NEWS Briefs & NOTES from your editor, 8/5/21
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.
Can you remember an August with the grass still so green, and tall, and the flowers bursting with abundant colorful flowers? To think that earlier in the year we were in extreme drought conditions. But in early May, Colorado had 8 inches of rain already — more than double what it gets in a normal year. It was the wettest start to a year in Denver since the 1940s! In July we balanced the almost record-breaking number of days in the 90s with heavy (monsoon) rainfalls. And, most people didn’t have to water their ”mountain landscapes.” On two occasions, my rain barrel filled to the top in one day! I went on a business road trip to lower Colorado this past weekend, and the whole route was green, green, green — from the ground to the mountain tops.
North of us, the lakes in Granby, Grand Lake, and Estes Park have been taken over by pleasure boaters, and personal watercraft. Persistent anglers can still find rainbow and brown trout in very deep water. The St. Vrain River is no longer seeing many anglers, kayakers, or tubers, and the Lyons Town Board has terminated the lease with Ray’s tube rentals a month early. It’s the Lazy Dog Days of Summer. (Do you remember Valley Bank’s Dog Daze of Summer event where people brought their dogs to show off?)
Let’s get to the news…
GENERAL local NEWS=====
EXPLANATION OF VENDOR: Ray’s Tubing vs. Ralph’s Market. == The town can’t lease property outside of the RFP process. This safeguard is meant to prevent corruption. The Town issued a RFP for the park vendor; Ray’s responded.
MOTEL ADDITION: A Lodge is doing a family fun addition; looks like a playground.
LOTS of POSTINGS on Facebook comment about drivers who serve in their lane/and/or change lanes when turning on to Main Street. Some suggested putting “guard railings/or posts” on Main St for people to stay in their lane.
DONATION MADE: Tommye Massey Barnett of Pinewood Springs paid teens with the Lions’ LEO volunteer group $1,000 to pull her knapweed, and to make a generous donation to their club projects. thanks!
8/2/21 — A semi-truck crash at Hwy 36 intersection, tore down the stoplight, crashed into the field and started on fire. Another pickup truck was involved.
7/31/21 – St. Vrain River running black water again. Photos on Facebook.
FOOD at THURSDAY CONCERTS: Kate Whitfield Hart – With herb popsicles and Kombucha, Erin Donnelly, helped spread the word last evening at the Sandstone concert about The Lyons Community Farm Project and our plans to build a Lyons Food Forest for our community. Thanks, Erin! — Bring some of your garden vegetables for the Farm Project’s informal market stand 8/5/21 Concert.
FolkFest — Wildflower music — Message: Because of the popularity of many of the Wildflower sets during the Folks Festival — and resulting high density of Festivarians inside the Wildflower — we will be limiting the capacity of these shows during the 2021 Festival. So please plan to arrive early for your favorite Wildflower sets. —MANY LOCAL Favorites will be playing; here is the schedule: https://bluegrass.com/folks/lineup/wildflower
CONTEST/Spirithouse: Calling all loyal Spirit Hound whisky fans – new and old! We’ve teamed up with the Stanley Hotel and The Colorado Sun to offer our first-ever VIP Whisky Experience! The Grand prize features a private tour and tasting with our head distiller, Craig, as well as transportation and an all-inclusive night at the Stanley hotel (which includes dinner for two and a whisky/cocktail sampling at the Stanley bar with Craig). There are three tiers of prizes, and you can check out all the details and sign up for the contest at the link below:
https://coloradosun.com/colorado-whisky-experience-stanley/
FACEBOOK PAGE Promoting $20/HOUR Wages: Kenneth Wajda ==I heard a story on NPR that businesses can’t find workers and many businesses are turning to raising their wages to a living wage. I support a living wage for all workers. Here’s a group I started for Boulder County Jobs that pay at least $20/hour. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1059569907780566
For Employers and Workers to connect. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1059569907780566/
BIG ELK MEADOWS – Come On Down! — Shelia Leonard ·
We had so many people show up for Saturday coffee last weekend. We had the opportunity to mingle with 20 plus neighbors. This weekend please try to come by and chat with your neighbors. We will have breakfast casserole and Danishes. It’s been so much fun! We get there by 8:30 and it seems to end around 11:15. Others have told us they didn’t realize this was open to everyone, they thought we were having a meeting. All are welcome and we look so forward to this as our Saturday mornings now.
