Indy - Nov. 29, 2023 Vol 31. No. 47 by Colorado Springs Indy & Business Journal

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WOMEN OF INFLUENCE PAGE 11 A PUBLICATION OF CITIZEN-POWERED MEDIA

WAITING GAME BY PAM ZUBECK

Answers to 911 calls in city lag behind other local agencies

CONTENTS

Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | Vol. 31, No. 47 Raph_PH, cropped, via Flickr

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WAITING GAME: Answers to 911 calls in city lag behind other local agencies

AD DIRECTOR Teri Homick ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Monty Hatch, Sean Cassady, David Jeffrey

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SAFETY IN NUMBERS? Police staffing standards are a myth, experts say

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11 Colorado Springs Business Journal Women of Influence

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SAFETY IN NUMBERS? Police staffing standards are a myth, experts say BY PAM ZUBECK | zubeck@csindy.com File photo

OW MANY POLICE OFFIcers should a law enforcement agency employ? The best answer: It depends. Somehow, the idea of two officers per 1,000 people has been propagated as the standard for law enforcement agencies. But the so-called standard doesn’t exist, according to several organizations. Here’s what the International Association of Chiefs of Police says about specific ratios: “Ready-made, universally applicable patrol staffing standards do not exist. Ratios, such as officers-per-thousand population, are totally inappropriate as a basis for staffing decisions. Defining patrol staffing allocations and deployment requirements is a complex endeavor which requires consideration of an extensive series of factors and a sizable body of reliable, current data.” The Center for Public Safety Management, which provides public safety technical assistance for the nonprofit professional group, the International City/

County Management Association, says there are no standard ratios for police officers per population. Nor should there be, CPSM says, citing experts who say other metrics are more

relevant — such as officer availability, workloads and the like. THE 2/1,000 RATIO MIGHT HAVE gotten traction based on the FBI’s annual

report that shows numbers of full-time officers by region and geographic division by population. For example, the 2019 report — the most recent available — shows that police forces in cities with more than 250,000 population in the Western United States employed 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, on average. That region includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and has among the lowest ratios in the country. The highest ratio for cities of more than 250,000 people, which is 3.1 officers per 1,000 population, existed at that time in the Mid-Atlantic region. That area includes New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. What does that have to do with Colorado Springs? Not much, actually, but it might help residents understand how the Colorado Springs Police Department sets its authorized strength. continued on p. 5 ➔

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DID YOU YOU KNOW KNOW DID ALL REALTORS REALTORS®® ARE ARE ALL REAL ESTATE ESTATE AGENTS AGENTS REAL BUT NOT NOT ALL ALL NOT ALL BUT REAL ESTATE ESTATE AGENTS AG E N T REAL S AGENTS ® ARE REALTORS ® ® A LT O R S ARE REALTORS Council for approval, he says. “There are many voices that have If CSPD used the 2/1,000 ratio, which input on what the final authorized numhas been erroneously labeled a standard ber for CSPD is,” Cronin says. “Our promoted by the FBI, its authorized numcurrent goal is to reach the 818 that we ber of sworn officers would stand at 972, are authorized for and then re-evaluate based on a population of 486,000. where to go from there in terms of furIn reality, CSPD’s authorized strength ther growth.” is 818, but currently the City Council President department employs only Randy Helms called the FBI 742 officers. So the actual data “a calculation” but not ratio, using the 742 figure, is a standard. 1.55 officers per 1,000 popuHe tells the Indy he relies lation, which is in line with on the police chief to “give the average number of offius a number” of officers cers employed in Western needed based on various states. factors, including popuIf CSPD were fully lation and the area that staffed, the ratio would be the city covers, about 200 roughly 1.68 officers per square miles, which makes 1,000 population, which it the 19th-largest city by is still in line with averarea in the nation. — Randy Helms ages seen in departments in A not her fac tor is Western states. response times. “Coverage is important,” Helms says. ASKED ABOUT ALL THAT, CSPD’S “None of us are happy with response Public Relations Manager Ira Cronin says times. We want the response times to via email, “Staffing is a complex issue as come down.” Officers’ average time to the needs of every community or city are arrive at top priority calls has exceeded different.” 12 minutes in recent months. Eight minSome departments protect urban utes is the goal. areas, some rural. Some areas have high Yet another factor is funding, he says. density, others less so, he notes. “All of those come into play,” he says, “Policing philosophies would also adding, “Clearly we don’t have enough have to be taken into consideration, such officers on the street. We should have as discretionary patrol time and com1,000 police officers. That’s just a guessmunity policing efforts,” Cronin says. timate on my part.” “Some of the key factors in determining That said, if the city can add 70 to 80 the Chief’s recommendation to the Mayor officers in the next two years, he says, would be things such as how large of an response times will improve. area is the department responsible for, The city hopes to reach its authorized how densely populated that area is overstrength within a year or two as it gradall, and how many areas in the city are uates more recruits. In the last year, the pockets of densely populated neighbordepartment has shifted to ongoing acadhoods and how much of it is more spread emy classes in efforts to raise its numout, and how many calls for service is the bers, given that retirements and resigdepartment receiving on average.” nations have eaten away at the ranks. Those elements are taken into account Whether those ongoing academy classes when Police Chief Adrian Vasquez sets are feasible is partially dependent on the number he feels is needed, which training space. The police academy is then is submitted to the mayor and City overcrowded, officials say. ➔ continued from p. 3

SCAN HERE SCAN HERE

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WAITING GAME Answers to 911 calls in city lag behind other local agencies BY PAM ZUBECK | zubeck@csindy.com

AVE YOU EVER WITNESSED A TRAFfic crash, or had someone try to break into your house, or seen a fight that could get out of control? These emergencies might drive you to call 911 for help — but how long will you have to wait for someone to pick up? If you live in Colorado Springs, the answer is — on average — roughly a half minute for a dispatcher to pick up your emergency call. That’s up to 11 times longer than it takes for other jurisdictions in the Pikes Peak region to pick up, according to data from the El PasoTeller County 9-1-1 Authority. One reason for the delay: The city’s communications center is short staffed. While authorized for 113 employees, only 87 are currently employed, according to an Oct. 23 presentation to City Council given by Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. “If we were to have full authorized strength,” Vasquez told Council, “I do believe … the answer time would be impacted....” While CSPD pays dispatchers lower salaries than some Front Range departments, money doesn’t always translate to hiring people who will remain on the job for years, Vasquez said. The high-pressure environment of handling an avalanche of calls is no easy task and requires certain skills not possessed by everyone, he said. “The difficulties of the job are unknown until you’re sitting there and going through the stress of the job,” he said. Thus, while CSPD is trying to boost staffing, it’s also speeding up dispatcher response times, Vasquez said, including off-loading lower-priority calls that don’t 6

INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | FEATURE

require an officer response, and supporting online emergency reporting. DATA PROVIDED BY THE EL PASO-TELLER County 9-1-1 Authority show that CSPD’s call center is by far the busiest of the seven call centers the authority oversees. It answered 276,261 calls in 2022 and 215,613 calls through September this year, records show. That’s multiple times more than calls answered by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Peterson Space Force Base, Fort Carson, Cripple Creek Police Department and Woodland Park Police Department, combined. But the CSPD call center took a lot longer to answer than the others. Last year, call takers for the city logged answer times that ranged from an average of 21.36 seconds in January to 35.31 seconds in October. Through August 2022, the average time was 29.37 seconds. This year, CSPD call takers have answered a little faster: Average answer times ranged from 18.12 seconds in March to 28.24 seconds in July. Through August this year, Vasquez reports, it took an average of 22.85 seconds. Vasquez did not provide Council with data showing the longest answer times, prompting Councilor Dave Donelson to say, “I’m disappointed we don’t have that. That’s what we wanted to hear is how we’re doing on call times. Seeing the average … makes it much less informative. If 25 percent of the time people are spending six minutes before anyone answers, that’s a big difference. I know what the average is, but what is the best and worst 25 percent?” For comparison purposes, the Indy consulted El PasoTeller County 9-1-1 Authority records and looked at June

2023, the city’s busiest month in call volume. Call takers answered 26,711 calls in an average of 25.41 seconds. The other agencies, number of calls and their average answer times for that month: • El Paso County SO, 7,907 calls, 7.8 seconds; • Teller County SO, 459 calls, 2.28 seconds; • Peterson, 89 calls, 2.74 seconds; • Fort Carson, 606 calls, 4.81 seconds; • Cripple Creek PD, 80 calls, 3.54 seconds; and • Woodland Park PD, 272 calls, 3.11 seconds. The National Emergency Number Association, the standards-setting agency for 911 services, promotes a standard for answering calls in less than 15 seconds 90 percent of the time and less than 20 seconds 95 percent of the time. Obviously, CSPD’s call center fails both standards. One data point that wasn’t discussed at the Oct. 23 briefing to Council was abandoned calls. NENA defines abandoned calls as “a call placed to 9-1-1 in which the caller disconnects before the call can be answered by the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) telecommunicator.” NENA does not speculate as to why callers would abandon a call, and the reasons could be many. It could be a butt dial, or someone changing their mind about reporting something. But some callers have reported hanging up because it was taking so long for someone to answer. CSPD logs more abandoned calls in a year than some PSAPs answer. In 2022, the CSPD call center had 53,527 abandoned calls. Through September this year, 36,800 calls were abandoned. (Those calls are not included in the number of calls answered reported earlier in this story.)

Courtesy CSPD

That number equates to a rate of 16.2 percent of all calls last year being abandoned, and 14.6 percent through September of this year. In comparison, El Paso County SO had an abandoned call rate of about 10 percent. That said, the wait for someone to answer at the CSPD’s non-emergency number, 719-444-7000, has been slashed from 5.5 minutes last year to just under 3.5 minutes this year through August.

ONE REASON FOR SLOWER ANSWER TIMES relates to staffing. Vasquez said CSPD would need 15 people at the communications center during its busiest times to reduce pickup times. Currently, the center has seven or eight on duty in its busiest times. “It is absolutely a problem we’re trying to fix,” he told Council. “How fast we can fix it is the question.” That’s because hiring isn’t easy when not everyone is cut out for the job. “All of a sudden, you’re trying to give medical advice for CPR, or hear someone commit suicide over the phone, and you’re trying to talk these citizens through the most difficult day of their life,” he said. “That’s why the training is so intense. It is one of the most critical positions in the Police Department.” In 2021 and 2022, the communications center lost more employees than it hired. This year through August, it has hired 23 and lost 17. Pay structures have been modified to bump up pay following training and after an employee’s first year on the job, as well as at other junctures. The El Paso-Teller Staffing at CSPD’s communications center has made little headway in three years. County 9-1-1 Authority will give bonuses of $2,500 in December to PSAP workers in the region who’ve been within 24 hours to fill a shift if needed, she said. on the job for at least a year. of response. Over the last six weeks, we’ve been watchThe department also has started a “mindfulness and CSPD’s call takers are paid about $57,680 — a bit more ing queue times and have cut the numbers, so now we’re positivity project,” Vasquez said, to help employees deal than those in Denver, who are paid $55,464. CSPD’s disseeing 60 [in the queue]. That’s really promising for our with the stress that comes from a call taker or dispatch patchers, who send police, firefighters or medical teams citizens.” job. to incidents, are paid $62,872, which is among the lowest Vasquez said the use of technology has already shown Councilor Nancy Henjum, who’s visited the commuof comparable Front Range departments, data presented its value, though the department is still analyzing “what nications center and sat with a call taker for a period of to Council showed. things are working and not working.” time, applauded the project. Donelson argued in favor of jacking up pay, noting Those alternate reporting methods include direct line “I think it’s important in the whole that staffing at the communications reporting in which an officer on desk duty — perhaps scheme of what you’re trying to accomcenter has made little headway in due to an injury, for example — takes reports over the plish,” she said. “Pay is important, as is three years. phone; internet crime reporting in which certain types wellness. You cannot appreciate what a “People will put up with a stressof incidents are documented online by citizens, and challenging job it is until you sit next to ful job if they’re paid more,” he said. lobby reports in which citizens go to a police substation people and see the amount of data on the “We can’t control some things. But and fill out a report. screen, on the phone, the queue of people we can control what we pay them.” Those diversions free up officers to handle the top waiting for them to answer. It’s really an He noted Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s priority calls. intense, intense job.” 2024 budget calls for cutting $900,000 Priority 1 calls represent an imminent life-threatShe also reminded Council that the from the communications center ening situation that requires an immediate police, fire staffing problem is seen nationwide. “We budget. or medical response. Those include an active shooter, are not unique in Colorado Springs,” she “I’m worried about that,” Donelassault in progress, home invasion burglary, missing said. son said. “I’m worried that we have or found child, physical domestic disturbance, kidnapEl Paso County SO, too, is short of per26 openings, and we’ve treaded ping, shooting or stabbing. sonnel in its dispatch center. Sheriff’s water for three years. One thing Priority 2 calls involve critical situations that are in — Adrian Vasquez Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Council could help with is offering a progress and could have dangerous circumstances, but Marc Miller tells the Indy via email that bonus or offering higher pay, doing pose no apparent imminent life threat. They include the center has 51 people but an authorized strength of something to attract more applicants for these positions. abuse/abandonment/neglect, missing or found adult, 60. “Sheriff [Joe] Roybal is very proud of the efficiency, I’m concerned about the openings, and we’re not doing burglary in progress, verbal domestic disturbance, suiwork and commitment the team in our dispatch center enough to fill them.” cidal person or a traffic accident with injuries. exhibits on a daily basis,” Miller says. Vasquez said CSPD is in the process of “continuPriority 3 are those incidents that are in progress ous hiring” for the center. It also hires back retirees or involving property and cold incidents against persons. ONE INITIATIVE THAT COULD LOWER STRESS employees who work in other divisions who can take a They include cold assault, burglar alarm, damage in levels comes in the form of alternate reporting options, shift when possible. progress, harassment, motor vehicle theft in progress, to divert some 911 calls to be handled in other ways. Another move: requiring all communications workers suspicious circumstances, non-injury traffic accident “Our technology is getting better and better,” to work mandatory overtime, communications center and theft in progress. Vasquez said. “We’re starting to see, for a lot of reasons, manager Rene Henshaw said. All employees work three Deputy Chief Jeff Jensen told Council that weeding our queue times go way down. What that means is, all extra hours per week, and some work up to 60 hours a out calls to the communications center for graffiti, an these priority calls coming into the comm center, we week, thereby earning extra overtime pay. The center abandoned vehicle or a knocked-over mailbox “has led might have 300 to 500 calls waiting to receive some type also maintains a list of employees who can be called to some significant gains.”

