Despite defeat on consolidation, Conifer fire districts working in unity
Fire chiefs say Quarry Fire clearly illustrated the benefits of working together
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e Quarry Fire was a shock to foothills area residents and rst responders, but not to Conifer-area re ghters. ey’d planned for something like it for years.
“We know each other’s capabilities and there’s trust there,” said Inter-Canyon Fire Chief Skip Shirlaw. “ at doesn’t happen without years of training, meetings, planning and working together. It was a pretty awesome thing to watch.”
e maps and strategies they’d created, and relationships forged over time combined into a successful outcome, local re chiefs say — one that ended with no lives or homes lost.
While a November 2023 consoli-
dation e ort among the Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork re districts failed, chiefs say the recent wildland re was yet another instance that shows working as a uni-
ed district works. And they plan to continue doing so. All three say it’s the most e ective way to protect
Road to top of Mount Blue Sky closed until 2026
BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e highest paved road in North America, Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway, closed Sept. 3 to all travel to the peak including motorized, biking and most hiking as road repairs continue until Memorial Day 2026, according to the U.S. Forest Service. e byway, also known as CO Hwy 5, closed from the Forest Service gate near Highway 103 in Clear Creek County through the project area, above Summit Lake, USFS representatives said.
USFS plans to repair the damaged roadway from the Summit Lake over ow parking lot to the rst switchback past Summit Lake.
Danille Perrone from Toronto, Canada stood at the peak of Mount Blue Sky with friends on Aug. 23 in 40-degree temperatures with a cold wind blowing strong across the peak as she gazed at the view from 14,264 feet with Summit Lake below.
From left, Inter-Canyon Chief Skip Shirlaw, North Fork Chief Curt Rogers and Elk Creek Chief Jacob Ware say working as a unified fire district is the best way to protect the Conifer area.
PHOTO BY JANE REUTER
UNITY
their communities.
“ e community and citizens’ safety comes before anything, so we’re not stopping,” Shirlaw said. “We’ll continue to nd ways to work together, no matter what that is.”
Less than a year ago, Conifer’s three re districts — which cover 400 square miles — proposed resolving their sta ng and other issues through consolidation. But while North Fork and Inter-Canyon district voters said “yes” to consolidating and increasing taxes, the e ort needed approval from a majority in all three districts. at didn’t happen in Elk Creek.
“ e majority of people within those 400 square miles did support consolidation; that’s encouraging for us,” Shirlaw said. “Was it successful? No. But that’s a bump in the road for us. e community sees what we’re trying to do and is behind us.”
After the issue was defeated, members of an anti-consolidation group said the three re chiefs moved “way too fast … with too little information for the public,” according to Neil
Whitehead III of Save Elk Creek Fire. Opponents also said consolidation would dilute emergency services and funding for Elk Creek.
While there are no immediate plans to put the issue on a ballot again, the three agencies are increasingly working as a uni ed district — an e ort that began more than four years ago. ey share mechanics, re marshals and a public information o cer, and their administrative employees work closely together.
The Conifer Wildland Division ey’ve also created a relatively new division devoted to protecting their communities from wild re.
In 2017, Conifer’s districts began forming the Conifer Wildland Division, which o cially launched in 2021 through an intergovernmental agreement. It includes eight paid wildland re ghters, eight seasonal re ghters and four fuel crew members.
Paid through grants and taxes from Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork re district residents, the highly trained crew is devoted to protecting the area from wild re through mitigation and active re ghting.
In 2023, the division was certi ed as a Type 2 Wildland Fire Module.
Such re ghters are logistically selfsu cient and can sustain a crew for up to seven days with camping equipment and purchasing power. ey’re equipped with technology to generate and receive Incident Action Plans, document re activity, and scan or print documents.
Conifer Wildland Division employees, based at Elk Creek Fire Station 2, played a key role in ghting the Quarry Fire. Division employees ght res across the country, and bring that experience back home with them, which proved vital.
“ e Quarry Fire was proof of concept in a lot of ways, in the value of having people go out on res and all the pre-planning we did,” said Elk Creek Fire Chief Jacob Ware. “Everything we’d been putting together worked. It coalesced into the bestcase scenario.”
“ ey are the reason those neighborhoods are standing,” said Bethany Urban, spokesperson for Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork re districts. “ ey had that training and experience.”
rough the division’s e orts, reghters coming to the Quarry Fire all received a QR code that linked them to maps of the area. e technology helped both out-of-town and local
crews.
While many volunteers joined in the e ort, re o cials said most reghters at the scene were career personnel.
“We can’t actually expect volunteers to work in this kind of dangerous terrain,” Urban said. “ e Conifer Wildland Division team formed to be an initial attack squad. ey’re trained to be ready to work and have the ability to ght re in this wildland/urban interface. Volunteers are not training for that every day, and we wouldn’t expect them to.”
While the Quarry Fire started in Inter-Canyon’s district at Deer Creek Canyon Road and Grizzly Drive, Ware said a joint response is the logical response.
“Fire doesn’t pay attention to district boundaries,” Ware said. “It’s driven by fuels, weather and topography. In two days, it was going to be in our district. If we weren’t involved initially and waited until it came to our district, it would have been large and catastrophic. It only makes sense to work together on these things.”
But working together with limited paid sta and volunteers also comes
Clear Creek County Sheri regrets departments’ initial failures in missing person report and search
The response to initial missing person report for Idaho Springs resident Paul Peavey failed to meet professional standards, according to sheri
cording to CCSO.
More than a dozen locals and friends of Peavey organized and executed the search Aug. 24 after what Idaho Springs resident Gary Burke called “inaction” from the sheri ’s department.
“We found his (Peavey’s) body within the rst ve minutes of searching,” Burke said. He said the body was found about 75 yards from his camper/home and about 25 yards down a hill. e body, Burke said, was partially covered by brush.
Friends of Idaho Springs resident Paul Peavey led a missing person report with the Clear Creek County Sheri ’s O ce Aug. 21 after they say he had been missing for days. By Aug. 24, the disappearance was considered a homicide after Peavey’s body was discovered as part of a “privately organized search,” ac-
“Unfortunately, during our initial assessment upon the report of a missing person… our response failed to meet our professional standards. How we handled the initial call is not acceptable,” Sheri Matt Harris said in a statement.
Harris said the sheri ’s department failed to take several key steps following the missing person report.
“ ese steps include a more thor-
ough search of Mr. Peavey’s property, sharing his information on our social media sites, and participating in the organized search for Mr.
Peavey,” he said in the statement. Peavey was well known for breeding Dobermans, according to locals who said he had a real passion for his puppies.
“ ose dogs were his life, I mean, his entire world revolved around those dogs of his and those puppies,” Burke said.
At least 10 missing Doberman puppies from Peavey’s property played a large role in the initial investigation.
Sheri Harris said the shortcomings of the initial investigation and lack of action will be addressed.
