Arvada Press 0528

MAY 28, 2020

A CHANGE OF ART Creative souls face challenges amid pandemic P14

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CLASS OF 2020: TOGETHER, APART Area graduates share their thoughts on a disrupted school year P9

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Arvadans find new ways to honor Class of 2020 P8

DID YOU KNOW INSIDE

TRASH TALK

Hauler may bail if vote goes to people P2

The county has received more than 870 calls about businesses violating public health orders.

Source: Jefferson County Public Health | More on P3

VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14

ArvadaPress.com

VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 52

2 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Republic will rescind offer if waste hauling issue becomes public vote City would need to renegotiate contract

BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As the public hearing on a proposed contract between Arvada and waste hauler Republic Services gets closer, a question posed to the hauler, and the hauler’s answer, could affect the hearing’s direction.

Many residents have reached out to their councilmembers about the prospect of a contract with Republic, which would ask residents to pay for trash and recycling services through Republic or opt out for a monthly fee of $5.13. After paying the fee, residents could contract with their own hauler and would still have access to some services through Republic such as yard waste and bulky item drop-off events.

To councilmembers such as Mayor Marc Williams and John Marriott, based on resident feedback, about half the city seems to want the switch to a single hauler, with the other half opposed. This prompted Williams to ask the city to explore putting the decision in the citizens’ hands with a question on the ballot this November.

But when the city asked Republic Services if it would still be willing to move forward with its proposed contract if the question went on the

MORE INFO For more information on the forum, public hearing and other chances for input, visit arvada.org/waste-hauling ballot, Republic said no, according to city manager Mark Deven.

With the contract, which locks prices in for two years and allows Arvadans to adjust their rates based on how much waste they throw out, “(Republic has said) this is the very best we can do and we would like you to decide on it,” Deven said. “We certainly respect their position. I think they gave it due consideration.”

This means that if the city chooses to put the question on the ballot, it will have to renegotiate a contract, potentially with another waste hauling company, he said.

At the upcoming public hearing, which will occur June 15, the city will recommend that council should not put the question on the ballot, Deven said. But he added that council still has the power to do so.

Randy Moorman, who serves on the Arvada Sustainability Advisory Committee — the group that first proposed the switch based on two years of collecting feedback from residents on recycling, financial and other needs — said he believes a vote would be unfair to Arvada residents most affected.

The single waste hauler would serve non-HOA residents, though HOAs can join the service if they choose.

But if all Arvadans vote on the issue, some HOA residents who already have a single hauler for their HOA will be voting on an outcome that never directly affects them, but affects nonHOA residents, Moorman said.

He added that “there’s no way to summarize something as complicated as this on the ballot. That’s why we have a city council.”

As of now, councilmembers disagree on the idea of a public vote.

Councilmember Nancy Ford echoed the concerns of Moorman, saying she would likely not be in favor of a public vote.

While acknowledging that some residents feel the decision could take away their rights, she believes the program is not about what works for every individual but about bettering the whole community. It provides benefits to everyone, she said, such as by reducing wear on roads and increasing the city’s overall recycling rate.

“This is a citywide program and one resident is going to be voting based on their own pocketbook. We’re looking at a larger scale,” Ford said. “We don’t ask voters every time we raise fees for water and stormwater. To me, this is another utility.”

But Marriott believes that because residents are so divided and so many have voiced opinions on it, whether council votes the contract up or down, those who disagree with a council vote may not accept that decision.

“I think the only way you solve that

is that you have to ask the citizens what they want you to do,” he said.

“Then, whoever’s on the losing side or the winning side of that, they will accept the results.”

He also emphasized that the city has made no promises to Republic about how it would make its decision.

Further, even if Republic was to rescind its offer, “the city could then entertain new proposals,” he said.

“My guess is they would get a contract proposal similar to this one.”

At their June 15 meeting, council is scheduled to make a final decision on a public vote. If the council chooses not to put the issue to a vote of the people, council will then vote yes or no on the proposed contract that same night.

Leading up to June 15, residents will have several opportunities to ask questions about the waste hauling contract. May 28, the city will hold a virtual forum, asking residents to email their questions up until 5 p.m. that day to be answered during a video conference forum that night.

The city hopes to have several options for residents to speak during the public hearing on June 15, such as a way for residents to join the meeting via video conference or give their testimony in-person under certain safety restrictions.

For more information on the forum, public hearing and other chances for input, visit arvada.org/wastehauling.

CORRECTION A May 21 article, “Waste hauling issue may go to public vote,” incorrectly stated how many Arvada residents recycle.

A 2015 Arvada survey showed 13% of waste in the city is recycled. The

article stated that 13% of residents recycle.

The Arvada Press regrets the error. To report any corrections or clarifications please call 303-566-4129 or email gwallace@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

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Arvada Press 3

May 28, 2020

Hundreds of Jefferson County businesses violated health orders Health department has opted for education instead of shutdown orders

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Jefferson County Public Health has had hundreds of contacts with businesses following complaints from the public about violations of current health orders. However, the agency has not yet ordered any businesses to close as a result of noncompliance with those orders.

As of May 22, Jefferson County Public Health staff members had received and followed up with 153 complaints about businesses and individuals failing to comply with the provisions of the state’s Saferat-Home order, which took effect in Jeffco on May 9.

That is after JCPH responded to a total of 725 complaints during the period lasting from March 26 to May 9, when the statewide stay-at-home order was in effect.

Those complaints can range from complaints about too many people being gathered in a public area to non-essential businesses opening and employees at businesses not wearing masks. According to Mindi Ramig, the retail food program man-

o

TO REPORT A PROBLEM To report a current Safer-at-Home order volation in Jefferson County, call the Sheriff’s Office’s non-emergency line at 303-271-0211. ager for JCPH, the county tracks all violations but does not have a formal breakdown of how many complaints have been about businesses versus individuals.However, Ramig said a review of the data for the 153 Safer-at-Home records showed that approximately only 10 relate to individual or group gatherings and the rest relate to businesses.

According to Ramig, those notices notify businesses that they are operating in violation of the current public health order and outline both the steps the business needs to take to come into compliance and possible penalties if they do not, which can include being ordered to shut down. All of those business voluntarily came into compliance after being sent a notice of violation. The county is not releasing the names of businesses that it has received complaints about because all businesses have come into compliance.

Ramig said it is the policy of the health department for staff to follow up with all businesses about which a legitimate complaint is received. The first step in doing so is contacting the businesses by phone or email to discuss the complaint

and whether or how the business is operating, depending on the nature of the complaint and what is permitted.

“We will talk to them about what order does require and what they are responsible for doing and verify they understand,” said Ramig.

Based on that phone or email contact, staff will then determine whether they need to send someone to visit the establishment to inspect whether they are now in compliance. Ramig said that while the agency is initially relying on businesses being honest, she said the agency also knows that “if a business continues to comply we will hear if that’s the case and follow up from there.”

So far, the vast majority of businesses have taken steps to comply after being contacted according to Ramig, which is why there has not been a need for further enforcement reactions.

“I think that’s fair to say that generally people are very responsive when we clarify the order,” Ramig said. “There have been businesses that have not been happy but at least at this point they have been respectful.”

Ramig said the county does want residents to report public health threats as “the entire point of the Safer-at-Home order is to ensure communities can reopen in a safe way to prevent a surge of cases.”

However, she said residents should also evaluate whether a situation is truly a public health concern and suggested some less critical violations, such as one employee not wearing a mask while others do, can be best handled by an observer simply notifying a manager at the business.

“We don’t want complaints that are unfounded or not of a nature that would be of a public health concern,” she said. “But, of course, that can be hard to determine. That is why we log all of them and follow up on all of them.”

Those looking to report a current Safer-at-Home order violation they have witnessed in Jefferson County should call the Sheriff ’s Office’s non-emergency line at 303-271-0211.

Michael Taplin, the public information office for the Sheriff ’s Office, said JCPH handles all complaints related to businesses, although deputies may respond to current violations involving individuals.

However, Taplin said that all enforcement actions are handled by JCPH and when the Sheriff ’s Office makes contact related to violations, it is for the purposes of education and the Sheriff ’s Office has not issued any summons related to the orders. If a deputy comes upon a violation on their own, they will also “seek to engage the person or people, educate them and encourage them to follow the order.”

4 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Westminster nurses’ experience in NJ ER offers perspective on COVID-19 ‘I hope no one ever has to see that, again’

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Emergency room nurse Katie Adkins said she was reluctant to tell any specific stories from her three weeks working in a New Jersey emergency room, treating dying COVID-19 patients.

It’s not that she doesn’t have the stories or doesn’t know how to tell them.

And it’s not that she doesn’t want to talk about it.

“I really don’t know if the general public is ready to hear about how bad it could have really been,” Adkins said.

Adkins witnessed the disease ravage patients firsthand, and watched it withstand just about any treatment medical professionals had for it. She watched doctors come in and try alternate treatments and watched patients die while their families could only visit via their smart phone.

