Challenger wants to unseat incumbent in Douglas County commissioner race
Commissioner George Teal, Democrat Angela omas is asking for debates. She has challenged Teal to four of them, asking that they also be streamed, ahead of the November election.
“Douglas County is facing exploding growth and the challenges that brings,” omas said in her challenge statement. “Our county commission has responded with dysfunction and a failure to strategically address the needs of our citizens.”
Teal’s campaign told the Douglas County NewsPress that Thomas had not reached out directly to Teal or his campaign about scheduling any debates. The campaign neither committed to the idea nor shot it down.
A snapshot of some legislative races
Douglas County candidates have eyes on gold dome
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Douglas County voters will decide in November who will represent them at the state Capitol, with four House races and one Senate contest on the ballot. June’s primary election set up competitive races for all of the county’s seats.
In House District 39, which covers a portion of western Douglas County, including Roxborough Park, Republican incumbent Rep. Brandi Bradley faces Democrat Eric Brody.
It’s a rematch. Bradley was rst elected in 2022, beating Brody with 58% of the vote. Bradley has passed ve bills, mostly on health care related issues, such as updating regulations for physical therapists.
Bradley has also made news for using her social media to ght with House Democrats.
SEE RACES, P5
Douglas County looks at options for sports areas
Move comes amid plan to cut sports fields at fairgrounds park
BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e youth sports community has been raising concerns for weeks about a plan that would cut some sports areas at Douglas County Fairgrounds Regional Park. O cials say it is time for renovations and demand for space at the events destination has exceeded capacity.
Mark Steinke, president of the local Raptors Athletics program, is not against expansion of the fairgrounds. But he opposes elimination of elds that he says have supported kids for
more than 20 years.
“It’s a tough situation for us because it would be devastating to us. It would eliminate a large part of our program if we lost those elds,” Steinke said, referring to impacts to the Raptors baseball, football and softball teams.
Amid the backlash, o cials are pointing to other parts of the county where new sports elds could be built. Leaders may reach into a pot ofvoter-approved sales tax funding for parks and recreation to pay for it.
“I’m very interested in seeing our priorities go to sports elds for youth,” especially for baseball, county Commissioner George Teal said at a recent town hall discussion.
Sports elds aren’t the only thing county o cials are likely to spend the tax money on. ey’ll have to balance di erent priorities.
would include new multipurpose barn space and 4-H meeting rooms, among other things.
Possible new fields elsewhere
In late June, at the town hall, ocials pointed to three locations beyond the fairgrounds, elsewhere in the county, where new sports elds could be built.
One of those is the Sterling Ranch area in the northwest part of the county, where a design dated June 3 shows a soccer complex with four elds near Waterton Road.
Laydon also pointed to the planned High Note Park in Lone Tree, which would be built along Happy Canyon Creek near Interstate 25 and RidgeGate Parkway. It could include multi-use synthetic turf elds, according to a plan from April.
“If the baseball folks get together with the soccer folks and maybe include the swimmers,” that helps leaders choose what to spend on, county Commissioner Abe Laydon said.
But a new eld elsewhere in the county wouldn’t help Steinke’s Raptors because the nonpro t serves Castle Rock and Castle Pines, he said.
“Castle Rock is severely underserved,“ Steinke said.
In May, a large crowd gathered at the county headquarters in Castle Rock, including many young people wearing youth sports uniforms.
During that contentious meeting — which included some interruptions from the audience — o cials faced the question of whether there’s a plan to build other sports elds to ensure kids don’t lose space.
Concerns centered around the “fairgrounds master plan,” a vision for renovating the county fairgrounds — the home of the annual county fair and other events. Some sports elds could remain, based on the draft of the fairgrounds master plan.
But three elds near the eastern edge of the fairgrounds property could be converted to new uses. ose impacted could include one baseball diamond, one football/lacrosse area and a multi-use area for soccer, according to Tim Hallmark, the county’s director of facilities. ose would be removed to add new structures including buildings A, B and C on the plan’s map, which
Commissioner Lora omas brought up Wildcat Regional Park, an envisioned recreation area between Daniels Park Road and Monarch Boulevard, south of Rocky Heights Middle School.
“I think this would be a great place where we could put sports elds for kids,” omas said of the spot in the Highlands Ranch area, indicating baseball could be accommodated.
One person at the June town hall, who said he’s from Highlands Ranch, voiced concern about protecting habitats. Another person in the crowd worried about elk and other wildlife.
Steinke emphasized that Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch are outside the Raptors sports boundaries.
“A new eld in Parker (for example) does us no good even though it’s Douglas County,” Steinke said.
County to seek more public opinion omas said the county wants to continue collecting input from the public.
e town hall presentation referred to a community survey. e county is in the early process of getting it underway and will announce access to the survey when it is nalized, a county spokesperson said.
Since 1994, a voter-approved 0.17% sales and use tax has helped preserve parks, trails, historic resources and open spaces throughout Douglas, according to the county. In 2022, Douglas voters approved a measure to extend that sales tax, which is expected to generate $350 million over 15 years.
A batter stands during Raptors Athletics baseball activity. COURTESY OF RAPTORS ATHLETICS
How Does Denver’s
I had the same question, so I did some research on our MLS, REcolorado. At right are some charts I created. As always, I don’t define metro Denver by counties but rather as an 18-mile radius of downtown Denver. The charts and the statistics below are for that area.
The January-to-June rise in sold prices are remarkably similar, going from the low 500s to the high 500s with little overall gain compared to prior years.
Real Estate Market in the First Half of 2023 and 2024 Compare?
As a result, the months of inventory (not shown) was similar both years, dropping from above 3 months in January to 2 months in March, but diverged in April, staying at just above 2 months from April through June 2023, but rising to almost 3 months from March to June of this year.
The most dramatic change is the number of homes available to purchase despite falling number of closings. That resulted in an increase in the days-in-MLS statistic, which was similar to last year but only through April, whereupon the days-inMLS number rose to 11 instead of staying in the 5-6 day range of last year.
In January 2023, the ratio of closed price to original listing price was 96.2% but rose to 100% for March through July. January 2024 was better than 2023 at 97.3%, but it rose to 100% for only three months and dropped to 99.4% in June.
The chart below was shrunk ver cally so that the number scales would match.
Are you following the 2024 presidential race? You may be interested in my political blog, which you can find at http://TalkingTurkey.substack.com
The metric which I find more useful than closed price is the price per finished square foot, which rose in 2023 from $298 in January to $320 in June, but it stabilized at that level in 2024, rising from $316 per finished square foot in January to $322 in June.
Price Reduced on Arvada Home Built for Entertaining
Another tell-tale metric of market health is how many listings expire without selling. In 2023, that number for the Denver metro area fell from 651 in January to 581 in June, but the opposite happened this year, rising from 654 in January to 873 in June.
The sellers designed this 4,603-sq.-ft. home at 6714 Field St. in Arvada for entertaining. The price was just reduced from $845,000 to $825,000, which computes to under $180 per square foot. Spaces for entertaining abound both indoors and on the large wraparound deck, which was rebuilt 2 years ago. There is an indoor hot tub in its own room that is well ventilated to avoid moisture-related issues. There is a guest bedroom on the main floor. This home is an early example of passive solar design. In addition to the solar thermal panels on the roof, there are solar thermal panels built into the south wall of the living room to capture solar gain in the winter. There is no HOA. Find more info and pictures at www.ArvadaHome.info.