It is one of the most critical positions in the Police Department.

FEATURE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | INDY

PLAYING AROUND Raph_PH, cropped, via Flickr

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GEDDY LEE: MY EFFIN’ LIFE IN CONVERSATION @ Paramount Theater, Denver

“W

HAT ABOUT THE VOICE OF Geddy Lee, how did it get so high,” asked Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus in the second verse of Pavement’s “Stereo” single. “I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy.” That first question has, of course, been asked countless times over the more than four decades since Lee’s gravity-defying voice first blanketed international airwaves with Rush signature song “Tom Sawyer.” Yet, to this day, no one knows the answer, with the possible exception of dogs, bats and dolphins, who aren’t saying. Lee’s speaking voice, on the other hand, is well within the range of human hearing, as he’s now demonstrating on a book tour to promote his long-promised memoir, which was released by Harper Collins on Nov. 12. The 500-plus page My Effin’ Life — which my autocorrect changes to My Elfin Life — is a deep dive into Lee’s past, from growing up as the son of concentration-camp survivors in the

suburbs of Toronto to the long and colorful history of a progressive hard-rock trio whose friendship was every bit as tight as their music. “You need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates,” Lee has said, “and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best.” When that will happen is anyone’s guess. To date, Lee has only released one solo album, My Favorite Headache, which he recorded more than two decades ago during a Rush hiatus. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be back on the road anytime soon, so this opportunity to hear the musician share his ideas and memories with an undisclosed special guest interviewer, read passages from the book while a montage of nostalgic images are projected behind him, and answer questions from members of the audience, is not to be overlooked. Hardcore Rush fans will feel, as one writer put it, like they’re catching up with an old friend. — Bill Forman

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WEDNESDAY 11/29 Acoustic set; 6 p.m., Buffalo Lodge, bicycleresort.com. The Circuit: Singer-Songwriter Night, with Timone Perez, Noah Vale, JayD, Noah Daniel; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com. Fit for an Autopsy, death metal, with Exodus, Darkest Hour, Undeath; 6 p.m., Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com. Austin Johnson, blues/rock; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq.com/ events. Deirdre McCarthy Band, singer-songwriter/fiddle; 6:30 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns.

THURSDAY 11/30 Blackthorn, traditional Celtic; 7 p.m., Jack Quinn’s, facebook.com/jackquinns. Dalonious Funk, jazz/funk/fusion; 7 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com. Jehry Robinson, rapper/singer-song-

INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

writer; 7 p.m., Oskar Blues, coloradosprings.oskarbluesfooderies.com. Ram Savage, “a whateverthefuckyouwantustobe band from The Springs,” with Reminiscent Wounds, All 4 All; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com. Lindsey Stirling’s Snow Waltz Tour, electronic violin/holiday classics and originals; 7 p.m., Broadmoor World Arena, broadmoorworldarena.com. Westrock, country-rock; 6 p.m., The Well, wellinthesprings.com/events. Wood Belly, acoustic, with Mike Clark; 7:30 p.m., Brues Alehouse, Pueblo, bruesalehouse.com.

FRIDAY 12/1 CC Choir and Chamber Chorus; 7 p.m., Shove Chapel/CC, tinyurl.com/CCChoirChamber. César Franck Cello Sonata, Ieva Jokubaviciute (piano), Sophie Shao (cello); 7 p.m., Ent Center for the Arts, tinyurl.com/Franck-23. Countywyde, bluegrass; 6 p.m., Mash

Mechanix, mashmechanix.com/events. Cousin Curtiss, “rootstomp music,” with The Barlow, Old Man Crunchy; 7 p.m., Oskar Blues, coloradosprings.oskarbluesfooderies.com. The Emo Night Tour; doors 8 p.m., Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com. Family Elephant, roots-rock; 8 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com. Jason Figz, singer-songwriter; 7 p.m., Back East Bar & Grill/Briargate, backeastbarandgrill.com. Hinder, rock, with Rock Frog, Vitamin Red; 6 p.m., Sunshine Studios Live, sunshinestudioslive.com. Jezus Rides a Riksha, metal, with Grindscape, Red Gremlin; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com. The Magical Music of Christmas, Out Loud: The Colorado Springs Men’s Chorus; 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, outloudcsmc.com/events. Cody Qualls, holiday show; 7 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre.com.

PLAYING AROUND The Samples, rock, with Jeremy Facknitz; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com. Totum Colloquium, improv jazz/funk; 7 p.m., Summa, dizzycharlies.com.

SATURDAY 12/2 Blue Violin Candlelight Christmas, multimedia/single violin; 7 p.m.; Ent Center for the Arts, blue-violin.com. Collective Groove, funk/soul/R&B holiday dance party; 7 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre.com. Colorado Springs Record Show; 10 a.m. (earlybird 9 a.m.) to 3 p.m., Masonic Center, coloradorecordshow.com. Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Holiday Concert; 7:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, csysa.com/special-events. Crash Test Dummies, folk rock/alternative rock, with Carleton Stone; 7 p.m., Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com.

Evanoff, “guitar driven live-electronic trio,” with Eminence Ensemble; 8 p.m., Lulu’s, lulusdownstairs.com. Get Some, with Wöeness; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks.com. Eric Golden, honky tonk; 6 p.m., Whiskey Baron Dance Hall, tinyurl.com/ whisk-dh. Gospel Explosion Concert, with Tiana Longmire, Cheerish Martin, The Sankey Sisters; noon to 3 p.m., Stargazers, tinyurl.com/fourth-gospel. Holiday Hayrides & Songs with George Whitesell, includes fundraiser to rewire the lodge’s neon sign; 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. through December, Buffalo Lodge, bicycleresort.com. ill.Gates, rock, with Green Matter, Egokillerz; 8 p.m., Sunshine Studios Live, sunshinestudioslive.com. The Magical Music of Christmas, Out Loud: The Colorado Springs Men’s

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Upcoming music events

Chorus; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, outloudcsmc. com/events. Martini Shot, originals/covers; 7:30 p.m., Back East Bar & Grill/Briargate, backeastbarandgrill.com. Archer Oh, surfy indie/garage, with Tiny Tomboy, Stereo Ontario; 7 p.m., Oskar Blues, coloradosprings.oskarbluesfooderies.com. Still the Same, Bob Seger tribute; 7 p.m., Boot Barn Hall, bootbarnhallco.com.

SUNDAY 12/3 Chauncy Crandall, gospel/roots/country/classic rock; 5 p.m., Goat Patch Brewing, facebook.com/GoatPatchBrewing. Christmas Jazz, Woodland Park Wind Symphony; 6 p.m., Ute Pass Cultural Center, facebook.com/woodlandparkwindsymphony. Spinphony, electric string quartet; 6 p.m., Stargazers Theatre, stargazerstheatre.com. ’Tis the Season: A Choral Christmas, Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale, with Pikes Peak Philharmonic, Soli Deo Gloria Choir, First Congregational Church Choir, Calvary United Methodist Choir, members of community choirs, Colorado Springs Chorale and college choirs; 3 p.m.; Pikes Peak Center, kidssing.org.

MONDAY 12/4 LOOK’EE HERE!, blues/ragtime/oldtime jazz; 5:30 p.m., Armadillo Ranch, manitouarmadilloranch.com.

TUESDAY 12/5 UCCS Student Brass Quintet; 7:30 p.m., Ent Center for the Arts, tinyurl.com/ uccs-brass.

Kevin Mazur

WEDNESDAY 12/6

The Rolling Stones’ 16-city “Hackney Diamonds” tour comes to Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High on June 20, 2024. alt-J, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Nov. 29 Squirrel Nut Zippers, Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center, Parker, Nov. 29 Paul Cauthen, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Nov. 30 Ashes to Amber, Lost Lake Lounge, Denver, Dec. 1 Matchbox Twenty, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, Dec. 1 Lyrics Born, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver, Dec. 1 The Barlow & Cousin Curtiss, Lost Lake Lounge, Denver, Dec. 2 Bravo the Bagchaser, Marquis Theater, Denver, Dec. 2 Hiss Golden Messenger, Ogden Theatre, Denver, Dec. 2 Top Flite Empire, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, Dec. 2 The Slackers, Oriental Theater, Denver, Dec. 6 American Aquarium, Fox Theatre,

Boulder, Dec. 6 Shanin Blake, Larimer Lounge, Denver, Dec. 7 Hot Tuna, Paramount Theatre, Denver, Dec. 7 John Craigie and Madeline Hawthorne, Lulu’s, Dec. 8 Hamdi, Fox Theatre, Boulder, Dec. 8 Grace Potter, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Dec. 8 Evanoff and Eminence Ensemble, Fox Theatre, Boulder, Dec. 9 OTR, Larimer Lounge, Denver, Dec. 9 Wednesday 13, Black Sheep, Dec. 9 TV Girl, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Dec. 12 Deafheaven, Summit, Denver, Dec. 13 The Menzingers, Mission Ballroom, Denver, Dec. 13 Son Little, Fox Theatre, Boulder, Dec. 13 Continued at csindy.com

Blue October, rock; 8 p.m., Pikes Peak Center, pikespeakcenter.com. Hip Hop Is Dead, “classic hip-hop and the music of the Grateful Dead”; 6:30 p.m., Front Range Barbeque, frbbq. com/events. Psyclon Nine, industrial metal, with Clockwork Echo, Guillotine, Corvins Breed; 7 p.m., Vultures, vulturesrocks. com. UCCS Chamber Music Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Ent Center for the Arts, tinyurl. com/uccs-chamber.

THURSDAY 12/7 Always Something Sings: Songs and Poems to Heal and Inspire, Art Song Colorado; 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, tinyurl.com/ArtSong-23. Bluegrass Ensembles Concert; 7 p.m., Packard Hall/CC, tinyurl.com/ccblue-23. Exodus & Impact: Jewish Culture and the World, with Art Song Colorado; 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 420 N. Nevada Ave.; tinyurl.com/ArtSong-CO. Hail the Sun, post-hardcore, with Tsosis, Glasslands, SemiFiction; 6 p.m., Black Sheep, blacksheeprocks.com. Home Free for the Holidays, “country music fans’ favorite a cappella group”; 8 p.m.; Pikes Peak Center, tinyurl.com/homefree-23.