“We will conduct an internal investigation to examine how and why we failed, and to help ensure our community receives the service it deserves from my o ce,” he said. e sheri ’s department has requested the assistance of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Ofce, according to a statement.
Idaho Springs resident Paul Peavey was found dead on his property.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERA NOBLE
What Knowledge and Skills Should You Expect Your Real Estate Agent to Have?
Some people would say that real estate agents are overpaid, but that varies greatly with the agent. If your agent doesn’t know what he’s doing, he could cost you money, and he should pay you!
It’s all about experience, commitment, fidelity to the client, and a multitude of trainings and skills.
Some skills are “hard” skills, such as how to set up searches on the MLS or write a contract, but even those hard-skill tasks typically require “soft skills” which can come from experience but just as importantly from an intention to be of service to client over self.
ence of Zillow, but we consult other software and nearby sales of comparable homes when doing our “Comparative Market Analysis.” Myself, I consult Realist (an MLS app), Realtor Property Resource (available only to Realtors), and ATTOM, a commercially available property valuation tool.
Knowing the value of a home is only the starting point. We need to assess the real estate market in that neighborhood, paying close attention to existing listings. It’s important that the pricing of other listings helps to sell your home, rather than the pricing of your home helps to sell theirs.
with matching search criteria. Not all listing agents know how to find and use that list of agents whose clients have received an alert about their listing.
(MLS alerts, by the way, are a big reason why no seller should consider trying to sell his or her home off-MLS.)
What agents need to know (and exploit) is that every time there’s a price reduction, it triggers a new alert with the tag “Price Reduced.” That’s a powerful marketing tool, another reason to lower the price quickly and regularly, reminding buyers that this home is still available and matches their search criteria.
have in real estate. Needless to say, they are not taught in real estate school or measured in the licensing exams! When representing buyers, many of those same skills, practices and knowledge come into play for the good real estate agent. Once a buyer decides to make an offer on a listing, I use the same tools to determine its value and what my buyer should offer, paying attention to the sale of comparable homes.
Of course, representing sellers and representing buyers calls for different skills and knowledge, although there are some overlapping skills and knowledge. When representing sellers, the most important skill is that of coming to agreement on the most effective listing price. To the seller, who has probably been watching neighborhood sales, there may be a price point which is appropriate based on relative condition and location, but it may not be the most effective price for going to market.
I’m not just talking about whether the market is rising or falling. And I’m not talking about what the home would appraise for. The most effective price is the one that will draw immediate interest from multiple buyers. Buyers invariably look at Zillow’s “Zestimate” and will decide whether your home is overpriced or underpriced based on what Zillow says — sad but true! Nevertheless, it’s important to know.
We professionals recognize the influ-
However, the market is unpredictable. If the seller and his or her agent agree on a price but the home attracts few or no showings and no offers within a week, then the market is telling you that it’s overpriced, assuming the home was put on the MLS and had other reasonable promotion, such as the kind we provide with this ad. The price should be reduced within a week or 10 days. Don’t wait until the listing gets “stale.”
Most agents and buyers are familiar with the concept of MLS alerts. A buyer’s search criteria are entered into the appropriate search fields on the MLS, and when a new listing matches that buyer’s search criteria, he or she receives a computer-generated email alert from the MLS about it.
For example, the listing below, which is deep in the mountains, 120 miles from Denver, had 97 buyers who received an email alert about it when it went on the MLS. Last week’s featured listing in Lone Tree triggered 230 alerts to buyers
Has Your Time Come to Enjoy Mountain Life?
This 3-bedroom, 2-bath home at 48 Lang Street is in Twin Lakes, halfway between Leadville and Buena Vista at the foot of Independence Pass. It could be your escape from the Front Range rat race! This is a year-round mountain home, solar-powered, with a hightech greenhouse with “earth battery” for near year-round veggies! Enjoy the quiet mountain life of Twin Lakes Village (population 23). In summer, enjoy the drive over Independence Pass to Aspen. In winter, drive over Fremont Pass to Copper Mountain. Escape those I-70 traffic jams, too! Closer to home, enjoy hiking the Colorado Trail, which passes through town. This home was built in 2000 with all the modern conveniences, yet you're in a historic and charming mountain town. Thanks to high-speed CenturyLink internet, some of the residents have city jobs but work from home. If you’ve been hankering for a slower lifestyle, this mountain home may be your escape. Visit this listing’s website at www.TwinLakesHome.info to take a narrated video walk through of this home and see lots of photos, then come see it on Saturday, September 7th, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. NOTE: Seller offers 2.8% commission to buyer’s broker.
Price Reduced to $712,000
Because it’s important for sellers and their listing agent to keep current on the MLS activity near their listing, I have made a practice of setting up an MLS alert around each of my listings and sending it to both my sellers and myself.
Now, look at the picture for the listing below. Before changing the price on the MLS, I changed the primary MLS picture to one that included the day and time of the open house so those buyers receiving the “price reduced” alert know about the open house, which is not mentioned in the alert itself. After the open house, I’ll remove the photo with that information. That’s an example of another skill (in this case, a practice) that a good agent might have.
Some sellers dismiss open houses as a tool for agents to generate leads, not sell that house, which is admittedly rare. It does happen, however. Indeed, all three of my most recent closed listings sold to buyers who came to the open house. Note: It’s important to enter open house dates and times on the MLS. They are populated to Zillow and hundreds of other websites, and doing so draws far more visitors nowadays than the “open house” signs we put in the ground.
According to Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies, “Soft skills are as almost as important as hard skills, In fact, they often define success more than expertise does.” Communication, active listening, social cues, negotiation, patience and tactfulness are cited as the most crucial soft skills to
I also look at the listing history of the property — days on market, price reductions, previous contracts that fell, and prior MLS listings by this or another agent. I have an app that can tell me about the seller, including what other homes they have purchased or sold. I can also evaluate the level of experience and therefore skill of the listing agent.
On ShowingTime, I can see whether there are other showings scheduled or whether the listing is sitting on the market. I also call the listing agent to see if they have other contracts expected or in hand. If a previous contract has fallen, I can ask the circumstances.
I ask whether the seller has a preferred closing date or other things that would make them happy. (Furniture to sell? Post-closing occupancy needed?)
I also ask where the seller is moving to. If they’re moving locally, I can mention that our moving truck is available free to them, along with free moving boxes and packing materials. If I learn that a bidding war is possible and they are moving locally, I might include free labor and gas along with the free truck in my buyer’s contract. I may also insert an escalation clause under additional provisions, indicating that the buyer will beat any competing offer.
Lastly, there’s a new question I need to ask: Is the seller willing to pay my commission? They probably are, and I need to enter that percentage in Sec. 29 of the contract and discuss with my client adjusting the commission in our own agreement to reduce or eliminate what that client pays out of pocket for my professional representation.
Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Courier. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.
Email letters to kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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Canyon Courier (USPS 88940)
A legal newspaper of general circulation in Evergreen, Colorado, Canyon Courier is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 3540 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen, CO 80439.
PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT Evergreen and additional mailing o ces.
