Arvada City Council votes down resolution for RV storage facility proposal on former landfill
meeting, council denied a resolution to amend the Comprehensive Plan for the site, which would have needed to be zoned Industrial/O ce rather than its current designation of Mixed Use; Residential Emphasis to facilitate the construction of an RV storage facility.
BY RYLEE DUNN
Afterdrawing the ire of neighbors due to environmental concerns, the controversial proposed RV storage facility that would have been built along Ralston Creek at 6800 Kilmer St. has been struck down by Arvada’s City Council, which denied a motion to amend the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Code to make way for the development.
At the Nov. 5 city council
Many objections to the change were brought, chie y concerning the environmental impacts of industrial activity on the site, which was formerly a land ll, and the lack of an appropriate bu er between the site and the surrounding neighborhoods. Before council can review a zoning change proposal — much less the actual site plan for the RV storage facility — the Comprehensive Plan would have needed to be amended to facilitate the construction of an industrial development.
In order to satisfy the conditions of a Comprehensive Plan amendment, the site would need to meet seven criteria for the zoning change including being compatible with the surrounding area, having no negative impacts on transportation and promoting the public welfare of the surrounding community.
On Sept. 17, the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment was reviewed by the city’s planning commission, which recommended that council deny the resolution.
Community member Suzanne Grandchamp, who lives “500 to 1,000 feet from the proposed development” spoke out against the resolution and said that there had been no substantial changes to the proposal between the time it came before the planning commission and now.
“I don’t think there was
anything presented this evening that was new or not considered by the planning commission,” Grandchamp said. “Arguably, the planning commission was in the best position to consider all of the evidence and the process was lengthy and thorough… at’s why they’re the advisory arm to city council. eir 6-1 vote was pretty decisive; it wasn’t close.”
Many other community members came to the city council meeting to speak out against the proposal, including Deborah Gander, who said that the resolution doesn’t satisfy item two of the approval criteria, which states that a change to the Comprehensive Plan must be compatible with the surrounding area and be compatible with the goals and policies of the Plan.
Daugherty beats Bandimere in Colorado State Senate District 19 race
Lindsey Daugherty
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Democrat Lindsey Daugherty beat Republican opponent Sam Bandimere in the Colorado State Senate District 19 race.
Daugherty declared victory on social media.
“ is victory belongs to every person who believes Colorado deserves leadership that puts families rst — every volunteer, supporter, donor, and voter who made their voice heard,” Daugherty said. “As a mom, attorney, and State Representative, I’ve seen rsthand how decisions at the State Capitol a ect real families. Now, because of your support, I’ll bring that perspective — and your voices — to the State Senate.”
e SD19 seat, which covers Arvada, is currently held by Democrat Rachel Zenzinger, who is term-limited.
Daugherty currently serves in the Colorado House of Representatives as the District 24 representative. Bandimere conceded on social media.
“While defeat is hard for any of us to deal with, I am encouraged with the fact that we have a sovereign God who makes no mistakes,” Bandimere said. “However, sometimes it is hard to determine where His sovereign will and man’s freewill choices cross. I want to express my heart felt ank You to all who prayed for and supported our e ort to win this election for Senate Seat 19.”
The environmental concerns about the site were brought up by residents who live nearby.
COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
Je co voters pass ballot measure 1A
The measure secures $30 million for public safety and infrastructure
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Je erson County voters passed ballot measure 1A by a wide margin, signifying their readiness to eliminate the revenue cap set by TABOR, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, and allow the county to retain the total revenue it collects from property taxes.
While results are still uno cial, the majority of votes favored allowing the county to retain approximately $30 million in additional revenue.
Je erson County Sheri Reggie Marinelli took to social media to thank voters for their support.
“With the passing of Ballot 1A, we’re grateful for the opportunity to enhance our capabilities for safer roads, wild re prevention, mental health support and crime prevention e orts,” she said.
“Your support enables us to strengthen vital services that keep our community safe and resilient. We look forward to delivering the highest level of service and transparency you deserve and to continue to maintain your trust in us. Together, we’re building a stronger Je erson County.”
e property tax revenue from 1A must be invested in transportation and infrastructure and public safety programs like wild re and ood mitigation and response, addiction and mental health programs, crime prevention programs and strategies and other county public safety functions.
e measure also sets up a citizen’s advisory committee of volunteers to provide input on where and how to spend the additional revenue.
Leading up to this year’s election, some county o cials had started sounding the alarm that public safety funds were falling short and the county was facing serious challenges.
“We’re basically working the street right now with about the same amount of deputies who were working in 2003, but the county has grown tremendously,” Marinelli said in September. “We can’t keep cutting.”
e measure enjoyed widespread support from community organizations, including Je erson County Public Schools, the Je co Economic Development Corporation, the League of Women Voters of Je erson County and the Je co Advocacy Network.
e mayors and city councils of Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Golden, Morrison, Edgewater and Arvada also endorsed 1A.
Prior to passing 1A, Je erson County was one of only two counties in the state that did not allow some level of revenue retention over the limit imposed by state law.
Zenzinger, Kerr elected Je co commissioners
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Democrats Rachel Zenzinger and Andy Kerr have won the Je erson County commissioner races for District 1 and District 2, respectively, according to uno cial election results.
Zenzinger and Kerr beat Republican Charlie Johnson, Libertarian Orion Schalhamer and Unity Party candidate Eric Bodenstab in the race.
Zenzinger, a former educator and Arvada City Councilor, will succeed Commissioner Tracy Kraft- arp in representing northern Je co on the three-member Je erson Board of County Commissioners.
Kerr, a Lakewood resident and the District 2 incumbent, also had received about 40,000 more votes than Republican challenger Natalie Menten, as of Nov. 6. He received 56% of the votes to Menten’s 44%.
Kerr was rst elected Je co commissioner in 2020, and currently represents central Je co on the board.
Zenzinger and Kerr are both former social studies teachers who later served in the Colorado Senate, overlapping for at least legislative term. e two were looking forward to working together again as Je co commissioners, along with Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper, Sheri Reggie Marinelli and other elected o cials.
“Elections are hard; governing is even harder,” Kerr said.
While the two didn’t expect to see eyeto-eye on every issue, Zenzinger and Kerr were con dent in their collaborative approach and said they’d work through any disagreements to nd solutions that would bene t all Je co.
e two were also excited to see the Jeffco ballot measure 1A pass, emphasizing how critical those funds will for the county’s transportation infrastructure and public safety projects.
In addition to transportation and safety, Zenzinger planned to spend her four-year term focusing on balancing Jeffco’s budget and promoting afford-
able housing.
Meanwhile, Kerr planned to continue working on the county’s wild re mitigation e orts, climate action plan and affordable housing — much of which is critically intertwined for Je co residents, he said.
Kerr and Zenzinger, who ran their campaigns together, thanked their shared volunteers and supporters, as well as their respective families. Zenzinger emphasized how excited she was to be the newest member of the “most e cient, effective and amazing teams” among Colorado’s 64 counties.
“I’m excited to get to work,” she continued.
Je erson County Commissioner candidate Rachel Zenzinger, sitting at left, celebrates winning the election with her family members and campaign supporters Nov. 5 at a Je co Democrats watch party in Arvada. Zenzinger, an Arvada resident who most recently served in the Colorado Senate, will represent northern Je co on the Board of County Commissioners. PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Je erson County Commissioner Andy Kerr celebrates his reelection with his supporters Nov. 5 at a Je co Democrats watch party in Arvada. Kerr, a Lakewood resident who was first elected to the board in 2020, will continue to represent central Je co on the Board of County Commissioners.
Je erson County Sheri Reggie Marinelli, left, celebrates Ballot Question 1A passing as Election Night results come in Nov. 5 at a Je co Democrats watch party. The ballot question asked for the county to retain property tax revenues for transportation infrastructure and public safety.
PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Reflections on Writing & Publishing My 1,000th ‘Real Estate Today’ Column
Because journalism was my first profession, writing a column about real estate seemed an obvious way to make myself known when I entered the real estate industry in 2003. The first column I published as a paid advertisement was on July 30, 2003, and I estimate that I have published at least 1,000 columns since then — 52 columns per year for most of the last 21 years. And every one was written by me, on a new topic each week.
have never written a column which embarrassed me due to something I wrote. (I still show each column to my wife, Rita, and to my broker associates before sending it for publication.)
From the beginning, I saw this column as “my own continuing education program,” because I had to study each topic before I could write knowledgeably about it. At first, that meant showing the first draft to my managing broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, to make sure I had my facts right. Even now, I will often send a first draft to another broker who has expertise I don’t in the topic I chose to write about that week.
You can see the topics of those columns going back to July 2003 at www.JimSmithColumns.com
The links on those original columns don’t all work, but you can at least see the headlines.
cal homeowner, with letters and postcards saying, “I have a buyer for your home” — which may or may not be the truth. I much prefer to spend those hours being of service to the general public, studying every aspect of real estate that I can think of where I myself would like to know more, and then sharing it with you.
tation where the seller mentioned a particular issue of concern to them. “I wrote about that a few years ago,” I said, whereupon the seller opened a manila folder in which that old column was on the top of the pile.