“We did literally everything we could,” she said. “We exhausted the rule book, basically, on keeping some of these guys alive. And we didn’t win, most of the time.”

Even the ones who survived found their lives profoundly changed.

“It’s the amount of death, it’s the amount of lives forever impacted,”

Thornton’s Katie Adkins, an emergency room nurse at Westminster’s St. Anthony North Regional Medical, was among 34 Colorado nurses that spent three weeks helping doctors and nurses in New Jersey recover from their spike in COVID-19 patients. Now back home, Adkins said she’s pleased with the way Colorado flattened the COVID curve.

COURTESY PHOTO Adkins said. “You don’t just get over it if you’ve been on a ventilator for 30 days. It’s going to do permanent damage to your lungs and permanent damage to the rest of your body.”

An honor Adkins was one of the group of 34 nurses that flew out of Colorado

April 21 to spend three weeks helping at three New Jersey hospitals.

“It was an honor. Those guys went through hell before we got there,” she said. “And to be there and to be able to stand beside them as they recovered and put their ER back together, it was an honor.”

An emergency room nurse at Westminster’s St. Anthony North, Adkins was stationed at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It’s a hospital roughly the size of Denver’s Presbyterian St. Luke, with between 40 and 50 emergency room beds.

The difference, she said, was that COVID-19 made it impossible to treat those beds like emergency room beds.

The pandemic forced the hospital to treat the emergency room, along with the entire hospital, as one big, slowmoving intensive care unit.

Where a normal emergency room visit lasts two hours for a patient, these visits lasted several days. And emergency room nurses are used to treating patients and either releasing them to go home or sending them on to another unit for more treatment.

“An ICU nurse has one or two patients — or in this case, five or six —that you treat for the whole shift,” she said. “Normally in the ER, they get there and you know within the first two hours if your patient is going to get released or get sent upstairs.”

Instead, these patients stayed, right where they were.

From really bad to just bad Adkins said the cases of COVID-19 had peaked just before the Colorado nurses arrived, so their role was to give the New Jersey nurses a break.

“When we got there, it was still pretty rough,” she said. “Actually, the day we arrived they saw kind of a turn from things being really bad to just being bad.”

New Jersey, with its proximity to New York, has been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, with more than 150,000 confirmed cases as of May 21 and more than 10,000 deaths.

Colorado has fared better so far, with almost 23,000 confirmed cases and 1,300 deaths. As of May 21, 3,955 Coloradoans had been hospitalized with COVID-19.

The Colorado nurses were stationed at four hospitals spread around the Garden State: Trinitas in Elizabeth, where Adkins was; St. Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick; and the Paterson and Wayne campuses of St. Joseph’s Health.

Five of the nurses, including Adkins, came from the St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster while 27 came from Penrose-St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs. One nurse came from the St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo and Saint Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco.

Each worked an emergency roomstandard schedule of four 12-hour days, returning to a mostly-closed hotel when they were off-shift. Adkins checked in with her Colorado family daily, having video chats with her four-year-daughter, waiting for her next shift to start.

A whole body killer Adkins said she was surprised to see how all encompassing the diseases is. One of the main complications was the high incidence of sepsis, a condition that occurs when the body reacts to an infection by flooding the blood stream with various chemicals.

Those chemicals can overwhelming the body, attacking organs, making it difficult to breathe, lowering blood pressure and spiking the heart rate.

“So they’re not just fighting COVID, they’re fighting all these other health issues that can become lifelong,” she said. “I saw it firsthand in New Jersey. It’s not just COVID. It’s everything else. Kidneys start failing, your heart has issues. COVID literally attacks every part of your body and many of those effects last for the rest F of your life.”

The deaths she witnessed were T also hard because the patients were alone. The family couldn’t be there in s H person, just via video chats.

“The families can’t see what’s hap- t pening, so they’re pleading with you i to do something,” she said. “They can’t see everything you are doing. l It’s a disconnect. It’s a disconnect from the families, for the providers, d the patients. Everyone feels it. We’re s not sure what to do.” f a SEE NURSES, P5

N

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Arvada Press 5

May 28, 2020

Olde Town Residences plan must start over after court decision A rendering of the Olde Town Residences development plan. The approval process of the plan was recently the subject of a lawsuit ruling, which was found to have been improper.

BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The city of Arvada is reviewing a May 14 Colorado Court of Appeals decision that overturned city council approval of the Olde Town Residences project.

The project proposed by Trammell Crow, a developer headquartered in Dallas, was a six-story building with about 250 apartment units and a parking garage located at the intersection of 56th Avenue and Wadsworth Bypass.

The Olde Town Residences plan is known for its association with the so-called $30 land deal, which outlined that the property would be sold from the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority to Trammell Crow for $30. The Jefferson County Assessor valued the land at almost $6 million, according to a media release from grassroots group Arvada for All the People.

City council voted down the project’s preliminary development plan in January 2018, partially because of a concern about parking spaces and beliefs that a project of that scale was incompatible with the Olde Town area, said Dave Chandler with Arvada for All

COURTESY PHOTO

the People.

However, in an email sent to councilmembers from city manager Mark Deven in February 2018, Deven said Trammell Crow would be making some adjustments to the plan, such as adding more parking spaces and eliminating some top floor units.

Council held a vote on the revised plan in March 2018 and approved the project.

But Arvada for All the People took issue with this.

The group soon sued the city for allegedly violating open meeting laws. It also contended that the city violated part of its land development code, which reads “if the city

NURSES FROM PAGE 4

Time off Now back home with her family, she’s taking some vacation time off.

Her husband, she said, is very happy to have a second parent back home.

She’ll return to her Westminster ER in June.

Colorado has been enormously lucky, keeping the spread of COVID-19 down through social distancing, she said.

“I feel like Colorado, we’ve been very fortunate” she said. “I’ve been looking at the numbers in comparison be-

council denies an application, that same request or one substantially the same may not be heard by the city council for a period of one year from the date of denial, unless the city council explicitly states that an earlier reapplication will be considered.”

The code states that the oneyear waiting period does not apply if a developer submits a revised application that addresses all concerns that caused council to originally vote no. However, Arvada for All the People has held that the revised application did not improve upon all stated reasons for denial.

The Jefferson County

tween Colorado and New Jersey. They got hit so hard and so fast. What the other nurses were telling me is that one day it was normal, the next day they had the first COVID positive. And by the third day, they were overrun.”

There was no way to ease into it, she said. That’s why it matters that Colorado has done a good job of flattening the curve, and slowed down the disease’s spread.

“I do think Colorado is doing a good job slowly reopening, rather than just being like, ‘We’re open! Come play!” she said.

“I just hope we never have to see what New Jersey saw, in our lifetimes,” she said. “I hope no one ever has to see that, again.”

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District Court ruled against Arvada for All the People in March 2019.

But when the Colorado Court of Appeals made a decision on the case May 14, 2020, it reversed a portion of this judgment. The court of appeals ruled that Arvada did not violate open meeting laws but did misinterpret its code when it chose to rehear the plan.

“The decision means that developer Trammell Crow will have to start the development approval process as a new application,” said a statement from Arvada for All the People. “The city council’s March 2018 approval is void.”

As of May 20, the city is reviewing the court’s decision and determining next steps, said city communications manager Ben Irwin.

Trammell Crow shared a statement with Colorado Community Media stating that the company and Arvada Urban Renewal Authority “remain committed to developing the Olde Town Arvada Transit Oriented Development project.”

“Last fall, we hosted a successful community meeting to share our vision for a hotel and retail development,”

the statement said. “We are looking forward to holding additional public meetings in the coming months to share our vision for the Olde Town Residences project.

“This mixed-use development project addresses the city of Arvada’s Master Plans to develop underutilized parcels along Wadsworth Boulevard and to provide residences, hotel rooms, retail stores and restaurants that will benefit Arvada residents and visitors,” it continued.

As Arvada for All the People prepares for this upcoming process, the group’s goal is to encourage the city to allow plenty of room for public input, Chandler said.

The citizens’ group has concerns that because the city adopted a new land development code May 18 of this year, the next version of Trammell Crow’s plan could be approved administratively, as opposed to being heard by council.

“We would tell them that would not be the honorable way for city council to approach this,” Chandler said.

“If they (Trammell Crow) decide to submit a new application, we want them to know we’re not going away. We want our input heard.”

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6 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Mines professors building app to predict likelihood of catching COVID-19 Another is studying how stay-at-home orders have impacted streams

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Colorado School of Mines professors have received two National Science Foundation grants for projects related to COVID-19, including one effort to produce a mobile app that could be used to predict how likely someone is to suffer dangerous complications if they get the disease.

Judith Klein-Seetharaman, the director of bioscience and bioengineering at Mines, and Hua Wang, an associate professor of computer science at the school, are teaming up on the effort to develop the computational model that will provide the foundation for the app, which will synthesize patient data to create a model to predict future COVID-19 outcomes.