The RiP Improv! DEC 2

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COFFEE CULTURE:

MOUNTAIN BREWS

OUNTAIN BREWS Coffee is a relatively new (7 months old) coffee trailer that I checked out recently when it was parked outside Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market. They’re usually there from around 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays along with Huevones food truck. MBC (facebook.com/ mntnbrews) is owned and operated by Michael and Summer Smiles (if that’s not the most pleasant name ever — and they both have perfect teeth, wouldn’t you know). The couple tells me they moved to the Springs a year ago from Chicago, which explains their sourcing of beans from their favorite coffee shop/roastery back home in Lincoln Park named Printer’s Row. Something else that sets them apart locally is that they exclusively offer plant-based milks and creamers All Smiles at Mountain Brews (oat, almond and coconut). I learn this after ordering a drip coffee (a smooth Nicaraguan/Brazilian blend) and requesting just a dash of cream. In the aftertaste, I kept picking up something similar to flavored New Mexico Piñon Coffee, which left me confused. That’s when Michael clarified that he’d used a sweetened oat milk creamer. (Mystery solved.) Stepping out of my normal habits, I also ordered a seasonal iced, toasted marshmallow matcha that’s also made with oat milk. Summer made it closer to half-sweet for me, which she says she prefers, and it sipped nicely non-cloying with the green tea bitterness (which I like) almost wholly balanced by the syrup’s influence. What you may want to get if/when you go: her iced pumpkin pie chai latte. I was damn tempted. • Hold Fast Coffee Co. (2360 Montebello Square Drive, holdfastcoffeeco.com) recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, having originally launched as Peak Place Coffeehouse. What made the occasion so special to Roastery GM Vinnie Snyder is “to be consistently doing something we believe in for this long,” he says. Owner Grace Harrison, reflecting on the roastery/café’s name, says it’s about “holding fast to serving others excellently and providing great coffee to guests.” See more at sidedishschnip.substack.com. • Colorado Springs will soon see its first 7 Brew Coffee location at 3870 Maizeland Road (7brew.com). The Arkansas-launched franchise now has more than 150 locations nationwide. One of those is a new spot that recently opened in Montrose. Matthew Schniper is the former Food & Drink editor and critic at the Indy. You can find expanded food and drink news and reviews at sidedishschnip.substack.com.

Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

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Bold moves, real change

or almost two decades now, the Colorado Springs Business Journal has honored the outstanding women who have poured their energy, skill and ingenuity into shaping this once-sheltered town into the vibrant, exceptional city of opportunity it is today. Now we’re excited to introduce you to our 2023 Women of Influence. Some are names you know; some are unsung heroes; all of them have moved beyond what’s really comfortable, to do what’s really needed. Among this year’s winners you’ll find women who’ve had the courage and persistence to challenge the status quo; independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to dream big; and role models who champion and empower other leaders who traditionally haven’t had a seat at the table. Their roles in bringing new perspectives to the work of building a smart city can’t be overstated: Diversity is a critical resource, and our community is richer for it. These pages can’t hold every woman in Colorado Springs who is breaking ground, breaking barriers, breaking records and breaking the mold — but we hope this will encourage you to recognize and honor the women around you who are doing hard and often thankless work with strength, creativity, resilience and bravery. They are more than you imagine. CSBJ n

PHOTOGRAPHER Sean Cayton

SELECTION COMMITTEE Rita Burns Amber Coté Aikta Marcoulier Shirley Martinez CJ Moore Krithika Prashant Helen Lewis Ahriana Platten Tracie Woods Fran Zankowski

Diversity is a critical resource, and our community is richer for it.

SPONSORS

Helen Lewis Managing Editor

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE ALUMNI 2022 Shirley Stewart* Maureen “Mo” Basenberg Ann Cesare Stephanie Edwards Jessica Fierro Natasha Hutson Sarah Johnson Zuleika Johnson Morgan Mote Barbara Myrick Kristen Faith Sharpe Meghan Stidd 2021 CJ Moore* Melissa Burkhardt-Shields Shannon Coker Susan DiNapoli Dr. Sandy Ho Geri Johnson Crystal LaTier Dr. Kenya Lee Mina Liebert Nilaja Montgomery Tamara Moore Darsey Nicklasson Marjorie Noleen Joyce Salazar Jennifer Taylor 2020 Laura Neumann* Amy Long Carrie McKee Cory Arcarese Debra Dean Dr. Detra Duncan Ellie Red Cloud Erin Miller Jessica Pocock Patricia Cameron Patricia Yeager Shelli Brunswick Stephany Rose Spaulding Susan Wheelan

Yolanda Avila 2019 Kristen Christy* Cynthia Aki Dana Barton Amber Coté Torie Giffin Stella Hodgkins Shawna Kemppainen Chamisa Macindoe Bonnie Martinez Donna Nelson Karen Palus Krithika Prashant Imelda Ruiz Barbara Zoet Vidmar 2018 Susan Edmondson* Susan Davies Katherine Gaulke Deborah Hendrix Kimberly Hessler Elizabeth Jefferson (McMearn) Traci Marques Jayme McConnollogue Kristy Milligan Abigail Ortega Rosanna Ramponi Leah Davis Witherow Kristina Wright 2017 Stephannie Fortune* Jane Ard-Smith Dr. Rosenna Bakari Gemma Delgaudio Jennifer Dodd Rose Durham Dr. Patricia Erjavec Lauren Hug Kasia King Melissa Marts Danielle Summerville Susan Szpyrka

* LEGACY AWARD WINNER Tara Sevanne Thomas Lola Woloch 2016 Clarissa Arellano Joy Armstrong Cindy Aubrey Tatiana Bailey Janice Frazier Dr. Marina Funtik Rebecca Jewett Lynne Jones Rosemary Lytle Tammy Rivera Mari Sinton-Martinez Amy Sufak Linda M. Warren 2015 Benita Fitzgerald Mosley Christie LeLait Kelly Eustace Kelly Terrien Kristie Bender Linda Ellegard Mary Fagnant Michelle Talarico Regina Lewis Sharyn Markus Shaye Haver Stacy Poore Una Ng-Brasch 2014 Martha Barton Camille Blakely Queen Brown Kristen Christy Patricia Ellis Karla Grazier Janet Kerr Anita Lane Vanessa Moorman Kim Nguyen Susan Payne Dr. Jeanne Salcetti Janice Weiland

2013 Leah Ash Sandra Briggs Linda Broker Karole Campbell Dana Capozzella Jan Isaacs Henry Denise Krug Kristin Kubitschek Judith Mackey Aikta Marcoulier Alicia McConnell Judy Noyes Doris Ralston 2012 Suzi Bach Christina Baker Shawnee Huckstep Judy Kaltenbacher Carolyn Kruse Lisa Lyden Jerri Marr Martha Marzolf Amanda Mountain Carrie Perkins Robin Roberts Jill Tiefenthaler 2011 Andrea Barker Aileen Berrios Kathy Boe Shannon Brinias Debbie Chandler Lynette Collins Susan Davis Connie Dudgeon Debra Eiland Yolanda Fennick Cindy Fowler Ann Fuller Luisa Graff Erin Hannan Caroleen Jolivet Jimmie Keenan

Pam Keller Patricia Kelly Amy Lathen Dot E. Lischick Jan Martin Deborah McCarty Jan McHugh-Smith Mary Ellen McNally CJ Moore Laura Muir Laura Neumann Meredith Patrick Cord Lynn Pelz Wendy Pifher Tamra Rank Cindy Senger Cari Shaffer Gisela Shanahan Pam Shockley-Zalabak Brenda Smith Susan Strasbaugh Michelle Vacha Regina Walter Dorothy T. Williams Ann Winslow Sandi Yukman 2010 Nina Armagno Sallie Clark Lisa Dailey Susan Edmondson Ann Fetsch Barbara Furr-Brodock Jill Gaebler Paulette Greenberg Joan Gurvis Donna Guthrie Marcia Jackson Zelna Joseph Kathy Loo Jere Martin Shirley Martinez Leslie McGinn Debbie Miller Paula Miller

Linda Mojer Marcy Morrison Susan Presti Beth Roalstad Pat Ruffini Nancy Saltzman Janet Suthers Lonzie Symonette Dee Vazquez Jocelyn Colvin Wall Jane Young Kathryn Young 2009 Patsy Buchwald Kate Carr Tammy Fields Jenifer Furda Laura McGuire Pam McManus Annie Oatman-Gardner Rebecca Robles Margaret Sabin Willie Straws Carol Sturman Barbara Swaby Renee Zentz 2008 Janet Conover Stephannie Finley Becky Fuller Kim Koy Diane Loschen Kimberly McKay Mary Ellen McNally Cynthia Nimerichter Pamela Shockley-Zalabak Tawnya Silloway Meredith Vaughan Brinah Vincent 2007 Judy Bell

Patty Cameron Vicki Dimond Cindy Fowler Kathleen Fox Collins Sherri Newell Carole Passmore Carol Pennica Carole Schoffstall Patricia Stanforth 2006 Elizabeth Anderson June Chan Robin McGrath Kristin Clark Rita Burns Nancy Lewis Noreen Landis-Tyson Linda Weise Becky Medved Mary Frances Cowan 2005 Lyda Hill Iris Clark Diana May Wendy Pifher Trudy Strewler Heather Carroll Judy Cara Mary Lou Makepeace Judi Lakin Sharon Raggio 2004 Julie Boswell Beth Kosley Christine Martinez CJ Moore Denise Ortega Diane Price BJ Scott Lynne Telford Sherrie Vogt Barbara Winter

Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

Dawn Conley I f you’ve been hearing a lot about the local Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation, you also might have been hearing about Dawn Conley, its senior executive director. The Catalyst Campus (one of three in the country) provides a place where software engineers and entrepreneurs work alongside military and government officials to bring new solutions to market in the aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and information technology industries. Conley, who served as special assistant to former Mayor John Suthers from 2020 to 2023, was named Catalyst Campus’ interim director in January. In May, she officially took over the director position. Friend and nominator Stephanie Horton said Conley’s ability to move seamlessly into the high-pressure role stood out. “Dawn was asked by the Board of Directors at Catalyst Campus and CEO of the O’Neil Group — Kevin O’Neil — to step in on a moment’s notice and take over as an interim leader,” Horton wrote of Conley. “There are very few things that shake an organization to its core more than executive [turnover] and interim leadership, yet Dawn has weathered that storm and earned the respect and support of the BOD, her team and the O’Neil [G]roup executive team.” Under Conley’s leadership, Horton points out, Catalyst Campus was named “Business of the Year” in 2023 by the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC. In addition, Conley was instrumental in securing a National Science Foundation grant for Catalyst Campus.

“The work to win this award was done in conjunction with UCCS, [the city of] Colorado Springs, [and the Chamber & EDC],” to name a few, Horton wrote. “She did all of this while having to make some very difficult decisions for Catalyst to make an immediate impact on the financials — yet she balanced both beautifully.” And to top it off, in September, Catalyst Campus welcomed seven new companies into their domain. Working to develop the full potential of Catalyst Campus, Conley draws on her experience as a military spouse, learning to regularly adjust to new locations and circumstances. She’s most proud of her recent role in helping write and pass licensing-reciprocity legislation in the Colorado House of Representatives that allows military spouses with an occupational license from another state to work in Colorado without having to recertify or deal with license transfers. Speaking of her own influencer, Conley mentions her grandmother Marge. “She was an amazing person, ahead of her time,” Conley says. “She advocated for the rights of women back in the 1960s up until just before she died.” Regarding this recognition, Conley says, “I think being seen as a Woman of Influence is a result of a lot of hard work that’s sometimes seen and sometimes behind the scenes as well. It’s being able to use your relationships for good, to impact the community, to just make things better for people with some of the tools you have on hand.” — Kathryn Eastburn

Sandy Johnson

“C

olorado Springs is in my blood.” Sandy Johnson, executive director of First Tee – Southern Colorado, is a third-generation Colorado Springs native who graduated from Mitchell High School and UCCS. Her local roots mean everything to her, and she’s acted tirelessly to enrich the community that she calls home. Johnson’s college internship at the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC turned into a full-time job as director of programs and events. She counts herself extremely fortunate to have been mentored by Jen Furda, director of partnerships and governmental affairs at UCCS, and the late Stephannie Fortune, a former Springs city councilor. Both, she says, helped her learn all aspects of being a professional, which still resonates in how she deals with her own staff today. She also founded the Chamber’s Rising Professionals program, which focused on professional development, civic engagement and mentoring. As nominator Jessica James said, “Sandy understood the importance of getting young professionals more involved in the community to become the leaders of tomorrow.” In addition to Chamber Rising Professionals, she and Fortune launched the regional leaders trip. The point is to immerse community leaders in a sister city, bring best practices back and implement them where possible. The bonus, Johnson said, comes from building relationships between community leaders through shared experiences. Johnson is now the CEO of First Tee – Southern Colorado, which empowers kids through golf. The program is open to kids 5-18, regardless of background or previous experience.

