Volume 24, Issue 43 Wednesday, October 21, 2020

SPORTSCougarsfall in defensive clash

p. 14

LLLL HHHH VHVVLVCOURIERElection 2020: Amendment B: Repeal property tax assessment rate restrictions

Your News Source for Niwot, Gunbarrel, South Longmont and Vicinity. All Local, All the Time.

How sweep it is!

Destructive CalWood and Lefthand �res bring out best in area residents

Drought and high winds continued to create havoc in Boulder County. On Saturday, Oct. 17, a fire broke out near the CalWood Education Center in Jamestown. The fire quickly spread, and within the first 24 hours, became the biggest fire in Boulder County history.

Evacuations were imme-diate.

But within the chaos caused by the fire, there are those who want to help. Lefty’s Pizza in

Niwot donated pizzas to the Hygiene Fire Department. A quick look on Nextdoor also revealed those who were ready to help with livestock.

Erin Hutchinson of Niwot is one of those people. Hutchin-son said that she has had horses all her life, and after seeing a stream of horse trailers on the Diagonal, she asked herself what could she do to help?

The Boulder County Fair-grounds is the designated area for sheltering large animals.

From a controversial colli-sion at the finish, to a clash of the freshman standouts, the 2020 Class 4A state cross coun-try meet was full of “nervous” moments for Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen. But much to his relief, it was also full of championship moments for the Cougars, despite the best efforts

of a fiercely competitive field, and the hills at Norris Penrose in Colorado Springs.

“On this course, you can prepare for everything and it’s either exaggerated, or some-thing completely wild like that happens,” Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen said after the Niwot boys and girls clinched their second and third straight state titles, respectively, on Oct. 17. “And no matter how

much you talk about it or how many workouts, when you’re in the moment, that’s when it’s like ‘Oh jeez, this is not what I thought.’ So, yeah, I got really nervous there for a little bit, but they ran great.”

The Cougars have now col-lectively won five of the last six Class 4A state titles.

For more coverage of Ni-wot’s dramatic day, see pages 12-15.

BY MARY WOLBACH LOPERTEditorial@lhvc.com

Photo by Jocelyn Rowley

The Niwot boys and girls cross country teams claimed the 2020 championship titles at the Class 4A state cross country meet on Oct. 17.

BY JOCELYN ROWLEYEditorial@lhvc.com

Continued on Page 9

Photo by Mary Wolbach Lopert

The CalWood fire exploded on Saturday, Oct. 17. The fire was called in at noon and by 3 p.m. clouds of billowing smoke were seen from the top of Gunbarrel Hill.

For the past few weeks, Colo-rado television and the internet have been littered with com-mercials about Amendment B. This amendment seeks to repeal the nearly 40-year-old Gallagh-er Amendment, a provision in the Colorado constitution used to calculate property tax rates.

As it is now, residential prop-erty taxes make up 45% of the overall tax base, while nonres-idential properties--primarily businesses, --make up the other 55% of property tax revenue. As Colorado’s population has grown, the value of housing has increased far more than com-mercial property. But the Gal-lagher Amendment, passed by Colorado voters in 1982, keeps driving the taxes on commercial property up to keep the ratio set almost 40 years ago intact. Since Gallagher was adopted, home-owners have collectively saved $35 billion on their residential tax bills.

For nonresidential property

owners, this law becomes prob-lematic when residential prop-erty values are on the rise. A commercial building in Niwot with an actual value of $950,000 and a tax bill of $20,000 in 2018, saw an increase in property taxes to over $27,000 in 2019, though there were no changes to the building.

This immediately is felt by small businesses, either through taxes paid by building owners or in rent increases passed on to tenants, but it also affects other public services at large. For example, in Denver, home values have risen faster than the Gallagher Amendment can make adjustments for it. But in rural communities, with more stagnant home values, county and local governments faced budget cuts, especially if they have limited commercial enti-ties that can make up for that tax revenue loss.

Since 1999, the residential assessment rates would have increased six times, but in each

BY HANNAH STEWARTEditorial@lhvc.com

Continued on Page 10

ST. VRAIN FOR THE BRAIN

Niwot student Mackenzie Demmel is hosting a virtual 5K race to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society on Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. (though, as a vir-tual race, start time is flexible).

Halloween costumes are highly encouraged, and the best one will be voted on in the St. Vrain for the Brain Facebook group. The runner with the fastest time will receive a t-shirt.

The National Brain Tumor Society is a non-profit that

strives to provide the best treat-ment and outreach for people living with brain cancer. For more information about the event, to sign up for the race, or to make a donation, go to https://tinyurl.com/stvrain-brain.

HILLSIDE SCHOOL PROPOSAL

Hillside School (7415 Lookout Road) has applied with the Boulder County Plan-ning and Permitting depart-ment to construct a new 10,500 square foot building with 12 new classrooms for up to 68 students on an approximately one-acre parcel. The county is requesting responses to the proposal from adjacent resi-dents and other stakeholders by November 11. Detailed information regarding this item (docket number SU-20-0005) is available on-line here. To request a referral packet call 303-441-3930 or email planner@bouldercounty.org.

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY

The Niwot Community Association is holding a cere-mony to honor and celebrate veterans on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. in Cottonwood Square near Niwot Market, with music

provided by the Niwot Com-munity Semi-Marching Free Grange Band.

Afterwards, there will be an informal tour of the veteran banners on display in down-town Niwot from October 17 to November 21, 2020. For details on this project, please visit the Veteran Banners Project details page. (www.niwot.org/veterans)

VIRTUAL SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE

Boulder Country Day (4820 Nautilus Court North, Boul-der) will be holding a virtual open house for the 2021-22 school year on October 20th & November 17th from 4:00pm-5:00pm via Zoom. Register at www.bouldercountryday.org. Zoom link will be sent with registration confirmation.

HISTORICALLECTURE

The Niwot Historical So-ciety will be presenting its 2020 Then & Now lecture series by video due to ongo-ing public health restrictions. Larry Dorsey’s lecture on the historic railroad Switzerland Trail, originally scheduled for Sept. 30, will be the first release, followed by Colorado Women’s Suffrage by Megan

Moriarity. From Desert To Oasis, A Land Made From Water, a lecture by Bob Crifasi originally scheduled for April, will also be released later this year. For more information on how to watch the lectures, visit niwothistoricalsociety.org.

2020 ELECTION INFORMATION

Important dates in Boulder County for the upcoming Nov. 3 General Election: • Friday, Oct. 2 – Mail ballots

can be issued in person atthe main Clerk & Recorderoffice.

• Friday, Oct. 9 – Ballotsmailed to all BoulderCounty voters (non-over-seas voters).

• Monday, Oct. 19 – Ballot-to-Go service launches andselect Vote Centers open.

• Monday, Oct. 26 – Lastday to register and still bemailed a ballot / last day torequest a replacement bal-lot be mailed to you. Note:Colorado DOES NOT have a registration deadline.Eligible voters can registerand vote on the same dayat any Vote Center.

• Tuesday, Nov. 3 – ElectionDay – Last day to vote;Ballots due by 7 p.m.

LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER Wednesday, October 21, 2020Page 2

Letter to the Editor

COMMUNITY PET SPOTLIGHTSponsored by Niwot Rental & Feed

Meet CeeCeeIIn addition to being unbearably cute, 12-year-old CeeCee is an absolute joy to be around. This gal has personality for miles, loves being around people of all ages and gets along well with both cats and other dogs. What more could you ask for? To learn more ababout CeeCee or to make an ap-pointment to come in for a visit please call 303-772-1232 or email info@longmonthumane.org.

We look forward to seeing your pets in our Spotlight. Please send your photos and a brief description to editorial@LHVC.com.

Editorial/Circulation: 303-845-3077Advertising: advertising@lhvc.comEmail: editorial@lhvc.comWeb Site: www.lhvc.com

Editor: Jocelyn RowleyProduction: Nesscel CalaraManaging Editor: Bruce WarrenSenior Editor: Mary Wolbach LopertBusiness Manager/News of Record: Vicki MaurerMedia Director: Selene LunaAdvertising Director: Ann WhitehillNiwot News/Editor: Karen CopperbergReporters: Kim Glasscock, Hannah Stewart, Pattie Logan, Vicky Dorvee, Emily Long, Kristen Arendt & Deborah CameronSports Reporters: Jocelyn Rowley, Bruce Warren, Jack Carlough

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Last Tuesday, the Niwot Community Association (NCA) hosted a virtual forum for the Boulder County Commissioner Candidates. This year, two of the district seats are up for a county-wide vote, District 1 and District 2. Though the third commissioner, Matt Jones, is from District 3 which includes much of the Left Hand Valley, all commissioners are elected on a county-wide basis.

