More than a crisis, Republicans and Democrats alike must thwart Trump’s slow-mo coup
President Donald Trump’s theatrics, tantrums, lies and corruption are no longer just an American distraction or worrisome inconvenience, it’s a crisis for every citizen of the United States and for democracies around the globe.
Trump’s four-week trail of tribulations since Jan. 20 reads like an air-tight case for impeachment and removal. It warrants the full attention of all Americans, and the immediate action of every member of Congress.
The president and key members of his administration have made clear with their threats and actions that they are not just willing but anxious to usurp the U.S. Constitution and equal powers of Congress and the judiciary in what is nothing less than a slow-moving coup against the United States government.
Just a few weeks ago, Trump’s administration began rolling out patently illegal and unconstitutional changes made by presidential fiat.
The list of offenses grows daily, and more shocking in their scope and peril.
Nearly every U.S. modern president has tested the limits of what he can do to further his agenda outside cooperation with Congress. Similarly, presidents routinely fight in the courts to substantiate their overreach.
DAVE PERRY Editor
But no previous U.S. president has so profoundly and provably employed obfuscation, misinformation and outright lies as a regular and daily matter of political course.
At the end of the week, Trump’s newly approved attorney general, Pam Bondi — who, as have all Trump cabinet members and appointees, sworn absolute allegiance to Trump, not the United States — ordered Republican prosecutors to drop all criminal charges against Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams was indicted by a New York grand jury for a long list of campaign and fraud crimes. Much of the compelling evidence has long been made public.
In letters among acting Trump justice officials and the prosecutors on the Adams case, the Trump administration admitted they wanted the charges against Adams dropped as a quid pro quo so Adams would work Trump on allowing for ICE raids to round up immigrants in New York City.
The chief prosecutor and other Republican prosecutors on the team were outraged by the corrupt demand, writing scathing letters made public about how outlandish and depraved Trump’s demand was.
“Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” Chief Prosecutor Danielle R. Sassoon
said in her letter to Bondi.
Rather than tap-dance around such glaring politicization of the justice system and being outed for corruption by fellow Republicans, the Trump administration essentially said that’s the way of the American government going forward.
By the weekend, the White House had blocked Associated Press reporters from covering Trump at official events and barred credentialed reporters from boarding the presidential airplane on Friday for coverage.
The reason? The Associated Press style ruling dictates that in reference to the Gulf of Mexico, the AP will refer to it as “the Gulf of Mexico” and tell the reader Trump insists it’s called “the Gulf of America.”
The AP, as well as officials from some of the largest news organizations in the country, said Trump’s stunt was a direct affront to the First Amendment, ensuring a free and unfettered press.
Trump Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich said in a statement that the AP “continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes The Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation.”
Clearly, an administration that would work to keep the largest producer of vetted White House news in the world from covering a president and administration that is infamous for lying, obfuscation and skulduggery — on such a petty and irrelevant claim — cannot be trusted to abide by norms and laws to ensure transparency and accountability to the American people.
All this follows days of chaos Trump created by firing, un-firing, re-firing and re-hiring hundreds of thousands of federal workers in a botched attempt to reduce the size of government and end wasteful federal spending without research or thought.
I don’t know a single person, and certainly not a single Democratic or Republican lawmaker, who doesn’t earnestly want to cut out wasteful government spending and either return dollars to taxpayers or at least get more from the government from our money.
But Trump and his acolytes are the only ones who believe they, alone, should decide what’s waste, and refashion government and spending. Under the Constitution, and eons of case law, that’s solely the role of Congress, which are representatives of the people, not Trump.
In a phone call with Colorado media Thursday, Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet talked about his frustration, and fears, as Trump rolled out wave after wave of chaotic orders, of which are estimated to cost Colorado more than a half-billion dollars in critical programs statewide almost immediately.
Reporters from southwest Colorado and other rural areas pressed Bennet for details on what looks like a bankrupt farm bill and other measures pushed by Trump that threaten farmers’ very existence.
Others pressed Bennet for details about the im-
pact of cuts and freezes on health care, water and even wildfire control programs that are threatened by Trump’s capricious and ill-conceived stunts with “tech bro” Elon Musk.
Nobody knows anything for sure right now, Bennet said. Too much is happening behind closed doors and without explanation.
My question was what Bennet and his Senate colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, planned to do — when, not if — Trump disregarded the law and Constitution and outright defied U.S. court orders, including those from the Supreme Court.
“I have had discussions with colleagues about it,” Bennet said. “and I think we, I think that we’re all cognizant of that possibility, and we’ll, we’re going to have to see what happens, but we are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.”
The situation became even more dire Saturday when Trump took to his social media channels without provocation to ominously proclaim he is above the law.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump said Saturday. It’s unclear whether he even knows that quote has for eons been attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Everyone in the country, elected leaders from both parties, business leaders and city and state legislators, must form a unified caucus to ensure Trump adheres to the Constitution and the law.
Without doubt, fatuous sycophants like Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green will tout and support anything and everything Trump attempts, no matter how deleterious it is for their constituents.
Those Republicans who have already cowered and kowtowed to Trump’s endless threats of political emasculation against any elected Republican who defies him, or even questions him, will be the key to America surviving Trump’s term, as long as it lasts.
Those Republicans who think they have ethical, legal and Democratic limits that Trump simply cannot be allowed to cross have only to remember back to Wyoming GOP star and Congressperson Liz Cheney and Sen. Mitt Romney and even GOP Vice President Mike Pence. Trump proudly and loudly pardoned violent criminal insurrectionists who beat and killed police Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol because the felons were his political fans.
This isn’t a time for all Americans, including Republicans to hope for the best while every warning light on the dashboard is blinking red and we’re four years from the next presidential service station.
All members of Congress and every legislature, county commission and city council must make it unequivocal right now that Trump cannot defy the Constitution, the law nor the courts and remain president. No one can.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. AP Photo/Ben Curtis
TRUMP NIH CUTS COULD HAVE ‘CRUSHING EFFECT’ ON AURORA’S ANSCHUTZ SCHOOL, BUSINESS AND RESEARCH ECONOMY
Cathy Bradley has dedicated her career to combatting cancer — an illness that killed 8,411 Coloradans in 2023 and is the leading cause of death in the state.
As the University of Colorado Anschutz’s Cancer Center deputy director, Bradley helps oversee lifesaving treatment and prevention to fight the disease. And for years she’s participated in cancer research supported by the federal government, such as studies on how supporting caregivers leads to better outcomes for patients.
However, the center’s cancer research, and medical research across the state, is under threat after the Trump administration cut how much money institutions receive from the National Institutes of Health to support research projects.
In an effort to rein in government spending, the Trump administration wants to halve how much grant recipients can use for “indirect costs.” These costs typically pay for expenses such as equipment, facilities, maintenance, and research assistants. While the funds are referred to as indirect, experts say they’re crucial for colleges and universities to be able to conduct the research.
On average nationally, about 28% of federal grant funds are spent on indirect costs. The Trump administration said it will limit that amount to 15% for existing and future grants. This would mean approximately $4 billion in savings for the federal government.
Colorado university officials said the Trump administration’s decision will cause Colorado to lose much more than funding and will have a “crushing effect” on the state’s health care system. They said it will hamper researchers’ ability to develop treatments and practices that save lives, hurt the economy, and hinder the training of more medical professionals.
“We’re the wraparound,” Bradley said. “If we’re not out there preventing cancer, then people get cancer and they get it at a late stage, and it costs a ton of money and they die. That’s just it.”
Several lawsuits have been filed, including one from Colorado and 21 other state attorneys general against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and agency officials. A fed-
eral judge has since blocked the cuts, meaning they are temporarily on hold.
Bradley, who also is dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, said that if the cuts happen, the three-campus partnership would lose about $8 million annually in funding used for indirect costs. She said it would be impossible to replace those funds. Private donors have strict rules on how money can be spent, and the school doesn’t have an endowment to replace that funding.
That all would add up to a lower standard of health care for Coloradans now and into the future, Bradley said.
What’s at risk in Colorado under Trump’s NIH cuts
The National Institutes of Health is the world’s leading public funder of medical research and contributes to a vast majority of such research nationwide.
The agency said in a memo about the cuts that it spent $35 billion nationwide in 2023 on almost 50,000 grants that supported 300,000 researchers at 2,500 universities, medical schools, and other institutions.
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus brought in more than $300 million in NIH grants in the 2024 fiscal year. About $85 million would have gone to indirect costs. Under the new lower rates, the university would receive just $36 million. The university has issued a declaration of support for the lawsuit.
In a statement, an Anschutz spokesperson said the school helps support over 1,000 clinical trials, which have more than 14,000 people enrolled. University researchers have studied solutions to problems such as opioid abuse, mental health, diabetes, and obesity.
The CU Anschutz Medical Campus hospitals also serve more than 2 million adult and pediatric patients yearly. The loss of indirect funding could also affect the care the university provides, the spokeswoman said.
“These cuts to NIH funding jeopardize the foundation of our life-saving research,” said Julia Milzer, a university spokesperson, in a statement. “Reduced research capacity means fewer scientific discoveries, job losses, and delayed advancements on therapies and cures that could improve — and save — lives.”
The University of Colorado Boulder, Col-
orado State University Fort Collins, and the University of Northern Colorado would also be affected by the cuts.
‘It really is almost absurd,’ university expert says of research cuts
In announcing the cuts, the National Institutes of Health under Trump said in its memo that it is “vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”
The statement also said the change brings federal funding in line with private donors, who have lower caps on indirect costs.
But the Association of Public & LandGrant Universities has said that a cut to indirect funding is not just a cut to administrative overhead but amounts to a cut to research.
Universities already pool numerous funding sources such as tuition, other research grants, cooperative agreements, endowments, and state money. Researchers have come to expect the federal funding to cover the costs that others can’t or won’t subsidize because research can be very expensive.
For example, Bradley said some laboratories might need facility upgrades and higher maintenance. CU Anschutz has rooms that need thicker walls because researchers work with radioactive materials to test samples.
The Colorado School of Public Health would need to raise over $200 million in endowment funding to pay for the $8 million annually it needs for infrastructure, according to a spokesperson.
Bradley added it’s not possible to use existing private funding to make up for cuts because so many funding sources place restrictions on whether those grants can be used for indirect costs.
“There’s just no other way to pay for it,” Bradley said. “You can’t charge students enough tuition to cover that kind of research.
Colorado Department of Higher Education Executive Director Angie Paccione agreed universities are limited in how much money they can raise. While larger private universities might be able to pull in big donors, public universities have a harder time doing so.
She added that the indirect costs aren’t waste, but crucial to making the research happen.
“Do we just say we’re not going to participate in the kinds of research that will solve
the critical problems that our country faces?” Paccione said. “It really is almost absurd. And I don’t know who is suggesting these kinds of cuts, but they must not know anything about research institutions.”
Consequences for Colorado’s economy and next generation
Others in Colorado and nationwide have condemned the Trump administration’s decision.
“Taking away critical research funding undercuts innovation, stifles economic growth, and makes America less competitive,” said Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
And the American Council on Education’s President Ted Mitchell said in a statement the cut is misguided and “sabotages the decades-long partnership that has ensured U.S. global leadership in life-saving medical research.” The council is party to one of the lawsuits.
Colorado School of Public Health Professor Glen Mays, an expert in health systems, management, and policy, said every dollar brought in through grants goes back into the state’s economy seven times over. The research also helps train medical professionals who work in the state and treat patients, he said.
“This would be a major drag on the overall economy,” Mays said.
And there will be other spillover effects that have long-term consequences, he added. The indirect costs help pay for students to learn valuable medical skills.
Students then go on to become doctors in their community or try to find cures and new treatments, he said.
“These are the students who are going to go out and do stuff in the real world to improve health,” Mays said. “Basically, that is going to slow our progress in improving health across the state.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Anschutz Medical Campus Sentinel File Phot
BY JASON GONZALES, for Chalkbeat Colorado
Unfrozen in time
IMAGES OF A FORGOTTEN AMERICA BROUGHT ‘BACK TO LIFE’
BY MARC SHULGOLD, For Colorado Community Media
As he leads a visitor along a row of ancient sepia-tone photographs hung in the lobby of the Lone Tree Arts Center, Paul Unks pauses at each one to offer a personal note about the subjects captured by Edward S. Curtis more than a century ago — a young Native American boy gazing blankly at us, a woman sitting under a tree weaving a blanket, a distant group on horseback moving easily below the rocky grandeur of Canyon de Chelly, a Native American chief with full feather headdress perched patiently as his white horse drinks from a stream.
