February 2023 Letters To The Editor
Wow! What A Contrast!
Thank you for last month’s Q&A’s with the District 8 and 9 city council candidates. This is an especially important election and all of the information we can get is appreciated. Small local papers like the Greater Park Hill News are increasingly important as the big local paper continues to shrink.
In District 8, I was a little surprised at the “still gathering information” remarks by several candidates to the question of whether they support lifting the conservation easement at Park Hill Golf Course.
At this point, I would hope anyone running for the seat would have been very well informed on what is probably the hottest topic for the neighborhood.
Christian Steward did say he generally supports lifting the conservation easement. Leslie Twarogowski and Tyler Drum were emphatic with their “no’s”.
In District 9, well, wow — what a contrast. Candi CdeBaca gave a simple “no” to the question over whether she will vote to lift the conservation easement.
Kwan Atlas gave a “yes,” while Darrell Watson gave an amazing 121-word response that certainly danced around the subject. Interestingly, though, Mr. Watson mentioned “executing the will of the people.” By this, I am hoping that he meant respecting the bond issue vote where, at the City’s asking, taxpayers overwhelmingly voted to provide the money to keep the golf course as open space.
Gary Martyn, Park Hill
Editor’s note: The January Q&A interviews with candidates running in Districts 8 and 9 can be read online here. Similar interviews with candidates running for Mayor and At-Large Council seats appear this month. Click here to read the Mayor interviews. Click here to read the Council At-Large interviews. Denver’s municipal election is April 4.
Blooms Ahead
Last year the City Park Adopt-a-Flowerbed volunteer program kept the beds blooming all summer with a burst of blooming roses in the fall to cap it off. In 2022 — the second year of the program — Adopt-a-Flowerbed expanded to 55 volunteers, who put in a total of 1,877 volunteer hours.
We started the season last year with a greenhouse tour for volunteers, and ended with a celebratory picnic and a luncheon. We pulled weeds and pruned and deadheaded lilacs and roses. We exchanged news and gardening tips, made new friends and rediscovered acquaintances. We worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the City Park horticulturalists, who inspired us with their enthusiasm and expertise. What a joyful way to build community around our love for City Park and its gardens!
Watch for information in the coming months in these pages about plans for the year ahead. We’re always looking for new volunteers, and you can sign up by contacting Maria Flora at mjflora@msn.com. The program is sponsored by the Greater Park Hill Community, City Park Friends and Neighbors and City Park Alliance.
Georgia Garnsey, Maria Flora and Jacqueline June
Volunteer Coordinators
We love your letters, and give preference to those that address an issue that has been covered in the newspaper, or a topic that is Park Hill or Denver-specific. Send letters to editor@greaterparkhill.org, and include your full name, and the neighborhood in which you live. Deadlines are the 15th of each month, for the following month’s issue.