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HAPPENINGS
We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visit www.canyoncourier.com/ calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com to get items in the newspaper. Items will appear in print on a space-available basis.
UPCOMING
TEE o for Taste: 11:30 a.m. Sept. 17, Evergreen Public Golf Course, 29614 Upper Bear Creek Rd., Evergreen. Winning team will be invited to be on the judging panel that evening at Taste of Evergreen. evergreenchamber.org.
Taste of Evergreen: 5 p.m.Sept. 17, Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. Food, drinks, music. Tickets: evergreenchamber.org
“Hard Hats & High Heels”: 6 p.m. Sept. 18, Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. bluesprucehabitat.org.
Beginner Tai Chi Chuan Classes: 11:45 a.m. Sept. 10-Nov. 19. Register: online at evergreenrecreation.com or call 720-880-1100 or in person at Buchanan Park Rec Center.
Buchanan Park Family Movie Night with “Blue Beetle”: 6 p.m. Sept. 27, Buchanan Park, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. evergreenrecreation.com
Evergreen’s 24th annual Alternative Gift Fair: Applications due Sept. 1 for the Nov. 9-10 event at Evergreen Lutheran Church. Motto is “Buy Once, Gift Twice” with all proceeds returned to vendor charities selling products at event.
Interested vendors seeking a booth to sell wares that support their nonpro ts must have 501(c)3 status and need to provide IRS-qualifying information. Email: alternativegiftfair2021@gmail.com for an application packet or to volunteer for the fair.
4 p.m., Sept. 21-22. Demonstration of 1840s skills, American Indian history, ceremonial song and dance demonstrations, kids’ scavenger hunt, storytelling, music, art. Tickets and information: tesoroculturalcenter.org
Evergreen Oktoberfest: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21, Buchanan Park, 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. Fundraiser for Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice. evergreenoktoberfest.org.
Morrison Ciderfest: 10 a.m. to dark, Sept. 28,150 Summer Street, Morrison. Live music, beer, hard cider, kids events, silent auction. morrisonciderfest.org.
Tesoro Cultural Center’s annual Rendezvous at e Fort: 10 a.m. to
UNITY
at a cost. While mutual aid among the three Conifer re districts is common on all types of calls, it leaves individual agencies vulnerable.
“When we went to the Quarry, I knew right then that Elk Creek’s crew was coming,” Shirlaw said. “ eir district was virtually stripped of its resources. We needed North Fork there as well. So now Chief Rogers’ district is being stripped of its resources. It’s a domino e ect that leaves our jurisdictions without personnel.”
Dwindling volunteers
Working together and sharing resources is especially important as volunteer re ghter numbers dwindle. While volunteers have long been integral to the re service, their ranks have dropped dramatically nationwide.
at includes Je erson County, which ranks No. 1 in Colorado for high and extreme wild re risk areas.
For some agencies, that trend and the potential peril it creates is a tipping point.
With call volume on the rise, neighboring Evergreen Fire/Rescue — which has relied on a volunteer neigh-
borhood response model since 1948 — voted earlier this year to hire its rst six paid re ghters.
Meanwhile, Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork are working to nd other sta ng solutions.
“It is becoming harder and harder to recruit and maintain a core group of volunteers,” Ware said. “We have to make some tough decisions about our level of risk tolerance for citizens who need a reliable response when they call 911.”
e shift in volunteerism has happened in just the last couple of decades.
“We’re really in a pretty desperate spot for personnel,” Shirlaw said. “Fifteen, 20 years ago, some of us were at capacity for volunteers. Fifteen years later, we’re struggling to keep a few people in the district on each department.”
Volunteerism is down in general, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and multiple news and philanthropy organizations. But that decrease is especially impactful and notable in reghting, which requires highly trained volunteers.
North Fork Fire Chief Curt Rogers noted it takes “hundreds of hours of training” for a volunteer re ghter to become pro cient and meet mini-
Walk For Alopecia: 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28, Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Rd, Evergreen. Register ahead online and/or donate at https://support.naaf.org/ team/586016.
Evergreen Fire/Rescue Health SEE HAPPENINGS, P7
mum standards.
“ is is not the same as 50 years ago when you joined the volunteer re department and went out a couple times a year,” he said. “We are the catcher’s mitt for everything — structure res, hazardous materials calls, accidents.”
Fire ghters wear gear that weighs 20 to 80 pounds, hike in rugged terrain and are exposed to carcinogens. It’s a lot to expect, the chiefs said, and it once again points to the logic of working across district boundaries.
“It’s a di cult problem we’re facing right now,” Rogers said. “We can move resources around more e ectively as a larger organization, so when we have that re break out we can quickly dispatch more equipment and personnel.
“We’re looking at other options,” Rogers continued. “We’re investigating paid on-call; maybe we could start supplementing that method to get more people. We have done a lot to try to increase our volunteer pool. It just continues to be a problem.”
e high cost of living in Colorado’s foothills also depletes the pool of potential volunteers, even as the area’s population ages and call volume increases.
“We cannot do this individually; at some point we will fail,” Shirlaw said. “And failure means we’re not able to answer a call.”
HAPPENINGS
& Safety Day: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28, 1802 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. Free pancake breakfast, educational booths, touch-a-truck, re ghter skills demonstrations, and lessons in both hands-only CPR and Stop-theBleed.
Evergreen Newcomers and Neighbors Open House: 10 a.m.noon Oct. 5 at Buchanan Park Rec Center. New and Longtime residents welcome — it’s a great way to meet new friends. Visit evergreennewcomers.com for more information.
ONGOING
Evergreen Farmers Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday, Hiwan Heritage Park, 28473 Meadow Dr, Evergreen.
El Rancho Farmers Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday, El Rancho, 29260 US 40, Evergreen.
Growing Out West Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ursdays through Labor Day. Cactus Jack’s, 4651 County Hwy 73, Evergreen.
Evergreen Cars & Co ee: 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday through Aug. 31, 3639 Evergreen Parkway, Evergreen.
Evergreen Audubon Weekly Preschool Adventures Program: 9 to 10 a.m. every ursday starting May 16, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. Free & no registration required. Bring your child aged 2-5 years old to the Nature Center each week for nature exploration. All children must have an adult in attendance. Dress to explore the outdoors. More info at evergreenaudubon.org.
Evergreen Nature Center Monthly Family Program: 11 a.m. to noon, every last Saturday, 27640 Hwy 74, Evergreen. Monthly topics could include native wild owers and seed bombs, dissecting owl pellets, live animal encounters, and more. evergreenaudubon.org
e American Legion Evergreen Post 2001: Meets every fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m., Evergreen Church of the Trans guration, 27640 Highway 74, Evergreen. Serving all military veterans in the foothills commu-
nities. Email evergreenpost2001@ gmail.com
Evergreen Camera Club: Meets every second Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Evergreen Fire/Rescue auditorium, 1802 Bergen Pkwy, Evergreen. Club is for people who share a passion for all photography, from beginners to professionals. Attend in person or via ZOOM.
