All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Calling all photographers, intentional or accidental! The Left Hand Valley Courier’s Photo of the Week feature is open to any area resident who personally photographs Niwot-Gunbarrel area sights, including people (with permission, of course), buildings, animals, birds, plants, flowers, events, or anything else. Naturally, there are a few rules to follow: • The photograph must be submitted in jpg format via email to [email protected]@lhvc.com in high resolution. • Please include a caption describing the photo, your name, email addre...
Around the World Day is returning to Niwot for the fourth year in a row on Saturday, April 27, from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. with 26 businesses participating in spreading cultural exposure and celebration. Around the World Day is Niwot's one-day version of the World Showcase in EPCOT. "We started the event in 2020," said Deb Fowler, one of the organizers of Around the World Day. "It was a good way to get people outdoors to socialize safely and bring people to the businesses during that time."...
It’s been a year in the making, but the Niwot Youth Sports Monarch Improvement Project will be the focus of the Opening Day ceremonies Sunday, April 28, starting at 11 a.m. at Hangge Fields at Monarch Park. The six-field complex, with access off of Highway 52 just west of 79th Street, is now home to a building which includes permanent restrooms, a concession area, and equipment storage space. The facility was built as part of the Monarch Improvement Project, which has raised most of funds to meet the goal of $500,000 for the building and o...
Sadie Warren has two complementary ideas about her future. She has wanted to own a bookstore since she was a little girl. Warren remembers playing a game she called "bookstore" where she would use her mother's bookshelves, had a small cash register, and her mother would buy books from her. She would also like to own a publishing company. Warren admits that books are her favorite things in the world. She loves to organize them in unusual ways. "I have a wall of books in my room that are in a...
Over the weekend of April 6-7, the greater Boulder County community experienced an extended, planned power outage due to high winds. The decision to cut the power to about 55,000 customers was made by Xcel Energy to prevent potential wildfire hazards in the face of high winds. An additional 100,000 customers lost power due to fallen power lines and other effects of the wind. Customers waited up to three days before power was restored. Winds in the area were recorded up to 100 mph according to new data, resulting in several downed power lines...
Kathleen Bracke, Deputy Director of Community Planning and Permitting, Transportation Planning, and Kristine Obendorf, Deputy Director of Engineering at the Boulder County Public Works Department, presented on April 3 to the Boulder County Consortium of Cities regarding an overview of the Boulder County transportation sales tax and ballot initiative 1C. In 2001, Boulder County voters passed a ballot initiative that allowed for a 0.1 percent (one cent on a $10 purchase) countywide transportation...
Niwot High School's Mock Trial team took fourth place at the State Mock Trial Championship competition held on March 8 and 9 at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden. The group has been training for mock trial competitions since early October with a team of twelve students trained by their coaches, attorney Erika Grant, occasionally her husband Cameron Grant, and Sean Stewart. This year's team was Paul Blignaut, Cayla Piper, Charley Broenniman, Stella Munro, Aidan Coble, Justin Ge, Mina...
On the soccer pitch, in the classroom, and around the community, Margaux Boyer has accomplished plenty throughout her four years at Niwot High School. A senior captain on the NHS girls soccer team, Boyer is enjoying arguably her best season yet for the 7-3-2 Cougars. The fourth-year varsity defender has contributed a career-high 12 points, including three goals, this spring, with three regular season games still remaining. "It's been great," Boyer said. "The girls are so nice and we're all...
Saturday April 13 was prom night for juniors and seniors at Niwot High School, held this year at the Boulder Theater. And with prom, comes after prom, which was organized, set-up, and moderated by the parent volunteers of the Niwot High School Boosters, Inc., at Niwot High School. After prom is an event held to ensure students have a fun and safe environment after the festivities of the dance itself. This event is one of the big Boosters' expenditures of the year, other than grants to various...
On Saturday April 20, several teachers from St. Vrain Valley schools were recognized for their tremendous impact at their respective schools. Megan Schlagel, math teacher and department chair at Niwot High School, was awarded Niwot High's Teacher of the Year for 2023-2024. Nominations are submitted by parents, students, community members, peers, and administrators. The awards are given through the St. Vrain Valley School District Education Foundation. Two finalists and one Teacher of the Year...