Unks is curating an exhibit of 39 beautifully framed portraits by Curtis (18681952), the greatest photographer of Native America. Walking along, patrons feels his obvious passion after he described the lengthy, intense labor involved in reproducing each of these precious images for public purchase. Learning about that complex process, however, is not nearly as dramatic as hearing the remarkable story behind Unks’ discovery of 250 photographs by Curtis that had lay hidden for nearly 60 years — right here in the metro area. Like most kids, Unks grew up playing cowboys and Indians, a normal boy raised in the suburbs of St. Louis.
“Except that my respect was with the Indians,” he said.
Later, at the University of Missouri, he pursued his true passion — football, serving as quarterback until getting clobbered during practice by monster teammate John Matuszak. Time for another career. A class in photojournalism offered possibilities.
After settling in Denver, Unks worked as a counselor, helping people through career transitions. That all changed in 1997 when he learned that 500 of Curtis’ original photographs had remained in storage, unknown and forgotten — in the basement of the University of Denver’s library.
“The Boettcher Family had donated the collection in 1938,” he said. “These were all printed on Japanese tissues and carefully stored for all those years. I began a series of negotiations that would take a year. My goal was simple. I told them, “Let me bring (the photographs) back to life.””
There was “some resistance” in completing the agreement, he admitted — lawyers on both sides were involved, of course — but Unks had found a close ally in Steve Fischer, curator of special collections at the DU library.
There were 500 pieces in storage, with Unks awarded 250 (the remaining photographs, he said, “went out there some-
where.”). The task ahead was to “bring to life” the lost art of Curtis by making high-quality prints of each photograph, with percentages from their sale going to DU and to a Native American scholarship fund. Small problem: Unks had to start from the beginning and learn a very difficult art. It would take seven years, for starters. With his life now changing, he created Mountain Hawk Fine Art in 1999 and began his apprenticeship, with help from a number of mentors and the gift of time, patience and discipline. By the way, for his efforts, Unks has been given a Native American nickname: “Little Mountain Hawk.”
Curtis used a process known as intaglio photogravure, one that produces images with a remarkable sense of depth, light and realism. The process has earned the highest rating of any print type -- and it requires a master’s touch. Completing a single print requires three to four weeks (Three to four are made simultaneously -- building some of their gorgeous frames can require months). Unks was up to the task of learning the technique and utilizing it with every print, guided by a lifelong love for photography and his deep respect for the subjects in those century-old prints.
“As I work, I imagine Curtis looking
over my shoulder,” Unks said.
Learning yet another technique, adding gold tone, the subtle sepia coloring, would take another year.
In researching Curtis, he discovered that the photographer was deeply respectful of those who patiently posed for his camera.
“He earned their trust, and was allowed to visit native 80 tribes, which was very rare for a White man. Chief Joseph (one of the most famous of tribal leaders) actually came to his house and knocked on his door, wanting to pose,” Unks said.
As an indication of Curtis’ reputation among the Indians, he earned “The Shadow Catcher” as an honored nickname.
“Curtis spent nine months with the Indians,” Unks said. “He had an assistant, John Andrew, to handle the (copper) plate making. He collected 2,200 photographs in 20 volumes, out of around 40,000 photographs in all. When he felt he had completed his work, the Indians heard him say, “That will do.” And that was it.”
This story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative.
Photo in the Edward S. Curtis exhibition at Lone Tree Arts Center include “Canyon de Chelly.” Credit: Courtesy of Lone Tree Arts Center
between emerging artists and their mentors, offering a glimpse into the future of creative expression.
scene & herd
“Gee’s Bend” at the Aurora Fox Building on a lauded Fox show from last season, “Gee’s Bend” runs through Feb. 23 at the venue’s main stage.
Written
by
Elyzabeth Gregory Wild-
er and directed by local theater and documentary icon donnie l. betts, the show focuses on issues surrounding the Southern Freedom Movement.
Set in the isolated town of Gee’s Bend, Ala., the play spans the years 1939, 1965, and 2002, following Sadie and her family as they navigate segregation, family struggles, and the Southern Freedom Movement. At the heart of the story are the family’s extraordinary quilts, which serve as symbols of comfort, creativity, and resilience. Ultimately, the recognition of these quilts as art empowers the women and honors their legacy.
“Gee’s Bend” builds on the Fox Theater’s exploration Black American history, continuing the conversation begun with August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” in 2024.
Recommended for all ages, “Gee’s Bend” offers stories of perseverance, artistry, and the enduring power of family.
IF YOU GO
Event: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Through Feb. 23 with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. and Friday and Saturday curtains at 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Aurora Fox Arts Center, Tickets: $17-$52 with details at AuroraFoxArtsCenter.org or call 303-739-1970
A new make on Medusa
At the start of this dynamic dramedy twist on the classical myth of Medusa, she is alone in a cave on an isolated island, surrounded by the stone bodies of men she has killed. Suddenly, the hero Perseus arrives, announcing that he has come to kill her. Despite Medusa’s pleas and demands for him to leave her alone, he declares that he has come equipped with the weapons required to safely slay her without being turned to stone. Medusa, however, is not quite the monster Perseus imagined. The Tragedy of Medusa tackles themes of queerness, consent, power, and allyship by interrogating the relationships between gods, mortals and monsters.
Produced by the resident Two Cent Lion Theatre Co., teling “stories that feed artists, audiences, and the community at large with LGBTQ+ theatre and film.”
IF YOU GO
Event: Medusa 7 p.m. curtains
Feb. 8 - Feb. 22 Sunday curtains at 4 p.m.
Venue: The People’s Building, 9995 E Colfax Ave.
Details: www.thepeoplesbuilding.com
Tickets: $15-$35
Breaking Boundaries: New Art Exhibition
Explores Creativity in Aurora Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) invites art enthusiasts to experience “Breaking Boundaries: The Future of Creativity,” a group exhibition curated by Alyssa Williams. The show shines a spotlight on the collaboration
The exhibition features a lineup of creators working across a wide range of mediums. Ceramic artistry by Prisila Vazquez-Nava, Joey Kerlin, Jessica Gerome, and Bambi Hernandez brings a tactile exploration of form and texture. Alternative material experimentation by Erica Rawson, Kayli Cottonwood, and Jasmine Maldonado Dillavou challenges traditional art-making methods. Meanwhile, drawing, painting, and two-dimensional works by Sunny Zheng-Herb, Raymond Gabriel, Faith Williams Dyrsten, Mike Hanson, and Tim Ulrich deliver vivid reflections of personal and societal narratives.
The show also includes innovative approaches to jewelry and metalwork by Xtina Nelson, Madeleine Adair, and Dianna Miguez, alongside Macey Boren’s integration of technology and art, which blurs the boundaries between physical and digital mediums. “Breaking Boundaries celebrates the transformative role of collaboration between educators and emerging artists,” said Williams, a curatorial intern at DAVA and a student at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “It’s about innovation, pushing the limits of materials, and rethinking traditional approaches to art.”
DAVA, a cornerstone of Aurora’s art scene, is dedicated to engaging diverse youth in arts education that fosters creativity, opportunity, and community strength. The exhibition exemplifies this mission by encouraging dialogue and exploration among artists, educators, and audiences.
IF YOU GO
When: Gallery is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays. The show is on exhibit through Feb. 24
Where: DAVA 1405 Florence St.
Tickets: The show and gallery are free
Details: www.davarts.org and 303-367-5886
She Kills Monsters, in Aurora
Action-packed board-game theater production? Critics say yes to “She Kills Monsters” opening this weekend at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora. Based on a episode of Dungeon’s and Dragons, “Qui Nguyen’s clever drama-comedy weaves together spectacular adventure with genuine emotional depth, using the framework of tabletop gaming to explore love, loss, and the parts of ourselves we hide from those closest to us,” Vintage officials said. “Through a blend of comedy, action, and heart, “She Kills Monsters” reminds us that sometimes the greatest quests are the ones that lead us home.”
“It will slash and shapeshift its way into your heart,” a New York Times critic said.
IF YOU GO
She Kills Monsters runs weekends through Feb. 23
Tickets: $20-$36
At the Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St, inside at the Bond-Trimble Theatre
Details and sales: www.vintagetheatre.org
Black History Month Music Series
Stanley Marketplace is collaborating with a variety of local Black artists for Black History Month. The Stanley is hosting a Black History Month Music Series with live performances by every Saturday. Guests include Catch Kid Astronaut, Jae Wes, Kayla Marque, and DNA Picasso.
IF YOU GO
Time: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturdays in February
Venue: The common area at the Stanley Marketplace. 2501 Dallas St.
To Not Be Afraid: A Journey Towards Light and Love
Kol Nashim, the women’s choir of the Colorado Hebrew Chorale, in collaboration with Art Against Antisemitism, presents an immersive concert of music and art.
The candle-lit event, entitled “To Not Be Afraid: A Journey Towards Light and Love,” will feature a concert by Kol Nashim under the direction of Artistic Director Dr. Jessie Flasschoen Campbell. A visual presentation of artwork from artists from around the globe, curated by Art Against Antisemitism under the direction of Lisa Link, will enhance the experience. The event will include active audience engagement.
IF YOU GO
Time 4 p.m. Feb. 23
Where: Hebrew Educational Alliance, 3600 S. Ivanhoe St.
Tickets: $10-$25
Details: 303-355-0232 and https://coloradohebrewchorale.org
Candlelight Concerts: A Tribute to Coldplay
Candlelight string quartet concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Denver. Get your tickets now to dis-
cover the music of Coldplay at the Kirk of Highland under the gentle glow of candlelight.
Maro is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer from Lisbon. Graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2017, the Portuguese artist officially debuted her career in 2018, having released five albums. She later joined Jacob Collier on his 2019 DJESSE World Tour, as a part of the band. Most recently, MARO has won the Festival da Canção and represented her country at Eurovision 2022 with “saudade,”
IF YOU GO
Time: 7 p.m. Feb. 22
Venue: Lost Lake Lounge 3602 E Colfax Ave.
Tickets: $29-$32
Details: https://lost-lake.com/
Martin Gilmore Trio
Martin Gilmore, a soaring troubadour of modern folk, weaves tales with strings that resonate through time. He finds harmony in the tapestry of folk and country, blending tradition with innovation. Born on the prairies of Nebraska, he now lives in Denver. A poet with a guitar, Martin’s lyrics dance between heartache and hope, painting vivid portraits of the human experience. The Martin Gilmore Trio includes acclaimed mandolinist and guitarist Nick Amodeo and bassist extraordinaire Ian Haegele.
Limited number of discount tickets still available
3 & 4
Support Local Art, Music, Wine
Early bird tickets are now on sale for Arapahoe County’s annual wine and chalk art festival, held May 3 and 4 at the Fairgrounds. To keep our guests extra comfortable, we are holding the event indoors! Enjoy wine from local wineries, chalk art, live bands throughout the day, fun activities, shopping, and more. Early bird tickets are just $30 for Saturday/ $20 for Sunday—hurry, limited supply! Tickets and information at arapahoecountyeventcenter.com.
The Arapahoe County Mayors and Commissioners Youth Awards recognizes teenagers who have overcome adversity and risen to challenges. Scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors who wish to pursue post-secondary educational opportunities at vocational schools, two- or four-year colleges, or trade, and certification programs. Teachers, counselors, and school admins can nominate exceptional seniors through March 7 at arapahoeco.gov/youthawards.
FAMILY TIE(UP)S
Nothing better than family to motivate some of Aurora’s elite wrestlers, who made it all pay off by making state’s biggest stage
Amelia Bacon took the mat at Ball Arena Feb. 15 at Ball Arena with tears of joy in her eyes.
BY COURTNEY OAKES, Sports Editor
She had a state championship match against a tough opponent in front of her, but the raw emotion of seeing her twin brother, Ian, crowned a state champion just a few minutes earlier overwhelmed her like no opponent to date has been able to do.
In perhaps the greatest illustration of how wrestling is likely the greatest of family sports at the high school level, the Bacons became the first twin duo to win state championships in Colorado history since girls wrestling became sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association five years ago.
“She’s my practice partner, the person I go home and talk about matches with and the person I complain to when practice is hard,” Ian said. “We have such a great bond and I thank her so much. ...She’s always been the better one, so she motivates me so much. I want to be as good as she is.”
“SHE’S ALWAYS BEEN THE BETTER ONE, SO SHE MOTIVATES ME SO MUCH. I WANT TO BE AS GOOD AS SHE IS.”
