Your weekly field guide to Littleton, Ken Caryl, and the SW Denver foothills

Happy Friday. This week a reader in Terra Vista asked me for a map of the best Halloween houses around here, so I'm starting one on the Halloween page. If your house is the one people slow down for, reply. Community Corner at the bottom has what to send.

Ron Lamberson is a TrailMark neighbor with a creative-writing degree and an MBA who writes his novels right here in 80127. Start with Heavy Metal Moon, where the only human rock guitarist in his star system drafts a band of aliens to win an intergalactic battle of the bands. Ron pitches it as Guardians of the Galaxy meets Saving Private Ryan, with a far less talented cast.

The sequel, Wormhole to Hell, is out October 31, and yes, Halloween is on purpose. The band has real gigs, the monster Croakus is locked up, and guitarist Garton Prog is about ready to quit. Then a buddy asks him to test a new wormhole that might reach Earth, and Croakus breaks out. Garton is first on his list.

Pre-order Wormhole to Hell on Amazon and it's on your Kindle the day it's out.

The City of Littleton's notes from the September 24 pre-application meeting on the Scheels project, which the city calls preliminary, lay out what has to happen before a 300,000-square-foot store could go up on West Mineral Avenue, next to the Costco site. The project needs a full site plan, and as of Wednesday none is on file. The city's project list marks the pre-application complete October 6 and the replat that creates the Scheels lot still under review. The city requires two neighborhood meetings, one before the application is complete and one between the first and second review. The city's notice set the first for last night at Mission Hills Church on Southpark Drive, and the second has no date yet. The electronic sign needs a land-use-code change, which the notes say staff has to bring.

Piñon Family Practice, on West Remington Place off Kipling (the same short street as the Chick-fil-A that's closed for its remodel), told its patients in an October 9 letter that it becomes Rocky Mountain Direct Primary Care on January 1, with the same providers in the same office. The letter says the new practice will no longer bill commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, health-share plans or any other third-party payer, and that a membership doesn't replace health insurance. The new practice's site lists $150 a month for an individual, $225 for a couple and $300 for a parent or parents with children.

Current patients who pre-enroll by November 30 get priority, the letter says, before enrollment opens to everyone, and care under the current setup runs through December 31. So a Medicare patient there is choosing between a membership and a new doctor by the end of the year.

The National Weather Service's freeze alert for the Front Range runs until 9 this morning, with temperatures down to 26 to 32, and its forecasters call it the first freeze of the season for most of the plains. It warns about sensitive plants and unprotected outdoor plumbing, so get the hoses off the spigots.

Tonight, October 16, 5 to 7 PM: Trunk or Treat at the future Deer Creek Library, 11100 Bradford Road.

Tonight and Saturday night, then October 23 and 24: the Haunts of Littleton walking tour of downtown leaves the Littleton RTD station, 5800 South Prince Street, every 10 minutes from 7 to 8:30 PM, about an hour each, tickets online.

Monday, October 19: Clement Park Clean Up Day, 10 to noon, meet at the amphitheater, gloves and buckets provided, kids with an adult.

Tuesday, October 20, 4 to 10 PM: Bad Daddy's Burger Bar at Southwest Plaza gives 20% of sales to the Chatfield High School mountain bike team, per the team's flyer, if you mention the team.

Tuesday, October 20, 5 to 7 PM: Jefferson County's open house on the future of the Fairgrounds and Fehringer Ranch, Peak Community and Wellness Center, 6612 South Ward Street, Pinyon Room. The county's scenarios include modernizing the Fairgrounds in Golden or building community facilities at Fehringer Ranch.

Friday through Sunday, October 23 to 25: the Whale of a Used Book Sale at the Jeffco Fairgrounds in Golden, $5 a day for adults and free under 18.

Friday, October 23: the Ken-Caryl Ranch Boo Bash at the Ranch House on Continental Divide, 4:30 to 6:30, free for residents and non-residents, and BOO-rific Bash and Splash at the Ridge Rec Center, 6 to 8. Hudson Gardens and the corn maze are on the Halloween page.

Stuboy's BBQ says on its Facebook page that it's open inside the Southwest Plaza food court, with Fried Chicken Sundays back. Its website still says the store is closed, so go by the Facebook page.

Raise Chiropractic is open in Jefferson Marketplace on South Kipling, Suite C130.

Sourdough & Co is hiring for a shop at 9956 West Remington Place, with no hours posted.

If a new sign goes up near you, or paper goes over a storefront window, reply and tell me where.

This weekend is the last one to hike Meyer Ranch Park, up near Conifer, before it closes Monday for forest work the county expects to run through spring 2027, weather permitting.

KidsUnited Littleton holds an open house tomorrow, Saturday, October 17, from 11 AM to 1 PM. It's indoor soccer for kids 18 months to 9 years at 5005 S. Kipling Pkwy. The ribbon cutting is Thursday, October 22, 4 to 6 PM, with a West Metro Fire truck for the kids and pizza from Saucy's Pizza. Opening day is Friday, October 30, two weeks from today. Every kid gets a free intro class. Sign up for a membership during the presale, open through November 13, and you get a discounted founding-member monthly price plus a free Player Pack. Book the free class at kidsunited.com/littleton.

The Ken-Caryl Ranch Water and Sanitation District's board takes up 2027 rates at its 8 AM meeting Wednesday, October 21. Its posted notice says the board will consider raising water and sewer rates December 16, with no numbers posted yet. The Wednesday meeting is open to the public, and the district's number for how to join is 303-979-7424.

The county logged a rezoning October 10 for two lots in the Mountain West Business Center. The owner's letter puts them south of Arlington Street near C-470 and Bowles, and says a Goddard School daycare is the reason for one of them, since the current zoning doesn't allow a state-licensed daycare. The county holds a virtual community meeting on it Wednesday, October 21, 6 to 7 PM. There's no hearing date yet.

There are 222 homes for sale in 80127, down from 228 last week. A four-bedroom on South Lee Way listed September 9 at $995,000 and closed October 9 at $1,021,000, $26,000 over asking. A two-bedroom condo on South Alkire Street listed July 23 at $335,000, dropped to $320,000 on August 1 and closed October 9 at that price. Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.40% as of October 15, unchanged from the week before.

Today is 59 and sunny after the morning freeze, Saturday 78 and sunny, Sunday 74 and mostly sunny, with lows in the 30s and 40s. Monday is 71 and Tuesday 75, both sunny. The freeze alert is the only one posted.

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Replying to this email is the whole form. Send the address, what to look for and which nights it's lit. Your own house goes on the public map by address. If you're telling me about a neighbor's house, I'll list it by street name only unless the owner writes in themselves. The map starts with the public events, and the house list runs in the October 30 issue.

That's the week from the foothills.

Joey

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