NEWS Briefs & NOTES from your editor, 2/10/22
If there ever is an emergency in town, or timely news
you can trust the Lyons Recorder to put it online immediately.
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Happy Valentine’s Day! I love my readers! …sending you hugs!
Some people argue that they don’t need a special day to celebrate their love for someone, but truthfully, how often do you “celebrate your love” to someone? When was the last time your brought home flowers, chocolates, jewelry… “just to say I love you.”?
We live such busy lives right now, that most of us have to schedule in time to spend quality time (non-working time) with our loved ones.
Yes, taking your kid to their soccer game is a form of love. Yes, emptying out the dishwasher without being asked is a loving thing. Yes, dropping off cookies at grandma’s is a sweet thing. But they all roll into… blend into “one big loving but indistinguishable year.”
To stop everything and just sit with your loved one, with a gift in hand, and a smile and sweet words to warm their heart… to say how much you love them… that stops time… that will be remembered all year… that will get us through some difficult times… and we’ll treasure the glow of being loved that it gives us
………….Your Editor, Kathleen Spring
General News
Valentine’s Day is just days away — SHOP LOCAL! We have multiple GIFT Shops, including jewelry — we have Living Arts Floral Designs 324 Main Street for flowers — we have restaurants that give Gift Certificates — we have three bakeries — SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SMALL LOCALLY OWNED STORES!
Lots of people came out to the LAHC Town Hall 1st Quarter Art Show: “Free For All – Whatever Floats Your Particular Boat.” These artistic guidelines were open-to-interpretation and resulted in some pretty wild art. Everyone wore a mask and social distanced. = The incoming LAHC’s Lyons Regional Library Art Show, “Working Duo,” showcased work by local artists, Jacob Leeuwenburgh and Ann M. Hall. We did an interview of them, and what their process was in developing their works of art. You can see photos of both shows in this week’s ARTICLE. You can see both shows during normal business hours over the next two months.
OLD MAN WINTER RALLY was a big success. Some say there was 1200 people there and the Sheriff said they handled it well, and the cleanup was quick. People biked or ran 10, or 20 or 50 miles! Starting in LaVern Johnson Park. It was followed by food and live music.
A+ SCHOOL NOTES: This week is National School Counselors Week== See our ARTICLE for details on the great people at both schools. The high school principal says they are a huge reason that we have had a 100% graduation rate three out of the last four years.”== I’m sure they were a great help in getting our kids through the 2 years of COVID restrictions! Sending Many Thanks!
NOMINATE GREAT TEACHERS! Pre-K through 12th grade: St. Vrain Valley School District (due Feb 23rd) — Awards program providing the opportunity for students, parents, volunteers, fellow educators, school staff, community members and business partners to recognize and honor individual teachers at the Pre-K – 12th grade levels in the St. Vrain Valley Schools who exemplify excellence in teaching. https://stvrainfoundation.org/programs/tribute-to-teachers/ Awards program is in April. (we will have an article in next week’s newspaper to remind you!)
2022= Eco Pass returns = and “Y BUS” = Staff have been working with Boulder County and RTD regarding bus service from Lyons to Boulder and the continuation of the Lyons EcoPass program. —The EcoPass program will continue for 2022 and residents who wish to renew or apply for a new eco pass should do so online. The EcoPass is valid on all RTD routes, including buses from Boulder to DIA and/or Denver. —Longmont/Boulder/Lyons Routes: In addition, Boulder County is working towards a solution to replace the Y bus service and anticipates that there will be a fixed route with two morning and two afternoon trips beginning in late Spring. More information will be posted and emailed, as the details firm up.
Proposed HOTEL at Monday night’s Town Board of Trustee Meeting: Once again the Town Planner, the Moss Rock owners, the Commissioners, and residents discussed the pro’s and con’s of the building. This time there were more residents than businesses who spoke. The dozens of emails were in the packet, with most being against the project. In the end, the Town trustees felt there were more good reasons to build it than to reject it, and passed it unanimously. This was the 2nd Reading; the next step is for Moss Rock to go through the permitting process. It is anticipated to be completed in two years, and taking two more years to build up the business; and eventually to have 70% occupancy average. The Town will study how it could build a parking structure to help all businesses in town. See our ARTICLE for full details, meeting notes, comments made.