- VISTA PEAK PREP JUNIOR IAN BACON ON CATCHING HIS SISTER,
“I’m standing there on the side freaking out and cheering him on the whole time and he does such a great job and wins and then I started crying,” Amelia said after she joined her brother as Vista PEAK Prep’s only state champions (team or individual) in any sport.
“I was like ‘Ian, how dare you make me cry before I have to go out and wrestle?’ I am so, so proud of him.”
With his championship secured via a pin in the Class 5A boys 120-pound state title match, Ian got his prizes and slipped into a seat in the front row and watched his sister hold up her end of the family bargain with a tight win by decision in the 5A girls 125-pound final.
The history-making Bacons — who were joined later in the night by Canon City’s Jack (4A boys 190 pounds) and Kate Doughty (4A girls 145 pounds) as brother-sister state champions — were just part of the family stories among the 24 girls and 32 boys qualifiers from Aurora programs who competed over three days.
Cherokee Trail brothers Cooper and Chance Mathews both made it to 5A state championship matches as well in their second and last season together on varsity (both finished as runners-up), while Regis Jesuit sophomore Remington Zimmerer wrestled for — and won — the 5A 120-pound girls state championship with her dad, Zach, in her corner as her longtime coach.
The intensity of the work and physical and mental sacrifices to be great naturally can create a brotherhood or sisterhood in wrestling rooms, but shared DNA adds an entirely different element to the equation.
It can be the ultimate stuff of motivation and in a sport where every result is somewhat unpredictable and the margin for error is miniscule, the internal push given by a sibling or parent can in some cases be what can push a good wrestler to be great.
›› See WRESTLING, 11
On The Cover: Senior twins
Ian, left, and Amelia Bacon stand on top of the medal podium at Ball Arena after they won both state championships at the Class 5A boys and girls state wrestling tournaments.
Photo by Courtney Oakes/ Aurora Sentinel
Above: Ian Bacon, left, claimed the Class 5A boys state championship at 120 pounds, while Amelia Bacon claimed the title in the 5A girls 125-pound bracket.
Photo by Courtney Oakes/ Aurora Sentinel
BACON TWINS PUSH EACH OTHER TO MATCHING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR VISTA PREP PREP
Ian Bacon wrote a note to himself that he had on the wall at his house this season with two goals.
“Love Jesus, be a state champion,” the note read. Bacon’s faith is evident, so he had that one checked off the list already and he added the other other half Feb. 15 in one of the most eyebrow-raising results at the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament.
“I wrote state champ because that’s what every kid says, but I didn’t actually think it,” he said. “Then as the time started coming, I was like ‘alright, I’ve got to start believing in myself if it’s going to happen.’ I’m really happy that it did.”
As Bacon stood in the bowels of Ball Arena, the fact that he pinned Cherokee Trail sophomore Cooper Mathews — who was trying to become a two-time state champion — just a few momentous minutes earlier in an all-Aurora 5A 120-pound final still hadn’t completely registered.
After all, it had been just a little over two months since he’d been pinned twice and lost three times during an eighth-place finish at the University of Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament. He was a new wrestler once the new year began, however, as he won five of the six tournaments he entered ahead of state.
Once at Ball Arena — where he was 1-2 and didn’t place in the 4A state tournament last season — he put on a show when the program moved up to the 5A ranks.
In the quarterfinals, he trailed by a point in the closing seconds against Ponderosa’s Jeremiah Waldschmidt (a state runner-up last season) before he rolled over and earned a win by fall before the clock hit zeroes. He went against a 2023 state champion and 2024 runner-up in Zaidyn Quinonez of powerhouse Pomona and won an 11-6 decision.
That put him into the final against Mathews, last season’s 106-pound 5A state champion who he knew from club wrestling. That didn’t matter either, as he broke a scoreless tie with an escape point early in the period, then took down and proceeded to pin Mathews.
“He couldn’t have had a harder three matches,” Vista PEAK Prep coach David Benedict said. “I don’t think you could have written it any different way. ...When he’s wrestling on his level, nobody can match him.
“I almost passed out at the end. I was so excited when got that last takedown, things went a little blurry, but people told me I jumped really high.”
Tim Yount of On The Mat recognized Bacon’s recent surge as his pre-state predictions had Bacon placing third with Quinonez as state champion and Mathews as runner-up. That’s a far cry from Week 1, when Yount had Bacon ranked No. 7 at 126 pounds.
Weights shift throughout the course of the season, but those that win state championships typically stay at or near the top of the rankings. Bacon become one of the exceptions, as the motivation of keeping up with his sister and his internal drive pushed him to new heights.
Bacon could see the growth in himself in how he handled his state matches this season.
“My biggest problem last season was I was thinking during my matches,” he said. “I would be like ‘I have to start moving my feet’ and all of a sudden, he (his opponent) is on my leg. So not thinking and just flowing really helped me. I also wasn’t nervous. I went out there in the Parade of Champions, took a look at the crowd and then I decided I wasn’t going to think about the crowd and just go out and wrestle.”
Bacon (who won his final 20 matches of the season and finished 43-7) said he didn’t hear the reaction when he finished the match, but he was able to appreciate it fully when his sister’s match was through.
Once she watched her brother win, Amelia Bacon returned to the back hallways at Ball Arena to get into the zone for her match against Castle View sophomore Zaret Silva Lopez, who had upset predicted winner Alora Martinez of Pomona in overtime in the semifinals.
Bacon had pinned Silva Lopez twice during the season — including just a week earlier in the Region 2 championship match — but she knew that winning a third match against another elite wrestler is extremely difficult.
“She’s an incredible wrestler and she has so much aura,” Bacon said of Silva Lopez. “I have the utmost respect for her. I knew it was going to be tough, that’s why we come here, to write those tough matches. ...I just thought of it like regionals all over again with a bigger crowd. I just had to have confidence in myself and the hard work and winning is just a byproduct of that.”
In her second state championship match (she lost a decision to Vista Ridge’s Hayden Newberg, who won this season’s 135-pound title as well), Bacon worked a late reversal to break a 3-3 tie and held on for a 5-4 victory. It finished off a 36-1 season in which her only loss came to Martinez, who beat her 5-1 at Douglas County’s Tiara Challenge.
When it was over, she jumped into the arms of first-year head coach Ashley Jaramillom then found Ian and gave him a hug. After the medal podium, she went to find her dad as well as her mom, Dana, who was understandably overcome by emotion watching her kids in the tournament.
Later, Amelia gave Ian a hard time because he had edged her to make history as the school’s first state champion.
“I was like ‘Darn it, Ian, you did it before me!’” she said with a smile. “I’m just so proud of him, but he’s always going to be like ‘I did it first!’”
Ian had come to that realization a little bit earlier and it definitely brought a smile to his face.
“I’m the first, I beat Amelia!” he said with a laugh.
Benedict — also Vista PEAK Prep’s athletic director — saw a state championship (two) finally come for the school after some close calls in the past. Most recently, Ezekiel Taylor finished second at 190 pounds at the 2023 state tournament at the same time Leilani Caamal was a runner-up in the girls tournament.
“I’m just so stoked, those two are the hardest working duo,” he said. “They are such an example for our team and our school. These are the kinds of things that are the ultimate recruiting tool to get other kids to come out.”
On the boys side, Ian Bacon was the only one of Vista PEAK Prep’s three qualifiers to win a match and his 26 points put the Bison 22nd among 46 scoring teams in the 5A standings.
Contrast that with the girls, which saw junior Parice Jones (190) and sophomore Khloe Yizar (235) each place fourth and the team finish seventh. Six of the Bison’s seven state qualifiers figure to return next season and will have a state champion in the room in Amelia Bacon.
“I guess the biggest word would be proud,” Jaramillo said. “I had two first-year wrestlers make state and I’m incredibly proud of my team. If there’s anything they know how to do, it’s work hard. They are the ones that do this, I’m just the girl in the corner. ...Of course, Amelia is a beacon. She’s just a light. She’s a pivotal aspect to growing women’s wrestling.”
WITH DAD IN HER CORNER, REGIS JESUIT’S REMINGTON ZIMMERER WINS 5A STATE TITLE
Remington Zimmerer has been coached by her father, Zach, since she started wrestling and all the way through her sophomore year at Regis Jesuit.
So it was appropriate that he was seated in her corner Feb. 15 at Ball Arena when she made personal and Regis Jesuit girls program history in one fell swoop.
Zimmerer emerged from a clash with Widefield’s Amaya Hinojosa with a 6-4 victory in the Class 5A 120-pound state
championship match and she leaped into her father’s arms seconds after it was over.
“He’s coached me for the last six years, ever since I started wrestling, so it’s really special to have him here in such a big moment like this,” said Zimmerer as her voice cracked with emotion. “His presence just calms me and makes me feel grounded knowing he’s always looking out for my best interests. He knows how I wrestle, so he knows what to watch for during matches. He taught me everything I know.”
Zimmerer admitted that she was extremely nervous for all of her state matches as a freshman — when she finished 3-2 and placed sixth at 105 pounds — but another year of experience, plus her dad’s calming presence, put her in a better frame of mind for state this season.
She came into Ball Arena without a loss in Colorado, as her three defeats all came at the Napa Valley Girls Classic in January in California. Zimmerer earned quick pins over Columbine’s Alexis Archuleta and Pine Creek’s Zaira Guerrero in the first two rounds Feb. 13 and handled a challenge from Brighton’s Kiahna Spellman for a 12-8 decision in the Feb. 14 semifinals.
That put her in the finals against Widefield’s Amaya Hinojosa, who picked up three dominant wins and came in with a 40-1 record that also was spotless against Colorado wrestlers as her only loss this season came at the Lady Horns Classic in Texas.
The two hadn’t faced each other before and Zach Zimmerer said his daughter “didn’t seem stressed warming up, which had me a little worried,” but he was OK as soon as she picked up the match’s opening takedown to go up 3-2 after one period.
Hinojosa worked a two-point reversal for a 4-3 lead af-
STATE WRESTLING PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT COURTNEYOAKES. SMUGMUG.COM
ter two periods and had control in the third until inside of a minute left, when Zimmerer worked her way out of the down position for a three-point takedown for a lead she was able to hold onto.
“It was a little back and forth there, so seeing her get those last points and then be ready to go for more, that’s how she’s been wrestling this year,” Zach Zimmerer said, “You never know how it’s going to be in this tournament. Some kids don’t really wrestle like themselves, but she did, which was awesome. ...It was so much fun watching her come into her own in this tournament.”
When the final whistle blew, Zimmerer was overcome with emotion as she had her arm raised is victory. A short time later, she raced to her corner and embraced her father as tears flowed.
“I’d been training a lot for a match like this, but I really didn’t expect to be in the finals, so this is thrilling and exciting,” Zimmerer said.
In the front row to witness the championship were Zimmerer’s Regis Jesuit teammates, which included three other state qualifiers in junior Hannah Pramita, sophomore Jordyn Walker and freshman Heidi LaTourrette. Now that the program has its first state champion — as Zimmerer bested the runner-up finishes for 2024 graduate Alexis Segura in 2021 and 2023 — the growth hopefully will continue.
“We brought he most girls we ever had this year and they are all coming back and excited to continue to wrestle freestyle,” Zach Zimmerer said. “We’re getting a core and we have a great group of kids.
TOP LEFT: Grandview sophomore JR Ortega, right, celebrates his victory over Fruita Monument’s Kel Unrein in the 113-pound match at the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament on Feb. 15 at Ball Arena in Denver. Ortega placed third as a freshman at the
tournament and
has her arm raised by the referee after
ta PEAK Prep junior Ian Bacon looks skyward following
Bacon and twin sister Amelia won state championships in the
history. TOP RIGHT: Grandview sophomore JR Ortega, center, celebrates
with
in
and
in the stands at Ball Arena. Ortega made a “Lambeau Leap” style
after
ABOVE: Regis Jesuit sophomore Remington Zimmerer, right, embraces her father and coach Zach Zimmerer after
the 5A girls 120-pound state championship Feb. 15. ABOVE RIGHT: Regis Jesuit sophomore Remington Zimmerer has her arm raised by the referee following her 6-4 victory over Widefield’s Amaya Hinojosa in the 120-pound title match. PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
SUPPORT HELPS CARRY GRANDVIEW’S JR ORTEGA TO 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HE HAD AIMED FOR Grandview’s JR Ortega thought that he would wrestle for a Class 5A state championship last season as a freshman, but a semifinal loss derailed that plan.
It turned out he only had to wait a year until he got that chance, as he qualified for the 113-pound final and ended up taking home the big prize Feb. 15 at Ball Arena.
