Denver Public Schools recently appointed a new DPS Board Director for Northeast Denver, taking the spot vacated by Landri Taylor. The transition appeared smooth until the Denver Post broke a story that shocked the Northeast Denver Community. Apparently, during the application process, the new director inadvertently checked the “no” box on the application question, “have you ever having been convicted of a felony or Class A misdemeanor.” The new director had in fact plead guilty to a Class 3 misdemeanor negligent child abuse charge with no injuries, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and a year of supervised probation. [Read more…] about New DPS Board Director Errantly Checked Wrong Box on Application

It was recently reported that the Cycletrack project proposed for 26th Ave. has been shelved. Forest City passed on the project, ultimately saying, “the project would have been really cool, but seriously, not necessary.” Forest City Spokesperson Janelle Ayers went on to say that she doesn’t see the lack of a safe bike route at this point. “The traffic will continue to slow on 26th as more people are parking there and going to the park,” said Ayers. “Bikers will have plenty of room to maneuver on the street as they always have.” Many residents are agreeing with Forest City this time. “It seems like an unnecessary use of space and money,” says resident Kyle Peters. “I think sometimes bikers forget that not everyone is a biker.” Resident Jessica Walker agrees. “I can’t believe I am saying this, but I agree with Forest City on this,” said Walker. “I guess I just don’t see the hundreds of bikers having difficulty getting around. And creating more bike lanes won’t necessarily create more bikers.” [Read more…] about Cycletrack Shelved; Residents Turn Attention to Elevated Glass Tunnel

When the Walker family first moved into their home in North Central Park in Stapleton, they were excitedly greeted by their new neighbors. “Everyone was so nice to us, and excited to have us over,” said Dan Walker. “They not only made us feel at home, but they made us feel popular. We definitely felt pretty cool.” Wife Nikki agrees. “It was so fun to have that popular feeling. We would be invited to neighbors’ homes every night almost for drinks. We would drink, talk, and laugh. Dan could even tell his same old stories, and they were interested, because they hadn’t already heard them four times. It was just a lot of fun.” [Read more…] about Family Moving to Different Stapleton Neighborhood to Become “Cool New Neighbors” Again

The Nielsons have been married for 12 years, and living in Stapleton for nine of those years. Neither would describe the marriage as “happy.” “Almost every day since we got married has been a grind,” said husband Paul. “I am pretty sure she was nagging me on our honeymoon. Sure, we have had some good times. Or at least, I am pretty sure.” Wife Anna agrees. “Quite frankly, we should not have gotten married,” said Anna. “It was one of those things where timing played a part, and I think we both thought we were supposed to do it, but deep down knew we weren’t supposed to do it.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Couple Everyone Thought Would Get Divorced Finally Getting Divorced

The neighborhood social media site “Next Door ” allows users in the area to provide several services, including a lost and found, recommendations, classified ads, as well as other general information. Users generate the information which can be very helpful. The site even has “alerts” if there is something urgent. These often involve missing pets or suspicious activity. Many times, these “alerts” have proven useful, reuniting people with their pets, or getting communication going regarding something that seemed unusual in the neighborhood. “Our dog had gotten out of our gate one day,” says Stapleton resident Kristi Dinnebier. “I am part of Next Door, and I received an alert about a dog without a leash that fit my dogs description. I was able to retrieve my dog without having to go to the pound.” [Read more…] about “Next Door” Alert Turns Out Not to be Alert at All

March Madness is over. And the carnage from this year’s tournament claimed several victims, including myself. Making it through the craziness, and picking the correct champ was Sharon K! Congratulations! She will get the first choice of the wonderful prizes listed below. In fact, we have roughly 20 prizes to distribute, so if you were in the top 20, please email me (stapletonion@gmail.com) your preference of prize in order (obviously, if you are second place, your top two, third place, your top three, etc). To find out if you were in the top 20, click here, and find the standings page. Thank you so much to our wonderful sponsors! When someone picks an item, we will post the item picked and information about the sponsor. Thank you all for playing, and we look forward to another wonderful contest next year! 2016 Stapletonion Bracket Challenge Prizes