Development Opportunity in Wheat Ridge
Broker associate Austin Pottorff has just listed 8 acres of agricultural land in Wheat Ridge for $6,000,000, with options on ditch water rights. One parcel at 11221 W. I-70 Frontage Road totals 1.9 acres and comes with the option to purchase six shares of the Brown & Baugh Ditch Company. The larger parcel, with an address of 4745 Parfet Street, is 6.1 acres and has eight ditch water certificates that could be purchased along with the property. Water is deeded separately from this land and can be used for agricultural or other non-residential purposes. In addition, there are several unregistered wells on the properties. Both parcels are within the Fruitdale water district where there are currently no restrictions on the number of taps that can be purchased for new residential development. Currently zoned AG-2, there are numerous allowed usages including boarding four horses per acre and growing feed. More info is available on request. Water & sewer mains border the property and the B&B Ditch runs along the west side. There is a high voltage utility easement that traverses the property north to south. Rarely does an opportunity arise in Jefferson County, offering eight contiguous acres of agricultural land with an optional 14 shares of priority water, all within one mile the new Lutheran Medical Center in Applewood. For more information call Austin at 970-281-9071.
The number of homes under contract
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at the end of each month was almost identical in 2023 and 2024. Last year it rose from 2,673 in January to 3,452 in June. This year it rose from 2,538 in January to 3,455 in June. Jim Smith Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851
This 3-bedroom, 2-bath home at 48 Lang Street in Twin Lakes, Colorado, (20 miles south of Leadville at the foot of Independence Pass) could be your escape from the Front Range metroplex! This is a year-round mountain home, not a vacation home, unless you enjoy twelve months of vacation each year! Enjoy the quiet mountain life of Twin Lakes Village. In summer, enjoy the drive over Independence Pass to Aspen. In winter, drive over Fremont Pass to Copper Mountain. Forget about those I-70 traffic jams! Closer to home, enjoy hiking the Colorado Trail, which passes through town. This home was built in 2000 with all the modern conveniences, including solar panels, yet you're in a historic and charming mountain town. If you've been hankering for a slower lifestyle, this home may be your escape, and homes in Twin Lakes are rarely on the market. Visit www.TwinLakesHome.info to take a narrated video walk-through of this home and see lots of interior and exterior photos, then call for a showing!
Backcountry Wilderness Area celebrates 15 years of conservation, education
BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNTIYMEDIA.COM
Less than 10 miles away from the hustle and bustle of Town Center in Highlands Ranch lies a world of nature. ere, residents can get away and enjoy towering trees, the sounds of wildlife and dozens of outdoor programs.
e Backcountry Wilderness Area is a part of living in Highlands Ranch. With views of Daniels Park, Sedilia, Sterling Ranch and beyond, its 8,200 acres have something for everyone.
“I think everybody uses it and appreciates it in their own ways,” said Mark Giebel, Backcountry Wilderness Area director.
is summer, the area is celebrating its 15th anniversary by re ecting on how the area has developed into a place for conservation and education, as well as its future bene ts.
Although more than 15,000 people visit trails or engage in programs annually, sta , like Lindsey McKissick, Backcountry Wilderness Area communications manager, would like to see more people explore and learn about it.
“Sometimes I feel like only 10% of Highlands Ranch knows what we do,” said McKissick. “It is your closeto-home access to nature. It’s part of where you live. It’s an amenity for residents.”
How Backcountry Wilderness came to be
With a vision to create more than just a neighborhood, the area was decided before development in 1981. Speci cally, two-thirds of the community would be dedicated to homes, businesses and interwoven green spaces while the nal third, the 8,200 acres, would be a conservation property.
“You can’t see it from your backyard, so it’s hard to believe that it’s there,” said McKissick.
knapweed had to be controlled. In 2001, Giebel– who had previously worked with the community association and went to college for ecology and biology – came across a professor from the University of ColoradoBoulder who talked about a certain insect that helped get rid of the weed in Boulder.
Giebel asked to use the seedhead weevil insect in the new land in Highlands Ranch as it was a great laboratory to release the bugs.
“You end o with a monoculture of this plant that wildlife really doesn’t eat,” said Giebel. “Nothing can nest in it, it’s useless and just takes over acres and acres.”
After releasing the insects, Giebel saw the same success as the professor and now Kapweed is not as prevalent in the backcountry.
Following the sale from original developers Mission Viejo to Shea Homes in the late nineties, the Highlands Ranch Community Association would assume ownership and management of the area once homes reached 90% buildout. e community reached that percentage in 2009 and the association named the property the Backcountry Wilderness Area of Highlands Ranch.
When the community association took over ownership, the Backcountry Wilderness Area had one sta member and the budget to manage the property was just under $10,000. Fifteen years later they have 11 full time sta members that help maintain the property and will be over $1.5 million in revenue this year, said McKissick.
Now the Backcountry Wilderness Area is home to elk, black bears, mountain lions, bobcats and much more. In addition to its two historic homesteads, the large property includes 25 miles of natural surface trails along with other amenities like Archery Ranges, horse corrals and nature programs at Base Camp.
Besides the trails, McKissick said the Backcountry Outdoors Center is a people-focused part of the property and aims to be used as a recreation center.
“We really focus on thoughtful growth, everything is, decisions are made deliberately,” said McKissick. “Decisions we’re making now will play out in 20 years, and we’ve seen that. Decisions that were made in 2006 through 2009 are playing out right now.”
e area would provide opportunities for recreation and education while protecting large swaths for wildlife. To do that, the invasive
Editor’s note: is story is the rst part of a series about the Highlands Ranch Backcountry Wilderness Area, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
With views of Daniels Park, Sedalia, Sterling Ranch and beyond, the Backcountry Wilderness Area is home to elk, black bears, mountain lions, bobcats and much more. The property also has two historic homesteads, 25 miles of natural surface trails along with other amenities like archery ranges, horse corrals and nature programs at Base Camp.
PHOTOS BY HALEY LENA
The Highlands Ranch Community Association celebrates 15 years of owning and managing the Backcountry Wilderness Area. With more than 8,000 acres of land, the area has developed into a place for conservation and education.
RACES
Colorado Politics reported that Bradley said Democrats were protecting pedophiles by not voting for a bill she introduced to increase sentencing for people convicted of certain crimes against children. Bradley told Colorado Politics she uses social media to amplify Republican messaging, which she says isn’t covered in the media.
At least one Democrat called out by Bradley in the posts, Rep. Jenny Willford, said she received threats and harassment because of the posts.
Brody, who is a Castle Pines resident, works for nonpro t Transcen-
dent Politics Foundation and has previously worked as a legislative sta member in Congress.
In Highlands Ranch, House District 43, Democrat incumbent Rep. Bob Marshall faces Republican Matt Burcham. Republicans are hoping to take back the seat from Marshall, who was elected in 2022 and is the rst Democrat to hold the seat in decades.
Marshall has passed seven bills, addressing taxes and veterans’ issues. He also sued House legislators for allegedly violating Colorado’s Open Meetings Law by hosting private meetings to discuss o cial business. e case was settled in September 2023 and the legislature agreed not to take formal actions in closed meetings with a quorum of members.
Burcham, who is a rst-time candidate, has served as a local precinct and district captain for the Republican Party.
In House District 44, which covers Parker, incumbent Rep. Anthony Hartsook, a Republican, will face Alyssa Nilemo, a Democrat.
Hartsook, who was elected in 2022, has passed eight bills covering a variety of issues, including a law mandating insurance cover recreational prosthetics and one restricting tap fees for developments.
Nilemo is a rst-time candidate who works for the Auraria Higher Education Center and as the Executive Director of the Asian Chamber Foundation of Colorado.
In Castle Rock’s House District 45, two new candidates are in the race, Republican Max Brooks and Demo-
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crat Chad Cox.
Brooks currently serves on the Castle Rock Town Council and previously sat on the town’s planning commission. Cox is a nurse and Navy veteran who has lived in Castle Rock since 2012.
Republican Lisa Frizell, who represented House District 45, is running to represent Senate District 2 and will face Democrat Jennifer Brady.
Frizell was elected in 2022 and has passed 13 bills, mostly related to taxes and housing.
Brady is a rst time candidate and doesn’t yet have a campaign website.
Douglas County’s House and Senate districts favor Republicans, according to 2021 data from the state’s redistricting commission.
