Premier October 2017

OCTOBER 2017

Windsor rescue organization

helps dogs find permanent homes

Coffee Shop visit Turns into new business

INSIDE:

S LOCAL EVENT see what's Happening

FAmily Crafting

creates fond memories

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Inside P r e m i e r

Fe at u res

8

Coffee shop visits with friend turns into business endeavor

5 All About Windsor

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For the love of dogs

Windsor rescue organization serves hundreds of dogs in search of permanent homes

18

Learning “How To Hug A Turtle” Provides Two Colorado Sisters A Lesson In Environmental Protection

6 Calendar of Events

22

Family crafting

creates years of fond memories

16 Meet Julius

The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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PUBLISHER Bryce Jacobson BUSINESS MANAGER Doug Binder EDITORIAL EDITOR Randy Bangert CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Trevor Reid Kristen M. White Nikki Work Elika Ahoor Sandi Y. Squicquero DESIGN & PRODUCTION CREATIVE MANAGER Kyle Knoop CREATIVE SUPERVISOR/Design Amy Mayer ADVERTISING Niche Audience & Brand Director Bruce Dennis Sales Staff Cristin Peratt • Steph Mighell photography Joshua Polson

on the cover A volunteer walks with two rescue dogs from Big Bones Canine Rescue recently outside of Windsor

423 Main St. Windsor, co 80550 970-674-1431 For all editorial, advertising, subscription and circulation inquiries, call (970) 674-1431.

Send editorial-related comments and story ideas to: rbangert@mywindsornow.com For advertising inquiries, contact: bdennis@mywindsornow.com October 2017, Volume 2, Issue 3.

Published by: Greeley Publishing Co., publisher of The Greeley Tribune, Windsor Now, Weld County Parents, Explore Weld County and Windsor Chamber Business Guide

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

Are you an enabler?

In order to answer the question, you should understand the definition of “enabler.” Although there are many definitions, the one I like best is: anytime you assist or allow another person in continuing in unproductive, unhealthy, or addictive behavior, whether actively or passively, you are enabling. This may involve looking the other way, making excuses or justifying destructive or hurtful behavior. All of us have been enablers at some point in our lives.

Perhaps you did not police internet or social media boundaries, or you allowed your child to go out when his/ her room was not clean. This type of enabling can cause future problems, but they are usually not serious.

The behaviors

By Sandi that we are talking Squicquero about are those of excess and irresponsibility. Here are some examples. » Excessive alcohol use or dependency. » Excessive gambling. » Excessive spending. » Excessive drug use either street or prescription. » Excessive trouble with the police or criminal activity. » Domestic violence or other violent behavior. » Excessive pornography or addictive sexual affairs.

This is Jane’s story: When Jane married Brian, she thought it was forever. She had waited until she was 35 years old to marry and she chose a professional whom she respected and loved. She was happy. Jane found out her husband was smoking marijuana with a friend he was playing tennis with and, although she was against him smoking marijuana, she felt it was his escape from his stressful job and did not say much about it. She herself drank wine

occasionally but she had never been involved with drugs of any kind. She was soon to find out that her husband’s marijuana use was a gateway to using more sophisticated drugs. She turned the other cheek because she loved him and believed she could talk him into quitting.

She believed him when he said he would quit. She lived a comfortable life and she loved her life. She did not want to rock the boat. She was an enabler.

The difference between helping someone and enabling is that, by helping someone, you are doing something for someone who is incapable of doing for themselves or helping themselves.

You enable someone who is capable of helping themselves who chooses not to.

An enabler becomes part of the problem and not part of the solution, and many times she/he becomes a contributor to ongoing addiction or drug abuse. Enabling creates an atmosphere in which the enabled person can continue his or her behavior without consequence. Enabling hurts the enabler and creates a feeling of powerlessness.

There is always a secondary reason why a person enables destructive behavior.

