Gphc january 2014

InsIde ThIs IssueJanuary 2014 nexT GPhC MeeTInG

PaGe 12

PaGe 14

PaGe 17

Annual MLK Jr. Marade to kick off at 9 a.m. on Jan. 20

City Loop project on hold; critics cautiously optimistic

The Sunshine Food Project brings fresh veggies to Park Hill

Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m.2823 Fairfax St., Denver

Volume 53, Issue No. 1 A Greater Park Hill Community Hill, Inc. Publication January 2014

This newspaper is made possible through the support of our advertisers and members. If you are not already a member, please consider joining the Greater Park Hill Community, Inc.This newspaper is made possible through the support of our advertisers and members. If you are not already a member, please consider joining the Greater Park Hill Community, Inc.

All the News About Denver’s Best Residential Community Since 1961

‘Making a Democratic Process More Democratic’

MLK in Park Hill: 50 Years This Month

As Denver’s Inter-Neighborhood Coop-eration (INC) prepares for its annual dinner on Jan. 30, a former City Council member and a community development expert recall the leadership of the Park Hill community in the “neighborhood movement” of the early 1970s.

Former Councilwoman Cathy Dono-hue and INC’s first Chair and community consultant Bernie Jones say Park Hill was uniquely positioned to be part of INC’s de-velopment because the neighborhood already had an es-sential cohesion.

“Forming INC was part of the continu-ing process of making a democratic process more democratic,” says Jones, a retired com-munity development and planning special-ist now living in British Columbia.

According to Jones, “neighborhood groups were popping up all over the place” in the 1970s. Recognition of Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs) later became part of the “Neighborhood Notifi-cation Ordinance of 1979.”

Donohue says that in her view, groups developed in response to widespread dis-satisfaction over the administration of then-Mayor Bill McNichols, who served from 1968 to 1983.

“The mayor’s friends got what they re-quested, while everyone else suffered,” Donohue said. “The mayor had total control over the budget, and there was absolutely no communication between the mayor and council except those members who were ‘in his pocket.’”

Setting the patternLongtime INC representative Michael

Henry of Capitol Hill says neighborhoods were increasingly con-cerned about what he terms was McNichols’ “usual failure to in-form or consult with residents or neighbor-

hood associations about issues and changes that would affect the neighborhoods.”

Jones cites the work of Jules Mondschein of Park Hill in the 1960s, when the neigh-borhood struggled against segregation and some real estate agents encouraged white residents to move out of the area.

As historian Phil Goodstein describes in his book Park Hill Promise (New Social Publications, 2012), Mondschein became the first chairman of Greater Park Hill Com-munity when GPHC developed in 1970 from the Park Hill Action Committee.

Donohue, who served on council for seven years beginning in 1975, termed Park

Hill a well-respected neighborhood, and one that set a pattern for others.

The year after Park Hill Action Commit-tee formed, residents to the east organized what became known as Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN). Others smaller groups started coming together in the Washington Park neighborhood of south Denver and in the northern and western parts of the city.

By 1975, Jones says, leaders who had “met in various ways” (this was before the Internet and e-mail), and started to talk about establishing a neighborhood coali-tion. “We were fellow strugglers against a city administration that didn’t care (about neighborhood residents),” said Jones. “Our first meeting consisted of 12 people in my (Capitol Hill) living room.”

Jones says the group wrote a constitu-tion that required an initial membership of

six organizations. Eight promptly joined. Henry, Jones, and Donohue say INC be-gan working with “sympathetic” members of Council. “We had to have nine votes to sustain a mayoral veto, and that was almost impossible,” Donohue said.

She credits staff aides Jennifer Macy and Judy Gold for working closely with then-Councilmembers Sal Carpio, Sam Sandos, Bill Roberts, Paul Hentzell, and Cathy Reyn-olds to develop the “Neighborhood Regis-tration and Notification Ordinance.”

“At first, the law was small and simple, fo-cusing primarily on zoning matters which would affect neighborhoods,” said Jones. “It has become much more sophisticated now. “

Two ways to view the ordinanceThe ordinance requires organizations to

register annually with Community Plan-ning and Development after meeting cer-tain organizational criteria. It also requires city departments to send written notifica-tion to the RNOs on matters such as zoning, liquor licensing, requests to vacate streets and alleys, and, more recently, marijuana store licenses.

“There are two fundamental ways to view the ordinance,” Jones said. “One is for city officials to make a decision and encourage

By Cara DeGette

When Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Park Hill 50 years ago this month, he mes-merized and energized thousands of Colo-radans working toward integration and waging a battle for racial equality.

King’s three-day historic visit included several speaking en-gagements in Denver and Littleton. The Sunday before he flew home to Atlanta, he delivered a Sunday sermon at Macedonia Baptist Church and then spoke at Mont-view Boulevard Pres-byterian Church. The crowd, in the thousands, spilled onto the street outside.

Everywhere, King spoke of the battle for racial equality, and for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which passed later that year. Also that year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

According to an account in the Jan. 25, 1964 Rocky Mountain News, King hinted at a national boycott of industries that re-fuse to abandon employment policies that allow racial discrimination. He rejected suggestions that enacting new laws would

not change attitudes that condone discrimi-nation.

“Legislation can’t make a man love me, but it can stop a man from lynching me,” King told an audience of 600 on a Friday night at the University of Denver.

King’s visit was spon-sored by the Denver Commission on Human Relations. The organi-zation’s chairman, Dick Young, escorted the civil rights leader to his many speaking engagements and meetings with other local leaders in Denver and Littleton.

“I was just awestruck at how he spoke, using no notes,” said Young, who has lived in Park

Hill with his wife Lorie for 53 years. “He was just such an effective speaker.”

Park Hill’s relevancePark Hill was particularly relevant to

King’s visit because the neighborhood was ground zero in the fight for fair housing and public school integration during the time.

Park Hill was the first neighborhood in Denver -- and was a model for the nation -- to resist the blockbusting that occurred

Tracing the roots of the neighborhood movement

Witnesses recall unwavering eloquence of civil rights leader’s 1964 message during Denver visit

dave FelICeCITy MaTTers

“At first, the law was small and simple, focusing primarily

on zoning matters which would affect neighborhoods.

It has become much more sophisticated now. “

- Bernie Jones continued on page 6

continued on page 11

“And I want to say, what a great pleasure it is to be in the state of Colorado once more, and in

this total community.”

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., arriving in Denver in January, 1964

Standing on the steps of Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church on Jan. 26, 1964. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped outside to speak to the overflow crowd outside before addressing the congregation inside.Photo by Mel Schlieltz, Rocky Mountain News collection/Denver Public Library

The Greater Park Hill News January 2014

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January marks my official one-year an-niversary as Executive Director of Greater Park Hill Community Inc. With more than 20 years experience working with nonprof-its in volunteer recruitment, fundraising, management and as an executive director, as well as serving on the GPHC Board for a year, I felt prepared to step into this role. Even so, it has been an ex-citing and challenging year working with something so close to my heart as my own Registered Neighbor-hood Organization.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and work with a dedicated and hard-working executive committee, and learn everything that goes in to making GPHC function behind the scenes, which has been a truly eye-opening experience. I encourage everyone to attend one of our monthly meetings and to consider getting involved on a deeper level on our board of governors if you care about Park Hill issues.

Myriad of issuesI’ve had to become a Jill-of-All-Trades,

such as learning to cultivate plants for our food pantry, and honing writing skills to coalesce thoughts into something hope-fully coherent for my monthly newspaper column.

I’ve had an opportunity to meet with Park Hill neighbors on a myriad of issues, from schools to liquor licenses, concerns about uses of City Park and crime, and fielding questions on topics as diverse as traffic flow and power lines, to whether a lawn full of vacuums is art or commerce. I receive daily requests for other types of aid in addition to our food pantry and coat giveaways, so

I do my best to connect people with other helping programs. No one day is like anoth-er and I love the diversity of issues I get to work on as reflective of the diversity of our neighbors and Park Hill’s history. It’s been an incredible year.

After our emergency food pantry was dis-continued in 2012 for a period of reassess-

ment, I’ve written about the ongoing need for our pantry and the families we’ve served. What I per-haps haven’t fully covered are all the volunteers who have made it possible as it

now operates. We’ve received almost 14,000 pounds of

food donated since I started, which has been sorted by local school groups, Girl Scout troops, church groups, parent co-ops, retir-ees and caring community members. We’ve been able to serve several hundred people in 10 months since re-opening, through food and financial donations made in Park Hill and for Park Hill. It is tremendously gratify-ing to see how our neighborhood offers its support to those in need.

Thank you to Pamela and BeckyIn December, we passed our inspection

by Food Bank of the Rockies, with their Director of Agency Relations declaring that our Pantry was “the cleanest and most or-ganized I’ve ever seen.” While I take great pride in that glowing review, the credit goes to our dedicated group of volunteers who have helped to run the pantry this year, especially Becky Richardson and Pamela Washington.

Becky started a year ago this month, and

The Greater Park Hill News is published by Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. (GPHC) on the 1st of each month. Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained herein. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily the opinions of GPHC. GPHC does not necessarily endorse the companies, products or services advertised in The Greater Park Hill News unless specifically stated. GPHC reserves the right to run any advertisement.

