DID YOU KNOW
Sugar Beet Days
Sterling’s annual Sugar Beet Days will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 16-17 at Courthouse Square. More than 200 craft vendors will be selling handmade crafts and food.
About 10,000 people, mostly from northeastern Colorado, southwestern Nebraska and Kansas, attend the festival each year.
Sugar Beet Days started more than 100 years ago when sugar beets were the area’s main crop. As a fall festival, all the small communities throughout Logan County displayed their harvests and wares.
The festival was not held in 1918 because of the worldwide influenza epidemic. Later, organizers tried to restart the festival, but it stalled again during the Dust Bowl period in the 1930s. After several attempts, it was restarted more than two decades ago and had a high attendance. It has become an annual celebration of the area’s agricultural heritage and a craft fair where all vendors must display homemade crafts or food items.
Today, sugar beets are still the main agricultural crop, but corn is also a major product. An ethanol plant opened in October 2005.
Source: Pat Maucher, Logan County Chamber of Commerce
REGIONAL NOTES
CASTLE ROCK
Fire, rescue workers’ 9/11 service
The Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department plans to hold a memorial service at 7:45 a.m. Monday at 300 Perry St. for the victims and rescuers killed in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The service will include a ringing of bells at the exact time each World Trade Center tower collapsed.
The Castle Rock Fire Department color guard also will participate. A choral group from Castle View High School will perform the national anthem.
BRIGHTON
Migrate to park for bird festival
Fly over to Barr Lake State Park to celebrate the fall bird migration at the eighth annual Fall Birding Festival from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 16.
The day’s activities include:
- A continental breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. and a free barbecue lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- An close-up view of raptors with the Raptor Education Foundation and Windsong Education Foundation from 9 to 11 a.m. Raptors include a golden eagle, great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, barn owl and more.
- Live songbirds at the migratory bird banding station from 7 to 11 a.m.
- Guided walks to explore bird habitat with some of the region’s best birders from 7 to 11 a.m., with a kids-only bird walk at 10 a.m.
- A tour from the Eagle Express passenger cart of the wildlife refuge at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Reserve your seat by calling 303-659-6005.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Bridge work to shift U.S. 285 lanes
A bridge replacement project on U.S. 285 just west of C-470 will require temporary realignment of the highway and temporary closures of Willow Springs Road and Turkey Creek Road.
The Colorado Department of Transportation began work on the project this week with single-lane closures during the day.
In mid- to late September, crews will begin demolition and construction of new bridges.
The work on the $5.1 million project is expected to take nearly a year and will result in the speed limit being reduced to 50 mph with fines doubled for speeding and careless driving in a work zone.
DENVER POST STAFF REPORTS
