BY LONDON LYLE
The Denver Public School Board recently voted unanimously to close all seven schools as recommended by Superintendent Alex Marrero at its November board meetings.
Five elementaries and two middle schools along with three grade-level reconstructions are also moving forward, which did not require a vote.
Board members shared emotional commentary prior to voting, telling community members their concerns were not taken lightly and the vote was an extremely di cult one to make.
Board member Kimberlee Sia pledged to “hold the superintendent accountable” for his commitment to minimizing di culties for students and sta in these schools. Protesters from Movimiento Poder, a nonpro t focused on youth and Latino-led activism in Denver, shouted “Shame on you!” following the board vote and were promptly removed from the DPS central o ce by security.
e decision has been unpopular among some parents and educators due to the school programs that could be lost and the impact closures could have on such a diverse student body.
e impacted schools have a larger population of Black and Brown educators, as acknowledged by the board, but have been struggling with declining enrollment rates since 2020.
e schools will remain open until the end of the school year in May 2025.
Amid declining enrollment rates, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero recommended seven schools for closure at a meeting held Nov. 7, just two days after voters approved a $975 million bond package.
Five of the schools to close are elementaries:
• Columbian Elementary, 2925 W. 40th Ave.
• Castro Elementary, 845 S. Lowell Blvd.
• Schmitt Elementary, 1820 S. Vallejo St.
• International Academy, 2401 E. 37th Ave.
• Palmer Elementary, 995 Grape St.
e other two are middle schools:
• West Middle School, 5151 S. Holly St.
• Denver School of Innovation and Sus-
tainable Design, 840 E. 14th Ave.
Four of the elementary schools’ boundaries will be incorporated into a new enrollment zone, and students will switch to schools in their respective new zone.
Castro Elementary School’s boundary will be split, with students living north of West Kentucky Avenue moving to Knapp Elementary, and students living south of Kentucky moving to CMS Community School. West Middle School will remain in its current enrollment zone, while Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, a choice school, will simply close. West MS and DSISD students are guaranteed a seat at a school in the enrollment zone they live in.
e board also approved three gradelevel restructures: Kunsmiller will accommodate grades 6-12 and lose its rstthrough fth-grade classes; Dora Moore will lose its sixth- through eighth-grade classes, and DCIS Baker will accommodate grades 6-8, losing its high school classes and would enter the West MS enrollment zone.
Since Kunsmiller and Dora Moore are choice schools, they will not join enrollment zones. ese grade level restructures do not require a board vote, since they are program changes and not closures.
According to Paige Neuharth, DPS director of authorizing and accountability, DPS is removing 3,955 vacant seats across the district, while taking steps to ensure they are not disproportionately a ecting speci c communities, such as expanding transportation options for students who have to switch to other schools.
Teachers in the targeted schools are eligible for the DPS Employee Assistance Program, which provides free mental health resources. ey will also receive support from a “transition team” made up of school district o cials and experts to help guide them through the process.
Some board members expressed hesitancy at the closures because of their potential impact on students and educators, especially those who are undocumented, in a multilingual program, in a special education program, or are students and teachers of color.
“ e schools that are engaged in this process are made up of very diverse com-
munities,” Board Member Michelle Quattlebaum said. “ ere’s so much diversity, not just in terms of ethnicity, but in language and income and needs. I want to make sure that the leaders who have been engaged in this project are aware of what that diversity brings, and that they are preparing to bring appropriate resources for those children. Personally, I am waiting to hear those reassurances.”
She added that for Black and brown students who are switching schools, it’s important that they have teachers who look like them so they have representation. “Representation matters. It matters,” Quattlebaum said.
“ ere is a rich history with the DCIS (education) programming that came out of West High School, where Dr. Dan Lutz, who was the founder of DCIS, partnered with the Chicano community on the west side to develop the programming that they felt these children needed. I want to ensure we are honoring that history of the Chicano community that came from the west side as we’re looking at what this transition will look like for those students,” Board Member Xóchitl Gaytán said.
“I understand that we’re dealing with declining enrollment, declining birth rate. But in my humble opinion, the over ‘characterization’ of southwest Denver means I have to make it known to the public that this is going to be a very, very di cult vote. It’s going to deeply a ect my Latino, Mexicano, Chicano community in southwestern Denver.”
Board members also unveiled the Denver Schools rive Initiative, which is guided by the state board of education and aims to maintain its commitment to equity in the face of declining enrollment. e initiative pulled together data and experts to help inform the process.
“We are committed to our students and families, and they anchor every decision we’ve made in this process. Every student, no matter their background or ZIP code, deserves an opportunity to thrive,” said Andrew Huber, executive director of enrollment for DPS.