County commissioners as-sist in making a number of decisions that affect the whole county--road maintenance to allocation of funding for services such as mental health and housing.

Each candidate seemed to be passionate about their be-liefs and desire to serve the county. For District 1, the can-didates are Claire Levy (D), an attorney and former state legislator, and Cinda Kochen (R), a teacher and entrepreneur. District 2 candidates include Marta Loachamin (D), who has experience in real estate as well as leading local programs, and Jim Crowder (R), a longtime resident of Boulder County and mortgage broker.

The NCA’s forum was avail-able for livestream on its You-

Tube channel and the recording is still available for viewers. While there were anywhere from 24 to 28 people at any given time who viewed the livestream, in the four days since, there have been nearly 60 views.

NCA president David Lim-bach hosted the event, which included opening statements from each candidate, and three questions--about roads; land use/cost of housing; and the structure of county govern-ment--before candidates were allowed to make closing state-ments.

Each of the candidates gave well-thought-out answers to each of the questions. While none of the questions were par-ticularly partisan, there were some subtle nuances among them as to how to implement changes.

Crowder, for example, came out strongly on the issue of roads, “I’m a big bug on roads, it bothers me to no end that the county has been a complete breach of trust on our roads.” He further elaborated, saying that it’s a “total dereliction of duty” that the county (and the commissioners) have not been more involved. He described how 35% of the budget goes to health and human services, while only a small amount goes

to roads, bridges, and trails; ultimately proposing that not only do roads need to be main-tained, but that they ought to be repaved every 20 years or so.

The matter of funding was a common theme on this issue--all four candidates said it was a matter of priorities and finding funding. “I’ve been told there isn’t money,” said Levy “[But] it’s a core function of gov-ernment.” Levy emphasized this point by saying that the commissioners are sometimes the only source of services for smaller communities, and that it’s vital for them to participate more. The other two candidates definitely agreed that it’s still an issue--Loachamin said that she was committed to revisiting the issue of roads and empha-sized the importance of coming to a solution with the contribu-tion of community members. Kochen on the other hand, who lives on a county-maintained road, expressed frustration and some confusion as to why it’s still an issue.

As for the matter of Ni-wot’s moratorium and land-use codes, again, all candidates identified the need to be in-volved with individual com-munities in terms of land-use. One of the more interesting follow-up questions to this topic was the matter of whether

or not land use policy was a matter for the commissioners themselves or the land use department staff.

Crowder said that he felt the commissioners should get input from community members and pass that on to land-use staff, while Levy said that the commissioners should set policies but not necessarily the regulations. This sentiment seemed to be shared by Loa-chamin, who said, “How do we include that [digital outreach] and some of these hybrid ap-proaches so that more folks can participate in the process so that we can make sure that the reach is greater when talking about these really important questions?”

Again, Loachamin--who re-iterated her experience as a re-altor and knows how cumber-some some of the regulations can be--emphasized the need to go back to the community for input. Kochen had a slight-ly different perspective on the issue. She started out by saying that she loved the uniqueness

of the smaller communities across the county. “I believe the county commissioners should be involved [in land use issues]...There’s so much on the commissioners’ plate that they can’t get into it and handle each issue.”

Finally, both Loachamin and Kochen supported moving toward a five-person board of commissioners while Crowder and Levy did not entirely agree. Nonetheless, all candi-dates acknowledged the im-portance of representation for all Boulder County residents.

For more information about each candidate, you can read profiles written for the Couri-er on each candidate at these links; Candidate Crowder was not available for an interview, but you can see his site below:

District 1: Claire Levy (D): Cinda Kochen (R): District 2:Marta Loachamin (D): Jim Crowder (R): https://crowder4commissioner.com/

BY HANNAH STEWARTEditorial@lhvc.com

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History can be learned from books and films and lectures, but a deeper layer of under-standing comes from being in the place where things hap-pened. That belief was what led me to visit Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in southeastern Colorado earlier this month.

I had planned to join dozens of people who signed up to take a bus from Niwot to the site this fall. The trip, organized by the Niwot United Methodist Church in cooperation with several other community orga-nizations, has been postponed until next year due to the coro-navirus. But my husband and I were looking for a short, fall getaway that seemed lower risk, and decided on the wide open spaces of the eastern plains. As residents of Niwot, we wanted to learn more about the life and death of the town's namesake,

Chief Niwot, who was mortally wounded at Sand Creek.

I share my experience here as a preview of what promises to be an enlightening journey for those who are signed up or would like to join when the time comes. The Courier will share the new date when it is scheduled.

Sand Creek is more than three-and-a-half hours from here. I generally appreciate the unique beauty of different landscapes like the prairie and farmland in eastern Colorado. But as we drove east then south, it was hard to get past the cur-rent reality. The region is expe-riencing exceptional drought, desaturating the already subtle shades of gray, brown and pale green.

An uneasy orange sun stretched across the sky, giving us a colorful distraction. I shift-ed in my seat, unsure whether to choose between sadness or awe. We had not outrun the wildfire smoke.

After a night in La Junta, we drove to the Sand Creek site, finding several large interpre-tive panels marking the turnoff. They offered a basic introduc-tion along with an attempt to answer a question fresh on my mind. We just drove through a town that is a few inhabited buildings shy of a ghost town. I’m shocked to see that it is named Chivington, the name of colonel who led the massacre.

The interpretive sign refer-ences the town and acknowl-edges an argument that says that places like this remind us of the dark times and lessons of history. However, Colorado is currently considering new names for a number of places that honor the dishonorable. It will be interesting to see if this town’s name survives.

There is only so much in-formation that can be relayed on interpretive panels, so it wasn’t a surprise that there wasn’t much specifically about Chief Niwot, also known as Left Hand, on the signs we read throughout our visit. But his presence is acknowledged as part of the larger story of about 750 Cheyenne and Arapaho who were told to congregate in the area in the fall of 1864 if they wanted peace. That year had been an especially bloody period in the war between the U.S. military and Plains tribes. Those who wanted peace, food and other provisions were told to assemble close to Ft. Lyon. They made camp at nearby Sand Creek.

After reading the entry signs, we left the asphalt behind and headed down a dusty road that eventually led to a dirt parking lot with one RV and no oth-er soul except an olive-green ranger. It’s a little odd to be the only visitors at a National Park Service site. But this place is lightly visited. It was created in 2007 and gets about 20 people a day during the warmer months for a total of about 6,000 visitors a year.

The ranger eagerly greeted us and led us to the grassy picnic area, which hasn’t fared well in the drought. Beneath the trees, she gave us a verbal

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Visiting the Sand Creek Massacre site is challenging but worthwhileBY PATRICIA LOGANEditorial@lhvc.com

Patricia Logan

An overlook called Monument Hill is a place for visitors to contemplate the events that took place during the Sand Creek Massacre in southeastern Colorado in 1864.

Continued on Page 5

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orientation of the site. The main grounds consist of a small yel-low trailer that is both office and bookstore, a yellow metal maintenance building, picnic ta-bles and a bathroom. We learned firsthand that it’s good to wear long pants and sleeves as protec-tion from the prairie sun, wind, heat and biting flies, which can be “rude,” as the ranger put it.

She left us and we began our visit by reading two large, golden signs next to us. They’re representations of letters writ-ten by soldiers who were at the massacre, but who refused to take part. The letters recount-ed the horrors they saw the morning of November 29, 1864 when about 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho, including about 150 women, children, and elderly were murdered and mutilated at the command of the rogue Col. Chivington.

From there we walked on a trail that leads to Monument Hill, which overlooks the site of the Indian village. The gentle gravel path is a little over half a mile. It’s level until the last bit. Visitors also have the option to drive to the overlook which has an open wood structure with benches and several enormous sandstone blocks.

Monument Hill stands on a bluff above Sand Creek, which is aptly named. It rarely fills with water, about once every ten years, the ranger said. Cotton-wood trees show the path of the creek better than it does.

Out of respect, visitors are not

allowed to go down to the creek where the massacre occurred, though Native Americans can make special arrangements.

From the overlook, the land is broad and stoic, beige but for the subdued yellow and fading green of fall leaves, silent but for the wind, offering a spacious-ness for the imagination. A few other visitors came and went, everyone respectful, involved in their own contemplative thoughts.

