DeCillis Prepares For Niwot Nostalgia Day

By Katy Ibsen

Emily DeCillis of Niwot is planning on another successful quilt display at Niwot Nostalgia Day on Saturday, Sept. 11. Quilts will be displayed at the Left Hand Grange Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

After a successful first run in 2003, this year’s display will include many exquisite quilts made by local quilters. There also will be a few surprises.

This year, there will be wall hangings, tote bags and wearable items. “This is something new we decided to do,” said DeCillis.

Jean Anne Wright will be appraising quilts. Along with verbal appraisals, she is offering written appraisals, which are necessary for insurance purposes.

Many local businesses are getting involved. The Presser Foot from Longmont will have an embroidery machine available for anyone who wants to customize his or her quilt. The Patch Works and Quilting Hands, Longmont quilting stores, will also be attending.

Interfaith Quilters of Longmont will help set up the exhibit and is donating quilts for display. This long-running group meets every Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church of Longmont and welcomes new quilters.

For information on displaying a quilt during Niwot Nostalgia Day, contact Emily DeCillis at 303-652-1179 by Sept.1. There are no specific requirements for display. Items displayed can be offered for sale.

Community Called To Oppose Church Expansion

Paradise Lost, Paved or Gained?

By Claire Chase

Some residents of Niwot have begun speaking out against expansion of the Rocky Mountain Christian Church (RMCC) complex. The Quiet Retreat Homeowners Association, representing the subdivision immediately west of the site, and the Niwot Community Association (NCA) have both sent letters to the Boulder County Land Use Department (BCLU) expressing opposition to the scope of the expansion proposed by RMCC.

The main points of contention include traffic congestion, noise and light pollution, excessive building on agricultural land that is viewed as incongruent with the character of the area, and facilities and parking that are incompatible with area land use standards.

The letter from Quiet Retreat to BCLU noted the conflict between the Boulder County Planning Commission and the Boulder County Commissioners regarding a previous RMCC expansion. It states, “The expansion of facilities at RMCC continued with the June 2003 approval of increased student numbers and placement of modular buildings on the property. This approval came over strenuous objection of the planning staff and a 6 to 0 vote to recommend denial from the Planning Commission.”

Both the BCLU and the Planning Commission have recommended denial of further expansion, stating that the scope of the expansion was over-intensive use of the land and incompatible with the surrounding area.

Bob Scribner, a Quiet Retreat resident who is active in trying to evaluate the impact of the expansion on the community, said, “I don’t think anyone feels that an expansion of any size is unreasonable. It is a question of the scope of the expansion. The church has defined their needs and within their objectives has been reasonable in accommodating the needs of our neighborhood. Quiet Retreat is attempting to work with the church to help create a plan with minimum impact to our neighborhood.”

Scribner questioned why county commissioners would choose to disregard the recommendations of the both the Planning Commission and BCLU.

County Commissioner Paul Danish did not recall the specific vote in question, but said, “I tend to err on the side of freedom of religion. Zoning is not mentioned in the Constitution, freedom of religion is.”

He also said that the county commissioners try to take into consideration all aspects of the impact on the community when reviewing land use. “It is not a simple matter. It is particularly vexing since the invention of the mega-church. If it is not self-evidently degrading a community, you have to come down on the side of the church. Land use is about intensity of use. At some point when it starts spilling over into the community, you must ask ‘How big is too big?’”

The Niwot Community Association’s letter to BCLU noted that the organization has begun the process of reviewing the RMCC plans submitted to Boulder County and is seeking comments from local residents. NCA President Neal Anderson’s letter stated, “Within the limited time available, the input we have received has been predominately negative. Independent of the NCA, petitions are being circulated to request that this expansion be denied.”

Anderson’s letter cites concerns about creating a very large facility on agricultural land, the fact that the vast majority of those using the facility are not from the Niwot Area and must travel substantial distances to and from the facility, increased traffic and attendant air, noise and light pollution, conflict with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, detraction from a visually uncluttered corridor along 95th Street, and the lack of full review by utility service providers.

