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All Local, All The Time
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Life is full of endings and beginnings. Every ending means a new beginning, and every beginning means the inevitable end. For us, our high school experience is coming to an end. Although it isn't quite the ending we expected, we have adapted to the changes and tried to make the best of the current situation. Each of us has faced individual challenges and successes in high school and during this pandemic, but put together they tell a collective story. They tell the story of the Class of 2020....
For the past four years, Lauren Squire has walked the halls and fields of Niwot High School. In that time, she has made friends and memories that will stick with her for a lifetime. In fact, in her advice to freshmen, she said, "Make the best of high school. It's no one's favorite time, but it's a big time in your life that you'll remember forever, so have fun." Squire has certainly had her share of fun over the years, especially on the soccer field. Not only did she have successful games, but s...
When Niwot High School track coach Maurice Henriques discovered he had contracted the coronavirus, he was neither surprised nor intimidated. Henriques's wife Christina works as a nurse and with her increased exposure, they were both prepared for a COVID-19 diagnosis. Fortunately for Henriques, he believes his week-plus stretch of mild symptoms is improving and his wife's symptoms have subsided after just a few days. His wife has even been cleared to return to work as soon as next week. "She's a...
Sue Prahl doesn't see anything special about her 25-year tenure with the Niwot High athletics department, so when she learned that she had won the Colorado Athletic Directors Association's 2020 Award for Distinguished Service, her reaction was bewilderment. "I'm not a person who needs to be patted on the back, and I never have been," Prahl said of the honor, which was announced publicly on April 30, along with the Athletic Director of the Year awards. "You just go at it and do it. And so I was o...
When Lorne Jenkins was eight years old and his sister was five, they were constantly asking their mom, Ellen Ross, if they could eat out for dinner. "She just got fed up with it, so she posted on the refrigerator a job opening for son and for daughter," said Jenkins. They had to interview for the jobs, and Ross even called their references. Fortunately, Jenkins said, "We got the jobs and then we got a salary every week." They had to pay for rent, transportation, and for bills. Eating out on any...
Niwot High's new head football coach, Nik Blume, doled out pizza and enthusiasm when he met with the players and their parents last week, sharing his "full tilt" approach to coaching. He won't officially be on staff until the end of the semester, but he's already laying the groundwork for next season. Blume told the players that weightlifting will start this spring. "That's non-negotiable for me. If you don't like weights, this might not be for you," he said. "You have to be physically prepared...
Ryan Harris, an offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos Superbowl 50 Champion, retired from professional football in 2017. Since then, he has become a radio and stage presence, and on Thursday, February 13th, he stood on the stage of the Niwot High School Auditorium, holding out a $100 bill. "Who wants a hundred dollar bill?" he asked. It was the tail end of a talk on personal financial literacy. Historically, this subject has been tackled piecemeal by standards embedded in disparate units. But...
When you're spreading the love to friends and family this Valentine's Day, don't forget another valuable member of your everyday life: the local community. There are a number of simple but thoughtful ways to show your appreciation for the people and organizations that help make the Left Hand Valley such a unique place to live. Replenish the books at Niwot and Gunbarrel's Little Free Libraries The Little Free Library neighborhood book exchange program got its start just over a decade ago, when a...
When he's on the court "making it rain" for Niwot, shooting guard Misha Barrett looks like any other underclassman hustling for a chance to leave the 'D' team behind. It's only when you get a chance to talk to him that you realize that the hardworking three-point specialist has significant cognitive deficiencies, thanks to an anoxic brain trauma suffered at birth. But that hasn't stopped him from playing the game he loves, and now he's getting a chance to do it for the team he loves. "It feels g...
Kyle Reeves has been on the brink of a breakout game for Niwot all season, and when it finally came in the Cougars' 63-40 win over Northridge on January 7, the talented guard didn't hesitate to reveal the family secret behind his success. "I was actually playing for my grandmother," the senior said of his 19-point, five-steal performance, both bests as a Cougar. "She's a big part of my life, and I dedicated the game to her. She's taught me so much, and she's just my everything." Reeves has...
