GLUTEN-FREE GROWTH
September 8, 2016 VO LUM E 1 2 | IS S U E 1 5
More people are cutting gluten from their diet, but the reasons vary. PAGE 12
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J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Initiatives on streets, Internet top ballot Arvada residents will vote on both questions in November By Shanna Fortier sfortier@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Alex Landeros warms up on the half-pipe while students at Standley Lake High School make their way to the parking lot for the presentation. Photos by Shanna Fortier
Anti-bullying campaign rides in Denver area schools were the first stops on the ASA High School Tour
Mykel Larrin competed in the 2012 and 2013 X-games in BMX vert. He was one of five athletes on the No place for Hurt campaign in Colorado this week.
By Shanna Fortier sfortier@coloradocommunitymedia.com Standley Lake High School freshmen Kaitlyn McCubbins and Delaney Huetson stood among classmates Sept. 1, watching as BMX rider Coco Zurita repeatedly launched from the half-pipe set up in the school’s parking lot. “There was a really cool guy on the bike,” McCubbins said, referring to Zurita and his many high-flying flips. Zurrita was among five X-Games athletes that awed Denver-area students during the ASA High School Tour, part of the national No Place
for Hate campaign to stop bullying in conjunction with the U.S. Marines and the Anti-Defamation League. Other athletes on the tour were skateboarder Paul-Luc Ronchetti and BMX riders Trevor Meyer, Alex
Landeros and Mykel Larrin. “It kept me engaged,” Hueston said of the presentation. “Better than sitting in an assembly.” Campaign continues on Page 4
Next stop: quiet zones along commuter rail Arvada, Wheat Ridge to be quiet zones for G-Line horn
Arvadans could be shelling out a few more nickels for purchases within city limits and deciding whether the city can offer better internet service, depending on the outcome of two ballot measures in November. At its Aug. 29 meeting, Arvada City Council unanimously added two questions to the ballot: a half-cent sales-anduse tax increase for street improvements and an opt-out of Senate Bill 152, which would allow more options for broadband services. “I think there’s a time to let the voters to decide issues, and this is clearly one of those times,” said city councilman John Marriott. “I have a lot of faith in the people of Arvada. I think they make great calls all the time and I have no doubt they will do that in this particular case.” The sales-and-use tax If passed, the sales tax increase will begin Jan. 1 and conclude Dec. 31, 2028. The current sales tax rate in Arvada is 3.46 percent. If the half-cent street improvement tax is approved, the sales tax rate would be 3.96 percent. That equals a nickel on a $10 purchase. In 2012 and 2015, Atkins North America, a pavement engineering firm, assessed the condition of Arvada’s streets and roads using a nationally recognized scale and rated nearly 40 percent of roads as poor or worse. With an additional funding of $2 million per year over the past four years, the overall score of the roads did not improve, city officials said. Therefore, a the current annual budget for street improvements and maintenance must increase from $6 million to $16 million. That is why council is seeking a street improvement tax. During a 2015 citizen survey, 85.02 percent of those questioned said that Arvada’s transportation infrastructure is the city’s largest and most valuable asset and Ballot continues on Page 24
By Kevin M. Smith Special to Colorado Community Media Residents near the upcoming G-Line for the commuter rail and patrons dining on patios in Olde Town Arvada often have to elevate the volume of conversations when trains — both freight and commuter rail — roll along Grandview Avenue. But within a couple months, things will quiet down — literally. As Arvada residents await their turn to hop on the train, construction crews are putting finishing touches on stations and testing is underway to keep noise to a minimum. “The construction of the G Line stations is progressing well with final landscaping, lighting, security camera Zones continues on Page 16
A worker holds a stop sign at Olde Wadsworth Boulevard as a commuter train passes over the tracks through Olde Town Arvada on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The contractor for the G-Line, Denver Transit Partners, fulfills more testing and commissioning of the G Line and employs the crossing workers who have to be there through testing until it is certified as a railroad quiet zone. Photo by Kevin M. Smith/For the Arvada Press
READY, SET, RUN Adapated Athletics continues to help kids get into sports on PAGE 19.