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April 15, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | SPORTS: PAGE 25
VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 46
Community Table meets fundraising ESSER money for Jeffco goal for new food transport truck Schools
New truck will help collect and distribute food from local grocers
Federal funds to fight COVID deficits and increase equity
BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Every day local groceries have a massive amount of near-expired food that needs to get off store shelves. At the same time there is a massive amount of area families going hungry, especially during the economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation is exactly why Community Table, a nonprofit food bank based in Arvada, successfully raised enough money to purchase a new box truck, to be used to rescue nearexpired foods from local grocers and distribute it to community members dealing with food insecurity. The fundraiser ran from March 18 to April 5 and raised $40,000 in donations. The old truck has been in use by Community Table since 2010 and had accumulated more than 145,000 miles, a failed electrical system, bald tires, a broken liftgate and a failed Department of Transportation inspection. It would be fair to say its best days are in the rearview mirror. “We loved that truck,” said Sandy Martin, Community Table’s chief
BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Alternate view of Community Table’s old food delivery truck. executive officer, “it really served a wonderful purpose for us for 10 years, but it was time to say goodbye to it. If they were trying to load palates on it everything had to be taken off the palates and hand loaded.” Community Table primarily uses its box truck to perform grocery rescues. As food approaches its sell-by date, large grocery chains often discard it SEE TRUCK, P24
COURTESY OF COMMUNITY TABLE
GET INVOLVED Donations to Community Table can be made by credit card on the food bank’s website at cotable.org/donate. Mail-in donations can be sent to Community Table 8555 W. 57th Ave. Arvada, CO 80002. Donations of food and personal care items are accepted Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To volunteer with Community Table, visit the food bank’s upcoming events calendar on their website.
Foothills updating facility to offer better spaces for farm animals Shelter paying for new spaces for chickens, pigs BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When most people think of an animal shelter, they probably think of cats and dogs. But while there are certainly plenty of each at the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, the facility also takes in a much broader range of animals, including several creatures that people probably associate more
closely with farms than houses. “We take everything from sheep and goats to pigs, rabbits and chickens,” said Connie Howard, the shelter’s executive director. “During last summer’s Morrison Road fire, we had 24 chickens.” Doing so, however, presents quite a challenge for the shelter, which Howard said is not currently set up to provide sufficient habitats for the 100 or so barnyard animals it takes in during a more typical year. As a result, chickens often spend the winter in indoor cages while larger animals such as pigs and goats are sometimes stored in dog kennels. SEE ANIMALS, P22
A pig that was recently at the Foothills COURTESY OF BRIAN FUNKE Animal Shelter.
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds were a hot topic during the April 8 Jeffco School Board meeting. ESSER Funds are a $13.2 billion portion of the $30.75 billion Education Stabilization Fund that was, in turn, part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorized by congress in March 2020. Colorado’s share of that $13.2 billion in ESSER Funds was around $120 million, of which a minimum of roughly $109 million is required to be allocated to Local Education Agencies (LEAs). In the meeting, Nicole Stewart, the District’s Interim Chief Financial Officer, explained that in the ESSER I stage, funds have been used for preventing, preparing for and responding to Covid-19. That includes purchasingPersonal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as funding increased instruction time, professional development, staff retention and technology needs. “ESSER II is something that’s new — not included in our adopted budget this year — and it is something that we’re continuing to evaluate (how it can be spent),” she said. “The American Rescue Plan, also known as ESSER III, is new and significant for us. We continue to evaluate our options and listen down at the state for what we can use these funds for.” Potential ESSER II uses in Stewart’s presentation included increased instructional time, Food Service and Child Care. She noted that this will be a big help to the District, as recently, they’ve been having to prop up Food Service and Child Care with money from the general fund. Possible uses for ESSER III Funds included summer school, extended days, comprehensive after school programs, an extended school year and improving building conditions. Stewart’s presentation also included a breakdown of the numbers that showed Jeffco receiving $7 million in ESSER I, $30.4 million in ESSER SEE SCHOOLS, P11