Garrison Garden Paseo and adjacent Ralston Gardens a ordable housing development now open
members on hand for the celebrations. Sta from the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority, which oversaw the projects, were also present.
Upon its completion, Garrison Garden Paseo immediately becomes one of the most unique parks in the city. e linear park creates a previously nonexistent cut-through that connects Ralston Road and 57th Avenue, which were previously linked by a steep, undeveloped alleyway.
Arvada’s Ralston Fields tract — which was designated for urban renewal over two decades ago — is two steps closer to completion, as the city’s newest park, Garrison Garden Paseo, and newest a ordable housing complex, Ralston Gardens, opened with ceremonial ribbon cuttings.
e projects were ushered in on Oct. 30, with city team members and community
AURA Director Maureen Phair said the Paseo — which translates to “leisurely walk” in Spanish — helps to transform what was formerly a car-centric area into a more pedestrian and bike-friendly neighborhood.
“It was just hot and all asphalt, there were hardly any trees in this area,” Phair said.
“Now we’re going, we’re coming back, and everything is
Arvada City Council holds workshop on paid parking in Olde Town
heavily landscaped, lled with trees, four little parks, and we’re prioritizing the pedestrians, whereas before it was all auto-oriented.
“Now we’re trying to make all these connections, like the (Garrison Garden) Paseo is a connection back to the (Ralston-Central) Park,” Phair continued. “All these are these trying to invite the neighborhood into the area, whereas before, these shopping centers basically turn their backs on the neighborhood; it was really car-centric.”
Directly adjacent to the Paseo is the Arvada Community Garden, run by the Arvada Gardeners. e Gardeners are in the process of installing demonstration gardens along the Paseo’s path.
AURA Deputy Director Carrie Briscoe highlighted other elements of the park, such as the terraced seating, which
Phair said will provide an optimal view of the city’s annual reworks display at the Stenger-Lutz Sports Complex.
“ is park is an introduction to an urban pocket park that takes advantage of a 50-footwide right away,” Briscoe said.
“Within the right away we’ve got a bike and pedestrian path, terraced seating, a look out where on a clear day you can see the Flatirons and even a stream. It is connected to the new Ralston Gardens a ordable housing and the Arvada Gardeners land.
“ is is a whole new introduction to a city park and acritical connection point to neighborhoods to the north and south so residents can now easily walk to nearby restaurants, co ee shops and other retail businesses,” Briscoe continued.
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e parking landscape in Olde Town Arvada might be in for a change, but it won’t be anytime soon.
On Oct. 28, Arvada’s City Council hosted a workshop on the possibility of paid parking becoming the norm in the city’s historic district, with Travel Demand Management and Parking Coordinator Derek Fern and Consultant Drew Willsey saying that since Olde Town’s parking infrastructure is, on average, more than 85% full during peak hours, something needs to change.
“When parking starts exceeding that 85% threshold, we have to start doing something di erently,” Willsey said. “We won’t want to design the parking system for that one big event of the year, but in the case of Olde Town, we see those 85% levels every day and for most of the day on weekend.”
Olde Town currently has 300 onstreet parking spaces, along with 762 spots in lots — 629 spaces in the Transit Hub, 103 in the Webster Lot and 30 in the West Lot (west side) — none of which are pay-to-park.
In addition, there are 1,032 other spaces near Olde Town; 598 in the Harkins Lot, 81 in the Shrine of St. Anne’s lot, 67 in the West Lot (east side) and 40 in the Elks South Lot. All of those lots have requirements on who can use them and what businesses those patrons can go to, while the Elk’s lot are paid spaces.
Fern and Willsey said that there is an average of 92% occupancy of street parking on a daily basis, which reaches 100% on evenings and weekends. Meanwhile, the Hub peak occupancy is only 35%, any between 55% and 90% during events.
Councilmember Randy Moorman said that if paid parking was to be implemented, accessibility concerns would need to be addressed, and either way, signage for getting into the Hub should be improved.
“Getting into the transit hub is difcult,” Moorman said. “It just is the way it’s set up. If there’s any way to simplify this, at least with signage, that would be helpful. I think if we’re
Aerial view of Garrison Garden Paseo with Ralston Gardens next door.
COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
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‘Even if my one vote doesn’t matter, it still matters to me’:
Je co inmate votes for the first time thanks to new Colorado law
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As a heavy metal door opened, Jesus Rodriguez walked carefully through the corridors of the Jefferson County Detention Center, taking deliberate steps toward a room that would become a temporary polling place to take part in a deeply embedded American right — a right that he said felt distant and, at times, impossible from behind bars.
For the rst time in his life, Rodriguez was about to cast his vote, an act made possible by a new Colorado law aimed at expanding voting access to individuals within the criminal justice system.
SB24-072, passed this spring, mandates that county clerks and sheri s establish at least one day of in-person voting at jails and detention centers for eligible incarcerated voters.
Rodriquez, who woke up that morning unsure if he would even attempt to vote, said he decided, “Why not try?” after a security guard passed through a second time to grab inmates waiting to go to the voter registration room.
“I’m 29 years old, and I’ve never voted because I never thought it would mean that much. But in votes like today, I guess one vote means everything,” Rodriguez said. “It made me feel really good to know that my opinion matters in this situation.”
Rodriguez acknowledged that while he made mistakes in the past, he cares deeply about the community outside.
“People would be surprised to know that those of us who are incarcerated do pay attention to what’s going on out there because while we live every day in here, out there is what really matters,” he said.
A milestone moment for voting access in Colorado
Je erson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez choked up hearing Rodriguez describe his voting experience as one of the top ve in his life.
“Voting is so many things,” Gonzalez, who is also a voting rights attorney, said. “It’s the way we express hope. It’s the way that we express love for our community. It’s the way that we have our voices heard. I ran for o ce because I want to make sure that every eligible voter is able to cast their vote, and we just got one step closer today.”
Gonzalez said that when she was elected in 2022, she discovered that the county had eligible voters in the criminal justice system who were e ectively being
right to vote forever.
“It started this whole chain of events of having conversations with everyone in the pod,” Jennings said.
“I was running into guys in their 30s, 40s and 50s who had never voted before because of the legacy of Jim Crow, which suppressed voting rights for African Americans. Suddenly, I was on this whole trajectory of educating folks and helping make sure justice-involved folks know their right to vote.”
It didn’t surprise Jennings in the slightest that so many inmates showed up wanting to receive a ballot.
“ ere are two ballot initiatives (Proposition 128 and Amendment I) that directly impact the criminal justice system,” he said. “So making sure they have access to the ballot and having their voices heard really matters to them.”
To Jennings, this is deeply personal.
denied the right to vote.
In Colorado, only those inmates serving time for a felony conviction are ineligible.
“But what we found in 2022 was that out of more than 900 people who were in our jail, only three cast a vote,” Gonzalez said.
“Having the right to vote is fundamentally di erent than being able to exercise it.”
As a result, Gonzalez said her o ce teamed up with several community-based organizations, including the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, to pass the Voting for Con-
ned Eligible Electors Act.
“We’re the rst state in the nation that will have that kind of opportunity statewide,” she said. Gonzalez hopes other states will follow suit. “ is is just one more example of how our democracy should work for everyone. If you are eligible to vote, you should be able to vote. And I hope that we see this throughout the country,” she said.
Ensuring every voice is counted Gonzalez and Rodriguez weren’t the only two to grasp the moment’s importance.
Kyle Jennings, an election judge and civic engagement coordinator with the Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, was there to vet the inmates’ registration forms to ensure that no inmates still serving time on a felony charge were passed through to receive a ballot.
But, for him, the job wasn’t just about clearing inmates to receive a ballot.
Ten years ago, almost to the day, Jennings recalled sitting inside that same jail as an inmate having a conversation with a man who thought he’d lost his
“Je co is my home. Colorado is my home. And making sure people have their voices heard in their communities is my life’s work now,” he said.
While it’s too early to know how many Colorado inmates will vote this year, Gonzalez said the numbers in Je co have already exceeded any prior year by the hundreds, if not thousands.
A message from behind bars
Having nally expressed his right to vote, Rodriguez challenged those on the outside to do the same.
“If I can go through a whole process of leaving from where I’m at through a controlled movement to get there, and you don’t have to do that, and you have the free will to vote, then do it,” he said.
“ e most positive thing I’m going to take from this whole experience is knowing that I didn’t allow another person in my shoes to tell me, ‘Oh, you can’t vote because you’ve got so and so situation going on.’ I took the chance to come and nd out myself,” he continued.
Mostly, Rodriguez felt pride.
“I came to vote today because even if my one vote doesn’t matter, it still matters to me. ere were a couple of issues in these votes that I felt strongly about. No one may ever know what I voted for, but for me to know that I placed my opinion on the matter makes me feel like my voice has meaning now.”
