Election Day

Today is election day. If you haven’t voted yet, you can drop your ballot at City Hall (map) or the County Courthouse (map). If you lost your ballot, visit the courthouse to get another one.

None of the four ward seats are competitive, so you may feel uninspired to vote, but we do have the marijuana issue on the ballot. If you want recreational marijuana shops in Golden, vote “Yes.” If you don’t want them, vote “No.”

There is also a lodging tax issue on the ballot. Those who vote for it want to begin collecting tax from visitors who stay at our hotels, B&Bs, AirBnBs, VRBOs, etc. Those who vote against it may do so because Council has not committed as to how they will spend the proceeds. Various groups were hoping that the funding would be earmarked for their favored causes, such as cultural organizations, open space, or affordable housing.

We are also voting on School Board positions and three state issues–but that’s out of my scope.

To verify that your ballot has been received and accepted, visit this page: jeffco.ballottrax.net/voter.

Virtual Events

9-9:55AM Silver Sneakers Classic
9-10AM Women’s Exercise and Bible Study @ First United Methodist Church
2-2:30PM Small Bites: Finding Joy in Self Care and Change
5:30-6:25PM HIIT & Sculpt

Real World Events

10:15AM Baby Time @ Golden Library
1-3PM Hexie Ladies @ Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
5:30-7:30PM Textile Society @ Golden Library

Weekly COVID Update

79.8%

% of Jeffco residents (12+) who have received at least one shot (-0.5% since last week–I can’t explain why this would go down) 75.3% are fully-vaccinated (unchanged since last week) – source

Jefferson County Case Summary:
Cases in Jeffco – Oct 26th: 62,996 | Nov 1st: 64,819 (+1823)
Deaths in Jeffco – Oct 26th: 966 | Nov 1st: 975 (+9)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco – Oct 26th: 80 | Nov 1st: 84 (+4)
Recovered – Oct 26th: 59,815 | Nov 1st: 61,016 (+1201)
Known Cases in Golden – Oct 26th: 2444 | Nov 1st: 2507 (+63)

COVID Vaccine Appointments
State of Colorado: Where You Can Get Vaccinated
Jeffco Public Health Vaccine Call Center: 303-239-7000
State Vaccine Hotline: 1-877-268-2926.

Golden Testing Sites
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing

More Public Health References
Sign up for exposure notifications | CDC | Colorado | Jefferson County | City of Golden

Where to get vaccinated
The Pfizer COVID vaccine now has FULL FDA APPROVAL. Safeway (map) is accepting walk-ins to administer these free vaccines. Walgreens (map) takes walk-ins from 9:30AM to 1PM and 2-8PM Monday – Friday. Appointments are not necessary, but they are available.

Golden History Moment

117 Years Ago
The November 2, 1905 Colorado Transcript reported a terrible train accident. A southbound train was coming downhill, on tracks that paralleled Tucker Gulch. Two trains–one eastbound, for Denver, and one westbound, for the mountains–waited on tracks at the bottom of the hill. The rails were wet and the hill was steep. The engineer of the southbound train lost control and rammed the westbound train.

With a noise that was heard all over the city, the crash came. The two rear coaches were lifted high in the air….
Colorado Transcript – November 2, 1905

Seven people were seriously hurt, with sprains, bruises, a dislocated shoulder, some broken ribs, and many cuts from flying glass and splinters.

What struck me most about the article was the relentlessly upbeat (“it could have been so much worse!”) tone. It emphasized that no one died. When the passenger coach was struck, the stove (used to heat the car) was “broken and overturned,” but (miraculously) did not start the wreckage on fire. The passenger who sat next to the stove was covered with shattered wood and seriously injured, but not killed.

The railroad employees showed “presence of mind,” “quick action,” and “Herculean effort.” The article ran through scenarios that could have made the accident worse.

The Transcript stated emphatically that “No blame can be attached to any of the trainmen, and the accident was due wholly to the wet rails and heavy grades.”

It was a less litigious time!

Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!