Halloween is the unofficial end of fall for most Stapleton residents. The clocks change, it gets darker earlier, cold weather comes in, kids fall sports seasons are over, and skiing season begins. All of these factors typically signify the end of alley parties and random late night drinking with neighbors. This is certainly true for the Frazier and Dalton families. “They are such a big part of our lives for eight months of the year,” said Kelly Dalton. “Our kids are friends, and we have so many fun late nights with them. But, skiing season begins, and holidays, and the just being depressed from the dark and cold weather makes it so you don’t even want to leave your house. So, we probably won’t see our neighbors much in the next four months.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Neighbors Share Tearful Goodbye for Winter Season

For many Stapleton parents, daylight savings time creates all sorts of havoc. Nap times, bed times, eating times can all get out of whack. “It takes at least two weeks to get my kids back on the right schedule,” said Stapleton mother of three Julie Farrell. “I hate the spring forward, and I hate the fall back. I remember when I used to enjoy the ‘extra hour’ before I had kids. I even enjoyed the spring forward knowing we were going to get a longer day. But daylight savings is only a pain in the ass once you have kids.” Angie Mason is in complete agreement. “You can’t explain to your kids that they need to be awake or in bed based on the time,” said Mason. “If they’re not tired, or not hungry, that’s their rationale. It really sucks.” [Read more…] about Stapleton “Fall Back Preppers” Have Successful Daylight Savings Transition

With a record number of rainbow sightings since this spring, Stapleton residents are starting to complain about the frequency of rainbows. As a neighborhood situated with sweeping views, rainbows are hard to miss or avoid even if you try. [Read more…] about Rainbows Latest Stapleton Nuisance

Fed up with their yearly obligation to provide candy for the entire Denver metropolitan area, SUN held a meeting on 10/15 to decide whether or not Stapleton should have its own trick-or-treating day. “We have had so many issues with this in the past,” said SUN President Mike Victoria. “We would get hundreds of complaints each year about the large number of outsiders coming in to pillage residents’ candy before our own Stapleton kids even have a chance to go see their friends and neighbors. So, we decided to hold a meeting to discuss the issue.” Stanley Marketplace was kind enough to lend its space for the meeting. “We had a dismal 100 people show up to discuss the potential name change,” said Victoria. “We knew this was a much bigger issue to residents, so that space would be adequately filled.” Victoria was right, as over 1200 residents filled Stanley and spilled out into the outdoor area. A speaker system was put in place for those in the outdoor seating area. Residents spoke up about why they felt strongly about this important issue. “Our kids shouldn’t have to share our candy and our sidewalks with kids from outside of this community,” barked resident Amy Leonard. “Of course we want diversity in the community, but that’s in the community. We don’t need outsiders for that.” Jonathan Drenner agreed. “I love seeing all of the smiling Stapleton kids on Halloween,” said Drenner. “But these kids from the outside, I’m not so sure I need to be seeing them and handing out my hard-earned candy to them.” Shannon Zarifis was one of the few dissenters of that opinion. “Sure there are the occasional older kids and adults abusing us,” said Zarifis. “But, for the most part, these are just kids. And shouldn’t we do what we can to make the Halloween experience as fun for as many kids as we can?” By the sound of the boos, it was clear most residents didn’t agree with her. In the end, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss a proposal to quietly move the Stapleton trick-or-treating day to this coming Friday (10/23). “It was almost unanimous,” said Victoria. “And we had a large enough number of residents attending; we thought the people who showed up were representative of the community as a whole.” Those who attended were ecstatic about the change. “This is going to be a much less stressful and costly Halloween,’ said resident Matt Geary. “In fact, we are going to use the money we are saving on candy to have a little trip to the mountains the following week.” The Bastemeyers have similar plans. “It’s great that we will be able to see all of our local friends’ kids this weekend,” said Kelly Bastemeyer. “And then, we can just turn off the lights to the house, lock the doors, and head to Vail the following weekend to relax at our place in the mountains. It’s going to be a great end to October.” It’s uncertain whether or not Halloween will continue to be celebrated in Stapleton on a different day than the rest of Denver, but this Friday, residents will be walking the kids around in a Stapleton-only atmosphere. And what could be better than that?]]>

Northfield High School is just two months old, but there has been a big change with the recent resignation of Principal Brian Scott. Scott resigned to follow his long time passion to become a warden, as he was hired as the warden at Supermax in Florence, Colorado. “It is something I have been interested in for a long time,” said Scott. “Being a Principal was a great experience, but in the end, it was just a stepping stone in becoming a warden, which has been my dream all along.” After being offered his “dream job” Scott spoke with Tom Boasberg (Superintendent) and Susana Cordova (Chief Schools Officer) and they decided it was best for Scott to resign immediately, rather than finish off the year before moving to Folorence to take charge of the nation’s highest security prison. “We felt that if this was a move he wanted to make, he should make it immediately,” said Boasberg. “We support Scott in his decision, and wish him the best.” In the interim, Nicole Kimball will serve as acting Principal until a new one is hired at the end of the year. “We will encourage feedback from our parents and community in this process,” said Cordova. [Read more…] about Northfield High Principal Resigns; Becomes Warden at Supermax

With the topic of intruders in Stapleton a hot subject, I wanted to tell my story of protecting my family and how it did not end well for the two intruders in our Stapleton garage. I felt it was necessary to tell this story as I suspect it will help other Stapleton families who struggle with life in the city and these unwanted intruders. In the end one intruder left in a bag and the other with a severed leg and potentially paralyzed. [Read more…] about Stapleton Resident Deals Deadly Blow to Intruders

Tuesday evening, the Denver metro area encountered something it had not seen in quite some time; rainfall. Along with the rain, there was occasional thunder, which wouldn’t be a big deal, but living in Stapleton, loud noises tend to make people jumpy. “I have lived here for eight years,” said resident Paul Rice. “I have seen streets blockaded, helicopters overhead, and vandals running wild through the neighborhood. On top of that, we are right next to Aurora, which freaks the hell out of me. So, am I a little on edge, yes.” Kelly Dellert has had the same experiences while living in Stapleton. “I mean, houses getting broken into, car crashes, suspicious looking people, it is just a pretty crazy place to live,” said Dellert. “Of course, the Stapleton people are great, it’s those people coming through our neighborhood that concern me.” [Read more…] about Evening Thunder Confused for Gun Shots; 311 Overwhelmed