A season after he placed third at 106 pounds, Ortega confidently handled all comers throughout the tournament, capped by a 5-0 decision over Fruita Monument sophomore Kel Unrein. It provided the perfect ending to a 36-6 season.
“This is exactly what I wanted after last year,” Ortega said. “I’m not a big manifestation guy or anything like that, but I knew I was going to work my absolute hardest to come back and leave it all on the floor. I was going to work my hardest and let the result be the result.”
Since a two-point loss to Severance’s Drake VomBaur (the 4A state champion) in the championship match at the Top of the Rockies Invitational Jan. 18, Ortega hadn’t been touched. He won the Centennial League championship and Region 3 title with a mix of wins by pin and technical fall and ripped off a tech fall and two major decisions in his first three matches to earn his spot in the state final.
Ortega reached the final and faced Unrein, who knocked off Ponderosa’s Silas Gomez in the semifinals. The Wolves’ standout earned a second period escape point to break a scoreless tie, then got a takedown and stayed in control the rest of the way.
“He was a worthy opponent, but I knew as long as I stayed on my game, there’s no reason I should be in any danger at all,” Ortega said. “I just stayed on my stuff and handled my business.”
When the match ended, Ortega turned and flexed in front of a large group of supporters in the first few rows of the stands who went wild with the result.
Afterwards, Ortega truly appreciated the type of environment in the Grandview wrestling room — which also included two other state finalists in junior 150-pounder Jonathan Montes Gonzales and sophomore heavyweight Leland Day, plus a slew of coaches who have helped many Wolves reach higher levels — that allowed him to thrive on the mat, as well as those that supported him off of it.
“I’m grateful for my friends and my family, it takes an army to do something like this,” Ortega said. “Mom cooking good meals and making sure I stay on weight, Dad pushing me and always being there. I don’t think he’s ever missed a tournament. I know I can go out there and handle business because I know I have the right people behind me and I have God behind me. It means a ton.”
Ortega’s victory as a sophomore gives him two more chances to become Grandview’s second multiple-time state champion. Fabian Santillan — who went on to wrestle at Stanford — achieved the feat first with back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. Ortega plans to just a couple of days off to enjoy the victory, go skiing and then prepare for a big trips and competitions in the coming months.
›› See WRESTLING, 13
MATHEWS BROTHERS MAKE STATE FINALS TOGETHER, BOTH FINISH AS RUNNERS-UP
The Mathews brothers — Chance and Cooper — had long thought about what it would be like to be on the same wrestling team and push each other to new heights.
Being two years apart in age, that was possible over the past two seasons at Cherokee Trail. With Chance a senior and Cooper a sophomore this season, the brothers hoped to finish their last year together in style and gave themselves a chance as they both made championship matches Feb. 15 at the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament at Ball Arena.
“Growing up, we always dreamed of being on the same team together, competing together and succeeding together, so this is kindof the pinnacle of that,” Cooper Mathews said Feb. 14 after both posted semifinal victories.
“To be in the Parade of Champions together is one of the coolest moments of my life that I’ll for sure remember for a long time.”
Cooper Mathews got to have the feeling of wrestling for a state championship last season, when he finished a phenomenal freshman season with a victory in the 106-pound title match.
That opportunity had not come for Chance, a two-time state placer who lost in the semifinals last season and finished fourth. He made it happen this season, however, as he beat every wrestler he had faced in Colorado with two losses coming at out of state tournaments.
“He (Cooper) made it last year and I didn’t, so it will be fun to be alongside him in the finals,” Chance said. “Hopefully he can do the same in the future with our littlest brother who is a seventh-grader now, but it will be a special moment for the two of us to be out there together.”
As is common, the siblings have a friendly rivalry, however it is much more about both having success, not one over the other.
Chance Mathews was thrilled for his brother for his state championship last season and hopes for more to come for him.
“For me, I don’t really see it as competition, I want him to be the best he can be and I want him to be better than me,” he said. “If you watch us, a lot of our techniques are pretty similar and we learned a lot from each other. We want the best for each other and when one of us does good, the other feeds off that energy. I want to be the best
I can, but I want him to be better than that.”
In the end, neither brother walked off with a state title. Cooper Mathews took the mat first and felt really good about his matchup with Vista PEAK Prep’s Ian Bacon — who he knew from club wrestling — but he got taken down in the second period and got pinned. Chance Mathews later faced off with Pomona’s Angel Serrano for the 138-pound title and he fell behind in a tight match before he tried to rally. He had Serrano in a precarious position on the edge of the mat, but was unable to score before time expired.
The brothers finished with a combined record of 96-8 (Chance was 51-3 and Cooper 45-5, including a 17-2 record since moving up from 113 to 120 in January). The brothers combined with three other state placers — senior Mateo Garreffa (fourth at 190 pounds), junior Ryan Everhart (fifth at 150) and freshman Elijah Van Horn (sixth at 106) to help coach Jeff Buck’s Cougars finish in sixth place in 5A.
Cherokee Trail will miss the presence it had with Chance for the last four years, while he has much to look forward to as he is headed to the Air Force Academy.
“I’m super excited about it,” he said. “I know it’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s the right place for me academic wise and wrestling wise. I’m excited to wrestle in the Big 12 and I think our team could be really good. We have a lot of young guys, so I’m excited to get over there and get to work.”
MONTES GONZALES, DAY COME UP AGONIZINGLY SHORT OF STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
In a true illustration of how difficult it is to win a championship at the state wrestling tournament, three of Aurora’s four losses in
ABOVE: Cherokee Trail senior Chance Mathews, bottom, attempts to score on Pomona’s Angel Serrano during the 138-pound championship match at the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament Feb. 15 at Ball Arena Mathews lost a 5-4 decision. FAR LEFT: Grandview sophomore Leland Day, facing, ties up with Fruita Monument’s Tatum Williams during a 4-0 loss in the 285-pound 5A state final LEFT: Grandview junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales, right, reacts after dropping the 5A 150-pound final by a point. BELOW: Cherokee Trail sophomore Cooper Mathews, left, looks for an opening as he faces Vista PEAK Prep’s Ian Bacon in the 5A boys 120-pound title match. PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
championship matches came via close decisions.
Besides the aforementioned one-point loss for Cherokee Trail’s Chance Mathews in the 138-pound final, heartbreak also came for two Grandview wrestlers in junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales and sophomore Leland Day. Montes Gonzales made it to the 150-pound state championship match last season before he lost by fall to Regis Jesuit’s Garrett Reece, who missed this season due to injury. Montes Gonzales earned his way back to the final again in the same weight, only to suffer a 6-5 loss to Arvada West’s Auston Eudaly. Eudaly had pinned Montes Gonzales at consecutive tournaments in January, but this time it was a battle until the final whistle. Montes Gonzales defeated every other wrestler he faced since Jan. 9, but lost to Eudaly in the finals at the Arvada West Invitational and in the semifinals at the Top of the Rockies Invitational before the state meeting and finished the season 35-7.
Day won the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational title in January as a highlight of an outstanding season and had suffered his only losses of the season out of state at the Reno Tournament of Champions. With two wins by fall and a decision in the semifinals, Day brought a 20-match winning streak into the state championship match against Fruita Monument senior Tatum Williams, who finished third at 285 last season. The match went to the third period in a scoreless tie before Williams earned a point for an escape early in the period and then got a takedown inside the final minute as Day tried to find a way to get a takedown. Day finished the season 39-5.
Below right top: Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Khloe Yizar got past Overland senior Ruth Worknhe in the consolation semifinals and placed fourth in the 5A girls 235-pound weight class.
Below right middle: Grandview senior Charlie Herting lost in the 5A boys 175-pound semifinals, but pinned his way to third place in the bracket a year after winning the state championship at 165.
Below right bottom: Eaglec-
Eight Aurora area boys and girls wrestlers made Class 5A state championship matches Feb. 15 that was just the tip of the iceberg of success for locals over three days on the mats at Ball Arena.
STATE WRESTLING
Four of those eight won state championships —Regis Jesuit sophomore Remington Zimmerer and Vista PEAK Prep junior Amelia Bacon in the girls and Grandview sophomore JR Ortega and Vista PEAK Prep junior Ian Bacon on the boys (see cover story), but a total of 21 wrestlers earned podium spots with top-six finishes.
derRidge’s Caden Deines in the consolatoin semifinals, then finished in style with a 16-2 victory by major decision over Central G.J.’s Hassin Maynes. Sophomore 144-pounder Braxston Widrikis lost in the semifinals to eventual state champion Derek Barrows of Pomona, but went on to place fifth for Grandview as he picked up an 18-3 win by technical fall over Rock Canyon’s Noah Jadd. Sophomore Oz Nowick added a sixth-place finish at 215 pounds.
Packed podium
Cherokee Trail had two state runners-up in sophomore Cooper Mathews at 120 pounds and senior Chance Mathews at 138 pounds, while the Cougars (sixth in the team standings) also had a trio of placers in senior Mateo Garreffa at 190 pounds, junior Ryan Everhart at 150 pounds and freshman Elijah Van Horn at 106 pounds.
BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor
In 5A boys, coach Ryan Budd’s Grandview team finished in third place for a second consecutive season and did on the strength of seven placers, which included a state champion in Ortega, plus the runners-up at 150 pounds (junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales) and 285 pounds (sophomore Leland Day). Not among the finalists for Grandview is senior Charlie Herting, who was in search of a second straight state title.
Herting hadn’t lost since the championship match of the Top of the Rockies Invitational against Pueblo Central’s Genaro Pino (the 4A state champion), but a streak of 14-straight wins by pin came to an end with a 12-8 overtime loss in a see-saw match with Pomona’s Emmitt Munson. Munson went on to win the championship — one of five in the tournament for the Panthers, who won the team title as well — and Herting put the disappointment behind him with two wins on the final day of the tournament. He pinned his way past Loveland’s Bryce Hayman in the consolation semifinal to make the third-place match, where he needed just 33 seconds to pin Chatfield’s Jay Aplanalp, who he had pinned in the quarterfinals on the opening round of the tournament, to finish a pin-filled season 44-5.
Also in third place was junior Gunner Lopez at 157 pounds, as he came up just short of being the Wolves’ fourth finalist with a 4-2 loss to Ponderosa’s DJ Wince in the semifinals, but also put together two wins Feb. 15. Lopez won a 4-2 decision over Thun-
Garreffa made the semifinals for a second straight season, but his championship big ended with a loss to undefeated Carson Hageman of Erie. He bounced back with a win by technical fall in the consolation semifinals to make the third-place match, where he lost a 7-1 overtime decision to Pomona’s Emerson Claeys. Everhart ended with a win in his fifth-place match, while Van Horn finished sixth in his state debut.
In the 5A girls tournament, Eaglecrest and Vista PEAK Prep both finished with three placers apiece, while Overland and Regis Jesuit had one apiece.
That one from Regis Jesuit was a state champion in Zimmerer and so was one from Vista PEAK Prep in Bacon, but coach Ashley Jaramillo also had two first-time qualifiers earn podium spots in junior Parice Jones at 190 pounds and sophomore Khloe Yizar at 235. Yizar avenged a loss to Overland senior Ruth Worknhe earlier in the tournament with a victory in an all-Aurora consolation semifinal to move into the third-place match, where she lost a 1-0 decision, while Jones had three wins by pins in five state matches and also placed fourth.
Eaglecrest had the largest contingent of qualifiers among Aurora area teams with nine and three made the podium. Senior Bailee Mestas (130 pounds) and freshman Maxime Lantz (140) both won their first matches and lost in the quarterfinals and they each went on to place fourth. Senior Natalie Replogle lost her opener at 145 pounds and had to go the long way, as she finishes sixth. Workne made the semifinals before losing and took fifth for Overland.
Right:
junior Gunner Lopez, right, rebounded
loss
the 157-pound semifinals at the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament to place third.
rest senior Bailee Mestas, right, earned fourth place at 130 pounds in her one and only career appearance at the Class 5A girls wrestling state tournament.
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
BOYS BASKETBALL City teams 4-0 to start Centennial League Challenge tournament
The Centennial League Challenge boys basketball tournament —which will determine the league title — began Feb. 14 with first round games, in which Aurora teams went 4-0.
Top-seeded Eaglecrest, which went undefeated in regular season league play, built a double-digit lead over eighth-seeded Cherokee Trail after three quarters and held off a Cougars’ rally for a 58-52 victory. Lucas Kalimba tallied 15 points and Anthony Nettles added 11 for Eaglecrest, who countered a trio of double-digit scorers for Cherokee Trail in Jake Scott (16), Caleb Jensen (11) and Nathan Baack (10).