It may be guilt or fear of reprisal, fear of losing love, insecurity or low self

esteem. Whatever the reason, know that the only changes you can achieve in the relationship, are those that you make in yourself. Your behavior can and will change the interactions and course of your relationship.

If you are asking yourself if you are an enabler, ask yourself these questions: (When Helping Hurts, A lesson on Enabling by Nea Joy). » Are my actions helping this person to feel more self-empowered? » Are the circumstances staying the same, worsening or improving? » Is this person doing his absolute best to help himself? » Are my actions motivated by fear, Pity or guilt? » Am I helping this person to take advantage of his/her full potential? » What good has come from my help? » What harm has come from my help?

Enabling is a type of victimization. If you are an enabler, detach with love and be strong.

Sandi Y. Squicquero, M.Ed.,LPC has lived in Windsor for 12 years and has more than 30 years of clinical experience in counseling. She is a board certified medical hyno-therapist.

Oct. 27

Pumpkin Plunge, 6 p.m., Wilson Community Center, 250 11th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

Oct. 27

Family Bingo Night, 6:30 p.m., Range View Elementary School – Cafeteria, 700 Ponderosa Dr., Windsor. clearview.libnet.info

Oct. 28

Nov. 2

Monty Python's Spamalot, The Essential Season, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre, 417 Magnolia, Fort Collins. www.lctix.com/montypythons-spamalot.

Oct. 28

PRCA Ram Mountain States Circuit Finals, 7 p.m., Budweiser Events Center, 5290 Arena Cir. Loveland. budweisereventscenter.com

Tom Papa, 7:30 p.m., The Rialto Theater Center, 228 4th St., Loveland. www.rialtotheatercenter.org

Nov. 3

Yoga, Art and Wine, 6:30 p.m., Windsor Art & Heritage Center, 116 5th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

Nov. 6

Mindful Mondays, 3:30 p.m., Windsor Art & Heritage Center, 116 5th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

Nov. 4

Windsor Churches Craft Fair and Bake Sale, 9 a.m., Wilson Community Center, 250 11th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

Nov. 8

Teen Video Game Night, 4 p.m., Clearview Library District, 720 3rd St., Windsor. clearview.libnet.info

or r ds a in nd s

W le nt to or Ca Eve ings inds Th n W i do

Nov. 11

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre, 417 Magnolia, Fort Collins. www.lctix.com/ cinderella.

Nov. 15

Nov. 17

Gifts in a Jar, 6:30 p.m., Clearview Library District, 720 3rd St., Windsor. clearview.libnet.info

Dive-In Movie, 7 p.m., Wilson Community Center, 250 11th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

Nov. 18

Nov. 17

Windsor Youth Theatre’s Pee Wee Division Presents Peter Pan Jr., 7 p.m., Wilson Community Center, 250 11th St., Windsor. windsoryouth06095 @gmail.com.

Nov. 11

Windsor Veteran’s Day Observance, 7 p.m.,Town Hall, 301 Walnut St., Windsor.

(860) 285-1835.

Fall Musical, 7 p.m., WHS Auditorium, 1100 Main St., Windsor.

(970) 686-8100.

Nov. 20

Mindful Mondays, 3:30 p.m., Windsor Art & Heritage Center, 116 5th St., Windsor.

(970) 674-3500.

The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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Coffee shop visits with friend

turns into business endeavor

By Trevor Reid // For Windsor Premier

J

amie Chavez and James Hayes spent hours at their favorite coffee and wine bar in Fort Collins.

One day about two years ago, Chavez turned to Hayes, her friend of more than a decade:

“We should open one of these in Windsor,” she said.

With an undergraduate degree in business administration, a Master of Business Administration and a graduate degree in community and economic development, Chavez wasn’t just daydreaming friend-to-friend. So they set out to draw up potential business plans and run some numbers. They opened Toast Coffee and Wine on Sept. 13, and business is off to a promising start.

“It’s been really fun just meeting everybody that comes in.

