by Mark Smiley | Nov 21, 2014 | Glendale City News
by Brent New
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Following a season where they gave up way too many second chances to their opponents — almost on a weekly basis — the Glendale Raptors got the best of its kind en route to their first Women’s Premier League national championship.
The Raptors beat the Twin Cities Amazons 16-15 in the women’s finals, two days after their loss in the semifinals was negated by a disqualification.
Hannah Stolba was named the MVP with 11 points in the finale; none bigger than her penalty boot that gave the Raptors their first lead of the match in the second half. And her team was able to hold off a furious attack from the WPL reigning champions down the stretch to preserve the win in Marietta, Ga.
None of it, however, would have been possible if the Atlanta Harlequins weren’t forced to forfeit after they knowingly used an ineligible player during their 13-7 win over the Raptors in the WPL semifinals.
“There were conflicting emotions within our team,” captain Laura Miller said. “There were people who were excited. There were people who felt we didn’t deserve it because we had lost.”
The Raptors would use it as motivation toward a goal that was now all the bigger and more important.
And as a sign of support and respect (and a sign of complete disregard for hygiene), they chose to wear the socks of Harlequins players in the championship game against the Amazons.
“It was tough for me personally because I was told before Friday’s kickoff that the Harlequins had forfeited, but they would appeal. It messed with my head,” said Michael Fealey, the first-year coach of the Raptors. “In any case, they outplayed us. They played their hearts out. And they deserved to be represented in the final, at least in that small way.”
Atlanta’s center Patty Jervey defended her team’s choice to play an ineligible player on her personal Facebook page.
“We were told going into today’s match that if we played the player, we would forfeit,” Jervey wrote. “I understand the rules, and for the most part, choose to abide. But I also understand that rules are usually created in response to something unfair or unjust or unbecoming.
“…Moreover, we believe that in CIPP’ing the player two days after the arbitrary deadline did not give us an unfair advantage over any team in the league.”
Compelling thought. Didn’t matter.
Stolba stepped over two defenders late in the championship game and dove in for the try to give the Raptors a 16-10 lead, before Kaelene Lundstrum scored on a try with two minutes remaining in regulation time to cut the deficit to 16-15.
The Raptors, who lost in the first round last season, and came up short in the finals the year before, stuffed the Amazons for the rest of regulation and held firm in more than six minutes of extra time to hoist the cup.
It ended a season of mostly good and some bad. A season where they started fast, stumbled late, and finished on top.
It ended a season where fortune favored the resilient.
“It feels like a massive weight off our shoulders, like we finally healed and came together after a turbulent season at times,” Fealey said.” I’m a very happy man right now to say the least.”
by Mark Smiley | Nov 21, 2014 | Editorials
Brian Vogt
In letters and e-mails to the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle, readers have asked us if we remember as many people working for the City and County of Denver that are totally devoid of ethics and competency as there are under Mayor Hancock. We admit that individuals like Lauri Dannemiller, the Manager of Parks and Recreation; Scott Martinez, City Attorney; and Brad Buchanan, Executive Director of Community Planning and Development, are sadly lacking in the skills and morals that any decent administration would seek along with many of the Mayor’s disgraceful appointments at the Sheriff’s Department. But that does not mean there are not tremendous people who work for the City and County of Denver.
One of the greatest of the public servants in Denver is Brian Vogt, the CEO of Denver Botanic Gardens. Appointed in 2007 to his post during the Hickenlooper administration he hit the ground running at the Botanic Gardens and hasn’t let up. In addition to being a highly adept businessman and administrator his warm outgoing personality has won the Botanic Gardens myriads of friends in the areas around the facility which has not always had the best of neighborhood relations. Given the enormous growth involving construction at the Botanic Gardens during his tenure the good neighborhood relations is no small feat.
