February 26, 2015 VOLU M E 1 2 0 | I S S UE 4 | 7 5 ¢
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Cattle on a property off County Road 21 huddle together during the snowstorm Feb. 22. Elbert County received more than 13 inches of snow. Photos by Rick Gustafson
Elbert County weathers the storm Snow forces some events to be canceled, but brings little in the way of chaos By Rick Gustafson
Special to Colorado Community Media
POSTAL ADDRESS
The weekend’s winter storm may not have dumped the 2 feet of snow the National Weather Service predicted, but single-digit temperatures and the 13-plus inches of snow that did fall were enough to force organizations to cancel weekend events and keep many residents at home. The weather did not keep everyone inside, however. Amber Webster, a 13-year-old from Elizabeth, made the most of the storm by going door to door asking neighbors if they wanted their walks or driveways shoveled. By midmorning, Webster had already been paid for five jobs and began working her way down Pearl Street in search of more customers. Warm weather ahead of the storm kept roads wet for most of the day Feb. 21 until temperatures dropped shortly before sunset and the intensity of the storm covered roads with slush, but county plow crews appeared to be keeping up with the snow on primary roads.
ELBERT COUNTY NEWS (USPS 171-100)
OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Elizabeth, Colorado, the Elbert County News is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ELIZABETH, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Amber Webster, 13, drums up snow-shoveling jobs on South Pearl Street in Elizabeth on Feb. 22.
Snow continues on Page 8
It takes teamwork to prep for blizzard Several departments come together to keep Elbert County safe By Rick Gustafson
Special to Colorado Community Media When the National Weather Service began tracking a storm on Feb. 17, it had all the signs of a significant winter weather event typical for the Front Range and Colorado plains in February and March. As two cold fronts approached, one from the west, the other from the north, forecasting models prompted the National Weather Service office in Boulder to issue a winter-storm watch for Elbert County in advance of the weekend. In the early hours of Feb. 20, the morning sun rose into a clear Colorado-blue sky and temperatures rose into the 50s, offering no validation of the ominous forecast, but county residents seemed to know better and began preparing. Storm prep continues on Page 8
Brigitta Hebdon and her daughters Rian and Shelby stock up Feb. 20 at the Safeway in Elizabeth as the storm approaches. Photo by Rick Gustafson
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2 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015
Resurgent rodeo impresses contestants State professional group lauds Cowboy Up in Kiowa Staff report Contestants in rodeos across the state voted for Cowboy Up in Kiowa to win the Colorado Pro Rodeo Association’s Super Purse Rodeo of the Year this year. The CPRA award recognizes smaller state rodeos that provide better experiences for contestants while operating on smaller budgets. A news release from Cowboy Up in Kiowa stated that the award came after the rodeo emerged “from the ashes” of a period of low fan turnout that pushed the organization out of business three years
THINGS TO DO
Firefighters from South Metro Fire Rescue’s Station 47 warm a deer with blankets after it fell through thin ice on a pond on Pine Cone Drive east of Parker Feb. 5. Courtesy photo
Deer saved after falling through ice South Metro firefighters ‘lassoed’ buck around neck By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com A deer that fell through thin ice east of Parker got a second chance at life thanks to a crew of fast-moving firefighters. The young buck fell into a pond on private property on Pine Cone Road and Summit Road, near Inspiration Drive, on Feb. 5. By the time South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters from station 47 arrived at the scene, the deer had been in the icy pond for an estimated 30 minutes and was struggling to keep its head above water, said Becky O’Guin, public information officer for South Metro.
First-responders typically cut a path through the ice to establish an escape route to the shore, but because the deer was tiring quickly, time was running out, and the firefighters “lassoed him and pulled him” on top of the ice, O’Guin said. “He was not doing very well,” she said. “They used blankets provided by a homeowner to dry and warm the patient.” The pond is between 5 feet and 7 feet deep, enough that the deer could not touch the bottom. The crew at station 47 has since received an email from neighbors who said they’ve seen the buck with its herd, O’Guin said. Due to intermittent spurts of warm weather, several similar incidents have occurred in Colorado this winter, but with tragic results. A herd of elk drowned late last year after falling through thin ice near Pagosa Springs in southern Colorado.
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ago. Cowboy Up in Kiowa President Teri Mills and a team of volunteers brought the rodeo back from a one-year hiatus, and the CPRA awarded the reborn rodeo as “most improved” in 2013. “I give all the credit to our amazing volunteers and their focus on our local Elbert County residents,” Mills said in the press release. “I’ve learned so much from all the new volunteers who have many years of experience in rodeo production and are so willing to jump in and help. I am honored to work side by side with them.” The 2015 Cowboy Up in Kiowa Rodeo is sponsored by Medved Autoplex South in Castle Rock, and will be held on June 26-27. Visit www.cowboyupinkiowa.org for more information.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Calendar submissions must be received by noon Wednesday for publication the following week. Send listings to calendar@coloradocommunitymedia.com. No attachments, please. Listings are free and run on a space-available basis.
Events
LENTEN FISH Fry
THE KNIGHTS of Columbus will have a fish fry from 4:307:30 p.m. every Friday in Lent in Brownstein Hall at Ave Maria Catholic Church in Parker. Fried fish, baked fish, nuggets, cole slaw, fried or baked potato, mac and chees, and dinner rolls are available. Iced tea, lemonade and coffee are free. Cost is $10 for ages 12 and older, $5 for ages 5-12, and free for children younger than 5. A family rate of $29 is offered. Homemade desserts are available. Take out and drive through are also available by calling 303-522-5602. HIGH SCHOOL Theater Show DOUGLAS COUNTY High School presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” at 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 26-28, with special matinee performances at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28. At 1 p.m. before
the matinees, the theater students will host a princess tea party. Tickets are available at www.SeatYourSelf.biz/dchs. The classic, magical musical is great for all ages.
‘ONCE UPON a Mattress’ ELIZABETH HIGH School presents “Once Upon A Mattress” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, to Saturday, Feb. 28, at the high school. Tickets cost $6 in advance and $10 at the door. Go to http://www.elizabeth. k12.co.us/PerformingArtsDepartment.aspx for details and to keep up-to-date on the program’s events, announcements and photos. ‘A LITTLE Princess’ Musical THE PONDEROSA Theatre Company will perform “A Little Princess,” a musical based on the classic novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Performances are at 7 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays from Feb. 26 to March 7 at Ponderosa High School, 7007 E. Bayou Gulch Road, Parker. A matinee performance is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7. Tickets available at http://phstheatrealittleprincess.bpt.me. Calendar continues on Page 3
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Elbert County News 3
February 26, 2015
Horses killed in collision with vehicle By Rick Gustafson
Special to Colorado Community Media An early-morning collision between a motorist and four horses loose on Colorado Highway 86 killed three horses and closed the highway for nearly two hours
Calendar Continued from Page 2
on Feb. 19. The driver of the sedan was uninjured and her car was towed from the scene. The accident occurred just before 5 a.m. near Cherokee Trail, about a quarter mile west of the Elizabeth Walmart. According to a witness, two of the animals
were killed in the accident; a third was severely injured and later euthanized by a local veterinarian who was called to the scene. The surviving horse was taken to the nearby barn of an Elbert County deputy and later returned to its owner.
The Elbert County Sheriff’s Office was not available for comment but did post a notice of the accident and the highway’s reopening on its Facebook page, which prompted multiple comments from individuals offering sympathy to the driver, the horses and the owners.
the Garden Started,” from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at Elbert School, 24489 Main St. Sara Schluster, CSU graduate and agronomist who teaches plant sciences at Elbert School will lead the seminar. Learn to propagate plant cuttings and start seeds for your garden. RSVP at 303-621-3162. Cost is $5.
questions, help fill out forms and explain processes and procedures for all areas of civil litigation, including family law, property law, probate law, collections, appeals, landlord-tenant law, small claims, veterans issues and civil protection orders. Walk-ins are welcome. Help offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Clinics are offered the second Tuesday of each month; future clinics are offered April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, Dec. 8.
changes to estate planning laws in 2015, including changes to VA qualification for pension, loss of protection on inherited IRAs, changes in estate, gift and generation-skipping tax changes, new laws affecting same-sex marriages and more. Reservations required; call 720-440-2774. Space is limited. Schedule of workshops: Thursday, March 12, 1:30-3 p.m. at the Philip S. Miller Library, 100 S. Wilcox St., Castle Rock; Wednesday, March 18, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Philip S. Miller Library, 100 S. Wilcox St., Castle Rock.
FESTIVE CELEBRATION
NO KID Hungry Dodgeball Tournament
PARKER SYMPHONY Orchestra presents its Festive Celebration at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker. The featured soloist for the performance is Nicolo Spera, professor of guitar at the University of Colorado at Boulder. For tickets, go to www.ParkerArts.org or call the PACE Center Box Office at 303-805-6800.
THE FCCLA third annual No Kid Hungry dodge ball tournament is at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at Elizabeth High School. Email Natasha at nbreakall@gmail.com to sign up a team to play dodge ball.