“We are going to use existing COVID-19-related patient data and proteomics data and develop a computational model that will take all of the different types of risk factors into account such as comorbidities, lifestyle factors, symptoms and behavioral information,” said Klein-Seetheraman.

“And we will develop a model from this and then an individual or a physician will be able to enter this information to give a score for that person.”

That score will then indicate the person’s probability of getting COVID-19 or, if they already have the disease, their likelihood of developing complications. A KleinSeetharaman high score would mean someone should call a doctor because they are likely to be infected or develop complications, Klein-Seetharaman said.

The pair said they are hoping to have a first version of the app, which will be called iCOVID and made available for free McCray on the iTunes app store and Google play, up and running in five or six weeks. However, they said the grant funding they have received lasts for one year, which will allow the pair to improve the model and app interface while incorporating user feedback.

So far, one of the pair’s main challenges has been the difficulty accessing patient data, which hospitals usually do not make available for privacy reasons. To get around those

Mines student working on low-cost ventilator

concerns, the team has used anonymized data from medical databases, which still presents an obstacle since it can take awhile for COVID-19-related patient data to become available.

Klein-Seetharaman said she contacted Wang, who she worked with

on other projects, about bringing his expertise to the project when she realized how many factors seem to be involved in COVID-19 risk. Wang’s research focuses on machine learning, SEE MINES, P7

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Arvada Press 7

May 28, 2020

MINES FROM PAGE 6

which is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience and can be used to synthesize complex data.

“So, when we work together we can use the machine learning knowledge from my side as well as the experience and knowledge from Judy’s side to collectively build some more useful tools,” said Wang.

But while the app will be able to help someone who gets a cough determine the likelihood that they have COVID-19, Klein-Seetharaman said the app could also be utilized

for planning by hospitals and even governments.

“Hospitals need to be able to predict how many beds they need and how many respirators they need and so on and our app could potentially help with that by helping to predict what is the chance that you are going to have n number of patients with complications,” she said. “And then it can also be used by local and even global governments to evaluate what the risk is and what we need to plan for.”

John McCray, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, also received a NSF grant for a project that will study the impact of Colorado’s stay-at-home orders on the quality of urban streams in

metro Denver.

“The COVID-19 pandemic could potentially accelerate future sustainable living practices into typical living scenarios,” McCray wrote in a section of his proposal included in an article on the Mines website. “Research is underway looking at air pollution but little has been done to understand the impacts on water quality. Cleaner, fishable and swimmable urban rivers would be another justification for sustainable living that includes working from home and much less driving.

The information will also be useful to urban planners regarding types of green infrastructure for cleaning urban water, and to public health officials and legislators for urban water quality management.”

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Investors Target Seniors & Others, Buying Homes Below Their True Value As a long-time Realtor serving the Denver metro area, I am committed to protecting homeowners and especially seniors from being cheated out of their home’s true worth by investors who offer to buy homes for cash without putting them on the market.

Unsolicited offers in the mail or by phone should be a red flag for you. These people know what they are doing and depend on you not knowing the true value of your home.

I want to uncover people who seek to cheat you. If you get such a solicitation, call me at 303-525-1851, and I’ll tell you what you’re home is really worth.

Keep in mind that investors will only make an offer that leaves room to make a big profit — at your expense.

It’s easy for any investor to go online and identify homeowners who purchased their home 30 or 40 years ago for a fraction of what it’s worth now. For them it’s a sure bet that you’re a senior and will be impressed by a cash offer of, say, $300,000. But how will you feel a month later when that investor sells your home for $100,000 more without making any significant improvements to it? You’d feel “ripped off” — and rightly so.

Don’t let this happen to you!

You may not even want to sell your home, but the offer of a quick $300,000 could lure you into a sale which you would only regret later.

Seniors in particular can’t afford to be cheated out of their home’s equity. The money they receive needs to last through their remaining lifetime. As a senior myself, I make those same calculations about how much money I need to support Rita and me for as long as we both live.

Don’t feel that you’re imposing on me to ask for my advice, which I give freely over the phone. Using my computer, I can tell you within a few minutes whether the unsolicited offer you received is close to what your home is really worth.

My computer is always on, and unless I’m away from it when you call, I can input your address into two different programs and tell you during the same phone call what those programs say your home is worth. If you really are wanting to sell, I can refine those valuations by looking at your home’s condition and location and studying the sales of comparable homes in your immediate neighborhood. This is easy for me, so please feel free to ask!

Don’t worry — I won’t ask you to list

Here’s Why the Public Will Not Accept Driverless Cars I have written before about why I think self-driving cars should never be allowed, but this time I’m going to tell you why the public — you — will likely reject the idea.

Long before cars go without anyone behind the wheel, you’ll get to experience some of the features required for a car to drive itself. These include adaptive cruise control and lane management dependent on multiple cameras, radar and numerous other sensors. I use these “auto-pilot” features daily on my Tesla.

The first thing to recognize is that a self-driving car will always err on the side of caution. Here are just three examples: Let’s say you’re driving a city street with parked cars here and there but no painted line between the travel lane and the parking lane. Every now

and then your car will mistake a parked car for a stopped car in the travel lane.

Or you’ll be driving along and a car coming the other direction with make a left turn in front of you. Erring on the side of caution, your car will abruptly apply the brakes even though it’s clear to you that braking was not needed.

Or you’re driving on a road with no bike lane, but there’s a cyclist cruising along at 10 mph and no room to pass without crossing the double yellow line, which your car is not programmed to do.

My Tesla knows the speed limit on all roads based on GPS information, but 1) sometimes the information is wrong, and 2) sometimes there’s a lower speed limit in effect for school zones or construction. Your self-driving car will plow through those areas, totally oblivious!

your home with me. That is up to you to ask me. I just want to save you from being cheated or scammed.

In my 18 years of practicing real estate in the metro area, I have come across many scams perpetrated against homeowners of all ages, but especially against seniors. I remember how one caregiver in Lakewood convinced her elderly client with dementia to add her name to his checking account and to the title of his car and even made her a coowner of his home. When he passed, this man’s relatives couldn’t do anything about it because all those acts were ruled legal despite the man’s dementia. That “caregiver” drained his checking account, sold the house after his death, and his relatives didn’t get a dime.

If you’re a senior, beware of people who befriend and pretend to love you.

They may have ulterior motives. If you are not a senior but have a relative who is elderly and lives alone, keep in touch with him or her and ask questions. Don’t let your relative be scammed — or feel ignored by you. That only plays into the scammer’s hand.

Now, if it is time for you to give up owning a home and move into a senior community where you have no maintenance worries and enjoy the company of others your age, I have a colleague who

specializes in helping seniors find the right facility. She will listen to your needs and wants and even take you to visit facilities which best meet your needs. She knows their services and their histories, both good and bad. She’ll keep you from choosing a facility that you’ll regret later. She’s motivated to find you a facility that you like, because the facility only pays her a commission if you stay there for at least 90 days. She’s a sweet, caring person. And you pay nothing for her services.

Or perhaps you’d just like to downsize into a smaller home or one with the master bedroom, kitchen, living room and laundry all on the main floor. That’s where I can be of service personally. I can send you listings like that and show you ones that sound appealing.

Call my cell phone anytime at 303525-1851. I answer it day or evening.

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8 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Neighborhood parade celebrates local grads

T

PHOTOS BY CASEY VAN DIVIER

he WildFlower Ponds neighborhood in Arvada held a parade to honor students in the neighborhood graduating from kindergarten, eighth grade, high school, college, graduate school and trade schools.

The May 23 parade included grads from Faith Christian High School, Arvada West High School, Lakewood High School, Two Roads Charter School, the Manning School of Academics & Arts, Texas Tech University, Columbia University and others.

The parade circled several cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood as neighbors stood in their lawns to cheer for the grads.

College graduates were celebrated in the parade that circled the roughly 100-home neighborhood.

One of several Arvada West High School graduates drives by during the parade.

A graduate from Columbia University in New York was also part of the May 23 parade.

A Faith Christian High School graduate, left, followed by a CU Boulder-bound Arvada West graduate.

An eighth-grade graduate from the Manning School of Academics & Arts in Golden, in the 2020 graduation parade, which honored graduates from kindergarten through college who live in Arvada’s WildFlower Ponds neighborhood.

Arvada Press 9

May 28, 2020

CLASS OF 2020: Together, apart

Graduates share what lessons they learned this year

MORE FROM THE GRADS These and other 2020 graduates from across the county have more to say at Goldentranscript.net

10 Arvada Press

LOCAL

May 28, 2020M

VOICES

In the middle of all this I miss my sis

ALCHEMY

Andrea Doray

M

y sister Joyce and I want to do our parts to contain the spread of Covid-19. We’ve observed directives to stay apart and to limit the people we’re in contact with. And I miss her.

We grew up in Monte Vista, a small town in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. It was the kind of town where your mom could barely keep her hands on the steering wheel because she was always waving at someone she knew.

The kind of town where a blissfully unaware grade-schooler could tell the cashier at the dime store that her dad was her credit card.

