Brighton Standard Blade 080323

CARRIAGE RIDES IN GREELEY

State preschool program leaves some unsure

BY ERICA BREUNLIN THE COLORADO SUN

A preschool in Greeley that has shepherded countless kids through the rst years of their education over the past 21 years may welcome its last class of 4-year-olds next month, eyeing an uncertain future as it dives into the state’s newly expanded preschool program.

Nearby, a di erent preschool that caters to mostly children of low-income families has only been able to ll a quarter of its classrooms for the start of the school year and is weighing its options — which could include closing its doors.

Preschools across Colorado are sprinting to make nal preparations for the start of the state’s expanded preschool program, known as universal preschool. And with less than a month until the rst day of school, many question whether they’ll have enough state funding to stay open. at question has bubbled up in the past month, after Colorado’s new Department of Early Childhood changed the way it will calculate how much funding preschool providers will receive during their rst few months of the program.

Instead of paying a provider for the number of students it has the capacity to educate, as originally promised, the

SEE UNSURE, P6

Folks enjoying a carriage ride around Island Grove Regional Park at the Weld County Fair

PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

A month before universal preschool starts, Colorado is backpedaling on a major funding promise

Veterans Memorial Sign Program Begins

Adams County is highly invested in showing support for residents who are currently serving or are veterans of the United States military services. As part of this commitment, the Public Works Department has implemented the Veterans Memorial Sign Program. is program is intended to allow residents of Adams County who are family or friends of military veterans killed in the line of duty to request dedication of a street in Adams County to the memory of their departed veterans. Our rst o cial application and installation was on July 18, honoring PFC Adolph A. Martinez at the intersection of Federal Blvd and 65th Ave.

Residents are encouraged to submit applications for veterans they wish to memorialize through the program. Learn more and apply at adcogov.org/tra c-safety.

Back-to-School Bash Partnership Opportunities

e Adams County Human Services Department is once-again hosting their annual Back-to-School Bash event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 12.

ere are currently opportunities for organizations to partner with Adams County on this program –whether that’s through donations or attending as a vendor. e event is

exclusively for Adams County families. In 2022, the Back-to-School Bash provided over 3,000 kids with backpacks and school supplies. If your organization is interested in partnering, reach out to Karla Ojeda at kojeda@adcogov.org.

Naloxone Training for Employees and Community Members

e Adams County Health Department’s Harm Reduction Team will be supplying all Automated External De brillator (AED) cabinets in government building with Naloxone this month. In addition to this resource, the team will be o ering Overdose Prevention Trainings for all sta who are interested in learning how to prevent, identify, and reverse an opioid overdose. Naloxone will be made available to take home after these trainings.

If you have any questions about the training or other resources, contact our Harm Reduction team at: 303-363-3077 or by email: harmreduction@adcogov.org

Brighton receives safety award

e City of Brighton has been awarded the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency (CIRSA) Property/Casualty & Workers Compensation Loss Prevention Award for 2022. is honor recognizes the City’s commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for its employees and the

Award-Winning Heart Care in Brighton

community.

e award is presented annually to active members of CIRSA, a leading provider of insurance and risk management services for municipalities and other public entities in Colorado. To receive the recognition, a municipality must demonstrate outstanding achievement in risk management across all departments, including a 100 percent or higher audit score and a loss ratio — comparison of claims vs. the contributions paid — that is equal to or less than 20 percent.

For more information about the City of Brighton’s risk management initiatives and programs, please contact Kevin A. Young, Director of Human Resources, at kyoung@ brightonco.gov.

Premier Members Credit Union hosting food drive

Premier Members Credit Union will be collecting donations for local food pantries during the entire month of August. Visit your local Premier Members Credit Union branch, or their corporate ofces in Broom eld to donate. Each branch chose a local food pantry to donate to ensure all donations stay local to that community.

Locally, ve branches of the credit union are hosting collections sites.

ey include locations at 755 E. 144th Ave. in ornton, the sites at 10339 N. Federal Blvd and 8440

Platte Valley Medical Center Awarded 2023 Chest Pain Platinum Performance

Platte Valley Medical Center has been awarded the 2023 Chest Pain - MI registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology. This award demonstrates the collaborative efforts and dedication of our providers and caregivers in providing high-quality care resulting in excellent outcomes for our cardiac patients in Brighton.

Federal Blvd. in Westminster and the locations in Firestone and Erie.

“We always want to provide support to our local communities,” said Carlos Pacheco, CEO of Premier Members Credit Union. “One of our company pillars is Premier: Gives, where we provide the communities we serve with funds and employee volunteers to support initiatives of education, nancial literacy, and basic needs. is food drive will help many members of our communities to thrive.”

Clock ticking for Brighton ballot

Residents considering a run for Brighton City Council on the November 2023 ballot have 20 days beginning Aug. 8 to collect signatures.

Seats in Ward 1, currently held by Tom Green, Ward 2, held by Mary Ellen Pollack and Ward 3, held by Clint Blackhurst, are all up for election this November. In addtion, the council has a vacant Ward 4 seat that is also open.

To qualify, potential candidates must at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen who has lived in their ward in Brighton for 12 months and must be registered to vote in Brighton. Candidates cannot be city employees or have a felony conviction in their past.

Contact the Brighton City Clerk’s o ce at 303 655-2056 with questions.

The Rocky Mountain Heart Institute, part of Platte Valley Medical Center, offers a team of experienced and highly qualified cardiologists and vascular specialists providing you with comprehensive care, from heart attack prevention to acute 24/7 coronary intervention, to keep your heart and blood vessels healthy and strong.

For more information visit RockyMountainHeart.org or call 303-659-7000 to make an appointment with a cardiologist

Brighton council blows up over Housing Authority

“If we talk like this and tomorrow 13 people resign, we are not in a position to take over,” Blackhurst said.

housing, help pay single family mortgages or issue mortgage certificates or redevelop blighted areas.

rently vacant, and two alternates. According to city ordinances, only one member can be a City Councilor or staff member.

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A question of allowing $2.5 million in state bonds allocated for affordable housing go to a project in Aurora turned into a call by some City Councilors to disband the city’s Housing Authority and retask the entity’s mission.

“Aurora can build housing and other communities around us can do programs. Adams County is doing a fine job at trying to make this happen,” Councilor Matt Johnston said during the council’s July 25 study session. “It’s just Brighton that can’t. And I gotta tell you, we are the most supportive of trying to get these done. So why are handing this off to somebody else? We can do it, but the (Brighton Housing Authority) leadership can’t do it, they won’t do it.”

Councilor Mary Ellen Pollack wondered what the actually did, and why Brighton was not seeing them build and open new projects, both saying the housing authority board should be disbanded.

“If you are hired to do a job or you’re appointed to do a job, then do the job,” she said. “It’s not just a title, that you can say you belong to this or that. Yeah, you do. But what have you done?”

City Manager Michael Martinez took a more measured stance, noting that building affordable housing is difficult. He said councilors need more information before they decide the Housing Authority’s fate. And Councilor Clint Blackhurst, however, cautioned his colleagues on the council to be careful with what they said.

Councilors were already scheduled to discuss their concerns with the housing authority. City Councilor Ann Taddeo, the city’s voting representative on the authority’s board, said she has concerns about how the authority operates. She noted the authority is working on projects now.