GET THE Garden Started ELBERT COUNTY Master Gardeners presents a seminar “Let’s Get
FREE LEGAL Clinic A FREE legal clinic for parties who have no attorney is open from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at the Elizabeth Library, 651 W. Beverly St., Elizabeth. Volunteer attorneys will answer
‘HIGH SCHOOL Musical Jr.’ ELIZABETH MIDDLE School’s Cardinal Players presents “High
School Musical Jr.” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, to Saturday, March 14 at the middle school. Tickets cost $6.
ESTATE PLANNING Law Changes A NUMBER of free public workshops are planned to discuss on
HISTORIC 17 Mile Farm Open House TAKE A tour of the house and big red barn at the historic 1860s 17 Mile House Farm Park at an open house from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 14. The park is at 8181 S. Parker Road, just north of Cottonwood. Tour is free. Call Arapahoe County Open Spaces at 720-874-6540 for information.
Together We Can Move Mountains
YOU CAN
ACC seeks to make higher education accessible to you. We can assist you and your family through the financial aid process. Deadline for Financial Aid is May 1. Don’t get confused by the process. We have links to resources and a Financial Aid Checklist at Arapahoe.edu/paying-college. Or Visit us on Campus in Littleton, Parker and Castle Rock. We are here to help!
Contact the Financial Aid Office for more information 303.797.5661 finaid@arapahoe.edu
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4 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015
Colorado residents are first to ask feds to block legal pot Owners of a horse farm and a hotel sue the state By Kristen Wyatt
‘If these lawsuits are successful, it could be devastating for the industry,’
Associated Press
Colorado already is being sued by two neighboring states for legalizing marijuana. Now, the state faces groundbreaking lawsuits from its own residents, who are asking a federal judge to order the new recreational industry to close. The owners of a mountain hotel and a southern Colorado horse farm argue in a pair of lawsuits filed Feb. 19 in U.S. District Court in Denver that the 2012 marijuanalegalization measure has hurt their property and that the marijuana industry is stinky and attracts unsavory visitors. The lawsuits are the first in a state that has legalized recreational or medical marijuana in which its own residents are appealing to the federal government to block pot laws. “It is a bedrock principle of the United States Constitution that federal law is the supreme law of the land,’’ said David Thompson, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. The lawsuits are also the first to claim that federal racketeering laws allow them to
Sam Kamin, University of Denver law professor win damages from pot businesses that flout federal law. The plaintiffs have not specified amounts they would seek. Experts say the racketeering approach is a new one. “If these lawsuits are successful, it could be devastating for the industry,” said Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law professor who helped craft Colorado’s pot regulations. “But it will be very difficult for the plaintiffs to prove damages directly attributable to the marijuana industry.” Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman released a statement saying she would “defend the state’s marijuana laws and our clients” if the lawsuits go to trial. Marijuana legalization supporters say that states are free to stop enforcing certain drug laws, as long as they don’t try to overrule the federal Controlled Substances Act. “Colorado has every right to stop pun-
ishing adults for using marijuana,” said Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado’s legalization campaign and joined about a dozen other legalization supporters who marched to the state Capitol on Feb. 19. They carried signs saying, “Regulation Works!” One legalization backer, Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Singer, said the pot industry has boosted tax coffers and hurt the black market. “The sky hasn’t fallen. We’re doing the right thing,” Singer said. Technically, federal law making pot illegal for any purpose remains in effect in the 23 states that have authorized its use for people with certain medical conditions. However, it’s not clear how far the federal government can go to compel states to enforce drug laws. For nearly 20 years, the U.S. Department of Justice has said that marijuana
is illegal and that the federal government can enforce even small-possession crimes. However, U.S. authorities have left most enforcement to the states, saying they focus on larger drug crimes. One of the lawsuits came from the owner of a Pueblo County horse farm, Hope Reilly, who said she’s “been horrified” to see a marijuana cultivation facility go up next door. “This land means a great deal to me,” said Reilly, who says the pot facility mars “spectacular views” of the Rocky Mountains. Also suing is the owner of a Holiday Inn, who argues that a pot shop opening nearby is keeping away families. “Marijuana businesses make bad neighbors,” the lawsuit says. “They drive away legitimate businesses’ customers, emit pungent, foul odors, attract undesirable visitors, increase criminal activity, increase traffic, and reduce property values.” Nebraska and Oklahoma also are suing Colorado for legalizing marijuana in 2012. Nine former heads of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed a brief Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the two states. Colorado’s pot law “impinges on the interests of all citizens and the United States in a uniform and coherent national drug policy,” the brief says.
Republicans moves pro-fracking measure ahead of report Senate bill would bring penalties on local governments that limit drilling By Kristen Wyatt Associated Press
Republicans in Colorado’s Senate advanced a pro-fracking measure Feb. 20 that makes a statement in advance of a longawaited report on new limits on the oil and gas industry. The Senate bill would penalize local governments that limit drilling procedures, especially hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
When a government makes a mineral owner’s underground property Report less valuable, the government should pay the owner, Republicans said. “People have a right to be compensated,” said Sen. John Cooke, R-Greeley. Democrats opposed the measure, which faces almost certain defeat in the Democratic House. They argued that if mineral owners are owed money for fracking bans, then surface property owners should be owed money, too, if drilling near their
Capitol
homes diminishes property value. “It’s a dangerous place,” said Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver. Drilling has been the elephant in the room this session, with lawmakers avoiding the divisive topic until the release next week of a task force report on the dilemma. The task force was set up to broker compromise between the oil and gas industry and critics who say cities and counties should be free to place strict limits on drilling practices. For the last few years, lawmakers have tried and failed to agree on giving local communities more say in drilling regulations. Democrats expressed optimism that the task force would bring suggestions to
make both sides happy. “Hopefully, the task force will come up with something real, said Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has sided with the energy industry against local fracking bans, assembled the group last year to avoid ballot measures on the question. The task force submits recommendations to lawmakers Feb. 27. The GOP penalty bill won preliminary approval on a partisan voice vote. One more formal vote is required this week before the measure moves to the House, which has repeatedly rejected similar measures in the past.
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Elbert County News 5
February 26, 2015
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6-Opinion
6 Elbert County News
Y O U R S
OPINION
February 26, 2015
&
O U R S
Dreaming of hoops, sure as shootin’ Looking at me now, you would never guess that I played basketball. Looking at me now, you would never guess that I played anything. Maybe the radio. I am not trying to make a favorable impression. I just want to remind myself now and then that I wasn’t always a potato standing in front of an easel, or a potato working on a computer. This occurred to me when I read that Lonnie Porter, head basketball coach at Regis University for 38 years, is retiring. The article tells about his first basketball — it had laces — and the outdoor playing conditions in the winter in Indianapolis. As we get closer to March Madness, it just seems like I could use a little reminiscing. My sister was a high school cheerleader, and dated the star on the basketball team. My sister was a senior, and Rich was a sophomore, so there was talk. I was a junior, and desperately wanted to make the varsity in my senior year. Here’s a spoiler alert: I was the last player cut. The summer before my senior year, Rich did everything he could to improve my game. He drove us all over metro Cincinnati for pickup games with some of the city’s best players. I still hold on to that summer, 1964, with affection. Have you ever been to Cincinnati in
the summertime? It’s unpleasant. My least favorite weather is humidity. Are you good at something, but not very good or great? I was a good basketball player. After I was cut, I captained a team in a Sunday league, and was the league’s leading scorer. So what? It was like winning first prize at the state fair for my pigeon. But it’s a yellowed clipping that still makes me smile. I played intramurals at UCLA, where the intramural teams were exceptionally good. I loved basketball. Not as much now. The pro game not at all, and some of what I don’t like about the pros has made it down to the college level, but not all the way. Pro basketball is a lot like rugby. And dunks seem to be a big deal too often. My father was his school’s captain. Final scores would be 28-15 and 21-17. There was no such thing as a jump shot. He shot free throws underhanded, like everyone else. Much later, Wilt Chamberlain would do the same thing.
We are nearing March Madness, and it is more fun than just about anything in sports. It makes the college football playoffs and all of those ridiculous bowl games seem a little unfulfilling. My team won’t make it into the tournament this year, so I will choose another one. The neat thing is that it only takes five guys, not 22. So smaller schools, like Northern Iowa, have a chance. That can’t happen in football. One year a little school from Terre Haute, Ind., that no one had heard of, and really hasn’t been heard from since, made it all the way to the national championship game. It’s was “Hoosiers” before “Hoosiers.” (By the way, the kid who played Jimmy Chitwood, Maris Valainis, in “Hoosiers,” was cut each of the three times he tried out for his high school team.) I wore Converse All-Stars, because that’s all we had. They were white. When my father was playing, all they had was black. And our shorts looked like tighty boxers. If you’re old enough to remember: The little school from Terre Haute was Indiana State. They had a player named Bird. “Three, 2, 1, Smith from the corner. Scores!” In my sweetest dreams.
is a great place to start. But I digress, so let me get back to our story. As I said, one of my very favorite things to observe is when managers, leaders, business owners, fathers, mothers, or others who are in a leadership role lead by example and we get to see it and witness their behavior. If we are smart enough, we may even try and emulate that behavior. And I have a recent story I would like to share with you about someone who truly leads by example. Her name is Nina Hinnendael. I happened to be skiing in Beaver Creek and had the opportunity to see for myself how Nina worked and led by example. She is a manager of a couple of “on-mountain” restaurants and actually the one person who inspired the Candy Cabin at the top of the Strawberry Park lift, chair 12 in Beaver Creek. Her attitude, smile, and work ethic speak for themselves. And as I sat there as a patron I was so impressed by the fact that
even as a leader and a manager, she was cleaning tables, greeting customers, socializing with guests, and directing her staff all at the same time, and I asked her permission to write this column. You see I am also a leader. I have a staff, I work in my community, I volunteer, and I get so caught up in my responsibilities I often forget that I should also be leading by example and manage and lead like Nina, doing some more of the heavy lifting. Now, if we focus on you, yes you, you the business owner, you the vice president, you the venture capitalist, you the manager, you the leader of your family, are you leading by example or are you relying solely on what you accomplished in the past? That is one of the challenges that we have, managers and leaders who have met with success but have forgotten what got us there in the first place … hard work, character, and effort. And we know that talent without effort breeds mediocrity. How about you? Are you a Nina? Do you lead from the front and by example? I would love to hear all about it at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we remember what leadership is all about, it really will be a better than good week. Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the former president of the Zig Ziglar Corporation, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.