Prior to the vote, several parents and teachers confronted the board with frustration, confusion and opposition to the school closures during public comment. A common question was why the recently passed $975 million bond wouldn’t help keep these schools open.
DPS administration responded that those funds could only go toward renovations and cannot be used to cover the operating costs necessary to keep the schools open.
BY ERIC HEINZ
e Denver District Attorney’s O ce led second-degree murder charges recently against Angel Armijo, 31, regarding the death of a 35-year-old woman at an apartment complex at 816 Acoma St.
According to Denver Police, an attendant of the apartment complex reported a disturbance about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. When o cers arrived, they initially found Armijo unresponsive with half his body laying outside the apartment door.
When he was eventually conscious, he admitted to using fentanyl earlier that night, and then began “yelling for someone to check on his friend.” Ocers entered the apartment and found the 35-year-old woman, who was pronounced dead later that evening by Denver Health.
O cers determined the deceased woman had evidence of bruises and lacerations, and an inspection of the bedroom at the Acoma apartment showed signs of a “physical altercation.”
O cers also interviewed neighbors
who reported hearing glass breaking and other loud noises from the apartment.
When Armijo was taken to Denver Police headquarters, he stated that he believed the deceased woman had overdosed on some kind of substance and that he would not have hurt her. Although police found abrasions on his knuckles, he stated that he punches his walls when he is angry.
After the Denver O ce of the Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to the woman was blunt force trauma, an arrest warrant was issued for Armijo, who was booked on Oct. 31.
An attorney was not listed as representing Armijo as of Dec. 2. Armijo is currently being held on a $1 million bond at the Downtown Detention Center in Denver. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 14 at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in downtown Denver.
According to court records, Armijo was already awaiting trial for a separate charge of assault when the alleged murder occurred.
SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Palmer Elementary School, 995 Grape St., is one of five elementary schools the DPS Board of Education recently voted to have closed due to declining enrollment. COURTESY OF PALMER ELEMENTARY
BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
Democratic state Sen. Chris Hansen plans to resign from the legislature Jan. 9, the day after Colorado’s 2025 lawmaking term begins, as he takes on a new role as the chief executive o cer of the La Plata Electric Association.
Hansen, who lives in Denver, told e Colorado Sun that he will submit a letter of resignation to Capitol leadership in the coming days.
e La Plata Electric Association on Tuesday announced that it had selected Hansen as its CEO, a week after Hansen was reelected to a second four-year term in the Colorado Senate representing District 31. He didn’t make his plans to resign from the legislature known until Wednesday when he spoke with e Sun.
e timing of Hansen’s resignation e ectively prevents voters in his Senate District 31 from having a say in their state senator until 2026. His seat will be held by a vacancy appointee until then.
Hansen, who ran unsuccessfully in 2023 to be mayor of Denver, said he didn’t pursue the job in Durango, but was rather contacted by a recruiter about the opening.
“ is is not something I took lightly,” he said. “ is is a decision I made in the best interest of my family. It’s an amazing professional opportunity.”
Hansen said he didn’t sign a contract to take the job until Nov. 9, four days after the election.
Part of the reason Hansen says he took the job is to help pay for his two sons’ college education. State lawmakers earn about $40,000 a year. His oldest child is a senior in high school.
Hansen’s predecessor at LPEA, Jessica Matlock, earned $545,000 her last year leading the nonpro t utility. She announced her resignation as CEO in February.
Hansen plans to commute from his home in Denver to Durango while his oldest son nishes high school. He and his family will eventually move to southwestern Colorado.
e La Plata Electric Association is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative that provides electricity to the residents of La Plata and Archuleta counties, as well as to portions of Hinsdale, Mineral and San Juan counties. It has roughly $110 million in operating revenues.
Hansen is an electric distribution expert. In addition to serving as a state senator, he is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Western Energy and has more than 25 years of industry experience.
A Democratic vacancy committee, made up of party insiders, will be convened in Senate District 31 to select Hansen’s replacement for the next two years. In 2026, that person would have to run for reelection to stay in the seat.
State Rep. Steven Woodrow and state Rep.-elect Sean Camacho, both Denver Democrats, have expressed interest in the job.
“It’s something we’re looking into very closely, and I’m really encouraged
by all of the positive feedback so far,” Woodrow said in a text message.
State law dictates that the Senate District 31 vacancy committee cannot meet more than 20 days before Hansen’s resignation takes effect. at would be Dec. 20.
Hansen said he isn’t resigning from the legislature earlier as to prevent the need for two vacancy committees — one to select someone to serve out his current term, which ends on Jan. 8, when his next term begins at the start of the 2025 legislative session.
