NEWS Briefs & NOTES from your editor, 4/20/23

WEATHER: The Front Range got a variety of inches of snow, but it all melted within ONE DAY! I got 5” by my house and it was all gone by 3pm the next day! That’s what I love about Colorado snow — it is usually a fresh layer, and gone soon. – After a couple of days, the temperatures went back to the more normal 50s. up to 60. There may be a day with showers (and possible snow) this weekend, but it looks like spring weather is here to stay.

EARTH DAY: April 22 – A bipartisan group of legislators joined activists to create the first Earth Day, celebrated in 1970–which later led to environmentally conscious legislation and the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Today people around the world are encouraged to participate in Earth Day activities that raise awareness of the threats still facing our planet. === next Friday is ARBOR DAY === does this inspire you – GO PLANT A TREE!!! ==== See our ARTICLE for a list of LOCAL events, and a Calendar of about ten Boulder County events celebrating Earth Day.

HOUSE FIRE: on Longmont Dam Road, just off of Hwy 36, across from the river and Riverside Cabins (prev. known as Shelley’s Cottages). No one was home, but the house was totaled; their two dogs perished. We are sorry for your loss.=== GO FUND ME: Aaron and Maria Cross, — to: Longmont Dam Road neighbors, As you all are aware, the Cross family home at 59 Longmont Dam Road burned down this past Thursday and the house and belongings are a total loss.  And, even more painful for the family is that the family dogs, Juno and Kepler, did not survive the fire.  Aaron and Maria are amazingly resilient and they and their children, Cameron, Drew, Alora and Juliana have already started to plan their rebuild and return to our community.  In the interim, a Go Fund Me campaign (the link is below) has begun to help them in the short term.  As those of you who have met and spent any amount of time with any of the Cross family members, they are the kindest, most caring neighbors we could all hope for, and any amount, no matter how small, can make a huge difference in helping them through this incredibly challenging time. Signed, Ken Feldman. https://gofund.me/c15f128d

MARTIN PARCEL: The area commonly known as the Martin Parcel will be closed temporarily, beginning April 24th for fire mitigation projects. These projects are essential to maintain the safety and health of the ecosystem and for visitor safety. (See our Earth ARTICLE for more details.)

WEED REMOVAL: Wildlands Restoration Volunteers is offering volunteer assistance to collaborate toward management of the noxious weed Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites). With grant funding from Boulder County, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and a 20-year track record of results organizing volunteers around land stewardship, they can assist with the hand removal of Myrtle Spurge on private properties and work toward eradication, which is required by law in Colorado. Myrtle Spurge blooms and seeds early and must be treated early, to get help this year please apply ASAP. Volunteer assistance is available in late April and early May. If you have this plant on your property and would like to apply for help from volunteers, please go to: https://www.wlrv.org/weeds/   For more information, please contact Morgan Crowley  at morgan@wlrv.org

NEW Town of Lyons COMMISSIONERS:   4/17/23 – Claudia Kean was appointed yesterday to the Housing and Human Services Commission. Earlier this month: Connie McGuire was appointed to the Economic Vitality Commission. Gina Hardin was appointed to the Utilities and Engineering Board. Sustainability – SFC elected new chair Edward Kean. Congrats and Thank You!!

The Town BOT approved (1) contract for Maintenance of Seasonal Landscape Services with CoCal Landscape Services, Inc (2) and professional services agreement with Denver Metro Security for the Parks.

CDOT, together with Boulder County, will be improving and striping bike lanes along US-36 from Jay Road in Boulder up to Apple Valley Rd in Lyons. (See CONSTRUCTION ARTICLE next week for details)

HISTORY – Kelly Wacker – and – Newt Thomas ====Kelly says: “I wanted to share with you a research project related to Lyons. I’m an art historian, university professor, and descendant of Lyons residents. I inherited a painting by Newt Thomas from my grandmother (Caroline Sweeney Lass) pictured in the website link here. Beginning this summer, with the support of the Lyons Redstone Museum, I’m embarking on a public art history project to write his biography and document his artwork. The first blog post explains it in more detail. I hope you’ll follow along and maybe be able to share information.” —– We are hoping that Kelly will write up an introductory article for the Lyons Recorder in the near future.

Prescribed Burn (Boulder Ranger District)
Firefighters with the Boulder Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest have begun operations on the Forsythe II Prescribed Burn, located 7 miles southwest of Boulder and 5.5 miles east of Nederland. (See our Earth ARTICLE for more details and links)

RIP – Dorothy Johnson == Pam Maestas (her daughter; married to Andy) posted on Lyons Happenings: Dorothy Schlagel Johnson passed away peacefully on April 8, 2023. She was the wife of Merle D. Johnson, (deceased 1999). He was a 1948 graduate of Lyons High School; and Johnson & Assoc. surveyor of Lyons and surrounding mountain areas. Many of you may not have known Dorothy, as she had not lived in Lyons since 1956, however, Merle was related to many of the Roe’s, Fitz’s, Johnson’s and Goranson’s. Dorothy supported the Lyons Redstone Museum, so if anyone would like to make a donation in her honor, that would be awesome (payable to Lyons Historical Society, POBox 9, Lyons). A memorial service will be held on Monday, April 17 at 1p.m. at Howe Mortuary in Longmont.

