Arvada Press 0924

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September 24, 2020

JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | SPORTS: PAGE 13

VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 17

Jeffco sees first uptick in COVID-19 case totals in over a month Dr. Johnson says it is too early to say if uptick represents trend AUMC Members Ben and Maggie Roe speak with staff member Laura Winberg as they get their spot for AUMC’s parking lot service. COURTESY PHOTO

been on the board for 5 ½ years, touted her experience serving both as a commissioner and in the state legislature. “The board has seen a lot of turnover the last few years and will experience more turnover next year,” said Szabo. “I will be the only commissioner that will have more than a few years of experience and that experience is vital to Jeffco.” Szabo said she has demonstrated that she can be a bold leader in stormy times by working to ensure

After several weeks of declines, COVID-19 cases have once again been on the rise in Jefferson County. Jefferson County Public Health’s Executive Director Mark B. Johnson told the Jeffco commissioners on Sept. 15, just over a week after Labor Day, that his agency was watching case trends closely after starting to see what he described as a “little ticking up again” in new cases. Johnson said case numbers have been falling from early August from a high of around 700 new cases in two weeks to a low of 300 new cases recorded in the two weeks prior to Friday, Sept. 11. However, the two-week case total number then began to rise over the weekend of Sept. 12 with the county recording 336 new cases over the two weeks preceding Sept. 14. “I’m not sure yet whether that is a trend we are going to see or whether it will again sort of stabilize and continue to go down,” he said. “But we are right at the period of time after the Labor Day weekend where we would be expecting to see cases if there were breaches of compliance over the holiday weekend.” According to Johnson, current research suggests most people tend to exhibit symptoms five to seven days after contracting the virus (although it can take up to 14 days for some, and others never show symptoms at all) which meant that JCPH would only now start to get some sense of what the result of Labor Day would be. Days after Johnson’s report, the county two-week case numbers increased to 359 cases as of Sept. 17, the last day for which data was available prior to the publication deadline for this issue. That was the highest number of cases in a two-week period since Sept. 6, when the county saw 361 new cases over the preceding two weeks. The recent case increases, although still relatively small, stand in the way of the county’s ability to further loosen public health restrictions on businesses and public gatherings in Jeffco. On Sept. 16, Gov. Jared Polis debuted

SEE FORUM, P6

SEE SCHOOLS, P3

AUMC celebrates 150th with hope, honks Congregants say church has long been a pillar of acceptance and community BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

During its many decades of operation, the congregation at the Arvada United Methodist Church has withstood everything from the Great Depression, which left it with $3.35 in the bank at one point, to recent divisions over same sex marriage.

So it should be no surprise that neither the COVID-19 pandemic nor the smoky Arvada air created by ongoing wildfires could keep the church’s congregants from celebrating their 150th anniversary with one of the drive-in services the church has adopted in recent months in response to the challenge posed by the pandemic. It was a celebration that could be heard from blocks around as many of the nearly 100 cars joyfully honked their horns in celebration of the church’s milestone birthday. “What I love about this celebration is that you are not celebrating a

Bishop Karen Oliveto preaches during Arvada United Methodist Church’s 150th birthday service on Sept. 20.

SEE CHURCH, P4

COURTESY PHOTO

Jeffco commissioners, DA candidates make pitch at virtual forum Forum was held by West Colfax Community Association on Sept. 17 BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

COVID-19, sales tax and crime were among the subjects mentioned by candidates for Jeffco District Attorney and Board of Commissioners during a virtual forum held on Sept. 17.

The event, which was held during the September meeting of the West Colfax Community Association, gave each of the candidates three minutes to make a pitch to the association’s members, which include business owners, community leaders and other citizens who are involved or interested in the revitalization of the West Colfax Avenue corridor in Lakewood. Here is a look at what each of the candidates had to say. Jeffco Board of County Commissioners District 1 Race Republican Libby Szabo, who has

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM


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