As a result, I can honestly say that I
I don’t know of any real estate agents anywhere in the country who have taken this approach to promoting themselves, but that may be due to the fact that the vast majority of people in any profession other than the writing professions have trouble expressing themselves in writing — and it’s a big commitment of time. If I weren’t writing this column, I’d probably have to spend hours every day or week prospecting — making cold calls or knocking on doors soliciting sellers and buyers. I might have been one of those agents who bombards you, the typi-
We Learned Firsthand About Vacant Land Scams
The Colorado Association of Realtors (CAR) issued a warning last month about scammers trying to sell vacant land that they don’t own in Douglas County, adding that it may be happening in other counties.
One of our broker associates found himself caught up in just such a scam even before that alert was issued. Here is how the scam unfolded and was discovered, so that the property owner and buyer were not victimized.
Via our website, we received an inquiry about listing a parcel of land in Coal Creek Canyon, so I referred the lead to a broker associate who lives nearby. He quickly got a signed listing for the property at $100,000, and I advertised the parcel in that week’s ad. He put a for-sale sign on the parcel and a neighbor quickly snapped it up, going under contract for it below full price.
The scammer said he was in a cancer isolation ward and didn’t have an ID with him. He needed to close quickly so he could pay his medical expenses.
The folks at First Integrity Title, which received the contract for processing, got suspicious because of no ID and sent a FedEx letter to the real owner of the property at his home in Maryland. The owner immediately called our broker associate, incensed that his property was being sold without his knowledge or involvement.
If the title company had not taken that action, it is possible that the transaction might have gone to closing based on forged IDs from the scammer, and the proceeds of the sale would have been wired according to the scammer’s directions.
The sale would ultimately have been voided, but the buyer would have lost his money. The seller would not have suffered loss.
In its October alert, CAR provided some guidance on how to recognize a vacant land scam in the making:
“In these cases, the scammer tries to list vacant land with no mortgage. He wants to sell it at below market prices for a quick sale. The scammer makes it clear there can be no in person communications, and that all communications are to be done by text or email. The scammer tells the real estate agent one of several stories about why he is out of town. He insists on a remote, no-contact closing, typically using a “local” notary of his choosing. He will not accept a local notary selected by the title company.
“The scammer has presented fraudulent driver’s licenses and fraudulent passports as identification. He uses spoofed phone numbers and untraceable email addresses.”
No such scam should be successful so long as the title company does what First Integrity Title did, which was to contact the registered owner of the land to verify the transaction.
In listing any property for sale, it’s a good practice for the listing agent to have the title company run an “ownership and encumbrance” report, which identifies the owner. Then, using an app called Forewarn, which is only available to licensed real estate agents, we can find the phone number(s) of the registered owner and call them to verify that they are indeed who is talking to us.
BTW, once the seller knew we were not scamming him and had foiled the scam attempt, he said he might list his land with us!
Golden Real Estate’s Broker Associates
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Chuck Brown
303-885-7855
Joined us in 2014
Licensed in 2000
Don’t be misled by our name. Our agents have listed homes throughout the Denver Metro area and helped clients buy homes and other real estate all over Colorado!
When I ran for political office in 1981, I did exactly the same thing. Before announcing my candidacy I spent several months investigating every aspect of municipal government, speaking to civil servants in each agency and learning everything I could about policing, criminal justice and corrections as well as welfare, housing and economic development. When I announced my campaign, I released a 16-page tabloid spelling out my program for “saving” my city. I referred to it as “the power of the well-printed word.” It helped that I owned a typesetting business at the time, so I knew how to make what I printed look professional.
That effort wasn’t as successful, however, because I was running against seasoned politicians with political clubhouses behind them, not competing with fellow professionals, most of whom had a lot more experience than me but couldn’t demonstrate that experience or knowledge as well as a seasoned journalist like myself.
My training in journalism came from writing and editing my prep school and college newspapers but most especially from winning a summer internship in 1968 at The Washington Post I really love the practice of real estate and the reputation I have built with my readers. I love getting emails and phone calls asking my advice or reacting to something I have written. And when you call me about selling or buying a home, I love to know that the call was based on the trust and reputation I have built over two decades (or less) from my writings. Often, when I go on a listing appointment, I find that the seller has a folder containing clippings of my columns. I love to tell the story of one listing presen-
My first year in this business, I attended a retreat hosted by one of the preeminent real estate coaches. Following that event, I hired that coach’s firm briefly, but the focus was on memorizing scripts and “time blocking” several hours per days for cold-calling. I couldn’t do it.
It just wasn’t my style. I have never memorized a script and never made a cold call — in fact, never prospected at all. This column is what made that approach possible. The hours I could spend prospecting are so much better spent writing and publishing this column.
At first I wrote monthly, then biweekly, and within a couple years I was able to write this column every week. At first I bought a page in a little Golden newspaper because I couldn’t afford the Golden Transcript. When the Denver Post introduced the regionalized “YourHub” section, I jumped on it, limited to the Jefferson County editions.
Then came the Golden Transcript and three other Jeffco papers. When over 20 metro area weeklies were combined under the non-profit ownership of Colorado Community Media, I expanded to include my ad in all of them. That was after I had already expanded to be in all the local editions of YourHub.
A couple months ago, I signed a contract with the Denver Gazette, a digitalonly newspaper with a large readership.
And, of course, I am also online, with over 1,300 email subscribers to our blog at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com For me as a journalist, there is no greater pleasure and satisfaction than what I get from having my writings broadcast so thoroughly around this metro area that I call home. Thank you for letting me take this week off from writing about another real estate topic to share my story with you.
It’s not often that you can buy a duplex where one side is empty and the other side is rented and contributing $1,500 per month to your mortgage costs! That’s the situation with this well-built and well-maintained brick duplex at 12613 W. 8th Ave. in that quiet neighborhood next to Welchester Tree Grant Park called Foothills View Estate. The two sides of this duplex are mirror images of each other and identical in terms of updating, including newer bath fixtures, doublepane windows, and new garage doors. (The two 1-car garages are accessed from an alley.) The vacant half is the one with a 12’x30’ wood deck, from which you can see the foothills to the west. Welchester Tree Grant Park is just a block away, with nature trails, including to the adjoining Welchester Elementary School. A narrated video tour of both sides of this duplex can be viewed at www.GoldenDuplex.online, along with interior photos of the vacant unit. The rented unit is not available to see until you’re under contract, but it is identical in condition to the vacant unit, as you’ll see on the video tour. Open Saturday, Nov. 16th, 11am to 1pm
Feret defeats Henderson in Colorado House District 24 race
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Democrat Lisa Feret has likely beat opponent Republican Gwen Henderson in the Colorado House of Representatives District 24 race, uno cial election results show.
e House District 24 seat covers Arvada.
Feret declared victory to her supporters the day after the election.
“What a night it was,” Feret said. “I am absolutely thrilled to be your Representative-elect. It is an honor and privilege to serve you as an Arvada City Councilor and now in the House of Representatives. Session will start in January, and
now comes the hard work in determining the 5 bills I want to bring forth to help our community.”
e seat is currently held by Democrat Lindsay Daugherty, who is seeking election to the Colorado State Senate District 19 seat this year.
Feret is a military veteran and social worker who is currently a sitting Arvada City Councilmember. She said she is running for higher o ce because she feels that her background makes her better suited to be on the policy-making side of things.
“Over the past few years, I realized that the areas around our policymaking for city council — water, sewer, roads, transportation — while I have experience in
it, I’m not an expert,” Feret said. “And my background seems to align better with state policy.”
Her election creates a vacancy on Arvada’s City Council. Feret will now submit a letter of resignation from city council, at which time the city will have 45 days to solicit and interview applicants for the position. en, the remaining city council members will vote on Feret’s replacement.
e replacement councilmember will serve until the end of Feret’s term, which expires in 2025.
Henderson is a self-described community organizer who is running because she wants to bring more “trustworthy representation” to Arvada.
Pettersen defeats Matveyuk in Congressional District 7 race
BY RYLEE DUNN
Democrat Brittany Pettersen has won the Colorado Congressional District 7 race, beating Republican opponent Sergei Matveyuk, according to the Associated Press.
Colorado Congressional District 7 covers Denver, Golden, Lakewood and Arvada.
State election o cials have said that a nal count isn’t expected until Nov. 6 or later.
Pettersen, the incumbent, won the 2022 election for the CD7 seat by 16 per-
centage points over Republican Erik Aaland. Pettersen got her start in politics in 2013 when she was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, representing District 28.
She rst ran for the CD7 after Democrat Ed Pearlmutter retired, also in 2022.
“I’m so grateful for the overwhelming support from Colorado’s 7th Congressional District in this critical moment for our nation,” Pettersen said in her victory statement. “ ank you for continuing to put your trust in me to ght for our shared values in Washington DC and address the urgent needs of our community in the 8 counties that make up our
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incredible district.
Matveyuk is a Polish immigrant and graduate of Colorado Christian University who is the owner of Serge’s Silver and Fine Arts in Golden. is is his rst political campaign.
Matveyuk says that he ran to prevent America from a “slippery slope towards socialism.”
Pettersen said there’s a lot of “stake in this election” in terms of preserving the opportunities she had as a young person growing up in Colorado. She has also expressed a desire to enact policies to counteract the effects of climate change.
Titone reelected to Colorado House District 27
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Democrat Brianna Titone has been elected to a fourth term representing Colorado House District 27, beating Republican challenger Ed Cox, according to uno cial election results.
Titone, who has a background in mining, geology and software development, was rst elected to represent the district in northwest Je erson County in 2018.