LYONS QUARRY RECLAMATION/blasting: I asked Boulder County Open Space to clarify when the blasting would start, as their news release only stated it would be sometime in February. He responded (And I put this at the bottom of the ARTICLE published here last week): Thank you for your email. To clarify, Aggregate Industries started their reclamation work at Lyons Quarry a few months back, but the work to date has only included grading at the top of the quarry using dozers and excavators. They have been grading loose materials and pushing it into what they refer to as quarry 2, which is a mined area on the west side of the mine, as part of their reclamation process.====
They have not started blasting yet and let us know this week that blasting won’t occur for at least another couple of weeks as they finalize their plans. They do not anticipate much impact from the blasting and are only using it in areas where the rock is too hard to break apart with other equipment. They hope to minimize its use.
CPR: the Pinewood Springs Fire Department provided CPR & AED training at the station over two days. It consisted of about 3 hours online instruction, and 3 hours in person training. Thanks to Ted Plank, fire chief, for offering this to local residents, with excellent instruction and hands on training; and to Jennifer Rivas for all the coordination and scheduling and rescheduling after the snow storm.
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE: a big thank you to Mojo’s Taqueria, Jocelyn Masurat, and the PTO for the wonderful dinner they provided Tuesday night for the school Elementary staff — makes Parent Teacher Conference nights so much easier.
The Lyons High School basketball team is having some great wins. Only one more home game next week—come and cheer them on! See our ARTICLE for all the details, and action photographs!
Estes Park schools ==The School board just unanimously voted Wednesday night to go mask optional in school starting next week. We thank the board members for their time and listening to everyone ,all sides, on this issue. **due to buses being federal transportation-masks are still required on the bus.
Car Theft: Colorado has become the #1 state for most car thefts. Lock your car! There were 11,691 in 2020; that is 32 thefts per day.
Jeffrey Wayne Schacht, deceased = The family now has a date for the Memorial Service. = Jeff’s celebration of life service will be held in his neighborhood at the WeeCasa Tiny Home Resort, Saturday March 26th at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Lyons Community Fund (lyonscf.org). The service will be outdoors so please dress accordingly for March in the Rocky Mountains and don’t worry about wearing black. (He lived in the Button Rock community for years, and then more recently by the river in Lyons. See our Obituary for more details on his life story).
Business News
Main Stage Brewing – last week we announced that February was “Stout Month”, and while their news release says “all month”, they are open, as follows: open Tuesday-Sunday = hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesday/Wednesday and 12-9 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. (PS they are currently not doing Trivia Night). They have multiple amazing brews on tap!
The Lyons Chamber of Commerce is developing a “digital gift card.” Contact them to either join as a business, or buy as a customer! Support your local businesses! == They want you to contact them if you are a business who is having trouble getting permits and such.
SECOND HEARING for Planet Bluegrass requested changes, the resolution / Ordinance: second reading Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm. In a nutshell, they would like 2,000 more tent spaces along their Apple Valley Road property. The nearby residents gave it an OK, with conditions. See the full packet of materials on the Town’s website in the agenda center . (1) speak at the meeting (2) or, Written comments submit to Town Clerk, Dolores Vasquez to dvasquez@townoflyons.com or (3) delivered to her at Town Hall before the public hearing. (We will have a full ARTICLE about the details next week).
ACTIVITY====
(this paragraph is a repeat) ========click on each link to learn more=======
==see “THINGS TO DO” for lots of activities and events! and more details than you’ll find here in NEWS BRIEFS. Plus deadlines.
==FEBRUARY SENIOR NEWS. As usual we have a TON of tips, links, and more in the MONTHLY article!
==LYONS LIBRARY
WOW!! We have 16 events/shows/activities this week in our Things to Do article! And 6 in March. Take a look! (not counting the meetings)
SENIORS! Town of Lyons Bus Trip – March 6th to Denver Downtown Aquarium. 12noon to 5:30p.m. =This includes a 4-D short film / an aquarium boasting more than a million gallons of underwater exhibits that highlight fascinating ecosystems around the world. ==houses over 500 species of animals. Contact LRamsey@townoflyons.com (or call town hall and ask for Lisa). Lyons senior 60 years old and older. Discounted group rate of $19 (save $10). And bus is free to you! (If you have trouble paying the fee, ask Lisa about ways to get assistance).
