This Week in History

10 years ago

• Entire Loveland parks including Fairgrounds and Viestenz-smith remained closed and miles of the Loveland Recreation Trail were barricaded due to damage from the September flooding. The city of Loveland announced plans to apply for a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado to help cover the millions of dollars in repairs. Meanwhile, crews were working to get areas open as soon as possible. “We’re targeting spring for the opening of our ball field areas,” said Gary Havener, director of parks and recreation. “We’re trying to focus our efforts to get the dog park open as soon as we can.”

• One Loveland City Council member tried at the last meeting of the year to move forward to put a fracking moratorium on the special election ballot. But no other council members seconded the motion, so it died without a vote. The proposal was first initiated by a group called Protect our Loveland, but the City Council delayed placing it on the ballot until the conclusion of a lawsuit.

• Berthoud Police Chief Glenn Johnson resigned from the department, which was under review after an officer was accused of a crime and the chief was criticized for how he handled initial reports. The town turned to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office for help in the interim, and Sheriff’s Sgt. John Feyen was chosen to serve as the police chief until investigations were complete.

• About 400 students, teachers and other community members flooded the Thompson School District’s administration building in anticipation that the school board would vote on a proposal to seek separate legal representation from Colorado Springs-based attorneys Brad Miller and Dustin Sparks, as well as the services of conservative lobbyist Amy Attwood. When the meeting started with news that the matters had been delayed until January, the crowd erupted in rousing applause.

• Glen Haven residents spoke about how recovery to the flood-devastated mountain community was coming in small steps. “It’s little bites at a time; that’s all you can do,” said Clifton Dewitt, a captain with the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department. “You’ve got to realize you can’t do it all at once.” He pointed out propane trucks making deliveries for the first time since the flood and repairs underway on private roads.

• Officials with the Larimer Humane Society announced that the agency was planning another citizen-led initiative for a 0.1% sales tax increase on the 2014 ballot to help pay for a new animal shelter. A similar initiative in 2013 fell short of the required 11,263 valid signatures due to a counting error. “Our current facility is too small,” the director of the nonprofit said of the shelter on Kyle Avenue in Fort Collins. “It’s deteriorating, and it doesn’t meet the needs of the current population, both the animals and the people in the community. It limits our ability to work with our animals, particularly those that need behavior modification before they go up for adoption.”

• Harry Schmidt, longtime Loveland business owner who established Schmidt’s Bakery, died at age 78. He was known for the pastries he made daily, leaving his home at 2:30 a.m. to go to work and bake them, and for the smile he wore as he worked at the bakery and restaurant that was the realization of his lifelong dream.

• The city of Loveland launched a strategic plan to study all aspects of the U.S. 287 corridor through town, looking at issues such as private investment, image, infrastructure as well as the gateway to downtown.

A team of 11 city staff members had been studying the issue and building an advisory committee of business and property owners along a 7.5-mile stretch of U.S. 287 to serve alongside residents in nearby neighborhoods and Loveland Planning Commission members.

25 years ago

• The Colorado Department of Transportation decided to move ahead with plans to realign U.S. 287 around Berthoud despite continuing opposition from area residents to the bypass. Officials announced that design on the northwest route would begin within a week and acquisition of land would start the following year.

• The Larimer County commissioners were holding a series of public meetings to hear residents’ concerns about proposed land use code. Some residents who spoke were worried that the new rules would drive up the cost of mobile homes, described as a major affordable housing option. The code, as proposed, would have required all singlewide mobile homes that were not in mobile home parks to have peaked roofs, siding and permanent foundations.

• Loveland resident Gene Pielin announced that he would run for a Ward 2 seat on the Loveland City Council, seeking to replace Jim Lamont, who resigned. “I am in the business of listening and making up my mind with what people tell me,” said Pielin, who was the chairperson of the Loveland Planning Commission.

• The Thompson Valley High School cheerleading squad was lauded at a pep assembly to honor the athletes for winning the state championship the previous weekend. This was the first year that the team, led by Coach Shari Robinson, had added male cheerleaders to the mix; they competed against nine other coed squads and became the eighth team in the school’s history to capture a state title.

• An arctic front brought light snow to Loveland and the region along with temperatures that dropped well below zero with forecasts calling for a low of 9 below zero.

• Volunteers with Santa Cops delivered about 8,100 Christmas gifts to more than 2,500 children across Larimer County to provide for families in need. Law enforcement officers, accompanied by Santa riding in a horse-drawn wagon, delivered gifts in Loveland and across Larimer County. “The biggest pump for me is to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they weren’t expecting anything and they wound up with something pretty cool,” said Rex Mannon, who had been volunteering with Santa Cops for about 15 years.