Next up for Eaglecrest is a 7 p.m. Feb. 20 home game against fourth-seeded Overland, which downed fifth-seeded Arapahoe 4536 at home in the opening round. In a low-scoring contest, Kymani Eason was the lone double-digit scorer for the Trailblazers with 13 points, while seniors Siraaj Ali and TJ Manuel had nine apiece. The teams played to overtime in the regular season meeting and Eaglecrest prevailed.
On the other side of the championship bracket is second-seeded Smoky Hill and third-seeded Grandview, who will meet at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 on the Buffs’ floor. Smoky Hill moved through the first round with a 78-45 victory over seventh-seeded Mullen, while Grandview played host to No. 6 Cherry Creek and came away with a 78-66 victory.Smoky Hill won a 57-48 contest over Grandview Feb. 7 in the regular season meeting.
Placing games for the tournament are all scheduled for Feb. 22 at Mullen High School. The seventh-place game begins at 10 a.m., followed by the fifthplace game at 11:30 a.m., the thirdplace game at 1 p.m. and the championship game at 2:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wolves, Cougars move in Centennial League Challenge Final Four
The Centennial League Challenge girls basketball tournament — which will determine the league champion — began with first-round contests Feb. 14 that saw two Aurora teams triumph. Top-seeded Grandview defended its home floor with a 79-12 victory over No. 8 Smoky Hill Feb. 14 that saw four players reach double figures. Senior standout Sienna Betts led the way for the Wolves with 28 points, while senior Maya Smith added 21, sophomore Ava Chang 13 and senior Deija Roberson 10. Grandview will play host to fourth-seeded Mullen (which got past No. 4 Arapahoe 54-47 in the first round) at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 20.
On the other side of the championship bracket for local teams is third-seeded Cherokee Trail, which topped sixth-seeded Eaglecrest 4931 in the first round. Ryen Galloway scored 10 points to pace the Cougars, while junior Aaliyah Broadus added nine and juniors Karson Chaney and Hannah Conger contributed eight apiece. The Cougars will visit second-seeded Cherry Creek (which defeated No. 7 Overland 56-32) at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 20. The Bruins won the regular season meeting with the Cougars by a single point.
Placing games for the tournament are all scheduled for Feb. 22 at Grandview High School starting with the 9 a.m. seventh-place game. The ffithplace game is scheduled for 10;30 a.m., followed by the third-place game at noon and the championship at 1:30 p.m.
WEEK PAST
The week past in Aurora prep sports
MONDAY, FEB. 17: There was no varsity competition scheduled for Aurora teams. ...SATURDAY, FEB. 15: The Grandview ice hockey team capped the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Heritage that saw the Eagles score two goals in the third period. James Lembke converted a pass from Christian Sorensen for the lone goal for the Wolves, who got a 39-save performance in the goal from Linkin
Alisasis FRIDAY, FEB. 14: The Rangeview boys basketball team completed its City League regular season schedule undefeated with 75-40 home victory over Vista PEAK Prep. LaDavian King — who before the game announced his commitment to Southeastern University in Florida — paced the Raiders with 23 points, while Archie Weatherspoon V joined him in
double figures with 15. ...The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team dropped an 82-74 contest against defending Class 6A state champion Valor Christian in a non-league clash that saw Eric Fiedler score 29 points for the Raiders. ...A 3-pointer by Mia Orozco put the Rangeview girls basketball team ahead of Vista PEAK Prep in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and the Raiders held on for a 48-46 win at Vista PEAK Prep to gain a split in the season series. Devyn Davenport and Maddie Kilmer scored 12 points apiece for the Raiders, who also got nine from Zania Romero-King THURSDAY, FEB. 13: The Aurora Central girls basketball team outscored Thomas Jefferson 19-7 in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-37 victory. Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez scored 13 points (including the go-ahead basket with 25 seconds left), while Ana Lua and Andena Torres had 11 apiece for the Trojans, who finished the regular
season 12-7. ...WEDNESDAY, FEB.
12: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team finished a perfect run in Centennial League play with a 55-47 win at Arapahoe that saw Anthony Nettles score 14 points, while Garrett Barger and Kris Coleman had 10 apiece. Miller Boyd and Jai Jegede hit 3-point shots early in the fourth quarter to push the Smoky Hill boys basketball team in front of Overland on its way to a 64-54 victory that put the Buffaloes second in the Centennial League standings. Jegede and Kaylan Graham had 19 points apiece to lead Smoky Hill and Carter Basquez had 17, while TJ Manuel and Mehki McNeal had 12 apiece for the Trailblazers. ...Archie Weatherspoon V and Marceles Duncan scored 24 points apiece to lead the Rangeview boys basketball team to a 76-51 win over Denver East. ... The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team dropped a 56-55 Continental League thriller at Moun-
tain Vista. ...The Grandview girls basketball team downed Cherry Creek 54-32 in a matchup of teams that were tied atop the Centennial League standings going into the final game. Ava Chang poured in 24 points to lead the Wolves, who also got 14 from Sienna Betts and 10 from Deija Roberson A 25-point pouting from Jane Rumpf helped spur the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team to a 74-52 win over Mountain Vista. Iliana Greene added 17 and Alice Lynett 12. ...Madeline Gibbs had 13 points, while Aaliyah Broadus and Delainey Miller added eight apiece as the Cherokee Trail girls basketball team won 39-33 at
...The Regis Jesuit ice hockey team finished the regular season with a 6-2 win over Monarch as Nolan Williams had a hat trick and Easton Sparks made 29 saves. ...TUESDAY, FEB. 11: The Gateway boys basketball team finished strong in a 47-39 win over Skyview.
Mullen.
TOP: Smoky Hill junior Carter Basquez, left, elevates over Overland senior defender Kyron MdDonald for a short jumper during the Buffaloes’ 64-54 Centennial League home victory Feb. 12 that clinched second place in the league standings LEFT: Sophomore Ava Chang, right, outraces the Cherry Creek defense up the floor during the Wolves’ 54-32 home win over the Bruins Feb. 12 to secure the No. 1 seed in the girls Centennial League Challenge tournament. ABOVE: Overland senior Ilaisaane Davis, right, puts up a shot in traffic in the Trailblazers’ Centennial League girls basketball win at Smoky Hill Feb. 12.
Daman Cantrell
KIMMEY DAVIS, an individual, K.D., JR., a minor child, Plaintiffs, v. (1) ALEXANDRIA DAVIS, (2) TRENTON RANKIN Defendants
ATTORNEY LIEN CLAIMED State of Oklahoma
Dated:
February 20, 2025 Sentinel LEGAL NOTICE - I102/129 Rocky Mountain Self Storage Auction of Tenant’s Personal Property NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to the person herein after named and to all whom it may concern. The contents of the following units are subject to our lien for non-payment of rent and other charges.
You are denied access to your unit. You can redeem such goods on or before 3pm on 2/24/2025. The goods you have stored after this time will be sold at auction to the highest bidder. The auction will run several days before and up to the date of the auction and will be held ONLINE at www. storageauctionsolutions.com. The facility/ auctioneer reserves the right to cancel a sale at any time for any reason.
Publication: February 20, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE CONCERNING PROPOSED BUDGET UPPER CHERRY CREEK WATER ASSOCIATION
NOTICE is hereby given that a proposed budget was submitted to the Board of Directors of the Upper Cherry Creek Water Association on August 20, 2024 for the ensuring year of 2025; that copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the business office of the Association at 58 Inverness Drive East, Suite 100, Englewood, Colorado, 80112 where the same is open for public inspection; and that such proposed budget will be considered at a public hearing of the Board of Directors of the Association to be held via Zoom Meeting, on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 beginning at 3:00 p.m. The public can access the Zoom Meeting by going to www.zoom.us, use Meeting ID 826 9967 1136 and Passcode 584328. Any elector within the Association may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the budget, inspect the budget and file or register any objections thereto.
Dated: December 5, 2024 BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE UPPER CHERRY CREEK WATER ASSOCIATION /s/ Becca Haines, Association Administrative Staff
Publication: February 20, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF FINAL PAYMENT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the AEROTROPOLIS AREA COORDINATING METROPOLITAN DISTRICT of Adams County, Colorado, will make final payment on or after March 3, 2025, to: JHL Constructors, Inc. 9100 E Panorama Dr, Ste 300 Englewood, CO 80112 for all work done by said Contractor for the Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District, THE AURORA HIGHLANDS FILING 9 ROADWAY & DRAINAGE CHANNEL CHANGE ORDER #09 TO WORK ORDER #27, all of said work being within or near the boundaries of Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District, in the City of Aurora, State of Colorado. Any person, co-partnership, association of persons, company, or corporation that has furnished labor, materials, provisions, team hire, sustenance provender or other supplies used or consumed by such Contractor or its Subcontractors or Suppliers in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done and whose claim therefore has not been paid by the Contractor or its Subcontractors or Suppliers at any time up to and including the time of final settlement for the work contracted to be done, is required to file a written verified statement of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim with Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District, Attention: Denise Denslow, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 with a copy to McGeady Becher Cortese Williams P.C., 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80203-1254 at or before the time and date hereinabove shown. Failure on the part of any claim-
ant to file such written verified statement of claim prior to such final settlement will release AEROTROPOLIS AREA COORDINATING METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, its Board, officers, agents, and employees of and from any and all liability for such claim.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District
First Publication: February 13, 2025 Final Publication: February 20, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET AMENDMENT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an amendment to the 2024 budget of the Upper Cherry Creek Water Association will be considered at the meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors to be held at 3:00 p.m. on January 28, 2025 via Zoom Meeting. The public can access the Zoom Meeting by going to www.zoom.us, use Meeting ID 826 9967 1136 and Passcode 584328. A copy of the proposed amended 2024 budget is available for public inspection at the offices of Mulhern MRE, Inc., 58 Inverness Drive East, Suite 100, Englewood, CO 80112. Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to final adoption of the amended 2024 budget, if required, file or register any objections thereto.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE UPPER CHERRY CREEK WATER ASSOCIATION /s/ Becca Haines, Association Administrative Staff
Publication: February 20, 2025
Sentinel NOTICE OF INTENT TO DESTROY RECORDS at North Aurora-King-Swenson Chiropractics, 2499 Peoria St., Aurora, CO 80010. We will be destroying medical records on 8/1/25 for the years through December 31, 2017. To request a copy of your records, please call 303-341-5353 on or before August 1, 2025.
First Publication: February 20, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
Sentinel NOTICE OF OPEN MEETING FOR HEARING ON PETITION FOR EXCLUSION OF REAL PROPERTY FROM THE SOUTH METRO FIRE RESCUE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to all interested persons that a Petition for Exclusion of real property has been filed with the Board of Directors of the South Metro Fire Rescue Fire Protection District. The Board of Directors has fixed Monday, the 7th day of April 2025, at the hour of 6:00 p.m., at 9195 E. Mineral Avenue, Centennial, Colorado 80112, as the date, time, and place of an open meeting at which such Petition shall be heard.
The name and address of the Petitioner is: Svitlana Syvokon 24346 E. Canyon Drive Aurora, CO 80016
The property to be excluded from the District is generally described as follows: LOT 3, BLK 1, TIMBER RIDGE SUBDIVISION FILING NO 1 COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE, STATE OF COLORADO
All interested parties may appear at such hearing to show cause in writing why such Petition should not be granted. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SOUTH METRO FIRE RESCUE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. SOUTH METRO FIRE RESCUE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT By: James Albee, Chair Attest:Sue Roche, Secretary
Publication: February 20, 2025 Sentinel
PROBATE COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION TO INTERESTED PERSONS AND OWNERS BY DESCENT OR SUCCESSION PURSUANT TO § 15-12-1303, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR030079
In the Matter of the Determination of Heirs or Devisees or Both and of Interests in Property of: RUBY B. JOHNSON AKA RUBY BLANCHE JOHNSON AKA RUBY B. SCHNELL, Deceased
To all interested persons and owners by descent or succession (List all names of interested persons and owners by descent or succession):
Blackwell Energy, LLC
Virginia L. Grams
A petition has been filed alleging that the above decedent(s) died leaving the following property (including legal description if real property):
Property 1
Description of Property Oil, gas and other minerals
Location of Property
Township 1 South, Range 68 West, 6th
P.M.
Section 2: SE/4
The hearing on the petition will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued:
Date: April 3, 2025
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Courtroom or Division: T1
Address: Probate Court
Adams County, Colorado 1100 Judicial Center Dr. Brighton, CO 80601
Note: You must answer the petition on or before the hearing date and time specified above.
