VOLUME 38 • NUMBER 44 • SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
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Pat LeClaire
BEES
SUBMITTED BY PAT (RUBY) LeCLAIRE
Why does honey deserve a full month of “BEEing” honored? Because we want to honor beekeeping and keep that natural honey sweetener on our tables. I was stung by a honeybee when I was 22, minding my own business, so I thought then, walking on a concrete path. But now that I think about it, my baby toe did graze into the clover grass. Didn’t that bee have the right to sting me as I threatened her from completing her job of gathering and bringing pollen back to her colony and making her queen happy? But a worker bee can only sting once and then dies. There are over 16,000 species of bees and the one I have taken the time to learn about is the honeybee. How do they make honey with that little body, and so much of that honey?! The forager bees (worker bees) make up one third of a colony, meaning there is a lot of gathering of nectar or pollen occurring and the balance of the colony consists of the queen, drones, and other worker bees, acting as nurses, in-hive maintenance and performing other tasks. I learned that an active hive could have up to 80,000 Buzzzz on over to page 19
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Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 2 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
Polis says COVID-19 spread depends on behavior — young adults prove him right BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
On September 15, Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Dr. Rachel Herlihy expressed concerns in a press conference about a trend in increased coronavirus cases and the positivity rate coming from college campuses. As new cases show
up at colleges and universities across the country, Herlihy said, she was worried “that the cases may spill over into the more vulnerable parts of the population.” Polis added that the “R value,” which is the number of people to whom COVID-19 is spread by one infected person, was trending up and the levels of social distancing, which had been as high as 80 percent, were
moving down. If those trends continue, he explained, it would likely lead to increased cases. Herlihy added, “We have seen six outbreaks reported to the state in the last week that are based in colleges and universities in the state, and based on the number of outbreaks that are under investigation right now, we expect that number to double by the end of this week.” Said the
governor, “We are all tired of the virus, but the virus is not tired of us,” pleading for continued vigilance through the use of masks, social distancing, and frequent hand-washing. A few hours later, Boulder County Public Health issued a letter to all students at the University of Colorado Boulder campus informing them that, “In the past two weeks 663 Boulder County residents have tested positive for COVID-19; 502 of these residents were associated with CU students (76% of all
This chart demonstrates the uptick in COVID-19 cases among young adults in Colorado.
cases). The majority of CU Boulder cases come from off-campus students.” As a result, they said, “Boulder County Public Health strongly recommends that all local University of Colorado at Boulder students self-quarantine immediately to contain the outbreak. Self-quarantine should last for 14 days, continuing until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, 2020…. In addition, it is imperative that all students comply with contact tracing and case investigation efforts.” Before the day was finished, a notice went out to Cherry Creek High School (CCHS) parents informing them that “several CCHS 12th grade students…have tested positive for COVID-19,” and that, “These positive cases have been tied directly to students attending off-campus parties the last two weekends.” As a direct result, in order to stop the spread, 14 staff members and 146 CCHS students were required to quarantine for 14 days from the date the infected students were last in school. About half the school, 1,585 students, had to move to remote learning for the same period. These situations demonstrate that governmental and school administrators’ quarantine and isolation procedures to deal with students who become infected are operating as planned. These outbreaks, while unwelcome, are not unexpected. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
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Opinion Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 3
OPINION
Former US Senator Hank Brown recommends Yes Vote on Amendment B BY HANK BROWN
The bipartisan effort to repeal the Gallagher Amendment is a flicker of bipartisanship in an election season dark with rancor. How in the world could so many folks with such different political worldviews agree on something as big as repealing the state’s notorious Gallagher Amendment? It’s because Colorado’s bizarre and complicated 1982 property tax law is that badly broken and hurting so many. Gallagher is a sledgehammer on small businesses, forcing 20% of Colorado’s property owners to pay 55% of Colorado’s property taxes. It imposes higher taxes on small businesses and ranchers, and it is squeezing local funding for firefighting and sheriff departments, for local schools and for local safety net services for the developmentally disabled. Republicans back repeal of the Gallagher Amendment because the convoluted amendment
destroys good paying jobs. Gallagher, whose namesake is Denver Democrat Dennis Gallagher, and whose most ardent supporter is former Boulder Speaker of the House Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, has always been a none-too-subtle way of taxing the pants off Colorado’s entrepreneurs and businesses. Because of Gallagher, your neighborhood restaurant and auto shop pays a property tax rate 400% higher than all the rest of us. If Gallagher isn’t repealed, next year the state’s businesses will pay a rate 500% higher. The Gallagher Amendment’s dirty little secret is that it eviscerates local control, by forcing counties, school districts, and local fire districts to impose an uber-punitive rate of taxation for any local property tax increase it seeks. If a local community wants to increase a mill levy to pay for a new fire station or school, Gallagher mandates that the community tax business,
manufacturing, and ag property at a rate four times higher than everyone else. A town can either penalize business with higher tax rates or not add that wing on to the school. Gallagher is at war with local control. Reasonable people can disagree about whether we should pay higher taxes, but the Gallagher punishes small businesses, ranchers, and manufacturers in a punitive and mean-spirted way. In a world where thousands of small businesses are on the economic ropes due to the COVID virus, the head of the National Federation of Independent Business, Tony Gagliardi, says Gallagher will cause bankruptcies. “With everything going on in the world, Gallagher will be the end of a lot of small businesses,” Gagliardi said. “There’s just no doubt: if it’s not repealed, we lose more shops, restaurants and small businesses.” Leading Democrats, for their part, are rallying to the cause of re-
pealing Gallagher because they see its attacks on small business – especially first-time business owners in lower income neighborhoods. They are also rallying to the cause of Gallagher’s repeal because of the irrational shifts and cuts it will impose on local schools, local firefighters, and local hospitals. The worst part – the Gallagher Amendment pits Coloradans against one another. Gallagher’s impacts are felt most painfully in rural Colorado, where the combination of slow-growing residential values, lack of large-scale commercial properties, and a mismatch of rural economies to Gallagher’s Denver-centric formulas are forcing higher taxes on job providers and dislocating funding for basic local services – fire, sheriffs, schools. But as State Senator Chris Hansen, a Democrat and key author of Gallagher repeal, points out, these challenges extend beyond rural Colorado. “Gallagher is particularly damaging to poorer communities, no matter where they are. Gallagher traps them in a cycle of malicious taxes on small businesses and declining local services.”
Should a daycare operator in Denver or a restaurant owner in Aurora be forced to carry more and more of the state’s property tax burden while a second home owner from California and New York get a tax cut on their vacation property in Aspen or Vail? These are the indefensible irrationalities of Gallagher. No matter your political party, they powerfully argue for its repeal. With repeal, the many irrationalities of Gallagher are gone, and thanks to the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, property tax rates for homeowners and for business will stay at their current rates. The legislature or governor cannot increase these rates. Only the voters can. This vital safeguard makes Amendment B a win-winwin. Repealing Gallagher protects homeowners by ending punitive state and local taxes hammering small business, and forestalls impending cuts to vital local services. Please join me in voting Yes on Amendment B. Hank Brown is a Republican, former US Senator, and former President of the University of Colorado
Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 4 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
President Trump has a long history of military support I have a number of veteran friends, several in the Democrat party. We shared wearing military uniforms during our lifetimes. My most recent friends have distinguished military service careers. They have recently expressed their displeasure over President Trump’s alleged remarks published in the Atlantic magazine recently. The story dates back to 2018 when Trump was in France to honor American war veterans who never came home. The article in questions used unnamed sources for the slur against the president. The article alleges that Trump disparaged deceased war veterans when bad weather kept his chopper from flying to a cemetery event honoring the veterans. At least a dozen individuals who were with the president in France have publicly rejected The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg’s story. The most credible of all is John
Bolton who is no fan of president Trump who said about the story, “Simply false.” It is interesting to note in a news release from The Patriot Post, a conservative organization that relates that Fox News noted that Trump got five deferments during the Vietnam War. So did Joe Biden. The Post outlines some of the president’s support for the military that all veterans and especially those recent critics should note herein: In 1983, New York Mayor Ed Koch needed to raise money for a memorial honoring New Yorkers who died in the Vietnam War. He called Donald Trump, who immediately wrote a $1 million check, 40 percent of what Koch needed. Trump’s support was key to getting other donors to step up. In 1995, New York City almost canceled its annual Veteran’s Day parade due to lack
of funds. Organizers solicited donations from 200 corporations and walked away empty handed. Donald Trump saved the parade. Here’s what the president said at the time; “This donation is the single most important thing I’ve ever done. This is more important than all of my buildings and my casinos. This is my way of saying “Thank you” to all the men and women in the Armed Services who have made it possible for me to become a success. Without them freedom and liberty would be gone.” In January of 2016 Trump skipped a Fox News presidential primary debate and instead held a fundraiser for veteran’s organizations that raised $5.6 million. In March of 2017, President Trump held the first Medal of Honor Day ceremony in the White House in 25 years. In June of 2017, he signed
the Veterans Affairs Accountability Act making it easier to fire or suspend VA employees for poor performance serving veterans. In June of 2018, Trump signed the Mission Act, greatly expanding healthcare choices for veterans. In November of 2019 Trump became the first sitting president to attend New York City’s Veterans Day parade in its 100-year history. He has spent billions on upgrading our military, including pay raises, and establishing the new Space Command located here in Colorado. As the Patriot Post relates with these documented facts, “These are not the actions of a man who is contemptuous of our veterans and war dead.” Fault him for something else, but he has the backs of American service members around the world, past and present.
The Villager
Office: 8933 East Union Ave. • Suite 230 Greenwood Village, CO 80111-1357 Phone: (303) 773-8313 Fax: (303) 773-8456 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Arapahoe County, Colorado. (USPS 431-010) Published weekly by the Villager Publishing Co., Inc. Available for home or office delivery by U.S. Mail for $52 per year. Single copies available for $1 per issue. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, CO. A Colorado Statutory Publication CRS (197324-70 et al). Postmaster: Send address changes to The Villager, 8933 East Union Ave., Suite #230, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111-1357 Deadlines: Display Advertising, Legal Notices, press releases, letters to the editor, 4:00 p.m. Friday. Classified Advertising, noon Monday.
PUBLISHER & EDITOR Gerri Sweeney — x307 gerri@villagerpublishing.com PUBLISHER Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com VICE PRESIDENT/MARKETING Sharon Sweeney — x305 sharon@villagerpublishing.com CREATIVE MARKETING DIRECTOR Susan Sweeney Lanam 720-270-2018 susan@villagerpublishing.com LEGALS Becky Osterwald legal@villagerpublishing.com NEWS EDITOR gerri@villagerpublishing.com GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER Freda Miklin fmiklin.villager@gmail.com 303-489-4900 • 303-773-8313 x365 REPORTER Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com FASHION & LIFESTYLE Scottie Iverson swan@denverswan.com DESIGN/PRODUCTION MANAGER Tom McTighe production@villagerpublishing.com
The Broncos have become specialists at losing games in the last quarter. Quarterback Jeff Driskel did a yeoman’s job of taking charge, reigniting the team, and they almost won the game, but alas went down in flames in the last few minutes. The team is off to a rough start and they better all kneel and pray for playing better football and do it in the locker room. *** My only granddaughter Michelle Dorrance married Tom Griswold Saturday afternoon at Lone Tree County Club. The facility is now owned and operated by South Suburban Parks and Recreation. This public golf course hosts a splendid clubhouse and excellent facilities for weddings. We were honored to be part of the wedding party and enjoyed the festivities. Kudo’s to the excellent staff for their great service! *** Sunday our neighborhood residents held a “Welcoming Party” for two sets of new residents. We all congregated in the cul-de-sac with social distancing and masks and enjoyed a potluck party hosted by three great neighbors, Nancy, Carol Anne and Chet. It was nice to see
neighbors, many who have been staying close to home to avoid any Covid19 contacts. I think everyone is growing tired of the pandemic. Afternoon traffic is about back to normal. My pilot neighbor Mark related that his planes are full of passengers once again. He is optimistic about future air travel. *** I had two Zoom meetings last week and both went well. If you haven’t “zoomed” this is how it works. The chair joins the Wall Street video company and pays a small fee. Then this host controls the meeting and sends out the call number for the zoom on-line direct conference. Everyone is in view and sound can be adjusted to each speaker, and the meetings work well. Much better than telephone conferencing. *** I met my Optimist friend Mark at Poppies last week, along with his two guests, a father and son. Son David has extensive business expertise and I enjoyed hearing his efforts working for a cultural shift toward freedom and self-government. David, in his 30s, wants to transform and redirect the United States into the “sweet land of liberty” that our country’s founders
intended. He has founded the Vino & Veritas Society as the leading platform to spread the idea of freedom and to help protect the individual natural rights of every citizen. I don’t think that many would argue with that premise. Visit vinoandveritassociety.com. *** One of the Zoom calls this week was to listen to the proside of passing the amendment to eliminate the Gallagher Amendment that was written some 40 years ago to place a higher tax on commercial property than residential properties. It is very complicated and both Villager reporter Freda Miklin and I listened to the esteemed panel explain how times have changed. Commercial real estate is in financial trouble and could get worse with so many people opting to work at home. The tax created by Senator Dennis Gallagher 40 years ago sought to have the developers and newcomers pay for the growth of schools, housing, roads, that this growth was creating. That may have slowed for the moment. The proposed amendment has both Republican and Democrat bi-partisan support and it’s a tough choice. Defeating Gallagher locks in commercial taxes at 29 percent and residential at 7.2 percent. Otherwise next
year residential drops to 5.8 and commercial remains at 29 percent. A tough call with good intentions from both sides. *** It’s good to see the Littleton business leaders and city officials working together to host “Fall Weekends on Main.” The city closes the main street and restaurants move outside on main street with safe fresh open-air dining. Stores remain open for business along main street. Supporting these local bars, restaurants and business firms is vital to their survival and the sales taxes help the city and county. *** My Littleton friends sent me some new jokes: “So let me get this straight, there’s no cure for a virus that can be KILLED by sanitizer and hand soap? Is it too early to put up the Christmas tree yet? I have run out of things to do. Another Saturday night in the house and I just realized that the trash goes out more often than me. *** If the election wasn’t bombastic enough, now we have a Supreme Court nomination battle royal. Never a dull moment in our Republic.
