This Week in History

10 years ago

• Biolife Plasma Services was building a 15,000-squarefoot donation center in north Loveland. The facility was to be completed by fall of 2014 to allow residents to donate plasma, a pale, protein-rich liquid that makes up about 57% of the blood and helps circulate red and white blood cells and platelets throughout the body.

• The driver of a vehicle that went off the road and landed in Donath Lake was not seriously injured. The pregnant woman lost control of her vehicle, likely due to a medical condition, but walked away after the front end of her SUV ended up in the lake, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

• Loveland City Councilor Troy Krenning voiced concerns about the structure of the city’s licensing authority and proposed changes to the liquor board. “I’m very concerned about the fairness in our system,” Krenning said. “I’m very concerned about due process.” The Loveland Licensing Authority, which oversees liquor licenses and alleged violations, had changed in 2000 from a fully citizen board to include a municipal judge with the authority to impose penalties and sanctions specified under state statute. The city judge heard allegations made by the Loveland Police Department and the accused were prosecuted by the city attorney’s office. For Krenning, an attorney who has done liquor licensing work in the past, that was too many players on the same team. He suggested returning to a fully citizen board.

• Thompson School District officials were preparing to go before the school board to discuss the district’s $200 million in needed maintenance and building improvements, which they said could lead to a request to increase local taxes.

• A proposal to build a threestory, 154-unit senior apartment complex in north Loveland was moving through the city’s approval process. The Loveland Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval to rezone 12.7 acres north of Orchards Shopping Center where the Inland Group of Spokane, Wash., hoped to build Affinity at Loveland. The proposal included rental apartments for people age 55 and older, without any health care or food service provided.

• Loveland saw a snowy start to March, but after a cold weekend, the National Weather Service predicted a high near 50 for the first Monday of the month.

• Loveland Boy Scout R.J. Niko was finishing his Eagle Scout project, building two 18foot stadium benches for the grounds of the Milner-schwarz house. “I can’t wait to say I’m an Eagle,” the teen said.

• Crews were working to rebuild Nelson Dam, which had been damaged in the 2013 flood. Until the flood, the late 19th century dam had needed virtually no repairs, Gary Gerrard of the of the Consolidated Home Supply Ditch and Reservoir Co. board said, calling it a testament to the craftsmanship of John Nelson, who built an original log dam with wooden sluices (channels that carry water) in 1881 and came back and built a permanent stone dam after a flood a decade later.

• The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority helped rescue a 13-year-old mare that became stuck up to the neck in an icy pond.

25 years ago

• Some couples who had recently married at Loveland Wedding Chapel were wondering if they had actually legally tied the knot after learning that officiant Michael Bergman might have falsely represented himself as a clergyman. He had married 26 couples at the chapel. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office was investigating whether Bergman violated the state statute that “prohibits someone from knowingly assuming a false identity or capacity to marry someone.”

• The Berthoud town board delayed action on whether to set a hearing date for the town administrator, action that officials said could have led to her dismissal based on performance issues. Anna Lenahan had served as town administrator for 10 years.

• Loveland Police Department K9 Tyson was put to sleep after a fastgrowing tumor in his chest caused by bone cancer had impaired his breathing and the functioning of his organs. The police dog, which had been with the LPD since 1989, had been called to help with riots at the Wyoming State Prison and helped collar a burglar that was located within a Loveland restaurant. He was the first of the LPD’S dogs trained on patrol and drug detection.

• The Greeley & Loveland Irrigation Co. was in the process of installing a new high-tech head gate at Lake Loveland that would automatically control water levels in the lake, eliminating the chance of minor flooding in nearby backyards, officials said.

• Former Mayor Ray Emerson, 74, was recovering at Mckee Medical Center from a stroke and was expected to be released within a few days. He sent the following message to residents: “They’ll see me around town.”

• Members of the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Event Center Task Force announced that it would be surveying residents to see what people wanted to have at the new fairgrounds, considering everything from a horse arena to a concert venue to space for trade shows. Voters had approved a one-year, one-tenth of a cent increase in the county’s sales take to buy 243 acres east of Interstate 25 to build a new fairgrounds complex, prompting efforts to plan what to put on the land with the fairgrounds amenities.

