Latest news with #Longmont
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Colorado neighborhood responds as man goes after Pride flags and people
One neighborhood in Northern Colorado is banding together as Pride flags continue to disappear, seemingly stolen by the same man over and over again. They believe the actions are designed to silence the LGBTQ community. Sheryl Colaur is getting tired of it, "It's very unnerving." A porch camera captures images of a man stealing Pride flags from a home in Longmont. CBS "He knows that our house puts out the flag. He knows what it represents." She is proud to put out the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag. Three times, what she believes is the same man, has visited her home at night in the Harvest Junction Village neighborhood in Longmont to steal her flags. A man with clothing that covers him and with a concealed face has ripped their Pride flags down. "It feels like an attack," she said about the thefts, which began Memorial Day Weekend. She's not alone. "It was a targeted attack. Every other flag, team flag, and American flags had all been left. It was just the Pride flags," said Mike MacFerrin. The thief also stole a Pride flag from his front porch. The front porch light was on and his children were home. "It's important to be strong as well, and the more of our neighbors that stand up strong to this, the stronger we are together," he said. The Harvest Junction Village neighborhood in Longmont has been targeted by a man stealing Pride flags. CBS Law officers in Longmont on Tuesday were tallying how many reports of stolen flags have come in. They believe they are not aware of all of the incidents. In a statement, Longmont Public Safety said, "We understand how upsetting the recent theft of flags has been for our community and continue to work with the neighborhood to gather evidence and statements related to these incidents. If you haven't yet filed a police report or have any information regarding those responsible for these thefts, please contact us at (303) 651-8501." Colaur is concerned that the man is growing bolder. "So I have kids. I worry about that, " she explains about the man's most recent effort, coming all the way up on her porch, where images of the individual with a facial covering were captured on camera. "It's making a move to put us away. To keep us out of the light." There is a case file now after the man directed threats at homeowner Lindsey Bailey. She was in her garage working on her fledgling tomato plants when a man passed by on a scooter, a little after dark one night, and yelled at her. Her home is one of those with a flag displayed. "They rode right by on their motor scooter, and just swore at me about how they hated pride month, and lots of expletives." Her husband, hearing the commotion, came out with a bat. The man turned around and came back, making another pass on the scooter, this time yelling at her husband. "Threatening that they were going to harm him, that he would be back," she said. "He had taken my neighbor's pride flags, and he was coming back for mine, too," she recalled he said. There is no way, as of yet, to tell where the man is from. Amid all of it the neighborhood has not splintered. Quite the opposite. The Harvest Junction Village neighborhood in Longmont. CBS "It's a politically fraught time right now," said MacFerrin. "It's no more or less likely to happen here than anywhere else. But it happened here and so we're responding." He helped pull together an online fundraising campaign to replace the flags, rapidly raising money to buy about 70 more flags. No one he's aware of has complained about what they are doing. "It was received very well. People did not like their neighbors being bullied. They wanted to stand up for them. They wanted to stand with them." And so some have added flags, while people wait to see if the man will be caught. Colaur has been replacing flagpoles and flags. "I'm three flagpoles in and no Pride flag to show for it," she said. But she'll keep doing it. "Every time he steals a flag, I'm going to keep on putting a new flag up."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
With gratitude for community, Longmont veteran village marks grand opening
Longmont's tiny home village for military veterans is complete, ushering in a new era of community support for all who served. U.S. Army veteran Patrick Putnam moved to the village almost two years ago. As a part of the mission of Veterans Community Project, the nonprofit group that operates the village, Putnam lives there for free as he works toward permanent housing and employment. In the years since moving in, Putnam has made the community his home. He tends to a blueberry bush on his front porch. He helped build some of the houses. Now that construction is finished, Putnam will keep pitching in by mowing the village's new grassy lawn. 'I love mowing grass,' he said. 'It's not even a chore for me.' For Putnam, the VCP Longmont village gave him a 'place to start over' when he needed it. He was able to complete technical certifications that will help him with his goal to enter the information technology industry. After three months, he said, he stopped locking his door because of how safe the community felt. Putnam plans to leave the village within the next four months, but he won't forget the bonds he built with fellow veterans who are dealing with similar experiences. 'It's not just stable, it's also comfortable,' Putnam said of VCP Longmont. 'It gives you plenty of breathing room to work on yourself. I had to focus on my mental health in particular when I first got here, and I had the room to do that.' On Thursday, VCP Longmont celebrated its grand opening with a housewarming event at the village. Jennifer Seybold, executive director of VCP Longmont, recalled the 'stops and starts' in the process that began in 2019 to make the village a reality. 