The NCA letter concluded by noting that the RMCC is a valued member of the Niwot Community, offering facilities for community use and providing educational and spiritual opportunities for some members of the community. The NCA requested that the matter be tabled for one month to allow full participation in the process by residents, which the RMCC accommodated.

Thom Falk, whose family farm is on the northeast corner of Niwot Road and 95th Street, remarked that most people he has spoken to in the community didn’t like the church’s plan. According to Falk, “The vast majority of people are very concerned. The fact is that the community has been very gracious to that church.

“One of the key points is that in 2003, [the church] asked for 7200 square feet for the school. Now they’re up to 250,000 square feet. How do you ask for that with a straight face? A quarter of a million square feet is a huge office in Interlocken or the Tech Center,” said Falk.

He continued, “The plan obscures one of the best views in Colorado and replaces it with more concrete, more steel, more building. It seems extravagant.”

Falk summed up by saying, “They have gone to the well and asked for the world. And it looks like they are going to get it unless the community mobilizes. The church is taking advantage of Niwot’s sleepy generosity. They realize they have one more shot and they are going for broke. Literally, they are going to ‘pave paradise and put up a parking lot.’ It doesn’t seem fair.”

According to the BCLU’s Todd Tucker, it is likely that the RMCC development plan will be on the Planning Commission’s docket on July 21. Once the Planning Commission reviews the development plan and makes recommendations, a hearing is scheduled (approximately one month later) with the county commissioners.

Hearings are open to the public and provide an opportunity for public input. Tucker said, “We like to involve the public as much as possible.” The County will notify adjacent landowners directly and the public through the Daily Camera of exact dates and times of hearings.

NHS Teacher Sickout Signals Tough Negotiations Ahead

By Claire Chase

Forty-eight Niwot High School (NHS) teachers did not report for work on May 28. This work stoppage was in response to what they perceived as an unfair salary compensation package proposed by the St. Vrain Valley School District. According to one teacher, who asked not to be identified, “It was a terrible day. It goes against everything in your being as a teacher.”

Jerri Modrall, chair of the bargaining committee for the teachers, and president-elect of the St. Vrain Valley Education Association (SVVEA), which represents the teachers, said that the sickout was not organized by the SVVEA. “Yet, the association fully supports the rights of teachers to express their opinions any way they see fit.”

Sandi Searls, President of the St. Vrain Valley Board of Education, said, “I understand the frustration over the district’s financial situation, but we do have contracts. And, though they wanted to make the public aware, they have a professional obligation to students and to their contract. And, obviously, not every teacher chose to participate in the blue flu.”

As of June 7, the district and the SVVEA were unable to agree on terms of salary compensation packages for district teachers. In accordance with a formal negotiation process requested by the SVVEA, negotiations stopped and an impasse was declared. Modrall said, “We have secured a mediator and will be moving forward with the process set forth in the master agreement”

As for salary increases, district teachers receive higher pay through a multi-step process. The first step involves increased pay for each year of service. The second step involves a pay increase for additional education. Finally, there is a pay increase based on the cost of living.

When the financial crisis hit in November 2002, both the experience and the cost of living steps were frozen. “The 2002-2003 increase was rolled back. It allowed the district to not get any deeper into debt,” said Searls.

This year, the district offered teachers a pay increase of 1.1 percent and offered to split insurance increases with teachers. In addition, the district offered a one-time payout from a bond issuance to be split between all employees of the school. “We recognize that salaries have been frozen, but we can’t afford to reinstate experience steps,” said Searls.

The SVVEA rejected the offer. It wants a 1.1 percent pay increase, plus a retroactive two-step increase for the two years the experience step was frozen. It also wants 100 percent coverage on insurance increases and a one-time payout for teachers whose pay was frozen at the top of their years of service.

According to Modrall, “From the beginning of the budget crisis, employee salaries should have been a priority. So far, the district has not made teachers a priority. They continue to turn a deaf ear. Teachers, not programs, should be the priority.”