The kind of town where someone at the station pumped your gas, where you could just walk to your 50-cents-an-hour babysitting gigs, where

your neighbors lined the streets for a parade three days in a row during Ski-Hi Stampede.

When Joyce and I shared a room as youngsters, I’d throw stuffed animals at her just as she fell asleep, or, better yet, sneak into her bed if she got up for something and then grab her when she got back in.

In two completely accidental incidents – some 15 years apart – I knocked out Joyce’s front teeth when she inadvertently stepped in front of my swing, and she tumbled me down a flight of stairs after I caught the football at the top and she was unable to curb her tackle.

We’ve had girls’ weekends, including one in Breckenridge where we tried out rollerblades.

Joyce made it down the sidewalk and across the bridge just fine. I did not. I grabbed the

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A good idea One aspect of life in Arvada is the large number and variety of garbage and recycling trucks cruising down our street and through our neighborhood on a near-daily basis. We understand that the City of Arvada is now considering a move to a consolidated waste/recycling pickup service with a city-wide collection system. We visited the Arvada City website on Organized Waste Hauling to see what was being proposed and how it would affect us.

We were pleasantly surprised that the proposed Organized Waste Hauling system would not only reduce the truck traffic in our neighborhood but would also reduce our monthly bill by one third (even more if we went with a smaller trash bin size)! We also believe this would be good for our environment and household economics as such a system could reduce the amount of recyclable materials being sent to landfills. Every truckload that isn’t dumped in a landfill is a tipping fee the City/ residents don’t have to pay for.

Those folks who do not wish to participate in a city-wide system are not required to do so. Everybody will pay a flat fee of $5.13/month for the two annual citywide “large-item” drop-off events and the yard debris clean-up events (one in the spring and three in the fall) but if you want to keep and pay your current carrier, you are free to do so.

We think the proposed Organized Waste Hauling system for Arvada is a good idea that we support.

Taylor and Mavis Jarnagin, Arvada Freedom and choice The ongoing battle over single hauler

A publication of

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trash collection is a good example of finding candidates who are for freedom and choice as opposed to those who want government in full control of our lives. As noted in aletterlast week we have councilmen who are in favor of putting the single hauler questions to the voters and those who want city council to vote for us. If you are for freedom, wouldn’t you want this to go to a public vote? Is it fair to charge those of us not using the city service a surcharge for road repair (where is the guarantee this is where the funds will go)? Do you want public officials who will give voters the choice?

Our hauler will pick up a couple of incidental items outside the container and we have been told Republic will not. Some of us may not want to give up the good service we are receiving from Crush, Waste Management and other companies. Some of us have good reasons for wanting single hauler and others to keep things as they are. Isn’t the fair way to resolve this by a public vote?

Shouldn’t we be looking at candidates in this manner for all offices? Don’t let the Arvada City council take away your freedom to vote on this important manner. Contact them now!

William F Hineser, Arvada Smarter, cheaper and healtier Since moving to Arvada just over a year ago, I’ve come to love the community and the passion that they possess.

I chose to move here after graduating from CU Boulder because of the incredible downtown and easy access SEE LETTERS, P13

railing to slow my speed, my rollerbladed feet swung out from under me, and I was hanging over the Blue River until she rescued me.

Joyce also shares her family with me … the compassionate husband she met during college years. A daughter who shares my middle name and pretty-darn-close-to-the-same eyes.

A son who is also my godson, and who once led me out into their yard and handed me a little bottle: “I know how much you like to blow bubbles, Auntie.”

And, of course, Joyce and I have supported and helped each other navigate life’s inevitable bumps. That’s why, now at this crazy time, I miss my sister more than usual.

SEE DORAY, P11

Pandemic leaving us frayed

H

ere’s a question for “people of a certain age”: Who remembers what the great social/political debate was in the summer of 2001? Anybody?

HITTING Of course not — HOME September 11 sort of wiped all those arguments aside.

In the summer of 2001 we, as a country, wasted all of our pent-up disdain for each other arguing about whether or not the government should fund research into using human Michael Alcorn embryonic stem cells for therapeutic purposes. And, yeah— it was a big deal. There was a primetime Presidential address, there were marches and rallies and all the usual signs of American divisions.

You know why you never hear about that issue any more? Because, somewhere along the way, somebody discovered that human beings produce their own stem cells, and that they can be harvested and used for the same therapeutic purposes that the embryonic stem cells had been intended for.

It turns out that sometimes science renders our divisions irrelevant.

Did the country recover from that summer? Well, yeah, I guess so — we all pulled together and became one country in the wake of the terrorist attacks. And then, in the wake of an

expansive war effort and other events, we ripped asunder again.

In a manner of speaking, for the last three months, we have, again, been under attack, this time by a virus. It was something new, something we knew nothing about, and which we are still scrambling to understand. In light of our ignorance, we instituted mitigation efforts to try to curb the spread and save some lives.

Anybody think anything in the above paragraph sounds like the sort of thing that should widen our cultural/political divides? We’re under attack—shouldn’t we have banded together?

And yet, widen the divide it has.

And, sure, the fact that this has dragged out to three months is a big factor in all of this, as is the obvious illogic in some of our efforts (masks were useless, now they’re required; 250 people is fine in a WalMart, but one person fishing, no; it’s okay to have 250 people in Target, but you’re only allowed to have 10 people in the Cathedral downtown … which seats 800). Nonetheless, truly, I think everybody in power is doing the best they can given the dearth of information we had about this virus. We’re just trying to, ya know, keep people alive.

So why is it tearing us apart?

38 million unemployment claims since this began —that’s part of it.

Pier One, JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret all filing for bankruptcy, to go along

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SEE ALCORN, P11

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Arvada Press 11

May 28, 2020

Guest OpEd: A teacher’s reflections

T

his week was our last week of school and I spent the morning reflecting on my 8th year of teaching. It’s been definitely the biggest rollercoaster GUEST ride of a year of all time. I’m proud to be COLUMN a part of a staff that Chris Ward has been so instantaneously flexible, compassionate, and creative as we had to switch to remote learning seemingly overnight. We preach all the time about “resilience, grit and perseverance” and I think the whole meteor of chaos that is COVID has allowed us to practice what we preach and sharpen our skills in these areas. Comfort and routine in life is great in many ways but can tend to dull our ability to endure, which is a bummer because endurance is such an incredible human trait.

All that being said this last week feels unearned and sad. There is no sense of closure, joyfulness, or community that the end of the school year normally brings. No high fives, big smiles, or congratulations. Friday rolled around and it was just over. It’s super weird and if I said it was easy, I’d be lying to you.

I love being a teacher because I love being there learning along with my students, with my coworkers. I loved

seeing my kindergartener get excited to go to school in the morning and to pick her up every day and hear her adventures with her amazing teacher.

She did such a great job and it is tough knowing that she didn’t get to really wrap up her very first year of school.

My heart hurts for her (even though kids show more than anyone just how adaptable humans can be).

Not really sure the point i’m trying to make here or if I’m really trying to get anything across at all, except to say there are many things in life to be grateful for but it’s OK to be bummed out too.

Just keep on doing your best and putting goodness out there. Help others along your journey and greet each day with excitement but also compassion.

At times, especially times like right now, that’s literally all we can do.

The sunrise this morning just reminded me of the complexity of this whole thing- how you can feel so much gratitude in some areas of life while feeling loss in another. And that’s OK.

ALCORN

have to celebrate when hydroxychloroquine (still in use, by the way) has any bad news associated with it, just because the President once touted it?

Science will render the Wuhan coronavirus (as opposed to coronavirus HKU1, discovered in Hong Kong, or coronavirus NL63, discovered in the Netherlands) relatively harmless in the near future, so that far fewer people will develop SARS-CoV19. In fact, the worldwide effort to find a vaccine in record time should be a source of immense pride for all of us.

Now, if only science could render our politics relatively harmless.

FROM PAGE 10

with millions of small businesses — that’s part of it. Eight weeks of strain on the educational and family systems of the world — that’s part of it, too.

Looking ahead to next Fall and seeing how Jeffco Schools is imagining handling it probably didn’t put a lot of people on any more solid, “normal” footing. But that shouldn’t be enough.

If we were really as strong as we think we are, would that be enough?

Is it really so hard to wear a mask, if that’s what it takes to open things up again? No freedom without responsibility, right? Is it really so difficult to understand that nobody wants to kill grandma, they just want to keep the family business afloat so they can keep feeding their families? Do you really

DORAY FROM PAGE 10

Both our households have been diligent about the whole stay-at-home, safer-at-home thing (she better than I at disinfecting every molecule).

We haven’t seen each other for more than two months, nearly three, in fact.

There’s good reason: in our extended families, relatives are seriously ill.

Close friends have gone to the hospital, and even places where we’ve ventured out – hardware stores, supermarkets – are experiencing outbreaks.

We know we’re all in this together.

Joyce sewed masks for Children’s

Chris Ward hosts “Like A Bigfoot” podcast weekly, and teaches eighth grade science at Oberon Middle School in Arvada.

