WHEAT RIDGE HISTORICAL Join Us For Ancient Fun At Traditional May Festival Page 4
LOCALWORKS UPDATE Dumpster Days Make Spring Cleaning A Breeze Page 11
VITTLES & BEER King Of Wings Parks Truck To Roost On West 44th Page 13
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Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
WHEAT RIDGE | APPLEWOOD | MOUNTAIN VIEW | LAKESIDE | BERKELEY April 15 – May 14, 2019 • ngazette.com • FREE
What Local Law Enforcement Learned From Columbine n By
Mike McKibbin
A
pril 20, 1999: Twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton were killed and 24 more people injured by two gunmen — students at the school — before the two teens committed suicide. In the two decades since, more tragic school shootings have occurred nationwide. But Columbine and the lessons learned from it have improved how law enforcement agencies respond to such incidents, according to area department leaders.
Quick response, better communications
All agreed the most important change was a shift from first-arriving officers establishing a perimeter around a shooting scene and waiting for help from a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to enter a building. Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan, then with the Lakewood Police Department, was a commander of the Continued on page 8
ONE LOCAL COMMUNITY GARDEN OPTION IS HAPPINESS GARDENS in Wheat Ridge, 4226 Ammons St., offered in partnership with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. See story on page 7. PHOTO COURTESY WHEAT RIDGE PARKS AND RECREATION
Family-Owned Music Store In Tune At Wheat Ridge Location n By
F
Ken Lutes
rom its location on Tennyson Street in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, the family-owned Flesher-Hinton Music Company provided the needs of the musical community for more than six decades – until the lack of customer parking finally forced them to move. “Parking became a problem for our customers,” said rental accounts manager Dave Simpkins. “We couldn’t get to our back door because of so many restaurant deliveries and construction.” In February 2016, Flesher-Hinton moved to a new home in Wheat Ridge at 5890 W. 44th Ave., with ample parking for customers and deliveries. Flesher-Hinton was founded in 1951 by Mel Flesher, his wife Geraldine and her uncle, J. Carl Hinton, as an instrument repair shop located in their home near 38th Avenue and Irving Street. “My dad and mother were professional musicians,” said Kristi Flesher, who, with her brother Herv, still runs the store. “When (my father) got out of the Army, he came to Denver and tried to get into (University of Denver’s) Lamont School of Music. His timing to enroll was wrong so he took the instrument repair apprenticeship through Kolacny Music.” The Fleshers and Hinton started out just doing repair work, but a couple of Wheat Ridge band directors found them and were “instrumental” in promoting their work to Jefferson County schools, according to Flesher. “They suggested to my parents that it would be convenient if they also sold accessories, so they started selling small items like reeds and things.” By 1959, they had outgrown that space
and moved to 3929 Tennyson St. (presently the Denver Cat Company), where they broadened horizons by providing space for lessons. They weren’t yet renting instruments, but they had a limited selection of accessories, sheet music and instructional method materials. The business grew. North Denver Furniture Company, across the street from their shop, closed in 1965, opening the opportunity for the
Fleshers to buy the building they would occupy for the next five decades. With more than 8,000 square feet of space, the store was able to expand their services and products. They rented band and orchestra instruments. Electric guitars, basses, amps and drums became part of their line. The business continued to grow, and at one point they maintained two other stores, one in Aurora and the other in Pueblo. Five
or six sales reps were on the road constantly. It was quite a successful operation until the 1990s, when things started to change in the whole music business. Schools began eliminating music programs, and the Internet and big-box music stores played a decisive role in the downsizing of the family operation. Continued on page 2
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Many Firsts For Wheat Ridge: Gretchen Cerveny n By
Sally Griffin
I
f you explore the history of Wheat Ridge at www.ci.wheatridge.co.us, you see a lot of pictures of male leaders and their accomplishments. Then in 1997, at a time when women were not common in local government, there is a picture of the female mayor, Gretchen Cerveny. When she ran for mayor, although she was endorsed by several state legislators, she was ignored by the media and by her opponent. But, with her husband Carl’s support, she visited and talked to people in all parts of Wheat Ridge. To everyone’s surprise, she won the support of all four districts. She went on to serve two terms as mayor serving until 2005. When asked to sum up her tenure as mayor, she says, ”I was able to stand all the arrows and not send those arrows back.” She was instrumental in organizing Wheat Ridge so that it was prepared to compete in the new century. She says she identified what she was good at and that was, “allowing other people to see how they have to change to be better, to be current.” Continued on page 2
GRETCHEN CERVENY WAS ELECTED WHEAT RIDGE MAYOR IN 1997, a time when women were not common in local government. PHOTO COURTESY GRETCHEN CERVENY