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023

“It’s not about golf, it’s about the kids,” she says. “At the end of the day, we’re a youth development organization, and we want to mentor these kids. They need role models.” When she started at First Tee, it only covered El Paso and Teller counties. She’s drastically expanded fundraising and doubled the organization’s budget and service area, which now includes Pueblo and Fremont counties. First Tee reached more than 3,000 youths in 2023, through skill development and support mentors. Johnson believes in being the change she wants to see in the community, and her efforts have been recognized. In 2011, she was one of ColoradoBiz Magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Young Professionals in Colorado. She received the Rising Stars Award from the Colorado Springs Business Journal and the Community Trustee Award through Leadership Pikes Peak. Asked what advice she’d give to other women looking to make a difference, Johnson says, “Find something you’re passionate about, and put your all into it. You can make a difference in the community; you just have to find your passion.” She knows going into a new setting where you don’t know anyone can be intimidating, but suggests, “if you’re feeling that way, then they’re feeling that way, too. But every organization in this community is looking for more volunteers.” Like other Women of Influence, Johnson doesn’t limit her involvement to one organization. She has sat on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Advisory Board and Associate Board, as well as the Multiple Sclerosis Alliance Board of Directors and that of Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. — MB Partlow

Patience Kabwasa

n 2021, when Patience Kabwasa became executive director of Food to Power (formerly Colorado Springs Food Rescue) she penned a letter to all stakeholders that was published in the organization’s 2021-2023 Strategic Plan. “Watching the support and growth of our organization over the years has been one of the most incredible joys of my life,” she said at the time. Just 10 years old this year, Food to Power started as a bunch of young people on bikes, riding around the city picking up food where there was excess and distributing it where there wasn’t enough. That simple concept of rescuing and redistributing food, over the nine years that Kabwasa has been involved, has grown now to include a beautiful food hub on a hill with the most magnificent view of the Colorado Springs Front Range imaginable; a farming operation that will soon produce fresh produce year-round; a composting program that takes community members’ food scraps and turns them into rich food for the soil; education programs that teach people how to feed themselves and how to support local food systems; advocacy with legislators and voters around food-friendly policies; a free grocery program in collaboration with local food purveyors and the food bank that feeds hundreds; and most importantly, a growing consciousness across Colorado Springs about the role of food in empowering people to work, play, serve and live, and in propagating equality. Located in the Hillside neighborhood where Kabwasa has long been active in community gardening and feeding programs, Food to Power under her watch has expanded its vision to transforming the food system in the Springs. “Instead of simply getting food where it was needed, with

Patience’s input and direction, Food to Power was able to ask bigger questions: Why are so many people standing in line for free food to begin with? What policy changes need to happen to make food available to everyone? How do we engage and center community wisdom in this transformative process? Patience was also crucial to shaping the research to answer these questions and guide the direction of programs and initiatives moving to a more equitable food system,” wrote colleague Jessi Bustamante, who nominated Kabwasa as a Woman of Influence. “My mama was my first teacher at an early age about the power of God and faith,” Kabwasa says. “I’ve had such incredible women over my lifetime and I’ve picked up pieces from all of them who’ve helped me be a generator of love. To put it simplistically, I think that’s what it means to be a woman of influence. When someone encounters you they go away feeling better, whether they take away love or a little peace or something else they needed.” Despite how far the neighborhood, the city, the state and the country have to go to achieve a healthy, sustainable and equitable food system, Kabwasa is encouraged by the enthusiasm she sees in the younger generation around her at Food to Power. “They’re wanting to reclaim that knowledge of how to grow food,” she says. “They’re bringing a different level of reverence about the importance of food.” It’s about growing that knowledge and reverence and love, and giving it away — something Patience Kabwasa is really good at. —K athryn Eastburn

Whitney Luckett

n the world of sustainable natural rubber and latex and supply chain solutions, Whitney Luckett is undeniably a woman of influence. Connecting North American companies with suppliers in West Africa, Southeast Asia and China, Luckett is founder and president of Simko North America, headquartered in Colorado Springs, and her business expertise is rivaled only by her passion for orchestrating community and personal connections to make the world a better place. “Whitney is such a dynamic woman on so many fronts,” said Amy Triandiflou, who nominated her for the award. “Whitney’s energy and zest for life is boundless. You just want to be around her.” On the personal front, Luckett opens her home to hundreds of music lovers each year at her family’s Friends House Concerts, a series that has hosted traveling acts for 23 years. Within the community, she has volunteered widely, including nine years for TESSA, supporting women experiencing domestic violence. On the business front, she operates a 95 percent women-run company that provides $40 million in critical supplies to companies like Bridgestone and Goodyear Tire & Rubber. Globally, she advocates for Ukrainians caught in the crossfire of the Soviet invasion, hosting a Ukrainian family in her home and raising money to provide supplies and build warming huts for internally displaced Ukrainians. “I received an award for the business this year, and I said I do this because I want more women in higher places, in places of leadership, or at least men who think like women,” Luckett says. “Women have that connector

thing; they’ll sit and listen to someone very different from them. In all facets of life, the one thing it’s good to be is a connector — a people connector and an idea connector.” In her experience working in the commodities trading world, Luckett admits there were no women who impacted her positively. “That’s probably one of the reasons I’ve become a forum leader for women-owned businesses,” she says. Since 2022 she has served as Colorado forum leader for Women’s Business Enterprise Council-West, an organization that brings together corporations, governmental organizations and women-owned businesses to promote a shared interest in supplier diversity. Within her own company, Luckett strives to be supportive of issues women face in the workplace, like flex time for child care. Inside Simko North America’s offices, care has gone into planning the workspace to accommodate quiet, solo time as well as large group meetings. She’s hired a local woman muralist to add color to lift spirits, and commissioned a table in the break area from a master sculptor and woodworker to heighten aesthetics and motivation. “In the office, when something goes wrong, my mantra is: Stop pointing fingers,” Luckett says. “I don’t care who’s responsible but I care about how we can prevent it from happening again. I just try to live each day and be grateful for whatever it is that’s come into my life, even if it’s kind of crappy.” — Kathryn Eastburn Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

Joan Selman

f you see someone running around Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado dressed as a turkey or a giant carrot, it’s likely Joan Selman. When Selman moved to Colorado Springs in 2000, nobody could have predicted the impressive impact she was going to have on the community — first with Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation and then with Care and Share. When she left her family and her support system in Chicago 20 years ago, it was important to her to “plant” here immediately. “You do that by getting involved in and learning about the community,” she says. “It’s very important to me to give back.” Selman worked for Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation for almost 19 years. One of her proudest accomplishments there was the creation of a Patient Special Needs fund after she discovered staff were “digging into their own pockets” to pay for emergent needs for families. She got donors to create a fund for that, and created a committee to evaluate the requests. People often assumed her hospice role was tough, but Selman readily points out she wasn’t on the clinical side. She loved the work she did with patients’ families, and her success in fundraising. Fundraising often isn’t glamorous, and plenty of nonprofits struggle with it. But Selman — Care and Share’s major gifts officer — looks past the process to focus on the end goal. “I love the fundraising profession,” she says. “There’s a lot of people that are afraid to ask people for money, but that’s just a tool; we’re a conduit. “I’m asking people to make an investment in things that are valuable and good investments. They make our community better and are impactful for the people that we’re helping.” The work suits her soul and her purpose. Even as she’s

moved on to Care and Share, “Joan doesn’t hesitate to continue to help families in need of hospice care, nor does she hesitate to find assistance for anyone who needs support, no matter what the need,” says her nominator and former Care and Share CEO, Lynne Telford. “If a donor isn’t interested in funding her organization’s mission, Joan finds out what is important to the donor and connects them to that organization.” Since moving to Care and Share in April of 2021, Selman has already raised over $2.3 million for the organization, which serves 29 counties in southern Colorado. She credits her success to “being able to be impactful with my skillset of fundraising, and finding donors, and building relationships; making a connection between a donor and the work that we’re doing.” Selman also gives her time and support to a number of other organizations, including the Children’s Literacy Center, Goodwill of Colorado, Peak Vista Community Health Centers and Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado. In addition, on the 20th anniversary of Nancy Lewis Park in 2016, Selman played a critical role in raising funds to update the park. She did this to honor parks and community advocate Nancy Lewis, who had been a mentor to her. “All that mattered to Joan,” Telford says, “was that she was part of creating a city sanctuary that honored Nancy’s vision of a park system that benefits everyone.” Selman believes you don’t have to be rich to give back to your community. You can give your time if you can’t give money. You can lend an ear to someone who just needs to be heard. She loves what she does. And it shows.

Congratulations to 10 Extraordinary Women who have blazed trails and sparked innovation and whose tireless dedication to the Colorado Springs community inspires us all. 16

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023

—MB Partlow

GoodwillColorado.org

Mary Lou Makepeace Legacy Award

ary Lou Makepeace was dest i ned to be i nf luent ial. Her strength and perseverance was ingrained in her at a young age, partly because she was forced to grow up so quickly. Her father, a train engineer, died in a railway accident when she was 16 years old and her pregnant mother was just beginning her final trimester. Makepeace, a North Dakota native, helped raise her younger sisters — one nearly two decades her junior — when her stay-at-home mom suddenly had to take a job with JCPenney to make ends meet. But those experiences during her formative years would help shape the first and (so far) only woman mayor of Colorado Springs. After college, Makepeace married and, due to her first husband’s military career, traveled the world. She taught in Madagascar and Germany, and served as assistant to the defense attaché at the American Embassy in Prague, in then-Czechoslovakia, in the late 1960s and early ’70s. She also lived in Colorado Springs for a brief period before divorcing and moving back in the 1980s, when she remarried. Upon her return, Makepeace began working in the nonprofit world as executive director of the Community Council of the Pikes Peak Region, where she assisted the local homeless population. Makepeace was then appointed to the Planning Commission — and then City Council suddenly had an opening. “My husband said, ‘You should apply for that.’ I go, ‘Oh, are you kidding? I just got appointed to Planning Commission. Yeah, that’s too soon.’ He goes, ‘You know, no man would ever think that way.’” That conversation has stuck with Makepeace ever since; she even shares the quote with other women looking for advice. “If he hadn’t said that, I would never have been mayor,” she recalls. When Mayor Bob Isaac left office in 1997, Leon Young became mayor and Makepeace was named Young’s vice mayor. W hen Young’s term ended, he decided not to run for another and Makepeace had no intention of running either. But after watching four candidates enter the race, she says she wasn’t impressed. “I was looking around and I thought, ‘Well, I don’t see anything.’ The election is in April and it was nearly Christmas and I said, ‘Damn it. I’m gonna run for mayor.’” Makepeace admits her campaign had a rocky start. “I had people — none of us had ever done anything like run for mayor before. I had

people from my Sunday school class, and other friends — we’re sitting around, we’d meet Saturday mornings — and somebody said, ‘Let’s just face it. We don’t know what the hell we’re doing.’ And so I came to Poor Richard’s and I bought a book, How to Win Local Elections.” The purchase paid off — Makepeace was elected in 1997. Makepeace thinks she was chosen, and respected, because she acted as mayor for all people, to include women and the LGBTQ community — even signing a proclamation in support of LGBTQ people when such decisions were highly controversial here. But her advocacy didn’t stop after leaving office. In 2003, Makepeace joined the Gill Foundation and became executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, where she was instrumental in distributing millions of dollars to Colorado nonprofits. Today, she hosts a podcast, Elevating Pikes Peak Women — recent guests have included the mayor’s Chief of Staff Jamie Fabos, and City Councilors Michelle Talarico and Lynette CrowIverson. While Makepeace has directly and indirectly inspired many women to take the leap and pursue leadership positions, she looks back to growing up in North Dakota and says her mother’s strength is what inspires her most. “You have to be strong to take care of yourself no matter what happens,” Makepeace says. “Women have to be strong; I saw my mother mobilizing herself with these three kids that she had to take care of. ... I certainly looked up to my mother.” As for being named a Legacy honoree: “I think my legacy is that women have every right to be elected or to serve,” she says. “I think women probably still have a ways to go before we’re fully acknowledged as citizens, but I hope that I have convinced women in this community to give it a go. ... You learn you don’t have to know everything. In fact, it’s better if you don’t know everything, because you don’t come with preconceived ideas. So I hope [this recognition] says to women in this community: There are opportunities, but you have to take them.” — Bryan Grossman Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