VOLLEYBALL Mackenzie Fidelak (Niwot) was part of Stanford's NCAA national championship team, which defeated Wisconsin Dec. 24 in the NCAA finals. Fidelak, a sophomore opposite hitter, played in six contests during the season, but did not see action in the NCAA tournament. Her most extensive action came against Arizona State in a 3-0 victory Oct. 13, where she played all three sets, recording 11 kills and only three errors. She had an attack percentage of .348 against Arizona State, and also...
The 2019 Niwot football season will be memorable for a number of reasons and the emergence of Jarrett Noterman as a standout athlete is at or near the top of that list. As a wideout/cornerback/kick returner for the Cougars, the speedy senior had a hand in nearly every one of the team's marquee plays during the season, and was often the only highlight in their double-digit losses against league opponents. Now Noterman is bringing the same spark as a guard in Niwot's varsity basketball lineup,...
The memorable moments have been few and far between for the Niwot wrestling team over the past few seasons, but fifth-year head coach Bobby Matthews thinks this could be the year it all turns around. With two returning state qualifiers, plus a solid class of newcomers, the 2019-20 squad has at least one key thing the 2018-19 team lacked. "We have a little more experience this year than we've had in years past," Matthews said. "Last year, we didn't have any state qualifiers returning, we didn't...
Thanks to the Niwot Historical Society archives, we get a glimpse into Niwot's bygone Thanksgiving celebrations. On Nov. 22, 1957 "The Niwot Tribune" reported an evening church service at the EUB Church, a middle school rendition of "Wildcat Willie Carves the Turkey," and advertisements from Curtis Confectionary encouraging readers to "Start Now with Your Christmas Lay-Away." First and second grade teacher Dora Chappell reported, "Last Friday we made many vegetables and fruits for our Horn of...
It's 6 p.m. on a Friday night in late October, and the unseasonably warm afternoon is quickly giving way to an autumnal chill as the sun slips behind Longs Peak to the west. At Everly Montgomery Field in Longmont, Niwot High Game Manager Sue Prahl grips her handheld radio as she scans the grounds, looking for the game's officials, or "black and whites," as she calls them, due to their striped uniforms. There's still an hour to go before kickoff in the upcoming football game between Niwot and...
Public speaking comes naturally to Cougars football announcer Joe Bartko, who seemed destined for a life behind the microphone even from a young age. Now he is using those talents to give back to the communities that meant so much to him as a student at Niwot High School. “I have a hobby that I get paid for,” the former Cougar percussionist said before a recent home game at Everly Montgomery field. Bartko is also the public address announcer for the Colorado State University marching band. “I...
Sporting a collection of tunes from the popular movie The Greatest Showman, the Niwot High School band was a force to be reckoned with at SVVSD band night. The band provided a wall of sound as a result of its abundance of members and energetic performance. SVVSD band night is an event where marching bands from across the district gather to perform in front of judges. This year, the high schools attending included Lyons, Skyline, Erie, Roosevelt, Greeley Central, Frederick, Silver Creek, Niwot,...
With the first snowfall predicted for Oct. 10, Boulder County restaurants are closing up patios for the turn season. That doesn't mean that our local watering holes and coffee shops are hibernating this fall or winter but instead, embracing the change. Beloved dishes, cocktail menus and draught lists are shifting to feature autumn's tasty bounty of fresh vegetables. Restaurants around south Longmont, Gunbarrel, and Niwot have just begun to feature favorite fall flavors. Here are some more of...
The Cougars had a devil of a time hanging onto the football in their wrenching 18-14 loss to Eagle Valley, and not even a heavenly performance by senior Jarrett Noterman was enough to save the team from doom. Afterwards, head coach Jeremy Lanter forgave the team its misdeeds, but beseeched his players to go forth and fumble no more. "We're just not quite where we want to be yet," he said of the Cougars' six turnovers, their highest total in two years. "It's about finishing and focusing on those...
It's been a whirlwind fall for second-year drum major Cole Toothaker and the Cougar marching band, but a scary moment over the summer almost had the talented musician and natural leader watching it all from the sidelines. "I was on a rafting trip in Idaho, and I did a backflip on the beach-I have a gymnastics background and do flips a lot," he recalled. "But I landed on an incline, and put my hands down to break my fall, and ended up breaking both of my wrists, which was a little inconvenient."...