Circulation is 14,000 and is distributed to homes and businesses in the Park Hill Area by neighborhood volunteers.

The deadline for submissions is the 15th of every month.

For story ideas and submissions or to comment on a story, contact Cara DeGette at [email protected].

For advertising information, contact Myra Thornton at [email protected] or 720-515-1579.

Cara DeGetteEditor

Bernadette KellyManager

Myra ThorntonAdvertising Sales

Tommy KubitskyGraphic Design

2823 Fairfax St. | Denver, CO 80207 | Voicemail: [email protected] | Fax: 303-388-0910

greaterparkhill.org | facebook.com/greaterparkhillnews | @parkhillnews

New Year Reflections

The Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., is a volunteer-based registered neighborhood organi-zation that: promotes the character and vibrancy of Park Hill; provides resources, information and advocacy; and preserves quality of life and the history of the neighborhood through community participation.

robyn FIshManexeCuTIve dIreCTor

GPhC uPdaTe


Audrey Goodman, Leah Goodman and Gavin Kohlman with food donated by Unity on the Avenue congregation in December. They were among the many volunteers who helped collect, sort, and distribute food for the GPHC Emergency Food Pantry in 2013. Photo by Josh Goodman

January 2014 The Greater Park Hill News

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The Common Core: Another Test Coming to a School Near You

Education and politics are no more inter-twined than they are in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Colorado is one of 45 states to have ad-opted the CCSS, which are being implemented now, in the 2013-14 ac-ademic year. The stated goal of these standards is to develop students who are “college or ca-reer ready.” Indeed that turn of phrase now permeates Denver Public Schools’ copy and was used by all candidates running for the school board in the fall.

With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Common Core was created by the National Governors Asso-ciation, the Council of Chief State School Officers and Achieve, an education reform organization. Subsequently, the federal gov-ernment bought into the plan and funding for education, known as Race to the Top, was linked to states’ willingness to adopt the Common Core.

In December 2011, Colorado was award-ed $17.9 million Race to the Top dollars based on its stated goal to implement the Colorado Academic Standards, which inte-grate the CCSS and, to develop the state’s educator evaluation system. The funds were used to help implement Senate Bill 10-191, passed by the Colorado legislature in 2010, which legislated teacher evaluation based on student performance.

According to SB 10-191, the new evalua-tion system will “provide a basis for making decisions in the areas of hiring, compensa-tion, promotion, assignment, professional development, earning and retaining non-

probationary status, dismissal, and non-renewal of contracts.” From that point on, your child’s performance on state tests and

a teacher’s evalu-ation were intrin-sically linked and legislated by state law.

The Common Core seeks to set standards across

the nation for grades kindergarten through 12. Taking part in the Common Core is voluntary and states can decline to join. This past July, citing the cost of implement-ing Common Core testing as a major is-sue, Georgia withdrew its participation in CCSS. In addition, Georgia pulled out of the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness in College and Career). PARCC is a consortium of states, including Colo-rado, that are “working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in Eng-lish and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers” (see more at parcconline.org).

CCSS is big businessThe Common Core is big business for

manufacturers and suppliers of educa-tional software, technology, curriculum, textbooks, and for educational consultants. While contracts over textbooks are being negotiated, some DPS schools do not have the materials they need to support the Com-mon Core standards.

One questions begs to be asked: how much of per-pupil funding is going to Com-mon Core testing?

CCSS in the ClassroomThe suggestion that teachers and educa-

tors were central to the development of the CCSS is a fallacy. They are, however, the ones who are on the frontline implement-ing the standards in their classrooms. Most schools refrain from saying that they teach to the test but students’ scores on these tests affect both their teachers’ evaluations and the school’s performance rating.

In addition to interim tests and bench-marks, the Colorado Department of Educa-tion states that in 2014 students will take the following tests: • TCAP (Reading, Writing and Mathemat-

ics)• New Colorado Measures of Academic

Success (CMAS): Science and Social Studies

• CMAS are the tests associated with the Common Core that students will be tak-ing in April 2014, after the TCAPs in March. Additional or different tests are given to English language learners and students with significant cognitive dis-abilities.

• In 2015, the TCAP is no longer in play. Students will be taking the following tests:

• New English Language Arts and Math-ematics Assessment (PARCC assessment expected, computer based)

• CMAS: Science and Social StudiesThese tests will be administered in all pub-

lically funded schools, be they traditional, innovation or charter. Questions have been raised about the technology needed in each school to administer the PARCC.

Parents opt-out optionThere has been grassroots opposition to

the CCSS, including some from parents say-ing “no” to big money, big government, and big business.

The Colorado Department of Education, your school district and your school ex-pect all enrolled students to participate in the above tests. Every year, however, some parents choose to opt their children out of testing. Tests can be a good measure of a student’s abilities in specific subjects and the

lynn KalInausKassChools uPdaTe

GPhC education Chair

Have you ever thought of showing your garden in the Park Hill Garden Walk?

The committee is now making the selections for the 2014 Park Hill Garden Walk and would like to talk with you.

Comments from former PHGW participants:It was a great incentive to get my garden into beautiful shape.

It was a real honor to have so many people walking through and enjoying my garden.The visitors were very respectful and didn’t cause any harm to my garden.

It was really fun to show off all the work I had put into my yard.The visitors were very appreciative and brought great community energy.

I enjoyed meeting all the other gardeners and sharing ideas.

Please contact Dania Pettus at [email protected] or 303-579-2066 and visit our blog http://parkhillgardenwalk.blogspot.com/ to see photos from prior years.



On the Move With Sen. Mike JohnstonBy Cara DeGette

It’s been two months since Colorado vot-ers resoundingly rejected Amendment 66, a measure to raise taxes by nearly $1 billion a year to pay for education.

Greater Park Hill News caught up by phone with the proposal’s chief architect and cheerleader, Sen. Mike Johnston, a Democrat who represents Park Hill and

surrounding areas. While running errands, from getting locked out of his office at the state capitol to a pit stop at the governor’s office for a meeting, Johnston talked about what he called his greatest sore spot – work-ing so hard on Amendment 66, only to see it go down by a 65-35 margin. Johnston, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Commit-tee and serves on the education committee, also weighed in on what’s next for education

funding and other previews to the upcom-ing legislative session, which kicks off Jan. 8.

GPHN: Were you surprised that Amend-ment 66 was defeated so definitively?

Johnston: I was completely shocked. The polling data showed us close, and it wasn’t until the Monday before the election that we realized it was down, and down signifi-cantly. The scope of the defeat showed us that certainly we need to scale down what we’ll be able to do to fund education. Some of the feedback we got was that we had to be bipartisan, and get bipartisan support. Well, I’d talk to my [Republican] colleagues on the other side of the aisle and they’d say ‘the reason I’m here is because I promised my constituents I would support no taxes ever.’ Those are the kinds of things that made us step back and say maybe we need to consider plan B or C or even D to try to look at an incremental approach to funding education.

GPHN: What do those plans entail?Johnston: The short answer is, we don’t

know yet. I think the immediate answer is there is no grand bargain at this time, no long-term solution to Colorado’s constitu-tional crisis. It’s clear that one comprehen-sive package is not possible, so we need to go back and talk about long-term plans and shorter-term steps. We’ll need to figure out how much we can do at the legislative level with existing revenues, and how and when we can fund [the school finance law]. We’ll have to look at how to take all the compo-nents from Amendment 66 and do them in, say, five years instead of one big thing.

GPHN: What bills are you going to be

working on in the upcoming session?Johnston: I’m going to work on multiple

avenues to address needs on K-12. I want to try to find ways to find more dollars for K-12, including increasing the number of preschool slots and full day kindergarten, and addressing increased needs for technol-ogy. I’m also working on a bill to address chop shops and car thefts, which are a prob-lem in northeast Denver.

GPHN: What else needs to happen in the 2014 legislative session? If 2013 was about an ambitious agenda that included gun control and civil unions and the AS-SET bill and energy efficiency, what will the theme of 2014 be?

Johnston: I think the theme of 2014 is economic development, job creation and bipartisan problem solving. I think you’ll see much more workmanship efforts to solve problems.

GPHN: Your website mentions that you have a Citizens Cabinet. Who are they? And what do they do?

Johnston: Anyone in the district who wants to be on the cabinet can be on it. It’s a group of community advisors who have passion for a policy area – like healthcare, criminal justice and the judiciary, educa-tion, transportation, local affairs, constitu-tional reform. Sometimes the groups meet separately, sometimes together. It’s really good to have independent policy experts to hear from, instead of always relying on the lobby at the capitol to hear about the issues.

GPHN: How do people sign up?Johnston: They can email me at mike@

mikejohnston.com.

Lawmaker eyeing plan B, C or D for education funding

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Sen. Mike Johnston, at the podium during last year’s legislative session. Photo courtesy of Sen. Mike Johnston


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Take a Spin With the State Budget

By Brenda Morrison

It’s at this time of year when many of us take a fresh look at our goals and habits, in-cluding how we spend our money. So why not also make it a goal to be-come a more informed citizen when it comes to your state and local budgets?