From Monument Hill, we took the Bluff Trail that goes along the top of the sandstone cliff. It offers a different vantage point, closer to where the camp was. After a short walk, we paused on a lone bench. I’m not sure why, but I felt a stronger presence there.

Chief Niwot was among those wounded in the massacre. He managed to escape the site after the soldiers left, according to George Bent, who was there. He said the chief’s injuries were so severe that he died within days.

The story of the great Arap-aho peacemaker and the turbu-lent times in which he lived is well-detailed in the book “Chief Left Hand” by Boulder’s Marga-ret Coel. I recommend it to put the Sand Creek site in context. Other related books are on the National Park Service website.

Knowing something about Chief Niwot’s life, death and the events surrounding it made the site more meaningful to me. It is a place of unfathomable pain, but I am glad I went as a way of honoring Chief Niwot and the Arapaho people who spent summers in the Boulder Valley

that we now call home. My husband, Dave Olson, agreed. “I had always heard about the Sand Creek Massacre, but I didn’t know that much about it,” he said. “Seeing the site made it that much more real. It was horrible what happened. But it feels important to learn about it.”

On the way home, we drove through a dust storm for nearly

two hours. Tumbleweeds of all sizes charged toward us like an extended family - grandparents, mothers, fathers, kids, right down to the littlest grand niece trying to keep up. It was as if Dust Bowl II had arrived, the sequel to another piece of history in this area.

It was a fitting end to a week-end in which we also visited

Camp Amache, where Japanese Americans were interned during WWII, hiked a canyon with Native American petroglyphs and saw places where the Santa Fe Trail crossed the plains. The history in this part of the state is as immense as the landscape and the lessons remain relevant. It felt important to remember.

SAND CREEKContinued from Page 4

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER Wednesday, October 21, 2020Page 6

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New fence to protect Niwot’s rare sandstone

Boulder County Parks & Open Space has recently com-pleted a new fence along the Niwot Loop Trail on the south side of Somerset to protect a critical and rare habitat.

Working in conjunction with the Niwot Community Associ-ation and the Somerset Estates HOA, Boulder County installed the four-foot-tall Jackleg fence as a barrier to help protect the natural area.

Therese Glowacki, manager of the Resource Management Division of Boulder County Parks & Open Space, was part of the team that helped identify and then take the necessary steps to protect this open space area. Glowacki has been working with Boulder County Park Services for over 21 years and noted that there are several different layers in the process of designating open space as a protected nat-ural area.

This particular area, known as the Niwot White Rocks, is an area of white and buff-colored exposed Fox Hills Sandstone found on the hillside south

of Somerset. The land, which Glowacki said was purchased as open space a few decades ago, most recently came to the county’s attention in 2014 when they updated the environmental resources element of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan.

“In doing that, we looked at unique habitats and determined that the Niwot White Rocks had rare species, both plants and animals,” Glowacki said. “We also knew that it had lichens, even though they hadn’t been thoroughly determined yet,”

After the update to the BCCP in 2014, lichen researcher Erin

Tripp from the University of Colorado discovered a new species of lichen found at both the White Rocks in Niwot and the White Rocks in Boulder off of 75th Street.

The area is also home to other rare and important species such as miner bees. A species of Per-dita opuntia, miner bees are a type of ground-dwelling bee that burrows into the ground or makes nests in the natural cracks of the Fox Hills Sandstone formation.

“There’s a huge issue with pollinator decline in the United States and around the world,” Glowacki said. “Part of our mis-sion is to protect any sort of rare or unique pollinator habitats.”

And more broadly, the area is part of a Needle and Thread grass community which is home to several rare grasses and also rare forbs, a type of herbaceous flowering plant.

“We had those pieces of in-formation—critical plants, rare

plants, rare bees—and then we’d been working with a geologist who brought it to our attention that Fox Hills Sandstone is a rare geologic formation that has made its way to the surface, and we need to protect it,” Glowacki said.

Sue Hirschfeld, a retired geologist and Boulder County volunteer naturalist, was an instrumental part of the team. Her work helped highlight the significance of the Fox Hills Sandstone formation specifical-ly, as there are only three areas in Boulder County where this type of sandstone formation is exposed.

The sandstone, which is also called turtleback sandstone based on the polygons formed by the crust that resemble a turtle’s shell, not only is a critical habitat for lichen and miner bees, but is also a unique remnant of a time when this area was a shal-low inland sea. Several fossils including tiny sharks teeth and

ophiomorph burrows—rem-nants of shrimp that once used the shoreline—have been found in the sandstone.

“Even though there’s not a shrimp fossil, you can see the evidence of their life by seeing these fossilized excrement bur-rows,” said Glowacki.

If you want to see any of these fossils, you will need to be part of a volunteer-led naturalist walk as this area is closed to the public, and collecting fos-sils on open space is a fineable offense. Groups interested in a naturalist-led walk can call Larry Colbenson at 303-678-6214 to schedule a geologist tour of this closed open space area.

“For all these reasons, we decided through our county process that we needed to close the area to the public, and that’s why we put up the fences as well,” said Glowacki.

BY KRISTEN ARENDTEditorial@lhvc.com

Photo Credit: Niwot Community Associationt

Niwot White Rocks New Fence

Photo Credit: Niwot Community Associationt

Niwot White Rocks New Fence

Continued on Page 8

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R.L. Maizes is a Niwot local whose debut novel “Other People’s Pets” is set in a fictional small town on the front range of Colorado.

For Maizes, setting the book in Colorado was a natural choice.

“It’s so inspiring to look out your window and see a red tailed hawk, to see a fox when you’re on your evening walk,” said Maizes. “I recently saw a bobcat going behind a neigh-bor’s house. There’s incredible wildlife both in Niwot and in Colorado, so it was really a perfect place to set a book about animals.”

After earning acclaim for her first book, a collection of short stories called “We Love Ander-son Cooper” published in July 2019, Maizes quickly followed up with her novel, which was published this summer.

Here’s the setup, according to Maizes, “Other People’s Pets” is about a young woman named La La Fine who is an animal empath, raised by her father to be a burglar. In the novel, she has left a life of crime behind and is in her fourth year of veterinary school, engaged to a chiropractor named Clem, when her father gets arrested.

“In order to raise his attorney fees,” said Maizes, “she feels she has to go back to robbing houses, justifying her actions

by taking care of animals in the homes she robs.”

The book is a work of magic realism, the genre where realis-tic stories have surreal elements of dream or fantasy, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” Generally, characters in novels of this genre treat these magical elements as commonplace or usual, and the magic is woven into everyday, mundane life.

Maizes took inspiration for the book from her own life. “The dogs in the novel—Black and Blue—are very roughly modeled after a pair of dogs I had about 10 years ago.”

Her dogs were a lab mix and an Aussie mix, like the dogs in the book, and, “It’s a little bit of a tribute to them,” she said.

The connection to Maizes’ own life stops there, though. She was not trained as a child to burgle houses. To research that aspect of the novel, and set herself in her character La La’s shoes, she read lots of interviews with burglars from police and sociologists. She even undertook her own inter-views with an assistant district attorney and a bail bondsman, “all to get a better idea of how burglars work.”

“So that even though I don’t have that personal experience, I did a lot of research so that it would be authentic,” said Maizes.

LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIERWednesday, October 21, 2020 Page 7

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Niwot author publishes debut novel

By Emily Long Editorial@lhvc.com

Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz

R.L. Maizes

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UNDER CONTRACT

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82 ACRES 2 MILES TO NIWOT

6968 SWEETWATER CT, BOULDER$965,000

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UNDER CONTRACT IN 1 DAY

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2584 LAKE MEADOW DR,LAFAYETTE$990,000

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Continued on Page 8

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1250 South HoverNext to Whole Foods Market

Longmont, CO(303) 485-9463 • wyattswetgoods.com

No Rainchecks, limited to stock on hand.Prices good Thursday 10/22 through Wed. 10/28/20

*750ml unless otherwise noted

Colorado Spirits

10th MountainVodka ................................................................................$29.99Rye Whiskey......................................................................$36.99Bourbon Whiskey..............................................................$49.99

Axe & The OakColorado Bourbon.............................................................$39.99Colorado Rye.....................................................................$44.99

Bear CreekSilver Rum.........................................................................$16.99Wheat Vodka & Rye Vodka ...............................................$17.99Spiced Rum.......................................................................$26.99Rye Whiskey & Wheat Whiskey........................................$39.99Straight Bourbon & Wheated Bourbon ............................$44.99

Bouck BrothersCoffee Whiskey.................................................................$36.99

Boulder VaporBoulder Vodka & Pumpkin King .......................................$19.99Boulder Gin .......................................................................$25.99Boulder Ginskey................................................................$34.99Boulder Bourbon...............................................................$36.99Single Malt........................................................................$49.99Arrosta Coffee Liqueur .....................................................$24.99

Branch & BarrelWhiskey, 3 Way Whiskey, Honey Whiskey........................$44.99

BreckenridgeVodka 1.75L ......................................................................$26.99Gin .....................................................................................$20.99Spiced Rum.......................................................................$26.99Wyatt’s Single Barrel & Regular Bourbon........................$34.99Sherry, Port, Madeira & Rum Casks.................................$46.99

Cap RockVodka & Gin.......................................................................$19.99

Cockpit CraftApple Pie Moonshine, Sweet Tea Rum ............................$20.99Colorado Vodka 1.75L.......................................................$22.99

Colorado HoneyHoney Bourbon .................................................................$29.99

Coyote GoldMargarita & Flavors 1.75L................................................$18.99All Types, Cans 4pk...........................................................$11.99

DeerhammerBourbon, Single Malt Whiskey .........................................$44.99

DeviationCitus Rose, Mountain Herb & Spice Trade, Gin ................$26.99

Distillery 291American Whiskey & White Dog.......................................$39.99Colorado Bourbon & Rye Whiskey ...................................$64.99Colorado Bourbon & Rye Whiskey Barrel Proof...............$89.99

Dry Land DistillersGin & Cane Rum................................................................$32.99Antero Wheat Whiskey .....................................................$49.99Cactus & Heirloom Wheat ................................................$59.99

Dry TownVodka ................................................................................$22.99Gin .....................................................................................$29.99

DV8Vodka & Black Tea Vodka .................................................$21.99Gin .....................................................................................$24.995 Grain Whiskey 7650ml ..................................................$30.99Single Barrel .....................................................................$54.99

ElkinsWhiskey & Fire Whiskey...................................................$28.99

Golden MoonCrème De Violette .............................................................$24.99Gin .....................................................................................$28.99Gun Fighter Series, All Kinds............................................$29.99

Grove St AlchemyOrange Liqueur .................................................................$22.99

HogbackHigh Corn Bourbon ...........................................................$32.99High Wheat Bourbon.........................................................$34.99High Rye Bourbon, High Rye Whiskey .............................$39.99Eclipse Rum Finish ...........................................................$59.99Enigma Four Grain............................................................$76.99

Laws4 Grain Bourbon & Rye.....................................................$49.994 Grain Bottle & Bond, Rye Bottle & Bond .......................$64.994 Grain Cask Strength, Rye Cask Strength......................$76.99Wyatt’s 4 Grain Single Barrel Cask Strength 375ml........$32.99

Leopold BrothersWhiskey, Peach, Apple, Blackberry, Cherry......................$29.99All Liqueurs .......................................................................$26.99

Locke + CoAspen Aged Rye................................................................$56.99

Longtucky SpiritsAlpine Dry Gin ...................................................................$28.99Shine Corn Whiskey..........................................................$24.99Lusca Spiced Rum............................................................$29.99Fire Cinnamon Ginger Whiskey........................................$29.99Arancia Amaro ..................................................................$29.99Straight Bourbon ..............................................................$46.99Straight Rye ......................................................................$49.99All Types, RTD Cans 4pk ...................................................$12.99

MarbleVodka ................................................................................$24.99Vodka Expresso ................................................................$26.99Gingercello........................................................................$29.99Hoovers Whiskey ..............................................................$36.99

Mile High SpiritsElevate Vodka....................................................................$16.99Fireside Bourbon, Old Fashioned,Peach Whiskey & Cuidado Tequila...................................$22.99

MontanyaPlatino Rum.......................................................................$20.99Oro Rum............................................................................$26.99

Mythology DistillingRye Vodka, Gin ..................................................................$26.99Silver Rum.........................................................................$28.99American Whiskey............................................................$44.99

Old ElkPeanut Butter Whiskey.....................................................$20.99Nooku Bourbon Cream & Peppermint Cream .................$26.99Bourbon Whiskey..............................................................$39.99Wheated Bourbon & Straight Wheat................................$59.99Straight Rye ......................................................................$64.99

On Point DistillingAll Types ............................................................................$20.99

Peach StreetGoat Vodka........................................................................$26.99Jackelope Gin & Modus Hop Whiskey .............................$29.99D’Agave Tequila ................................................................$34.99Bourbon Whiskey..............................................................$44.995 yr Bourbon & Smoked Rye Whiskey .............................$56.99

Richardo’sDecaf Coffee Liqueur........................................................$24.99

Spirit HoundVodka ................................................................................$18.99Gin .....................................................................................$24.99Rum...................................................................................$29.99Straight Malt Whiskey ......................................................$44.99Wyatt’s Barrel Cask Strength ...........................................$66.99

Stone YardSilver .................................................................................$16.99Cinnamon & Coffee...........................................................$19.99Lucky Horchata.................................................................$22.99Horchata RTD....................................................................$10.99Barrel Reserve..................................................................$26.99176 Proof...........................................................................$34.99

Stranahan’sBlue Peak..........................................................................$36.99Wyatt’s Single Barrel ........................................................$49.99Diamond Peak ..................................................................$59.99Sherry Cask ......................................................................$69.99

TellurideVodka ................................................................................$16.99Whiskey.............................................................................$36.99

TingalaTingflower Spirit ...............................................................$34.99

Tower 56Vodka, Chai, Almandretto & Coffee..................................$18.99Gin, Lemon Drop, Peanutbutter Whiskey .........................$22.99Bourbon Whiskey..............................................................$36.99

VanjackColorado Vodka 1.75L.......................................................$19.99

Western MedicinePlatte River Rum, Eleven Mile Vodka& Boulder Creeek Bourbon...............................................$19.99

WoodsTenderfoot Gin...................................................................$30.99Tenderfoot Whiskey ..........................................................$42.99Sawatch Whiskey .............................................................$68.99

Woody CreekVodka ................................................................................$24.99Gin .....................................................................................$29.99Bourbon & Rye Whiskey...................................................$39.99

WINE ON SALEColorado Wine

Blue Mountain VineyardsAll ......................................................................................$17.99

BookcliffCabernet Franc SAVE $5 .................................................$24.99Malbec ..............................................................................$16.99Rosé ..................................................................................$14.99

CarlsonSweet Baby Red, Sweet Baby White ...............................$12.99

Chill SwitchCabernet, Petit Verdot, Super Colorado Red....................$19.99

Colorado CellarsBlackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach,Plum, Pomegranate, Raspberry .......................................$12.99Red SAVE $5 ....................................................................$14.99

Colorado Sake Co.American Standard, Blueberry Hibiscus,Horchata Nigori, Lychee Nigori 375ml............................... $9.99

ColterrisSauvignon Blanc, Livid Rosé, White Cabernet Rosé........$16.99Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay,Coloradeaux, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot SAVE $5 .......$19.99Riverside Cabernet SAVE $10 .........................................$39.99

KingmanCabernet Franc, Marv’lous ...............................................$16.99Cabernet Franc, Viognier 3.0L..........................................$29.99

St. Kathryn CellarsLavender, Peach, Sangria.................................................$14.99

The Winery at Holy CrossCabernet, Merlot...............................................................$24.99Divinity Port 375ml ...........................................................$24.99Riesling .............................................................................$14.99

ColoradoWine and

Spirits Sale

https://wyattswetgoods.com/order-online/#StoreFrontLocationHash=%23%2Fwidget%2F5a9f1a583f34fe6c84c3e71e%2Fcontainers

1250 SOUTH HOVER • LONGMONT, CO • Next to Whole Foods Market • (303) 485-9463 • wyattswetgoods.com

Prices goodThursday, 10/22 through 10/28/20

Raincheckprovided if any item is

out of stock unlessnoted as a limited item

ough 10/28/20ough 10/28/20

BEER LIQUOR

CHECK OUT OURCOLORADO

SPIRITS SALE

WarsteinerPilsner Cans 24pk ...............$18.99

Wild Basin SeltzerAll Types 12pk .....................$15.99

Woodchuck CiderAll Types 6pk ......................... $8.99Can Variety Pack 12pk .........$16.99

Original Sin CiderCidre Libre 6pk...................... $9.99Black Widow 6pk.................$10.99

