LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS Jeffco Business Resource Expo – a Great Collaboration Page 5
40 WEST ARTS DISTRICT Street Fairs, Workshops, Art Walks & More
Page 11
EDGEWATER SCHOOLS Why Enroll in Your Edgewater Neighborhood School Page 15
PRSRT STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID EVERGREEN, CO PERMIT NO. 36
******ECRWSSEDDM******* POSTAL CUSTOMER
Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
EDGEWATER
| SLOAN’S LAKE | WEST COLFAX | TWO CREEKS
August 15-September 18, 2017 • ngazette.com • FREE
Election Races Set for Cities, School District n By
Gwen Clayton
T
he the cities of Edgewater and Lakewood as well as the Jefferson County Board of Education will conduct elections Nov. 7. Interested candidates must file nomination petitions before Aug. 28 with the respective city clerk or school board office. Voters in the City of Edgewater will be electing a mayor as well as three city councilmembers. The mayor serves a two-year term while the city council members serve fouryear terms. Incumbents whose terms expire this year include Mayor Kristian A. Teegardin, Mayor Pro Tem Todd Riddle, and councilwomen Laura Keegan and Janet Spangenberg. To be eligible to hold an elected office in the City of Edgewater, a person must be at the time of his or her nomination: A citizen of the United States; at least 23 years of age; and a registered elector. Additionally, such person must have resided within the City for one year immediately preceding the election and have no convictions for embezzlement, bribery, solicitation of bribery, perjury, subornation of perjury, or any offense involving fraud. Continued on page 2
MURAL ARTIST BOBBY MAGEE LOPEZ finishes up a work at the third annual West Colfax MuralFest at Lamar Station Plaza, Aug. 12. The free festival featured art, music, food and creative activities. PHOTO BY LELAND SCHMIDT
Rick and Patty Yaconis Edge Into a New Chapter n By
S
Elisabeth Monaghan
ince its inception, the Edge Theater has consistently showcased actors who push to give their best performances while delivering a memorable experience for the actors and audiences alike. Earlier this month, the Edge Theater’s founders, Rick and Patty Yaconis, announced they are taking a hiatus from the Edge. During that time, Haley Johnson and Rachel Bouchard will step in as Benchmark Theatre and produce shows in the space throughout the 2018 season. Recently, members of the cast in the Edge’s upcoming production of Moira Buffini’s play “Dinner” spoke about what it has been like to work with the Yaconises. Up first is Samara Bridwell, whose participation in “Dinner” will be her ninth play at the Edge. She discovered the Edge Theater when she moved from the Western Slope about seven years ago. Bridwell, who also serves as manager of customer experience for the theater, considers the Edge her artistic home. “I spend most of my time pretty dedicated to the Edge these days,” says Bridwell. “The Edge came to be in its current incarnation the same year I moved here and it really did feel like a beautiful serendipity.” Upon meeting with the Yaconises, Bridwell recognized the ground-floor opportunity the newly rebranded theater offered. Not only did she find a family in the people who work within the theater, she also met her partner Scott Bellot, who is directing “Dinner.” Of the many local theaters on whose stages Bridwell has been privileged to perform, the Edge is the one she keeps going back to.
“It’s the kind of environment that I think actors want to work in,” said Bridwell. “It’s the kind of environment that is at once homey and professional. It’s legit, while being comfortable.” By legit, Bridwell means the high caliber of talent and professionalism of everyone involved with the Edge – whether they work behind the scenes or on the stage. Carol Bloom, who plays one of the leads
in “Dinner,” has contributed her talents to the Denver theater scene as both an actor and as a teacher. For 27 years she was on the theater faculty at University of Colorado at Denver. For Bloom, the most touching thing that has happened to her as an actor is ending up on stage with, or being directed by one of her former students. “That is one of the most wonderful things, and the Edge is the first place that
happened,” according to Bloom. (Scott Bellot is among Bloom’s former students with whom she has worked.) Bloom has acted in three other shows at the Edge and considers the Yaconises to be very generous and loving. “They take such good care of their people,” explains Bloom. “It has just been a Continued on page 2
N E I G H B O R H O O D F E AT U R E
The Solar Eclipse and Eye Safety n By
Jill Bert
I
VIEWING A SOLAR ECLIPSE DIRECTLY, even with the use of solar filter glasses, entails serious risks. It may be safest to watch it on television. PHOTO BY TIM BERLAND
want to express concern that I have about the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, Aug 21. There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even with the use of solar filter glasses. We have to keep in mind that the school will encounter the inability to control every aspect of this exercise. The glasses are made for adults, do not fit children well and should not be used without direct parental supervision. If the solar glasses do not filter out 100 percent of the harmful UV rays, if they are not used absolutely perfectly, or should there be a manufacturing defect in any of them, this will result in permanent and irreversible vision loss for any eye exposed. Just like sunburn to the skin, the effects are not felt or noticed immediately. I have a great fear that I will have patients in my office on Tuesday, Aug. 22, who will wake up with hazy, blurry vision that I cannot fix. It is a huge liability for the school to direct students to watch the eclipse even with the use of solar glasses. There is no absolutely safe way to do so other than on TV. Continued on page 2