Peggy Shivers

Legacy Award

olorado Springs received the gift of Peggy Shivers in 1979 when she moved here with her beloved husband, Clarence, and became an arts and community advocacy powerhouse. Creators of the Shivers Fund for Pikes Peak Library District in 1993, the couple responded to the lack of information about African-American history in Colorado Springs by funding the Shivers AfricanAmerican Historical and Cultural Collection at PPLD — a collection that continues to grow thanks to the Shivers Fund and its many supporters. A champion of education, Shivers is also a zealous supporter of the arts, especially the musical arts. That passion stretches back to her days as an opera singer fresh out of Portland, Oregon, singing with Duke Ellington and in concerts in Europe. In Colorado Springs, the Shivers Fund has sponsored countless concerts and cultural opportunities for young people, aimed at cultivating diversity, tolerance and grace in the community. “Peggy’s collaborative work with the Pikes Peak Library District to create one of the best collections in the western United States on the African-American experience is something of a crown jewel for us here in southern Colorado,” says Ahriana Platten, the Business Journal’s nonprofit board president and Women of Influence committee member. “Her musical talent and generosity of spirit — expressed through the Shivers Fund as arts and cultural enrichment and grant and scholarship opportunities — have touched the lives of people in the Pikes Peak region for 30 years. Peggy’s place in this year’s class of Legacy honorees gives the Colorado Springs Business Journal the privilege of bringing our audience closer to a woman whose gifts enrich the lives of everyone around her.” If you’ve been lucky, you have had the chance to hear Shivers sing — something she still does occasionally at age 84. On a Sunday this fall, she sang at First Congregational Church in Downtown Colorado Springs, moving the congregation with a powerful rendition of a traditional American spiritual. “I think a Woman of Influence is someone who has encouraged others,” Shivers says, “a person who cares about others and perhaps has done some good for themselves, the family, and the city where they live.” That describes Shivers in a nutshell — an advocate who has focused on using her talents and gifts to encourage entire generations of young people coming up in her longtime home of Colorado Springs. Shivers was influenced most by her first voice teacher in Portland, a man who recognized her extraordinary talent and encouraged her to pursue singing professionally.

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023

Equally inf luential were three women in her family, she says: her grandmother, who loved her dearly; her aunt, a fantastic influence; and her mother. “When I was young, in order for me to take piano lessons and, later on, voice lessons — even though she was a practical nurse and worked five days a week nursing — my mother took jobs ironing and cleaning for my music teachers,” Shivers says. “She always encouraged me from as long as I could remember.” Shivers’ list of awards and special recognitions is long, and is never quite complete... She’s a winner of UCCS’ Unstoppable Woman Award and a Girl Scouts of Colorado Woman of Distinction Award. Shivers has also been lauded by the NAACP for community service and with its Living Legend Award; celebrated by the Colorado Library Association for her work as a benefactor; heralded by Colorado College as a champion of community diversity; recognized by Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Board of Commissioners with resolutions in her honor; and has even had a charter school named after her and Clarence. In 2021, El Pomar’s Board of Trustees recognized Shivers with its inaugural Excellence in Arts and Culture Trustee Award, which included a $10,000 grant for the Shivers Fund. Talk with Shivers and she won’t brag about her awards; she’ll tell you instead about the magical connections she’s made in this life, like the time she met her childhood hero, Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys. As the story goes, little Peggy was 6 or 7 years old and living in Chicago when Rogers came to perform at an arena there. Riding around the arena at the end of the show, Rogers invited all the kids to come up front. “I was bashful and wouldn’t go down, but my mom pushed me to go down,” Shivers says. “Many of the kids were in front of me, but Roy Rogers saw me, reached over those other kids and shook my hand. I never forgot it.” Years later, in the 1970s, when the Shiverses were relocating from Spain to Colorado, they drove to California to see old friends, and one of those friends — aware of Peggy’s love for the singing cowboy — took her to the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum. Shivers’ friend introduced her guest to the young man at the front desk, who turned out to be Rogers’ son. To Shivers’ surprise, young Rogers opened the door to an office and there stood her hero, Roy. “He was so patient and nice,” Shivers says. “He spent time with us even though we thought we were taking up too much of his time. I was thrilled.” — Kathryn Eastburn

Pam Shockley-Zalabak Legacy Award

“I

don’t think about being a woman of influence or about men of influence,” says Pam Shockley-Zalabak, former chancellor of UCCS, author, professor emerita and organizational consultant. “What I think about is trying to get some things done that need to be done. I’d much rather be remembered as a woman who engaged with other people in bringing about positive change. “If that means I had an influence on someone, so be it.” Getting things done was Shockley-Zalabak’s stock in trade over her 15 years as chancellor of UCCS. During her tenure, campus enrollment increased by 75 percent to more than 12,000 students. Diversity increased among students, faculty and staff. New academic programs were added in all colleges of the university and Shockley-Zalabak oversaw transformative facilities expansions. She was instrumental in bringing a branch medical campus of the University of Colorado School of Medicine to UCCS and achieving successful accreditation for UCCS from the Higher Learning Commission. Indeed, anyone driving on North Nevada Avenue or Austin Bluffs Parkway, gawking at the visible growth of the UCCS campus, can thank Shockley-Zalabak for the vision. In addition to Shockley-Zalabak’s role in growing student enrollment and diversity, Tracie Woods, the Business Journal’s events manager and Women of Influence committee member, notes that she shaped the university by “overseeing a $500 million capital campaign fund — and has kept the engine running by stepping into retirement at full speed. Currently, as president of CommuniCon, she leads the organizational and leadership consulting firm with clients throughout the U.S. and abroad. “Pam has a long history of shaping tomorrow’s leaders and being a leader whose commitment to excellence is unyielding,” Woods says. “As such, she was a natural and easy fit to be a Legacy honoree this year.” Shockley-Zalabak grew up in Drummond, Oklahoma — a place smaller than most neighborhoods in Colorado Springs. “I grew up in a town of 297 people,” she says. “I was there last weekend to do a funeral for one of my best friends. My mother and my teachers were powerful in my life, were women who influenced me. Were they in powerful positions? No. Is that who I wanted to be? In terms of what’s important to do in a community, yes.” Growing up in Drummond gave ShockleyZalabak a strong work ethic, a belief in the power of education, an appreciation of living with many generations of people, and a love of athletics, she told the Business Journal in a 2011 interview. At that time her concern was that southern Colorado wasn’t directing enough of its young people into higher education, lagging behind the northern part of the state. Growing UCCS into a much larger institution, she says, was “not growth for

growth’s sake, but to meet the educational needs of our region and our young people.” When she was chancellor at UCCS, she never stopped teaching, affirming that her inspiration came from the young people being educated there. Now president of CommuniCon Inc., Shockley, at age 79, continues to serve the Colorado Springs community through volunteer work and consulting on key development projects. At CommuniCon, she and her colleagues have worked with more than 200 for-profit and nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S., Europe, Russia, China, India and Poland. She served as acting CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum over the last few years, where she executive produced the museum’s award-winning video series, “Becoming Your Personal Best: Life Lessons From Olympians and Paralympians,” part of a 4th- through 12th-grade curriculum project for community organizations and schools. “I’m working on the COS Creek [Plan] with Pikes Peak Waterways,” Shockley-Zalabak says. That project aims to revitalize a 7-mile stretch of Monument and Fountain creeks stretching from the northernmost end of Monument Park to the confluence of Fountain Creek and Shooks Run Creek on the southern end, with a particular focus on making sections of the waterways more accessible for recreation and leisure activities along the Downtown corridor. The vision, which was unveiled last year and funded by an $800,000 grant from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, includes environmental stewardship of waters and wetlands, development of bike and pedestrian east-west corridors, visual enhancement and better access to creeksides, and general community awareness of the importance of the city’s waterways. Shockley-Zalabak has been involved in pulling together the plan in hopes of beginning implementation within the next one to three years. “I’m looking very seriously at how we view other projects in our community, how we move them forward,” she says. Among those is the Drake Visioning Project, a public input plan for development of the area where the now defunct Drake Power Plant sits, once the mammoth plant is disassembled and the acreage on which it sits becomes an important new city asset. Coming up with that plan will involve studying decommissioning projects in other communities, developing possibilities for future planning, creating an effective and broad community input process, and making recommendations for decisionmakers to consider as changes at the site occur. ShockleyZalabak’s task has been to develop a design for that process. “I feel good about Colorado Springs right now,” she says. “I think as long as I’m in good health, I want to keep contributing.” — Kathryn Eastburn Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

Lynne Telford

Legacy Award

he word “legacy” carries weight for Lynne Telford, and not because she was just recognized with the Women of Inf luence Legacy Award. Rather, Telford is fully aware of the example she aims to leave behind for younger women — especially her 13-year-old granddaughter. Sitting down for an interview with the Business Journal, Telford brings along a newspaper clipping from 2004, when she was first recognized as a Woman of Influence — the Legacy addition would come nearly two decades later. Telford said she’s hanging on to these snippets of personal history because there are pieces missing from her own extended story. “I want to show my granddaughter that, even though we come from a really ordinary family, I was able to help other people and make an impact on this community,” she says. “I’m really proud of the legacy that I’m leaving here. And I want her to know that she can definitely be anything.” Telford, a California native, grew up in Silicon Valley and, finding she was good with numbers, would eventually become an accountant. “Roughly the first half of my career was in business,” Telford says. “I started as a CPA. So, I had financial positions — CFO, controller kind of positions — and I was working for a small French semiconductor company, and Atmel bought them in 1995 and decided the best place for me to be would be Colorado Springs. My husband and I were thrilled. “California was getting very crowded and we loved the outdoors,” she adds. “We wanted an adventure; our kids were grown. My husband was about to finish his 30-year career at Lockheed [Martin], so the timing was perfect for us. And Atmel was a great company to work for.” Then, in 2000, while living in the Springs, Telford decided she was ready for a change of pace. She decided to trade in her passion for numbers for humans. “I always wanted to work in a profession that helps people,” she says. That’s when Telford was hired at Pikes Peak United Way. “I went in as a financial person, but learned major gift giving,” she says. “I ran the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and it was located at United Way — I was a chief operating officer. And then in 2010, I heard that they had fired the

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023

Care and Share [Food Bank for Southern Colorado’s] CEO. That job really called to me. I felt like all my business experience and my nonprofit experience and my financial background prepared me for it. And I’m passionate that people shouldn’t be going hungry in America. So I applied for the job and fortunately, they chose me. I spent the last 11 years of my career as the CEO of Care and Share. That was extraordinary; it was wonderful.” Asked if any particular experience stood out during her nonprofit career, Telford shares how, a year into her tenure at Care and Share, the Waldo Canyon Fire started. “People were scared — even people with resources,” she says. “I remember one night at UCCS when people went to learn if their homes still existed or not and we were outside handing out boxes of food. People would say, ‘Oh, I don’t really need this,’ and we would just say, ‘It’s OK. Your community wants you to have this.’” The community wanted to do something so badly to help. “It was very affirming, that this is where I should be,” she adds. “It was demanding, but exhilarating at the same time. The employees needed me — I had to be the media presence, every phone call was different and I had to react quickly to a lot of things, including Mitt Romney, who was running for president at the time and came to the food bank. So many things happened and the team at Care and Share really pulled together; I’d never seen people coalesce that quickly and that strongly.” But it wasn’t only crises that forged Telford’s leadership. She also looked to other determined women. She mentions the late Stephannie Fortune (also a Woman of Influence) and tells the story of an interaction with fellow Legacy honoree and former Colorado Springs Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace. “I remember I had to make a difficult decision that was gonna make people mad, no matter which side I landed on,” Telford says. “I was talking to her about it and she pointed to a stuffed armadillo on her bookcase. She said, ‘Listen, you gotta be tough on the outside. You can be as soft as you want on the inside, but on the outside you have to be tough. Just make a decision and go.’ So now I have a little armadillo in my office.” — Bryan Grossman

