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Well, the mini-meal is “mini” in comparison to the final ������ Management assignment in our Independence Training Program …

And it’s an interim step toward that final goal of cooking for 60 people. See, the mini-meal is only for fifteen!

Here, Suzie, Parker, Ellen and Lyne put their meals in motion and on the table in early 2017. They’re learning how to “take charge with confidence and self-reliance”

As Trevor explains, he’s been “cubing” for years, figuring out better and faster ways to solve the Rubik’s Cube. Working out how to make the Cube tactile and using all that he’s already learned to solve it nonvisually is just a part of solving the blindness puzzle for Trevor – of taking charge and living the life he wants!

CG admits she’d done very little cooking before starting her training at the Center. Now she enjoys it, enjoys sharing with friends. Watch how calm she is as she prepares her mini-meal for 15 guests.

Ryan admits he was pretty happy to be wearing sleepshades as he chopped the 18 onions it took to make his French onion soup. He is also now excited about cooking something other than “meat” since he came to the Center.

Shrimp and French bread … Brittany is cool and in charge of her mini-meal for 15!

Trevor has a degree in Physics, is a bit of an inventor, more than just a dabbler in the maker movement, and he takes his tinkerer’s inclinations to the kitchen. “How does?” and “What if?” are part of what makes us human, so they are naturally encouraged in our training program.

Planning, preparing and serving a three-recipe meal to 15 people is no small matter. Jackson admits at one point he was getting nervous, but he tried to treat the process as a “regular day in class”. He definitely had it going on with his mini-meal!

Classes started today for 2017, and on top of that it’s Tuesday – meaning that Seniors came in to the Center as well! After two weeks off folks were pretty happy to be back in spite of a bit of cold weather! Here is a collection of sights and sounds from the day, and here’s to taking charge with confidence in 2017!

Editor’s Note: We thought this hometown article about our student Chaz and his American record in his first-ever marathon last month well worth the read. Needless to say, we’re excited for him and proud of his achievements!

By John Conceison
It’s always fine when a competitor thrives during an Olympic year.

For Grafton’s Chaz Davis, 2016 has served as a year of wondrous accomplishment, complete with the trip to Rio and recording personal bests at the Paralympic Games.

Well, apparently, the year wasn’t quite complete until the beginning of this month. Davis still hadn’t run a full-course marathon, though he had participated in the relay challenge at last year’s California International Marathon in Sacramento…

We’re in our final week – final days, really – of the 2016 year at the ������. It’s not exactly like winding down, but more like an all-cylinders-open surge for the finish line.

Alejandro went on a support drop yesterday, and is cooking a big meal tomorrow. Ryan served his mini-meal – fifteen people and French onion soup – while down in the gym another class punched, kicked and potato-tossed each other on their way to earning their orange belts in Karate from Karate Denver. We also delivered holiday cookies and other holiday treats to Littleton police, fire and planning personnel, as well as to the shopping assistants at the Neighborhood Wal-Mart.