“But I heard that certain things were not going to be done, like the basements would not be finished, because they don’t have the funds,” Taddeo said. “And then things like, there were not going to have air conditioners put in because there are not enough funds. And I know a lot of it has been inflation and prices, and things that have been in the budget got cut out.”

She also said that a board with better oversight would manage the authority better.

“If we had more councilors on the board and more people from the city, we would have better input and more control over it and we could tighten it up and really start getting some things done.”

Councilor Tom Green, the city council’s alternate member on the board, backed her up.

“I’m just an alternate member, but each time I’ve been there, I sensed nothing but dysfunction,” Green said. “It just was not what I expected from a city board.”

Green, too, argued for disbanding the board.

Weatherstone

A previous item on the agenda, using private activity bonds to help fund Aurora’s Weatherstone Apartment renovation project, kicked off the discussion.

Finance Director Catrina Asher said Brighton has an annual allocation of Private Activity bonds in the amount of $2,481,938 it can use to build new affordable

Since Brighton does not have any qualifying housing projects or programs that can use the money right now, the council has two options, Asher said — return the money to the state, where it will be reallocated somewhere else in Colorado — or allow the money to go to a project in the region.

“Typically, $2.5 million is not enough for a project in and of itself, so developers would work to pool funds with other sources,” she said. “When we do that, we can define who it goes to and what project it can be used for.”

The Weatherstone project in Aurora fits that bill, Asher said.

“When we reached out to the Brighton Housing Authority, they did not have any projects that were in need of funds and that were at a point in their development that they could commit to use the funds within the immediate time frame.”

The project would repair and renovate 204 one, two and threebedroom apartments at the complex at 15594 E. 12th Ave. in Aurora.

Asher noted Private Activity bonds from Loveland help support a project in Brighton a year ago.

The item was scheduled to be on the council’s August 1 meeting agenda, but Mayor Greg Mills was skeptical and several councilors said they would not support it.

“I don’t know. I have not heard a deciding factor here, and I’m hearing ‘nos’ on this side of the room,” Mills said. “Well, we’ll vote on it next week.”

Back to the authority

That led directly into the discussion about the Housing Authority and its board. City Attorney Alicia Calderon said the board has seven member seats, one that is cur-

Members must have been Brighton residents for at least 30 days, unless the city cannot find a resident to fill a vacant spot. Then, Calderon said, the City Council can appoint someone to the board that works in Brighton but does not live there. Two of the current members don’t live in Brighton.

“I think that we are talking around a real issue here,” Johnston said. “We have people here not holding people accountable. And we have an option to make sure all residents are on the board. We are residents.”

Calderon said the City Council could add more members or change the requirements so that only Brighton residents can serve. They can also change the requirements to allow more City Councilors to serve on the board.

But Councilors said they favored eliminating the current board and taking over the authority themselves.

“We need to take this away from them,” Johnston said. “To act like there is a soft way to do this, well there is no soft way to do this.”

Calderon said it would take at least three weeks to get changes for the housing authority on the council’s agenda.

In an email, Debra Bristol, executive director of the Brighton Housing Authority, said she is looking forward to addressing the City Council.

“We’re proud of the work we do in support of the residents of our community, especially those in the greatest need, and the Board and I look forward to continuing this conversation,” Bristol wrote. “BHA will continue to meet the challenge of affordable housing needs to best serve the residents of Brighton.”

We’ve added 11 bays to

your vehicle faster.

Question of letting bond money go leads to calls for new board

Tiny homes starting to be a big-deal solution for people priced out of Colorado’s housing market

BY MONTE WHALEY THE COLORADO SUN

e popular tiny home movement is growing bigger in Colorado thanks to a new law aimed at allowing factory-built homes of about 400 square feet or less to become permanent xtures in neighborhoods and in one case, to be used as an emerging therapy to get homeless military veterans back on their feet.

Advocates say House Bill 1242 , which went into e ect July 1, will spur more purchases since it sets building standards for the scaleddown structures. e new rules also allow cities and counties to create legal pathways to let people live in tiny homes for a lifetime as opposed to just 180 days, advocates say.

“Before this law, we saw a lot of tiny homes the owners weren’t allowed to live in permanently,” said Art Laubach of Einstyne Tiny Homes in Brighton. Sometimes, depending on local laws, a tiny home would be wheeled into a mobile home or RV park and be considered a residence.

Generally tiny homes were not legally a permanent, living structure in Colorado, Laubach said.

“But now, the new law outlines

building codes for counties to use on tiny homes and gives those governments a way to allow people to live in them permanently,” Laubach said. “It’s just another option for people who otherwise can’t a ord a standard home.”

“ is is a huge deal for tiny-home owners and manufacturers,” he said.

A rst-of-its-kind tiny home village is about to open in Longmont, where homeless military veterans can temporarily live for free while getting counseling to overcome symptoms of PTSD. e Veterans Community Project was started in Kansas City, Missouri, by a group of combat veterans looking to get their brethren o the streets and into stable housing. e nonpro t is in the midst of a national expansion that includes the Longmont project.

Tiny homes are a perfect incubator for a community that provides counseling and kinship for emotionally battered veterans who need a place to heal, said Jennifer Seybold, executive director of the Veterans Community Project in Longmont.

“ ese are people who are used to living in small spaces and this gives them privacy and a digni ed space,” Seybold said. e 26 tiny homes in

E AGLE VIEW A DULT C ENTER

1150 Prairie Center Parkway • Brighton, CO 80601 • 303-655-2075 • www.brightonco.gov

Eagle View Adult Center Update Aug 2 - 9, 2023

Eagle View Adult Center is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Call 303-655-2075 for more information. e July & Aug Newsletter is available.

Eagle View will be CLOSED July 31 – Aug 4 for our annual facility maintenance. We will reopen on Aug 7.

DME Education and Adjustments

Durable Medical Equipment is an important tool to remain healthy and independent. Join CACC Physical erapy to learn proper use and maintenance of equipment.

1:30 p.m. Tues. Aug 8. $5. Deadline: Fri. July 28

AARP Car Fit

Small adjustments to things like mirrors, seat belts, and seat position can make a big di erence in the safety of your personal vehicle. Visit or call the front desk to schedule an appointment.

9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Wed. Aug 9. Free. Deadline: Fri. July 28

Greeting Cards

In this class, we will make a variety of cards for any occasion. All supplies and envelopes included in fee. Linda Addison is a certi ed “Stampin’ Up” card instructor.

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Fri. Aug 11. $15. Deadline: Wed. Aug 9

Learn about Nymbl

Learn about a free app-based program that improves balance and helps you stay active.

Nymbl has teamed up with Denver Regional Council of Governments to o er its program to Coloradans 60+ for free, so you can live a thriving and independent life. Bring your smartphone or tablet.

1:30 p.m. Mon. Aug 14. Free. Deadline: Fri. Aug 11

the veterans community vary from 240 square feet for individuals to 320 square feet for families.

Each home is built on a concrete slab foundation and attached to city utilities, and has a kitchen and a full bath.

Sandy Brooks is not surprised by the progress of tiny homes. Brooks bought her 250-square-foot tiny home on her 75th birthday in 2019 and moved to Durango to live in Escalante Village, a tiny home community. Brooks spent about $100,000 on her new home, ignoring her brothers who mocked her choice.

