Notes from your editor, 4/15/21
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.
This is the week for “BIG GROUP NEWS”! We have a giant article on SCHOOL NEWS (including links to Student Art Show). We have a packed article on “EVERYTHING COVID” for April (including new medical and science research and inventions news). We have two articles on GARDENING and WEEDING and FARMING groups in Lyons – an unbelievable jump in 2021 in ways you can participate in outdoor activities around town. This may be a result of the coronavirus restrictions keeping us “home bound.” Then, there’s the PHOTO SPREAD of beautiful wildlife to give you a warm smile. I really don’t want to hold you back by yakking here! about our cold snow/mix/rain week. I’m excited about bringing sooo much LOCAL NEWS! So…
Let’s get to the news…
GENERAL NEWS & BUSINESS=====
===Main Stage Brewing (in the old “Fork” restaurant building) is getting near to opening and is advertising for: Full-time and Part-time, seasonal Beertenders.
===FIRE RESTRICTIONS: APRIL 8, 2021 == Someone asked on Facebook if it was currently safe to use a “chiminea” (or some form of contained outdoor fireplace) on your porch or deck in Estes. The overwhelming response was that just because it was ok according to the “Fire rules,” doesn’t mean that it will not need careful close attention. == This week we have created a “Fire Information page” in the latest in our series of “COMMUNITY RESOURCE” PAGES. In the future, you can go to the MENU BAR and click on “Community Resources” and go to the FIRE DEPARTMENT page to access this information. As always — our goal is to give you easy, quick, simple access to everything you need to find under “RESOURCES.” This information has been gathered from 12 different web pages, so that you don’t have to do that!
===An air quality Action Day is currently in effect, residential burning is restricted in the seven-county Denver-metro area, operating wood burning systems and appliances including stoves, fireplaces and heaters in a residence. During this winter high pollution season.
===LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE IN COLORADO ARE GETTING THEIR EDUCATION: You can help our collective efforts to ensure our institutions have the resources they need to deliver high-quality, innovative post-secondary education and workforce training that is affordable for all Coloradans by staying informed and championing the good work we do for communities across the state. Become a part of our growing community of advocates – made up of students, employees, alumni, donors, partners, and friends! “CCCS.edu” Community colleges link
===TENNIS ANYONE? The town is in search of a tennis instructor to offer lessons for kids and adults this summer. Anyone interested? Please contact lramsey@townoflyons.com Thanks!!
===CUSTOMIZED FLOWER POTS by local Hattie Ryan (507)301-8186 for pricing. She placing multiple plants aesthetically together; and has lovely pots that she puts them in. hattiemryan@gmail.com
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BEE HIVES – want to learn more about having a bee hive; get instructions; tips. Contact Simply Bee Organics. This page also has tips on starting a wildflower meadow, and how to save the bees. Go to: www.simplybeeorganics.com and click on their “mentorship” page to learn about their lessons. (303) 351.2596. The Founder is a Colorado native (use to live in Lyons), Tyler Stellern.
We are looking for bee loving people who want to help bees and care for the bees as a conservationist and guardians, people who are interested learning how to keep bees naturally and gently. We teach how to care for native bees as well as honey bees. Native bees can include stingless bees, sweat bees, mason bees, and bumble bees which are less intimidating and immensely important to our ecosystem. We teach ‘bee-centric’ natural beekeeping – beekeeping that prioritizes honeybees firstly as pollinators, with honey production being a secondary goal.===What we offer===We will work one on one with individuals, families or groups in Colorado (options for remote mentorship) to gather/acquire local bees, set up bee hives or bee houses, and care for the bees. We will also work with groups; for example, this is an amazing project for a parent child project or community garden!===We will also help in setting up a bee conservation and wildflower area or bee garden. Providing education and free wildflower seeds.
One of our residents – Kelly Mahoney – pointed out: “Beekeeping is not easy and not something folks should just jump into headfirst. Honeybee keeping takes a lot of time and energy to ensure the hives are queen right and free of pests. Those not reliably checking and treating for mites are hurting the rest of the nearby hives. My two cents, of course in beekeeping you will be 5 opinions from 3 different beekeepers. Happy beekeeping!”
******Don’t forget our wonderful “honey & more” shop on hwy. 66 just past the 36/66 intersection! Let It Bee Honey & More – say hi to Jenna Evangeline! And see what’s new.
=====tell them you saw it in the Lyons Recorder!=========
ACTIVITY====
===ROCKY MT PARK RESERVATION UPDATE:
The major difference between this year’s system and the one used in 2020 is the isolation of the Bear Lake Corridor. Park visitors can now get a pass for the entire park, or one for complete access minus the Bear Lake Road Corridor.