An email from Sarah Brown to the Courier read, "In May I started working at Lucky Pie in Niwot and have had the pleasure of working with Dylan, the general manager. We have a constant joke going at work about how he's the mayor of Niwot since he seems to know everyone that lives in the area. He's one of the kindest people I've ever known, let alone worked with. So, if you take suggestions for Familiar Faces, I'd love to see him in there! He really deserves all the recognition as he is a...
You don't have to look back very far to find the last Niwot football game that ended with a running clock, but it's been at least a decade since the Cougars were the team ahead by more than 40 points. That's just one of the milestones head coach Jeremy Lanter and his players are celebrating after Niwot's 52-0 drubbing of Fort Lupton in front of a raucous homecoming crowd on Sept. 13. "It feels good to be on this side of it," Lanter said after his team's dominating performance against the Blue...
Niwot generated more than 300 yards of offense against Greeley Central in week two, but football games are often won or lost over much shorter distances. Unfortunately, the Cougars had to contemplate that painful lesson on a long bus ride home after falling 17-14 to the Wildcats thanks to some untimely miscues. “Football is an interesting game in the sense that the little inches that you need are all over the field,” Niwot head coach Jeremy Lanter said after the narrow loss. “There were times wh...
Niwot running back Liam Flanagan made a splash in the Cougars’ season opener against George Washington, rushing for a career-best 210 yards and three touchdowns. And that game was no fluke. In 2018, he rushed for more than 100 yards three times, and was indisputably Niwot’s offensive leader. While Flanagan is quick to give credit for his productivity to the offensive line and his coaches, it turns out that he also has some specialized training in his background that has paid off in une...
What a difference a year makes. In 2018, the Niwot offense couldn't get much going against the George Washington Patriots and limped home after a 36-0 shutout that saw less than 150 yards combined rushing and passing. In 2019, against the same team with largely the same players, the Cougars racked up more than 300 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns in their best offensive performance of the past three years. So what changed in the last twelve months? According to just about everyone in...
After a one-year hiatus, the Niwot High School Homecoming parade returns to downtown Niwot on Thursday, Sept. 12. The parade, featuring floats, marching bands and high school royalty, will begin at 4 p.m. at the intersection of Murray Street and 2nd Avenue and proceed down 2nd Avenue to Cottonwood Square. Those streets will be closed for one hour. The Homecoming football game will be played Friday night, Sept. 13, at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont, but the parade is scheduled for the day...
There’s just nothing like the anticipation of opening a package, so everyone loves it when the big brown truck stops in front of their house. UPS driver Gabe Amaya is Niwot’s main guy in the brown uniform driving that brown truck. The Courier wanted more than just a friendly wave “hello” from the reliable person who makes hundreds of stops around town. So we asked Amaya some questions and learned that his ties to the town run deeper than his daily route. Left Hand Valley Courier (LHVC) Gabe Amay...
Pastor Walter “Skip” Strickland has known what his calling was since he was a high school junior in Tacoma, Wash. Strickland, the new pastor at Niwot United Methodist Church (NUMC), was very active in youth ministry and served as the conference youth president for the Conference Council of Youth Ministry for Washington and northern Idaho. It was this drive that brought him to Colorado in 1977 after he obtained a degree in urban planning from the University of Puget Sound. Strickland enr...
When head coach Jeremy Lanter took over Niwot’s football program, he began a mission to build great young men and to get students involved. Now in year three, he is doing just that. More students are coming out to play football and there is a buzz around the program. In Lanter’s mind, a successful season isn’t necessarily determined by wins and losses. These student-athletes aren’t playing for multi-million dollar contracts and Lanter’s perspective is often forgotten at the high school le...
The track and field and cross country scene in Niwot hasn’t been the same since R.E.A.L. Training Colorado opened its doors in 2007. Led by accomplished coaches Maurice Henriques and Kelly Christensen, the facility offers top level instruction for track and field and cross country athletes. Hard work is a top priority at R.E.A.L. and the athletes take this to heart. Bringing on runners that exemplify these traits is a top priority for Henriques. The success that his runners have had is no m...