Vogt came to his position as the ninth CEO of the Botanic Gardens with extraordinary curriculum vitae. He went to the University of Colorado at Boulder and spent a year in England studying Greek Stoic Epicurean philosophy. He served for 14 years as the president of the South Metro Chamber of Commerce, growing that organization into a regional powerhouse. He occupied three cabinet positions in Governor Bill Owens’ administration including the director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development where he supervised the Colorado Tourism Office and the Colorado Council on the Arts. After leaving the employ of government when Bill Ritter came to the governor’s office he had his own consulting company, ProCounsel Co. LLC. where he was able to understand the challenges of running a small business up close and personal.
He needed all of his skills developed over a lifetime when he began his hegemony over the organization. Attendance was down with a perennial lack of funds for projects and poor morale among the employees. He first addressed staff concerns by providing opportunities for employees to use their own initiative for projects which paid enormous dividends for the Gardens. He then hit the street looking for additional funding, a task that is an ongoing critical part of this job. He discovered he was good, very good, at raising funds for the Botanic Gardens.
As a result of the fundraising efforts, there began an $80 Million Master Plan Development Plan which included a badly needed three story parking garage, a visitor’s center, a greenhouse and a Children’s Garden that has been a spectacular hit. The building and renewing has never stopped and this last year a Japanese Garden and a Bonsai Pavilion and Tea Garden opened up.
Making the Gardens a fresh new and abundant experience is all part of the challenge. Having overseen the Colorado Council on the Arts he recognized how the visual arts could greater further the Botanic Gardens mission of bringing plants and people together. He brought in the sculptures of Henry Moore to the Gardens in 2010 to rave reviews. In 2014 came the incredible art of Dale Chihuly to the Gardens which to Vogt’s delight the exhibit was controversial to some greatly increasing attendance. The exhibit was such a success that Chihuly himself came last month to the Gardens and generous donors paid for one of the sculptures to be permanently installed.
The difference between Brian Vogt and Brad Buchanan, Scott Martinez and Laura Danamiller is that the former is trying to make something great for the people of the City and County of Denver and Colorado as a whole while the latter are individuals hoping to line their own pockets or at least are so desperate for a government sinecure they will do anything to retain their jobs.
We all would like to think that the majority of the employees of the city are closer to an admirable Brian Vogt than a widely reviled Brad Buchanan. Yes the appointees of Mayor Michael Hancock are by and large a disappointment to all honorable citizens of the city but they are only a fraction of the whole. Hancock and his real estate developer overlords hold sway today but even they will pass on and hopefully there will be enough Brian Vogt types who will remain for a great city to build anew from all the damage that the greed and avarice of the Michael Hancock era has brought.
— Editorial Board
by Mark Smiley | Oct 24, 2014 | General Featured
The Holiday Season’s Fast Track To Fitness
by Amy Thompson, National Director of Personal Training Services, Colorado Athletic Club
There are three key ingredients to keeping the holiday season a time of success in reaching your fitness goals: accountability, consistency and fun. Making sure you have a program in place that incorporates these three pieces will help you steer clear of the holiday weight gain, and also keep you on track into the New Year. That’s a lot better than having to start over.
There are many ways to hold yourself accountable. Set goals with your friends and hold each other to them. Schedule your workouts on your calendar for the visual effect. When you feel like you have an excuse, write it down, put it aside and keep pressing on. And maybe all you need is something new and different to keep it interesting.
Try our Holiday FitExpress program, where you’ll get to work closely with a personal trainer. You’ll meet three times a week for the next three months, which is a perfect way to ensure you’re staying on track with the goals that you set together. It will also hold you accountable to going above and beyond your expectations. Program designs from personal trainers in a small group class setting are evidence-based and guaranteed to get you results.
Consistency is what keeps you moving forward in small steps to see big results. Every class, every week and every month, your consistency in the program will lead to increased confidence that you can do more the next time. And doing more on a regular basis, under a supervised FitExpress program, will increase your conditioning, endurance, strength and mobility, as well as improve your eating habits. The holidays are an ideal time to create awareness around your diet so your indulgence doesn’t lead to binging. Consistency doesn’t mean instant gratification, but it does turn into positive change.