We already have people that are like regulars,” Chavez said.

Located just downstairs from Hearth Restaurant and Pub, Toast has a slick, modern feel with hardwood panels that reach from behind the bar, across the ceiling and to the opposite walls. The bar’s wine bottles and glasses are featured neatly on shelves throughout the shop. Chavez said she’s always embraced the “coffee shop ethos.”

“I just love the idea of having some place to go work, read a book or just hang out with your friends,” she said. “And something to drink no matter what time of day it is.”

To offer coffee for the entire Windsor community, Chavez said she and Hayes tried coffee beans from all over the area. They eventually settled on Novo Coffee out of Denver.

Novo Coffee seemed to have the best beans for turning even coffee skeptics into coffee connoisseurs, Chavez said.

The staff all take classes with Novo Coffee so they can pour expert drinks to match customers’ tastes. They’ve got

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

everything from drip coffee and cold-brews to pour-overs and espressos.

They also have three beers on tap, all from Colorado breweries. The wines are well-traveled, coming from regions all over the world. You’ll find both familiar wines, such as a Pinot grigio, and wines that are off the beaten path, like a Tempranillo.

Chavez and Hayes settled on a simple lunch menu in response to a common refrain they heard while remodeling the space: “downtown Windsor needs lunch.” Toast offers its namesake, paninis, salads and a few other simple, but elegant snacks. Everything can be made in eight minutes or less, unless there’s a big rush, Chavez said.

Though some customers have already established themselves as regulars just a few weeks in, the shop has yet to find its pattern of busier times and slower times. Some days, business is steady, and other days customers fill every seat. It’s not easy, Chavez said, but she’s excited to watch how the shop evolves.

“It’s a ton of work, but every day we get a little bit closer to what we think we’re going to become,” Chavez said.

Co-owner Jamie Chavez pours a customer an afternoon glass of wine at Toast Coffee and Wine, 205 4th St. Chavez opened the cofee and wine bar Sept. 13 with her friend James Hayes.

Address: 205 4th St. in Windsor Hours: 7a to 7p Tues-Thurs

7a to 9p Fri and Sat

1a to 7p Sun Phone: (970) 460-9123 Email: info@toastcoffeewinebar.com Website: www.toastcoffeewinebar.com

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9

Kristie Fisher sits with one of the rescue dogs at Big Bones Canine Rescue recently outside of Windsor

For the love of dogs —

Windsor rescue organization serves hundreds of dogs in search of permanent homes

By Kristen M. White // For Windsor Premier

I

t’s all about the dogs.

That’s what Kristie Fisher will tell you when you talk about her business, Big Bones Canine Rescue. She simply loves dogs – particularly giant breeds – and she wants to see them thrive in loving homes.

Fisher boarded dogs for nine years before switching gears to dog rescue. What started as a love and interest in giant breeds has turned into a hugely successful organization based out of Windsor that finds homes for hundreds of dogs every year.

Big Bones is 100 percent run by volunteers, something Fisher knows is the key to the rescue’s success. She says running the 501c3 charitable organization is therapy for her,

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

and watching a dog click with a family is one of her favorite experiences.

FROM BOARDING TO RESCUES Fisher had been running a boarding facility but had taken in dogs long before Big Bones came to fruition in 2013. Her love of the biggest dogs started with a Mastiff that had been with her for many months, leading her to an interest in Great Danes and other large and giant breeds.

There came a point when Fisher had to make a choice – continue with her boarding operation, or close that down and only take rescues. She couldn’t take in rescue dogs that would inevitably have health issues while boarding other people’s

dogs. When it came down to it, the rescue tugged at her heart.

“We started with the giants and branched out – now we do everything. But I still like to concentrate on the big dogs.

There aren’t a lot of rescues out there for them,” she said. “We also like to pull dogs in that need a leg removed, are blind, have lost an eye – special needs animals.”