“ ey told me it’s just a fad,” Brooks said. “It’s not a fad. It’s a lot more a ordable than trying to buy a $800,000 house. And a lot more people are guring that out.”

“My footprint is very small and it takes hardly any time at all to keep it clean. And I spend about $42 on electricity,” Brooks said. “I spend my time outside where I can talk to my neighbors or do something else rather than be locked into my home all the time.”

“It’s time and money well spent for me,” she said.

Nationally, tiny home sales were expected to grow by about 4% in 2022 and accelerate in 2025, according to e Ascent, a service of e Motley Fool investment advisor group. e growth is fueled by the high cost of owning a traditional home, e Ascent said.

e median price for a home in the United States in 2022 was $428,379, while the median monthly mortgage payment is $1,200, according to Red n. In all, Americans spend over 50% of their income on housing, according to e Ascent.

e median price for a tiny home — about 206 square feet — is about $60,000, while total monthly hous-

ing costs can be as low as $600 and rarely exceed $1,000, according to Business Insider. is includes utilities and costs of renting a plot of land but does not include monthly loan payments to buy the tiny home.

Laubach is organizer of the annual Tiny House Festival, which nished its sixth run last month. He said the festival features RVs, homemade campers and other on-the-go vehicles for the adventurous.

TIny homes have lately grown more popular among people wanting to scale back on living costs, he said. is shift in attitude among people from all nancial backgrounds comes as American homes, on average, have grown larger over the past few years despite shrinking family sizes, he said.

“People are just looking for a minimal lifestyle and something more a ordable to live in,” Laubach said. “It’s quicker to clean and to take care of.”

A huge, lush lawn, meanwhile, is not as alluring in these days of drought and res, Laubach said. “You realize as your home gets larger, your water use gets larger. And then you see all these res around us. People pay attention to that.”

Colorado has an estimated 3,000 tiny homes, but until House Bill 1242 there was no rule addressing how long someone could live in one. Larimer County started elding more requests from residents who wanted to live in their tiny homes for more than 180 days. at prompted o cials to push for legislation that calls for tiny home standards, including allowing people to reside in them long term, said state Rep. Cathy Kipp, a Democrat from Fort Collins.

e result will be more viable

TINY HOMES

housing options for Coloradans priced out of the traditional housing market, Kipp said.

“We have such a housing a ordability crisis,” said Kipp, who cosponsored House Bill 1242 during the 2022 legislative session. “We are giving people another option to where to live.”

e bill directed the state Division of Housing to draft rules, including a standard for permanent residency of tiny homes, that took e ect July 1. e new law calls for standards to connect tiny homes to utilities, including water, sewer, natural gas and electricity.

In Larimer County, o cials will treat tiny homes like other structures that had not been permitted for full-time occupancy, but set a path for prospective owners toward getting a building permit, said Eric Fried, the county’s chief building o cial.

Building permits allowing permanent residency will be granted if an applicant complies with zoning, setbacks, ood plain and other land use code rules, gets certi ed by a Colorado professional engi-

neer, master electrician and master plumber, and otherwise follows rules for bedroom emergency escape and rescue openings, sanitation, ventilation and wild re hazards, Fried said.

Local governments will establish their own rules for tiny homes, he said.

“I assume some local governments will adopt similar rules, some may prohibit non-state approved tiny homes entirely, and others may be more lenient than us. It will be up to each authority having jurisdiction,” Fried said in an email.

Some cities and towns in Colorado have already made tiny home living “legal,” including El Paso and Park counties, Durango, Leadville, Lyons and Woodland Park, Laubach said. He said in a news release that he backed the state legislation because it will make tiny home living a “more viable option.

“ e legislation will protect consumers by setting standards for tiny home building and manufacturing in Colorado,” Laubach said. “ e legislation will also provide a path for counties to recognize tiny homes as permanent dwellings and open up nancing opportunities.”

Longmont’s Veterans Community Project depends on donations and sweat equity from 90 community

partners. Many volunteers show up in the mornings to put nishing touches on the tiny home village, which is set to accept residents by the end of the year, Seybold said.

Many of the people who will be housed in the village now are living in cars, shelters or are sleeping on couches in a friend’s house, Seybold said. “ ey really are living in fairly tenuous situations. ere is not a lot of stability, which hurts them when they are trying to get on their feet, get permanent homes or jobs.”

e village rests on 2 acres west of the Boulder County Fairgrounds and includes community spaces such as a re pit for veterans to gather around. e group also recently opened a 3,000-square-foot community center, where veterans will be able to see case managers to work on problems with health, employment, nancial stability and social isolation, Seybold said.

Most will stay up to a year before they strike out on their own, she said. ey will have case managers working with them once they leave.

e tiny home village is being developed alongside attached duplexes for Habitat for Humanity and 110 single-family homes and 149 townhomes as part of the 66acre Mountain Brooks subdivision.

e neighborhood is located south

of Rogers Road and west of Hover Street.

e venture between the city of Longmont, Veterans Community Project and HMS Development — the builder of the subdivision — is the rst in the country to integrate the tiny homes with a high-end developer of single family homes. “A lot of those homes will go for $500,000 to $1 million,” Seybold said. “But that is something we want. To let our veterans be part of an overall community.”

Last year, the Longmont City Council voted unanimously to waive about $189,582 in development fees for the tiny home village. It was an easy decision, Waters, the Longmont councilman, said, since the work done there to get veterans back into society is likely to bring bene ts in the future.

“I think it was a small investment that is going to reap bene ts later on,” Waters said.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

cancer care that sets us apart.

Jill Alldredge, MD

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Lisa Marie Babayan, PA-C

Lindsay Brubaker, MD

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Catherine Bouts, PA-C

Nicole Marjon, MD

Christine Walsh, MD

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Marisa Moroney, MD Saketh Guntupalli, MD Spyridon Mastroyannis, MD

department will now dole out funding based on the number of students enrolled. It might seem like a subtle shift, but to preschool providers who already run their programs on thin margins, it could mean the di erence between continuing their classes and closing them down for good.

e new approach “de nitely cuts providers o at the knees with their ability to step into this rst year of (universal preschool) and have adequate facilities and adequate sta ready to go, trained,” said Scott Bright, owner of ABC Child Development Centers, which has 25 preschool sites across Weld County, six of which will participate in Colorado’s expanded preschool program. “ is is a system that providers have been hesitant to jump into because they haven’t gotten clear answers from the departments on how this is all going to go down.”

e Early Childhood department, which has a $322 million budget for its inaugural year of the expanded preschool program, previously pledged to compensate preschools participating in universal preschool based on the number of 4-year-olds they had room to educate, regardless of whether they lled all their seats. at’s a much more predictable and reliable method of funding, providers say.

During a Jan. 12 meeting among members of the department’s Rules

Advisory Council, M. Michael Cooke — then a universal preschool representative from Gov. Jared Polis’ o ce — said that through monthly state payment to providers from August through October, those providers would receive a dollar amount based on their capacity, regardless of whether providers could ll all their seats. en in November, she added, the department would reassess how many kids had actually enrolled in provider programs and adjust payments based on those numbers.

“We want to be helpful,” Cooke added. “We don’t want to create a situation where we’re creating a budget shortfall for community partners. We don’t want to create a situation where there has to be a layo of sta .”