She said she appreciated the voters’ continued con dence in her e orts, outlining a few bills she plans to introduce during the 2025 legislative session. Chief among them was a property insurance transparency bill, which she hoped would lower prices by empowering homeowners with information to reduce their risks and the insurance companies’.
“Everybody wins in this kind of scenario,” she continued. “I’m really hoping that this bill can help foster more competition, and help us get back to a better place for a ordability of housing.”
She acknowledged that she and her fellow legislators have a “challenging year” ahead of them amid the state’s budget woes. She anticipated it’d be difcult to get bills and projects approved “with fewer or no resources.”
Still, Titone was excited to continue representing her fellow Je co residents at the Colorado General Assembly. She thanked all the volunteers and sta members who helped with this year’s campaign, adding how much she’s appreciated their support since she rst ran in 2018.
“ is is a job I never knew I wanted,” she continued. “But ever since I started doing this work, it’s been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people in this way.”
SCOTT DRESSEL-MARTIN
Brianna Titone COURTESY GRAPHIC
Brittany Pettersen
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Our new location is now open at I-70 and Highway 58!
Current Comprehensive Plan designation of the site and surrounding areas.
PROPOSAL
“In their application, the RV storage developer claims compatibility with the surrounding area by extending the industrial zoning from the east,” Gander said. “However, this proposal is not compatible with the zoning and neighborhoods that comprise most of the site boundaries to the north, south and west. Additionally, the slender pro le of Ralston Creek and Croke Canal wetlands does not provide a natural bu er for
these neighborhoods.
not industrial of any type.
“Simply put, an RV storage facility is not a suitable t for the surrounding area,” Gander said.
Councilmember Randy Moorman echoed Gander’s concerns and was among the six councilmembers who supported Councilmember Bob Fifer’s motion to deny the resolution.
“I appreciate all the testimony tonight and the time the community has given as well as the applicant,” Moorman said.
“What it came down to for me is the compatibility with the area. While yes to the east is industrial, but to the north, to the west, to the south is residential or at least
“For me that was a very important factor in why I think it does not meet criteria two,” Moorman said.
Councilmember John Marriott was the lone dissenting vote, arguing that many of the comments made at the meeting deviated from the stated purpose of review, the Comprehensive Plan, and focused too much on the site plan, which has not o cially been presented to council yet.
“We’re looking at the comprehensive plan designation only, we’re not looking at the site plan or speci c proposal here,” Marriott said. “And I think it’s absolutely
apparent from the rst slide we saw the aerial photo looking west that the city’s own heavy industrial property borders this, and the school district’s own isn’t far behind.
“And there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern about that,” Marriott continued.
“A lot of things I heard tonight weren’t germane to the comprehensive plan.”
Mayor Lauren Simpson said that she saw how the proposal was compatible with developments to the east of the site, but not on the other sides, and encouraged the developer to work with the city team to gure out a more compatible site plan before coming back to council.
Map of the proposed site from above.
PHOTOS COURTESY CITY OF ARVADA
‘We will never get over his loss’
Golden Police O cer Evan Dunn killed while responding to tra c accident
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
e Golden Police Department and surrounding community continues to mourn O cer Evan Dunn, who was killed while responding to a tra c accident Nov. 6 along Highway 58.
GPD con rmed Nov. 7 that Dunn, 33, was a U.S. Army veteran and active captain in the Army National Guard. He’s survived by his wife, parents and two siblings.
Dunn was remembered as an o cer who “served this close-knit community with honor,” Police Chief Joe Harvey remarked in a Nov. 7 statement, adding how Dunn was “ rst and foremost a man of faith, loyal, steady, quiet and observant.” Dunn and his wife shared a deep love for the outdoors and enjoyed camping with their dog, Remy.
Harvey said Dunn’s family is appreciative of the community’s support but has asked for privacy while mourning.
“We are a family,” Harvey said of his department. “We are very close with each other and with our community. Evan had a bright future and was destined to do great things, and we will never get over his loss. We can only continue doing the job he loved in his honor.”
A publication of
Dunn rst joined GPD as a code enforcement o cer, serving for a year until he entered the police academy. He graduated in July and was partnered with O cer Bethany Grusing, his eld training o cer, while responding to the Nov. 6 incident.
Grusing was also injured during the Nov. 6 incident and was transported to a nearby hospital. City o cials stated she was expected to be released sometime Nov. 7.
Harvey added, “She has a broken heart as well.”
Two civilians were also injured, according to police reports, but their conditions were unknown as Nov. 7.
Additional memorial details were expected in the coming days, but city o cials said anyone wishing to donate in Dunn’s memory may do so at the Colorado Fallen o cial webpage. As of Nov. 7, people had donated more than $7,000 in Dunn’s memory.
Golden also stationed a memorial car in front of City Hall for those wishing to pay their respects or o er condolences.
“Internally, (Dunn)’s going to be survived by 71 members of this (GPD) family, who love and care for him deeply,” Harvey said late Nov. 6. “ … I want to say thank you to all my brothers and sisters in law enforcement … who’ve o ered their support.”
Mines professor arrested following crash
Following the Nov. 6 fatal crash along Highway 58, Colorado State Patrol con rmed Stephen Robert Geer was arrested at the scene on suspicion of vehicular homicide, driving while under the in uence of alcohol/drugs and other charges.
Geer’s scheduled to appear in court 10 a.m. Nov. 14 at the Je erson County Courthouse. e case remains under investigation, ocials have emphasized.
Geer, a 43-year-old Wheat Ridge resident, has been identi ed as a Colorado School of Mines employee. e university website lists him as a teaching assistant professor in mechanical engineering.
Mines o cials shared Nov. 7 that they grieve for the impacted Golden o cers, their families, colleagues and community.
“We grieve with them today,” Mines o cials
stated via email. “We pray for the recovery of the injured o cer, and we will look for ways to o er support during this incredibly dicult time.”
The Nov. 6 incident
According to the arrest a davit led against Geer, around 4:38 p.m. Nov. 6, Golden police o cers responded to eastbound Highway 58 just east of Washington Avenue. ey were investigating a crash between a Toyota Tacoma and a Subaru Crosstrek.
e Toyota had reportedly lost control while the Subaru was trying to pass, hitting it, and both vehicles were now disabled near the median. Snow was actively falling and the roadways were slick, the a davit notes.
All involved vehicles were on the far-left side of Highway 58, the a davit notes, with a Golden Police vehicle positioned behind the other two. All other tra c was moving to the right, away from the original crash scene.
e Subaru’s driver, the Toyota’s driver and her father, Dunn and Grusing were outside the vehicles getting photos and evaluating the scene around 4:53 p.m. when a black Mazda traveling eastbound entered the area.
e Mazda reportedly hit the Toyota and then Subaru, pinning Dunn under the latter. He died from his injuries at the scene.
Grusing also sustained serious injuries, as did the Toyota’s driver and her father. e Subaru’s driver is not recorded being injured in the a davit.
City o cials have also clari ed a third GPD o cer was present in the patrol vehicle behind the initial accident scene, but was uninjured.
Shortly after the crash, authorities identi ed Geer as the Mazda’s driver. He reportedly told state troopers at the scene he’d been driving home after having a beer at a local bar with a coworker.
He told troopers he’d noticed “yellow ashing lights and attempted to stop,” but wasn’t able to, the a davit describes.
Investigators detected alcohol on Geer’s breath, the a davit continues, and he initially agreed to voluntary roadside sobriety tests. However, after he was informed of his Miranda rights around 6:06 p.m., he refused to talk further or complete the sobriety tests.
After receiving a search warrant, investigating troopers completed a blood draw around 8:46 p.m. at the Je co jail, the a davit continues.
Geer has no previous criminal history. He was taken into custody on suspicion of:
• Vehicular homicide, a Class 3 felony;
• Two counts of vehicular assault, a Class 4 felony;
• Failure to exercise due care when approaching a stationary vehicle resulting in death, also called the “Move Over Law,” which is a felony;
• Operating a vehicle while under the in uence of drugs and/or alcohol, which is a misdemeanor.
e District Attorney’s O ce was expected to le formal charges at Geer’s Nov. 14 court date.
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Email linda@cotln.org if you notice a possible error you would like us to take a look at.
Golden Police O cer Evan Dunn, 33, was killed Nov. 6 while responding to a tra c accident along Highway 58 near Washington Avenue. Dunn, a U.S. Army veteran, first joined GPD as a code enforcement o cer and graduated from the police academy in July.
COURTESY PHOTO
Finding Denver’s Chinatown
When Leyuan Li, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning, rst came to Denver in 2023, he was surprised to discover the city had no Chinatown. He decided to do some research on the story of Chinatown, which led to the creation of a research course focused on this seldomtold part of the city’s history.
“ e course was called ‘Suppressed Interior’, and over the course of four months, we looked into the special problem of Denver’s Chinatown and the reason it declined and its residents were displaced,” Li said. “Not only did we look at its past, but as designers and architects, we envisioned a future for Chinatown in Denver.”
e work Li and his students did is a crucial part of the History Colorado Center’s, 1200 Broadway in Denver, new exhibition, “Where is Denver’s Chinatown? Stories Remembered, Reclaimed and Reimagined.” e exhibit was created in collaboration with Colorado Asian Paci c United (CAPU) and is on display through Aug. 9, 2025.
“ is is an exhibit we’ve wanted to do for a long time and really came about because of Li’s class,” said Dr. Josie ChangOrder, school programs manager and co-developer of the exhibition. “Working with the students and other members of the community who could share what the area was like, we were able to put together this exhibit.”
