Reflections XIV
Published by:
Wednesday April 19, 2017
Reflections XIV Note from the publisher
There are many angels among us The Brush News-Tribune and The Fort Morgan Times jointly salutes Morgan County residents, organizations and groups whose selfless and often anonymous work leads to a spirit of improving the lives in the community. We proudly release this, the 14th annual “Reflections” publication, a special supplement honoring those who make a difference in their communities. The Brush News-Tribune and The Fort Morgan Times has selected a number of “Angels Among Us,” those who give selflessly and often without recognition. The impetus for their actions is to make Morgan County a better place to live, work and play through all stages of life. Those we have selected to be
“Angels Among Us,” based upon nominations, likely will be surprised, because they have given of themselves seeking nothing in return. Brian Character is Porter described as doing what is right when no one is watching. That’s what each of our “Angels Among Us” has done. Those we have selected as “Angels Among Us” are but few among many in Morgan County who give of themselves, their time, their talents and in many cases, their personal finances, to make a difference. None of this is possible, though, without those who recognize the selfless service. It is important to
recognize those who have nominated these servants, who embody the ideal of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, who saw a need and acted. Our community is better for these persons who don’t say, “Someone should do something about that.” They are the doers. In addition to honoring these “Angels Among Us,” we proudly showcase progress being made in our communities. Times have been tough in farming communities, but there’s been much progress made and to come. Morgan County is growing and is poised for the future. The stories of progress in this edition profiles the ways in which change and growth is making Morgan County an even better place to work, live and play.
INDEX Golden Angel Paula LaBell-DiCarmillo ................................................................................................... Page 4
Angels Among Us Patricia Dalrie Skraback .................................................................................................. Page 6 Jesus ‘Jesse” Gamboa & Delia Escobar ........................................................................... Page 7 Tiffany Thompson ........................................................................................................... Page 7 Don Ostwald .................................................................................................................. Page 8 John Turner..................................................................................................................... Page 8 Doug Nickell & Andy McClary ........................................................................................... Page 9 Patti Lewis ................................................................................................................... Page 10 Chester ‘Chet’ McCoy ................................................................................................... Page 10
Progress Profiles New school up and running ........................................................................................... Page 11 Community saves Sands Theatre ................................................................................... Page 14 Social media in high school sports ................................................................................ Page 16 Room to grow at new location ........................................................................................ Page 19 Preparing for growth ..................................................................................................... Page 21 Brush Police launch ‘yellow dot’ program ........................................................................ Page 23 Rising Up coming into its own ........................................................................................ Page 26 Community seeing benefits from couple’s foundation ...................................................... Page 28 Parks & Rec much more than just the swimming pool ...................................................... Page 30 Wilson has vision for Brush’s educational future ............................................................. Page 32 Master Jeong working with youth at TaeKwonDo gym ....................................................... Page 33 District has ‘ideal atmosphere’ ...................................................................................... Page 35 Re-branding as Pro 15 .................................................................................................. Page 38 Leprino Foods Foundation: committed to community support ........................................... Page 41
Through the generous support from advertisers this special edition is possible. We hope you will remember these advertisers and their passion for the spirit of giving. The stories that follow may inspire you, may lead you to laugh and may bring a tear to your eye. We know many of the personalities profiled will be someone you recognize from down the street or across town, and some you may not know. Please join with us in celebrating just some of the people who make Morgan County a great place to live. They are the fabric of our community. Please allow the stories we’ve shared to inspire you to make your neighborhood and your community better. A special edition of The Fort Morgan Times 329 Main Street Fort Morgan, CO 80701 and the Brush News-Tribune 216 Clayton St., Brush, CO 80723 Publishers Julie Tonsing Brian Porter Project Editor Robert Leininger Editorial Staff Jenni Grubbs Brandon Boles Jon Yamamoto Layout and Design Kent Shorrock Support Staff Josephina Monsivais Wendy Fyfe Advertising Staff Andrew Ohlson Sherry Garcia
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Golden Angel 2017 Golden Angel
Jeff and Paula LaBell-Di Carmillo
Paula LaBell-Di Carmillo named Golden Angel life. Sometimes, that angel becomes a lifelong friend to those met along the way. ometimes, we are fortunate This time, that golden angel is enough to be blessed with an Paula LaBell-Di Carmillo. angel who comes into our Paula was chosen as this year’s lives. Fort Morgan Times Golden Angel Sometimes, that angel comes by Julie Tonsing, Times publisher, from the most unusual places and for any number of reasons. quietly and quickly slips into your In her professional life, Paula is life. well known for her years of assistSometimes, that angel is there for ing at Auctioneers Miller and Assoyou just out of the blue, helping ciates. She is in charge of all of the silently in the background of your advertising for their auctions and By Julie Tonsing Times Publisher
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their real estate company, plus cataloging the items for sale and working the live online portion of their auctions, to name just a few of her responsibilities.
our team, she is a valuable part of the AMA family.” Paula is a familiar face to many in our area. She grew up in Morgan County, one of four daughters of Dr. Maurice and Patricia (Bell) “Paula is a dedicated team mem- Cox. They were both well known ber and has shown a strong comand loved around this community. mitment to our business, as well as They helped instill a love among the clientele we serve,” notes Bry- the siblings that is truly the tie that son Miller, owner/operator of AMA binds. Each Christmas, these girls Consignment, LLC and one of Pau- and their families meet for a Christla’s supervisors. “AMA is a familymas cookie exchange to beat all. I owned-and-operated business, so it only wish that I could have accepted her invitation. I somehow just makes me proud to be able to say that Paula is not only a key part of See GOLDEN ANGEL, pg. 5
Golden Angel GOLDEN ANGEL from page 4 can’t imagine the many pounds of flour, sugar and dozens and dozens of eggs that are flowing through that kitchen. We have been the lucky recipients of those delicacies on more than one wonderful occasion and are so thankful for their talents. People who know Paula the best have described her as caring, loving and giving – perhaps the traits of an angel. This is a woman who would, as they say, “give the shirt off her back to help others.” That is the Paula that I know. In 2014, Paula was diagnosed with cancer, and she licked it in true Paula form. That’s not to say it was not without trials and tribulations. There were rough times, no doubt. Even when she should have only been focusing on her own health, Paula somehow took me under her wing. Together, we fight the battles, and we’re going to win. She has that will and determination like no other. But there are many things left undone and still on Paula’s agenda. She is blessed with a loving, giving family – a husband, Jeff, three children and six grandchildren who are truly the apple of her eye. She dotes on them like no other. It is these same kids and grandkids who always top the list of her blessings. From gourmet meals at special occasions to quilts to last a lifetime, it is these moments of love that add to each of their memories. Each of them is receiving beautiful, custom-designed, handmade quilts from Jeff and Paula. She has a love and eye for quilting that was only recently acquired. Her sister taught her the fine art of quilting while she was with Paula during treatments for cancer and it’s been a large part of Paula’s life since. This sister, who with her husband and daughter, has spent multiple tours of service in Iraq, Afghanistan and more, creates quilts of valor with a group in Missouri. They would never allow quilts to be commissioned to themselves, so Paula took it upon herself
Paula LaBell-Di Carmillo and her new granddaughter Callissa Jo Downs
to create personal and very meaningful quilts for each of them. Jeff and Paula had the distinct pleasure of surprising them with these quilts on Veterans Day 2015 at their local American Legion hall in Smithville, Missouri. Veterans are very near and dear to Paula’s heart. She will never
knowingly leave a veteran untouched. She has paid for their restaurant meals before without them even knowing it was her, and she even made another quilt for an unknown veteran without charging his wife a cent. A veteran will never want for anything if Paula has a hand in it. The many talents of Paula remain
untouched here. There are gorgeous sewing projects to complete, a Christmas village that continues to grow and many more gourmet meals yet to be served. There are blessings to discover, memories to make, lifelong friends to meet and angels to love. There is just our one Paula. REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 5
Angels Among Us
Patricia Dalrie Skraback atricia Dalrie Skraback was a busy woman before her sudden, tragic death in August 2016. Part of what made her so busy was her work as a real estate agent with Zwetzig Realty. But Dalrie also put a lot of her time into caring for others and looking for ways to help people and provide them with what they needed, according to her sisters, Margie Roberts, Joyce Malone and Becky Maag. Remembering those kind acts and the impact Dalrie had on many people through both her job and caring nature, the three surviving sisters nominated Dalrie as an Angel Among Us. “She gave of herself to everyone, not taking into consideration her own needs,” the sisters wrote. “Whenever someone was in need of anything, whether it be food, clothing or furniture, Dalrie was there to lend a helping hand to family, friends and total strangers. Our sister had a heart of gold that touched many lives in many communities.” “She was always buying meals for somebody, not just her family,” Maag recalled. When her work entailed handling foreclosure sales, Dalrie would help clean up the properties and take home any left behind clothes, pots and pans or other items that were still in decent shape, she would find people who could use them, the sisters recalled. “She wanted to make sure nothing got thrown out because someone could use it,” Malone said. “She’d wash and sort (discarded clothes) by sizes at home,” Roberts said. “It was amazing.” People also would bring items to Dalrie at the realty office in Fort Morgan to add to what she was giving out to those in need, Roberts said. “One year 27 families were
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Margie Roberts / Special to the Times
This metal angel hangs in the flower garden at Margie Roberts' home north of Fort Morgan over what she called her late sister Patricia Dalrie Skraback's garden. The angel fell down before it snowed, and when Roberts picked it up, the angel outline was left. Roberts called that fitting, since she saw Dalrie as an angel before her death in August 2016. Seeing this sight reminded Roberts of all the nice things Dalrie had done for people, so she and her two other living sisters nominated Dalrie as an Angel Among Us.
Patricia Dalrie Skraback
helped,” she said. The sisters also pointed to their late sister’s efforts to care for their late mother, who was a resident at the Bee Hive before she died. “She’d go around to the other Bee Hive residents and see if they needed anything else,” Malone said of Dalrie. “She put everyone’s well-being before her own,” said Stan Potthoff, Dalrie’s brother, who lives in Wiggins. For Jim Zwetzig, Dalrie was a real estate agent who “believed” that every property contract “would close, no matter what obstacles stood in the way.” And he added that to her, “a transaction consummated was
more important than the commission earned.” But that did not mean Dalrie was not competitive about it. Zwetzig recalled that Dalrie sought to have “the first AND last sale of the year; the highest commission, or the most sales in a year.” He saw the caring, generous side of her, too, though.
He also shared the story behind her uncommon middle name, which the late real estate agent most commonly used. “She took great pride in her name and enjoyed sharing where it came from,” Zwetzig said, “a combination of her parents’ names, Dale and Marie.” Dalrie’s sisters saw the competitive, driven real estate agent Zwetzig spoke about in their sister, as well as the caring woman who was a “friend to everyone, a stranger to no one,” as Maag put it. To them and to many others, Dalrie was an Angel Among Us.
“She would often show her ‘people caring characteristic’ by taking the time to sit and talk with an old or ‘new’ friend, even when it meant she would later have to work hours into the night,” Zwetzig said. “Many times she was loyal to acquaintances, colleagues, friends and family, even when they were — Nominated by Margie Roberts, not.” Joyce Malone and Becky Maag
Angels Among Us
Jesus ‘Jesse’ Gamboa & Delia Escobar hen something in their neighborhood needs to be done, Jesse Gamboa and Delia Escobar know just what to do. They chip in and lend a helping hand. “Jesse and Delia have been kind neighbors to us for over a decade,” wrote Doris and Fred Wahlert in the nomination of the couple as Angels. Doris and Fred are independent seniors living in their home in
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their 80s, the nomination reads. “They’ve helped us to be able to do so,” Doris and Fred wrote. “They’ve assisted us with many tasks.” It is not uncommon for Jesse and Delia to help with leaf removal from the couple’s yard, cleaning of their gutters, shoveling snow, changing the oil in their vehicle and even washing their car. Often, when Jesse and Delia have not seen their neighbors for a while, they visit to check on them after work or during the
Delia Escobar and Jesus “Jesse” Gamboa
weekend. The couple would do anything to “Though we don’t ask them ever help their neighbors, Fred said, to do these things, they would will- and do it without being asked. ingly do them if we did,” Doris and - Nominated by Doris and Fred Fred wrote. “We’re so thankful for Wahlert their kindness!”