HOT TOPIC on Facebook – FLOOD INSURANCE
Jason Stillman said: Unfortunately flood insurance is purchased through the federal government via FEMA. You can go through any carrier but they will all ultimately buy the insurance from FEMA and in theory it should all be the same cost. I’ve heard Lloyd’s of London is an option but I’m not sure how that works. If you have a Base Flood Elevation certificate make sure the insurance company has that on file. They give you a default rate that is rather high without it. You may save money once they have the certificate and can see all your pertinent numbers. This happened to me and I ended up saving quite a bit of money./Sara Harris Plavidal — If you want a lower price, get a Flood Elevation Certificate. It saved me a ton of money on my premium. You need a licensed surveyor to do the survey, so it will cost you a bit on the front end to find out your actual elevation.
==LYONS ‘DRUG HOME’: The Boulder County Drug Task force found about 3,000 pounds of magic mushrooms growing at a Lyons home, along with marijuana, LSD, cocaine, MDMA, amphetamine, oxy, Special K and Xanax. And $57,000 cash. == someone in Lyons commented: Nearly all of the drugs listed above (if not all) are considered medicines by many. — another person on Facebook commented: Let’s tread carefully and compassionately here. I know this family and they are a loving and caring family. My heart is heavy with this news. I want to gently encourage some kindness here. == a 3rd person added: Looking at the quantities of some of the others (aside from LSD), I don’t think they’ll have any luck charging them with intent to sell. 15 pills of Clonazepam and 20 Xanax doesn’t exactly seem criminal. ===A comment explained that the 3,000 pounds usually includes equipment and soil along with the actual mushrooms.
National Night Out – POLICE Open House in Bohn Park – a nice turn out Tuesday night 8/3/21 – Free food, see emergency equipment, K9 teams, safety demos and meet staff and shake their hand! It’s nice to see a positive exchange between the community and the police. Thanks to Sgt Crisp for his fine eye on Lyons.
MASKS FOR SCHOOL KIDS – Sarah Boccolucci = I was just at Old Navy in Loveland and they had five packs of cloth masks for a dollar. Might be worth the trip for school.
HORSEBACK ranch: Sara Hart announced: Our horseback riding schedule has recently changed and we now have Monday, Tuesday and Saturday rides available on a routine basis. Schedule online at https://www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/HFFTYR // note, Sara has an equine therapy program. And she has horses that kids as young as 2-3 years old can sit on.
Only 10 days left to sign up for Colorado Health Care – Deadline was extended to August 15 – Colorado’s Open Enrollment Period is normally only February 8 to May 15. — anyone not currently enrolled in a healthcare plan can shop for 2021 coverage: Connect for Health Colorado
EVICTIONS HALTED: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until October 3. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of virus transmissions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives.
LYONS LION CLUB GOLF TOURNAMENT was a big success! All the slots for players were sold out! We’ll have more news and photos in a future issue.
RECYLE DAY – *Estes Park* – August 7th – Pinewood and Mountain Folks get ready! –paper shredding, scrap metal and electronics/ computer stuff, etc. (no paint this year). There are charges for some things, but it would be the same as the Boulder/FtCollins places, except it will save you on gas driving there. Saturday, August 7, 2021, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM New Location: Main Parking, Estes Park Events Complex (Enter from Manford Avenue) Thanks to League of Women Voters / Rotary Club /Estes Recycles. — PS They want you to pre-sort things, and not just have a huge pile, to speed up the line.–1st load with electronics, then scrap metal, then shredding (only 3 boxes). go here for the list: https://www.lwv-estespark.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=706933&module_id=402239
FOLK FEST this weekend /and LaVern Johnson Park Closure = This is a reminder that LaVern Johnson Park will be closed to the general public beginning at 9 am on August 6 through noon on Monday, August 9 for the Folks Festival. Per the lease agreement, Town of Lyons residents are allowed to walk into the park with valid proof of address in Lyons. Bohn Park is open and available to all in the meantime. Thanks for your understanding.