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ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Susan Lanam — 720-270-2018 Sharon Sweeney — 303-503-1388 sharon@villagerpublishing.com Linda Kehr — 303-881-9469 linda@villagerpublishing.com Valerie LeVier — 303-358-1555 valerie@villagerpublishing.com Gerri Sweeney — 720-313-9751 gerri@villagerpublishing.com Scottie Iverson swan@denverswan.com SUBSCRIPTIONS B.T. Galloway — x301 subscribe@villagerpublishing.com PHOTOGRAPHER Stefan Krusze — 303-717-8282 octaviangogoI@aol.com EDITORIAL COLUMNIST Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com The Villager is an award-winning, locally owned, independent newspaper. All letters to the editor must be signed. The contributor’s name, hometown and phone number must also accompany all letters to the editor for verification, and we reserve the right to edit contributions for space. We attempt to verify all matters of fact but hold contributors liable for the content, accuracy and fairness of their contributions. All submissions become the property of The Villager and may be reused in any medium.
Reverend Martin Niemoller “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak for me!”
2020 Member
QUOTE of the WEEK QUOTE of happen. the WEEK It won’t It would be an impossible dream. But I’d love to see ‘Citizens United’ overruled.
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Opinion Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 5
OPINION
OP-ED - Greenwood City Council member Dave Bullock responds BY DAVE BULLOCK GREENWOOD VILLAGE CITY COUNCIL
It is now widely known that state legislators Jeff Bridges, Meg Froelich and Leslie Herod have publicly and repeatedly criticized Greenwood Village for indemnifying our police officers when they knowingly had exempted their own state law enforcement personnel from the SB-217 bill. By any reasonable measure, this is the pinnacle of hypocrisy. What is not as well-known is that the most senior executives at 9NEWS had possession of this information for over two weeks and chose not to run it until after the Denver Post published the story. I provided 9NEWS all the evidence they needed but they still delayed the reporting and when they did, they never asked the legislators the tough questions about their duplicity directly related to Greenwood Village. 9NEWS provided significant air time to their criticisms and those who demonstrated against the City. It was even their lead story a few times. They asked me for an interview which I consented to only so that our side could be told. Of the twenty minute discussion, they aired about 3 minutes on the Kyle Clark show and a short clip on the evening news. They originally asked me to explain why I voted to indemnify our officers but they left out the most important responses and instead aired parts of the interview that had nothing to do with this issue. This is not the first time that 9NEWS avoided reporting the real story. In the part of my interview they did not air, I said that the cities that were experiencing the highest rise in violent crime is where elected officials were calling to defund the police. They said that there was not enough evidence to prove that. Really? Just look at cities like Portland and Seattle where mob rule has created an almost
National Western Stock Show postponed until Jan. 2022 The Western Stock Show Association (WSSA) Board of Directors together with the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) management, has made the difficult decision to postpone the 115th National Western Stock Show by one year and to resume the event in January 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic does not allow for the Stock Show to host the annual event and comply with the health and safety guidelines that are necessary to protect Coloradans and help stop the spread. More importantly, the projected environment through to the end of the year is too uncertain and therefore not reassuring enough to allow a traditional Stock Show to take place without potentially compromising the health and safety of exhibitors, visitors, and the public at large.
lawless society. The mayors and city councils in both those cities show open contempt for their police forces and have restricted them from doing their jobs. A 9NEWS executive sent me information showing that crime is down in most cities from 20 years ago. But he missed the real point. The accurate comparison is the rise in violent crime from last year to this year when elected officials across the country are pulling funding and support from their police forces. Many cities have seen a 50-75% increase in violent crime. Emboldened criminals are not only attacking law abiding citizens but also police officers. In what may be the most ironic episode in the history of municipal government, the Minneapolis city council recently demanded to know from their chief of police why violent crime has risen so steeply in the past few
months? This is the same council that voted to defund the entire police department. It is hard to believe that members of that council are so unintelligent that they cannot see the correlation. This is why our Council voted unanimously to indemnify our police. Since SB-217 was passed, over 200 police officers across the state have resigned, most of whom have gone to employment outside of law enforcement. This exodus will only make our state less safe. One of our most basic responsibilities as elected officials is to set policy that provides a safe environment for residents to live, work and socialize which is what we have done in Greenwood Village. Another story that I asked 9NEWS to report which they again avoided was to question legislators Bridges and Froelich why they are passing bills and
making decisions opposite of what their constituents believe. Of all the communications I have received including emails, phone calls and personal conversations, well over 90% of the residents in my district support what we did. Similar feedback throughout the city is over 75% positive. Bridges and Froelich both represent the residents of Greenwood Village but they are not listening to the will of the people and they should be held accountable. Kyle Clark of 9NEWS said that if you want the full protection of SB-217, don’t live, work, shop or drive through our city. He now knows that bill exempted state police officers but he has not yet apologized or corrected his irresponsible statement. Under his standard, you now cannot live, work, shop or drive anywhere in Colorado if you want the full protection
of SB-217. I offered the executives of 9NEWS to debate Kyle on live TV but they have yet to respond. Before submitting this writing to the newspaper, I sent it to the executives of 9NEWS. I told them that I wanted to be accurate and welcomed their input. Understandably they were not pleased and disagreed with some of my points. They said that they would never yield to being forced by an elected official to run a specific story. I agree. It was not my intention to force anything but to simply ask that they report the truth. I thought they would welcome the opportunity to break a big story first but I now understand that those things do not fit their narrative and bias. Their position is that those stories are not newsworthy. I believe that they are. We will leave it to the people to decide.
C NVERSATIONS FREE COVID Testing If you have symptoms or have been around someone with COVID-19, you can get tested for free at numerous sites in or near Arapahoe County. Visit tchd.org/827/Free-COVID-19-Testing-Sites for more information. Let’s Talk Transportation Improvements Last chance! Survey closes 9.30.20. Join the conversation today at www.arapahoegov.com/transportationplan September is Emergency Preparedness Month National Emergency Preparedness Month helps Americans learn how to be prepared for disasters or emergencies that can happen in their homes, businesses, and communities. Get details at ready.gov/september Sewer Line Repair Assistance To support our most vulnerable residents, Arapahoe County partners with Brothers Redevelopment to fix broken sewer lines at no cost for income-qualifying households. Call 303-685-4225 or email hmr@brothersredevelopment.org for an application and eligibility screening. For further information, visit brothersredevelopment.org
Overwhelmed: Dealing with Life during COVID Telephone Town Hall Thursday, Sept. 24 @7 p.m. | Call-in number 1-855-436-3656
arapahoegov.com
Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 6 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
CSI holds forum on Amendment B to repeal Gallagher BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
On September 17, the Common Sense Institute, chaired by Earl Wright, co-founder and chairman of AMG National Trust Bank, presented a panel of experts to discuss Amendment B on the November ballot, the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment of 1982. Leading the program was Kristin Strohm, CSI president and CEO. Also contributing was Chris Brown, CSI director of policy and research. The Gallagher Amendment to the Colorado Constitution, enacted in 1982, requires that 45 percent of the total share of property taxes statewide be paid by residential real estate taxes and the remaining 55 percent come from businesses. As residential values have risen, this has caused an increasing share of the property tax burden to fall on small business. According to panelist JoAnn Groff, Property Tax Administrator for the State of Colorado, in 1982,
the total value of residential and commercial property in our state was split 50/50. Today, residential property constitutes 80 percent of all statewide property value and commercial property accounts for only 20 percent. When this amendment went into effect, residential real estate was taxed at 28 percent of its actual value. Today it is taxed at 7.15 percent of its actual value. If the repeal is successful, the residential rate won’t go up, it will be frozen at 7.15 percent. Panel member Kent Thiry recently retired board chair and CEO of DaVita and campaign chair of Yes on Amendment B said, “This is a difficult time for the state and the country. To have a local healthy economy, you need small business. Gallagher is hurting small business. If we repeal Gallagher there will be a freeze on existing (assessment) rates and TABOR will still be there. There will still be local control.” He explained that if Gallagher is not repealed, the people with the most money will continue to get the most benefit, while small busi-
nesses, small cities and towns, and fire districts, hospital districts, ambulance districts, and other local jurisdictions in rural Colorado will be hurt the most. Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising State Action, said, “This is not a tax cut…..We pay more in property taxes every year….Gallagher doesn’t help businesses. They still will pay the 29% rate. We should want to keep apartment costs low…... If people’s home value goes up it doesn’t put more money in their pocket to pay more taxes. I think there needs to be reform, but I don’t think this is it.” He said he didn’t have an alternative suggestion. Asked by moderator Joey Bunch why he thought the issue was before the voters now, Fields replied, “I think it’s because there’s a budget crisis, a revenue shortfall, and there’s no appetite to reform the education funding formula. There’s a committee in the legislature that looked at six different options and this was one of them.” Groff added perspective with,
“People started paying attention to this in 2017. Previously we had 14 years of the (assessment) rate (for residential property) staying at 7.96%. Then it became clear that the rate was going to drop and special districts saw what it would do to their revenue. This was one of the solutions that came out of the legislative study group.” If Gallagher is not repealed, that rate is forecast to drop to 5.88 percent next year, putting even more pressure on cities, towns, special districts, and small businesses, who will still have to come up with their 55 percent share of the total tax collected despite the residential rate dropping yet another 18 percent. Panelist Michael Gifford, CEO of Associated General Contractors (ACG), approached the issue from a larger perspective. He told forum participants “I am working with a number of interests that are looking for an ultimate solution on this… If you look at the state budget, education would have been cut this year if not for (federal) CARES funds. Next year you’re looking at a $500 million cut (to K-12 education) from the state as
of now. We hope to have this study done by year end so we can present the results to the legislature in January.” Said Thiry, “Repealing Gallagher is a good first step. Not one Democrat or Republican would institute this policy today. Unless we repeal Gallagher, no one disputes the fact that fire, hospital, ambulance, and other districts will suffer a lot of economic pain. Let’s stop the pain, then do what we need to next.” His message: Repeal Gallagher. Vote yes on Amendment B. Amendment B was placed on the statewide ballot by the legislature. It was referred on a vote of 27-7 in the senate, including yes votes from eight out of 15 Republican senators voting, along with all the Democrats. In the house, it passed 47-18, including six out of 24 Republicans and all the Democrats. Among the yes votes were five out of six elected members of the general assembly’s elite Joint Budget Commission, the permanent fiscal and budget review agency that prepares the statewide annual budget. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 7
GV has more grant money for small businesses hurt by the pandemic BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
On September 21, Greenwood Village started accepting applications for its second round of grants to assist small businesses in the city who have lost revenue due to the operation of their business being interrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are being made from $6.4 million in federal CARES money that was made available to GV from Arapahoe County for its direct expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and lost revenue to GV businesses from temporarily ceased or reduced operations. Applications, which can be found on https://gvcares.grant
Wilbur Flachman July 26, 1937 - September 16, 2020
Longtime Colorado publishing entrepreneur Wilbur E. Flachman passed away September 16, 2020, with family by his side. Wilbur was 83. Following surgery for pancreatic cancer, he fought a difficult battle for nearly two years with the help of a variety of doctors, nurses and caregivers at Kaiser Permanente, St. Joseph Hospital and Lutheran Hospice. Wilbur was born July 26, 1937, in Prairie Grove, Iowa, where he attended a one-room country school. He received a degree in Journalism from Wartburg College, in Waverly, Iowa, where he met his wife Marilyn. The couple married August 28, 1960. They headed west in 1961 for a job interview Wilbur had scheduled in Monte Vista, Colorado. However, they stopped in Westminster to visit friends and never left the city they would forever call home. A job with the Westminster Journal launched 50-plus years of newspapering, commercial printing and publishing. Wilbur served several years on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Press Association, and was elected the organization’s 100th president in 1977. Wilbur put together a top-notch professional staff and launched the Westminster Window in January 1978. After its first year of publication, The Window garnered the General Excellence Award as the best all-around weekly newspaper in Colorado, and then claimed third place nationally for overall editorial excellence. A couple years later, in the early 1980s, the Denver Symphony Orchestra approached Wilbur’s firm about selling advertising to mitigate costs of printing its in-theatre programs. Soon, the Denver Center for Performing Arts, producers of theatre and Broadway touring
platform.com/, will be accepted through November 1 from those who have suffered economic injury as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business interruption grants up to $20,000 are available to replace revenue lost by a for-profit GV business that they didn’t already receive during the first round of GV Cares. Those applications were accepted from July 6-10. Grants may be used to reimburse the business for certain operational expenses incurred during the time the business was closed or open at less than full capacity. Paid expenses eligible for reimbursement include, but are not limited to rent, payroll, inventory, and supplies necessary to operate the business, including personal protective
shows, wanted the same service. Opera Colorado, Colorado Ballet and many other performing arts entities followed suit. A new niche and a new division to be known as The Publishing House came forth to anchor Wilbur’s endeavors for the next three decades. A love for and long-standing connection with horses began in 1968 for Wilbur, when he was invited by friends to join a horse pack trip to Island Lakes in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. Wilbur was immediately drawn to the wilderness and the animals. He purchased his first two horses soon thereafter and put together a pack and riding string within three years. For more than