In a letter published in the Longmont Daily Times–Call, Niwot teachers stated, “Instead of thinking about the first raise for teachers in three years, the board wants to do other things with your money: a new IB (International Baccalaureate) program at an elementary school; a half million dollars for some extra duty pay for teachers to do paperwork related to student literacy plans; trainers to re-install programs the district had cut.”

In response, Searls stated that the IB program is at Alpine Elementary. She said that when the school first requested the program, the principal of the school did a comprehensive study on funding the IB program.

The program will be paid for through parent support and money in their own school budget. “It was made very clear that the district was not funding that program,” said Searls. “Any indication that the district has money to add programs is not true.”

Searls said that literacy plans must be installed at the secondary level in accordance with state regulation. Every student must be able to read at grade level. A committee comprised of district teachers recommended literacy programs for several area high schools. Niwot High School is not one of the schools.

“Literacy teachers provide building-specific implementation, classroom support and professional development. Some component will be paperwork (and) someone is going to have to manage those plans,” said Searls.

In terms of increased salary for teachers Searls said, “We just can’t sell the farm. We can’t promise what we can’t give. We are a labor-intensive business. Salaries take up 83 percent of our budget, so even a portion of a percentage has a big impact in relation to our budget.”

“We didn’t get into this overnight, and we can’t get out of it overnight either. If we continue to be conservative, we will build a strong financial base. But that doesn’t mean we don’t recognize employees. It’s balancing what we can afford to do with the funds we have.”

The teachers’ letter in the Daily Times-Call painted a different picture, stating, “Now that money is available for salary restoration, this same school board that ran this district into the ground two years ago seeks to do the same to the staff which saved them from their own mismanagement. Teachers are not on their agenda, as the school district prepares to emerge from state control, and as we are required to do more and more in our jobs. The district can afford to give us a raise; they are simply choosing to use your money for other things.”

One NHS teacher felt the district offer was not enough and said, “The situation in the SVVSD is different (than other bankrupt school districts). It’s not that we want the school district to remain in crisis, but the budget is being recovered on the backs of the teachers. Now that the loan is being repaid, it’s time for the district to step up and take care of its teachers.”

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Ten-Foot Height Variance Requested For New Tech Center Building

Special to the Courier

The west elevation pictured above is for a proposed building in the Boulder Tech Center, located on the corner of Monarch Road and Highway 119. The structure is part of a proposed replat submitted to Boulder County, splitting a previously approved lot into two lots, 1.58 and 5.41 acres respectively. The larger lot will have two buildings with a total area of 75,000 square feet. This lot, which is 300 feet from Highway 119, will house a “corporate identity building” according to Andrew Unkefer, the applicant.

The applicant also is requesting a change in the maximum height for the larger of these two buildings to 44.66 feet from the present 35-foot limit.

The building shown above is the smaller of the two. The other proposed building will have a significantly larger footprint and will be 10 feet taller.

First floor elevations and heights of other existing buildings were not available for comparison purposes. The application was recommended for approval to the Boulder County Commissioners by the Planning Commission, with only Ronald Goodman dissenting.

Jennifer Longstaff And The Big Ride

By Claire Chase

If inspiration comes from within, Jennifer Longstaff is the embodiment of the power of positive thinking. Starting in June, Longstaff will participate in a fundraiser for the American Lung Association called the Big Ride Across America.

The ride starts in Seattle and ends in Washington D.C. This year, 35 riders will cover 3300 miles in seven weeks, averaging 85 miles per day with one rest day each week.

“But that in itself is not the big story,” said Longstaff. She has a genetic condition called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), which is a lack of protein that protects the lungs. Alpha-1 can cause liver disease in adults and children and/or lung disease in adults. For Longstaff, the result is hereditary emphysema. Longstaff has less than 60 percent lung capacity.

Many people do not know they have Alpha-1. In fact, it is estimated that less than 10 percent of those who have it have been diagnosed.