• A judge ruled that a forensic psychologist from California would be able to testify at the murder trial of Timothy Masters in the cold case killing of Peggy Hettrick, taking the stand to talk about drawings and writings that prosecutors said tied Masters to the killing. “He can testify to the concepts but not give the ultimate opinions,” the judge ruled after a pretrial hearing. Masters, who was a teenager at the time Hettrick was killed 12 years earlier, was ultimately convicted of the murder and spent 10 years behind bars before he was exonerated by DNA and released.

• North Shore Health Care Facility unveiled a new addition at its nursing home at 1365 W. 29th St., showing off the amenities at the sub-acute care unit, including cable television, telephone service, electric beds and piped in oxygen. The $1.8 million addition added 14,656 square feet to the 36-yearold facility.

• The Little Thompson Science Foundation announced the observatory the group was building at Berthoud High School might be ready for a dedication in April 1999. “Except for the installation of the telescope, we are virtually ready,” group president Tom Melsheimer said.

• Loveland City Councilor Kurtis Loomis suggested changes for the city’s code violation system. He wanted the city to stop taking anonymous complaints, and wanted city staff to not be allowed to complain against residents. The changes were suggested after a former code enforcement officer had alleged preferential treatment was going on.

• The Thompson School District Board of Education said it would set the timeline for a vote on another tax increase election. In November 1998, voters rejected a property tax hike and district officials said that without the additional money the district might not be able to open the new Mountain View High School that was under construction and expected to open in fall 2000.

• At a preliminary hearing, a magistrate said there was enough evidence to warrant sending a 15-year-old accused of vandalizing Conrad Ball Middle School and Mary Blair Elementary School to trial. Police said the boy and a second teen had caused more than $30,000 in damages at the schools.

50 years ago

• Sen. Peter H. Dominick spoke at the 35th annual meeting of the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association at Colorado State University, saying that conservation and development of alternative power sources were solutions to the nation’s energy crisis. Americans, he said, needed to “put forth a concerted effort to find less wasteful ways to carry out our day-to-day activities.”

• Tom Reeves, editor of the Daily Reporter-herald, was elected to the board of directors for the Colorado Press Association.

• Loveland Postmaster Henry Porter reminded residents that postal rates were increasing to 10 cents per ounce for first-class mail, 13 cents per ounce for airmail and 8 cents for a postcard.

• Loveland Fire Marshal Al Stevens reported $20,352.51 in total fire damage in January of 1974 for 14 total calls, much more than the $475 total for January of 1973. Most of the damage was from a greenhouse fire at Rowe’s Flowers and Gifts, estimated at $16,000 in damages, and from a shed fire where $2,913 worth of antiques were destroyed.

• The Thompson school board voted to put the first block of general obligation bonds — $5.75 million — up for sale toward the construction of Berthoud Elementary School and a new high school in Loveland. This was roughly half of the $10.85 million in total bonds to be sold.

• City Manager Don Hataway said estimates for a proposed reservoir for the city’s water treatment facility, planned for west of town, had exceeded the budget of $480,000 by $155,000. The reservoir to be built at Green Ridge Glade was designed to hold a maximum of 800 acre feet of water.

• The 1974 valentine season officially closed when the Loveland Post Office concluded the use of the special postmark for the year. Postmaster Henry Porter explained that the official postmark was used throughout the month of February and said that he was still receiving a few valentines even after the holiday with the grand total reaching about 114,000 for the re-mailing program.

• Residents in the 3300 block of Logan Avenue were complaining that the playgrounds at Lincoln Elementary School were a health hazard due to blowing dirt and sand, which in some areas were covering portions of residents’ yards up to 2 inches thick. Residents said the school needed to take care of the playground, describing it as a dust hazard in dry weather and a mud hole when it rained. Neighbors said they confronted school officials but nothing had been done to alleviate their concerns. “There’s no use to cleaning your house,” one resident said, adding that the blowing dirt “just isn’t healthy.”

120 years ago

• The Feb. 25, 1904, issue of the Loveland Reporter stated that the home of W.H. Fairbrother on Third Street was one of the charming homes of Loveland, “remodeled from a dingy and almost untenable house.”