By Thomas George

As the Regional Transportation District (RTD) studies the feasibility of commuter rail along the Diagonal Highway, Niwot residents and business owners are earnestly considering the impact of a rail station here.

Passenger rail connecting Longmont, Boulder and Denver is one component of the RTD FasTracks plan, a $4.7 billion push to improve public transportation in the region. This November, voters will decide whether to approve the 0.4 percent increase in the RTD sales tax, upon which the FasTracks plan is contingent.

Before that, the RTD, assisted by consulting firms URS Corp. and CDR Associates, hopes to finalize remaining elements of the plan, showing voters just what their money would pay for.

One element to be determined is the placement of rail stations on the Longmont line. In Longmont, one of three candidate sites will become the new terminus station. Planners also envision one station between Longmont and Boulder. Sites in Gunbarrel, at the Highway 52/119 interchange and in Niwot have been identified for further study.

Seeing their town on the list of possibilities, Niwot residents and business owners have begun discussing whether Niwot is the right choice for a station and whether a station is the right choice for Niwot.

Neal Anderson, president of the Niwot Community Association (NCA), said the answer to both questions may be “no.” Emphasizing that the opinion was his own, and that he was not speaking for the NCA, Anderson said commuter rail was “a useful component to the overall transportation plan,” but, as a station site, “Niwot's not the right choice.”

Among Anderson's concerns were a diminished view to the west, and a glut of traffic on Niwot Road, but his strongest concerns were transit-oriented development and the changes it could bring to the community.

“I think a station would change Niwot in ways that most people here would not like,” Anderson said. As a member of the Rail Corridor Coordinating Committee, Anderson said he has seen the RTD promote urban-style development at station sites, and he fears a push toward development that would be inconsistent with Niwot's semi-rural character.

Liz Darling, principal owner of Le Chantecler, views a Niwot station in an almost opposite light, calling the concept “a godsend.” Having seen early concept drawings of a Niwot station, Darling said a new station would enhance the look of downtown Niwot, and would “maintain the quaintness.”

Darling said county planning provisions prevent the kind of growth that would mar Niwot's character. Instead, she said people moving to and from the station would vitalize the local economy and keep local merchants in business. She welcomed the idea of visitors from Boulder and Denver riding the train to shop in Niwot. As to concerns over congestion, Darling responded, “With life comes life's problems.”

When asked about growth concerns, Boulder County Commissioner Ron Stewart found reason in both views. Stewart said the preservation of Niwot's character cannot depend solely on existing rules, but requires “eternal vigilance.” Nevertheless, he noted that any major development in Niwot would be “a significant departure” from current regulations, and “would be very difficult.”

Stewart said significant changes in the type of allowed development would require a change in zoning regulations, which would, in turn, require amending the county Comprehensive Plan.

While he said such changes were unlikely, he acknowledged it would be possible in the hands of future boards. Stewart reiterated that Boulder County, and not the RTD, determines what type of growth is allowed in a given area.

According to Anderson, the NCA is forming a committee to gather opinions regarding a rail station. The RTD is also hosting public meetings on the issue on Sept. 16 in Niwot and Sept. 23 in Longmont.

On Aug.20, Julie McKay of CDR Associates notified the Niwot Community Association, the Niwot Business Association and the Gunbarrel Community Association that there is still time for the organizations to take a position concerning possible locations for a rail station in Niwot or Gunbarrel.

For times and locations, call Sylvia Kroeger at 303-442-7367, or visit www.rtd-denver.com and click on the link to the Longmont Diagonal Rail Feasibility Study.

Niwot Historical Society Debuts Calendar

By Mary Wolbach Lopert

The concept of community calendars is hot, hot, hot, and what better time to release the Niwot Historical Society's first calendar than at Niwot Nostalgia Day, which this year falls on Sept. 11. According to Niwot historian and society member Anne Dyni, the public has never seen many of these photos.

“Many of these pictures came from Doyle Hornbaker, who was editor of the Niwot Tribune for years. His nephew, Don Spangler, has the whole collection now. We want to credit Don for providing these pictures.”

Besides raising public awareness of Niwot's past, the calendar will raise funds for the historical society so it can continue preserving local history. The society's biggest project to date was moving and preserving the old Niwot firehouse. “We spent quite a bit of our funding to dismantle it, move it, put it back together and make it look as good as it does today,” Dyni said.

The firehouse, which is now between the Left Hand Grange and Twiggs, was originally located on a lot between a bank (now Niwot Real Estate) and the Livingston Hotel building. After functioning as a firehouse, the little building was taken over by the hotel and used as a laundry facility.