DEBATE
“The Teal campaign will review debate opportunities individually and independently,” Ryan Lynch, Teal’s campaign manager, told the News-Press. “Commissioner Teal is proud of his impeccable record of putting the residents of Douglas County first and looks forward to earning a second term in office.”
Thomas said her team didn’t reach out to Teal “as we were certain it would either end up in a spam box or simply ignored.”
Thomas also expressed hope that Colorado Community Media, which publishes two dozen community newspapers around the
metro area, including the NewsPress, would moderate the debate “because it reaches the entire county.”
“It’s our belief that this needs to be organized by an objective moderator or it will never take place,” Thomas said.
Linda Shapley, Colorado Community Media’s publisher, commented on the proposal.
“In advance of the primary election, we worked with the Douglas County Economic Development Corporation for a robust conversation on the issues,” Shapley said. “As the primary news organization in Douglas County, we’re very much willing to continue that dialogue and plan an event that is fair and informative for voters, and will look to include
those groups who believe in that same mission.”
Colorado Community Media regularly moderates local and regional governmental forums across the metro area. In the lead up to the 4th Congressional District primaries, Editor-in-Chief Michael de Yoanna co-moderated with KUNC public radio two online forums — for Republican and Democratic candidates — hosted by the League of Women Voters of Colorado.
Thomas proposed Sept. 8 as the date for the first debate.
Thomas, who spent 20 years as a social worker and has served as chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, hopes to unseat Republican Teal from his seat on the board of county commissioners.
The two are running for the seat in county commissioner District 2, a vast region that covers Castle Rock and the southern portion of the county, including much of Douglas’ rural areas.
Douglas commissioners are elected “at large” from one of three geographic districts. That means commissioners are required to reside in different districts, but voters throughout the entire county cast ballots for each seat.
The board is the county’s policymaking body, approving Douglas’ annual budget and passing local laws that govern “unincorporated” areas, or those outside of city and town limits. That includes the highly populated Highlands Ranch area, and several other parts of the county.
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A publication of BY NINA JOSS
New nursing endowment at ACC honors daughter’s legacy
Helping like Haley
LINDA SHAPLEY
Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com
HALEY LENA Community Editor hlena@coloradocommunitymedia.com
About once a week, Haley Timothy would spend $25 at Starbucks during her work shift down the street at TJMaxx. When she returned home, her father, Jay, would scold her for spending so much money on co ee. He said he was trying to teach her a lesson about frugality.
But when Haley died, her parents learned that she wasn’t just buying coffee for herself.
At her funeral, her coworker told them that Haley bought co ee every day for many of her colleagues at work.
“She always just wanted to help all of her friends,” Haley’s mother, Chris, said. “She would never really say no to anybody that needed her help.”
is quality — paired with her ability to administer tough love — would have made the 20-year-old a great nurse, her parents said. And that’s what she was on track to do.
a paragraph to explain why they want the scholarship, what it means to them and their career goals.
Jay and Chris said they want the scholarship to help a student like Haley, for whom school was not easy.
“She worked for everything she did,” Jay said.
At 16, Haley started working at TJMaxx. She studied hard at Littleton High School and graduated with honors, then went on to complete her certi ed nurse aide certi cate at ACC and pass her licensure.
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But, in October 2022, one week before sending an application to the nursing program at Arapahoe Community College, she was killed in a hit-and-run car crash. In May, the driver was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Now, Jay and Chris are taking a step to ensure Haley’s desire to help others lives on forever. e couple has started an endowment in her name, through the college’s foundation, to fund an annual scholarship for nursing students who have the same drive their daughter did to help others.
“If you had asked Haley, ‘What do you want to do, if you could keep your name alive?’ … She would choose this,” Jay said.
e endowment, which is currently $25,000, will accrue interest to provide a scholarship of at least $1,000 to one student per year enrolled in the nursing or nurse aide program at ACC, said Marie Perrin-McGraw, the foundation’s director of operations.
For the rst few years, before the interest is enough to fund a scholarship, the ACC Foundation will cover the gap.
Students must be part- or full-time nursing students with a minimum 2.5 GPA to qualify for the scholarship, Perrin-McGraw said. ey will also submit
While taking classes at ACC, she also worked full-time as a patient care tech at Sky Ridge Medical Center. She applied to ACC’s nursing program before she had enough hours working in the eld, and was planning to reapply with her SkyRidge experience under her belt when her life was suddenly cut short.
Chris said she hopes the scholarship can help take some pressure o of a student, so maybe instead of working full-time while in school, they can work part-time. She said she and Jay want the money to go to someone who, like Haley did, really wants to be a nurse.
“ e star students get scholarships, and people who are not straight-A students may not,” Chris said. “If you’re going to school and working, it’s because you’re paying for it — which means you really want to be there. We want to help those people.”
Beyond being a hard worker, Haley was a music lover and had a heart for animals. She would cry at commercials about animal shelters and would sit in her room with her mom, talking for hours about her friends and asking for advice.
But even with her soft side, Haley was a loud person, a trait her parents noticed in her since the day they adopted
her from China in 2003. She “took no crap” and would call her parents and brothers out on theirs, they said.
Jay, who has leukemia, said Haley was the only person who could tell the di erence between when he was unable to help himself versus when he was just unwilling to.
“She was good at it,” he said. “She would have been a great nurse.”
Both parents wear a red thread bracelet: a symbol of an unbreakable and limitless bond, an idea that originated from Chinese legends.
After Haley’s death, her parents feel an extreme absence. But the endowment to honor her legacy highlights the unbreakable bond, which Haley is still very much a part of.
“You still celebrate the same things, but there’s something missing,” Jay said. “And this, we can celebrate — and she’s not here, but it’s not like she was taken out of it.”
ose interested in contributing can donate to the Haley Timothy Nursing Endowment at tinyurl.com/haleynursing.
Chris, Haley and Jay Timothy on the Li River during a 2016 trip to China.
Haley Timothy visits with a panda on a trip to China in 2016. COURTESY PHOTOS
Bud’s Home Team
Saturday, July 13th, 2024 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Chick-fil-A Highlands Ranch 3700 E. Highlands Ranch Pkwy. Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 All School Supplies collected will be donated to The Foundation for Douglas County Schools.
Receive a Coupon for a FREE Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich for every $5.00 worth of School Supplies donated.
Castle Rock cancer center named after Schrader family raises millions
The center is expected to open next year
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e building that will house Castle Rock’s rst cancer center has been o cially named after the Schrader family, who made the largest donation in the hospital’s history to support the project.
e Schrader family gave $5 million to AdventHealth Castle Rock’s Rock of Hope campaign, a fundraiser supporting the cancer center. As of June, the campaign has raised 55% of its $14 million goal.
At an event celebrating the naming of the Schrader Building, AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region
CFO Jeremy Pittman said he is excited to be one step closer to o ering comprehensive medical care in town.
“I’m just so proud of all the teams that have been involved in this community,” said Pittman, who is also the former CEO of the hospital. “ is is one of the last puzzle pieces that Castle Rock truly needs.”
Construction will begin on the cancer center, which will be on the third oor of the Schrader Building, while fundraising is ongoing. e goal is to open the center by late 2025.
e cancer center will include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, infusion therapy and a learning kitchen.
e services will be the rst cancer care available in Castle Rock. Currently, patients have to drive out of town to get chemotherapy and other treatment.
e Schrader family said that while it means a lot to have their name on the building, they are most excited about having treatment available locally to ease the burden for patients. “ e naming is special and it means something, maybe for the legacy of the family and the grandkids that drive by it for decades to come,” Randy Schrader said. “ at said, the real deal here is getting cancer care built up at AdventHealth
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Castle Rock.”
Lisa Schrader agreed and added that there’s still work to do to support the cancer center’s opening.