With the help of some volunteers she began bringing in dogs from neighboring states. These days, Big Bones gets rescues from Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma on a regular basis. Puppies make up only a small portion of rescued dogs. They focus on adult dogs in need – those with health issues or that have been in need the longest.

In 2016, Big Bones rescued more than 600 dogs, and more than 90 percent of them were from high kill areas. More than 700 dogs have already been rescued this year. The organization’s volunteer base of nearly 400 people in multiple states helps pull dogs from shelters, transport them to the physical facility in Windsor, care for dogs on site, foster dogs until they find forever homes and more.

A GROWING OPERATION Fisher’s vision for Big Bones took off quickly, and it was clear there were plenty of other people who shared her love for dogs – especially big ones – that wanted to get involved.

Shortly after Big Bones launched, Jenni Stienike of Mead and her daughter volunteered to walk dogs at the location. She ended up falling in love with a Mastiff there, Charlotte, and adopting her. And the rest, as they say, was history.

“We just got hooked. I was going there to volunteer and I noticed some gaps in Kristie’s marketing and asked if I could help take over those parts,” said Stienike, who now serves as the director for Big Bones. “There’s just never a shortage of

Toby and Piper

The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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Charlotte came to Jennie Stienike starved and neglected. Today, she's a healthy 135 pounds.

dogs in need. I remember when I started, we got dogs adopted and I thought maybe I could relax … but then more came in. And as our network grew, it became easier to help more dogs.”

While it’s impossible to know a dog’s history, Fisher said she is almost certain that at least a few of the dogs they have and will bring from Texas might be victims of Hurricane Harvey. No matter the start, Big Bones wants to make sure their rescues get a second, better chance at life.

Four years after Big Bones started, the network of

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

volunteers has usually 80-90 dogs in its care at any given time. A couple dozen are at Fisher’s home location, often dogs that are the sickest or have bigger behavior issues. The other dozens are in foster homes.

The number of fosters has certainly grown through the years. Many got their start in similar ways – first volunteering a little with the organization, possibly adopting their own rescue from Big Bones, and then eventually becoming a foster dog parent, too.

“I adopted my first dog from Big Bones, a border collie puppy,” said Lynne Parks of Greeley. “Then about a year after her, I started volunteering some at the rescue. Initially, I would go out to the ranch and run dogs because I’m a runner and that was a good way to get them exercised. Then I started doing home checks, and then I got involved in fostering because it seemed like the next logical step.”

THE PROCESS Dogs are pulled from shelters in many neighboring states and taken to Colorado. Upon arrival at the Big Bones facility, they are fully checked at the veterinarian. Dogs are spayed or neutered, receive a microchip and get a heartworm or tick worm test.

Most dogs are placed with foster parents. Depending on the dog’s background and age, fostering can sometimes last just a few days, or several months. Puppies (and some dogs) are housebroken, taught manners and socialized.

People interested in adopting from Big Bones must fill out an application and have a home check. The home check is required to “make sure their next go-round in life is much better than what they had,” Parks explained.

Foster parents help place the dog with their forever home.

Because they’re the ones who have been with a dog in an everyday home environment, they’re the best to judge where a dog will fit in best. The major involvement of foster families in all aspects is what makes Big Bones such a success, Stienike

“

“It can be hard to let them go, but if they’re going to a great home ... it’s great. As a foster, you were instrumental in helping them get to that place. You were the bridge.”

- Lynne Parks

“There is a lot of ownership that our volunteers feel in the rescue,” she said. “No one is paid and everybody is involved in the decision-making process, so there’s a lot of pride in that, and I think that’s what makes this so successful.”

SUCCESS STORIES John Pollock and his wife, Carmen, of Loveland have become a big part of the Big Bones organization, and it all started with a rescue that he wasn’t entirely sure about.

From left to right, Willis, Maya and Luna. Maya was another dog the Pollocks rescued from Big Bones, but she passed this summer.