It’s not a mid-life crisis, but Niwot Youth Sports is hoping to have a little work done after turning the big 5-0 earlier this year. In the coming weeks, the non-profit organization, formerly known as Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Recreation Association (GLVRA), plans to launch a capital campaign to fund some much-needed improvements to its largest field complex, Hangge Fields at Monarch Park, according to Executive Director Patrick Longseth. “We’re going to raise funds this year to put a build...
BASEBALL David Bote, son of long-time Niwot baseball coach Bob Bote, has solidified his position with the Chicago Cubs this season. As a rookie with the Cubs in 2018, Bote was called up from AAA Iowa and sent back five time during the season. In the midst of the call-ups and demotions, Bote had his share of dramatic moments, culminating in a nationally-televised Sunday night ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike, pinch-hit grand slam home run to dead centerfield, allowing the Cubs to snatch a 4-3...
Edward “Ed” Parks Conilogue, 80, of Niwot, Colorado passed away May 29, 2019 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette. A lifelong Niwot resident, Ed was born Aug. 31, 1938 to Evart “Toots” and Annadell Conilogue, he resided on the property until his death. Ed graduated from Longmont High School in 1956, and proudly served in the United States Army and Army Reserve until 1963. On December 9, 1962, Carol Elaine Hall and Edward were married until Carol passed in 2015. They were married for 53 years. They continued a Conilogue Family tradition of li...
Take one sunny Saturday morning in late spring, add a dash of pomp and circumstance, plus a handful of well-aged platitudes, then sprinkle liberally over 250 or so green cap and gown-clad teenagers, and you have all the makings of a perfect Niwot High commencement ceremony. Such was the scene on Saturday, May 25 as the Class of 2019 gathered together for a final time and marked the official end of their high school journeys. “I want to congratulate you seniors on a triumphant conclusion to y...
Sunshine and smiles were the order of the day at the Niwot High Class of 2019 graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 25. A good-natured throng crowded the hill above the football field to watch more than 250 seniors cross the stage and start the next chapter in their lives....
Besides the obvious deliciousness listed in the title Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Tasting, the fundraising event hosted by The Rotary Club of Niwot also hits on some other high notes – an evening of musical entertainment, the opportunity to take home fabulous auction items, while giving to the community. The venue for the ninth anniversary of the notable event is the Longmont Museum and the evening is Saturday, May 18, from 5 to 9 p.m. One hundred percent of proceeds go toward the Rotary C...
In the late 1960s, a handful of Gunbarrel and Niwot parents formed a sandlot baseball league as an alternative to leagues in Longmont and Boulder. Over the next five decades, that ragtag group blossomed into Niwot Youth Sports, which serves hundreds of the area’s budding athletes each year. On Sunday, May 5, NYS kicked-off its 50th anniversary season, and executive director Pat Longseth said it’s on track to be one of their biggest yet. “This is the largest turnout we’ve had for basebal...
Terri Ward Longtime Niwot girls basketball coach Terri Ward was formally inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Denver on April 23. Ward was selected for induction into the Hall’s 2018 class back in January, due to her decades-long advocacy on behalf of girls and women in high school athletics and involvement with Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports and Sportswomen of Colorado. She also has a coaching career spanning nearly 30-years, and r...
Donating money is wonderful, but engaging with a cause by giving your time and energy is likely to have an even greater impact – to that cause, and to you. It’s completely guaranteed that by volunteering you’ll be making the world a better place, and besides the obvious gratification of bringing about positive change for others, you’ll reap the benefits of connecting with others, which is proven to ward off depression and lower your blood pressure, and will generally make life more satisfying. Y...
The Niwot track and field team lost a number of its top performers to graduation after last season, but Maurice Henriques isn’t fazed. In fact, the ninth-year head coach thinks the 2019 Cougars are poised for even more success, thanks in part to many of those departed stars. “I actually think we’re a better team this year than we were last year, as a complete team,” he said. “All of those girls are a year older, and the leadership that Mary [Gillett] and Mackenzie [Fidelak] passed down has been...
