FORWARD

Creating connection and belonging in Lyons – Please take our survey

By Janaki Jane Redstone Review

LYONS – “Creating a Community of Belonging and Personal Safety for Everyone.” This is the vi One might think that caring for and feeding a hungry wide open. Birds’ digestive systems function very differ

Jane sion statement of the Wide Spaces Community Initiative. We’ve been around for three years, and we have tried different ways to make this a reality. We have created and offered a lot of things to achieve our vision. Now we want to know how best to do it during COVID winter. In the last three years, we have offered 15 free classes in Mental Health First Aid and Suicide Prevention, and now offer an all online, self-paced suicide prevention class. The stigma around mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, bipolar and even PTSD is a major cause of people feeling like they don’t belong, or worse. Before COVID we put on two no-cost Community Dinners and Arts evenings with meals provided by local restaurants and line dancing and storytelling programs and were then unable to finish the series. We have hosted many Community Conversations. We hosted Sing-Alongs in Laverne Park, the library, and online, and now sponsor a monthly Open Stage on Zoom. Our members donated and distributed the flags for Pride month that hung outside businesses and were placed in (and stolen from, unfortunately) the planters in Lyons, and worked with the Town of Lyons to write and request the Pride Month Proclamation. Since COVID we have sponsored Rebecca Hayden’s weekly Zoom Gentle Yoga class and offered some supportive groups for connection and stress release. But we want to do more, especially now with COVID creating more anxiety and isolation. The cold and dark of winter is coming, so sitting outdoors six feet from each other to visit and catch up will be harder. There are ways and reasons for us to connect, and we want to know what you would like to do. So we created a survey, and it would help us so much if you would take it. We have offered some ideas for connection, but please let us know yours, and we’ll see if we can make them a reality. The link for the survey is https: // www. surveymonkey. com/r/TFHC38Y. The link is also on the Lyons Regional Library website and the Wide Spaces Community Initiative Facebook page. Here are some ideas that have come up in our meetings, some we could do via Zoom. Saturday morning coffee klatch with

break out rooms so there’s fewer folks in on the conversation; guided philosophical discussions based on relevant topics in movies, books, or TV shows; a short, easy class with Jasmine at Defined Motion; continuing monthly Open Stages; an Artist’s Way support group; LGBTQ+ panel and community discussion; talking about racism through reading books in collaboration with the library; an online dance party. Outdoor socially distanced dance party, picnic, exercise classes, group distanced jogs, bike rides, etc. Do you have other ideas? Do you like or dislike some of these? Take the survey and let us know. Everything we offer is free to the participants because we have been and are still supported by grant funding and in-kind support. Our supporters include the Lyons Goodwill Fund, Lyons Community Foundation, Foothills United Way, Lyons Community Church, Boulder County Mental Health Initiative, and Supporting Action for Mental Health in Longmont. We are a program of the Lyons Regional Library and receive essential administrative and inkind support from them. Everyone is welcome to join our meetings. Just email widespacescommunity @ gmail.com or call the library at 303-823-5165 and leave a message for Janaki to call you. If you are interested in taking the free, online, self-paced suicide prevention class called Living Works Start (you get a certificate), contact us in the same way.

Janaki Jane is a writer and mental health and belonging advocate. She is the Director of the Wide Spaces Community Initiative, “Creating a Community of Belonging and Personal Safety for Everyone,“ a program through the Lyons Regional Library. Janaki teaches multiple classes on mental health and suicide prevention and creates community-building events. She can be reached at widespaces community @ gmail.com or info@lyonsregionallibrary.com. Her blog is at janakijane.com.