SENIOR NEWS
=== Denver Museum of Nature & Science BUS TRIP== The Town of Lyons is sponsoring a bus trip for Lyons seniors 55 and over on August 20, Friday. Contact LRamsey@townoflyons.com to get on Waiting List — See the monthly SENIOR NEWS for a lot more details and choices!
=== Next Boulder County HIKE for SENIORS ONLY is August 27th. There currently is a WAITLIST – register here
COVID NOTES: Due to the big increase in the spread of the COVID/Delta variant, Boulder County or the Town of Lyons may mandate new masks rules, or possible closing the Senior Center. Watch Facebook and next week’s Lyons Recorder for updates. – SEE the COVID section below. It is possible that the elderly will have to get a Booster shot.
===Town of Lyons needs ART TEACHER for seniors. LRamsey@townoflyons.com
===Exercise classes continue Tuesday and Thursdays. See SENIOR NEWS or FLASH Things-to-Do for more details.
Construction (within approx. 40 mile radius of Lyons)
I have made a separate ARTICLE showing the construction going on, within a 40 mile radius of Lyons. (The Highway 36 closure of one lane begun Monday July 12). It was updated 7/26/21.
NEW: Highway I-70, Colorado’s major east-west corridor, is now closed “indefinitely” due to uncontrollable mudslides and damage to the structure of the road. The latest mudslide trapped 100 people in their cars. There is a detour available, which can add up to five hours to your drive. POUDRE CANYON: The Canyon flooding has claimed the lives of at least four people. Senior operations supervisors and engineering staff described damage to the viaduct structure unlike anything they had seen before. CDOT crews are assessing damage and continue to clear debris and mudflow as weather conditions allow. Trucks are advised to use I-80 in Wyoming.
Word of mouth in Glen Haven states that there have been a few flash flood events, which required cleaning, including power washing of sediments. Some roadways were washed over, and some culverts damaged. You may recall that the Cameron Peak fire was only about a quarter of a mile from the neighborhood.
HWY 7 Construction starts in Sept. through Memorial Day 2022. 7 miles of the road will be closed all day, except for a couple of hours for residents. SEE OUR ARTICLE for details – a map.
Co 6 from Golden to I-70 – 11 mile stretch == a year’s worth of repairs going on. Sometimes traffic is stopped. There are no spots to park or picnic.
ACTIVITY====
(this paragraph is a repeat) ========click on each link to learn more=======
==The Town sponsored events are listed in “To-Do / FLASH NEWS”
==See also JULY SENIOR NEWS. As usual we have a TON of tips, links, and more in the MONTHLY article! Next one comes July 22.
==THURSDAY CONCERTS in SANDSTONE PARK – through August 17; free. Plus ”rain date” 8/26/21 concerts
==REDSTONE MUSEUM opened Tuesday, June 1st, 7 days a week~ see our article for descriptions, day/times, and more!
There will be no children’s history camp this year, due to COVID-precautions.
==LYONS PARKS – see article on all the amenities offered in our two major parks, along with new regulations and restrictions pertaining to reservations and crowd size. (note, this is not a list of Recreation programs)
==LYONS LIBRARY – see our ARTICLE 7/15/21.
====================END of WEEKLY REPEAT
==LYONS SOFTBALL LEAQUE – Cheer on your LYONS Team every Wednesday!
******FINAL TWO GAMES
Week 6, August 4:
Bohn Field 6pm: Jr’s Offspring vs Hooligans
Vasquez Field 6pm: Red Sauce vs Free Agents
Bohn Field 7pm: Green Sauce vs Howlers
Vasquez Field 7pm: Spirit Hound vs Natural Disasters
Huge game between Jr’s Offspring and the Hooligans.