FitExpress is a fun program. We take the concepts of fitness and come up with a routine so you don’t have to think, you just have to do. While taking that aspect out of the equation, we can team up as a group to have a good time. The creative and energetic workouts truly become a release from stress and a busy holiday, and emphasize enjoying what you are doing while reaching your goals.
We’ve made it easy for you to dedicate yourself to a program and get results during the holidays. FitExpress will hold you accountable, keep you consistent, and drive a lot of great energy into your workouts. Stay fit going into the New Year and keep yourself active and goal oriented. Sign up and commit to Colorado Athletic Club’s FitExpress program today — you won’t regret it.
by Mark Smiley | Oct 24, 2014 | Travel
by Mark Smiley
It started out as a small teen center at the former YMCA in Glendale. The common area space had a pool table, a couch, and a ping pong table. Now, devoted space in the Glendale Sports Center has over 20 teens enjoying everything from Xbox and Wii to computers and tablets. Caroline Davis has been with the Glendale Sports Center for almost two months and she has jumped into her role with both feet. She is the teen coordinator for the Center and has begun to take the program to the next level. The primary focus of the teen program, which services teens ages 13 to 18, is to get them to be more active and involved and learning life skills. “We are trying to get the kids more active and more learned in life skills. We are working to put a ski and snowboarding trip together this winter at one of the four major resorts,” said Davis.
Most kids come from the Denver Public School system, West Middle School, and Cherry Creek High School. They are 7th to 12th graders and the majority of participants reside in Glendale. It is a drop-in program and open to anyone who is a member of the Glendale Sports Center. More programs for teens are being developed. “We have opened up the music, arts, and dance classes to the teens and are pushing for enrollment,” said Davis. “We are also going to bring in salsa and yoga instructors to enrich the program even more.”
The adult prep initiative is another program that has been launched. The Sports Center brings in different experts to lecture or present, such as Whole Foods in Glendale lecturing on nutrition and healthy snacking.
One of the biggest things to happen to the program over the years is receiving the tobacco grant from the Tri-County Health Department. It generated $30,800 over a two year span. The program was able to upgrade its computers and even add a tablet to its fleet of electronic devices. “The grant is aimed at preventing and teaching the youth on how to recognize big tobacco’s advertising toward the younger population, specifically teenagers,” said Steve Martinez, Programs and Teen Coordinator for the Glendale Sports Center. “Our work is advocating for different kinds of policies to be put into place such as tobacco free public spaces or stricter fines for those that litter with tobacco waste.”
One of the biggest projects from the tobacco grant was a public service announcement on smoking. The teens put together a public service announcement by directing, editing, and filming a basketball game between smokers and non-smokers. For those who are interested, the non-smokers won the game.
The teens also picked up cigarette butts around the Glendale Sports Center on National Kick Butts Day. This year, it coincided with Earth Day, April 22, 2014. Kick Butts Day is a day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against big tobacco at more than 1,000 events planned by independent organizers across the United States and around the world. Next year, Kick Butts Day is on March 18, 2015.
Also, the teens picked up 60 bags of trash, covered graffiti at Whole Foods, and worked all summer on other beautification projects.
For more information on the teen program at the Glendale Sports Center at Infinity Park, call Caroline Davis or Steve Martinez directly at 303-692-5778 or stop by and visit them at 4500 East Kentucky Avenue in Glendale. You can also visit their website at www.denverymca.org/glendale.
by Mark Smiley | Oct 24, 2014 | Glendale City News
by Marco Cummings
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Following last spring’s successful Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) campaign in which the Glendale Raptors fell just a few plays shy of winning the championship, the team has been taking new steps in preparing for another successful run in 2015.
Traditionally, the Raptors first team would play a more robust fall season, but the team’s transition to the action packed spring schedule in the PRP means that Glendale has been using this fall to refocus its roster and players.
