LOCAL NEWS What Does Physical Activity Mean to You? Page 4
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS Wheat Ridge Rotary Club – Putting Service above Self
2017 NEIGHBORHOOD DINING Special pull-out section featuring local dining opportunities Pages 7-14
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WHEAT RIDGE | APPLEWOOD | MOUNTAIN VIEW | LAKESIDE May 16 – June 17, 2017 • ngazette.com • FREE
Bike Racing & Beer at Criterium and Brewfest, June 11 ■ By
Ashley Holland
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aiting at the starting line, the racers take their mark, preparing to fight for prizes, triumph and bragging rights. Tension builds, as adrenaline pumps in racers and spectators alike. There is a brief moment of silence. And they’re off! It’s not until a grueling 40 minutes later that the racers are able to relax and finally enjoy a well-deserved beer. More than 400 cyclists will have this experience on June 11 at the Ridge at 38 Criterium and Brewfest in downtown Wheat Ridge. During each of the day’s 10 races, participants ride as many laps of the 1.5-mile circuit as possible within the time limit. This ensures a lot of action and excitement for spectators and athletes. Ridge at 38 Criterium travels from High Court to 35th Avenue, to Pierce Avenue, to 38th Avenue, to Reed Street, to 39th Avenue, and to High Court again. Riders, both elite and amateur, will race with staggered start times from 8 a.m. Continued on page 6
STUDENTS FROM WHEAT RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL’S STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program once again took the Champion title at the Shell Eco-Marathon competition, held in late April in Detroit, Michigan. See story, page 2. PHOTO COURTESY CHARLES SPRAGUE
Panhandling, Illegal Camping, Homelessness – What Can You Do? ■ By J. Patrick O’Leary
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rom trash and illegal camps along the Clear Creek greenbelt, to bedraggled people asking for food or money at busy corners, there’s evidence that homelessness is on the rise in Wheat Ridge. But is the city really experiencing an increase in homelessness? Is it resulting in more crime? And what, if anything, is the city doing about it? “This year (since last October) we started to experience … a pretty significant increase in reports of illegal camping along the greenbelt,” said Wheat Ridge Chief of Police Dan Brennan. But it’s not just here: Edgewater, Denver and other cities in the metro area are seeing it, too. “Nobody is sure why. Communities throughout the U.S. and Colorado are also seeing an increase. It’s not unique to Wheat Ridge.” “There’s been a significant increase in homeless along the Front Range, some of that because of Colorado legalizing marijuana – that’s certainly being discussed. The recession of 2009-2010 also had impacts … and affordable housing is also a problem.” Brennan said the largest homeless population appears to be single moms with a couple of kids, due to domestic violence, loss of job, divorce or other reasons. “We run across them in cars, or camping or in lower-tier hotels and motels,” he said. Over the years WRPD has seen an increase of homeless with alcohol and substance abuse, and mental health issues. “There are not a lot of mental health providers out there anymore. Or substance abuse,” he said. “Sometimes there’s a crossover.” He said a number of veterans appear to be homeless, too. Brennan said being homeless is not a crime, but from his perspective there are
criminal issues pertaining to it: panhandling, loitering, illegal camping, trespassing, disorderly conduct, urination in public, and substance abuse. From 2015 to 2016, WRPD statistics show the most common Calls for Service (CFS) related to homeless, transient or camps increased significantly: Suspicious Person, 206 up to 290; Unwanted Party, 132 to 204; Welfare Check 1, 75 to 143; and Suspicious Incident, 69 to 81. Disturbance in Progress CFS remained
roughly the same: 157 to 159. In the first three months of 2017, the most frequent CFS were for Unwanted Party (53), Disturbance in Progress (48), Suspicious Person (41), Welfare Check 1 (25) and Suspicious Vehicle (23). In the past, WRPD has performed “assessments” along its portion of the greenbelt about three times a year, bringing along Family Tree to provide information on resources for the homeless. Last year they partnered with other agencies to assess the
entire greenbelt, and a number of camps were identified, finding lots of trash and waste. When an illegal camp is found, Brennan said notices are posted immediately – Wheat Ridge gives campers 72 hours to clean and leave, but CDOT allows much more time, possibly 21 days. “A lot of the problem fell within the jurisdiction of Arvada,” said Brennan. “Then we discovered some of camps were in a little Continued on page 17
N E I G H B O R H O O D F E AT U R E
Leave Your Wheelchair On The Dock – Adaptive Recreation Programs ■ By
Elisabeth Monaghan
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heat Ridge Police Dispatch/Communications Manager Chris Garramone claims he first started volunteering for Denver Parks and Recreation’s Adaptive Recreation program for selfish reasons. He knew if he volunteered for the adaptive water skiing program, he’d receive his boat pass for free. Considering the time Chris has dedicated over the years, and with his continued involvement in adaptive sports, selfish is not a word that comes to mind. “Once I got into it and realized what a great program it was, it just made so much sense to me” says Chris. As a father, he wanted to impart the humbling lessons and inspiration he received as a volunteer to his daughters. Even though they were about 10 and 11 at time, he started taking them with him on the boat. “My goal was if they saw someone with a disability, I wanted them to see the person before they saw the disability.” VOLUNTEERS FOR ADAPTIVE RECREATION PRO- Once they were old enough, his daughters began volunteering for the GRAM help make it possible for disabled participants program. Jessica found the work so meaningful, she decided to learn as
to enjoy a day of adaptive water skiing. Including the boat driver, it takes about 20 volunteers to get one person on the water. PHOTO: CHRIS GARRAMONE
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