Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
WHEAT RIDGE | EDGEWATER | APPLEWOOD | MOUNTAIN VIEW | LAKESIDE October 18–November 14, 2016 • ngazette.com • FREE
Trunk or Treat: A Fun Twist on a Childhood Tradition By Meghan Godby
F
or adults, October heralds scarves, colorful fall foliage, and the occasional pumpkin spice latte. Children, however, are eyeing just one date on the calendar: Halloween. It’s a childhood favorite for good reason: fun costumes, spooky decorations, and bounties of delicious candy that last until the New Year. While there’s something to be said for tradition (those pumpkin-shaped candy bowls aren’t just for decoration, you know!), there’s also more than one way to celebrate this fall holiday. If you’re looking to do something a little different with your family this year, consider heading to Trunk or Treat at Stevens Elementary. Now in its fifth year, the event boasts a multitude of activities and surprises appropriate for all ages. The main attraction, “Trick-or-Treat Street”, features a row of parked cars where children can stop and fill their bags with candy. The car trunks, which are meticulously decorated by community volunteers, range from scary to wacky (check out the hearse!), sure to delight the young and young at heart. However, there’s more than just candy at Trunk or Treat. In addition to trick-or-treating, children can enjoy a haunted house, carnival games, and a costume parade. Rise Dance Company, who is leading the parade, will also be performing a n
Continued on page 5
A COSTUME PARADE, A GHOULISHLY DELIGHTFUL HAUNTED HOUSE, and free carnival games, all made 2015 Trunk or Treat a spook-tacular success. Trunk or Treat is a family friendly and safe trick or treating event with volunteer car trunks decorated in Halloween style where children safely complete the traditional October march for candy. Trunk or Treat started four years ago with just a handful of cars and some dedicated community members and has grown to the almost 40 cars and 2,800 in attendance last year. PHOTO BY JOYCE JAY
The Last Word on Creating a 38th Avenue Streetscape? By Nancy Hahn
C
reating 38th Avenue has been a process with ups, downs, proposals and plans since the 1950s. Engineers designed a 44-foot-wide 38th Ave. in the 1980s. The City Council could not approve the design, with some members supporting a 36-footwide design. They dropped discussion of 38th Ave. designs. Again, in the 1990s there were arguments between 36-footwide or 44-foot-wide design. Westword, in an article titled, “My Way or the Highway,” called the “discussion of West 38th Ave, the subject of the nastiest street fight in town.” No updating to 38th Ave. occurred. In 2012, new ideas were developed for 38th Ave. In 2014, the ballot proposal to narrow 38th Ave. between Upham and Marshall Streets was not approved by voters. The community and business owners felt that they had been left out. They felt that they should have more of a voice in the process. In 2016, the Cre8 Your 38 process was begun to develop the concept and design to create a “Main Street” streetscape, with input from the community. Over 300 community members showed up for the first meeting. From January to April, community members collaborated and created the final design proposal. The streetscape design was presented to City Council on May 16 and called for complete reconstruction of the street, providing 8-foot sidewalks and 4-foot amenity zones. The design was for three traffic lanes. On June 6, the City Council discussed alternative designs to place on the ballot to provide choices. Ballot
language, though, must be written in a form in which a ‘Yes’ vote is for a change and a ‘No’ vote is for no change. During public comments at the beginning of the city council study session on July 11, several citizens questioned the Council’s plan. The Council’s plan is just “cobbled together” said one speaker. Several citizens recommended taking more time to get it right. In the city council streetscape plan, 38th Ave. from Sheridan to Wadsworth would be restriped, but
the lane configuration would stay as it is. Between Pierce and Upham Streets, rather than tearing out sidewalks and completely creating new wider ones, sidewalks would be repaired and added where needed. From High Street to Upham Street, the sidewalk would be built out on the south side. Parallel parking spaces in the same area would be filled in to add trees; also, new lighting, consistent benches, trashcans, and public art. Councilman Duran worked to create ballot language to as a way to say,
“If the ballot issue fails… the entirety of 38th Ave. (Wadsworth to Sheridan) will be… a four-lane configuration.” Councilmember Wooden, Councilmember Fitzgerald, and Councilmember Hoppe would not support four lanes, since the Cre8 process chose three lanes. This council session also looked at recommendations from the D.I.R.T. (Drainage, Infrastructures, Roads and Continued on page 6
N E I G H B O R H O O D F E AT U R E
For Whom the Honor Bell Tolls By SJ Griffin “Honor” means dignity and esteem for outstanding service. This is what one would expect when paying last respects to those who have served in the armed services. Yet, when Louis Olivera was attending a funeral at Fort Logan National Cemetery, honor seemed absent. After waiting for an honor guard to appear, the funeral director finally hit a button and played a very scratchy version of “Taps.” Olivera, a veteran himself, was appalled at the lack of honor showed this man. After the funeral, Olivera investigated why this happened. He found that nearly 7000 vets recently buried did not receive military honors. It seems that we have Continued on page 10
Donate Your Books to The Jeffco Library!
Edgewater Community Festival Planned
Preparing for Colder Weather
Page 5
Page 9
Page 13