However, as the state tried to balance the number of preschool slots available with the number of kids actually being enrolled, it became clear that the scale tipped too far. Data “showed a signicantly higher number of available seats in the universal preschool system than participating families,” Early Childhood department spokesperson Hope Shuler wrote in an email to e Colorado Sun, noting that there were about two seats open for every child whose family applied.

Bright, who also serves as board president of the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, sees the decision to change funding as something of a bait-and-switch after the Early Childhood department simply couldn’t a ord to pay all participating providers for the surplus of preschool slots.

“ ey realized they ran out of money

based on the promise they made, and now providers are left carrying the load,” said Bright, who typically keeps his business a oat with no more than two weeks of operating cash in the bank at any one time.

Without upfront payment from the state for all kids who enroll in universal preschool at his centers, Bright said he won’t have the funds to pay his sta .

Under the revised funding plan, which Shuler said was communicated to providers by June 27, the state assessed the number of kids enrolled in programs on July 9. Programs will receive funding Aug. 1 based on that count of kids. However, the latest round of matching preschoolers with speci c programs — so far it has facilitated four sets of matching — was completed later in July. at means providers could end up with preschoolers on the rst day of classes who they haven’t been paid to educate. ey won’t receive funding for those students until the next payment from the state, scheduled for Sept. 8.

Each month from August through May, Shuler said, providers will receive a payment determined by the number of students enrolled in their program on the 15th of the previous month. e sum will be adjusted each month so that the amount given to providers accounts for any enrollment swings and re ects the number of students in their classrooms.

at leaves providers like Bright feeling pinched.

“It is very di cult for a provider to hire their sta , prepare their facilities for kids and then not necessarily have all of those seats full but yet have to pay payroll and have to pay the mortgage payment and have to turn the lights on and have to turn the heat and/or AC on,” Bright said. “It’s very di cult for us to do that when you’re now told late in the game that we’re only going to pay you based on enrollments and we’re going to true up your enrollments every month.”

e state is rolling out something of a nancial safety net for providers so that they’re guaranteed at least the same amount of funding they received last year under the state’s previous preschool program, called the Colorado Preschool Program. At the end of the school year, the state will compare the amount paid to each provider this year under universal preschool to the amount paid to each provider last year through the Colorado Preschool Program, according to Bright. If a provider earns less in universal preschool than the amount they earned last year through the Colorado Preschool Program, the state will pay them the di erence, he said.

It’s not yet clear whether providers like Bright who own more than one preschool center — including two that participated in the Colorado Preschool Program and six slated to be part of universal preschool — will be compensated for each licensed facility, which will a ect the amount of funding owed by the state.

e Early Childhood department was not able to clarify details of its plan to ensure providers receive at least as much funding this school year as they

did last year.

Bright added that he can’t wait until the end of the school year for funding that is crucial to his ability to keep running his business.

e only nancial path forward, he said, involves keeping kids who enroll last-minute on the sidelines until the state pays providers for them. at means, for instance, that any family who enrolls their 4-year-old from late July through mid-August will have to wait to start universal preschool until September, when Bright receives money from the state for that particular child.

e Early Childhood department doesn’t believe any preschools will have to postpone the start times for any kids, with Shuler writing in an email that “payments will be reconciled for the next month and providers will receive pay if children start earlier.”

She said the department is also condent that the rst payment in August, along with the monthly payments recalculated to compensate providers for any enrollment changes, will “help support providers” and are “much more provider-friendly” than other preschool subsidy programs that have paid based on the number of kids attending their program.

Bright noted that under the Colorado Preschool Program he received funding for the entire school year starting in August with monthly payments through May, contingent on his facilities having all seats funded by the state lled with kids by Nov. 1.

He doesn’t see another option other than a delayed start for kids who enroll late.

“I would drown my company if I were to provide services that I was not paid for,” he said.

Bright and other preschools are also worried about having to shutter centers altogether.

One of the six ABC Child Development Centers Bright owns that is participating in universal preschool has 12 classrooms, only three of which are full with kids whose families have opted into universal preschool. He needs all classrooms full to stay nancially whole at the center, which mostly serves low-income families.

He expects all the classrooms to ll by November, but to keep the school open until then, he needs the upfront funding from the state. If the school stays open with empty classrooms, he’ll have to lay o teachers and will be unable to accept new students until the state pays their tuition.

Meanwhile, Melissa Lelm, director of Early Childhood University in Greeley, has enrolled only 33 students through universal preschool, far short of the 96 licensed spots in her center. e state has matched another 10 students with her facility, but though Lelm has repeatedly called and emailed those families to encourage them to accept their match, she’s been met with silence. At the same time, she has to renew her lease this year with her landlord wanting to raise her rent.

“I don’t know if we’ll be in business at the end of May of 2024,” said Lelm,

Why blind historian tells the stories of the blind

Peggy Chong describes what motivates her

BY TEDDY JACOBSEN TJACOBSEN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It only takes an introduction and a few minutes of talking with historian Peggy Chong to learn something new.

Chong, also known as e Blind History Lady, can easily rattle o countless names and stories of blind people throughout history. For instance, you may know Stevie Wonder but you probably don’t know Gov. Elias Ammons. Chong has researched the stories of the blind for over three decades. She excitedly shares their biographies with anyone willing to listen, primarily through a monthly email list.

“People often nd the stories hard to believe, that there’s something special about these blind people,” Chong said. “If you read on, you do nd that there was something special about them because they just never quit.”

Chong, who lives in Aurora, was born blind into a family that understood her struggles. ree of her four sisters and her mother were also born blind. Chong said the support and connection she received from her family is rare for the majority of blind people.

“Everything you do feels like you’re reinventing the wheel,” Chong said. “And you may not have a community around you to help you not feel that way.”

Almost 8% of the U.S. population are visually impaired in some way, according to Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.

Just over 4 million Americans aged 16 to 64 have a visual disability and another 3 million people 65-years-old and older have one, according to the National Federation of the Blind.

Chong said most people go blind later in life due to health issues or injuries. She said it is easy for people to lose faith in their abilities because of a stigma about what blind people can do.

“Too often we’re told that a blind person can’t do that, but blind

people throughout the years have accomplished so much in their work,” Chong said.

e main stories she tells involve the jobs and work that blind people have had over the years.

Over 70% of potentially employable adults with a visual disability in the United States do not have full-time jobs, according to Cornell University’s U.S. Disability Statistics.

Chong said sharing stories of blind people inspires people today to work the jobs that they want to do, in spite of the adversary.

For example, Chong said most Coloradans don’t know the state had a blind governor. Elias Ammons was the 19th governor of the state, serving from 1913 to 1915. Although he had some vision, Chong said, it was not enough to read or recognize people across the room.

“ e irony of some of the discrimination is unbelievable when you nd out what these blind people accomplished later in their lives,” she said.

Chong moved to the state ve years ago, where she almost immediately started searching through records in the Colorado Center for the Blind basement. She said she discovered records dating back more than 100 years.

She led the e ort to digitize and transcribe the pages for blind people to read through optical character recognition, which is a system that scans printed text so it can be spoken in synthetic speech or saved to a computer le.

e project started four years ago, and Chong said she is almost done putting the les on the Colorado Virtual Library website.

