WHEAT RIDGE MAYOR Recapping Local Races And Initiatives In Wheat Ridge Page 4
SCHOOL VISITOR PASS Community Superintendent Brenda Carlson Page 6
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS Program Strengthens Community Nonprofits Page 13
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Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
WHEAT RIDGE | APPLEWOOD | MOUNTAIN VIEW | LAKESIDE | BERKELEY November 14 – December 17, 2018 • ngazette.com • FREE
Cue The Music: The Holidays Are Here n By
Meghan Godby
M
id-November is a tricky time of year. One day, you spot a few abandoned jack o’ lanterns on your neighbor’s front porch, while the next, you start to hear Christmas music on the radio. The weather is cool, a few leaves still cling to a hint of color, but holiday decorations are slowly creeping onto store shelves. You’re bombarded with discounted Halloween candy, cornucopia displays and Christmas lights. It’s as if all the year-end seasons meld together into one big mash of holiday spirit. The timing of all this is hotly debated, but there’s no doubt that the holiday season is coming at us fast. Need something to get you in the spirit? You’re in luck. There are plenty of family-friendly activities in the area and lots of ways to give back to your community this time of year. Ridge at 38th Holiday Celebration A longtime favorite, the Ridge at 38th Holiday Celebration, presented and organized by Localworks, will take place on Sat., Dec. 1 from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Warm up with a cup of hot cocoa, delight in the sound of carolers, and enjoy Continued on page 2
RIDGE ON 38TH HOLIDAY CELEBRATION, presented and organized by Localworks, will take place on Sat., Dec. 1 from 3 to 6:30 p.m., featuring hot cocoa, carolers, arts, crafts and holiday shopping. PHOTO BY BECKY OLSTAD
So Many Homeless … And Winter Is Coming n By
R
Nancy Hahn
esearching this article, the day was 70 degrees. The next, it was snowing. Imagine how this feels if you’re homeless. Wandering websites, I read a short article on The Homeless Shelter Directory’s news section thanking McDonald’s for providing its dollar menu. In their survey of ways to survive with little or no money, local food pantries were named, but the number one answer by those surveyed was that McDonald’s dollar menu feeds them daily. Next time I see someone with a cup or hat out on a corner, I’ll understand the diff erence a dollar can make. Getting off a bus on Colfax in Lakewood, I discovered one issue facing the homeless. I went into a little restaurant to use the restroom. It was locked and had a keypad. You could only get the code with purchase and there was a long line. Four restaurants in a row were the same. Later, talking with a homeless woman, she explained fi nding a bathroom is diffi cult. “You can walk to Walmart or ARC,” she said, “or go behind a dumpster in an alley.” How many things do the homeless confront daily that I never considered? The homeless have been in the news lately. On Oct. 29, the largest homeless sweep since 2016 was conducted in Denver. About 100 homeless men and women had camped near Park Avenue and Lawrence Street. Denver Police Department offi cers, Public Works employees, and city dump trucks engaged in a large-scale sweep — or cleanup operation. Many homeless people had tents and sleeping bags thrown away. City workers explained that human waste, animal waste, needles, rats, and trash made the area unsafe.
The tiny home village, created for the homeless, was in the news, also. The homes must move from 38th and Blake. The Beloved Community Village of formerly homeless individuals needs a new location for the tiny homes. A developer off ered a plot of land, but the land is on a fl oodplain and deemed unsafe. The city is searching for other locations, since the permit for the current location expires in January.
Food and Shelter is Available
Jeff co Eats is a nonprofi t serving
Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Edgewater and Arvada to ensure that hungry or homeless families don’t go hungry on the weekends. Jeff co students whose families have been identifi ed as needing support take home backpacks of healthy foods every Friday. Food Bank of the Rockies, the Jeff erson County Colorado Department of Education, Title One, and Homeless area directors work together to support homeless families. There are many shelters and services throughout Jeff erson County. Family Tree at 3805 Marshall St. in Wheat Ridge
off ers a variety of services. Family Tree’s Roots of Courage supports domestic abuse victims. Houses of Hope off ers emergency residential services. There are other homeless programs, as well as, Safe Care Programs to support families. Shannon’s Hope off ers a residential community for pregnant women without homes. Shannon’s provides a caring home for clients. They, also, help clients access community services and plan their future. The Denver Rescue Mission has a Continued on page 2
N E I G H B O R H O O D F E AT U R E
There’s Still Gold In Them Thar Creeks n By Elisabeth Monaghan
I
t’s unlikely anyone can live in Wheat Ridge for more than a year and not know about its agricultural roots, but some may be less familiar with the city’s signifi cance in the history of the gold rush in Colorado. Before there was Denver, there was Montana City, which was located just east of Evans Avenue and Santa Fe Drive. (Today that site is a the Grant-Frontier Park.) In response to rumors that gold was plentiful in Montana City, a group of prospectors fl ocked to the area. Upon discovering there was no abundance of gold, the prospectors abandoned the site, hoping to have better luck farther downstream. Among the next locations where prospectors sought gold were the area that is now the Auraria Campus and the Arapahoe Bar (now the Arapahoe Gold Panning Park), which is located at 44th Avenue and Youngfi eld Street. GOLD PROSPECTORS OF THE ROCKIES members This is just one of the lessons about the Colorado Gold Rush members taught tour guests of the Georgetown Loop Railroad of the Gold Prospectors of the Rockies learn as they discover the history how to pan for gold this past Labor Day. The annual Continued on page 12
outing is one of many social and educational activities the club hosts. PHOTO: GOLD PROSPECTORS OF THE ROCKIES