Construction-defects bill is needed fix Colorado is uniquely positioned to capitalize on numerous economic advantages that have lowered our unemployment rate, seen strong growth in several identified sectors and generated more than 70,000 new jobs in 2014, while the forecast for this year continues to trend upward. While economists predict a 2.5 percent growth rate for 2015, we are faced with an immense issue — skyrocketing housing costs. A recent analysis by Zillow showed renters would need to make $35 an hour to stay within the rule of thumb regarding share of housing costs to annual income. Denver is a desirable city for millennials who bring ideas, innovation, creativity and passion to the workplace. Our housing costs and lack of diversity threaten the very fabric of attainable and affordable options. As a leading statewide business organization, the Colorado Business Roundtable understands how important providing attainable housing is to community build-
ing. COBRT will be unabashedly relentless in our support of options that allow our first responders, teachers, and business community to not only work but also live within our cities and communities. We also have many seniors who desire to live near their children and grandkids who need lower-maintenance properties. Colorado’s construction-defects law passed in 2001 and has undergone several amendments since. Most cite the changes
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GERARD HEALEY President and Publisher CHRIS ROTAR Editor ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant Major Accounts and AUDREY BROOKS Classified Manager SCOTT ANDREWS Business Manager SHARI MARTINEZ Production Manager
Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast. net.
Leading by example is powerful If you are like me, you really enjoy it when you can see a leader leading by example. There are some who lead their families, others lead companies or teams, and still others lead communities, organizations, and associations. And yet the ones we seem to respect the most are NOT the ones who lead from afar, or give direction from the ivory tower; the ones we seem to gravitate towards are the leaders who lead from the front. In my line of work I have been truly blessed to have worked for leaders, coaches and trainers who have led by example. Men and women of character and integrity who wouldn’t ask others to do anything that they weren’t prepared to do themselves. I honestly believe that I would not have achieved success in both my personal life or my professional life had it not been for the leaders in the companies I worked for, the leaders who worked with me when I was the CEO or president, the leaders in my church, and the leaders in my community. And I say thank you to each one of them. So as you can see, I have a great appreciation for active, intentional leadership. If you are into history, one leader who led from the front, truly led by example, comes to mind: George Washington. If you haven’t read any of the books written about him, the book “1776” by David McCullough
A publication of
passed in 2003 and 2007 that have caused owner-occupied, multi-family housing to shrink from 23 percent of the marketplace to 3.1 percent in 2014. While we can spend a lot of time looking at what got us to where we are today, we do not prefer to look in the rearview mirror but find creative, bipartisan, pragmatic ways to fix this issue. Senate Bill 177 is a bipartisan repair or fix in both the House and Senate that has done exactly what needed to happen: stakeholders sitting down and listening to all parties and learning from proposed legislation the past two years. The COBRT is proud to be a part of the Homeowner Opportunity Alliance, a large, diverse coalition of business leaders, trade associations, chambers of commerce and community leaders. The Colorado Business Roundtable strongly feels that homeowner rights Wasden continues on Page 7
We welcome event listings and other submissions. News and Business Press Releases Please visit ElbertCountyNews.net, click on the Submit Your News tab and choose a category from the drop down menu. Calendar calendar@coloradocommunitymedia.com Military Notes militarynotes@coloradocommunitymedia.com School Accomplishments schoolnotes@coloradocommunitymedia.com Sports sports@coloradocommunitymedia.com Obituaries obituaries@coloradocommunitymedia.com To Subscribe call 303-566-4100
Columnists and Guest Commentaries The Elbert County News features a limited number of regular columnists, found on these pages and elsewhere in the paper, depending on the typical subject the columnist covers. Their opinions are not necessarily those of the Elbert County News. Want your own chance to bring an issue to our readers’ attention, to highlight something great in our community, or just to make people laugh? Why not write a letter of 300 words or fewer. Include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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7
Elbert County News 7
February 26, 2015
Woman loses memory after skiing accident College student from Parker readjusting after brain injury By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com A woman from Parker is putting the pieces back together after a skiing accident left her unable to recall two months of her life. Brittney Bulawa, a 2014 graduate of Chaparral High School, was skiing with her brother, Josh, on the final day of their winter break in early January when they decided to find some out-of-bounds powder at Loveland Ski Area. Bulawa was behind her brother, who was wearing headphones, when something terrible happened. She just doesn’t remember what. Bulawa, 19, lost consciousness after hitting her head on a tree or rock. Her helmet was badly damaged and both skis had flown off. The powder was so deep that getting to her feet would have been an ordeal. But Bulawa lay there as her brother waited for her at the bottom. Her phone went unanswered. He then retraced the path they took, but could not locate his sister. A search-and-rescue team was called out. Whether by a twist of fate or divine intervention, a fellow skier happened upon Bulawa in the trees and summoned help. She was slipping in and out of consciousness and mumbling incoherently. Her 17-year-old brother was already worried, but was overcome with emotion when he saw her brought down the hill, wrapped snugly in a toboggan behind a member of the ski patrol. The paramedics asked Bulawa the typical questions: What’s your name? What year is it? Who is the president? She answered them all correctly and was allowed to ride with her brother back down to Parker. It wasn’t until later, when she returned home after a battery of scans at Sky Ridge Medical Center, that Bulawa scrolled through photos on her phone and realized she couldn’t remember anything since Halloween night. No Thanksgiving dinner. No nail-biter basketball games at Gonzaga
Wasden Continued from Page 6
and protections will not be weakened or restricted by the passage of SB177. Senate Bill 177 ensures that construction issues within a condo or townhouse community are not only addressed fairly and quickly but take into account the rights of homeowners and respect the members of the association community. While every homeowner deserves the right to have, in most cases, their biggest investment protected and repaired in the case of an issue, SB177 stops the current practice in which a small number of owners — often a simple majority of a homeowners association board — can enter into legal action without the knowledge or authorization of the majority of homeowners. There are cases where homeowners have transferred or attempted to refinance their home and been told, much to their surprise, that they cannot because of pending legal action. This is not only egregious but morally wrong, in our view. According to state Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Commerce City, SB177 differs from previous legislation in that it adds language requiring mandatory mediation and arbitration prior to filing a construction defects claim. This dispute resolution, as a way to repair or cure issues prior to initiating a lawsuit, creates a more favorable market for insurers, who cite the threat of litigation as a primary driver for the high cost of insuring owner-occupied, multi-family housing options. Alternative
Siblings Josh and Brittney Bulawa, of Parker, were together when Brittney crashed out of bounds and lost consciousness at Loveland Ski Area in January. She lost more than two months of memories preceding the accident, but is now back in school. Courtesy photo University, the school she attends in Washington state. No nights out with friends. But there was the photographic evi-
dispute resolution is a legally enforceable, effective, less costly way and — just as important — a less time-consuming method of resolving disputes. We want to stress the importance of creating a workable resolution process that is fair to homeowners. One that protects their rights, which fosters conditions that will allow the building of diverse and affordable housing options, and encourages new developments near light rail and transit stations. The Colorado Business Roundtable values the importance of community — one made of not only first-time home buyers and the millennial generation that brings so much creativity and enthusiasm but also seniors, firefighters, law enforcement and great workers in manufacturing, energy, technology and health sciences. Locally, communities like Lakewood and Parker have passed ordinances to create a local remedy to encourage or spur needed development within the multifamily, owner-occupied space. While we are appreciative of their efforts and successes, this is an area where our elected leaders at the state level need to step up and ensure the passage of SB177. From the House and Senate sponsors to leadership and the rank and file dedicated servant leaders, there is broad-based bipartisan support. Please reach out to your legislator and encourage him or her to support the passage of this important economic and community-building legislation. Jeff Wasden, a Highlands Ranch resident, is president of the Colorado Business Roundtable. He can be reached at jwasden@cobrt. com.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU If you would like to share your opinion, visit our website at www.coloradocommunitymedia.com or write a letter to the editor. Include your name, full address and the best telephone number to contact you. Send letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com.
