Reframing students' artistic horizons - #lakewoodnews

The ReFrame Creative Reuse Center in Lakewood welcomed the warm spring weather by introducing its services to Jefferson County's art teachers.

ReFrame, a nonprofit creative reuse center established by Crystal Froman Levine and located at 10230 W. 26th Ave. in Lakewood, takes items many would get rid of and makes arts and crafts for all ages from them. Items include magazines, fabric, frames and toys.

"We wanted to make sure the art teachers know we're here," Levine said. "I'm really passionate that teachers have access to our materials."

Levine partnered with Robin Weikel, program coordinator with the Jeffco Schools Foundation, to spread the word to district teachers. About 20 teachers gathered April 8 to peruse the materials and learn about the classes that Levine offers at ReFrame.

"The teachers have this great resource available to them, but they may not know it," Weikel said. "We want them to know it."

In addition to getting ideas for their own art projects, teachers networked and made materials wish lists. Levine will take those lists and try to find the items.

Alysa Quintana, a student teacher at Vanderhoof Elementary School, heard about ReFrame from her teacher.

"I'm really into collecting things, so I like looking through stuff like this," she said. "I think this kind of place is perfect because it teaches kids anything can be material for them. It broadens their horizons on what they can create."

The lease on the property ReFrame uses will be ending soon, and Levine is looking for space to grow. She hopes teachers and the community will be inspired to help find a new home.

"I want ReFrame to be a supply house for teachers," she said. "And a community space to gather."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Reframing-students-artistic-horizons,211998

'Tuesday ... loves to take care of me' - #lakewoodnews

Explaining the trials of war and its lingering aftereffects to children is no easy task. There are so many complicated and messy details that are difficult to communicate.Like in all things since leaving the service, Capt. Luis Carlos Montalván gets through it with his service dog, Tuesday.On April 15, the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, Vietnam Veterans Association and Elks Lodge 1777 hosted Montalván and Tuesday for a veterans' family event at the Elks Lodge."This is a great opportunity for the center to partner with the Vietnam Veterans and get our messages out to the people," said Carl LoFaro, Veteran and Military Family Services program manager with the Jefferson Center. "We provide counseling to vets and their family members affected by their time in the service."Montalván, author of "Until Tuesday" and a new children's book "Tuesday Tucks Me In," served in the U.S. Army for 17 years. While in Iraq, he sustained several injuries in an attack, including a cracked vertebrae and a traumatic brain injury. He earned two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and the Combat Action Badge.During the event, he gathered all the children around him and read his book. He also showed them how he and Tuesday take care of each other."Tuesday is my BFE, best friend forever," Montalván told them. "I love to take care of Tuesday, because he loves to take care of me."The event was an opportunity for all organizations involved to showcase their services and how they can help the veteran community."We try to do a number of events for the community," said Richard Cox, president of the Vietnam Veterans Association. "We want kids to be aware of what's happening and the things vets go through."During his presentation, Montalván spoke about being troubled by nightmares and flashbacks, and explained how Tuesday helps him feel safe and comforted during these times."Tuesday helps with my PTSD -- the nightmares and how I get nervous with a lot of people and loud noises," he said. "When you get a hug from your best friend, I don't care who you are, you feel better."Children weren't the only ones excited to meet Montalván and Tuesday."I read the captain's first book and was so touched by it," said resident Jackie Garcia. "I wanted to be here to tell him how much I appreciate all he has done."Former serviceman Matt Wetenkamp attended with his 3-year-old daughter Sam as a way to help explain to her what service people experience."She probably has no understanding of much of this," Wetenkamp said. "I'm proud of my service and what I did, and I think this is the perfect introduction for her."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Tuesday-loves-to-take-care-of-me,211997

Vandiver ends water district service

from Valley Courier - News http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php

Area death related to hantavirus

from Valley Courier - News http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php

At Jeffco breakfast it's all good news - #lakewoodnews

About 400 people gathered at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds on April 12 to hear word of the county's good news.

The theme for the 26th annual Good News Breakfast was "Building and Protecting Our Community." Coinciding with the theme, nine individuals or organizations were awarded with an honoree plaque this year.

Thirty-year Jefferson County resident Sidnie O'Connell was inducted to the Good News Coalition's hall of fame. O'Connell retired from the Good News Steering Committee in 2015 after serving six years. She currently works at the Jefferson Center for Mental Health.

It began in 1989 when people were hearing too much of the county's negative news, said Mark Smiley, chair of the Good News Coalition, in his welcome speech. But there was good news happening, too --; it just wasn't on the forefront. Thus began the Good News Breakfast, and it has now become a legend in Jefferson County, he said.

"The bottom line is, we are all in this together," said Arvada Police Chief Don Wick, the keynote speaker for the event. "We all need to engage with each other."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://goldentranscript.net/stories/At-Jeffco-breakfast-its-all-good-news,211856?branding=15

Musical about death sparks humor solace optimism - #lakewoodnews

Few people actually like thinking about death. But imagine when one actually is Death.