“Previously we would be playing Division I games during the fall. The fall season is pretty much open for the Division I players now, so we’ve got to keep them busy, train and keep them fit,” Raptors head coach Andre Snyman explained. “I just don’t want them to sit at home for four or five months and wait for the PRP season.”
This fall, the Raptors participated once again in the Aspen Ruggerfest, a tournament the team has participated in for the past four seasons.
Using a mixed group of veteran players and younger players who are competing for the possibility of being included with the first team next season, the Raptors won the Ruggerfest crown for the very first time.
“I think it was a great milestone for the club,” Snyman said.
Even though the Raptors were proud to take home hardware in Aspen, the tournament largely serves as a social tournament, and Glendale was looking for stiffer competition for the remainder of the fall.
For its next two matches, Glendale would play friendlies against two collegiate teams. But they weren’t just any two college teams. The Raptors would play two top-10 college programs with a home game against No. 5 Arkansas State followed by a road trip to No. 8 Lindenwood.
“We’ve always gone to Aspen, but this year we needed something different,” Glendale Director of Rugby Operations Mark Bullock explained. “The two college sides reached out to us because it gives their players an opportunity to play with a club side in the PRP.”
The competition was stiff indeed. The Raptors suffered defeats in both collegiate matches, losing 51-24 to ASU and 24-15 to L
indenwood.
But the results on the scoreboard weren’t the most important point of emphasis for Glendale during their fall preparation. Forging new relationships with the two college programs was a prospect that the Raptors, as well as their opponents, were excited to be a part of.
“The most important thing for us is building bridges between ourselves and the schools. When these players graduate, then maybe they’ll have the opportunity to play for us,” Snyman noted.
“We all know that Glendale of the fall is a distant cousin of the Glendale of the spring, so it’s about development,” Lindenwood head coach J.D. Stephenson added. “Although we’re happy with the victory, we’re not branding ourselves world champions or anything too soon.”
For Snyman and the Raptors, evaluating what kind of players the staff has at its disposal within the club’s broader talent pool, in addition to testing out new ideas prior to the competitive matches in the spring has been a greater goal.
“Those two games helped to give me an idea of the depth of the club,” Snyman explained. “It gave us an opportunity to see new players in different positions, try new combinations, and look at new structures and game plans.”
New players can be defined as players new to the club, or simply players from Glendale’s Division II team that are getting new looks and a shot to contribute to the First Team. Snyman describes the latter as “bubble” players.
So who are some of the players that have caught the eye of the coaching staff this fall?
Snyman highlighted two Australians, prop Jake Turnbull and flanker Leslie Stephens.
“Turnbull is definitely PRP material. Stephens is a really busy little flanker, he could become a good PRP player,” Snyman said.
Players from countries where the rugby tradition is more deeply rooted always make for a strong side, but Snyman and his staff don’t necessarily have to look far to find talent.
“We’ve got local guys like Cody Melphy,” Snyman noted. “He’s always steady, a good young player.”
Glendale’s fall slate of games has concluded, but it doesn’t mean the team has taken a break from its preparations.
“We don’t have any more games scheduled for the fall but we’ll still be practicing and doing weight training,” Raptors veteran forward Justin Mitchell said. “We’re working on skills and strategy preparing for the spring.”
Given all the work put into team strategy, evaluating players and working on strength and conditioning in this fall’s Pacific Rugby Premiership offseason, fans of the Glendale Raptors are assured a new look side coming this spring.
by Mark Smiley | Oct 24, 2014 | Editorials
An old proverb declares that “It’s a foolish bird that fouls its own nest.” Brad Buchanan, the beefy, bloated, ethically challenged, new executive director of Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development is no one’s fool. Prior to taking on the top job in planning Denver’s future growth he moved out of the city, over an hour away to a 1,500 acre ranch on the Eastern Plains beside Kiowa Creek so he would not have to personally suffer from what he and the city government are doing to Denver’s neighborhoods one at a time.
