WESTMINSTER 1/3/13 January 3, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 11
Session issues at hand Lawmakers gear up for work at the state Capitol By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Criss Seal, national training chef for HuHot Mongolian Grill, left, gets flames going on a Mongolian grill as other chefs prepare dishes for customers at the new restaurant in the Orchard Town Center in Westminster, Thursday, Dec. 27. Photo by Andy Carpenean
Grill heats up the competition New restaurant takes stir-fry to the next level By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com When dining at HuHot Mongolian Grill in Westminster, it’s more than just a meal, it’s an experience. The new restaurant opened on Dec. 23 in the Orchard Town Center and is offering a spin on Asian stir-fry. “HuHot allows people to create their own meal just the way they like it,” said HuHot Top Tier Colorado president Jay Warwick. “People can make it as healthy as possible if they want, and they can eat as much as they want.” To start off the HuHot experience, guests create their own custom stir-fry meal with as many vegetables, noodles, meats and
sauces as desired. Once the creation is complete, the bowl is handed off to a grill chef who stir-fries the meal right in front of them. As an all-you-can-eat restaurant, guests can create as many stir-fry bowls as they want. “The key words for us are fun, healthy, different and unique. It’s an experience and a conversation piece,” Warwick said. “It’s a fun place to eat because not only do you get to create your own meal just the way you like it, hot, sweet or salty, you get to watch people cook it and engage with the chefs.” Manager Greg Thomas has been working in HuHot restaurants for 10 years. He said the simplicity of the HuHot model and the atmosphere is what sets the restaurant apart. “It’s very simple and there is so much movement and so much going on to observe. It’s great for kids and families and even for first dates,” Thomas said. “People can actually care their food and see exactly
what goes into the food. It’s very simple and if you like vegetables, this is the place.” HuHot Mongolian Grill also partners with Home Front Cares, a nonprofit organization that provides responsive emergency financial aid and other support to Colorado service members, veterans and military families. Warwick said every Monday a portion of the sales are donated to Home Front Cares and once a year a full day’s sales are donated. “The average grant is about $1,000,” he said. “The money helps out with everything from rent to grocery money to car payments. It’s such a good cause and it fun to have the opportunity to be involved with that.” HuHot also offers appetizers, desserts, beer and wine. It is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to close for dinner every day and in the Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware St. in Westminster. For more information, visit www.huhot.com.
New class offers skills in urban agriculture By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews. com Front Range Community College in Westminster will offer a new urban agriculture management class during the upcoming spring semester providing students with the knowledge and skills to start their own urban farms. The class will also provide students with the knowledge to work as technicians for companies that develop and maintain urban farms. Ray Daugherty, horticulture program director, said the decision to offer the class was
because of the increased number of students interested in organic food and the production of organic agriculture. He said students at FRCC are also showing more of an interest in urban agriculture as a career. “Another reason we are offering the program is because we have seen a fair amount of movement toward local production of fruits and vegetables,” he said. “We are starting to see more emphasis on local organic products in Adams and Jefferson counties.” The urban agriculture certificate was designed with input from green-industry advisors. Daugherty said it will provide graduates with a complement in
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critical landscape maintenance and farming skills that will help students create their own urban farms or work for companies who run urban farms. Stephen Cochenour, a graduate of Colorado State University’s horticulture program, a former manager of its research farm and an urban farming consultant, will teach the class. He said the class is pretty comprehensive with a wide range of topics. As farmer himself, he hopes the class will give students a real-life perspective of running an urban farm. “Topics will range from how to prepare the soil, to the marketing side of things, all the way to a business plan,” he said. “The end goal of the class to get students prepared to start their own farming business.” Cochenour said the students will also go on three field trips
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to local farms. He said seeing actual farms and what goes into making an urban farm successful, will help students grasp the reality of the industry. “I want the students to see the realistic side of what it really means to run an urban farm,” he said. “So we will really be looking at the business standpoint.” Urban farm management is a four-credit, 90-hour class. It is part of the Horticulture and Landscape Technologies certificate which requires 30 credits of horticulture classes, which also includes introduction to horticulture, soil science, introduction to irrigation, greenhouse management and crops, landscape plant health care. The class is scheduled for 9-11:15 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and will run from Jan. 22 through May 13.
The election is over and now the real work begins for Colorado’s legislators. Some are veterans in their position, and some are representing their constituents for the first time. House District 35 Rep. Cherylin Peniston is beginning her last two-year term this year. She’s been representing the Westminster area for the last six years, so she knows her way around the state Capitol. For this upcoming legislative session, she is focusing on early childhood education, tanning limits for Peniston minors and expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act. She said she plans to bring up the legislation on the Early Childhood Readiness Commission, which was established through House Bill 09-1343. “The Early Childhood Readiness Commission is a Ulibarri legislative body that is involved with what is happening in the state in early childhood education and health care,” she said. “I was carrying out that bill to continue it on and it got lost in the political cross fire. So I am working with Sen. Evie Hudak to get that put in place.” Last session Peniston’s tanning bill, HB 1170, was postponed indefinitely. Peniston is bringing it back again for the upcoming session. The bill notifies parents of their child’s use of commercial artificial tanning devices by requiring parents to sign a permission form listing the potential risks and to stay on-site with a minor less than 14 years old. The last bill Peniston is working on is the expansion of the definition of who can use the Family and Medical Leave Act. She said the bill would allow for more people to be considered in using FMLA, like domestic partners, grandchildren and grandparents. “This will go along with the civil union bill that will definitely be passed this session,” she said. “This bill would take care of those other important family members.” Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, who represents District 21, is new to the legislative floor, but is ready to bring the wants and needs of his constituents in Westminster to the state level. He said the legislation he is sponsoring this year reflects the concerns he heard from the community members on their porches and in front of their homes during his campaign trail. He is focusing on stewardship of taxpayer resources, financial security and community trust with law enforcement. He said he is working on a bill to save Colorado millions of dollars be determining a better way to pay for the required hospitalization and inpatient treatment for the inmate population. “Other states, including Alabama, Washington and Louisiana, have adopted similar Legislative continues on Page 4