Evergreen Area Republican Club: e Evergreen Area Republican Club meets at 6 p.m. the rst Wednesday of the month at the Evergreen Fire/ Rescue Administration Building, 1802 Bergen Parkway. Information at evergreenarearepublicanclub.org
Mountain Area Democrats: Mountain Area Democrats meet at 9 a.m. the fourth Saturday of the month January through April at the United Methodist Church of Evergreen, 3757 Ponderosa Drive, Evergreen. For more information, e-mail MountainAreaDems@gmail.com.
Evergreen Sustainability Alliance is looking for volunteers: Evergreen Sustainability Alliance’s “Let’s Embrace Zero Food Waste” program in local schools and food banks needs volunteers. Volunteers are needed for a couple hours. Call 720-536-0069 or email info@sustainevergreen.org for more information.
Evergreen Nature Center: e Evergreen Nature Center is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays next to Church of the Trans guration. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.EvergreenAudubon.org.
Blue Spruce Habitat volunteers needed: Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers. A variety of opportunities and exible schedules are available on new construction sites as well as for exterior minor home repairs. No previous construction experience needed. Contact volunteer@bluesprucehabitat.org for information.
EChO needs volunteers: e Evergreen Christian Outreach ReSale Store and food pantry need volunteers. Proceeds from the EChO ReSale Store support the food pantry and programs and services provided by EChO. ere are many volunteer options from which to choose. For more information, call Mary at 720673-4369 or email mary@evergreenchristianoutreach.org.
From time to time, we’re shaken by the news that someone we personally knew or knew about took their own life. In moments like that, we’re often taken unawares, stunned and bewildered by the revelation. It makes us wonder, question why it happened and why we missed clues they were at extreme personal risk. at’s particularly true when the person who died by suicide is young or never exhibited suicidal tendencies.
A primary reason we’re blindsided is that the idea of suicide ranks near the bottom of our conversational topics. Suicide more than causes consternation; it invokes an intense mental, emotional and moral discomfort. at is, until it’s someone within our inner circle or community.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2021 suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S., the second among individuals between 10-14 and 25-34, and the third among individuals between 15-24. It was striking to learn in 2023 there were nearly twice as many suicides (48,183) as there were homicides (26,031). But which makes the headlines and leads the nightly news?
It’s been four years since my friend ended his life. For months afterward, I felt completely distraught. My grief and anger were driving me into a depressive state. What had been theoretical about the stages of grief became reality. I con ded in very few as I worked to project a semblance of balance and not to wear my emotions on my sleeve, even with close friends.
In time, I was able to articulate in a more coherent way my overwhelming sadness and the anger I felt toward the forces and people that drove him down. Writing about it and sharing my thoughts in a public forum, however, presented a bigger challenge. I’m now able to and in so doing, I hope to do justice to my friend and to the broader topic.
VOICES
Suicide: A personal reflection
In “ e Myth of Sisyphus,” Albert Camus asserts suicide is the only serious philosophical problem. ose who commit suicide, he says, have concluded life is no longer worth living. at not only seems obvious, it begs the question of why certain people decide to throw away their most precious gift, one that we instinctively protect and defend. I surmise Camus doesn’t provide a substantive answer for a simple reason: ere’s no one answer. Broadly, the reasons range from shaming and social exclusion to mental illness and in amed anger. But speci cally, they equal the number who commit suicide. In the end, no suicide is inexplicable. ere’s a reason behind each. And a person who was loved and cherished.
JERRY FABYANIC Columnist
Still, what Camus posits is worth consideration because it gets to the fundamental question about the meaning and purpose of life. He prompts the reader to consider why, if someone concludes their life no longer has meaning or purpose and/or is lled with irreconcilable pain, they should hang on to it. e answer lies, he suggests, not in the mind where we make rational choices but in the silence of the heart. I interpret that to mean that suicide, even though ultimately an act of will, is generally not borne out of reason but out of emotion. Readers of Edgar Allan Poe, Joseph Conrad and kindred authors who explored the depth of the human soul know that is something great writers have delved into over the ages. When I got the news of my friend’s death, I was stunned and shaken, but I wasn’t surprised. Even during the time he was getting professional help and taking prescribed meds, I
had “talked him o the ledge” several times. During one episode, I sat with him while he talked with a support person at a suicide crisis center. For a couple of days after, I stayed on suicide watch. He pulled through, like he had each of the preceding times, but it further enhanced my sense of foreboding that at some point he would end his life.
Despite the front my friend projected as a charming, social and intelligent man who had it together, I knew full well of his inner turmoil. He had shared with me heartbreaking stories, speaking plaintively about the calumny and shame rained down upon him because of his sexual orientation, something I identi ed with having experienced similar. e opprobrium exacerbated the sensitivity he felt because of other aspects of his nature, like his repressed artistic talent and his heightened sensitivity to light, color and sound that con icted with what had been drilled into him about masculinity.
Shaming is among the worst of human tortures. Ironically, those who should feel ashamed about their behavior often never feel it because they don’t give a rat’s behind about what others think of them. However, for those who internalize shaming and don’t have the inner strength to turn it back on those who maliciously dole it out, it can be lethal.
As noted earlier, having been shamed is not the only reason someone takes their life, but there is a thread running through every suicide: su ering. In Buddhist belief, su ering arises from desire and attachment. However, some desires and attachments are not only not injurious to a person, they are necessary for their sound physical, mental and emotional health. ey’re called people, and not just people broadly, but nonjudgmental people who are loving, supportive, inviting, embracing and accepting.
When one is rejected, marginalized, belittled, shamed or unaccept-
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, thus a perfect time to increase your awareness of and get yourself more educated about the telltale signs of suicide. You can easily find resources online, including the National Alliance on Mental Health — https://www.nami.org/ — and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/.
ed, especially in their youth, they grow increasingly vulnerable and at risk. ey can become reclusive and embittered and disillusioned, and when that happens, their su ering metastasizes. Even if they survive the treacherous mine elds they’re forced to negotiate and make it to adulthood, even to late adulthood like my friend, they still can conclude, as Camus states, life is not worth living. And much too often after they reach that conclusion and end their lives, the world wonders why before it quickly averts its gaze and moves on.
It’s been ten years since the great actor Robin Williams took his life. e news of it stunned the world. How could such a gifted actor and comedian get to that point? What drove him to it? I don’t know and won’t speculate, but I suspect that beneath that joke-cracking facade lay a soul in anguish. Robin donned many masks in the range of roles he played, but the cover for his inner pain was his most powerful performance. Like with my friend, it makes me wonder about how many others mask their true anguish behind a pleasant, have-it-all-together, even mirthful persona.
As one PSA reminds us, the more you know. It might help you intervene with someone you cherish before it’s too late.
Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for ought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.
