http://denver.yourhub.comThe latest story posts in The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.comen-usnews@yourhub.com(c) 2009, YourHub.com5I had a close encounter this morning while walking my dogs along the paved pathway here in Castle Pines Village.  I won’t deny fear immediately shot through me. But, calculated effort to quash my fear triumphed giving me the opportunity to examine a majestic garter snake for several sec...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~14242.aspx8/18/2005 12:54:55 PMBarbara Neff The high priestess of dance aerobics is coming to town. Quick. Can you name her?  If you said Jane Fonda I want you to drop to the floor and give me one hundred leg lifts; right leg only, please. The high priestess of dance aerobics is none other than Judi Sheppard Missett, the founder, presid...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Sports/Exercise/Story~15163.aspx8/24/2005 12:38:37 PMBarbara Neff As a newcomer to Castle Rock I find curious things around the community.  For instance, why do hundreds of empty train cars head north each day along Highway 85 and hundreds roll south daily filled to the brim with coal? Where are they going and where have they been?   What happened to Mai...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/News/Story~15670.aspx8/26/2005 1:28:30 PMBarbara Neff Something caught my eye a couple of weeks ago in a neighbor's yard as I strolled around Castle Pines Village. It looked like an errant Frisbee near some bushes or, perhaps, a pie pan.  But, the disc had a funny texture and color for a pan or toy. Upon closer inspection I realized I was looking at...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~17398.aspx9/7/2005 4:57:31 PMBarbara Neff My son came home from Buffalo Ridge Elementary School on Friday complaining that a particular student once again said to him at recess, "You can't play with us."  My son’s complaints about this classmate have been ongoing. I saw this student in action myself once sta...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~18204.aspx9/13/2005 1:32:08 PMBarbara Neff Who could argue the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has impacted millions with its very public, now famous efforts to raise awareness of the disease and to get the world involved in the pursuit of a cure?  One would have to live in a remote cave to miss the beat of this foundation’s drums...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Health-Fitness/Resources/Story~19671.aspx9/21/2005 12:29:09 PMBarbara Neff I could never have prepared my children for the magnitude of climate change we’d see when we moved this past spring from the Southern California desert to Castle Rock.  I spent a decade in Colorado long before my children arrived in my life. However, two boys who knew only perpetual su...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~22870.aspx10/10/2005 10:15:25 AMBarbara Neff With Veterans’ Day here, I think of my own father, a World War II veteran who served under General Patton.  My father spoke almost nothing of his time fighting for our country until the last years of his life. My grandmother had three sons who fought that war.  I cannot imagine her anguish. ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Holidays/Veterans-Day/Story~29320.aspx11/9/2005 3:34:18 PMBarbara Neff The editors of YourHub.com recently queried readers, “What do you like about Douglas County?" I gave this question serious consideration. Initially, so many things came to mind in response I began to believe the real question might be, “What’s not to like about DouglasCounty?” In my daily ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/News/Story~33658.aspx11/28/2005 4:10:05 PMBarbara Neff When our eleven-year-old neighbor, Amanda Becker, told us she planned to dress as Paris Hilton for Halloween this year, she explained she needed to carry the right accessories.  What that our Chihuahua, Chet, she was eyeing?   I made the gracious offer of our little dog as what I c...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Pets-and-Animals/Story~33692.aspx11/28/2005 8:53:56 PMBarbara Neff I cannot say enough good things about Castlewood Canyon. What a fantastic discovery!  Though I lived in the Denver area throughout the eighties, I somehow missed this local gem.  Amenities at this fabulous state park tucked just south of Franktown on Highway 83 include miles and miles ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Photos/Story~33693.aspx11/28/2005 9:11:03 PMBarbara Neff I have a habit of placing glasses on top of my head when not in use. I mean eyeglasses.  Not tea glasses. I figure stowing my reading glasses on top of my head when not in use is a better alternative to having them dangle from an ornamental chain around my neck, a fashion habit that screams MIDDL...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Holidays/Christmas/Story~38226.aspx12/18/2005 10:36:41 AMBarbara Neff Santa must be checking his list right now, not once but twice. The reindeer are probably polishing their sleigh bells and elves must be frantically putting those last touches on all the gifts.  My guess is chaos reigns at the North Pole today.   In contrast, on this eve of Chris...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Holidays/Christmas/Story~39393.aspx12/23/2005 11:16:14 AMBarbara Neff I am amazed at just about every turn in Douglas County roads by breathtaking beauty. Today I had the opportunity to visit for the first time Perry Park Country Club.  Stunning natural scenery along Perry Park Boulevard commands rapt attention. The idyllic setting of and around the old country clu...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Reviews/Community/Story~40524.aspx12/30/2005 3:57:01 PMBarbara Neff When one of our dearest, long time friends gave each of our boys a toy gun for Christmas, I was ambivalent. I am among the legions of parents today who believe (with fluctuating levels of conviction) placing guns, even toy ones, in the hands of children might send a questionable message, mayb...