“It’s getting to the radiation, getting the sta in place, all the things that need to happen to treat that very rst patient,” she said. “We’re going to keep pushing forward to get this whole project nished as soon as possible.”
To nd out more about donating to the project, go to rmahf.org/ rockofhope.
common causes of death in Colorado in 2023
Cancer returned to the top spot while COVID-19 fell out of the top 10
BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
Cancer reclaimed the top spot as Colorado’s No.1 killer last year, according to nalized numbers released last month by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
In 2023, 8,411 Coloradans died from what are known in vital statistics records as “malignant neoplasms.” Heart disease, the second-
leading cause, claimed 8,071 lives. ose two causes far exceed any other cause of death in Colorado. Cancer has been No. 1 for most recent years, but heart disease held the top spot in 2021 and 2022.
COVID falls down the list
For the rst time since it appeared in Colorado, COVID-19 didn’t crack the top 10 causes of death last year, though it was close. With 626 deaths in 2023, COVID was the 12th-leading cause of death. (In 2020 and 2021, it was the third-leading cause.) at re ects the waning severity of the pandemic. But, for comparison, in uenza and pneumonia com-
A rendering of AdventHealth Castle Rock’s new building, which includes space for a cancer center. The Schrader Family Fund donated $4 million to support the cancer center.
Former Lone Tree mayor honored
Jackie Millet wins award from Colorado Municipal League
BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Former City of Lone Tree Mayor Jaqueline “Jackie” Millet has been awarded the 2024 Sam Mamet Good Governance Award for her dedication as a public servant. Since 2019, individuals who have worked hard to advance the application of principles of good governance such as responsiveness to need, openness and transparency and innovation receive the Sam Mamet Good Governance Award. The award is in honor of retired
Colorado Municipal League Executive Director Sam Mamet.
Mamet acknowledged Millet’s leadership and service to the city in a video on the Colorado Municipal League website calling her a “mayor’s mayor.”
Millet served Lone Tree for nearly two decades, first on the planning commission, then on city council before becoming mayor for eight years. Throughout her time, she helped lower the city’s sales tax, develop multiple capital projects and grow businesses.
“I got to play a role in thinking about what makes sense and how does a community grow thoroughly, carefully,” Millet said in the video.
Among 20 nominations submitted by Colorado Municipal League members, Millet received the
award alongside City of Central Fire Chief Gary Allen. Millet was honored at the league’s 102nd annual conference.
The league’s current Executive Director Kevin Bommer said in a statement that all nominees and winners represent the best when it comes to good governance.
“The leadership necessary to instill greater levels of civility and commitment to providing accessibility for all to their government shines through in each of the nominees and those selected to receive the Mamet Award,” said Bommer.
With a mission to advocate for and empower cities and towns across the state, the Colorado Municipal League is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that represents the interest of 271 cities and towns.
Former City of Lone Tree Mayor Jaqueline
“Jackie” Millet stands with Colorado Municipal League Executive Director Kevin Bommer at the 102nd Colorado Municipal League Annual Conference as she receives the 2024 Sam Mamet Good Governance Award. COURTESY OF DENISE WHITE
Colorado awarded $40.5 million federal quantum technology grant
The state becomes one of 12 new federal technology hubs
BY MICHAEL BOOTH AND TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado won a $40.5 million quantum technology grant from the federal government to help turn the state into a worldwide hub in the emerging eld, Gov. Jared Polis recently announced as one of 12 awards after a highly competitive sprint for the U.S. money.
e award cements Colorado’s leadership in quantum computing, which relies on supercooled operations at an atomic level, and will unlock $74 million in state tax
credits passed in anticipation of a federal grant win, Polis said. at in turn could draw billions of dollars in private and partnership investment to the eld, which already employs thousands of people in Colorado, Polis said.
“America, rightfully so, is making a bet on the future of computing and Colorado is that bet,” Polis said. “And we’re going to make sure it pays o , not only for Colorado, but for the country and beyond.”
Colorado economic development and technology o cials had identied the state’s big head start in quantum research as the most promising avenue when it joined nearly 200 national applicants seeking federal awards from the Department of Commerce’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program. e hubs were enacted as part of the bi-
partisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
Applicants sought money for one of 10 technologies designated as key to future U.S. research and development. e state applied for up to $75 million in additional federal funding in February, a few months after the Biden administration named Colorado an o cial Tech Hub for quantum computing.
A group called Elevate Quantum formed a consortium of private quantum companies, investors, startups and universities including the University of Colorado and Colorado School of Mines. At least three Boulder-area companies are building their own quantum computers in a race to o er more qubits, akin to computer data. e quantum industry could bring $3 billion in funding to Colorado over the next decade, o cials say, plus provide jobs for 30,000 future workers at di erent education and training levels.
Colorado’s enthusiasm for quantum technology was reinforced on a recent trade mission to Finland, Polis said Monday. e Scandinavian nation is an international leader in the eld, and Colorado has a memorandum of understanding on research.
“We were certainly hoping that our country would not give leadership in this area to the rest of the world,” Polis said. “And yes, with this decision,
the United States of America is making a clear statement that we are serious about America being a leader in quantum technology. Colorado is the place to invest and make it happen.”
Winning the additional funding means that House Bill 1325, passed by the legislature this year, kicks in to provide up to $74 million in state tax credits to the quantum industry. e fully refundable tax credits would be available to o set the costs of building a shared quantum facility or for nancial lenders who provide loans to quantum companies should there be a loss incurred on the loan.
Quantum, which refers to the science of probabilities down to the atom and the tech that can speed up complex computer calculations, has a long history in the Boulder region. In the 1950s, the National Institute of Standards and Technology picked Boulder for a research facility. NIST, which needed quantum measurements because they need to measure the most precise and sensitive things in the world, later partnered with the University of Colorado to create the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in 1962.
is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
Kelly Schilling, technician at Maybell, demonstrates a mill machine center Oct. 19, 2023, in Denver.
PHOTO BY OLIVIA SUN / THE COLORADO SUN VIA REPORT FOR AMERICA
Creating more inclusive sport environments
Kindness and respect. Support and understanding.
When we think of an inclusive sports environment, words like these come to mind. But how do we turn these words into actions we can implement as parents or guardians out on the eld or court?
At the U.S. Center for SafeSport, athlete safety and well-being are our priority. By educating communities on how they can help prevent abuse and misconduct in sport, we help every participant feel safe, supported and strengthened. And more than that, we seek to help parents and coaches foster settings that are more inclusive and accessible for all athletes.
But rst, what do inclusive environments look like in practice? And how do we create them?
Valuing all athletes
From respecting physical and emotional boundaries to giving athletes with disabilities the help they request, inclusive sport settings treat each athlete with respect and care and make sure each athlete’s needs are met.
Maybe you’ve seen an athlete with a disability left out of an activity because the coach failed to o er a drill that’s accessible to all teammates. Or maybe you’ve witnessed a participant’s confused look as they try to understand a set of complicated warm-up instructions.
When we prioritize inclusivity, we prioritize principles that make sport accessible for everyone. Examples of this are communicating openly and clearly in ways that each child can understand and adapting activities so athletes of all abilities can play and thrive.
Inclusive sport environments are places where no one is excluded based on something that makes them di erent, where all athletes can participate at the level they want, and where kindness and re-
VOICES
spect outweigh competition and tting in.
What parents can do
When a child steps onto the eld or court, they may bring stress, trauma and individual challenges from their day-to-day lives with them. As a parent, guardian, or coach, you play a key role in creating a setting that is sensitive to that stress or trauma — and is built on support. By reinforcing that no one has to change to t in, you can help create an atmosphere that values and appreciates all athletes.