Asked whether he’ll vote again, Rodriguez’s answer was simple.
“Absolutely.”
Jesus Rodriguez explains what it meant to him to vote for the first time.
PHOTO BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
Inmates exercise their right to vote in a temporary polling room inside the Je co Detention Center. PHOTOS BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
We Need to Take Seriously the Pollutants Emitted When Cooking With Gas
Two years ago last week, one of the headlines in my column was, “Evidence Mounts That Gas Stoves Are Harmful to Health.” It cited an article the previous week in the journal Environmental Science and Technology which quoted a study reporting that 12 hazardous pollutants, including benzene, a carcinogen, were detected in the emissions of gas ranges. That study was of 159 homes in 19 California counties.
Last week, The Guardian, a British periodical, published an article with a more damning headline: “Pollutants from gas stoves kill 40,000 Europeans each year, report finds.”
that, “New peer-reviewed research from RMI, the University of Sydney, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which I co-authored with two epidemiologistsandacolleague,estimated that nearly 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the United States can be linked to having a gas stove in the home.
According to that article, “The researchers attributed 36,031 early deaths each year to gas cookers in the EU, and a further 3,928 in the UK. They say their estimates are conservative because they only considered the health effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and not other gases such as carbon monoxide and benzene.”
Now, that’s a wake-up call!
I did a web search for “dangers of gas stove emissions” and found that multiple other studies had been conducted from late 2022 through to now reaching similar conclusions but without that large a database of impacted human beings.
On Sept. 7, 2022, Harvard Health reported that, “Gas stoves affect air quality inside and outside your home, circulating pollutants that raise risk for asthma and other illnesses.”
On Jan. 19, 2023, Scientific American wrote that, “Scientists have long known that gas stoves emit pollutants that irritate human airways and can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems.”
On Feb. 15, 2023, Brady Seals of the Rocky Mountain Institute announced
On April 7, 2023, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health reported, “A recent study suggests that gas stoves contribute to about 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. equivalent to the risk of developing asthma due to exposure to secondhand smoke. NO2 can cause respiratory problems, particularly for those with asthma or other respiratory illnesses, and long-term exposure to NO2 from gas stoves has also been linked to an increased risk of developing heart disease.”
On June 21, 2023, Yale Climate Connections reported that, “Cooking with gas emits dangerous levels of benzene, a carcinogen, into household air.”
On May 3, 2024, Stanford University reported that, “A study of air pollution in U.S. homes reveals how much gasand propane stoves increase exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to childhood asthma.”
This appears to be a problem that disproportionately affects low-income populations for a couple reasons. First, they are more likely to have gas ranges, especially in cities where natural gas is ubiquitous. Second, the problem is exacerbated in smaller kitchens, allowing the emissions to be less dispersed.
Obviously, a large-scale switch from gas ranges to induction or electric ranges is not practical or affordable, especially for low-income populations, but health
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experts have some advice on what to do in the meantime. First of all, ventilate your kitchen when using a gas stove. If you have a vent fan above your range, use it, but only if it vents to the outside. Many vent fans, such as those built into over-the-stove microwave ovens, merely filter the air of particles, blowing it back into the kitchen. To see if your vent fan ventilates to the outside, open the cabinet above it, so see if there’s a flue.
A good short-term solution, if you have $50-100 to spend, would be to purchase a plug-in induction cooktop, as Rita and I have done. Search for “induction burners” and you’ll find many starting as low as $49.99. Because induction is so efficient, most induction burners plug into a standard countertop kitchen outlet.
NOTE: Induction burners only work with ferrous pots and pans, such as cast iron, enameled cast iron and certain stainless steel pots and pans. If a magnet sticks to the pan, it can be used on an induction burner.
Rita and I like to buy live lobsters from
Seafood Landing in northwest Denver and boil them, but it takes forever to heat a pot of water large enough to submerge four 1½-lb. lobsters, so next time we’re going to use our induction burner, because it will heat that much water in less than half the time. (I look forward to timing it!) That’s the thing about induction cooking it’s faster and uses less electricity than a standard electric burner.
NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy Under Attack
“Clear Cooperation” is a policy introduced by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in November 2019 to reduce the use of “pocket listings” by brokers who don’t want to share their high commissions with a buyer’s agent.
Let’s say that a broker lists a home for 6%, to use a round number. (The average has long been between 5% and 5.5%.) The listing contract had a place to designate the percentage of that 6% which the listing broker would share with the broker who produced the buyer. For a $1,000,000 listing, that would be, for example, $30,000 commission to each agent.
You can understand why the listing agent would want to promote that listing off the MLS and hopefully keep the full $60,000. Most Realtors, like myself, would consider that unethical on the face of it but also believe it’s not in the seller’s best interest. The seller wants as many buyers as possible to know about his or her listing so that he/she sells for the highest price.
From a greedy listing broker’s perspec-
tive, getting 6% of $1,000,000 is a whole lot better than only 3% of a higher price.
Enter the Clear Cooperation policy, which pissed off a lot of brokers, including those who aren’t members of NAR, because all MLSs were ordered to enforce it.
CCP, as the policy is called, requires that a listing be entered on the MLS within one business day of it being publicized in any way, whether it be a sign in the ground, a Facebook post, mass email or whatever. And it could only be “Coming Soon” as long as no showings were granted, including by the listing agent, and for a max of 7 days.
The attacks on CCP, mostly by large brokerages, have surged recently, but Zillow’s Susan Daimler, like myself, defends the policyasbeingintheconsumer’s best interest. In fact, she wants to see the policy strengthened by eliminating the “office exclusive” loophole. That loophole discriminates against small brokerages and independent brokers by allowing big brokerages to display MLS listings only to agents within the brokerage. That loophole should be abolished.
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Je co’s power couple: Married principals lead with heart and community spirit
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In honor of National Principals Month, the Je erson County school district is celebrating a unique pair of school leaders who share not only a passion for education but also a home. Amanda and John anos, the district’s only married principals, each lead a di erent school
ience, toughness, positivity and wanting our kids at home and our kids at school to thrive and be adaptable and have some happy memories along the way.”
e pair met as teachers while working in a school serving third through eighth grade. John, who had just moved to the county from Indiana, found himself smitten after Amanda o ered him a ride to lunch during a professional development session held right before school started.
Since then, their careers have mirrored each other, as they both knew early on that they were interested in school leadership.
e two became assistant principals around the same time and took the state principal license test on the same day in the same room. Hinting at their competitiveness, Amanda teased John that she nished faster, but they got the same score in the end.
A few months after Amanda became Westridge’s principal, John became interim principal at Chat eld High School.
For both, the best part of having a spouse serve in the same role is empathy and understanding.
“At critical moments, we can sit down and empathize with each other. We can support each other and say, ‘Hey, we recognize that this is really hard, but also, this is really worth celebrating,’” John said.
Amanda agreed and added that as busy parents of two young children, it’s great to have a shared lexicon and experience.
“In this phase of life, that’s been pretty great, but in the big picture, it’s just having that shared passion,” she said.
Evenings can be a whirlwind, but the couple is dedicated to blending family and school life. eir two young children often tag along to football games and carnivals, becoming part of both school communities.
eir youngest daughter took her rst steps at Je co stadium during a Chat eld High School football game.
John and Amanda Thanos are “driven to be better together” as principals in the Je co school district.
PHOTO BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
John and Amanda Thanos share their passion for school leadership as principals at Chatfield High School and Westridge Elementary.
PHOTOS BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
p.m.
Old Spaghetti Factory 9145 Sheridan Blvd Westminster, CO
OLDE TOWN
going to go down any path of having parking charged on the street and we have the Hub that’s free then I want to come back to the accessibility conversation.
“Because I want to make sure we’re not creating extra barriers for people to be able to have access who cannot walk from the hub to where they’re wanting to go,” Moorman said.
Willsey said that accessibility concerns were on the list of things the city and its consultants have examined with regard to the Hub garage.
He said the distance from the elevator/stairway stack in the Hub to the intersection of Grandview Ave and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard is 376 feet, the distance of the stack to Olde Wadsworth and 57th Ave is 746 feet and the distance of the stack to Olde Wadsworth and Grand Place is 1,102 feet.
“In planning, a quarter mile is considered to be a comfortable walking distance, and a quarter mile is 1,320 feet,” Willsey said.
Councilmember Bob Fifer said that paid parking in Olde Town has always been a possibility and advocated for the Hub to stay free to the public regardless
PRINCIPALS
FROM PAGE 4
“It’s a blessing,” John said. “ ey have so many people looking out for them, just like we try to do for every student.”
Celebrating the impact of principals
National Principals Month, which was celebrated each October, aims to highlight the importance of principals in shaping their communities and providing successful pathways for their students and sta . Research shows that e ective principals profoundly impact the schools they lead, accounting for about 25% of total school e ects on student achievement. It’s clear the anos family takes this evidence by heart.
of the other changes that may or may not take place.