Ground Breaker (GF)Olallie 4pk ...........................$10.99All Other Types 4pk..............$15.99

OmmegangApripeche, Rosetta,

Solera 4pk...........................$10.99

Blackberry FarmsAll Types 6pk .......................$11.99

OctopiForest IPA 6pk .....................$11.99

La CumbreA Slice of Hefen,

Elevated, Malpais 4pk............ $9.99

Brouwerij WestPicnic Lightning 4pk ............$12.99

Bend BrewingRotating IPA,

Tropic Pines 4pk ..................$11.99Ching Ching 4pk ..................$12.99

GunbarrelAll Types 4pk .......................$15.99

EpicEscape IPA, Los Locos,

Lunar Transit 6pk................... $8.99Lemon Bomb Tart & Juicy,

Son of a Baptist, Tart & Juicy,

Tropical Tart & Juicy 6pk ......$10.99

BootstrapAll Types 6pk ......................... $8.99

Finkel & GarfKeller Pils 4pk ....................... $9.99Kalamansi Sorbet Sour,

Soursop Caruba Sour 4pk....$13.99Revolution Robot,

Tiny Robot 4pk.....................$14.99DDH Tin Robot 4pk ..............$15.99

River NorthColorado IPA, Farm House,

White 6pk.............................. $8.99Mountain Haze 6pk..............$10.99Fifteener DIPA 6pk...............$11.99Hop-A-Tronic 6pk ................$15.99

WeldwerksJuicy Bits 4pk ......................$12.99

DupontVieille Provision 4pk.............$12.99

FreigeistAufschneider,

Dortmunder 4pk .................... $9.99

WINE ON SALE

Broadbent

Vinho Verde Rosé................... $8.99

By. Ott

Provence Rosé.....................$22.99

Chateau Cavalier

Rosé SAVE $5 ....................$14.99

Diora

Rosé....................................$14.99

Les Dauphins

Rosé....................................$12.99

Potion

Rosé....................................$12.99

Prophecy

Rosé...................................... $9.99

Yes Way

Rosé....................................$12.99

Zestos

Garnacha Rosé ...................... $8.99

Juan Gil

Jumilla Red..........................$14.99

Tarrantas

Tempranillo, Monastrell,

Sparkling Rosé ....................$11.99

SPANISH ANDPORTUGUESE WINE

Colome

Malbec ................................$17.99

Concha Frontera

All.................................... 2 for $10

Concha Y Toro Diablo Series

Cabernet, Carmenere,

Chardonnay, Malbec, Red,

Sauvignon Blanc.............. 2 for $15

Concha Y Toro

Terrunyo Cabernet ...............$34.99

Terrunyo Carmenere ............$34.99

Terrunyo

Sauvignon Blanc..................$19.99

Del Mono

Malbec/Syrah ........................ $9.99

Los Vascos

Cabernet................................ $9.99

Grande Reserve

Cabernet..............................$16.99

SOUTH AMERICAN WINE

Carpene Mavolti

Prosecco .............................$15.99

Casa de Valor

Brut Nature,

Brut Rosé, Brut ....................$12.99

Korbel

Brut.....................................$12.99

Lucien Albrecht

Brut, Rosé ...........................$17.99

Sabartes

Brut Cava ............................$12.99

Scharffenberger

Brut.....................................$19.99

Tissot

Cremant du Jura..................$24.99

Yes Way

Brut Rosé ............................$12.99

SPARKLING WINE

Hugues Bealieu

Picpoul de Pinet...................$11.99

Les Hauts de Janiel

Syrah-Grenache .................... $7.99

Les Hauts de Lagarde

Red, White, Rosé .................$12.99

Perrin

Cotes du Rhone Rouge .......... $9.99

FRENCH WINE

Allegrini

Amarone..............................$59.99

La Grola...............................$26.99

Valpolicella ..........................$13.99

Palazzo Della Torre ..............$14.99

Arcanum

Il Fauno Super Tuscan..........$29.99

Banfi

San Angelo Pinot Grigio .......$16.99

Chianti Classico ...................$14.99

Chianti Classico Riserva.......$18.99

Barbaglia

Uva Rara .............................$21.99

Bolla

Pinot Grigio............................ $7.99

Cavit

Pinot Grigio...................... 2 for $15

Collazzi

Chianti Classico ...................$12.99

Ecco Domani

Pinot Grigio............................ $9.99

La Cappuccina

Red Madego, Sauvignon,

Soave..................................$11.99

La Giana

Pinot Grigio............................ $9.99

Monte Antico

Rosso ..................................$10.99

Pieropan

Soave..................................$13.99

ITALIAN WINE

WEEKLYWAGONDeals

Trick or

Treat

Red,

White

750ml

$7.99

ROSÉBourbons & Whiskeys

Bird DogAll Flavors 750ml.................$12.99High WestDouble Rye,Prairie Reserve 750ml .........$28.99Campfire,Rendezvous 750ml..............$54.99Jim BeamBourbon,Glass & Plastic 750ml..........$15.99Honey & Red Stag 1.75L......$26.99LarcenyBourbon 1.75L.....................$42.99Old ForesterBourbon 750ml ...................$18.99Rye & 100 proofBourbon 750ml ...................$20.99

CanadianCanadian MistBlended 1.75L.....................$13.99PendeltonWhiskey 750ml....................$19.99

Irish WhiskeyJamesonRegular, IPA & Stout

Caskmates 1.75L ................$44.99TeelingSmall Batch 750ml ..............$26.99

GinHanaGin 750ml ...........................$16.99St GeorgeAll Types, Gin 750ml ............$24.99PlymouthGin 750ml ...........................$24.99Navy Strength 750ml...........$29.99TanquerayRegular & Rangpur,Gin 750ml ...........................$22.99#10 Gin 750ml.....................$30.99

VodkaCropVodka, All Flavors 750ml......$14.99PlatinumVodka 1.75L ........................$12.9910x 1.75L ............................$18.99ReykaVodka 750ml .......................$16.99SobieskiVodka 1.75L ........................$18.99

RumFlor De Cana4 yr, White Rum 1.75L..........$24.995 yr, Anejo Rum 1.75L..........$26.99Ron Abuelo12 yr, Rum 750ml ................$26.99

Scotch WhiskyCardhu12 yr, Speyside 750ml..........$54.99Dalwhinnie15 yr, Highland 750ml..........$86.99Glen MorayClassic, Speyside 750ml......$26.99Port Finish & Sherry, Speyside750ml..................................$34.9912yr, Speyside 750ml...........$39.99Monkey ShoulderBlend 750ml........................$24.99PassportBlended 1.75L.....................$17.99

TequilaCorralejoBlanco 750ml ......................$22.99Reposado 750ml .................$24.99CorazonBlanco 750ml ......................$20.99Reposado 750ml .................$24.99Añejo 750ml ........................$26.99Extra Añejo 750ml ...............$79.99Cuervo TraditionalSilver & Reposado 1.75L .....$29.99EspolonBlanco & Reposado 1.75L....$42.99JuarezSilver & Gold 1.75L..............$19.99

Brandy / CognacTorres10 yr, Brandy 750ml.............$18.9920 yr 750ml.........................$56.9930 yr SAVE $25 750ml .....$124.99

CordialsCampariBitter 750ml ........................$26.99JagermeisterLiqueur 750ml.....................$16.99TorresMagdala Orange 750ml .......$20.99Pisco Gobernador 750ml .....$24.99

Colorado Beer of the MonthNew Image

Moped, Single By Choice 6pk $8.99East Coast Transplant 4pk $9.99Coriolus Effect, Dyad 6pk $10.99

Featured American Craft BreweryTwo Roads

Cruise Control, Honeyspot Road, Lil’ Heaven,No Limits 6pk $8.99

Cloud Sourced 6pk $9.99Two Juicy 4pk $12.99

Variety Pack 12pk $16.99

Variety Pack 12pk $16.99

INSIDE

H2Roads Seltzer

SMALL FORMATSAh-So

Red, Rosé, Sparkling,

White 4pk............................$13.99

Imagery

Cabernet,

Chardonnay 375ml ................ $4.99

Roederer Estate

Brut 375ml ..........................$14.99

Sans Wine Co

Zinfandel

1/2 OFF 375ml ..................... $6.49

Vollereaux

Champagne 375ml ..............$16.99

NEW ZEALAND WINEBrancott

Sauvignon Blanc.................... $9.99

Kono

Sauvignon Blanc..................$12.99

Starborough

Sauvignon Blanc.................... $9.99

Nautilus

Sauvignon Blanc..................$14.99

Nobilo

Sauvignon Blanc..................$11.99

Villa Maria

Sauvignon Blanc..................$10.99

Pertico

Pinot Grigio............................ $9.99

Prophecy

Pinot Grigio............................ $9.99

Scarbolo

Il Ramato.............................$14.99

Scarpetta

Pinot Grigio, Prosecco..........$14.99

Stella

Montepulciano,

Pinot Grigio............................ $8.99

Zaccagnini

Montepulciano,

Pinot Grigio..........................$14.99

Zenato

Pinot Grigio............................ $9.99

Valpolicella ..........................$14.99

Zingari

93pt Super Tuscan...............$16.99

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER Wednesday, October 21, 2020Page 8

www.lhvc.com

There was initially a low log fence around the area and small signs asking vis-itors to please stay off the fragile sandstone habitat. But Glowacki noted that this didn’t seem to be working as people were still walking, exercising and riding bikes on the sandstone.