dence that she participated in all of them. “It was pretty terrifying,” she said. “I remember Halloween, what I wore, who we
went out with. Then I looked at the next picture from the next day, and I have no idea about anything, where we were.” Panic-stricken, Bulawa consulted with neurologists who told her that short-term memory loss was not completely uncommon with traumatic brain injuries and that some memories might return. She has since regained snippets of Christmas Day with her family. Bulawa has had four or five concussions from playing sports, but never experienced memory loss. Bulawa, who was president of her class at Chaparral, feared that she would not be able to make new memories. She was cleared by doctors before returning to classes at Gonzaga. Since then, she has been playing catch-up in Spanish class, re-reading parts of books she has already studied, and taken longer to complete school assignments. Her professors have been made aware of her accident and are accommodating her needs. Outside of surviving the accident, there have been some unexpected upsides to the injury. Bulawa was able to listen to the new Taylor Swift album for the first time — twice. And despite attending every home game for her beloved Gonzaga Bulldogs hoops squad since the Nov. 1 start of their season, Bulawa was elated to learn that they have played their way to No. 3 in the nation. Most of all, she is grateful for the support of family, friends, faith community, and one unidentified stranger: the skier who found her lying semi-conscious out of bounds. Bulawa doesn’t recall the person’s face and doesn’t know his or her name. Being in the trees and out of bounds, Bulawa knows how fortunate she was. “I honestly don’t know if they would have found me if not for that (person),” she says. Bulawa has learned a valuable lesson from the accident and its aftermath. It was a sobering reality check and one that, ideally, she won’t forget. She lost the “invincible” feeling that some young people carry. “Everything can be taken from you in a minute,” she said. “As much journaling and photos as I do, it can be gone in the blink of an eye.”
In Loving Memory Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. Private 303-566-4100 Obituaries@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com
Funeral Homes Visit: www.memoriams.com
8
8 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015
Snow Continued from Page 1
It was so quiet, that as of noon on Feb. 22, the Kiowa Fire District had not received a single weatherrelated call since the snow started falling two days earlier. “People in Elbert County seem to take our advice and stay in when the weather is bad,” said Tim Rossette, deputy chief of the Kiowa Fire District. “We want people to call us when they need us, but we’re good with it being quiet.” Typical calls received during snowstorms are for chest pains or
back injuries from energetic snow shoveling. Rossette emphasized the importance of remaining hydrated. “Just because you’re not hot, doesn’t mean you don’t need water, especially if you are exerting yourself,” he said. At the Elizabeth Fire station, crews had also not received a weather-related call since the snow started falling. A fresh crew of four fulltime staff and two volunteers passed their first morning of their 48-hour shift engaged with the latest episode of the “The Walking Dead.” No zombie calls so far this weekend either, the firefighters joked.
MORE INFORMATION Storm-related cancellations and postponements in Elbert County over the weekend:
rescheduled for Feb. 26.
Battle of the Bands (Feb. 21) - rescheduled for April 4.
Elbert County Trading post (Feb. 21)- Canceled
Kiowa High School Winter Ball (Feb. 21) -
Colorado Australian Shepherd Association’s Spring Thaw (Feb. 21, 22) - Canceled
Elbert Women’s Club County Breakfast (Feb. 22) Canceled
The Elbert Women’s Club County Breakfast at the Russell Gates Mercantile in the town of Elbert was among the weekend events in Elbert County canceled because of the snowstorm. Photos by Rick Gustafson
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An Elbert County snowplow clears County Road 106 on Feb. 22. More than a foot of snow had fallen in a 24-hour period in parts of the county.
Storm prep Continued from Page 1
Jessica Miller, assistant manager at Safeway in Elizabeth, said there were more shoppers in the store than on a typical Thursday or Friday. Grocery stores were not the only business with an increase of traffic. “Fridays are normally pretty busy,” Angie Riley of Kiowa Country Corner Farm Equipment and Supplies Store said, “but we have more people coming in when we are expecting a storm. Plus we got our chickens in yesterday.” At noon Feb. 20, just after the first clouds rolled into eastern Elbert County and 11 minutes after the first flakes of snow began lightly falling in Elizabeth, the Weather Service upgraded its watch to a warning. According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow that may affect travel, and a winter storm warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring.
As the forecast worsened, organizations canceled or rescheduled weekend events, shoppers cleaned out supplies of ground beef, eggs, bananas, and potatoes from stores in the storm’s path, and Brandon Lenderink, director of the Elbert County Office of Emergency Management, was implementing the county’s winterweather contingencies. Lenderink initiated a Code Red Alert to warn Elbert County residents of the coming storm and coordinated with county agencies and first responders, reviewing contingencies corresponding to the fury of the storm, which was predicted to deposit up to 2 feet of snow in parts of Elbert County. During the storm or any emergency within the county, the OEM coordinates the allocation of resources as well as provides updated information to first responders throughout the county as calls come in. According to Lenderink, the interdepartmental cooperation allows assets to be redirected to assist first responders to reach those in need by redirecting snowplows to clear roads for paramedics. Elizabeth Fire Chief T.J. Steck said at a one-on-one coordination meeting with Lenderink, “It’s really great being in a county where everyone wants to work together.”
ert
9
Elbert County News 9
February 26, 2015
Review: A pitch-perfect Costner in ‘McFarland USA’ By Jocelyn Noveck Associated Press
“McFarland, USA” could so easily have been yet another mushy, feel-good, bythe-numbers sports underdog movie. And in the beginning, it seems like it’s heading there. But soon, thanks to the genuine heart in its (true) story and a pitch-perfect, beautifully lived-in performance by Kevin Costner, it will likely win you over. So go ahead, surrender. Cry a little. This is one feel-good movie that won’t make you feel bad about feeling good. The story begins in August 1987 in Boise, Idaho, when a high school football coach named Jim White gets fired from his job after throwing a shoe in the direction of a snotty kid who’s talking back to him, accidentally bloodying him. Jim, who has a history of anger issues, packs up the family and moves to McFarland, Calif., for a job at the only school that will hire him. Arriving in McFarland, a farming town where the population is predominantly Mexican-American, White’s daughter looks nervously out the car window and asks: “Are we in Mexico?” At a taqueria, White tries to order a burger, but can’t get one. When the family encounters a group of young men cruising in their cars, he immediately thinks they’re dangerous. These moments lay it on a little thick, but soon, director Niki Caro (“Whale Rider”) hits a more comfortable stride depicting a prickly entry for the White family (the always lovely Maria Bello plays the sadly underdeveloped character of Jim’s wife) into McFarland life. At the new school, White is made assistant coach of the football team, working for an ornery boss who can’t win a game and sees nothing of sending a kid with a concussion back onto the field. Soon they argue, and White’s off the team. But he has a different idea. These boys, who spend all their non-school hours picking in the fields for their parents, might not be able to play football, but they sure can run. And run, and run. White figures they could make a great cross-country team. And he goes for it, not that it’s smooth. “Nobody wins around here, White,” he’s told. The principal is skeptical. The best
In this image released by Disney, Kevin Costner, foreground left, embraces Carlos Pratts in a scene from “McFarland, USA.” Associated Press runner in the bunch, Thomas (a truly excellent Carlos Pratts), is a troubled teen who’s reluctant, at best. Families are resistant. Obstacles keep appearing. But White persists. If you don’t know what ends up happening, after some early disappointments, you haven’t seen many sports underdog movies. The added layer in this film is the huge learning curve that White and his family face in McFarland. To get the support of the local families to keep their sons on the team, he must eat with them, reason with them, bond with them. He even goes pick-
ing in the fields with them one day, almost breaking his back, to the amusement of his athletes. As we mentioned, all of this could easily have veered into obvious formula, where you shed a few tears at climactic moments and then feel a bit silly for it. But the authentic feel we get from so many of the actors helps keep the movie grounded, and so does Costner. At 60 (but looking a lot younger), the actor is so comfortable in this sort of role, he could probably do it in his sleep, but he lends a lovely low-key yet totally committed presence to the film. It’s
hard to imagine anyone else doing the role better. The most satisfying moment in the film is at the very end, when we learn what happened to White and his team in later years. This may be where you’ll need the Kleenex. Again, don’t feel bad about it. It’s a nice story, and nicely told. “McFarland, USA,” a Walt Disney Studios release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America “for thematic material, some violence and language.” Running time: 128 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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10-Life
10 Elbert County News
S O U T H
LIFE
February 26, 2015
M E T R O
As traffic whizzes by, Big Jim Sullivan inspects a rack of ribs simmering in one of his three barbecue pits. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Feast, not famine, for food trucks Mobile meal vending more than a passing fad
tion’s website, www.nationalfoodtrucks.org. “What was an underground and unseen industry has become one of the fastest growing trends in food service.”