“We always knew one day we would get to a paid parking discussion,” Fifer said. “We always knew that. I would still advocate that the Hub remains free and the on-street parking is where we need to have better churn. I think about it with restaurants, and Olde Town is mostly restaurants now; the more tables they turn over, the more revenue they make.
“I’m in favor of furthering the conversation, because being a patron and going to those businesses, it’s extremely hard to get a spot,” Fifer continued. “I will say, knowing the employees in Olde Town, they do play the game. ey do not park where they’re supposed to park. I think this would encourage some compliance.”
Fern noted that paid parking would contribute to the city’s revenue and be “not the heaviest of lifts” to install infrastructure for. He also noted that the city’s free parking is currently subsidized by the general fund.
“Whether you use it or not, you’re subsidizing it,” Fern said.
In closing, Mayor Lauren Simpson encouraged sta and consultants to engage with the Olde Town Business Improvement District and other organizations in Olde Town like the Je erson County Public Library and the churches before returning to council.
“We are setting/role modeling a culture of belonging and love, where there is space for everyone, not only in our schools but our community,” said John. “We are humbled to be able to do such powerful, impactful work.”
Amanda echoed her husband’s sentiment saying, “My passion behind my job from recognizing that everyone has a di erent story that they come to school with, and that can be positive or negative. e human experience is probably somewhere in between, and I just want school to be a happy place that prepares kids for their version of happy down the road.”
Amanda acknowledges that it’s a job that never stops, so she tells other school leaders, “Don’t forget to have fun. Like I said, we want to create happy memories along the way, and principals can empower others to do that.”
The current parking landscape in Olde Town Arvada. COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
cutting and said she was delighted to see the park reach completion. Giddings highlighted the steam that runs through the park, which was created by access to the Swadley Ditch.
“I’ve been to the Arvada
but have
not been here to the new park since it has opened,” Giddings said. “What a thrill. ey’ve given us a stream. Oh my. at’s one of the things that makes it so special. Even on this dreary day, it looks so great!”
Ralston Gardens
Also welcomed into the city is Arvada’s newest a ordable housing development; Ralston Gardens, which will see folks begin to move in as early as Nov. 1. e complex features 102 a ordable units targeted at households with
incomes between 30 and 70% of the area median income.
Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson said the development is a crucial step in addressing the city’s housing needs.
“I was thrilled to help cut the ribbons for these two important projects,” Simpson said.
“Ralston Gardens is another step in the City’s e orts to address the a ordability crisis, o ering a beautiful, safe, and — frankly — exciting housing option for working folks to live in the heart of our community.”
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Seating area at the Garrison Garden Paseo.
The Paseo creates a pedestrian cut through between Ralston Road and 57th Ave.
PHOTOS COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
ribbon
Gardens
Unbroken: Great stories are the product of great struggles, amazing things lie ahead
Iwant to take a moment to share a thought about “unbrokenness” with you. I rst began to think about unbrokenness because of events that have unfolded in my life over the course of the last 15 years.
In January of 2009, I was running down the basketball court in the high school where I worked; we were playing a Friday morning pick-up basketball game. As I started down the court, about three quarters of the way through a game, I realized my right leg was not working correctly. Six weeks later, and after what seemed like numerous setbacks, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. at diagnosis put my life on a very different path. To that point in my life, I had always tried to use my physical strength to x issues or solve problems. I had been an NCAA Division-III, two sport athlete, not nearly as talented as some others, but nonetheless, an athlete who relied on my physical abilities to accomplish goals. In those six weeks, waiting for a con rmation of the diagnosis, I learned that having MS meant there would be things physically that I would no longer be able to do — run, jog, maybe even walk. I learned I would not be able to solve every issue with physical strength, that I would not know the extent of my disability
It was the summer of 2015 when the Animas River in southern Colorado turned such a garish orange-gold that it made national news.
e metallic color came from the Gold King Mine, near the town of Silverton in the San Juan Range. e abandoned mine had been plugged by an earthen and rock dam known as a bulkhead, behind which orange, highly acidic drainage water accumulated. But after a federal Environmental Protection Agency employee breached the plug during an unauthorized excavation, 3.5 million gallons of acid runo rushed downstream over three weeks. e worker and the EPA came in for a slew of outrage and blame. Alarmed Tribal Nations and towns halted drinking water and irrigation operations; tourists ed the region during the height of tourist season.
But here’s the surprising opinion of Ty Churchwell, the mining coordinator for Trout Unlimited: “Looking back, this can be taken as a positive thing because of what happened afterward.” He sits on a community advisory group for the Bonita Peak Mining District, a Superfund site that contains the Gold King mine.
“We’ve got federal Superfund designation, and it’s the only tool at our disposal to x this problem,” he said. e “problem” is unregulated hard-rock mining that began 160 years ago.
“I know this isn’t conventional wisdom,” Churchwell said, “but no sh were killed in Durango (30 miles downstream) because of the spill. It was ugly and shocking, but a lot of that orange was rust, and the acidic water was diluted by the time it hit Durango and downstream.”
WORDS OF ENCOURAGMENT
for many years, and that I could be signi cantly impacted.
As the full weight of an MS diagnosis settled in, I was devastated. e extent of my despair spanned more than two years, and I remember little about those years beyond how scared and angry I felt. Over the course of time, I found myself at a crossroad, needing to answer the question of what type of life I wanted to live. Was I going to be depressed and see things as stacked against me, or was I going to learn from my new reality? It was at that point that I made the decision to live di erently, to move out of my sad and angry mindset and into something new and lled with possibility. To accomplish that change, I needed to learn new things. e question became, what did I need to learn? During the period when trying to answer that question, I heard the story of Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was a 1936 Olympic athlete. Six years later, during World War II, he was shot down over the Paci c Ocean. He and two other members of his plane crew oated in the ocean for a ridicu-
lously long time (42 days) during which time one of the companions died. e remaining two were ultimately picked up by the Japanese and put in a prisoner of war camp, where Zamperini was tortured almost daily until their rescue in 1945. e book which told the story of Zamperini was titled “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.
While listening to an overview of that story, I decided I needed to know more about what it meant to be unbroken. I read the book “Unbroken” and then I began to read other books about people who had struggled to remain…unbroken.
In my quest to learn, I have read many amazing books and will continue to read more.
I also talk to people openly about unbrokenness and what that term means to them.
I know I will continue to learn about this idea for the rest of my life. So far, here is what I have learned about unbrokenness:
• Unbrokenness or brokenness is a conscious decision.
• Unbrokenness is the product of the human spirit, not the physical body.
• To be unbroken you must live in the moment. (Brokenness ourishes in worry about the future, whether that future
be a moment or ten years later.)
• ose who will remain unbroken adjust as they must, without wavering on the goal.
• We have ability, far beyond our initial perception of our strength, if we allow ourselves to be unbroken.
I share this story because sometimes we are best encouraged by hearing what others have done. We can learn from the insights of others. Words of Encouragement is a column of positivity in a world that does not share encouragement as often as it should.
I hope you will nd inspiration in my words and share them with those who need it. I would love to hear from you as you nd helpful morsels in these columns and as you nd ways to encourage those around you. I can be contacted at jim.roome@gmail.com.
Jim Roome lives in Arvada with his wife Beth. He spent 34 years in public education. Lessons learned from the one two punch of being diagnosed with MS shortly before his best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer led him into a new pursuit as a freelance writer and speaker. He uses his life experiences and love of stories to inspire, educate and encourage local, national and international audiences.
Acidic mine drainage haunts Western rivers
WRITERS ON THE RANGE
EPA’s website points out that over 5.4 million gallons of acid mine runo enters the Animas River daily.
e way Churchwell tells it, water quality and numbers of sh had been declining in the Upper Animas River since the early 2000s. at’s when the last mining operation ended and closed its water treatment plant.
Six months after the news-making spill almost a decade ago, EPA geared up to make sure untreated mine waste would not head for the river again.
Reid Christopher, a 62-year-old former electrician and mountain guide, became the Gold King Mine’s restoration whiz, taking over an old wastewater treatment plant in the area in 2019. Now, he said, only treated water leaves the 11,439-foot elevation mine.
is July, Christopher took me on a tour of the wastewater plant. In a nutshell, cleanup begins when the constantly owing wastewater gets shuttled into settling ponds.
Christopher then pumps hydrated lime into the water, boosting its pH to 9.25. e high pH unlocks the heavy metals from suspension, and an added occulant causes the heavy metals to clump together inside football eld-sized textile ltration bags.