June Waller Legacy Award

une Waller at 87 has lived longer than most of her family members and still just can’t sit still. “No one in my family collected Social Security but me,” she says. “Even my daughter passed before she collected Social Security. I’m so thankful for this life.” Educated in Catholic schools, Waller said she can show you in her yearbooks how, from age 15 on, she’s never stopped working in the community. In Colorado Springs, where she has lived since the mid-1960s, Waller has worked tirelessly searching for affordable housing solutions, managing housing developments both public and private, researching and making presentations to community groups, sitting on commissions and generally inspiring others to get involved. “Honestly, I’m just not happy sitting home. I need to get outside,” she says. “I’ve always been an outside kind of person.” Being outside led to one of her first connections in Colorado Springs, with a woman whose life inspired Waller. “We came to Colorado Springs with a miniature collie, and someone stole her from our yard,” Waller says. “The girls and I were walking around looking for our dog when a woman approached me. ‘You must be new in the neighborhood,’ she said. It was Fannie Mae Duncan.” Duncan, whose name is legendary in Colorado Springs as proprietor of the Cotton Club, a rare venue for Black performing artists in the 1950s and ’60s, was also a philanthropist and a committed activist for racial fairness. Waller took to her immediately and was soon a regular visitor to Duncan’s house for coffee, listening to visiting musicians’ tales of their harrowing experiences in the Deep South at the hands of racists — stories Waller hadn’t heard because she’d been living in Germany where her husband was stationed in the military. “Sitting around listening to people talking about that really influenced me,” Waller says. In the 1970s and ’80s, Waller was instrumental in organizing the Colorado Springs chapter of Colorado Black Women for Political Action, a vehicle to draw together Black women from around the country who had relocated to Colorado Springs. Arranging teas for new teachers, organizing visiting speakers and gatherings honed Waller’s organizing skills and satisfied her need to be involved. The chapter is still active today — and that need has never waned. Waller has served on countless boards and committees, including The Foundation for School District 11, NAACP Executive Committee, the Citizen Transportation Advisory Board, the Citizens Advisory Committee for Colorado Springs Police Department, the Black Latino Leadership Coalition of Colorado Springs and others. She made a career in strategic planning, training personnel, counseling residents on quality of life improvement and — always — advocat-

ing for affordable housing solutions. “When I moved here, there were 50,000 people here. The town pretty much ended at Union [Boulevard] where the Olympic Training Center is now,” Waller says. “I’ve been here for 57 years and this is the first time I’ve seen four cranes Downtown. I’m watching the growth and I’m thinking the salaries here do not support what they’re building.” Waller admits she doesn’t know what the solutions are for making enough affordable housing to serve the burgeoning community’s needs, but she’s certain it will be a combination of efforts from many different fronts — government and business, public and private. “There’s no magic pill,” she says. “Maybe AI can come up with it.” Waller’s passion for guiding youth in the community hasn’t waned over the years either. Dismayed by seeing young people absorbed in screens, staring at their phones, she buys educational toys in bulk over the year and gives them away at Christmas so that children aged 2 to 10 will know there’s something other than a tablet or a phone that can interest and teach them. And she hasn’t stopped working. She serves on the board of directors of Denver-based Rocky Mountain Communities, a nonprofit dedicated to building new affordable housing. “I’m learning about acquiring financing to do affordable housing. I feel like I’m learning new stuff,” she says. “I get up early and take the bus to Denver, then walk to the Capitol. See how good life is?” It gets lonely if you don’t get out and serve others, Waller says. “I don’t know how people stay in the house,” she says. “I really don’t.” Of Waller’s selection for the Women of Influence’s Legacy honor, Tracie Woods, the Business Journal’s events manager and Women of Influence committee member says, “In 2015, the first time I met June, I knew I was in the presence of someone with unparalleled commitment to community and a spirit dedicated to doing good and necessary work. “June’s history here in the Springs began with the Colorado Springs Housing Authority back in the 1970s when she worked to get people housed and keep them from becoming unhoused. She has used her life to implement a senior lunch program that is almost 50 years strong, and her work building and fostering the Hillside community through organizing, collaborating, advising and advocating is an asset to Colorado Springs and El Paso County that is beyond measure. “Honoring Ms. June as a Legacy Award recipient is a special privilege for me, personally,” Woods adds, “and doing so in the rich tradition of the Colorado Springs Business Journal is an honor.” — Kathryn Eastburn Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023

CALENDAR

Your guide to events in the Pikes Peak region nity in the Southwest, with works from the FAC collection; through Feb. 3. Museum free days, Dec. 9 and 15. Commonwheel Artists Co-op, 102 Cañon Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1008, commonwheel.com. Holiday Market with works by 32 Colorado artists — everything from original artwork/prints to glass and metal art to wearables to soaps and candles. Through Dec. 28.

ART EXHIBIT

“Indigo Sea With Finger Rocks” by Naomi J. Falk

Sew Subversive : A Textile and Fiber Installation answers the question “What can you say with fiber that you can’t say with other mediums?” Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.; through Dec. 22; Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave., 719-520-1899, cottonwoodcenterforthearts.com.

FIRST FRIDAY/ART 45º Gallery, 2528 W. Colorado Ave., Suite B, 719-434-1214, 45degreegallery.com. The annual Holiday Mixer, featuring homemade pie (!) and a chance to mingle with the gallery’s artists. Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m. Academy Art & Frame, 7560 N. Academy Blvd., 719-265-6694, academyframesco. com. 16th Annual High School Students Ceiling Tile Competition, judged by the public at the gallery or at tinyurl.com/student-tiles. Artists’ Reception, Friday, Dec. 15, 4-7 p.m. Joni Ware’s The Beauty of the Earth show continues through December. Anita Marie Fine Art, 109 S. Corona St., 719-493-5623, anitamariefineart.com. Storied Places, oil paintings by Chuck Mardosz, Richard Dahlquist and Joanne Lavender. Through Dec. 21. Bosky Studio, 17B E. Bijou St., tinyurl. com/Bosky-SmallWorks. 14th Annual Small Works Show — “Hundreds of pieces of art created by talented local artists hung floor to ceiling for your viewing pleasure.” A buy and walk show opening Friday, Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m.

The Bridge Gallery, 218 W. Colorado Ave., #104, 719-629-7055, thebridgeartgallery. com. Small works “in clay, photography, painting, fiber and mixed media. Invited artists are Darla Slee, Clyde Tullis, Nancy Burton, Alan Burton, Rui Haagen, Rob Watt, Karla Lee, Lori Nicholson, Peter Marchand, John Lawson, Dave Armstrong, Michael Cellan, Deena Bennett, Betty Atherton.” Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.; through Dec. 16. The Colony, 2 S. Wahsatch Ave., #100, thecolony.studio. Works by “Creator. Painter. Illustrator. Traveler. Activist. Human.” Jeresneyka Rose. Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., 719634-5581, fac.coloradocollege.edu. First Friday Art Party with free admission, music, a cash bar and snacks, plus work by Rocky Ford painter and printmaker John Odlin. Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m. Solo(s): Krista Franklin. Franklin “creates books, poetry, collages, handmade paper, installations, murals, performances, sound works, sculptures, and lectures.” Through Dec. 16. Mi Gente: Manifestations of Commu-

Dec. 20, 5:30 p.m.; closing reception Jan. 5, 5-8 p.m. The Look Up Gallery, 11 E. Bijou St. (inside Yobel), thelookupgallery.com. Distortion, a collection of “new large-scale, abstract scenery works” by local artist Ben Bires. Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m., with drinks, and music by DJ Rocky Ross. Manitou Art Center, 513/515 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-1861, manitouartcenter.org. Studio Artist and Makerspace Member End of Year Show, Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.; through Dec. 30; tinyurl. com/MAC-dec23. Plus the Handmade Holiday Market, music by the Manitunes and the MAC’s signature cocktail for those who get there earliest!

Disruptor Gallery, 2217 E. Platte Ave., shutterandstrum.org. What Kinda Brown Are You? “This question pulls apart the identity of the individual and forces them to be solely defined to the color of their skin and not who they are as a human.” Local “‘brown’ artists will have their portraits taken then overlap their culture or story of identity.” Includes a video and works by participating artists Jasmine Dillavou, Avery Chatmon, Ashley Cornelius, Christopher Beasley and Kevin Persaud. Friday, Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m., event starts at 5:15 p.m.; RSVP at tinyurl.com/ Disrupt-dec.

Pikes Peak State College Fall Student Exhibition, Dec. 4 through Jan. 19; reception Friday, Dec. 8, 5-7 p.m.; awards 5:30-6 p.m.; Gallery at Studio West, 22 N. Sierra Madre St.; see tinyurl.com/PPSC-Fall23 for gallery hours.

GOCA (Galleries of Contemporary Art, UCCS), Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave., gocadigital.org. Martha Russo’s Caesura — “her sculptural investigations appear at once fragile and potentially dangerous, cautioning one away while hypnotically drawing one in — ever closer — for intimate examination.” Through Dec. 2.

Platte Collections, 2331 E. Platte Place, 719-980-2715, plattecollections.myshopify.com. Water Rites by Shannon Dunn, who explores “water in all its forms ... From the tears in our eyes to the blood in our veins ... Drought and flood. Freeze and thaw. ...” Cocktail hour Friday, Dec. 1, 4-6 p.m.

Hunter-Wolff Gallery, 2510 W. Colorado Ave., 719-520-9494, hunterwolffgallery. com. Jewelry and newly released bronze sculptures by Maria Battista. Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.

Surface Gallery, 2752 W. Colorado Ave., 719-359-6966, surfacegallerycos.com. Per Annum 2023, a group holiday show featuring the work of 50-plus local artists — multiple media including painting, collage, sculptural and handmade jewelry. Opening reception, Friday, Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m. with live music by Luke Flowers; through Jan. 19.

Kreuser Gallery, 125 E. Boulder St., 719464-5880, kreusergallery.com. Shifting Reality by Lori Goede: “paintings that capture the profound connection between individuals in classical literature.” Release of the Trammels by Don Goede: “a small fraction of neurotic and anxietyriddled artwork and what I have deemed therapeutic manifestations of the Hypomanic variety.” Atmospheres and Orbits by Nancy Roach: “paintings done in oil and cold wax depicting an attitude of experimentation and play.” Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m., with music by Dubfuscious; artist talks — Nancy Roach, Dec. 8, 5:30 p.m.; Don and Lori Goede,

True North Art Gallery, 31 E. Bijou St., 719-471-3809, truenorthartgallery.com. December After Dark, with art from 20 creatives, wine and treats. Friday, Dec. 1, 5-10:30 p.m. Universal Education Foundation, 301 E. Platte Ave., tinyurl.com/universal-dec23. Just Art (and Gifts!), with work by Michelle Bracewell, Nicole Curtis, John Hagerty, Stephanie Lassen, Daniel Logan, Elizabeth Mackiewicz, Kristine Urban, Michael Van-

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INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

CALENDAR ➔ continued from p. 23 Galder and Frechelle Wilson. Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.

DANCE A Dragonfly Nutcracker: You’ll find Dragonfly Aerial Company’s version of the holiday classic up in the air! “Let us transport you from Clara’s living room to faraway lands with fascinating and magical characters....” Saturday, Dec. 9, 3 and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 10, 2 and 6 p.m.; The Dragonfly Theatre, 5780 E. Woodmen Road, #140; dragonflyaerialco.com/nutcracker.

FILM A Day Without Art: “Everyone I Know Is Sick” — “A Day With(out) Art is held each year as an International Day of Action and Awareness in response to the AIDS crisis. Visual AIDS commissions and distributes a video program for Day With(out) Art, coordinating film screenings at over 100 venues around the world.” Five videos (1 hour total, played on a loop) “generating connections between HIV and other forms of illness and disability.” Friday, Dec. 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.; gocadigital.org/specialevents. Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour & Indigenous Short Film Tour 2023, two collections showcasing all of the best short films from Sundance. Saturday, Dec. 2, 4 p.m.; Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave.; indiespiritfilmfestival.org.