Here are ve actions you can take: 1. Model respectful, kind behavior. Demonstrate care and compassion when engaging with athletes.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A win for the far right
e vocal minority and far right extremists have successfully put a halt to updating policy of discrimination in Douglas County Schools. e concept of giving up federal money to not conform to the Title IX changes doesn’t make sense. Are they going to fund Special Education and Food Services then through tax increases? e idea of doing away with sports to prevent transgender individuals from participating is really a far-
right concept. Maybe having policy that allows only sex at birth be standard for participation. Having an elected o cial push hate of burning at the stake for those parents who do not accept their point of view paints a picture of the far right causing discrimination in our schools forcing minority students out of the district. I realize we are in a Republican-controlled county but this hate has to stop.
Dave Usechek Parker
Ju’Riese Colón
Living our life story and embracing our faith
This is the third column in a series about how we embrace, live, and share our life story. Each of us is a living story, that ebbs and ows with every breath we take and every choice we make. Our lives are lled with moments of joy, pain, triumph, and defeat, woven together to form the unique life story we are experiencing. Our faith journey, whatever that means to each of us as individuals, has played a role in our story, is currently continuing to shape our story, and will absolutely play a role in our future story.
Again, the most powerful story we will ever tell is the one we tell ourselves. We all experience thousands of thoughts each and every day. ose thoughts either quickly go away, become a deeper thought for another time, or result in us taking action based on what we are currently thinking about. So why not make the most of these special opportunities and moments that further de ne us and our story?
and with the divine. e greatest story ever told, the Good News of the Gospel, is the ultimate narrative of love, sacri ce, and redemption. It is a story that transcends time and culture, o ering hope and salvation to all of us in what some might call a very unforgiving world.
Our story is a story to be lived. When we live our lives in alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ, we embody the message of the Gospel. Our actions become a testimony to the transformative power of God’s love and grace. We become living epistles, read by all who encounter us.
Last week we discussed how each mistake, wrong turn, or failure shapes our story. We can choose to let them break us or we can choose to let them make us, and that choice is ours. As you continue reading, I will share something about my faith and the role it plays in my own story. And wherever you are in your own faith journey, and wherever your faith is today, I hope you will lean into that faith to continue to shape how you live and tell your story. In the end, the story we tell ourselves is the foundation of the story we live. It is a story that shapes our identity and guides our actions. For me, it is about aligning my story with the story of the Gospel, I nd a deeper sense of purpose and meaning. I become part of a story that is greater than myself, a story that is eternal and unchanging. You see, our story does not exist in isolation. It is part of a greater story line, one that connects us with others
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Living our story in the light of the Gospel means loving others as Christ loves us. It means showing compassion, extending grace, and seeking justice. It means being a light in the darkness, o ering hope to the hopeless and comfort to the a icted. When we live in this way, our story becomes a powerful witness to the reality of God’s kingdom.
So, let us live our story with intention and courage. Let us tell our story with authenticity and vulnerability. And let us remember that the greatest story we will ever be a part of is the story of God’s redeeming love. I would love to hear your life story at gotonorton@gmail. com and when we live and tell this story, we become living testimonies to the power of God’s grace, inspiring others to embrace and share their own stories of faith and redemption.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
day in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s newspaper.
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Farmers and a fair show o the culture of this summer favorite fruit
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Every year, on one day in the summer, a group of people line up at the edge of a long, yellow tarp in southeastern Colorado. e tarp is stationed next to a building to prevent the wind from impacting a competition, for which some people practice seriously. Others decide to give it a try on a whim.
“ ey pick out their own seed, and I guess they could suck on it for a little while, get it dry, how ever they feel is the best way to treat their seed,” said Sally Cope, who helps organize the event. “And then practice, and then spit.”
As the black seeds land one by one on the bright tarp, people wait anxiously to see whose will make it the farthest.
e seed-spitting competition is part of a day-long event entirely dedicated to a sweet, red, juicy fruit grown in Colorado. A star at any summer picnic, watermelons are more than just a refreshing snack to the people of the Arkansas Valley. In this region, especially in the town of Rocky Ford, farmers dedicate their entire summer to raising the classic crop — which has become a staple of the area’s culture.
“It’s a way of life,” said Gail Knapp, owner of Knapp Farms, which grows watermelons and other produce. “We don’t take time o normally in the summertime to do what normal people do in the summertime.
our crops — and those kinds of things take a lot of care.”
From its mascot — a muscular melon called a “meloneer” — to its annual Watermelon Day celebration, Rocky Ford embraces the crop, which has deep ties to the city’s history.
In 1878, Rocky Ford’s rst mayor and one of its founders, G.W. Swink, had a bountiful harvest of watermelons.
“He brought them here to the railroad station … and he gave slices of melons to those who were passengers that stopped on the train,” Cope said. “After a couple of years, he moved his table of watermelon slices and gave away melons — a large melon to all of those who came in attendance.”
What started out as a gift from the mayor to his people turned into Watermelon Day, now celebrated as part of the week-long Arkansas Valley Fair. Cope, the manager of the fair, said the fruit-focused day includes a watermelon carving competition and a melon giveaway.
“We … usually give away around 20,000 pounds of melon on Watermelon Day,” she said. is year, Watermelon Day will take place on Aug. 17 at the Arkansas Valley Fairgrounds, on the secondto-last day of the fair which includes rodeos, a carnival, 4-H contests and much more.
A person drags a full wagon after the watermelon giveaway on Watermelon Day at the Arkansas Valley Fair. COURTESY OF THE ARKANSAS VALLEY FAIR
WATERMELON
e Watermelon Day tradition gives the fair its title as the “oldest continuous fair” in Colorado. Cope said the fair team even gave away watermelons in 2020.
Why is the valley good for melons?
Each year, the Rocky Ford Rotary Club helps raise funds to buy watermelons from local growers, such as Knapp Farms.
At the fth-generation farm, owners Gail and Brian Knapp — along with their children and grandchildren — grow watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, chilies, eggplant, squash, cucumbers and more.
Knapp said the conditions in the Arkansas Valley are great for growing watermelons.
“It seems to be our soil, our hot days, cooler nights,” she said. “ ere’s a combination there that seems to grow really sweet melons.”
Once the melons are harvested, Knapp Farms sells them at their local farm market and also sends them to the metro Denver area to be sold at grocery stores including Kroger, Safeway and Whole Foods.
As of late June, the largest watermelons were about the size of a baseball, Knapp said. As they continue to grow, they should be ready to start harvesting by late July.
Despite the ripe conditions for watermelons, Knapp said there are some risks to the melon business. Weather, such as the copious amount of hail last spring, can devastate a crop. Knapp said last season was a challenge for most farmers in the region for this reason.
With water from the Arkansas River being sold to cities, labor shortages and
unpredictable demand, there are many risks to farming watermelons, Knapp said, and it’s not getting easier. But if everything works out in a given season, the business can be very pro table, she said.
Growing your own melons
For gardeners who want to try a hand at growing their own watermelons, veteran gardener Deborah King said it’s a bit too late in the season to start from seeds — but folks can start planning now for next year.
King is a supervisor at Tagawa Gardens, a garden center in Centennial, where she says she learns a lot from customers.
“It is a big plant, it spreads out really big,” she said. “But the key is that you need to have consistent water supply throughout its growing season.”
She also said it’s helpful to plant watermelons on hills or mounds, which gives the plant space and helps ensure drainage and retain heat. It can also be helpful to use grass clippings, wood chips or straw to maintain moisture in the soil, King said.
For her, gardening is a satisfying endeavor.
“When you get your harvest and you’re able to share with … your neighbors, co-workers — I mean, there’s no more satisfaction than eating right from your own garden,” she said. “You realize that avor … and it just sets you up for the next season to do more, or try di erent things.”
But for those who consider themselves a bit impatient, or simply want to leave the farming to the experts, there’s good news: the Rocky Ford watermelons will be available in stores near the end of the summer.
A truck full of watermelons for the giveaway on Watermelon Day. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ARKANSAS VALLEY FAIR
A girl competes in the annual seed-spitting competition on Watermelon Day at the Arkansas Valley Fair.