Clear—surprisingly clean—water streams from the bags into Cement Creek, Christopher said, and the process is so effective he said he’d like to treat the drain-
The abandoned mine had been plugged by an earthen and rock dam known as a bulkhead, behind which orange, highly acidic drainage water accumulated.
age from other major mineshafts in Bonita Peak.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency remains gun-shy about talking to the press. It was deluged with bad publicity following the 2015 blowout, though as Churchwell points out, “it wasn’t the EPA that mined the San Juan Mountains and left their mess behind.”
e messes from abandoned mines, at Gold King and around the entire West, have never received much attention from Congress. Until the Biden administration passed the In ation Reduction Act, the EPA depended on annual appropriations. at meant for almost four decades, the agency never got enough money to thor-
oughly clean up the heavy-metal mine waste owing out of hard rock mines like Gold King.
And because the mess was buried deep in the mountains at elevations from 10,500 feet to over 12,500 feet, the agency couldn’t compete for federal dollars until it grabbed all the environmental disaster headlines of summer 2015.
Even now, said Churchill, and despite available funding, “ e EPA has 48 mineimpacted locations in the Upper Animas River and only so many dollars to work with. ey have to get the most bang for their buck.”
Dave Marston
COURTESY PHOTO
Jim Roome
Step into a rainforest at Denver museum
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science normally uses models, fossils and preserved specimens to bring the dynamic natural world to visitors, but in the new Animals of the Rainforest exhibit, guests have the opportunity to see up-close and personal some of the forest’s most beautiful inhabitants.
“ is exhibit provides the opportunity for people to see something special, something they normally don’t get to see here,” said Dr. Frank Krell, senior curator of entomology at the museum. “We know people love seeing live animals and this is an opportunity to see animals from rainforests from all over the world.”
OBITUARIES
Raymond “Ray” Macdonald November 11, 1949 - October 22, 2024
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Play a ‘Mindgame’ at Wheat Ridge Theatre Company
ere’s still time to catch the last weekend Wheat Ridge eatre Company Play production “Mindgame,” written by Anthony Horowitz and directed by Selena A Naumo .
Animals of the Rainforest is currently on display at the museum, 2001 Colorado Blvd., and is free with a general admission ticket.
e immersive exhibit features a mix of live animal displays and informative content on a range of topics, from how the rainforest ecosystem works, to the many threats these critical places face from humans and technology. ere are also animal sculptures set up throughout the exhibit that are perfect for climbing on and taking a family photo.
But of course, the biggest draw are the many animals that people can meet. Species on display include a sloth, python, iguana, boa constrictors and tortoises, all within intricately designed habitats that replicate their natural rainforest environments. e wildlife’s caretakers are also on hand to answer questions and provide more information about the animals.
“Documenting rainforests’ biodiversity is a really important way to preserve it for the future,” Krell said. “And here in Colorado, it provides the opportunity to see animals we normally don’t get to see.”
As is always the case at the museum, curators and have expanded the exhibit by adding features from the museum’s vast collection of preserved specimens. For this exhibit, the museum showcases a beautiful and bright collection of rainforest butter ies.
e hope is that by learning more about rainforests and the many creatures that call them home, visitors will be inspired to do what they can to help protect them. e forests face threats from ranching and deforestation, among many other man-made pressures. We can all do our part to aid in rainforest conversation, and the exhibit highlights this fact.
“You can reach people better through their feelings and emotions rather than lecturing them,” Krell said. “If people feel connected to these places and animals, they may want to do something to preserve them.”
For more information, visit www.dmns. org/visit/exhibitions/animals-of-therainforest/.
e show is a psychological thriller set in a mental hospital and focuses on a true crime writer who hopes to interview a serial killer for a new book he’s working on. e writer doesn’t have a good feeling about the place, and the longer he’s there, the worse it gets.
“Mindgame” runs through Sunday, Nov. 10. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Get tickets at www.wheatridgetheatre.com/.
Schoolhouse Theater brings ‘Nunsense’ to the stage
Parker Arts is welcoming autumn with “Nunsense,” a hilarious musical revue that is running at e Schoolhouse eater, 19650 Mainstreet in Parker, through Sunday, Nov. 17. Performances are at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. ursday through Saturday.
According to provided information, the show tells the story of a fundraiser put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken to raise money to bury sisters accidently poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God). “Nunsense” has been updated with new jokes, arrangements and a new song. You de nitely don’t want to miss this laugh-riot of a musical, so get tickets at https://parkerarts.org/event/nunsense/.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week — MICHELLE at Lost Lake Lounge
New York City’s indie rock group MICHELLE specialize in the kind of alt rock that hits you like a dream: quietly and then all at once. ey beautifully use dreampop soundscapes and R&B touches to take listeners on an internal journey that is both enlightening and compelling. e band’s latest album, “Songs About You Specically,” might be their strongest yet, showcasing exciting new approaches to their music.
In support of the new release, MICHELLE will be performing at the Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. ey’ll be joined for the evening by opener ggwendolyn Get tickets at https://lost-lake.com/.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.
cleaning acidic water at the top of the watershed is worthwhile for every living thing downstream.
Commercial use of metals in the sludge might possibly make some money for the EPA. e Colorado School of Mines has taken water samples to see what—if anything—can be retrieved from the mine waste.
But even if mine sludge is worthless,
For now, Christopher is always looking to hire locals for dirt work and hauling. He said the jobs could last a lifetime.
Dave Marston is publisher of Writers on the Range, Writersontherange.org, the independent nonpro t dedicated to spurring lively debate about Western issues. He lives in Durango.
Raymond Macdonald, 74, of Arvada, Colorado passed peacefully on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at University Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 16th at Indian Tree Golf Course located at 7555 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada, CO 80003. Appetizers will be served beginning at 5 PM followed by a bu et dinner. Please bring stories or feelings about Ray to share. Please RSVP by November 10th. Also. if you have any photos of
Ray please email to anoguch1@comcast.net.
Preceded in death by his parents, Ranald and Doris. He is survived by his wife, Arlene, daughter Kelly Arthur (Je ), son Ian, stepson Adam Noguchi (Nicole, Evan, and Akina), step grandchildren Kiyoto, Midori, Akira, and Mitsuo, and brother Gordon (Karen, Amy, Martibell) Macdonald.
A private burial service ill be held at Highland
Clarke Reader
FRIENDLY LOCAL GAME STORES
3 board game cafes to check out around the Denver metro area
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In an era where video games, social media and online chatting have come to the forefront of many gaming circles, a handful of local shops are providing board game enthusiasts with venues to experience a sense of community, new games, campaigns and eats.
For many in the tabletop gaming world, giving folks a place to come together is of the utmost importance. Jessica Willman, the owner of Do Gooder Games in ornton, said that in the modern age, that meeting space has become even more important than ever before.
“In this modern age of technology, it is easy to nd people who share similar interests with you, but they might be in a di erent city, state or even country,” Willman said. “I think it’s very easy to start feeling like you are in the wrong spot and start to feel very isolated. FLGS or Friendly Local Game Stores, are a place to remind you that is not true”
Willman notes that there is a game for everyone — quilt-making enthusiasts can connect around Patchwork, foodies can play Charcuterie, robotics lovers can duke it out in Battletech, basketball lovers in Crunch Time — and FLGS can serve as an important reminder that everyone’s favorite niche interest is also something to connect with others around. For many shopkeepers, creating an inclusive space is step one of owning a board game café.
Elysium Café and Games Owner Chris Martinez said that having a welcoming space for everyone is of
paramount importance, while still recognizing that speci c cafes can cater to speci c groups of gamers — Elysium has a large population of Dungeons and Dragons players, for example.
“Elysium is all about being a community center to all the nerds that have in the past been on the fringes as far as hobbyists go,” Martinez said. “For instance, we have a large group of Dungeons and Dragons players. We provide a welcoming way for folks to come and connect with other players that may have never met.
“Younger kids have a safe place to play as well,” Martinez continued. “It is common to hear someone ask, ‘What is your nerd?’ around here. Inclusivity is our meat and potatoes.”
Willman said that inclusivity extends to people from all walks of life.
“ e FLGS is a place to remind you that the thing you are passionate about is loved by millions, so much so that they made a game out of it; and the people who love it aren’t in some far-o land, they are in your neighborhood,” Willman said. “ ey are waiting at a table for you to come share all the random, zany and even seemingly mundane things that you are passionate about.
“ at’s the amazing thing about FLGS, your age, race, sex, religion, socio-economic state doesn’t matter at the gaming table,” Willman continued. “It’s just people wanting to have fun and play a game.
at’s why the motto of our store is ‘Gaming For All.’”
With that, here are three local board game cafes around the Denver Metro Area that are certainly worth checking out.
Elysium Café and Games — Lakewood
10800 W. Alameda Ave., Lakewood, CO 80226 | 720519-0131 | elysium.games
Open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through ursday; 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
What was the impetus behind starting a board game café?