Horrified by “forest health” e orts
Many of us who live in the Evergreen area are horri ed by what is being passed o as “forest health” but seems to be nothing more than a logging operation which is leaving our local public parks devastated. ey (the loggers and the people who have hired them), without public input, and no response to prior e orts to communicate (called, sent letters) continue to strip vast areas of land by cutting hundreds of trees leaving acres of clear cut forests. As part of the evidence that this is not for re safety, they have left massive amounts of wood chips and debris on the forest oors, creating more re danger from the dried fuels left in some cases now for years. Dozens of large healthy trees have blown down this summer from the wind tunnels left by this clear cutting. I counted 23 of these on the rst 1/4 mile at Flying J and similar numbers at Alderfer.
BY STAVROS KORONEOS
Higher ground
SOUTH JEFFCO – Hurt Homeowner didn’t know what he hated worse – uninvited company, or getting snubbed. Either way, when Hurt summoned deputies he was ready to complain on both counts. According to Hurt’s statement, his property line runs along the crest of the small hill behind his house. A few days before he’d observed oughtless Neighbor standing atop that unremarkable knoll like he owned the place, and surmised that oughtless would have had to walk across part of his property to summit the modest mound. Even so, Hurt chose to overlook the trespass in a spirit of charity, and he overlooked it again a few days later when he saw oughtless again partaking of the views from the paltry pile. But when he looked outside that afternoon to witness oughtless full astride his humble hilltop and drinking a beer like he was the king of the world or something, he decided it was high time to make a stand for private property. Catching oughtless on the descent, Hurt graciously explained that while he’d be happy to give oughtless a free tour of his back
ere are petitions circulating, but Je co Open Space is ignoring us and refuses to include public input. Many of us will no longer walk some of our previously favorite trails due to the devastation they have left. And why — is this for use of Federal dollars? If Je co really thinks this is legitimate, why won’t they seek public input? Of course if they did they will nd a lot of people enraged that they are spending our tax dollars ruining our public parks. ere are much better ways to do re safety measures, such as hardening people’s homes (which is being done) and cutting old diseased trees, which is not what is being done.
How do we get some response? is needs to stop, though it is already too late for Meyers, Flying J, and Alderfer, but not too late for Elk Meadow, which has just started.
Ruthe Hannigan, Evergreen
yard, he must nevertheless insist that he ask permission before “inviting” himself onto any portion of the Hurt estate. Instead of thanking Hurt for his previous indulgence and praising his generosity, oughtless merely turned his back and silently strolled away toward his own house, never once responding to Hurt’s repeated hails. Asked how he’d like deputies to proceed, Hurt said not at all – no ticket, no riot act, no consequences for oughtless of any kind. Fact is, said Hurt, he wouldn’t have called the cops at all if oughtless hadn’t ignored him. Deputies thanked Hurt for the interesting report and closed the case.
Sock her mom SOUTH JEFFCO – Traveling eastbound in the right-hand lane, Toyota was approaching the Morrison exit when she saw the Pontiac directly o her bow begin weaving back and forth within the lane, and then abruptly slow to about 30 mph. Frustrated, but indulgent, Toyota watched as Pontiac appeared to ddle with something laying on her unoccupied passenger-side oor. After observing this questionable driv-
BLUE SKY ROAD
“It’s raw and fresh, it’s God’s country,” Perrone said.
e USFS said its goal is to “improve public safety while reducing ongoing impacts to the fragile alpine
ecosystem and restore the natural hydraulic processes through the area.”
Traveling the highway to the summit recently made apparent the need for repairs. Cars, SUVs and pickup trucks crawled up the last section of roadway between 10-15 miles an hour over and across large potholes.
e road itself, barely wide enough to accommodate two vehicles heading up or down, heaved with massive dips in the asphalt that required smaller vehicles to crawl up and down the buckled road at a snail’s pace.
As you approach the summit you’re enveloped by the high clouds that appear like fog, until you break through and realize you’re above the wisping white and gray clouds.
Once you’ve arrived at the summit and exited the vehicle you’re in a completely di erent environment than you left at the start of the journey to the top of one of Colorado’s 14ers.
e outside temperature is below 40 degrees and strong blasts of cold winds whip across the summit and blast those who decide to complete the journey to the peak with a short hike to the top.
e rocky path to the top leads hikers through at least four switchbacks to the peak where a brass plate embedded in the rocks marks the summit and elevation; it was placed there in 1955.
Once on top, the view above the clouds goes for miles, notably with Pikes Peak to the south and Mount Bierstadt to the west.
As Perrone put it, “You’re on top of the world.”
Formerly known as Mount Evans, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names voted 15-1 on Sept. 15, 2023 in favor of the change to Mount Blue Sky.
e name change followed years of lobbying and petitions by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma to disassociate the mountain from its original namesake territorial governor John Evans.
According to historical references, Evans authorized what’s known as the Sand Creek Massacre.
On a November morning in 1864, U.S. Army Col. John Chivington and elements of the Colorado Infantry Regiment of Volunteers and Regiment of Colorado Cavalry Volunteers launched an attack on Arapaho and Cheyenne civilians where they
camped about 180 miles southeast of Denver. Over the course of eight hours, the troops slaughtered some 230 people, many of them women, children and elderly, according to the National Park Service.
e new name for the mountain comes from the Blue Sky Ceremony, a ceremony for all living things, including “men, women, children, plants, earth, water, life,” Chester Whiteman of the Southern Cheyenne tribe said in 2023.
Nonetheless, the iconic Mount Blue Sky will return to nature, away from tourists and local tra c, for at least the next year and a half. A couple of mountain goats resting at the peak did not seem phased by the upcoming changes to their natural environment.
Tourists from across the country at the peak said they were disappointed with the closure, including one couple from Raytown, Missouri who said the trip to Mount Blue Sky is part of a yearly tradition to experience the top of a Colorado 14er and escape the humidity of Missouri.
However, the most common sentiment was, “If it’s to repair the road for safety, then that’s what it is, you have to keep it safe,” Perrone said.
Blue Sky summit
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KOEBERL
A mountain goat at the peak of Mount Blue Sky.
BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
They came, from near and far, to behold the spectacle.
Men and women, boys and girls, young and old — tens of thousands of them.
Buses shuttled them in and out of swanky Castle Pines Village, nonstop, for four days straight. Signs o local highways and roads warned of heavy tra c and delays. An economic impact of $30 million was expected for the area. A purse of $20 million was up for grabs for the ones swinging the clubs.
At long last, more than two years after PGA o cials said it was coming, it was here — the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock.
Some of the 150,000 spectators expected to show up over the four-day tournament from Aug. 22-25 were rabid golf fans. Others just wanted to be there, to see the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, to hear the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the crowd ripple
through the Ponderosa pines, to catch a glimpse of some of the game’s biggest stars — stars like Scottie Sche er, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Justin omas.
Attendees couldn’t be blamed for their excitement. After all, the last time the BMW was played in Colorado was a decade ago, when Billy Horschel hoisted the trophy at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.
e last time a professional golf tournament was played at Castle Pines? at was nearly two decades ago, in 2006 (Castle Pines hosted the now-defunct e International Tournament from 1986 to 2006).