President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Jessica Beecham said Chong’s work is vital for showing other blind people their rich history is out there and worth sharing.

“As a blind person, I never knew our history,” Beecham said in a press release. “I thought we as blind people were always the rst to do or try anything. at is so lonely. But, through her research, I, and thousands more are learning that we have broad shoulders of our blind ancestors to stand on, inspiring us to climb higher and

reach farther.”

Chong won the Jacob Bolotin Award at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Houston, Texas, in July.

e award comes with $5,000 to help her advance her research into the history of the blind of the United States.

e Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards honor individuals and organizations that are a positive force in the lives of blind people. e namesake of the award, Bolotin (18881924), is hailed as the world’s rst physician who was blind from birth.

Each year the National Federation of the blind presents the awards at its annual convention.

is is the second time she received this award for her work, the rst coming in 2018.

Her new project will take her to the Library of Congress archives in Washington D.C. where she will research and tell the history of an awards program through the Harmon Foundation from 1928-1932.

“ is award means a lot to me,” Chong stated. “It represents the validation by my peers that my work to uncover the lost history of our blind ancestors is important.”

To join Chong’s monthly email list, send an email to theblindhistorylady@gmail.com.

Peggy Chong with the Jacob Bolotin Award at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Houston earlier this month. COURTESY PHOTO

Decarbonizing gets a new chapter

Colorado is starting another chapter in what could be a future history book, “How We Decarbonized our Economy.”

In that book, electricity will be the easy part, at least the storyline through 80% to 90% reduction in emissions. at chapter is incomplete. We may not gure out 100% emissions-free electricity on a broad scale for a couple more decades.

is new chapter is about tamping down emissions associated with buildings. is plot line will be more complicated. Instead of dealing with a dozen or so coal plants, we have hundreds of thousands of buildings in Colorado, maybe more. Most burn natural gas and propane to heat space and water.

I would start this chapter on Aug. 1. Appropriately, that’s Colorado Day. It’s also the day that Xcel Energy and Colorado Springs Utilities will deliver the nation’s very rst clean-heat plans to state regulators.

ose clean heat plans, required by a 2021 law, will tell state agencies how they intend to reduce emissions from the heat they sell to customers. e targets are 4% by 2025 and 22% by 2030. Wishing I had a sex scandal to weave into this chapter or at least something lurid, maybe a conspiracy or two. ink Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in “Chinatown.”

Arguments between utilities and environmental advocates remain polite. Both sides recognize the need for new technologies. e disagreements lie in how best to invest resources that will pay o over time.

e environmental groups see great promise in electri cation, particularly the use of air-source heat pumps. Heat pumps milk the heat out of even very cold air (or, in summer, coolness from hot air).

Good enough for prime time? I know of people in Avon, Fraser, and Gunnison who say heatpumps deliver even on the coldest winter days.

Xcel says that heat pumps have a role—but cautions that cold temperatures and higher elevations impair their performance by about 10% as compared to testing in coastal areas. ey will need backup gas heat or electric resistance heating. After two winters of testing at the National Research Energy Laboratory in Golden, the testing of heat pumps will move to construction trailers set up in Leadville, Colorado’s Two-Mile City.

Xcel also frets about adding too much demand, too quickly, to the electrical grid.

Another, perhaps sharper argument has to do with other fuels that would allow Xcel to use its

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher

existing gas pipelines. Xcel and other gas utilities have put out a request for renewable natural gas, such as could be harvested from dairies. Xcel also plans to create hydrogen from renewable resources, blending it with natural gas. It plans a demonstration project using existing infrastructure in Adams County, northeast of Denver.

Je Lyng, Xcel Energy’s vice president for energy and sustainability policy, talks about the need for a “spectrum of di erent approaches.” It is far too early, Lyng told me, to take any possible technology o the table.

In a 53-page analysis, Western Resource Advocates sees a greater role for weatherization and other measures to reduce demand for gas. It sees renewable gas, in particular, but also hydrogen, as more costly and slowing the broad market transformation that is necessary.

“I think there’s a real tension that came out between di erent visions of a low-carbon future when it comes to the gas system,” Meera Fickling, an economist with WRA, told me.

We already have a huge ecosystem of energy, a huge investment in natural gas. Just think of all the natural gas lines buried under our streets. No wonder this transition will be di cult.

lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

JOHN RENFROW Sports Editor jrenfrow@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

“It’s more di cult because everything you do in the gas sector now has a spillover e ect in the electric sector,” says Je Ackermann, the former chair of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. “Each of these sectors move in less than smooth, elegant steps. We don’t want people to fall o one and onto the other and get lost in the transition.

ere has to be su cient energy of whatever type.”

Getting back to the book chapter. Colorado has nibbled around the edges of how to end emissions from buildings. With these proceedings, Colorado is moving headlong into this very di cult challenge. e foreplay is done. It’s action time.

Xcel talks about a decades-long transition and stresses the need to understand “realistic limitations in regard to both technologies and circumstances.”

Keep in mind, 25 years ago, it had little faith in wind and even less in solar.

Do you see a role for Jack Nicholson in hearings and so forth during the next year? I don’t. Even so, it promise to be a most interesting story.

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, which keeps track of the energy and water transitions in Colorado. Find him at BigPivots.com.

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Allen Best

Piggyback computer deal gets council nod

Piggy-backing on a municipal government bid for CISCO computer will save the city as much as $400,000 while upgrading the city’s municipal computer network, councilors agreed.

e City Council voted to join a larger NASPO ValuePoint bid for CISCO computer infrastructure at a special meeting July 25. e city will pay $1,982,067.31 over three years without interest to upgrade

its computer backbone, adding 113 network switches, 68 rugged industrial switches and gain 106 new Wi-Fi access points — 64 indoor and 42 outdoor — all of it CISCO-made equipment sold directly by the manufacturer.

NASPO ValuePoint is the cooperative purchasing arm of the National Association of State Procurement

O cials, a non-pro t association aimed at helping purchasing ocials at state and local governments across the country.

City Manager Michael Martinez said he challenged his Information Technology sta to nd a way to save money while upgrading the city’s computer backbone and they delivered.

“In the background, there has been so much work get to this point,” Martinez said. “Internally, we’ve been talking about this. It like buying a car and we’ve been in negotiations. But the fact that we got zero percent interest on this is actually a home run and does save our

taxpayers a lot of money.”

David Guo, Brighton’s IT director, said the city’s demand on the computer network has exploded. “We have more people working from home or just doing remote work,” Guo said. “We’ve had an increase in le sharing and in the size of the les being shared and the overall appetite for security camera coverage —at intersections and for a variety of other locations. So the demand on our network has really gone up.”

March 5, 1944 - July 15, 2023

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Richard (Rick) Wells who bravely battled cancer, not once, not twice, but three times. Despite his remarkable strength and resilience, he passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 15th, 2023. He was 79 years old.

Born on March 5th, 1944, Rick was a great father, husband and friend. He was born and raised in Noonan, North Dakota. He graduated from Noonan High School in 1962, playing basketball all four years. He moved to Colorado in 1973 where he raised his children.

Rick worked in the oil eld industry for 45 years, where he made a name for himself as a hard worker.

