Month In Review | October 2021 - Yellow Scene Magazine

Church vandalism. Image by Matt Gaskins via 9News.

• King Soopers and BOCO officials confirmed a coronavirus outbreak at the King Soopers in Louisville (1375 E. South Boulder Road). The store remains open. Shawn Hollister, Boulder County Public Health spokesperson, said the county is working to prevent spread. King Soopers spokesperson Jessica Trowbridge confirmed that workers tested positive for COVID-19 but didn’t say how many cases were confirmed or how many employees have needed to quarantine. • Wildlife warning: Bobcat sightings and engagements are increasing and, contrary to a viral video, you should not try to fight them. Sam Peterson, Colorado Parks and Wildlife district manager for Boulder South, said bobcats are elusive by nature. Bobcats typically hang out along riparian corridors, especially in Boulder, where there is plenty of food and thick foliage. Mysti Tastro, of Greenwood, wants to remind people that seeing bobcats is a special experience and that the animals have rarely attacked humans. • Boulder County Parks and Open Space is accepting applications for the 2022 volunteer naturalist training class through Nov. 7. Time to get involved, outdoorsy people. Volunteers will help Boulder County Parks and Open Space by leading hikes, presenting slide programs, and providing hands-on experience to the public. There are a few requirements (age and such). For information and an application, contact Natural History Program Specialist Carlos Lerma at 303-678-6214 or at [email protected] or visit BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/volunteer. • Boulder Sheriffs are investigating after Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church was vandalized. The damage included slashed tires and graffiti on the church’s maintenance truck, smashed windows, thrown eggs, and graffiti on the church’s signs and building. Much of the graffiti conveyed a pro-choice stance, but included anarchy symbols and more. A pro-life display of crosses, indicating abortions that occur daily, had many ripped out. • Boulder County Board of Health stood by their decision to continue masking in schools, despite limited protestation by some residents and parents, as coronavirus cases rise among residents, specifically among children. Indira Gujral, communicable disease and emergency management division manager for Boulder County Public Health in Boulder, cited research from Arizona. Out of the 191 COVID-19 outbreaks between July 15 and Aug. 31, 60% were in schools without an early mask mandate. She added that the COVID-19 case numbers in Colorado are elevated for kids 6 to 11 years old. • A local USPS postal worker was murdered in Longmont, in a case of woman on man domestic violence. The accused, Devan Schreiner, will be held without bail. Schreiner is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of postal carrier Jason Schaefer. Schreiner and Schaefer had worked together but she had been fired and began working in Longmont as a carrier. They had been in a relationship and court records indicate a long battle over parenting rights. The community mourns.

Small Talk

“Local public health agencies must ensure outbreaks meet the outbreak definition before they are reported publicly. Sometimes there may be a delay in getting data from the facility to the local public health agency or from the local public health agency to CDPHE.”
– Brian Spencer, spokesperson with Colorado State Joint Information Center

“Their habitat range is, overall, decreasing, whether that be due to wildfires or urban sprawl. There’s lots of things that are impacting that, but I think mostly, the reduction of their habitat range is what’s bringing them closer in.”
– Mysti Tatro, community relations coordinator for Greenwood

“I think it’s more of the violation that people here in the parish feel violated that somebody would do this.”
– Mark Evevard, youth director

“I do think it certainly reinforces my vote from August before school started in terms of why this was an important public health order. You can look at CDPHE’s data, (Colorado) School of Public Health’s modeling, who are the experts, and their numbers have been pretty spot on.”
– Gregg Thomas, Board of Public Health President