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For seven years the Bowhaus in Gunbarrel has provided furry family members with daycare and boarding. While the pooches are playing with friends and relaxing in a safe environment, they're likely to spend time with two long-time employees, Klare Black and Suzi Hendrix. We wanted to learn more about these two familiar faces in the community. Left hand Valley Courier (LHVC) - Where did you grow up, and how did Colorado become your home? Klare Black (KB) - I'm the middle child of seven siblings,...
On June 11, 2020, a beautiful flower bloomed somewhere in Japan. That same day in Colorado, Gunbarrel resident Beniko Olsen drove home with her family after 45 days in the hospital fighting for her life after contracting COVID-19. But first, she directed her husband and two sons to stop off at Starbucks for a long-anticipated Matcha latte. Olsen is a petite woman with a radiant smile and a joyous laugh. In her late 60s, she worked for over 20 years as a teacher's aide at a local preschool while...
The COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down for most of us over the past 12 months, but it was especially hard on the local non-profit community, which saw its donations dry up as traditional fundraising events and activities were postponed or canceled. Fortunately, there's still time to help balance the scales as we count down the final hours of 2020. Among the many provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) passed back in March, was a change to an IRS rule...
In 1975, the Lutheran Medical Center Foundation was created as a way to support a nonprofit hospital in West Denver. Since then, it has been renamed the "Community First Foundation" (CFF) and has sought to create change beyond just the Denver Metro. Then, CFF became involved with ColoradoGives.org, an online tool that is a way to connect with and support nearly 3,000 nonprofits around the state. In 2010, CFF and ColoradoGives.org kicked off Colorado Gives Day, which has garnered $355 million in...
The bad news is that more people than ever are in Boulder County hospitals with COVID-19; the good news is that patients have a better chance of avoiding the most serious or deadly outcomes compared to when the pandemic began. “We have been thrilled with the progress we’ve made since March as health care providers, learning how we take care of these patients,” said Boulder Community Hospital Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Attlesey-Pries. “We are able to support them in a different way than we first did in March,...
In a special meeting of the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) Board of Education held last week, Superintendent Don Haddad indicated that due to rising rates of COVID-19, the district would return to fully remote learning. The change will take place when classes resume after Thanksgiving break. Haddad said the district's decision about whether in-person classes could resume in the new year would be announced in the first week of winter break. Niwot High School principal Eric Rauschkolb...
Luring new businesses to town has been an ongoing challenge for the Niwot Business Association, so they've decided to start growing their own. Last month, the group launched the Little Holiday Shops of Niwot, a new retail project to help fledgling entrepreneurs get off the ground. "We've been working on it for about a year," NBA member and project leader Leigh Suskin said about the initiative, which was set to debut in March 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our intention was...
On March 5, 2020, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's public health laboratory confirmed the first presumptive positive COVID-19 test result in Colorado. What followed is well known to Coloradans, but looking back to March, there are some behind-the-scenes heroes from the early months of the pandemic who deserve some added thanks, namely the volunteers and organizations who helped support early mask-making endeavors in local communities. When COVID-19 cases were first on t...
The spike in COVID-19 cases tied to the University of Colorado last month is troubling, but those who have recovered have the opportunity to play a critical role in saving lives, improving health outcomes, and understanding immune response to the novel coronavirus. Vitalant Blood Donation, formerly the Bonfils Blood Center, is collecting plasma from people who've recovered from the virus. It's being used for a number of scientific studies and medical uses, including convalescent plasma for patie...
St. Vrain Valley School District students will soon be seeing each other, their teachers and staff again in person. Though being face-to-face will not be quite the same with everyone required to wear masks. On Monday night, the district held a virtual public meeting to announce that it is moving to a hybrid system where students will have in-person classes two days a week and two days will remain as synchronous, remote learning. Having only half the students at school on any given day will allow...
