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Week of April 27, 2023
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 45
City Council Three Arvada-area middle school students move on to statewide Civics Bee decides on ‘Little Raven’ name for new park Arvada’s newest park name honors area’s indigenous history BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arvada Chamber of Commerce President Kami Welch presents the civics bee winner with their check. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARVADA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Local youngsters have impressive showing in first Arvada regional for National Civics Bee BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Arvada Chamber of Commerce hosted the first Arvada local competition of the National Civics Bee on April 18, where three middle schoolers qualified to move on to the statewide finals in Denver on May 19. The National Civics Bee is organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. At the Arvada local competition, the first-place winner was Tally Smith from Falcon Bluffs Middle School. Ella Engebreston from Mandalay Middle School placed second, followed by Sriram Yalavarthy from SEE BEE, P2
Families support contestants in the civics bee.
Arvada’s newest park will be the first in town to honor the area’s indigenous heritage. Little Raven Park is located to the north of Van Bibber Creek Trail and southeast of the intersection of Ward Road and 58th Avenue. The name was selected as the official name of the greenspace by city council on April 17 out of a pool of three finalists: Little Raven Park, Strawberry Park and Vista Verde Park. The name honors Chief Little Raven, an indigenous leader who advocated for peace between local tribes and white settlers. The name was suggested by local resident Jennifer Hobbs, who recently moved to the area and wanted to honor those who lived on the land many centuries ago. “If you look around that area, you have Van Bibber Park named after a recent landowner, Sabell is a recent landowner — and the history of that land goes back thousands of years,” Hobbs said. “I felt like we needed to be fairer to the centuries past and shed a little light on the centuries before those two men.” Hobbs added that he loved that Chief Little Raven was dedicated to peace. “And he was actually run off his lands a couple of times, so in the eyes of fairness and karma, even though this is only posthumous, in a way we’re giving him back the land we took from his people when the white settlers came,” Hobbs continued. Arvada’s Director of Vibrant Communities and Neighborhood Enessa Janes said she was happy with how the naming process went. “In general, the parks department SEE PARK, P2