Arbor Day in Douglas County

Douglas County is growing - trees and shrubs that is! Our local communities are seeking out their green thumbs, digging in and getting ready to celebrate Arbor Day, which is recognized in Colorado on Friday, April 21. Arbor Day will be celebrated throughout the community and you’re invited to come and volunteer, or even just watch the fun! The list below details the activities taking place throughout the County on Friday, April 21 and on Saturday, April 22 in recognition of Arbor Day. To learnmore about the Arbor Day project in your community, please call thecontact person listed for your community’s project.

Town of Castle Rock:To celebrate Arbor Day, the Town of Castle Rock will be planting trees atUpper Centennial Park in Castle Rock. This fun event will take place on Friday, April 21 at 9 a.m. Call 720.733.2260 for more information or tovolunteer!

Castlewood Canyon State Park:To celebrate Arbor Day, Castlewood Canyon State Park will be hostingprograms for kids in the Castlewood Canyon Visitor’s Center and providinghistoric tree hikes at the Lucas Homestead to see 100+ year old appletrees! 100 volunteers are needed to help plant willows along Cherry Creekbelow the Lucas Homestead for creek bank stabilization. Bring your owngloves and meet at the west side of the trailhead parking lot off of Douglas County Rd. 51. Call 303.688.5242 for more information.

Douglas County:Join the Douglas County Parks Department on Arbor Day at Bayou GulchRegional Park (near the dog park south of Parker). The fun will take placeon Saturday, April 22 at 9 a.m. To volunteer, or for more information,please call 303.470.0140.Douglas County Open Space:Join us on Saturday, April 22 at 9 a.m., for Douglas County Open Space'sArbor Day Celebration at Glendale Farms, located on the east side of I-25 at the Surrey Ridge exit. Help us plant new trees in the orchard, cleartrails and clean up the barnyard. Please RSVP to Carol at 303.660.7495.

Metro Districts of Highlands Ranch:Help us plant 20 trees at Civic Green Park in Highlands Ranch. Bring yourshovel and join us on Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to Noon. To volunteer, please call Jenn Garber at 303.791.0430, ext. 4909 Volunteers must be at least 10 years old andspace is limited. In case of inclement weather, the event will berescheduled for Saturday, April 29.

City of Lone TreeThe City of Lone Tree will host its 10th Annual Arbor Day Celebration at the Lone Tree Civic Center on April 22 at noon. The event will include aceremonial tree planting, the dedication of the City’s Xeriscapedemonstration garden, giveaways and refreshments. In addition, Lone Treeresidents are also invited to participate in the Arbor Day Tree Sale –which provides a landscape quality tree at a very deep discount. Ordersmust be received by April 6. Trees will be available for pickup themorning of April 22. Call 303.225.4949 for more information.

Town of Parker:The Town of Parker needs approximately 150-200 volunteers to help us plant42 trees on Saturday, April 22 at 8 a.m.! The celebration takes place at East Bank Park, located at Parker Road and Indianpipe Lane, south of Hilltop Road in Parker. We also need help celebrating our 13-year "TreeCity USA" award. Please bring your shovel and gloves! For more information, call 303.840.9546. If you can’t attend an Arbor Day celebration, but will still like to take part, you may send an Arbor Day contribution to:Douglas County Arbor Day CommitteeAttention Craig Miller, Town of Parker20120 E. Mainstreet Parker, CO 80138. Please indicate to which community you would like your donation dedicated.Funds will be used to purchase additional plant material for the community you selected.For more information, please call Craig Miller at 303.840.9546 or visitwww.parkeronline.org/arborday.

Kidz Kulture! Presents The 30’s and 40’s:

Kidz Kulture! Presents The 30’s and 40’s: Stories from the Home Front Join us on Saturday, April 15 from 10-11:30 a.m. and journey back throughhistory to the era of World War II. Storytellers from the Parker Library will present nostalgic tales, songs and poems about America in the 30'sand 40's and the people who held out hope for victory while our bravesoldiers fought overseas. At each Kidz Kulture! presentation there will be a live stage performanceand a hands-on art project brought to you by the Parker Artist Guild.

Kidz Kulture! events are free, but pre-registration is requested so that adequate art supplies are available. Programs target preschool andelementary aged children, but people of all ages are welcome to attend. Toreserve a spot for your child, please call Bill at 303.805.3263. Kids Kulture! takes place at the Mainstreet Center, located at 19650 E. Mainstreet in downtown Parker and is produced jointly by the Parker Cultural Commission, Parker Library and Parker Artist Guild with support from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.

Events at the Steaming Bean

Good News! “Straight Road” is back once again in concert @ the Bean this Friday, March 31 @ 7pm. Come enjoy their popular “Praise and Worship” songs along with their own ‘Straight Road’ originals. You’ll hear them share their testimony through their original music. They sing of His praises despite their rocky past. “It will be a really worshipful experience. Bring the entire family.”

Open Mic is on Tuesday from 7-9pm. So come share your talent. The karaoke system will also be set up for you singers.

April Fool’s Day Karaoke will be held Saturday night from 7-10pm. Come see the best singers in Parker in our smoke-free, family friendly environment. Now OVER 3400+ Songs for your singing pleasure.

For you non-coffee drinkers, we are now featuring Big Train’s Frozen Hot Chocolate dessert drink! It is a deep, decadent, velvety chocolate that you can sip through a straw! Yummy!

Local Seminar for those living with chronic illness

Learn the secrets to coping with chronic illness and to living life joyfully.