BELOW: Kristie Fisher kneels next to one of the rescue dogs at Big Bones Canine Rescue on Wednesday outside of Windsor.

The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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A great dane peeks through the fence at the Big Bones Canine Rescue outside of Windsor.

“My wife saw this dog online – she had been abused and abandoned, was starved and in awful condition and she said, ‘She’s coming home with us,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘I’ll help you with your dog,’ and it only took about five minutes to change that.”

It’s clear in the adoring way he talks about her that the dog – Luna, a Great Dane – quickly worked her way into his heart.

She was just 90 pounds when they adopted her, and now three years later she weighs a healthy 140.

A few months later, the Pollocks were called upon to step in as a foster to another Great Dane that was with a family that could no longer look after him. Although they’d fostered a few other dogs already at that point, there was immediately some kind of special connection between Luna and Willis. Pollock said he knew Willis would be what is affectionately called a “foster failure,” meaning he would be staying with them permanently.

“He bonded to Luna. They became inseparable!” Pollock said. “At first he was a real scaredy cat, afraid of everything, and he’s come so far. He’ll let other people pet him and he goes up to other people besides us now.”

Stienike’s first rescue, Charlotte, a Mastiff, was so emaciated that she weighed just 45 pounds when she came to Big Bones – and now she’s 135. Stienike’s other rescued dog, Stella, a Great Dane, was surrendered by a breeder at 6 months old because she was deaf and couldn’t be sold. She’s thriving

Kristie Fisher visits one of the rescue dogs on Wednesday at Big Bones Canine Rescue recently outside of Windsor.

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

alongside Charlotte and the other Mastiffs in the house, Pete and Eddie.

As hard as it is to send a dog on its way after fostering, all the foster families say that finding a dog its forever home is the ultimate success and is why they continue to do it time and time again.

“It can be hard to let them go, but if they’re going to a great home ... it’s great,” Parks said. “As a foster, you were instrumental in helping them get to that place. You were the bridge.”

Big Bones Canine Rescue Windsor, CO

Visits by appointment only 970-310-3616 bigbonesrescue@gmail.com BigBonesCanineRescue.com Facebook.com/ BigBonesCanineRescue Volunteers and donations always appreciated.

A dog with three feet leans on Kristie Fisher as she walks the dog at Big Bones Canine Rescue recently outside of Windsor.

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The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

15

t e e M s u i Jul

By Elika Ahoor // For Windsor Premier

H

i, my name is Julius! I was born on the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, but these days I’m living large in Colorado with my pawrents and sister. It was a long road, and I lost a couple legs along the way, but life is sweet these days and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

There are so many stray dogs in Tijuana, and very few make it out alive, but my angel rescuers at Big Bones Canine Rescue saw me and just had to help! It was wintertime when they brought me up to the doggy ranch in Windsor, so I could wait patiently for a family, but I was miserable there cause I was skinny and nearly bald from malnutrition. I think what I really needed was love.

That’s when they told me I got a foster family, and I met the love of my life, Lindsay! She said I could stay with her, and her boyfriend Jake, and her cute puppy Charley, while I waited for a home. They gave me so many snuggles and love like I had never imagined. They taught me all about being in a home, how you’re not supposed to potty inside, and how to play with toys and my foster sister Charley. I fell in love fast, and they did too, but a day came when the rescue told Lindsay they found me a family. She says it was the hardest day of her life watching me drive away in their car, but she also knew she had saved my life and was happy I had found a family who promised to love and care for me for life.

I don’t know what I did wrong, but after a couple weeks of doing my best to be a good boy for my new people, the family

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

decided they didn’t want me anymore and gave me back to the rescue. I felt really disappointed and ashamed for a while.

I was really depressed, until I saw Lindsay, Jake and Charley at the gate to my kennel! I could hardly believe it, they were taking me back to foster, no questions asked.

During this time I started limping a little, and the vet said it looked like I’d strained my leg while I was with the family who adopted me. Lindsay got me a nice cast (Broncos colors, of course!) and the docs said it would heal up in no time. I didn’t mind, and still got excited for my walks every day.

