Story by Elisabeth Sherwin

Glen Haven resident Sibyl Gardner is a self-confessed writer. She writes everything from screenplays to novels, memoirs to essays.

In a recent talk at the Estes Valley Library, Gardner described her three decades in TV, working in New York and Hollywood, on projects as diverse as MTV music video production in the 1980s to screenwriting for “Law and Order” and “Nashville” in the 2000s.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to make movies. While that didn’t happen, she’s still not ruling it out. She’s the kind of person who has a screenplay under her pillow.

What did happen in L.A. was a series of jobs on various TV shows like “Frank’s Place,” “Law and Order,” and “Saving Grace.”

“I wanted to do it all,” she said. “Movies, dramas, comedies, novels.”

Gardner said her career was full of ups and downs. But she managed to make a living. You could join the Writers’ Guild and make money off residuals when the episodes you wrote were rebroadcast. She had a friend who signed a million-dollar deal as a writer for “E.R.”

Previously, networks had to appeal to broad audiences. Shows couldn’t be too edgy.

Then came cable TV, then HBO, then streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube came along.

Now, writers can be very edgy, if you can find the work.

In the land of TV and movies, Gardner knows one thing is true.

“There would be nothing without the writers,” she said. “Actors can’t come up with it.”

She recalled once having to rewrite an episode of “Nashville” on a plane flight.

That’s the kind of pressure that writers occasionally have to face. She also stressed the need for sparse writing that goes into a TV script.

At the library meeting, Gardner read a descriptive paragraph from Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.”

“You couldn’t get that information into a script,” she said.

She said the best job she ever had was writing for a friend’s TV show, “Any Day Now.” The plot followed a group of black and white kids, and she described it as way ahead of its time.

“You can see it on YouTube,” she said.

But she would hesitate to recommend a young person head out to Hollywood to chase down a writing career.

“Writers are not making the money they used to in salary or residuals,” she said.

Still, Gardner knew she would always return to family property in Colorado. She left Hollywood 11 years ago but hasn’t given up on her many projects.

She’s writing a novel called “Old Moms” and a time-travel novel. She has a comedy set in Boulder. She self-published her memoir, “Sibyl Rights.”

Who knows what will happen next?

Perhaps her novel, “Old Moms,” about new mothers in their 40s, will be made into a movie.

“Heck, it’s worth a try,” she said.

“I can’t stop writing,” she added. “I’m a writer.”

The skies over Estes Park have been filled with smoke, and the air quality has been poor due to several fires on Colorado’s western slope, including the Lee, Elk, and Twelve Fires west and south of Steamboat Springs, and the Windy Gap Fire near Granby, involving some 75,000 acres.

Particulates in the air can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, and those with asthma and other respiratory conditions are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of poor air quality. People with breathing issues have been advised to stay indoors, wear a filtering mask, and run their air conditioners.

According to an email from Stacey Sutherland, the Estes Valley Fire Protection District interim fire chief, “due to continued dry conditions, the danger of wildland fire, forest, and grass fires is still high in the Estes Valley, and to stay consistent with the Stage 1 Restrictions in unincorporated Larimer County above 6000’ and Rocky Mountain National Park, we are enacting the following: Pursuant to International Fire Code Section 307.1.1, I hereby issue an open burning RESTRICTION (Stage 1) within the Estes Valley Fire Protection District effective 13:00, Aug.7, 2025.”

The EVFPD recommends that people living in the Estes Valley learn about preparing their property for the risk of wildfire and be aware of the current fire restrictions.

The Larimer County Commissioners today voted unanimously to adopt fire restrictions in unincorporated Larimer County. Due to above-normal temperatures, lightning strikes, and windy, dry conditions, the danger of wildfires, forest fires, and grass fires is great.

The restrictions on open fires in the unincorporated portions of Larimer County will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. on September 2, 2025.

Restrictions on the use of fireworks, combustible devices, public fireworks displays, and incendiary devices are also in effect.

This is not a fire ban, and the restriction only applies to unincorporated Larimer County over 6,000 feet.

Larimer County has implemented a zoned approach to restrictions to address fire risk while still accounting for different climate areas. The county is divided into three zones: below 6,000 feet, 6,000–9,000 feet, and above 9,000 feet.

To view a real-time, interactive map of the restriction area, click here.

Current restrictions include:

• uncontained open fires
• smoking in the open is prohibited, including on trails, parks, and open spaces.
• fireworks or firework displays
• incendiary devices, including sky lanterns, exploding ammunition, exploding targets, and tracer ammunition
• welding

What is allowed:

• fireplaces or wood stoves located inside a residence
• gas-fueled fires, including grills and camping stoves
• camping and cooking fires in developed camping areas
• fires in permanently constructed masonry fire pits

Any person who knowingly violates the restrictions can be fined. Click here to read the Ordinance for the Regulation of Open Burning in Unincorporated Larimer County.

EVV Emergency Information Directory

The Estes Valley Voice’s Emergency Information Directory can always be found on our website’s homepage.

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Story by Patti Brown & Barb Boyer Buck

The Estes Park Police have secured three arrest warrants for David Anthony Morales, wanted for allegedly providing alcohol to minors at a closed business and offenses relating to sex offender registration.

In February 2025, the Estes Park Police Department received a report of a party hosted by Morales at the Twisted Griffin Pub and Restaurant, located at 247 W. Elkhorn Ave, where alcohol was allegedly served to minors by Morales.

The warrants are for two counts of failure to register as a sex offender, a class 5 felony; nine counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor; and five counts of unlawful acts, a second-degree misdemeanor.

When the alleged incident occurred, the Twisted Griffin had just permanently closed. It had been owned by David Bard. Bards also owned and operated the Hyland Bard gift shop and the Griffin’s Nest Coffee and Tea Pub in Estes Park.

According to EPPD, a total of fourteen underage victims were identified and interviewed. During the investigation, it was discovered that Morales failed to register as a sex offender as required by Colorado State Law upon moving out of Estes Park following this incident.

In 2010, Weld District Court Judge Thomas Quammen sentenced Morales to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex-offender specific intensive supervised probation.

According to court records, Morales was initially charged with sex assault, overcoming a victim’s will, and sexual assault against a victim who was incapable of appraising conditions for an attack in 2008, according to court records. As part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and attempted sexual assault.

Estes Park Police believe that Morales is currently living in the Denver area. They ask the public to contact local law enforcement immediately with any information that could lead to his arrest. Morales’ most recent sex offender registration photo is attached.

According to EPPD Chief Ian Stewart, “This was a complex investigation requiring many interviews, hours of evidence review, and working non-stop to eventually secure the appropriate arrest warrants to bring the case to a successful conclusion. I am very proud of the work our team has done.”