Tiffany Thompson iffany Thompson, a 2000 Weldon Valley graduate, is still making an impact in the Weldona community today. During her time in school, she was a member of the Weldon Valley FFA and 4-H Club groups. Today, she is a member of the Weldon Valley Presbyterian Church and Beta Epsilon of ESA. She is also an active member with both the Chapin Family Dairy and Riverside Milk. With the school, she still volunteers in the classrooms and works with the local 4-H Clubs and aids with dairy projects. In May of 2015, Thompson was injured in a farming accident that left her in the hospital for over 50 days. Her left leg was removed days after the accident due to an infection and she underwent over 15 additional surgeries during her hospitalization and several more Tiffany Thompson after. The accident would not slow her to get back to the things she loved down. Instead, a positive mindset got her through it all, along with
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love and support from family and close friends.
When she returned home from the hospital, Thompson had home healthcare and both physical and occupational therapy. She was fitted with her first prosthesis and used it a short time each day at the beginning. Today, she uses it all the time and has had several upgrades. While going through a major hurdle and change in her life, Thompson never got down on herself and always kept a positive outlook on life. Even while recovering, she made sure others in the community were doing well and checking on other family members battling any health issues they were having. The community has looked at Thompson as an inspiration for her hard work, drive, and outlook on life. Her motto in life has become, “Give a girl the right shoe and she will conquer the world.” — Nominated by the G.L.A.D. Club (Goodrich Learn and Do Club), Sammie Covelli, President. REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 7
Angels Among Us
Don Ostwald hese days, Don Ostwald, a retired veterinarian, spends many hours volunteering and serving others, according to David L. Roberts, who nominated Ostwald as an Angel Among Us. But that was something he was doing long before retirement, with time spent years ago serving on the Fort Morgan School Board as the current high school was being built. Ostwald also served on the Morgan Community College Foundation Board a while back, supporting both the college’s constructing centralized classrooms and creating its first endowed academic chair through the Williams Family Foundation. “I’m honored,” Ostwald said of Roberts’ nomination. “I’ve just been active on things.” Most recently, Ostwald has served as the president of the Fort Morgan Heritage Foundation Board since 2008. During that time, Ostwald was leading the foundation toward and through the museum exhibits renovation
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Don Ostwald
that was completed in recent years. That took “several hundreds of volunteer hours to complete,” according to Roberts. “Thanks to Don and the members of the (heritage foundation) board, the city, today, has a firstrate museum gallery where residents and visitors can experience a good bit of Fort Morgan’s history,” Roberts stated in the nomination letter. “Dr. Ostwald continues to inspire, guide and oversee the operation of the museum to this day.” Roberts also pointed to Ostwald’s volunteer efforts with delivery through Meals-on-Wheels to community residents in need. Ostwald estimates he gives 20 to 30 hours each month between his volunteer work with the heritage foundation and delivering meals. “I’m glad to do it,” Ostwald said. “I’d be lost if I didn’t have some of these things to do. You’ve got to give. What you give comes back double in some way or another.” — Nominated by David L. Roberts
John Turner ohn Turner is a talented man willing to share his abilities with others. He was nominated as an Angel based on his ability to both be a “jack of all trades, and master of all,” which he happily shares with others. John “happily applies his many talents to assist friends, neighbors, family and through church, resulting in the betterment of the community,” the nomination by Dottie Cooper and Bertha Hansch reads. He can often be found trimming
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trees, preparing seed beds in the garden, planting and cleaning gutters. He also takes those he helps to doctor’s appointments. It is northeastern Colorado, after all, and sometimes it snows. When it does, John can be found shoveling sidewalks and driveways, the nomination reads. “The way you know John has been here is because the job is done,” the nomination reads. “He really is an angel among us.” - Nominated by Dottie Cooper and Bertha Hansch
Angels Among Us
Doug Nickell & Andy McClary ort Morgan Boy Scouts Troop No. 22 Scoutmaster Doug Nickell and Assistant Scoutmaster Andy McClary have not had sons in their troop for many years. But both men continue to lead the troop and the scouts, the same as they have done since their youngest but now-adult sons were in first grade. For Nickell, involvement in scouts started through his sons, who began in Cub Scouts and progressed to Boy Scouts. “When my oldest son got involved with Boy Scouts, I started going with him,” Nickell recalled. “Then both boys were in Boy Scouts and the scoutmaster retired. I sort of took his place.” That was 15 years ago, and it has been a while since his younger son graduated, but Nickell has stayed on as scoutmaster and says he has “probably another year or two” left in him, maybe even more. “I believe in the scouting program,” Nickell said of why he continues as scoutmaster. “I believe it’s a good program to get boys involved in the outdoors and leadership.” Also, Nickell enjoys camping and being able to share his passion for the outdoors with the boys in his troop. “I think a lot of kids end up sitting around playing video games in their basements and don’t get outdoors,” he said. “(Scouts) gives me a reason to be outdoors and go camping. I like to see the boys mature, develop leadership skills and see them gain an appreciation for camping and being outdoors, an appreciation for what the Boy Scouts stand for and represent: citizenship and personal responsibility.” For McClary, it started when his older son was 8 years old and the father became a Tiger Cubs den leader. Four years later, his second son, also went into the scouts. “I stayed with my kids as they progressed from Cubs to Boy Scouts,” McClary said. “I’ve been there ever since.” Even after his younger son graduated in 2014, McClary has stuck with the scouts and helping lead the troop. “We didn’t have anybody else to help Doug,” McClary said. “I’ve been assistant scoutmaster for 10 years.” And he said he will stick with it a while longer. “Doug doesn’t have any kids in scouts now. He stayed after his two kids graduated and
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Doug Nickell
Andy McClary
went to college. I thought that was remarkable. If Doug can do it, I can, too.” For McClary, helping lead the troop is a chance to “present to boys the benefits of the scouting program” and to teach the scouts “values, citizenship and good moral character.” The boys learn about the value of hard work and discipline and what those things can accomplish, he said. “It teaches these kids everything they need to do to be outstanding, successful people, with inclusion of an outdoor venue,” McClary said. “I think it’s one the programs that really benefits kids.” For their many years of service to the troop and Boy Scouts leadership, they were nominated as Angels Among Us. “They give huge amounts of their time to coordinating scout activities throughout the entire year,” nominators Nora Nickell and Kim McClary wrote. “There are meetings every Monday evening, several campouts a year, selling popcorn for fundraising and fun canoeing nights.” On top of that, the scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster oversee the Scouting for Food
drives for local food pantries, provide flag ceremonies and far more, the nomination stated. Also, Doug Nickell and Andy McClary encourage the scouts to earn merit badges and pursue Eagle Scout status, which is something achieved nationally by just 4 percent of scouts. “Incredibly, 14 young men from our troop have earned the rank of Eagle Scout,” the nomination stated. “These two extraordinary men have continued to make a difference in the lives of Fort Morgan young men by keeping the scouting program alive well beyond the time anyone would expect them to still be involved.” Nickell called the Angel Among Us recognition “humbling, I guess,” adding that while he is not a scoutmaster for that reason, “it’s nice when someone recognizes the work we’ve been doing.” “I’m stunned and extremely honored to be considered,” McClary said of being named an Angel Among Us. “I’m glad Doug got in, too. People that do the things they love don’t do it for the recognition. I love Boy Scouts.” — Nominated by Nora Nickell and Kim McClary REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 9
Patti Lewis
Angels Among Us
atti Lewis does not see herself as an angel, but Miriam Rasmussen thinks she sees a halo over her neighbor’s head. “She has her flying wings and angel wings,” Rasmussen wrote in nominating Lewis, a Frontier Airlines flight attendant, as an Angel Among Us. Rasmussen called Lewis the “best neighbor to me and everyone,” pointing to how Lewis takes large bags of dog and cat food to the Fort Morgan Humane Society and helps out at or supports various community fundraisers. “I try to help the humane society as I can,” Lewis said, noting that she offers food and cleaning supplies because if she volunteered directly with the animals “I’d want to take them all home with me.”
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whatever time and donations I can to help.” Lewis also helped slow down traffic in their neighborhood by getting speed limit signs posted, according to Rasmussen. “There are so many children and pets here,” she stated in her nomination of Lewis. And Lewis knows the names of the pets and where they live, and she’ll even take them home when they are out and away from home. She also cares for some strays, and Rasmussen has taken note of all of these things and nominated Lewis this year. “That kind of makes me emotional,” Lewis said. “What a blessing that somebody would think so highly of you. That’s what is so nice about a small community.” The good works Rasmussen sees her do are due to Lewis’ love of animals and her belief in Patti Lewis “good karma.” She believes that the nice things she does for animals and others “come back As for the fundraisers, like the recent one two-fold.” “How nice that someone takes the time and held for the Noletubby family, Lewis said she thinks of me,” she said. “I’m honored. I’m just just wants to be able to help people. so blessed with family friends and furry “Any way we can help and serve in the community,” she said. “I can’t even imagine the pain friends. That’s what keeps me going.” — Nominated by Miriam Rasmussen and suffering people go through. I will give
Chester ‘Chet’ McCoy hester “Chet” McCoy should be very familiar with the man who nominated the Korean War veteran who lives in Brush as an Angel Among Us. After all, McCoy has lived next door to his nominator for about 30 years, or “ever since they built their beautiful home adjacent to ours,” Wayne Carlson wrote in his nomination letter. That’s a lot of time to witness the good deeds, both big and small, that McCoy does for others, many of who are also veterans. “For eight years, until about a year ago, Chet transported veterans from the entire region to appointments at VA hospitals in Greeley, Cheyenne, Denver and Fort Collins, even in extreme weather conditions,” Carlson wrote about his neighbor. And McCoy would know something about extreme weather, having experienced during his war-time service in Korea. “Chet served in the United States Army from 1952 through 1954, including 1.5 years of duty in Korea, where he did experience some actual combat with the enemy,” Carlson wrote, adding that McCoy had “understated” that “‘it sure got cold over there.’” Carlson also pointed to McCoy’s service to American Legion Post No. 68 in Brush, including as commander for 12 years. “Chet is a member of the Honor Guard that
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posts the American flag at all Brush High School home football games, and at special events, such as the Blue Horizons-sponsored Special Olympics track meet every year at Beetdigger Stadium,” Carlson wrote. “He is also instrumental in the annual Memorial Day celebration at the Brush Cemetery and marches proudly with the Honor Guard in the Brush July 4th Parade and Rodeo.” The nomination letter also pointed to McCoy’s involvement at Brush Bethlehem Lutheran Church, including serving that church’s Memorials Committee. On top of that, McCoy is also active in the group of veterans who get together at noon on the 22nd of every month and stand on corners of the main Brush intersection to raise awareness for the high rate of suicide among veterans. “They hold flags and signs urging people driving past to ‘Honk for a Veteran,’” Carlson wrote. “This is to draw attention to the fact that every day in America an average of 22 veterans commit suicide.” Those awareness-raising efforts have taken place almost every month for five years, with McCoy missing being there “once or twice,” according to the Korean War veteran told his nominator. “It’s just to help out, just to keep things going,” McCoy said of why he does that.