St. Vrain Valley schools, especially in the Niwot High School feeder system, were very well represented on Saturday, April 20, during the annual St. Vrain Valley Education Foundation awards and recognition event. It was a special night to honor public school teachers and recognize their dedication to their students and careers. For Acadia Gurney, being one of the math teachers at Sunset Middle School barely scratches the surface of her dedication at Sunset. She was the volleyball coach this...
Becky Gaccetta was awarded the Niwot Elementary School 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year by the St. Vrain School District Education Foundation on April 20. Two finalists and one Teacher of the Year are awarded for each school. In addition, there are four finalists for the district and one overall SVVSD Teacher of the Year. Gaccetta sees herself as just one of many deserving colleagues. "Being nominated [for Teacher of the Year] is always an honor...," said Becky Gaccetta, Intermediate Special...
The Silver Creek boys swim and dive team performed well at the Boulder County Invitational April 20, finishing third overall out of nine schools, and top among Class 4A schools. The squad, which is a combined team from Silver Creek and Niwot High, coached by Debbie Stewart, had several gold medal winners at the Broomfield Community Center. Chayakorn Ngampatipatpong led the Raptor swimmers with first-place finishes in both the 100 breaststroke, with a time of 58.27, and in the 200 individual medl...
When Niwot High Cheerleading Coach Christina Ayers announced she was moving to Castle Rock and could no longer continue coaching the cheer squad, Athletic Director Joe Brown did not have to look far to find her successor. Wendy Coppersmith, who has a wealth of experience as a cheer coach, had already been assisting Ayers this past season, and stepped into the role with plans to make the Niwot cheer program a centerpiece of Cougar spirit. Coppersmith, a resident of Platteville, had been a cheer c...
The Niwot High School boys volleyball team has continued an impressive season with another stand-out week. Niwot went 3-0 in league games last week, taking victories against Riverdale Ridge High School, Greeley Central High School, and Centaurus High School. Niwot also took home a first-place finish in this weekend's Raiders Classic Tournament, at Rangeview High School, not dropping a game en route to an overtime win against Vista PEAK Prep for the gold. The Cougars also took down The Denver...
Niwot High School track and field sisters Anna and Mia Prok both impressed at the Centaurus Twilight meet on Friday, April 19 in Lafayette. Anna, a sophomore, took first in the mile with a time of 5 minutes, 6.77 seconds, about seven seconds faster than her teammate and second-place finisher Elise Hagen. Mia, a senior, also topped the two-mile podium after crossing the finish line in under 11 minutes at 10:59.15. Additionally, the elder Prok had seventh-place results in the 200 and 400-meter races. With the help of those two and several...
Despite its recent dominance on the mound, Niwot High School baseball has been held back by some nagging offensive struggles. On Wednesday, April 17, the Cougars dropped their fourth straight low-scoring game, a 4-2 loss to Thompson Valley High School. Niwot, which fell to 6-6 (3-5 Class 4A Longs Peak League) on the season, managed only 10 total runs throughout the four-game losing streak. “We just have to get back to hitting like we're used to,” said third-year Niwot head coach Ken Rosales. “Ou...
Calling all photographers, intentional or accidental! The Left Hand Valley Courier’s Photo of the Week feature is open to any area resident who personally photographs Niwot-Gunbarrel area sights, including people (with permission, of course), buildings, animals, birds, plants, flowers, events, or anything else. Naturally, there are a few rules to follow: • The photograph must be submitted in jpg format via email to [email protected]@lhvc.com in high resolution. • Please include a caption describing the photo, your name, email addre...
At approximately 3:00 p.m. on April 14, a small single-engine Mooney M20C aircraft made an emergency landing on the southbound lanes of Highway 287 just north of Niwot Road. The airplane, originally identified as a Cessna, was traveling from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and experienced mechanical issues resulting in the emergency landing. The pilot was identified by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office as a 36-year-old male who was the only person onboard the...
The unimaginably tragic Marshall Fire at the end of 2021 alerted Coloradans to the increasing risks of natural disasters, not only in the mountains, but also in the flatlands. Earlier this month the windstorm in which 150,000 Front Range Xcel customers were without power for over 24 hours caused considerable damage to both businesses and homes. These events remind us of the importance of preventing or reducing the damage to our properties from wildfires, high winds, and heavy snowfalls which...