Editor’s note: is article was reduced for space and originally appeared in e Colorado Sun on Nov. 13. e entirety of the article can be found at coloradosun.com.
Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, speaks before Gov. Jared Polis signs a bill into law in May 2024 at the governor’s mansion in downtown Denver.
PHOTO BY JESSE PAUL / THE COLORADO SUN
Sen. Chris Hansen
The Denver Christkindlmarket has arrived and is full of merriment, food and festivities. Story on Page 12.
COURTESY OF THE DENVER CHRISTKINDLMARKET / GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - COLORADO CHAPTER
BY MERYL PHAIR
From Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) Seed Distribution program to initiatives by Denver Water, community members have numerous resources to plan for creating a sustainable water-wise garden for the next planting season.
Seed distribution
e largest distribution of free seed packets in Colorado gets underway every year at DUG headquarters in Curtis Park, with this year’s volunteers expected to sort and bundle around 150,000 seed packets, an equivalent of 40 million seeds.
Seeds from the Community Seed Distribution program are available for DUG’s community garden network along with families, community partners and non-pro ts, ending up in food pantries, libraries and the Denver Housing Authority.
Over 100,000 pounds of organic food is produced through the program a year, and along with reducing nancial barriers involved in growing food at home or in a community garden, the program also diverts waste. Working with several seed retailers, the program is distributing seeds that would otherwise be thrown away as big seed brands can’t sell their products a year after they’re packaged.
“ e program is the rst lifeline for jump-starting food production across metro Denver,” said Shay Moon, senior manager of food access programs for DUG. “ e collection has a focus on food production, so there’s a lot of vegetables and annuals but we also get seeds for perennials, herbs, we get seeds for a little bit of everything.”
SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
DUG’s Grow a Garden program which hands out beginner-friendly themed kits for starting gardens typically sells out fast every year.
GARDENERS
DUG also recently launched a Culturally Inclusive Seeds Program, which Moon described as a more intentional and smaller-scale seed distribution initiative. Currently only available for DUG gardeners, the organization developed a catalog of seeds through a community feedback process to provide greater access to specialty plant varieties that community members may nd challenging to acquire in Colorado.
“Food access is only meaningful if the supplies you’re getting, the varieties you’re able to grow, are also familiar and desirable,” Moon said. “ is is our program’s way to broaden and diversify the scope of foods accessible through our resources and to o er a connection point for gardeners from di erent backgrounds to still share in growing and cooking in community spaces across the city.”
For many across the metro Denver area who are starting to think about next year’s gardens, the Community Seed Distribution program along with various other community initiatives reduces barriers to getting plants in the soil. Addressing a range of challenges such as cost, land success and education, DUG o ers a host of resources to get Denver growing.
In addition to the seed distribution programs, DUG has various food access initiatives across the city, distributing around 30,000 seedlings every year through its Grower Garden Program, which has beginner-friendly themed kits for starting gardens including a bilingual educational guide.
e organization also holds plant sales around the year, distributing seeds and seedlings for free to families that receive
SNAP bene ts, along with running nearly 200 community gardens involving around 40,000 people and launching an ongoing food forest program.
Xeriscaping, water reduction
For people who are thinking of starting or already have a garden in the works, integrating native plants and reducing water use are two ways to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly garden this year.
Denver Water uses the term “xeriscaping” meaning landscape design requiring little maintenance or irrigation and has embraced these low-water principles in its ColoradoScaping programing.
“ ese landscapes are more diverse, they attract pollinators, they’re colorful, textural and vibrant,” said Bea Stratton, water conservation planner at Denver Water. “We want to emphasize the diversity of the landscapes that we’re talking about putting in and illustrate that
we’re not talking about a rock lawn.”
Denver Water has completed a series of landscape transformations on its properties, including working with Denver Parks and Recreation to complete a 10-acre Quebec Street median, and the organization has begun to partner with other projects throughout the metro area experiencing funding gaps.
ese projects replace “non-functional turf,” essentially grass that serves no purpose beyond aesthetics, into a ColoradoScape that reduces water use along with providing native habitat for birds, pollinators and wildlife by planting native grasses and trees for shade.
Partnering with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and Resource Central, a nonpro t based in Boulder that provides programs for utilities across the front range, the water agency plans to release a residential how-to-guide for landscape transformation in 2025.
rough Resource Central, Denver Wa-
ter o ers Garden in a Box, a native and climate-adaptive plant garden that residential customers can customize based on their property needs along with turf removal. ey also o er Slow the Flow, a free irrigation system audit that nds ways for existing water systems to be more e cient. Denver Water also o ers rebates on sprinkler heads and smart irrigation controllers and will cover up to $750 toward turf removal.