DENVER GARDEN & HOME SHOW is back at the Denver Convention Center. Lots of beautiful gardens and “home tips.” See our “Things to Do”. February 12 – 20 Convention Center. It was initially started to raise money for the brand new Botanic Gardens. It helps 65 organizations – $550,000 in grants, and $200,000 scholarships. Go and “see Spring in February”! plus home things, like siding, windows, etc. Free films and 8 gardens, and experts on hand.
===Sue Wratton reports: FYI, the Lyons Garden Club got a grant from them to do the West Wall! Can’t remember the year we started, maybe 8-10 yrs ago. Back when Anne O’Brien still lived here, I wrote the grant, they gave us $5000!
===And the Town of Lyons reports that they were awarded $12,800 in funding to support purchase and planting of trees, bushes and shrubs (along the river corridor near Black Bear Hole ) and near 4th Ave Pedestrian Bridge to help enhance the wildlife corridor for our local wildlife in those areas. We will be present at the 2022 grant awards ceremony which is next week.
===Have fun! AND support this great company.
WINTER WONDERLAND CONCERTS – please note, that there was an old flier from the Town going around that had a “possible concert” (TBD) marked for Feb. 26th. That date was never confirmed. There will be no concert that day. == There will be a concert Saturday, February 13th, 2-4p.m. and the next one is March 12th (and final one). – See our “Things to Do” article for details on the concerts.
repeat ==MUSICAL FUNDRAISER! — Sunday, February 13th 4-6pm – Marshall Fire fundraiser; live music at Lyons Community Church – lower level – limited to 30 tickets (also available Virtually) = Ditch Creek performing, with Ian Brighton. You can also donate to the cause. See our “Things to Do” for more information.
February Lifeguard Training – Longmont – Get your lifeguard certification now and join our amazing aquatics team! This is a special discounted training for future City employees, which includes both AED and CPR certifications. Ages 15+: 4-8pm M&F, 8-8pm Sat&Sun, Feb 18-21, $45. Centennial Pool, 1201 Alpine St. Register for Lifeguard Training
Olympics in Beijing, February 4 – 20.
=========REPEAT:
==CANCELLED – All ice skating activities – including classes – have been cancelled FOR THE SEASON! The Town said there has not been consistent weather below freezing for it to create the ice rink.
==The Lyons Library is looking for people who would like to teach a class or workshop, or give a talk this year 2022.
COVID-19 NEWS=====
2/4/22 900,000 American Deaths due to COVID-19
Don’t let the loud news of number of cases going down put you too much at ease — More than 2,600 Americans are dying from Covid-19 each day, an alarming rate that has climbed by 30 percent in the past two weeks.
LYONS Vaccine Clinic, Saturday, February 12 | noon – 6 pm, Lyons Regional Library
Colorado Dept of Public Health will be in Lyons for a vaccination clinic on Saturday, February 12th, from noon – 6 pm at the Lyons Regional Library. They will have pediatric (ages 5-11) vaccines as well as adult vaccines and boosters. Please register in advance .
Wastewater (sewage) surveillance is an important tool for tracking the spread of diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Many people with COVID-19 shed the virus in their feces, so studying wastewater can help us find COVID-19 in communities.(from the CDC) before it shows up in testing of people.
CASES: US states, territories, and District of Columbia have reported 76,415,622 cases of COVID-19 in the United States. 2/7/22 CDC.
VACCINES:
213.1 million fully vaccinated
90.2million received a booster
75.7% of the US population have at least ONE dose.
64.2% are fully vaccinated
86 million who are eligible are not vaccinated.
in Colorado vaccinated:
Adults – fully 77.9% // booster 52.7%
ages 5-11 and 12-17 have the lowest percentage, and those 65+ the highest
for Boulder County – and read these stats slowly, as they are for everyone from age 5 and up, and also it is for ONE dose: 85.8% // Larimer is 75.8% // Boulder & nearby Jefferson, along with the ski resort areas are in the top 10 counties to be vaccinated.
KIDS: Less than 38% of kids, ages 5-17, who are eligible, are vaccinated. == In the US 808,0000 children tested positive for COVID in the last week of January.
MASKS: Denver has joined the list of non renewing their mask mandate. Boulder County will be meeting shortly to discuss it. Estes Park has made masks optional in school (Larimer County has not renewed its mask mandate). Businesses can still request people to wear mask. All (federal) transportation still has mask mandates (eg, bus, train, plane).
