Notes from your editor, 4/8/21
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.
It’s National Poetry Month! Tulips are red, Hyacinths are blue. Sugar is Sweet. And so are You! Ha!
I was curious how long this poem has been around, and found multiple explanations or “sightings” for it — from Edmund Spenser’s epic poem “The Faerie Queene” (1590), to Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic “Les Miserables.” I prefer to go with those who say it is a classic children’s rhyming poem, or a folk love poem. Simple. Fun.
In addition to flowers popping up, there have been sightings of bluebirds and hummingbirds …as well as bears! And, it seems there are larger than usual numbers of elk being spotted near town. How can they help themselves from thinking it’s officially spring with record breaking temperatures over the weekend. Sunday it was 81 degrees (one degree short of the record).
Did you get to spend time with your whole family this Holiday weekend? With our elders being vaccinated, it opened up the opportunity for other “households” to gather in the same house. And, with the vastly increased production and distribution of the vaccines, we are now vaccinating three million people a day across the U.S., and most states have opened it up to anyone 16 or older eligible to get it.
And, isn’t’ Opening Day at the baseball stadium a true modern day sign of spring?! The Rockies won their first game playing against the champion team Los Angeles Dodgers. And, now we have news that we will see the All-Star Game coming to Denver’s Coors Stadium July 13! It is anticipated that we could see a full stadium by then. Great news for businesses in downtown Denver!
What are your “signs of spring?” Write me or send photos! Of course, it IS Springtime in the Rockies! and April is our second snowiest month, so don’t put those snow shovels away just yet.
Let’s get to the news…
GENERAL NEWS=====
PECONE HAIR SALON has a new SALON location, and new hours/price menu == We are finally taking clients in our all-new salon, starting Tuesday the 6th. Our new address is 503 2nd Avenue Lyons in the Little Yellow House (right behind Mojo). We have adjusted our prices and hours with the new salon. Prices for a cut from $25 to $35 depending on the length of the hair; and $20 for a kid haircut. Hair color $75 and up. We are also offering walk in hours on Friday and Saturday. To make an appointment you can Call/Text 402-926-9047 or send us a Facebook message.
Boys & Girls Club needs your help – during these “covid restrictive times” kids are needing some outside companionship and guidance. (see the ad on the Front Page of the Lyons Recorder for more details, and click through to their “careers” web page)
–Volunteers: they hope to open their program back up this month. Fill out the application on line “volunteers” web page
–10 job openings in Loveland and Ft. Collins = In ESTES PARK: Youth Development Intern – Part-time (unpaid) An internship will provide a learning opportunity to develop and implement effective youth development programs that fit within the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County environment, and are also cohesive with the organization mission and values.
4/3/21 – Pinewood Spring Fire Department message: At approximately 11:00 p.m. Saturday evening Pinewood Springs and Big Elk Meadows firefighters responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash near 11000 N. St. Vrain Highway. One patient was extricated and transported. — We would like to express appreciation to the Estes Park Estates resident who assisted the injured driver of the vehicle- thank you for stopping. And, as always, we are grateful for our friends at Estes Park Health Ambulance, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol.
The Pinewood Community Church is looking for a piano player for their Sunday services, and it would be a paid position. Please contact Linda at lswismom@gmail.com.
=====tell them you saw it in the Lyons Recorder!=========
ACTIVITY====
SPRING FLOWERS! – spotted by Crystal White — daffodils in front of the fire station and the hyacinths on 4th Avenue. Take a look round!
April 8, 6 p.m. online: Cal-Wood Post-Fire Flood Risk Meeting – South St. Vrain Creek area — Public meeting to discuss Cal-Wood post-fire flood risk. For residents and homeowners in the South St. Vrain Creek area. (See FLASH NEWS for all the details and the link)
STAMP OUT RACISM, next meeting is April 8, Lyons Community Church (See FLASH NEWS for more details)
WHEN DO PEOPLE TUBE DOWN THE ST VRAIN RIVER? (question on Facebook) == Chris Cope responded: The South is a free runner, so it starts whenever the snow melts. That only effects the BB Hole and down, not the course in LJP or Apple Valley. The North is controlled from Buttonrock, so its flow is dependent on the release schedule. Since the snowpack is forecast to be low, I doubt that would be before late May. You can find the Buttonrock release flow here: Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources.