• Stapleton All Sports: Free mutli-sport summer camp
• Amy Marolf Fitness: 21 Day Slim Down and Tone Up Plan ($299 value)
• Mici: Two of the following: 16″ XL Specialty Pizza & Bottle of Italian Wine
• Etais: Two $25 gift cards
• Mu Brewery:  Growler and 2 fills ($40 value)
• Chipotle: Two of the following: Dinner for four certificate
• Happy Bakeshop: Build a Happy Cake, 8″ two-layer birthday cake (feeds 25)
• Jim ‘N Nick’s: $50 Gift Card
• Blue Creek: Gift bag with great skin care products
• Berkshire: Two $30 gift cards
• Stapleton Help Desk: Two hours of service ($250 value)
• Kevin Carlson Golf: 1.5 hour golf workshop – $250 value – The winner can invite up to 5 friends.
• Camp Gladiator: One FREE 4 week Camp Gladiator boot camp (valued at $189) with buddy pass
• Stapleton Roasters: Basket of coffee with biscotti from Gateaux ($30 value)
• Your Soul’s Movement: Fitness Bundle. Includes six complementary adult dance or fitness classes ($96 value)
• Smart Space/Coterie: $100 gift card from SmartSpace/Coterie for any or their services

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When Forest City opened up the Prairie Dog and Pigeon Preserve Nature Trail in late August of 2014, it did so with little fanfare. And now, less than two years later, the trail has been torn away, making way for an actual legitimate project. “We were definitely just screwing with people back then,” said Forest City Spokesperson Janelle Ayers. “The whole thing was done so haphazardly, I can’t believe more people didn’t make a bigger deal about it. I mean, the cheap blacktop trail and that comically out of place wooden fence, it was unsightly.” Ayers says the idea behind the original project was to simply continue distracting residents from the fact that nothing had been done in accordance with its original promises regarding the area. “We had construction guys out there doing stuff, which we hoped would give the appearance that something was in the works. Obviously, it was nothing, just a horribly built trail and fence. The workers weren’t even on an actual construction crew.” Most residents are happy to see the trail give way to actual progress. “That phony piece of blacktop garbage was awful,” said Eastbridge resident Skylar Weber. “It was flooded most of the time, and a haven for bugs and weeds. Glad to see actual work will be done.” Resident Megan Stagemeyer agrees. “The trail was such a tease,” said Stagemeyer. “At first we thought, ‘oh, great, a trail.’ But then, after it was completed, we thought, ‘is that supposed to be a trail?’ So, having it removed by an actual construction crew is a step in the right direction.” Resident Chris Stevens didn’t even know the trail was on the chopping block. “I just was driving on 26th one morning, and poof, it was gone,” said Stevens. “My heart got really warm, and not from the coffee.” Ayers said Forest City never intended to make a formal announcement on the destruction of the trail. “What would we have said?” asked Ayers. “From our perspective, it was a diversion, not a project. We can’t really have ceremonies regarding faux projects we just made up. Let’s be honest, Forest City has a whole ‘House of Cards’ thing going on. Everything we do is for a reason. You people just don’t know why yet.” Ayers said construction is now under way for the long-awaited actual park. “Of course it will have a trail as well. But not that sham of a trail we installed a couple years ago. I can’t believe you people fell for that.” ]]>

Chik-fil-A has quickly become a hotspot for Stapleton families looking for a quick bite for their families. The undeniably categorically fast food restaurant seems to be a hit with kids and adults alike. “The kids of course love their chicken nuggets,” said Stapleton resident Megan Adkins. “And I enjoy their chicken sandwiches. I mean, they are so much more healthy than McDonalds, or other fast food options, right? I mean, I’m sure they are. They have to be. They can’t be unhealthy and taste really good. That would be just cruel.” Resident Alan Kimball agrees. “There are long lines every day at that drive through,” says Kimball. “If it was bad for you, why would everyone, especially Stapletonians, want to eat there? I mean, Stapletonians are the healthiest eaters out there. If it was bad for you, we wouldn’t admit we ate there. Kind of like you don’t post to everyone you had two McGridddles and a hash brown with a large Coke at 8AM when you were hungover from a neighbor’s party. No one admits that.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Families Refuse to Acknowledge Chik-fil-A as Fast Food