This fall Boulder Country Day's preschool is taking class outside. Among the many ways BCD has adapted and is thriving this fall is through the expansion of its outdoor spaces. Many new outdoor classrooms were created this summer including the preschool favorite, Adventure Island. Adventure Island is a wooded space nestled between two buildings perfect for activities ranging from music class, to story time, to scavenger hunts. Boulder Country Day School resumed in-person learning on Aug. 20 in...
The Niwot varsity cross country teams looked formidable as they battled some friendly but fierce rivals at the Fairview Invitational on Sept. 12. Led by junior Zane Bergen in the boys race and freshman standout Mia Prok in the girls race, the Cougars claimed both team titles for the second consecutive weekend, and appear to be in great shape as they head into the most crucial weeks of the shortened 2020 season, according to head coach Kelly Christensen. "The kids are responding to the stress...
As summer winds down, you might be looking for a few last outdoor adventures. And you wouldn't be alone. Labor Day weekend is prime time for outdoor recreation, as many families take one last trip before school gets going in full swing. But don't expect to find too much peace and quiet on your next outing, whether you are sticking local to Boulder County or heading somewhere else in the state. Colorado, and Boulder County specifically, is known as an outdoor recreation mecca. As the state's...
Boulder Country Club has been moved to the list of resolved COVID-19 outbreaks by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, CDPHE. The Gunbarrel club had six positive cases, including employees working in the restaurant and a lifeguard. If an organization has two or more cases within a 14-day period, it must report that to the local health department. Boulder County Public Health was notified when the first two positive cases turned up in late June. The health department did contact tracing and worked with BCC on how to manage,...
Fifth-year Niwot head coach Kelly Christensen is grateful that the 2020 high school cross country season is proceeding, even if in a modified form, but he was also quick to acknowledge that, like everything else that it hasn't cancelled or postponed this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the sport more difficult for everyone involved. "It's everything, whether it's the schedule, trying to plan Covid practices, debating whether or not we're going to cut rosters, or finding races. I would say...
The scramble for a viable plan to reopen schools amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many area parents to weigh their students' health and safety against the quality of their education. But officials at private schools Boulder Country Day and the Dawson School say they've found a way to provide families with both for the 2020 fall semester, and are eager to welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning later this month. "In general, school leadership teams are not made up of...
GOLF Kelsey Webster (Fairview) of Gunbarrel was named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar for the 2019-2020 season. Webster, a sophomore psychology major at the University of Colorado, posted a 77.58 stroke norm for 12 rounds. To be eligible for WGCA Golf All-American Scholar status, a golfer must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and must have played in 50 percent of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the...
Around lunchtime on February 20, a scary situation unfolded outside of the entrance to Niwot High School when a belligerent 51-year old man tried to enter the building and confront a staff member. But thanks to sharp-eyed campus supervisors La'Mar West and Andrew Hart, the would-be intruder was quickly subdued, and no students or faculty were harmed. Recently, the pair was honored by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office for their "exceptional performance, achievement, and exemplary initiative"...
When the state of Colorado issued its Safer at Home” guidelines allowing in-person dining at restaurants last week, Edward Vanegas was thrilled. He immediately went to the Next Door app to tell his Gunbarrel neighbors that his popular bistro Aperitivo and its "resort-like" patio would be open for dine-in service on Wednesday, May 27. However, his pronouncement would turn out to be only half-true, as bringing his small indoor space into compliance with the new regulations took more work than h...
On the beautifully sunny morning of Friday, May 22, Boulder Country Day School celebrated the graduation of their eighth-grade students in a unique way. Families, including loved ones living far and near, joined a graduation on Zoom, where speeches were made, students celebrated, and promotion awarded. Students and their families then came to campus and lined the parking lot facing toward the school, spaced in accordance with social distancing guidelines. The ceremony was performed from the fron...
On May 18, BCD 3rd grade teacher, Amanda Demler, rode her bike 82 miles to visit all 12 of her students at home. She left her home at 7:00am and rode from house to house on a trip that included 7 hours of riding and 5 hours of socializing from a distance. While her students know of her athletic abilities, when the idea of a bike ride to every single house first came up on a class Zoom meeting, they were unsure. "That is very far!," said Ryan Welch. Demler, who has been a teacher at BCD for 16...
