October 8, 2020
$1.00
An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 43
County sees rise in COVID case rate Arapahoe County could fall into tighter level of restrictions, losing ground on reopening BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Nathan and Louise Elinoff, owners of amusement parks and children’s entertainment establishments for more than 38 years, stand by the Ferris wheel Oct. 1 at Lollipop Park, an indoor amusement park in the central Centennial area that announced its permanent closure in late September. PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD
Owners say goodbye to indoor amusement park Husband and wife plan to open an outdoor amusement park when pandemic subsides BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Louise Elinoff had to make calls and cancel more than 200 birthday parties. As the state rolled out restrictions in response to the pandemic in March, Louise and Nathan Elinoff — owners of a well-known line of amusement parks in the Denver metro area — were forced to close
Lollipop Park, their location at 6901 S. Peoria St., just off East Arapahoe Road in the central Centennial area. After nine years in business, the indoor amusement park has now shut its doors for good, the Elinoffs announced in late September. “Nathan and I have been doing this for 38 years — been married for 43,” said Louise Elinoff, 61. “It’s in our DNA. We miss seeing the kids smile.” Catering to children 10 and younger, Lollipop Park enjoyed record sales before the pandemic forced it to shutter, a news release said. The park had hosted thousands of birthday parties, drawing families with a mix of amusement park rides, a bounce SEE AMUSEMENT, P6
Owner Nathan Elinoff’s ever-present humor shows in Lollipop Park’s small details. A notice says, “Please do not tap the glass. It scares the candy.”
An increase in Arapahoe County’s rate of new COVID-19 cases has forced officials to turn to a plan to reduce the spread, the county announced in a news release. For the past few weeks, the county has operated under the least-restrictive level of Colorado’s updated safer-at-home order, which the state in September broke into three levels that counties qualify for based on the severity of the virus’ spread in their population. Colorado’s safer-at-home order is the social distancing policy that followed the statewide stay-athome order this spring and allowed many types of businesses to reopen. The increase in Arapahoe’s rate could move the county to the morerestrictive safer-at-home level 2, the Oct. 2 news release said. The public can view the different restrictions for each level at tinyurl. com/ColoradoCOVIDrules on page 6. Since early September, Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties have seen the first notably sustained increase in their rates of new cases since July, according to data from Tri-County Health Department, which serves those counties. The change has been most pronounced in Adams, less SEE COVID, P9
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 16 | SPORTS: PAGE 41
ELECTION 2020
Before you vote, check out our election guide, which includes Q&As with the candidates
PAGES 17-32