“Fox Hills Sandstone is really fragile. If you ride a bike over it, you can disturb that top layer which erodes, and then it's gone for good and you can never get that layer back,” she said.

When Boulder County Open Space personnel found that the low fence didn’t seem to be keeping people from entering the area, they approached the NCA looking for solutions.

“So that’s when we started conversations with the Niwot Community Association, and we took them on field trips and started talking about making this place off-limits so that we would not have any further deterioration of this rare geologic formation,” Glowacki said.

“We also took it to our county commissioners and declared the area as closed.

So really it’s closed open space. If you’re out there, you can get a ticket now,” she said.

The fence was funded by Boulder County Parks & Open Space and built primar-ily by Boulder County Youth Corp leaders. The logs for the fence came from Boulder County’s forestry project where logs from forest thin-ning are used to build fences to protect critical habitat.

Only time will tell if this new fence will more effec-t ively keep visitors from venturing off the Niwot Loop Trail onto the closed open space. Glowacki noted that one way the community can help is to report trespassers or anyone who might be illegally collecting plants, animals, or fossils in the area.

“We are just asking the community to look out for the larger interests like pre-serving this rare geologic formation and all its lichens and animals and plants, and restrict ourselves from using the open space in a way that can damage it,” Glowacki said.

“Open space has many values, and even just being able to look at it is often a value that we can appreciate without disturbing it in any way,” she said.

FENCEContinued from Page 6

.......................................................

SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS AND PRODUCTS & BRINGING NIWOT THE BEST QUALITY HEALTHY FOODS SINCE 2002

NIWOTMARKET.COM

EEective Sunday June 7 our new hours will beMonday-Sunday

7am - 8 pm

We are doing delivery and curbside pick up.

Fall Favorites

Maizes wanted to be an author since she was very

young, but her path to the profession was not a straight line. She had multiple ca-reers, “first in children’s publishing and then as an at-torney. I didn’t really pursue a career as an author until I

was in my 40’s,” said Maizes.Even then, she spent over

a decade studying, learning, and taking classes and cours-es on writing, before finally completing her first short story collection.

Her novel “Other People’s Pets” was published in the midst of the pandemic, in July 2020, and Maizes said, “There's nothing like coming out with your debut novel during a pandemic to let you know that it’s not going to be all fame and fortune from here.”

Nonetheless, she’s man-aged to do events on the virtual book circuit. Signed copies of the novel are avail-able at Boulder Bookstore.

Maizes said interested readers can go to her website

at www.rlmaizes.com to view some of these events, or listen to news stories such as those from KGNU’s radio book club or KUNC’s Colorado Edition.

Doing events online is “not quite as nice as being able to meet your readers in person and having your readers able to purchase the book from the bookstore,” said Maizes. But there is a silver lining as the virtual events “do get recorded, and it does give readers and listeners a chance to view at their convenience.”

AUTHORContinued from Page 7

LLLL HHHH VHVVLVCOURIER

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIERWednesday, October 21, 2020 Page 9

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www.leathermancorporation.comdennislowrie@gmail.com

Hutchinson heard that it quickly filled up with 500

horses.“I have four acres of land

and corrals,” she said. “Why not offer to help the horses here. I know what it’s like to need help. I want to pay it forward.”

She said what the gener-al population doesn’t real-ize is that there are horses with special needs. “Maybe they’ve never been in a stall before or need meds. I could help them out. It’s nice to

have an extra set of hands when (the horses) are fright-ened or you’re frightened.”

While no one has taken her up on her offer, Hutchinson understands how difficult all of this is. “There is something nice about having our horse at the designated evacuation point,” she said. She was able to take hay over to the fairgrounds for bedding ma-terial.

T h e u n e x p e c t e d w e t weather on Sunday morn-ing helped, but the overall

forecast does not look good for fires. Strong winds are expected during the coming week, with the next possibil-ity of precipitation arriving on Saturday or Sunday. As of Tuesday, Oct. 20, the total acreage burned for these two fires is over 9,800 acres.

At press time, a total count of 26 homes have been de-stroyed. That number is ex-pected to go higher.

For more information go to www.bouldercounty.oem.

Photos by Mary Wolbach Lopert

The CalWood fire was equally impressive at night. The photo was taken at 8 p.m. eight hours after it was first reported. The photo was taken from Gunbarrel Hill.

FIREContinued from Page 1

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER Wednesday, October 21, 2020Page 10

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instance the legislature in-stead allowed the tax rate to stay flat rather than going to the voters. This is because while legislators can cut or maintain taxes, due to the Tax-payer Bill of Rights (TABOR)

they must put all potential tax increases to a vote of the people. That means local gov-ernments are somewhat lim-ited in terms of how to offset some of the revenue lost from residential property tax cuts.

It is also worth noting that, according to the Mountain View Fire Rescue District’s (MVFRD) Gallagher FAQ

page, that while 45% of the state’s property value in 1982 (when Gallagher passed) was residential properties, today, residential properties make up 75% of the state value. This means that commercial properties make up 25% of state property value today and they’re still responsible for 55% of the total property taxes.

With Gallagher in place, it’s expected that property tax revenues will fall again--about 18% in 2021--which will likely further exacerbate the burden put on commer-cial and other nonresidential properties. Currently, nonres-idential owners pay approxi-mately four times more than homeowners do.

Since property taxes fund a variety of services at the state and local level, includ-ing special districts (e.g. fire districts) and school districts, proponents of Amendment B often point out that the repeated decrease in residen-tial property taxes puts extra pressure on these services. In areas that do not have automatic mill levy increases (which is a property tax rate based on dollars per $1000 of assessed value), these districts then have to go to their con-stituents to discuss mill levy adjustments.

For example, MVFRD had to conduct a special meeting this August about an inde-pendent election and adjust-ing the district’s mill levy to offset decreases in funding as result of a Residential Assessment Rate reduction. Fire Chief Dave Beebe--who’s been dispatched to help with the Cameron Peak Fire--sent a letter to residents on the issue of mill levy adjustments related to Gallagher. In it, he describes how the district’s revenue largely comes from property taxes, but over the past ten years, they’ve seen decreased funding.

“Historically, the only rem-edy for this decrease in Dis-trict revenue was to hold an election and ask the voters to approve an increase in the District’s Mill Levy,” wrote Chief Beebe. “While the Dis-trict has been successful with elections in the past, holding elections is very expensive.”

Instead, Beebe asks resi-dents to essentially consider an automatic mill levy ad-justment should residential assessment rates be adjusted. He says that those who would oppose this issue oppose all tax issues, “even those meant for life saving services.”

Neither Beebe nor MVFRD have directly commented on Amendment B itself, largely for two reasons: there hav-en’t been many constituents reaching out to them about the issue and also because they have to abide by the Col-orado Fair Campaign Practic-es Act.

However, other local of-ficials have commented on the amendment. "As a com-missioner, I think a 'yes' on Amendment B preserves crit-ical services and protects our local businesses, farmers and ranchers in Boulder County from taking even bigger tax hits,” said Boulder County Commissioner Deb Gard-ner. “Fire districts and K-12 schools across (our) state have been forced to make serious cuts as a result of the Gallagh-er Amendment - and these are things that our community simply cannot afford to lose."

To be more specific, ac-cording to Taunia Hottman, a principal of Clermont El-liot, a communications firm working on the amendment, keeping Gallagher would mean a $300 million property tax increase for those with nonresidential properties.