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~44356.aspx1/15/2006 10:16:43 AMBarbara Neff When I was a little girl in Memphis, Tennessee, my family lived across the street from Lois and J.W. Brown, parents of Myra Gale Brown, who became world renown at the tender age of thirteen when she married her distant cousin, super star Jerry Lee Lewis. The Brown's lived directly across from us...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~45286.aspx1/18/2006 4:03:25 PMBarbara Neff Maybe I am not getting the full story, but I’m trying. Don Peri, who heads up a group called Citizens for Better Education, opposes standardized testing in our public schools, including the annual Colorado Student Achievement Program (CSAP). Mr. Peri and his organization rented 5 signs...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Education/General-Education/Story~47018.aspx1/22/2006 11:19:58 AMBarbara Neff Glorious community recognition came our way on Saturday, January 21, at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs when the Douglas County Festival Orchestra performed at the Colorado Music Educators Convention. The orchestra is composed of eighty Douglas County fourth, fifth and sixth grade stu...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Education/Student-News/Story~47115.aspx1/23/2006 8:23:11 AMBarbara Neff I shared with readers recently that my family lived across the street when I was a child in Memphis from Lois and J.W. Brown, parents of Myra Gail Brown who was the famous child bride of rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis. This information created a stir. The article received so much attention I rea...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~47851.aspx1/25/2006 1:49:40 PMBarbara Neff In the early nineties my husband and I lived in “Coachella Valley”, California, a name locals use when they collectively refer to the ten or so communities in the Palm Springs area. This valley is home to countless rich and famous people due to proximity to Los Angeles and its desert...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~50693.aspx2/4/2006 10:10:55 AMBarbara Neff I’m cranky. It all started this morning with the mysterious arrival of a Denver Post newspaper in my driveway. You know the traditional one that unfolds to a size so large you need a third arm sprouting from your chest to maneuver it and drink coffee at the same time. I have t...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Opinion/General-Sound-Off/Story~55549.aspx2/21/2006 8:49:49 PMBarbara Neff Olympics-mania manifests itself in me in what is probably an unusual way. At four year intervals I find myself assessing whether mundane, daily activities might actually qualify as Olympic events. Let's face it. If the guy who thought luge-ing was a sport sold Olympic officials on the concept...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Sports/General-Sports/Story~56774.aspx2/24/2006 5:23:49 PMBarbara Neff It's that time of year again; the season for getting emotionally and financially ready to pony up. My desk, our dining room table and other assorted household surfaces are covered with stacks of stuff--papers, statements, receipts, forms and more, all damp with sweat and tears. Might as well be ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Opinion/Write-a-Column/Story~59315.aspx3/5/2006 9:57:18 AMBarbara Neff In today's USA Weekend magazine insert in the Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News (March 12, 2006) I am pleased to see mention of former Charlie's Angel, Cheryl Ladd, in the "Who's News" column just inside the front cover. I remember Cheryl Ladd. When I was a flight attendant...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~62018.aspx3/12/2006 12:17:56 PMBarbara Neff Fate tosses two lovers together. Soon embroiled in intensefeelings for one another, they find themselves torn betweenadhering to convention and following the desires of their hearts.Forces of society tear them apart. They allow themselves to becomedesperate, deceptive, tragic figures; lif...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Entertainment/Movies/Story~64370.aspx3/19/2006 8:46:52 AMBarbara Neff A dozen or so years ago when my husband and I made the decisionto become parents together, we embarked on a long and winding road,a trail of tears and triumph (mixed-metaphorically speaking). Wesought the road to parenthood and did not concern ourselves orconsider the differences between...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~67119.aspx3/26/2006 8:46:53 AMBarbara Neff I moved to Denver in 1980 when I was hired as a flight attendantfor Frontier Airlines. I hadn't lived outside the Deep South.Colorado was a brand new world. I remember soon after arriving standing in line at King Sooperbehind people who spoke Spanish. I had never heard anyone conversei...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~67777.aspx3/27/2006 4:02:11 PMBarbara Neff Just about the first things that grabbed my attention when werelocated to Castle Rock one year ago were the seemingly perpetualtrains moving north and south on the tracks that run parallel toHighway 85. Empty cargo cars stretch far as the eye can see headingnorth and stretch again as far...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/News/Story~70222.aspx4/1/2006 5:28:55 PMBarbara Neff He was known as the guy who could fix anything. FloydFixmeister, they called him. Floyd Fixmeister lived nearby at the corner of 6th and Vine.I'd passed his rundown place more times than I could count duringmy years in the neighborhood, though I had never seen him. Eachtime I walked p...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Promotions/Finish-the-Story/He-was-known-as-the-guy-who/Story~72859.aspx4/9/2006 9:10:41 AMBarbara Neff They caught the neighbors first. We worry we'll be next. Afterall, we haven't even tried to keep it a secret. Garter snake racing proved intoxicating and addictive. Itstarted out innocently enough. The kid next door caught one in hisyard within minutes of my son cornering one in ours. ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Archive/Promotions/Finish-the-Story/They-caught-the-neighbors/Story~73293.aspx4/10/2006 12:57:22 PMBarbara Neff