The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 28, 2024
VOLUME 66 | ISSUE 2
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SPECIAL HOMETOWN HOLIDAYS EDITION Evergreen to star in holiday movie ‘Mocha and Mistletoe’ Inter-Canyon Fire Java Groove owner Eric Martinez’s TikTok posts convinced filmmaker to feature the town in a romantic comedy
Board approves two exclusions, one required for unification
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When Java Groove owner Eric Martinez and his family moved to Evergreen, they were enchanted — by the creek, the elk, the scenery and the people. Martinez started posting about his new life on TikTok, and followers shared his enthusiasm. “They said, ‘Your town, your story and your shop sounds like the plot of a Christmas Hallmark movie,’” Martinez said. “So I made a video and said, ‘Hey Hallmark, come check out my town.’ Hallmark didn’t see it. But an independent filmmaker did.” Next month, New York filmmaker Candice “Candy” Cain will shoot the movie Martinez envisioned. Java Groove will feature heavily in the romantic comedy, “Mocha and Mistletoe,” along with several other Evergreen businesses and sights. Cain, who wrote and will direct the production, said she was drawn to the idea by Martinez’s enthusiasm. “It’s a beautiful place,” Cain said. “But it was more about Eric’s passion than anything else. He really loves Evergreen and is very proud of his town. I knew working with Eric, I’d be able to get those feelings and a good story from him.” Cain is no stranger to making movies or finding a hook that connects with viewers. The owner of Gemelli Films, she’s written and directed 21 feature films, 16 of them with a holiday theme. “Candy Cain is my real name, so I’m kind of pigeonholed into Christmas movies,” she said. “I pride myself on being able to make really wholesome,
small-town coffee shop. Auditions are being held for several parts, with lead actors coming from outside Evergreen. And that’s just fine with Martinez. “It’s been 20 years since I did any acting, and that was in high school,” he said. “I’m happy enough they’re doing it in my town.” In addition to Java Groove, several other businesses and locations in and
A standing-room-only crowd filled Inter-Canyon Fire’s Station 3 meeting room for two public hearings Nov. 13, one that ended with the removal of a neighborhood from its service area and a second that moves Conifer’s three fire districts closer to unification. The motion to exclude the district’s residents from Inter-Canyon’s boundaries — the most critical of the two — was required for unification with neighboring Elk Creek and North Fork fire districts to move forward, and it passed 4-1. Director Jackie White voted against it, emphasizing her vote is not anti-unification, but the financial details tied to it. She feels taxes that would be generated through the current proposal will fall short of what the unified district ultimately needs. “I am not against unification,” she said. “I just want to see it be at a budget and mill levy that will allow it to be successful.” State statute requires agencies undergoing unification to adopt the lowest mill levy among them. In this case, that would be North Fork’s at 12 mills. Elk Creek’s mill levy currently stands at 12.5, and Inter-Canyon’s at about 14.6. “I think (12 mills) puts us in a position where we’ll be low on resources,” White said. “Why not put our district in a position where we are fully funded … for apparatus and staff? I would recommend putting it on the 2025 ballot measure at 16 mills.” A proposal to consolidate the three agencies failed in November 2023, and the Conifer districts are now instead pursuing unification. Fire chiefs say it’s the most logical way to cover their combined 400 square mile territory. If the proposal passes, the new agency would be
SEE MOVIE, P4
SEE UNIFICATION, P2
Eric Martinez, who owns Java Groove coffee shop in downtown Evergreen, posted on TikTok that the town was worthy of a Hallmark movie. An independent filmmaker who saw the post plans to shoot a holiday romantic comedy in Evergreen next month. PHOTO COURTESY OF JAVA GROOVE
heartfelt movies about Christmas anywhere.” The plot of “Mocha and Mistletoe” centers around a magical piece of mistletoe that helps people find true love. The script also includes a secondary storyline about a corporate coffee chain that threatens to take over the small, locally-owned shop. Martinez will not play the lead but said he has a good role as a line cook and manager in the film’s fictitious
VOICES: 10 | HOLIDAY EVENTS: 12 | SPORTS: 23 | PUZZLES: 27
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