In Colorado, there is a user-friendly and interactive on-line tool that makes complex government budgets easier to understand. The Backseat Budgeter is a budget simula-tor found at www.backseat-budgeter.com. Backseat Bud-geter is always adding new budgets. It currently features the 2013-14 Colorado Gen-eral Fund budget and will be updated in coming weeks for the 2014-15 budget once the legislative de-bate on those priorities gets under way.

Did you vote for or against the Amend-ment 66 education finance reform initiative in November? Would you like to examine the budgetary impacts of the marijuana taxation ballot approved by voters? Do you wonder about Colorado’s financial pre-paredness for natural disasters following the floods and fires of the past year?

Backseat Budgeter lets you hop into the “backseat” of the government budgeting process and “drive” the budget yourself. You can press the gas or brakes on spending pri-orities and shift revenue streams. Interac-tive pie charts and additional details on the various revenue and spending items will be your guideposts along the way. The ultimate destination is to balance the budget without violating any laws. And because Backseat Budgeter is also an interactive community, you can share your budget, view others’ budgets, and discuss ideas through online posts.

On Backseat Budgeter you’ll see that the currently featured 2014 General Fund bud-get was created in an environment of less scarcity compared to recent years. At the time the General Assembly was debating the 2014 budget, revenue forecasts projected an 8.35 percent increase in revenues over the

previous budget year. That translated into an additional $624.6 million in revenue. So, for the 2014 budget, the General Assembly faced options other than simply cutting the budget; they had the opportunity to restore

and create programs. Looking ahead, Gov. John

Hickenlooper, in his 2014-15 state budget request posted last month, is requesting among other priorities an in-crease to the General Fund re-serve to 6.5 percent from the current 5 percent in response to the recovery needs from wildfires and recent floods.

“As the state managed the impact of the Great Recession, reserves were drawn down in the General Fund to 2.0 per-cent,” the governor wrote in his introductory comments.

“In addition to many budget cuts and un-funded priorities, other state fee resources were tapped to meet obligations. We believe it is time to use some of the flexibility we have now to acknowledge and restore some of those resources.”

Stay tuned in coming weeks for a new 2014-15 featured budget on Backseat Bud-geter so you can stay on top of these and other budget requests and impacts as they are debated in the state legislature.

So the question is: Are you ready to spend a few minutes, dig in and study up? If so, visit backseatbudgeter.com. Once you ar-rive, please sign up for an account. Test out some options. Create your budget. (Save it!) View the budgets of others. Comment. (Play nice!) Most importantly, become an informed citizen. And don’t forget to hold your government representatives account-able.

Park Hill resident Brenda Morrison is a partner at Engaged Public, a Denver-based public policy strategy firm providing public policy development, leadership develop-ment, public engagement through tools including the Backseat Budgeter, dia-logue facilitation and episodic facilitation services. She can be reached at [email protected].

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residents to agree. The second is for resi-dents to be involved at the beginning of the decision-making process. The second meth-od is clearly preferable.”

Donohue says it took two election cycles to follow neighborhood notification with a charter change in the early 80s. “Denver had the strongest mayoral form of govern-ment in the country. Council had no control over budget and appointments.” With the charter structure change, Denver still has a very powerful mayor, but only a majority of seven votes is required to override a veto.

“The charter change evolved into a more cordial operation between the mayor and Council,” she said.

While elected and appointed city repre-sentatives promise to seek citizen involve-ment at the beginning, that isn’t always the case, says Larry Ambrose, the current presi-dent of INC.

“Those in city government sometimes see neighborhood groups as an irritant or im-pediment,” he said. “Officials present a plan, make minor tweaks, and declare there has been public involvement.”

Jones, formerly a professor at the Univer-sity of Denver and the University of Colora-do-Denver, says that nationally, the city was just about in the middle of the neighbor-hood movement.

“As an academic, I looked at what other cities in North America were doing at the time we started talking about neighborhood organization. Portland [Oregon] already had an office of neighborhood services, with the mission of helping neighborhoods prosper. Dayton [Ohio] also had a very par-ticipatory process in place.”

A seat at the tableJones says he is still concerned about

citizen appointments to advisory bodies. “I wonder to what extent people get co-opted once appointed,” he said. “Citizens do have the power to represent community interests depending on the structure.”

Current Councilwoman-at-Large Robin

Kniech calls RNOs “an important part of the fabric of the city and play a key role in the ongoing effort to make Denver a great place to live and work.”

“The registration process, required by ordinance, helps the city ensure that orga-nizations remain informed about zoning changes, landmark designations, and other activities and news relating to their neigh-borhood,” she said.

Added Henry: “These notifications pro-vide very valuable information to neighbor-hood groups and, if implemented correctly by city departments, empower neighbor-hoods to be informed, share information, and, ideally, sit at the table with developers and other applicants and city representa-tives to help shape proposed changes and communicate inclusive positions.”

As the former Council representative from District 10 in central Denver, Dono-hue says Mayor Federico Peña, who served from 1983 to 1991, did a good job of recog-nizing the value of neighborhood involve-ment. She says some of the newer RNOs usually formed in response to “some kind of crisis” – such as an unsuccessful one-time McNichols proposal to cut one-way roads through Cheesman Park.

According to Donohue, the RNOs con-tinue to be a line of defense for ordinary citizens of Denver and to encourage city officials to listen and make wise decisions.

Dave can be reached at [email protected].

Denver’s Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation holds an annual dinner to socialize and honor those who have made significant contributions to neighborhood well-being. This year’s dinner will be on Thursday, Jan. 30. Contact [email protected] for more information.

City Matters, continued from page 1

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Can Greater Park Hill Act on the Lessons of the September Flooding?

Last month I asked whether the Greater Park Hill community is ready to take on a very different vision of our watersheds and act on it. Let’s look at a future vision of one specific section of Montclair Creek. I gave you a brief summary of changes to the section of that creek from 13th Avenue (between Leyden and Krameria streets) to Jasmine Street (between 14th and Colfax avenues). Presently the creek is in a pipe, under as many as 6 feet of fill. Presumably the original developers of the various sites placed the fill, with the approval of the City and County of Denver, sometime after World War II.

Safeway and King Soopers, and some smaller businesses, including the Safeway gas station, occupy the three blocks from Leyden to Jas-mine between 13th and 14th avenues. Between 14th and Colfax, the two blocks from Kra-meria to Jasmine are occupied by a variety of small businesses, a power substa-tion, City Floral nursery, and some apart-ments.

From a review of the city’s 2010 Storm Drainage Master Plan, it appears that the existing pipe system can generally accom-modate approximately 15 percent to 30 percent of the 100-year flows calculated for Montclair Creek. From 13th Avenue to Jas-mine Street, a 100-year rainstorm will pro-duce 850 to 1,350 cubic feet per second of flow that cannot fit into the pipes and must, therefore, flow overland.

In July 2011, the most intense flood I have seen on Montclair Creek resulted in flows on Leyden Street, through Safeway’s parking lot, on Krameria Street, through the King Soopers parking lot, along 14th Ave-nue, through the power substation and part of City Floral, across Kearney Street, and

along part of Jasmine Street. In addition, some buildings and yards were affected.

Mother Nature gave us some cues; here are some potential changes:

A redeveloped Safeway site could include a channel and adjacent greenway corridor from 13th and Leyden to a point just south-east of 14th and Krameria.

With a future bridge on Krameria, the channel could cross underneath to the cur-rent Safeway gas station, which really does not belong in a floodprone area.

The channel could then cross under a fu-ture bridge on 14th Avenue to the site of the electric substation, which also does not belong in a floodprone area.

Meanwhile, a redeveloped King Soopers site could include a second channel and greenway corridor from 13th and Krame-ria to a point just southeast of 14th

Avenue and Kearney. With another future bridge on 14th Av-

enue, that second channel could cross to the substation site.

The combined channels could cross just south of a new cul-de-sac on Kearney Street immediately north of 14th Avenue (no more intersection with 14th Avenue).

West of Kearney, the current apartment building and the City Floral parking lot and office building could revert to the wetlands that previously existed north of 14th be-tween Kearney and Jasmine.

So, who pays, how, and why? Tune in next month.

Brian Hyde is an expert in floodplain man-agement and stream restoration. He wants your feedback at [email protected] or 720-939-6039.

resTorInG our waTershedsbrIan hyde

Greater Park Hill Community would like to thank the following people and groups for recent donations of food, in-kind gifts, and volunteer time, to benefit GPHC:

GenerosITy aT GPhC Beardsley FamilyBarbara BerrymanBlessed Sacrament Catholic ChurchKeith BrownCake Crumbs & their patronsSam & Olivia CechThe Children’s Center Copper Door CoffeeJeremy FishmanFrito-Lay of DenverMolly JaquesTerri & Dick JohnsonAlison KarasColleen KazemiTeddy Kienast & Family Food DriveKing SoopersLeslie & Tyler Miller & FamilyMom Time at Montview group volunteers & familiesPark Hill Branch Librarians & PatronsPark Hill United Methodist ChurchMichele PapaleNikki Parrish

Becky RichardsonPatty ShapiroDavid ShawPeggy StreitDiana ThompsonUnity on the Avenue ChurchDrew Vasko/ Karen BarberMarcia VegesPamela WashingtonCindy WilliamsMarsha WoodwardHelen WolcottMeghan Wren & Family

... and the many generous food and coat donors who wished to remain anonymous, but who also helped enable us to provide holiday dinners and warm coats for many families in need this winter. Thank you!