Niwot sophomore Misha Barrett loves two things: playing basketball and “making the fans happy.” As shooting guard for the Silver Creek unified basketball team, Barrett gets a chance to do both. “I love going out there and showing people what I’ve got,” Barrett said, his enthusiasm for the sport evident. Barrett is one of a handful of Niwot special needs students who play for the Raptors unified team, which competes weekly throughout the district. In their final game of the season on Feb. 27,...
On Feb. 11, Niwot High principal Eric Rauschkolb announced that the school has selected Loveland High’s Kevin Clark to replace outgoing assistant principal and athletic director Chase McBride, who is leaving for a position with the St. Vrain Valley School District at the end of the school year. “After an extensive search, we are pleased to inform you that a recommendation will be made to the Board of Education that Mr. Kevin Clark be hired as the new Assistant Principal and Athletic Dir...
Friends, family members and former players gathered during halftime of the boys basketball game against Silver Creek on Feb. 7 to recognize longtime girls coach Terri Ward for her milestone 300th win and upcoming induction into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of their presence and making sure that that impact lasts in their absence,” Assistant CHSAA Commissioner Bert Borgmann said during a formal ann...
The Boulder Evening Optimists Club is inviting local families to the Wild Game in Longmont on Feb. 3 for a morning of games and pancakes at their second annual Family Fun Day. “We’re calling it a Family Fun Day, because the whole idea is that you can come out from 9 a.m. to noon and spend time with the family on Super Bowl Sunday before all of the football activity starts,” Niwot resident and author Jim Ringel said. He is a longtime member of the service organization. “It’s a really great tim...
Calling her “one of the state’s top female sports ambassadors,” the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) announced on Jan. 8 that Niwot alum and longtime NHS coach Terri Ward is slated for induction as a member of the 30th Anniversary CHSAA Hall of Fame Class. Ward joins five other honorees in the 2018 class, and is the first Niwot coach or athlete to receive this recognition. She will be enshrined as a significant contributor, owing to both her storied coaching career and her d...
When winds are high or lights are bright or sometimes for no clear reason, Ivan Schlutz’s head “gets pretty raw,” he said of the pain and sensations that make it hard for him to plan each day. Winters are spent in his art studio where he creates award-winning bronze sculptures, an art form he was drawn to while recovering from a near-death accident in his late 20s. The studio once housed calves on his parent’s property, but was renovated into an impressive workspace with a spectacular floor-to-c...
Zach Ackerman came back for the music. Ackerman, who suffered a debilitating brain injury as a result of complications from surgery in the summer of 2017, played trumpet in the Niwot High School Band. He also played football at NHS, and was active in scouting before his injury. As a sophomore, Ackerman also joined the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, playing trumpet for several community events. As a result of that experience, he joined the brass section of the Community Band as part of a brass quintet, performing Christmas...
Serving food is what Regina Sidoti has been doing for as long as she can remember. Sidoti, 45, works at two restaurants in Niwot and a third restaurant in Longmont. You also can find her working concessions at Bronco games and other sporting events. Her can-do attitude and easy, outgoing smile are emblematic of her optimistic outlook. Sidoti is a very candid, genuine person who believes we all are more alike than not. She said, “There’s a little piece of you in every person.” That’s why it’s a...
VOLLEYBALL Sarah Falk (Niwot) played 10 matches for Sacramento State this fall, seeing action in 14 sets. Falk, a redshirt freshman, playing middle blocker. Falk finished with seven kills on the season in 10 attacks, with only two errors. Mackenzie Fidelak (Niwot) was part of Stanford’s NCAA Championship team. The freshman outside hitter saw action in three early season games for the Cardinal, but was able to preserve a redshirt season. Fidelak, who wore jersey number 7, earned substantial s...
The Niwot football team didn’t win many games in 2018, but it was, by many measures, the most successful season in years. Thanks to dynamic individual performances and strong team chemistry, the Cougars were competitive in most of their games, and showed clear and consistent improvement on both sides of the ball. To be sure, a number of factors contributed to the memorable season, but for head coach Jeremy Lanter, the play and positive leadership of senior DaeMonte Terry are two of the most i...