After a few more weeks, Lindsay told me they found me the perfect family, a retired couple who lived out in the mountains with a sweet dog and lots of space. I really loved them, and they seemed to really love me. Finally, this was it!

Except my leg was getting worse and my new family brought me to so many scary vet offices, where they made me move my leg even though it hurt, and kept taking pictures of me with big machines. We went to so many places I started getting used to it. One day, we went to a visit that seemed different than the rest. My family seemed so upset, and the woman started crying. This vet said the nerves in my leg had completely stopped working, and I couldn’t move it at all. He

said I probably got hit by a car during my time on the streets, and it just never healed right. He said they should take off my leg.

I was really really scared. I didn’t think things could get worse, but then my new family told me they couldn’t keep me because their property was too steep for a dog with three legs.

I guess I got what they meant, but it just kind of felt like they just didn’t want a broken dog.

Well, the worst day of my life was also the best, cause you know what? For the third time in my life, Lindsay came to my rescue, and this time she said she was never gonna let me go. That’s right, Lindsay and Jake adopted me that very same day! Hard times were ahead, but from that day on I never had to go through them alone. Mama held my paw while I recovered from amputation surgery, and Charley showed what a sweet gentle sister she could be by lazy playing with me as I recovered. My parents took me and Charley out on tons of adventures over the next few months, and we even got to help daddy propose to mama one day.

Eight months after I lost my leg, mama came home and found me collapsed. I was shaking and couldn’t move. She rushed me to the doggy ER and they said a disc in my spine had ruptured. They said things were really really bad, and I could either have a risky expensive surgery or they could let me go peacefully in my sleep. Well this is why I love my mama — she was not having ANY of that, and told them to do the surgery before she even knew what it would cost. I got through the surgery like a champ! They had great hope that I would someday walk again, but after months of trying they’ve realized I’m just fine the way I am — a handsome dog with one working leg and tons of extra love to go around!

Today we live in a three-story townhouse in Westminster, Colorado. My parents are amazing and let me go for “walks” in my wagon with Charley. They carry me up and down the stairs in their arms even though I weigh 50 pounds. They wake up in the night to change my diapers and give me baths every day.

They do it all because they love me, and the joy I greet each day with is enough for them to keep going.

Last week my pawrents got married, and I watched on from my wagon with Charley by my side as four became one.

I think they’re incredible, and if there was anything I could do to make their life better I would in a heartbeat. One thing I can think of is that it would be nice if they could live in a house that didn’t have so many stairs! They say they’re stuck in a thing called a “lease” until January, and that it’s really expensive to get out of one. If you have anything you can spare — a dollar, a twenty, a penny — their gratitude would be huge. They promise to have you all over for a BBQ at their ranch-style home when they move in.

Last but not least, please consider rescuing your next pet. I recommend Big Bones Canine Rescue (www. bigbonescaninerescue.com) in Windsor, but your local shelter has lots of great dogs too. It will save a life, and change yours in the best of ways.

Lots of love, Julius

to help:

To help pay for medical expenses for Julius, go to gofundme.com/ julius-the-1legged-boxer.

Dr. Kristen Walker

Dr. Robin Downing

415 Main St. • Windsor, CO 80550 970-686-9664 • 866-DrRobin www.windsorvet.com

The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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how to

e l t r u t a hug 18

OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

Learning

“How To Hug A Turtle” Provides Two Colorado Sisters A Lesson In Environmental Protection

By Emily Kemme // For Windsor Premier

B

rooklynn and Kynleigh Minne, two sisters from Pierce, Colo., played a role in wildlife conservation efforts when they were featured in a children’s book, “How To Hug A Turtle” by author and retired biology teacher, Sheryl Jones.

