PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW Tattoo Artist Brings Her Fine-Art Skills To Skin Page 6
NEIGHBORHOOD ARTS New Shows, Steamroller Prints, and Spring Page 9
MEDICALLY SPEAKING What Is A ‘Baby-Friendly’ Birth Center? Page 11
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Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
EDGEWATER
| SLOAN’S LAKE | WEST COLFAX | TWO CREEKS April 16 – May 14, 2018 • ngazette.com • FREE
Two Edgewater City Properties For Sale ■ By
“
Ken Lutes
W
hether it’s a scrape or rebuild, we just want the right development,” said Edgewater deputy city manager Dan Maples, on the sale and repurposing of the city’s present municipal building at W. 24th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. Maples hosted a half-dozen potential developers and architects at a March 26 open house and site visit inside the municipal building. Discussion at the meeting centered on the city’s planning process and physical design issues and emphasized a keen preference for a business that will generate strong sales tax revenues. “Edgewater is 100 percent sales tax driven,” Maples said, stressing the importance of retail business along the Sheridan corridor. “We don’t have property taxes here that would come back to the city.” The municipal building is zoned C-1, “and we anticipate it’ll stay that. We’re very protective of our commercial corridors.” On March 27, developers inspected the second property Continued on page 2
NEW CIVIC CENTER MEANS OLD CITY HALL FOR SALE: The City of Edgewater is searching for the right buyer to make the best use of its city hall, old city hall and old fire station, which will no longer be needed after the completion of the new civic center, currently under construction. PHOTO BY TIM BERLAND
To Call Or Not To Call, That Is The 911 Question ■ By
T
Nancy Hahn
he new Jefferson County 911 dispatch center, called Jeffcom 911, will provide shorter response times and better service for emergencies throughout Jeffco. Over 65,000 emergency calls are expected by the center each month. What to do in an emergency hasn’t changed – call 911. So, what is the advantage of this central dispatch center? Smaller, localized 911 centers can be overwhelmed with calls. The biggest problem had been people calling for non-emergencies. Many people don’t know the numbers to call for a non-emergency, but everyone remembers 911. The lines become tied up, so a person with a real emergency can’t get through and gets only a busy signal. A genuine emergency, also, results in a flood of calls. When every call taker is already on a call, the response to emergencies can be delayed. When the emergency is genuine, those busy lines can be a hazard to people in danger, also. How do you decide whether to call 911 or the non-emergency line? A 911 emergency is a situation that requires a firefighter, medical help, or a police officer right away. A fire breaks out – call 911! Someone has chest pain, is choking, threatening suicide, or has sudden severe pain – call 911! You see a burglary or an assault happening – call 911! You see a car crash – call 911! Do not call 911 if the neighbor’s dog is barking, if the power goes out, or to discuss paying a fine. If you are alone and hear someone break in your home – call 911. If you come home and someone has broken in your home, call the non-emergency number. If you aren’t sure, call 911 and let the 911 operator help you decide. Stay as calm as possible, give the call taker all the information, and answer all questions. Once you have done that, the operator will let you
know if it is an emergency. When you call 911, listen and follow the directions the operator gives you. Be ready to provide the address, cross streets, or another way to identify the location. This is very important if you are on a cell phone, because the operator can’t pinpoint your location. What if you realize you have dialed 911 by mistake? Stay on the line. Explain your mistake to the call taker. Why? This ensures that no time is wasted calling you back or even sending emergency vehicles. Who do you call with a problem if it isn’t an emergency? Police and fire departments have non-emergency phone numbers. Your
town’s website probably provides the nonemergency police department number, as well as other commonly requested phone numbers. There are several fire stations in most towns, so check for the non-emergency number of the one nearest to your home. Once you have the non-emergency numbers, make note of them or put them in your phone. Edgewater’s website (www.edgewaterco. com) provides a link to the City of Edgewater Police Department on its home page. The page for the police department provides Edgewater Police Department’s non-emergency number, 303-322-7273;
Jefferson County non-emergency dispatch, 303-277-0211; victim outreach, 303-2022196; rape assist and awareness, 303-3227273; and crime stoppers, 720-913-7867. Additional links to contact forms, safety tips, the school resource officer, traffic enforcement, and other topics of interest are listed. The Edgewater Police Department recommends Neighborhood Watch programs as a way to keep neighborhoods safe. More information on the program is available at volunteers@edgewater.com. Two Creeks and the West Colfax corridor are both served by the Lakewood Police Continued on page 2
IN MEMORIAM
Robert Autobee – Journalist and Historian ■ By
Michael Autobee
R
obert “Bob” Autobee, journalist and historian, age 56, of Lakewood died in Corpus Christi, Texas, March 18, following a short illness. At the time of his death, he was deployed with FEMA to support Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts as an historic preservationist. That he found the most obscure job in the federal government is not a surprise because my brother Bob was as unconventional as he was smart. His first love affair was with journalism and it started 1964. At age three, he read the newspaper out loud for family and friends, leaving them absolutely amazed. He pursued every topic that interested him. He could not casually read a book and move on rather he totally immersed himself. Bob was our answer-man. Now we have to use Google like everyone else. Bob always had a unique way of looking at things. He shunned the established and popular. While most kids were playing football, Continued on page 2
LAKEWOOD JOURNALIST AND HISTORIAN BOB AUTOBEE, 56, died in Corpus Christi, Texas, March 18, following a short illness. He and his wife Kris wrote two books on the history of Lakewood and one on the lost restaurants of Denver, articles for scholarly journals, local newspapers, and city and county historical societies. PHOTO COURTESY KRISTEN AUTOBEE