Chester “Chet” McCoy
“It is my great honor to nominate Chet McCoy for this Angel Award,” Carlson wrote. “There is nobody more deserving. He is the ultimate American patriot. His generation is why America is the greatest country on Earth.” Upon hearing about his nomination and being named an Angel Among Us, McCoy said he was “kind of surprised,” but he appreciated it. He said his involvement with veterans was something he was passionate about and did simply to help out fellow veterans. “They need all the help they can get,” he said. “That’s why I drove for eight years.” — Nominated by Wayne Carlson
Education
Reflections XIV
John La Porte / For the Times
The new Fort Morgan Middle School opened in late August 2016. The school is now in the midst of its second semester.
New school up and running
Fort Morgan Middle School offers enough space for sixth, seventh and eighth grades
hallway with lockers and countertops off to one side. The idea here is to separate the transition area and lockers from Fort Morgan’s new middle the classroom areas. That reduces school is a showcase for modern, noise and other distractions in the functional education. halls, which provide direct access Principal Jason Frasco calls it to the classrooms. “one more piece to allow (the And the classrooms are signifistaff) to be more successful in cantly larger than those in the their trade.” building the new school replaced – The building is now in its second 800 or more square feet compared semester of operation, funded in to 650 or so. part by a state grant and in part by There is more ambient light than a bond election. in the old building, so use of elecThere are three two-story class- tricity is reduced. Also, the lighting room areas, one each for sixth, is high efficiency. seventh and eighth grades. All Across the hall from the “by John La Porte / For the Times three are located down a hall and grade” classroom are a wood shop, The STEM classroom at Fort Morgan Middle School gets regular use by around a corner from the main health classroom and a STEM (sci- classes. Meant for allowing students to explore science, technology, engientrance and administrative officence, technology, engineering and neering and math subjects, the STEM classroom provides students with es. See SCHOOL, pg. 12 access to a wide array of the latest gadgetry. Around that corner is another
By John La Porte For the Times
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Reflections XIV SCHOOL from page 11
John La Porte / For the Times
Students file into the auditorium-café for lunch at the new Fort Morgan Middle School. The space can also be used for setting up chairs for seating performances on the stage (not shown).
math) classroom. The STEM room contains four modules with three computers each, and the room boasts the latest in technology, including a 3-D printer. “That was one of my big pushes,” Frasco says of the STEM room. It allows advanced students to extend themselves, he notes. The classroom wing also contains science classrooms and labs, a media center and a computer room. There are more than 500 devices (computers and such) for the school’s 660 students, Frasco says: “We’re not one to one, but we’re dang close.” In the wing opposite the classrooms are such areas as main and
auxiliary gymnasiums, vocal and instrumental music rooms and an auditorium-café. The oft-used term “cafetorium” for the latter area is a misnomer, Frasco indicates. “It’s a performance area that we utilize as a cafeteria,” he says. Tables for meals can be removed and chairs set up for performances in half an hour or less, Frasco says. The area can seat 400 or more, and the staff has been experimenting with several scheduling formats such as one performance, two performances in one evening or performances on two separate nights. Security is better in the new school than it was in the old; access is mostly confined to a main entrance with an office off to one
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side. “The big thing is you have a visual,” Frasco says. The office staff can easily see who is coming and going. Doors to the outside can be locked from the main office, allowing students to go outside and return from recess but restricting other access. There are several interior doors in halls that can be closed to isolate areas. The area around the building was designed to separate the parental pick-up and drop-off area from the bus area. Those are on separate sides of the building. Parental access is along Education Avenue, which ends in a roundabout to facilitate turning around. The main parking lot is asphalt,
with a gravel lot for overflow parking. The first few days of pick up and drop off were “scary,” Frasco acknowledges, but “we’ve got a pretty good routine going now.” When the new building was completed, the format for some of the district’s schools changed. Baker went from a fifth-and-sixth-grade “central” concept to a first-throughfifth elementary; the other three elementary schools also adding fifth grade. That means one transition fewer for students through the school years, and Frasco notes studies have shown student achievement drops a bit in transition years. It was a bit of a scramble to get open for the fall term – a four-toSee SCHOOL, pg. 13
Reflections XIV SCHOOL from page 12 five-day window from the district occupying the building to “kids on our doorstep,” the principal says. There was quite a bit of furniture and equipment that became available when the new building was done. First crack at that went to other schools in the district, then the door was opened for other area school districts, churches and other organizations. And what of the old middle school building? Morgan County Re-3 School District and the nonprofit Community Resources & Housing Development Corporation (CRHDC) have a memorandum of understanding for the nonprofit to seek low-income housing tax credits from the federal and state governments, as well as grants. Paperwork is being prepared and a proposal to the Colorado Housing and Finance
Authority is to be submitted later this year, Ron Echols, Re-3 superintendent of schools, says. If if awarded, that would set the stage for CRHDC to convert parts of the old school and grounds into apartments while keeping some of the property’s large amenities for community use. That same nonprofit sought and received tax credits and government loans and grants and built the Sol Naciente housing development for agricultural workers and their families near the Fort Morgan Police Department. Plans for the old middle school building call for apartments on the upper floors and community use of some main floor areas such as the gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria. Some city recreation programs John La Porte / For the Times are already using the gym, Frasco A music class makes use of the orchestra room at the new Fort Morgan says. Middle School.
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Reflections XIV Business
Community saves Sands Theatre By Jon Yamamoto Brush News-Tribune
The Sands Theatre has long been the keystone of downtown Brush. It has survived the test of time, opening in 1916 as Emerson Theatre and in 1966 becoming the Sands Theatre, a tribute to the legendary Sands hotel and casino and the Rat Pack. Last year, the theatre celebrated its 100th anniversary. A new era has opened for the theatre. The ownership and operation has been transferred to the non-profit Brush Chamber of Commerce Foundation. That caused a momentary shutdown of the theatre, but movies have resumed and there’s more in store. Charles W. Emerson initially opened the theatre on Clayton Street. It may have represented quite a gamble for a town with 997 population in 1910. The town more than doubled by 1920. It all went well until the 1950s, when drive-in theatres gained in popularity. That caused a closure. Enter Joe Machetta. He was raised in the theatre business. His grandparents owned the Ute Theatre in Aguilar, Colo. In 1957, Machetta left the Navy and quickly heard the Emerson Theatre may be available. He purchased the theatre in 1958. It wasn’t until 1966 that Machetta renamed the theatre. He had a love for Las Vegas and the Sands there. He worked to get the theatre added to Colorado’s Register of Historic Places and in 2014 it drew notoriety from a magazine cover story on the cost of small town theaters converting to digital. At that time, it was reported the cost was $50,000. The chamber of commerce got involved to help save the theatre. Among the grants received was from the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media. He continued to operate the Sands Theatre
Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
Downtown Brush on a Friday night as the Sands Theatre has brought the people back.
until July 2016, when the process began to transfer ownership, eventually leading to the chamber’s foundation accepting the theatre as a gift. ‘Save Our Seats’ The first concern in getting theatre-goers to return was the seating in the Sands. Chamber leaders began a program titled “Save Our Seats” and started the funding process to clean-up the theater and to eventually replace the old worn out seats. The chamber enlisted volunteers to help. “Opening the theater is a lot of work,” said Melody Christensen, the chamber’s executive director. Hundreds of volunteer hours were given by business and community leaders. There was renovation, clean-up and more to be
14 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
See SANDS, pg. 15 People leaving the Sands Theatre on opening night.
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Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
The Sands Theatre interior before re-opening.
SANDS from page 14 done. “People have really been supportive in helping with our ‘Save Our Seats’ campaign,” said Dana Sherman, immediate past president of the chamber of commerce. “Hopefully, the community will continue to support us.” Colorado Main Street architect Tim Stroh got involved, along with Stephanie Baltzell, a preservation grants outreach specialist for Historic Colorado. The chamber is looking at making the Sands a multi-purpose facility that can not only be used for showing movies, but also a venue for live performances. Former Mayor Dan Scalise even joked that he wouldn’t rule out Bon Jovi performing. “I think the Sands would be great for live performances,” Sherman said. “Tammy Luce expressed an interest in doing Shakespeare plays with her fourth-grade kids of Beaver Valley,” Christensen said. March re-opening All the work needed is not complete, but the chamber’s foundation has the theatre back open and driving revenue toward a costly renovation. The first movie shown was “Kong: Skull Island.” The next was Disney’s re-release of “Beauty and the Beast.”
The first showing drew a near capacity crowd. The next two shows that weekend, with the crowd from the opening, led to about 250 in attendance. A number of obstacles have been overcome in re-opening the theatre. Repairs included a part on the digital projector, removing old appliances from the concession area, plumbing and at the last minute Christensen had to go to Limon to pick-up the first movie. Even though “Kong: Skull Island” had already been released, and gotten mixed reviews…people didn’t seem to care. It did, after all, feature A-list stars Samuel Jackson and John Goodman. Mostly, they came to support their theater, remaining one of Brush’s landmarks. The plan is Sands Theatre will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with films showing for one or two weeks, depending on the contract. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. with a Sunday Matinee at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5. According to Christensen the Sands will continued to be run by chamber board members and volunteers, with hopes of hiring a theater manager at some point. Starting to show movies is just the beginning. Much more is planned for the historic Sands Theatre.
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SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE FROM DENVER REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 15
Reflections XIV Prep Athletics
Social media in high school sports
An inside look at coaches, athletic directors using digital platforms basketball, practice, and working out, as well as drills to try in practice, camps to sign up for in the summer, and other ways that the team can go out in the offseason With the light push of a button and work on getting better. on a mobile phone that fits in your pocket, the whole world is out “It’s whatever catches our eye there for people to see. The digital really,” Von Loh said. “It’s a great sphere continues to grow at a rapway to get the information out id pace, with perhaps the biggest there. We want to support our growth coming through social team and give them core informamedia sites like Facebook, Twitter, tion, motivation, schedules, and Instagram, and more. other little things to help them when we can.” The numbers of social media users are at an all-time high. FaceSocial media is also a way to book recently announced that branch out to the community, more than one billion people are according to Von Loh, giving paractive on their site. Numbers from ents and fans a chance to feel like March of 2016 say Twitter has they are a small part of the team. over 320 million users, according He added that Facebook is the prito Adweek. Millions more are one mary outlet for parents and fans, Over one billion people are active on Facebook and hundreds of millions are while Twitter is primarily seen by other social media sites as well. also on social network sites like Twitter, Instagram, and more. his athletes. Those astronomical numbers have led to many coaches, schools, Teacher of social media school district where he coaches. and programs to use social media and New Raymer region that has created an active online platform Using social media for their sites as a way to communicate “I’m not a teacher, so I’m not in for their teams. Many of the teams and student-athletes is not with their student-athletes and the school everyday,” Von Loh schools also have their athletic the only responsibility coaches, people in the community. Being said. “It’s hard to communicate athletic directors, and others have active on social media has become directors use social media to post because of that. I can use social score updates, results, schedule now with high school sports. an important factor for many media pages to get out there and coaches and teams in recent years. changes, and more. use it like a bulletin board for the Being able to talk about using All five schools in the Morgan team and our community to try social media in a positive way with“It’s pretty important nowadays,” County region have either a Face- and get everyone involved.” out hurting the reputation of their Wiggins girls basketball coach book or Twitter page used to relay William Von Loh said. “Kids have As a bulletin board, the way Von team, school, and community is information on athletics with the another lesson the coaches have different ways to communicate Loh describes social media use school. The majority of schools to perform with their student-athand the whole world at their finwith his team, he has shared letes. gertips. It’s a great way to commu- use both social media sites. numerous things on the social nicate with them on things that “That is something CHSAA (ColUsing social media as a means of media accounts besides topics like they are used to using and a great communication is of extra impororado High School Activities Assoschedules, game scores, and the way to get information out in a tance to Von Loh and others. One usual posts. Recently, the Wiggins ciation) is taking a step in doing to hurry.” make sure the kids are being careparticular reason Von Loh has cre- girls basketball Twitter page ful about what they post,” Von Loh ated a stronger presence online is (@WigginsWBB_LPAA) has Von Loh is just one of many due to him not working in the shared motivational quotes about coaches in the Morgan County See DIGITAL, pg. 17 By Brandon Boles Times Sports Reporter
16 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Reflections XIV DIGITAL from page 16
Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times
Wiggins girls basketball coach William Von Loh (center) has created a bigger presence on social media for his program since taking over as head coach in 2015.