Denver Water also partnered with Plant Select, an organization that works with CSU Extension and Denver Botanic Gardens, to provide customers with native and climate-adapted plants such as rabbitbrush, yarrow and penstemons. ey also o er free native grass seed to Denver Water customers.
“We don’t want to tell our customers whether their personal property is functional or non-functional,” she said. “ at’s up to each individual to decide how they want their landscape to work for them. We’re providing a suite of options to help achieve water e ciency, depending on what each customer’s needs are.”
Denver Water is also working with grassroots organizations to identify landscape projects in disproportionately impacted communities. ose projects are not solely focused on water savings but might address climate-resilient landscaping.
For more information about Denver Urban Graden’s programing and volunteer opportunities reach out to dirt@dug.org or check out their website at Dug.org. Information on Slow the Flow irrigation audits, turf removal, and Garden in a Box can be found at resourcecentral.org. Denver Water customers can also request free native grass seed by emailing nativegrass@denverwater.org. For more information about landscape transformations, check out Denver Water’s ColoradoScaping website.
Volunteers spend the day organizing seeds into one ounce packets.
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We all know that holidays are some of the most stressful times of the year. Nearly half of all women experience a noticeable increase in stress during the holiday season, according to the American Psychological Association. While stress may be inevitable, there are plenty of ways to deal with it. First, take a critical look at your schedule and make sure you’re not overbooked. Take note of the commitments you have and decide how much time and energy you must dedicate to each task.
WOMEN’S WELLNESS
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You can even think back to the previous year to help you determine what is and what isn’t manageable for you. Once you have your priorities in order, it’s important to know how and when to set up boundaries. Sticking to your boundaries is key to reducing your stress over the holidays.
Once you begin to prepare for the holiday season, it’s valuable to acknowledge that things might not go exactly as planned. After all, we’re all human, and nobody is perfect even as hard as we try to ensure family gatherings, meals, events and other activities come together as we have envisioned them. Perfectly, of course! You can’t change how others act, but you are
Dr. Terry Dunn
always in control of your own actions and reactions. When someone is frustrating you, it’s important to remind yourself that everyone is going through their own issues and their own stressors during the holidays. Taking a step away can help alleviate the tension. Most of the time if someone gets frustrated with you it’s not personal.
In the moment, some simple deep breathing exercises can help to relieve these overwhelming and frustrated emotions.
Another thing to remember is to be responsible about your food and alcohol consumption. e holidays pose challenges to overindulge. Food, cookies, parties and more can entice us to consume more than normal. Moderation is key. Try to do your best by sticking to healthy eating choices and limiting portions.
Remember to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and short breaks can keep your body moving and help manage your moods and energy levels.
Pulling all the activities together and taking care of all the details usually falls to women. Even for those who love these tasks, it can become stressful to ful ll all the needs between work, home and community. Be sure to take time for yourself during the holidays. is is probably the most important tip!
Try to nd some time away, even 20 minutes can make a di erence, from all the madness and do something that relaxes you, like reading a book, watching a movie, a short walk, or getting some much-needed rest. Power naps can be an excellent way to refresh your mind, body and spirit.
Finally, it’s important to keep up with your regular routines. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating regularly and exercising. e holidays can be stressful, but it’s important to remember to put yourself rst so you can enjoy others. You can still take care of yourself while creating a wonderful holiday experience for you and your loved ones.
Dr. Terry Dunn is the owner of Foothills Urogynecology, a Denver-based practice specializing in women’s health. To learn more, visit www.urogyns.com.
“Get it in Gear” Choose an S to start and navigate to the E and then the W to win without hitting a deadend.
BY ERIC HEINZ
Donald Stuart “Stu” MacPhail, the founder of Life on Capitol Hill, died Sept. 28 at the age of 85. MacPhail established the newspaper in March 1975.
MacPhail wrote in 2012 about establishing the paper.
“When I conceived of this publication I never envisioned it would continue to serve Capitol Hill this long,” he wrote on the website colfaxavenue.org. “ ose many years ago I was sitting at the kitchen table in my very small bu et apartment at 16th & Williams (now a residence for seniors), writing copy, assembling ads and preparing the layout for the rst edition of Life on Capitol Hill.”
MacPhail wrote that by the following July his soon-to-be wife and her daughters joined the paper’s doorto-door delivery, although initially it caused him to go into a “few thou-
sand dollars” in debt.
“Rory Seeber was my last editor. After working together for a couple of years, I sold (Life on Capitol Hill) to Rory and his wife Hilleary Waters in 1995,” he wrote.
Prior to starting the newspaper, MacPhail unsuccessfully ran for the mayor of Lakewood in 1973. He also owned Scooter Liquors along East Colfax Avenue for some time.