In her December 1999 “Yesterday's News” column on the firehouse's history, Dyni wrote, “Although the town's first firehouse was built in 1910, few were aware of its existence because it had spent the last 24 years indoors. Many in town knew it in the 1970s and 1980s as Floyd Edmund's office in the Niwot Auction House. It later served as Jim Knoch's office when the building became the Niwot Antique Emporium.”

When the Emporium building was sold to Cotton Burden's company, Burden offered the firehouse to the historical society. “By this time (Second Avenue) was a historic district and all of the historic buildings had been identified and plaques put on them. All of a sudden, here's another one,” Dyni said with a laugh. “We went back to the county and asked if we could put a plaque on this one. They said we could.”

While the firehouse has been moved, it is by no means done. “These things take money,” Dyni said. To continue its preservation, the building needs weather proofing. “We are just trying to rebuild our kitty. It was sadly depleted when we moved the firehouse.”

As far as future projects, Historical Society President Kellie Beran said that while there are no definite plans, society members have some good ideas, “Another project is that we have a lot of verbal history on tape. Tape doesn't last forever,” Beran said. “We would like to transcribe those tapes so people can have access to the history of Niwot as seen through the eyes of the original citizens.”

Beran also said that the Historical Society is working with the NBA on the caboose project and is considering helping the NBA with the bandstand. “Anything to preserve the history of Niwot is important to us,” Beran said.

Above all, Dyni said, “We hope to get the message out to the public that we exist and get people interested in the history of the town.”

The calendar, which will cover 13 months from January 2005 through January 2006, will be premiered at Niwot Nostalgia Day. The Historical Society will have a booth in front of the firehouse. Calendars will be available for a donation of $12 each. After Nostalgia Day, the calendar will be on sale at Wise Buys Antiques, The Enchanted Bookshop (formerly the Yankee Doodler), the Niwot Market and other fine area merchants.

Thanks go to Niwot Historical Society committee members Kellie Beran, Dorinda Dembroski, Anne Dyni, Idell Leinweber and Anna Midyette. To join the Niwot Historical Society or get more information on the calendar contact Anne Dyne at adyni@earthlink.net .

Photo courtesy of the Don Spangler collection
According to Niwot historian Anne Dyni, this photo, which graces the cover of the Niwot Historical Society's 2005 calendar, is possibly one of the earliest pictures taken of the old Niwot depot. The photo is dated ca 1888.

Jesse Hall Named To National Ski Team

Special To The Courier

Head Ski recently selected Jesse Hall to join the company's National Ski Team. As a member of Head's team, Hall will be competing in Extreme Freeskiing competitions on the North American Tour and World Tour during the 2004/2005 season.

Extreme Freeskiing competitions are held on ski area venues that are permanently closed to the public. Slope angles are typically 60 to 70 degrees and filled with sheer cliffs, small hanging snowfields and chutes. A typical run may find competitors catching air off vertical cliffs with drops of 20 to 100 feet. Competitors are judged on their choice of difficult lines, fluidity, form, control, technique and aggressiveness.

Hall, a 2001 Niwot High School graduate, attended Colorado Mountain College at Steamboat for two years and is presently a senior at Western State College at Gunnison. He is majoring in recreation and outdoor leadership.

During his college years he honed his skills in various competitions around the state and, as a member of the Copper Mountain Freeride Team, performs big air tricks off of the large ramp at the Copper base area. Hall was best known for his huge delayed front flip called the Lawn Dart.

Hall's recent competitive resumé includes top 10 finishes at the Crested Butte Extreme Skiing National Championships, fifth place at Snowbird North American Freeskiing Championship, and third and eighth place finishes at two other Colorado Powerade Freeride Series events.

His season culminated with a first place at the Snowmass Extreme Freeskiing Competition as reported in the Snowmass Village Sun. According to a February article, “Jesse Hall of Crested Butte (nicknamed Lawn Dart), took the top spot in the highly contested Men's Ski category - nailing an aggressive line called the Triple Jump and adding a fourth air to the repertoire. Of his fluidity Chief of Race, Tom Winter said ‘It was like water rolling down a windowpane.'”

In addition to Head Ski, Hall's sponsors include Smith Optics, Fate Ski Clothing, AuClair Sports Gloves, SmartWool, Surefoot, Pearl Wax, Skiershop.com, Gofast Energy Drinks and Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

Plans for the upcoming season include competitions at venues including Whistler, B.C., Red Mountain, Snowbird, Crested Butte, Kirkwood, Snowmass Colo., Fernie B.C. and Las Arcs, France.

Photo by Jeff Cricco
Jesse Hall of Niwot goes big off of a 50 foot cliff in the backcountry of Vail.