THANK YOU to our new and renewing GPHC Members and Donors for their recent contributions:

Individual/Family Members (up to $49):Michelle FergusonNancy HoweSusie JorgensonEileen & Nick NuanesM. S. PapaleDavid & Marilyn SwanJeanie Youngwerth

Business or Sustaining Members ($50-$99):Elizabeth Bennett & Sara LutherChuck Holum & Linda HuangRandy HuntNora KellyNancy Schoyer Sponsoring Members/Do-nors ($100-$249):Joan & John CongdonBruce Anderson and Lynne Gertz Patrons ($250 or more):Jan & Doug Hazlett


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Shopping, Cash and Your Credit Score

By Neil Funsch

Cha Ching! … went the cash register. “Cash or check?” Echoes of bygone holidays, and then along came the era of the Chargers. Not the smirking Philip Rivers’ version, but the plastic versions. Visa, Master Card and Discover gremlins promising easy shopping – a slippery slope to bad credit and worse. Right? Well maybe.

The use of credit is some-thing we are more aware of as we make purchases dur-ing the holiday season. In my business I meet with client confusion regarding the use of credit and their mortgage credit scores. The truth sur-prises most people. Carrying a zero balance on your credit cards will not give you the best credit score. Neither will paying cash for everything nor living debt free.

Your credit score is designed to help the people who are considering lending you money predict the likelihood of repayment. Your score is designed to show how well you handle credit, not that you are so well orga-nized or disciplined as to never use it.

What then is the optimal credit mix or

profile? Your credit score is built on five components, each bearing a relative weight or importance. From lowest to highest they are:

Type of credit accounts (revolving debt, including credit cards and installment/mortgage/auto loans): 10 percent

Here lenders want to see if you have experience handling different loan types, especially the one you are applying for. You should have one install-ment and two to three credit cards for an optimal score.

New credit: 10 percentHave you been loading up

on credit recently? Whenever someone takes on new credit they are potentially riskier, so each new credit that’s opened will initially lower their score. So know where you stand be-

fore opening up the new J.C. Penny card to get an additional 10 percent off, if you are considering a mortgage in the near future.

Length of credit history: 15 percent The best credit is old credit. This is im-

portant if you want to get the perfect credit score. How old is old? 61 years. As with the two preceding factors, not a huge factor but they all add up. So keep your old cards open.

Amount Owed: 30 percent Balances owed as a percent of available

dollar limit. Here is the big surprise: The optimal rating is achieved with balances below 10 percent on multiple revolving credit cards. You have to use credit in order to demonstrate your ability to manage it. On your installment loan the balance is not as important.

Payment history: 35 percent Do you pay on time? It is important to re-

alize these factors are all interrelated. Some-one who has a long history of successfully managing their debt will not be negatively affected much by opening a new account while someone who has missed many pay-ments will be.

Cha Ching!

Neil Funsch has been a mortgage broker for 18 years, the last four in Park Hill. He can be reached at 303-229-2684 or [email protected].

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Mar. 1


“We’re struggling in the final analysis to save

the soul of our nation.” Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin luther King, Jr.

From top left and in clockwise direction: Picketing against discrimination outside the Woolworth’s store in downtown Denver (undated photo). Burnis McCloud collection/Denver Public Library; Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. getting a corsage in this undated Denver photo. Burnis McCloud collection/Denver Public Library; King, standing next to an unidentified reverend, in 1964 in Denver. Burnis McCloud collection/Denver Public Library; Newspaper clippings of King’s 1964 visit to Denver, from Dick and Lorie Young’s scrapbook. Photo by Cara DeGette; Speaking to a congregation during his Jan. 23-26, 1964 visit to Denver and Littleton. Burnis McCloud collection/Denver Public Library

King, at a downtown Denver luncheon with other community leaders during his January 1964 visit to Colorado. Burnis McCloud collection/Denver Public Library


when black families started moving into neighborhoods that had been previously been inhabited mostly by white families. Rather than go along with what is also called “white flight,” many Park Hill residents worked to integrate the neighborhood.

One of King’s visits was to Littleton, which was then a far south suburb of Denver where very few, if any, blacks lived at the time. In a 2006 PBS documentary about King’s trip to Denver, Garrett Ray, the former editor of the Littleton Independent, discussed the significance.

“At the time, Littleton was still a white community,” Ray said. “[We knew] Park Hill was making efforts to remain as an in-tegrated community, and Littleton said, ‘we need to be looking at this and we need to be ready.’”

The soul of the nationOn Jan. 24, 1964, King addressed the con-

gregation at Littleton’s Grace Presbyterian Church.

“We’re struggling in the final analysis to save the soul of our nation,” he said. “We’re struggling also to save the image of our na-tion. Therefore it is imperative for the nation to work passionately and unrelentingly now to get rid of this cancer of segregation and discrimination.”

Another stop included a breakfast meet-ing at the Hilton downtown, mainly attend-ed by business leaders, including real estate executives. The main message, according to historians, was that integration is good – not bad – for business.

“Certainly the issues of faith that I have and many others as we work in this move-ment is the faith to believe that the problems can and will be solved,” King said. “And I think that if we continue to move on with all of the forces that are now at work that before the turn of the century we will have moved a long, long way toward a thoroughly integrated society.”

“And I would say within 10 years most of the legal barriers of segregation will be broken down. Where we’re just working in general to break down the system we still have segregated facilities in most of the southern states and our specific plans are to work until all of these segregated facili-ties are broken down, and we are working now in a very intensified sense in the area of voter registration seeking to double the number of Negro registered voters in the south, and I think this will be one of the major movements of the next few months.

‘It was a beautiful time’The visit also included a reception for

King at Dick and Lorie Young’s Park Hill

home, with then-Mayor Tom Currigan and other dignitaries.

Lorie Young said that it was a fully catered affair, but all King asked for was a cup of tea with honey. And she had no lemon in the house, so had to run next door and borrow one from a neighbor. King’s trip came less than two months after John F. Kennedy’s as-sassination, and many were still in shock. Security was tight throughout the visit, the Youngs said.

Maxine Gatewood, now the office man-ager at Macedonia Baptist Church, was a young woman when she went to hear King speak at the church. “He came to preach the word and he did.”

“I remember it was so exciting as a young person,” Gatewood said. “We had read about him and seen him on TV and witnessed him in the light of all the stuff that was going on at that time to actually have him be at the church we felt like he was a celebrity.”

The church, at 3240 Adams St., was filled to the capacity of 800, and security was tight. She didn’t remember King’s exact message, just the calm he exuded. “There was a bomb threat during the service, but he handled in a way that he knew everything was going to be all right. He was a man of God. It was just a beautiful time.”

No one has clean handsThe last stop of King’s visit was at Mont-

view Boulevard Presbyterian Church at 1980 Dahlia St. Young remembers that Sunday af-ternoon as snowy, and cold. Still, King drew the biggest turnout the church ever had – an estimated 3,000 strong, including a spillover crowd jamming the sidewalks outside. It was a multiracial gathering, with religious leaders and politicians in the crowd.

Shortly before he was to speak, King be-came locked in the pastor study area due to a tricky door jam. Ultimately, church leaders propped a ladder outside and the civil rights leader climbed out, carrying his robe.

He spoke to the throngs outside the church, before going inside to talk to the congregation.

“More and more we must come to see, we must come to see, that the problem of racial injustice is a national problem and not a sectional one,” King said during his time in Denver. “Actually no section of our country can boast of clean hands in the area of brotherhood.

“And I think as the movement progresses in the south it must progress in the north and vice versa because if you have the prob-lem anywhere you have some aspects of it everywhere. And injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Cara DeGette

Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and History Colorado are both planning events this month to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s three-day visit to Denver.

Montview Presbyterian is planning an appearance on Jan. 19 by Vincent Harding, a friend and colleague of King’s. Harding, who lives in Denver, is a professor emeri-tus of religion and social transformation at the Iliff School of Theology.

In addition, the church is organizing a panel discussion to talk about the diversity of Park Hill.

“This 50th anniversary does seem to be a special opportunity to talk about MLK’s visit to Park Hill and what that meant 50 years ago, but more importantly what is happening now and heading into 2014 ... and specifically what is the context of this in our faith communities,” said church Rev. Sheri Fry. Check out the GPHN web-site for updates on dates and other details for the panel discussion.

Kevin Pharris, a consultant with History Colorado, said the museum decided to sponsor its Denver Divinity Tour to high-light King’s 1964 visit, along with February Black History Month.

“We go and explore houses of worship for historical and architectural content,” Pharris said. “History Colorado does this

tour every few years, and this year’s theme was easy because of anniversary.”

Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church was an obvious choice on the bus tour, as it was the site of the largest congre-gation to gather during King’s visit. Also, Pharris noted, the church is in Park Hill, the first neighborhood in Denver to resist segregation, and also where the federal court school desegregation case Keyes v. School District No. 1 had its beginnings.

The two other churches on the tour this year are Shorter AME, at the southern end of the Five Points neighborhood at 20th Avenue and Washington Street, and Zion Baptist.