According to information provided by History Colorado, Denver’s Chinatown was once located in the Lower Downtown (LoDo) area and was a ourishing home for its residents. It survived the Anti-Chinese Riot of 1880, but eventually dispersed as a result of widespread anti-Chinese racism and the passage of national laws that restricted immigration and opportunities for Chinese nationals. Where is Denver’s Chinatown? uses historic personal family photographs and objects, artifacts from the museum’s collection, a portrayal of a typical home, and artistic reimaginings of the neighborhood done by Li’s students.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
“I was in charge of the historic model, which required a lot of research. e area wasn’t well-documented because it was an immigrant neighborhood where people of color lived,” said Molly Rose Merkert, a student in the Dana Crawford Preservation Program. “We were able to use the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map and use that to give us an idea about what the topography looked like and recreated the space as best we could.”
e exhibit isn’t solely focused on the past—it also looks ahead at what reconstituting Denver’s Chinatown would mean for the city and its residents. Students were encouraged to be creative and forward-thinking on this part of the project.
“For me, there’s not only physical construction to consider, but conceptual,” Li said. “It has to be a site of convergence, of cultural cohesion, where people can form a particular cultural identity. at’s an important part of guiding people towards new ways to imagine Chinatown.”
e aim of the exhibit is that people learn more about an underrepresented piece of Denver’s history, according to Chang-Order, but also that they come away thinking about the future.
And for people like Merkert, it’s an opportunity to nd a sense of home.
“I never felt like I belonged in Denver, but knowing it had one of the largest Chinatowns in the west helped me feel like I belong here,” she said. “We have been here and have been here for a while.”
For more information, visit https:// www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/denvers-chinatown.
Explore Narnia with Ballet Ariel this holiday season
Ballet Ariel is kicking o the holiday season with the return of “ e Lion, e Witch and the Wardrobe” ballet, based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved children’s story.
e ballet comes to the Lakewood Cultural Center, 480 S. Allison Parkway, from Friday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, the 24th. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. It will also take the stage at the Parsons eatre at the Northglenn Recreation Center, 1 E. Memorial Parkway, on Saturday, Dec. 28 and Sunday, Dec. 29. Performances are at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Information and tickets are available at http://balletariel.org/the-lion-the-witchand-the-wardrobe/.
The Playground Ensemble bridges the gap between the ‘Body/Mind’
e Playground Ensemble is exploring the body-mind connection through music in its latest performance. e “Body/ Mind” concert will be held at the MSU School of Music, Kalamath Building, 800 Kalamath St. in Denver, at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 17.
e Playground Ensemble is a group of professional musicians, composers, educators and fans dedicated to keeping chamber music as a dynamic art form. is concert focuses on exploring
Clean energy support brightens future of state
Colorado is helping lead in the clean energy space, especially as the state ranks seventh nationally in the share of clean power percentages. It takes investment and community commitment, especially in our rural parts of Colorado, to help us reach our goals. As part of USDA Rural Development, we are deeply committed to supporting our rural partners and ensuring that communities across Colorado have access to the resources they need to thrive.
Five Colorado electrical cooperatives across the state plan to get there with the support of federal grants to make the transition to a clean energy economy with Tri-State’s $2.5 billion award recently announced on Oct. 25. e ve statewide Colorado coops include CORE Electric Cooperative, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, TriState Generation and Transmission Association, United Power and Yampa Valley Electric Association.
ese historic investments in renewable energy are a testament to the commitment to our communities. By fostering clean energy solutions through the New ERA program, we are not only creating sustainable economic opportunities but also ensuring that our rural areas remain resilient and forward looking. Together with our local partners, we are building a stronger, greener future for generations to come.
Wind and solar providing over onethird of Colorado’s electricity is helping us make signi cant strides in the clean energy sector. e state’s clean energy capacity, currently at approximately 7,000 MW, is set to grow signi cantly by 2030. Current capacity is enough to power 2.5 million homes.
Clean energy in Colorado has grown by way of nearly $14 billion of capital investment with utility-scale solar, storage and wind projects and a robust manufacturing sector. Colorado’s 12 operating clean energy manufacturing facilities have created jobs throughout the state, helping increase the number of Coloradans working in the utilityscale sector to more than 15,750. ese utility-scale clean energy jobs span from development and operations to manufacturing and construction roles. Let’s keep supporting this important work to build up local economies and strengthen our state as we create smart, sustainable cities. Investing in Colorado with these resources is a solid step forward as we keep leading the way.
is guest column was written by Crestina M. Martinez, the Denverbased Colorado state director for U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
the vulnerabilities, limits and joys of the human experience.
Get tickets at www.playgroundensemble.org.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Billie Eilish at Ball Arena
When Billie Eilish rst arrived on the music scene in 2015, she blew so many listeners away with her unique approach to pop music and her sharply drawn lyrics. In the ensuing years she’s continued to level up and this year’s album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” may well be her strongest release yet. She can still do pop bangers like “Lunch,” but “Birds of a Feather” is the real show-stopper for me. In support of the album, Eilish will be spending Tuesday, Nov. 19 and Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle in Denver. Both shows start at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com/billie-eilish-tickets/artist/2257710.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.
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Clarke Reader immithe
GUEST COLUMN
AWorry is like the wind
few years ago, my family took a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we spent ve days in a house that looked out on a series of islands in Lake Huron. We rented a boat, a Boston Whaler, and I was “Captain” for the excursions on the water. “Captain Jim”…it has a good ring, doesn’t it?
Being from Colorado I have not spent much time around large bodies of water. At the house and on the boat, I was struck by the power of calm water. ere is a crystal beauty in the water re ecting its surroundings, and the silence in that calm is a wise and welcome friend. ose moments of beauty are lled with a stunning kind of power that can only be found in stillness.
One day while we were out on the water there was a short time, maybe ten minutes, when wind whipped across the lake. As that wind blew and the boat rocked, I began to comprehend how an unseen force like the wind can whip the lake into a frenzy. I could imagine the violent storms that have crossed the Great Lakes and sunk many ships.
e juxtaposition of the calm and windswept water fascinates me. Both waters hold great power, both are beautiful, both left me in awe. e power and beauty of the calm water gave me time to re ect and the space to renew myself. e power and the beauty of the wind-swept water was far di erent, it left me feeling small and insigni cant, almost hopeless in the face of its possible force.
e agent that turned the lake from a spot of beauty and re ection to a power lled force of potential destruction had nothing to do with the water itself. e wind created the chaos, the wind changed the water.
I think we are very much like the water of Lake Huron and worry is like the wind. When we are calm, when we are still there is great strength in that space and it creates beauty and the opportunity for re ection and healing. When we allow outside forces like worrying about the future to impact our calm waters we are whipped into a frenzy, a force no doubt, but a force
OBITUARIES
June Ferris
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
that can be destructive and certainly chaotic. I found the moments on or near the still lake to be very comforting and I worked to experience that power- lled still water each day we were there. To nd that stillness I needed to wake up early and intentionally go outside to spend time on the lake’s edge. When I created the time to seek the still water, the rewards were spectacular.
We are di erent than the waters of Lake Huron in that we can create shelter against those outside forces in ways the lake cannot. Water will always be at the mercy of wind. But we do not need to be moved by circumstances we cannot control. is week, it is my sincere hope that you will seek to nd the strength of clam waters in your heart and mind. I wish I had the golden ticket to share how you accomplish this. While I do not know exactly how to tell you to nd the calm water, I do know that:
• You must intentionally seek it.
• You must be fully present to experience it.
• You must take the time to appreciate the beauty and power of it.
I hope that you will nd inspiration in my words and share those words of encouragement 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.
Scientists want your help to digitize historic data on bees
BY RACHEL COHEN
MOUNTAIN WEST NEWS BUREAU
Within aisles of cabinets at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Museum of Natural History collections are rows upon rows of wooden display boxes with glass tops. Each box holds dozens to hundreds of bee specimens.
Leafcutter bees with blades on their teeth. Round-bodied Western bumblebees. Metallic green sweat bees. Details about each specimen, like the species name, who found it, where and when, are pinned down under each bee. Put together, it’s a treasure trove of data about the crucial pollinators. e problem is that it’s analog, on tiny slips of paper, sometimes handwritten in cursive. Now, scientists are pushing to get that information out of the museum cabinets and onto computers. at’s because there’s currently a lack of information about populations of many bee species. “If we get that data, and we can rebuild
those distributions, we can look for how they’re changing over time which could inform something so basic as whether or not we should be concerned that they’re declining,” said Adrian Carper, an entomology curator at the museum.
To digitize their bee collections, researchers at 13 institutions, including CU Boulder, the University of Nevada, Reno, and Arizona State University, formed the “Big Bee Bonanza.”
Volunteer citizen scientists can visit an online platform calledNotes from Nature, which gives visitors specimens to transcribe. In dropdown menus and text boxes, the platform asks you to write down the words on labels next to zoomed-in images of bees.
For example, the note by one mining bee says it was collected near Carbondale, Colo., in 1982. When you’re done with one bee, Notes from Nature prompts you to enter data for another one, like a computer game.
November 23, 1936 - November 2, 2024
June Lois Ferris, 87, of Arvada, Colorado, passed away November 2, 2024, at MorningStar Senior Living Center. She was under the care of Hands of Hope Home Health and Hospice.
