News from Neighbors

Armando Villarreal’s ‘moon’ helmet named football Helmet of the Year

IMPERIAL REPUBLICAN, Feb. 6 — Armando Villarreal is making strides in the world of football helmet painting. In October 2019, he finished 151 helmets for the University of Central Florida. The helmets for UCF were painted to look like the light and dark sides of the moon, in conjunction with UCF’s “space game.”

The hand-painted moon helmet received recognition when it was named Uniform Authority’s Helmet of the Year, as well as Uniform of the Year.

But the awards didn’t stop there. Uniswag, a company that provides uniform news and information, put their nominations out to the public.Web users voted online for their favorite in multiple categories. Thanks to Villarreal’s and UCF’s fans, they won.

Uniswag announced Tuesday that Villarreal’s moon helmet won Helmet of the Year. In the sports equipment world, getting the Helmet of the Year award is like winning the national championship, Villarreal said.

Sterling Village Inn to stay open

STERLING JOURNAL-ADVOCATE, Feb. 3 — Local patrons need not fear the loss of one of the most popular family dining establishments in Sterling. Village Inn isn’t closing.

The Nashville Business Journal reported that Village Inn’s corporate parent,  American Blue Ribbon Holdings LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 29 and, as part of the reorganization, would close 33 of its corporate-owned restaurants. That included eight locations in the Denver area and two others in southern Colorado.

Staying open, however, are the individually-owned Village Inn franchises, including the location in Sterling.