said. “We do provide some stuff on what kind of things are acceptable to post. We tell them to ask themselves if what they are posting is true, helpful, intelligent, important, and kind. You have to be smart with it.” Von Loh added that he has noticed a trend with the high school kids is to use social media as an outlet to let out stress, frustration, and other feelings. Keeping control of their emotions and not letting it spill over into social media in a negative way is a main concern. “The kids let their frustration out sometimes if things aren’t going their way,” Von Loh said. “We let them know that it is a platform to be judged on and that you will be held responsible.”
online is public for everyone to see, even if you limit the access to your personal page or site, is lesSchools and other organizations son number one. have started to implement social “Even if you delete something media guidelines that student-ath- that you posted, someone else can letes, coaches, and administration screen shot it and share it,” Von are expected to follow. Loh said. “It never truly goes All schools state that playing a away.” sport or being involved in an extraAnother major educational point curricular activity is a privilege for the schools is to inform the stuand not a right. The schools also dents that their use on social make sure to voice that these stu- media can impact their futures to dents represent their school, com- getting into college or a new job. munity, team or group, and more Both the Fort Morgan and Brush when involved, including with how handbooks mention that many they post on social media. employers and school admission officers review social networking The first point of emphasis in sites as part of their evaluations. most school handbooks about social media is educating students Everything from derogatory and/ or unlawful content, crude or how the networking sites work. unprofessional manner, and even Knowing that whatever is posted
Social media policy in schools
overuse on social media are things that can warrant jobs or schools from turning a student down. Many college coaches have gone on record in the last few years and said that students they have recruited have seen their scholarships revoked due to an examination of their social media pages of those same students. If a student is deemed to be in violation of the school’s policy regarding social media, there is a multi-step system implemented to address the manner. In Fort Morgan, the first offense will lead to a parent meeting with the head coach that will determine consequences. A second offense leads to another parent meeting with the head coach, as well as the See DIGITAL, pg. 18
REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 17
Reflections XIV DIGITAL from page 17 campus Athletic Director. A steeper consequence will also be handed down. Third offenses lead to a meeting with the head coach and athletic director. The Brush school policy uses a four-step offense approach to dealing with social media use deemed in violation. Students that choose to self-report a violation will see a decrease in suspension or discipline, according to the policy. First offenses lead to a warning and counseling session on proper use of social media, as well as a oneweek suspension from competition. The second offense sees the suspension increased to three weeks. A third offense removes the student from the program and a fourth offense makes that student ineligible for all sports for one calendar year. Other schools in the area, while they may not list social media guidelines in their handbooks, are also monitoring social media use by their student-athletes. Policies on internet use, email, and more on school premises are also implemented by most of the schools.
New recruiting guidelines regarding social media The NCAA tried to monitor and keep a strict guideline for college coaches to follow on using social media for recruiting and interaction with high school players. Recently, those rules have been lightened some under a new, updated policy that was passed in the fall of 2016. Before, coaches could direct message recruits, but they could never like or share any posts publicly. The new NCAA rule allows coaches and athletic staff members to take actions on social media platforms to indicate approval of content. These actions including liking or “favoriting” a post, “retweeting” a tweet sent by a student-athlete on Twitter, and more. Coaches can now also share articles on prospects as long as they
Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times
Brush coach Aaron Quinlin (left) regularly uses social media to provide information on football and wrestling at Brush High School.
don’t tag or mention the player’s name while sharing. In the previous rules, this was not allowed. There are still some rules that college coaches must follow, however. A coach cannot directly tweet to a high school student-athlete. In essence, a coach can share something that a prospect displayed, not type at them. With these recent changes to the NCAA guidelines, more college coaches are getting active on social media to try and create a brand for prospects to get to know and find any subtle way to show how much they want a prospect during their recruitment. Fort Morgan junior Trey McBride is the most recent example of how this new policy works
18 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
with his sharing of his recruitment to play college football on Twitter. When a school has made a scholarship offer to him, he has posted on social media the name of the school that has offered him. On Feb. 24, McBride announced that he had received a scholarship to play football at the University of Colorado in Boulder on Twitter. “Humbled to receive my second PAC 12 offer to play for The Colorado Buffaloes #GoBuffs #TheRise,” McBride tweeted with three photos. The tweet was “retweeted,” meaning shared by others, by over 25 different social media accounts. One of those accounts belonged to Daniel Da Prato, the Director of Quality Control for the offense
with the University of Colorado football team. Similar circumstances have happened with other schools as well. On Feb. 22, McBride shared his scholarship offer to the University of Wyoming and saw his post “retweeted” and shared by many, including Ian McGrew, the Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Wyoming. People are split amongst the recent NCAA changes, saying that it has opened the door for players to gain interaction but could add extra pressure on recruiting and prospects during this process. Brandon Boles: 970-441-5102, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/ FMT_Sports
Reflections XIV
Morgan County Family Center
Room to grow at new location More classes and programs can be offered on site now, executive director says
financial assistance, help with paying for utilities, educational opportunities and chances for community interaction. The Morgan County Family Specifically, 241 households Center is helping more people received help with their utilities, than ever, and it has the data to and 133 received housing assisback up that statement. tance. In 2016, the nonprofit Family The Family Center staff also Center assisted with providing helped 212 households apply for family support services to 1,197 assistance through various federal individuals, according to Executive and state programs, such as LEAP, Director Mary Gross. TANF, SNAP and SSI. Those individuals came from Further, 31 families (68 total 912 households, and they received people) were given assistance a variety of services, including pre- through the Colorado Community vention, early intervention family Response program. support services, emergency By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times
The Parents as Teachers space at The Morgan County Family Center has enough room for bookshelves and a large rug for playing on, in addition to the areas for holding classes, projects, games and other interaction between parents and their kids. The Family Center's new location at 411 Main St., Suite 100, offers much more space for classes, meeting rooms See CENTER, pg. 20 and offices.
REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 19
Reflections XIV CENTER from page 19 On top of these financial assistance avenues, the Family Center offers family education and support services through classes and programs. A total of 49 parents participated in Partners in Parenting and Parenting with Love and Logic classes. And 56 families participated in the Parents as Teachers program, which provides parent education and support with in-office classes and a home visitation program. A total of 74 parents and 88 children were involved in this in 2016. The Family Center also provided 95 hearing, vision, ages and stages social and emotional screenings last year, and staff helped 108 individuals apply for health care assistance through Child Health Plans + and/or Medicaid. Another 16 individuals were helped with getting their prescription medicines. And these were only a sampling of everything the Family Center offered or assisted in providing last year. There were some pretty impressive numbers racked up for these things over the course of 2016, but Gross and the Family Center staff members and board of directors are all looking to see even bigger numbers for helping people come out of 2017. Part of what will make that work is the nonprofit’s new, bigger office space at 411 Main St., Suite 100, in Fort Morgan. “It’s going really well,” Gross said of the new location. “We’re so excited. We’re not on top of each other anymore.” And it’s a good thing they got the new site and the space it offers, she said. “We’ve grown in size, doubled over the last three years,” Gross said. “That was the reason for the new location.” Currently, she has a staff of eight and is in the process of hiring a ninth employee. The increase in office space has meant being able to hold more classes and events on site, rather
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times
Morgan County Family Center Executive Director Mary Gross takes a quick break in her office at the center's new location at 411 Main St., Suite 100, in Fort Morgan. She was in the middle of trying to finishing writing up a grant proposal and had paperwork for it spread out on her desk.
than having to find places to hold them. “In our other space, we had to use locations off site,” Gross said. “We’re teaching a cooking class here, a parenting class here.” At the Family Center’s annual Chocolate Lover’s Affair fundraiser in March, Gross it was “an organization that started out 20 years ago and last year served 1,200 people,” calling that “a phenomenal number.” “We continue to grow and grow over and over again,” Gross said. Dianne Cox, president of the Morgan County Family Center Board of Directors in 2016, echoed that sentiment. “I’ve seen since I’ve been on the board this organization grow and begin serving more and more families in Morgan County,” Cox said. “It obviously serves a need, and it does great work.” She said she supports the family center so much because “it teach-
20 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times
The Parents as Teachers space at The Morgan County Family Center offers room for classes, projects, games and interaction between parents and their kids. The Family Center's new location offers space both for the holding these sessions and for storing many of the supplies and items used for this purpose.
es and trains people and helps them to improve themselves.” And now the Family Center has
the space for that to happen. Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com or Twitter @JenniGrubbs
Wiggins
Reflections XIV
Preparing for growth
Town’s parks and recreation director has big plans for department By John La Porte For the Times
Wiggins appears to be on the cusp of a big growth spurt, and Bryan Flax, the town’s parks and recreation director, is in on the ground floor. The town already has one housing subdivision under construction and another one pending, and the Wiggins school district is eying bond election-fiBryan Flax nanced construction of a new school. “In at a good time,” says Flax, who started his part-time position with the town in January. “Ideally, I’d like to see it grow into something fulltime.” He and his wife Megan (Hinojos), who grew up in Brush, have faith in
Town of Wiggins / Courtesy photo
Once fully completed, Wiggins Town Park, located at the intersection of 4th Avenue and High Street, will offer residents many recreational amenities, including horseshoe pits, soccer fields, a sand volley ball court, a basketball court, baseball, softball and t-ball fields, a pavilion, a concession stand, a play ground and a concert stage. The park and amphitheater are right next to Delbert Teets Memorial Ball Field.
the town’s growth – one of the homes being built in the new subdivision is theirs. The town could double in size, Flax believes.
Right now the focus is on Little League baseball – a collaboration with Brush that also includes kids from nearby cities and towns, such as Fort Morgan and Akron. A num-
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Reflections XIV WIGGINS from page 21 And t-ball registration is underway, with games to start in June. The town recently constructed the Delbert Teets Park Amphitheater near the baseball fields. The facility is basically a stage; those coming there for events should bring lawn chairs or blankets. A summer movie program is planned with a family-friendly lineup: May 5 – “Sing,” June 2 – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” June 30 – “Captain America: Civil War,” July 7 – “Jurassic Park,” Aug. 4 – “Despicable Me 2” and Sept. 1 – “Inside Out.” The park facilities also include a sand volleyball court; Flax is looking at starting a league for that sport. Also coming up this summer is Wiggins’ big event of the year, the Fourth of July festival. Activities include a parade, a 5-kilometer run, music and fireworks. Flax is considering adding a threeon-three basketball tournament. Plans are also underway to repeat a summer camp that was started last year. The recreation program is licensed as a day-care provider and will offer various activities for children coming to the camp. Current Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times plans call for that to take place in A baseball game is underway at Delbert Teets Memorial Ball Field in Wiggins. The town recently improved the ball June or July. field and the adjacent Town Park, with plans for even more future improvements and additional amenities. In the fall, Flax wants to start a soccer program. The new Kiowa Park subdivision is to include recreAn Elvis impersonator ation fields. Also, he says, “There’s a and band performed lot of interest in soccer in Wiggins. I on a float in honor of think there’s a strong enough marveterans during the ket for it.” 2016 Wiggins Fourth He is also eying a possible adult of July parade. Almost softball league. 50 organizations, Flax is not just looking at sports businesses and indiofferings for Wiggins, though: “I viduals were reprehave a sports background, so that’s sented in the parade, my passion, but a want to incorpomany of them tossing rate other activities to get everyone candy, confetti, water involved.” balloons or water botCultural and holiday events are possible focal points. tles to the crowd from Flax holds a bachelor’s degree in their floats. recreation and sports management Fort Morgan Times file photo and has worked with the Brush Recreation Department and the Kansas City Royals front office. He has small-town roots, growing up in Wakeeney, Kan., about halfway between Denver and Kansas City. He and his wife moved out of Denver to get back to a small town. 22 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Reflections XIV
Brush Police launch ‘yellow dot’ program By Jon Yamamoto Brush News-Tribune
Brush police have taken on a number on initiatives under Chief Travis Anderson to improve their service in the Brush community. One such program is a first for Colorado. The “Yellow Dot” program is designed to help first responders in a vehicle-related incident know if the driver of the vehicle has any pre-existing medical issues, is taking medication and whether the person has allergies. Residents only need to request a program brochure and apply a window sticker to their vehicles. Participants place the completed brochure in their glove box or motorcycle compartment and the yellow dot on the vehicle’s rear window or on the rear of a motorcycle. “The completed brochure provides first responders with necessary medical information and emergency contact information, if the driver were to be incapacitated and unable to answer questions that could save their life,” Anderson said.
Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
Chief Anderson enjoys a laugh in his office.
“There have been two pursuits that I have been involved in where the vehicles being chased had a ‘Yellow Dot’ decal displayed, both of them involved a driver that had had gone into diabetic shock,” Anderson said. A similar program is in place in Japan. The “Shoshisha” decal denotes a student driver. Drivers have the sticker on their car for one year after they get their driver’s license. In Japan, they also created a “Koreisha” mark for drivers over the age of 70. In the community A number of Brush police officers, along with a Morgan County deputy, a Colorado State Patrol trooper and a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer, got involved with Brush’s Oktoberfest by getting into the “hamster balls.” This delighted attendees.
The idea for the program is not a first responders to have timely See POLICE, pg. 24 new one. Sen. Joe Machin III, information that could save lives. D-W.Va., introduced the “National Yellow Dot Program Act” on Bingo • CaRdS • ExERCiSE • LinE danCing • PooL Dec.16, 2013. The act died on the Senate floor in the 113th Congress. However, a number of states, counties and municipalities have BRUSH HOUSING AUTHORITY enacted the program as a way for
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Reflections XIV POLICE from page 23 “All of the officers had a great time,” said Lt. Corey Hardy. It is just one of the activities that Brush Police Department has used to help to create a positive impression with the community. “Missy White is working with the local chapter of the Red Cross,” Anderson said. Similarly, Leroy Brown is working toward a firearms safety program. On June 3, Brush police will participate in a Public Safety Day at Brush High School. They will be joined by the Brush Fire Department, Fort Morgan police, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol, several other agencies and the Red Cross. “We will have the ‘bots’ and Mine Resistant Ambush Protection onsite,” Anderson said. “We will also start hitting the code enforcement aspect like junk and weeds that affect the quality of life within our community.” K-9 unit The process of beginning a Brush K-9 unit began with securing city administration support, and then asking the community – individuals and businesses – to support the project, in addition to help from public grants, Sagner said. Costs of beginning a K-9 unit range from $4,500-$15,500, according to K-9 Working Dogs International, including purchase of a dog, along with training and certification of the officer. The dog is priced upon the training it has received, ranging from drug detection, apprehension, tracking, explosive detection and for guns and ammunition. Jeremy Sagner is a drug interdiction specialist and saw the advantages of having a trained K-9 as his partner. “For me this was a no-brainer,” Sagner said. Upon securing the necessary funding, Sagner traveled to the K-9 corporate headquarters and training facility in Longford, Kan., in search of finding his perfect part-
Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
Wall-E is just one of four bots that the Brush Police Department got from the Department of Defense.
ner. “Mux was the first dog presented to me,” Sagner said. “At first, I was a little apprehensive, as he was a little high strung. I worked with 18 dogs that day.” Sagner decided to go with the first dog he saw. “Mux was the most alpha dog of the bunch,” he said. “He started out being very aggressive and then he started to mellow.” Like any police officer and their partner, an officer and his K-9 form a relationship. “The dog also has a say in choosing his partner,” Sagner said. The pair has since formed a bond. “Mux” is a 3-year-old German Sheppard from Holland, pur-
24 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
chased by K-9 Working Dogs International. The organization specializes in training and selling dogs to law enforcement agencies, military and government agencies ranging from local to international, and security agencies around the world. K-9 Working Dogs International trains about 100 dogs per year, with contracts in more than 25 countries, said Deputy Director David Kiewel. Some are raised in the United States, while others are selected from Europe. Sagner and “Mux” spent 17 days training in Longford, and will return for an additional week of training. “The trainers and I felt that Sag-
ner has a good feeling for working as a K-9 officer and a great work ethic,” Kiewel said. “He is in it for the right reasons, because he cares.” It is not Sagner’s first experience working with a K-9. “This is my first experience working as the primary K-9 dog handler, in the past my role was as a secondary one,” he said. In human terms, “Mux” is fresh out of the academy, but he’s already making an impact. His first action was Feb. 18, when the Colorado State Patrol requested “Mux” to bring along his partner, Sagner, on a DUI case. It was believed a CSP trooper had a suspect with drug involvement. See POLICE, pg. 25
Reflections XIV POLICE from page 24
Jon A. Yamamoto / Brush News-Tribune
The MRAP vehicle at the Brush Police Department. The vehicle can be used in high risk situations or rescue.
“Mux” arrived on scene and alerted to the fact there was marijuana and methamphetamine in the vehicle, Sagner said. It is a long way from Holland to Brush, but “Mux” has already found a home. And Sagner has a new partner and friend. Meanwhile, Brush police and the county have a newfound asset in fighting drugs and crime. Shared resources Brush police have four fullyfunctional robots, one of which recently performed for City Council. “They all have cameras that can see in the dark and can carry a five-pound payload. The bots can bring a cell phone to communicate with a person involved in a hos-
tage situation or one where they have barricaded themselves in a structure. The bots can also carry medical supplies,” Hardy said. The robots provide an extra set of eyes and more importantly can be used in situations where one does not want to put an officer’s life in unnecessary jeopardy, Hardy said. The robots were provided by the Department of Defense to law enforcement agencies at no additional cost to taxpayers under their 1033 program. They can run up to six hours, or around an hour and a half if one is driving them hard, according to Hardy. “Some of the batteries were donated by the manufacturer. The batteries are interchangeable with
all of the robots,” Hardy said. “The track unmanned vehicle can even go up and down stairs and even has its own communication capability,” Hardy said. The robots have a multitude of uses and are available for use throughout the county. Brush police also have accepted delivery of an MRAP vehicle from the Department of Defense. It has been used in an incident where a person shot at a sheriff’s deputy south of Wiggins. Operating costs are shared between Brush police, Fort Morgan police and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. While thought to primarily have a SWAT use, it also offers the community with a rescue vehicle capa-
ble of transporting 12 passengers. “One of the biggest reasons we got the MRAP was for its rescue aspect,” Hardy said. “It has sixwheel drive designed with individual differential locks. The MRAP can traverse up to six feet of snow and go through four feet of water,” Hardy said. “It would have been great to have had the vehicle during the 2013 flood.” The MRAP has a winch that can stabilize a vehicle or remove downed trees. It can also be used as a portable power source. “It provides our community with a great resource during the winter months or times of disasters where a fire engine or another emergency vehicle just can’t go” Hardy said.
REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 25
Reflections XIV Community
Rising Up coming into its own
Executive director: Nonprofit entering third year of ‘helping people help themselves’ By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer
Pam Hernandez finds it hard to believe that Rising Up is now its second year as a nonprofit and serves as many people as it is now does. “Time passes so fast and so much has happened in two years,” she said. “We never expected to be where we’re at.” Hernandez helped create Rising Up in spring 2015 in the wake of Caring Ministries of Morgan County closing its homeless shelter, and then the entire Caring Ministries shutting down. Over those two years, Rising Up has gone from an upstart to a successful nonprofit providing food and shelter services to community members in need and growing those services as possible, but still staying within its means, she said. Rising Up is currently housed in the United Methodist Church Annex in Fort Morgan under an incredibly reasonable lease, Hernandez said. She called that one example of the key partnerships the nonprofit has created with various churches and community organizations. For Hernandez, the best part of what’s happened with Rising Up has been “to see the community come together and support us, support something that’s new and hadn’t been done before.” She acknowledged that the needs Rising Up is seeking to meet are far from new ones. “Yes, we have a shelter, but it’s only open five months,” she said of Rising Up’s Warming Center, which is open from November to March to offer a place to come in from the cold and stay overnight as needed. And the food pantry at Rising Up is different from other ones previously in this community.
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times
Pam Hernandez, executive director of Rising Up, spends many of her days at the nonprofit's center, located in the Fort Morgan United Methodist Church Annex. Hernandez helped create Rising Up in spring 2015 in the wake of Caring Ministries of Morgan County closing first its homeless shelter and then that whole nonprofit. Hernandez said she wanted to be able to continue food pantry and cold-weather shelter services for those in need, which is what is being achieved through Rising Up now in 2017.
Called a Client Choice Pantry, it allows people in need of food to pick the items they want from the shelves at Rising Up. Hernandez said this allows the food to go further and prevent waste. The pantry currently is feeding "over 200 families a month," she said. The hardest part of getting Rising Up going, she said, was just spreading word of what they were doing and what was available to those in need, Hernandez said. But once that word did start to get out and relationships were built, there has been an outpouring of community support for Ris-
26 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
ing Up, she said. “I believe it’s the community coming together to support our efforts,” Hernandez said. Rising Up currently is receiving support from individuals, churches and various organizations and agencies. “As soon as they find out about us, they’re eager to help,” Hernandez said. She and grant writer Trish Moreno currently are the nonprofit’s paid employees, with more than 50 volunteers and the eight members of the Rising Up Board of Directors all pitching in.