Within the time required for answering the petition, all objections to the petition must be in writing, filed with the court and served on the petitioner and any required filing fee must be paid.
The hearing shall be limited to the petition, the objections timely filed and the parties answering the petition in a timely manner.
If the petition is not answered and no objections are filed, the court may enter a decree without a hearing.
Attorneys for Petitioner: Dusty Aldrich Law, LLC
Dusty J. Aldrich, #44572 605 Coral St. Broomfield, CO 80020
Phone: 419-957-0671
Email: aldrichd88@gmail.com
First Publication: February 13, 2025
Final Publication: February 27, 2025
Sentinel VEHICLE FOR SALE
2020 SUBARU CROSSTREK VIN—268188
Extreme Towing 303-344-1400
Publication: February 20, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30009
Estate of John G. Carpenter aka John Carpenter, Deceased.
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before June 2, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Gabrielle R. Leavitt, Personal Representative c/o Brian C. Marsiglia, Esq. Marsiglia Law LLC 7887 E. Belleview Ave., Ste. 1100 Denver, CO 80111
First Publication: February 6, 2025
Final Publication: February 20, 2025
Sentinel NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2024PR031327
Estate of Robert Bruce Wagar, Deceased.
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before June 18, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Attorney for Personal Representative Anna L. Burr, Esq.
Atty Reg #: 42205 2851 S. Parker Road, Ste. 230 Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: 720-500-2076
First Publication: February 13,
AROUND AURORA
Aurora Council OKs new restrictions on public comment in response to protests
Aurora lawmakers on Feb. 10 once again imposed new restrictions for public comment after months of heated council meetings with outbursts and a lack of decorum from members of the public, primarily one group of protesters.
Councilmembers Françoise Bergan and Danielle Jurinsky sponsored a new resolution to restrict public comment during city council meetings by proposing to shorten “public invited to be heard” to 40 minutes with 2-minute speaking times at a special session that will allow for city council to attend it virtually.
For months, most of the meetings have been dominated by, and even taken over by, regular protesters and commenters focusing on the police-shooting death of Kilyn Lewis last May. Lewis was fatally shot by an Aurora SWAT officer while being arrested.
The new restrictions passed with council members Alison Coombs, Crystal Murillo and Ruben Medina opposed.
The city council met remotely last week for the second consecutive time because of an undisclosed threat reported by Aurora police.
“This council wants to continue to limit, limit until it goes away,” Coombs said. “That’s the message we’re sending, is (that) we want to change public comments until you just go away, and I think that’s unfortunate and harmful.”
The measure could allow city council members to turn the volume down or off on their computers while “listening” to “the public invited to be heard” portion of the meeting.
“(The measure) is taking the public invited to be heard off the council agenda to make it its own special session. It’s actually the same thing Denver does,” City Attorney Pete Schulte told the Sentinel before the meeting. “There may be council members who won’t have their video on, and they’ll be muted because they won’t be speaking, but if the public thinks that there are certain council members who aren’t interested in hearing public comment, then those members of the public might try to make that an election issue.”
Although the public comment segment will now be separate from the city council agenda, it is still considered a meeting, requiring proper public notice, and there’s still going to have to be a quorum present, Schulte said.
“So it’s not like they can all just decide not to listen,” Schulte said. “They’re going to have to be present, and they’re already going to be there because it’s going to happen right after study session concludes.”
The change will give city staff, including the city manager and city attorney, the ability to not be present for
the public invited to be heard, and it will require the city clerk or the clerk’s designee to run the session instead of the mayor.
“It’s a way to streamline the process,” Schulte said.
The other rules in the resolution will give Aurora residents priority in speaking as long as they show proof of residency through an ID, utility bill, or something similar. An approved friendly amendment from Councilmember Curtis Gardner also changed the times, having “Public Invited to be Heard” from 6 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. and the city council meeting to begin at 6:45 p.m.
Since it is no longer part of the city council meeting, it is no longer required to be recorded for public viewing. City lawmakers have still not determined whether they will record the comment sessions for public viewing after.
Some council members agreed with critics that the growing restrictions counter a responsibility for lawmakers to hear all types of comment from constituents and the public.
“So we’re saying you can’t use your First Amendment right to protest,” Coombs said. “You can only use it to say the things that fit within the confines of what we want to hear and how we want to hear it.”
She said that, in the past several years, the city council was willing to sit for however long necessary to listen to residents about mobile homes parks being shut down, pit bull bans and Elijah McClain’s death, which she also said to council members did not receive justice until after protests happened in council chambers.
The resolution also makes it “abundantly clear” that city council is allowed to end an individual’s public comment during agenda items if the speaker is not sticking to the topic on the agenda. This was in response to disruptions after “justice for Kilyn Lewis” activists protested city council two weeks ago by hijacking all public comment after the city council voted to remove unrelated public comments at the previous meeting.
“I’m just disappointed that we’ve spent more time on moving the goalpost and changing the rules than actually discussing what justice looks like for this family that continues to come to every single council meeting,”
Auon’tai M. Anderson said.
Anderson, a former Denver Public Schools Board member and activist, has been at the forefront of the regular protests since they began in June.
When the city council meetings go back to being public, the new proposed resolution also clarifies that if people refuse to leave the lectern during public comment on agenda items, the city council can suspend the meeting and move to a private room at city hall. If disruptions continue, they will be able to go virtual.
The measure also allows for police to intercede in continued disruptions, at the behest of city officials.
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
Aurora OKs new law allowing immediate homeless camper evictions
Aurora lawmakers gave final approval Monday to changes to the city’s homeless camping laws, aligning it with a recent Supreme Court decision allowing cities to evict homeless campers on public property without notice or providing shelter.
Aurora’s current homeless laws require the city to provide at least 72 hours’ notice before clearing encampments, and expulsions can only be carried out if there is emergency shelter space available.
The new law will allow immediate evictions of encampments, and the city will no longer be required to provide beds for homeless people when evicting them.
The city’s legal advisors said the 2024 Johnson v Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling permits the changes in Aurora and across the country.
The final reading of the ordinance passed with Councilmembers Crystal Murillo, Alison Coombs and Ruben Medina opposed.
“We are able to do emergency abatements, and we do those from time to time when there is a very emergent need to abate the camp,” Jessica Prosser, director of Housing and Community Services, said. “It’s not going to change our practices in that we have shelter beds available, and we’re still offering them.”
City staff and Councilmembers Steve Sundberg said they would only resort to immediate evictions in cases of emergency situations.
Councilmember Murillo balked at the need to make the changes when current city laws already allow some forms of emergency eviction of encampments, and the city already plans to continue offering available beds to homeless people.
“It sounds like we already have the ability in emergency situations, to do what we were just described,” Murillo said. “It’s rhetorical and literal in that if we can do what we need to do, and we’re not even worried about there being space, why would we roll that back?”
In response, Prosser and City Attorney Pete Schulte said that the changes were intended to align the ordinance with legal precedents of the Supreme Court Ruling and allow for quicker action in emergency situations.
Officials did not explain what benefit the city gained by alignment with the Grants Pass ruling since they said Aurora did not predict changes in eviction policy.
The change follows a comprehensive reworking of the city’s homeless program, which boasts a $67 million Navigation Center, expected to open in late 2025.
Aurora is moving toward what Mayor Mike Coffman refers to as a “work-first” approach to offering services. While the city will offer long-term housing options to homeless people, they must enter work, job-training and addiction recovery programs to qualify. Details of what constitutes compliance for services have not yet been decided, according to city officials.
and could be put in jail for up to 364 days. That is punitive.”
Coombs said that, theoretically, if the city gets better at evicting encampments and offers enough wanted beds, then eventually, there will be no beds, and people will end up in jail. Coombs said that overall, creating this discretion can lead to discrimination and harm.
“I am concerned about the potential consequences, regardless of the intent,” Coombs said.
Prosser said the city has never encountered a situation where it does not have beds to offer and would resort to jail. City Attorney Pete Schulte said that refusal to move or take shelter is when the city would resort to jailing people.
Schulte said that the Supreme Court’s decision makes that legal, but the city employees trying to help those people are “bending over backward” to find options before they resort to jail.
“It’s a last resort,” Schulte said.
He also said that if people are arrested in that situation, they will rarely, if ever, receive the full-jail time.
Homelessness activists say it’s unclear how many homeless people are incarcerated in the metro area.
Cathay Alderman, chief communications officer for the Colorado Coalition of the Homeless, said that they don’t track homeless people who are incarcerated.
“There was a time when Denver University was tracking that data (see report here), but I don’t know that they have done anything since 2018-2019,” Alderman said in an email.
Homelessness activists and homeless people themselves say they do not like to go to aggregate shelters because of safety and sanitation issues, along with many other reasons.
“We do see some people accept services, especially when we have high-quality shelter options,” Prosser said. “People love going to the pallet shelter.”
Although Aurora’s pallet shelters recently closed, the city has been working on temporary services and housing until the Regional Navigation Center opens in late 2025. The Aurora Day Center is currently operating but does not offer overnight services.
The city began temporarily using the Regional Navigation Campus — the city’s one-stop shop for homelessness — for overnight shelter options until spring. The center itself, however, is still under construction, but the city has been offering bus transit in and out of the campus during periods of extreme cold weather.
During the Jan. 20 meeting, Councilmember Murillo also questioned whether lending more police “capacity” for homelessness while there are other, more serious crimes to focus on.
“We are constantly hearing that we have a shortage of police officers in the department,” Murillo said.
The Aurora Police Department will add two more homeless outreach officers this spring, Chamberlain said during the Jan. 20 meeting.
2 top ICE officials reassigned amid Trump team irritation over immigrant arrests, including Aurora
Two top immigration enforcement officials have been reassigned amid frustrations in the Trump administration about the pace of immigration arrests, according to two officials with knowledge of the moves.
Staff members at Immigration and Customs Enforcement were informed Feb. 11 that two top officials in the agency responsible for finding and removing immigrants in the country illegally — Russell Hott and Peter Berg — had been reassigned, according to a Department of Homeland Security official and an administration official. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
Without evidence or detail, Trump Border Czar Tom Homan last week blamed local metro media leaks to immigration activists for what appears to be just a few arrests in Aurora and Denver after weeks of talking up a “mass deportation” operation in the region.
Fact check by Sentinel Colorado revealed to basis or information available to support Homan’s claims, and instead found that ICE teams targeted an Aurora apartment that has, publicly, been nearly vacant for weeks. Also, local activists, schools, government officials and others have repeatedly reached out to immigrants to inform them of their rights during such raids, including simply to not answer the door without seeing a warrant.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE “needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of for the past four years.”
“We have a President, DHS Secretary, and American people who rightfully demand results, and our ICE leadership will ensure the agency delivers,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Wednesday in an emailed statement.
Berg will return to the ICE office in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to the Homeland Security official who spoke to the AP. Hott will return to ICE’s Washington field office, according to The Washington Post, which was first to report the reassignments.
Todd Lyons, who was recently the top immigration enforcement official in the Boston area, will assume the top position at Enforcement and Removal Operations, and his deputy will be Garrett Ripa, the officials told the AP. They said no reason was given for the reshuffle. But it came the day President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said he was unsatisfied with the pace of immigration arrests and with recent releases of people from immigration custody.
The Trump administration has given out limited information about how many people in the country illegally have been arrested.
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The Aurora Police Department is adding homeless outreach officers to their Police Area Representative units (PAR). Sydney Edwards, Public Information Officer, said they expect to have them start in April.
There has still been no public release of information regarding people arrested and detained by ICE and other agents as long as a month ago in the metro area.
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Some council critics insist that “housing first” programs are more effective at reducing homelessness, pointing to recent government studies indicating that.
The proposal sparked debate about homelessness, public safety and the humane treatment of vulnerable populations.
Councilmember Coombs said she was critical about removing requirements for providing shelter and offering 72-hour notice before expelling campers on public property.
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, folks can say that this is not punitive, but the consequences certainly will be,” Coombs said. “When we create this discretion, it means that a person could be immediately moved with no notice and no offer of shelter
“We currently have two officers that work specifically as Homeless Outreach Officers, so by April, we will have four, Edwards said in an email.
“Our PAR units also respond to homeless situations and we have roughly six officers per district assigned to PAR.”
Prosser and Sundberg said that not requiring 72-hour notice for expelling campers would provide the city with flexibility in addressing encampments, particularly in high-complaint areas.
The measure has garnered split support at two council meetings, though the ordinance ultimately passed.