He and his wife, Dr. Lindsey Ward have 3 daughters ages 6, 3 and 15 months. They have lived in Arvada for 3 years.

Michael Alcorn is a teacher and writer who lives in Arvada with his wife and three children. His new novel, “Charon’s Blade,” is available at Amazon.com, on Kindle, or through MichaelJAlcorn. com.” His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media.

Hospital, and I’ve made do (or, really, made great) with what’s in my pantry and freezer. We take care of the people we love and care about people we don’t even know.

So now, finally, with advice from scientists and guidance from local officials, we plan to get together: socially distant coffee on the deck, virtual concerts across the room from each other, potlucks with fewer than 10 people. Her whole family is home now and I can’t wait to see them. I’ve missed you, Baby Sis! Best wishes for you and your families to stay safe and well.

Andrea Doray is a writer who really doesn’t mind wearing a mask.. Contact her at a.doray@andreadoray.com.

OBITUARIES JUNTUNEN

Earl Charles Juntunen

On Tuesday, May 12, 2020 Earl Charles Juntunen passed away suddenly at the age of 79. He is survived by his loving wife Gayle Jean [Robinson] Juntunen of nearly 59 years, his brother William (Billy) Juntunen, his 2 children Barbara (Ernie) Schneider and Brad (Candace) Juntunen, as well as 5 grandchildren Joseph (Sue Jean) Juntunen, Ashley (Mike) Rice, Scott (Paige) Schneider, Elizabeth Juntunen and Nolan Juntunen and 2 great-grandchildren Kendrick Schneider and Ensio Juntunen.

Earl was born on September 27, 1940 in Trimountain, Houghton County, Michigan to Eva Marie [Charles] and Ensio Wilbert Juntunen. He loved to tell stories about how high the snow would get when he was a little boy growing up on the Upper Peninsula and drinking coffee from the thermos in his lunch pail. When Earl was 9 years old the family moved to Rock Falls, Illinois. He graduated from Rock Falls High School in 1958. He worked at the steel mill in Sterling as his first job.

PALMER

He began a long career with AT&T in 1965 starting in Ottawa, Illinois and was transferred to Denver, Colorado in 1974 retiring, in 1999. While he worked at AT&T he participated in the company’s baseball, golf and bowling teams. He continued bowling through his retirement and was in the local paper for a 300 score in bowling. He loved watching sports as much as he enjoyed participating and had a strong love for cars including his Corvette. He spent many hours watching his favorite teams: Red Wings, Lions and Tigers with his family. In retirement, he found photography as a special interest and was especially fond of landscapes.

He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Joan Abbott.

Due to safety concerns, there will be no memorial service.

In leiu of flowers please make donations to https://donate.nurseshouse. org, your local food bank, or a charity of your choice.

Michael Lawrence Palmer Sept. 19, 1947 - May 9, 2020

Michael Lawrence Palmer, 72, of Arvada passed away on May 9, 2020 at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette after a battle with cancer. Born on September 19, 1947 in Pasadena, California, he was the son of Carl L. and Eleanor (Barkman) Palmer. Michael married Barbara Elaine Campbell on January 13, 1973 and together they shared 47 years of marriage.

After graduating from South High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, Michael served honorably in the United States Air Force including a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968-69.

Michael had a career as a Sales Representative in the Electronics Industry for 27 years earning many achievement

awards for Top Sales. He then made a career change, earned his degree in Human Services, and worked as a coordinator for the School to Work Alliance Program serving youth with disabilities until his retirement.

Michael enjoyed spending time with his family, fishing, scuba diving, long cruises, and rides on his Harley Davidson. He will be remembered for his humor and dedication to his family.

In addition to his wife, Barbara, he is survived by his three sons: Ryan; Jed (Annette); David (Julie); and grandsons Declan, Tiernan, Brendon, Colin, and Keaton.

A service for Michael and internment at Fort Logan National Cemetery will be held at a later date.

The family suggests contributions in his memory be made to the Arvada Community Table at https://cotable.org

Place an Obituary for Your Loved One.

Private 303-566-4100

Obituaries@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Funeral Homes Visit: www.memoriams.com

12 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Graduation during Coronavirus and Kent State WIT AND GRIT

Mary McFerren Stobie

G

raduates: If due to Coronavirus pandemic your school has shut down, I am sorry for your loss of a graduation ceremony. You may feel anxious, confused, queasy, worried, with your future uncertain.

Fifty years ago in May, I was a senior completing my B.A. degree at Bard College in New York. The college built in l860 was originally called St. Stephen’s College for Episcopal priests (later named Bard College, became secular and opened the doors to women).

Bard is situated on the Hudson River with a sweeping view of the Catskill Mountains The beautiful campus has ivy covered stone buildings preserved as a Historic District.

May l970 found me with ll8 credits with 120 credits needed to graduate. I worked day and night on a series of paintings to complete my senior project to graduate in June.

For me, a Colorado artist, Bard became my center of culture. My professors in the art department were working artists from Manhattan.

My first semester, the student employment office found me a position at Adolph’s as a barmaid. Adolph’s was an off-campus nightspot where Bard professors and students happily mingled and shared pitchers of beer.

In their favorite booth, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who later became Steely Dan, were regular customers. If I put a quarter in the jukebox, James Brown would sing “I Feel good.” and everyone would get up and dance the night away.

Near graduation I was ready to move on with my life back in Colorado. Excitement filled me as I anticipated my parents traveling from Colorado to see me receive my diploma. My dad, a graduate of Yale with a degree in economics, teased me constantly that Bard was a “college for rich hippies.”

I wanted him and to see the beautiful campus, meet my friends and be proud of me.

But in the spring of l970, the United States was still embroiled in the Vietnam war. College students protested the war across the country. Many young men college age had been drafted to fight in the war. My friend Claudia from Wheat Ridge High School lost her fiancé Don Yarrington in Vietnam. I ached for her.

My only brother Bill McFerren, also a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Colorado served as a Navy officer and flight commander of a P3 squadron in Vietnam. Sad, I missed him and prayed for him every night.

As part of his presidential campaign in l968 Nixon promised to wind down the war in Vietnam. However, on April 30, 1970 having sidestepped Congress, Nixon announced he had expanded the Vietnam war into neutral Cambodia. I felt sick to my stomach.

Anti-war student groups at universities across the nation mobilized. Their fury at Nixon boiled over like a witch’s cauldron.

On May 4, 1970 at 1:09 p.m. I touched up a painting in my studio. My radio played the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Suddenly newscaster broke in “Breaking news: Four students have been shot and killed at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard.”

I gasped, lost my breath, and dropped my paint brush full of red acrylic on my alligator shoes. As I bent down to wipe the paint off, my easel fell over.

Then I cried.

The Kent State shootings were followed a few days later by a national student led strike. Rioters burned down ROTC buildings on many campuses.

Then the news came that affected me directly.

An administrator notified all students, “We regret to inform you, we are closing

Bard College for the rest of the year.”

Closing the college? What would I do?

What about graduation, the ceremony?

When would I receive my degree?

Stunned and crushed, I packed up my books, canvases, and clothes and drove my VW bug back from Bard College to Colorado. I burst into my parents’ house. “Hi Mom, hi Dad, I’m back!”

Two years later, I hadn’t forgotten Bard College. I had done so much work to earn my degree and I wanted to finish my last class. I quit my job at Barbre Productions, a film company in Denver, went back to Bard, and earned my degree.

Years later, finishing my degree proved to be a good choice. It was required to teach adult education ESL. Later I also needed the degree to become a hospital chaplain.

So in spite of my graduation delay, I finished what I started. I didn’t give up.

My comment for graduates is: don’t be discouraged during the pandemic. Your degree may not help you now in these uncertain times, but it might later in your life.

You are at the “Coronavirus crossroads.” You finished high school or college. Congratulations for finishing what you started. Your graduation the ceremony is postponed until later ,but that’s OK. Class of 2020, you are the hope for Colorado, the United States, and the whole world. With the 2020 international Coronavirus pandemic we are one across the oceans as never before.

What choices and opportunities lie ahead of you. May you and your future be blessed.

Mary Stobie is a syndicated columnist and author. She would love to get email from anyone who had their graduation postponed this year or in l970. Contact her at mry_jeanne@yahoo.com or www.marystobie.com.

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Arvada Press 13

May 28, 2020

LETTERS

climate solutions like this one.

Rebekah Hernadez, Arvada

FROM PAGE 10

Are online high schools the future?

If several highly rated universities can be completely online, is it just possible high schools could be as well? Capella university, for example, offers BA’s to PhD’s online with over 39,000 students and is ran out of a single building in Minneapolis with instructors scattered all over the country. Imagine high schoolers taking classes at home with teachers assigning homework, testing and grading from their home as well.

Students 14-18 often like to sleep in and don’t need a sitter.