June was born November 23, 1936, in Denver, Colorado, to Carl Anderson and Lucille Emory Anderson. She grew up and attended schools in Denver and graduated from North High School.
On November 12, 1961, she married James Leroy Ferris in Denver, Colorado. June and James made their home in Arvada, Colorado, where June worked as a cartographer for the United States Geological Survey.
She was a member of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Arvada, Colorado. She enjoyed gardening, bridge, playing cards, and volunteering at the hospital. She enjoyed her grandkids and great
grandkids, and traveling. Being a wife and mom was her rst priority. She also enjoyed Gameshow Network and cheap wine.
June is survived by her daughter, Linda (Gene) Brown of Knoxville, TN; granddaughter, Mackenzie (Sam) Plowman of Idaho Falls, ID; grandson, Jacob Brown of Boise, ID; great grandson, Cooper Plowman of Idaho Falls, ID; and great grandson, Carson Plowman of Idaho Falls, ID.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, James Ferris; son, David Ferris; brother and sister-in-law, Earl and Elaine Anderson; and brother and sister-in-law, Wayne and Jerry Anderson.
A Celebration of Life will be held in Colorado at a later date.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.woodfuneralhome.com.
Jim Roome
National trend impacting area fire agencies, blood supply, food pantries, senior services
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When Evergreen Fire/Rescue welcomed its rst six paid re ghters last month, it was hailed as progress for the district’s residents, with the anticipation of faster response times from sta ed re stations. But it was also a sharp turn away from a long-standing tradition: e all-volunteer model it had used for 76 years.
While the area’s aging population, climate change and life in a place ranked in the top 10 nationally for catastrophic wild re were factors in the hiring decision, the decline in volunteerism also played into it.
It’s a trend impacting organizations of all kinds. Volunteering in the United States is at an all-time low, according to IVolunteer International, even as the need for most of the services such agencies supply is increasing. e fallout is far from minor, ranging from such potentially critical issues as delays in re agency response times to a shortage in the national blood supply.
On a societal level, experts say it may be a symptom of, or a factor in, increasing social isolation and political division.
“Volunteers meet critical community needs, and volunteering has the power to heal our societies by creating empathy and equity,” said Jennifer Siranelo, CEO of Points of Light, an international nonpro t dedicated to volunteerism. “It’s imperative that we work together to reverse the downward trend in volunteering.”
While the pandemic exacerbated the issue, it was not the cause. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the volunteer rate in the United States has been steadily declining for more than a decade.
Charitable giving is also down in the U.S., a fact attributed to economic uncertainty, stock market volatility and an increase in smaller and single-parent families.
Volunteering has historically been led by college graduates, married people and parents. But today’s younger generations are strained not just for time but money, and are more likely to not only work several jobs but share housing to make ends meet, according to the Center for the Study of the Individual and Society. at leaves them with little discretionary time. e issue has hit the re service hard. e number of volunteer re ghters has declined for the last three decades, hitting a record low in 2020, according to the National Fire Protection Association. During that same time period, the U.S. population — and demands for emergency services —grew. Among smaller re districts, the average age of a volunteer re ghter is going up, with fewer younger people throwing their hats into the volunteer ring.
Not long ago, Evergreen Fire/Rescue Chief Mike Weege said EFR turned prospective volunteers away.
“We’d get roughly 30 applying and have (volunteer re ghter) academies of 25,” he said. “Eight to 10 years ago, we start-
Volunteers meet critical community needs, and volunteering has the power to heal our societies by creating empathy and equity.”
Jennifer Siranelo, CEO of Points of Light
ed getting far fewer people who could commit the time to do it. Our academies would only be six people, and we had to combine them with Genesee, Foothills and Indian Hills ( re districts).
“Today, both parents working is the norm, and people are working longer hours,” he continued. “I think people’s lives are far too busy for the amount of time and motivation it takes to volunteer for a dangerous activity.”
Nearby Elk Creek Fire is facing the same challenges, which Chief Jacob Ware attributes in part to the foothills’ shifting population.
“ e demographics have changed a lot here,” he said. “Historically, volunteer re departments were made up a lot of blue-collar, often self-employed people — people who had the ability to break away from their jobs in the middle of the day to answer a re call.”
With the escalating cost of housing in the mountains, fewer of those people can a ord to live in Conifer. And those that do are pressed for time.
“You have to hustle to live in the mountains,” Ware said. “Between work, family and everything else, the time you have to volunteer is dwindling.”
Vitalant, which has 10 Colorado blood donation centers and is the primary blood provider for over 95% of Colorado’s hospitals, is seeing far fewer donors than in the past. Vitalant declared an emergency blood shortage in 2024, and it’s not the rst time the nonpro t blood services provider has done so.
“Overall, the number of people donating with Vitalant has dropped about 20% since before the pandemic, while patients’ needs remain strong,” said Brooke Way, Vitalant’s communications manager. “If there’s a shortage and we don’t have the available blood, that’s when hospitals and doctors have to make those impossible choices of whether to postpone a surgery that’s been scheduled, so a trauma (victim) can get that unit. at’s what we try to avoid.”
It’s left local and national organizations scrambling for solutions, and pondering creative new ideas to revitalize volunteering.
“We’ve tried everything under the sun to recruit new volunteers; we just had another meeting about it,” said Kevin Andrezejewski, executive director of BGOLDN, which runs a food pantry and other community food programs. “ ere’s been a huge shift in the demographic here. e younger population doesn’t either have the time or interest in volunteering.”
COVER PHOTO: Volunteer firefighters from Evergreen and Elk Creek fire departments climb onto the roof of a house on fire earlier this year.
LEFT: Teri Crawford, visiting from Virginia, helps her daughter Kimberly Buxton of Golden while volunteering at the BGOLDN food pantry. PHOTO BY JANE REUTER
RIGHT: Centennial resident Joseph Lothringer recently donated his 70th gallon of blood at Vitalant’s Parker donation center. “It’s an act of gratitude,” he said. “Emotionally, it’s a very satisfying feeling.”
VOLUNTEERS
at’s particularly challenging because the need for BGOLDN’s programs is growing. Demand for its home delivery program, available to people who need supplies from the food pantry but don’t have transportation, has doubled in the last 18 months. But BGOLDN doesn’t have enough drivers to bring food to those homes or pick up food donations from area grocery stores.
“We have more volunteer shifts to ll,” Andrezejewski said. “We don’t want to decrease the number of families we support, and we could grow the program. But with the shortage of volunteers, we have to hold back on expanding it too much.”
A Little Help provides services to seniors throughout the metro area, northern Colorado and Grand Junction that can make the di erence between individuals moving to assisted living or staying in their homes. During the pandemic, the Denver-based nonpro t saw a surge in volunteers. But as life returned to normal, that help faded away.
“A lot of our open requests from seniors are going unful lled,” said Jake Dresden, A Little Help’s metro Denver director. “Rides to the doctor, the bank, the grocery store, tech support requests, companionship requests … we’re not at a healthy level of volunteers to meet those.
“We always feel the sweet spot for us is at least 2-to-1 volunteers to older adult members. And we are not at that number,” Dresden continued. “ e last six months, we’ve been running 2-to-1 members to volunteers. at’s not a recipe for success.”
Not only do seniors often physically need help with such chores and tasks, volunteer assistance can make a critical nancial di erence for them.
“ e big broad piece is helping them stay in their homes,” Dresden said. “A lot of our members are living on very xed incomes. e thought of paying a landscaping crew to rake leaves, or getting an Uber to go to the doctor, that’s money they don’t have budgeted.”
Because Colorado is a popular state for retirees, Dresden doesn’t see the demand for services easing.
A Little Help sends a weekly email to its volunteers and has made volunteering as exible as possible. Volunteers choose the task they want to do and when they’d like to do it. Still, the list of un lled requests hasn’t grown shorter.
“We’re trying all sorts of di erent methodologies to bring new volunteers on, but we’re having to start waiting lists for certain areas and services,” Dresden said.
Solutions
e problem is clear, but solutions are less so. Yet, people across the country are working to nd them, and with good reason.
Volunteering is good for us, on an individual and larger societal level. Research shows links between volunteering and improved physical health, cognitive function, elevated mood, increased social interactions, decreased loneliness and even increased mortality, according to the Stanford Center on Longevity. On a more global scale, volunteerism contributes to social cohesion, community well-being and the economy. e Generosity Commission, made up of experts across the philanthropic sec-
tor, is dedicated to increasing civic participation. It’s spent the last three years studying the country’s decline in charitable giving and volunteering and mapping a plan to reverse it.
ose include getting public gures to talk about how they bene t from giving and volunteering, reaching out to younger generations and reinforcing the role of businesses in encouraging employee giving. IVolunteer International suggests o ering virtual volunteering options like tutoring, nonpro t tech support or online advocacy as a way to match volunteering opportunities with the shift to remote work and lifestyles.
Evergreen Fire/Rescue is redesigning its volunteer program, using a system of points and small-dollar rewards that allows volunteers exibility in how and when they respond.
“We need to meet people where they are, to allow people to do what they can do versus forcing them to t into our box,” Weege said. “If you want to just do wildland ( res), if you want to just do EMS, there’s a place for you here. So you don’t have to do all the training. We’ve brought in quite a few people by doing that.”
Denver-based Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, which builds trails and improves habitat statewide, said it’s changed its o erings to try to meet its volunteers’ abilities.