In most years, Memorial Day marks summer rolling into full-swing on the Front Range. But this year, the three-day weekend undoubtedly was quite different locally with no Bolder Boulder, less long distance travel, smaller gatherings and barbecues and picnics hosted with social distancing in mind. And as people at a local and state level look forward to future summer plans, a fair question is how to best resume "normal" outdoor activities in public spaces. Specifically as public land, parks, open...
Boulder Country Day's Class of 2020 is kind and has always supported our community and each other. As a group they act with integrity, have high expectations of themselves, and will make a positive difference in the world around them! BCD graduates love school. They are: *Engaged - They are active learners, strive to do their best, have high expectations, and have fun. *Kind - They care about their community, are responsible, inclusive, and respectful. *Resourceful - They innovate, create, and...
We asked the departing seniors of the girls track team to reflect on their time at Niwot and share their post-graduation plans. Samrawit Dishon, Distance What are your plans after graduation? I plan to attend the University of New Mexico and major in Psychology. Before it was canceled, what were you looking forward to most about the 2020 season I was looking forward to doing a lot of big things with my teammates. What is your favorite memory or what do you consider a career highlight from your t...
Make a float out of your car and come celebrate with a graduation parade. That's what a mom in Heatherwood is telling graduates of any age or school in the area. She's organizing a car parade for May 9 in the Heatherwood neighborhood of Gunbarrel. Kathy Kester's daughter, Sara, is graduating from the University of Colorado. Kester said she wanted to do something to mark the occasion since colleges and schools aren't doing in-person ceremonies. "I felt bad that they aren't going to have any...
It's tempting to start waging war on those early dandelions, but before you dig in, keep in mind that bees are counting on the yellow morsels. They don't have a lot of dining choices this time of year and their honey pantries are a little bare coming out of winter. "Right now it's a little tough, because everything is on the cusp of being ready to bloom," said Niwot native Dawn Server who owns Meadow Lake Honey in Niwot with her husband, Jeff. Maple trees and daffodils are other early sources...
Lori and Russ Lindemann moved to the Gunbarrel Estates neighborhood in 1994 with their two children and niece in tow. For the past two and a half decades, they have called Boulder County home and have done a huge part in making it a terrific place to live for its variety of residents. The Lindemanns are no strangers to hard work and have spent much of their free time volunteering throughout the community. Lori has volunteered with the St. Vrain Valley School District, the VA in Denver, the DA's...
Beginning on March 30th, BCD will launch 'Bulldogs Connect,' their distance learning initiative developed to meet the needs of students and families during the forthcoming school facility closure due to COVID19. Since March 13th, BCD faculty have been collaborating virtually to design a distance learning program to serve all of their students from Preschool through 8th grade at developmentally appropriate levels. BCD teachers will be using multiple platforms including Seesaw, Google Classroom, a...
A bonus week of Spring Break sounds like a dream come true for students, but, at Niwot High School, reaction to the St. Vrain Valley School District's decision to cancel classes in the wake of COVID-19 has been decidedly mixed. With milestone events and the spring athletic season now in jeopardy, the drastic disruption of the spring semester has caused almost as much anxiety as the virus that prompted it. "I think there are a lot of people filled with fear, because nobody really knows what's...
In the sixth grade, my social studies teacher had our class do a report and presentation on a European country. My partner and I chose Denmark. I don't remember much about the report, which I'm sure was excellent or blatantly counterfactual, but I do remember very enthusiastically wearing wooden clogs during our presentation…naturally. I realized then that the Danes weren't afraid of doing, or in the case of footwear, wearing…something hard. Also, bikes. Apparently, the Danes love bikes. At the time, I considered myself a "biker." I had a sup...
On Jan. 30, Boulder Country Day middle school students participated in the annual Model United Nations exercise. In teams, students represented a member country by researching it, writing resolutions on current issues it faces, and defending those resolutions at a gathering called the MUN General Assembly. Through this process, students learned about international relations, developed empathy, and gained a better understanding of how issues across the world affect us all. As an authorized IB...
