EDGEWATER MAYOR Be Extra Cautious In Parking Your Extra Vehicles Page 4
EDGEWATER COLLECTIVE Jefferson Alumni Gathering: Honoring First Responders Page 5
40 WEST ARTS Lakewood Honored For Its Role In Creating ArtLine Page 9
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| SLOAN’S LAKE | WEST COLFAX | TWO CREEKS | WEST HIGHLAND March 18 – April 14, 2019 • ngazette.com • FREE
A City Mapped On A Ping-Pong Table Turns 50 n By
Mike McKibbin
F
ive decades ago, a petition to have what is now the City of Lakewood become part of Denver was actually an eff ort to see the city formed. That’s according to a 1969 local newspaper report, after residents overwhelmingly approved incorporation of what was fi rst called Jeff erson City. A few months later – after strong opposition to the name – what was then the third largest city in Colorado was renamed Lakewood. Copies of the Jeff erson Sentinel – now the Lakewood Sentinel – from the spring of 1969 in the county archivist offi ce included an April 17 story about the Denver City Council rejecting the annexation of a 27-square-mile area that would have included what became Lakewood. The story noted resident Pauline LeBlanc had proposed the annexation through a petition signed by 204 people. Then, on June 26 (two days after the incorporation vote), CITY OF LAKEWOOD AND 40 WEST ARTS STAFF recently attended the Colorado Business Committee for the front page headlines of the renamed Jeff erson City Sentinel Arts luncheon, where the City of Lakewood was honored for its collaborative work in creating and implementing read: “Welcome To The Big City” and “Landslide Creates New Continued on page 11
the 40 West ArtLine. Left to right: Laine Godsey, Kit Newland, Michelle Nierling, Sharon Vincent, Kathy Hodgson, Liz Black, Roger Wadnal, Alexis Moore, Vanessa Zarate and Christy Horber. PHOTO COURTESY 40 WEST ARTS DISTRICT.
Swallow Hill Music Programs Blossom In The Highlands n By
S
Ken Lutes
pring-like weather is a sure sign of new growth. Not only will burgeoning buds and bulbs soon fi ll the air and please the eye with their fragrance and colors, so will strains of many musical genres fl oat on the air in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood. Music instruction classes for all ages are held at Swallow Hill Music’s satellite school at Highlands United Methodist Church, 3131 Osceola St. Now is a good time to sign up. The spring session is underway, but “we have rolling admission for lots of our programming,” said Barry Osborne, Swallow Hill’s associate marketing director. “For group classes, folks can enroll until the end of the third week, which for this session is Sunday, March 24.” In its fi fth summer at the West Highland satellite school, Swallow Hill’s enrollment has grown to 70 group class students and 50 private lesson hours. In addition, about 40 Little Swallow students are presently enrolled, with room to grow. Geared for tots from six months to six years, Little Swallows classes “weave together sing-a-longs, storytelling, fi nger games, circle dances, rhythm instruments, and traditional, world and popular songs into a fun learning experience for each child and parent/caregiver,” states Swallow Hill’s online course description. According to research, Osborne says, engaging children in music education before age six helps the child to speak more clearly, develop a larger vocabulary and strengthen his or her social and emotional skills. Involvement in early childhood music programs is the fi rst step on the path to helping students advance skills such as collaboration, creative thinking, personal expression and self-direction. Exposure to music in early childhood promotes literacy,
gross and fi ne motor skills and prepares students for success in kindergarten by introducing them to basic classroom skills. Older kids and adults can take advantage of Swallow Hill’s more traditional off erings. “We are often thought of as a folk music school, and while there is plenty of folk music happening at all of our locations, we teach many genres including rock and roll, classical, pop, jazz, country, Celtic, bluegrass, and beyond,” Osborne said. “The longer our students stick around, the more they come to realize how interrelated all
these genres are.” Swallow Hill’s music school employs an “experiential” teaching method, that is, teaching music through popular and familiar songs – “hands on” learning, says Osborne, who believes learning music should be a fun and engaging experience. “In many of our classes we hope to have students playing a song by the end of their fi rst class. We feel this outlook works for all of our students, whether they are very young children in our Little Swallows classes or adult learners.
“Reading music is often part of how we teach, but diff erent instruments and diff erent genres require diff erent skill sets. An old-time folk music class might use tablature, while music for violin or cello might require more traditional note reading.” Swallow Hill also provides a wide range of Outreach programs, from music therapy, to after school programs, to extra sensory concerts, to students who receive Continued on page 2
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Coming Alongside Kids In Need n By
Laurie Dunklee
E
very young person is one relationship away from changing their life,” says Russel Dains, CEO of Save Our Youth, a 25-year-old mentoring organization in the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood. “For an atrisk kid who is behind in school and being raised by a working single parent, a positive relationship with another adult can be a big fi x.” Save Our Youth matches struggling kids one-on-one with long-term mentors, who provide support with life skills and school pressures. “The bottom line is that kids who are lonely and failing in school need hope. So, we come alongside them,” said Trudy Swain, associate director, who co-founded Save Our Youth in 1994. Save Our Youth occupies a corner building at 3443 West 23rd Ave. that was formerly the Sun Ray Super Market. The building was transformed into offi ces and meeting rooms using volunteer labor and donated materials. Swain and Luis Villarreal, a licensed clinical social worker, started the organization in response to Denver’s infamous 1993 Summer of Violence. That summer left 74 dead from gang-related violence and people were frightened, especially by random drive-by shootings. ThenContinued on page 2
TRUDY SWAIN AND RUSSEL DAINS with photos of kids mentored through Save Our Youth. “For an at-risk kid, a positive relationship with another adult can be a big fix,” says Dains. PHOTO BY LAURIE DUNKLEE.