Hawks, Parks, and Sabotage

January 21, 2021

Golden Eye Candy – Great Teamwork Yesterday! Frank Hanou spotted a red tailed hawk outside the Gold Apartments (north side of the creek, between Parfet Park and the Golden Mill). He mentioned it to the Davells, so they went and took the close-ups. Frank Hanou (top) Chris Davell (left) and Joyce Davell (right) – click to enlarge

Virtual Golden

7:30AM Golden Young Professionals Monthly Membership Meeting
10-10:30AM Call In: Mid-Morning Meditation
10:15AM Preschool Time with the Library
3-5PM Hard Times Writing Workshop
6-7:30PM Lessons In Wilderness Survival
6-7PM Virtual: Qs and Brews Trivia

7PM Parks, Recreation and Museums Advisory Board
Parks, Recreation, and Museums will discuss their draft workplan for 2021. They will try to incorporate City’s Councils “SMARTIE” goals: Strategic, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable. They will discuss plans for developing DeLong Park and will review the capital budget for the year. See the meeting packet for more information.


Real World Golden


Sunset in Golden – Nancy Torpey – click to enlarge

It’s been one month since the winter solstice. The sun is rising one minute earlier (7:16AM versus 7:17AM) and setting 28 minutes later (5:07PM versus 4:39PM).

Paid Parking is in effect again in downtown Golden. If you park in any of the lots, you must visit the kiosk and get a ticket. The first two hours are still free but you must get a ticket to register your time of arrival.


Golden History Moment


Overturned Electrical Tower – Colorado Transcript, January 21, 1969

52 Years Ago
The January 21, 1969 Colorado Transcript reported that one of the high tension electrical towers at W. 10th Avenue and Johnson Road had been destroyed with explosives. Dynamite was placed at the base of each of the four legs.


“Officials stated that the methods employed indicated that the person who set the charge had military training in demolition. The force of the blast was such that pieces of the tower were thrown for a great distance. One large piece was found embedded in a mobile home…more than 1-1/2 miles from the blast.”

By mid-February, the FBI had identified a suspect. Cameron David Bishop was already wanted for an attempted takeover of a building on the CSU campus, and the Golden bombing put him on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.

Why was he bombing Golden? It was an attempt to undermine the Viet Nam War effort. Coors Porcelain was making nose cones for missiles at that time, and the tower that was bombed supplied power to the Coors plant.

The blast may not have been as disruptive as the bomber had hoped. While a large part of Jefferson County lost power, Public Service was able to route around the problem and had service partially restored within 15 minutes and fully restored in about an hour.

Canadian police found him in Vancouver in June of 1970 and began extradition procedures. He apparently slipped away, and was next seen in New York in June of 1971. He again evaded capture, but was arrested in Rhode Island in 1975. Local police had approached him in his car and found it contained “a small arsenal of weapons.” At that point, he was identified and brought back to Colorado. He was released on $277,500 bond, which was guaranteed by his mother.

Bishop was convicted of three counts of sabotage and sentenced to seven years in prison, but remained free on bond, pending appeal. The ruling was overturned on appeal, so he remained free.

His attorney later defended Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber.


The Public Service facility still serves this area.

Many 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!


Coronavirus Update

Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden

Jefferson County is at Level Orange, “High Risk. Here’s the most recent Coronavirus report from Jeffco Public Health’s Case Summary Page:

Cases in Jeffco – Tues: 33,212 | Weds: 33,332 (+120)
Deaths in Jeffco –
Tues: 695 | Weds: 697 (+2)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco –
Tues: 58 | Weds: 64 (+6)
Known Cases in Golden –
Tues: 1254 *
Recovered –
Tues: 30,835 | Weds: 31,105 (+270)

* Golden cases are updated on Monday and Thursday. The other stats are updated Monday through Friday.

Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing | School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Stage 1 fire restrictions | Sign up for exposure notifications.