Longtime Capitol Hill resident, historian and author Phil Goodstein was one of the rst writers for the paper and worked with the man informally known as “Stu.”
“Of all the people I have encountered in local newspapers, he far stood out as a man of integrity and courage. Especially in the 1980s, I was the prime writer for MacPhail’s Life on Capitol Hill. For the most part, he welcomed all views in the paper,” Goodstein said, adding he worked with MacPhail to publish his rst book. “Add to all of this his
careers in selling mopeds, liquor, and real estate, and he had an amazing rich career.”
“Stu was a loving and supportive husband, father and grandfather,” an obit for him on the website for Dignity Memorial stated. “Stu loved all his travels around the world with his wife Virginia, seeing sites and learning the life of others.”
Donald Stuart “Stu” MacPhail is preceded in death by his parents; Donald and Catherine MacPhail, his sister, Catherine Hill, grandchildren; Justin Dorrance, Devin Dorrance and Cedric Price. He is survived by his wife, Virginia and their children; Sandra (Robert) Gallegos, Sheri (Eugene) Dorrance, Pam Price, Heather MacPhail and Kenneth MacPhail. He is also survived by his grandchildren; Ashley (Kenny) Gallegos, Britney Gallegos, Ryan (Meisje) Dorrance, DeShawn Price and Janell Price.
There’s a reason that Shakespeare’s phrase “winter of discontent” has stuck in our collective mind for 400 years.
CHECK IT OUT
Lauren Seegmiller
Cold weather and darkness lead to respiratory illness and seasonal a ective disorder (SAD). A 2023 American Psychological Association poll found that 89% of adults experience holiday seasonal stress. Google “holiday stress” and the results are every famous medical school and health outlet giving advice on rewiring our brains to bypass seasonal spiraling.
I can’t compare this title to other housekeeping-related ones. I’ve always avoided those out of shame. Domesticity is my eternal downfall. From January to October, I can eke out deep cleans while balancing work, health, family and leisure.
Once November dawns, I see the four horsemen of my executive dysfunction on the horizon. ey are nances, functions, family, and food, and they trample me 24/7 until it’s January again.
Which brings me to therapist KC Davis’s “How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing.”
COVID exploded Davis’s plans to navigate life with a working spouse, toddler, newborn and postpartum anxiety.
“Numb and overwhelmed by the isolation,” she writes in her book, “I watched my house crumble around me.” Commenters saw her irreverent TikTocs about her messy house and called her “lazy.” Lifelong insecurities crystallized into deance.
Davis is both a breath of fresh air and a bucket of cold water. She narrates her audiobook, so listeners hear her actual voice say: “You are not a failure because you can’t keep up with laundry. Laundry is morally neutral,” and, “You do not have to care about yourself to care for yourself.” ese sentences are simple containers for radical and revolutionary self-compassion.
Even if Davis wants self-worth banished
from care tasks, she o ers practical advice on getting them done. She has a system to divide up and prioritize the objects in any room ( rst: pick up garbage). Make tasks tolerable, even if execution is not pretty, eco-friendly, or e cient. Ask yourself: what helps you function? If your laundry sticking point is folding, must you fold?
Davis designed her book to be accessible for neurodivergent people. It is short, simple and clearly written, and it includes built-in shortcuts. ese features, while developed to accommodate disabilities, have farther-reaching bene ts, embodying the “curb cut e ect.”
No matter what you do or don’t observe this winter, our world can be cold and dark on any day of the year. Learning to practice self-kindness is a huge undertaking, but it can be a precious gift to yourself. For more works on living self-compassionately, consider “Laziness Does Not Exist” by Dr. Devon Price and “Burnout: e Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. e Central Library is now fully open to the public. Come see what we’ve done with the place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through ursday. e Central Library is closed Fridays and Saturdays.
Lauren Seegmiller is a librarian at Denver’s Central Library. She enjoys gaming, movies and the delusion that she needs more craft supplies.
BY TEAGUE BOHLEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Meredith “Phee” Avery is coming out with her debut novel and her second, from the same publisher, is already in the works.
is rst novel, “ e Unknown,” focuses on human tra cking. A young girl goes out on the town, only to awaken to a nightmare—she’s been abducted and imprisoned in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere with a cadre of similarly kidnapped women.
e more she nds out about their predicament, the more sinister it becomes—until she hatches a plan to make her escape and save others.
Currently, the novel is available only in digital form, but will be released in physical copy i January 2025.
Avery, who prefers to go by Phee, said the novel began with a very vivid dream—a nightmare that was a complete narrative from beginning to end.
“I do that sometimes,” Phee admitted, “but this one was particularly developed.”