“We have a very supporting board,” Hernandez said, “and we have two to five volunteers a day here. “It’s pretty amazing having that many people volunteer in our community for one organization. It really has been a community effort.” Over the winter, there also were some seasonal paid help for overnight shifts in the warming center, which was funded by a grant, but there were also volunteers filling that role sometimes. That warming shelter saw double the number of people using in See RISING UP, pg. 27
Reflections XIV RISING UP from page 26 its second season, compared with the first one, Hernandez said. But while the second season lasted a bit longer than the first, it was not a full doubling in time period. “The majority of the people who stay are our neighbors, people from our community,” she said. “A small percentage are transients.” Rising Up also has a goal of helping people using its cold-weather shelter services find longer-term housing and employment, Hernandez said. “We try to help place them when they leave,” she said. “We were not as successful this year, but it was different demographics. We try to make sure they have a place to go when we close (at the end of March).” One of the issues is the shortage of affordable housing available in Fort Morgan and Morgan County in general, she said. “There are no low-income housing options,” Hernandez said. “We had about four to five people housing with us who were working full time. That’s one of the crazy pieces of our world.” But it was not the same people constantly staying at the warming center, she said. “We had a constant flow of people coming and going,” she said. They were not all men, with even a few nights when there were more women staying the shelter than men. What was heartbreaking, she said, was when there was not enough space for those in need of
of the Rising Up pantry, with Safeway also providing food and other donations from food drives held by community members and organizations, as well as individual donations. Rising Up also is a partner agency with Food Bank of the Rockies and can buy food from the food bank to supplement the donations, she said. And the nonprofit handles the senior commodities that Caring Ministries used to distribute. “We bring in around 7,000 pounds of food here a month,” Hernandez said. But she knows that her nonprofit will need to be able to adapt and offer new or different services as needs arise or resources or proJenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times grams change. The Client Choice Pantry at Rising Up allows people needing additional food “The nice thing is we’re pretty to pick out items that they would eat, rather than a pre-selected box of fluid,” Hernandez said. “When goods. Rising Up Executive Director Pam Hernandez said this allows the something comes up, we can partfood to go further and prevent waste. The pantry currently is feeding "over ner with other agencies. That’s 200 families a month," she said. what we like doing, helping others.” And who knows what year three Hernandez said. “When Caring a place to stay on a cold night. Ministries closed, we pretty much will bring for Rising Up, but Her“We had two nights this season when we had to turn people away,” picked up where they left off with nandez and her board will do what the clientele. That’s what we want- they can to meet the challenges Hernandez said. “We just didn’t ed, not have a panic in the commu- and help people to rise up above have the space. We have to be their circumstances. nity.” careful. I just really didn’t believe “The key thing is we all have difStill, she knows there is more we’d ever have to turn people away, but when it happens, it hap- need for food than what Rising Up ferent gifts and callings and we use our gifts to the best of our abilcan provide at this point. Again, pens.” ities,” Hernandez said. “People the issue is space. The food pantry also has seen just rising up and helping them“If we had a larger facility, we’d increases in how many people are be able to take another day of food selves is what we’re wanting to seeking supplemental nutrition, do.” rescue (supplies) from Walmart,” she said. “We’re serving over 600 individ- Hernandez said. Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com And Walmart is a major supplier or Twitter @JenniGrubbs uals, over 200 families, a month,”
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REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 27
Reflections XIV Philanthropy
Community seeing benefits from couple’s foundation Dahms-Talton Foundation contributed to Eben Ezer capital campaign, band shell, science summer camp, scholarships and more
By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer
Polli Talton moved to Colorado on a leap of faith and hopes for a future with the man she now has been with for almost 50 years. While pursuing graduate studies in Miami, Florida, her roommate invited her to a party and Polli (full first name Pollard) met Dr. Alan Dahms, who was teaching at the University of Florida. “Alan said, ‘I’m moving to Denver in a month. Would you consider that?’” Polli recalled. “When I met Alan, that was the end of my Florida experience.” She did more than consider his question and moved to Colorado, too. Polli did have a connection to the state, since her parents had retired and were living in Denver at that time. Alan also had some knowledge of the state, and even the Eastern Plains, which came after his parents decided to move to Brush in 1956. He was in college in Minnesota at the time. “So that’s the (first) Colorado connection,” Alan said. “That’s the first I had heard of Boulder and Fort Morgan.” But Polli’s decision to move was the bigger gamble, he said. “Polli’s the one who came out to Denver…” not knowing what would happen, Alan said. “I had a position arranged.” “I moved (to Denver) in the apartment building where Alan was living,” Polli recalled. “I had a couple roommates, and I started
teaching at East High School.” Her getting that post was not something that was certain since holding a master’s degree, she technically was overqualified. “Although she had advanced degrees, (Denver Public Schools) hired her pretty quickly after she got here,” Alan said. Polli would wind up teaching business classes to students at East High School until she retired. She also taught at Barnes Business College over the years. Now, she enjoys her four cats and participating in weight-lifting classes at Fort Morgan Senior Center. With a Ph.D. in psychology, Alan taught at Metropolitan State College (now University) of Denver and is a licensed clinical psychologist who had a private practice. He also is the author of 12 books and many more published articles. Alan is a pilot and serves on the Fort Morgan Airport Advisory Board. He learned to fly at Centennial Airport in the Denver metro area and now owns an airplane he keeps in a private hangar at Fort Morgan’s airport. That is, except for when he takes it out and up into the skies. “I still fly, which is a great joy,” Alan said. “It’s like therapy.” The proximity of an airport was another thing that attracted them to retiring to Morgan County. Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times “We both became smitten with Polli Talton-Dahms and Dr. Alan Dahms moved to their home north of Fort Morgan in 2004. The couple created the Dahms-Talton Foundation in 2006. Colorado, the atmosphere,” Alan recalled. Through the private foundation, they have donated money toward projects Married in Genessee Mountain and causes they believe in, including scholarships and educational proChurch in January 1973, the cougrams, contributing toward building the Dahms-Talton Band Shell in Fort ple learned that their officiant was Morgan City Park and contributing $1 million toward Eben Ezer's coming new residential campus.
28 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
See DAHMS, pg. 29
Reflections XIV DAHMS from page 28 the uncle of a current sergeant in the Fort Morgan Police Department. Alan called that a “great coincidence” that they learned about a while back. Still, it was not by accident or coincidence they wound up buying their current home north of Fort Morgan in 2004. “There are many reasons we’re here, and we thoroughly enjoy it,” Alan said. Both Alan and Polli found themselves needing safe, caring homes for their mothers, and Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center in Brush wound up being the right place. “It took us eight years to find a place” for their mothers, who both lived into their 90s, Alan said. Polli’s mom was clear-headed later in life, but Alan’s mother suffered from dementia. Eben Ezer was able to care for them both at the levels they needed. “We witnessed first-hand the unconditional care that they gave,”
Polli said. Alan began serving on the Eben Ezer Board of Directors in 2000. They decided they wanted to support the capital campaign for Eben Ezer to build a new residential campus, and they have the resources to do that. In 2006, they formed the DahmsTalton Foundation, a private foundation with a mission statement of “providing services to persons needing assistance to maintain quality of life, sponsoring research and treatment for neurobiological disabling disorders, improving health-care delivery in rural Colorado, supporting health-care education and expanding economic development and improving quality of life in Morgan County.” Through this foundation, the couple has donated money to a variety of projects, programs and causes, including the campaign to build the band shell in Fort Morgan that bears the foundation’s
get in-depth, hands-on science lessons that may not be available in their schools. “Our foundation is a testamentary foundation,” Alan said. “It’s private. Polli and I are the only donors, and we keep adding to it.” What’s more, the couple has designated that foundation as the destination for their estates “in perpetuity” upon their death. “We’re kind of embarrassed about this,” Alan said about being interviewed for this story. “We try to stay under the radar. What we’re doing is very personal, and if it makes a few folks feel better, that’s all you can ask.” It is fair to say that there are far more than few people impacted positively by their foundation, and many more will benefit in future years.
name, subsidizing costs for The Body Shop summer science camp for Morgan County eighththrough 12th-graders and offering scholarships to Eben Ezer staff members who want to progress their medicine-related careers. Their most recent major donation, though, was $1 million toward the Eben Ezer capital campaign. The projects, programs and people they choose to support are very deliberate and close to their hearts. “We’re not casual about these projects,” Alan said. The Body Shop program that they fund is now in its fifth year, with middle school students participating in classes at Eben Ezer and high school students in ones at Morgan Community College. “We fund that so it doesn’t cost the kids a nickel,” Alan said. “They get to dissect sheep organs” and
Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com or Twitter @JenniGrubbs
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Reflections XIV
City of Fort Morgan
Parks & Rec much more than just the swimming pool
Elizabeth Smith runs programs for every age, every ability and every interest By Robert Leininger Times Editor
Elizabeth Smith has the best job in the world. It may not be the highest paying, and it may not be the most glamorous, but how many people can say they get paid to have fun? As the Fort Morgan Parks Department’s Recreational Superintendent, Smith’s job is to create fun things for people of all ages to do. From organizing bus trips for area seniors so they can spend a day gambling in Black Hawk, to teaching three-year-olds the basics in passing, dribbling a shooting a basketball, (she calls them the “dinky dunkers”) Smith’s goal is to offer recreational activities that run the age gamut. Born and raised in Idaho, Smith moved to Fort Morgan because of the job. She has been with the department for about a year-and-ahalf, and finds it both challenging and exciting. “I handle all the programming,” she explained. “I started as the recreational coordinator, and was given the superintendent’s job about six months ago. Her favorite part of the park department’s operation is the Riverside Park Pool. “It was one of the reasons I took the job,” she said. And now she even gets to dole out one of the coolest summer jobs in the region – being a lifeguard. “It may look like they are just there to work on their tan, but they are very well trained,” said Smith. The 40 lifeguards that keep
Robert Leininger / Fort Morgan Times
Fort Morgan Parks Department’s Recreational Superintendent Elizabeth Smith in front of the band shell at City Park.
the large pool facility safe must be water safety instructor certified and now how to handle themselves in case of an emergency. The Learn to Swim program is one of the department’s most popular, and offers lessons for all ages and all levels. “We can’t wait for you and your family to learn and grow with us,” said Smith. And you don’t have to live in Fort Morgan to enjoy the facility or take part in the swim training. “We have people from all over Morgan County participate. Anybody can come and play,” Smith encouraged.
30 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
See RECREATION, pg. 31
The parks and rec department even takes care of the city’s canine friends with Doggy Day at the pool, set for the last day of the pool season. This year’s event will be held on August 13 from 5-6 p.m. Robert Leininger Fort Morgan Times
Reflections XIV RECREATION from page 30 The other very popular program the city offers is soccer. “We teach recreational youth soccer players the fundamentals of playing, emphasizing good sportsmanship and teamwork,” said Smith. And even pre-Kindergarten kids can join the fun. Bringing people into the community is also a part of the department, and one of the biggest draws in the city’s two disc golf courses – recognized as some of the best in the country. This year, anyone who has always been curious to play the game, has no reason not to try it, since the city will loan you the bag of discs free of charge. “It’s like golf. You use different discs for different distances,” Smith said. “And now we offer free
rental discs.” Anybody can come by the Armory, located across the street from City Park at 528 State Street, and take out a bag of discs to give the sport a try. Another new program, entering just its second year, is tennis instruction for kids 4 through 11. “For the 4-year-olds, we are just teaching them to basically walk a straight line,” Smith said with a smile. “You can’t expect the little ones to pick up a racquet and just start smashing the ball. We make it fun. It’s split into four classes, so kids play and learn with others their age.” The tennis camp is held three days a week for the entire month of June. Last year over 25 kids attended, and Smith thinks this year will surpass that. The coaches
are all certified instructors that fol- that it will offer music for all tastes and preferences. low United State Tennis Association guidelines, Smith added. “That’s what we are all about,” But don’t think all Smith does is said Smith, “providing recreation and culture that both enriches and organize sports. A big part of her unifies a community.” job is also one of the favorites – organizing the city’s Party in the All that is offered is simply too Park and summer concert series much to list, so Smith recomperformances. Held on Thursday mends everyone either pick up a evenings, the Party in the Park is a copy or read online the departfree community barbecue, where ment’s Information and Program everyone gets burgers, hot dogs Guide – a 64-page magazine that outlines all the activities and and all the fixings free of charge. In addition, there are games, priz- events offered, including the many es and of fun special events includ- things that are geared towards ing live music. This year’s event is seniors in the community. A copy is available at the City of Fort Morset for June 8. gan Recreation Center, located at The summer concerts are also 528 State Street or go to www.citheld every Thursday evening yoffortmorgan.com/recreation. through June and July and feature Call 970-542-3921 for more inforlive music from every genre. This mation. year’s lineup has yet to be announced, but Smith said the Robert Leininger: 719-685-6970, bands were being booked now and rleininger@fortmorgantimes.com
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Robert Leininger / Fort Morgan Times
Faces, a group out of Denver, perform at a Thursday night summer concert series last year. The concerts will once again be held Thursday evenings in June and July.