Beyond his professional achievements, Rick had a profound impact on the lives of those around him. He was a devoted father, grandpa and great grandpa, always putting others’ needs before his own. He was the type of man you would love to go hunting or shing with.

In his free time, Rick enjoyed hunting and shing, as well as old western movies.

Whether it was watching his grand kids sports, going to the casino, or attending holiday parties, he found solace and happiness in spending time with his family.

Rick’s memory will be forever cherished by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife Joann, his children Wendy Montoya (Lee Montoya), Tanya Castle (John Castle), Shawn Wells (Rachel Wells) and Cole Whitford (Chandani Raley), his sister Alice Person (Bruce Person), grandchildren Justin (Amanda) and Brandon Montoya (Rachelle), Andrea Kaufholdand Taylor Castle, and Ryan and Alyssa Wells, great grandchildren Shania, Jessy, Jordan and, Addy Alba, Brock, and Jax Montoya. He was preceded in death by his parents Syvertand Genevieve Wells, and his siblings, Lowell, Randy, and Lorraine Wells.

As we mourn the loss of Rick, let us also remember the beautiful moments shared, the lessons learned, and the love that will forever connect us. May his soul nd eternal peace, and may his memory be a guiding light in Rest in peace, Rick, you will be deeply

DECHANT

Alvin Dechant Jr.

September 4, 1951 - July 23, 2023

Alvin Dechant Jr. peacefully passed away on July 23rd, 2023 in his home surrounded by family at the age of 71. Jr. was born on September 4th, 1951 in Denver, Colorado to Alvin Dechant and Josephine Freiberger. Jr. grew up in Fort Lupton, Colorado on a dairy farm and graduated from Fort Lupton High School in 1969. On April 7th, 1973 Jr. married his high school sweetheart Donna Rabas. Shortly after, they moved to Hudson, Colorado where he continued his love and passion for farming. ey were married for 50 years and had 4 children.

In addition to farming, he spent several years on the Hudson Fire Department Board and spent 17 years with the Frico Irrigation Company as the board President. He also spent years coaching Lil Rebel Wrestling with many of his buddies. Some of Alvin Jr.’s hobbies included riding horses to round up his cattle and working on many of his old antique tractors. He would build many things for his children’s outdoor adventures,

and he also enjoyed xing things using electrical tape, duct tape, bailing twine and wire.

Alvin Jr. is survived by his wife, Donna, three daughters, Valerie (Jason) Zimbelman of Hudson, Jolene (David) Dahlgren of Brighton, LeAnn (Rick) Nelson of Keenesburg and one son, Scott (Danielle) Dechant of Keenesburg. irteen grandchildren, Austin, Brennan and Colton Zimbelman, Maddox and Daxton Dechant, Taylor, Dillon, Kylee, Ally and Jackson Dahlgren, Taea, Tanner and Taden Nelson. Survivors include one brother David (Carmen) Dechant and one sister Pam (Brett) Pachello along with his nieces and nephews He is preceded in death by both of his parents, sister JoAnn, nephews Keith and Daniel and his princess granddaughter Kylee Jo.

Contributions can be made in the memory of Alivin Jr.’s name made to the Keene Clinic, P.O. box 559, Keenesburg, CO 80643

Jeffrey Randall Blair

November 11, 1948 - July 14, 2023

Je rey Randall Blair passed away July 14, 2023, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 74.

He was born in Denver November 11, 1948, to J.R. and Vera (Heinz) Blair. Je graduated from Brighton High School in 1966. After time spent in the Air Force, then a couple of years seeing the country through the windshield of a big rig, he then went to work for Adams County, Colorado. He ended his 40 year working career in a supervisory position with Adams County. He was once named employee of the month, and had received numerous awards and plaques.

Je loved bull riding, team roping –anything rodeo related… and he was good

at it.

He belonged to the Brighton Police Reserves, Brighton Volunteer Fire Department, Brighton Softball Association, and the Adams County Farm Bureau. And Je loved his co ee chats!

He is held dear in memory by his wife of 46 years, Julie, sons Timothy (Nicole) and Justin (Nikki), grandchildren Jeremy, Brittney, Emily, Marissa, and Rylee, several nieces and nephews, as well as two sisters, Darcy Blair and Kimberly Hirsch. Je was preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Don Hirsch.

In memory of Je contributions can be made to the: Magic Spurs 4-H, 29993 County Road 16.5, Keenesburg, CO 80643

BLAIR

WELLS

Richard Arvid Wells

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ADenver-based nonpro t music education organization is helping local rising stars showcase and enhance their musical talents, record music and learn podcasting for free.

Youth on Record, founded by local musician community organizer Flobots in 2008 works with people aged 14 to 24.

“Flotbots’ mission was to bring music to young people to improve academic success and youth outreach, and it grew into what is now known as Youth on Record,” said Haley Witt, a guitar musician and singer-songwriter who manages Youth on Record.

Youth on Record recently rocked at its ninth annual block party in support of youth in music with over 20 live music performances, teen activities and vendors at its o ce location near downtown Denver.

“We have a state-of-the-art recording studio soundboard and all sorts of instruments,” Witt said. “So young people can drop into our programs and learn about mixing, mastering songs and learn about songwriting and instrumentation.”

After school programs

e Youth on Record runs afterschool, out-of-school and in-school programming with Denver Public Schools and Aurora Public Schools middle and high schools.

“We partner with the schools to teach four-credit classes, and we hire local professional artists to teach those classes,” Witt said. “Our Youth on Record teaching artists come to the schools, and the young people are able to learn from them. It’s one way that you nd our Youth on Record programs through the schools.”

Youth on Record also has afterschool programs at the Youth on Record media studio space called the open lab on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and is available to young people from 14 to 24 years old.

“It’s self-guided so that they can explore their interests. ey come into the space with a passion for music, making songwriting production, and we teach them the skill set they need to accomplish the projects they’re passionate about,” Witt said.

Witt said Youth on Record also o er an internship and fellowship program and a fellowship program, both of which are paid programs by donors.

“Youth on Record is a nonpro t organization so donors fund our program,” Witt said.

Witt said Youth on Record has had a lot of talented program graduates.

Baily Elora from Hudson/ Keenesburg Colorado, featured in the Fort Lupton Press, went through the program and signed on with Sony Music Subsidiary e Orchard.

“We are proud of all of our program graduates and all of the various directions that they’re headed, it’s really important to us to connect with young people with economic opportunities, “ Witt said.

Witt said Youth on Records is a pillar of academic success, economic opportunity and community activation.

“Our economic opportunity pillar, it’s really important to us to connect young people to community careers and job opportunities,” Witt said.

Witt said they have young people who play gigs in the community and support booking those gigs and paid opportunities for young people to perform.

Youth on Record also places young people into community internships and fellowships.

“Our fellows will have the opportunity to have community internships with local partners as well. It’s important to us to connect young people to jobs in the industry and to connect them to opportunities in creative elds and show them that it’s possible,” Witt said.

ere also is an open mic every rst Friday, and it is open to the public, where the youth perform and gain experience in combination with all the First Fridays and art walks across the city, speci cally in collaboration with the Santa Fe Art Walk.

“ at’s a program run by our fellows and learn how to put together a music festival, run it, secure porta potties and design posters for the festival and how it ties in economic opportunity. e block party is a youth-led program,” Witt said.