SPORTS: (1) UC has sold out of tickets for the entire season of football. Everyone wants to see Coach “Prime” do his magic! (2) BOTH the Nuggets basketball team, and the Avalanche hockey team have won their place in the 1st division PLAYOFFS! Games have already started this week! (3.) Unfortunately our Rockies baseball team are at the bottom of their division.

CU Students win $5 million lawsuit for return of funds paid for “student services” when school was shut down in April 2020. According to the law firm representing the students, CU charged students millions in fees to access various student services at the beginning of the semester. However, once the shutdown began, CU had refused to give any money back as a result of services no longer being available.

POSTAGE RATE INCREASE On April 10th 2023, the United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect July 9th, 2023. The new rates include a three-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail® Forever stamp from 63 cents to 66 cents. Also periodicals and marketing media have increases.

UKRAINIAN FAMILY now settled in Longmont – Robyn Sloan (Lyons) has been helping a Ukrainian family of five get settled over the past several months – and it has all come to a climax this past weekend when they moved into a lovely house. See our Celebration ARTICLE for more info and a photo!

Broadway Improvements Update –The Town and the engineering consultant along with CDOT have updated the scope-of-work to allow for more competitive bids to be received and the request for new bids was posted last week. (See our CONSTRUCTION ARTICLE next week for more details.)

BOULDER LIBRARY 4/19/23 – while the library re-opened a while ago, they just announced that the restrooms are no reopened, and the computer access has returned. The restrooms access will be monitored. A new private security firm has expanded coverage. And, there is increased police presence in and around the building. Only some laptops are available for now; but some desktop PCs will be available soon.

NEW ITEM at LYONS MUSEUM: A recent donation to the Lyons Redstone Museum is this historic sign for Lyons Frozen Food Lockers. G.A. Door was the builder for Mr. & Mrs. Ralph J McDonald, the owners of Lyons Frozen Food Lockers. The business was sold to Scott and Beatrice Pease before the building was completed. Lyons Frozen Food Lockers was built in 1948 and operated into the 1950’s.  —— Most families did not have freezers in their homes, so they would rent a locker at Lyons Frozen Food to store their hunted game and purchased meat. —-The Sign was found by construction worker David Marley while renovating space at 432 Main Street in 2021. He gave it to long-time local Barb Welke who knew to give it to the museum to preserve.

LARIMER COUNTY residents can recycle their SMALL batteries at the Estes Park Library – this is a test run – at the Estes Library from 10 to 2pm on Wedn., April 26. – the common Alkaline, the rechargeable battery, and the lithium-icon battery only –  for questions contact Facilities & Parks Manager Robert Schumaker at rschumaker@estes.org or 970-577-3576.

MARIJUANA TRAFFICKING DISMANTLED: 4/19/23 Larimer County and multiple agencies announced: After a year-long investigation, the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force dismantled a marijuana trafficking operation suspected of illegal nationwide distribution. In mid-April 2023, NCDTF investigators and local law enforcement partners served search warrants in five Fort Collins locations. They recovered approximately 1,000 live marijuana plants, 200 pounds of processed marijuana products and byproducts, tens of thousands of dollars in U.S. currency and precious metals, and multiple firearms. Through the investigation, NCDTF also located evidence of tax evasion associated with this operation.

News from CAN’D AID (associated with Dale Katechis/Oskars) On April 22, in honor of Earth Day, Can’d Aid is partnering with Sustainable Resilient Longmont to clean up litter and debris around Timberline PK-8 school in Longmont, Colo. for the second year in a row. This volunteer-led project is helping beautify the area and is a part of a larger Earth Day celebration being hosted by Sustainable Resilient Longmont.

SEAFOOD: People have been raving about a seafood restaurant in Aurora and now they are also opening in Longmont! (near the Hover/Ken Pratt area – Mad Green’s spot). Juicy Seafood is true to its name and patrons say you need to get extra napkins. The prices sound pretty average, too. (This was just announced this week, and the Opening date is not known.)

SPIRIT HOUND DISTILLERS law suit with RICARDO
Two local Lyons businesses are in court over the secret recipe of “Richardo’s coffee liqueur.” Spirit Hound was selling the product in its bar on behalf of Richardo’s. To protect its formula and its rights, Richardo’s had Spirit Hound sign a nondisclosure and confidentiality agreement. Spirit Hound proposed to Richardo’s that it produce the liqueur, and that a different Colorado distributor handle it. The lawsuit alleges that Spirit Hound illegally went ahead and did this; they refuted it with the statement that Richardo’s, which is owned by Jodi Scott, was out of business.

Local musician Dechen Hawk was interviewed in “Canvas Rebel” magazine! A detailed interview; congrats Dechen! == This is a great magazine for ALL Artists, creatives and entrepreneurs to learn how to improve their art and business through their peers.

The Lyons library had another wonderful program this week. A full house, again. Thank you to Neil Sullivan who shared his experiences working with nonprofits in Ethiopia.