BOE Presents Proposed Mill Levy Override

By Mary Wolbach Lopert

Editor's Note: At the time of this meeting the St. Vrain Valley Board of Education had not set the exact dollar amount requested for the proposed mill levy override. On Aug. 11 that figure was set at $15.34 million, with a sunset clause after seven years. That figure has been set at $15.47 million. The St. Vrain Valley Board of education gave final approval for the mill levy override on Aug. 25.

On Aug. 2, in a public meeting at the Left Hand Grange, representatives of the St. Vrain Valley School District Board of Education (BOE) presented an overview of the proposed mill levy override to the Niwot community. There were 23 citizens in attendance.

BOE members in attendance included board president and Niwot area representative Sandi Searls, BOE member Robert Aumen, and CFO for the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) Mark Pillmore. Niwot Community Association President Neal Anderson hosted the meeting.

Searls gave an overview of why the board felt it was necessary to ask for a mill levy override and then answered questions. According to Searls, if passed, funds from the override would be used for:

• Recruiting and retaining quality employees

• Operational and maintenance costs for the new schools, which were built after the public passed the 2002 bond issue

• Student instructional needs

• Establishing reserves

In addressing questions, Searls replied to Darwyn Herbst's concern that the board was not living within its approved budget. Searls stated that the district was staying within the budget, but was requesting extra funds to cover items not included in the budget.

Other participants raised questions concerning the handouts given to the audience. One page entitled “Your Dollars At Work In SVVSD” used dollar amounts from the 2002-2003 school year. A request was made that all figures be from the same year. Searls responded by stating that the current 2003-2004 school year had just closed at the end of June and those figures were not available when the packet was printed.

On the issue of growth in Weld County, Paul Degarate asked why the district couldn't be split down county lines between Boulder and Weld Counties. Degarate noted that Weld County schools are growing and asked why Niwot residents should pay for that expansion.

Searls recalled that several years ago it was the Niwot schools which faced overcrowding and that the communities of Erie, Frederick and Firestone were asking the same question about paying for Niwot's growth.

The SVVSD includes parts of four counties: Boulder, Weld, Larimer and a very small section of what is now Broomfield County. Searls said that splitting an existing district is difficult because the new districts have to be able to take on any existing debt and be able to function financially.

Additionally, Weld County is short on assessors. While the county has hired more assessors and is starting to catch up, a homeowner may still be paying taxes at the rate charged for agricultural use even though the land has been rezoned and converted to residential housing. This has the effect of reducing property taxes which would otherwise be available to help support the schools.

Searls stated that the school board meets regularly with county commissioners for both Boulder and Weld Counties and is planning on addressing this issue with the Weld County commissioners.

Pat Murphy of Niwot Real Estate commented that when people are looking to relocate, one of the first things they do is go online and check out the schools in the area. She believes that if the schools decline, so will the property values, and ultimately, taxes.

Searls noted that in a national survey by Expansion Management Magazine, the Longmont/Boulder area ranked sixth in education. She felt that one way of attracting a highly educated work force and keeping the community strong is by offering the best education possible.

By Claire Chase

Dallas Plese and Mary Snell have finally decided to tie the knot. They met while both were employed by IBM and had been dating for a short time when both were transferred temporarily to Rochester, N.Y. Rather than pay for two homes in New York, the couple decided to live together.

That was 15 years ago. Both moved back to Niwot, retired from IBM and started Flanagan's Pub. “Mary always wanted to own a pub. I told her I would build it if she would run it,” said Plese. Named for Mary's mother, Flanagan's opened on May 12, 2000. According to Please, Snell's mom did not live to see the opening. “But I believe she's there every day with us,” said Please.

Plese and Snell have always talked about marriage and recently he has become more active at Flatirons Community Church. “We just decided that it was the right thing to do at this time,” said Plese.

To Plese's delight, Snell will change her name to Plese. “It will take some getting used to because it's been Dallas Plese and Mary Snell for 15 years. I really am pleased that she has chosen to do so,” he said.

The wedding and reception will be held on Sept. 11, at CU's Folsom Field. Plese noted that the couple gave some thought about being married on such an infamous date. The decision was, in part, due to a small window of time when the groom's sister would be visiting. With his positive outlook Plese said, “Somebody needs to put a new spin on the date.”

As do many Americans, the couple has a personal story from 9/11. On September 11, 2001, Plese and Snell were on a plane returning to the US from London. “About one hour out we were turned around in mid-air and returned to London,” said Plese.

Not only was Niwot Nostalgia Days scheduled for Sept. 14, but so was Flanagan's' first annual pig roast. Despite everything, Nostalgia Days and the pig roast went ahead as planned. Flanagan's donated the proceeds to the NYFD.