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Reflections XIV Schools
Wilson has vision for Brush’s educational future
By Brian Porter Brush News-Tribune
Voters have done their part and soon Brush schools administration will learn if matching grant funds will allow it to proceed with plans to satisfy significant needs. The school district is at a time of renewal, Superintendent Dr. Bill Wilson says. “We’re renewing our commitment to excellence, to facilities, to teachers and a renewal of partnerships,” he said. State funding cuts have cost Brush $10 million, he told district stakeholders during a presentation leading into a vote to support school bonds last fall. He has been a change agent to rebuild relationships, trust and confidence in the schools. He points to the district’s advisory council as evidence progress is being made. “We tried to have one for the first 18 months I was here and we didn’t have all the pieces we needed represented on the community side,” Wilson said. Looking forward He sounds a bit like Howard Hughes when he speaks of Brush schools. “The focus isn’t in the past, the focus is on the future,” Wilson said. “Brush schools are already in a good place, but we shouldn’t be satisfied. We should continue to try and raise the bar.” He asks administrators and staff to focus forward, on what Brush schools can be, not to dwell on the circumstances of the past. “There are challenges we all face that we wish would not have happened. Those things can divide a
we like the test or don’t like the test, we need to perform,” Wilson said. Test performance can’t be all that is considered when measuring students. “We may get to the point where we are accredited with distinction, but if we have bullying or a high dropout level we have something to work on,” Wilson said. “Good enough is not good enough. Let’s be realistic, but let’s be persistent. Let’s implement a path to get us there.” Grant decision That’s the impetus behind the bond package and the request for a BEST grant. The bond passed, Wilson says, not because the community is always in agreement, but Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times because there’s an interest and passion for children and the BeetBrush residents Lloyd and Betty Mayhugh look over information about two ballot issues. The Keep the Beet Alive Committee sponsored a public event diggers. “We have to use that energy and Tuesday night, Oct. 11, 2016, at the Morgan County Fairgrounds to make momentum to propel us into the its case for the ballot issues. future,” Wilson said. He hopes to learn sometime in community,” Wilson said. “What as their peers in Brush. That leads May if Brush received approval of the focus should be – and is – on is to difficulty for teachers, who Wilits BEST grant request, a thorwhat is good for kids. What is son says spend half of their ough and competitive process. He good for kids is ultimately what is instruction days either preparing believes there may be 50 school good for the community.” for testing or administering a test. districts applying for funding this Lifting performance Brush students are provided year, and most aren’t seeking the opportunities to learn and grow, A recent school board report funding level of Brush. he says, pointing to alumni of the indicates a growing performance But, Brush has something going gap in Brush based on family eco- past and present who have done for it that only one other request nomics. Middle class children are extraordinary things. will have. found not to have as great of a “We serve students well. We pro“We are asking for a lot of fund“summer slide,” as the presentavide them opportunities,” Wilson ing, but the voters have already tion called it. Lower income chilsaid. “The key is how do we prosaid yes,” Wilson said. “I’m dren can fall behind others quickly vide more support for those who encouraged by our chances.” because of that “summer slide.” don’t traditionally fit. I’m looking One reason, he says, is Brush for partnerships to better personal- voters supported participation at a “The largest challenge for us, ize our learning.” and for other districts, nowadays, 54 percent level, when to qualify is the mobility our country He has some concern with test for the grant it only had to particienjoys,” Wilson said. scores. pate at 47 percent. “If we don’t get funded,” Wilson Those students don’t always “Our scores are not where we arrive achieving on the same level would like them to be. Whether See WILSON, pg. 39
32 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Reflections XIV MMA
Master Jeong working with youth at TaeKwonDo gym
White Tiger MMA still young to Fort Morgan area By Brandon Boles Times Sports Reporter
Over 10 years ago, Master Won Jeong first came over to the United States as a college student looking to see more of the world. After that first trip, he came back to America and found his calling to make it in America. The journey recently put him in Fort Morgan back in September with the opening of his first gym. His journey began, however, at age six in Korea. “I trained Taekwondo since I was six, so my training has been for over 20 years,” Jeong said. “My father is my grandmaster. When I was young, my environment was having so many grandmasters. It was habitual for me.” When he was old enough to move out, Jeong decided he wanted to take some time and see more of the world. In 2005, he went to Boston to be a college student.
Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times
Master Jeong (left) goes through a demonstration in one of his Taekwondo classes at the White Tiger Taekwondo gym on Tuesday, April 4, 2017.
After college, he decided to come back to the United States to pursue much more. At first, Jeong came to America to see more of the world following a brief stint in the South Korean
Army. As his time continued, he began looking for opportunities to teach Taekwondo. Various stops he has been at include Florida, California, Boston, Mississippi, and more. During his
time in the country, he applied to be a master teacher at gyms all ready set up to begin his teaching career. His time spent around the country, primarily in larger metropolitan areas, opened his mind on where he wanted to continue his journey and open up his first gym. The plan was to move to a small town for the gym, rather that continue his teaching in the big cities. “In my experience, the best place to settle down is not a big city,” Jeong said. “Big cities are like lots of big animals in a cage at the same time. I don’t want that. If I didn’t get to the big cities before, then I would have rather gone to Denver or bigger cities. After lots of experiences in America with big cities, small towns are better.” Fort Morgan became an intriguing fit for Jeong due to the number of people that stay in the community for an extended time. “In this town, lots of people are going to stay longer,” Jeong said. “Grandparents, their kids, and grand kids all stay in the same town.” That does not mean the big city is something Jeong is trying to See TIGER, pg. 34
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Reflections XIV TIGER from page 33 avoid. He admitted the close drive to Denver was another benefit to opening the gym in Morgan County. “Fort Morgan is not that far from Denver, so it’s easy to access a big city,” Jeong said. “I really like Fort Morgan. My plan is to be here with this school. The most important thing is to give students good direction and keep the school here for a long time.” So far, the gym has seen a good number of students turn out to try Taekwondo. Jeong offers four classes arraigned by age group three times a week, starting with kids from age 4 and 5 all the way up to teenagers and young adults. He is also planning to offer a mediation type class that will be open for all people, not just participants in the class. All students follow a curriculum set by Jeong that teaches the sport but also motivates the kids to do well in their environments at home, in school, and in the community. “What I’m really concerned about (in my profession) are my students,” Jeong said. “It is a business, but it feels more like an education. The master has to give good directions and take a good measurement for students to have a good attitude. Schooling can go far.” Jeong keeps a poster up with the kids listed and gives them a mark every time they show any of the Taekwondo five tenets, including: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. He also works closely with the kids’ parents and teachers, having them keep track of good habits at home and completing school work by filling out worksheets to bring back to him. Training starts at the white belt and goes through an eight-step process. First is basic motion and form, which is set per age group. Kicking skill and self-defense are next. One-step sparring, breaking skill, sparring skill and philosophy are the final steps in the curriculum. When a student has taken at
Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times
Participants in the White Tiger Taekwondo class practice some of their kicking techniques in a drill at the White Tiger Taekwondo gym in Fort Morgan
least 18 classes, they are given the opportunity to test for the next color belt and continue their path in Taekwondo. “I take them to Denver and let them take the test when they are ready and want to,” Jeong said. A good number of students are all ready enrolled at the gym, but more could be on the way soon, according to Jeong. “These days, some people ask me about the school and say they want to put their kids in the program,” Jeong said. “This kind of education takes time. I would say Taekwondo is great to keep the body well.” As for the man who left his home country to see the world, he now hopes that he will stick around for a long time in the community. “I really like it here,” Jeong said. Brandon Boles: 970-441-5102, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/ FMT_Sports
34 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
Master Jeong demonstrates a high kick for his class do during a session at the White Tiger Taekwondo gym in Fort Morgan Brandon Boles Fort Morgan Times
Reflections XIV Weldon Valley School District
District has ‘ideal atmosphere’ Superintendent hopes to finish career in Weldona By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer
Since it was created, Weldon Valley School District has only grown by 47 kids, which still means just 255 students in preschool through 12th grades. But that is not a bad thing, according to Weldon Valley Superintendent Doug Pfau. “Honestly, we don’t have the capacity to grow a lot, based on some intentional planning,” he said. “We’re intentionally staying small.” Approximately 30 to 40 percent of the student body comes from out of the district, but those kids have to reapply every year to come back, Pfau said. That small student population makes for small class sizes and more opportunities for teachers’ attention. “It certainly is an ideal atmosphere,” Pfau said. In fact, even one student being out sick or otherwise absent can be noticeable to practically the whole school, he said. “When a kid’s gone, we know it
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times
Doug Pfau, Weldon Valley School District superintendent, calls the small, rural district an "ideal atmosphere" for teaching students and the kids learning. Pfau started in Weldon Valley as principal in 2012-13 and was hired as superintendent the following school year.
every time,” Pfau said. He is in his fourth school year as the Weldon Valley superintendent, and he had a year as principal there before that. “Weldon Valley’s got lots of posi-
tive things going on in regards to good staff and good programs,” Pfau said. “Academically, we’ve shown that we’re pretty capable of high achievement.” He also has the data to back that
up, with statistics and test results being a tool he is familiar with using to show achievement and growth. But there also are state-level See WELDON, pg. 36
UNITY
The commitment to strengthen relationships and benefit communities close to home and beyond. REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 35
Reflections XIV WELDON from page 35 achievements that show this. “In 2013, we were accredited with distinction,” Pfau said. “Last year, we got the governor’s award for high growth in the elementary.” In athletics, Weldon Valley also has some strong programs, as well as a superintendent who serves on the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) board of control and executive board. “We’ve obviously had some extremely good volleyball programs over the years and have picked up as far as being a lot more solid in other programs,” Pfau said. “I think track we’ve always been solid. Baseball, we’ve got good coaches and kids. It’s 1A baseball.” The superintendent has seen some other changes happening over his time with the school district. “Our staff is significantly younger than it used to be,” Pfau said, pointing to retirement or seeking opportunities for higher salaries in larger school districts as reasons for that change. “Any of my staff, if they can improve their standing anywhere else, I’m all for helping them.” He knows something about that, having made some big cross country moves for that same purpose. Pfau grew up in southwest Montana, the son of an elementary principal father and a fifth-grade teacher mother. After high school, he went to the School of Mines in Butte, Montana, and studied petroleum engineering for 2.5 years before transferring to Montana State University and switching to civil engineering as his focus. After graduating from college, he went on to teach math and English for 12 years in Montana. Pfau also worked in construction for part of those years and was making more money doing that than as a full-time teacher. He realized he needed to do something else to better support his family, so he looked toward school administration. He completed a master’s degree program, which led him to becoming an administrator, albeit states
of the district,” he said. “I took Pawnee from 111th to sixth in the state.” That’s part of where using data comes in. “Ninety percent of what happens is if you bring the data to the attention of the people, a little bit of attention and self pride raises the bar,” Pfau said. “If people know you’re measuring it, they want to be successful. ... It’s really neat to see the pride in people’s faces and habits when they do well and hold themselves to that level.” And while he is proud of what has been accomplished by the students and faculty during his tenure as superintendent thus far, he does foresee the conclusion to his time in Weldon Valley, and the workforce. “I hope to finish my career here, which shouldn’t be more than about five more years,” Pfau said. Still, he does have some goals before that happens. One of them is a bit of a long shot, though. “I would like to be able to build a new gymnasium,” he said. But the financial realities of that Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times file photo Weldon Valley junior Anna Sanchini (13) kills the ball at the net over a Peetz happening are fairly bleak due to the “assessed value of the district,” defender on Oct. 27, 2016 at Northeastern Junior College. The Warriors even though he believes most of won 3-0 that night. “We’ve obviously had some extremely good volleyball the students’ parents would be in programs over the years and have picked up as far as being a lot more solid favor of pursuing that project. in other programs,” Weldon Valley Superintendent Doug Pfau said. “We’ve got good support,” he said. “We just don’t have bonding capacity.” be less likely to happen. away from where he started. In the meantime, he plans to go Pfau’s wife works at a larger But a side benefit was “it also after more achievable goals. allowed me to have more time with school district, Re-3 in Fort Mor“We’re going toward one-to-one,” gan, where she is the database my kids,” Pfau said of the move he said of the ratio between the manager at the District Support toward administration from the district’s technological devices and Center. classroom. its seventh- to 12th-grade students. They have two adult children The only regret he has about The goal is get the students and a 16-year-old son who is a that move, though, was losing sophomore at Brush High School. access to and experience with techsome of the direct connections nology so that they will “be as They have moved across the with students that teachers get in ready for college and careers when state for various school district classrooms. “The relationships that you build administrations Pfau has had, with they get out,” Pfau said. The school does have fiber optic him landing in Pawnee prior to with kids, it’s sure not nearly as broadband access, along with wireWeldon Valley. close as it would be if you were less hotspots. “I was looking for a better place teaching them every day,” he said. “We’ve focused on trying to have “But that’s also what I enjoy about to raise the children of the move from Colorado’s West Slope to the that capability for the last couple being a superintendent in a small years so we can have that one-toschool district. I get to do hall duty northeast corner. one and increase that capability for Fortunately, Pfau had the skills in the morning, see them at our kids,” he said. these smaller district were seeklunch.” ing. If he were an administrator in a Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com “My specialty is raising the level or Twitter @JenniGrubbs larger school district, that would
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Reflections XIV
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Reflections XIV Political advocacy
Re-branding as Pro 15 Group leaving behind word that now has different meanings when it comes to politics By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer
Words can have many meanings, and they can take on new and different ones with cultural changes and new associations with the words are formed. Such is the case for the “progressive,” which has become a political synonym for liberal and all the connotations, good or bad, that go with the latter word. Progressive 15, a political advocacy organization, “was formed to speak with a single, unified voice for Northeastern Colorado, to influence public policy and to enhance our economic viability and quality of life,” according to the nonprofit’s website. Now, Progressive 15’s executive director, Cathy Shull, and board of directors are looking to re-brand by shortening the name a bit and losing the association with what today has become a very politically sensitive word, especially among the organization’s mostly rural, conservative member communities. “When the group was originally named in 2000, the commissioners who started the organization wanted a group that was progressive (in the pro-active sense), rather than reactive,” Shull explained. Now, to better emphasize the pro-active side of things, Progressive 15 is in the process of becoming Pro 15. “The word progressive got coopted, and we’re very much a non-
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times file photo
Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, left, listens to a question from the people gathered Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, at Morgan Community College. Pro 15, a political advocacy nonprofit led by Executive Director Cathy Shull, right, sponsored Lynne's visit to Morgan County.
