The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
VOLUME 64 | ISSUE 42
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CHECK OUT: HEALTH & WELLNESS • INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Back to the drawing board for Highway 73 construction
County will ask for public input for two-stage plan BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Members of the Westernaires ride into the Evergreen rodeo grounds in July during a show.
PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST
volunteers, it’s so much more. What makes Westernaires special, according to Rhoda Schleicher, a longtime volunteer from Evergreen, is it provides participants with a sense of community, an alternative to regular sports and school activities, and for many families, it’s a generational tradition with parents and grandparents now having younger family members in the
Jefferson County will ask the community for input virtually in mid-September about new plans to improve Highway 73 near downtown Evergreen now that the project has been delayed. Mike Vanatta, director of the county’s Transportation and Engineering Division, told the Jeffco commissioners during a staff briefing on Aug. 29 that he plans to revamp the project to make it more palatable for Evergreen drivers and potential contractors. Jeffco had planned to start a complex 22-month-long, $11 million
SEE WESTERNAIRES, P21
SEE CONSTRUCTION, P2
Not horsing around
Members of the Westernaires are all business when it comes to horses, performing BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Modern times meet the Wild West
thanks to the Westernaires. Youth from around the metro area drive to Fort Westernaire next to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds to learn, ride, look after and perform on horses. Their performances tell stories spanning from the old West to Disney characters. The nonprofit organization is all about horses and performing, and while that’s what the public sees, for the 850 participants between 9 and 19 years old and the 500 adult
HAPPENINGS: 7 | VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | ARTS FESTIVAL: 14
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