LIFE

Learning about podcasting

David Ladon, Youth on Record audio arts innovation manager, teaches youth how to do podcast interviews. Ladon has been teaching podcasting for nine years and has worked with Youth on Record for three in a half years.

“We have a podcast show that comes out monthly called ‘Generation Collaboration’ that we produce in collaboration with Colorado young leaders,” Ladon said, adding that they just nished season one and that the podcast airs on KGNU.

ARTISTS

“We have another monthly show called ‘Youth on Rewind,’ which is a segment-based show and the tagline podcast amplifying young people’s voices, stories and ideas,” Ladon said.

Ladon said the podcast features segments produced by interns, peer navigators and fellows, covering whatever interests them.

“Our third show is called ‘Underground of the Showcase’ as

the official podcast of the underground music showcase, which Youth and Record helps put on.”

The podcast is hosted and produced by youth interns from 16 to 24 years old.

Ladon said his love for the application of podcast work expanded beyond media production or journalism.

“It gets to the root of socialemotional learning and developing yourself because you’re learning to exercise your voice and get to practice hearing your voice, which is not something we’re all comfortable with,” Ladon said.

Mobile Studio

Oren Bregman, executive director of the Mobile Studio nonprofit music outreach program has partnered with Youth on Record.

Bregman’s program brings the mobile studio to Denver, Green Valley and Montebello pathway schools in Aurora.

“We focused on singing, rapping, and poetry so we bring our equipment and expertise so students can create music to express themselves and share it online with their family and friends,” Bregman said.

Bregman said Youth on Records helped Mobile Studio get their

first grant and gave them some instruments.

“We are happy to be part of the family,” Bregman said.

Witt said that the young people the programs serve are incredibly talented.

“It blows me away to see the ways that they’re able to cultivate their skills, and it’s inspiring to watch and build strong mentorship relationships with our staff and to feel connected to a sense of community through our programs,” Witt said.

For more information about Youth on Record, visit youthonrecord.org or call 303-993-5226.

Youth on Record student Addie Uhl performed at the Youth on Record block party.

PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD

Cornelius Bates sings a hip-hop rap on the mic at the Mobile Studio tent.

David Ladon, Youth on Record audio arts innovation manager, prepares the podcast studio for an interview.

Laura Stedman warms up for her solo performance at the Youth on Record block party.

Thu 8/03

Gambling Trip The Wild Wood Cripple Creek (8/3)

@ 2pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Wed 8/09

Jordan Davis @ 7pm

Adams County Fairgrounds, 9755 Henderson Rd, Brighton

Amazing Athletes

@ 7pm Aug 3rd - Aug 10th

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Fri 8/04

Seth Beamer: Westminster Neighborhood Nights (Solo Set)

@ 6pm Irving Street Library, 7392 Irving St, Westminster

Sat 8/05

Teen Dusk Exploration @ 1am Aug 5th - Aug 4th Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Jacob Larson Band Funk & Soul: Jacob Larson Band LIVE - Orchard Town Center @ 6pm

The Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware St, Westminster

Sun 8/06

Birding for All - August @ 10am / Free Bird Conservancy's Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton. 303-6594348 ext. 53

Trouble Bound: Ft Lupton Library Concert Series @ 5:45pm

High Plains Library District- Fort Lupton Public & School Library, 425 S Denver Ave, Fort Lupton

Standley Lake Bird Walk @ 7am

Standley Lake Regional Park & Wildlife Refuge, 11610 West 100th Avenue, Westminster. lbmartin@ cityofwestminster.us, 303-4251097

Dog Days of Summer 5k and 1k

Dash @ 8am / $20-$40

Dawson Park at the beautiful McIntosh Lake, 1757 Harvard St, Longmont

Tour De Donut: A Family Bike Ride

@ 2pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Hunter Safety : August 5-6 @ 3pm Aug 5th - Aug 6th

Fort Lupton Community / Recreation Cen‐ter, 203 S. Harrison Avenue, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Muddy Princess - Denver, CO @ 4am

The Recess Factory, 3220 Erie Pkwy, Erie. 0000000000

Rotating Tap Comedy @ Something Brewery @ 8pm Something Brewery, 117 N Main St unit A, Brighton

Thu 8/10

Korey Foss: Rock Candy @ Hoffbrau @ 6pm Hoffbrau, 9110 Wadsworth Pkwy, Westminster

DJ SupaJames @ 8pm Adams County Fairgrounds, 9755 Henderson Rd, Brighton

powered by

Horsemanship begins Weld County Fair celebration

Cooper Furrow, 9, with the Severance 4-H club, during his first show as a beginner at the Weld County Fair July 22. Furrow won third place participating in Novice Western Pleasure category, which is walking and jogging.

e Weld County Fair kicked o it’s 105 year July 22, celebrating the county’s agricultural roots for the last week of the month.

e fair, at 525 N. 15th Ave, Greeley, ran through July 31.

e Weld County Fair is celebrating 105 years of hosting events and activities exhibiting the agricultural roots of Weld County to the com-

County Fair marks 105 years in Greeley

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Weld County Fair celebrated 105 years in Greeley of bringing agriculture to the community with activities for families, youth 4-H animal competitions, horticulture, arts and crafts competitions, and ending the fair with a rodeo—an array of vendors and a variety of food trucks from July 22 through July 31.

munity visitors from July 22 to July 31.

July

More than 100 kids participated in three days of horsemanship beginning July 24, with western classes, ranch horse speed events, and leadline.

Visit the Weld County Fair website for a list of the events https://www. weldcountyfair.com/Home.

Weld celebrates agriculture excellence

Ethan Vinney entered the Weld County Fair Restoration competition with a 1957 to 1959 toy crane he refurbished with help from his dad. He found it at the Brass Armadillo antique store in Arvada and won first place and grand champion on July 29.

Brianna Patefield took home best-inshow for her California Senior Buck rabbit at the Weld County Fair on July 29.

PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD

Billie Mick,14, with the Drylander 4-H in Nunn, Colorado, has been riding since she was eight years old, participating in Western Horsemanship category at the Weld County Fair in Greeley on July 22. The category tests a rider’s abilities in riding, reining, and working on trails.

PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD

Denver Disruptors bicycle racers to roll through Commerce City

National Cycling League event will bring big competition to the city in August

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Can’t get enough professional sports teams in Colorado? Good. e National Cycling League has you covered. It’s bringing an exciting, free professional bicycle race to the Front Range.

e NCL Cup, a series, is in its rst year, and composed of 10 cycling teams composed of men and women — including the league-leading Denver Disruptors. ey compete in three races across the country for one NCL Cup champion to be crowned this fall. e rst event in Miami in April rallied nearly 20,000 spectators. e league is hopeful for similar numbers as cyclists race a course around the Colorado Rapids’ soccer stadium at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Aug 13.