“We’re getting more one-o (volunteer stints) than people who’ll come out multiple times a year now,” said VOC’s marketing manager Kim Gagnon. “So we’re trying to broaden the type of work we offer folks. Some people can volunteer on a fourteener with no problem. And some people feel that reward from a threehour harvest in a garden in downtown Denver. ese are interesting trends, and
we’re just trying to problem-solve as we go.”
Vitalant has o ered donor giveaways like the chance to win $5,000 prepaid gift cards, and more recently a $5,000 Halloween jackpot. As the shift to remote work has decreased donations from business blood drives, Vitalant’s now encouraging schools to host blood drives. ose who volunteer regularly see the bene ts clearly.
Conifer resident Peyton omas, who launched the nonpro t Speakers for Africa to help Ugandan schoolchildren, said the work not only broadens his perspective about other cultures, but gives him a fresh outlook on his own life.
“When I start complaining about Wi-Fi speed or my food taking too long to get to me, I think, ‘I need to go back to Uganda and regroup,’ because they know what is real,” he said. “Life is a help-others program. I’m convinced getting outside of ourselves sand helping others is what we’re supposed to do.”
Joseph Lothringer recently donated his 70th gallon of blood at Vitalant’s Parker donation center. He’s enjoyed a lifetime of good health and said donating is a way to share some of that with those who haven’t been as lucky.
“It’s an act of gratitude,” said the 68-year-old Centennial resident. “I won the physiological lottery. I think of people that are ghting for their lives against cancer. To give them a shot of platelets, to use my health to help people that didn’t win the lottery, that’s the least I can do. Emotionally, it’s a very satisfying feeling.” It took Lothringer 40 years of regular donations to reach 70 gallons, and he’s not done yet.
“Absolutely, I’m going to keep doing it,” he said. “My goal now is 100 gallons.”
COURTESY OF EVERGREEN FIRE/RESCUE
COURTESY OF VITALANT
Caring for Colorado Energy Workers
BEES
“I nd myself having to set alarms because I can’t ever stop doing this —- it’s so much fun,” said Virginia Scott, the collections manager. e team at CU Boulder is hoping to get notes from 50,000 bee specimens
transcribed by 2025.
“Participating in this project is one of the biggest ways you can help in bee conservation because it gets that data to the conservationists who need it,” Carver said. e Mountain West News Bureau is a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico.
A bee visits a group of late-summer flowers Aug. 29 outside Colorado School of Mines’ Volk Gymnasium.
PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Thu 11/21
Savvy Senior Seminar
@ 1pm
Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Inspire All Ages Bowling
@ 3:30pm
Nov 21st - Dec 19th
Wulf Recreation Center, Physical: 5300 South Olive Road, Mailing: 1521 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Blue River Grass: New Terrain Brewing @ 6pm
10k Turkey Trek & 5k Turkey Trot @ 9am / $26-$42
New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden
Fri 11/22
Once Upon A Mattress
@ 12pm / $56
Nov 22nd - Dec 29th
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada. mturner@arvada center.org
Float Like A Buffalo @ 7pm
Little Bear Live, 28075 CO-74, Ever‐green
Sat 11/23
Chief Hosa Lodge Final Walkthrough (~45 days before event)
Tracy Byrd Music @ 7pm Colorado Springs, CO, Central City
Ralston Creek Trail @ Long Lake Ranch Park, Arvada
Teague Starbuck @ 2:30pm The Empourium Brewing Company, 4385 W 42nd Ave, Denver
Dirty Side Down Band: Dirty Side Down @ Jakes Roadhouse @ 8pm
Matt Hynes @ 4pm Old 121 Brewhouse, 1057 S Wadsworth Blvd #60, Lakewood
KB ANGEL: A Holodeck Holiday @ 5pm VFW Post 501, 4747 W Colfax Ave, Denver Buckstein @ 7pm Buffalo Rose, 1119 Washington Ave, Golden
Jake's Roadhouse, 5980 Lamar St, Ar‐vada
Van Zeppelin and Sweet Child @ The O @ 8pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
Sun 11/24
Hamilton @ 2pm Buell Theatre, Denver
Electric Kif @ 3pm Little Bear Live, 28075 CO-74, Ever‐green
Mon 11/25
Clear Creek Discover Days (Monday) @ 9am / Free Golden History Museum & Park, 923 10th St, Golden. 303-278-3557
Hunter wyatt: Thanksgiving Break Tour @ 7:30pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre Entrance 1, 17601 17621 W Alameda Pkwy, Morri‐son
Tue 11/26
Clear Creek Discover Days (Tuesday) @ 9am / Free
Golden History Museum & Park, 923 10th St, Golden. 303-278-3557
Mothica @ 8pm Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station, Den‐ver
Wed 11/27
Fabric sampler class (7-13yo) - Nov @ 2pm Wulf Recreation Center, 5300 S Olive Road, Evergreen. 720-880-1000
Chronic absenteeism rates di er sharply across metro-area school districts
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
critical time in the classroom, according to data from the Colorado Department of Education. Chronic absenteeism, dened as missing more than 10% of school days or around 18 days per year, puts students at greater risk for academic failure, poverty and dropping out of high school, according to Attendance Works, an organization working to reduce chronic absenteeism.
A newly-mandated reporting system required by a 2022 law reveals the issue isn’t just about the number of absences. Rather, it’s about who is missing: students from
ST. JOANOF ARC
Proclaiming Christ from the Mountains to the Plains www.StJoanArvada.org
12735 W 58th Ave · 80002 · 303-420-1232
Daily Masses: 8:30am, Mon-Sat
Confessions: 8am Tue-Fri; 7:30am & 4:00pm Sat
Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00pm
Sunday Masses: 7:30, 9:00, 11:30am, 5:30pm
teeism has been dropping since it peaked at 35.5% during the 2021-2022 school year. Yet, rates vary widely across districts and demographics show how some districts struggle with absences far more than others.
“In our statewide data, we see race and ethnicity gaps, but we also see gaps in multilingual learners, students with disabilities and homeless students who qualify for homeless services,” said Jo-
“If kids know we miss them, they’re less likely to opt out. Building those personal relationships with kids and having adults who genuinely care about them makes a significant di erence.”
Kim LeBlanc-Esparza, deputy superintendent of Je co Public Schools
Acknowledging a dire need to address the issue, Colorado’s education leaders ment to cut chronic absenteeism by 50% over ve years. Among metro-area districts, Denver, Douglas, Englewood and Je erson County have joined the state’s challenge.
Data reveals disparities across districts and demographics
While all groups of students experience some level of chronic absenteeism, those districts whose minority and low-income students make up a larger portion of the total population have rates far higher than the state average.
In Adams 14, where the absenteeism rate is close to 50%, nearly nine out of 10 students qualify for free or reduced lunch, meaning their family’s income falls below the federal poverty threshold.
e COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges. For many students, school closures meant the loss of a stable environment, access to meals and vital social interaction. As schools reopened, disengagement became a barrier for students accustomed to an extended absence from formal learning.
Felton noted that this break in routine and support made it di cult for students to readjust to school life.
Liljengren agreed.
“For some students, school was a place where they felt supported and cared for. After a year or more away, they’ve struggled to return to that structure,” he said.
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Similar trends hold true for Adams 12 and Denver Public Schools, whose absenteeism rates also far exceed the state average. In Adams 12, 47% of their students experience economic hardship. In Denver, it’s 65%.
At around 25%, Cherry Creek, Je co and Elizabeth school districts have lower absenteeism rates than the state average. ey also have fewer percentages of nonwhite and low-income students than the state as a whole.
Douglas County has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate, but the district also has the lowest percentage of minority and low-income students at 32% and 18%, respectively.
Understanding the causes
e reasons behind chronic absenteeism are complex and often deeply rooted in students’ broader social and economic conditions. Carl Felton, a policy analyst with EdTrust, emphasized that poverty remains one of the strongest predictors of chronic absenteeism, with low-income students two to three times more likely to miss school consistently.
“ ese are high-need populations,” Felton explained, adding that for many of these students, absenteeism re ects obstacles like unstable housing, limited access to transportation and lack of healthcare.
When it comes to nding a solution, Liljengren and Felton agree that understanding the unique challenges and barriers these speci c student populations face is crucial to developing targeted strategies to improve attendance.
While there is no one-size- ts-all answer, Felton emphasized it’s crucial to start by engaging families.
“All these folks have di erent stories and varying needs, which is why we promote family engagement as one of the top priorities and strategies to address chronic absenteeism,” Felton said. “We can make a lot of assumptions and throw money at programs shown to be e ective through evidence-based data, but we may end up spending money on a program when what we really need is a school bus or to hire a person to conduct home visits.”
He also said that research has shown punitive measures, like truancy court or anything that puts more of a burden on families, break trust with school leaders and make families and students less likely to engage and work on solving the problem.
By shifting away from punitive discipline measures and towards restorative approaches, Felton explained schools can build stronger relationships with students and families, address underlying issues and keep students engaged in the learning process.
Colorado has committed to cutting chronic absenteeism by 50% over five years, leading district leaders to consider new ways to engage families in attendance. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Pet owners could see a new type of vet at the o ce
BY JENNY BRUNDIN CPR NEWS
A ballot measure to create a new position to work in animal shelters and veterinary clinics appears to be passing, based on preliminary results Nov. 5.
Proposition 129 was winning with 52 percent supporting to 48 percent opposed in uno cial results. e position would be the rst of its kind in the nation.