So, yes, Coloradans were beyond thrilled to have professional golf back in their backyard once again.
“It’s pretty cool that they’re all here in Colorado,” 14-year-old Vivian Halaby, a Cherry Creek High School student, said of the 50 golfers vying for the $3.6 million rst-place prize. “It’s neat to see famous people come and go through here.”
PARADISE
Vivian’s brother, 12-year-old Tripp Halaby, was busy trying to get some of those famous people’s autographs. He’d already gotten McIlroy, Tony Finau and Ludvig Aberg, among several others, to pen his oversized golf ball, but the youngster didn’t plan to stop signature-hunting anytime soon.
“It’s life-changing,” Tripp, who attends West Middle School in Greenwood Village, said of his experience at the tournament.
Tripp called himself a “big Nick Dunlap fan” but said he couldn’t help but root for the local kid. at would be last year’s U.S. Open champion and 2012 Valor High School graduate Wyndham Clark, the 30-year-old making his Colorado homecoming.
Clark found himself in 22nd place after the rst day but made things interesting after shooting a 4-under and 3-under the next two days, putting him in a tie for fth entering the fourth and nal round.
e “Valor Grad Wins PGA Tournament in Return to Home State” headlines weren’t meant to be, however, as Clark carded a 2-over on the last day to nish in a nine-way tie for 13th place at 5-under overall. Clark still fetched a $344,111 payout for his e orts.
“It’s been amazing. Denver showed out great,” Clark said at the post-tournament press conference. “I had tons of support. It was all in all an amazing week with all the support and friends coming out and all the love I felt.”
One of the more exciting moments for Clark came on the last day on hole No. 10, where he boomed his drive, stuck his approach shot and rolled in a 24-footer for birdie, bringing the hundreds of fans surrounding the green to their feet.
Not far away from the green where Clark had just buried his birdie was Mignon Stetman, who lives right o the 10th fairway.
“We love it. We’ve had a blast,” Stetman said of watching all the people, including the golf pros, walk within a stone’s throw of her home every day. “I think (the fans) are as much in awe as we are.”
e retired hotel sales director said she was
spectators were
to show up over the fourday tournament.
ON PAGE 13: Spectators cheer as Wyndham Clark, a 2012 Valor High School graduate, sinks a long birdie putt at the BMW Championship golf tournament on Aug. 25 at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock. Clark finished in a nine-way tie for 13th place.
pulling for Horschel because he, like her, graduated from the University of Florida. Horschel nished in a tie for 22nd place.
Meanwhile, Stetman said her husband, Greg, was hoping either 44-year-old Adam Scott or Keegan Bradley would win.
Now a seven-time PGA Tour champion, Bradley did win in the end, fending o fellow American Sam Burns, the Swede Aberg and South Australia’s Scott, who all nished one shot behind the winner.
Up by the 18th green, as Bradley and Scott, partnered on the last day, made their way in from the fairway for their last putts, fans crammed in tight, craning their necks and holding up their phones, trying to savor the tournament’s nal moments.
“It was incredible,” Parker resident Coleman Harris, who was sitting nearby, said of the day and the tournament. “I go to the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona every year. is was just so much better. I loved it. It was awesome.”
Now, the collective hope is that it won’t be another 10 years before professional golf is back in Colorado.
PHOTO ON PAGE 12: Fans surround the 18th green at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock on Aug. 25 during the BMW Championship golf tournament. Roughly 150,000
expected
PHOTO
PHOTOS BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ
CHRIS’S GLASS INC.
SHERIFF’S CALLS
ing behavior for what she deemed an appropriate interval, Toyota hit the horn. Pontiac immediately straightened up, then sped up, then started brake-checking Toyota so violently that Toyota feared Pontiac was deliberately trying to get rear-ended. Toyota honked again, at which Pontiac came to full-stop, got out of her car and charged back toward Toyota. “What’s your (honking) problem?” Pontiac demanded. “Are you okay medically?” Toyota responded with broad sarcasm. Perhaps appreciating the irony, Pontiac responded with a st to Toyota’s face, then got back in her car and raced for the Morrison exit. Toyota followed long enough to get Pontiac’s license plate number, which deputies used to locate the alleged aggressor. Pontiac told pretty much the same story Toyota had, except with herself in the role of aggrieved party and no hitting. Lacking third-party corroboration of either account, deputies deemed the assault charge unfounded.
Running Man
MORRISON – She was working the evening shift at the big box home store’s service desk when a man in a black hat ran full-tilt past her station. If that hadn’t caught her attention, the screaming alarm that sounded when he raced out the front door with an anti-theft device still rmly attached to the $150 DeWalt cordless drill set in his hands made sure everybody knew that trouble was afoot. Even as security personnel rushed out in hot pursuit, the chapeaued shoplifter leapt into an older-model brown Cadillac and roared away. Moments later, JCSO dispatch started elding calls from motorists reporting a brown Cadillac and a yellow pickup truck driving erratically on the freeway. Deputies sprang into action, but failed to locate the escaping Caddy. ey did, however, bring the yellow pickup truck to heel and asked the driver why he was tearing around in trafc. Yellow Pickup explained that he’d become aware of the crime in progress just as he was leaving the big-box home store. Upon observing Brown Cadillac making a run for it, he’d become swept up in the excite-
SHERIFF’S CALLS
ment of moment and had sought to personally aid the cause of justice by trailing the criminal to his lair. Instead, he lost him in tra c. Since nobody managed to get a license plate number for the eet fugitive,
progress on the case is at a crawl.
Sheri ’s Calls is intended as a humorous take on some of the incident call records of the Je erson County Sheri ’s O ce for the mountain communities. Names and identifying details have been changed, including the writer’s name, which is a pseudonym. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty.
Local music on Mountain Drive Live Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday 7:30 am & 5:30 pm
Click the “Listen Live” button
Conifer Podcast presents Kathleen O’Leary and Dusty Dodge of Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity
Evergreen Animal Protective League
BERGEN PARK CHURCH
Hi, I’m Perla.
I’m cute. I’m 6 months old, vetted, microchipped, and house-trained.
If you complete a cat application at EAPL.COM, you can meet me and all my buddies here at the Cat Adoption Center at Chow Down in Bergen Park.
Bergen Park Church is a group of regular people who strive to improve ourselves and our community by studying the Bible and sharing our lives with each other. On Sunday mornings you can expect contemporary live music, Children’s Ministry that seeks to love and care for your kids, teaching from the Bible, and a community of real people who are imperfect, but seek to honor God in their lives. We hope to welcome you soon to either our 9:00AM or 10:30AM Sunday service.