By Chris Michlewicz
‘Sweet’ ride
cmichlewicz @colorado communitymedia.com It’s no surprise that the succulent aroma wafting from the Big Jim’s Ribs truck on South Parker Road causes some motorists to stop — sometimes literally in their tracks — to see what’s cooking. It may, however, come as a shock to regular and casual customers that Big Jim Sullivan is no longer privy to the very thing that attracts so many to the passenger door of his truck. He has been desensitized. “I can’t smell it. I’ve been around it so long,” he says wistfully. It’s a sad notion to ponder, until one realizes that Sullivan’s taste buds are still well intact. After all, that’s the real point to the barbecue madness. The tongue-spoiling flavors, ground in by love, experience, and wood from hickory trees grown in Arkansas, where Sullivan spent much of his childhood, have kept people coming back for 33 years, all of them in Parker. It started as a one-man operation, with Sullivan building his first 20-foot barbecue pit by hand and opening a restaurant that sat 120 people. It lasted two years. Big Jim’s also had eight booths at Mile High Stadium during John Elway’s heyday. Rising rent costs made Sullivan turn to a food truck, and he’s been there ever since. Aside from annual stops at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the Greeley Stampede, he has spent the last 16 years’ worth of weekends on a dirt lot on the southwest corner of South Parker Road and Longs Way. The number of employees swelled to two about 15 years ago when Sullivan brought on a former colleague from his teaching days at Denver Public Schools. Now 70, the towering man with a southern drawl landed in Denver via his past life as a National Football League defensive lineman. He joined the Baltimore Colts out of college and went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. When Sullivan came to Denver to try out for the Broncos, he never
Vanessa and Jamie Hilliker, of Castle Rock, own and operate Sweet ‘Ness Cupcakes in Parker. left, and the decision suits him just fine to this day. Franktown resident Patrick O’Malley, for one, is also glad that Sullivan stayed. O’Malley is among the loyal following that has kept Big Jim’s Ribs thriving for all these years. “When I’m in town, I stop by every weekend,” said O’Malley, who prefers the ribs and ham. But it’s not just the food that blesses Sullivan with return customers — it’s the rapport he has with them. Regardless of their age, Sullivan addresses people as “young man” or “young lady,” and as O’Malley departs, Sullivan calls out a Mayberry-like salutation: “Mr. O’Malley, we sure appreciate you stopping by.” When asked, given the mobility of a food truck, if he has plans to go anywhere other than Parker, Sullivan is definitive in his answer. “This is my home,” he says.
A slice of history
In recent years, food trucks have been popping up with greater frequency at south
metro Denver area breweries, special events and other venues. It’s part of a national trend. A 2012 study by Emergent Research projects the food truck industry in the United States to generate about $2.7 billion in annual revenue by 2017. That’s a fourfold increase over 2012 sales. While food trucks are heading into new territory, mobile meal vending is hardly a new concept. In 1866, Charles Goodnight devised a mobile kitchen to be part of a wagon train to feed the pioneers of Western expansion. The 1900s brought field kitchens for American soldiers, Oscar Mayer’s Wiener Mobile — the first hot dog cart — ice cream trucks, taco stands and kebab vans. The food truck craze was in motion. By 2008, the Kogi Korean BBQ food truck began tweeting its location to serve its Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine to the clientele of the hottest spots in Los Angeles. And in June 2014, the National Food Truck Association was formed. “Mobile vending has seen a monumental shift in the past five years,” says the organiza-
Big Jim’s Ribs gained a neighbor in 2010 when Sweet ‘Ness Cupcakes set up shop on the same corner. Vanessa Hilliker, whose friends call her “Ness” for short, hence the business name, hit the food truck craze at the right time. She became obsessed with the idea of creating her own mobile cupcake enterprise after watching a reality TV show called “The Great Food Truck Race.” Her husband, Jamie, decided to come along for the ride. He quit his job as a mechanic to outfit the truck for business with his father-in-law and help his wife achieve her dream. Five days a week, the Castle Rock couple rises in the wee morning hours to pile their ingredients, mixers and other equipment into the truck before heading to one of a few commercial kitchens around town to do their baking. It’s grueling work, but Vanessa Hilliker gets to put her knack for inventing odd concoctions to good use. “I like to put weird things together that normally wouldn’t work but end up working,” she said. The Hillikers are sick of cupcakes, but every once in a while, the better half creates a flavor she thoroughly enjoys. She points to maple bacon as a recent triumph, and her husband chimes in to remind her about the churro-flavored one that he liked. When Jamie Hilliker is asked whether he gets to be the guinea pig for the new recipes, he cops only to being a “pig.” Sweet ‘Ness Cupcakes is usually at its semipermanent location Wednesday through Sunday, but the truck travels to festivals, concerts at Hudson Gardens in Littleton and even residential driveways for birthday parties. That’s the best part about running a food truck: they can drive to the large crowds instead of relying on people to come to them, Vanessa Hilliker says. — Colorado Community Media reporter Christy Steadman contributed to this report.
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11
Elbert County News 11
February 26, 2015
Denver Brass celebrates Celtic style The Denver Brass joins with Celtic friends each year to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. On March 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. and March 15 at 2:30 p.m., “Celtic Fantasy” will play at the Newman Center, Iliff Avenue and University Boulevard, at the University of Denver. Included: Celtic Colorado Pipes and Drums; Irish tenor Todd Teske; Joanna and Ian Hyde, fiddle and guitar; Kaitlin McCarthy, recorder; Wick School of Irish Dance; Rocky Mountain Highland Dancers. Reserve tickets at DenverBrass.org or 303-832-HORN (4676).
to 4 p.m.)
Audubon forum slated
Arts in the Afternoon
The 2015 Audubon Legislative Forum is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at First Plymouth Church, 3501 S. Colorado Blvd. at Hampden Ave. Discussion of environmental bills plus background information on fracking, water and wildlife. Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Denveraudubon.org or 303-973-9530.
Denver area debut
Opera star baritone Nathan Gunn will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 10 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. His wife, Julie Jordan Gunn, will accompany him in songs from opera and classic American musicals. Tickets: $65-$75. Lonetreeartscenter.org, 720-509-1000 (Monday-Friday 10 a.m.
Denver Brass will collaborate with various Celtic Friends to produce “Celtic Fantasy” on March 13-15 at the Newman Center. Courtesy photo
Irish music by Colcannon will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at 1:30 p.m. March 11 at Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. Tickets: lonetreeartscenter.org or 720509-1000.
Writers Studio contest The Writers Studio at Arapahoe Community College announces its 11th annual Writers Studio Literary Contest for unpublished work in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Open to all Colorado writers, with a deadline of March 16. Nationally acclaimed final judges: poetry, Bin Ramke; fiction, Linda Hogan; nonfiction, Thomas Larson. Judges will lead workshops at ACC’s April 18 Literary Festival. Electronic submissions accepted
Theater summer camp set “Legally Blonde, the Musical” is the choice for Front Range Theatre’s Middle/ High School summer drama camp for 12- to 17-year-olds. Camp dates are June 8-20 and performances will be on June 19-20. Tuition is $399, including all instruction and materials and costumes. Singing, dancing, acting and a technical theater track will be taught. For information and to register: frontrangetheatre.org.
Wonderbound for kids
Passport to Culture offers excerpts from its dance repertoire and a chance for kids to help choreograph new dances with the dancers. The family program will be on the Main Stage at Lone Tree Arts Center at 3 p.m. on March 1. Tickets: lonetreeartscenter.org, 720-509-1000.
Advocate for arts Meet elected officials, learn to advocate for the arts and participate in professional development sessions at Advocacy Day 2015. Held from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 11 at First Baptist Church, 1373 Grant St., Denver. Register: artsforcolorado.org. Participation fee is $30, general admission/ $15 students/free legislators. Information: info@artsforcolorado. org.
Lone Tree show is watercolor wonder
“Grand Mesa” is Western Slope artist Frank Francese’s entry in the 2015 Colorado Watercolor Society State show. He was the first-place winner the past two years. Awards will be announced on March 7 during the reception at Lone Tree Arts Center. Courtesy photo
By Sonya Ellingboe
sellingboe @coloradocommunitymedia.com From March 4-30, art lovers will have a special opportunity to see watercolors by the state’s most skilled painters as the 24th Annual Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition fills the lobby and halls at Lone Tree Arts Center. Local artist/teacher Rick Brogan is juror this year, and he has selected 85 paintings from the 309 submitted. He will announce award winners at the reception, which is from 3-5 p.m. on March 7. Brogan, a Montana native and longtime Centennial resident, earned a master’s degree
in painting from the University of Denver and has worked as an animator, an illustrator and an art director in the Denver area. He has been a full-time painter for more than 20 years and is represented by galleries in Denver, Taos, Evergreen and Sedona. He teaches at the Denver Art Students League and at Curtis Center for the Arts and Humanities. The Colorado Watercolor Society has grown to more than 450 members since its founding in 1954. It holds regular meetings and offers workshops with noted artists for its members. Painter Greg Chapleski of Highlands Ranch is CWS president. He has been painting full time since he retired from his work as a writer/
IF YOU GO
The Colorado Watercolor Society State Show will be at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree, from March 4-30. A reception is planned from 3-5 p.m. on March 7, when many artists will be present and Rick Brogan will announce awards. Admission is free. The show will be open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and two hours prior to performances. Sales of paintings are handled by the box office. (We will announce the winners when chosen.)
illustrator. He is excited about the workshops the organization will be offering and the need to find a large place to hold them. “They generate higher quality work from our members,” he said.