Keynes Chen came to Niwot High School in January of 2019 with 15 students across three different ensembles. By the end of the following school year, he had 85 students across three groups and has since added two more ensembles, with another in development. "That first year really energized me," said Chen. Niwot now offers three orchestras, a small ensemble, and a mariachi ensemble, and will be looking to add another mariachi group to the list of available courses due to the growing interest and...
The Boulder County Consortium of Cities met on April 3 to offer progress updates in developing a regional plan regarding minimum wage for incorporated towns and cities in Boulder County. Boulder County Ordinance 2023-4 became effective on Jan. 1, 2024, setting a minimum wage of $15.69 per hour for businesses in Niwot and other unincorporated areas of the county, 15% above Colorado’s 2023 minimum wage and $1.27 higher than that of surrounding incorporated towns and cities that currently pay $14.42. The ordinance also gradually increases the m...
When Yaretzi Martinez Prieto was younger, she enjoyed the way music sounded. Her father wanted her to play in the orchestra, but she decided to join the school band instead, playing alto sax when she entered Longs Peak Middle School. But Prieto remained interested in orchestra, and later she began to learn guitar, which led her on the path to mariachi. "Since mariachi is part of my culture," Prieto said, "my parents were very supportive of my interest in it, and they helped me get into the...
The annual meeting of the Niwot Community Association (NCA) will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23 at the Left Hand Grange No. 9. The guest speaker will be Don Haddad, St. Vrain Valley School District Superintendent, and will include a question and answer session. There will also be a speaker on the topic of urban interface wildfire mitigation. The annual meeting is also the occasion for NCA board elections. The board is seeking nominations for Secretary and Area 6 Representative. Area 6 includes Gunbarrel Estates and the Homestead...
A new genre book was launched on Friday night, April 12, at the Winot Cafe in Niwot as Dr. William A. Liggett's new climate fiction thriller, "Panic Peak," was presented to an enthusiastic audience. At start time there were only a few open chairs, which soon were filled with many standing in the back of the room for the event. Over thirty people attended the presentation. Liggett first spoke about his story as an 18-year old who spent a summer at the Hoh River area in Washington state and Mount...
No matter how dominant Niwot High School boys volleyball has been overall this season, falling to Poudre School District on Thursday, April 11, qualified as an absolute gut-punch. The visiting Cougars had their opportunities to put Poudre away for good in the fourth set but ultimately lost in a five-set thriller. Turning the page quickly while learning from what went wrong now becomes the challenge for Niwot, which dropped to 11-3 on the season. While head coach John Miller will offer his own...
The Left Hand Valley Courier is spotlighting various local neighborhoods, their history, issues and general nature. This week, the Courier is spotlighting Cottonwood Park West. In the mid-20th century, Niwot began to grow from its origins as a small railroad town and farming community into a fully suburban community that provided housing, schools and amenities for families working in Boulder and Longmont. This was particularly true once IBM purchased land for its operations in the late 1950s,...
Niwot High School is host to over 60 student-run clubs, and one stand-out is the Earth Club. Niwot High School's Earth Club is a club in which students of all grades "explore environmentalism through an ecological lens, combining gardening and environmental initiatives to build an understanding of the earth," according to Elena Krone, member and leader of Earth Club. Niwot High's Garden Club and Environmental Club became defunct during the 2022-23 school year. In response, students took action...
At the Boulder County Track and Field Championships on Saturday, April 13, Niwot High School athletes topped the podium in 10 of the day’s 38 events. The NHS girls took first in the team standings while the Cougar boys placed second behind Erie High School. With about one month remaining until the state championships, several Niwot athletes once again proved themselves as legitimate Class 4A title contenders. Reese Kasper and Jade West continued their impressive junior seasons, standout sophomore Addison Ritzenhein recorded another two-mile w...
Niwot High School girls varsity soccer is staying on the winning side of the equation over their last four games with a 2-1-1 record. They have that same 2-1-1 record in Longs Peak conference play and are 4-3-2 overall. The team has scored 18 goals so far this season, while giving up 17. On April 2, NHS beat Mountain View High School 3-0. Tracy Yu, Heather Humphrey and Brynn Schlarb scored for the Cougars. NHS did one better at their next game on April 4 against Severance High School with a 4-0...