Currently, veterinary practices in Colorado are sta ed by veterinarians, who have at least eight years of education, and veterinary technicians, who have a two-year associate’s degree.
e measure would create a new midlevel position between those two called a veterinary professional associate, or VPA.
e position would require a master’s degree in veterinary clinical care and would be allowed to diagnose animals, perform routine surgeries, and order and perform tests and procedures under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
Under current Colorado law, only veterinarians can perform those tasks.
e measure divided veterinarians and stymied many voters when it came time to mark their ballots.
“I was thinking about the medical professions … We have physicians’ assistants, we have nurse practitioners that are kind of the middle ground between physicians and nurses, so I felt like that made sense for veterinarians and vet techs too,” said a Denver voter named Angela, who declined to give her last name for privacy reasons. Other voters said the position felt duplicative.
“ ey (veterinarians and vet techs) are already professionals. Why add another
layer to the onion? To me that just didn’t make sense,” said voter Jack Stevens.
A coalition of animal welfare organizations and some veterinarians argued the measure would ease Colorado’s severe veterinary shortage and lower the cost of vet care. Opponents, including the professional associations representing veterinarians and veterinary technicians, warned VPAs would be allowed to do more than their training merited.
“ ere has been no evidence that the VPA role will decrease costs of veterinary care,” said Dr. Jennifer Bolser, a veterinarian. “Instead, pet owners will pay the same for a lesser trained individual trying to make a diaganosis and performing surgery…We do not want animals to su er with substandard care.”
Proponents argued the vet shortage has an especially large impact on animal shelters, rescues and nonpro t vet clinics. A Colorado State University survey of veterinarians found that 70% turn away animals because of sta ng shortages. Proponents said 20% of Coloradans live in a “vet care desert.”
“Animals across the state are su ering due to a lack of veterinary resources, especially in rural and disadvantaged communities,” said Dr. Apryl Steele, CEO of the Dumb Friends League.
e issue was Colorado’s fth most expensive ballot measure this year. e measure’s backers, All Pets Deserve Vet Care, raised nearly $1.5 million, spending $1.3 million through Oct. 28, with their top donations from the Dumb Friends League and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Gov. Jared Polis contributed $2,500 to the campaign. e coalition opposing the measure,
Medical Association as the top donor.
If the measure passes, what’s next?
e Associated Press had not o cially called Prop. 129 as of Nov. 7, but its lead looks fairly insurmountable.
e proposition would set up a new state license for this intermediate position in the veterinary eld. e state’s Board of Veterinary Medicine would pass rules around the speci c quali cations and testing required.
Colorado State University is already in the process of setting up a master’s in veterinary clinical care program. It plans to graduate the rst class of veterinary professional associates in 2027, regardless of whether the initiative takes e ect.
e program is designed for both vet techs who want to further their education
and for those who quali ed for vet school but weren’t accepted by a program, as well as for immigrants who were licensed veterinarians in their home country. It would require ve semesters of specialized training speci cally on cats and dogs and concludes with an internship delivering routine veterinary care in a practice under the close supervision of a veterinarian. e program requires a similar number of preclinical surgical training hours as veterinarians and three times the training hours in dentistry surgical training, according to CSU. e measure would set up a nationally recognized veterinary professional associates credentialing organization to issue certi cations once they pass a national exam. is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
The measure would create a new mid-level position between those two called a veterinary professional associate, or VPA. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Regulators eyeing Xcel lobbying, salary costs
Regulators put curbs on investor relations and executive salaries
BY MARK JAFFE THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado utility regulators — using the mandates in a 2023 law — are looking to carve lobbying fees, trade association dues and investor relations costs from Xcel Energy rate requests. In a current gas rate case, more than $775,000 in such costs were disallowed.
e gure in the future could be a lot higher based on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission decision in October ordering Xcel Energy to remove all investor relations costs — including a portion of executive salaries — from its calculations of costs passed on to customers.
“ ere is an inherent tension between customer bene ts and investor bene ts,” said Joseph Pereira, deputy director of the Colorado O ce of the Utility Consumer Advocate, which represents residential and small commercial customers before the PUC. “Customers shouldn’t pay to boost the share price.”
In the wake of soaring utility bills in the 2022-23 winter, when the average gas bill rose 52% for residential customers of Xcel Energy’s subsidiary Public Service Company of Colorado, the legislature convened a special committee to investigate rates.
e result of that inquiry was Senate Bill 291, which aims to avoid the bill shock customers experienced. It also took aim at 15 types of expenses that should not be paid by customers, such as a portion of board of directors’ compensation, travel and entertainment expenses.
e commission is still working on setting the rules to comply with Senate Bill 291. e PUC is using interim rules for the gas rate case.
Xcel Energy was seeking a $172 million increase in gas rates. e PUC granted the company a $130 million increase, with a $15 million adjustment for depreciation expenses, raising the average monthly household bill 7.7% or $4.57 and small commercial bills by $17.49.
Colorado customers like people everywhere in the county are concerned about how high their energy bills have become,” said David Pomerantz, executive director of the nonpro t Energy and Policy Institute. “Underlying a lot of those concerns, is how politically powerful utilities are and how they are paying for that with money that’s not theirs.” 3 other states keep corporate costs from being charged to consumers Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine have passed laws similar to Colorado, and bills have been led in 11 other states seeking to limit lobbying and other charges, Pomerantz said.
In a recent Xcel Energy gas rate case in Minnesota, the Citizens Utility Board, a nonpro t consumer advocate, challenged the dues paid to the American Gas Association, a trade group, and the Chamber of Commerce, noting that those charges are excluded by statute in Colorado.
In a settlement agreement, Xcel Energy agreed to remove the dues from customer charges.
“Colorado is a little ahead of the game compared to other states,” Pomerantz said. “ ey and Connecticut were the
rst states to take a whack at this.”
While there is a long list of costs to be excluded, in the gas rate case, the commission honed in on four: lobbying expenses, investor relations expenses, trade association dues and attorney and consultant fees in rate cases.
Xcel Energy in its lings maintained that many investor costs are required, such as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lings, the provision of disclosures to current and potential investors as required by law, and listing fees, including those required by stock exchanges.
“ ese costs for the company are unavoidable costs and are by de nition prudent since they are required by law, regulation, and/or stock exchanges that give the company access to external capital,” Xcel Energy said in a ling.
e PUC, however, said that prohibition in Senate Bill 291 is “unambiguous.”
“We therefore direct Public Service to remove from its revenue requirement calculations all investor relations expenses,” the commission said.
But what that gure is and how to calculate it have yet to be determined since it will rely on computing the time spent and salaries of all employees involved in investor relations, all the way up to top executives and the CEO.
“You know, a big part of their responsibility is investor relations,” Commissioner Tom Plant said during one meeting reviewing the rate case. “It’s maximizing shareholder value. It’s maximizing return to investors.”
“And what we know from the statute is that that is not a role that the legislature has said is attributable to ratepayers,” Plant said. “But we don’t know what that line is, we don’t know where we draw that line.”
In its decision the commission said “the company shall provide a full accounting of time spent by the company’s employees, including executives, in rais-
ing capital and any other aspects of investor relations.”
e commission did remove $142,000 in investor-related expenses from the rate case.
Xcel is the top spender on lobbying in Colorado
e decision was similar regarding lobbying. Xcel Energy has consistently been the top spender on lobbying at the Colorado statehouse. In the 12 months ending in July, it spent about $297,000 on lobbying.
ose expenditures for registered lobbyists are not included in charges to customers, but under questioning from Commissioner Megan Gilman, Xcel Energy executives said there is no accounting for the company employees who spend time in lobbying activities.
“From the executive level on down, there are individuals within the organization directing, strategizing, analyzing potential proposed or enacted legislation and trying to in uence those outcomes on behalf of the company,” Gilman said. “And so, it seems to me, we’re likely missing quite a bit of information here that would be helpful and necessary to ensure compliance with 291.”
e PUC ordered Xcel Energy to update its 2023 annual report to show the portion of total compensation for company employee lobbying and to track and report those expenses for 2024 and each year through the next rate case.
Finally, the commission told the company to track employee lobbying expenses from Jan. 1, 2024, on in a separate account to determine in the next rate case whether a refund is due to customers.
Xcel Energy also argued that in addition to lobbying and political activities the American Gas Association provides educational and professional activities and that part of its dues to the trade group should be allowed. e commission rejected the argument and the full $503,000 in dues was removed.
Xcel did not comment for this story, but provided a statement it made about the commission’s rulemaking to enact Senate Bill 291 noting that “the vast majority of expenses the law required be excluded from rates has historically been excluded from Xcel Energy Colorado customer rates.”
e cost of attorneys and consultants have long been paid for by customers in rate cases. “Such expenses are a legitimate cost of providing utility service,” the commission said.
Xcel Energy sought $1.6 million in legal and consulting fees to be put into rates. e PUC sta in a ling said that was an improvement over the $2.2 million the company requested in its 2022 gas rate case, but the sta recommended a $1.3 million cap on expenses.
e company spent $260,000 on consultants and the commission split that cost between the company and customers with each responsible for half, leaving Xcel Energy able to recover $1.47 million in costs.
While these are small-dollar battles in a $171 million rate case, Pereira, the utility consumer advocate, said they are important in changing the dynamics in the legislature and at the PUC.