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12
12 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015
Review: ‘Kingsman’ entertains, but lacks tact By Jake Coyle
Associated Press In his earlier “Kick-Ass,” British writerdirector Matthew Vaughn famously cast an 11-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz as a young killing machine in the stylishly brutal superhero film. In his latest, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” Vaughn has again married innocence and mayhem, this time updating the tame, traditional spy movie with his particular brand of contemporary moviemaking, which is to say, crassness. “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a blithe James Bond rip-off that gleefully celebrates, parodies and self-consciously modernizes the mossy spy thriller. And with Colin Firth in tow, as well as the winning newcomer Taron Egerton, “Kingsman” occasionally manages to do all three of these things simultaneously with a genuine zest for the genre trappings: the gadgets, the megalomaniacal villains, the sardonic wit. But if ever there was a semi-entertaining movie that sabotages itself with tastelessness and misogyny, this is it. Where might “Kingsman” lose you? You
may get twinges of doubt when debris from a missile explosion (set specifically in “the Middle East”) bounces off the ground to form the opening credits. The concern may grow as bodies accumulate with the scantest notice or reflection or when the African-American villain (Samuel L. Jackson) serves McDonald’s at an opulent dinner. And you will, possibly, lose any remaining faith by the time Firth’s agent slaughters a congregation full of frenzied churchgoers to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” By the time the film settles on one of its final images — a woman’s naked rear, offered to the hero she has just met — any spryness in “Kingsman” has emphatically left the building, leaving a sexist stink behind it. The Kingsmen are an international spy agency based in London. With their headquarters hidden behind a Savile Row tailor, they’re handsomely dressed in bespoke suits, oxford shoes with poisonous tips and umbrellas that shoot bullets. Their names come from the Knights of the Round Table: Galahad (Firth), Lancelot (Jack Davenport) and the head, Arthur (Michael Caine). Galahad encourages the teen son of a fall-
en comrade, Eggsy (Egerton), to try out for the agency. A proudly working-class Londoner, he’s quickly hazed by the more posh, welleducated applicants. But under the watchful eye of their instructor (Mark Strong), he rises from their ranks in a series of death-defying exercises. “Kingsman” is a movie continually in conversation with itself. “Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot,” says Jackson’s lisping supervillain, a tech billionaire who wants to radically depopulate the world. He’s waxing about older movies, though he later, just before executing someone, announces: “This ain’t that kind of movie.” Vaughn, working from the script he cowrote with his frequent collaborator Jane Goldman, emphasizes this again and again, with a look-at-me brashness meant to please snickering fanboys and perhaps nobody else. “Kingsman,’’ based on the comic book by “Kick-Ass” makers Mark Millar and John
Romita Jr., is less about the confrontation between Galahad (with Eggsy eventually roped in) and Valentine (flanked by a henchwoman with Oscar Pistorius-like prosthetic legs, played by Sofia Boutella), than between new and old, seeking a blend between the two. In the corner of old, we get spy movie standards, gentlemanly manners, aristocratic pomposity and Colin Firth. In the corner of new, there’s mean-spirited smugness and brainless deployments of violence — the type “Kick-Ass 2” star Jim Carrey sensibly walked away from. It’s not that the old was so much better (the old Bond movies “Kingsman’’ is styled after have their own issues), but the supposedly contemporary elements Vaughn’s movie puts forth are just as out of touch. “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R for “sequences of strong violence, language and some sexual content.” Running time: 129 minutes. One star out of four.
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In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Taron Egerton, from left, Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson appear in a scene from “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” Associated Press
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13-Sports
SPORTS
February 26, 2015
Elbert County News 13
Teams seek small victories amid big losses There are lessons for both the winning and losing sides of blowouts in high school girls basketball By Jim Benton
jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com
20th Heritage coach Steph Rogers encourages her players to ences ignore the scoreboard. Arvada coach Justin Carpenter uses exual team-building activities. One Lopsided scores in high school basketball this season, particularly in the girls game, have presented challenges for coaches on both the winning and losing sides. It’s common to see metro-area girls games decided by 20 points or more — sometimes, a lot more. Blowout scores of 83-27, 75-8 and 52-9, just to name a few, have been recorded this season. That makes it hard for the winning coaches to have their team focus on what they have practiced and keep starters in the game. Losing coaches have to be concerned about not letting their players get embarrassed and discouraged. Rogers’ Eagles have been on both sides, notching a 43-point victory and absorbing 43- and 44-point Continental League defeats. “It’s easy to tell your team to work on different things if you’re playing a team that doesn’t have the talent that you do,” said Rogers, whose team finished the regular season 10-13, rebounding from winning a combined six games the past two years. “You stop pressing or trapping and work on the fundamentals of the game. “The other side is hard. I just try and tell my players during the game that I’m not looking at the score. I’m looking at us and what we’re doing, our energy and our execution. Focus on small victories within the game, being positive and trying to teach them when they do something wrong.” Lutheran’s girls have one of the best Class 3A teams in the state and during one six-game stretch this season had an average winning margin of 43.8 points per game. Lions coach Mark Duitsman said he remembers not long ago when his team was on the losing side of lopsided games. “Sometimes there was nothing that either side could have done differently to decrease the margin of victory, but sometimes you couldn’t help but feel the score was being run up on you unnecessarily,” he said. “I promised myself at that time that if we ever found ourselves on the other end, if we ever became the heavily favored team, that we would always show respect to the game and our opponent.” The boys and girls state playoffs began Feb. 24. While the games should, in general, be closer, the potential for blowouts remains, at least in the first couple of rounds.
The dilemma
Blowout victories gain national attention each year. Earlier this season, a girls coach in California was suspended for two games after Arroyo Valley defeated Bloomington High, 161-2. The Colorado High School Activities Association has not adopted a mercy rule for basketball, but leagues have been encouraged to address the issue. “So many of our coaches understand the value of high school competition,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann. “They are not looking to humiliate anybody, they are not looking to send a message by running up the score. The vast majority of coaches have empathy because they have been on both sides of these kinds of scores and they know how to address and how to develop game plans when they may be playing a foe that is overmatched by their team. They are teaching great lessons when they are doing it that way.” But trying to manage the margin isn’t easy.
Rock Canyon sophomore Michaela Ham, left, and team manager Eva Lopez can’t bear to watch in the second half of the Jaguars’ 66-45 Continental League loss to Highlands Ranch on Feb. 19. Photos by Jim Benton “You work so hard to make things automatic for your players, then you have to suddenly tell them to not play that way,” Duitsman said. “It’s easier said than done. What often gets lost in this discussion is the lack of playing time for our top rotation. Our starters have spent most of the second half of the games on the bench this semester.” Castle View girls coach Matt Hema can speak from both the winning and losing side. When his team is winning by a large margin, like 25 points or more, he’ll have the players call off the press on defense. And his starters and top reserves will generally play only three quarters of a blowout. “Where gamesmanship and sportsmanship come into conflict is when coaches that are down see an opportunity to press the other team’s reserves in order to close the gap in a game that has probably already been decided with less than a quarter to play,” he said. “What does the winning team do? Allow the reserves to get pressed and taken advantage of or put starters back in to match the other team’s level of play? The other coach and parents get upset that your starters are in the game late.”
Learning lessons, having fun
Carpenter is athletic director in addition to being Arvada’s girls basketball coach. His young team won only three games this season, losing by an average of 30.5 points a game. “We have been trying to place importance on the smaller, more measurable things as opposed to the games themselves,” Carpenter said. “Things like holding the other team’s leading scorer to below her average and scoring every quarter. When we played at Valor Christian we stopped on the way home as a team and had Chick-fil-A and ice cream sundaes. Incorporating team-building activities like that has helped.” Rock Canyon has been on the winning and losing ends of blowouts a few times this season. Junior Jaguar Sydney Smith
Highlands Ranch players Brianne Stiers, left, and Logan Opheim share a moment of laughter in the second half as they get ready to check into the Feb. 19 game against Rock Canyon. The Falcons led from beginning to end and held a 15-point advantage at halftime en route to a 66-45 Continental League victory. said the big losses serve as motivation. “It just made us come back to practice and work harder,” she said after a 21-point loss to Highlands Ranch on Feb. 19. Learning to be a good winner is important, too. “Once we get up by about 15, we’ll start subbing the bench and then when we get up by about 20, most of my starters won’t play anymore,” said Chris Cureen, coach of the Cherry Creek girls team. “We can do little things, like we have to have so many passes before you can shoot the ball and you have to play a certain defense. There are ways you can play the game without it getting completely out of whack.”