Martinez: e original trio were friends that used to play games together. One was mostly an investor that already was running a successful business, one had years of experience with game shops and the community, and the last one had a ton of experience running kitchens and cafes.
What is the story behind the name of the café?
Martinez: e name came from one of the owners and his Greek background. After tossing around ideas the name stuck as it checked all the boxes for theme and menu that they were looking for.
What makes Elysium unique?
Martinez: We provide a large area to meet with friends. We have a cafe that provides food and drinks so everyone can connect and enjoy their games. We have an extensive rental game library in case someone wants to try something out before they buy. All that said, the most unique part of Elysium is what we bring to the community. It is a community center at its heart that caters to what most of us nerds have been missing, connection with other nerds. ere are other game stores that have larger inventories or even more hosted events. Elysium focuses on the community.
GAME STORES
What are your favorite parts of running a board game café?
Martinez: e community. I love chatting with everyone about what type of games they are into. My team and I have dabbled in most games and are experts in a large number.
Do you accept reservations?
Martinez: Yes! We do not charge for tables/space, per se. We o er open and closed events. Open events are open to the public and anyone can join. Closed events are like birthdays or special occasions for friends and family. If a third-party event organizer wants to use Elysium’s space for a paid event, we do charge a small fee from the organizer.
Thane’s Table — Arvada
7655 W. 88th Ave., Arvada, CO 80005 | 720-381-4200 | thanestable.com
Open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through ursday; 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
What is the story behind the name of the café?
Shop owner Abhi ane: “ ane” in Anglo-Saxon England was a title awarded by noblemen, giving someone ranking between a common free person and a hereditary noble.
Given that we also serve the Dungeons & Dragons community, ane’s Table was a catchy, be tting and
What makes ane’s Table unique?
noble ctional name for a town tavern where patrons can play games with their friends and loved ones, purchase local handmade crafts, and join community groups, with the tavern’s purpose being to provide a welcoming space for all its patrons.
ane: ane’s Table o ers two private gaming rooms with custom tables for dungeons and dragons or any tabletop gaming, with the ability to order food and drinks directly from the rooms. All our main area gaming tables are handmade as well and o er pull-out trays to hold food and beverages keeping the tabletop free for gaming.
What are your favorite parts of running a board game café?
ane: As we get close to celebrating our two-year anniversary, we can admit that starting a niche small business like a gaming restaurant has been a challenge overall. And all thanks to our amazing team, we continue to learn to operate e ciently.
Our favorite part is serving the gaming community that has been nothing but kind, patient and supportive in our journey this entire time.
Do you accept reservations?
ane: Yes, we o er online and in-person reservations.
Do Gooder Games Café — Thornton 16639 Washington St., ornton, CO 80023 | 720432-4155 | dogoodergames.com
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through ursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday; Closed Monday
What was the impetus behind starting a board game café?
Willman: It was an idea that my partner and I had tried about 15 years ago, but decided to not go through with it. After COVID, we decided to actually make it happen.
What is the story behind the name of the café?
Willman: It actually was the idea of a friend of mine. We were throwing around ideas for names and he suggested that we use “Do Gooder.” We absolutely loved it, because not only is it a gaming reference, but it also really sums up what we wanted to do with our store.
What makes Do Gooder Games Café unique?
Willman: ere are a lot of great game stores around Denver, but it can be very intimidating to go into a new store and try to learn a new game, especially if you have two young children with you. I wanted to create a space where you could go and play any type of game, no matter if you are just learning or have been playing for years.
I also wanted to make a place where you could bring your whole family and have a good time.
What is the importance of serving food at Do Gooder Games Café?
Willman: As far as the cafe side goes, I have always loved doing full game days but frequently ran into the problem of what to do when it is time to eat. When playing at a store and you’re in the middle of a game, does someone have to leave to go get food for everyone, or does someone have to stay behind to watch the game and keep the table while everyone else goes and gets food.
Frequently I noticed that we would end up just ending the game so everyone could go get food. I wanted to have a space where it was possible to game all day and be able to get some actual food and drinks without having to leave.
A gaming table at Thane’s Table. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ABHI THANE
Butter beer o ered at Thane’s Table in Arvada.
Bandimeres eye Hudson site for new raceway
Weld County property would allow for longer track and other amenities
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Bandimere Speedway is pursuing a move to Hudson, with its eyes on a piece of land more than seven times bigger than its longtime Morrison site. Hudson is a town of about 1,600 people in Weld County.
e prospective 1,100-acre site would allow the development of a mile-long track and many other amenities.
“ e size of the property has made it so we can look at a lot of things we’ve always wanted to do,” John Bandimere Jr. said.
“ ere are opportunities for a lot of our sponsors and other people to do things they’ve always wanted to do, too. One simple deal is we de nitely would like to have a go-cart track.”
Morrison’s now-closed Bandimere Speedway had a three-
quarter mile track, which Bandimere said is too short for today’s cars.
“ at extra space gives you a quarter mile to race and threequarters to shut down,” he said.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t anybody that went 200 mph in a quarter mile. Vehicles are so fast today, they just need that extra space for stopping.”
But all those plans are on hold while Bandimere is in due diligence, the process of inspecting the property before closing. Bandimere said there is an is-
sue with a wetland that he described as “ xable.”
Bandimere Speedway is a family-run operation, and Bandimere said they’re excited about the potential move and expansion.
“We really like Hudson and all the people up there,” Bandimere said. “ ey’re very open to dealing with us and are very interested in what we do.”
If all goes smoothly, Bandimere hopes to have the new speedway at least partially open in 2025, with full operations by 2026. A partial opening “would not make money,” he said.
“But that’s not the point,” he said. “It’s about keeping this racing family together.”
Global auto company Copart plans a vehicle auction center on most of the former speedway site at Morrison Road and C-470.
e town of Morrison agreed to annex the 125-acre site in August in a deal that includes the transfer of 16 acres to the town.
at gives Morrison control over future retail or commercial development at its front door.
Copart and Bandimere agreed on that deal, Bandimere said, and shared the expense of giving Morrison the land.
“It was very important we got that done,” Bandimere said.
Bandimere Jr., who is 86, said his son John “Sporty” Bandimere, had been managing op-
NEXT STOP: SPORTSLAND
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erations in Morrison and will do so at the new site.
John Bandimere Sr. bought the 150-acre property on Morrison Road in 1957 — decades before C470 was built — and opened the speedway a year later. Also known as under Mountain, the dragstrip hosted 28,500 spectators at more than 130 events a year. Bandimere Speedway closed at the end of the 2023 season.
The site of the former Bandimere Speedway, which closed last year, was annexed into the Town of Morrison and is set to become the new home of an auto auction company.
COURTESY PHOTO
Thu 11/14
Armin van Buuren @ 7pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Fri 11/15
INSPIRE Kids Party at Wulf
@ 5:30pm
Wulf Recreation Center, Physical: 5300 South Olive Road, Mailing: 1521 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Live @ The Rose - The Long Run
@ 6pm / $25
Opera Colorado w/ Daughter of the Regiment @ 7:30pm Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver
INSPIRE Where the Wild Things Are at DAM @ 9am
Buchanan Park Recreation Center, Physical: 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Mailing: 1521 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Rotating Tap Comedy @ Landlocked Ales @ 8pm
Colorado Mines Orediggers Football vs. Fort Lewis Skyhawks Football @ 12pm
Marv Kay Stadium, Golden
Zen Selekta - 18+ @ 9pm Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station, Den‐ver Soup! @ 9:30pm Lot 46 Music Bar, 5302 W 25th Ave, Edgewater
Sun 11/17
Denver Broncos v Atlanta Falcons VIP Tailgate @ 11:05am / $135 Empower Field At Mile High, Denver
Vince Converse: Colorado Blues Society - Road to Memphis Send Off @ 1pm Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave, Golden
5-Step Guide to Being German @ 5pm / $30 Klub Haus, 17832 CO-8, Morrison. cortney@ger mancomedy.com
Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Av‐enue, Golden. information@buf falorose.net
Tiësto
@ 6pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Laughs on the Lake- Comedy Night @ 6:30pm Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Kid's night out (ages 5 - 13) - November @ 7pm
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Tiesto
@ 7pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison
Dirty Side Down Band: Dirty Side Down
@ In The Zone
@ 7pm
In the Zone, 15600 W 44th Ave, Golden
Emo Night Brooklyn @ 8pm
The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
Anavrin's Day: AD @ Green�elds @ 8pm
Green�elds Pool � Sports Bar, 3355 S �arrow St E101, Lakewood
LandLocked Ales, 3225 S Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood Emo Night @ 9pm
Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Ave, Denver
Zen Selekta - 18+ @ 9pm Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station, Den‐ver
Sat 11/16
Leyden Rock Turkey Trot 5K @ 9am / $15
Tony Medina Music: The Open Mic at La Dolce Vita Coffee House @ 6pm
La Dolce Vita, 5756 Olde Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada
The Smithereens @ 8pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
Tue 11/19
John Hiatt @ 8pm Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Ave, Denver
Wed 11/20
Yoga & Wine @ the Lake House @ 5pm Evergreen Lake House, 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Daisychain @ 7pm
Jake's Roadhouse, 5980 Lamar St, Ar‐vada
Live @ The Rose - 6 Million Dollar Band @ 7pm / $25 Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Avenue, Golden. information@buffalorose.net
17685 W 83rd Dr, Arvada
Jordan Yewey @ 6pm Miners Saloon, 1109 Miner's Alley, Golden
INSPIRE Butter�y Pavillion @ 10:15pm Nov 20th - Nov 19th
Buchanan Park Recreation Center, Physical: 32003 Ellingwood Trail, Mailing: 1521 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Lakewood couple creates buzz with beekeeping business
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Jen and Bryan Zavada’s Lakewood backyard is unlike most. Instead of the usual grass and shrubs, it’s buzzing with bees, blooming lavender and an array of pollinator plants — a testament to the couple’s passion for beekeeping and the environment.
eir journey into the bee business went from a simple backyard hobby to a thriving, locally renowned honey business. And with each jar of honey and bar of lavender soap, they’re creating more than products; they’re fostering a culture of sustainability and local connection.
