Craig and Jamie Gill have lived in Stapleton in their Wonderland home for nearly seven years. They have had both their children while living in Stapleton, a six year old girl and four year old boy. The Stapleton housing market has gone up and down during that seven years, and the Gills haven’t been very concerned about the value of their Stapleton home until their recent appraisal in their attempt to refinance. [Read more…] about Stapleton Home Downgraded to “Toy Storage Facility” by Appraiser

Kirk and Jamie Gill have always been a popular couple in Stapleton. They have always been willing to meet new friends, attend cookouts, and stay late and enjoy cocktails. They have friends in every Stapleton borough, and enjoying having people over to their place for drinks and dinner. So, when they had their first child Chloe three years ago, it was not surprising that friends stepped up to support them. “Your first child is so hard,” said friend of the Gills Brittni Elmer. “So, I did what so many Stapleton residents do for each other. I started a meal train.” Brittni sent the invite to eight people initially, and it just grew from there. “I received it from Brittni, and then sent it on to ten other friends that I knew would be excited to help the Gills out,” said Sarah Hirota. “I mean, you definitely don’t want to be the person that doesn’t join the meal train for the Gills.” [Read more…] about Popular Stapleton Couple in Third Year of Receiving Meal Train Dinners

Jennifer Walsworth was having some challenges with her infant son, Ian. Ian was not sleeping well, had bad gas, and was eating intermittently throughout the night, giving Jennifer very little time to sleep. Not to mention Jennifer has three other children. After struggling with Ian for five weeks, Jennifer decided to stop breast feeding and try formula. “I had to try something different,” says Jennifer. “He wasn’t happy, I wasn’t happy, and it created a really tough household to manage.” Jennifer recalls only telling her neighbor, Meggan in confidence. “Meggan knew the difficulties we were having, so I thought I could confide in her. Evidently not.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Mom’s Switch to Formula at Five Weeks Outrages Community

In 2008, it was hard to pass five homes without seeing a yard sign. There were a lot of things on the line at that point. The possibility of the first African-American president (and still potentially first non-American born president), McCain’s final shot at the highest office, and was the country ready for “Hope & Change” or was it better to keep going the same direction we were going? These issues ignited both sides of the political aisle. For that reason, republicans and democrats went on a yard sign rampage, covering almost every city in the US. People were proud of who they were voting for, and therefore, made sure to make that sign big and loud. So, what’s going on in 2012? Both parties seem as divided as ever. Shouldn’t we be seeing even more yard signs in Stapleton? The Colorado Census Bureau recently reported that Stapleton yard signs are down over eighty percent. Political analyst Chad Sullivan gives us a potential explanation. “The members of each party haven’t swayed, or changed their opinions,” says Sullivan. “The difference is, neither party is all that proud of their candidate at this point.” [Read more…] about Report: Stapleton Political Yard Signs Down 82% From 2008

The Stapleton MCA got it right again when they closed the pools right at Labor Day. Since Labor Day weekend, Stapleton has seen several days that only reached the high 80’s, and three that have dipped below 75. “It just works out every year that Labor Day comes and temperatures have a huge drop,” said MCA President Liza Kampstra. “This year again, the timing couldn’t have been better.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Pools Close Before Freezing 80 Degree Temperatures Set In

New highly acclaimed McCauliffe Middle School is already showing its superiority over other DPS schools as well as middle schools across the country. Through only three weeks of school, McAuliffe students have scored higher in almost every category tested. Most notable is their ability to send text messages to friends, which they are doing 30% faster than students across the nation. “We push the kids to be great at things that will be applicable in the real world,” says Principal Vogel. “We know that emailing and texting on phones is becoming more and more important, so we better make sure the kids are prepared for a society where this ability holds such an importance.” Kids have a required texting class three days a week for one hour. Each child is provided a smart phone by the school to practice texting. Classes have contests, learn new “swipe” techniques, learn how to get words to auto-fill, and of course what to do to avoid inaccurate autocorrects. “Maybe 30 words per minute is acceptable at other schools,” says Principal Vogel. “But here at MCAuliffe Middle School, we are not in the business of being average. We expect better for our kids.” ]]>

In its youth, the Stapleton community was often mocked and criticized for its lack of mature trees. Now, a decade or so later, the trees all over the community are filling in nicely. From the parks and trails, to people’s homes, and to the roadside trees as well, the Stapleton trees are growing tall. Trees are great for a community in that they make it colorful and provide shade. [Read more…] about Stapleton Trees Finally Tall Enough to Block Annoying Stop Signs

This year, Stapleton’s middle schools introduced uniforms for its students. Educators have long seen the benefits of kids wearing uniforms, from better behavior through conformity and most recently, a lack of bullying do to socioeconomic disparity. The schools support individuality, but believe the uniforms are a good idea. “We have read the studies and know this will benefit the kids and the school,” says Principal Halsor at Bill Roberts Middle School. “Myself and Principal Vogel (McAuliffe Middle School) got together and agreed we would both be using uniforms, but also wanted to allow some individuality. That is when we came up with the patch idea.” [Read more…] about Patches On School Uniforms Offer Subtle Way to Recognize Individuality