HGTV comes to town

HGTV made a splash in Berthoud last fall when it was announced they were filming a show right here in Berthoud. Our October 20 edition reported, “If you live in Berthoud, Colo. you already know what a spectacular place we get to call home. According to a post on HGTV.com the home improvement and real estate network decided it was a pretty phenomenal place too and is filming one of their popular shows “Rock the Block” here in our Front Range community.

It will be the fourth season for the renovation competition series that attracted more than 14 million viewers to its previous season, and according to HGTV will be the ”baddest one yet.”” The production wrapped at the beginning of November and the show is slated to premiere in March.

Mask mandate comes to an end

February 3 the Surveyor reported that Larimer County health officials had announced that the public health order requiring masks in public indoor spaces would expire Saturday, Feb. 12. In a statement released by the department, it was stated that this was due to improving COVID-19 conditions in the county and by giving a slight delay to the order ending it would allow for the current Omicron wave to further retreat and give families, local businesses and schools time to prepare for the transition.

Explosive House fire on Halloween night

A fire erupted in the garage of a home in the Heritage Ridge neighborhood on Halloween night. According to Berthoud Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Andrew Kuiken, the fire began in the home’s garage and quickly transitioned into the home. Multiple calls came in about the fire from concerned neighbors. Kuiken said firefighters aggressively worked to contain the flames preventing the entire house from being engulfed. The fire progressed around to the front of the home and into the main living space.” Thankfully no one inside the home was harmed and firefighters were able to rescue the family’s dog from inside.

Berthoud teen lost in mountains found safe

A Berthoud teen went missing in the Rawah Wilderness in remote Larimer County July 13 last year for more than 20 hours. Spencer Hallman, 14, was on a backpacking trip with a group from his church when he found himself turned around after walking a short distance to a water source. “Before sunrise Thursday morning, teams began hiking in to search for Spencer. Searchers include LCSO Emergency Services and deputies, LCSO Posse, Larimer County Search and Rescue including a dog team, Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol and UCHealth LifeLine. LCSO also requested assistance from Civil Air Patrol and Colorado Search and Rescue Association for dog teams and an additional 30 ground personnel. According to LCSO there were also multiple other search and rescue agencies from around the state preparing to assist that were called off. At approximately 1:53 p.m. Thursday afternoon, searches located Hallman, tired, covered in bug bites, dehydrated, but otherwise safe.”

Berthoud resident Ryan Armagost wins state house district 64

In the November 11 edition, it was announced Berthoud resident Ryan Armagost, the Republi­can candidate for Colorado State House District 64 (HD-64), won the election.

Armagost, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and the Army National Guard as well as a Larimer County Sheriff’s Deputy, and a firefighter, never thought of himself as a politi­cian, but wanted to continue serving his county and his community as he had throughout his adult life. After the election Armagost said he was excited for the opportunity to represent the people of House District 64 saying, “I would just say expect to see a lot of me, I’m going to be in every community as often as I can in the district.”

Town board receives report on Berthoud police during BLM rally

On February 10 the Surveyor reported that the Town of Berthoud trustees received a final report from the Edwards and Amato law firm regarding the actions of the Berthoud squad of the Larimer County Sheriffs Office (LCSO) during the Back the Blue and Black Lives Matter rallies held in Berthoud in the summer of 2020. LCSO had presented their report of the events to the town in January but the trustees at the time wanted to pursue the matter further. Bill Amato, partner of the Arizona- based Edwards & Amato law firm that was contracted by the town at a cost of $25,000 to conduct an outside review of the LCSO’s actions at the two rallies found no wrong-doing on the part of police but did have several suggestions for ordinances to be put in place by the town to further control and regulate gathering.

Former Berthoud teacher pleads guilty to sexual exploitation Feb 24 Sentenced on June 9

A former social studies teacher at Turner Middle School was sentenced in June to 10 years of Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program (SOISP) after having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old student. Kyle Faust, 25, was sentenced by Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Cure to the SOISP intensive probation for the charge of sexual exploitation of a child that he plead guilty to in February of 2022. Faust had six other charges against him that were dismissed by the district attorney’s office as part of a plea agreement. The original charges Faust faced could have resulted in a sentence of four to 12 years in prison. The program Faust was sentenced to is a required intensive probation program for non-violent, low-risk sex offenders who were not sentenced to prison.

Colorado crime rate soars

In January of 2022 the Surveyor reported on the dramatic increase in crime across the state. “According to a recent report violent crime has increased by 30% over the last decade in Colorado.” The report produced by the Common Sense Institute a non-partisan research organization also showed Colorado had the highest increase in property crime rate between 2011 and 2020 in the nation. The report also acknowledged that pandemic-related policies and restrictions that resulted in economic disruptions brought further stress to society as a whole which “exacerbated problems related to crime,” but also concluded according to the authors who include former Colorado District Attorneys Mitch Morrissey and George Brauchler that, “The primary and consistent policy trend in Colorado has been to discourage the jailing for those arrested for committing crimes and to reduce the severity of punishment for those convicted.” The average monthly crime rate in Colorado was 15% higher in 2021 than in 2019 and 28% higher than it was a decade ago. The violent crime rate spiked 35% over the figure from 2011. Nationally, the increase was just 3%, according

to a report.

Police shootings in 2022

There were 9 officer-involved shootings reported on by the Surveyor in 2022. Each of the incidents were investigated by the Eighth Judicial District, multi-agency Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). This team is called in any time there is an officer-involved shooting that results in injury or death.  At the conclusion of a CIRT investigation, the findings are reported to the District Attorney. The District Attorney completes a thorough review of the entire investigation and uses the applicable law to determine whether the use of force was justified.  In cases where the use of force is found to be justified, the District Attorney prepares a report, in the form of a letter, and sends it to the police chief or sheriff of the agency where the officer was employed. There were four incidents in 2021 and one in 2020.

Berthoud Day celebration back after 2 years

In what was certainly one of the best indicators the world was returning to normal in 2022 the annual Berthoud Day celebration returned. After two long years without a full celebration of Berthoud Day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual event was back. The Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) announced in March that a full-scale event would take place. In a statement released by the chamber, BACC Executive Director May Soricelli said, “We are so proud of our community and business community for weathering the storms of the last two years, and it’s time to come together, celebrate, and support each other and the amazing town we are privileged to work and live in.” The full-scale Berthoud Day event took place on its traditional date, the first Saturday of June in a new location on the grounds of the Berthoud Recreation Center.

A&W is for sale

It may have been in our last issue of the year but the deep appreciation for Berthoud’s A&W restaurant was clear as this story was our most shared story of the year on social media. The iconic A&W restaurant at 802 Mountain Ave. is looking for new owners. Since 1971 the Hamann family has owned and operated the ‘All-American Food’ establishment in Berthoud. “We got people that come in from all over because they’ve been here — Carter Lake traffic in the summertime,” said Randy Hamann. Since 1995, Hamann and his wife, Judy, have run the classic drive-in staple while raising their family.