Delta vs Omicron: With Omicron you are 1/2 as likely to be hospitalized compared to Delta, and tended to have shorter hospital stays. None studied needed a ventilator. There were 91% less deaths with Omicron than with Delta) Omicron spreads faster–Almost 1/4 of all cases have been in January.
Government News
====Town of Lyons Board of Trustee Special Meeting “Open to Public Comment”
See Town’s web page for the AGENDA and PACKET
—-PCDC Res. 2022-02: Lyons Hotel Development Plan Review – 1st and 2nd Readings done — Passed. Next are the permit reviews.
—-PCDC Res. 2022-03: Planet Bluegrass Ranch Conditional Use Review of Site
Plan and Associated Keynotes – Passed, 1 passed with conditions. Will now be reviewed by the Board of Trustees Feb. 23, public welcome.
PROPERTY TAX INCREASES – On Lyons Happenings Facebook Page: Will Butler==(1) Colorado property taxes are determined using a two-year cycle process that is partially controlled by the state and partially controlled by local taxing authorities (2) not completely out of your control. You can appeal the assessor’s valuation of your propert(3) A large portion of these taxes go to fund our area schools. ==Mark Browning==Will Butler “Local taxing authorities” meaning the counties. Municipal governments (cities and towns), school districts, and special districts don’t set valuations. They do set tax rates in annual budgets, however. Lyons did not raise its tax rate this year, though increased values will still cause property taxes to rise.
ELECTION NEWS: As stated in Last week’s News Briefs and in an ARTICLE, all the people who submitted proper applications for office have now been placed in those offices. There will be no Election in April.
Help Wanted, Lyons Recorder=====
TECH HELP — Can you spare a day each month to help with Tech work on our newspaper?
SALES HELP — are you an experienced ”ad sales person”? Would you like to help a non-profit? or sell by commission?
FEATURE WRITERS: Join our crew of 35 local writers!
Write once a month, once a quarter, or once a year!
Send us your ideas for consideration.
Our next series will be on local artists.
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!! Call her at 303-823-5925. Or write LyonsRecorder.Editor@gmail.com
For more information, write to: LyonsRecorder.Editor@gmail.com
This Week’s Articles:
==Summary of Town Board of Trustee Meeting, and 2nd Reading of Resolution to accept the proposal of Moss Rock to build a 79 room hotel on Main St., which passed unanimously.
==School Sports — Lyons High School Basketball team is winning games! See news and photographs. One more Home Game (still more games, but out of town)
==Two Art Show Openings (1) residents’ art in Town Hall, and (2) Ann Hall and Jacob Leeuwenburg’s “duo art show” opening in the Lyons library; Wednesday. Thanks to Lyons Arts and Humanities. See photos and a biography of the two artists’ work life.
==It’s School Counselors Week –learn about the counselors in our two schools, from the Principals’ point of view.
==Our Valentine is LEAF and LCF! A brief note about their work and congratulations.
==Teacher of the Year Award Nominations are out; due Feb. 23rd. We get to pick one from each school.
==IRS is now accepting returns as of 1/31 = learn what is new, and about the economic impact checks
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==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”.
==”Your To Do List” – find out details about upcoming activities, classes, deadlines, and more.
==ABOUT TOWN by LaVern Johnson, tid bits of news from around town. And Board Meeting notes.
ENJOY!
MY WEEKLY MESSAGE OF CARE:
Message from Rocky Mt PBS (Public TV):
With the arrival of February and Black History Month, we are celebrating alongside Black/African American communities in Colorado and around the country. Black History Month is an opportunity to learn about and reflect on the history and lives of many prominent and revolutionary Black/African Americans as well as engage with those who are shaping our present and future.
In collaboration with some of our community partners, we have recently produced a wonderful array of stories about Black/African American-led organizations, like Black Pride Colorado, from around Colorado. We’ve featured the family-owned Welton St. Café, Young Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism, The Museum for Black Girls and Black Girls Do Bike to name a few. In celebration of our continued connection with these groups, we encourage you to click on the links above to learn more about their work and mission in our community; get connected, informed and inspired.
Our vision is for a Colorado where everyone feels seen and heard.
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Thank you for being steady readers of the Lyons Recorder. We hope you benefit from our relevant articles each week, and have some fun, too! ………..Your Editor, Kathleen
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