From Jan. 7 – 10, all Boulder Country Day middle school students participated in the BCD Seminar. The seminar is modeled after the Aspen Institute Seminar and is intended as an opportunity for BCD students to stretch their intellectual thinking. With over 60 years of experience, the Aspen Institute Seminar is designed to help people of all ages and walks of life to reflect upon the most important questions facing us as human beings and as leaders. Each night, BCD students were assigned texts b...
It was another crowded National Letter of Intent signing ceremony at Niwot, as seven athletes made official commitments to collegiate programs on Nov. 13. Lexi Crow, Black Hills State University Lexi Crow's collegiate soccer ambitions may be taking her away from Colorado, but the picturesque campus of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D. will be like home away from home, according to the Cougar midfielder. "There's going to be mountains there, and open spaces, and it's green, so it's...
Last year, my partner and I moved to Niwot for the dual purposes of not wanting to live in Boulder while wanting a place that somewhat resembles Taos, the place we just moved from. We found this quiet little haven and knew it would work for what we needed – a soft place to land while we plotted our next adventure. In May, I set my sights on the next horizon. Inspired by the Van Life trend that has spread like wildfire amongst my millennial generation, I purchased a large, bulky, white cargo v...
Ellen Gostling is a force to be contended with. Gostling, a 2015 Niwot High School graduate, currently holds all of the state records in the junior 84kg weight class in equipped powerlifting, and since graduating college in May, she continues to make a name for herself in the sport. Starting out as a figure skater in high school and then a member of the cross country and swim teams during her senior year, Gostling understands how much hard work goes into being an athlete. So when friends...
Going strong 25 years after its debut, Boulder County Kids (BCK) magazine is the area’s comprehensive guide for all things family oriented. The brainchild of Jennifer Martin, BCK is about to celebrate the publication of its 100th issue. “It’s been a joy to do this over the years, “ Martin said. “Boulder County is extremely lucky to have the kind of facilities and diversity of activities for kids. There’s everything from paleontology to aerial dancing.” Quarterly, Martin puts together a 40...
When I was a kid growing up in Niwot, back in the olden days (aka the 1980's), there was an annual summertime event which I'm sure longtime Niwot residents remember well and fondly called Niwot Nostalgia Days. It was a weekend's worth of events and activities for young and old alike, loosely centered around that theme of nostalgic remembrance and revival for Niwot's rural foundings; but it was also, by and large, just a community taking a weekend to celebrate itself. One particular year, one of...
Gunbarrel’s Emily Sewell, this month’s Left Hand Laurel, is a round-the-clock mother, with a full-time career. For the last eight years, she’s also given her time to Voices for Children as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), transforming the lives of abused and neglected children in Boulder County. Program Director Dana Walters said, “Emily has quietly worked to help victims of child abuse and neglect recover from trauma. She never seeks recognition and she doesn't require much directi...
Casey MacKenzie’s calm energy mirrors that of the Shire horses she has spent over a decade raising. Just stepping onto the MacKenzie Shires farm provides a sense of tranquility and peace in the heart of bustling Boulder County. Rolling green hills and open sky set the backdrop for a bright red barn and spacious turnouts, home to MacKenzie’s giant Shire horses. Eleven years ago, MacKenzie fell in love with her first Shire horse, named Zorro. This weanling was only the second horse she had ever ow...
Less than two months ago, the Boulder Collegians’ upcoming season was full of anticipation. Players from all across the country were arriving in Boulder, optimistic for what was ahead. But just like that, it was over. Over 40 games later, the boys of summer are headed home. The Collegians’ 2019 campaign was full of ups and downs, but one thing that remained the same was the loyalty of their fans. General Manager Matt Jensen said the season broke seven-year attendance records. Scott Car...