MUSIC LESSONS: Monica Marie LaBonte: “I will have openings for music students starting the first week of June! Guitar, piano, ukulele, voice, songwriting. Email me at monicamariesmusic@gmail.com or DM me for more info!”
****Remember to go to FLASH NEWS to read in DETAIL about all the CLASSES == TALKS == DISCUSSIONS that are going on in town!****
GOVERNMENT NEWS====
April 30th is the Deadline for Paycheck Protection Loans. We have this in FLASH NEWS. Read the Bank of the West page for more details.
ELECTRIC CARS: Gov. Jared Polis said: Electric vehicles are the future and my administration is dedicated to expanding access to them in Colorado.
Fun fact: Did you know that there are more than 3,800 charging stations across the state and with many of today’s models being able to travel 200-300 miles on a single charge — it makes electric vehicles a smart investment for yourself and our planet.
AMERICAN JOBS PLAN:
President Biden proposes a $2.3 Trillion Infrastructure plan.
The American Jobs Plan would pump $621 billion into transportation infrastructure and resilience, including the repair and construction of roads, bridges, transit and rail service. (including a proposed train extension in Colorado from Pueblo to Ft. Collins) That includes $115 billion to modernize 20,000 miles of roads, fixing the 10 most “economically significant” bridges in the U.S. and repairing 10,000 smaller bridges in poor condition. It would be paid for a small increase in corporate taxation, and on those making more than $400,000 a year. == See other news sources for further breakdown of the plan.
Corporate tax rates in 2018: Lawmakers lowered the corporate tax rate to 21 percent starting in 2018 from the then current top 35 percent rate. This 2021 Bill would increase it to 28 percent.
IRS Comments on UNEMPLOYMENT Benefits Received in 2020 = your first $10,200 is tax free = To help taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today 4/2/21 that it will take steps to automatically refund money this spring and summer to those who have already filed their taxes.
VOTING RIGHTS: Colorado is one of the top states in both voter access and the number of voters who turn out each election. Here is a comparison between the Colorado voting laws and those just passed in Georgia:
CO – automatically mail paper ballots to active registered voters.
GA – must re-apply each election, with proof.
CO – 24 hour drop off boxes at 400 locations, 15 days prior to election
GA – drop off boxes are inside early voting sites, and only available during voting hours.(and banned the last four days)
CO – can register to vote up to and on election day.
GA – can register up to 29 days before the election.
CO – 94 percent mailed or dropped off or handed in their ballots.
GA – 74 percent voted IN PERSON.
The 98-page Bill changes election procedures, such as ID requirements, number of drop off boxes, days to vote, and more. To see more details, go to this AJC article.
COVID-19 NEWS=====
GET VACCINE IN LYONS this Saturday 4/10/21 – Go to the www.leaflyons.org web site or Facebook page for the information and link to register. This is now open to anyone in the Front Range, 16 years old and older. Free. No drivers license or insurance card needed. By appointment only.
GET VACCINE IN ESTES PARK — 4/11/2021 – They will be on the phone all day Friday, April 9, to take registrations. — Estes Park Health is happy to continue our efforts to protect our community against COVID-19. We will be hosting a large vaccination event on Sunday, April 11, from 9 AM to 3:30 PM at the Events Complex for the general public (age 18+ only), by appointment only. Please call the clinic to get scheduled: (970) 586.2200. (Note that you do NOT need to register with Larimer County any longer to be on the vaccination list.)
US VACCINE NEWS:
By early March, the United States had started administering more than 2 million shots per day. Now in April, they are doing 3 million a day. A record of 3.49 million given in one day on March 27, was broken on Saturday. The UNITED STATES gave 4 million.
TRAVEL: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its domestic travel guidance for fully vaccinated people. But health officials continue to discourage nonessential travel, citing a sustained rise in cases and hospitalizations.
The CDC updated its website on Friday to reflect the latest scientific evidence, writing that “people who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States.” The CDC is not lifting travel restrictions barring the entry of most non-U.S. citizens from places including China, Brazil, South Africa and parts of Europe.
COLORADO:
As of April 6, the seven-day positive test rate is 5.6 percent. We have gone from “plateau” to increases in numbers. The majority of cases are in the 25 to 34 age range. The elderly, who wanted to get the vaccine, ages 60 and up, are fully vaccinated. The variant is now in all states, and this is partially the cause of our increase. TWO counties have gone back to ORANGE Level, which is 25 percent capacity.
We have vaccinated in Colorado 32.5 percent of the population, and 19.5 fully vaccinated.