Parker Adventist Hospital

Apr 28, 2006 and Apr 29, 2006

Four sessions to choose from:
Friday, April 28
Morning Session 9 - 11:45 a.m
Afternoon Session 12:15 - 3 p.m

Saturday April 29
Morning Session 9 - 11:45 a.m
Afternoon Session 12:15 - 3 p.m
Each session will include the following topics:

Being Sick Well
Jeffrey H. Boyd, MD, MPH
In his book, Being Sick Well, Dr. Boyd addresses four main causes for chronic illness and uses case histories, personal testimonies, and a variety of resources to illustrate not just how to cope, but how to live joyfully even in sickness.

But You LOOK Good
Wayne Connell, Founder of The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
This seminar is a guide to understanding and encouraging people living with chronic illness and pain. It gives great practical ideas on “what to say,” “what not to say” and how to help someone living with a debilitating condition. A person can have an "invisible disability" whether or not they have a "visible" impairment or use an assistive device.

Free. To register please call 303-269-4001
If you plan to attend this session, please make sure you are perfume, cologne and fragrance free.

The Invisible Disabilities Advocate is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people understand chronic illness and pain. For more information about IDA please visit www.MyIDA.org.

For more information on the seminars, go to: www.MyIDA.org/seminar.htm

Parker Public Tennis Program Serves Up Fun!

Parker Recreation and the Parker Tennis Company are teaming up to offer a wide range of public youth and adult tennis instruction and programs beginning in April. Parker Tennis owners Barry and Suzette Riddle are excited to once again offer high quality tennis programs to Parker area residents.

The Riddles bring over 50 years combined tennis and coaching experience to the program. Their coaching style exposes players to the fun, friends, and fitness gained from playing tennis. Barry is an assistant coach with the Chaparral High School tennis teams and tennis professional at The Greenwood Athletic Club. Suzette is a former Cherry Creek High School coach and is a teaching pro at Greenwood Athletic Club. Both Barry and Suzette played college tennis as scholarship athletes and are USPTA tennis professionals.

This joint tennis program, serving players age five through adult, will be based from the Chaparral High School tennis courts. Youth clinics begin in April and fees are $42R/$46NR for ages five and six and $58R/$62NR for ages seven to 12. Middle school, high school and adult coed programs begin in May. Youth tennis programs are scheduled around Douglas County’s year round school calendar.

In addition to beginning tennis classes, Parker Tennis offers middle and high school tennis camps. For a full list of tennis classes, camps and special events, please visit the Town’s Web site at www.parkeronline.org or the Parker Tennis Web site at www.parkertennis.com.

For additional information about the tennis program or to register for upcoming youth or adult sessions, contact the Parker Recreation Center at 303.841.4500 or Barry Riddle at 720.979.6880.

New Wine Tasting Blog

Hey you wine fanatics out there! Come and check out the new blog I started just for you! I search the papers and the net to bring you the local free and inexpensive wine tasting events going on in the Denver Metro area. If you know of one, please post it here!.

Denver Colorado Wine Tasting Events

Parker Colorado Chamber of Commerce Events

2006 Parker Country Festival

June 9 - 11, 2005 in and around O'Brien Park

The Parker Country Festival is the BIG family event in Parker!. Formerly called Parker Days (which frankly I miss the small town quaintness of...) but the event has now GROWN in a huge way. 80,000 people flock to enjoy the carnival rides and attractions, music from live bands, especially fun for the mom's and dads, arts and crafts exhibitors and a food and beverage garden. Kid's Country features games, pony rides and a petting zoo for kids of all ages a a reasonable cost. On Saturday, the Parker Country Festival Parade travels down Mainstreet complete with floats, marching bands, horses and vintage cars. Discount carnival tickets on sale at the Chamber starting in mid-May. They sometimes run out.. so don't wait too long!

Tips on how to protect your self from identity fraud.

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE -- NO CHARGE
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney
sent the following out to the employees in his company.
1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".
2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the
last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the
check processing channels won't have access to it.
3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a+
PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (Duh)! You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed,
anyone can get it.
4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in
your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my
passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address,
Social Security number, credit cards.
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive
monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to
change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or
someone you know:
5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you
know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were
diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)
7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line
number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in
my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize
new credit.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the
thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian(formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.
If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

Spring 2006 Movie Reviews

What movies have you seen? Any good? Good for kids, teens, date night? Let the folks in Parker know what you think.. Become the Parker Colorado expert on which movies ROCK!

Hookah Bars -Warning

Hookah Bars - Kids Beware! This is WORSE for you than Smoking Cigarettes!

Smoking a hookah, locally known as a "hubbly-bubbly", doesn't water down smoking-related health risks, warns an expert concerned about the spread of this form of tobacco use.
Hookah bars are becoming popular, particularly among students and young adults, around the world.

Hookahs originated in the Middle East. In a hookah, tobacco is heated by charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water-filled chamber, which cools the smoke before it's inhaled by the smoker.

Significant health risks
Some people think hookahs deliver less tar and nicotine than cigarettes and have fewer health consequences because the smoke is filtered by the water.
Not true, Thomas Eissenberg, head of the Clinical Behavioral Pharm acology Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, said in a prepared statement.
"Water pipe smoking may be associated with significant health risks, and we only now are beginning to accumulate information on the issue," Eissenberg said.
Initial research indicates hookahs can increase carbon dioxide and nicotine exposure, speed up heart rate, and may contribute to heart disease and cancer.
A practice not to ignore "The water pipe is another method of tobacco use, one that we should not ignore as we fight the tobacco epidemic. Past experience has taught us that ignoring the epidemiology and health effects of tobacco-use products can lead to a public health disaster that may have been preventable," Eissenberg said.
He published a study in the April issue of Preventive Medicine that found hookah smoking, particularly for women, generally is viewed in a more positive light than smoking cigarettes. It's one o f the first studies to examine the effects of social attitudes and gender on hookah and cigarette smoking. - (HealthDayNews)