Spirit Hound vs Natural Disasters will also go a long way in deciding the 1v2 match-up in the playoff.
Lastly, Green Sauce vs Howlers is basically an elimination game, as the loser will have no shot at the championship game.
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OLYMPICS Closing Ceremony Sunday, August 8.
As of August 4th, the US is only bested in the number of medals by China:
25 Gold
31 Silver
23 Bronze
79 TOTAL
Defined Motion / Jasmine has announced a list of new kids dance classes from August 16 to December 17. Some can take place at home. No adult classes listed yet.
The Bee Hugger SUNFLOWERS – 12590 Ute Hwy., east of Lyons. ==Come out and enjoy our 16th year at our U Pick Sunflower Field. No entrance fee or reservations necessary. Donation based, self-guided, and an honor system. The colors are amazing this year. Embrace our Pollinators Paradise and just come and bee! Groups and photographers welcomed with an appointment. sunrise to Sunset. Text – 303-330-8277
HIKES: “High Country Night Hike” – see “Things to Do (Flash News) for details – Aug. 10th 8-10 p.m.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks in mid-August.
— We will have an article about it this week.
-– Boulder County has a walk/hike – see our THINGS TO DO.
— LIGHTS OUT, August 13 – The Town of Lyons is encouraging people to shut off their lights – both outside and as many inside as possible, and walk out and admire the sky.
SEE “THINGS TO DO” (Flash News) for more activities
SEE ALSO SENIOR NEWS ARTICLE
COVID-19 NEWS=====
United States
US daily cases in COVID continue to rise dramatically.
A recent survey done by SURGO Ventures and reported in this week’s New York Times is summarized as finding an aggregate of people who had not yet gotten the COVID vaccine can be divided into four major demographic groups. The Watchful, the Cost-Anxious, the System Distrusters, and the COVID Skeptics. “We will not move people by shaming, blaming, and pointing fingers.”
“Take time to list on and craft our response to address where they’re coming from.”
——————-
The US has surpassed the number of cases reached last year during the summer “high” in
mid-July 2020 = 60, 446 vs. today August 4 – 103,455.
Only the peak in October through January surpassed these numbers.
2nd dose administered
150,232,869 (45.3%) = up to 165,334,987
1st dose administered
188,996,475 (56.9%) = up to 192,614,017
Total population
331,996,199
80% of those 65 and older are fully vaccinated
================
Colorado
Gov. Polis had a press conference this week where he verbally and silently presented facts about Colorado’s current state in the COVID-19 crisis. He encouraged people to continue being vigilant about protecting themselves and others with appropriate masking, which could bring us to 80% of people being vaccinated by the fall. But, the silent message behind him were in charts that showed that, if the 80% was not met, that we could be back at the same status as in the peak in December/January.
To get to 80%, 94,000 Coloradans would have to be vaccinated each week, and currently the rate is 47,000.
You could help by breaking your silence and having a discussion with your friends and relatives about why you should or can’t get the vaccine.
In recent days, hospitalizations have risen faster than projected. Early stats showed that the patients were all unvaccinated.
CO reached its 70% vaccinated rate on July 3. Now 70.7%
Their site has problems; and are only reporting figures as of 8/2/21
State of Colorado: 6,645,579 TOTAL administered
as of 8/2/21 – 3,379.501 one dose, and
3,099,180 fully vaccinated (up from 7/27/21–3,073,971 fully vaccinated)
70.77% at least one dose
64.79% full coverage
CASES
579,366 cases (up from 572,854 case; up from 567,838; up from 564,164)
7,226 deaths due to COVID
State Positivity rate 5.13% (up from 4.19%; up from 3.8; up from 3.54%)
State 7-day positivity rate 5.3% (up from 4.83%; up from 3.76; up from 3.10%)
Boulder County –
vaccinated: as of 7/31/21 (the latest date on their web page) 79% fully / 74% one dose
– 7 day positivity rate 3.9% — This has been on an upward climb SINCE JUNE 17th
Larimer County
vaccinated: as of 8/4/21 – 57% full coverage / 60.6% (as of 7/24/21: 60.1% ; 7/21/21: 59.6%) one dose
– 7 day positivity rate 5.4% (up from 4.8% – up from 2.6%) – This has been on an upward climb SINCE JUNE 20th
—————————
7/29/21 – Get Vaccinated; get a free $100 gift card. Find a location.