KIDS & FAMILIES Limitless Littles: Milk and Cookies with Mrs. Claus, “show them the future is LIMITLESS by joining us for a FREE special series showcasing diverse women from diverse fields. Will include crafts, activities, and lots of fun! For preschool and early elementary-age children with their caregivers.” Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.; Deerfield Hills Community Center, 4282 Deerfield Hills Road; tinyurl.com/Limitless-23. Winter Wonderland at Panorama Park, “family activities, games and crafts, eat s’mores, visit with surprise guests.” Saturday, Dec. 9, 2-4 p.m.; free; 4540 Fenton Road; tinyurl.com/Pano-winter. Yule Ball, for witches, wizards and all other magical (and non-magical) beings. “Get sorted into your Hogwarts House, participate in magical crafts and activities, mingle with fellow fans, and dance the afternoon away. Costumes and cosplay are encouraged.” Saturday, Dec. 16, 2-4 p.m.; The Hall at PPLD, 20 W. Pikes Peak Ave.; registration required at tinyurl.com/YuleBall-23. Bear Creek by Candlelight, a walk on luminaria-lit nature trails, music, a bowl of chili, Santa, and holiday crafts. Local children’s author Susan Permut will read The Christmas Camel (copies available for purchase/signing). Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.; $8/$7 member, prepaid; Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Road, tinyurl. com/epco-fun. Electric Safari at Cheyenne Mountain

“The Other Side” by Sallie Knox Hall

ART EXHIBIT

G44 Gallery’s 12th Annual Holiday Show will feature works by more than 100 local artists and artisans. Soft opening Thursday, Nov. 30, 5-7 p.m.; opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-9 p.m.; closing reception Jan. 5, 5-7 p.m.; 121 E. Boulder St., 720-951-0573, g44gallery.com. Zoo features 90 unique light sculptures, Santa Claus and photos with illuminated inflatable animals. Open on specific dates between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1, see schedule at tinyurl.com/CMZoo-Safari; 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road.

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LEARNING & LECTURES “Women in a New Space Economy” — “movements to recruit and retain women in the Space workforce, achieving greater parity than in other sectors — with perspectives from SPACECOM and USAFA women leaders.” Wednesday, Dec. 6, 11:30 a.m.; The Pinery at the Hill, 775 W. Bijou St., csworldaffairs.org.

MAKER’S MARKETS Local art galleries offer one-of-a-kind works for gifting (or keeping!), and some have multi-artist shows/sales during the festive season: G44 Gallery’s holiday show with works from 100 local artists and artisans (soft opening Nov. 30, g44gallery.com); Bosky Studio’s Small Works show (opening Dec. 1, boskystudio.com), and Commonwheel Artists Co-op’s Holiday Market (through Dec. 28; commonwheel.com). Studio Nadeau Holiday Pottery Sale, with work by studio members; Friday, Dec. 1, 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 2, 1-4 p.m.; 2997 Broadmoor Valley Road; nadeau. com/open-house-holiday-sale. Colorado Farm and Art Market, offering Colorado-produced food and handcrafts; Saturday, Dec. 2, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; The Margarita at Pine Creek; 7350 Pine Creek Road; farmandartmarket.com. Cheyenne Mountain High School Holiday Craft Fair, with 140-plus vendors. Saturday, Dec. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Cheyenne Mountain High School; 1200 Cresta Road; cmhscraftfair.com/index.html. Very Merry Holiday Market, featuring artisans, craftspeople and boutique goods. Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Barrel Building @ Meanwhile Block, 114 W. Cimarron St.; tinyurl. com/very-merry23.

continued on p. 27 ➔

Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Health Plan coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, Inc. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates, and UnitedHealthcare Service LLC in NY. Stop-loss insurance is underwritten by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or their affiliates, including UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company in NJ, and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York in NY. B2B EI232424341.0 7/23 © 2023 United HealthCare Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23-2358296-D

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CALENDAR ➔ continued from p. 25

SPECIAL EVENTS A Service of Lessons and Carols, “music and dance — a night of holiday spirit and celebration.” Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 3, 3 p.m.; First United Methodist Church, 420 N. Nevada Ave.; fumccs.org/news. Festival of Lessons & Carols, an Advent service with scripture, carols and choral pieces by the Colorado College Chamber Choir and musicians from the CC community. Sunday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m.; Shove Chapel, 1010 N. Nevada Ave.; tinyurl.com/ Advent-CC23. Festival of Lights Holiday Celebration at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, “explore the museum with athlete meet and greets, guided tours (available for regular admission purchase), captivating artifact demonstrations and sport activations.” Saturday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 200 S. Sierra Madre St.; usopm.org/ festival-of-lights-holiday-celebration. Electric Moonlight, for adults 21-plus, “festive holiday lights with indoor sampling areas featuring beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks while tasting delicious eats from area restaurants.” Thursday, Dec. 7, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road; advance tickets only, at cmzoo.org/events. Holiday Evening at Rock Ledge Ranch, includes wagon rides, live music, barn dancing, Victorian celebrations in Rock Ledge House, and Edwardian festivities in Orchard House. Saturday, Dec. 9, 4-8 p.m.; 3105 Gateway Road; tickets at rockledgeranch.com/event/holiday-evening.

THEATER/STAGE Christmas This Year, “a family variety show that highlights the gifts and talents

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of our community with Down syndrome and special abilities.” Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 2-3, with shows at 2 and 6 p.m. (livestream also available); Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N Nevada Ave.; christmasthisyear.org. Modbo Ho-Ho, a naughty local Christmas tradition (adults only!) with “lots of tawdry songs, a few dances, and perhaps a guest appearance by the big man himself.” Dec. 8-9, 7:30 p.m.; Millibo Art Theatre, 1626 S. Tejon St.; tickets at themat.org. The Little Prince “follows an aviator who crash-landed in the Sahara Desert where he meets a little prince who loves a rose from a distant world.” By Theatreworks with local actors and puppetry. Through Dec. 7, Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.; entcenterforthearts.org/theatreworks/current_season.

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Miracle in Mistletoe Town OR Cooking the Books for Christmas Dinner, will real estate mogul Ivana Cringe replace the town department store with a burger franchise? Through Dec. 23; Iron Springs Chateau, 444 S. Ruxton Ave., Manitou Springs; ironspringschateau.com.

LIVE ON STAGE NOV. 30–DEC. 31

The Seafarer — “It’s Christmas Eve in Dublin, Ireland. In the rundown house where Sharky cares for his blind brother, old acquaintances gather for a card game — joined by an ominous stranger. As the booze flows and the game intensifies, Sharky discovers he is playing for his soul.” Nov. 30-Dec. 17; 2409 W. Colorado Ave.; springsensembletheatre.org. ELF The Musical, “Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.” Nov. 30-Dec. 31; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., tinyurl.com/FAC-ELF.

the musical

Music by Matthew Sklar | Lyrics by Chad Beguelin Book by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan Directed by James Bruenger-Arreguin

ART EXHIBIT

“Ram Beau” by Dana Lee Stoner

In the Spirit of the Season, artworks by Gallery 113’s 17 local member artists — wildlife and landscape photography, jewelry, pottery, hand-turned wood, hand-painted silk, leather creations. Opening reception Friday, Dec. 1, 5-8 p.m.; 125½ N. Tejon St., 719-6345299, gallery113cos.com.

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INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | CANDY

Free Will ASTROLOGY SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet John Berryman said, “To grow, we must travel in the direction of our fears.” Yikes! I personally wouldn’t want to do that kind of growth all the time. I prefer traveling cheerfully in the direction of my hopes and dreams. But then I’m not a Scorpio. Maybe Berryman’s strategy for fulfilling one’s best destiny is a Scorpio superpower. What do you think? One thing I know for sure is that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to reevaluate and reinvent your relationship with your fears. I suggest you approach the subject with a beginner’s mind. Empty yourself of all your previous ideas and be open to healing new revelations. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet Nina Cassian said, “I promise to make you so alive that the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you.” I think she meant she would fully awaken the senses of her readers. She would boost our capacity for enchantment and entice us to feel interesting emotions we had never experienced. As we communed with her beautiful self-expression, we might even reconf igure our understanding of who we are and what life is about. I am pleased to tell you, Sagittarius, that even if you’re not a writer, you now have an enhanced ability to perform these same services — both for yourself and for others. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Sometimes I get lonesome for a storm,” says Capricorn singer-songwriter Joan Baez. “A full-blown storm where everything changes.” That approach has worked well for her. At age 82, she has released 30 albums and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has recorded songs in eight languages and has been honored by Amnesty International for her work on behalf of human rights. If you’re feeling resilient — which I think you are — I recommend that you, too, get lonesome for a storm. Your life could use some rearrangement. If you’re not feeling wildly bold and strong, maybe ask the gods for a mild squall. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson tells us that water molecules we drink have “passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc.” The same prodigious truth applies to the air we breathe: It has “passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven, and Abraham Lincoln.” Tyson would have also been accurate if he said we have shared water and air that has been inside the bodies of virtually every creature who has ever lived. I bring these facts to your attention, Aquarius, in the hope of inspiring you to deepen your sense of connectedness to other beings. Now is an excellent time to intensify your feelings of kinship with the web of life. Here’s the practical value of doing that: You will attract more help and support into your life. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I am saying a prayer for you. I pray to the Fates that you will not accept lazy or careless efforts from others. You won’t allow their politeness to be a coverup for manipulativeness. I also pray that you will cultivate high expectations for yourself. You won’t be an obsessive perfectionist, but will be devoted to excellence. All your actions will be infused with high integrity. You will conscientiously attend to every detail with the faith that you are planting seeds that will bloom beautifully in the future. ARIES (March 21-April 19): As a child, I loved to go to a meadow and whirl around in spirals until I got so dizzy, I fell. As I lay on the ground, the earth, sky and sun reeled madly, and I was no longer just a pinpoint of awareness lodged inside my body, but was an ecstatically undulating swirl in the kaleidoscopic web of life. Now, years later, I’ve discovered many of us love spinning. Scientists postulate humans have a desire for the intoxicating vertigo it brings. I would never recommend you do what I did as a kid; it could be dangerous for some of you. But if it’s safe and the spirit moves you, do it! Or at least imagine yourself doing it. Do

BY ROB BREZSNY

you know about the Sufi Whirling Dervishes who use spinning as a meditation? Read here: tinyurl.com/JoyOfWhirling and tinyurl.com/ SufiSpinning. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your power creature in the coming weeks will not be an eagle, wolf, bear or salmon. I don’t advise you to dream of being a wild horse, tiger or crocodile. Instead, I invite you to cultivate a deep bond with the mushroom family. Why? Now is a favorable time to be like the mushrooms that keep the earth fresh. In wooded areas, they eat away dead trees and leaves, preventing larger and larger heaps of compost from piling up. They keep the soil healthy and make nutrients available for growing things. Be like those mushrooms, Taurus. Steadily and relentlessly rid your world of the defunct and decaying parts—thereby stimulating fertility. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini novelist Geraldine McCaughrean wrote, “Maybe courage is like memory — a muscle that needs exercise to get strong. So I decided that maybe if I started in a small way, I could gradually work my way up to being brave.” That is an excellent prescription for you: the slow, incremental approach to becoming bolder and pluckier. For best results, begin practicing on mild risks and mellow adventures. Week by week, month by month, increase the audacious beauty of your schemes and the intensity of your spunk and fortitude. By mid-2024, you will be ready to launch a daring project. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian neurologist and author Oliver Sacks worked with people who had unusual neurological issues. His surprising conclusion: “Defects, disorders, and diseases can play a paradoxical role, by bringing out latent powers, developments, and evolutions that might never be seen in their absence.” In not all cases, but more often than seemed reasonable, he found that disorders could be regarded as creative — “for if they destroy particular paths, particular ways of doing things, they may force unexpected growth.” Your assignment is to meditate on how the events of your life might exemplify the principle Sacks marvels at: apparent limitations leading to breakthroughs and bonanzas. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I am falling in love with how deeply you are falling in love with new ways of seeing and understanding yourself. My heart sings as I listen to your heart singing in response to new attractions. Keep it up, Leo! You are having an excellent influence on me. My dormant potentials and drowsy passions are stirring as I behold you waking up and coaxing out your dormant potentials and drowsy passions. Thank you, dear! VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo journalist Sydney J. Harris offered advice I suggest you meditate on. He wrote, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” I bring this to your attention because now is a favorable time to take action on things you have not yet done — and should do. If you put def initive plans in motion soon, you will ensure that regret won’t come calling in five years. (PS: Amazingly, it’s also an excellent time to dissolve regret you feel for an iffy move you made in the past.) LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In contrast to false stereotypes, medieval Europeans were not dirty and unhygienic. They made soap and loved to bathe. Another bogus myth says the people of the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But the truth was that most educated folks knew it was round. And it’s questionable to refer to this historical period as backward, since it brought innovations like mechanical timekeepers, movable type, accurate maps, the heavy plow and illuminated manuscripts. In this spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to strip away misconceptions and celebrate actual facts in your own sphere. Be a scrupulous revealer, a conscientious and meticulous truth-teller.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Studio

Nadeau

Edited by Adrian Johnson | Themeless Sunday 62 by Sarah Sinclair

Holiday Pottery Sale and Open House Friday, December 1 from 4-7pm Saturday, December 2nd from 1 - 4pm

From bbs.amuniversal.com

www.nadeau.com | 415-272-9932

Across

49 Weather the storm

14 Evil computer in a 1968 film

Some roulette bets

Novelist Harper

51 Iris, in Greek mythology

Read quickly

57 Nonstop flight?

19 Posh pleasure boats

58 Divided down the middle

20 Muscles worked during hip thrusts, informally

60 Bad thing to cross when committing a crime

24 Music student's asset

61 Shy

28 "Am I the only one?"