equipment. They must be deductible business expenses for income tax purposes. Eligible businesses must be for-profit, have one to 100 employees, and not be part of a national chain unless they are individually-owned franchises. They must have been licensed or conducting business prior to March 17, 2020, in good standing with Greenwood Village, and closed or operating with restrictions for some period of time during the COVID-19
pandemic. Qualified businesses must not be in default or planning to default, nor can they derive more than one-third of their gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities. Business interruption grants are also being made to homebased businesses by GV for the first time for operational expenses, including personal protective equipment, up to $2,500, limited to the amount of existing and anticipated lost revenue because of the pandemic. Proceeds from GV Cares money cannot be used for charitable or political contributions, franchise fees, the payment of GV fees or taxes, paying down or paying off debt early, wages to owners’ family members who are not bona fide employees, or draws or salary to owners
in excess of what they drew or were paid for the same period in 2019. GV Cares funds cannot be used to reimburse an expense that was previously reimbursed from a Small Business Administration loan, the Payroll Protection Program, other CARES Act monies, or Economic Injury Disaster Loan Funds. To complete the application process, businesses will need their Federal Employer ID Number (FEIN), a completed federal W-9 form, and their City of Greenwood Village occupational privilege tax license number. For specific questions about the process or eligibility, contact Nathan Bishop, GV Economic Development Officer at 303486-5764. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
45 years, he spent a good portion of each Summer and Fall sharing the back country with hundreds of friends, Midwest relatives and business associates, all of whom knew him by his nickname on the trail: Bufford T. Clapsaddle. During that almost half-century, trailboss “Clapsaddle” logged more than 10,000 trail miles on horseback, mostly in Colorado wilderness areas and also in Arizona, Utah and Wyoming. To accommodate his trail horses, he established Clapsaddle Farms near Hudson, Colorado, for breeding, training and boarding. One of his other passions was to coordinate the Rotary International Student Exchange Program both for his Rotary Club as well as serving on the district committee. During his 53-year tenure as a Rotarian, he
and Marilyn hosted 24 exchange students from around the world. Art and culture were other key focuses of Wilbur’s. He spearheaded, along with four other Westminster Rotarians, the Westminster Community Artists Series, which brought a variety of music, dance, art exhibits and lectures to the community. Wilbur’s civic and professional activities included serving as President of the Colorado Press Association (1977); President of the Colorado Professional Journalists (1972); Board of Directors of the Citizens Banks (27 years); President and board member of the Westminster Chamber of Commerce (196976); first chairperson of the Adams County Cultural Council with the responsibility for allocating millions of dollars to local arts entities (1989-
98); Board of Directors of the Lutheran Family Services of Colorado (13 years); member of the Adams County Task Force monitoring the development of Denver International Airport (1990-93); Hyland Hills Recreation District Foundation Board of Directors (1990s); board member with Adams County Community Mental Health (1971-75); and vice chair of the Adams County Visual Arts Commission (20082015). Wilbur was also honored with the Distinguished Alumni award from Wartburg College (1972); Colorado’s Newspaper Person of the Year Award (1990); Rex Morgan Community Service Award recognizing one person each year who Continued on page18
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Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 8 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
Western Fantasy gala including concert direct from Nashville - Oct 17, 6:30 PM Headliner is Lee Brice - singer, songwriter, musician
“It
was a hard, emotional decision to go virtual this year,” said Sharon Magness Blake, co-founder of Western Fantasy. She and pal Jean Galloway had brainstormed in 1994 to create a unique fundraiser, not black tie, to raise funds for Volunteers of America (VOA). The result was an incredible production – Western Fantasy that has honored some of our community’s finest humanitarians and brought a concert featuring some of the world’s best-known artists - John Denver being the first! “Western Fantasy 2020 is an amazing pivot from an in-person gala to 100% virtual gala. It has been such an exciting new frontier for us!” said Michael James, VOA Colorado’s VP, marketing and development. ”We are blessed to get to work
with incredibly generous and gifts chairs, Adrienne Ruston Fitzgibbons and Stephen Edmonds who have been excellent and innovative. With the master touch of Sharon Magness Blake and the best production company in town – Starwest Productions, we are creating something entirely new in Denver. Western Fantasy has become Colorado’s premier fundraising event and has created a reputation for offering 1,200 of the city’s leading citizens an exciting, fun evening featuring the very best in country music entertainment. Since its inception, Western Fantasy has raised over $27 million to support VOA - helping children and families and our elderly neighbors across Colorado.” Funds raised this year will focus on the organization’s ongoing response to COVID in
Gala CoChairs Adrienne Ruston Fitzgibbons and Stephen Edmonds
its direct relief programs, expanded food and safety FLEURISH programs for the elderly, low income families and older neighbors (housing support for veterans, in-home services such as Meals on Wheels for the elderly and food boxes for families struggling with job loss and reduced incomes). The chairs, founder, production partners and VOA staff have met weekly via Zoom to perfect an event that would seem more live rather than another virtual conference and garner the same amazing support from the community that Western Fantasy has enjoyed in previous years. “We have also been pleased with the commitment our sponsors have exhibited,” said Stephen Edmonds, co-chair. “While we won’t be able to to share the company of family, friends and colleagues this year, sponsors at the $5,000 level and above will have up to 10 exquisitely prepared by Epicurean, Western Fantasy meals,
Sharon Magness Blake and Jean Galloway were the founders
“You do not want to miss Western Fantasy 2020 – setting a new standard for galas in our community!”
delivered to their “watch parties” as well as an appreciation gift for each guest.” New this year is a silent auction available for viewing October 1. The much-anticipated live auction will “be live” that evening. Entertainment will be by Nashville resident, South Carolina-born Lee Brice who by age ten was writing his own songs while playing guitar and piano after beginning his singing career in church at age seven. He earned a football scholarship to Clemson, but after an injury decided to focus on music and moved to Nashville. Among his many credits, he co-wrote “More than a Memory” (with Garth Brooks cutting it) that debuted Number 1 on Billboard Hot Country Songs. He has been nominated for a number of his works, including ACMA, CMT, ACM, CMA and Grammy awards. One of the great fresh, new faces in Nashville – Texas-
- Michael O. James Volunteers of America, Vice President, Marketing and Development bred Billy Dawson will open the show. Nashville Industry Music Awards awarded him with Artist of the Year, Best Country Male Vocalist and Best Country Live Performer. Event emcee is Ed Greene. Auctioneer is Grant Snyder. Presenting sponsor is Wells Fargo. Other sponsorship levels range from $5,000 $50,000. Sponsorships, donations, live and silent auction information as well as simply registering to enjoy the event, visit: WWW.WESTERN FANTASY.COM. For more information: Michael James at 720-264-3322.
File photos by Scottie Iverson
Ordinarily, Sharon Magness Blake would be riding in on Thunder at the National Western Complex accompanied by hubby Ernie and Annie, who rides Thunder at Denver Broncos games. Lee Brice will be the featured entertainer Billy Dawson will open the show
Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 9
Lori McDermott and Laura Shipman hold a portrait of Community Angel 2020 Rosalina Diecidue and the angel award sculpture
There are challenges. And, there are challenges. But in spite of numerous unimaginable, unpredictable circumstances, nothing would prevent the professional, virtual production of Bessie’s Hope Bridge of Love Gala. Weeks before the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year, Linda Holloway underwent a triple bypass, open heart surgery. Last year, before her untimely death, Gayle Novak had accepted chairmanship of the 2020 gala, was enthusiastic and full of ideas. But before the kickoff was to take place, Gayle was called to be an angel in Heaven where no doubt, she is sharing her energy, secrets to perfect red lips, creating numerous events and entertaining. She was co-emcee of the event in 2019 where she belted out the song from Mamma Mia that helped her capture the 2018 Ms. Senior America title. She was selected as the 2020 Posthumous Community Angel by Bessie’s Hope. Her best gal pal Michelle
Ed Novak and Michelle Rahn hold the tribute award for Posthumous Community Angel Gayle Novak – a star registered in her name as “Dazzling Gayle”
Rahn and adoring husband Ed Novak, accepted the honor on her behalf. “Gayle was in love with Bessie’s Hope,” said Michelle. Ed expressed his love and admiration for his late wife, her positive attitude, boundless energy and take charge spirit of accomplishment. Community Angel honoree Rosalina Diecidue is known for having the biggest heart and works tirelessly to enrich the lives of those around her through being a volunteer, wife, mother, daughter and true friend. She had chaired the event in 2018 and has spent numerous volunteer hours for Bessie’s Hope while enlisting the help of others. She had planned a “watch party” to enjoy the virtual event, but instead was quarantined with COVID-19. Her angel wings were clipped, so she sent a heartfelt message via her girlfriend tribe – Laura Shipman and Lori McDermott. They accepted the honor on her behalf and had ac-
From 2019, Bessie’s Hope Founders Linda Holloway and Sharron Brandrup surround 2019 Community Angel, Pat Robinson
colades for their beautiful (inside and out), friend who has such a zest for life. Rosalina expressed her feeling of having more compassion for the elders because of her own lack of connection during Covid isolation. Among her messages sent with love and appreciation for the recognition, she said: “It’s not WHAT we have,
Tony David & WildeFire entertained
File photo courtesy of Tony David
“Thank you for remembering the forgotten by supporting Bessie’s Hope.” -Pat Robinson, Community Angel 2019 but WHO we have.” There was plenty of emotional entertainment as well. Linda Holloway’s touching serenade of 2019 was re-played:”Remember me the way I was, but love me the way I am.” Michelle Rahn, another of Colorado’s Ms. Senior Americas, who adopted Gayle as her little sister, sang “Song of Angels.” The popular Tony David & WildeFire had many performances including the appropriate “Love can
build a bridge.” Rainbow Bridge was established 26 years ago as a living legacy to Linda Holloway’s beloved grandmother - Bessie “Granny” Stephens who lived in a nursing home. The name for this exceptional, one-of-a-kind nonprofit was later changed to Bessie’s Hope. It’s hard to imagine that over 60% of those in nursing homes and assisted
living, never receive visitors and feel forgotten by the community. Through the programs of Bessie’s Hope - young people, especially at-risk youth, are matched with elders. These volunteers are trained to be empathetic, compassionate and flexible. With the elders being “touch hungry,” their eyes light up when they see their guests. It’s a life changing experience. Although the youngsters cannot visit quite yet, the funds raised will support education for youth to visit when interaction is permitted. Silent and live auctions stayed open for one hour after the event. One of the most unique packages was the custom designed gown Gayle had already packed to crown her Ms. Senior America successor, two tickets to DCPA’s 2021 production of My Fair Lady and a gift certificate to Zane’s for $500. Presenting sponsor was Triple B and Media Friends included The Villager newspaper.
ABOVE: Clockwise from left: Gayle Novak’s son Zane Anderson, husband Ed Novak, daughter Danielle Hicks and granddaughter Keely Chacon INSET: Gayle Novak LEFT: Laura Shipman presented a live auction item - the 18k gold, quartz and diamond necklace from Trice Jewelers Photos by Scottie Taylor Iverson
Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 10 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
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Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 11
BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
Months ago, Chris Stevens, Greenwood Village Cultural Arts Manager, who runs the Curtis Center for the Arts at 2349 East Orchard Road in Greenwood Village, had four buses reserved for a GV studio tour planned for September 12. Then the coronavirus arrived and everything changed. Working with three local artists and using no city funds, only SCFD (Scientific and Cultural Facilities District) money, Stevens and three local artists planned and organized the first-ever COVID-compliant Art on the Green at Curtis Park adjacent to the arts center. All visitors and artists wore masks at all times (except for a short minute when we took some of their photos because we wanted our readers to see their lovely faces). Hand sanitizer was available around the venue, and social distancing was observed throughout. It was held on September 12, the date that had been set aside for the studio tour, in perfect weather and under cloudless blue skies. There were no buses and visitors were instructed to reserve their free two-hour window to view the exhibits. About 50 artists, handpicked for variety and creativity in their original artwork by Stevens’ ad hoc committee, were invited to participate; 43 said yes. To minimize contact and bookkeeping, artists paid $175 per booth but were not required to pay any commissions on their sales, though, Stevens could be heard asking artists how sales were going because that is important. The answers that he got back were positive and happy. The money generated by the event will be used by the GV Arts Council, which generally does
The figurative painting, “Luminance,” by Mitch Caster shows his appreciation of beauty. Sascha Ripps told us she paints “what inspires me,” and believes you should do the work “that fills your cup.” For her, that is most often landscapes.
Mitch Caster was a courtroom sketch artist before switching his focus to “seeking out beauty,” he told us. He paints landscapes, western art, and dancers. Photos by Freda Miklin
not receive city funding, for the acquisition of public art and college scholarships for talented high school seniors planning to study art. Stevens told The Villager, “With so many regular art events, including the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, cancelled this year, art lovers are excited to be here and happy to take some beautiful things home with them.” Stevens’ issued 525 free tickets for the event to anyone who requested them at staggered times throughout the day and had no problem accommodating walk-up guests due to the size of the park and
the way exhibit booths were spread out. Unlike events such as Greenwood Village Day which is funded by the city for its residents, Art on the Green was paid for by the SCFD district to which everyone in the area contributes, so it was open to all. Stevens wanted to publicly thank Michele Messenger, Victoria Eubanks, and Dianna Fritzler for their help and support in making the event a success. He also expressed his appreciation for GV City Council members Judith Hilton and Tom Dougherty for coming out to Art on the Green to show his support. Stevens told
The Women of Steele are, from left to right, Jenny Freeman, Lee LaBier, Connie Dines, Amy Mower, and Tina Suszynski. They are five ladies who live on or adjacent to Steele Street in Greenwood Village and create art including sculpture, photography, jewelry, and painting. They also include with their work the paintings of the late landscape painter, Joellyn Duesberry (1944-2016).