Longstaff explained that she might never have realized she had the disease had she remained at sea level and lived a moderately active life. Many people who discover that they have the disease, do so because of exposure to smoking. Longstaff is not, nor has she ever been, a smoker.

In Longstaff’s case, she had always been active and athletically inclined, but wondered why it always felt as if she was working so hard. She joked that she wasn’t able to compete with the “animal athletes here in Boulder.”

She continued, “Probably the big indicator to me was (that) I became short of breath doing routine easy stuff, for example, climbing stairs. And whenever I went to altitude I was gasping for breath all the time. So while I have never been able to compete as much as I would like, the big reason that I sought a diagnosis was I was just always out of breath for no explainable reason.”

First, Longstaff consulted a cardiologist, because breathing hard was making her heart race. The doctor found nothing wrong with her heart. Luckily, she was referred to a pulmonologist.

“One of the first things they do is slap a pulse oximeter on you and have you climb stairs,” said Longstaff. A pulse oximeter is a device that fits onto one’s forefinger and measures how much oxygen is in the blood. Now she carries one with her to monitor herself when necessary.

In addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Longstaff receives a weekly infusion of the protein she lacks. The drugs she needs for the infusion are shipped to her and a nurse visits her home each week to administer the IV treatment.

“My infusions are intended to keep me from getting worse,” Longstaff said. “I hope that I won’t get worse, but I won’t improve past where I am now. I make this point because a lot of smokers seem to think that once they quit, there are treatments available to cure whatever lung problems they’ve caused. But that’s not the case. Emphysema is forever. And even though I seem energetic and healthy, riding my bike, especially up hills, is still very difficult. Crossing the Cascades, the Rockies, the Appalachians, and other mountains in the US will be a lot of work and I’m really hoping I will be able to make it.”

Longstaff said she had help coordinating her Big Ride. “It would have been a logistics nightmare to try to do this myself. There are so many people who helped me set this up.” A tremendous amount of assistance has come from the National Jewish Medical Center (NJMC) in Denver, the nation’s premier pulmonary hospital.

Representatives from Longstaff’s support group at NJMC set up fundraising and found trainers for her. According to Longstaff, the support group even found nurses who will meet her at various campsites along the way to assist with weekly infusions.

The ride begins in Seattle, where Longstaff grew up. Her stepsister still lives there, and plans to throw a party to celebrate the trek across the country. Pulmonary specialist Doctor Robert Sandhaus plans to be in Seattle to support his patient.

Longstaff said, “My mother will be there for my send-off and there’s a bunch of cousins as well. So that’ll be cool.”

“I have only about 60 percent lung volume, but I’m going to be riding my bike across the country and breathing hard all the way. I am doing the Big Ride to challenge myself and to show that despite our own limitations, people can push themselves to do more than they think,” said Longstaff.

Longstaff is a fountain of energy and emits a practically indestructible positive attitude. “I’d have to say that I get a lot of my energy from other people. My husband is very supportive and when I’m sitting around feeling sorry for myself he pretty much gives me a kick in the butt and makes me get up and take control again. My friends are a great support group. Even when I’m gasping for breath and can barely move on my bike, my friends on their racing bikes, going so slow on my behalf that they’re about to fall off, urge me on, offer to stop and rest, give me extra power bars to help keep my energy going.”

She continued, “Then when I feel that other people are trying to defeat me, such as lung patients who tell me, ‘It’s only a matter of time before you’ll need a transplant,’ I am feisty enough that I say, ‘Well, that’s not going to happen to me. I’ll show ‘em.’ That’s part of my Big Ride motivation – to show the nay-sayers, and to also be an inspiration for other people who might start buying into the defeatist attitudes all around us.”

Longstaff hopes that going public about her condition and her participation in the Big Ride will get people interested in supporting Alpha-1 research. She also aspires to motivate others, especially those who might suffer from the disease but remain undiagnosed.