She was already in the middle of writing a di erent novel completely but switched over to this new idea right away.
“It just seemed to take precedence,” Phee says, “not only because I thought it was a powerful story, but I hoped it also would bring awareness about the pervasive and increasing issue of human tra cking worldwide.”
Phee’s dreams are also the source of her next book.
“It was weird,” she laughed. “ at night after I submitted the manuscript for this book to my publisher, I had another dream, super vivid, with a beginning, middle, and end—and it was a sequel to the rst book. Hopefully I’ll be able to do something with that, other than to su er through the nightmare itself!”
Phee says she hasn’t started on that sequel yet, but it’s waiting in the wings.
“My next novel is tentatively called Agent X,” Phee said, “and it’s sort of a Deadpool/James Bond/female mercenary type. It’ll be a lot more fun.”
Writing is something in which Phee says she’s always had an interest.
“I had a poem published back in high school,” she said, “but didn’t pursue it in terms of academics.”
Phee studied journalism for a time and eventually got her degree from Metro State University in International Cultural Studies, which she says is reected in some of the themes of “ e Unknown.”
Currently, Phee supports herself and her family by barbering, working with clients in her own home. Which is, in turn, how she found her publisher.
“One of my clients is retired from one of the big ve publishing companies,” she said, “and o ered to take a look at what I was working on.”
She said he liked what he saw, enough to send the manuscripts to a friend of his still active in the industry. In a ash, Phee found herself living the authorial dream—turning a random contact into an o cial publishing contract.
How did Phee celebrate?
“My boyfriend and I went to Manning’s for a good steak dinner,” she smiled. “It was great. And then, I thought, okay, that’s done. Now back to work.”
Phee says that the writing is central to what she wants to do now and in the ongoing—and Wheat Ridge is the perfect spot to do that.
“It’s comfortable. Fields and trees and ponds and whatnot,” she said. “It provides a good backdrop for me to focus on the story I’m working on and be clear about where else I’m going.”
In the meantime, Phee says she’ll keep working on her second novel while promoting her rst.
“One down,” Phee said with rightful and deserved pride. “One down.”
“ e Unknown” is available in digital format now, and will be released in hard copy in early 2025.
Donald Stuart “Stu” MacPhail
BY ERNEST GURULÉ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
From a few thousand feet above the foothills, 27-year-old pilot Sayed Jawad Padsha takes in the view. But only momentarily. In high-country ying, notorious invisible and unpredictable air currents can suddenly seize control of an aircraft and create chaos.
But, said the Afghanistan expatriate, for one brief moment, the view provides “comfort…with good memories.” e mountains remind him of home.
Padsha is in a training program o ered by Denver’s Emily Gri th Technical College and funded by the U.S. government’s O ce of Refugee Resettlement. e program assists refugees in acquiring or upgrading the skills necessary to more easily integrate into their new environment.
Already a pilot in his native country, Padsha was in the Kabul Air Wing ying singleengine aircraft.
“ e main goal,” he said, “was to carry military personnel and wounded soldiers all around Afghanistan.” Other times he was dropping “food and ammunition for the soldiers.” But wherever he ew, with a seemingly unending war and often uncompromising adversary, each mission carried its own unique risks.
Padsha is one of several Afghan pilots who have taken or earned their private or commercial pilot license under the auspices of Emily Gri th. Currently, the technical college’s program has successfully enrolled four Afghan pilots with one earning a commercial pilot’s license. Another is completing training for instrument rating, which quali es a pilot to y in unfavorable conditions, and two are becoming certi ed as private pilots.
Flying has been Padsha’s dream since childhood, a childhood spent following a father whose military career took the family to postings all across Afghanistan and beyond. Padsha was born when his family was in Turkey. Today, his parents and brother, also in the Afghan military, have been resettled following America’s withdrawal from the war. Following in his father’s footsteps, Padsha joined the Afghanistan military. He attended the country’s air force academy, where he earned a pilot’s license, the foundation of his dream to command bigger, faster aircraft.
Padsha, through his association with Emily Gri th, said he found a welcoming environment. It is the most dramatic contrast, he said, to the country he left behind that has become one of the most autocratic governments in the world.
“I feel really blessed to have met such people,” Padsha said. Emily Gri th and Denver, he said with gratitude, is “like coming to heaven from a man-made Hell.” Afghanistan is corrupted and run by people “with corrupted minds.”
Afghanistan has long been called the “graveyard of empires.” In the late 19th century, the British were unsuccessful in securing dominion. e Russians, then the Soviet Union, also failed in their 10-year-long occupation, which began in 1979 and claimed the lives of more than 15,000 soldiers. America’s withdrawal from its 20-year war against the Taliban came in August 2021. More than 20,000 American troops were killed or wounded in that war.