In March we had 1,640,518 vaccinated
April 5, we have 2,878,157 vaccinated.
This is mainly the result of getting more vaccines from the federal government.
– update–The Denver Metro area now has SIX mass vaccination sites. Their aim is to administer 36,000 total per week. The closest one is the Ranch in Loveland. You must preregister.
Both Larimer and Boulder are in YELLOW Level.
FRIEND MESSAGES:
Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District==We would like to offer a big “thank you” to the Girl Scouts from the Estes Park and Pinewood Springs area for dropping by yesterday and bringing over 80 boxes of Girl Scout cookies for our Firefighters. If you are one of those who purchased cookies for firefighters this year, thank you as well! We like cookies!
This Week’s Articles 4/8/21
LAST WEEK’s ARTICLE on ELECTRIC METERS. — EDITOR’S NOTE 4/8/21:
The Lyons Recorder had a concerned Lyons resident (who wishes her name be withheld) contact us about the transmission from the electric meters. She said that she had contacted the Town about her deep concern about the transmission effects, and was given slightly different information about the amount of “transmit,” than what which was in Aaron Capland’s article. Capland, who is the town’s Director of Utilities & Engineering, could see the misunderstanding and was glad to provide more information to the public. It has been rewarding to see the Town’s representative work with me in a positive, knowledgeable manner on getting the initial article written, and providing the follow-up comments. — Here are his comments:
Aaron Capland: “Here is what is quoted on the company website “Data from a large smart meter deployment using Sensus technology indicates that the typical meter transmits less than one second per day and that 99.999% of smart meters transmit for less than one minute per day” https://sensus.com/rf/
“It seems that needs more explanation. For most meters they transmit a microsecond every hour and over 24 hours all of those micro seconds usually total less than 1 second per day. Some meters, for reasons I am not aware of, need to transmit a little bit longer and so the company says that 99.99% of all meters transmit for less than 1 minute per day. I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt to the sceptics and saying even if it took 1 full second to transmit each hour that is 24 seconds in a day and only some meters take that long. The typical meter is a fraction of a second of transmit each hour and in total is less than 1 second a day according to company website.”
==INTRODUCTION TO Lyons New Fire Chief, including a photo.
==Pesticides – report – by Lyons Ecology Board, including the Board of Trustee decisions. The Board managed to pass laws that protect residents, plants and wildlife without having to call an expensive election. Read the path that they took.
==Pesticides – opinion column – an informed resident’s point of view on what happened, why, and what’s needed.
==Lyons Boards and Commissions – a quarterly report on any change in their goals, three new Chairs, and a refreshed list of current vacancies. Join a Commission or Board and make a difference in both your life and that of the town!
==Lyons Sandstone – GEOLOGY – find out how the Dakota and Lyons Formations got started millions of years ago. Includes a diagram.
==NEED HELP? Report on past and future help offered to citizens “hurting” during this pandemic. Crossroads Ministry – this group does the same thing that LEAF does, but it operates out of Estes Park, and serves the “mountain areas” around Lyons, referred to as the Estes Valley.
==It’s National Poetry Month! And we have our favorite in-house poet Martin Soosloof giving us a fitting poem for our times – about finding tranquility – mainly through “walks in spring time”
==BOOK Review – a funny and yet thought-provoking book about being an outdoors person in Colorado, and how you can become better at it. “Bears don’t give a shit about your problems”
==FLASH NEWS — general events and deadlines, classes, meetings, etc. listed by date.== This included details on things like classes, not just the dates.
==ABOUT TOWN — weekly column by LaVern Johnson of snippets of Town news.
==NOTES from Your Editor — behind the scenes news, business updates, personal notes, town news, caring messages, and more…
MY WEEKLY MESSAGE OF CARE:
Please check out the “Help us Help you, Crossroads” article this week. The organization helps the mountain communities, including Pinewood Springs, in the same manner that LEAF helps Lyons residents. They are having a “double your donation” campaign going on right now, with a matching donor. Thank you!
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BOULDER GUN SHOOTING VICTIMS: Please check out the “How you can give” article for links to many worthy causes that are helping the deceased victim’s families, the grocery store workers, the police and first responders, the emotionally and mentally hurting people connected to the tragic event.
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Thank you for being steady readers of the Lyons Recorder. We hope you benefit from our articles each week, and have some fun, too! ………..Your Editor, Kathleen
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