'Tonight feels like the moment after the move-in when the lights are on, and the boxes are unpacked, and you're finally ready to invite your neighbors over,' Seybold told dozens of visitors on Thursday. With villages across the country, Veterans Community Project provides housing and case management for veterans struggling with homelessness. The Longmont village at 3095 Mountain Brook Drive has 26 tiny homes, a community center and outdoor recreation areas. There are currently 15 residents living there, regardless of their discharge status or type of service. At Thursday's housewarming party, guests were invited to tour the village, look inside unoccupied tiny homes and meet VCP team members. Several guests wrote messages in marker on a sign for the village's community center. One read: 'We are proud to support our vets.' Surrounded by homes decorated with American flags, people who played a role in the village's development reflected on the long journey. Philanthropist Carrie Morgridge helped close out VCP Longmont's funding needs near the end of construction with a matching campaign. Morgridge said her father served in the U.S. Navy, which inspired her to seek out projects for veterans that the foundation could support. 'Knowing that the city of Longmont wanted this project is so important,' Morgridge said. The Longmont City Council has backed the village for years, including waiving roughly $189,582 in development fees for VCP Longmont in 2022. Vic Young gave more than 1,000 hours of volunteer labor to the village. He remembered how the site looked three years ago, with the field full of weeds and the community center still under construction. Young thanked volunteers for pouring their time and energy into the project. He promised them that Thursday's ceremony didn't mark the end of their work, but the beginning, as the village can finally fulfill its purpose of serving veterans. 'When we look at what we've accomplished here, we surely can take pride in our work,' Young said. 'Because you gave, we look at this wonderful village that stands behind us here today.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Construction starts Monday at Longmont's Ninth Avenue railroad crossing
Construction is scheduled to begin Monday at the Ninth Avenue railroad crossing between Collyer and Baker streets, for Longmont's Railroad Quiet Zones Project. One lane of traffic on Ninth Avenue will be closed in both directions across the railroad crossing for approximately four weeks. Additional intermittent lane closures may be required until construction at the crossing is complete at the end of August, according to a city news release. A 'quiet zone' is a section of railroad in Longmont where trains do not routinely sound their horns at road crossings. However, multiple adjacent crossings will need to have safety improvements, before a full quiet zone can be designated. The city noted that residents may still hear train horns after construction is completed at these crossings, until the other adjacent crossings are also completed. This is part of the first group of crossings to receive safety improvements that will eventually be designated as a Quiet Zone through downtown Longmont. The other crossings in this group include 17th Avenue, Longs Peak Avenue/Atwood Street and Third Avenue/Atwood Street. Regular construction hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some work may occur until 7 p.m., and also on Saturdays and Sundays, as necessary, according to the release. Detour signs will direct vehicle and pedestrian traffic to alternate routes, as needed. In some cases, a full closure of the railroad crossing is required. For more information, visit the Quiet Zones in Longmont webpage. Questions or concerns regarding the project should be directed to the project hotline by calling 720-526-2044 or emailing QuietZones@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Longmont road sign ‘hacked' for second time on Nelson
On Sunday, a digital road sign on Nelson Road was hacked to display the message 'BOOBS PART 2,' just two weeks after a sign on the same road was hacked to display the word 'BOOBS,' according to a city of Longmont spokesperson. The first vulgar message was removed within three days in May. Following the first incident, the city said additional security measures were in place to prevent it from happening again. The second inappropriate message was removed Sunday. 'We were made aware of the inappropriate message on the sign on Sunday morning, the 8th. The owner of AAA Barricade (Traffic Control Company) was contacted, and they took immediate action and remotely changed the signs within the hour of being notified,' city spokesperson Rogelio Mares wrote in an email to the Times-Call. As of Friday afternoon, the hacker has still not been identified, according to Mares. The act is classified as vandalism. These are not the first incidents of their kind in Colorado — an electronic road-construction sign on Boulder's Foothills Parkway in 2011 displayed the message 'zombies ahead.' .
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Yahoo
Longmont police notes: Multiple trespassing reports
LONGMONT Friday • 12:57 a.m. Police issued a summons while responding to a drug violation in the 1800 block of Main Street. • 2:04 a.m. Officers took a report of a burglary in the 2100 block of Westlake Drive. • 2:18 a.m. Officers issued a warning for trespassing in the 1600 block of Main Street. • 8:28 a.m. Police took a report of trespassing in the 300 block of 23rd Avenue. • 10:16 a.m. Officers took a report of theft in the 2500 block of Main Street. • 2:18 p.m. Police issued a summons while responding to shoplifting in the 500 block of South Hover Street. • 11:33 p.m. Police arrested a person for trespassing in the 600 block of South Emery Street.