According to the U.S. State Department, nearly 100,000 Afghanistan refugees were allowed asylum in the United States following the war’s end, including Padsha’s family. While the program aids refugees like Padsha, it also helps replenish America’s own inventory of pilots, for which there is a growing shortage, said Ti any Jaramillo, Emily Gri th’s manager of career programs.
“Right now, we have four pilots in our program…we’re hoping to get eight to 10 more in the next year,” Jaramillo said.
Padsha, who began his Emily Gri th training last February using Centennial Airport for the “hands-on” portion, is hoping to be certi ed on multi-engine aircraft, Jaramillo said. But returning to Afghanistan, she added, is not part of his future.
“He plans to stay,” and to work as an airline pilot. Returning to Afghanistan would put him, like so many other refugees, at “great risk.”
While exact numbers of Afghanistan refugees enrolled in the technical college were not available, Emily Gri th has established programs, Jaramillo said, that also address health services, education and English classes, and counseling on initial housing placement for refugees.
Sayed Jawad Padsha, pictured here in his fatigues with the Kabul Air Wing. Padsha is in a training program o ered by the Emily Gri th Technical College that helps refugees acquire skills.
Sayed Jawad Padsha, a participant in the Emily Gri th Technical College’s program to help refugees, sits in the cockpit of a plane. Padsha was already a pilot in his native country, Afghanistan, and is receiving additional training.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAYED JAWAD PADSHA
BY MERYL PHAIR
SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Bayaud Enterprises is set to tear down its longtime 333 W. Bayaud Ave. location, repurposing the site into Henninger Legacy Homes, a four-story, 60-unit supportive housing building available for individuals making less than 30% of the area’s median income.
e employment-support organization has partnered with the nonpro t Atlantis Community Foundation to complete the project, securing funding for the venture through the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
Both organizations have a shared mission to serve people who are disabled or experiencing homelessness with the new housing project honoring the legacy of David Henninger who founded Bayaud Enterprises in 1969.
Retiring last month from the nonprofit’s board, Henninger’s legacy for providing community services to at-risk populations will be living on in the permanent building in Denver’s Baker neighborhood.
Having provided services to the neighborhood for 50 years, Bayaud will continue providing housing counseling and employment services out of the new building following construction. During construction, their administrative o ces have relocated to Lakewood.
“ e project will be an e cient way to
deliver supportive services to the people who live there,” said Patrick Coyle, executive director of the Atlantis Community Foundation.
Another property Atlantis previously completed was a 144-unit building about a block from Bayaud’s current property.
Coyle said construction on the supportive housing initiative would begin in December, and a groundbreaking event is scheduled to take place in January. With an estimated build time of about 14 months, the units are slated to open in the spring of 2026. About 20% of the current building will remain and the rest will be torn down.
“It will be an essential service to the city and Denver’s homeless population,” Coyle said. “We emphasize our resident’s independence, both in living on their own in these units and their ability to thrive and regain a purpose in life. e connection to vocational, employment and volunteer opportunities through Bayaud is critical.”
In addition to supporting the people living in the housing from o ces on the second oor, Bayaud has plans of growing its food bank which will be located in Henninger Legacy Homes and serve residents in addition to the wider community, said Tammy Bellofatto, executive director of Bayaud Enterprises. e nonpro t director said they serve about 100 families a week out of the current food bank, which will be operating
out of DocuVault Secure Shredding CO at the Bayaud location during construction.
DocuVault recently took over Bayaud Enterprises’s document shredding business, one of several small businesses the nonpro t has launched to create work opportunities for community members and provide a funding outlet for programming. As part of their partnership, DocuVault will continue to employ people with disabilities while giving 3% of their gross Colorado revenue back to Bayaud Enterprises.
Seeking referrals from numerous sources such as the Department of Veterans A airs and Denver’s homeless programs, the housing on Bayaud will support individuals without homes including disabled veterans, people who can live independently but have formerly lived in nursing homes or rehab centers due to a disability, and people who are dual-diagnosed, either physically or developmentally disabled.
Designed by Shopworks Architecture, the rm will be adding unique elements into the construction of the building to make it accessible to people with disabilities along with incorporating trauma-informed design. Some examples include having two exits in common spaces, subtle colors and taking measures to reduce noise. e building will also have around-the-clock security by unarmed guards, said Bellofatto.
e location of the supportive housing is ideal for several reasons, said Coyle who emphasized its proximity to public transportation, Dailey Park and a retail center, all within walking distance.
While providing a ordable housing, both nonpro t directors emphasized employment as the number one goal for those living in the units.