Jeannie Paty paints “who we are as women—mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives.” She uses “color to express my voice intuitively.”
us that many of the participating artists had already asked if this could become an annual
Curtis Center for the Arts
event, no matter what happens with coronavirus. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
2349 E Orchard Road Greenwood Village, CO 80121 (303) 797-1779 www.greenwoodvillage.com/1247/Curtis-Center-for-the-Arts
13, PAGE 12 | THE VILLAGER • August September 24, 2020 20, 2020
August 24, 13, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 13 September 20,
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Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 14 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
ABOU
THE LAW
BY DONALD PETERSON
Dear Readers, This week’s column is a continuation of planned gifting regarding types of gifts and advantages to the donor. The basic, easiest and most popular planned gift is a bequest. Many planned gifts to charities are bequests. A charitable bequest is a provision in your Will or Trust that designates a charity as a beneficiary. Bequests can either be specific (leaving a specific asset or a set sum of money to the charity) or general (leav-
ing a percentage of your estate to the charity). The greatest advantage of bequests to charity is that you, the donor, maintain control over your assets until your death. If the Estate’s assets cannot support payment of the bequest to a charity, there is no legal obligation on the part of the Estate to make payment. The donor can also change his or her beneficiaries during life and can remove a charity or any other beneficiary from his or her Will. Also, a bequest can be designated to be used for any purpose that the donor wishes, as long as the gift is not to be used for an intention that is in violation of the law. If you have a particular use to which you would like your bequest directed, the charity will be most pleased if the terms of your intentions are set forth specifically in your Will, so that the charity can use your
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gift in the way that you intended. The advantages of planned gifts are many, but some of the more popular reasons for establishing this type of gift are: • Providing life income to the donors; • Receiving a charitable income tax deduction; • Avoiding or mitigating capital gains taxes by gifting appreciated long-held property; • Removing assets from one’s estate to lessen the estate tax burden; • Turning low or non-income-producing assets into higher income payouts; • Fulfilling one’s charitable intent by supporting a favorite charity; and • Providing a charitable gift while receiving tax benefits and maintaining control of the asset during one’s lifetime.
CHERRY CREEK NORTH $1,595,000 SOLD. BONNIE BRAE CONTEMPORARY - $1,100,000 SOLD. LAKEVIEW AT THE HILLS - $1,050,000 SOLD. 47 CHERRY HILLS FARM. Spectacular remodel. Main Floor Master, Transitional Styling. $2,395,000 SOLD. POLO CLUB NORTH $1,000,000 SOLD. ON THE HIGHLINE CANAL- SOLD - $2,175,000. THE PRESERVE - $1,940,000 SOLD. 1215 S YORK, WASHINGTON PARK - $980,000 SOLD. 4945 S GAYLORD CHERRY HILLS FARM WEST - $2,190,000 SOLD. THE PRESERVE 5402 PRESERVE PKWY N. - $1,699,000. SOLD. PENTHOUSE DENVER ART MUSEUM - $1,150,000 SOLD. THE PRESERVE 5801 S. BIRCH CT. $1,725,000 SOLD. 75 GLENMOOR - $3,550,000 SOLD
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Many of my clients have asked what are the critical documents needed, particularly in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simply being married does not give you the legal right to gain access to your spouse’s medical records or make medical decisions on your spouse’s behalf, even in an emergency. To avoid this problem and to help others
care for you and to achieve your overall estate planning goals, the following documents create an effective medical/estate plan package: 1. Healthcare Power of Attorney; 2. General Financial Power of Attorney; 3. Advanced Directive for Medical/Surgical Treatment (“Living Will”); and 4. Will (or a Will with a Trust). Careful medical/estate planning should include preparation and signing of these documents, to accomplish your goals and protect you, both during your lifetime, and at the time of passing. The Power of Attorney documents allow you to designate those agents whom you authorize to help you on your
behalf during your lifetime, and the Will/Trust documents allow you to nominate others to help with your estate after your passing, as well as to identify the beneficiaries and the distributions to them, to accomplish your estate planning goals. Selected information in this column has been taken with permission by Continuing Legal Education in Colorado, Inc., from the Colorado Senior Law Handbook, 2020 Edition (Chapter 18: Philanthropy and Planned Giving, Rikke M. Liska, Esq. and Mark D. Masters, Esq.), which is a copyrighted publication and may be accessed and downloaded for free at: www.cobar.org/For-thePublic/Senior-Law-Handbook.
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Gardner will vote to seat new Supreme Court justice BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
On September 21, United States Senator Cory Gardner made this statement shortly before 6:00 p.m. on Twitter: “When a President exercises constitutional authority to nominate a judge for the Supreme Court vacancy, the Senate must decide how to best fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent. I have and will continue to support judicial nominees who will protect our Constitution, not legislate from the bench, and uphold the law. Should a qualified nominee who meets this criteria be put forward, I will vote to confirm.” On the evening that the death of the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was announced, United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he planned to see her seat filled without waiting for the result of the November 3rd election. Said McConnell, “Americans re-elected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work
with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer responded, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” Over the next two days, Democrats protested that McConnell’s actions flew in the face of the stance he took in 2016 when former President Obama nominated Merrick Garland 10 months before the presidential election and McConnell refused to even give him a hearing, because, he said, it was a presidential election year. On September 21, in a speech in the Senate, McConnell drew the distinction that when Obama, a Democrat, named Garland, the Republicans controlled the Senate, thus they were within their rights to refuse to consider him. Conversely, even though
the presidential election is only a few weeks away, the White House and the Senate are both controlled by the Republican party, hence they can act quickly and in concert, which is exactly what they will do. Since the United States Senate has 53 Republicans, the vote for Trump’s choice, who he has announced he will name by September 26, was all but assured unless four Republican senators refused to go along with his and McConnell’s plan. On September 19 and 20, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine each announced that they would not vote for a new Supreme Court justice before the presidential election. Then all eyes turned to other Republican senators who might follow suit due to personal values or re-election consideration. Gardner, who has been polling behind challenger Governor John Hickenlooper, was one of those on whom the national attention was focused until September 21 when he announced he would follow Republican leadership. Fmiklin.villager@gmail. com
Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 15
Teen Entrepreneur Earns Spot in Denver Startup Week Pitch Competition Finals BY JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT-ROCKY MOUNTAIN
DENVER - Four years ago, at just 10-years old, he was the youngest person to successfully pitch in front of Mark Cuban and the other “sharks” on the TV show Shark Tank. Now, Colorado teen Jack Bonneau is back with his second business, Teen Hustl, which he pitched in front of multiple rounds of judges last week during Denver Startup Week for a chance to win a prize package worth $100,000. Jack first launched Jack’s Stands and Marketplace to give Above: 14 year-old entrepreneur Jack Bonneau handles an Amazon preteens an opportunity to sell Locker pickup for a neighborhood delivery as part of his business, lemonade and household prod- Teen Hustl. ucts, helping them gain financial literacy skills and learn about entrepreneurship. The endeavor landed him on Shark Tank, where he successfully procured a $50,000 loan. “It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Jack says of his successful appearance. Now 14, he’s shifting focus to his new business, Teen Hustl, in which neighborhood teens deliver food, popular household products, and Amazon packages using an e-scooter or bicycle. “I wanted a company that gave job opportunities to teenagers. Decades ago, teenagers used to have their own paper route, but those kinds of opportunities don’t exist for teens today,” Jack says. “With the meteoric rise in food delivery companies, I thought about how we could bring back a work opportunity for teenagers through food delivery, and that’s what prompted Teen Hustl.” He adds that superior customer service is what sets Teen Hustl apart from competing services. “We employ our workers, rather than treat them like independent contractors. That way we can enforce a customer service standard,” he says. “Another problem we address that the food delivery giants can’t is safety. There was a survey done of food delivery drivers, and a third of them admitted to sampling the customer’s food, which is just crazy.” To address this, and also to ensure the safety and protection of the teens, Jack provides all of his employees hard helmets affixed with GoPro cameras. Spending the past year growing his new business, Jack was ready for another Shark Tankstyle pitch competition at Denver Startup Week. His participation was made possible by Junior Achievement and Young Americans Center for Financial Education. Both nonprofits partner each year with Denver Startup Week to give teens access to workshops and competitions traditionally reserved for adult entrepreneurs. For the second year, the organizations co-produced the Youth Pass Pitch Challenge, nominating four teen entrepreneurs to compete following an application process. “Even though the competition was held virtually this year, the intensity was just as strong,” said Junior Achievement representative Chris Silberman. He adds that Junior Achievement has recently adapted all of its programs for virtual delivery in classrooms and remote learning while the pandemic prevents volunteers from delivering programs in person. Jack won the Youth Pass Pitch Challenge, progressing to the semifinals of Denver Startup Week’s big pitch competition, which saw 20 entrepreneurs competing. Defying all odds, Jack then found himself to be one of just six entrepreneurs—and the only one who was under 18 years old—competing in the finals. While Teen Hustl fell just short of the $100,000 grand prize, Jack hasn’t lost his drive or confidence. In fact, he just recently learned that Teen Hustl is a finalist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Dream Big Awards. Jack is also expanding Teen Hustl and will be hiring additional teens for the upcoming holiday season. “With so many more online deliveries due to the pandemic, this holiday season will be huge, and so will porch pirate thefts,” Jack warns. To ensure the security of packages, Jack encourages people to utilize Amazon Lockers, and then arrange for a Teen Hustler to deliver packages at a time when a family member is home. “We can also pick up and process Amazon returns!” Learn more about Teen Hustl at teenhustl.com.
Right: Jack presenting in the Youth Pass Pitch Challenge, co-produced by Junior Achievement and Young Americans Center for Financial Education. Far right: Jack at the Denver Startup Week Pitch Competition finals.
Maegan
From 90° to 30° - Is it time to seasonally shift the closet? The latest weather has certainly made me wonder! All the recent record-setting temperature swings are a reminder that in Colorado, one needs to keep a wide range of apparel on hand at all times. But, how do you make space for all that? Let’s start by identifying some goals for the closet. You want to… · Know what you have · Be able to easily find it · Have a system for adding or removing items Now, let’s look at a five-step process for tackling any closet, any time of year: 1. Categorize 2. Curate 3. Create 4. Consign 5. Cycle Step One: Categorize “Like with like” – the greatest principle of organizing! Get all of the same types of clothing together (blouses, dresses, jackets, and so on). Your categories will reflect who you are and what you do. They can be as broad or as detailed as you’d like (i.e. sports wear, workout, travel, etc.). When sorting, be sure to remove all items from the closet! Getting clothes out into the light helps you see them with fresh eyes.
Step Two: Curate Now that you know what you have, you can curate each pile. Inevitably this is when I hear a lot of, “ I was wondering where that was,”“I forgot about that” or “Oops, I just bought another shirt like that.” That’s ok! It’s all part of the process. Pick a category and look at each item in that pile – do you want to keep it? We all know what we wear with confidence versus hesitation, so go with your gut here! · Yes! You love it, it’s a favorite, you just bought it, and it always feels great! You physically smile when you see it. · No. It gives you that “ugh” feeling when you look at it. You scrunch your nose or purse your lips when seeing it. You are certainly not smiling and a heavy feeling takes over. · Maybe? You don’t love it, you don’t hate it, it kind of works, but it’s not a favorite...it’s “meh.” When you spend more than a few seconds deciding, it’s an automatic “maybe.” Continue curating each pile, including shoes, purses, jewelry, and accessories. Phew! This can be a lot of work and that’s why it’s nice to have an organizer with you. My clients sit back and make the
decisions - the heavy lifting and keeping track of piles is my job! When you are ready, circle back around to that “maybe” pile. After deciding on your “yes” and “no” piles, the “maybe” pile becomes significantly easier to tackle! Step Three: Create Create your new closet flow. Where will each item go? What do you access most? What is less frequently needed? Is there room for all of it or do some items need to go into a seasonal/occasional closet elsewhere? After the “categorize and curate” part of the process, the “create” portion almost happens on its own. Since the closet has been emptied from step one, there’s ample opportunity to organize the closet in a new way that optimizes space and function. Adding details such as matching hangers, color-coordinated categories, pictures on shoeboxes and more, adds a professional and aesthetic flare to the whole project! This is my favorite part and something that can be done while you rest from all your decision-making. Step Four: Consign What to do with your “no” piles – they have to go! Consign, give to a friend or family member, donate, or recycle them. You may also find there are pieces you want to keep, but that need dry-cleaned or mended. If you don’t want to manage all this, no problem, we will take care of it for you. Step Five: Cycle This step is often overlooked, but it is the most important one for maintaining your beautiful, newly organized closet. Bought a new shirt? Got a new jacket for your birthday? Just add the piece to its proper category in the closet. Found an item too tight, too big, or not current? Have a “go bin” in the corner of your closet for unwanted items. When the bin gets full over time, go back to step four and either consign, give, donate or toss it. Managing the inflow and outflow cycle of items is an easy way to maintain your space and it sets you up for longterm success! Shape Space Professional Organizing can assist in every step of the way. We can even go above and beyond by helping with various storage ideas, creating a picture inventory of your whole closet, and more. Our goal is to help you locate whatever clothes you may need, no matter how the Colorado weather rolls in!
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION Centennial-based • Local references
Maegan Keller 720-295-6478 • maegan@shapespace.me www.shapespace.me
Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 16 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum opens two new exhibitions how the technological developments of World War II are still affecting our lives 75 years later. Wings second exhibit is the remarkable sculpture by World War II aviator Major Fredric Arnold, USAAC (Ret.) – “Lest We Forget: WWII”. It honors, preserves and promotes the heritage of the American combat pilots for future generations.
“The power of these two exhibitions illuminates what is known as the Greatest Generation, stated Wings Over the Rockies President and CEO, John Barry, “and supports the need for us to continue to honor and thank World War II veterans along with their families for the great sacrifices they made for us.”
Visit us online at wings museum.org to pre-purchase your tickets and plan your visit! Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum sits inside a WWII-era hanger, built in 1939, that sits in the heart of the historic Lowry neighborhood - located at 7711 E. Academy Blvd. To learn more, visit Wings Museum.org/WW2.
It’s 2020 election season: Learn about Colorado’s justices and judges standing and retention
congressperson, local officials, initiatives and referenda and – judges and justices who are standing for retention. A state statute requires that a judicial performance commission be appointed for each judicial district and for our appellate courts. There are six “appointing authorities”: the governor, the speaker of the House, the minority leader of the House, the president of the Senate; the Senate minority leader; and the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Each of these individuals receives applications for appropriate commission positions and makes his/her selection for a four year term. Each commissioner can serve for no more than two terms. The performance commissioners work very hard: they develop interim reports to advise judges how to improve their work (Every judge or justice knows that she/he can do better work, no matter what.). When a judicial officer stands retention, the commission prepares a full, published report about the judicial officer’s performance during her/his current term.
