Meet a ‘Mom on a Mission’

ERIE — Angie Nordstrum is a longtime “fractivist” and has now won some recognition for her work.

Nordstrum flew into action when she learned that an oil and gas company planned to drill several wells near her son’s elementary school.

Nordstrum started Erie Rising with three fellow mothers because she was concerned about the health effects of hydraulic fracturing. Also called “fracking,” the method involves pumping chemicals, water and sand into the ground to release natural gas.

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“As we started learning more about the chemicals and some of the potential health risks associated with this new process, we got really concerned about the safety and welfare of the kids,” Nordstrum said.

She researched the drilling technique and found a study that showed Erie contained levels of air pollution associated with oil and gas development higher than Pasadena, Calif., and Houston. Her group asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist who completed the study to present his findings to Erie leaders.

Shortly after, the Erie Board of Trustees passed a six-month moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the town to explore matters related to air and water quality.

Whether she’s right or wrong, thanks to her dedication, Nordstrum has won the Healthy Child, Healthy World “Mom on a Mission” award for March.

Sorry about CAMT

Still reeling over the news that the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology has withdrawn from the redevelopment of the old Agilent Technologies plant in Loveland?

So are some other folks.

“We’ve been pretty solidly (involved) for the last two years, so it’s a real disappointment to us,” Heidi Hostetter, Faustson Tool Corp.’s sales and marketing manager. “We love the CAMT, we love what they’re about … but this is a super-unfortunate deal.”

Arvada-based Faustson, she told the Boulder Daily Camera, got involved early in the ACE Park discussions because the Loveland location seemed right for a second company site. Also, being near other high-tech companies would have been good for business, she said.

“We can no longer wait for CAMT; we can no longer wait for the ACE Park,” said Scott Starin, vice president and founder of Boulder-based Avior Control Technologies.

Avior, maker of high-performance electric motors, was in the “sweet spot” of ACE Park’s goal to accelerate manufacturing through the offering of shared equipment and resources, he told the newspaper.

The company, he said, may still look at the plant but will now look elsewhere.

(Business Report Editor Allen Greenberg weighs in on the CAMT news in his latest column, Page 30.)

He’s got Manningmania!

Does Rep. Cory Gardner know something about the Peyton Manning-Broncos news that we don’t?

Here’s his Facebook status update, posted at 12:37 p.m. Monday, the day the news erupted that Manning was signing with the team:

“Sorry to see Tebow go but excited to see Peyton Manning in a Denver Broncos uniform! Welcome to Colorado Peyton.”

Many think that Tebow and Manning can’t co-exist, but The Eye thinks Gardner was perhaps jumping the gun a bit with his comment.

When ‘Main Library’ won’t do

Fort Collins’ Main Library is in the final months of construction and the Poudre River Public Library Board of Trustees is asking the public to submit ideas for naming the library at 201 Peterson St.

All Library District residents are invited to contribute suggestions including, we assume, The Eye.

“This process allows the community to join in the excitement of the completion of this great, revitalized building in downtown Fort Collins,” said Board President Mike Liggett.

Names can be submitted electronically through a link on the library website at www.PoudreLibraries.org.

Suggestions will be taken through May 1 and the winning name will be announced at the May 14 meeting of the Library Board of Trustees.

There are some rules to this, by the way. Submission need to be in compliance with the Library District’s Naming Policy, which states: “Library buildings shall be named based on the building location, geography or neighborhood.”