National Guard Armory trucks carry the watermelons in a parade down Main Street and bring them to the fairgrounds for the annual watermelon giveaway.
Arvada Center celebrates sculptors for the summer
When public art really connects, it can be a real place-maker for its chosen home. e Arvada Center has certainly proven that with its Sculpture Field, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. But as every artist who goes after public art commissions can attest, getting selected to build a piece is a rare occurrence.
For its summer art exhibitions, the center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., is hosting a pair of shows in conversation with each other: “I Regret to Inform You… Rejected Public Art” and “inFORMed Space: Perspectives in Sculpture.” Both shows are on display through Sunday, Aug. 25.
“We’re celebrating sculpture both inside and outside this summer,” said Collin Parson, director of Galleries and curator for the Arvada Center. “Both shows are very unique, especially the rejection show, because it highlights how much public art is a business of perseverance.”
“I Regret to Inform You…” is on display in the Upper and eatre Galleries, and posed a particularly challenging problem for the curatorial team - how to display sculptural work that was never actually created.
“We’ve used everything from Photoshopped images and digital renderings to models and videos that artists have created,” Parson explained. “ e exhibit has a lot reading, but it’s a great opportunity learn more about the public art process and how di cult it is.”
One of the most powerful aspects of the exhibit is the emphasis it puts on how frequent rejection is for artists, even
COMING ATTRACTIONS
well-known ones who have had successes in the public art world.
“ e participating artists deserve a lot of acknowledgements for speaking about rejection and letting people delve deeper into a more personal aspect of being a creative,” Parson said. “I hope people realize that for every public sculpture they see, there’s two-to-four artists who werenalists and weren’t selected.”
is creates a neat segue into the center’s other exhibit, “inFORMed Space,” which is on display in the Main Gallery.
e idea to do an all-sculpture exhibit was inspired by the Sculpture Field’s anniversary, but participating sculptors were given one challenging parameter — their work had to t in a four-foot by four-foot square area.
“What we have on display is a variety of concepts, media used and techniques explored. I think of it as a forest oor of sculptures, because all the works ended up being very vertical,” Parson said. “ ere’s nothing on the walls, so the exhibit is very freestanding.”
e way the two exhibits highlight the challenges of the creative process, especially in the sculpting medium, makes them the perfect duo for the summer.
“I think we have the perfect combination,” Parson said. “If you want to spend a lot of time reading and learning about rejection and the public art process, we
have the show for you. And if you want to be surprised and impressed with what sculptors can do, we have that, too.”
Find all the details about the shows at https://arvadacenter.org/galleries/ current-exhibitions.
Union Station celebrates new renovations and last 10 years
To celebrate a decade in its latest incarnation, you don’t want to miss Denver’s Union Station’s, 1701 Wynkoop, 10th Anniversary Weekend.
e weekend kicks o with Neighborhood Night, from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 12. is portion will feature drinks, live music by Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, exclusive tours of the newly renovated Crawford Hotel rooms and views of the revamped Great Hall. Next comes the Making History…Again Gala, from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. e evening aims to raise money for Colorado nonpro ts and includes performances by the Colorado Symphony Quartet, ice sculptors, food and more. Finally, there’s Community Day, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 14. During this event, the station’s renovations will be unveiled and there will be activities like face painting, balloon artists and mini train rides, plus live music from Tunisia and Youth on Record.
All the details for this special weekend can be found at www.denverunionstation.com/experience/event-calendar/.
Candlelight sets the mood for Bach and The Beatles
Over the years the candlelight concert series has become an immensely popu-
lar and transporting way to experience live music.
e latest concert is “From Bach to e Beatles” and is held at the Museum of Outdoor Arts’ Marjorie Park, 6331 S. Fiddlers Green Circle in Greenwood Village, at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. e show will feature some of Bach’s most well-known works and a collection of e Beatles’ most beloved hits. Get tickets at https://feverup. com/m/178826.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week: Out of This World — The Experience at Ball Arena
Virginia’s Missy Elliott is one of rap’s best and most important voices, full stop.
e work she did in the 1990s and 2000s is some of the genre’s most mindblowing and innovative, and her collaborations with producer Timbaland are still inspiring musicians today. She’s so highly regarded that in 2023 Elliott became the rst female hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Elliott is celebrating all her accomplishments with the Out of is World — e Experience Tour, which will be stopping by Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16. She’ll be joined by the legendary Busta Rhymes, R&B superstar (and former Denver resident) Ciara and Timbaland himself.
is will truly be an evening of greats, so get tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.
Clarke Reader is an arts and culture columnist. He can be reached at Clarke. Reader@hotmail.com.
Clarke Reader
Thu 7/11
Teague Starbuck @ 5pm
Brewability Lab, 3445 S Broad‐way, Englewood
The Grass Project Live in Clement Park (Grant Amphitheater) @ 6pm Clement Park, Littleton
Fri 7/12
The Mike G Band @ 5pm
Gin Blossoms with special guests Fastball
@ 7:30pm / $50-$80
The Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park, Castle Rock
Peter Manjarres en Concierto @ 8pm / $55 Stampede, Aurora
Sat 7/13
Pallbearer @ 7pm
Gothic Theatre, Englewood
Sun 7/14
14U Tryout @ 3:30pm / $40
Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136
Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136
Face Vocal Band @ 6:30pm
BarBox at Aspen Grove, 7301 S Santa Fe Dr #860, Littleton
Sarah Adams: D3 Arts (duo) | with Macie June and M'Lady
@ 6pm
D3 Arts, 3614 Morrison Rd, Denver
Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St, Lone Tree
TRVR? @ 6:30pm
Western Sky Bar & Taproom, 4361 S Broadway, Englewood
Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 W Florida Ave, Denver
Mon 7/15
Grades 3-8 Week 8 - Full Day @ 8am / Free Jul 15th - Jul 19th
Kiddie Academy - Lone Tree, 10344 Park Meadows Dr, Lone Tree. 515-708-0433
Tue 7/16
Jeffrey Dallet @ 2pm
Legacy Village of Castle Pines, 535 Castle Pines Pkwy, Castle Pines North
6 Million Dollar Band: South Suburban Parks & Rec @ 5pm
Lone Tree Recreation Center, 10249 RidgeGate Circle, Lone Tree
Wed 7/17
Tom Mcelvain Music @ 5pm The Englewood Tavrn, 4386 S Broadway, Englewood
JaySilenceBand: Jay Silence live at The Viewhouse Band Series @ 5pm
ViewHouse Centennial, 7101 S Clinton St, Centennial 2024 AB6IX FAN Concert in North America 'FIND YOU' @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood
Eric Golden @ 6:30pm
Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker
Calendar
ers.
Helping to hear: Free assistance is life-changing
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Ivanna Álvarez sat in a sterile room, next to a cabinet, a computer and a potted plant. On either side of the 8-year-old girl, two women adjusted two small, purple, sparkly objects.
When they had them all set, they placed one in each of Ivanna’s ears. Suddenly, Ivanna could hear sounds, more than she had ever heard before.
“She was very happy,” said Ivanna’s mother, Elisday Álvarez.
Ivanna could hear a nearby door open and close. Something fell o the table and onto the oor. Ivanna reacted. When she went outside later, she heard a plane overhead. It was a miracle for Ivanna and her mother, for whom the new hearing aids were the culmination of a months-long trek from Venezuela to the United States, and eventually to Colorado. ey came to get health care for Ivanna, who had been hard of hearing since she was born, Elisday said.
After their long journey, the mother and daughter’s wishes were answered when they found out about Hearing the Call Colorado. e international nonpro t organization, which has a branch in Colorado, conducts clinics to provide reducedcost or free assistance to people who are hard of hearing and have low incomes.