“We bought a house in Lakewood right as my wife and I were starting our careers with the Je co school district and a family. I didn’t want to mow my lawn every weekend in the summertime,” Bryan said.
“So we started pulling out our lawn and putting in pollinator and drought-tolerant plants,” he continued. “Over time, we pulled out more and more lawn and I gained a greater appreciation for pollinators along the way.”
Pollinator plants are types of plants that attract and support pollinators like bees, butter ies, hummingbirds and other insects by providing nectar and pollen. ey are often rich in color, especially shades of purple, yellow and red, and they frequently have shapes and scents that appeal to speci c pollinators.
Yet, it wasn’t until an expert came and spoke to Bryan’s elementary students about all types of bees and the bene ts they provide to the local food supply and environment that he became inspired to purchase a colony.
“I had always thought to myself I should be a beekeeper,” Bryan said. “And then this lady came in and taught my
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class about bees for about 45 minutes, and that was the impetus that put me over the edge.”
He explained that the thing about bees is that they either make more honey or make more bees. It wasn’t long before they had more than they knew what to do of both. ey began experimenting with recipes and giving honey away as holiday gifts. en, a trip to the annual lavender festival in Palisade inspired Jen to begin growing lavender and to learn more about the therapeutic properties of local plants and how to use them to make essential oils. Today, their property boasts over 200 lavender plants, which they use to make essential oils, soaps and other products.
“Lavender was the perfect complement to the bees,” Jen said. “Not only did it make our honey unique, but it also gave us new products to o er the community.”
In 2019, they took the leap and o cially launched their business, Flower Street Farm, just in time for the pandemic to shut down farmer’s markets and limit their ability to get the word out.
Although it delayed their entry into local markets, the break gave them valuable time to expand their colonies and prepare for the future. By 2021, they were ready, hitting the market circuit in full force.
Bryan said the moment he knew they’d made it came while standing in their booth at the Denver Botanical Garden’s lavender festival. ey’d gone from attending festivals to selling at them.
“We got there in an authentic way, which felt really good,” Jen said. “We stayed true to who we were as educators and as people interested in sustainability and renewable resources.”
ey now sell their products at popular venues, including Denver’s Botanic Gardens events and the Highlands Farmers
Sunday Worship 10:00AM
Green Mountain Presbyterian Church 12900 W Alameda Pkwy Lakewood, CO 80228
303-985-8733 www.gmpc.net
“Find Connection…Discover Faith” All Are Welcome Advertise Your Place of Worship HERE
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Market, as well as through their website.
For the couple, beekeeping is a family a air. eir sons often help, supporting them at farmers’ markets and during the busy production season. While the market season slows in winter, the couple keeps busy by attending beekeeping conferences, researching sustainable practices and re ning their products. Bryan also o ers workshops and consultations for aspiring beekeepers and is an advisor for the Colorado State Beekeepers Association. rough their work, they hope to inspire others to see the beauty and importance of bees and to support pollinator health in their own ways. Bryan and Jen encourage people to look at their prop-
erty as land they can cultivate instead of a spot for grass.
“Not everyone needs to be a beekeeper to support local pollinators,” Jen said. “A great way to do it is to purchase local honey and get to know your beekeeper. Know the people that you’re purchasing from and know that you’re getting an authentic product.”
Each season, their passion for bees and sustainable beekeeping grows stronger, and they’re excited to see where it takes them next.
“It feels good to know we’re doing something meaningful,” Jen said. “We love sharing our passion with the community, and we hope it inspires others to think di erently about their own impact.”
Bryan and Jen Zavada o er a variety of flavored honeys.
PHOTO BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
Bryan and Jen Zavada selling their homemade honey products.
COURTESY PHOTO
Film tackles legacy of Rocky Flats
Local residents says newcomers are not aware of the history of the abandoned nuclear site
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
One of the biggest ailments caused by the abandoned Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant is a dangerous form of amnesia, say residents and government o cials. “As the years go by, a lot about the plant and what was done there is lost,” said Je Gipe, an Arvada native who father worked at the now defunct Rocky Plants from 1982 to 2002.
Gipe’s lm – “Half-Life of Memory: America’s Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory” – seeks to shed light on the forgotten deadly legacy of Rocky Flats. e world premiere of “Half-Life Memory” will be held at the Denver Film Festival on Nov. 8 at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave, Denver.
Gipe said he wants his lm to remind people that over for over four decades, Rocky Flats churned out 70,000 plutonium “triggers” for nuclear weapons. e plant’s res, leaks and illegal dumping contaminated the Denver metro area with radioactive and toxic chemicals, according to the news release about the lm.
A massive plutonium re in 1969 – one of the worse in U.S. history - sparked a decade of mass protests, eventually leading to an unprecedented raid by the FBI and the Department of Energy that shuttered the plant in 1989, according to the news release.
e plant left behind a radioactive legacy that will last for generations, Gipe said. Yet, the plant’s history has been whitewashed to allow the public to enjoy the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge that was established in 2007.
“ e DOE does not want to acknowledge the history of the plant,” Gipe said. “Colorado instead wants to create a success story out there.”
e U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says on its website that the Refuge was created in part to preserve and protect more than 630 species of plants, as well as the globally rare xeric tallgrass prairie.
e Refuge has striking vistas of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and rolling prairie grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands, the Wildlife Service states. e Refuge is home to 239 migratory and resident wildlife species, including prairie falcons, deer, elk, coyotes, songbirds, and the federally threatened Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, and provides a protected corridor for migrating wildlife.
Gipe said he’s happy that the Westminster City Council did not buy into the bucolic picture painted by the federal government of the area around Rocky Flats. e council, by a narrow vote, pulled the city’s support of an Intergovernmental Agreement signed in 2021 with Je erson County and several other entities to construct a bridge connecting Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and Westminster Hills Open Space.
Digging in
A majority of councilors said in September that they no longer wanted the city to be part of the Rocky Mountain Greenway project over concerns that any foot tra c along the trail into Westminster will stir up deadly plutonium linked to the shuttered Rocky Flats facility.
“I was really pleasantly surprised by
Westminster’s vote on that,” Gipe said. “It looks like they really dug into the research around the plant.”
Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally voted not to break the Intergovernmental Agreement and to continue with the trail’s construction. However, McNally noted that people have quickly forgotten the hazards still posed by Rocky Flats.
“A lot of the city council members didn’t even know about Rocky Flats,” McNally said. “And a lot of people who have moved here over the past few years, are totally unaware of the plant.”
She wants the city to put up signage around the trail from the plant to let people know of its legacy. “We have to let people know,” McNally said.
Other groups say local councils who voted not to participate in the trail’s construction are “suckers” being played by environmental activists who use scant scienti c evidence to back claims of the site’s dangers.
Played for suckers
“Most anti-Refuge opinions are easy to dismiss, but local municipalities… were played for suckers by anti-nuclear groups,” states Friends of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge on its website. “Your kids cannot take school trips to the Refuge because clueless risk-averse school boards listened to non-technical reps from the (Rocky Mountain) Peace and Justice Center sowing anxiety.”
“When nuclear power looms larger as a part of the energy future of the U.S., we can least a ord to give publicity to re exively anti-nuclear nonsense,” the Friends state, “from people without credentials but great media access.”
Refuge supporters point to a Sept. 8 ruling from Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against completion of Rocky Mountain Greenway trails within the Refuge. ” e ndings are clear and very critical of the claims made by the consortium of anti-Refuge groups,” according to Friends of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. “It is possible that this may mark the end of the legal challengers to the public use of Rocky Flats and the Rocky Mountain Greenway,” the website states.