So, when the reading is done and math problems finished, they can take the quiz or turn in the problems when rested. No more boring classes that only mimic a book which can now be provided online for free. Bullying would be more difficult as would the event of nightmares, horrific school shootings creating fear and panic for parents and students alike. There must be a downside but with property taxes in many areas up by 10% to build new schools, what are they?

Dan Hayes, Golden

to Denver, and can envision myself permanently planting my roots here. I’m very passionate about the environment as well as making life affordable for all of us. I view this ordinance as an opportunity to promote recycling, reduce emissions, preserve our roads, and most importantly for me (who is on a fixed income), make waste services more affordable.

I have heard the argument that “choice” is more important than the well-being of our community, but I encourage neighbors to consider this: Low-income households, which are usually also people of color, want a choice to recycle. These folks, myself included, want a choice to breath in healthier air in their own neighborhoods.

We also made the choice to elect each of you into office because we trust you to govern. I am a part of the next generation of residents who will be a steward of Arvada, and I see this ordinance as a step in the right direction to help preserve our community. Choosing a single hauler is one of the simplest, yet most effective ways for the city to reduce its carbon footprint.

I want the community I live in to be a leader in common-sense

Life before liberty In 1909 a woman named Mary Mallon sued the New York City

QUALITY & VA

Dept. of Health in a case that was eventually heard by the Supreme Court. That court ruled that local authorities do have the right to enforce public health regulations when necessary because the courts “...must protect the community against a recurrence of spreading the disease”. This meant that health officials could place “Typhoid Mary” into involuntary quarantine for the last 25 years of her life on North Brother Island in New York’s East River because she refused to understand that she was an asymptomatic super-spreader. Claiming that adherence to health and safety regulations violates anybody’s rights is just plain wrong and lack of compliance should be treated as selfish displays of arrogant defiance. Even failed State Attorney General candidate George Brauchler reluctantly conceded that Governor Polis’ actions and proclamations to deal with the disease are Constitutional. When it comes to rights in America let’s not forget that “Life” precedes “Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” in that familiar phrase we all know so well.

Paul Barnkow, Arvada Fair Tax Initiative support If you’ve been reading about the extreme loss of tax revenue due to our new COVID economy, you will already know that

Colorado is in trouble.For 11 years, our outdated tax laws have hindered our ability to fund our schools and roads despite the fact that our economy was booming.Now, in the face of 25% budget cuts needed, the cuts to government services will be tragic.If you have a child, drive a car, or breathe our air, you will be impacted.Sadly, Colorado’s current tax policy assesses a higher actual tax rate on our middle class than on the wealthiest 5%.

The Fair Tax Initiative will change this.If passed this November, it assesses a higher tax on folks who earn more than $250,000 annually, and gives the rest of us a tax cut.The net result is an additional $2 billion per year for the state of Colorado – half of which will be used to pay teachers.The other half can be used as needed, like to fix our roads and bridges.You can learn more at fairtaxcolorado. org.

If this seems like a good idea to you, find someone who is carrying a petition and sign it.If enough signatures are received, this initiative will be on our November ballot for you to vote yes on.This is the lifeline for Colorado to recover, instead of suffering for years to come.

Robin Kupernik, Arvada What a bargain Given the onerous rules sug-

gested for students returning to school such as six foot spacing of desks, no cafeteria, dividers everywhere and daily temperature monitoring, many families might prefer to continue to educate their children at home.

Why can’t the state let the money follow the student and pay families a mere $5,000 for each student they teach at home? A bargain for the state, and better education for the students. One parent could afford to stay home and raise their own kids. Win, Win! Dan Bidstrup, Arvada Fewer trucks is good I support the proposal for the City of Arvada to adopt a singlestream waste hauling system.

Fewer heavy trash trucks on our streets will reduce the wear and tear on our roads, saving money for every taxpayer.

And, with all of the development west of Indiana Street, reducing the volume of trash truck traffic should help reduce noise and pollution along major east-west streets.

The proposal offers other benefits, too, like recycling for all Arvada residents. But for me, the biggest benefits are less wear and tear on our streets, less noise and less pollution.

I urge Arvada City Council to approve the proposal.

David Wagman, Arvada

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LOCAL

May 28, 2020M

LIFE

Vail Film Festival connects audiences and stories

Creative souls face challenges amid pandemic

D

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

M

aybe they’re waiters and waitresses. Maybe they drive for Lyft. Maybe they teach their own art classes.

Whatever an artist’s gig is, it likely was turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic’s arrival in Colorado.

“It’s hard enough being an artist in general,” said Collin Parson, director of galleries and the curator at the Arvada Center, a nonprofit arts hub.

He’s seen festivals and classes get canceled that often serve as a financial lifeline for people like one of his colleagues, a ceramics instructor at the center.

“A lot of artists piece together to make a life,” said Parson, a 37-yearold Lakewood resident who also works as a professional artist. He added: The fallout from COVID-19 has affected artists’ livelihoods “as artists and as people.”

In mid-March, Colorado ordered bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service for 30 days. Theaters — including movie and performance venues and concert halls — also were among the businesses required to shutter. The state soon extended that shutdown, and it was still unclear as of mid-May when theaters could open back up.

Bans on gatherings have made event cancellations of all kinds commonplace.

Theater gets help Amid the economic spiral, relief funds and other assistance for artists have come forward to ease the blow.

In the case of Miners Alley Playhouse in downtown Golden, the city government and local organizations stepped up to support the theater, whose landlord provided a month of free rent, said Len Matheo, executive and artistic director at Miners Alley Playhouse.

The “small, mighty theater” prides itself on connecting people through the art of live shows, Matheo said.

“People come together to have a theater experience, whether that makes them laugh, cry (or) think.”

Since Miners Alley shut its doors, its normal income streams dried up.

Roughly $20,000 in donations since then have helped keep it afloat — its yearly budget is about $730,000 — and it also snagged a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to help pay its handful of staff for two months.

But the roughly 100 actors, designSEE POOLS, P15

A large heart bearing the word “hope” sits on the wall of the building that houses The Englewood Tavern on South Broadway May 20. Artist Koko Bayer has placed the hearts throughout the Denver metro area — including a 12-foot-by-12-foot version of it on the Arvada Center building, according to Collin Parson, the center’s director of galleries and curator. “It’s things like those that give me hope and energy to keep getting art out there,” Parson said.

ELLIS ARNOLD

Unemployment, relief funds, other resources

uring the COVID-19 quarantine, most of us have become exceedingly comfortable with foregoing the movie theater experience and streaming films from our couch. As familiar as that’s becoming, it’s still strange to have the film festival experience without leaving the house.

COMING But like everyATTRACTIONS thing else in the world, the 17th annual Vail Film Festival had to adapt to a new scenario, and the end result was still as informative and entertaining as ever.

The streamingonly model allowed Clarke Reader viewers access to more movies a day than would be possible in person, and organizers still managed to connect filmmakers and audiences through pre-recorded Q&A’s and live-streamed discussions.

All of which supported the idea that has kept the festival going for nearly 20 years, and made it even more important it occur this year - the power of storytelling to unite.

As Robin Bronk, CEO of The Creative Coalition, said during a panel, “We’re all just people who need that moment of connection.”

In three days, I was able to check out 13 movies and two collections of short films - “Asking For It,” “Barbara Adesso,” “Beautiful in the Morning,” “Driveways,” “Drought,” “Fresh Tracks,” “Film For My Father Who,” “Love Type D,” “The Miseducation of Bindu,” “Ruth Weiss, The Beat Goddess,” “Seasons of Change on Henry’s Farm,” “Vasy Coupe” and “What Lies West” - and there was nary a dud among them. All are worth your time and support, and I selected five from new filmmakers to highlight.

(As they are all independent films, most of their release dates are still to be determined, but some are currently available).

“Asking For It” There are numerous ways to a point across in storytelling, but few are as effective as laughter.

Which makes Amanda Lundquist and Becky Scott’s hilarious and insightful dark comedy “Asking for It,” the perfect film to highlight the discrimination, threats and precauSEE READER, P15

Arvada Press 15

May 28, 2020

READER FROM PAGE 14

tions women (both in the public eye and not) have to take on in their daily lives.

Stephanie Hsu (so good in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) brings pitch-perfect comedic timing and fire to the character of Jenny, a female journalist dealing with an internet stalker. Think of it as a blend of “Heathers,” “Sweet/Vicious” and Kevin Smith at his most irreverent. The film will hopefully inspire thoughtful conversation while avoiding the kind of moralistic tone that turns some people away from the topic. Attention should be paid.

“Driveways” Some films just exude warmth.

Not only in the story and characters, but in the way they’re shot. Such is

ART FROM PAGE 14

ers and other artists Miners Alley hires as contract workers in a typical year are having to navigate a more treacherous economic path.

“These actors are out of work. A lot of theater actors, their other job is in the restaurant business because of the flexibility of the hours,” Matheo said. Contract workers have had challenges accessing unemployment benefits because of conflicts caused by their other sources of income, Matheo added.

Pandemic unemployment assistance has worked out for Emily Tuckman, an artistic director and actor with the Boulder-based Misfits Theater Company.