Zion Baptist, at 24th Avenue and Ogden Street, has been the house of worship for many famous black Coloradans. They in-clude, Rufus Felton, the first black teacher in Denver, and Thomas Riley, Colorado’s first black citizen. Dr. Justina Ford – a black woman doctor who was only al-lowed to treat other blacks when she moved to Colorado in 1902 – was also a member of the congregation, as were for-mer Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and his wife Wilma, a former legislator.

The date of the bus tour has not yet been set. Cost is $36 for History Colora-do members $46 non-members. For more information contact Shawn Snow at 303-866-3683.

MLK, continued from page 1

Then and NowEvents planned to honor King’s historic visit to Denver

“He came to preach the word, and he did.” Maxine Gatewood, who heard King speak

at Macedonia Baptist Church as a young woman

Maxine Gatewood was a young woman when she went to hear King deliver the Sunday sermon at Macedonia Baptist Church at 3240 Adams St. during his 1964 visit. Now the office manager at the church, Gatewood described it as “just a beautiful time.” Photo by Cara DeGette

Dick and Lorie Young hosted King, along with then-Mayor Tom Currigan and about 75 other dignitaries, at their Park Hill home. Young was the chairman of the Denver Commission on Human Relations. Photo by Cara DeGette


A Little Help in Park HillBy Nora Neureiter

A Little Help is an innovative and stable

nonprofit that is launching its grassroots model in Park Hill. A Little Help began in 2005 when a group of retirees in the Wash-ington Park neighborhood recognized the desire of many seniors to stay in their own homes and contribute to their respective communities.

Many seniors want to age in place and often just need a little help to do so. The organizers’ mission was to strengthen their neighborhood, focusing on volunteer ser-vices to help seniors thrive in their homes and communities.

A Little Help is unique in offering Denver communities biannual Service Saturday’s. In the spring and fall, volunteers assist se-niors with household “to do” lists of indoor and outdoor jobs. Projects include raking, cleaning light fixtures, washing windows, and moving boxes out for donation pickup. Additionally, members of the organization can request services such as pulling weeds, getting rides to the grocery store or doctor’s offices, or changing a burnt-out light bulb. Services are provided by a volunteer neigh-bor from the community.

Dr. Paul Ramsey, executive director of A Little Help, speaks passionately about his desire to build stronger relationships be-tween neighbors by bringing together folks of all ages. “We strive to cultivate a sense

of altruism and compassion for people of different genera-tions,” Ramsey said. “By work-ing side by side and sharing a meal with people who are seemingly different than us, we can’t help but discover qualities and interests which unite and bring us closer to-gether.”

For example, the program Brownies with Brownies gives elders a chance to share their time, stories, and wisdom with a local Brownie troop. Through A Little Help’s Teen Team, high school students are paired with older adults and can assist with technology or help around the house. Monthly dinners attract neighbors of all ages to share a common table. Book Clubs and a lecture series offer older persons op-portunities for intellectual and community engagement. And, a vetted list of service providers offers safe and convenient refer-rals for A Little Help members.

A Little Help is a bridge connecting neighbors who can lend a hand and want to be of service. Satisfying and meaningful connections are built while strengthening the neighborhood. A Little Help in Park Hill offers the prospect of remaining safe, connected and supported while aging in our community.

AARP and Blue Zones research have both produced strong evidence that people who have close relationships with their neigh-bors and communities live longer, especially when rediscovering purpose in their lives as they age.

A Little Help in Park Hill is hosting A Little Wine informational gathering on Wednes-day, Jan. 15th at 6 p.m. at the home of Trish Leary on Grape Street. This is a great chance for those who are interested to come together and learn more about what we can all do to help our elders thrive in Park Hill. Check out the website at alittlehelp.org, or call the office at (720) 242-9032 to RSVP for the event, or for more information about the organization.

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Denver’s Martin Luther King, Jr. MaradeThe largest Martin Luther King Jr. “Marade” – the blending of a march and parade – in the United States is scheduled to kick off at

9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20. Participants will gather at City Park and march to Civic Center Park downtown, where a large rally commemorates the life of the

civil rights leader.Check out denver.org/events for more information, including the complete Marade route and schedule as it becomes available. Ad-

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Hidden Conditions Can Change Pet BehaviorWe all know how you are feeling physi-

cally can impact how you respond to the demands of your day. Your sore back might make you snap grumpily at your child if they accidentally bump into you, or you may seclude yourself away. Most often we can verbalize that we don’t feel good and apolo-gize. But, what if you had no voice? How might you com-municate your illness or age-related changes? For many of our pets, it manifests as a change in behavior.

Any condition that leads to an increase in pain or discomfort may bring about be-havior changes for a cat or dog. Pain leads to irritability, anxiety over handling bring-ing more pain, and it can culminate in in-creased aggressiveness. And, if the display

of aggression removes the threat, then the bad behavior is reinforced.

Arthritis is common with aging or chron-ic orthopedic conditions. If your dog or cat’s joints or back hurt, the resulting decrease in mobility can increase house soiling. If it hurts to get in and out of the litter box or

posture outside, then inappro-priate urination and defecation can result. It’s not that your cat is trying to get back at you or

the dog is mad about being left at home.With aging for all of us, things change,

but some behavior changes in pets can be from organ functional changes or dysfunc-tion. A pet might be affected by the in-crease of toxic waste products circulating in the blood from kidney or liver disease.

An increased frequency of urination or loss of urine control can come from changes in kidney function, the development of a uri-nary tract infection or bladder stones, or the development of diabetes or other endocrine disease. Changes associated with the diges-tive tract can lead to a change in frequency of bowel movements – increased may lead to diarrhea while decreased can lead to con-stipation.

The endocrine system – the equivalent of the code streaming from the computer brain – also has critical impacts on behavior. Too much or too little thyroid hormone, excess steroid production by the adrenal glands or decreases in pancreatic insulin produc-tion may first only be noticed as behavior changes.

Behavior and personality changes can also come from medical conditions in the nervous system such as epilepsy, brain tu-mors, infection, immune and degenerative

conditions. As a system, the brain and body are all integrated and changes in the nervous system will have clinical effects that may show as new or unusual behavior. As the brain ages, even in dogs and cats, there can be the development of cognitive dysfunc-tion and senility. The dog that was perfectly house-trained at age eight may get lost in the house and have accidents.

The good news is that many underlying conditions can be treated and the undesir-able behavior resolved by working with your veterinarian. For other conditions, manage-ment changes can make it tolerable. Sadly, none of us can stop the aging process, but we can keep our pets comfortable, and enjoy them without letting resentment over a new bad behavior build.

Dr. Margot can be reached at parkhillvet.com

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What City Park Could Do With $5 Million

On Friday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m., as the weather hovered around 2 degrees, about 80 residents from around City Park attended a meeting at the Ford Warren Branch Library. The city requested the meeting with neighbors after the opposition described at StopCityLoop.org came to their attention. Citizens from Whittier, Mayfair, Park Hill, South City Park and City Park West came to discuss the City Loop proposal with Denver Parks and Rec-reation’s Manager Lauri Dannemiller, Dep-uty Manager Scott Gilmore and Director of Planning Gordon Robertson.

I was very surprised that the majority of citizens who made the effort to attend the meeting were as opposed to the project as I was. We all seemed to be saying many of the same things: We love City Park for its green serenity and its feeling of actually being in the country for a little while in our busy, urban lives. We don’t want to lose green space, especially to three acres of neon plas-tic structures surrounding a meadow lined with stadium seats. We feel the pressure of the two institutions who coexist with us in City Park and we already struggle with traffic issues, which are not addressed in the Loop plan. We are familiar with the sight of children and families enjoying the Dustin Redd playground.

The playground was never maintained by the city, and there is no maintenance plan for the City Loop. With the $5 million pro-posed for City Loop, the Dustin Redd play-ground could be restored or even rebuilt with lush plantings and other beautiful and interesting features surrounding it. In ad-dition, more plantings could be installed around the MLK statue, the gateways and other historic features could be restored, the goose poop cleaned up, and the weeds removed with money left over. Such a plan would truly give City Park the lift it needs.

Georgia GarnseyPark Hill

A Letter From the PrincipalDear Park Hill Families:Please know that I appreciate your con-

cerns and your support of the children and our school. In response to the communica-tion to the Superintendent, we have been

working with central-level departments to outline a plan to provide the resources needed to address our concerns in prepar-ing students to meet the Common Core State Standards, especially in the areas of social studies and science.

I want to let you know that the district has published a Request for Proposals to publishers for the adoption of a K-5 litera-cy curriculum to address the more rigorous Common Core State Standards. The materi-als will be purchased for all grades K-5 for the 2014-15 school year. Teacher and school leader training will be provided this sum-mer to facilitate the roll out of the new cur-riculum in August.

Park Hill representatives have been in-vited to participate in the Literacy Curricu-lum and Instruction Advisory Committee to choose the new materials for next year. The meetings begin Jan. 25, and will go the Board of Education on Feb. 20. Materials for consideration will be on display for com-munity comment Jan. 30 through Feb. 20.