Still, Westminster resident Charlene Willey makes clear that her husband’s death and her daughter’s multiple disabilities were caused by his work at Rocky Flats. She also says local governments who allow recreational access the plant are too quick to dismiss the public health risks still posed by the facility.
Willey’s husband was hired in the early 1980s to work in the “glove box” area of the
plant, the most dangerous work there, she said.
He was told not to talk to anyone, not even his family, about the incidents or accidents that might occur while he worked in the glove box area, Willey said. “He put faith in their promises of protection because he wanted to be a responsible head of the household for his family,” Willey said.
Over the next 20 years her husband’s rheumatoid arthritis became much worse, and he was nally forced to retire early at the insistence of his doctor. In 2008, he died of esophageal cancer. Just before his death, Willey’s younger daughter su ered a seizure and a neurological exam revealed that she had several brain anomalies, Willey said.
“ e neurologist who did the exam asked if either one of us had ever been exposed to radiation. My husband nally described the incident early in his employment at Rocky Flats. is was evidence of the genetic harm that the radiation had caused not just to him, but to our daughter as well,” she said.
Willey said government agencies, including Je erson County, overseeing the areas contaminated by Rocky Flats, were eager for residents to forget its legacy.
“Instead of creating a “priesthood” of protectors of this area for the next 3,000 years, they saw this as the gold mine of development and a solid tax base. Whole communities were built on ground covered in unknown levels of radioactive contamination. Home buyers are warned not to plant a garden or to dig in the soil,” she said.
Rob Prince of northwest Denver, front, holds a sign protesting the opening of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge on 2018. “Just remember you’re dealing with a toxic substance that can contaminate things for 200,000 thousand years,” Prince said. “Why mess with that?” FILE PHOTO
SPORTS
Ralston Valley shuts out Mountain Vista in playo opener
BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ARVADA — Ralston Valley boys soccer’s new-look defensive backline anchored by junior goalie Ben Brown might have been nervous Oct. 30, but they didn’t show it.
e No. 8-seeded Mustangs scored a 2-0 shutout win over No. 25 Mountain Vista in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament at the North Area Athletic Complex, advancing Ralston Valley to next week’s round of 16.
“I would de ntely say there were nerves,” Brown said of getting his rst-ever postseason start in net. “Looking back at the miracle run Evan Bierman made the past two seasons, living up to that pressure is something that I’m embracing.”
Bierman was the goalie for Ralston Valley during its state semi nal run in 2022 and quarter nal run last year with an experienced group of defenders in front of him. It’s a di erent story this year with Brown in net and a handful of young players as the last line of defense for Ralston Valley.
“It has been a lot of growing and we’ve had a lot of injuries back there this year,” Ralston Valley coach John Doody said of his defensive. “We have nally settled. I’m very proud of them. I think that might have been Ben’s best match this whole season.”
Brown was credited with three saves against Mountain Vista (87-1 record) as he picked up his sixth shutout win of the season.
“After we lost to Fairview I really felt like we’ve turned it on,” Brown said of the Mustangs’ play in the defensive half.
e Knights took a 4-3 victory over the Mustangs back on Sept. 10. Ralston Valley has allowed just ve goals in its past 10 games, including six shutout victories, since the loss to Fairview.
Ralston Valley (10-3-3) entered the postseason edging No. 7-seeded Columbine (14-1-1) for the 5A Je co League title to give Ralston Valley back-to-back conference titles under its second-year coach.
Mountain Vista nished in a 3-way tie for fourth in the 5A/4A Continental League. at conference had six teams advance to the 32-team 5A state tournament.
With legendary coach eresa Echtermeyer, who has won seven girls soccer state titles as a coach at Green Mountain and Mountain Vista over the past three decades, the Mustangs knew the Golden Eagles were a dangerous rst-round foe.
“We came into this game say (Mountain Vista) is not a No. 25 ranked team,” Doody said. “We
came in with our eyes wideopen. Mad respect for eresa. I watched her beat our girls at DU
(state semi nals) in the spring season. I didn’t want a repeat of that for sure.”
Valley looked to its usually big-game scorer — senior Cooper Hineline — after a
scoreless rst half. Hineline put in his 19th and 20th goals on the season into the back of the net in the 45th and 50th minutes to give the Mustangs the lead they needed.
“It was de nitely frustrating at rst,” Hineline said of the scoreless rst half. “I thought (Doody) did a really good job of not freaking us out at halftime. He made sure we came out hard in the second half.”
Seniors Hunter Byrne and Aidan Castillo picked up the assists on Hineline’s goals.
“(Mountain Vista) wasn’t easy to breakdown. e rst half we weren’t executing that well either,” Doody said. “After Cooper scored that really settled down. I thought we played really well in the second half.”
Ralston Valley was slated to face No. 25 Grandview in the second round on Nov. 5, after press deadlines, back at the NAAC. e Wolves upset No. 9 Fairview 1-0 in double overtime up in Boulder on Oct. 30.
Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Je co Public Schools. For more Je co coverage, go to ColoradoPreps.com and CHSAANow.com
Ralston
Ralston Valley senior Hunter Byrne (23) weaves his way through a trio of Mountain Vista players during the first-round Class 5A state playo game Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Mustangs won 2-0 to advance to the round of 16 next Tuesday, Nov. 5, against Grandview.
PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Ralston Valley senior Cooper Hineline (19) successfully slide tackles the ball away from Mountain Vista junior Tyler Kim (3) during the first half Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the North Area Athletic Complex. Hineline’s two second-half goals lifted the Mustangs to a 2-0 victory in the opening round of the Class 5A boys soccer state tournament.
Fonda urges locals to continue fighting for clean air
Celebrity activist gives pep talk to residents of north Denver
BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
North Denver activists ghting air pollution who hosted Jane Fonda for a pep talk on Oct. 28 do get starry-eyed talking about the celebrity, but not just because of her two Oscars, bestselling books and 1980s workout-queen status. ey pay homage to the left-leaning celebrity because, they say, her presence gets results. And when it comes to environmental activism, Fonda is no one-hit wonder, they add. e same groups held a listening session with her in ElyriaSwansea in February, and Fonda on Oct. 28 said she’d return soon.
“Nothing elevated our platform like her February visit,” said Harmony Cummings, a former oil and gas industry employee who now leads a community center e ort against air polluters that is based a mile south of the Suncor oil renery.
“People reach out to us when they see her name,” Cummings said. “Instead of getting ignored, people come to us. It puts us on the map.”
Fonda is 86, and decades away from her Hollywood celebrity peak, but continues steady work as an actress and author in between political and policy e orts. She has been arrested multiple times at climate change protests, and has focused recent visits on “cancer alley” cities associated with oil and gas and petrochemical industries, that report high incidents
of health problems among minority and low-income residents.
Commerce City and north Denver neighborhoods, bracketed by Suncor, electrical generation, the Purina plant,
multiple interstate highways and historic Superfund status from metal smelting, have high rates of asthma and heart problems. Activists and their supporters in Denver and state health departments want tighter regulation of Suncor and other documented polluters.
Community members who took the small stage as Fonda listened targeted a current rulemaking at the Air Quality Control Commission establishing restrictions on the worst airborne toxins, rules meant to carry out past state legislation.
“We hope they hear that the pressure is on,” said Guadalupe Solis with the nonpro t community activist group Cultivando. “A lot of things are in their power.”
Fonda went beyond listening, asking speci c questions about Colorado’s oil and gas drilling setback rules and whether they have matched recent California restrictions demanding 3,000-foot-plus bu ers for residents.
After hearing a summary of e orts by the nonpro t legal center Earthjustice, in partnership with the community, to ght Suncor, Fonda told a packed room of volunteers to not lose their courage.
“I’m trying to give it my all,” she said. “So I’m not depressed. I’m hopeful. We are focused on Commerce City, and we will keep coming back.”
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.
Law on phone use while driving about to change
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Colorado drivers face a new law that prohibits people from using a mobile electronic device – including a cell phone – while driving unless they use a hands-free accessory. e penalties for violating the prohibition include a $75 ne and license suspension points, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
To prepare drivers for the new law, which goes into e ect Jan. 1, 2025, CDOT is launching an awareness campaign over the next several months to ensure all Coloradans know about the law and best practices. e campaign will include outreach e orts through social media, paid ads and collaboration with key stakeholders, according to a CDOT news release.
e goal with the new law is to reduce distractive driving in Colorado, as studies have shown that using a mobile device while driving increases the risk of a crash by two to six times, according to CDOT.
“ is new legislation is a crucial step toward making Colorado’s roads safer for everyone,” Shoshana Lew, executive director of CDOT, said in the news release.