Search Bergen Park Church on YouTube for Livestream service at 9:00am
31919 Rocky Village Dr. 303-674-5484 info@bergenparkchurch.org / www.BergenParkChurch.org
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH SERVICES
28244 Harebell Lane
Sunday Service & Sunday School 10am
Wednesday Evening 7:00pm, Zoom options available Contact: clerk@christianscienceevergreen.com for ZOOM link Reading Room 4602 Pletner Lane, Unit 2E, Evergreen
OPEN TUE-SAT 12PM - 3PM
CHURCH OF THE HILLS PRESBYTERIAN (USA)
Serving the mountain community from the heart of Evergreen Worship 10:00 a.m.
Reverend Richard Aylor
O ce Hours: Tu-Thur 9:00 - 4:00; Fri 9:00 - noon
Bu alo Park Road and Hwy 73 www.churchofthehills.com
WORSHIP DIRECTORY
CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION EPISCOPAL
In-Church: Sunday Communion Quiet Service 8:00 am & with Music 10:15 am 10:15 am only Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86017266569
In-Meadow: 2nd Sunday of the month at 9:30 a.m. --June through September— 27640 Highway 74 – ¼ mile east of downtown Evergreen at the Historic Bell Tower www.transfigurationevergreen.org
CONGREGATION BETH EVERGREEN (SYNAGOGUE)
Reconstructionist Synagogue Rabbi Jamie Arnold www.BethEvergreen.org / (303) 670-4294 2981 Bergen Peak Drive (behind Life Care)
DEER PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Reverend Dr. Knut Heim, pastor, Sunday Worship 10 AM
Located one mile west of Pine Junction just o Rt. 285 966 Rim Rock Road, Bailey (303) 838-6759 deerparkumc.org
All are welcome to our open/inclusive congregation!
EVERGREEN LUTHERAN CHURCH
5980 Highway 73 + 303-674-4654
Rev. Terry Schjang
Join us for worship in person or on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EvergreenLutheranChurch Sunday Worship held at 9am. www.evergreenlutheran.org + All Are Welcome!
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CHURCH – EPC 1036 El Rancho Rd, Evergreen – (303) 526-9287 www.lomcc.org – o ce@lomcc.org Sunday Worship 10:00 a.m., with communion every Sunday “Real Church In An UnReal World”
A community empowered by the Holy Spirit which seeks authentic relationships with God and others to share the good news of Jesus with Evergreen, the Front Range and the world. Come as you are, all are welcome!
PLATTE CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH
Located: 4954 County Road 64 in Bailey. O ce hours MWF 8am-1pm 303-838-4409, Worship & Children’s Church at 10am
Small group studies for all ages at 9am
Transitional Pastor: Mark Chadwick Youth Pastor: Jay Vonesh
“Connecting all generations to Jesus” Please check our website, www.Rockland.church, for updated service times ¼ mile north of I-70 at exit 254 17 S Mt. Vernon Country Club Rd., Golden, CO 80401 303-526-0668
SHEPHERD OF THE ROCKIES LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod. 106 Rosalie Road, Bailey, CO 303-838-2161 Pastor Pete Scheele Sunday Worship Service; 9 a.m., Fellowship Time; 10:15 a.m., Sunday School & Bible Class; 10:45 a.m. www.shepherdoftherockies.org
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF EVERGREEN Rev. Sarah Clark • 303.674.4810 • www.evergreenumc.org 3757 Ponderosa Dr. across Hwy 74 from Safeway in Evergreen
Join us in person every Sunday at 10:00am for worship
“Open Hearts, Open Doors, Open Minds”
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MAGGIE
Public Notices
Legals
Bids and Settlements
Public Notice
NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT
JEFFERSON COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO
Pursuant to C.R.S. Section 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on the 17th day of September 2024 final settlement will be made by the County of Jefferson, State of Colorado to:
Straight Stripe Painting INC.
1812 W Sunset Blvd.#1-525 ST George UT 84770
hereinafter called the “Contractor”, for and on account of the contract for the Pavement water base paint striping for in-house asphalt overlay project in Jefferson County, CO.
1. Any person, co-partnership, association or corporation who has an unpaid claim against the said project, for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender or other supplies used or consumed by such Contractor or any of said work, may at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement, file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim.
2. All such claims shall be filed with Heather Frizzell, Director of Finance Jefferson County
Colorado, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden CO 80419-4560.
3. Failure on the part of a creditor to file such statement prior to such final settlement will relieve the County of Jefferson, State of Colorado, from any and all liability for such claim.
County of Jefferson, State of Colorado Andy Kerr, Chairman Board of County Commissioners
Legal Notice No. CAN 1636
First Publication: August 29, 2024
Last Publication: September 5, 2024
Publisher: Canyon Courier
Public Notice
REQUEST FOR BIDS CLEAR CREEK COUNTY CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, COLORADO 2024 GUARDRAIL PROJECT
General Notice
Clear Creek County (Owner) is requesting Bids for the construction of the following Project:
Guardrail Project -- PW 24-05
All bids must be received in one of the following ways no later than Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 2:00 PM local time:
Electronically, via email to pw@clearcreekcounty.us
• Courier service, delivered to the Clear Creek County Road & Bridge Department located at: 3549 Stanley Road (CR 312), Dumont, Colorado 80436
• U.S.P.S. at P.O. Box 362,
Dumont CO 80436
At that time the Bids received will be publicly opened and read.
The Project includes the following Work: The 2024 Guardrail Project includes repair of existing, damaged guardrail sections on various roads throughout the county.
Bids are requested for the following Contract: PW 24-05 Contract for Construction of a Small Project
Obtaining the Bidding Documents Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found at the following designated website:
Bidding Documents may be downloaded from the designated website. Prospective Bidders are urged to register with the designated website as a plan holder, even if Bidding Documents are obtained from a plan room or source other than the designated website in either electronic or paper format. The designated website will be updated periodically with addenda, lists of registered plan holders, reports, and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. All official notifications, addenda, and other Bidding Documents will be offered only through the designated website. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for Bidding Documents, including addenda, if any, obtained from sources other than the designated website.
Instructions to Bidders.
For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract
award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.
This Advertisement is issued by: George Marlin, Chair Board of County Commissioners
Legal Notice No. CAN 1639
First Publication: August 29, 2024
Last Publication: September 5, 2024
Publisher: Canyon Courier
PUBLIC NOTICE
REQUEST FOR BIDS CLEAR CREEK COUNTY CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, COLORADO
RC 24-03 STEEP SLOPE IMPROVEMENTS FOR FALL RIVER ROAD
General Notice
Clear Creek County (Owner) is requesting Bids for the construction of the following Project:
Steep Slope Improvements for Fall River Road RC 24-03
All bids must be received as follows no later than Wednesday, September 19, 2024 at 3:00 PM local time:
• Register as a Prospective Bidder via: Email: sstreepey@clearcreekcounty.us, Subject line: RFB RC 24-03
• Upload an electronic copy to an online submittal folder assigned to each Prospective Bidder that registers with the County;
Jefferson County Warrants
The Project includes the following Work: Rockfall scaling of approximately 500 LF by 30-foot-high steep slope along the north side of Fall River Road between Rainbow Road and Cumberland Gulch Road.