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
From Jan. 23 to Jan. 31, officials shared data on X daily then stopped publishing information. The agency’s data dashboard has more information but those quarterly figures are only current as of Sept. 2024. During the seven-day day period when ICE released daily data, they averaged 787 arrests a day, compared to a daily average of 311 during a 12-month period that ended Sept. 30 during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Last week, the White House said in a video highlighting Trump’s accomplishments that ICE had arrested 11,000 “criminals” over 18 days. That averages out to about 611 arrests per day.
There were no details nor evidence released about the claims.
Homan, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said arrests in
METRO
the interior — of those who haven’t recently arrived in the country — is about three times higher than it was this time last year, under President Joe Biden.
“Three times higher is good. But I’m not satisfied,” Homan said. “We got to get more.”
Homan said he had also talked to ICE leadership about the number of people who had been released from immigration custody. From now on, he said, no one would be released without ICE leadership signing off.
“The number of releases was unacceptable,” Homan said, “and that’s been fixed.”
— REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press
Judge orders landlords to stop harassing Venezuelan immigrant tenants in Aurora
An Arapahoe County District Court judge on Feb.11 issued a preliminary injunction against landlords from harassing a family of Venezuelan immigrants renting an Aurora apartment, allegedly threatening to turn them in to immigration authorities.
“No family deserves to be harassed and threatened because of their immigration status,” Tim Macdonald, American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado legal director, said in a statement.
The judge issued an order against owner Avi Schwalb, apartment manager Nancy Dominguez and PHS Rent LLC, barring them from harassing, threatening or intimidating the immigrant tenants over their citizenship status at Nordic Arms Apartments in northwest Aurora.
The ruling in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU alleges the landlords unlawfully targeted and harassed the family in an illegal effort to force them out of their rented apartment, at one point locking them out of it.
The lawsuit has been ongoing since Jan. 28 , when the ACLU filed on behalf of the family, under the pseudonyms John Doe and Jane Roe. The Venezuelan couple have two children and are seeking asylum in the U.S, complying with current immigration law.
The lawsuit claims the landlords violated Colorado’s Migrant Tenant Protection Act by using their immigration status as a “weapon” to intimidate and coerce the tenants.
“This case will not only impact their lives, but every tenant and every immigrant in the state,” Macdonald said. “We’ll keep fighting for all of them.”
In November, the couple incurred unexpected medical expenses that led them to fall behind on their rent, according to the ACLU statement.
The landlords repeatedly threatened to call immigration authorities, insulted the couple’s Venezuelan heritage, and unlawfully changed the locks to their apartment without notice, leaving them temporarily homeless in winter, according to court documents.
One day in early December, the father and his 15-year-old son came home from school to find that the locks on the apartment had been changed, according to court documents. The couple said they had received no notice, and attorneys said there was no valid court order for re-possession of the rental unit.
“That night, Mr. Doe and the couple’s 15-year-old son were forced to sleep in their car overnight in the winter cold,” the documents said. “The next day, they were able to access the apartment through a window.”
To get the new key to access their belongings, they were required to pay $1,300. Monthly rent was reportedly $1,800 a month. On or about Jan. 15, Dominguez brought an eviction notice saying they owed $4,200. She told them they had 10 days to pay or get out.
Ten days later, the situation escalated when Schwalb showed up and forced himself into the apartment by pushing the door into Roe’s face, almost breaking her nose and said they had one to two hours to pay or get out,
according to the ACLU lawsuit.
When the couple said it was illegal to kick them out without an order, Schwalb began to threaten to call immigration enforcement to have them removed.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving the allegations, according to the ACLU statement. The Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, enacted in 2020, forbids landlords from inquiring about a tenant’s immigration status or threatening to report them to law enforcement. It also prohibits harassment, intimidation or retaliation against tenants for asserting their rights, the statement said.
State and court records show that Schwalb, one of the named landlords, has previously been indicted by a state grand jury in a separate contractor fraud scheme.
Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Jan. 10 that a grand jury had indicted Schwalb and four others, Sean Schwalb, Kevin Allbritton, Michael Stein, and Blanca Dominguez, on 34 counts of racketeering, felony theft and conspiracy for allegedly defrauding homeowners through Schwalb Builders and Avi’s Remodeling and Contracting.
ACLU officials said they have confirmed that Schwalb is the same person.
Prosecutors said Schwalb and his team solicited home remodeling contracts, collected customer deposits, and failed to complete the work, often leaving homes damaged and uninhabitable. A financial analysis of bank account records revealed that more than $1.1 million was not spent on the specific customers’ projects or returned to the specific customers when they asked for a refund.
The defendants repeatedly used a set of “deceptive” tactics to commit financial fraud on their contracting customers, according to the indictment.
“Fraudsters who steal hard-earned dollars from consumers need to be held accountable,” said Weiser in a statement. “We’ll continue to work hard to get money back to homeowners who were defrauded in this scheme and bring justice to those who violate the law.”
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
Double shooting
at
Anschutz Campus was murder-suicide, police say
Police said a domestic violence issue between a man and woman Feb. 16 led to a murder-suicide in a park on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
Police were called to General’s Park on the 1500 block of Quentin Street at about 5:30 p.m. “in reference to a possible domestic violence involving a man and a woman inside a recreational vehicle, according to Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan.
When police arrived on the scene, they encountered two men suffering from gunshot wounds. A 31-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 63-year-old man was rushed to a nearby hospital and died there from gunfire injury, police said.
Police said the woman, 45, was also treated for some kind of injuries but was not involved in the shooting.
“The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation,” Moylan said.
Police said anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000, police said.
— Sentinel Staff
Prosecutors: Aurora dentist accused of wife’s murder offered $20,000 to kill lead investigator
An Aurora dentist charged with killing his wife by poisoning her pro-
tein shakes offered a fellow jail inmate $20,000 to kill the case’s lead investigator, calling her “the worst, dirtiest detective,” a prosecutor said Feb. 14.
During an evidentiary hearing, Senior Chief Deputy Michael Mauro said the dentist, James Craig, was motivated by animus against Aurora police detective Bobbi Olson.
“This defendant hates Detective Olson for all the work she has done on his case,” he said.
Mauro said Craig also offered his cell mate, Nathaniel Harris, $20,000 each for killing three other people — a police officer investigators haven’t been able to find and two other jail inmates. Craig also allegedly sent letters from jail to Harris’ ex-wife offering her $20,000 each for four people she could find to falsely testify at his trial that they knew his wife, Angela Craig, and that she planned to die by suicide, Mauro said.
One of Craig’s lawyers, Robert Werking, said investigators did not look into whether Craig wrote the letters, including checking his handwriting. He also said that Harris and his ex-wife were prosecuted for forgery for their roles in an alleged fraud ring in 2005, suggesting they could not be trusted.
Judge Shay Whitaker said the letters included very detailed information and background about Angela Craig that could be used to fabricate a relationship with her, consistent with prosecutors’ allegations. She ruled there was enough evidence for Craig to be tried for two new charges filed against him based on the latest allegations — solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. Prosecutors will have to present more evidence at a trial, though.
Craig, wearing an orange jail uniform, pleaded not guilty to both of the new charges after her ruling. Olson sat with prosecutors just a few feet away. She was swiftly escorted out of court by officers at the end of the hearing.
An Aurora police spokesperson declined to comment on Craig’s alleged comments about Olson.
Outside of court, Werking said he could not comment on the case because of a gag order.
Craig has previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, two counts of solicitation to tamper with evidence and a previous charge of solicitation to commit perjury.
Angela Craig, 43, died in March 2023 of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, the latter a substance found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner. The couple had been married for 23 years and had six children together.
— COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press
Aurora police seek public’s help in identifying repeat gas station robber
Aurora police are asking the public to help identify a man they say has robbed the same southeast Aurora gas station at least four times over the last several months, threatening a gun and stealing vapes, cigarettes and beer.
“In most of the incidents, he indicates he has a weapon or flashes a weapon to the victim, then he jumps over the counter and steals vapes, cigarettes and beer,” Aurora police spokesperson Agent Matthew Longshore said in a statement. “He has been seen fleeing the area in an older sedan with yellow-tinted headlights.”
In different security videos, the suspect is seen brandishing a handgun or a large knife.
The suspect is a male in his teens or twenties, approximately 6 feet tall with a slim build “and a slight mustache,” police said.
“He has carried a black or gray duffel bag, black drawstring bag with a white logo, and a black crossbody bag,” police said. “He has also been seen wearing eyeglasses.”
The suspect was recorded on security video robbing a Shell gas station at 2285 S. Tower Road on July 21, Aug. 18, Oct. 21 and Dec. 12, police said. Police said the robber has consistently struck late at night, between midnight and 4:30 a.m.
On Feb. 8, the suspect was caught on tape robbing a 7-Eleven convenience store at 18883 E. Hampden Ave.
“He typically waits about a monthish before striking again,” Longshore said. “We increased our presence around the Shell station, and he decided to move to a different spot in the latest robbery.”
Police said anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000, police said.
— Sentinel Staff
EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS
Aurora teachers offer a glimpse into their classrooms on the day of immigration raids
Attendance had already been low for about a week at Laredo Elementary School in Aurora when federal immigration agents showed up at an apartment building down the street before school started Feb. 5, according to
teachers.
The first hour of classes that day was punctuated by the sound of a plane circling above and dark SUVs driving up and down the street, a teacher said. At one point, one of the SUVs parked next to the school’s crosswalk.
While some students in Nate Madson Dion’s fifth-grade class were absent, most made it to class, where he said “they have people they trust, and they feel safe. But all that concern is still lurking.”
A third grader emailed her teacher to explain that she wasn’t at school because she hadn’t been able to leave her home because of the raids. “Hopefully, I’ll be back tomorrow,” she wrote, according to Madson Dion.
The Aurora school district had attendance of 89.44% on Wednesday and was at 92.25% the following day. According to Colorado Public Radio, attendance in the district had dipped to 79% on Jan. 30, the day the raids had been rumored to start.
In Denver schools, the district’s most recent lowest attendance date was Feb. 3 during a national movement for a Day Without Immigrants, but it had bounced back to about 86.9% on Feb. 5.
Madson Dion overheard his students having conversations about the raids last Thursday. A student who had been at the apartment building was telling the kids about it. He said seven people were taken from his building and some doors were knocked down.
Madson Dion said he stuck to most of his lessons for the day. He doesn’t guide any conversations about what’s happening outside, but lets students talk when they initiate conversations. He chimes in when he has information that could be helpful to students, he said.
“It’s super important for me to allow it to happen, while also not pressing it,” Madson Dion said. When a student was wondering what would happen if immigration agents knocked on his door, Madson Dion chimed in and told students, “Just don’t answer the door.”
Students already knew that, he said.
“Fifth graders know about warrants. Fifth graders shouldn’t have to know about warrants,” he said. “We have kids who are resilient in ways I wish they didn’t have to be.”
At nearby Hinkley High School, math teacher Beth Himes said her students had experienced many of the same things. Some had seen raids taking place and residents of apartment buildings hiding on rooftops.
“Students on their way to school ›› See METRO, 23
Editorials Sentinel
City council proposal for public comment creates a needed workable solution
The latest pact made last week among city lawmakers in the enduring political game of chicken against dedicated city-council protesters carves out time for public comment and appears to be a reasonable solution to a vexing problem.
City council members and protesters linked to the police shooting death of Kilyn Lewis have reached a cumbersome stalemate at every city council meeting since last June.
Lewis was fatally shot May 23 last year by Aurora Police SWAT officer Michael Dieck while being arrested in connection with attempted murder charges stemming from an earlier Denver shooting.
Lewis was unarmed at the time of his fatal shooting by police, but body-cam video shows him reaching into his pocket and removing his mobile phone as five SWAT officers are yelling at him. As Lewis held the phone in one hand level with his head, raising both arms, Dieck alone fired a single shot, killing Lewis. It all happened in seconds.
Former District Attorney John Kellner declined to press criminal charges against Dieck for the fatal shooting. After an internal Aurora Police investigation, Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said Dieck did not stray from APD policy during the arrest and subsequent shooting.
For months, family and friends of Lewis, and numerous police-reform activists, have appeared at every bi-weekly city council meeting to protest Dieck’s continued tenure with APD. At times, protesters have demanded the city council fire Dieck. The city charter prohibits city lawmakers from such intervention.
The protests have run the gambit from being repetitive and emotional to profane, disruptive and bombastic.
Aside from the profound question as to whether Lewis was wrongly killed by Dieck during his arrest, the protests themselves have taken on a life of their own, aggravating city lawmakers and emboldening protesters.