Amendment B aims to prevent that by repealing the amendment and freezing the property taxes at their current

rates. “They [homeowners] get to enjoy the third lowest property tax rate in the en-tire US,” said Hottman. But, the 45%-55% tax ratio and automatic cuts would cease to exist. So, while it won’t im-mediately increase tax rates, it also prevents future tax cuts.

If passed, the state gov-ernment would be relieved of the estimated $247 million in-crease in school funding that was originally expected with the next tax cut. But long-term, the future of property taxes are still unclear.

This doubt comes in part from proponents of Gallagher who believe that with rising home values in the future, the state will once again see com-plaints over increased taxes. The likely future increase in taxes could mean that land-lords increase rental rates.

Opponents of Amendment B also say that there are better alternatives to revenue con-cerns than amending the state constitution. Instead, local governments can and should ask voters to increase tax-es, thus allowing individual municipalities the autonomy to decide how to fund their communities.

According to Hottman, Amendment B gives relief to all the small businesses, schools, fire departments and other entities. “Let’s help those who may be struggling in a really hard way because of COVID,” she said.

The secretary of state’s office puts out lists of groups both in favor and in oppo-sition to various ballot mea-sures. More information can be found here.

For information about the group in favor, Yes on Amendment B, visit: https://yesonamendmentb.com/yes-on-b/

For information about the group opposed, Keep Prop-erty Taxes Low, visit: https://keeptaxeslowco.com/

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIERWednesday, October 21, 2020 Page 11

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Managing COVID-19 not an easy task for schools

With the return of in-person learning on Oct. 5, Niwot schools and the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) are working to manage the impact of COVID-19 on their school communities. It has not proven to be an easy or simple task.

This month, SVVSD imple-mented a COVID-19 tracker to keep the public informed about new and existing cases that have been documented during the current school year. The tracker segregates cases between students and staff, and between cases that are currently active and cumulative cases (active and recovered) for the entire school year.

Through Oct. 17, a total of 43 active and recovered cases have been reported in the entire dis-trict, which maintains a student count of 31,435 and a staff count of 5,132. There are no reported cases at Niwot Elementary, and two each reported at Niwot High

and Sunset Middle Schools. According to the tracker, these cases affected students, not teachers or staff.

Schools in the surrounding municipalities of Erie, Frederick, Longmont and Mead are also experiencing active cases. Per the tracker, both Erie and Silver Creek High Schools have one active student case each, while Timberline K-8, Mead High School and Legacy Elementary

School have a single active case each among their staff members.

SVVSD case notification pro-cess

In terms of notifying the com-munity, school district spokes-person Kerri McDermid said, “All teachers, staff, and families will receive an email commu-nication whenever a confirmed case of COVID-19 impacts their school community.”

The district’s website further explained that for cases identi-fied in the school environment, Boulder County Public Health has assigned an epidemiologist and several contact tracers to the district who will work with nurses and leadership to estab-lish next steps. McDermid said that if, through contract tracing, some members of the school community need to quarantine, they’ll be alerted through the

district’s Infinite Campus email, voicemail, and text message notifications.

This procedure was followed for a student or staff case re-cently identified at Niwot High School. The school community received notices Thursday eve-ning, though the tracker had not been updated with the infor-mation as of Saturday morning. Identifying information about the case, including whether the affected person was a student or a staff member, their gender, and their class, was not provid-ed, presumably due to privacy concerns.

Since its launch, the district’s Covid-19 tracker has gone through several formatting changes. One of the earliest formats showed current cases as opposed to those reported after classes resumed, a for-mat which would have high-lighted the impact of in-per-son learning on case increases.

Deborah Cameron Editorial@lhvc.com

Photo By: Deborah Cameron

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LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIER Friday, August 22, 2014Page 12

Niwot head cross country coach Kelly Christensen knew that the lead pack in the 2020 girls Class 4A championship race would be fast, but both he and his runners were caught off-guard by the pace fresh-man Bethany Michalak of Air Academy set right from the start. That led to some tense moments for Christensen as he watched from the sidelines, adding and re-adding the po-

tential final scores. “Our strategy all season was

a lot different in workouts and races because we knew, or we were putting a lot of money on the table, that Bethany was going to go out and string out the race, and there wasn’t going to be a whole lot of pack run-ning, and you’re going to have to learn to fight on your own, and that exactly happened,” he said. “So, I got really nervous there for a little bit...Not know-ing where anyone but Niwot and Battle Mountain was, an-

other team could easily have snuck in there and taken it.”

Michalak’s quick start could have spelled disaster for a team like Niwot, which has relied on pack running to win state championships the past two years. But as they have all sea-son, the Cougars “trusted their training,” and Christensen knew he could relax when he saw “more green jerseys in front of yellow” among the lead group. Michalak went on to win the race, with a time of 17 minutes 59 seconds, but Prok and her Niwot team-mates were close behind and captured a third consecutive Class 4A team title with room to spare.

“They responded fast enough, and they didn’t panic, and it was good,” Christensen said of his team’s performance. “The 4A depth is tough, and it was a tough year to crack the top 15-20. It’s just a different year, and for them to pull it off is just special.”

Four of Niwot’s six runners finished in the top 20, including

sophomore Madison Shults (19:11) who finished ninth overall, and was the only other Cougar to finish in the top 10. Behind her were seniors Lucca Fulkerson (19:19) in 13th and Taylor James (19:45) in 20th, sophomore Lex Bullen (19:59) in 25th and freshman Sarah Perkins (20:19) in 35th. The Cougars ended with 55 points in the team standings, nearly 40 points ahead of runner-up Battle Mountain (93).

“It was definitely super difficult, and we took off super fast, but I think it was pretty good,” Prok said of her team’s title-winning effort. “I’m so proud of everyone. We had Maddie in ninth, which is so awesome. Everyone just crushed it. And again, every-one just does it for the team, and I think that’s the best part about Niwot, that we’re so fo-cused on the team.”

For Prok, however, a bud-ding rivalry with Michalak is also likely to be a focus of hers for the next three sea-sons. Though the Air Academy

freshman won the opening salvo, Prok is already looking forward to their next match-up.

“She’s super nice and fun to race against,” she said. “I think it will be good as we improve together and get to race to gather and have opportunities to compete against each other.”

For James, the race was bit-tersweet, as it likely signaled the end of her cross country career. The highly decorated senior recently accepted an offer to compete in track & field for Stanford, and doesn’t see much competitive distance running in her future. But she was happy to leave on a cham-pionship note, even if they had to work a little harder than they expected.

“That was our goal as a whole, to get another state championship under our belt, especially with such a weird season and all the stuff that’s been going on,” she said. “We all went into the race knowing

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Prok leads Niwot girls to third straight cross country title

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SSSSSS Niwot boys capture second straight Class 4A state title

Coming into the final 100 meters of the 2020 Class 4A state cross country race, Niwot junior Zane Bergen decided it was time to make his move. He was trailing leader Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos by a few steps, but he knew he had enough kick left to overtake the Green Mountain senior before the finish line. Unfortunately, the Green Mountain senior seemed to have other ideas.

“I decided I’m going to go on the outside and get around him, but I guess I picked the

wrong outside,” Bergen said, describing the finish of the Oct. 17 race in Colorado Springs. “He kind of forced me up into the fencing, and I had to choose

either running into the fence or falling down, and I fell down.”

Bergen quickly regained his footing, but it was too late to catch Tuohy-Gaydos, who

crossed the finish line first with the time of 15 minutes 26 seconds. Bleeding from a scrape on his shoulder, Bergen followed just three seconds lat-er, but thought his runner-up status might get an upgrade.

“I knew I had to get up and finish for the team, because that was the only thing that mattered,” he said. “I knew it was going to be questionable about whether that was legal or not, so I just made sure that I got my case across. And it turned out really well.”

Bergen was awarded the 2020 Class 4A state title after officials from the Colorado High School Activities Asso-ciation (CHSAA) disqualified Tuohy-Gaydos for impeding Bergen’s path. His time of 15:29

also broke the Norris Penrose record of 15:36, set by his for-mer teammate Cruz Culpepper in 2019. But more importantly for the junior, his dramatic win helped propel the Cougars to their second straight Class 4A boys team title, the prize Ber-gen and his teammates have had their eyes on all along.

“Honestly this individual title means nothing,” Bergen said. “It’s the team title that means everything, because it shows that we’ve been putting in work for six, seven, eight months. Ever since the begin-ning of quarantine, we’ve been working our butts off, and it’s really showed. I’m so happy about today.”