“By encouraging drivers to focus solely on the task of driving, we can reduce the number of distracted driving incidents and prevent crashes that often come with such behavior,” Lew said. “ is law aligns with best practices from across the nation and re ects our commitment to protecting all road users, whether in a vehicle, on a bike or walking.”
According to CDOT’s 2024 Driver Behavior Report, 77% of Colorado driv-
ers admitted to using their phones while driving, with 45% saying a handsfree feature in their car would stop them from using their phone.
Distracted drivers pose a particularly high risk to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. From 2015 to 2023, deaths among pedestrians and bicyclists increased by 50% and 112.5%, respectively, while Colorado’s population grew by less than 8% during the same period, the news release states.
Colorado joins 29 other states in prohibiting the use of hand-held mobile devices while driving. States with similar laws have reported decreases in distracted driving crashes. In Michigan, a 2023 law banning hand-held cellphone
use led to a 12.8% decrease in distracted driving crashes within the rst year, the news release states.
Penalties for violating the new law start with a $75 ne and two license suspension points for the rst o ense. First-time violators can have the charge dismissed if they provide proof of purchasing a hands-free accessory. Repeat o enders face higher nes and more license suspension points, according to CDOT.
“For a long time, troopers have been able to detect when someone is driving distracted by a vehicle weaving between lanes, delayed starts at stop signs and lights, not to mention seeing a phone or other device in a driver’s hand,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado
State Patrol in the news release. “ is legislation allows us to address risky and careless behaviors in a proactive way to increase the safety of all roadway users.”
As the January 2025 deadline approaches, CDOT urges all drivers to begin putting down their phones when driving, ensuring they are prepared when the law takes e ect, the news release states. Drivers are encouraged to acquire hands-free accessories such as dashboard mounts and car speakerphone systems to comply with the new law.
e law includes exemptions for individuals reporting emergencies, utility workers, code enforcement o cers, animal protection o cers, rst responders and individuals in parked vehicles. ese exceptions ensure that critical communications are not hindered in emergency or essential service situations, the news release states.
Jane Fonda in north Denver to urge the community to keep fighting air pollution on Monday, Oct. 28. PHOTO BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
Cell phones are being targeted in new law to prevent distracted driving set to begin being enforced next year. State transportation o cials are kicking o an awareness campaign now. SHUTTERSTOCK
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Coalition looks to bring Active Bystandership Law Enforcement Program to Je erson County
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
John Paul Marosy never imagined that his path to advocating for law enforcement reform would be shaped by both personal loss and community tragedy. e Je erson County resident found his passion for transforming the justice system after two life-altering events: the heart attack that took his brother Michael’s life in 1979 while on duty as a police o cer and the 2018 tragic shooting of Joseph Santos, an unarmed Latino man, in Pennsylvania. Marosy lived in Pennsylvania at the time and joined a vigil for Santos led by a faith-based organization.
“ e recognition that this happens to people of color all too often in our country became not an abstraction but a reality in my own life,” he said.
Drawing from these deeply personal experiences, Marosy now volunteers with Together Colorado’s Transforming Justice Team and is working to promote the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement program, a training initiative designed to help police o cers intervene in potentially harmful situations and to support their mental health.
e ABLE program, devel-
oped by Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program, teaches o cers how to intervene when a colleague uses excessive force or engages in harmful behavior. e training also aims to create a police culture that promotes o cer health and wellness.
According to Marosy, the training is about protecting the public and reducing ocers’ stress. He believes that if the program had been in place earlier, it could have prevented incidents like the deaths of Christian Glass in Colorado or George Floyd in Minnesota.
Colorado has 33 ABLE-trained police departments, including the Colorado State Patrol, the Denver Police Department, the Arapahoe County Sheri ’s Ofce, the Littleton Police Department and the Arvada Police Department.
Together Colorado, a nonpartisan, multi-racial and multifaith community organization and its Transforming Justice team spearheaded e orts to bring the ABLE program to many of those departments.
Now, Marosey said he hopes to expand that number to include all of Je erson Counties’ law enforcement agencies.
About ABLE
Amity Losey, a sergeant with
the Arvada Police Department, explained that the ABLE program has three pillars. “It’s about reducing mistakes, preventing misconduct and promoting health and wellness among o cers,” she said.
While the department has resources and training to support its personnel, Losey said the ABLE training gives them the language to step in and say something, especially when the other person might outrank them, or they are new to the department.
“You practice how to step in and how to say something,” Losey said. “While it could be about excessive force or something like that, it could also be regarding the health and wellness of your fellow o cer.
“If you notice your co-worker is acting di erently, or they look sleep deprived, it’s about being able to have those conversations with your partner so that you’re reducing mistakes by dealing with those personal dynamics on the front end, as opposed to waiting for something bad to happen,” Losey continued.
ABLE follows a train-thetrainer model, whereby o cers within a department take free online courses and then roll them out to the rest of the department during regular working hours.
“It doesn’t cost taxpayers anything to implement ABLE, and on the ip side, it could save departments thousands of untold dollars by preventing potential mistakes,” Losey said.
According to the Georgetown Law Center website, “ABLE training and implementation support is provided at no cost to law enforcement agencies, but those agencies must commit to creating a culture of active bystandership and peer intervention through policy, training, support, and accountability.”
Learn more
While the program is free, the application requires departments to submit letters of support from community-based organizations.
Marosy and his team are hosting a webinar on November 14 to expand community support for the program. e webinar will feature Jonathan Aronie, the national expert on ABLE, who has helped large police departments across the country implement the program.
Participants must register to participate in the event.
For more information about the ABLE program, visit the Georgetown Law ABLE Program website or Together Colorado’s Transforming Justice Team.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an amendment to the 2024 budget of the District may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the District. A copy of the proposed 2025 budget and amended 2024 budget, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO
80111. Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2025 budget and the amended 2024 budget, if required, file or register any objections.
SPRING MESA
METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
By: /s/ Jo Etta Gentry, President
Legal Notice No. 419274
First Publication: November 7, 2024
Last Publication: November 7, 2024
Publisher: Golden Transcript Jeffco Transcript and the Arvada Press
Public Notice
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE AMENDED 2024 BUDGET
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the HASKINS STATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT (the “District”), will hold a public hearing at the Apex Center (Randall Room) 13150 W. 72nd Avenue, Arvada, CO 80005 on November 20th, 2024 at 6:00 p.m., to consider adoption of the District’s proposed 2025 budget (the “Proposed Budget”), and, if necessary, adoption of an amendment to the 2024 budget (the “Amended Budget”).
The Proposed Budget and Amended Budget are available for inspection by the public at the offices of CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
Any interested elector of the District may file any objections to the Proposed Budget and
Amended Budget at any time prior to the final adoption of the Proposed Budget or the Amended Budget by the Board.
The agenda for any meeting may be obtained at https://www.haskinsstationmetrodistrict.com/ or by calling (303) 858-1800.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
HASKINS STATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado /s/ WHITE BEAR ANKELE
TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law
Legal Notice No. 419273
First Publication: November 7, 2024
Last Publication: November 7, 2024 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript and the Arvada Press
Public Notice
NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET AND AMENDMENT OF 2024 BUDGET GOLDEN OVERLOOK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Sections 29-1-108 and 109, C.R.S., that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Board of Directors of the Golden Overlook Metropolitan District (the “District”) for the ensuing year of 2025. The necessity may also arise for the amendment of the 2024 budget of the District. Copies of the proposed 2025
“ ese warnings go mostly unheeded, however, because most homes are purchased by people from out of state or those too young to remember the history of Rocky Flats,” Willey said.
“We see wildlife areas, giving the impression that this ground is safe to walk on. Worst of all, they developed a system of trails that school children use for outings. e level of disregard for public welfare is astounding to me,” she said.
Environmental journalist Hannah Nordhaus says in “Half-Life Memory” that the nuclear threat at Rocky Flats is largely forgotten but that the plutonium the plant generated has a half-life of 24,000 years. “ e contamination at Rocky Flats will long outlive our e orts to control or even remember it,” Nordhaus says.
Following the lm’s premiere, there will be a discussion with director Je Gipe, former FBI agent Jon Lipsky, former Rocky Flats worker Judy Padilla, Rocky Flats Truth Force member Chet Tchozewski, and Rocky Flats grand jury foreman Wes McKinley.
Film has three showings schecduled, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 6 and 8. It will be shown at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E Colfax Ave, in Denver. Tickets are available at https://denver lmfestival.eventive.org/schedule/6 6f1c83991ccf2020f0cc3d3 online.
For more information about the lm, please visit www.hal ifeofmemory.com FROM PAGE 15
budget and 2024 amended budget (if appropriate) are on file in the office of the District’s Accountant, Marchetti & Weaver, LLC, 245 Century Circle, Suite 103, Louisville, Colorado 80027, where same are available for public inspection. Such proposed 2025 budget and 2024 amended budget will
