The Banner
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Brighton news for Brighton readers
Volume 6, No. 11
March 13, 2014
Schools seek lost state funding
A close shave for the kids
V-Cuts Salon owner Dina Rael takes “a little off the top” of Boys & Girls Club Director Dan Ruybal’s head during the 2013 St. Baldrick’s Day headshaving event at the Robert M. Shopneck Boys & Girls Club, 1800 Longspeak St. Rael (and firefighter/barber Clint Mader) have volunteered to cut hair for the event since 2009, the first year for the event in Brighton. Banner Press file photo
St. Baldrick’s may be kindest cut By Lou Ellen Bromley for The Banner The Brighton Police Department and the Brighton Professional Fire Fighters Local 4477 are going head to head, literally, in friendly competition from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Brighton Boys and Girls club. Teams from the Police Department and the Fire Department, along with two other teams, the Headsetters and the Red
and Blue, are again involved in a friendly challenge to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for childhood cancer research. For six years, the teams have competed to see who could raise the most money by volunteering to have their heads shaved. They are asking for your donations to help support cancer research, and to fuel the competition to see which department can raise the most
money. The team that raises the highest amount of money is the winner of ... bragging rights. St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to raising money to fund research of childhood cancers and work toward a cure. The head shaving events were started in 2000 by a Chicago-based group and has grown to be one of its greatest See St. Baldrick’s, Page 2
Rec Center lap pool to close March 21 for repairs The Brighton Recreation Center lap pool will close at 10 a.m. on March 21 for the remainder of that day in order to replace two strainer pots that require new plumbing.
8 pages
The lap pool will reopen March 22, in the morning. The leisure pool will remain open while the plumbing work is being completed.
The city apologizes for the inconvenience during the closure. If you have any questions, contact the Brighton Recreation Center at 303-655-2200.
Inside The Banner this week Mutual benefits
Brighton and Commerce City police are looking into sharing services such as victim advocates and a SWAT team. – Page 3
Moon over bikes
Bike Brighton’s first Full Moon Ride will be Sunday,
starting at Emi Chikuma Plaza at Benedict Park. – Page 5
Also:
Brighton Banter .................... 2 Calendar ................................. 4 Bravo ...................................... 5 Obituaries ............................. 7 Sports ..................................... 8
Don’t miss: St. Baldrick’s event Saturday – Story, photo above
Kumi Horiuchi is going up... and taking the stairs. – Page 5
By Evelyn Wiant for The Banner The School District 27J Board of Education wants its money back from the state. So do other school districts statewide. The board unanimously voted to back a resolution originated by the Colorado School Finance Project to request that state legislators buy down the “negative factor” imposed on Colorado school districts. Colorado Amendment 23, passed in 2000, mandates that “base” per-pupil funding must increase each year by the rate of inflation. For the past five years, the Colorado legislature has reinterpreted Amendment 23 and added the negative factor in order to cut total spending. The total loss adds up to $66 million in state funding for 27J schools, and about $1 billion statewide. If the resolution is successful, school districts See School board, Page 2
Police will boost DUI efforts this weekend
The Brighton Police Department will step up its DUI enforcement efforts, starting Friday, for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Two additional officers will patrol the streets, looking for drivers who are impaired by drugs and alcohol. Funding for the extra officers is provided by a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation. Remember to drive sober or get pulled over during the holiday weekend, the Police Department advised in a news release.