The process to approve the use of non-adopted textbooks for core instruction and supplemental materials requires a submitted request the year before materials would be used (this means we would have needed to make a request in November of 2012 for this school year). Rather than spend school or PTSA funds on supplemental materials this year, the district will purchase new materials that allows us to use these funds in other ways. We are working with the curriculum department and the Chief Academic Officer to identify approved supplemental materials in the area of science and social studies for the new standards. We will purchase these materials instead of the McGraw-Hill lit-eracy program and expect to have them in place early 2014.

I have every confidence in the expertise of our teachers to increase the instructional rigor and provide students with experi-ences with the Common Core State Stan-dards. We are mapping our current ma-terials to the new standards and working to make sure that students have high-level tasks as part of their instruction.

Please contact me if you have any ques-tions or concerns at 720-424-4910 or email me at [email protected].

Tonda Potts, Ph D, PrincipalPark Hill Elementary School

send your leTTers To [email protected]

leTTers To The edITor

Update from StopCityLoop.comFrom our community meeting on Dec. 6 to hundreds of your petitions, the Hancock

Administration appears to have heard the voices of City Park's neighbors: the citizens who use the park and who care deeply about the benefits our natural City Park provides.

Parks and Recreation has declared their intention to re-evaluate City Loop and outline steps they plan to take, including hiring local landscape architect Tina Bishop, whose firm authored the 2001 study Revitalizing the Legacy of City Park, to lead the effort.

While we are optimistic about recent developments, we remain cautious, since the Han-cock Administration went on the record on Dec. 19 in the Denver press saying:

"It's our intent to build a version of this project … It's not a bond project. It's what we've decided we want for City Park at this time." (Westword, Dec. 19.)

We hope that the Hancock Administration has recognized the importance of neighbor-hood involvement right from the beginning of the process to re-evaluate City Loop. In fact, according to the City's Master Plan for Play, cited by Parks and Recreation as its guideline for City Loop:

The community in each neighborhood should determine its own priorities for play areas. Denver neighborhood groups should be given the tools to do their own local as-sessments and work with DPR staff... (page 132, Denver Play Area Master Plan, June 2008)

It is our view that City Park needs:A child's playground no larger than 1 acre in size on the west side of City Park. This

could be a repair, renovation, or replacement of the Dustin Redd Playground.Preservation of the natural character of the park.Judicious use of General Fund monies to repair and maintain City Park, including gar-

dens and plants, trees, playgrounds, fountains, and statuary.Since we expect to receive an invitation to participate, StopCityLoop is pleased to an-

nounce that we have named Hank Bootz and Phil Hainline as our representatives to the City Loop design team. We look forward to joining Ms. Bishop, the City, and the represen-tatives named by Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs) of the neighborhoods adjacent to City Park.

We will keep you informed as the process unfolds.

Editor’s note: For details of the proposed City Park Loop, see the Page 1 story in the Decem-ber, 2013 issue of the Greater Park Hill News, at http://issuu.com/greaterparkhillnews.


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Not a rare sight in January: It is Canada Goose central at City Park. Photo by Mark Silverstein

comes in several hours per week to help with pantry paperwork and organizational projects as well as food distributions. Becky helped me research the operation of other food programs to suggest best practices and structure operations prior to our re-open-ing. I trust her as my right-hand person to track pantry paperwork, and to continuous-ly improve our program. I am truly grateful to all she has given to GPHC this year and her no-nonsense yet humorous approach to any problem. She’s dynamic, fearless, and creative like no one I’ve ever met.

Pamela first started volunteering after bumping into me outside the GPHC office early last spring and asking about what we did. From casual beginnings I could not have imagined how incredibly valuable she would become. Pam now works for GPHC as our Blockworker Coordinator to ensure our newspapers get delivered, but she also still volunteers her time weekly to sort in-coming food donations and organize them on our shelves, and to help with our food distribution to clients.

With a background in corrections, but also with knowledge about seemingly every-thing else under the sun, Pam has a wealth of diverse skills that all seem to come in handy for whatever GPHC needs. She finds a way to do everything more efficiently, and takes on every new project with a calm can-do attitude.

I am truly grateful to Pam and Becky for keeping the GPHC Emergency Food Pantry running smoothly over the past year. I could not operate it without them- they are tre-

mendous assets so I wanted to specifically thank them for their many hours of service in 2013.

More to come in ‘142014 looks to be another exciting year of

growth for GPHC programs. We have new board members in place, a new newspaper editor, and new goals. With cuts in food stamps we anticipate a large increase in uti-lization of the GPHC Food Pantry and its garden of fresh produce next summer.

As a distribution site for Denver Urban Gardens, in January residents may apply for free food seeds to be distributed in March and plants to be distributed in May. Al-though aimed at low-income households anyone may sign up to receive their choice of a variety of edible plants from tomatoes, to beans, broccoli and cauliflower. Please come by our office Monday through Thurs-day 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. before Jan. 30 to sign up for this program.

We will host our regular neighborhood fundraisers: the Garden Walk in June and the Home Tour in September. We welcome volunteers to get involved with either event’s planning committee, neighborhood-wide cleanup projects in April, or other activities throughout the year.

Please contact Robyn at 303-388-0918 or [email protected] to volunteer, or join us for one of our monthly meet-ings (Jan. 9, then the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. except July and Decem-ber). Resolve to get involved in 2014 … and Happy New Year from GPHC!

ultimate goal should be assisting teachers and parents to better support students in their learning.

The high-stakes testing, however, makes many parents balk. Some opt-out because they feel the tests are not a good measure of their child’s abilities. Others dislike the test prepping that engulfs the schools as March approaches every year.

According to Peggy Robertson of United Opt Out, “high stakes testing increases the

data mining and the corporate opportunity to cash in using our children and our tax dollars. We must reclaim authentic teaching and learning for all children. Common Core standards will create common children us-ing scripted curriculum and increased test-ing. Parents can opt out of state testing here in Colorado and all over the country.”

For more information look for the Colorado opt out/refusal guide at unitedoptout.com.

GPHC Update, continued from page 2

Common Core, continued from page 3


One service at 9:00 am on January 19 followed by Annual Meeting

Sunday School for all ages, Sunday 9:15-10:15 amwww.saintthomasdenver.org

303-388-43952201 Dexter Street, Denver

St. Thomas welcomes All to our historic Denver landmark

By Tara Bannon Williamson Have you ever met someone and instantly

knew you would be the best of friends be-cause you shared similar tastes in books, movies or music?

Beloved fictional characters become as rich a character reference as a college room-mate or neighbor. The shared experience of viewing dramatic shows include the collec-tive inhale of expectation, sigh of relief and shared tear at each twist, turn, and thrilling finale. (Just ask anyone who’s caught up on Downton Abbey. Careful, they might cry on you.)

Book clubs provide both a place to meet new fictional friends as well as real life friends. While you read alone, the book club provides the opportunity to share your ex-perience and connect with others. We were recently moved by a grateful mother’s appre-ciation for our kids’ book club as it provided advantages to her and provided healthy and safe social opportunities.

We look forward to expanding our book club opportunities starting in May, collabo-rating with the Lighthouse Writers Work-shop with a Big Read event. The question, “Have you read/seen/listened to anything good lately?” is a popular conversation start-er for a very good reason; it helps us connect to one another.

Park Hill Library Events

All Ages Storytime

Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. All ages are welcome for this storytime!

Book Babies: Early Walkers

Thursdays at 11:15 a.m.Stories, action songs, and rhymes devel-

oped to meet the needs of babies on the move and their caregivers. Tales for Twos

Fridays at 10:30 a.m.Join us for a storytime just for two-year-

olds and their caregivers.Book Babies: Pre-Walkers

Fridays at 11:15 a.m.Stories, rhymes, and lap songs developed

to meet the needs of infants and their care-givers. Pajama Storytime

Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.Stories, songs, and fun for all ages!

Teen Advisory Board (TAB)

Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m.

Students in grades 6-12 are invited to join the Park Hill TAB. Help plan library events and projects at the Park Hill Library, talk about your favorite books, and make your opinion count! Genre Chat Book Club

Thursday, Jan. 16, at 3:30 p.m.A book club for grades 2 and 3. We will

explore a variety of book genres, and par-ticipate in discussions, crafts, and activities related to the story. This month we will read The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Teen Book Club

Thursday, Jan. 16, at 4:30 p.m. A reading group for teens in grades 6-12

that meets to talk about books, eat snacks, play games, and have some laughs. Bring your friends! Help us think up a better name for our book club! For our first meeting: we’ll eat, talk about which books to read, give our club a name, and take home the book to read for February. Storytime Break

The Park Hill Branch Library took a short storytime break for the holidays. Regular sto-rytimes will continue beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8. Please stop by for Open Play on Thurs-days and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon.

Pauline Robinson Library Programs

After School is Cool

Monday through Friday from 4 to 5 p.m.In January ASIC will continue with Mon-

day Madness and Friday Fun. Both include various crafts, legos and games. On Tuesdays in January, Science Matters will be visiting, Wednesdays will be craft day, and Thurs-day Abrakadoodle will be visiting to lead children in painting projects.Family Storytime

Saturday, Jan. 18Join us for stories, music, and fun

Considering a Business?

