RecycleBank comes to local towns

RecycleBank, a program that rewards its members for their recycling efforts, has joined forces with Waste Connections of Colorado in an effort to increase household recycling in 10 Colorado communities, including several in Boulder County.

The program, which began this month, encourages people to recycle by rewarding households with points for their efforts. The points are recognized at local and national retailers, restaurants, grocers and more.

New 96-gallon recycling carts with special ID tags have been delivered to Waste Connections customers in Brighton, Broomfield, Erie, Firestone, Frederick, Fort Lupton, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior and Westminster. Waste Connections trucks, retrofitted with special technology, track recycling activity, and the amount recycled is converted into RecycleBank Points. Like frequent flier programs, the more a family recycles, the more points each household earns. Waste Connections customers can activate their account online at www.RecycleBank.com or by calling 1-888-727-2978. RecycleBank Points are redeemable for rewards, gift cards, groceries and a variety of other products.

Community partners honored

Boulder Housing Partners (BHP) has announced the winners of its Partnership Award, recognizing individuals, businesses, government agencies and nonprofits that support affordable housing and community efforts at BHP properties. 

The winners include Mal Birke, a resident at Walnut Place who picks up day-old bread, pastries and dairy from Safeway and distributes it to residents in need, and Meals on Wheels Executive Director Francea Phillips, whose group provides low-cost meals to the elderly and disabled, and partners with Special Transit to transport residents to the West Senior Center for dinner and entertainment. The other winners were Kelly Fanno of Kids and Cakes, which makes birthday cakes for the elderly and others who would not otherwise get a birthday cake because of being isolated from family, and Jamie Miller of Odell Architects, who helped bring the Denver Nuggets and Sport Court together to build a new basketball court for Kalmia apartments, complete with a court dedication ceremony attended by Rocky, the Nugget’s mascot, Erwin Johnson, a former Nugget player, and Nuggets dancers. 

Boulder Housing Partners, the housing authority that serves the city of Boulder, has given its Partnership Award three times a year since 2004.

i9 Sports organizes flag football for kids

i9 Sports, a nationally recognized program that aims to provide children with a fresh perspective on sports, is now accepting registrations for a youth indoor flag football program in Boulder that will begin Dec. 6.

The program is for boys and girls ages 5 to 10, at all skill levels. All practices and games are on Sunday afternoons at the Boulder Indoor Soccer Futsal Arena at 28th and Valmont.

There are no tryouts, and each child receives equal playing time. All instructors and volunteers go through a thorough background check and certification process, and there are no fundraisers or mandatory volunteering.

i9's website will provide participants with professional management of all program details, certified officials at every game, and access to league information, standings and team news.

Full program details and registration information can be found at www.i9sports.com or by calling 303-462-1520.

Humane Society photo opportunity

The Longmont Humane Society will be taking holiday photos of pet owners and their pets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22.

The event will be at the Longmont Humane Society’s dog-training center on Nelson Road. The photos will cost $20 and will include three-five photos on a CD for use in holiday cards or as gifts.

For more information visit www.longmonthumane.org or call Julie Kunkel at 303-772-1232 x 235.

Google may ogle creek path

The Boulder Creek Bike Path has been announced as one of the finalists for locations that Google’s Street View trike might visit in the United States.

In the “Parks and Trails” category, the Boulder path is up against the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia, Capital Crescent Trail in Maryland/Washington, D.C., Centennial Trail in Washington, and Stevens Creek Trail in California. More than 25,000 locations were submitted for consideration.

Street View, a feature of Google Maps, provides 360-degree street-level imagery of a location. The Street View Trike is a tricycle system that has a camera system towed by a bike. As the trike passes along pedestrian walkways and trails, it automatically gathers 360-degree trike-level images as it goes.

To vote, visit www.google.com/trike before Dec. 1. Multiple votes can be cast by the same person.

Shoe drive not a pedestrian effort

In celebration of Thanksgiving, Boulder’s Pedestrian Shops are asking customers to donate shoes they no longer wear to help people in need. New or slightly used shoes may be brought to the Pedestrian Shops until Dec. 6. Pedestrian is offering a 10 percent discount on a shoe purchase for those who donate, but no purchase is required.

Pedestrian gives the used shoes to local assistance organizations. In 21 years of twice-yearly shoe drives, the Pedestrian Shops have collected more than 35,000 pairs for people in need. 

Pedestrian operates two Boulder stores. More information is available at www.comfortableshoes.com.