While the newlyweds will miss Nostalgia Day, the pig roast will go ahead as planned. The proceeds will be donated to local firefighters. “We will be at the reception, but our crew will go ahead with (the pig roast),” said Plese. He mentioned that some of his staff graciously bowed out of their wedding invitations to keep the pig roast tradition intact.

He did say that the pub has been listed for sale, but they have not entertained any serious offers and were in no hurry to sell it.

The couple has no plans to move away from Niwot. Plese noted, “They'll have to carry me out feet first. I love this community (and) I love the people of Niwot.”

It's a Laughing Matter
A Prayer For “Higher” Education

By Mary Wolbach Lopert

We beseech unto thee, hear this prayer for all of those who embarketh on the journey for higher education.

For those young souls who reacheth their 12th year of enlightenment, who are beginning the quest, may their parents be notified of all events, of college fairs, of application deadlines and of the tithing which accompanieth these forms.

For those learners who applyeth out-of-state, may thy parents be blessed with low airfares, cheap hotels and easy rental car returns. May your frequent flyer miles accrue and multiply.

To the students, may proof readers of thy college essays be plentiful and have knowledge greater than thy spell check. May all resist temptation and be delivered from evil of downloading from the vile Internet. May the word plagiarism be unknown to you.

Above all, taketh the right entrance exam. Give them the knowledge to understand the differences between the old and new SATs and ACT, which colleges accepteth what and when the SAT II needeth taking.

Blessed are the acceptance envelopes with bulging news of dorms, orientation and full academic scholarships so thy students will never have to utter the damned words “safety school” and only hear the hallowed names of Ivy League or flagship state university.

Let thy faithful servants, those parents, be not lost among the cubits of paper for scholarships and financial aide. Keep them cool in July and August orientations in un-air conditioned buildings and cars left too long in the presence of the sun.

Protect them from the knowledge of good and evil about their student's party schedule. Place in them the

faith that their progeny are securely tucked into bed at 11 p.m. and not drinking the fruit of the vine or Keystone beer.

Verily, like Noah, alloweth thy daughters to fit 34 cubits of clothing and shoes into a one-cubit closet. Grant thy sons good hygiene by providing soap, water, quarters and dryers that heateth, while they wander in the wilderness of the dorms.

Giveth these young students the wisdom to know if they are to be Greek or geek. Guide their hand with a mouse that, like Moses' staff, will smite the 8 a.m. class and acknowledge the true Sabbath as Friday, with no classes, so they can recovereth from Thursday night's hangover in time to slide the slippery slopes of Vail when the multitudes are few.

Protect them from the evil lit professor who maketh them read novels or works of ancient scribes, like Molière, Tolstoy, Whitman, Thoreau, Fitzgerald and Hemmingway, so that they never speaketh the words. “Dude, if I'm lucky I won't have to read another book for the next three years.”

But guideth these youths so they do not walk in the valley of the shadow of the undeclared major or the wilderness of not enough core credits to graduate; where pre-law begets pre-med, which begets biology, which begets kinsecology, which begets physical therapy, which begets film studies, which begets general history, which begets art history, which begets minority studies, which begets business.

Headeth the cry from thine parents of, “Let my credit card go.” Let their issue be guided to the click and pick of Amazon.com and forsaketh the brick and mortar of the usurious bookstore, where the lines are long, the prices are high and there is little financial return for used Books of Knowledge.

As these youths mature, guideth them in their choices, especially over the warm, sunny days during the break of spring. Keep them safe during all keg stands, body piercing and tattooing in delicate, but unseen places. Let their hangovers be few. Above all, may refraining from viewing “The Real Cancun” assuage their parents' anxieties.

Upon entering their third year, help them findeth wisdom in studying abroad, whether it be on ship or journeying to far flung continents, where insight may be gained in bungee jumping, sky diving and XXXX beer as well as attending the occasional class in their native language.

Verily, we beseech you to help them findeth the most illusive of all quests, the paid internship that will make them most desirable when attending job fairs before reaching their full matriculation, but still allowing them the weekend for the summer enjoyment of the now green and fertile hills of Vail.

Let thine parents not suffer, as Job did, for seven long years, the agony of denied graduation and that when their issue walketh with their class. May they actually receiveth a signed diploma, which will land them a job, in a tight economy, and where they may seeith their parents yet have their own laundry facilities.

May their genesis be complete and may they exodus into permanent employment with full benefits. Giveth unto them the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the courage of Esther, the devotion of Ruth and the ability to finance their own graduate school ambitions.

Amen.