12 Not a secret 14 State of mind 16 Coconutty Girl Scout cookie 17 Italian appetizer plates 18 "I've already answered that," in office-speak 20 Egg-cellent standard 21 Employ 22 The "L" of L.A. 23 Freeze over 26 Like little stars? 31 Area 51 sighting, maybe 32 Better ___ (superior to) 33 "Yes, captain!" 34 Part of a mosaic 36 The Powerpuff Girls, e.g. 39 One-percenters 41 Bits 43 Boxing ref's ruling 44 What a chicken coop would be if it had four doors, humorously 45 "If ___ Street Could Talk" (2018 film)

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15 Quite fast

62 Linguistic feature of Cantonese and Cherokee 63 "Was I right or was I right?" 64 Internet sensation Down

25 Join 27 Court ruling? 29 Challenge for somebody thrown in the deep end, in two senses 30 "Have a sample!" 33 Befuddled 35 "When will u get here?"

Green-lights

What'll show you what you're made of?

37 Small battery

"I need this huge favor ..."

42 Fully commit, in slang

Weapon for many Tamora Pierce heroines

48 Squad or relationship ideals

Actress Headey of "Imagine Me & You"

50 Blue fabric in an infamous Britney Spears red-carpet look

Really savors

51 Take a nap, say

Uses Facetune, say

52 Regarding

Inbox annoyance

53 "Happy to do it!"

Mojo Dojo ___ House ("Barbie" living space)

54 "Gossip Girl" character Archibald

38 Wee

15%

40 Empower 45 Neckwear for Bill Nye

46 Lil ___ & the East Side Boyz (crunk group)

10 First part of a play

55 No longer here

56 A piece of one's mine?

47 In times past

13 "Whatever you want!"

Singer Diamond

59 "On" lines?

Find the answers on p. 30

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News of the

WEIRD BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL

In Glendale, Wisconsin, on Nov. 15, police identified a stolen Dodge Durango being driven erratically, TMJ4-TV reported. Officers deployed stop sticks, and the Durango crashed into two other cars before all four occupants jumped out and ran away, with one ducking into a portable toilet to hide. As they crossed a golf course, one golfer stepped in to help: “When we realized they were being chased and that kid was in the porta potty ... I just made a rash decision to go push the porta potty down,” said golfer Adam Westermayer. The suspect was trapped inside, and police were able to arrest him and one other suspect.

Naughty list

‘GRINS AND GLOCKS’

s McMeel. www.kenken.com

Time after time

cages with the number in the top-left corner.

Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this arrangement of letters.

outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to

Crossword

● The numbers within the heavily

PUZZLE ANSWERS

12-3-23

R. JASON GLADWELL, AN ORTHODONTIST IN RALEIGH, North Carolina, has a catchy new promotion going, WRAL-TV reported: “Grins and Glocks.” Yep — patients who sign up for Invisalign braces can choose between a free Glock 19 ($500-plus retail) or a membership to Youngsville Gun Club & Range. The deal is open only to those 21 and older, and the club will conduct a background check on recipients. Dr. Gladwell has received mixed reactions to the come-on; notably, Align Technology, which makes Invisalign, isn’t happy: “This promotion does not reflect our brand purpose.”

produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Henry Meade, 40, was busy spreading the Christmas spirit on Nov. 11 in Tazewell, Tennessee, Fox59-TV reported. Meade was operating “Santa’s Train,” a riding lawn mower pulling a cart with children and families, at the town’s Christmas Tractor Parade. But visitors thought Meade was acting erratically and reported him to police. He subsequently failed a sobriety test, and officers found a syringe, meth and other narcotics in his possession. He was charged with possession and driving under the influence.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box

• It was always Sara Fazekas’ dream to have sex in public, and so she did, on Nov. 10 in Dunedin, Florida, the New York Post reported. Fazekas, 55, and Robert Clarke, 60, weren’t a bit shy about fulfilling her lifelong goal. The police report said the couple were “fully nude on top of one another” on a causeway, even as adults and children looked on. One witness said they were “going to town,” but Clarke,

Deep doo-doo

must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

• Rudy Wilcox, 45, of Clearwater, Florida, was “observed defecating on a deceased opossum” on Nov. 15, according to The Smoking Gun. Officers with the Clearwater Police Department said he was in “full view of the motoring public during busy traffic times.” While Wilcox denied the accusation, officers found “physical evidence” to support the charges. Just one question: What would have happened if the opossum were only playing possum?! Wilcox was jailed.

a registered sex offender, told police he had no remorse and that “children should be at home and not at the causeway.” He was held on $50,000 bond; Fazekas was charged with exposing herself.

● Each row and each column

• In West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 9, Kelly Jacobson was heartbroken after officers led away her pet pig, Pork Chop, during an eviction. WPTV reported that animal care and control officers actually had to drag the pig, as he weighs 400 pounds and can’t really walk. They plan to gain custody of Pork Chop and get him the dietary care he needs. Jacobson has been cited twice before for neglecting his needs, but she said she would “do whatever I have to do to make him better. I need him.”

Cuz Florida

INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2023 | CANDY

1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 12-3-23 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) repeating. ● Each row and each columnwithout produce the target numbers contain the numbers 1 inboxes, the top-left corners. 2 The numbersmust within the heavily outlined called cages, must through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 ●order) Freebies: Fill in single-box without repeating. combine using (challenging) the given operation (in any to the produce cages with number the in target ● The numbers within the heavily the top-left corner. numbers in theoutlined top-left corners. boxes, called cages, combine using the given 3 Freebies: Fill must in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. operation (in any order) to

KenKen® is a registered trademark of KenKen Puzzle LLC. ©2023 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Andrews McMeel. www.kenken.com KenKen® is a registered trademark of KenKen Puzzle LLC. ©2023 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Andrews McMeel. www.kenken.com 12-3-23 12-3-23

● Each row ● and each column produce the target numbers Each row and each column

must contain the numbers 1 in 1the top-leftproduce corners.the target numbers mustorcontain the 6numbers in the top-left corners. through 4 (easy) 1 through Freebies: Fill in single-box (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) through without 4 repeating. Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in (challenging) without repeating. cages with the number in The numbers within the heavily the top-left corner. The numbers within the heavily the top-left corner. outlined boxes, called cages, outlined boxes, called cages,

●

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Lake (near Monument). Alpine Essentials. 850 Commercial Ln, Palmer Lake * ww.AlpineMJ.com * 719-375-1134 * Open 9am-9pm Everyday.

Not just a place to live…

but a Home in the Heart of the city

Rio Grande Village

Located on the corner of Rio Grande and S. Corona Beautiful New 1 & 2 BR Townhomes starting at

$823 for 1 Bedroom · $944 for 2 Bedrooms Water, sewer, & trash removal included. Appliances including a dishwasher. Washer/dryer hook-up. Storage. Ceiling fans. Cable ready. Off street parking. Pets when approved by management. Income restrictions may apply

longer care for us. We’re looking for a furever home together where we can your be one and only fur family! HappyCatsHaven.org or 719362-4600.

WHAT TO DO? Hello,

we’re Maddie and Jax, adorable siblings who came Happy Cats when our humans could no

156 Ellers Grove – Sand Creek Commons - $275,000

Upper level 1357 sq. ft. 3 bed, 2 bath condo backing to large common lawn area. Central air. Gas log fireplace. Brand new flooring and fresh paint throughout. Open & bright. Move-in ready. Low monthly HOA. MLS# 5866091 Call Bobbi at 719-499-9451 for more information.

Get it in this week’s Independent for less than $20 per week! Call today 719-577-4545.

www.csha.us

THE BOBBI PRICE TEAM Bobbi Price 719-499-9451 Jade Baker 719-201-6749 Member of Elite 25 and Peak Producers

www.BobbiPrice.com bobbipriceteam@gmail.com

The Independent has the best calendar of events in town. Check them out or submit your own at csindy.com.

working or not. Buy, Trade, Consign. Cameraworks 5030 N. Academy. CALL FIRST 594-6966

DEADLINE FRIDAY, 9:00 A.M. | CALL 719-577-4545

RENTALS Rentals Central DOWNTOWN SENIOR LIVING

REAL ESTATE

OFFER A HOME SERVICE?

Please call 387-6709 to check availability.

CASH FOR CAMERAS We buy cameras & photo gear —

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213 Coffee Pot Drive – Crystal Park $64,900

Build your dream home on this beautiful forested ½ acre lot backing to open space in Crystal Park. Towering pines & aspen. Mountain views & plenty of sunshine. Located in a safe gated community of over 2000 acres with only 350 homes sites. Close to stocked fishing lake, club house, pool, & basketball & pickleball courts. Perfect mountain living close to town, located just outside of Colorado Springs. MLS# 4046587 Call Bobbi Price. The Platinum Group. 719-499-9451.

THE ALBANY HOTEL APARTMENTS. FURNISHED EFFICIENCY STUDIOS WITH UTILITIES INCLUDED, SECURED BUILDING. TWO BLOCKS FROM CITY BUS DEPOT. CALL 634-4841

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE WANTED Earning potential $40k - $50k first year 401K, Health, Dental & Vision Ins. 3 Weeks Vacation & More!

FREE UTILITIES!

NEWLY REMODELED 1, 2 & 3 BR Apts starting @ $925. Some w/FP &/or balcony. Sm Pet. 6351251 or 209-8925

PLEASE RECYCLE.

Seeking an account executive who is looking for opportunities and creative challenges who can handle all aspects of print/digital advertising sales; prospecting, selling, servicing, collecting while maintaining the credit and sales policies of the company.

For more information or to apply email teri@csindy.com A Nonprofit Publication of Citizen-Powered Media

1601 N Billy the Kid Lane Pueblo West - $28,500

1400 Tierra Berienda Drive Pueblo - $110,000

1404 Ledge Rock Terrace Pinon Bluffs Town Homes - $525,000

1295 Winterhall Point The Enclaves at Bayfield - $549,900

1.47 acre lot at end of quiet cul de sac with sweeping unobstructed mountain & Pikes Peak views. Flat at front of lot & moving back the lot gently slopes to allow for a walkout. Backs and sides to open space. Easy commute to both Colorado Springs or Pueblo. MLS# 5628454

5 lots in classy upscale subdivision of 37 homes. Complex has clubhouse with pool table, kitchen, meeting area, & indoor pool. Build to meet HOA guidelines which include stucco exterior, stucco privacy walls & tile roof. Can buy 1 to 5 lots (package deals). Each lot can be sold individually for $35,000 each. Nice area in walking distance to shopping & dining yet quiet & tucked away. MLS# 5194232

Stucco & stone end unit 3068 sq ft 4 bed, 3 bath rancher townhome with amazing mountain & city views. Master suite with 2 walk-in closets & 5-piece master bath. Open kitchen with wrap around bar. 2 gas log fireplace. Builtins. 12x12 covered Trex deck & 12x12 patio. Walkout basement with large family & wet bar. 2-car finished garage. A/C. HOA takes care of everything outside for you. Move-in ready! MLS# 7912985

WHEN YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT REAL ESTATE CLASSIFIEDS | Nov. 29 - Dec. -5, 2023 | INDY

INDY | Nov. 29 - Dec. -5, 2023 | CLASSIFIEDS