reports it distributed 121,000 to Colorado residents and staff at nursing homes, which is 66 percent; and 16 percent done at assisted living homes. (Walgreens did not report their statistics).
In the US 28 million vaccines have been distributed and 9 million received the vaccines. Still far below the expected number. It is reported that on Wednesday the U.S. had its deadliest 24 hours with 4,327 new deaths (383,351 total, and just under 23 million cases of the virus).
Thanks for your help folks in slowing this surge.
HOUSECLEANING:
Many of us go on a housecleaning binge during the first month of the new year. — I’ll list in JANUARY in this weekly column some web sites that might help you, during the month of January. (I’ve also invited our local “declutter expert” to write a column of tips for you later this month.)
For this week I have “39 Tips to Clean Your House” – this is a list done by Family Handyman magazine. They always have creative tips, often sent in by readers. === EG: “Dust Your Dryer,” “Scuff Mark Eraser (with a tennis ball),” “Buff Off Heavy Grime on Shower Door.” Some I may never use (or even spend time reading, but) I like this one: If crumbs, papers or even flatware falls into the gap between your countertop and refrigerator, fill the void with nearly invisible plastic tubing. Clear tubing is available at home centers in several widths starting at 1/8 inch and will help you clean house fast since you won’t be searching for crumbs.
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PHOTOS of the FOREST FIRE – WEST SIDE OF ROCKY MT PARK:
Here is a collection of photos just taken by a representative of Rocky Mt. Day Hikes. —QUOTE: “I read reports and have seen a few photos of the trailheads from the fire damage, but nothing prepares you for hiking/snowshoeing the trails that are affected by the Troublesome Creek fire! The blacken sticks on the hillsides, charred lichen on rocks, the private cabin in Summerland Park along the North Inlet Trail destroyed. I worry about the streams; will they be healthy? I feel much discomfort, but strangely also comfort in nature’s healing.
“I am thankful for what the fire did not take away. Much of the Never Summer Range is intact, Timber Lake Trail, Colorado River Trail, Holzwarth Ranch intact. I saw bright spots among the destruction; snow on the ground and frozen ice crystals that will nourish plant life, a green ponderosa pine sapling, the sunset over Mount Craig and Grand Avenue with shops and restaurants open for business.”
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BOOKS BY COLORADO AUTHORS: “Two years in Moscow”
This month we have an in-depth review of a book written by Colorado journalist Judi Burehrer who lived in Moscow during their coup d’etat in 1991. I thought this was fitting because we just had an attempted coup in Washington, D.C.
However, don’t be scared off by the political framework that this book was written around. It contains numerous stories about life under the Soviet Union rule. One of my favorites was when she said a relative in the US asked her to pick up for them one of those furry Russian hats, with the big ear flaps. When Judi went to the market, she found out that no one wears those any more, and it could only be found in a small number of tourist stands!
Even her tales of returning back to the states were filled with interesting tid bits. When Judi returned to America, she was disoriented by the size and stock in the grocery stores. And, she loved being able to once again control the heat in her own home vs. the “state-controlled heat.”
I got to know Judi in a Colorado Press Woman monthly “fiction writers group” that we started in 2008. We wanted to talk to other writers about things other than “hard news,” and edit each other’s works. Judi started off writing a factual book about the politics of the coup, but, over the years, we ended up encouraging her to do more of the every-day-life anecdotes.
She stated that, after the coup d’etat ended and elections took place… “Though the election was over, the political standoff and the Constitutional crisis continued, the election didn’t resolve anything except for keeping Yeltsin in office. And he wasted no time to use his political victory at the polls to slash his opponents’ powers.”
THIS WEEK’S ARTICLES
== INAUGURATION DAY = From serious facts to fun trivia (such as the history of Biden’s Bible)–It is our goal to always give you the latest information on important events in “one stop shopping” style! No need to search a dozen web sites and newspapers for the news. This page will be updated as we find out more important changes.
==NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS: Achievable, realistic goal setting for 2021 (part 2) Last week we identified our core values. This week, we are given a working check list to follow to discover our best goals to help us make this an even more worthwhile life. It is called the SMART program: Set – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based goals. == written by LEAF’s Mental Wellness counselor.
==LIBRARY Monthly Report – Library goes Solar: It took three years, but the library to finally get a new building grant approved and received, which they plan to use to install solar panels on the roof! Check it out.
==SMALL BUSINESS LOANS: The new round of PPP loans is now available. We have information on who can apply, deadlines, and links. This round has more rules so that smaller businesses are more likely to get the loans. By the way, it’s not too late to apply for the First Round of Loans! Some of that money was returned. This article is broken down into two parts – the federal information, and the Boulder and Larimer County info.
==SENIOR NEWS (monthly) – How food (supper) has changed over the decades – Did I just save the best for last?! I first start out in the article with all the commotion going on this year about what foods we have stocked on our shelves, but then delve into how foods have changed during our “senior” lifetime, including the first frozen foods, canned vegetables, TV dinners (and TV trays!), snack foods, and instant foods (do you still use Nescafe Instant Coffee?) It’s a fascinating dive into our eating habits. == Plus, of course, I include all of the usual lists of senior activities, meals, events, and more. There are a multitude of free classes being offered.
==FLASH NEWS — general events and deadlines, listed by date.
==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:
Please send prayers and positive energy to the political capitols of the United States this week! Both of these have been proven to have real healing and uplifting effects on our Universe. Chose a time and place to do it daily. It only takes a few minutes and can result in a blossoming of good things for the Year 2021!
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