Commissioners observe judges doing their courtroom work; read opinions; and, perhaps most importantly, receive input from litigants, jurors, crime victims, attorneys, law enforcement, human services workers, court staff – anyone who has interacted with the judge/justice during his/her current term in office. Surveys are provided to all individuals in these groups. Trial court judges are sent surveys for appellate court justices/judges. Each judicial officer standing retention also is personally interviewed by the commission. The commission then prepares a detailed report as to whether the justice/judge “meets standards” or not. A summary of these reports is available in the Blue Book and can be accessed at http:// www.coloradojudicial performance.gov/retentionlist. cfm?year=2020&county= Arapahoe (for Arapahoe County – other counties are easily found on this website). If a commission determines that a judge or justice does not meet standards, he/ she may choose to retire or resign. In that case, the report is not published. Since ours is a merit selection/retention system, the substantial majority of judges meets standards. Before selection, judges and justices were thoroughly vetted by the appropriate nominating commission. But each year, a few judicial officers’ records and observed actions indicate that they do not meet standards. This year, one district court judge and one county court judge (none in our 18th Judicial District) have received “does not meet standards” reports. We are so fortunate that, unlike many other states, there are no big money campaigns and political shenanigans in our judicial merit selection/retention system. Please take the time to read the reports of the 18th Judicial District and State Performance Commissions and cast an informed vote for each judicial officer standing retention this year.
75 years later museum guests can explore World War II’s lasting impact on their life today
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum (Wings) announces the opening of two new exhibitions - WWII and You, and the newly cast three figure “Lest We Forget: The Mission” repro-
duction. This month, the United States commemorated the 75th Anniversary of the official end of World War II, and while “the war to end all wars” had finally come to an end, it left lasting effects on us today. Wings new exhibit WWII and You includes historically-significant artifacts, and takes a fascinating look into
Earlier this year, we discussed how Colorado’s state
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judges are selected under the merit selection/retention system. As you’ll recall, under our state’s Constitution, qualified candidates apply to a non-partisan nominating commission (made up of 7 people in each judicial district – no more than a simple majority from one political party and a majority of non-attorneys; for appellate judgeships, two people from each Congressional district plus a person at large, with no more than a simple majority from one political party and a majority of laypersons). The nominating commission reviews applications, interviews selected candidates and nominates three of them for the Governor’s consideration. The Governor must appoint one of those candidates for a provisional two year term. The new judge or justice then must appear on the general election ballot for retention. In case you’ve not noticed, we’re in the final phase of a general election. Soon, we’ll vote for president, a senator, a
years strong
Take a virtual tour of our campus! St. Anne’s Episcopal School 2701 S. York Street Denver, CO 80210
rsvp Marcia 303.756.9481 x210 or st-annes.org/parent-preview If you are unable to attend the Parent Preview but would like to schedule a tour of St. Anne’s Episcopal School, please contact the Admissions Office at 303.756.9481 x210 or visit our website: st-annes.org.
VIRTUAL
parent previews October 24 and November 6, 2020 • 9:00 AM
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 17
Be safe. Stay Strong.
CSI holds forum on Amendment B to repeal Gallagher BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
On September 17, the Common Sense Institute, chaired by Earl Wright, co-founder and chairman of AMG National Trust Bank, presented a panel of experts to discuss Amendment B on the November ballot, the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment of 1982. Leading the program was Kristin Strohm, CSI president and CEO. Also contributing was Chris Brown, CSI
director of policy and research. The Gallagher Amendment to the Colorado Constitution, enacted in 1982, requires that 45 percent of the total share of property taxes statewide be paid by residential real estate taxes and the remaining 55 percent come from businesses. As residential values have risen, this has caused an increasing share of the property tax burden to fall on small business. According to panelist JoAnn Groff, Property Tax Administrator for the State of Colorado, in
1982, the total value of residential and commercial property in our state was split 50/50. Today, residential property constitutes 80 percent of all statewide property value and commercial property accounts for only 20 percent. When this amendment went into effect, residential real estate was taxed at 28 percent of its actual value. Today it is taxed at 7.15 percent of its actual value. If the repeal is successful, the residential rate won’t go up, it will be frozen at 7.15 percent. Panel member Kent Thiry
Vote NO on Proposition 113 BY WIL ARMSTRONG
This fall, Colorado voters have a decision to make on Proposition 113: whether to join a so-called “National Popular Vote” compact or not. This decision has national implications. A vote for the proposition would require Colorado to award our state’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes nationally. A vote against the proposition would amount to a dagger to the heart of the compact, likely stalling momentum nationally. Some Coloradans care most about defending our state’s unique interests. Others believe this ensures fair national elections that promote the best interests of the country. Colorado is the first state in which voters have a chance to decide the matter. Either way, the decision about National Popular Vote is an easy one. Coloradans should vote NO on Proposition 113. On this issue, there is no conflict between what is good for Colorado and what is best for America. Consider first the interests of Colorado. We win under the Electoral College and lose under National Popular Vote. Colorado does best when presidential candidates care about our needs and interests, and the Electoral College guarantees that presidential candidates care about Colorado. Our nine, soon to be 10, Electoral College votes are highly coveted. In 2016, the Democrat and Republican nominees for President made 19 visits to Colorado. That means candidates who want to win Colorado care about our interests on issues like water or federal funding of roads, health
care, and the environment. Not so, under the National Popular Vote scheme. Colorado’s voice gets muffled. With just 1.7 percent of the nation’s population, Colorado’s voice would be dwarfed by California, New York, and other large states. National Popular Vote clearly migrates presidential election power and influence to large states and metropolitan areas – particularly on the coasts. California alone has seven times the population of Colorado. Who do you think would win a water war between the two states under National Popular Vote? It’s no surprise then that three-quarters of the money backing the National Popular Vote measure on Colorado’s ballot comes from California, and 98 percent comes from out of state. Second, consider the implications National Popular Vote would have on America at large. Proponents of this notion say it will be fairer, that the candidate who wins the most votes nationally should win the presidency. Here is what they don’t tell you: National Popular Vote would undermine one of the few remaining institutions in America that promotes consensus. That’s because the Electoral College forces candidates to build a broad enough coalition across the entire country to win a majority of electoral votes. Niche candidates, whether regional or ideological, are therefore rarely successful. While the Electoral College forces candidates to work to broaden their coalition to win, National Popular Vote enables narrower coalitions, even niche candidacies, to win. It would
further divide Americans, not unite them. That’s because National Popular Vote has nothing to do with winning a majority; one candidate merely has to win more votes than the others. In a multi-candidate field, the winner could be regionally based, ideologically narrow, or both. To make matters worse under this scheme, Colorado might even have to give its electoral votes to a candidate who wins the popular vote but that isn’t even on the ballot in Colorado. Talk about voter disenfranchisement! Consider where presidential nominees concentrate their appeal currently: to swing voters in swing states – including Colorado. But under National Popular Vote, candidates would be motivated to maximize performance and turnout in vote-rich areas friendly to their viewpoint. Existing dynamics and motivations would be turned upside down. Colorado’s Electoral College votes for President should go to the candidate who wins the most votes in Colorado, not the candidate who wins the most votes in other states. If Coloradans don’t protect their unique interests, who will? In their quest to promote fairness, National Popular Vote proponents have concocted a scheme that exacerbates division and polarization. The Electoral College promotes consensus and coalition-building. It provides for a clear winner in each state and thus our country. While not perfect, it is clearly better than letting a few states decide the presidency. Coloradans should vote NO on the National Popular Vote compact by voting NO on
recently retired board chair and CEO of DaVita and campaign chair of Yes on Amendment B said, “This is a difficult time for the state and the country. To have a local healthy economy, you need small business. Gallagher is hurting small business. If we repeal Gallagher there will be a freeze on existing (assessment) rates and TABOR will still be there. There will still be local control.” He explained that if Gallagher is not repealed, the people with the most money will continue to get the most benefit,
Proposition 113. Wil Armstrong is an entrepreneur and the co-chairman
while small businesses, small cities and towns, and fire districts, hospital districts, ambulance districts, and other local jurisdictions in rural Colorado will be hurt the most. Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising State Action, said, “This is not a tax cut…..We pay more in property taxes every year….Gallagher doesn’t help businesses. They still will pay the 29% rate. We should want to keep apartment costs low…... If people’s home value goes up it doesn’t put more Continued on page 18
of Protect Colorado’s Vote. He and his family live in Arapahoe County.
Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 18 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
CSI holds forum Continued from page 17
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money in their pocket to pay more taxes. I think there needs to be reform, but I don’t think this is it.” He said he didn’t have an alternative suggestion. Asked by moderator Joey Bunch why he thought the issue was before the voters now, Fields replied, “I think it’s because there’s a budget crisis, a revenue shortfall, and there’s no appetite to reform the education funding formula. There’s a committee in the legislature that looked at six different options and this was one of them.” Groff added perspective with, “People started paying attention to this in 2017. Previously we had 14 years of the (assessment) rate (for residential property) staying at 7.96%. Then it became clear that the rate was going to drop and special districts saw what it would do to their revenue. This was one of the solu-
tions that came out of the legislative study group.” If Gallagher is not repealed, that rate is forecast to drop to 5.88 percent next year, putting even more pressure of cities, towns, special districts, and small businesses, who will still have to come up with their 55 percent share of the total tax collected despite the residential rate dropping yet another 18 percent. Panelist Michael Gifford, CEO of Associated General Contractors (ACG), approached the issue from a larger perspective. He told forum participants “I am working with a number of interests that are looking for an ultimate solution on this… If you look at the state budget, education would have been cut this year if not for (federal) CARES funds. Next year you’re looking at a $500 million cut (to K-12 education) from the state as of now. We hope to have this study done by year end so we can present the results to the legislature in January.”
Said Thiry, “Repealing Gallagher is a good first step. Not one Democrat or Republican would institute this policy today. Unless we repeal Gallagher, no one disputes the fact that fire, hospital, ambulance, and other districts will suffer a lot of economic pain. Let’s stop the pain, then do what we need to next.” His message: Repeal Gallagher. Vote yes on Amendment B. Amendment B was placed on the statewide ballot by the legislature. It was referred on a vote of 27-7 in the senate, including yes votes from eight out of 15 Republican senators voting, along with all the Democrats. In the house, it passed 47-18, including six out of 24 Republicans and all the Democrats. Among the yes votes were five out of six elected members of the general assembly’s elite Joint Budget Commission, the permanent fiscal and budget review agency that prepares the statewide annual budget. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
Wilbur Flachman Continued from page 7
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has provided exemplary leadership for Metropolitan Denver’s Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (2000); Westminster Rotarian of the Year (2005); MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce Fred Valente Humanitarian Award (1979); Sentinel Newspapers Man of the Year Award (1986); Northwest Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year Award (1996); selected as one of Westminster’s 100 “History Makers” featured in the centennial book published in 2011; and Westminster Legacy Foundation Nancy Heil Lifetime Achievement Award (2020). Wilbur is survived by his wife Dr. Marilyn Flachman; daughter Angela Flachman (Paul Johnson) of Westminster; sister Kathryn Farkas of Wheat Ridge; sister Alberta Waldmeier (Richard) of Centennial; sister-in-law Shirley Flachman of Minneapolis, Minnesota; grandchildren Shelton and Hannah Johnson; brothers-in-law Donald Brudi (Judy), Gary Brudi; sistersin-law June Dittmar, Sandra Weaver (Bill) of Illinois; and special friend Jacques Loui (Suzie) of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wilbur was preceded in death by his parents Ralph and Georgia and his brother Leonard. Visitation will be at Horan & McConaty Arvada Family Chapel, 7577 W 80th Avenue, Arvada, Colorado, Thursday, October 1, 5-8 p.m. and Friday, October 2, 9-11 a.m. In observance of COVID-19 regulations, a religious service will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts may be directed to Westminster Legacy Foundation/Archival Center, 4800 W. 92nd Avenue, Westminster, Colorado, 80031 or Westminster Rotary Foundation Scholarships, P.O. Box 100, Meade, Colorado, 80542.
Be safe. Stay Strong.