“Our mission is to create hope, opportunity and choice for people with disabilities and those who face other hurdles to employment. at’s going to continue to be our main focus,” Bellofatto said. “We’re looking forward to continuing to be good neighbors.”
Construction on Henninger Legacy Homes will begin soon at the Bayaud Enterprises location in the Baker neighborhood.
PHOTO BY MERYL PHAIR
BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Whether a nonpro t organization has participated in Colorado Gives Day for one year or for 10, is large or small, the Colorado Gives Foundation continues to support thousands of nonpro ts across the state in the hopes of connecting people and ideas.
“Colorado Gives Day is really an opportunity to be part of the statewide movement,” said Kelly Dunkin, president and CEO of the Colorado Gives Foundation. “I think of it as the ultimate feel-good event.”
Colorado Gives Day launched in 2010 and has become one of the state’s largest 24-hour giving events. Taking place on the second Tuesday every December, which this year is Dec. 10, Coloradans can use the Colorado Gives Day website to nd a cause they want to support and can donate any amount.
However, early giving kicked o on the rst of November.
While people can donate to Colorado Gives all year long, Dunkin said donations during early giving and on Colorado Giving Day gets a boost from the foundation’s $1 Million + Incentive Fund.
When it comes to volunteering and charitable giving, national trends have indicated that there has been a decline over the years, which can be attributed to economic distress among other factors, according to a 2024 Giving USA report. e report showed that giving by individuals declined 2.3% in 2023.
Despite national trends, Dunkin said
the Colorado Gives Foundation is seeing a di erent trend — a positive and hopeful one at that.
Compared to 2023 numbers, Dunkin said the amount donated so far this year has increased 76%. Additionally, the number of donations increased 46%, the number of nonpro ts that have received a donation went up 22% and the number of donors making donations increased 35%.
“We’re hopeful that it means we’ll see a great response on Colorado Gives Day,” said Dunkin.
Last year, more than $53 million was raised for more than 4,000 nonpro ts.
As for early giving, the cumulative total the foundation made between Nov. 1-13 in 2023 was $2.49 million, according to Dunkin. is year, the cumulative total made between Nov. 1-13 was about $3.1 million.
“We’re always amazed and grateful to Colorado donors who step up every year to support their favorite nonpro ts,” said Dunkin.
Making an impact
Lisa Mendelsberg, who founded Colorado Animal Rescue Express, also known as C.A.R.E., has participated in Colorado Gives Day for 14 years and each year, has seen the impact the fundraising event makes.
Colorado Animal Rescue Express, located in Greenwood Village, works to curb pet homelessness through transportation and veterinary care donations. e nonpro t also works to reduce pet-overpopulation with sponsored programs for spay
and neuter procedures.
e rst year that Mendelsberg participated in the event, her nonpro t won an award for being the smallest charity to have the largest number of donors.
“(Colorado Gives Day) gives a platform to tell your story and to be in front of other people, to be in front of a donor audience,” said Mendelsberg.
She added that Colorado Gives Day has been very important to the nonpro t’s success. Ever since it was formed in 2007, about 65,400 homeless pets have been moved to safety and about $398,000 has been donated to shelters, rescue groups and other caregiver organizations, according to the website.
e animal nonpro t is just one of thousands of nonpro ts that bene t from the annual fundraising event. e Aspen E ect, based in Douglas County, began fundraising through Colorado Gives Day last year.
Acknowledging the prevalence of mental health issues among youth, Jerry Van Leuvan founded the nonpro t to help give youth a place to connect with one another, heal and thrive.
In its third year of operations, e Aspen E ect is a youth program that aims to increase the resilience of youth across the county through the therapeutic relationships they develop with farm animals and adult mentors.
“Being a part of Colorado GIves Day has not only helped us to raise funding for e Aspen E ect, it gives us a strong connection to the bigger community of nonpro t work in Colorado,” said Van Leuvan.
the nonprofit The Aspen E ect
How it works
People can go online to Coloradogives. org and type in a name of the nonpro t they want to support. If they are unsure, they can search by cause or location. e 12 groups of causes range from animals and civil rights to mental health and religion.
Donors can give various amounts to multiple nonpro ts at the same time by adding their donations to a cart. e donor can then check out all at once and receive one receipt.
SEE GIVES DAY, P12
When you want to experience a steak
You want Omaha Steaks.
Jerry Van Leuvan, founder of
BY COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA STAFF
e Denver Christkindlmarket is an authentic, German-style holiday market that hosts local and European craft and food vendors and entertainment. e market runs through Dec. 23 at Denver Civic Center Park. is annual holiday market is free and open to the public. It is speci cally designed by the German American Chamber
