Wamsley Elementary first graders brought a busload of holiday cheer to the Hotel Colorado when they visited just before Thanksgiving break. These tiny tree trimmers helped the Hotel Colorado staff fill the halls with Christmas spirit. 

Armed with handmade ornaments resembling tiny, colorful ski hats, glittered pine cones, and clay-crafted snowflakes and candy canes, these holiday helpers transformed two of the hotel’s iconic Christmas trees into dazzling displays of warmth and community spirit. Their thoughtful contributions now sparkle among the more than 60 decorated trees and boughs of holly that fill the hotel, as they have for over 130 years. 

In a powerful step toward civic engagement, this November, Rifle and Coal Ridge High School students swapped their schoolbooks for ballots, serving as election judges across Garfield County. These students, just shy of voting age, got a rare inside look at democracy in action on Tuesday, November 5—greeting voters and witnessing firsthand the importance of each vote. Their participation is part of a renewed effort by Garfield County’s new Clerk and Recorder, Jackie Harmon, who believes they are the future of our democracy.

Harmon spearheaded the effort to involve students this year. 

“The opportunity for student judges has always been available, but as the new Clerk, I felt it was important to get the information out to the schools and students. They are the future of our democracy.”