“Right now, I have very little work,” said Tuckman, who lives in Boulder and whose company performs in Boulder and Denver. “Ordinarily, I tutor SAT and ACT prep, neither of which is happening right now. Additionally, I’m a teaching artist,” but schools are closed.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided pandemic unemploy-

the case with Andrew Ahn’s “Driveways,” which feels absolutely bathed in light.

Lead actress Hong Chau gives a wonderfully subtle and moving performance as Kathy, who brings her son Cody to clean out her late sister’s home. They meet neighbor Del (Brian Dennehy), and together get through a tough time in each other’s lives. All actors give thoroughly strong performers, but it’s particularly bittersweet as its one of Dennehy’s last performances. Just like the film, he breaks your heart in the best possible way.

“Drought” When a film is a passion project, that dedication comes through every frame. Such is the case with “Drought,” which made its world premiere at the festival. Written, directed by and starring Hannah Black and Megan Petersen, the film takes audiences to the droughtstricken Texas of 1993. Carl - an

amateur storm-chaser on the autism spectrum (stirringly played by Owen Scheid), his sisters Sam and Lillian (Black and Petersen) and family friend Lewis Drew Scheid, who practically walks away with every scene he’s in) go after a much-needed storm Carl predicts is coming.

Along the way this family sees first-hand the power of acceptance and love. At one point a character says, “there’s no such thing as normal.” That applies to this film as well. It’s something special.

“Ruth Weiss, The Beat Goddess” The beat writers of the late 1940s and 50s played an enormous role in the development of American culture and the arts. And yet - as is so often the case - the contributions of women have largely been pushed to the back. “Ruth Weiss, The Beat Goddess,” - lovingly directed by Melody C. Miller - takes a step toward redressing that fact by vibrantly exploring the life of the

Any artist in Colorado can enter an Arvada Center call for submissions — for an exhibit called “Viral Influence” — for free. It aims to portray artists’ thoughts on the pandemic and how they are responding to it. Submissions will be considered for inclusion in a physical exhibition at the center in 2021. See arvadacenter.org/ galleries/art-submissions/viral-influencecall-for-entry for more.

Identity comes into question Even with the welcome financial assistance, Tuckman, whose “entire identity stems from being able to act, produce and teach,” has struggled with the identity of being a stay-athome mom, she said. Others are grappling with “the loneliness of solitude, and the unknown,” Tuckman said.

“It is so hard not to know when we will be safe and when society and the

“Vas-y Coupe” A truly lovely and intimate look at a group of laborers spending the harvest season picking grapes in France “Vas-y Coupe,” not only explores how a product so many enjoy gets made, but touches on a changing economic and environmental climate.

The film is lyrical in its beauty, poetic in its cinematography and most importantly, celebrates the humanity of its subjects. At one point, one says, “I work the fields because I love it.” This film shows why.

call for submissions that any artist in Colorado can enter for free. It aims to portray artists’ thoughts on the pandemic and how they are responding to it, Parson said. It’s called “Viral Influence,” and submissions will be considered for inclusion in a physical exhibition at the center in 2021.

FEELING CREATIVE?

ment assistance to those not ordinarily eligible for unemployment benefits, including gig workers— such as Lyft drivers — and the self-employed and contract workers, among others whose work was interrupted by COVID-19 in other ways. Tuckman is a self-employed artist.

legendary poet, actor, and innovator Ruth Weiss.

After Weiss fled Germany, she made a name for herself as one of the preeminent poets of the beat generation, pioneering the marriage of poetry and jazz. At nearly 92, Weiss remains a moving beacon of truth and the power of art. Watch this film, and you’ll come out of the film a wiser person. I know I did.

Emily Tuckman is an artistic director and actor with the Boulder-based Misfits Theater Company.

COURTESY PHOTO arts will come back,” Tuckman said.

“I’ve gotten this message both from friends, and from fellow Misfits.

We are all ready to get back out there and work emotionally and physically, but there’s this huge wall in the form of a pandemic, and we all want to keep one another, and ourselves, safe.”

Still, Parson, the Arvada Center curator, wants to project a message of hope. He pointed to the center’s

Crisis spurs change Some people who are artists but haven’t had time for art in the bustle of everyday life may be able to work on art amid society’s halt, Parson said.

Parson has seen unfamiliar names responding to the call for submissions — an exciting development for him. Some artists have “exploded with creativity” from reading the news, learning about the virus and simply being outdoors.

“I know a couple artists I’ve talked to who think this’ll be a cultural renaissance, like (with) World War I or World War II,” Parson added.

Tuckman also believes current challenges could strengthen the arts.

“I just think the Denver community is such a special community,” Tuckman said. “I really, truly, believe that we will get through this, and we will be stronger as an artistic community because of it.”

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May 28, 2020M

Be Kind. Do Good. Work Hard. Make the World Better.

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Laurie Adams looks at a piece of art at the Viva Casa Bonita art exhibit at NEXT Gallery in February. 40 West Arts District has reopened, but visitors will have to follow restrictions.

JOSEPH RIOS

40 West Arts District returns Residents are welcomed in galleries, but there are restrictions

BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ASPENACADEMY.ORG/VISIT

Craig Robb, an artist of Pirate: Contemporary Art in the 40 West Arts District, said he has started to notice anxiety in his work showing up —related to being isolated throughout the pandemic.

Robb specializes in sculptures and was recently sketching out a piece that is related to dementia and loss.

He noticed himself drawing a straight line over and over again until he got tired of drawing that line. And it hit him.

“Looking at it through dementia and looking through someone who is socially isolated, and it’s like wow. You can fit into this too,” said Robb. “Not only am I making art differently, but I’m seeing things differently too.”

He said the feeling of isolation that some may be experiencing is not good, and that slowly, but surely, we need to get back to being involved with other people.

Robb and the 40 West Arts District took a step toward getting back to being involved with others by opening its doors to the public on May 20 for the first time in months.

Art galleries in the 40 West Arts District will allow residents to come in and observe and purchase art. But as with every business that is reopening, there will be restrictions.

Masks will be required in galleries and residents must practice social distancing. Art galleries will also limit how many residents they are letting come in at a time to follow guidelines

FOR MORE INFORMATION Learn about 40 West Arts District galleries at 40westarts.org.

from the state.

First Fridays, where galleries open their doors to the public on the first Friday of every month, will continue to be held virtually.

“These are unprecedented times, and we are thinking a lot about the safety and health of our staff, our visitors, our artists and also the economy.

We’re making sure that artists can get back to selling work,” said 40 West Arts Executive Director Liz Black.

“The arts are important to a vibrant, sustainable, robust community, and we feel like one of the biggest things we provide is that sense of engagement and that sense of enjoyment. We hope that is something we can give to the Denver metro area,” she added.

Christy Seving, an artist at NEXT Gallery at the 40 West Arts District, said the gallery is her social network, support system and family.

“We’re trying to respond to our anxieties by putting measures in place — but we’re happy. Our community has suffered, and we’re excited to navigate this in a safe way,” said Seving.

NEXT Gallery will following guidelines from the state and Jefferson County Public Health like limiting the number of visitors inside its building, practicing social distancing, having sanitation on deck and requiring masks.

Seving encouraged residents to keep in touch with NEXT Gallery’s Facebook page to keep up with any updates from the gallery.

“We’re excited to get back to putting art on the walls, and even if it’s different, we’re happy to be doing it. We can try to start putting our community back together,” she said.

Arvada Press 17

May 28, 2020

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18 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Water World opts to not open in 2020 STAFF REPORT

The COVID-19 crisis will took away another favorite as Hyland Hills Recreation District announced Water World would not open this summer.

It’s the first time water park has not opened since it debuted in 1979.

“We are deeply disappointed to have to make this decision,” Hyland Hills spokesperson Joann Cortéz said in a written statement. “Water World is a summer institution in Colorado, and for many individuals and families, it’s just not summer without Water World.”

Cortéz noted that there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread through the use of pool water, but said the park was following guidance that shows that a water park the size and scope of Water World would not be permitted to open within the park’s short summer operating season. The 70-acre park, with its slides and wave pools, usually draws up to 500,000 visitors each year during a typical 90 day season.

The recreation district sought guidance from waterpark industry experts, local authorities, the Centers for Disease Control and state health officials to find a way to open successfully, with social distancing, sanitization,

There won’t be any scenes like this one at Hyland Hills Water World this summer as the water park operators have decided to stay closed due to COVID-19 concerns. FILE PHOTO reduced capacity models, and seasonal employee training.

They didn’t know if state policies would allow them to open, however.

“Our hearts are saddened for the fun water park memories that won’t be made in 2020,” Cortéz said. “And, more so, for the 1,000 young workers who had looked forward to working at Water World this summer. For those kids, a summer job at the park is something they have aspired to after hearing the stories of a lifetime from older siblings, and generations of family members who worked here before them.”

The park plans to reopen for the summer of 2021.