SPORTS ROUNDUP Girls basketball
Pueblo South 66, Elizabeth 38 - Kaylyn Radtke lead the Cardinals’ with 14 points as they fell at home in a Feb. 14 non-league contest. Elizabeth 50, Fort Morgan 44 - Kristin Patchell scored 18 points and Olivia Whitworth chipped-in 17 to lead the Cardinals’ to an away 4A Colorado 7 League victory on Feb. 13. Elizabeth 47, Vista Peak Prep 37 - Oliva Whitworth scored 13 points and Kaylyn Radtke 10 in the Cardinals’ Feb. 10 4A Colorado 7 League win. Peyton 76, Kiowa 48 - Peyton placed four scorers in double figures and ran away with a 2A Black Forest contest with the Indians on Feb. 14. Kiowa 38, Calhan 31 - Kiowa recorded a road win at Calhan in a Feb. 13 contest after outscoring Calhan 12-4 in the fourth quarter. Ellicott 51, Simla 36 - Simla was even in a 2A Black Forest contest with Ellicott after three quarters. Ellicott outscored Simla 21-6 in the deciding fourth quarter for the win
on Feb. 14. Simla 37, Evangelical Christian 29 - Simla held on to a 19-12 halftime lead to pick up a win at home in league action on Feb. 13. Shining Mountain 40, Elbert 36 - Three players did all of the scoring for the Lions but it proved to be enough to win in their Feb. 14 contest with the Bulldogs. The Lions’ Paisley Sheehan and Katharine Wilson scored 14 each while Sarah Claman scored the other 12 in the win. Elbert 74, Colorado School of the Deaf & Blind 15 - The Bulldogs led 28-2 at the end of the first quarter and cruised o improve to 8-0 in 1A Black Forest play on the season. Lauren Pearson scored 16 points and recorded 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs while Emily Pranger scored 14, Mercedez Sells and Kylee Harris added 10 points each.
Boys basketball
Pueblo South 69, Elizabeth 48 - The second quarter spelled defeat for the Cardinals on the road on Feb. 14 in a non-league contest
as they were outscored 26-10. Jake Gavitt scored 16 points to lead the Cardinals and Aaron Stone added 15 but they were the only Cardinals to reach double-figures in the scoring column. Elizabeth 77, Fort Morgan 56 - The Cardinals went on the road and handed the Mustangs their first home loss of the season in a 4A Colorado 7 League contest on Feb. 13. Four Seniors reached doublefigures for the Cardinals led by Stuart Eurich’s 18 points. Aaron Stone chipped in 17, Jake Gavitt scored 14, and Ryan Schaefer added 12. Elizabeth knocked down 25 of 36 free-throws in the victory. Vista Peak Prep 65, Elizabeth 63 - The Cardinals made 25 of 38 field goal attempts, shooting 66 percent, but still dropped a close Colorado 7 League game on Feb. 10. Aaron Stone scored 22 points for Elizabeth while Evan Visocky added 14 and Stuart Eurich finished with 10 points. Peyton 74, Kiowa 41 - The Indians fell behind 41-17 at halftime and were unable to recover as the fell at home to the Panthers on Feb.
14 in a 2A Black Forest contest. Justin Moris scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Panthers Calhan 58, Kiowa 50 - A sixpoint halftime lead was not enough as the Indians fell on the road in a 2A Black Forest contest on Feb. 13. The Bulldogs rallied to outscore the Indians 40-26 in the second half to snatch the victory at home. The Indians were led in scoring by Spencer Pierson’s 16 points while Jacob Gaberiel scored 13 points to go with 13 rebounds in the loss. Simla 44, Ellicott 40 - The Cubs used a 16-8 third quarter to grab the lead for good in a 2A Black Forest contest on the road on Feb. 14. The victory in the contest between the top two teams in the league was revenge for a 17-point loss earlier this season suffered by the Cubs. Cody Norris scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Cubs while Matt Thieman added 10 points. Morgan Murray led the Thunderhawks with 18 points. Simla 59, Evangelical 32 - Using an 18-2 start, the Cubs were able to
pick up a victory in league action at home on Feb. 13. Three players scored in double-figures for the Cubs as Kyler Hamacher scored a game-high 19, Cody Norris added 11, and Matt Thieman scored 10. Norris, to add to his 11 points, also dished out seven assists and tallied three steals. The Eagles’ Jacob Bost scored eight points to lead his team. Shining Mountain 64, Elbert 39 - The Lions traveled to the Bulldogs on Feb. 14 and picked up a nonleague win. The Lions jumped out to a 32-16 halftime lead and kept scoring from there. Gray Hill led the Lions with 21 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, and four blocks. Elbert 78, Colorado School for the Deaf & Blind 36 - The Bulldogs kept their undefeated mark in the 1A Black Forest League going with their victory on Feb. 10 to improve to 8-0 in league play. Tyler Adams scored 18 points; Wyatt Swenson added 17 points, seven rebounds, and five assists; and Jacob Miller recorded 11 points and nine rebounds.
14
14 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015
Mother and daughter Debi Smith-Racanelli and Kendall Racanelli wrote the book “Between Baby Dolls and Boyfriends: How to Successfully Navigate Your Daughter’s Tween Years” to offer advice to parents of girls between the ages of 9 and 12. Photo by Christy Steadman
Surviving the tween years
Psychologist offers advice for parents of girls — and boys By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com A little girl wants her peers to see how cool the Hello Kitty logo is on her brand-new shirt, said Highlands Ranch author Debi Smith-Racanelli. Whereas a tween wants her peers to see how cool she looks in her brand-new shirt with the Hello Kitty logo. Girls between the ages of 9 and 12 go through a lot in these tween years, Smith-Racanelli said, as they transition from being a little girl to a teen. They start puberty, go from elementary school to middle school, and friend issues, and the drama around that, begins to take center stage, she said. “Your daughter’s moods and attitude begin to change,” SmithRacanelli said. “BFFs come and go, temptations and negative influenc-
es are introduced and multiply, social media hits their smartphones.” Smith-Racanelli, 42, worked as a psychologist for about 20 years, and her work always seemed to gravitate toward parenting. “Parenting became my calling without knowing it,” she said. When she decided to take some time off to spend with her tween daughter, Kendall, she missed contributing her parenting advice in the community, and decided to write “Between Baby Dolls and Boyfriends: How to Successfully Navigate Your Daughter’s Tween Years,” as a way to reach out to other parents. Kendall, who is now 14, had a big role in the writing process. She had free rein to comment and add her opinion on the topic at the end of every chapter in the book, SmithRacanelli said. The book can provide some insight for parents of boys, SmithRacanelli said, as some of the topics are universal, such as drugs and alcohol, bullying, pop culture and social media, but the experiences are targeted to girls. Writing it “was truly a passion
HOW TO FIND THE BOOK Here are some ways to ob-
• Borrow it from the
tain “Between Baby Dolls and Boyfriends: How to Successfully Navigate Your Daughter’s Tween Years,” by Debi Smith-Racanelli and Kendall Racanelli.
Douglas County Libraries: www.douglascountylibraries.org.
• DownloaD it as an e-book through Amazon.
Paperback versions are also available for purchase on Amazon.
• Buy it from the Tattered Cover, 9315 Dorchester St., Highlands Ranch.
A Q&A with mother and daughter Debi Smith-Racanelli and Kendall Racanelli talk to Colorado Community Media. What is the hardest part about raising a tween girl? Debi: Finding the balance of letting her grow up and start to find her own way, but making sure that you’re still involved and able to support her growth. What is the hardest part about being a tween girl? project to support the relationship between parents and girls in order to make those transitional years better,” Smith-Racanelli said, “which hopefully carries forward into the teen years and beyond.”
Kendall: You feel like your parents are still treating you like a little kid, but you don’t want to be treated that way, so you try to not be controlled. What are parents most challenged with in a tween daughter? Debi: When people have kids in elementary school, they have to be super-vigilant because they require a lot of supervision. Parents of tweens sometimes make the mistake of giving them too much freedom, rather than making that transition with them. What are girls most challenged with in their tween years?
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Colorado Community Media was created to connect you to 22 community papers with boundless opportunity and rewards. We now publish: Arvada Press, Brighton Banner, Castle Rock News Press, Centennial Citizen, Douglas County News Press, Elbert County News, Englewood Herald, Golden Transcript, Highlands Ranch Herald, Lakewood Sentinel, Littleton Independent, Lone Tree Voice, Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel, Parker Chronicle, Pikes Peak Courier View, South Platte Independent, Teller County Extra, Tribune Extra, Tri-Lakes Tribune, Westminster Window, and Wheat Ridge Transcript.
Kendall: Looking and acting cool for peers. Cool for tweens is people looking up to you and wanting to be your friend. They see the older kids having fun and hanging out together and they kind of want that, so they try to act like them, thinking all their peers will think of them as cool. Should a parent worry if they feel their tween is either too immature or too mature? Debi: Yes. If a tween is too immature, I would worry that the immaturity would allow them to be too easily influenced. If they’re too mature, I would worry that they’re at risk of becoming involved with things they are definitely not ready for. Should a parent worry if they feel their tween is either too immature or too mature? Kendall: I think parents should worry more if their tween is more immature than her peers, because she has more of a chance of getting bullied for it. Why is it important to pay attention to tweens? Debi: Parents are not aware of all the influences that surround tweens — from the negative media content to the kids talking about drugs and alcohol to the crazy amount of stuff they see on YouTube and social media. Even if their kids aren’t involved in those things, I think parents would be shocked at just how much their kids are actually exposed to. Why is it important to pay attention to tweens? Kendall: Now, with all the technology and social media, some of the things that people post are just awful and inappropriate. Parents are oblivious to that. They might not realize that people would put certain things on social media. If the parents are aware, then it’s easier for them to stop it, and stop their kids from seeing it.