For patients, like Ivanna, this
To learn about the Hearing the Call Colorado program and to apply, visit hearingthecall.org/us/colorado. Even for people who don’t qualify for entirely free assistance, the Littleton clinic and many others will do what they can to o er discounts and aid on a sliding scale. Those who want to support the organization can help by donating old hearing aids, even if they are dirty or broken, and by providing financial donations.
means receiving hearing aids. ese devices are ampli cation systems with sophisticated computers that can make it possible for someone with hearing loss to hear.
Ivanna, who lives with her mother in Aurora, had tried a pair of demo hearing aids from a hospital for a few months after arriving in the United States, but she was not allowed to keep them forever. e new, sparkly pair is hers to keep.
“Hearing aids are very expensive, and people who need them and who live on limited income, either can’t a ord them at all or can’t a ord the ones that are appropriate for them,” said Dusty Jessen, an audiologist at Columbine Hearing Care in Littleton, where Ivanna got her hearing aids.
Jessen is also a founding member of Hearing the Call Colorado. Her practice is one of eight audiology clinics that partner together through the organization to provide hearing services across the state. To qualify for the program, patients must prove
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Castle Rock, Lone Tree, Parker & Highlands Ranch Areas
nancial need and have hearing loss that impacts their life.
those who participate get three follow-up appointments to make sure the devices are working for the patient.
ence for many. A pair of high-quality, prescription hearing aids with follow-up appointments usually costs between $3,000 and $7,000 — and are usually not covered by insurance, Jessen said.
often available for a couple of hundred dollars, Jessen said, but these don’t work very well for people with severe hearing loss.
Jessen acknowledged that many people who are deaf are proud of this aspect of their identity, embrace it as a part of their culture and do not want to change it. But for those who want to hear, the disability can cause frustration and isolation, especially because it is invisible at rst.
tion, they are expected to complete 10 hours of community service or acts of kindness to “complete the circle of giving by paying it forward,”
Jessen said aging patients who may not be able to physically volunteer might donate clothes to a shelter, donate old hearing aids to the clinic or help out with their grandchildren. One patient, who is an artist, donated a painting to the clinic so the team could auction it o to raise
“It’s good to see them being proud of their talents and bringing those in and wanting that to help us,” Jessen said. “Also, they’re willing to go volunteer somewhere because now they can actually hear well enough to be a greeter at a hospital or wherever — whereas before, they felt too isolated because they couldn’t hear what was going on around them.”
Elisday said it’s wonderful that Hearing the Call Colorado helps people like Ivanna.
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“A lot of times, people will just give up, they’ll say, ‘ is is too much effort. I’m just going to stay home tonight. I’m not going to play bridge anymore. I’m not going to go to that family gathering,’” she said. “ e hearing aids allow them to reconnect with their family and their friends.”
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Research shows that hearing loss is also strongly linked with the risk of dementia, with some saying it is the single largest potentially treatable risk factor for the condition.
Once patients receive their free hearing aids through the organiza-
“I feel very content that I’ve gotten to know them,” she said. “It touches my heart that they do this — not just for Ivanna — there are many people who need help.”
She said Ivanna wears her hearing aids all day, every day, and she is very happy with them.
Hearing the Call Colorado hosts quarterly hearing events and serves about 60 people per year. e next clinic is taking place at all eight locations across the state on Aug. 2.
Editor’s note: Portions of this story were translated from Spanish to English.
Ivanna Álvarez, right, Elisday Álvarez, center, and their friend sit in a Cycling Without Age Littleton trishaw to go for a ride after Ivanna received her hearing aids at the Hearing the Call Colorado event on June 8. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEARING THE CALL COLORADO
Littleton winery protects hearts by joining AED program
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Carboy Winery in Littleton recently became the rst Colorado winery to join a program that aims to protect the hearts and lives of wine-lovers.
e program, “Trained for Saving Lives,” is run by a California winery called River Road Family Vineyards and Winery. When owner Ron Rubin su ered a cardiac emergency in 2009, a de brillator saved his life. Now, it’s his mission to bring these lifesaving machines to wineries around the country.
e program provides free automated external de brillators (AEDs) to U.S. wineries like Carboy.
“My biggest hope is … that we never have to use it — but we’re prepared to do so in the event that we need to be good Samaritans and help either someone out on our team or a guest,” said Kevin Webber, the chief executive operator of Carboy.
Some studies have shown that red wine, in small amounts, can promote heart health. Despite this connection,
CANCER
bined last year killed 371 people, ranking 18th, so COVID is still very much a threat, especially to older populations.
e causes and categories in this list follow the methodology of the National Center for Health Statistics, though some of the causes are a bit of a mashup. Accidents, for instance, encompass everything from car crashes to falls to unintentional drug overdoses. Lumping them together like that can obscure some of the underlying trends.
Accidental deaths declined last year, but drug overdose deaths were up — to 1,865, of which 1,097 involved fentanyl. Motor vehicle accidents (785 deaths) and falls (1,064 deaths) were down.
Other notable causes of death: Suicides (1,290 deaths) remained almost exactly the same as in 2022, while homicides (366) dropped by nearly 50.
Deaths dropped overall
Overall, 44,862 Coloradans died
the goal of this program isn’t really about wine. It’s about people, as cardiac emergencies can happen anywhere.
Webber said he was inspired to participate after his colleague in Washington, on a vineyard where Carboy grows some of its grapes, su ered a mild heart attack. It made him realize the importance of having the tool in place.
Carboy has several locations: Littleton, Denver, Breckenridge and Palisade. Webber said the Littleton location was a good place to start because of its quantity of visitors.
“We see probably around 20,000 people a month at this location,” he said. “ ere’s a lot of people that are coming through here, a lot of people coming o the bike path … We see enough people that having one nearby, you know, you hope you never have to use it but the one time that you do, you’re glad you have it.”
When a person goes into a cardiac emergency, AEDs and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, allow people to intervene and increase the chance of survival while waiting for
last year. ( e gure includes people who lived here but died elsewhere and not people who died here but lived elsewhere.) at’s roughly 2,000 fewer deaths than in 2022, and it’s nearly 3,500 fewer deaths than in 2021, Colorado’s deadliest year on record.
Relative to population size, Colorado’s death rate fell to something closer to — but still higher than — pre-pandemic levels. e age-adjusted death rate was 681.7 deaths per every 100,000 population in 2023. e three years before that had seen age-adjusted death rates in the 700s. In 2019, the year before the pandemic, the age-adjusted rate was 635.9.
e state compiles these annual death numbers, as well as a host of other vital statistics data, in a system called the Colorado Health Information Dataset. e system has several easy-to-use data dashboards for members of the public interested in more speci c information.
is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
emergency medical responders to arrive.
AEDs analyze the heart’s rhythm and may deliver an electrical shock to help the heart re-establish an e ective rhythm, according to the American Red Cross.Using the device involves attaching pads to a person’s body and following voice prompts from the machine.
To receive a free AED from the program, a winery has to have someone on its sta who is certi ed in CPR and AED use. If it doesn’t already have someone with that certi cation, River Road Family Vineyards and Winery will connect the team to the American Red Cross to set up training.
Carboy Winery put eight sta members through its training program.
Rubin said he is con dent the program will eventually save someone’s life.
“De brillators saved my life, so I know they work, “ Rubin said. “For wineries that certainly are open to the public and have tasting rooms and that are … concerned about sustainability, they should be concerned about their visitors and their winery sta .” e program is made possible through a partnership with the American Red Cross and ZOLL Medical Corporation, which makes the AEDs. Rubin’s winery pays for the devices for the program.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 • 2:15-10 PM
cycling teams from across the country compete on the streets of Downtown Littleton
Enjoy these 5 skate parks within 30 miles of Denver
BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With winter in the rearview, it’s time to ditch the snowboards and break out the wheels again. Coloradans are spoiled with over 70 skate parks in and around the Denver metro area, according to SpeakEasy Skate, a Colorado skate park directory run by local Damian Dixon. e directory boasts more than 200 in the state.
at many parks can be the best kind of overwhelming, whether you’re a seasoned skater or want to try skateboarding for the rst time (or biking, scootering, rollerblading and whatever else people do at skate parks, rules per park depending). But everyone has to start somewhere.
e choices seem endless with new parks opening every year, like the new Sloan’s Lake Pumptrack in Denver that opened in 2023. But here are ve to get you started around the Front Range.