partisan group,” Shull said. “People got the wrong idea.” The new name will also better represent what the organization does, which is advocacy in favor of positions and issues on behalf of its members. “We’re very pro,” Shull said. “We’re going to look at ideas, legislation that will help us.” The group’s overall mission and objectives are not changing, she said. “We’re just tweaking the name a little,” Shull said. What had not yet been decided was whether the letters in “Pro” would stand for anything, or be a single word of encouragement and
38 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS
favor. That decision is likely to happen before long, though, since the change to Pro 15 is in progress. But while the organization’s logo has already changed, as have pictures and the name on its Facebook page, and its Twitter handle is now @Pro15NE, the new website was not yet live as of April 10. But it is likely to be up and running under the new pro15.org domain before too much longer. Those changes are mainly technical and cosmetic ones for marketing purposes as part of the rebranding. Many other things for the organization will stay the same. That
includes holding educational and advocacy forums and events for its members on a wide range of topics. Big ones in recent years tackled housing, transportation and health care. “Still our biggest mission is legislation,” Shull said, including seeking to have input on changes in rules in laws and advocating for what “is going to help us out here or hurt us the least.” Getting the rural viewpoint out in front of lawmakers and decisionmakers and persuading them to incorporate it into policy has been a major goal for Progressive 15 all along, and it will be still as the See PRO 15, pg. 39
PRO 15 from page 38 organization becomes Pro 15. “That’s a lot of what happens,” she said. “We just have to be at the table and make sure people remember we’re out here, and we just have a different set of needs sometimes.” Due to lower population for a large area of land, Northeast Colorado is limited to having only three direct government representatives at General Assembly, one state senator Senate from District 1 (currently Jerry Sonnenberg) and two state representatives in House Districts 65 and 64 (currently Jon Becker and Kimmi Lewis). “With just those three at the state Capitol, that’s why the original group decided to include Weld, Adams and Douglas counties,” Shull said, pointing to those counties’ “huge population and land base.” But there could be some big changes coming after he 2020 U.S. Census and resulting political redistricting, she said, adding that Pro 15 would seek to be very involved in that reapportioning of state legislative districts. “The one thing I’ve found over the years is you do your best to get your message out, protect the ones you’re advocating for, but there’s a whole lot of players in the mix,” Shull said.
Reflections XIV
Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times file photo
Colorado Transportation District 5 Commissioner Kathy Gilliland, left, speaks about the state's efforts to balance funding for transportation projects and projects "not jut in the metro area, but across the state" at the start of a panel discussion about transportation at the 2015 Progressive 15 Fall Conference in Fort Morgan. Progressive 15, which now is re-branding itself as Pro 15, hosts forums and events focused on specific topics to provide information to its members.
Political fortunes can change with each and every election, much like with what happened in the presidential election last fall. “With the change at the national level, there’s way more things at the federal level that we’re looking at than in the past,” Shull said. Some top issues for Pro 15 continue to include: transportation and funding for related projects;
immigration, particularly related to agricultural workers; health care and a lack of providers in rural areas; hemp as an agricultural crop, but also with the cannabis plant having the status of a schedule I controlled substance as marijuana; water, with the organization coming down in favor of the Northern Integrated Supply Project and its two reservoirs pro-
posed to be built north of Fort Collins and near Ault; and furthering broadband access in rural areas. And regardless of the first word in its name, the organization still represents 15 counties in northeast Colorado and continues to advocate for its members’ interests.
said, it would all be within one “envelope.” It may also provide for the opportunity to restore some shared programs that had to be cut. Help wanted As the school district focuses on building facilities for the future, Wilson is also focused on other areas. “I hope that we’re creating an atmosphere of trust and transparency,” he said. It compares to a sports team, he said. Everyone in Brush wears the same uniform and is on the same
team, but must all be teammates. There will be a need for a few new teammates this fall when school board elections arrive. All seven places on the board will be on the ballot. Two of those serving are term-limited and two others are appointments which will need to be elected. “We have four board members who can run,” Wilson said. There are seven seats on the board. “I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think this community was full of good people who care about our kids,” Wilson said.
Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com or Twitter @JenniGrubbs
WILSON from page 32 said, “the recourse is to reapply. We could go back and take a look at some changes on our project that might allow it to be funded.” He’s concerned that the middle school not become like Central School, which is vacant and has fallen into disrepair. He has heard some ideas for the space. It could partially be used for a growing police department. Mayor Chuck Schonberger has brought up the idea of repurposing the building as temporary housing. It could also have future recreational uses. “Can it be renovated in a cost-ef-
fective manner? I don’t know. We’re open to that,” Wilson said. If grant funding is approved, Brush would locate middle and high school students on the existing high school campus, with some renovation and reconstruction of the high school, in addition to middle school construction. “We want to create learning environments that meet our kids’ needs for the next 50 years,” Wilson said. He can see some potential savings to the district through utilities. Although there will be more people on a larger campus, Wilson
REFLECTIONS • APRIL 19, 2017 • 39
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Reflections XIV Business
Leprino Foods Foundation: committed to community support By Sherry Garcia Special to the Fort Morgan Times
Leprino Foods, a company wellknown for its global responsibilities, continues to make an impact in the surrounding areas around Leprino’s various plant locations worldwide. One such location is Fort Morgan. The Leprino Foods Foundation Team in this location was established in 2015. Servicing the Northeastern Plains of Colorado since then, the Leprino Foods Foundation has continued to make a difference in Morgan County. This writer was given the opportunity to sit down with the Leprino Foods Foundation Team for an open discussion about the team’s charitable donations, events, goals, community impact and response. What Charitable Activities has the team participated in? Some of the recent charitable activities the team has participated in, to name a few, consist of activities such as: MCC Foundation’s 18th Annual Gala where Leprino Foods was a gold sponsor and had five employees attend; 25 boxes of girl scout cookies were purchased from Girl Scout Troop #80647; Hometown Heroes; Winter Coat Drives for the Morgan County Golden Stars; food drives; Blessings in a Backpack; Giving Tree and Relay for Life. A goat and two lambs were purchased at the Morgan County Fair in 2016. In 2015, a Holstein cow and goat were purchased. We’ve also sponsored a kickball team for the Morgan County Golden Stars. Leprino Foods sponsored the Brush Middle School wrestling team to attend the Colorado regional and state tournaments.
Sherry Garcia / Fort Morgan Times
Leprino Food Foundation members Nick Mosqueda, Risa Esterly, Sandie Epp, Bob Davidson, Dave Fowler, Sheryl Groves, Julia Lambert, Erica Mendez, Bobbie Prell, Susan Priemel, Jessica Redden and Johnny Rivera
During 2016, a total of $15,000 in grant checks were awarded and distributed to four organizations: Converge Day Treatment Center, the Morgan County 4-H Club Beetdigger Robotics (aka Mecha-Maniacs), Morgan County Family Center and S.A.R.A., Inc What is the motivation that drives your team? The heart of the people employed at Leprino Foods and their willingness to be so actively
involved with wanting to make a difference in our community is a big motivator. The ability to see what our efforts have done for the different communities is another thing that keeps us going. What would you say is the short-term goal for the Foundation? In 2017, Leprino Foundation Team will be allocating a total of $20,000 in grant checks. These will be awarded to one or more Mor-
gan County non-profit organizations in the very near future. Nick Mosqueda, Susan Priemel and Risa Esterly presented potential donation organizations to the Leprino Foods Board. As of now, the board is still making their decision. Once the decision is made, these organizations will be announced and cash awards will be distributed. See LEPRINO, pg. 42
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Reflections XIV LEPRINO from page 41 There is a Prom Formal Wear drive to be held tentatively in April. We will also be helping with the After Prom activities throughout the high schools in Morgan County. There will be gifts donated for prizes, string cheese for snacks, and activities sponsored for one of the most memorable dances in a high school student’s life. We are also looking into purchasing more animals from the Morgan County Fair this upcoming year. What are some of the Leprino Foundation Team’s long-term goals? One of our biggest long-term goals is to have the ability to maintain more of a presence in our
community schools by mentoring and nutrition programs. We would like to establish more core groups. Leprino Foundation wants to leave a legacy with the community support we will continue to offer for generations to come. Another goal is to maintain a presence at job fairs for recent high school and college graduates. How and where does the team feel their activities have impacted most in Morgan County? It is hard to pick just one area we feel has had the most impact. Everything we’ve done has had some sort of positive effect. We have a lot of dedicated employees that keep contributing to our causes and the number of
participants keeps growing. Employees often come to us to discuss the idea of a fundraiser, possible charitable contribution or worthy cause to donate to. What has been the community’s response to your team’s efforts? We have received more request for donations, and these requests have doubled within a year. There are more people and businesses looking for ways to donate and contribute to us. Are there any other areas you would like to approach with the Foundation’s Program? Education and mentoring are our strongest areas. There are a lot of legal requirements to get into the schools, rightfully so. This is our future generation! Their
safety and well-being are paramount so we understand these rules and guidelines are set for a reason. As of yet, this has still been an area that has been difficult to get established, mainly because most of the members of this board have full time jobs at Leprino Foods while the children are in school or after school. The team has been looking at implementing a non-profit after school program called “Kids At Their Best.” This is a program that will give a child the chance to experience activities which would not be accessible to them otherwise. Cost and/or transportation issues can be a big hindrance when it comes to a child living in a rural area such as Morgan County. “Kids At Their Best” would bring these activities to them.
Party in the Park
Robert Leininger / Fort Morgan Times
Fort Morgan will kick off its popular Summer Concert Series with a Party in the Park on June 8. This year’s event will include a free community barbecue, games, prizes and live music. 42 • APRIL 19, 2017 • REFLECTIONS