September 24, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 19
Honey Bee Month
BEEKEEPER TERMINOLOGY (As found in Beekeepers Amazing Bees)
Continued from Page 1
individuals, with little worker bees doing many different tasks, living an average life of 6 weeks. They actually work themselves to death! During the winter months they can live 4-6 months though. A forager bee flies an average of 500 miles in her life. Each trip she returns with 1/3 her weight in pollen. Complete metamorphosis occurs in the hive, from egg to larva, to pupae, to an adult. The queen lives for an average of two years producing as many as 2,000 eggs per day. Her little body can store more than five million sperm during her egg laying life. The queen is usually bought from a beekeeper who raises queens. She is removed from her manmade cell cup and put into a cage, her back is marked with paint, the color of the beekeepers code for the year the queen was hatched. The cage is then sealed with a candy plug, where when introduced to the colony, the colony bees will eat through the plug to release her. Now, I hope you have taken the time to read the terminology (see sidebar), so we are enjoying this story together, as it is an interesting life in a bee’s world. Drones live for an average of 55 days, but if given the opportunity to mate with the queen, they die instantly. Once the summer ends, the drones are released from their duty and kicked out of the colony, as the food for the winter survival is not too plentiful. The honeybee has a diet similar to ours. She collects water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and a bit of other unknowns. Sound familiar? A diet high in protein increases production. Bees carry their collection of nectar/pollen on their hind legs, known as pollen baskets. Many beekeepers keep their apiary near all the needs of the field bees, to help speed up their return. The bees then deposit their collection in their colony for long term storage, to be processed by other worker bees. What I thought was a simple task of A BEE, ends up as a production line of assigned tasks. The queen bee and the worker bees are the females, and the drones are the males, with only the queen and drones involved in the mating. Once the queen is introduced to the colony, she then has one mating flight with 10-15 drones. If she lives through the mating flight, she then starts the process of laying eggs. The queen bee may also be used to give off pheromones that influence the behavior of the rest of the colony and, to help in forming new colonies through swarming. Planning is key for the queen when she feels the hive is overcrowded, she will produce a new queen who will take over the old hive, and the old queen will rule the newly formed hive. The cycle of mating and production starts all over again. This whole procedure is quite interest-
Harvesting the raw honey are Rod, Luke and Sandy
ing and warrants web surfing of honeybee swarming. Why does a field honeybee die once it stings? The stinger breaks off and is still in the threat, tearing the bees’ abdomen. Now I feel sad that I wasn’t watching where I was walking a long time ago! And now that you have become a bee expert, here is my story. There is a local Apiary/Bee Yard in Castle Rock. It is called Colorado Pure Honey collected by Rod and Sandy. Rod has been involved in collecting honey for over 40 years. Upon my arrival, I was given a Beekeepers suit with huge gloves, quickly dressed, and adventured over to the bee yard. Yes, I was excited, and no, I didn’t worry about getting stung again. After all, I didn’t wash or rinse my hair with my usual Rose Hips products, therefore not sending an invitation to the bees to check me out. I soon removed those big gloves in order to capture some great pictures. Rod assured me that based on the quiet hum from the frames, I would be fine, the bees were happy. Watching the bees land on my hands, crawl around, and be so close on me was so interesting. At one moment when 10 bees were on my hand, I was a little nervous, but I didn’t want them to know that. Now I can smile about it and be thankful for this experience. Sandy pulled out frames of honey, with thousands of bees on each frame, while Rod would remove the bees back into the colony and set the frames aside for processing. He took time to point out the eggs, the larvae, and the pupae. We found the marked queen in the bottom of the hive. I plan on painting some bee pictures in the future and being able to say, this is what I saw. The frames were carried to the large barn for processing. Rod and Sandy both started scraping the cappings. Rod offered a piece of the cappings to taste, which was honey mixed with wax. I never tasted honey so fresh! There was enough honey filled frames to use the electric honey extractor that separated the honey from the wax. Sandy attached a bucket to the bottom of the extractor and I marveled at the beautiful golden honey that filled
Photo by Pat LeClaire
the bucket. So, when planning next year’s garden, make it more bee friendly for your local beekeeper. Plant clover, alfalfa, wildflowers, native flowers and odorful flowers. Don’t use insecticides during the blooming season. Buy honey from your local beekeeper. Here are a few honey ideas. Baking bacon for half an hour at 350 degrees with honey, turning it a couple times, sprinkle some pecans, yum. Drizzle honey on your fresh berries, add a dollop of whipped cream, double yum. And finally, be prepared for the cold season and, when it hits, stir your tea with a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of lemon juice. My grandmother would throw in a shot of whiskey to calm that cough. The experience of a lifetime!
Special Beekeeper Acknowledgement
I encountered an act of love on this assignment that is quite noteworthy. On my training day, there was a special youth present, 16-year-old Luke Olivas, a student from Castle View High School, located in Castle Rock. Luke wants to become a beekeeper. During this summer, he took on odd jobs, dog sitting, and lawn mowing to purchase his own beekeeper suit and the special beekeepers hive scraper. He asked his mother to place an ad on Facebook for a beekeeper training position. Luke composed the ad and to his parents surprise, Sandy and Rod responded to his request, making a 10-year interest become a reality. He understands the importance of bees and continues his learning through purchasing books about bees. What an honor to meet and correspond with his parents in learning how they helped make their child’s dream come true! Luke has been working with Rod and Sandy for seven hands-on-training days. This last visit was quite a surprise, as Rod took his pink pen and wrote “LUKE” on one of the colony boxes for his love and commitment to becoming a beekeeper. This world needs more mentors like Rod and Sandy.
• Apiary – It is where the Honeybee colonies are kept in Beehives by a beekeeper. • Bearding – This is when the bees congregate on the outside of the hive, done to keep the temperature inside the hive down, usually on hot days or when the hive is overcrowded with bees and/or honey stores. • Bee Bread – A mix of pollen, honey, and royal jelly prepared by the nurse bees for feeding the bee larvae, the drones and the queen. • Beehive – Purpose-built, man-made enclosure in which a colony of bees is kept by the beekeeper. One bee colony in one hive. • Beeswax – It is the substance from which the bees build their combs. It is produced by the bees. Tiny wax scales are secreted from the bees’ body, i.e. from their wax gland in the abdomen, forming hexagonally shaped comb cells with their jaws. • Brood – Eggs, larvae, and pupae of all castes in the bee colony: developing bees. • Brood capping – When the mature larvae are ready to moult into pupae, worker bees cover the cell with brood capping, made from wax and bee hair. The cappings are usually brown. • Cappings – Commonly the thin layer of beeswax found over cells of ripe honey. The worker bees seal comb cells filled with honey to preserve it. • Castes – The three types of bees in the colony: queen, drones, and worker bees. • Colony – The entirety of all bees occupying a beehive, including the brood at all stages. • Drone – These are the male bees and have no sting. Their sole purpose is to impregnate the queen. • Field Bees or Foragers – Worker bees that are usually three or more weeks old and work outside to collect nectar, pollen, water and propolis. THEY ARE THE ONES MORE LIKELY TO STING. • Frames – The purpose of using frames is being able to remove combs out of the hive without destroying them. They can be removed for brood inspection and honey collection. • Hive Tool – A flat metal device with a lifting hook at one end and a flat blade at the other; used to open hives, pry apart and scrape frames. • Honey – This is the product produced by Honeybees by collecting Nectar from flowers and sequentially passing it on from one bee to another, each bee adding enzymes to the nectar and absorbing the water content until the honey is ready to be stored in comb cells, made by the bees from beeswax. Bees make honey and store it as food reserve for their own consumption during times when no nectar can be collected (winter, rain, drought)
As of this story, Rod Talmadge and Sandy Aragon were processing the last of the honey this weekend, with honey available for purchase
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- not as a gift for the beekeeper. Honey is the carbohydrate in the bees’ diet. Larvae – In the bee colony larvae are also referred to as “open brood” because the cells are uncapped. The number of days the developing bee spends as a larva varies by caste. When the larvae are ready to moult into pupae they change into an upright position in the cell and worker bees cover the cell with brood capping. Nurse bees – Young bees, usually three to ten days old. They feed and take care of developing brood, feed the drones and the queen. Propolis - It is a mixture produced by the bees from tree resins and other botanical sources. it is used to close all unwanted narrow gaps, cracks, or holes of the hive to prevent diseases and parasites from entering the hive and to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth. Pupae – This is referred as “capped brood”. Beneath the brood capping larvae moult into pupae. The pupae remain under the brood capping until they moult into an adult bee and chew their way out of their cell. Queen – She is the only reproductive female in the colony. Her head and thorax are similar in size to that of the worker but has a longer and plumper abdomen than the worker. The queen also has a stinger, but its barbs are reduced. That is why she does not die when she uses it. Queen cage – This is a special cage in which queens are shipped and/or introduced to a colony, usually with 4 to 7 nurse bees, called attendants. The cage is closed with a candy plug which is chewed open by the bees in the colony where the cage is inserted. Raw Honey – This is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, setting or straining, without adding heat. Royal jelly – It is a protein-rich secretion of the hypopharyngeal gland of the nurse bees used to feed the queen, all young bee larvae for the first two days of their existence and the queen larva until it pupates. Slumgum – This is the residue of the beeswax rendering process. Lumps of slumgum are very attractive to bees, especially when heated by the sun. Smoker – This is a metal container with attached bellows which burns organic fuels to generate smoke, used to control aggressive behavior of bees during colony inspections. Swarm – A swarm is a congregation of a few thousand honeybees. It is part of a Bee Colony that has split from their colony and has left their hive to multiply. Thorax – The central region of an insect to which the wings and legs are attached. Worker Bee – They are non-reproductive female bees and have a sting. Worker bees make up the vast majority of bees in a normal and healthy colony.
now. If you are interested in purchasing some of this local honey, please contact Sandy at 303-902-0406 for available sizes and pricing.
Photo by Pat LeClaire
To purchase honey at Colorado Pure Honey please contact Sandy at 303-902-0406
PAGE 20 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
LEGALS
—Continued from previous page— FIRST PLACE Best Public Notice Section
2017 FIRST
2018 NNA Better Newspaper
PLACE — Best Section
Advertising Contest Award-winning Newspaper
ARAPAHOE COUNTY ELECTION ARAPAHOE COUNTY NOTICE OF ELECTION Pursuant to C.R.S. 1-5-205, notice is hereby given that a General Election will be held Tuesday, November 3, 2020 in Arapahoe County. Ballots will be mailed beginning October 9 to eligible, active registered voters in Arapahoe County. Return your ballot by mail or deliver it to any drop-off location in Arapahoe County by 7 p.m., Election Day. Visit a Voter Service and Polling Center to register to vote, update registration, request a ballot, or vote using an accessible electronic tablet. Contact Arapahoe County Elections at 303-795-4511 with questions. View a sample ballot and find your nearest ballot drop-off location at www.arapahoevotes.com. 1 24-HOUR BALLOT BOX Phase 1: Oct. 19- Nov. 3
Phase 2: Oct. 30- Nov. 3
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Oct. 9 through 7 p.m., Nov. 3
GENERAL HOURS Mon. - Fri.: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ADDITIONAL HOURS Sat. Oct. 31: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tues. Nov. 3: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Aurora
Aurora continued...
APS Educational Services Center 4 1085 Peoria
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Mission Viejo Library 15324 E. Hampden Cir.
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APS Professional Learning & Conference Center 15771 E. First Ave.
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Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church 13231 E. Mississippi Ave.
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Pickens Technical College 500 Airport Blvd.
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Saddle Rock Golf Course 21705 E. Arapahoe Rd.
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Arapahoe County Aurora MV Office 490 S. Chambers Rd. Arapahoe County CentrePoint Plaza 14980 E. Alameda Dr.
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Arapahoe County Fairgrounds 25690 E. Quincy Ave.
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Arapahoe Crossing 6554 S. Parker Rd. #B107
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Aurora Center for Active Adults (Del Mar Park) 30 Del Mar Circle Beck Recreation Center 800 Telluride St.
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Tallyn’s Reach Library 23911 E. Arapahoe Rd.
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Utah Indoor Pool 1800 S. Peoria St.
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Vista Peak Preparatory School 24500 E. 6th Ave
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Bennett
Central Recreation Center 18150 E. Vassar Pl.
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Aurora Municipal Center 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy.
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Community College of Aurora - CentreTech 16000 E. CentreTech Pkwy.
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Heather Gardens Clubhouse 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way
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Martin Luther King Jr. Library 9898 E. Colfax Ave.
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Adams County Bennett Motor Vehicle 355 S. First St.
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Byers Kelver Library 404 E. Front St.
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Centennial Arapahoe County Lima Plaza 6954 S. Lima St.
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September 24, 2020, THE VILLAGER | PAGE 21
LEGALS —Continued from previous page—
ARAPAHOE COUNTY ELECTION Centennial Continued...
Denver Continued...
Cherry Creek Schools Instructional Support Facility 5416 S. Riviera Way
Potter’s House of Denver 9495 E. Florida Ave. Englewood Englewood Civic Center 1000 Englewood Pkwy. Glendale
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Centennial Civic Center 13133 E. Arapahoe Rd.
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Koelbel Library 5955 S. Holly St.
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Goodson Recreation Center 6315 S. University Blvd.
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Smoky Hill Library 5430 S. Biscay Cir.
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Southglenn Library 6972 S. Vine St.
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St. Thomas More Catholic Parish 8035 S. Quebec St.
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Eloise May Library 1471 S. Parker Rd.
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Greenwood Village City Hall 6060 S. Quebec St.
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Hope United Methodist Church 5101 S. Dayton St.
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Arapahoe Community College 5900 S. Santa Fe. Dr.
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Arapahoe County Administration Building 5334 S. Prince St.
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Arapahoe County Elections Facility 5251 S. Federal Blvd.
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Littleton
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Sheridan
Denver Community College of Aurora - Lowry 710 Alton Way
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Greenwood Village
Deer Trail Deer Trail Town Hall 555 Second Ave.
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Glendale City Hall 950 S. Birch St.
Cherry Hills Village Cherry Hills Village Center 2450 E. Quincy Ave.
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City of Sheridan 4101 S. Federal Blvd.
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Strasburg Adams County Sheriff Substation 2550 Strasburg Rd.
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Published in The Villager Published: September 24, 2020 Legal # 9869
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
TREASURER
ARAPAHOE COUNTY NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CASE NO PM19-002, AVERE ON THE HIGH LINE / MINOR SUBDIVISION
NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED
PROPOSAL: The applicant, Reva Development Partners, LLC, on behalf of the owner, REVA High Line, LLC, wishes to combine lots 2-6 of the Sunnydale Plat and a parcel of land adjacent to the High Line Canal into one lot 4.12 acres in size.
To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on October 13, 2020 at 9:30 a.m., or as soon thereafter as the calendar of the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners permits, a public hearing will be held; at which, all interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the above-described Case No PM19-002, Avere on the High Line / Minor Subdivision. The public hearing is scheduled for the East Hearing Room, 5334 South Prince Street, Littleton Colorado 80120, however, please note that due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency the hearing will be conducted through remote access – please check the weekly public meeting agenda at https://www. arapahoegov.com/AgendaCenter/ Board-of-County-Commissioners-1 for specific information on how to attend and participate. The agenda will typically be posted by the Friday afternoon preceding the hearing. More information about this proposal is available at the offices of the Arapahoe County Public Works and Development Department, Planning Division, 6924 S. Lima St., Centennial, CO 80112 (by appointment only) by calling 720-8746650 or by emailing planning@ arapahoegov.com during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday).
PAUL GEORGE TAMULONIS, CENTRALFED MORTGAGE COMPANY, ARAPAHOE COUNTY PUBLIC TRUSTEE, CITY OF LITTLETON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CITY OF LITTLETON CODES & INSPECTIONS, CITY OF LITTLETON BUILDING & CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION, CITY OF LITTLETON FINANCE DEPARTMENT You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 3rd day of November, 2016, A.D., the then County Treasurer of the County of Arapahoe, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13 LLC, the following described real estate situate in the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, to-wit: LOT 5 BLK 2 CEDAREDGE ADD aka 5452 S CEDAR ST
Joan Lopez, Clerk to the Board
and said County Treasurer issued a Certificate of Purchase therefore to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13 LLC; Whereas, the said FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13 LLC did, on the 13th day of August 2020 duly assigned the certificate of the sale of the tax lien on the property as aforesaid, and all its rights, title, and interest in said property, to BLUE SPRUCE SERVICING COMPANY LLC.