Monday, Jan. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m.Come join us for a free workshop explor-

ing the realities and rewards of owning a small business; receive strategic tips on how to start a business, and learn more about the Innovation Lab business programs. Spon-sored by Innovation Lab at Northeast Park Hill. For more information, visit MiCasaRe-sourceCenter.org or call 303-573-1302.

aT T h e l I b r a r y

Books Bring Us Together

Knights and dragons: Kids meet the coolest friends at the library.Graphic by Park Hill resident, library staff member and graphic novelist Thane Benson.


KeeP your neIGhborhood sTronG!Join Greater Park Hill Community, Inc.

We have a variety of memberships. All memberships are tax deductible.

[ ] New member [ ] Membership renewal

If these membership levels are not suitable, GPHC will gratefully accept a donation for membership dues at a level that is comfortable for you and your family.Name: __________________________________________________________Business name:___________________________________________________Address & Zip:____________________________________________________Phone:_______________________(work) ________________________(home)Email: ___________________________________________________________

Mail to: GPHC, 2823 Fairfax Street, Denver CO 80207

___ Individual or Family ($25/year)___ Business or Sustaining ($50/year)

___ Sponsoring Member ($100/year)___ Patron ($250/year)___ Other

2014January 6 – 17

Questions? Call 311 or visit

DenverGov.org/DenverRecycles

bh

Set your tree out for collection during the first two weeks of January. Your tree will get picked up by a special tree collection truck for recycling.

Set-out day and location depends on your trash service type. Manual & Barrel customers should set trees out near your normal set-out location by 7 a.m. on one of your trash collection days during the two-week collection period. Dumpster customers should set trees out by 7 a.m. on either Monday, January 6th OR Monday, January 13th for collection sometime during that week.

Please do not place trees in dumpsters. Trees should be placed at least 4 feet away from dumpsters and other obstacles for collection.

RECYCLING YOUR HOLIDAY TREE IS AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3!

Remove all decorations and the tree stand. NO artificial or flocked trees. Real evergreen trees only!

Reclaim free mulch made from your tree at the annual Mulch Giveaway in the spring!

12

3

As I was walking my dogs in our beauti-ful neighborhood, I noticed numerous signs posted around, claiming to have found an eggplant. It read, “FOUND! Fresh produce in North Park Hill.”

Aleece Raw and her team of volunteers are at the core of this food justice move-ment. The Sunshine Food Project is a non-profit community collaborative seeking to

provide sustainable food systems to those who lack access to fresh food in North Park Hill and the surrounding food desert neigh-borhoods.

Raw is one part grassroots, one part rev-olutionary, many parts foodie, many parts gardener – all comprising a dynamic and vision-oriented soul who is on a mission to feed people locally grown and organic produce. Ultimately, the Sunshine Food Project aims to have at least one “veggie mobile” that delivers freshly grown, local and organic produce.

We sat down recently to discuss her pas-sion and dedication to the sustainable food movement. “In 20 years, why can’t we have lower grocery bills?” Raw asked. “People can grow their own food. They can grow enough for multiple families. Why can’t the world be like that? It can!” She concedes, however, that education is an essential com-ponent to the movement. For example, the target demographic of the Sunshine Food Project generally knows their vegetables, but sometimes they have no idea how to prepare it.

ROOTS: How was the Sunshine Food Project born?

RAW: Last August, we had such a won-derful harvest. We offered to donate to the Park Hill Food Pantry and were turned away because the folks that come in aren’t privy to preparing fresh foods. All of this fresh produce, and no one was there to use it. After talking with some volunteers and community-oriented folks, we decided to change that. Why not get fresh food to those that need it most?

ROOTS: How did you come upon the idea of a “veggie mobile”?

RAW: After researching an effective way of actually getting the produce to people,

we found out that many “Harvest Mobiles” are popping up, especially in popular Euro-pean and North American cities. Our veggie mobile is inspired by one in Maine and our bicycle design is inspired by a mobile farm stand in Boston.

ROOTS: What is the long-term impact of the project?

RAW: We will be providing low-income residents with healthy, affordable, fresh produce that use sustainable and organic methods. It will bring folks together – from neighborhood organizations to local foodies, to lo-cal greenhouse growers. Ideally, there is a fleet of veggie mobiles traveling

the neighborhoods. Part of the Sunshine Food Project’s fundraising pitch is, “Imag-ine visiting the fresh food farm stand when picking up your child after school, or getting excited when you hear the bell of the ‘Har-vest Mobile’ approaching your block instead of the ice cream truck.” We want people to be empowered by food – knowing how to identify it and prepare it.

ROOTS: How do you get all of the farm fresh produce?

RAW: Volunteers are at the core of this project. We have begun conversations with larger growers – farmers and greenhouse growers – to perhaps partner with us. Whether it is donations from a few of their crops or space in a greenhouse, or sourc-ing directly from them, the conversation has started. We are in the beginning stages of fostering relationships with various folks and they seem open and welcoming to the idea.

ROOTS: What is your biggest challenge to make the veggie mobile a reality?

RAW: Our biggest area of need right now is financing. Our goal is to be delivering produce this next growing season. The bike needs to be built. Money needs to be raised. We have communicated with folks in other states that have attempted the veggie mobile and problems arose. The people involved in the nation-wide movement are eager and happy to assist us, letting us know what to do and what not to do.

Marne Norquist is a professional horticul-turist with 13 years of experience designing and installing gardens. A native of Park Hill, she cultivates a plot on Dexter Street, where gardens – edible and ornamental – and two kids grow. She can be reached at [email protected].

If you are interested in helping the Sunshine Food Project out in any way (donations, in-kind support, welding, design) please contact Aleece Raw at [email protected].

For more information on the Sunshine Food Project, visitsunshinefoodproject.org or neighborhoodcatalyst.org/en/SunshineFoodProject.

Marne norquIsTParK hIll rooTs

Sunshine Food Project on Mission to Feed Neighbors

Aleece Raw, right, and her partner Kris Meese, harvesting a pumpkin at the Sunshine Food Project potluck in October.

www.GreaterParkhill.org


Active MindsTuesday, January 7, 2014, 1:00-3:00 pm (1:00 reception, 1:30 program)Putin’s Russia: Having influenced the country far beyond the term of his first official Presi-dency and now having returned to the role and consolidated his power, Vladimir Putin’s leadership of Russia suggests a return to an authoritarianism that, for some, feels similar to the days of Soviet control and the Czars of old. Join Active Minds as we examine the story of Russia under the influence of Vladimir Putin. Location: Vita Flats, 101 Grant St.Cost: FreeRSVP: 720-242-7804

Thursday, January 9, 2014, 7:00-8:00 pmParis: Biography of a CityJoin Active Minds for the story of the City of Lights. We will trace the city’s history from its Celtic origins through modern times. In the process, we’ll visit with some of the city’s most colorful characters and notable places, includ-ing the Eiffel Tower, which was despised by Parisians in its day. So, don your beret and come sit with us on the banks of the Seine. It’s the next best thing to being there!Location: Stapleton Master Community Asso-ciation, 2823 Roslyn St, Denver, CO 80238... mapCost: FreeRSVP: Not required Tuesday, January 14, 2014, 12:30-1:30 pmGermany: As the European Union struggles with a variety of complex issues, many of them financial, Germany has emerged as a critical player in the development of economic policy for the region. Recent German elections served as a referendum on how the German government, under the leadership of Angela Merkel, has performed in the eyes of Germans. Join Active Minds as we explore the role of Germany in the world as well as how the pro-cess of German reunification has evolved, es-pecially given Merkel’s roots in the government of the former Communist East Germany. Location: Tattered Cover, 2526 E ColfaxCost: FreeInfo: 303-322-7727

ART GARAGE6100 E 23rd Ave., artgaragedenver.com, 303-377-2353Visit the Art Garage for free maps listing loca-tions and times of studio events.

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE2001 Colorado Blvd., dmns.org, 303-370-6000Mythbusters continues through January 5; Mysteries of the Unseen World 3D IMAX plays daily at 10:30am, 1, 3 and 5pm, and additional showtimes Friday-Saturday at 7pm.

DENVER SCHOOL OF THE ARTS7111 Montview Blvd.; dsapresents.orgCosts for most performances are: $10 Stu-dents & Seniors - $ 12 AdultsJan. 16 – 18 Theatre Department Presents Noises Off (Schomp) 7 p.m. (1/18 – 2 & 7 pm); 1/19 - CMEA Showcase (Concert Hall) 7 pm; January 29 – February 1 Theatre Department Presents Failure, A Love Story (Black Box) 7 pm

DENVER POLICE DISTRICT 23921 Holly St., [email protected], 720-913-1000Commander Calo hosts the District 2 Commu-nity Advisory Board’s (2CAB) monthly meet-ings on the fourth Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. in the D2 Police Station Community Room.

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLSdpsk12.org/expo

DENVER ZOO2300 Steele St., denverzoo.org, 720-337-1400Zoo Lights takes place through January 5, from 5:30-9pm.

FAITH COMMUNITYgreaterparkhill.org/faithGreater Park Hill’s faith community, home to over 30 places of worship in just four square miles, is as diverse and robust as the neighbor-hood itself. The GPHN maintains a list of Park Hill’s places of worship at the website above.

GPHC2823 Fairfax St., greaterparkhill.org, 303-388-0918The GPHC holds its monthly meetings on the first Thursdays of the month. The next regu-lar community meeting of the GPHC will take place Thursday, January 9, at 6:30pm at the GPHC offices.