• Members of Loveland’s Citizens Budget Advisory Commission spoke about feeling snubbed the previous month when Loveland City Council rejected their budget after they had put in a full year’s worth of work and research. Council members had decided that 10% of the $32 million general fund should be set aside for a capital improvement’s fund — something commission members said was a good idea but that should have been brought up before the 11th hour so the committee’s work was not in vain. “The process is broken and needs to be fixed,” said Gilbert Sandberg, chair of the advisory commission. “I would rather have the council put us on hold, or have us disband, than have to go through what we did this year again.”

• Loveland resident Claude Lawrence, then 90, spoke about his experience traveling from New York to Arkansas on what is now referred to as an orphan train in 1918. He described how the twoday trip turned into a lifelong journey in search of love, caring and family. He spoke of never even knowing his real parents’ names and of the home he lived until he was 17 and joined the U.S. Navy. He later worked in steel mills, ending up in Denver, until his retirement at 62 and subsequent move to Loveland. He said he finally found love and belonging at the age of 70 when he married his third wife, Wanda.

• Plans were submitted to the city of Loveland detailing a development earmarked for the corner of U.S. 34 and Denver Avenue, dubbed the Loveland Pavilion. The proposal called for a 220,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter, an 86,000-square-foot Kohl’s Department Store and 8,500 additional square feet of retail space plus a bank, an office building and a restaurant. Kohl’s officials declined to comment on whether a Loveland store was in the works, but Walmart had confirmed that the new supercenter would replace the current Walmart that was located at 3133 N. Garfield Ave.

50 years ago

• Weather forecasters had called for a barely chance of snow, but instead a surprise storm blew into the area, causing icy roads, nearly zero visibility and an early release from Thompson schools.

• While the Thompson school board would have the final say on the size of a proposed auditorium as part of a city of Lovelandschool district community center, City Council members said they would like to see a 1,200-seat auditorium. They said this was larger than the 1,000-seat auditorium at the Community Building but not so large it would greatly increase the construction costs; they also said that any larger size would affect the quality of the seats for any performance. The project was to be built at the site of a new high school that was planned near the northwest corner of Taft Avenue and Seventh Street Southwest on 36 acres owned by the district.

• The Loveland City Council approved on first reading an update to the obscenity ordinance, something that City Attorney Lynn Hammond said was necessary due to Supreme Court rulings. He said the update graphically described terms such as nudity, sexual acts, sexual excitement and obscene in order to make the law against displaying obscene material more enforceable. He mused that the “ordinance in itself by necessity is obscene.” While councilors approved the ordinance, some said they thought it was “absolutely ridiculous to try to define obscenity.”

• Meals on Wheels was taking contributions and reservations for delivery of meals to residents’ homes on Christmas Day. The volunteer event, aided by the community, was a way to deliver food and holiday spirit to those who would be alone on Christmas. Each dinner was to be delivered with roast turkey, trimmings and home-baked goodies.

• The Loveland City Council adopted an ordinance that made it illegal to maintain cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese or other livestock within the city limits, declaring them a nuisance. Horses were an exception from the rule but were regulated by other limitations.

• Conrad Ball Junior High School Principal Richard Neale and Assistant Principal John Huntzinger both took pies to the face after students collected nearly 1,100 cans of food through a National Junior Honor Society food drive to benefit a Philo Club food basket project. Huntzinger took a banana cream pie to the face, while Neale was treated to a face full of strawberry cream.

• With only one weekend left until Christmas, Alco Discount Store was offering Huffy threespeed bicycles for $43.88, a Radio Flyer Fireball wagon for $10.44 and a pedal tractor for $8.99 that was advertised as a “great treat for the junior farmer,” available in either green or orange. The store was also selling three bottles of Coke, Sprite or 7-Up for 66 cents, plus a deposit on the glass bottle.

120 years ago

Unlawful cutting of trees was reported along the new public road between Loveland and Estes Park. “It is reported to The Reporter that many people are laying waste the fine trees along this pretty thorofare — to the disgust of all who own property in the vicinity and to the detriment of the scenic beauties along the road,” the Dec. 17, 1903, issue of the Loveland Reporter stated.

Sugar beet farmers of the region reached an agreement with the sugar factory for a flat rate of $5, less than the farmers had initially sought. A Loveland Reporter editorial of Dec. 17, 1903, stated that calm conservatism had ruled. “The factory is supposed to help the farmer — and thru the farmer benefit the town. Thus far it has done so — except in instances where ill luck has prevented the anticipated crop.”