For months, city council members have stopped meetings, met behind closed doors and switched up rules applying to the public’s ability to address the city council. Protesters have taken each of the challenges as a dare, finding ways to get to the council lectern and chide lawmakers.
At this point, the protesters’ argument, that Dieck violated state law and city policy by wrongfully shooting and killing Lewis, has moved beyond the scope of Aurora city hall.
Without a criminal indictment or charges, the family’s only recourse is the courts.
None of this actually speaks to the larger question of whether police are qualified to investigate themselves, or other officers, after an officer-involved shooting, or whether the local district attorney should handle cases among police it routinely works with.
More importantly, the case highlights the fact that there is no qualified, independent oversight of the Aurora Police Department that can provide credible transparency and accountability for this and similar incidents.
Those issues, however, have no bearing in a possible civil lawsuit against the city, or this city council.
Only a truly independent entity can provide needed clarity on whether Dieck wrongly shot and killed Lewis. This city council, however, can press for transparency and accountability for the community about how a substantial and targeted SWAT operation failed to safely make an arrest in what police by their own admission said was a “high value” target.
Continued berating of city lawmakers from the lectern won’t make that happen. That’s a call for the Colorado attorney general and governor.
Meanwhile, the need for city lawmakers to hear the concerns of residents on all matters is critical.
While there is no city charter rule or law requiring the city council to allow for comment from the public on non-agenda items, the expectation is sound. Public address and redress are the cornerstone of local government and critical to transparency and accountability.
Last week, Councilmembers Danielle Jurinsky and Francoise Bergan offered yet another proposal, this time creating about 40 minutes before each council meeting for the public to talk in two-minute segments about anything they want.
It’s a practical compromise from previous efforts to make it all but impossible for the public, including and especially Lewis protesters, to tell elected officials what’s important to them.
We agree with critics of the measure that part of being a city lawmaker is the need to listen to people you do and don’t agree with. This evasive, city council cat-and-mouse game with Lewis protesters and uncivil obstinance by protesters is making an already dysfunctional city council nearly incapable of governing.
All sides should stipulate this new process and move ahead.
Left undone from this proposal, however, are two critical items. First, the city absolutely should video record these public meeting sessions and post them for public consumption, along with all city council meetings, which are all of public interest.
Also, it’s unclear whether city council members must actually attend these public comment sessions. They absolutely should be required to do so, in person, following the same rules that apply to all other city council meetings.
Adding those caveats creates a workable way to ensure this critical part of city government is preserved, and the city council’s work can get done.
Freedom for or from the press?
Itotally understand why President Trump sees the press the way he does.
Back in the good old days — before he committed the unforgivable crime of running for office — he was a media darling. Even the five enlightened sages of “The View” found him entertaining. But the second he rode down that escalator, straight out of “The Simpsons’” crystal ball, the love affair ended. Suddenly, the disruptor-in-chief was public enemy number one.
It makes perfect sense why he’d be bitter about all that sweet government cash flowing into media outlets that never had a kind word for him.
As a freshly minted American citizen, I take the Bill of Rights very seriously — especially that pesky little thing called the First Amendment. But silly me, I didn’t realize that “freedom of speech” now means repeating exactly what the government tells you. So when the White House press secretary implied that refusing to use the new, correct name for the former Gulf of Mexico was akin to spreading lies, and Associated Press reporters had to learn this new fact, I had flashbacks. Not just to history books, but to my own life.
I’ve had the privilege of living through Authoritarianism 101 in a country run by Ayatollahs, and let me tell you, the syllabus is looking eerily familiar.
In January 2000, I did something truly dangerous — I drew a controversial cartoon mocking a very powerful and pro-violence Ayatollah. Naturally, I paid a hefty price. Long story short, I ended up in Evin Prison, where the hospitality is legendary. I wasn’t even sure if I’d leave alive.
My main charge? “Spreading lies” through my cartoons to “disrupt public opinion.” Sound familiar?
After a three-and-a-half-hour interrogation marathon with Judge Mortazavi — affectionately known as The Butcher of the Press — I was transferred to Ward 209, the VIP section for people the regime really wanted to “re-educate.” Blindfolded, I was led through the prison, bracing myself for whatever came next. Ward 209 had a bit of a reputation for accidental deaths during interrogations, and I wasn’t exactly eager to be the first cartoonist crushed under the authoritarian thumb. My new accommodations? A not-so-cozy 7×5-foot suite, shared with two other lucky guests — one of whom was on death row. You could count the bullet marks on the concrete walls. One of my fellow inmates was a guy who had participated in
Iran’s infamous Chain Murders, government-sponsored assassination of writers and intellectuals.
On the sixth day, the joke was officially on me. They drove me from Evin to the Press Court in a hearse — yes, the very same vehicle used to transfer executed inmates to the morgue.
Eventually, I was freed on bail, but my life was anything but free. Every waking moment was spent under pressure and under constant death threats until the day I finally fled Iran for Canada (I suppose AP reporters will have to call it the 51st state in the near future) three years later. I left behind my wife and daughter, not seeing them for four years.
I missed out on precious time with my family. When my father passed away last October, I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there to say goodbye, to hold his hand, to be by his side in his final moments.
My father — who was not only interrogated and silenced but also battling cancer — paid his own price for criticizing the Revolutionary Guards’ Khatam al-Anbia water management projects. Because in Iran, speaking the truth always has consequences.
Ironically, President Trump called it out in 2018, saying they created “an ecological crisis,”
Lucky for him, President Trump lives in a country where freedom of speech still exists! Because if he were an Iranian citizen, well… let’s just say he might have found himself enjoying a luxurious stay at Evin’s Ward 209, courtesy of the regime’s government-approved re-education program.
In Iran, we had a saying: “We have freedom of speech, but we lack freedom after speech.”
And now, in this wonderful new chapter of my life, I get to see history rhyme again. When I studied journalism in Canada, we were drilled on the AP Stylebook — a sacred text in the world of reporting. Now? It looks like we all need to toss it out and start studying the WH-47 Stylebook—because apparently, journalism is about getting the government’s preferred phrasing right. Welcome to the new era of “freedom.”
had filmed people on top of a roof as they drove past the apartment complexes, and that was going around the school,” Himes said. “Students were all abuzz, they were very nervous, they were worried. Not necessarily for themselves, but for parents, other family, friends, neighbors.”
Her classroom has large windows through which students could see the immigration enforcement vehicles driving past.
The night of the raids was parent-teacher conference night at Hinkley.
Himes usually has between 12 and 14 parent meetings in a night. Last Wednesday, Himes only had six parent meetings. One parent had emailed her to ask for the information through email, and cited the raids for feeling unsafe to go meet Hines in person.
Most classes at Hinkley have gone on as normal, and while attendance is down, it hasn’t been significantly lower on any particular day, Himes said. Similar to at Laredo, she said she believes Hinkley students feel as safe as they can while they are at school. But getting to and from school can feel dangerous for them or their families.
“I think their anxiety goes up when they leave,” Himes said.
At Laredo, when an immigration SUV parked in the crosswalk in front of the school, some families felt uncomfortable crossing the street in front of that agent, so the families waited inside the school until they felt safe to leave again.
In the nearby Adams 12 school district, the superintendent told his school board on Wednesday night that immigration concerns are taking a lot of time to address.
Superintendent Chris Gdowski said the district believed the parent of one Adams 12 student had been detained in Wednesday’s raids and that the child was in the temporary care of
a neighbor.
Attendance had been down by as much as 5% at some Adams 12 schools, and the district was trying to problem-solve with families to find ways to get students back in classes, or find ways to keep them learning while at home, Gdowski said
“It’s become a fairly significant part of many of our jobs on the security side in coordinating with our principals about what to do if this happens, and then there’s also fairly consistent communication needs that we have,” he said.
Aurora Public Schools passed a resolution last week that is nearly identical to one the board approved in 2017 written with parent and student groups. It states that as one of the most diverse districts in the state, Aurora is dedicated to supporting and serving all students. The resolution includes updated demographic information showing that the district’s students now speak more than 160 different languages and that more than 42% of all students are learning English as a new language.
The resolution adds a requirement that Aurora schools update student emergency contact information twice a year instead of once per year and encourages families to include a non-family contact in case family members can’t pick up students.
Himes said the Aurora resolution matters because it supports school staff’s desire to keep students safe and to communicate that desire to the families and students themselves.
“It’s just been very well-communicated,” Himes said. “That’s the key.”
— YESENIA ROBLES for Chalkbeat Colorado
Colorado bill to curb school library book challenges clears first legislative hurdle
Colorado’s public schools would
Obituary
Clyde Franklin Satterfield
March 8, 1933 - February 2, 2025
be required to have policies governing school library book challenges, and only parents with students at a school would be allowed to challenge a book in that school’s library.
These are some of the provisions of a school library bill that cleared its first legislative hurdle Feb. 12, advancing out of the Senate Education Committee in a 5-2 vote.
The bill represents the second attempt by Democratic lawmakers to curb school library book removals and protect school librarians from retaliation for doing their jobs. A similar school library bill died during the 2024 legislative session, though a separate one focused on public libraries passed.
The current school library bill comes as school library book challenges and removals have become more common in Colorado and the nation. One of the most high profile examples occurred last fall in the 2,600-student Elizabeth school district southeast of Aurora.
Officials there removed 19 books from school library shelves because of what the school board deemed highly sensitive content. The decision led to a lawsuit against the district by the American Civil Liberties Union and a civil rights complaint by a middle school dean who was fired after she objected to the book removals.
Besides requiring public schools, including charter schools, to have policies governing library book challenges, the library bill would only allow challenges by parents or legal guardians with a child in the school where the challenge is made. The bill would also limit reviews of challenged books to once every two years. Finally, the bill would bar a school library worker from being fired, demoted, or punished for refusing to remove a challenged book before it’s been reviewed.
Dozens of parents, librarians, students, and others spoke about the bill, most of them in support. Many said they wanted children to have access to
Clyde Franklin Satterfield passed away on February 2, 2025, age 91, with his wife and children by his side. He had a remarkable life, rising from humble beginnings to earn a college degree, then go on to have a long and successful career with United Airlines. His retirement years were split between his beloved Colorado and Oro Valley, Arizona. He will be missed by many.
Please view the full obituary at https:// www.newcomerdenver.com/obituaries
diverse perspectives and develop critical thinking skills.
Hripsime Vartanyan, an exchange student from the country of Georgia, said libraries “provide knowledge, information, and space for discovery.”
She said her parents grew up with restricted access to books because Georgia was still under the influence of the Soviet Union at the time, but her own experience was much different.
“When I first heard about books being banned in the U.S … I was really confused,” she said.
Meg Reed, a Colorado grandmother who supports the bill, said people who want to remove library books say they’re for parent rights, but they want to dictate reading choices for everybody.
“While they’re completely free to deny their own children access to whatever books they might find offensive, they do not have the right to make those decisions for other parents.”
Matt Cook, director of public policy and advocacy for the Colorado Association of School Boards, said his organization supported the version of the bill that was approved Monday. He said most school districts already have book challenge policies that meet or exceed what’s in the bill.
Several of those who spoke against the bill said they don’t want books with sexually explicit content available to students.
Erin Meschke, a Boulder resident who opposed the bill, asked lawmakers to “protect Colorado children from pornography disguised as inclusive graphic novels.”
Some opponents also objected to the provisions requiring book challengers to be parents and to the twoyear period before a challenged book could be reviewed again.
Of several districts recently surveyed by Chalkbeat, most reported facing no book challenges in the last 18 months. They include Douglas County,
Colorado Springs 11, Cañon City, Mesa County Valley District 51, Eaton, and the Brighton-based 27J. Academy 20, based in Colorado Springs, and Greeley 6 both reported multiple book challenges. In Academy 20, four books were challenged over four months during the 202324 school year: “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, “This One Summer” by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, and “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol.1 by Hideyuki Furuhashi. District officials decided to keep all of them on library shelves.
In Greeley, members of the public delivered thousands of book challenge forms to the school board at a December 2022 meeting. Scores of people submitted the challenges, but they were about the same 11 books. Four other books were challenged that school year.
District officials ultimately reviewed 11 of the 15 books, including titles such as “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, “God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy, and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews. They decided to keep the 11 books in school libraries. Four of them got additional restrictions. For example, parents of students checking out “Beloved” get a phone and email notification, and a “complex themes and resources” label was added inside the back cover of “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins.
Four titles were not reviewed for their content, either because they were not in any school libraries or had already been removed due to lack of usage, according to district records. — ANN SCHIMKE of Colorado Chalkbeat