In the musical "Death Takes a Holiday," the embodiment of life's end needs a break and travels to Italy to try to understand human nature a little better.

The show makes its regional premiere at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., April 26 and runs through May 15. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. on Wednesday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

"In a broad sense, this is a show about love and death," said Peter Saide, who plays Death and his human alter ego, Prince Nikolai Sirki. "It's written about a very specific time in history, but the themes in the play are universal."

The time is 1921, and the reverberations of the first World War are still being felt by every person who lived through it. Death has taken on human form as a Russian prince after he spares the life of Grazia Lamberti (Kristen Hahn) and wants to understand why he did so.

"Death is experiencing everything for the first time," said director Rod A. Lansberry. "Nobody really knows this prince is actually Death, which leads to some great comic elements."

An instant attraction between Grazia and the prince leads to a whole host of new emotions for both characters.

"Death is attracted to her life force --; there's just something about her vitality," Hahn said. "For her, the prince speaks so passionately about the world and his experiences, and she is drawn to that."

The show isn't a typical musical, said Lansberry, who described it as having more of a chamber or operatic approach.

"The challenge as a director has been creating a piece that flows," he said. "Most people want to keep a distance from death, and this show needs a clear, concise way to humanize it."

The poetry of the language is beautifully translated into the show's music, Saide added, and uses all kinds of styles to tell the emotional story. Lansberry and the cast worked closely with musical director David Nehls to get everything just right.

Since discussing death is often such a taboo subject, the actors have found a tremendous amount of freedom and camaraderie in being able to talk about the subject as they work through the show.

"I've had really joyous conversations with the cast about death as a part of this," Saide said. "I think it's brave of the Arvada Center to do a piece like this that is a little left of center."

While the show doesn't answer any questions about death or what happens after, it generates a tremendous amount of solace and optimism.

"Matters of life and death are messy. They're not always black and white," Hahn said. "The show encourages making the most of our time on earth, and I think that's a very comforting message."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Musical-about-death-sparks-humor-solace-optimism,211853?branding=15

Honoring a masterful career earned through respect - #lakewoodnews

One of my favorite pictures on my wall is a small picture taken in 2002 which includes myself, three other students in traditional Taekwon-Do "do-baks" (uniforms), my instructor to one side of the group, and his instructor on the other side. It was taken at the conclusion of a testing, one of only a half-dozen times I trained or performed in front of Senior Grand Master Charles E. "Chuck" Sereff.

Yes, it was intimidating as hell. What you can't see in the picture is my intense relief that the test was over. And, no, I never --; ever --; called him Chuck.

For one thing, "Senior Grand Master." For another thing, the Senior Grand Master was, at the time, 69 years old, but he looked about 50, is easily 8 inches taller than me (but then, who isn't?) and has fists the size of footballs. But, as if that wasn't enough, you walk into his school, and on the wall are pictures of him with the founder of Korean Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong Hi, and such notable martial artists as Chuck Norris.

This very special man and great teacher taught his last class on Saturday in his martial art studio in Broomfield. How do I know Senior Grand Master Charles E. Sereff is a special man and great teacher if I've only been in his presence a handful of times?

Well, for one thing, my own instructor, Grand Master Dale Burkhart, to whom I feel a great sense of loyalty, is fiercely loyal to Senior Grand Master Sereff. What that means to me is that when I am corrected for a flaw in my technique, it is because my instructor was once corrected for a similar flaw --; the teachings flow downhill. When my instructor pushes me to one more flying kick than I feel like I can do, it's because his instructor infused in him a belief in Indomitable Spirit, one of the core tenets of Taekwon-Do. And when I see my instructor bow, in deep respect, to his instructor, it is because that respect was earned over the course of a long teaching career.

The resume is unbelievable.

G.M.Sereff began studying martial arts in 1961, formed the first Korean-style school in the Denver area two years later, coached the United States' team to a gold medal in the 1974 World Championships in Montreal and formed the United States Taekwon-Do Federation in 1979. He has, himself, worn a black belt for more than 50 years, and was awarded his 9th degree in 1997, the first Caucasian to achieve that rank and the third-highest ranking member of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. In addition, he has, over the course of his time leading the U.S.T.F., overseen the promotion of almost 12,000 students to Black Belt.

And, believe me, that promotion is never bought --; it is earned.

But the greatness is much more tangible than a resume, more personal and more important. I believe really great teachers send ripples out through time and space in the persons of their students. Those students take with them more than just the techniques; they carry the passion, the philosophy, and the belief in the art. And when those students --; who include Grand Master Sereff's wife, Renee (the "Lady General"), their two sons, my teacher, and literally scores of Masters, Grand Masters and instructors --; live and teach in the tradition of their Senior, very impressive things happen. The U.S.T.F. now has schools in every state of the union and sister organizations in more than a dozen countries around the world.

And every one of the students at every one of those schools all over the world stop what they are doing and turn and bow when Charles Sereff walks in the room.

Congratulations, Senior Grand Master. And thank you.

Sasung nim geh, Kyong ye! Taekwon!

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Honoring-a-masterful-career-earned-through-respect,211855?branding=15