COLORADO COVID-19 VACCINE HOTLINE 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926)
—————————
Help Wanted=====
Have you ever thought about being an investigative reporter? Talk to us for more details…
Our “MAN ABOUT TOWN” writer has left for a full-time job — do you like to do quick, light Q&A with people? and snap their photo in town? Looking for a bright, fun writer! for this monthly column.
FEATURE WRITERS: Join our crew of 33 local writers! (2 new writers in July! thanks!)
Are you knowledgeable in:
– gardening tips — cooking/recipe articles – exercise – alternative medicine/herbs – Q&A quips — and more?
You must be a Lyons-area writer, and all work needs to be original for the Lyons Recorder. It is “an extra bonus” if you can tie in “life in Lyons” with your article – especially with photographs.
And, LaVern would love to have someone take over her Board of Trustee meetings, as her hearing isn’t as good as it use to be, and it is very tiring to try and hear them speak. You only need to write up major discussions, not basic agenda items. You’ll be “in” on all the Town business news, who/what/where/when!!
For more information, write to: LyonsRecorder.Editor@gmail.com
This Week’s Articles:
===PLANET BLUEGRASS — It Takes a Village to put on a FESTIVAL! (photo spread)
===PLEIADES – Everyone’s talking about the colliding comets – Learn more / fun facts!
===Longmont’s 150 year Anniversary – new Exhibit Opening
===Boulder County Parks & Trails – find out about Closures/ and a List of Great Trails!
===Lyons Elementary School Supply List (see “Things To Do” for Calendar of School Opening Dates)
===(Lyons) National Night Out — Police & Locals mix & learn at exciting event (photo spread)
===Small Business Week — announcements/dates/events! at the Summit
…………….
==NEWS BRIEFS & NOTES from your editor – “News Announcements” that are too short to have their own article.
Government, Covid, Activities, Town, Businesses, School, and Town ”gossip”.
==FLASH News/now called “Your To Do List” – find out details about upcoming activities, classes, and more.
==ABOUT TOWN by LaVern Johnson, tid bits of news from around town.
ENJOY!
MY WEEKLY MESSAGE OF CARE:
DONATE YOUR OLD BIKE!
Community Cycles = 2601 Spruce Street, Unit B (around back), Boulder, CO 80302
We promote, educate, and advocate for the safe use of bicycles for transportation — bikes are sustainable, affordable, and fun.
Community Cycles is able to do what it does because of thousands of generous used bike and part donations from the Boulder community. Your donation is a building block for our biking community, our education and outreach work, and our programs to benefit our low-income friends and neighbors.
Where do I drop it off?
We are accepting donations during our open hours: 11am-6pm Thursday through Sunday so that staff may be prepared to safely handle bikes. *Northside of the building and look for the “Donations Here” rack
What will happen to my bike donation?
Many donated bikes support our Earn-a-Bike Program. Some bikes are introduced into bike fleets around town, and other bicycles are donated to our low-income friends and neighbors. Other bicycles are sold in our retail shop at affordable prices, helping get more people on bikes, and supporting our great mission that bicycles are affordable and sustainable transportation.
Is my donation tax deductible?
Yes, Community Cycles is a tax exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization. You will receive a tax receipt for proof of your donation at time of drop off.
{{Please check this business out yourself, and decide if you want to donate or not}}
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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
**********Click Here For Previous NOTES FROM YOUR EDITOR************
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