Keep our wildlife wild

By Chelsea Barrett Redstone Review

LONGMONT – Did you know that it’s illegal to possess wildlife in Colorado without a permit, even for the purpose of releasing it back into nature? A recent

Barrett online survey created by Greenwood Wildlife asked the public if they knew which species are legal to rehabilitate without a license, and the results were surprising. Seven to nine percent of the respondents believed that animals such as squirrels, rabbits, songbirds, and even raccoons can be rehabilitated without proper permission from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. These statistics indicated a need for increased communications about the legality of keeping wildlife in Colorado and why it can cause issues for both humans and our furred and feathered friends. Wild animals can be difficult if not impossible to care for humanely without the appropriate training. Many of the patients that Greenwood has treated this year came in with very serious health problems that were a result of inexperienced, well meaning people trying to care for them. Baby bunnies, for example, are one of the hardest to raise and then release. They become easily stressed, especially by human presence, and their mother’s milk has a very specific concoction of antibodies and bacteria that are vital to their survival. Even though rescuers think they may be helping, incorrectly feeding fragile young wildlife

can often lead to serious consequences. It’s hard to resist the cuteness of a tiny baby raccoon with squinty eyes and folded ears. We often hear stories of people who find young and helpless orphaned raccoons and decide to keep them as “pets.” Within six months the animal’s wild instincts start to take hold. They become energetic and independent and will act very destructively if their natural freedom is thwarted. Raccoons were not meant to live in houses or cages and it is a poor quality of life. On top of that, they can carry diseases that are transferrable to humans, including rabies. Last year, in Weld County, a woman made the mistake of taking in a raccoon she believed to be orphaned. Twenty of her friends interacted with the animal before the health department found out and intervened. When the baby tested positive for rabies, everyone who was exposed had to receive costly and uncomfortable post-expo

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COVID-19, Board of Trustees and Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC) Meetings are held remotely as a virtual Town Hall, via an online platform. Members of the public who wish to attend the meeting virtually, via Zoom, can get the meeting information in the Board meeting packet, and follow the log in instructions in the header. Previous recordings of the Town of Lyons BOT meetings can be found online on the Town website.

Lyons Middle Senior High School update: Overview LYONS – To make sure that you are ready, please look through the checklist below and confirm that you have done everything to be prepared for school. • Schoology and Webex are downloaded from Self Service. • Log in to your teacher’s Webex based on your school schedule. You will find your teacher’s Webex address on their Schoology page. Ensure that you have reliable access to a computer and the Internet, notify your teacher if this is not the case. • Read over the course materials carefully for each class. • Be flexible. We may have any number of connectivity, software, or other technical issues. Communicate with your teachers or call the school if you are having problems.

Students will be logging into classes throughout each school day during online learning. We have created a document to help students and families understand the structure and expectations of our classes. Continue Briefs on Page 13

sure treatment. Her decision to take young wildlife into her home had dire consequences. baby songbird is easy. The little ones seem to be bottomless pits, constantly chirping for food with their mouths Classroom Structures and Expectations

ently from mammals. In most birds, food first enters the crop, which allows it to be softened before passing down the rest of the esophagus and entering the gizzard. Many baby birds will keep eating even after their crop is full, which can cause the crop to rupture or the bird to suck the food into its respiration system. Feeding a baby bird without the appropriate experience can be fatal to the animal and it will never have a chance to fly free. If you truly value our state’s wildlife, then let it be wild. If you find an animal that appears to be in distress, call Greenwood Wildlife between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 303- 823-8455 or visit www.greenwoodwildlife.org for further instructions. Do not just seize an animal from its habitat in nature because you assume it needs your help. The best way to care about and enjoy our wild neighbors is to observe them at a distance in the great outdoors, where they belong. You can learn a lot about an animal’s natural habits and behaviors through quiet surveillance. Respecting Colorado and its natural beauty includes appreciating the wildlife that call this state home.

Chelsea Barrett is the Development Manager at Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which cares for thousands of mammals, songbirds and waterfowl each year. Greenwood also offers education programs for children and adults of all ages. Visit www.greenwoodwildlife.org to learn more.

455 Main Street, downtown Lyons 303-823-5225 • www.StVrainMarket.com

Sandwiches, Soup, Fresh Bread, Homemade Sausage, Pies and more…

Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-8pm • Sun 8am-7pm