Published in The Villager Published: September 24, 2020 Legal # 9870 ___________________________
That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent general taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2015;
That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of PAUL GEORGE TAMULONIS for said year 2015; That said BLUE SPRUCE SERVICING COMPANY LLC, on the 13th day of August, 2020, the present holder of said Certificate, who has made request upon the Treasurer of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said BLUE SPRUCE SERVICING COMPANY LLC, on or about the 5th day of January, 2021, A.D., unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 4th day of September, 2020, A.D. Sue Sandstrom Treasurer Arapahoe County Published in The Villager First Publication: September 10, 2020 Last Publication: September 24, 2020 Legal # 9854 ___________________________ NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to ESTATE OF FLORENCE J. RANDALL, DAVID C. RANDALL, BETTY I. REED, GARY B. RANDALL, ARAPAHOE COUNTY PUBLIC TRUSTEE You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 7th day of November, 2013, A.D., the then County Treasurer of the County of
Arapahoe, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to MAZEL GROUP, LLLP, the following described real estate situate in the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, to-wit: LOTS 7-8 BLK 2 LITTLETON aka 2600 W. MAIN STREET and said County Treasurer issued a Certificate of Purchase therefore to MAZEL GROUP, LLLP; That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent general taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2012; That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of ESTATE OF FLORENCE J. RANDALL for said year 2012; That said MAZEL GROUP, LLLP, on the 3rd day of September, 2020, the present holder of said Certificate, who has made request upon the Treasurer of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said MAZEL GROUP, LLLP, on or about the 27th day of January, 2021, A.D., unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 18th day of September, 2020, A.D. Sue Sandstrom Treasurer Arapahoe County Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 9874 ___________________________ NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the same was Taxed
or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to GARY L & CYNTHIA L LENHART, MARY K. EL-KHATIB You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 15th day of November, 2006, A.D., the then County Treasurer of the County of Arapahoe, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to Barry and Lorna Bounds, the following described real estate situate in the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, to-wit: TRACT E BLK 1 WAL-MART AT BUCKLEY PLAZA SUB 1ST FLG aka VACANT LAND and said County Treasurer issued a Certificate of Purchase therefore to Barry and Lorna Bounds; That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent general taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2005; That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of Gary L & Cynthia L Lenhart for said year 2005; That said Barry and Lorna Bounds, on the 3rd day of September, 2020, the present holder of said Certificate, who has made request upon the Treasurer of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said Barry and Lorna Bounds, on or about the 21st day of January, 2021, A.D., unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed.
First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 9873 ___________________________ NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to GEORGE A. AGEE You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 15th day of November, 2006, A.D., the then County Treasurer of the County of Arapahoe, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to Cliff Whitehouse, the following described real estate situate in the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, to-wit: ALL LOT 7 & THAT PART OF LOT 8 LYING NWLY OF LINE BEG AT NE COR LOT 8, TH SWLY TO SE COR LOT 7 BLK 3 GRAHAMS SUB aka 13689 E 6TH PL and said County Treasurer issued a Certificate of Purchase therefore to Cliff Whitehouse; That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent general taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2005; That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of GEORGE A. AGEE for said year 2005;
Sue Sandstrom Treasurer Arapahoe County
That said Cliff Whitehouse, on the 3rd day of September, 2020, the present holder of said Certificate, who has made request upon the Treasurer of said County for a deed to said real estate;
Published in The Villager
That a Treasurer’s Deed will be
Witness my hand this 18th day of September, 2020, A.D.
— Continued to next page —
PAGE 22 | | THE THEVILLAGER VILLAGER• •September September 24, 24,2020 2020 PAGE 22 —Continued from previous page— issued for said real estate to the said Cliff Whitehouse, on or about the 21st day of January, 2021, A.D., unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 18th day of September, 2020, A.D. Sue Sandstrom Treasurer Arapahoe County Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 9874 ___________________________ NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to GABRIEL MARTINEZ, GABRIEL LEE MARTINEZ, DEIDRE MCKNIGHT, ARAPAHOE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, LAURA A VALDEZ, FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13 LLC You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 2nd day of November, 2017, A.D., the then County Treasurer of the County of Arapahoe, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to KIRK F. GALLAGHER, the following described real estate situate in the County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, to-wit: LOT 14 BLK 42 AURORA HILLS 4TH FLG aka 12639 E ALASKA AVE and said County Treasurer issued a Certificate of Purchase therefore to KIRK F. GALLAGHER; That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent general taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2016; That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of GABRIEL MARTINEZ for said year 2016; That said KIRK F. GALLAGHER, on the 3rd day of September, 2020, the present holder of said Certificate, who has made request upon the Treasurer of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said KIRK F. GALLAGHER, on or about the 27th day of January, 2021, A.D., unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 18th day of September, 2020, A.D. Sue Sandstrom Treasurer Arapahoe County Published in The Villager
First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 9871 ___________________________
COURTS
DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE, STATE OF COLORADO 7325 South Potomac Street Centennial, Colorado 80112 (303) 649-6355 Telephone PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO, Petitioner, IN THE INTEREST OF: AH-THINA RODRIGUEZ BATES, Child, and concerning ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ and JOHN DOE, Respondents. Jordan Lewis, Esq. #50198 Assistant County Attorney Attorney for Petitioner 14980 East Alameda Drive Aurora, CO 80012 303-636-1883 Case No: 20JV407 Division: 14 NOTICE OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING AND DEFAULT JUDGMENT PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that an Adjudicatory Hearing regarding RESPONDENT FATHER, JOHN DOE is set for October 8, 2020 at 4:30 P.M. in Division 14 at the Arapahoe County District Court, 7325 South Potomac Street, Centennial, Colorado 80112. You have the right to be represented by an attorney during these proceedings; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. In the event you fail to appear for said hearing at the date and time indicated, the Petitioner, the People of the State of Colorado, will request that the Court enter a default judgment against you and adjudicate the child(ren) dependent and neglected in accordance with the Colorado Children’s Code. Due to COVID 19, the Arapahoe County District Court is holding hearings via Cisco WebEx Meetings to allow for audiovisual and/or audio participation. Participants may use any computer, tablet or smart phone equipped with a camera and microphone for audiovisual participation. Parties should use the following link: •https://judicial.webex.com/meet/ bonnie.mclean •Enter your name and email address (so we know who you are). You will then be in the virtual courtroom. •Select your audio setting. If the audio on your computer or tablet does not work, please use the alternate audio option of calling in to the number below. If you do not have a device that will support a video connection, you may still participate by audio only by calling 720-650-7664. When prompted enter code 925 850 797. If you elect to appear in person, you must be at the Courthouse a half hour before the hearing is scheduled to begin. Dated this 16th day of September, 2020.
LEGALS Be safe. Stay Strong. Jordan Lewis, Reg. #50198 Assistant County Attorney Attorney for Petitioner 14980 E. Alameda Drive Aurora, CO 80012 303-636-1883 303-636-1889 FAX Published in The Villager Published: September 24, 2020 Legal # 9875 ___________________________
CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE Public Notice of Contractor’s Final Settlement Pursuant to C.R.S. 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on/ or after the 8th day of October 2020 final settlement with Vance Brothers, Inc. will be made by the City of Cherry Hills Village, for the 2020 Street Improvement Chip Seal Project, and that any person, co-partnership, association, company, or corporation who has an unpaid claim against any of the contractors for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractors, or any of their subcontractors, in or about the performance of said work may file at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement on/or after, October 8th, 2020, a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim with the City Council of the City of Cherry Hills Village, at the office of: City Manager City of Cherry Hills Village 2450 E. Quincy Avenue Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113 Failure on the part of a claimant to file such statements prior to such final settlement will relieve said City from all and any liability for such claimant’s claims. CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE STATE OF COLORADO Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 1, 2020 Legal # 9876 ___________________________ CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE ORDINANCE 7, SERIES 2020 A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE AMENDING SECTION 7-1-30, SECTION 7-1-40, AND SECTION 18-11-60 OF THE CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO NOISE NUISANCE AND CONSTRUCTION TIMES AND AMENDING SECTION 7-3-10 TO CORRECT A CERICAL ERROR Copies of the Ordinances are on file at the office of the City Clerk and may be inspected during regular business hours. Published in The Villager Published: September 24, 2020 Legal # 9877 ___________________________ CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE Public Notice of Contractor’s Final Settlement Pursuant to C.R.S. 38-26-107, notice is hereby given that on/ or after the 9th day of October
2020, final settlement with HPM Contracting, Inc. will be made by the City of Cherry Hills Village, for the John Meade Park/Alan Hutto Memorial Commons Construction, Project # 2019-003, and that any person, co-partnership, association, company, or corporation who has an unpaid claim against any of the contractors for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractors, or any of their subcontractors, in or about the performance of said work may file at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement on/or after October 9, 2020, a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim with the City Council of the City of Cherry Hills Village, at the office of: City Manager City of Cherry Hills Village 2450 E. Quincy Avenue Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113 Failure on the part of a claimant to file such statements prior to such final settlement will relieve said City from all and any liability for such claimant’s claims. CITY OF CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE STATE OF COLORADO Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 1, 2020 Legal # 9878 ___________________________
GREENWOOD VILLAGE NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT For Greenwood Village Notice is hereby given that the City of Greenwood Village, Colorado will make final payment at the City Hall, 6060 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111-4591 at 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2020, to A-1 Chipseal, for all work done by said contractor for the project called Pavement Preservation Project, said construction being within the boundaries of the City of Greenwood Village, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, subject to prior satisfactory final inspection and acceptance of said work by the City of Greenwood Village. Any person, co-partnership, association of persons, company, or corporation that has furnished labor, materials, provisions, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractor or subcontractors in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done and whose claim therefore has not been paid by the contractor or subcontractors, at any time up to and including time of final settlement for the work contracted to be done, is required to file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim to the City Manager, City of Greenwood Village, 6060 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111-4591, at or before the time and date hereinabove shown. Failure on the part of any claimant to file such verified statement or claim at any time up to and including the time of final settlement will release said City of Greenwood Village, Colorado, its Council, officers, agents and employees of and from any and all liability for such claim.