There is no doubt that the reservation system was great for the park last year, allowing for fewer people on trails, resulting in less damage and trash. The 2021 system, while allowing 15-25 percent more visitors, will still likely be a nice break for the park, which has seen record numbers of visitors over the past five years. (thanks to the Trail Gazette for looking into this question for local Estes Park residents)
It is important to remember that locals can still get into the park before the official reservation hours and can stay the full day. Reservations including the Bear Lake Road Corridor will be required from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., but reservations to the ‘Rest of Park’ are only needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
===The Brewers Association said it will hold the Great American Beer Festival online again this year. The national beer production is down, but the number of breweries is up, per the National Assn.of Brewerers.
****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.
===UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS dropping in Colorado. An additional 9,305 people filed for traditional unemployment benefits in the week. (on April 2, it was 10,268 people) Colorado lags behind other states at 6.6%, while unemployment recovery is 6.2% nationwide. Prior to the pandemic, Colorado’s rate was below the national average.
===COLORADO MOTHERS are not returning to the workforce as quickly as in other cities. The pandemic has kept Colorado mothers out of the workforce in large numbers, the Denver Post reports. One report estimates pandemic kept 27,000 Colorado women out of the work force. The school needs to be at home with the closed children. And women’s concentration in the service and hospitality industries will not recover so quickly. Also, fear of catching the virus and/or bringing it home caused many to quit. Their experience spans the schools, hospitals, services, entertainment and technology sectors. When the workplace loses it, they do not grow, evolve, innovate, the environment becomes old and uncompetitive. The pandemic also affected women’s income potential and set back a long-term career path. Colorado Rank Eighth highest childcare cost in the United States. The average annual cost of full-time baby care is $ 15,325. The new stimulus package is aimed at helping in this area.
===AMERICAN JOBS PLAN: This will be under discussion probably through August
===“repeat” – 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.
===COLORADO GUN LAWS: Last week the Colorado House passed requirements that gun owners report when their gun is lost or stolen within a 5-day window, on a party-line vote of 41-24. The Bill also requires gun storage in locked devices or a gun safe.
===YOUTH THERAPY: CO passed a Bill that will give Youth three free therapy sessions. It is hoped that it will give them a chance to overcome their problems. Colorado is one of the highest in the country for suicide, mainly due to depression, suicide, and isolation.
COVID-19 NEWS=====
*** SEE THIS MONTH’s “APRIL COVID NEWS” *** Includes Restrictions Lifted in Boulder/Larimer County & Medical/Scientific Discoveries… and more.
GOV POLIS GIVES Local Health Departments and Counties the right to set their own rules on covid-restrictions this Friday, 4/16/21.
SOME CHANGES: “Mayor Michael Hancock announced Wedn. 4/14/21 the City and County of Denver is ending the outdoor mask mandate and moving most indoor settings to Level Blue restrictions during an update on the response to the COVID pandemic and vaccination efforts on Wednesday. The mask order change is effective as of Wednesday and will expire in 30 days. Adults still required to wear masks in indoor settings and on public transportation.“ == Boulder County is said to be moving to BLUE also. == Most counties have said they will keep the mask and social distance rules… most… == It will be difficult if you are “travelling” between counties to figure out who is doing what. Gov. Polis is keeping the right to order rules for BIG EVENTS. And the rules still hold for schools.
Under Level Blue, many indoor settings including restaurants and gyms will be allowed to go back to 100% capacity while maintaining social distancing requirements. As I said in the past, it’s not exactly what it sounds like – you see, restaurants still have to have their tables six feet apart, so that could mean 25 or 50% capacity.
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JOHNSON & JOHNSON vaccine temporarily taken off the market. There were six cases (out of 6.8 million) given that showed rare blood clots. The CDC wants to review the reports before putting them back in the markets. They say that “this should boost people’s confidence because of the intense oversight.” The J&J vaccine is the top vaccine for helping people feel much less sick and not need to be hospitalized than if they caught it without the vaccine.
J&J – if you received this vaccine, you should watch out for these symptoms within the first three weeks, and if you have them call your doctor or see a hospital:
1. Severe headache
2. Stomach pain
3. Leg pain
4. Shortness of breath
J&J has a temporary slump in production due to bad product manufactured in a subsidiary factory. This reduces the US stock by 80 percent this week.
****** Wear your mask, even if vaccinated. This week I know of two people (not in Colorado) who got the vaccines and still got covid. This is very rare, and even if you get it, it will be much less severe, and will not require hospitalization… but you can spread it to others. Also, by wearing a mask, you can help those who can NOT take it for health reasons. Help make it safer for them, and our Youth.***********
VACCINE IN LYONS – Thank you to LEAF and the Lyons Community Church and the many volunteers who helped make this happen. It seems that most people in Lyons must already have their vaccine because one hour before closing there were still 50 vaccines unused. Everyone was scheduled for a 2nd dose in May.
U.S. VACCINE NEWS:
As of April 12th, 28 percent of Americans have received at least their first dose. They hope to have 50 percent vaccinated by Friday with first doses. The withholding of the J&J vaccine may delay this goal.
They broke records again by distributing 4.6 million shots on Saturday. They are doing 3 million+ a day.
COLORADO:
There was one case of covid in our Lyons schools this past week.
The Douglas School District has five outbreaks (meaning more than 2 people have it in the same group). They had just reopened 3/22/21.
As of Tuesday, April 12, 36 percent of the population have at least their first dose of a vaccine.
This is mainly the result of getting more vaccines from the federal government.
429 in hospitals (324 two weeks ago)
5.7 percent CO (4/14/21) = 5.85 percent 7-day average.
The UK variant is in all states, and it is the dominant strain in the US. There is now a “double variant” (some viruses can ‘recombine’ a little bit of genetic material). The B117 variant causing more infections, but vaccines do work against it.
Both Larimer and Boulder are in YELLOW Level. As of Friday 4/16/21 it is anticipated that they will go into BLUE Level, with the new lifting of restrictions by Gov. Polis.
FRIEND MESSAGES:
Thank you Lyons Fire Protection District and Boulder County animal control for getting a cat out of the tree in Lavern Johnson park
This Week’s Articles 4/15/21
This week we have created a “Fire Information page” in the latest in our series of “COMMUNITY RESOURCE” PAGES. In the future, you can go to the MENU BAR and click on “Community Resources” and go to the FIRE DEPARTMENT page to access this information. As always — our goal is to give you easy, quick, simple access to everything you need to find under “RESOURCES.” This information has been gathered from 12 different web pages, so that you don’t have to do that!
When you see the wonderful LOCAL NEWS articles we have this week, you can’t help but agree that the LYONS RECORDER is bringing you tons of useful local news that you need NOW!!
==COVID REPORT – so many things to report! – A breakdown of new lifting of restrictions in Boulder & Larimer County – news on WHO vaccines worldwide thru COVAX – World report on hot spots –Medical & Science News, such as new screen device, oral antiviral, air purifier – S. African variant – new home tests approved – Door Dash delivery of PCR test — and more.
==SCHOOL NEWS: (1) Residents may be interested in viewing the “virtual art show” by Lyons Middle/High school students (and all schools in the SVVSD) (2) see the results of the PTO Bingo baskets (3) see the Graduating Seniors May schedule of events (4) see the track&field, baseball, volleyball news for spring SPORTS.
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==DUCK RACE happening in Estes Park – buy tix to support your favorite charity
==PHOTO SPREAD – amazing animals photos taken within 20 miles of Lyons, from February to March – incl. a guessing game on paw tracks.
==MEADOW PARK – 1920 – informative article about how we gained the park land and plans to open it up to auto-camping.
==FIRE PERMITS – What are the latest precautions, broken down by county and forest, a chart of what’s legal/illegal to burn, property assessments, burn permits, slash defined, residential burning defined, recreation safety tips, grants for mitigation, Red Flag defined, Defensible space, …
==POEM about dreaming we hear music as we eat our quiet breakfast (by Emily Hagan)
==GARDENING – WOWOWOW! LYONS – this year we have THREE groups doing gardening in Lyons (Garden Club, Rocky Mt Botanic, Community Farm, and Community Garden) PLUS 2 Facebook Groups!
==WEEDING – part 2 is TWO Weeding groups this year that will be doing work around town, and looking for volunteers who want to help make Lyons weed free (and stop the use of pesticides)
==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:
Support Estes Park DUCK RACE! Adopt your ducks today, choose from
==Big T Watershed Coalition =goes directly toward their work of “being a leader in post-fire recovery” in the Big Thompson Canyon.
==Crossroads Ministry of EP = food bank and emergency home help
==EV Library Friends & Foundation = support the library
==EP Salud Foundation = health care for low income persons
==Pinewood Springs Fire Dist. (last year they made over $2,000)
Here is the full list: https://www.epduckrace.org/charities-organizations/
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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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