The mood inside Niwot's dugout could not have been more somber. Knowing how many accomplished bats the Cougars own, players and coaches alike were left discouraged following a 2-1 defeat at Severance High School on Saturday, April 13. Niwot mustered only five hits, one more than the Cougars produced two days prior in another loss to those same Silver Knights. Head coach Ken Rosales noted that Niwot's recent struggles at the plate appear more mental than physical. "We're a hitting team, but the...
The Niwot High School girls varsity tennis team has won three of the last four matches, and are currently undefeated in 4A Region 5 league play with an impressive 5-0 record. Their overall record stands at 6-4 against tough non-conference competition. After ten matches last season, the Cougars were 3-2 in their league and 5-5 overall. On April 3, the Cougars went on the road to Frederick High School and came away with a 7-0 sweep. The team won every match in straight sets and lots of bagels were served. Playing just a few days later at home on...
The Silver Creek boys swim team is getting ready for a push as the state Class 4A swimming and diving meet approaches. The squad, which is based out of Silver Creek High School, is a combination of Silver Creek and Niwot High School swimmers and divers, under the direction of long-time coach Debbie Stewart, with athletes from a few other schools also participating. “We just had our biggest week,” Stewart said of dual meets against Windsor High School and Monarch High School, a 5A school, last week. “We beat them by 20 points,” Stewart said of...
Coming off of a long, six-game week, the Niwot High School boys volleyball team has wrapped up a short week, splitting two games. Niwot won the first match against Severance High School, but lost to the Poudre School District in a nail biter, coming down to the last set where Niwot fell, 3-2. Niwot's match against Severance was a clean sweep, as Niwot won all three sets, 25-18, 25-14, and 25-13. The Cougars notched 42 kills and nine aces against Severance, and also played a strong game defensive...
Calling all photographers, intentional or accidental! The Left Hand Valley Courier’s Photo of the Week feature is open to any area resident who personally photographs Niwot-Gunbarrel area sights, including people (with permission, of course), buildings, animals, birds, plants, flowers, events, or anything else. Naturally, there are a few rules to follow: • The photograph must be submitted in jpg format via email to [email protected]@lhvc.com in high resolution. • Please include a caption describing the photo, your name, email addre...
Dear Editor, One of my favorite things about living in the town of Niwot is how safe it is - in more ways than one. But especially, growing up here, I always felt so safe with the rules of traffic and how friendly everyone is. When I was living in Florida for six months on my Disney College Program, I didn’t have my car and had to rely either on buses or walking to the nearby Target. It was incredibly eye-opening how less friendly and more aggressive drivers are in other areas than they are in Niwot (and its surrounding areas). Whether I am dri...
Boulder County's Small Business Grant/Changing Economic Environment Program, spearheaded by Commissioner Marta Loachamin, is accepting applications for grant funding to support unincorporated Boulder County small businesses impacted by the costs (including labor costs) of doing business in the County's rapidly changing economic environment. The last day to apply is April 19, 2024, at 5 p.m.at https://coloradoenterprisefund.org/Boulder-County-SB-Grant. Grants of up to $5,000 per business will be...
Minimum wage, master plan, housing costs, Highway 119 underpass, key priorities. Those are the topics Niwot's Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (LID) members hope to take up with the Boulder County Commissioners when the two boards meet at the Left Hand Grange on Thursday, April 18 at 3:30 p.m. The annual meeting between the three county commissioners, who govern Niwot as well as the rest of unincorporated Boulder County, and the members of Niwot's most active advisory board, all of...
To say that this past weekend's massive windstorm really blows is not only an excellent pun, but a bit of an understatement. Xcel Energy notified Niwot residents via email that starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, Xcel would preemptively be de-energizing power lines in Boulder County resulting in an outage that may continue through at least Sunday. However many areas felt the effects of the power outage long past that point. "Our top priority is ensuring the safety of our communities,...
The Left Hand Valley Courier is spotlighting various local neighborhoods, their history, issues and general nature. This week, the Courier is spotlighting The Cove residential neighborhood. Most Niwot residents are familiar with Somerset and Legend Ridge, but any mention of The Cove is usually met with raised eyebrows and puzzled looks. Small, lovely and secluded, the neighborhood was established in the early 1990s. You won't find The Cove unless you happen upon it while walking or are in the...
Kristin Dura, owner of Una Vida in Cottonwood Square, described a fascinating journey to founding a business centered on wellness in Niwot. "I fell in love with Niwot," said Dura, a one time stay-at-home mother of four children, then a "death doula," and now a friendly, exuberant entrepreneur. "I felt the energy of the Arapaho people here," she said. "My community is Legend Ridge at the top of a hill with views of the mountains. The peaceable chief Niwot settled here in this land. I felt it. I...
Niwot High School seniors Noah Wurth and Noah Hadders have been performing together since elementary school. They have performed duets at the Multiple Piano Festival for several years, and both attended the same piano studio. "We also played together in middle school band," Hadders said. And they both learned new instruments together: Hadders on trumpet and Wurth on saxophone. Throughout high school the two friends continued to play and perform together. Both musicians are members of NHS...
Local musician Kevin Dooley was asked to perform at the dedication of a memorial bench outside of Niwot Market last December 16 in honor of Niwot Market owner Bert Steele. The guitarist singer-songwriter quickly accepted the invitation, and set to work writing a song in honor of his long-time friend, who passed away last August after a short illness. Six days later, Dooley performed the song, "Be More Like Bert," at the dedication, incorporating several of Steele's well-known words of wisdom,...
Bill Liggett, a native Coloradan and recent newcomer to the Niwot community, is presenting his new book, "Panic Peak," on Friday, April 12 in conjunction with Inkberry Books. "Panic Peak" investigates interesting potential geoengineering solutions in the format of a fictional thriller. The book launch and signing will be held at Winot Cafe at 7 p.m. The venue for the presentation was changed from Una Vida to Winot Coffee. Reservations can be made online. Dr. Liggett is something of a...
While sweeping a regular season series in the Longs Peak League rarely comes easy, Niwot High School baseball head coach Ken Rosales couldn’t help feeling like his Cougars squandered an opportunity in their second meeting with Roosevelt High School. Two days after beating the Roughriders on Tuesday, April 2, Niwot was beset by defensive errors in the two teams’ rematch. Rosales said the Cougars committed seven miscues on their home diamond, leading to a “rough” 4-3 loss. “We definitely did not play our ball,” Rosales said. “I felt we were...
In the February 5, 2020 edition of the Left Hand Valley Courier, an article was published about a young Ugandan boy named Peter Kamuhanda, who was a recipient of the Mwebaza Foundation's scholarship program. This program provided for his schooling, whereas in Uganda, insufficient funding for schools forces citizens to fill the financial gaps. Tragically, Kamuhanda was orphaned as a child and vulnerable to losing his scholarship. His current guardian had planned to send him to live with his grand...
The call of the movie industry can be challenging to heed for a local kid, but for Daniel Gibb, well... let's just say the Force is strong with this one. "I was always a lover of film-making, the art of it," Gibb said, "and I always wanted to be involved in that." Gibb grew up in Boulder, and his parents, Meri and Paul Gibb, have lived in Niwot for many years. Meri Gibb says her son's passion for the entertainment industry started early. "When he was like, four, and he saw videos on MTV, he...
Running for the Niwot High School track and field program means everything to Kingston Staton. Only a sophomore, he first got to know Niwot's coaches through Real Training, a club team led by longtime Cougar head coach Maurice Henriques. Staton has maintained an appreciation for Niwot's accomplished coaching staff and the wisdom passed down upon him. "It's been incredible," Staton said. "I actually don't even live in Niwot... I've been running here and coming to school here because of the great...
Niwot High School is host to over 60 student-run clubs, and one stand-out is the Coding Club. In the words of Justin Ge, one of the Niwot High School Coding Club's leaders, "Niwot's Coding Club offers everything about coding. We are a collection of driven individuals who love creating and enjoy problem solving. During meetings, we code a wide range of things, including 2D and 3D games, technical coding problem sets, personal websites, PCB boards, and more. Alongside projects, we also offer an...
The Niwot High School boys volleyball team has continued its great start to the season as the Cougars jumped to a 10-2 record after three league games turned into three wins, and a strong Douglas County Tournament performance left them with a 3-1 record. The Cougars are now the eighth-ranked team in the state as they continue to dominate. Niwot opened the week with three league games, playing matches against Vista PEAK Preparatory, Mountain View High School, and Boulder High School. Niwot then took part in the Douglas County Tournament on...