Sea Turtle, Inc. in South Padre Island, Texas, protects nesting Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, a marine animal protected under the CITES Act, (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). By patrolling 50 miles of south Texas coastline and through Sea Turtle’s conservation and rehabilitation efforts, the Kemp’s ridley is guarded from attacks during nesting season by natural predators like coyotes, raccoons and snakes. They and three other turtle species are hospitalized and treated for injuries sustained in the wild from entanglement in nets, shark attacks, boat strikes and viruses. Once rehabilitated, sea turtles are released to the ocean to migrate as much as 1,000 miles away from their natal beach. Mature females return to nest within 2 to 5 miles from where they were born.

Throughout nesting season — April through August each year — a turtle will lay two or three nests, each containing about 100 eggs, according to Jeff George, Sea Turtle’s executive director. Volunteers collect turtle nests in a safe corral. Efforts in 2017 saw 8,600 eggs of a total 10,000 laid hatch this summer.

Sea Turtle is making progress repopulating these species.

Jones authored four children’s books for Sea Turtle after becoming enchanted with the organization. She and her husband, Don, winter on South Padre Island. While volunteering for Sea Turtle, Jones met Allison, a baby turtle attacked by a shark that left her with only one flipper. At the time, the author could hold the animal in the palm of her hand; it had to be taught how to breathe in a pan of water.

Today, Allison weighs 150 pounds and swims in a tank with aid from a detachable prosthesis designed by the facility, patterned on Brazilian canoes.

Jones’ children’s book, “Swim, Allison, Swim,” is based on that experience and is a popular sales item at the Sea Turtle gift shop, one method for raising funds to support the organization’s mission.

“How To Hug A Turtle” was written to demonstrate through live pictures that, “A hug can be anything that expresses love or caring to another being.”

Jones developed a friendship with Brooklynn and Kynleigh’s great-grandmother, and after meeting the sisters, designed a project around them that would include a private visit to the Sea Turtle facility. During the photo shoot for the story in February 2017, the Minne sisters fed Gerry — the 250 pound poster boy for the organization — a lettuce snack, watched as Allison was fitted with her prosthesis and met Allison’s tank mate, another rescue turtle named Merry Christmas.

Accompanied by their grandparents, Karin and Tye Banghart, and great-grandparents, Janet and Jerry Lott, the girls observed ICU hospital staff care for a recently rescued turtle and saw another receive shots and medication. The highlight

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The Best Of Windsor Magazine • premier • OCTOBER 2017

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“

"The book is a way to help people understand there are other ways to hug turtles without touching them" - Brooklynn Minne

for Kynleigh was naming two turtles receiving treatment for a virus. Turtle Shelly was released to the wild but Jill remains hospitalized.

“The book is a way to help people understand there are other ways to hug turtles without touching them,” 9-year-old Brooklynn explained. “You can’t hold them because they bite.

But you can donate money, volunteer your time to take care of them and help put their eggs in a safe place to hatch. And you can give them food. That’s another kind of hugging.”

The organization was founded in 1977 by Ila Fox Loetscher, “The Turtle Lady of South Padr,” one of the country’s first women pilots and a friend of Amelia Earhart. Loetscher campaigned to save the turtles, who were caught for food and to make boots from their skins. From her home on Gulf Boulevard, she rehabilitated turtles, including Gerry, which she kept as a pet, even crocheting him sweaters. In 1999, the organization moved from Loetscher’s home to its current location. Over 150,000 people visit year round to tour the facility, enjoy educational “Turtle Talks” and visit Gerry and Allison, who cannot be released to the wild. Visitors may also take part in public hatchling releases.

“Papa” Tye Banghart believes the excursion was well worth the week they took off from school. “The girls were enthralled by the animals.”

And Brooklynn, who wants to be a marine veterinarian someday, said the experience taught her “how to help out others, not only turtles, but also people.”

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Family crafting creates years of fond memories

A pumpkin awaits decoration as Mabel plays with it.