15
February 26, 2015
Elbert County News 15
AREA CLUBS
Ongoing
civil protection orders. Walk-ins are welcome. Everyone will be helped on a first-come, first-served basis.
ers’ Association meets at 9 a.m. every first Thursday at Parker Bible Church, between Jordan and Chambers on Main Street. All area music teachers are welcome. Call Lucie Washburn, 303-814-3479.
MYSTERY BOOK Club meets at 9:30 a.m. the first Saturday of each month at the Simla Public Library. The group enjoys talking about a variety of mystery authors and titles. We also periodically host a Colorado author during our meetings. Everyone may join us, and registration is not required. Visit the Simla Branch of the Elbert County Library District at 504 Washington Avenue, call 719-541-2573, or email farabe@ elbertcountylibrary.org.
DOUGLAS-ELBERT COUNTY Music Teach-
THE ELBERT County Sheriff ’s Posse is a
nonprofit volunteer organization that is part of the Elbert County Sheriff ’s Office. As volunteers we support the Elbert County Sheriff ’s Office, all law enforcement in our county, and the community at large. For more information or a membership application, go to http://www.elbertcountysheriff.com/posse. html, or contact Dave Peontek at 303-646-5456.
THE ELIZABETH Food Bank, 381 S. Banner in Elizabeth (next door to Elizabeth Presbyterian Church) needs to let the public know that we are available to help anyone who needs food. The hours are Friday 12:30-3 p.m. and Saturdays from 9-11:30 a.m. Other times by appointment. LAWYERS AT the Library, a free legal clinic for parties who have no attorney, will be offered from 6-9 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at the Elizabeth Library, 651 W. Beverly St. Volunteer attorneys will answer questions, help fill out forms and explain the process and procedure for the areas of family law, civil litigation, criminal defense, property law, probate law, collections, appeals, landlord-tenant law and
THE OUTBACK Express is a public transit service
provided through the East Central Council of Local Governments is open and available to all residents of Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties and provides an economical and efficient means of travel for the four-county region. Call Kay Campbell, Kiowa, at 719- 541-4275. You may also call the ECCOG office at 1-800-825-0208 to make reservations for any of the trips. You may also visit http://outbackexpress.tripod.com. To ensure that a seat is available, 24-hour advance reservations are appreciated.
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS meets from 10-11 a.m. and from 7-8 p.m. Wednesdays in the Sedalia Room at New Hope Presbyterian Church, 2100 Meadows Parkway, Castle Rock. SENIORS MEET in Elizabeth every Monday at 11 a.m.
for food, fun and fellowship at Elizabeth Senior Center, 823 S. Banner St. Bring a dish for potluck on the first Monday of each month. Other Mondays, bring a sack lunch. Bingo, games and socializing. New leadership. Call Agnes at 303-883-7881 or Carol at 303-646-3425 for information.
VFW POST 10649 meets monthly at 8:30 a.m. the first Saturday of every month at 24325 Main St., Elbert. Go to http:// www.vfwpost10649.org. Contact Alan Beebe at 303-435-2560 for questions. BUILD BUSINESS Today, a business networking group meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every first and third Thursday at Johnny Carino’s in Parker. Visit www.buildbusinesstoday.com or call 720-840-5526. CERTUS PROFESSIONAL Network meets for its Parker networking event from 9:30-11 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Panera Bread, 11290 Twenty Mile Road, Parker. Build your network, grow your business, network less. Our events are structured to connect professionals with the resources, power partners and leaders to expand their business and the business of others. Open to all industries, includes 30 minutes of open networking and organized introductions to the group. Cost: $12 non-CERTUS members at the door. First participants pay half price. RSVP not required. More info about CERTUS™ Professional Network at http://www.CertusNetwork. com.
The Denver Post is currently recruiting for newspaper delivery drivers. This is an independent contractor position.
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CYCLE CLUB meets at 9 a.m. Saturdays in the parking lot of Southeast Christian Church. Tour the streets of Parker, Elizabeth and Castle Rock. Call John at 720-842-5520. PARKER ARTISTS Guild presents free art classes for kids and teen on the second Saturday of each month at Hobby Lobby at Parker Road and Mainstreet. Lessons and Lemonade classes for ages 10-12 are at 9:30 or 11 a.m., and the Teen Art Studio for grades 7-9 are at 1 or 3 p.m. Reservations required by the Wednesday before class. Go to www.parkerartistsguild.com and click on Youth Programs. 20 students maximum. THERAPEUTIC RIDING. Promise Ranch Therapeutic Riding in Parker offers free therapeutic riding for developmentally disabled adults and children. Scholarship money is available for Douglas County residents to provide 10 therapeutic riding lessons. Call 303-841-5007 or visit www. promiseranchtherapeuticriding.com. PARKER ARTS Council has youth open mic/karaoke nights on the first Thursday of each month. The event is open to all ages. Kids 12 and under eat free. Takes place at Clavin’s Bar and Grill, 17904 Cottonwood Drive, Parker.
Notices
Newspaper Delivery
Earn $400 to $1,000 every two weeks depending on route. Routes available in Elizabeth, Franktown, Elbert and Parker.
LEADS CLUB Southeast Superstars meets at 7:30 a.m. Wednesdays at LePeep at Parker and Orchard roads. Call Linda Jones at 720-641-0056.
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Notice To Creditors
Government Legals
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public Notice
NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Marvin Dean Brasch, aka Marvin D. Brasch, aka Marvin Brasch, Deceased Case Number: 2015 PR 30002
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Combined Court of Elbert County County, Colorado on or before June 12, 2015 or the claims may be forever barred. J. Kevin Hyatt Personal Representative 2581 Westview Court Prosper, Texas 75078 Legal Notice No: 23145 First Publication: February 12, 2015 Last Publication: February 26, 2015 Publisher: The Elbert County News
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GALLERY OF GAMES & weekly horoscope
Notice is hereby given that on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at 9 o’clock am, or as soon as possible thereafter, in the Hearing Room of the Elbert County Commissioners at Kiowa, Colorado, or at such time and place as these hearings may be adjourned. The public hearing will be held for a proposed amendment to the Elbert County Zoning Regulations. The text of the proposed amendment shall be available to be examined at the office of Elbert County Community & Development Services, 215 Comanche Street in Kiowa, Colorado, Telephone (303) 621-3136. Legal Notice No.: 23150 First Publication: February 19, 2015 Last Publication: February 26, 2015 Publisher: The Elbert County News
Without public notices, the government wouldn’t have to say anything else.
Public notices are a community’s window into the government. From zoning regulations to local budgets, governments have used local newspapers to inform citizens of its actions as an essential part of your right to know. You know where to look, when to look and what to look for to be involved as a citizen. Local newspapers provide you with the information you need to get involved.
Notices are meant to be noticed. Read your public notices and get involved!
SALOME’S STARS FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 23, 2015
ARIES (Mar 21 to Apr 19) There could be some negative reaction to your tough stance when making a recent decision. But overall, your efforts result in wellearned recognition and all that can follow from that. TAURUS (Apr 20 to May 20) Your financial situation seems confusing, even for the fiscally savvy Bovine. Maybe it’s the conflicting advice you’re getting. Check it out before things get too tangled to unknot. GEMINI (May 21 to Jun 20) A relaxed attitude goes a long way in helping you deal with any of life’s irritants that might be popping up this week. You’re also a reassuring role model for others in the same situation.
crossword • sudoku & weekly horoscope
GALLERY OF GAMES
CANCER (Jun 21 to Jul 22) Your aspect favors creativity, which should persuade you to work on your artistic projects. If time is a problem, prioritize your commitments so that your work isn’t compromised. LEO (Jul 23 to Aug 22) Scrutinize all the job offers that interest you. Most are honest and worth considering. But a few might not be completely forthcoming about what the job is and what the salary and benefits are. VIRGO (Aug 23 to Sept 22) An unexpected snafu could delay the completion of a project you’re eager to finish. Find out what’s causing it, fix it, and if you need help, don’t be shy about asking for it. Good luck. LIBRA (Sept 23 to Oct 22) An idea that could be helpful to you comes from an unlikely source. Listen to it. Discuss it. If necessary, adjust it. If it looks as if it might work out quite well, go ahead and use it. SCORPIO (Oct 23 to Nov 21) Be careful about allowing someone to share a very personal secret with you. This could cause problems down the line with others who are involved in that person’s private life. SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 to Dec 21) A cooling down of a relationship could be the result of neglect, unintended or not. To save it from icing over, you need to warm it up with a large dose of hot Sagittarius passion. CAPRICORN (Dec 22 to Jan 19) This is a good time to get involved with a number of family matters that involve money and other issues that might jeopardize the closeness between and among family members. AQUARIUS (Jan 20 to Feb 18) Cheer up. That difficult person who appears to be deliberately stalling your project might just need to be reassured of the value she or he brings to it. PISCES (Feb 19 to Mar 20) Good news! Expect to feel re-energized now that you’ve gone through that stressful energy-depleting period involving a lot of changes. Now, go out there and show them what you can do. BORN THIS WEEK: You have a warm, giving nature that inspires many to follow your example. © 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
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16 Elbert County News
February 26, 2015