Larry Ambrose, president of the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation which is the umbrella group for all of Denver’s neighborhood associations, summed the situation up well when he told The Denver Post, “It’s very easy for Brad to come into the city and shove this density down our throats and then drive back home to his ranch.”
Considered by some an uninspiring and somewhat hackneyed architect he eventually became highly politically connected. He was the chairman of the Downtown Denver Partnership but hit real pay dirt when he was appointed to the Denver Planning Commission by then Mayor Hickenlooper. He eventually was made chairman of that entity. The 11 member board advises the mayor and Denver City Council on land use matters including making recommendations on rezoning requests.
There was no direct remuneration for the positions he held but he made the appointments highly profitable for himself. He became the man developers hired when they had a questionable project that had to get past the Planning Board. He was hired for the highly controversial Red Peak development at the Denver Highlands that many in the neighborhood considered the buildings to
o high and the density excessive for the historic area. The citizens unsuccessfully sued to stop the project.
He was also hired for the redevelopment at the St. Anthony’s Hospital site on West Colfax where his design included downtown density and heights in a single-fam
ily residential area. Ethical questions were raised by his actions including a formal complaint filed by former Denver City Council President Cathy Donahue who objected to his making presentations to the Planning Commission shortly after leaving as chairman, but to no avail. In Denver, ethics appears to offer little or no constraints to politically connected individuals like Brad Buchanan.
Mayor Michael Hancock declared that Buchanan was his “dream pick” which is very bad news for Denver’s neighborhoods. Buchanan has preached the need for ever more density in the form of high rise apartments and condos in every neighborhood across Denver. At the same time he opposes open space requirements that exist in the present code and intends to bring forward controversial amendments which will drastically limit open space requirements in large developments despite vociferous objections by neighborhood groups.
Upon being appointed executive director in March, Buchanan threw a bone to the neighborhood associations saying they will be notified of a rezoning application after it has been submitted a second time as opposed to after it has been formally vetted and approved. But neighborhood groups understand that the concession was one without any real meaning as they will have no possibility of any real input unless they are notified when the Planning Department first receives a request to rezone.
Neighborhood groups moreover realize the deck is stacked against them no matter when they are notified. As it stands the Denver Planning Department is little more than a minor speed bump today for well connected developers. The Planning Board is packed with pro-developer advocates appointed by Mayor Hancock who learned his lesson when a majority of the Denver Parks Board stood up to him over the Hentzell Park giveaway. He made sure anyone who opposed him was replaced by individuals who will do what they are told.
At one time being appointed to a volunteer board in Denver government was a mark of true honor and distinction. Under Hancock it has become something of a badge of shame as appointees are viewed for the most part as pliable hacks that will do the Mayor’s bidding without question or independent judgment.
Buchanan has expressed his admiration for cities that have incorporated “incredible density” such as Singapore. He has also repeatedly toted “walkability” by which he means citizens in new developments with minimal required parking will be forced to walk in the shadows of towering apartment and office buildings. The walking will be in an urban setting devoid of trees or grass or anything else that once served as open space. Under Buchanan paved streets are in some cases argued to be what serves as open space in the new Denver.
He has personally helped in the design of some of the worst projects and ugliest developments in Denver from the Highlands to Sloan’s Lake. His appointment means no neighborhood is safe from a high density makeover as the denizens of Cherry Creek, Observatory Park and the Country Club areas have discovered, to their chagrin.
Buchanan wants to place the majority of the residents of Denver into dense vertical structures with families living in 1,000 square feet or less of living space while he and his wife and two children enjoy the luxury of 1,500 acres of land in Strasburg, at his Flying B Bar Ranch. As the pig Napoleon declared in George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “All animals are equal; but some are more equal than others.”
Brad Buchanan most definitely sees himself as being one of the “more equal” animals. His appointment was a disgrace — what he is doing to the formerly livable neighborhoods should be a crime. Instead, it is deemed “progress” in Michael Hancock’s Denver.
— Editorial Board