Obtaining the Bidding Documents Information and Bidding Documents for the Project can be found at the following designated website: https://www.clearcreekcounty.us/bids.aspx
The RFB may be downloaded from the designated website. The designated website will be updated periodically with addenda and other information relevant to submitting a Bid for the Project. Plans and specifications will be made available to Prospective Bidders who register as described above.
Instructions to Bidders.
For all further requirements regarding bid submittal, qualifications, procedures, and contract award, refer to the Instructions to Bidders that are included in the Bidding Documents.
Public Notices
DISTRICT COURT, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
100 Jefferson County Pkwy, Golden, CO 80401
Plaintiff: Cindy Rogers
v. Defendants: Ryan Siavelis, U.S. Bank
National Association, Evergreen National Bank, and all unknown persons who claim any interest in the subject matter of this action.
Case Number: 2024CV31030 Div.: 2
Attorney for Plaintiff: James R. Silvestro, #43982
IRELAND STAPLETON PRYOR
& PASCOE, PC
1660 Lincoln Street, Suite 3000 Denver, Colorado 80264
Telephone: (303) 623-2700
Fax No.: (303) 623-2062
E-mail: jsilvestro@irelandstapleton.com
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:
You are hereby summoned and required to ap-
pear and defend against the claims of the Complaint filed with the Court in this action, by filing with the clerk of this Court an answer or other response. You are required to file your answer or other response within thirty-five (35) days after service of this Summons upon you. Service of this Summons will be complete on the day of the last publication. A copy of the Complaint may be obtained from the clerk of the Court.
If you fail to file your answer or other response to the Complaint in writing within thirty-five (35) days after the date of the last publication, judgment by default may be rendered against you by the Court for the relief demanded in the Complaint, without any further notice.
This is an action to quiet the title of the Plaintiff in and to the real property situated in Jefferson County, Colorado (the “Property”) as more particularly described on Exhibit A, attached to and made a part of this Summons by this reference.
Dated: August 22, 2024. Respectfully submitted, IRELAND STAPLETON PRYOR & PASCOE, PC
/s/James R. Silvestro
James R. Silvestro
Attorney for Plaintiff Cindy Rogers
THIS SUMMONS IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO RULE 4(g), COLORADO RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE. THIS FORM SHOULD NOT BE USED WHERE PERSONAL SERVICE IS DESIRED.
Exhibit A As set forth in the Complaint, this action relates to specific real property located within Jefferson County, Colorado, and more particularly described as the “existing roadway fifteen (15) feet to each side of the center line of said roadway” (as more particularly described in the Personal Representative’s Deed recorded on May 2, 1977 at Reception No. 873909 in the real property records for the Clerk and Recorder of Jefferson County, Colorado) along and across the following real property, and the improvements thereto, situated in Jefferson County, Colorado: 3973 Creek Ridge Trail, Evergreen, Colorado 80439 a/k/a 30863 Upper Bear Creek Rd, Evergreen, CO 80439, as more particularly described by the following legal description:
THE LAND REFERRED TO HEREIN BELOW IS SITUATED IN THE CITY OF EVERGREEN, IN THE COUNTY OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF COLORADO, AND IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:
A portion of property previously described in Book 2105 at Page 54 of Jefferson County, Colorado records and located in the Northeast¼ of the Southeast¼ of Section 5, Township 5 South, Range 71 West of the 6th P.M. and particularly described as follows:
Commencing at the Northwest comer of the Northeast ¼ of the Southeast¼ of said Section 5; Thence South 5 Degrees 23 ½ Minutes West along the Westerly boundary thereof, 409.68 feet to a point on the Northerly boundary of a currently dedicated Jefferson County 60 foot wide road right of way; Thence South 59 Degrees 05 Minutes East, 45.0 feet to the True Point of Beginning; Thence North 5 Degrees 23 ½ Minutes East, 185.35 feet; Thence South 89 Degrees 21 Minutes East, 414.61 feet; Thence South 60 Degrees 11 Minutes East, 92.7 feet;
Thence due South, 254.19 feet to the most Northerly comer of previously described Parcel A; Thence South 43 Degrees 65 Minutes West along the boundary thereof, 72.8 feet; Thence South 10 Degrees 25 Minutes East, 197.24 feet to the aforementioned County Road Northerly boundary;
Thence South 76 Degrees 16 Minutes West, 6.83 feet to a point of curvature to the right, whence the radius point thereof bears North 13 Degrees 44 Minutes West, 670.69 feet; Thence along the arc of said curve, 134.22
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
PROGRAMISA “GIFTOF EARLY LITERACY” for any child in our Front Range Mountain Area. This gift of early literacy is accomplished through the Imagination Library’s “book gifting” program which mails FREE BOOKS to children from birth to age ve in our participating communities. Every month each child receives their special book which encourages families to spend time together reading.
Rotary Club of Evergreen announces our annual Recycle Day for 2024 will be September 14 Country Day School
1036 El Rancho Road (near Home Depot). Hours are 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The Mountain Area Rotary Club’s partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library ensures all children in our mountain community can have a great selection of books at home. The Mountain Area
We continue our focus on hard to recycle items - see the complete list and pricing here: evergreenrotary.org
Our program needs your help to continue providing every child in our community the opportunity to develop a love for books and reading! Please consider donating to our program. Just $25.00 will provide one child with monthly books for one year. You can make a donation through our imaginationlibrary.com. DOLLY PARTON’S
Our club has more than 100 members from all walks of life. We like to have fun and we organize social functions throughout the year.
• We meet once a week on Fridays at 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. There is no meeting commitment – attend as many or as few as you like.
• Our meetings, events, location details and speaker schedules can be found at EvergreenRotary.org, along with details about our local and international committees and projects.
• Our membership is open to all people of all ages and all backgrounds. More info at EvergreenRotary.org
Rotary
Rotary is working to keep Evergreen GREEN!
To register a child for this program or donate, please go to imaginationlibrary. com. This local literacy program is just one of many community service projects that Rotary supports worldwide. Please visit Rotary’s website at rotary.org to view information about our Mountain Area Rotary Clubs.
Imagination Library program’s a liate sponsors are the Rotary Clubs of Evergreen, Conifer, Mountain Foothills, Peak to Peak and Clear Creek 2000.
We cordially invite you to come and see for yourself what makes our club so very special. We currently meet every Friday morning, 7:00 am.
To join us for breakfast (or virtually via Zoom) or to learn more about the Club please contact our Membership Chairman, Chuck Adams at ChuckA@1UPDrones.com
A Special Thank-You To All Our Sponsors
To nd out more, contact Tim Grace Cell: 305-926-5894
Sponsor Spotlight
Big O Tires of Evergreen is a locally owned franchise serving the Evergreen community since 2001. We sell all makes and models of tires, and we are a full-service repair shop with ASE certified mechanics. We pride ourselves on customer service. We are proud members of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce Call or text us at: (303) 526-1100 Email us: store006238@bigostores.com
