WEEK OF NOVEMBER 14, 2024
VOLUME 53 | ISSUE 23
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Clear Creek County voters lean left in race for county commission
Rebecca Lloyd and Jodie Hartman-Ball MIKE T NELSON BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Organized chaos at the Pumpkin Smash event in Idaho Springs.
PHOTO BY CHRIS KOEBERL
‘Smash it, don’t trash it!’ the mantra for mayhem at annual Pumpkin Smash BY CHRIS KOEBERL CKOEBERL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Giant wooden mallets, rubber hammers, baseball bats, children and a whole lot of pumpkins to smash mixed together — what could possibly go wrong? In fact, everything appeared to go right at the 15th annual Pumpkin Smash at the Shelly/Quinn ballfields in Idaho Springs where kids and parents let out their wild side in an effort to keep hundreds of Halloween pumpkins out of the landfill. The original concept of the Pumpkin Smash was born from Idaho Springs “Scraps to Soil” project which pro-
motes reusing and recycling organic material in Clear Creek County. “I think this is awesome, it’s a great way to bring our community together and a great way to prevent pumpkins going into the landfill and it’s fun,” Idaho Springs resident Megan Vickers said. Hundreds of pumpkins, largely supplied by local groceries or individual families looking to rid themselves of their Halloween decorations were at the Nov. 2 event. There were catapults to chuck the pumpkins and hammers to smash them, all for the price of a wooden token earned by learning about the recycling process of organic material.
“Halloween and events like this are really the epitome of this community coming together,” Vickers said. The educational/environmental aspect of the smash apparently wasn’t lost as parents talked to their children, “We have a big compost pile in the back yard and it’s fun to teach them about recycling, composting and smashing pumpkins, of course,” Nick Goymerac from Dumont said with his 6-year-old son Henry by his side. “We bring it outside so the animals can eat it,” Henry said. All of the pumpkin pieces will go to the Martin Marietta Quarry in Idaho Springs for reclamation in the rocks, according to organizers.
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L IFES T Y L ES The Evergreen Legacy Fund works to fill the gap with infastructure projects around town. READ MORE. PAGE 13
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Democrat Rebecca Lloyd was leading Republican Erin Ginter for the Clear Creek County Commissioner District 2 seat and Democrat Jodie Hartman-Ball was leading Republican Robert Smith for the District 3 seat as of voting returns at press time. “I’m excited to work for Clear Creek County. I have met so many people during the last year of campaigning… we have so much potential, we have challenges but we’ve known we’ve had challenges,” Lloyd said. In a candidate profile for the Clear Creek Courant, Lloyd said that improving roads, bridges and public safety would be important to her if she was elected. Hartman-Ball said a successful term would mean more affordable housing, a balanced budget and balancing tourism needs with protecting residents’ way of life and the environment. No incumbents ran for commission in this race.
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