“Maybe Xcel decides it doesn’t want to pay for 10 people lobbying,” he said. “Maybe it changes how they approach a rate case.”
When it becomes clear how much Xcel Energy is spending stockholders may also have a say. “ ere are monetary savings for customers but also a quanti able way for shareholders to decide if they want to pay for those activities,” Pereira said.
“SB-291 has to be the most in uential customer-focused bill we’ve seen in a decade or more,” Pereira said.
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.
Colorado utility regulators are considering exempting Xcel Energy’s lobbying fees, trade association dues and investor relations costs from future rate requests.
PHOTO
Federal judges clear Colorado 21-and-older gun law
10th Circuit judges end temporary injunction
BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
A Colorado law passed last year requiring people to be at least 21 years old before they purchase a rearm — and prohibiting dealers from selling to anyone under 21 — can go into e ect, a panel of federal appellate judges has ruled. e ruling from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dissolves a temporary hold that a federal district court judge placed on the law in August 2023. But the ruling doesn’t end the legal challenge to the law. Instead, it sends the case back to the lower court for the much more detailed arguments that will ultimately decide whether the law can stand.
e law was challenged by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a gun-rights advocacy group, as well as two people who said the law blocked them from buying a rearm to protect themselves. One of those plainti s has since turned 21.
ey argued that the law violates their Second Amendment rights. But the appeals court panel concluded that argument isn’t clear-cut enough to be entitled to a temporary injunction against the law.
“ e best reading is that (the law) is presumptively lawful because the agedbased condition or quali cation on the conduct it proscribes falls outside the scope of the plain text of the Second Amendment,” the judges found in their opinion.
In another section, the judges added: “It seems evident that the necessity of some minimum age requirement is widely accepted — after all, no one is reasonably arguing that 8-year-olds should be allowed to purchase guns.”
e case involves a law passed in 2023,Senate Bill 169. e law changes the minimum age to purchase a rearm to 21 from 18 in Colorado. Supporters argue that the law is meant to reduce youth suicides, accidental shootings and gun violence.
Purchasers under the age of 21 as well as unlicensed rearm sellers could face a class-2 misdemeanor for violating the law. Licensed rearms dealers who break the law face a class 1 misdemeanor. e law ultimately changes the status quo only when it comes to ri es and shotguns because federal law already bans the purchase of handguns by peo-
ple under 21. e law does not ban the possession of guns by those under 21, nor does it prohibit people under 21 from acquiring rearms via gifts or inheritance. It also contains exemptions for military and law enforcement members.
Tuesday’s ruling marks a relatively minor procedural step in the long arc of the case. But it also showcases how complicated and hotly contested federal rearm jurisprudence has become in the wake of Supreme Court decisions bolstering gun rights and requiring gun laws to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of rearms regulation.
In August 2023, when Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer temporarily blocked the law in a 44-page order, he concluded “the individual plainti s have shown a likelihood of success on the merits.” Finding such a likelihood is needed for a judge to issue an injunction.
In appealing that order, attorneys for the state led over 1,000 pages of briefs and appendices, including four expert a davits — three of them from historians and another from a neuroscientist.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia led friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the Colorado law, while eight other organizations led their own friend-of-the-court briefs arguing various positions.
e appeals court ruling, written by U.S. Circuit Judge Richard E.N. Federico, with the support of judges Carolyn Baldwin McHugh and Michael R. Murphy, stretches to 61 pages. A concurrence by McHugh — arguing that one particular issue should have been analyzed during the second step of a process laid out in a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision instead of during the rst step — is another 30 pages. An appendix laying out the history of various state gun laws tacks on another seven pages.
All three judges on the 10th Circuit panel were appointed by Democratic presidents, while Brimmer was appointed by a Republican.
In the end, the appellate judges concluded that the legal issues in the case aren’t as clear as Brimmer saw them.
“Laws imposing conditions and qualications on the sale and purchase of arms do not implicate the plain text of the Second Amendment,” Federico wrote in the ruling.
In a post on X, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners said the 10th Circuit judges “recharacterized this law into a mere commercial regulation instead of a constitutional right infringement.”
“ is is a very temporary setback, and
Demonstrating the use of a cable lock on a handgun.
we look forward to ghting back against this outrageous ruling,” the organization wrote. “ is law very clearly violates both the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court’s precedents, and we look forward
to ultimately striking it o the books.” 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.
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Lakewood neighborhood turns yard work into community
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In the quiet Lakewood neighborhood of Southern Gables, 91-year-old Cathy Stapleton watched with gratitude as a team of local middle schoolers from Denver Christian Academy transformed her leaf-strewn yard. ey were there as part of an annual combined e ort with the Southern Gables Neighborhood Association to rake leaves for elderly and disabled residents.
“Boy, did they work,” Stapleton said with a smile when she learned they had lled 42 bags to the brim. “You all did a wonderful, wonderful job.”
According to Lisa Huntington-Kinn, vice president of the homeowner’s association, approximately 75 students, accompanied by parent volunteers, raked around 50 lawns in the neighborhood. e students also serve other areas throughout the day as part of their school’s community service curricula.
Neighborhood board members and volunteers joined the students in raking and bagging the leaves. Once nished, they dispose of them at Fleischer Family Farm, where they’re used for compost to enrich the soil.
e e ort is a win-win for everyone involved.
Allowing collected leaves to decompose under tarps over the winter provides food for bene cial insects and prepares the soil for spring planting,” said Paul Fleischer, the farm’s owner. “Plus,
ABSENT
Liljengren said the state is focused on providing resources to districts, families and community partners through its “Every School Day Matters” attendance campaign.
e goal is for schools and communi-
using leaves as compost and mulch instead of sending them to the land ll reduces methane emissions.”
For homeowners, clearing yards of autumn leaves is physically taxing, particularly for older residents who may face mobility challenges or live alone. Stapleton, who has lived on her property since 1970, said that while her kids and grandkids have helped in the past, they can’t
ties to work together in a holistic, familycentered way to address the complex, multifaceted factors contributing to chronic absenteeism, especially for the most vulnerable student populations.
District leaders also recognize their role in ensuring kids want to attend school.
“When kids are excited about what they’re learning, they go to school, so part of it is connecting and saying, ‘how do we make the educational experience
wd=TGZ3b0VTd2liQm5DL1VNM3dHaVFoZz09
2.To attend via telephone, dial 1-253-215-8782 and enter the following information: Meeting ID: 826 5535 5254 Passcode: 003212
WESTOWN METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
/s/ Suzanne M. Meintzer McGEADY BECHER CORTESE WILLIAMS P.C. Attorneys for the District
DISTRICT CANDELAS SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 1 CITY OF ARVADA, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Sections 29-1-108 and 109, C.R.S., that a proposed budgets have been submitted to the Board of Directors of the Vauxmont Metropolitan District and the Candelas Special Improvement District No. 1 (collectively the “Districts”) for the ensuing year of 2025. The necessity may also arise for the amendment of the 2024 budget of the Districts. Copies of the proposed 2025 budgets and 2024 amended budgets (if appropriate) are currently on file in the office of the Districts’ Accountant, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village. Colorado 80111, where
always be there since they have busy lives of their own.
For the middle schoolers who spent the day bagging leaves in backyards and driveways, the experience left them with more than sore arms. It instilled a sense of purpose and strengthened their connection to their community.
It’s kind of cool to help out these homeowners,” said one of the students as his
really engaging, fun, exciting and relevant to them,’” said Kim LeBlanc-Esparza, deputy superintendent of Je co Public Schools.
She said it’s also about personalizing the school experience for each student.
“If kids know we miss them, they’re less likely to opt out. Building those personal relationships with kids and having adults who genuinely care about them makes a signi cant di erence,”
team took a well-deserved break.
But mostly, for sixth graders Kate, Reyna, Madlyn and Anna, it was fun. Lakewood homeowners looking for a place to take their fall leaves other than a land ll can drop them o at the Lakewood Greenhouse Nov. 16-25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
e homeowners association also notes that raking leaves into a garden or perennial bed allows them to serve as mulch, which will help roots stay insulated, retain soil moisture and slow the growth of weeds.
LeBlanc-Esparza said. e data shows Je co’s strategies are working. e district went from a chronic absenteeism rate of 37.8% in 2021-2022 to 25.3% in 2023-2024.
Felton acknowledged Colorado’s progress and noted that no amount of improvement is insigni cant.
“Even a 1% decrease or reduction in chronic absenteeism adds up to 100 or more students,” he said.
same are available for public inspection. Such proposed 2025 budgets and 2024 amended budgets will be considered at a regular meeting to be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. at the Candelas Parkview Swim and Fitness Club, 19865 W. 94th Avenue, Arvada, CO 80007 and via Teams video/ teleconference. Any interested elector within the Districts may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the 2025 budgets or the 2024 amended budgets, inspect the 2025 budgets and the 2024 amended budgets and file or register any objections thereto.
THIS MEETING WILL ALSO BE HELD BY VIDEO/TELEPHONIC MEANS: You can attend the meeting in any of the following ways:
1. To attend via Teams Videoconference, e-mail chelsea.bojewski@claconnect.com to obtain a link to the videoconference.
Cathy Stapleton expresses gratitude to the Denver Christian Academy students who raked her yard. From left, Kate, Reyna, Cathy Stapleton, Madlyn and Anna. PHOTOS BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
Volunteers brought the bags of leaves to Fleischer Family Farm where they will be composted during the winter.
