April 22, 2021
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 18
How Centennial spent its CARES Act dollars Rent, mortgage, utility assistance still available via county, city funding BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
sion, began to talk about others’ need for food in the surrounding community. “We don’t worry about feeding our children, having enough to eat,” said Vee Henderson, a Holly Creek resident. “We don’t worry about food stamps and what they’ll buy — we all just live our lives, go to the store and buy whatever we want, but not everyone can do that. And so many people have lost their jobs during the pandemic, and it’s tough out there.” So Henderson and other women at Holly Creek put on a food drive
How does a city spend $10 million to prevent its economy from crumbling under the weight of the pandemic? A report by the city, released in March, lays out how businesses across the city received funding to stay afloat — along with nonprofits, senior homes and other community institutions. The dollars arrived as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act. That’s the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law in March 2020. Arapahoe County received $114 million in “Coronavirus Relief Funds” under that law, and the county distributed nearly half of that funding to its cities and towns based on population. The City of Centennial received roughly $10 million, according to the city report. The city and county also worked
SEE SENIORS, P19
SEE CARES ACT, P22
Erin Young, director of the South Fellowship Food Bank, left, and Vee Henderson, a Holly Creek Retirement Community resident, PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD stand together during an April 15 pickup of donated food items at the retirement community in Centennial.
Seniors ‘blessed to be a blessing’ in food drive With many residents vaccinated, a joyous gathering sent off large donation to local food bank BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Don Folsom, 80, left, helps pastor Dan Elliott load items from Holly Creek Retirement Community’s food drive into a van for South Fellowship Food Bank.
At a west Centennial seniorliving location, food isn’t one of the worries on residents’ minds. But a group of women at the Holly Creek Retirement Community, during a weekly Zoom discus-
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
WALLS OF WONDERMENT A look at the emergence of murals
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