By Nikki Work // For Windsor Premier

W

indsor mom Shana Stolz is not afraid to get messy. In fact, she encourages her kids to mess it on up while she crafts with them year-round.

Research shows that crafting in early childhood is vital to development and helps children grow emotionally, socially and cognitively. Every carved pumpkin, pine cone turkey or gingerbread house can help children learn.

Around the holidays, they turn their crafts into gifts.

The tricks to crafting with little ones are to be creative, stay flexible and yes, get messy, she said.

While she can’t take all the credit for the different crafts her family has done — thank you, Pinterest and Google — Stolz said it’s important to think on her feet and remember what will and won’t work for her kids. Then, take it to the children themselves.

“The boys get to go with me (to the supply store) and pick out certain colors.

This step is key to get them excited for the project,” she said of her two oldest kids, Thane, 6, and Tanner, 3.

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OCTOBER 2017 • premier • The Best Of Windsor Magazine

Even then, sometimes, the kids just aren’t going to cooperate, she said. Handprints get smudgy, siblings bicker, things don’t turn out quite right and tiny perfectionists are unhappy. And messes happen.

A couple of years back, while Stolz sat with her youngest boy, then 2, to help him press his thumb into an inkpad and to paper over and over to create a string of Christmas lights, her oldest, Thane, was using his inkpad to put thumb prints all over the kitchen cabinets and floor.

That took scrubbing. Lots and lots of scrubbing, Stolz said.

But it was worth it to see the kids’ reactions when they saw their finished products.

“They get so proud when they finish a project. That look in their eyes, and how they want to show it off to everyone – that’s my favorite,” Stolz said.

For Stolz, tradition is what it’s all about, especially around the holidays. She makes hot cocoa, plays Christmas music and waits for a day when the weather feels like winter outside.

She wants the boys, and eventually, her youngest, a little girl named Mabel, to remember the smells, the sounds — all of it, down to the sticky glue and yes, the thumbprints on the cabinets. Stolz’s memories of crafting with her own mom are happy, so she wants her own kids to feel the same way, and maybe even pass these traditions on someday.

“There’s a quote I found a couple years ago that I always think of, even during trying times. ‘Be the mom you want them to remember,’” she said. “That’s good enough for me.”

Quick tips for crafting with the kids 1. Make it exciting for them — Talk it up a few days before you actually do the craft. Let them help pick which one you do, and take them with you to buy supplies. Set a day (like Saturday) for the craft and keep reminding them, so by the time craft day gets here, they’re excited and more likely to sit still longer.

2. If there’s a washable version, buy that — Some of the cutest holiday crafts are the messiest. A menorah made out of handprints (with the thumbs meeting to be the shamash candle) or mistletoe made out of footprints can be adorable, but all it takes is a second for mistletoe to turn into a green footprint on white carpet. If you can buy a washable version of a craft supply, go for that one.

3. Label it — Make sure every craft you do has the name and age of the kiddo and the year it was made on it. That

Thane Stolz, 6, gets ready to clear out the inside of his pumpkin with his mother recently at their home in Windsor.

way, you’re never puzzling to remember who did what or when down the line.

4. Thank Santa for the Internet — When you’re looking for a craft to try, Pinterest and/or Google are your best pals. Looking to keep it on the cheap side? Throw in the words “Dollar Store” (you’re welcome). Want to make sure it’s age appropriate? Keep your search as vague or specific as you want – different things will come up, but you’ll be able to find awesome ideas for every age range. Do you have a little one who is a screen-time junkie? No shame, here, Mom. Pull up a YouTube tutorial and watch how craft time stops being a struggle and starts being something they actually look forward to doing.

5. Leave your expectations at the door — Don’t go into it expecting your 4-year-old’s reindeer to look just like the picture you printed. If it does, awesome. If it doesn’t, even better — it’s one of a kind. Don’t set expectationsjnpw too high Tue - 03/15/2016 and don’t tackle anything too tough, and it’s sure to be a fun day for the whole family.

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