‘COMPLETELY WILD’ FINISH DELIVERS INDIVIDUAL TITLE TO BERGENBY JOCELYN ROWLEYEditorial@lhvc.com

Photo by Jocelyn Rowley

The Niwot boys won their second straight state title at the Class 4A cross country championships, held on Oct. 17 in Colorado Springs. From left: Zane Bergen, Grayden Rauba, Joaquin Herrera, Joey Hendershot, Curtis Volf, and Carlos Kipkorir.

BY JOCELYN ROWLEYEditorial@lhvc.com

Continued on Page 15

Photo by Jocelyn Rowley

Led by freshman Mia Prok, the Niwot girls won their third consecutive state title at the Class 4A cross country championships, held on Oct. 17 in Colorado Springs. From left: Sarah Perkins, Mia Prok, Lucca Fulkerson, Taylor James, Lex Bullen, and Maddie Shults.

Continued on Page 14

LEFT HAND VALLEY COURIERFriday, August 22, 2014 Page 13

Cases in private and charter schools

The district’s tracker does not include data for charter or private schools, recommending that community members check with the charter or private school administration for that informa-tion. One Niwot private school, Boulder Valley Waldorf School, is experiencing an outbreak. Their numbers are reflected in the Boul-der County Public Health out-break dashboard at covid19.colo-rado.gov/covid19-outbreak-data

Concerning the outbread, Boulder Valley Waldorf School director, Daniel Hindes said, “Ap-proximately three weeks ago on the weekend we were notified of a positive test result in a student. We immediately notified the Boulder County Health Depart-ment and quarantined the cohort. About a week later we were notified of an additional positive test result from a quarantined student. The second student to test positive is presumed to have acquired the virus while at school. This qualifies under CD-PHE guidelines as an outbreak. A third student in that cohort also tested positive and may or may not have acquired the infection while at school. The third student is listed as a probable case.”

Hindes added all three stu-dents remained asymptomatic and that no further cases were re-ported in that cohort. After quar-

antining for 14 days the cohort has resumed in-class instruction. Hindes also expressed “gratitude to the health departments and school community members to be providing opportunities for in-person learning in a safe way during this health crisis.”

Responses to COVID-19 school safety concerns

There has been a wide breadth of reactions to school safety con-cerns related to COVID-19. At its most recent board meeting, the district received strong input from parents who continued to advocate for a return to in-per-son learning. The parents cite frustrations about implementing the online model at home, teach-er workloads, and the need for children to engage with teachers and their peers in a real-world environment.

At the same time, as other parents look to use home-based options, the district’s entirely remote, LaunchED program is experiencing growth. An online letter sent to LaunchEd parents this Friday revealed that program administrators were working to enroll over 800 new students since the announcement of the district’s transition to hybrid learning. They are hiring and training new teachers and staff in response. The program previ-ously had about 3,200 students enrolled.

As the school year moved to the hybrid learning model, many teachers and staff consid-ered their own safety at work.

McDermit explained some of the district’s policies for staff who were unable to be in classrooms due to COVID. She said that if teachers are required to quaran-tine, they would be able to teach remotely, and if they are fully unable to work, leave for them is available through the Families First Coronavirus response act.

COVID-19 prevention in schools

Schools throughout the dis-trict and in Niwot are taking care to minimize cases spreading. In addition to splitting class atten-

dance in half and requiring atten-dance on just two days a week, details from the district’s website show that schools have made plenty of hand sanitizer available, require mask wearing, require so-cial distancing, and have spaced seating in classrooms.

The district has increased cleaning requirements and hired extra custodial staff to support cleaning efforts. There are also directional markers on the floors so that students are walking in the same direction and keep to the right, which should minimize close contact and the potential

to exchange droplets between students.

Even with all of these precau-tions, one thing that the district is clear on is that things may change again as health needs dictate. While the goal is to re-turn to 100% in-person learning, students and teachers may need to make a return to online-only learning if necessary. As the difficult school year continues, administrators will be watching COVID-19 case changes closely, placing the safety of students, teachers, and staff first.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

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Niwot AD announces Kyle Bachrodt as new swim coach

Niwot High School athletic director Joe Brown has found his man in Kyle Bachrodt to take the reins for the Niwot swim team.

“I really couldn't be more excited,” Bachrodt said. “Ni-wot is a very well-known pro-gram in all of their athletics (and) all of their academics. I've had a few meetings with the other head coaches in all of the sports and with our AD, and I couldn't be more proud to be working alongside with all of those folks.”

Bachrodt, who grew up in Evergreen, attended the Uni-versity of Colorado Boulder and helped win a national championship on CU’s club swim team. While in college, he also coached a club team in Evergreen. For the past 12 years, he has been a swim coach at the Boulder Country Club and was named aquatic director. Bachrodt is coming off a four-year gig coaching Boul-der High School’s swim team.

“Once this Niwot position opened up, I thought that this was the right next move,” Bachrodt said. “(It was) a great opportunity and I had to jump at it. Having been in the Niwot/

Gunbarrel area for the last 12 years, I've known a number of those families and a number of these swimmers.”

Bachrodt believes his famil-iarity with the local swim scene could pay dividends down the road. He has coached Niwot sophomores Rowan Lavigne and Cielle Burnett and has worked with junior Grace Shaw since she was 7-years-old.

Building off former head coach Sarah Stamp’s 11-year tenure, Bachrodt said he wants to keep developing the pro-gram the right way.

“That's (culture) really what makes a team successful or any

program successful,” he said. “You can't just be thinking about one year at a time. You have to be thinking about the next two, three, five, 10 years down the road. It's not just about building a program and winning a state title once, it's trying to shoot for it and mak-ing us not only successful from a winning perspective, but suc-cessful from the girls being able to work well together, to get along and to all work towards the common goal.”

Niwot will be permitted to begin official practice the first week of January with meets starting soon after. Bachrodt hopes to also hold preseason

workouts when cleared to do so. COVID-19 will certainly present challenges in 2021 and Bachrodt is hoping for a healthy inaugural season.

“(The) number one goal for this year is obviously to have a safe season,” Bachrodt said. “Hopefully (we can) get through with everybody re-maining healthy and safe and being able to actually compete in all of our meets. And then, make it to league and then make it to state. The goal is really to be up there top in the state, if not the number one program for 4A schools.”

By Jack CarloughEditorial@lhvc.com

SCHOOLSContinued from Page 11

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we had to work hard, and to keep an eye on some of the jerseys, and just make sure that people worked for it.”

James was also happy with her own performance, after a regular season that didn’t go according to plan in more ways than one. Afterwards, Niwot coach Maurice Henriques called

it “her best race of the season,” an assessment that James con-firmed.

“It was a weird season and I struggled a little bit mentally, but I feel like this was where I put it all together, and I was able to just hurt for my teammates one last time,” she said. “It was awe-some, and I’m pretty proud.”

For full results visit Colorado MileSplit. Watch video of the Class 4A finish here (skip to 30:30).

Photo by Jocelyn Rowley

Sophomore Maddie Shults (far right) did her best to keep Battle Mountain’s yellow jerseys behind her on the course at the Class 4A state championship race on Oct. 17.

XC GIRLSContinued from Page 12

Cougars fall to Riverdale Ridge in overtime

Niwot head football coach Nik Blume doesn’t consider his team’s 14-7 overtime loss to Riverdale Ridge on Oct. 16 a moral victory, but there’s no doubt he was much happier in the aftermath than he was after the Cougars’ 50-14 blowout loss to Holy Family the week before.

“I’m not going to come out of a loss saying great things, but what I do know is that every kid we have gave us everything they could have given us, 100 percent. I think the lesson we’re going to learn is that you can be assign-ment-sound the whole game, and the one time you have a busted coverage, you can give up a touchdown. So there are tons of teaching points, and tons of things to learn from this, but it stinks.”

The Cougars were partic-ularly effective on defense against the Ravens, holding them to just 47 yards passing and seven regular-time points. Junior Craig Wright, Niwot’s

offensive hero against Holy Family, was the star on the other side of the ball against Riverdale Ridge, with an in-terception and at least two key deflections. The Cougars also had two sacks, several hurries, and nearly blocked a punt.

“We had a solid game plan coming in and went to a four-man front,” Blume said. “Last week against Holy Family, we did too much moving around, especially up front, and it was simple tonight to keep Cam

Lucero and Bryce Nemec in one spot. We just got to move the guys behind them around a lot. We repped that a lot,