A free test kit for Alpha-1 is available from the Alpha-1 Foundation, www.alphaone.org. You can follow the Big Ride Across America by logging onto www.bigride.org. The Jennifer Longstaff Big Ride fundraising site is www.alaw.org/longstaff.

To Vicinity And Beyond

Food, Glorious Food

By Donna Currie

Second Farmer’s Market Opens In Longmont

Fifteen years ago, there was a farmer’s market in downtown Longmont. In recent years that market’s home has been the Boulder County fairgrounds. On May 22, farmers returned downtown, with the launch of a new farmer’s market on Fourth Avenue between Main and Kimbark Streets.

Growers from the entire state have been invited to participate in this new market. Alongside locals, like Miller Farms, are Rocky Ford cantaloupes, Sterling beef, Olathe sweet corn, and Palisade peaches.

Bill Flother, the market’s organizer and a Colorado peach grower, said that the event is “inviting downtown businesses to be a part of the market,” and he noted that local restaurants, bakeries, and other businesses will be selling things as well. “It’s us working together with them for a true regional/state market.”

While many people like farmer’s markets because the produce is fresh and local, Flother pointed out that buying from the grower has another advantage. “The big thing about farmer’s markets is that they know their products.” The person selling you your produce may also give you tips on cooking, storing and serving.

While produce is a little bit scarce early in the season, there are plenty of other things to browse including cheeses from Oro Blanco, soaps and lotions from Bath by Terry, locally made pasta, herbs, plants and more.

Flother said that he intends on keeping the market “pooch-friendly” including a dog wash, currently planned for every other week. Other animals are just as welcome. I saw a goat resting at Oro Blanco’s booth, pony rides and a small petting zoo.

As more vendors and produce arrive Flother expects the market will eventually expand to fill almost three blocks. He said at its peak there may be 30 to 50 vendors.

Besides being a great way for farmers to sell their produce, Flother hopes that the market will be “an incubation for new businesses” by offering those businesses a way to market new products. “A guy is developing pickles of different varieties,” Flother said. And when those pickles are picked, packed and pickled, you can pick them up at the farmer’s market.

The Longmont Downtown Farmer’s Market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, see the website at www.coloradofarmersmarket.com.

A bolt of lightning left a vivid reminder of the power of nature on an old cottonwood tree next to the Niwot Dental office in Niwot May 24. Lightning struck around 10 p.m., sending large splinters of wood and bark in every direction.

According to office coordinator Dale Siegrist, the lightning damaged all of the computers, printers, credit card machines, phone systems, and fax machines in the dental office, but fortunately, did not cause a fire.

“When I pulled into the driveway the next morning,” she said, “I just stopped and said ‘What happened?’ There was wood and bark everywhere. It even made a trench in the dirt from the tree to the sidewalk.”

An inspector reported that the tree, which lost a six-inch diameter branch, will survive, but a woodpecker found with the feathers burned off his belly at the base of the tree was not so lucky.

Contractor Gary Denney was in his motorhome behind the Niwot Dental office when the strike came. “I heard the crack first and then ‘boom’!” Denney recalled. “It’s like God took his finger and just scraped the tree.”

Photo by Bruce Warren

Silver Song Studio In Gunbarrel To Close

By Mary Wolbach Lopert

After 12 years in the Gunbarrel Shopping Center, the husband and wife team of Ron Meek and Katy Luepschen is closing the Silver Song Studio. According to Meek, there are several reasons for closing the custom framing business.

First, the commute from his Weld County home was getting to be too much. “It’s three hours minimum and sometimes it’s been more than that and I swore last winter I would not do another winter… . I spend 60 hours a month and $400 in gasoline commuting.”

Meeks further stated that business has fallen off in the past two to three years. “Everybody in the plaza here has felt that. Corporate business is down considerably because some of the buildings here are empty.”

After pursuing several options, including hiring a manager or selling it, Meek decided to close shop. He is, however, opening a store in Eaton, Colo., and hopes that his loyal customers will make the trip to see him.