It’s been a whirlwind year for former Niwot pitcher Caleb Martinez, so when he was offered the chance to return to the friendly confines of Scott Carpenter Park and the Boulder Collegians for summer baseball, the right-hander didn’t have to think very hard about it. “I played for the younger BoCo team when I was 16, and that was really fun and a good level of competition to be at,” Martinez said after a recent appearance on the mound for the Collegians, Boulder’s collegiate league team feat...
Patty Strecker of Niwot is unabashedly red, white and blue patriotic. The co-founder of the Niwot Patriotic Cookie Moms will serve as the Niwot July 4 parade Grand Marshal, an honor given by the Niwot Community Association board which sponsors and organizes the parade. She has asked the entire cookie moms group – about 40 strong – to walk behind the grand marshal’s car in the parade. “I was just utterly shocked to receive this honor,” Strecker said. “I am not the only one who helps in this eff...
Boulder County seems to have a high concentration of talented, creative and accomplished people. Sometimes, we learn about them from the news, but once in awhile, they live in our neighborhood and we learn of their existence through the coincidence of daily routines. Enter Rich Alpers. You’ve likely seen his face many times on his real estate signs in Boulder County. Rich lives in Gunbarrel, and has been in Boulder for 30 years. But before he embarked on his career selling homes, he was an a...
Niwot graduate (‘17) Yannick Lee-Yow didn’t enroll in the University of Colorado at Boulder hoping to become one of the most accomplished undergraduate researchers in the biochemistry department. In fact, the talented jazz pianist wasn’t looking to study science at all. But after dropping in on a “cool and interesting” biology lab meeting during a spontaneous summer tour, Lee-Yow knew he had found his life’s work. “A lot of it was going over my head at the time, but a lot of the science they...
A memorable year for Niwot athletics turned into a memorable Letter of Intent signing day on May 22, as 12 athletes crowded onto the auditorium stage to make an official commitment to competing at the next level. Half of the future collegians were from the school’s track and field program, which has been among the most successful in the state over that past two seasons. Ares Reading, Furman University Senior year was a memorable one for Niwot distance runner Ares Reading. In October, he f...
Filmmaker Adam Rosenberg’s creations may make you cover your eyes, but you’ll be peeking through your fingers so you don’t miss a thing. Rosenberg’s post on Nextdoor let us in on his latest short film, The Runs. The final scene takes place in his own hood, Cottonwood East. Rosenberg warned, “Beware, the film relies heavily on potty humor,” and that wasn’t an analogy. It took about a day for anyone to comment on his post. Perhaps it was because the film starts with a man on the toilet, which...
Boulder Country Day School held its 30th anniversary celebration on April 17 at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder. The event included performances by alumni musicians Foxman James, senior faculty member at the Boston School of Music Arts, and Henry Dickhoff, professional pianist currently touring with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, as well as performances by Travis and Christine LaBerge, owners of Parlando School of Musical Arts and the BCD Spotlight Singers. It was an elegant evening with...
This long, cold winter has many feeling cooped up. For people who exercise and train outdoors―which is a large portion of Boulder County’s population—the icy paths and sub-zero temperatures make keeping up a regular regimen challenging. But using the weather to change up movement habits and patterns could be the best thing for more productive and safe training for the rest of the year. Joe Gambles, an Australian transplant who lives in Niwot with his wife and toddler son, is a professional triat...
One day while riding with her dad and chatting about autonomous (driverless) cars, Boulder Country Day seventh-grader Zoë Wagner noticed something at a four-way stop. “We saw that the car across from us turned right and then the car next to us turned right, and I thought ‘well, if this were an autonomous intersection, then both of those cars could have gone at the same time.’” Not content to let the question lie, the precocious Wagner eventually decided to investigate the idea further for her...
In 2013, former U.S. National Park Ranger Robert McIntosh was volunteering with the Mongolian Ecology Center (MEC) near the Russian-Mongolian border when something happened that set a mission in motion to change the world, one motorcycle at a time. McIntosh watched helplessly as the chief Mongolian park ranger hopped on his motorcycle to enforce protection of the parklands, only to have it break down. McIntosh’s frustration grew as he learned that breakdowns happened routinely. Mongolian park r...