CROSSROADS

from Redstone March / April 2022

WHAT’S COOKIN’

Think like a Lyons Local-vore

By Kim Mitchell Redstone Review

LYONS – Here we are Lyons, two years after the Covid pandemic shutdown that began in March 2020, and impacted so much of what was normal in our everyday lives. We have all learned so much in the past two years about community, school, family, zoom meetings, being outdoors and each other. One of the great takeaways from the past two years is the significance of supporting our small businesses and how folks like us who choose to live in a small community can make our impact.

Did you know shopping and supporting locally is one of the simplest ways to strengthen our vibrant community and maintain our distinctive community character? While it may be easy to fall into the groove of online shopping for convenience’s sake, by shopping locally we are adding dollars to our community, enhancing local employment opportunities, and supporting the growth of our exceptional businesses, whose owners invest their efforts and dollars in Lyons too.

While we realize you can’t shop for everything in Lyons, we want to continue to encourage residents to visit our local businesses year-round and think like a Lyons local-vore. There are a multitude of reasons to eat locally, play locally and shop locally. Our favorites are below.

Keep more tax dollars in our community: When you spend at local retailers, an average of $70 of every $100 spent will be reinvested in our community. These dollars help fund town improvements, parks, schools, non-profits and many other local amenities.

Small businesses give back to their community: Nationwide, 92 percent of small business owners personally donate to local charities and nonprofits. We see that with our local events – Spooktacular, Parade of Lights, Duck Races, Hootenannies, LEAF and more.

Keep our community interesting: Imagine Lyons with no small businesses, only big-box franchise stores from major retailers and restaurants. No thanks.

Celebrate Lyons: Spend a day appreciating what made you want to live in Lyons in the first place. Surely, as you first entered Lyons you were drawn to our local independently owned businesses and our historic downtown. Spend some time shopping or eating in Lyons and I am sure you will be greeted with a warm smile. Check-in to your favorite place to grab a bite, or get a massage, visit the bike shop or the auto repair, include your favorite hotspots and the newest additions to town. Catch up with friends and neighbors, enjoy a beverage at your favorite watering hole, reconnect and rediscover the services and business who work to make Lyons thrive.

Find unique gifts: Skip those overrated, mass-produced items and be rewarded with an array of unique and quality products for everyone on your list.

Support local jobs: Small companies nationwide account for 64 percent of new jobs created in the U.S. annually.

Our local retailers, service businesses, restaurants and more are standing by and ready to help you with flowers, pet care, auto needs, date nights, gifts, fabric, crafts, jewelry, groceries and more. Let’s continue to show our small, local independently owned businesses that we are grateful for them and their services to Lyons. Let’s thank them for their impact on our community which goes above and beyond the friendly experience we receive every time we visit them. Be a Lyons Local-vore and make your big impact. It really does start with each of us.

Christmas merchandise at Solace on Main Street.

Kim Mitchell is Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Town of Lyons. Kim has called Lyons home since 2009.

Taxes Continued from Page 8

ization was on the lookout for that independent type I mentioned earlier. I joined and never looked back. I warmed to a group of slightly nerdy but generous and big-hearted friends. Each year in January we cram a bunch of IRS instructions and tests to become “Certified Tax Preparers.”

A credit union in Longmont loans us an office suite which is big enough that several volunteers can be working with taxpayers at any given point in time. VITA is not part of the Internal Revenue Service, but the program is guided and supported by the IRS. It’s a fairly light touch and we are given access to professional grade software, loaned printers and other equipment and information sources. On top of that Colorado-based philanthropic organizations help with gifts of computers and accessories to make the work quick and efficient. We even get money for essentials like donuts and coffee.

Year after year, our returning customers wait patiently for a volunteer to turn their documents and scrappy pieces of paper into a real tax return. Then a second person checks for errors. A paper printout is given to the client, and one signature later, it’s all done. All for absolutely no money at all. In fact Rule 1 from the IRS is “No Tip Jar.” We might find the odd apple pie in our kitchen but that is the limit.

Each year we help about 1,000 individuals and families, totaling about $1,000,000 in refunds and saving them each between $200 and $500 if they went to the Main Street firms. VITA organizations operate all across the U.S., including a big group in Loveland and some giant sites like warehouses in Denver. As volunteer work goes, it has a nice blend of knowledge and communication skills. Each session requires a few concentrated hours of brain work and then it’s all finished and you can go home and stroke the cat. It’s satisfying and the customers are generous with their appreciation.

I have often mused that it would be great to have such a service in Lyons. What would we need? Most importantly, we would need at least four volunteers prepared to study, get certified, and give a few hours of their time each week between February 1 and April 15. We would need a local site with public access, a quiet room or two, some desks and a Wi-Fi network. The technical bits like IRS Authorization and financial aid from the local support groups is almost the easy part. If we could make it work, Lyons VITA could offer a valuable service to the town and its surroundings.

If you like this idea, and think we could make it work, send me an email at peter@cogico.com and let’s chat.

Peter Butler was born in India and lived in a house facing a giant kapok tree. Growing up in England there were trees but never quite enough. After qualifying as biochemist there was a gradual evolution into being a graphic designer. He and his wife Deirdre moved to the States in 1997 and to Lyons in 2000. Finally there are enough trees.