Don Anema Memorial Skate Park
Location: Northglenn
Strength: Flow park
Lights: User-activated; the last activation can occur at 9:45 p.m. Opened in 2011, the sea of desertred waves known as Don Anema Memorial Skate Park is one of the best ow parks (speci cally made for continuous riding without pushing) in the metro area. ere are multiple unusual features, like arches next to gaps, so skaters can jump the gaps or simply roll over them. A spiral roll-in bowl sits
tucked into the corner for a quick whip-around, and several manual boxes, stairs, ledges and snakelike ramps allow for an even ow throughout. e larger bowl in the back of the park is the cherry on top of this skate park sundae, making Don Anema perfect for both practice and fun.
William McKinley Carson Park & Skate Park
Location: Greenwood Village
Strength: Two-for-one
Lights: No
Tucked away in William McKinley Carson Park, the 15,000-square-foot arena is hidden by trees away from the main road, which obscures the fact that it’s actually two parks in one. e rst section is an intricate bowl system, with roll-ins from each side so it’s accessible to skaters of di erent levels. On the other side of the park, you have an Olympic-level ow/ street-style section. e slightly slanted run is connected by two quarterpipes on either end, with multiple boxes, ramps and rails. Just get there before the sun goes down.
Arvada Skate Park
Location: Arvada
Strength: A bit of everything
Lights: On until 10 p.m.
It can be a bit di cult to decide what to do at this 40,000-square-foot oasis for skaters. From the parking lot, turn left into the park and hit a valley of roll-in ramps, which lead to a at-trick area at the base of a small bowl section. On the north side of the park is a long, snake-like bowl system of small hills and rollovers. Head to
the northeast corner for a skateable brick wall. Two circular platforms overlap each other for easy kick-turns near the entrance. e ‘bullpen’ of the skatepark has a half-bowl system, several stairs and ledges, and an unusual, large ramp on an island to ollie on, roll up and down and then hop back o .
Ulysses Skate Park
Location: Golden
Strength: Mountain and city views
Lights: On until 10 p.m.
Nestled against the foothills in Golden, this ve-year-old, 27,000-square-foot park ows in a big loop and boasts the best views of any locale on this list. ere’s a at-trickdesignated area with a manual box (a at platform best used for practicing wheelie combinations) connected to
Don Anema Memorial Skate Park in Northglenn is a flow park that provides red-rocklike ramps and turns for skaters. COURTESY OF SPEAKEASY COLORADO SKATE PARK DIRECTORY
SKATE PARKS
the rest of the park by a tunnel with ‘GOLDEN’ carved in the roof, spelling the city’s name on the ground in sunlight. rough the gut of the park
runs a big, slightly downhill carving bowl, with plenty of stairs, ledges, and quarter pipes around its edge. Pro tip: Park near the dog park and skate the nearly half-mile path along the fence to the skate park for a picturesque cruise, and catch sunset views of nearby Table and Lookout mountains in the evenings. Bring a
possible and creating alternate formats of policies, rules, or schedules.
hammock.
Railbender Skate Park
Location: Parker
Strength: Street skating
Lights: From dusk until 10 p.m.
It’s just a half-hour drive to get to a street skater’s paradise: think ledges on ledges, stairs on stairs. is is the
perfect park to learn how to grind, use manual boxes, ollie down ledges, and get comfortable on steep roll-in ramps. Opened in 2008, the park is 35,000 square feet of practice-perfect concrete. Try the smooth mini bowl toward the front of the park to hone your skills before hitting the enormous, complex bowl near the back.
2. Value each athlete. Value the unique contributions each child brings to the team or organization and nd ways to support and encourage everyone’s individual contribution.
3. Communicate openly and clearly. Communicate in ways that each participant can understand, including using simpli ed language when
4. Promote athletes’ agency and autonomy: Encourage athletes to set physical and emotional boundaries and respect the boundaries they set.
5. Address harmful behaviors. When inappropriate or harmful behavior occurs, address it immediately. is way you can help maintain safe, supportive spaces for all.
Sports allow kids to learn and grow, but only when everyone is supported and included. How we treat each other matters. By building inclusive
sport settings that are welcoming and encouraging we can lift athletes up, making them stronger and happier. e U.S. Center for SafeSport produces tools and resources for parents, guardians, and coaches to help young athletes feel empowered and supported. Our Creating Inclusive Sport Environments handout provides key information and actions you can take to safeguard sport for all. For additional resources to help you recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse in sport, visit uscenterforsafesport. org/abuse-prevention-resources.
If you or someone you know has experienced abuse or misconduct involving a participant of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement, you can make a report to the U.S. Center for SafeSport: uscenterforsafesport. org/report-a-concern.
Ju’Riese Colón is the chief executive o cer of U.S. Center for SafeSport, which describes itself as “an independent nonpro t committed to building a sport community where participants can work and learn together free of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and misconduct.”
Colorado Community Media to Hold its First 5K Run
BY JO ANN M. COLTON
from walking and/or running along our state’s many wonderful paths and scenic nature trails.
There is no better way to appreciate the beauty of Colorado than by witnessing all the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.
Join Colorado Community Media as we host our first-ever 5K run on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Clement Park, 7306 W. Bowles Ave. in Littleton.
And, before the run, we want you to submit your own “Trail Tales,” including photos, to your local newspaper (events@coloradocommunitymedia. com). Tell us where you most enjoy going for a walk or a run in your commuor elsewhere in Colorado.
There are no prizes associated with the event and participants will not receive a “standard” T-shirt. Instead, registered participants will receive a pair of custom running socks. The Share Your Trail Tales 5k Run is open to people of all ages. Participants have the option of making it a fun-filled day for the entire family. Registration fees are $35 for adults (ages 17 & up), $15 (ages 5 to 16), and free for children (ages 4 and under ). Parking for run participants and event attendees is available in the west parking lot, which can be reached as you enter Clement Park through the Library entrance on W. Bowles Avenue.
Park is currently being firmed up to feature other activities throughout the day including food and beverage purchase options offered by local food trucks, vendor booths, and live music entertainment.
In turn, we will share many of those adventurous tales with the readers of our two dozen community newspapers in the weeks ahead of the run. About the 5k: It is scheduled to loop around Johnston Reservoir from 9:30 a.m. to noon. It will start and end on the bike path near Shelter P. The event is different from most 5k runs in many ways. For starters, the sole purpose of this event is to simply provide an opportunity for people across Colorado to come together, interact, and share their personal experiences gained
Colorado Community Media publications span eight counties along Colorado’s majestic Front Range — Weld, Adams, Jeffco, Clear Creek, Douglas, Elbert, Arapahoe and Denver. As a nonprofit organization, community is important to us and we are eager to reach out and meet members of the communities our news organization serves.
“Your support of this event as a race participant and/or as an attendee is paramount to the success of our first Share Your Trail Tales 5k Run and it will help us sustain our ability to support local news,” Scott said. “We encourage the engagement of our readers and future readers to be part of this and future events at Colorado Community Media.” Colorado Community Media could not put on events like this 5k run without the help of its dedicated supporters and sponsors. Sponsorship provides an ideal marketing prospect for your business and positive brand recognition. The organization offers many levels of sponsorship and opportunities for involvement. As a sponsor, you can be part of a fun community event that promotes health and wellness.
Carlie Scott, Colorado Community Media’s events director, stated that the program for the Aug. 24 run in Clement
To register for the Share Your Trail Tales 5k please visit our website www.coloradocommunitymedia.com and click on EVENTS/CONTEST tab.
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