COUNCIL CITY OF GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO /s/ George Lantz, Mayor /s/ Susan Ortiz, City Clerk Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 1, 2020 Legal # 9880 ___________________________ NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT For Greenwood Village Notice is hereby given that the City of Greenwood Village, Colorado will make final payment at the City Hall, 6060 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111-4591 at 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2020, to Pavement Restoration Inc, for all work done by said contractor for the project called Rejuvenator Seal Project, said construction being within the boundaries of the City of Greenwood Village, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado, subject to prior satisfactory final inspection and acceptance of said work by the City of Greenwood Village. Any person, co-partnership, association of persons, company, or corporation that has furnished labor, materials, provisions, or other supplies used or consumed by such contractor or subcontractors in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done and whose claim therefore has not been paid by the contractor or subcontractors, at any time up to and including time of final settlement for the work contracted to be done, is required to file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim to the City Manager, City of Greenwood Village, 6060 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111-4591, at or before the time and date hereinabove shown. Failure on the part of any claimant to file such verified statement or claim at any time up to and including the time of final settlement will release said City of Greenwood Village, Colorado, its Council, officers, agents and employees of and from any and all liability for such claim. ATTEST: BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO /s/ George Lantz, Mayor /s/ Susan Ortiz, City Clerk Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 1, 2020 Legal # 9881 ___________________________
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Michael Earl Kramer, Deceased Case Number :2020PR30889 All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to District Court of Arapahoe, County, Colorado on or before January 17, 2021, or the claims may be forever barred. Gary Levin 825 Logan Street Denver CO 80203 Published in The Villager
ATTEST: BY ORDER OF THE CITY
First Publication: September 17, 2020 Last Publication: October 1, 2020 Legal # 9866 ___________________________ NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Edward J. Wedelstedt, Deceased Case Number 2020PR30874 All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe, County, Colorado on or before January 24, 2021 or the claims may be forever barred. Personal Representative Robert A. DePiano 1655 Pleasant Way Pasadena, CA, 91105 Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 98 ___________________________
MISCELLANOUS NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR FRANCHISE BY PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO NOTICE is hereby given that at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Foxfield, Arapahoe County, State of Colorado, to be held on October 15, 2020, at the hour of 6:30 p.m. at South Metro Fire District Authority Station No. 42, 7320 S. Parker Road, Foxfield, Colorado, Public Service Company of Colorado will request that the Foxfield Board of Trustees approve an ordinance granting a gas franchise to Public Service Company of Colorado, entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE FOXFIELD BOARD OF TRUSTEES GRANTING BY FRANCHISE TO PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO, ITS AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, THE RIGHT TO USE THE STREETS WITHIN THE TOWN TO FURNISH, SELL, TRANSMIT AND DISTRIBUTE NATURAL GAS TO THE TOWN AND TO ALL RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN, GRANTING THE RIGHT TO ACQUIRE, CONSTRUCT, INSTALL, LOCATE, MAINTAIN, OPERATE AND EXTEND INTO, WITHIN AND THROUGH THE TOWN ALL FACILITIES REASONABLY NECESSARY TO FURNISH, SELL, TRANSMIT AND DISTRIBUTE NATURAL GAS WITHIN AND THROUGH THE TOWN AND FIXING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS THEREOF. The franchise to be applied for a term of (20) years. The Company shall collect a fee from a surcharge upon Town residents who are customers of the Company. Dated at Aurora Aurora, Colorado, this 22nd day of September, 2020. PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO BY: /s/ Tom Henley Area Manager Published in The Villager First Publication: September 24, 2020 Last Publication: October 8, 2020 Legal # 9882 ___________________________
— End of Legals —
2020 Mazda MX-5 Miata has sports DNA 2020 Infiniti QX50 empowers the driver
red Nappa leather seats. A possible challenge BY H. THROTTLE for larger drivers, this is a small car with a AUTOMOTIVE COLUMNIST tight fit for larger than average drivers. MissSmall, but mighty, can best describe this Nissan is the parent ing is the usual side door pocket to store items, 2020 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring RF company of the luxury rear wheel drive sports coupe. This two-seat- no space for this feature. Infiniti brand and their A middle console storage container is very er has a grandeur sloping front hood, and a mission statement is “Emsmall as well. There is storage space behind very abrupt tail section with a small but deep power the Driver.” They the two bucket front seats. It is doubtful that trunk. live up to this statement even golf clubs would fit in the trunk space. The Miata has a 2.OL four-cylinder engine with the 2020 Infiniti erage of 25 mpg. The Infinite comes with This is more a play car, powerful to drive producing 181 horsepower linked to a sixQX50 Autograph, a classic all-wheel drive a powertrain warranty of 6 years, or 70,000 speed stick shift. The combination with a sport with ventilated front and rear disk brakes. model. miles. The Miata has a double wishbone front susframe and disk brakes makes for a mini-race Generally speaking, in car reviews, you Driving is a dream with soft leather seats pension system and sport tuned suspension. car. With a turbo-option this car could go on pay for what you receive in horsepower, deand listening to the Bose 16 speaker sound The car is built low to the ground on sign, brakes, technology, and options. This system with steering wheel controls. No an aluminum power plant frame. QX50 has multiple features with a manufacfear of flat tires with all-season run-flat tires. While described as a “grand tourturer’s suggested price of $55,850. There Paddle shifters control the variable transmising” sport’s car, the tour might be are a few extra options such as the premium sion with mode selection. The turbo engine better on a track, since there is little white leather seating package for $2000, well is blended perfectly with the transmission. It place anywhere for luggage. It’s fun worth the money in beauty and style. The is amazing how much power flows from the to drive and enjoy the smooth shifting premium “Majestic White” paint adds anoth- powerful engine. transmission but this is a young perer $505. The QX50 comes fully loaded with The QX50 has every safety feature and son’s dream car for pleasure. Fuel accessories in every department that includes camera that engineers have devised from diseconomy averages 29 mpg, that natural maple wood interior trim accents. playing the speed limit signs to lane warning the track. Small in size, but large in perforseems low for the smaller engine and stick This beauty begins life with final assemalerts. The car is on the alert for pedestrians mance, this is a car for pleasure. The transshift. But, it is easy to drive the car in lower Website: gears villagerpublishing.com Twitter: twitter.com/villagerdenver bly in Aquas(AVS) Mexico. Their craftsman- or frontal objects and will react with instant mission is brilliant, quick easy gear changes and listen to the fine-tuned engine purr. ship and Nissan engineering give this QX50 thevillagernewspaper speed to empower the driver and passenger’s with the fifth and six gear ratios made for high Complete withFacebook: all safety features, navia perfect overall five-star safety score. safety. speeds. The lower gears work well, and third gation and technical features the car lists for The Villager Newspaper 8933 E. Union Ave., Ste. Greenwood CO 80111 The 2.0L230 variable-valve four-cylinder Village, This is one of the best vehicles’ road testgear is a winner in heavy traffic for quick lane $34,425. changes. ed and one to put in your garage for many The car is compact, and it will take a small- engine is turbo-charged and produces 268 — Continued to next page — horsepower and an overall fuel mileage avThe car is attractive inside with the optional er driver to really enjoy the ride. years.
BY H. THROTTLE AUTOMOTIVE COLUMNIST
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Repeal Gallagher? This November voters will be asked to increase taxes on their homes to increase funding for a host of state government projects. That’s the gist – though not the precise wording – of the ballot question you’ll see about repealing the Gallagher Amendment. Let me explain. By 1982 property taxes across the nation had been going up for years and were on a trajectory to go even higher. Colorado’s population was growing, but higher property taxes were putting a brake on the housing market and leaving people with less money. In response, Colorado voters passed the Gallagher Amendment by a wide margin (65% to 35%) to stop the bleeding. In 1982, about 55% of property taxes came from commercial (or ‘nonresidential’) sources; the other 45% came from taxing homes (‘residential’). Gallagher froze those ratios so that from 1982 to now businesses have paid 55% of the total property tax bill and homeowners the rest. As many of you know, properties aren’t taxed based on their total value; instead, only a portion (called the ‘assessed value’) gets taxed. For businesses, that value was set at 29%. If you had a business property worth
$1,000,000, for example, only $290,000 of it could be taxed. Meanwhile, the assessed value for homes was allowed to float. The year before Gallagher was passed, the residential assessment rate was 30%. Since then, the rate has steadily decreased; it now stands at 7.15%. In the intervening years, Colorado’s population grew from just over three million to almost six million. The overall value of residential properties steadily increased so that now about 75% of total property value resides in homes, and there are a lot more homes to tax. Because Gallagher requires a constant ratio of 55% to 45% in tax revenue, residential rates have been forced down. Gallagher served to keep taxes paid by Colorado homeowners among the lowest in the country. Gallagher has worked. Since inception, it’s estimated to have saved Colorado homeowners about $35 billion in tax relief. Families have used those savings to feed and clothe their children, set aside money for college and retirement, and so on. And then the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic struck. In its aftermath, thousands of businesses have closed. Business income has fallen, and the value of business property (and business property tax revenue) is bound to shrink. Given the linkage in Gallagher between commercial and residential
Film on the Rocks September: For those who don’t feel comfortable seeing a film at an indoor theater, Denver Arts & Venues and Denver Film is extending its schedule of drive-in family films at Red Rocks into the fall. You can obtain tickets for Sept. 25 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Sept. 26 Back to the Future, Sept. 27 The Fifth Element. Films are being shown in the Lower South Lot 2 parking area. Admission is $59.50 per car and includes snacks and drinks. Gates open 6:00 pm. Film begins 7:30 pm. Get your tickets at denverfilm.org or redrocksonline.com/film
EVENTS
Overwhelmed? Telephone Town Hall Dealing with Life during COVID September 24. Mental health experts will answer questions and provide guidance for dealing with anxiety, fear, grief and other emotions. 7:00 pm. Call-in number 1-855-436-3656 (*3 to ask a question). Englewood Chamber After Hours Network September 24. Catch up, network and market your business in a fun, casual environment. La Villa Real food truck will be there serving tacos, burritos and gorditas. Specials on beer & wine. Non-Member $10. 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Northgate Event Center & Taproom. 3880
tax revenues, residential tax rates will surely decrease. The 2021 reassessment (which is the responsibility of a county tax assessor) is expected to yield a residential rate below 6%. Those who favor repeal want it kept higher. Many homeowners, especially those struggling to pay a mortgage, would benefit from the lower rate Gallagher offers. In that sense a repeal amounts to a tax increase. Initially, the lower projection in property tax revenue was forecast to reduce the money available to schools by approximately $500 million in the first year. Alarmed at the prospect of schools getting less money, some state legislators proposed a repeal of the Gallagher Amendment. But – and this is really noteworthy – this supposed shortfall was misleading: by executive order Governor Polis directed that $1 billion of the $1.6 billion in federal CARES Act money received by the state go to education. With the stroke of a pen, the $500-million shortfall became a $500-million surplus! So why are Colorado Democrats pushing for the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment? At its most fundamental level, the repeal will yield a permanent change in Colorado’s tax structure by shifting more of the burden for education from the state to local residents. Under current law, a given school district is responsible for a portion
S. Lowell Blvd., Denver. For information call 303-789-4473
FUNDRAISERS
Love Lives On Celebrity Classic Music & Auction Virtual Event October 2. Great music from Grammy-award winning Nashville songwriters. Fast-paced Live Auction and Silent Auction with unique items benefitting the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Early bidding opens September 18. Register now at Taps.org/Colorado. For information call 303-696-0450 Reynolds Ranch House Harvest Festival October 3 & 4. Live entertainment, Hay Maze, Gold Panning, Hay Rides, Outdoor Machinery Demonstrations. Life size games, photo ops, food trucks and more! $7.50 per person plus $5 per pumpkin. Your admission is an investment in Reynolds Ranch House renovations and Colorado’s Historical preservation. Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Sunday 12 noon – 4:00 pm. 225 North Gate Blvd., Colorado Springs. For information visit WMMI.org or call 719-488-0880
BATTERUP
are slim, the Rockies could grab a wild card berth if they can string together a series of wins. Last week, the Rockies picked up only 2 wins in 6 games. Both of these victories were highlighted by the pitching performance of Antonio Senzatela. On Tuesday, the 25-year old starter pitched a complete game 3 – 1 win against the American League’s Western Division leader, the Ovakland A’s. With 109 pitches he allowed
Denver Zoo All tickets must be purchased/ reserved online at DenverZoo.org/Visit. The zoo will limit the number of visitors per day with staggered 15-minute entry windows to limit the number of guests at any one time. A one-way path around the entire campus has been created to allow guests to view a majority of its animal habitats and gardens. All guests ages 3 and over will be required to wear face masks. For further information call 720-337-1644
POLITICAL
NOW OPEN
Park Meadows Mall Mall Hours: Daily 11:00 am – 7:00 pm. 8401 Park Meadows Center Drive, Lone Tree. For information call 303-792-2999
Denver Republican Party First Friday Breakfast October 2. Ms. Burton Brown, the Vice Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, will explain the work that is being done to prepare for the November 3 election. 8:00 – 9:30 am. Morning Story Restaurant, 560 S. Holly Street, Denver. Attendance is limited. RSVP at: jcase@denvergop.org
of its own funding via property taxes; the remainder, along with any shortfall, must be paid for by the state via the General Fund. Repealing Gallagher will pave the way for higher taxes on homeowners (including retirees and those on fixed income) and create a cash cow (your home!) that Democrats will be able to milk year after year as they fund an ever larger and more radically progressive state government. By spending fewer General Fund dollars on education (while you’re spending more for property taxes), Democrats will be able to spend more on items in their progressive agenda. Does anyone doubt that having Democrats in charge of the House, Senate, and governorship will lead to higher taxes on the middle class? Gallagher helps prevent the unrestrained growth of government. It passed with nearly two-thirds of the votes cast. Is repealing it the only, or even the best, answer to a once in a lifetime pandemic (that will likely be resolved in the relatively short term)? Rather than a repeal of Gallagher, perhaps we should consider amending it. For example, how about changing the reassessment period from two years to something longer? We could also require that assessment rates on homes be frozen during times of declared emergency. No doubt other effective short-term solutions could be offered.
The pandemic and the governor’s unprecedented – and extended – shutdown of the economy have left us with many challenges. Among them is the need to fund critical government services. But a good friend of mine has posed some questions for those who think repealing Gallagher is the only way out: “Does state government really run so efficiently that when families are forced to get by with less money, the state can’t do the same? Do you favor giving a Democrat-controlled House, Senate and Governor the ability to propose referendum after referendum to goad voters into “digging deeper?” Is it possible that in the midst of an economic slowdown we should re-evaluate and possibly right size the state budget? After all, aren’t most of us doing the same thing?” There are no simple solutions, particularly in the short term; but we must be willing to ask hard questions and, when needed, make wise (but not always easy) choices for the long term. I’m convinced that in the long run repealing Gallagher will cause far more harm than good, and I’m in favor of long-term good – for everyone. Representative Richard Champion House District 38
Rockies battle for the final playoff berth With only 8 games will include a double left to play, the Rockheader on Friday, ies enter the last week September 25. of the regular season During this crucial 3 games back of the week the Brewers are Milwaukee Brewers scheduled to play 3 and the San Francisco games with the CincinBY B.T. GALLOWAY Giants in the chase nati Reds and 5 for the eighth spot in games with the the expanded playoff standSt. Louis Cardinals ings. They have a chance including a doubleto gain ground against the header on Friday. The Giants as they will face them Giants will finish their in a 4-game series at Oracle season with 3 games Park this week. Then they’ll against the San Diego finish the season with a Padres. These are tough 4-game series against the Ar- matchups all the way izona Diamondbacks which around. Though the odds
Denver Botanic Gardens The Denver Botanic Gardens 1007 York Street location has opened with limited attendance numbers, timed tickets and strict social distancing guidelines. Admissions are capped at 250 people in two-hour increments. Make a reservation online for a specific date at botanicgardens.org. Tickets will not be available onsite. For information call 720-865-3500
only 1 run on 6 hits forcing 14 groundouts. It was the Rockies first complete game performance since German Marquez’s one-hitter at San Francisco on April 24 last season. It was also the first complete game at Coors Field since Jon Gray’s 16-strikeout performance against the San Diego Padres on September 27, 2016. On Sunday, Senzatela returned to the mound to dominate the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing only 3 hits in 6.1 innings of work in what would be a 6 -3 Rockies win. It was the only
win for the Rockies in their 4-game set with the Dodgers. To make this a winning week, the Rockies will need a series of quality starts from steady performers German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and the “Senzational” Antonio Senzatela plus solid contributions from backup starters Chi Chi Rodriguez and Ryan Castellani. They’ll also need some consistent production at the plate with runners in scoring position. If they can put both pitching and offense together as they did at the beginning of the season, we just might be able to watch them in some playoff games next week.
PAGE 24 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2020
Be safe. Stay Strong.
All the flavors to entice kids. All the nicotine to keep them hooked. E-cigarette makers and vape shops are enticing kids with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bear and bubble gum. And nationally, over 5 million kids are using these flavored e-cigarettes. Vape shops and tobacco companies say their products aren’t ending up in kids’ hands, but that’s just not true. Many retailers still sell to minors, and many of them in Denver even illegally sold products during the COVID-19 shutdown violating emergency orders. Let’s stop pretending vape shops and the industry care about public health or the health of our children. It’s time to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products to protect our kids. Take action now by visiting FlavorsHookKidsDenver.org to tell City Council Member Kendra Black to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
Paid for by Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund