This week in Loveland history for Jan. 8-14, 2023 – Loveland Reporter-Herald

2023-01-13 00:40:52 By : Mr. Chris Zhao

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• Cliff Riedel took the oath of office as the new district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District. “I hope I can live up to the strong tradition this office has held in the 8th Judicial District,” he said. Also sworn into office were Larimer County Commissioners Tom Donnelly and Steve Johnson, both elected to serve a second term.

• Bill Cairo said he had started writing about 1,200 questions three months earlier for the Loveland Trivia Bowl, which he renewed in 2012. He and his wife were hoping 16 teams would sign up for the Feb. 2 event.

• Dixie Daly had published her first e-book of poetry, “From Sunset to Sunrise” in December and was preparing to launch another one in a series called “Angelic Dreams.” She had begun writing poetry after her husband’s sudden death in August 2012.

• The Windsor-based Rocky Mountain Gun Owners group said it would use a  Colt AR-15 rifle donated by Jensen Arms to help the group “increase the size of our pro-gun army.” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners executive director Dudley Brown said his group specifically selected the AR-15 for its first-ever gun giveaway. “We’re giving away a firearm that is likely to be banned in the Colorado Legislature unless we defeat it,” he said. “We know we’re facing literally dozens of gun control bills in the Legislature this year.” The Aurora theater killings had happened in 2012, which was expected to inspire more gun control efforts in the state.

• Loveland City Council held a daylong planning session to prioritize focus issues for the year ahead. Topic areas receiving the most votes were downtown property ownership and development, police training facilities, proposed changes in the city’s annual budget process, and determination of fees paid by real estate developers to fund city building projects.

• For the third time in three years, the Colorado Department of Revenue shut Schmidt’s Bakery and Delicatessen for nonpayment of sales tax and employee withholding taxes, the latest time in the amount of nearly $50,000. The new owners of the business they bought from founders Harry and Charlotte Schmidt in late 2011 said they were hoping to cut a deal with tax officials that would have it open again soon. The seizure left employees and customers with questions about issues ranging from missing paychecks to stalled wedding cake orders.

• Thompson School District Superintendent Stan Scheer said that for 2013, the school board should have more involvement earlier in developing the budget. “I like to see the board being directly involved in budget planning and I think this will give them the opportunity to do that,” he  said. “They’re the elected representatives of the community and they have a strong context with budget planning.”

• A budget squeeze was forcing Berthoud to look at reducing the area its transportation buses would serve — a move that some worried would result in homebound residents. The town was proposing that Berthoud Area Transportation Service (BATS) stop picking up residents who lived within the Berthoud Fire Protection District but outside the city limits, cut the hours of service and provide rides to Longmont and Loveland at fixed times.

• Verboten Brewing opened at 1550 Taurus Court in Loveland on Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. Fort Collins residents Josh Grenz and Joe Akers had been home-brewing together for three years. They and their wives, Angie Grenz and Keri Akers, decided to turn the hobby into a business. They said they appreciated the brewery community in Loveland. “We’re doing different beers,” Grenz added. “You don’t need to compete with each other and sell the same stuff. You can find your own niche.”

• Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck dismissed all perjury charges against Fort Collins Police Lt. Jim Broderick, but lamented it as a sad day for justice and said Tim Masters should never have been charged with murder. He said he dismissed the pending charges because he did not believe his office could prove the perjury charges against Broderick without two additional perjury charges that had previously been dismissed. The first charges were dismissed because of a missing date on the paperwork. “I’m sorry I can’t do more for Tim Masters,” Buck said. Masters was convicted in 1999 of the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick and remained in prison until 2008 before being exonerated.

• ​​Loveland’s homeless and low-income residents were finding it more difficult to find housing, particularly if they were disabled and could not work. Dave McDanal, case manager for Disabled Resource Services, said prior to the 2008-09 recession, his Loveland office did not have any clients who were homeless and only a few who were low income on waiting lists for housing vouchers. “They’re on a fixed income of Social Security disability. An average monthly income is $750 a month. That’s why they need subsidized housing. They can’t make ends meet because their income is too low,” he said. At the 137 Homeless Connection, Doug Ashbaugh, homeless program manager, also was seeing an increase in the homeless population, he said. “The economy is the biggest reason for the increase,” he said. There were not enough jobs available and those that paid minimum wage did not generate enough income for self-sufficiency, Ashbaugh said. “They give them so few hours, they get caught in that struggle that it’s not enough to survive on.”

• A Northern Colorado business owner moved her longtime Fort Collins beauty school to Loveland. “I always wanted a business with an address in Loveland,” said Barbara Sinha, co-owner of Cheeks International Academy of Beauty Culture. Cheeks, open in Fort Collins since 1988, moved to 5010 Granite St. in north Loveland.

• Loveland-based developer McWhinney joined Union Station Alliance, a team of redevelopers that is transforming Denver’s historic train station.

• Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith asked the county commissioners to “put the brakes” on all marijuana businesses to see how state regulations would shape up in light of voters’ legalization of small amounts of recreational marijuana in Colorado. But the elected board said it would gather more information before deciding whether to enact a temporary moratorium, ban such businesses in the unincorporated county or take applications when the process opens up Oct. 1. “We won’t make any decisions until we get adequate public input,” said Commissioner Steve Johnson, who noted that he was not yet leaning in any direction. “We want to honor what the voters want. They’re our bosses.”

• The “season of love” arrived in Loveland as the post office and chamber of commerce debuted the 1998 cachet and cancellation stamp that would grace valentines being sent through the city that year. Cheryl Hoffman wrote the winning card verse, Merri Roderick designed the card with art that featured hearts and a cowboy Cupid and James Ore wrote the cachet verse.

• Usually two or three people a year might show up in the city of Loveland thinking they would find a ski area, but the owner of the Hiway Motel said in early January she had already seen seven confused people that year. “I also get calls for (ski) reservations all the time,” she said. “Why do people move here?” asked a 13-year-old girl who had arrived in the wrong Loveland with her mother, who blamed the mix-up on the bus company.

• A truck driver who had forced a car off Interstate 25 near Loveland in September 1997, killing a woman and injuring two others, was found guilty of seven counts including vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and third-degree assault.

• Several Loveland projects made a list of priorities in a regional transportation plan, including construction of a viaduct on 14th Street Southwest over the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, a 57th Street viaduct over the railroad tracks, expansion of Fox Trot bus service, addition of a new bus route from the factory outlet stores at U.S. 34 and Interstate 25 to Kmart at 2665 W. Eisenhower Blvd., widening of U.S. 34 and addition of bike lanes from Jefferson to Monroe avenues, addition of bike lanes on Wilson Avenue between First and 29th streets, construction of a recreational trail underpass beneath U.S. 34 near Group Publishing, widening of Taft Avenue for bike lanes between Eisenhower Boulevard and Eighth Street, widening of First Street from Jefferson to Railroad avenues; rebuilding of the U.S. 34-Taft Avenue intersection, and widening of Colo. 402 to four lanes from U.S. 287 to Interstate 25. It was uncertain if all the priorities would be approved or funded.

• Bronco mania was underway in the area as the Denver football team was within one game of going to the Super Bowl. “Let’s put it this way,” said Deborah Kline of Resurrection Fellowship Church, “We’re not sure how many we’ll have for our 11 a.m. service.” The playoff game was set to start at 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Jan. 11, 1998. The team won 24-21 over the Pittsburgh Steelers to claim the AFC title and a chance to play in the Super Bowl.

• A 9-year-old boy died following a swimming party at Thompson Valley High School. Children had been swimming while their parents attended a meeting in another room, but they boy became exhausted and got out of the pool, leading lifeguards to summon his parents, and an ambulance was called when he started to lose consciousness.

• Some Cottonwood Meadows residents said they were worried a mountain lion had been visiting their neighborhood, but Division of Wildlife officials said the 4-by-4-inch tracks seen in the neighborhood appeared to be made by a large dog.

• Jim Willard said he had been working to write up to 1,000 new questions for the 14th annual Loveland Trivia Bowl. The 1998 contest would benefit People Offering People Support, a program that encouraged Loveland and Berthoud teens to get to know each other and share their problems in small groups.

• The chief examiner for the coroner’s office said his first medical exams had not determined a cause of death for a 9-year-old Loveland boy who had died after becoming tired while swimming. He said the cause of death was pending, but it did not appear to be water-related.

• Loveland officials were trying to determine how to finance a new public safety building. They were considering asking voters for a sales tax increase that could get the building constructed within a few years, or they could bond or lease-purchase the project, in which case it wouldn’t be done for a decade. “Give the voter the opportunity to make the choice,” Councilor Larry Dassow said at a City Council study session.

• Larimer County officials listened to a proposal for cleaning up a tire dump on the Alps farm, southwest of Loveland near Lon Hagler Reservoir. Officials worried the massive tire heap could catch fire and release toxic fumes. Their representative said the family was interested in pursuing a state grant to fund the cleanup.

• Larimer County commissioners appointed Alfred LeFoll of Fort Collins as new county treasurer following the resignation of Merle Green. They also ordered a routine audit of the treasurer’s office, a routine done when the county office changed hands.

• Enrollment in the Thompson School District dropped by 57 students between Dec. 8, 1972 and Jan. 5, 1973. The district was starting the new year with 7,847 students enrolled. The superintendent said the district was seeing families move from the area. “Our situation is we have less employment opportunities,” he said.

• Larimer County assessed valuation jumped almost $18 million from 1971 to 1972, the county assessor said. Total valuation of real property was set at $211,932,290. The county mill levy dropped from 15.7 mills to 14.7, a level expected to raise about $3.1 million.

• Cold burst the pipes, the septic tank backed up and it had been impossible to keep the Loveland City Pound heated. The pound located on the Larimer County Fairgrounds, had no attendant because the city could not afford one, and someone had shot a German shepherd over the weekend, leaving it to die. In addition, another dog had puppies and they had died at the pound. “It’s a bad situation,” Police Chief Pat Steele said. “We hope it will be corrected soon.” Steele said the city needed to look at what Boulder and Weld counties were doing, paying the Humane Society to care for dogs and cats that were picked up. “Larimer County hasn’t got a Humane Society building yet, but they’re working on it,” he said. “Of course, it is up to Loveland City Council, whatever is done,” Steele added. The city budget for animal retrieval in 1973 was $11,700. Animals unclaimed after three days were turned over to Colorado State University for experimental work in the laboratories.

• Temperature extremes had been seen in 1972, when the hottest day of the year was July 30 at 102 degrees, and there had been 44 days during the year when temperatures were 90 degrees or higher. The coldest day had been Dec. 6 with a 16 below zero reading. From Dec. 3 to Dec. 15 the reading never got above freezing. Only 10.25 inches of precipitation was recorded during the year.

• The town of Estes Park enacted a plastic bag regulation, requiring that as of Feb. 1, 1973, all trash, both residential and commercial, be placed in plastic sacks, a move aimed at keeping litter off the hillsides surrounding the town’s landfill.

• The coordinator for the Larimer Weld Regional Open Space Project told the Larimer County Horseman’s Association that trails proposed by the association corresponded to those proposed by her office, and suggested groups coordinate to have a better chance of getting new trails approved.

• Frank Helm, a retired barber, reflected on his 52 years living in Loveland, where he had moved in 1920. He said he saw the population grow from 4,500 to 20,000 in 1973, and talked about his first job in the city, working in the coal and transportation business, ranching and working at the Great Western Sugar Co., before deciding to become a barber in 1925. “Barbering was good in the early days,” he said.

• School Superintendent C.E. Stansberry announced the new Mary Blair Elementary School was expected to be ready for students by March 1, and students could be moved in to the new school after the spring break in late March. Work was not as far ahead on Conrad Ball Junior High and Namaqua Elementary School, but the superintendent said  he hoped they would be ready to open in the fall of 1973.

• Loveland Mayor Jean Gaines said he opposed home rule, which was under consideration in the city. “There is no advantage to Home Rule for Loveland,” he said in a written statement. He disputed statements that home rule would let the city’s residents govern themselves without interference, and said it would be difficult to change the charter if it was found later something needed to be added or changed. He said the city had a record of progressive firsts. “Loveland was one of the first cities in Colorado to have a planning commission and a plan for growth. We were the first city in Colorado to require fees from new annexations to purchase water and a cash fee to cover sewage expansion. We were also the first with an area fee to help build and maintain parks,” he said. “Does this sound like we have been handicapped by not being Home Rule?”

• One of the oldest businesses in Loveland, Willard Battery, closed its doors. It had been located at 518 N. Cleveland Ave. since about 1913. The building, which had been sold to a Denver businessman, had been built in about 1900 and used as an officer of the Loveland Reporter newspaper before the Reporter and the Daily Herald merged in the 1920s to form the Daily Reporter-Herald.

• Lakewood City Manager Walt Kane, a former Loveland city manager, came to Loveland to give a program in favor of home rule. Among the benefits he cited were that home rule could create new tax sources, provide pension programs for municipal employees, provide local control over debt limitations and provide for complete control over local elections. Don Hataway, who was Loveland city manager  at the time, remained firmly quiet on the question of home rule, telling those gathered he had been directed by the City Council to remain inactive in the effort to adopt home rule, and the only action he was taking was toward proper operation of the election.

• “We want a good girl in this office at once to learn typesetting,” the Jan. 8, 1903, issue of the Loveland Reporter stated. “She must have some degree of common sense — and must not be trotting around half the night with fellows having only ulterior motives. A girl, or boy either, cannot learn much of anything unless attention is paid to detail — and we do not want a ‘gadder.’ Apply at once.”

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