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May 28, 2020M

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Arvada Press 23

May 28, 2020

Hunger pains in Jeffco during COVID-19 Lakewood resident Bev Noia puts food inside her little free library. Noia has routinely been putting canned food in her little free library outside her house. Food pantries in Jeffco have seen up to 40% of clients coming from new households since the pandemic started. JOSEPH RIOS

BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lakewood resident Bev Noia was on a walk with her dog in mid-April when she saw a little free library with canned food in it.

Little free libraries can typically be found in residential neighborhoods and are free book-sharing boxes where anyone can take or share a book.

But Noia liked the idea of putting canned food in them and started putting food in her box outside her home.

She shared the idea on Nextdoor, and people asked her how they could get little free libraries to use them to share food.

Noia, who has a hobby for carpentry, offered to build little free libraries for residents who wanted to put canned food in them, and now she has had at least 15 requests for boxes.

The canned food is a popular commodity as Noia has often found that the food she puts in her little free library will be gone by the next day.

“All of us are having the feeling of wanting to do what we can to help in this time of the coronavirus. I don’t have an excess of money, but I have an excess of wood, and I have time and energy,” said Noia. “I put that together, and I make these little pantries.”

The fact that Noia’s canned food has been hopping off her little free library’s shelves may coincide with a larger issue that Jefferson County is facing during the pandemic — hunger.

Marissa Silverberg, COVID-19 lead community resource coordinator for Jeffco Public Health, said since midMarch, 30% to 40% of residents coming in for assistance at food pantries are new clients.

“I think (the pandemic) has elevated the issue (of hunger). It’s an issue that we have been dealing with for a long time,” she said. “This is an issue connected to housing instability and economic instability. You see trends around food insecurity, and I think having this rapid loss of employment, rapid loss of income and rapid loss of business — you start to have basic needs that are no longer being met.”

Housing instability doesn’t have a standard definition, but usually revolves around having challenges paying rent, overcrowding, moving

frequently, staying with relatives or spending the majority of household income on housing, according to Healthy People, the country’s health promotion and disease prevention agenda through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Economic instability revolves around a change to the economy — like the one COVID-19 caused by forcing non-essential businesses to close for a period of time. In turn, economic instability leads to higher unemployment rates.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported on May 14 that there have been a total of 451,155 unemployment claims since the pandemic shutdowns began in March.

Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

It can be influenced by a number of factors including income and employment status, according to Healthy People. Jeffco Public Health reported that 59,110, or more than one in 10, Jeffco residents are food insecure.

Food insecurity can also lead to consequences like hunger, according to Jeffco Public Health.

“We’ve been hearing stories of folks on the frontlines right now who are in quarantine having to support families, paying for a hotel at the same time and are experiencing food insecurity themselves and do not have the proper support they need,” said Silverberg. “That is a huge concern.

We’ve all made this assumption that they are fine. But I also think it feeds into the stigma of asking for help and acknowledging that these folks need help as well.”

Jeffco unites As the pandemic unfolded and schools and businesses were closed, Jeffco Public Health, Jeffco mayors, Jeffco Public Schools, food pantries, faith-based organizations, nonprofits and more united to create the Jefferson County Integrated Food Task Force. It was created and coordinated by the Action Center human-services organization.

“It became clear pretty immediately when all of us were working hard to figure out our response to COVID-19 that we were all operating in the dark and trying our best to figure things out on the fly. We knew there would be an increasing need in our community,” said Action Center Executive Director Pam Brier. “The idea was to all get on the same page about sharing ideas, sharing our best practices about how we were each responding to the immediate crisis and to share resources as best as we could.”

The organizations in the task force have been collaborating with each other to share volunteers, distribute food, connect with decision makers about pressing needs that are being seen in communities, and to ensure that food from Food Bank of the Rockies and fresh pick up food is available to residents. The task force meets

weekly via Zoom.

Brier said the Action Center has seen an uptick in terms of the need for food support and the need for other services the organization offers like rental and utility assistance.

“Our phone calls have increased in volume by almost 600%, and our food lines have doubled in size compared to what we were typically seeing,” said Brier. “We know the need is growing.”

One of the task force’s goals is to destigmatize food pantry use, and it is working to do so through its “Food for Everyone” public service announcement campaign. The campaign’s message is that there is plenty of food for everyone and that those who are looking to find a food pantry can call 211 for assistance.

“As a Jefferson County community, we want to ensure that everyone has access to food and nutrition during this time. I am often wondering what I am going to make my family for dinner, and if you feel the same way, please stop by any of our food banks for some groceries to help put that next meal together,” said Mary Berg, executive director of Jefferson County Human Services, in a statement. “We will have something available for you today, tomorrow and in the future.”

Jeffco Public Schools Director of Operations, Food and Nutrition Services Erika Edwards has been representing the school district on the task force.

The school district set up 12 food hubs all over the county when it was forced to close its schools. At those food hubs, children 18 years and younger can pick up breakfast and lunch for free.

Edwards said Jeffco Public Schools has been serving 12,000 to 14,000 meals each time the food hubs are open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Jeffco Schools Foundation is planning to start distributing grocery store gift cards at those food hubs starting the week of May 25, Edwards said.

“The presence of nutrition can really provide a baseline, and I think if people are starting from a different place, they can’t necessarily have the success that others have when they don’t have that level playing field,” said Edwards. “And I do believe hunger and nutrition itself can contribute to that level playing field for kids.”

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legals@coloradocommunitymedia.com

City and County PUBLIC NOTICE

A hearing will be held virtually before the Arvada Building Code Advisory on June 16, 2020, at 6:15 p.m., when and where you may speak on the matter to review and advise the Building Official on the amendments to the 2018 International Building Codes. Members of the public may join virtually via phone by emailing jsuk@arvada.org for the phone number, the email must mention this meeting date. To submit a request for public comment, you must email jsuk@arvada.org by 5 p.m. on 6/16/2020.

Additional information can be obtained from CITY OF ARVADA BUILDING CODE ADVISORY /s/ Stephanie Wallace, Recording Secretary Legal Notice No.: 407384 First Publication: May 28, 2020 Last Publication: May 28, 20200 Publisher: Wheat Ridge Transcript

Arvada Legals 5.28.20 * 1

24 Arvada Press

May 28, 2020M

Project by local artist features pandemic self-portraits Adrienne DeLoe hopes to turn project into an exhibit and book STAFF REPORT

A local artist has posted the 100th self-portrait relating to the pandemic in her project, “Pandemic Self-Portraits: SelfPortraits and Stories from the Pandemic.”

Adrienne DeLoe, of Wheat Ridge, launched her project on Instragram and Facebook, and within two weeks she was up to 100 portraits, according to a news release. Two days after her first post, she said submissions from all over the world.

“It became obvious very quickly that people wanted to share their images and stories of their experiences in quarantine and throughout the pandemic,” DeLoe said. “I started this project because I was feeling a need to make something positive surrounding the pandemic.

It started with wanting to make a self-portrait of my own to express my feelings about what I am going through. I quickly had the idea that others might want to share their images and stories as well. We are all so isolated

TO SEE THE PORTRAITS To view the project, go to @ pandemicselfportraits on Instagram or join the Pandemic Self-Portraits group on Facebook. right now, so I wanted to create a space where people could be open and honest about what they are going through in order to connect with others.”

The quality of the stories and images has been impressive, DeLoe said in the release, and she said she will keep the project going for as long as people send their work. She wants to turn the self-portraits into a physical art exhibition, and possibly publish a book surrounding the project.

A self-portrait of artist Betsy Rudolph.

Adrienne’s Deloe’s self portrait, the first of what became the Pandemic Self-Portraits series.

COURTESY PHOTOS

C Mo #1 olora rtg Rev do ag ers ’s eB e rok er

Forever Home Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Outreach Program Needs Our Support Today.

by Matt Witt

S

ilver Leaf Mortgage is proud to announce they have partnered with the Forever Home Foundation, whose mission is “Helping Severely At-Risk Seniors stay safe in their homes or in the Care facilities they live in throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”

We recognize that many seniors, and especially seniors with underlying health conditions are fighting to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have found themselves without resources and people to rely on for assistance. Most people don’t realize that even simple tasks like a trip to the grocery store or doctor’s office can be life-threatening or even fatal.

Until a mainstream vaccine is available, seniors will not be able to get their lives back to normal.

With the COVID-19 Community Outreach Program we are raising funds to help provide assistance, supplies and more to seniors to help them stay safe and live

as normal of life as possible during these unprecedented times.

Visit ForeverHomeFoundation.org or call 1-720-458-4043 to help today.

We need your support, DONATE TODAY. Matt Witt, NMLS #1638881, is President and Reverse Mortgage Specialist at Silver Leaf Mortgage in Centennial.

Contact me at: (720) 458-4034, or you can email me at: MattW@SilverLeafMortgage.com

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Located in The Streets at SouthGlenn 6972 South Vine Street | Suite 366 | Centennial, CO 80122

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SLM NMLS #1394377 is an Equal Housing Lender. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Regulated by the Department of Real Estate.