HOLLY AREA REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT (HARP)HOPE Center, 3475 Holly St.HARP holds second Monday monthly meeting at the HOPE Center from 6:15-7:30pm. RSVP required to [email protected].

LIBRARIESdenverlibrary.orgSee At the Library for events at the Park Hill and Pauline Robinson Branch Libraries.

MOMTIME AT MONTVIEWmontviewmomtime.wordpress.comMomTime will focus on topics related to parent-ing, life balance, personal care and community service. Meets the 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays of each month in Room 305 at Montview Pres-byterian, 1980 Dahlia St., from 9:15-11:15am. Breakfast and childcare provided.

MUSIC [email protected] music jam forming in Park Hill. Blues, folk, rock? Meet once a week, twice a month or monthly? Email ideas to the above address with Music in the subject line.

NORTHEAST DENVER PARENT SUPPORT GROUP2600 Leyden, [email protected], 303-329-8950Parents of children with a variety of special needs of all ages support and nurture one an-other, and share resources and ideas. Third or fourth Friday from 9:30-11:30am.

NORTHEAST PARK HILL COALITIOND2 Police Station, 3921 Holly St., Michele Wheeler, 720-837-5492

The NEPHC hosts its monthly meeting on the second Thursdays of the month at 6pm.

PARK HILL CRUISERSFind them on FacebookOccasional warm-weather rides make stops at local watering holes and host rider homes in Park Hill.

PARK HILL FAMILY BIKE RIDESFind them on FacebookFamily-friendly rides taking place in the warm-weather months.

PARK HILL NEW PARENTS GROUPmeetup.com/Park-Hill-ParentsPark Hill parents group offers playdates, out-ings, Dad’s Night Out and Mommy Book Club.

PARK HILL PELOTONparkhillpeloton.org or find them on Face-bookA recreational group of road cyclists that roll from Park Hill once or twice a week.

PROJECT SUNSHINEsunshinefoodproject.org, 303-321-5231The group working to realize a cooperatively-owned grocery at 35th and Albion will host a celebration of its new grant to build a Veggie Mobile fleet on December 3 at 6pm.

SACRED i YOGA2212 Kearney, mysacredi.com, 303-355-5856

SCIENTIFIC & CULTURAL FACILITIES DISTRICT FREE DAYSCheck out scfd.org

SERTOMA CLUB303-370-0932The Greater Park Hill Sertoma Club holds a breakfast meeting every first and third Satur-day morning at 8am at the District 2 Police Station, 3921 Holly Street.

SHARE DENVERsharedenver.com, 2829 Fairfax St.

SIE FILMCENTER2510 E. Colfax, denverfilm.org, 303-595-3456

TAI CHI [email protected], 303-744-7676Tai Chi classes Thursday mornings in City Park at 7-7:45am planned in conjunction with DMNS.

Tattered Cover Travel Lovers Book Club The book club meets the 2nd Monday of each month at the Tattered Cover at 2526 E. Colfax Ave. January 13, 2013 book selectionTurn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Ad-ams Presenter: Christine TannerCountry: Peru

TEMPLE MICAHmicahdenver.org, 303-388-4239

VENTURE PREP2540 Holly Street, ventureprep.org, 303-893-0805

WALK2CONNECTmeetup.com/walk2connectPark Hill Sunrise Walking Trips set off ev-ery Tuesday morning from Camino Coffee at 29th and Fairfax at 7am. Walks are about one hour long, just under 3 miles, and family and dog friendly. For more information, email [email protected] or call 303-908-0076.

ZUMBA IN PARK HILLPark Hill United Methodist Church, [email protected], 720-436-3899Classes Saturdays from 9-10am. First class free, $7 drop-ins, $39 for 6 class punch card.

Submit your neighborhood events to [email protected].

e v e n T s l I s T I n G

If Denver Zoo visitors need to warm up a bit this month they can visit one its newest arrivals, a Fiji banded iguana. The very colorful, 12-year-old male arrived recently from San Diego Zoo and is the first of his species to live at Denver Zoo in eight years. Eventually zookeepers hope to couple him with a female with which to breed. Male Fiji banded iguanas are known for their bright green coloring with broad, light blue or white bands. Females are usually solid green with some spotting. They can grow to about two feet long, but weigh less than a pound..


ROOFINGResidential reroofing and repairs, 17 years’ experience, licensed, bonded, and insured. Gutter replacement and cleaning. www.ac-curateroofingandmasonry.com. Call Shawn 303-907-9223.

PLUMBINGJH Edwards Plumbing & Heating. Large or small jobs, quality work at fair prices. From repairs to remodeling, bath, kitchen upgrades, & problem solving. Lic & insured. Jim 303-883-9030.

Brugman Plumbing. I arrive on time, I do it right, I don’t price gouge, Larry 303-935-6348.

Vail Plumbing and Heating – The Older Home Specialist. Repair, service, remodel, hot water heat. Licensed, insured, guaranteed. 303-324-6042.

HANDYMANHoney Do Right Home Repair, LLC. Park Hill Resident, John Betlz, wants you safe and hap-py. Painting, wall repair, grab bars, hand rails, loud door bells, minor electrical. Bonded In-sured. Call Text 720-998-4526 [email protected].

Handyman/Contractor-Licensed, Insured, Residential, Commercial. All Maintenance items. J&K Enterprises 303-921-3398. No job too small.

ELECTRICALRAY’S ELECTRICAL SERVICE. 14 Years in Park Hill. Quality work. Reasonable rates. Friendly, neat, reliable. Plenty of references. 30 years experience. Licensed and insured. 720-350-8282

MASONRY SERvICESBrick, Stone, Concrete, restoration, tuck point-

ing, chimney’s, retaining walls, city sidewalks. licensed, bonded, and insured. www.thebri-ckandstoneguy.com References. Call Shawn 303-907-9223

HAULINGCut Rate Hauling- A trash, clutter, and junk re-moval service. Estate clean up, eviction clean up, construction debris, etc. Call Ruben today 720-434-8042.

CHILD CAREPART TIME “Playschool for Toddlers”. A MUST SEE! Holly and Cherry Creek Drive. (Limit 3. Ages 1-3. W-T-F. 7:45am-5:45pm.) Where “fun” and “learning” hold hands every day. By-lingual (Portuguese), licensed, experienced with excellent references. For further informa-tion: [email protected]

LIFE INSURANCETerm, Whole, Indexed Universal and Living Benefits. Don’t wait till it’s too late! Apply Now. Resident Agent delivers quotes promptly. Awe-some Old Fashioned SERVICE. 303-668-2154 email: [email protected]

MUSIC LESSONSDrum lessons – guaranteed results, East Side Drums. 303-320-0514.

REFLExOLOGYGot Pain? GET RELIEF! Be good to yourself. Stimulate your feet’s reflex points with Reflex-ology & Detoxification. New Year Special 25% off. Flex-A-Foot LLC 303-885-7021

GPHC WISH LISTDonations of needed in-kind gifts and talents help us to offset expenses to serve the com-munity more efficiently. Please contact Robyn Fishman at 303-388-0918 or director@great-

erparkhill.org if you can help with any of the following:

• A 3-5 ft. sturdy step stool/short ladder• A coat rack and hangers • Canned fruit, canned chicken, ham or beef

for our emergency food pantry• 4 or 6 ft. folding tables• Financial donations toward a new awning at

the GPHC Office at 2823 Fairfax St.• Label maker and supplies• Gift cards for grocery stores, Target, office

supply stores• Toiletries, toilet paper and paper towels or

hand towel refills, pet food donations

Volunteers needed: Food sorters, Blockworkers to deliver the Greater Park Hill News, help to remove snow for the GPHC office and senior neighbors, and plant our garden in the spring

GreaTer ParK hIll news ClassIFIeds

To advertise in the Classifieds, contact

bernadette Kelly 720-287-0442

[email protected] deadline for submitting a classified ad is the 20th of every month

Superior House Cleaning [email protected]


KEITH AND DEVON COMBS

The Kentwood Company

MARCY EASTMANRe/Max Cherry Creek

JAY EPPERSONRe/Max Cherry Creek

MARY GERWIN ANDSHAYLISA TURNER

Kentwood Cherry Creek

STEVE HETTERICHRe/Max Cherry Creek

NINA KUHLCherry Creek Properties

STEVE LAPORTACherry Creek Properties

CORRIE LEEPerry & Co.

ROBERTA LOCKECherry Creek Properties

JANE MCLAUGHLINCherry Creek Properties

JOHN NEUCherry Creek Properties

EMILY ROETRoet Realty

DAVE ROUSHRe/Max Cherry Creek

KIM TIGHECherry Creek Properties

ANN TORGERSONCherry Creek Properties

ANASTASIA WILLIAMSONKentwood City Properties

JUDY WOLFERe/Max Cherry Creek

JOHN WYSZYNSKIGerretson Realty, Inc.

Thank You!Thanks to your support in 2013, participating Park Hill realtors proudly donated thousands of dollars to the Greater Park Hill Community.

These realtors will continue that tradition in 2014 with a donation of $50 per transation in Park Hill!

Gphc january 2014

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Transcript of Gphc january 2014