“It’s the world’s rst majority-minority and femaleowned sports league,” said Reed McCalvin, the vice president of teams and operations for the NCL. “ e four founders, and then myself, a founder with a very little ‘f,’ basically wanted to help change the face of sports and equality in sports.”

e founders include successful executives, tech company veterans, NFL agents, lawyers, and more, with high-pro le investors in professional sports, such as the NBA’s Bradley Beal and the NFL’s Jalen

Ramsey and Derwin James.

ey all have the same goal: to bring cycling to the next level on a new, even playing eld. e races are not multi-day, grueling races with mountain passes somewhere along the way like the Tour de France and ones closer to home from years past, including the Colorado Classic and USA Pro Challenge.

e NCL is criterium-style racing, meaning they’re fast-paced as cyclists ride on a set race course, doing laps to gain points along the way. e women and men compete in di erent competition groups for the same team, so each side brings equal weight to the

And, the NCL is set up in a way that allows men and women on the teams chances to contribute to the score. Some teams, such as the Denver Disruptors, have a full team of both men and women. Other teams that do not have both women’s and men’s divisions may merge with another women’s/men’s team for the purposes of competing in the NCL Cup

For example, the Goldman Sachs ETFS Racing women’s team and Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team men’s team combined, and they’re currently sitting in third place.

“ e National Cycling League is setting a new standard for inclusivity in professional sports by championing diversity. I was drawn to the opportunity to impact and transform communities through our mission,” said CEO Andrea Pagnanelli. “With more than 50 million cyclists in the U.S., we have an opportunity to grow the passion and excitement for the sport of cycling among the next generation of fans.” But perhaps the experience and cohesion of the Disrupters is what has them so ahead of the pack.

Let’s talk steaks. Steaks that are tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Perfectly aged, hand-trimmed, one-of-a-kind steaks that are GUARANTEED to be perfect, every single time. These aren’t just steaks. These are Omaha Steaks.

The Denver Disruptors are made up of men and women professional cyclists. The team is currently in first place in points. The team will compete at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Aug. 13 in Commerce City.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL CYCLING LEAGUE

SEE RACERS, P15

RACERS

Currently the team is in rst place with a score of 139. e Miami Nights are in second sitting at 95.

“Everybody has a mother, daughter, girlfriend, cousin, niece, what have you, that wants to see them equally represented and paid well. Sport is the great equalizer. One of our underlying taglines is ‘Make bike racing look like America looks,’” McCalvin said.  ere are nearly 30 di erent nations represented in the participating teams, and several of the riders are former Olympic and world-renowned athletes.

Why Denver?

After a year of diligent research, which included meeting advisors from a plethora of other professional sports leagues and studying cycling in America, Denver emerged as a prime candidate for an NCL hub not only to host a local team but to hold events in the future.

“Colorado is just a cycling state,” McCalvin said. “Denver makes it consistently in the top 10 cities. We had a 49-row wide Excel spreadsheet of di erent reasons, including socioeconomics, number of people that bike, what the city spends on infrastructure around bikes, all that stu . Denver was in the top 10 in nearly every category.”  Noah Granigan is one of the Denver

Disruptors, as has been a part of the Colorado cycling community since he attended CU Boulder in 2014, where he was a member of the college’s cycling team.

As a fourth-generation internationallevel cyclist, Granigan has cycling in his blood. He now lives in Superior and said Colorado is the perfect place for cyclists.

“Colorado is such a great place to be a cyclist in terms of training roads, weather, and the massive cycling community so I ended up just staying in the area after I graduated,” Granigan said. “Colorado has become my new home so it’s pretty cool to now be on a Denver-based team.

“Denver is such a strong cycling community because it’s simply a great place to be a cyclist,” Granigan added.

“ at’s why there are so many professional cyclists that come from or move to Colorado. e road cycling is world-class, and then you have such incredible mountain biking, gravel, bike parks, and bike friendly cities like Denver on top of that.”

The ‘Ford vs. Ferrari’ model

Just because Denver is a great hub for cycling doesn’t mean the team was guaranteed success. In fact, McCalvin said there was some experimenting in bringing together the NCL, and he followed a popular movie’s method for nding and creating the best teams.

“One of the things I came up with was this ‘Ford vs. Ferrari’ concept,” McCalvin said. “It started with a blank

slate. So we have a Miami team that I made more ‘Ferrari’, where it was a bunch of existing criterium racers in America and some track racers. And with Denver, we went with more long endurance road racers and former Tour de France riders and some track racers as well. is was like our beta test for our rst year. We’re just trying to see what works.”

So far, Ford is crushing Ferrari, and endurance-based riding is dominating.

“It didn’t take long for our team to really start to understand, read, and communicate with each other midrace,” Granigan said. “With riders from all over the world, all with their own strengths and styles, we were quick to take all of that and create a really strong unit, which we demonstrated in the Miami Beach cup in the rst race of the year.”

Development of the future

e experimentation is still ongoing, McCalvin said. e three events this year are all in di erent formats. e Miami event was held on Ocean Drive.

e Denver event is held at a professional sports facility. e Atlanta event will be more private and VIP-based.

“We’re trying to gure out what the model is in relation to keeping it community-based and getting the local families and community involved. I want your aunt to go and have a good time. Not just you because you enjoy cycling,” McCalvin said.

But McCalvin knows the future of

all sports is in broadcasting. e NCL events are all broadcast on the GCN+, the Global Cycling Network streaming service. It’s all about expanding the league’s reach and getting new fans invested and interested in the sport.

“We’re very excited about being at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park,” McCalvin said. “A big part of what we’re doing is development of the future. It’s one of our pillars. It’s the best thing in the community.”

At the Aug. 13 event, there will be free junior racing, free mountain bike crit racing for kids, and a community ride for fans of all ages.

In fact, everything involving the event is free: the parking, the tickets, the community-based activities involved, and watching the pro race. e only thing interested fans will need to purchase is food and souvenirs, unless they want VIP tickets, which can be purchased on www.nclracing.com.

“Now we’re the cycling team in Denver and Colorado, and that’s important to us,” McCalvin said. “I remember when the Mammoth rst started, and I remember when the Rapids rst started. It didn’t quite happen all at once. It started semi-small-ish, and it’s grown into a [signi cant] fanbase and community staple.”

For more information on the NCL and the Denver Disruptors, visit the team’s website at www.nclracing.com/ teams/0/denver-disruptors.

“Paint your faces, bring your ags, and come out and support!” McCalvin said.

Air regulators o er legal help to neighborhood groups

Free lawyers to represent groups as environmental rulemaking starts

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

Did you hear the one about the state government o ering the public free lawyers to harass … the state?

It’s no joke. In one of the rst tangible impacts of environmental justice policies and rules that are working their way into multiple battlegrounds overseen by state and federal regulators, Colorado’s public health department now links community groups with pro bono lawyers who can help the groups become o cial “parties” in complex environmental rulemaking, giving them a voice ampli ed by legal muscle.

e rst such e ort will play out later this year as the Air Quality Control Commission writes new rules requiring some of the largest industrial polluters in Colorado to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by set percentages. e community group Climate Equity Community Advisory Council wants to ensure the state requires 18 targeted industrial polluters to make real cuts using the best

technology, not just the cheapest. And they want an accounting of the results down the road.

e air commission and many other state agencies have always taken public comments, said Rachael Lehman, a member of the advisory council, and a Community College of Denver faculty member who volunteers to work on environmental issues.

But too often, Lehman said, “the result is ‘We got your comments, now shut up.’ I’ve seen it in multiple situations, where they say, ‘Yes, we had so many community meetings.’ OK. But did they actually listen and incorporate what the community said?”

Regulators from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment put the community council in touch with volunteer Wyatt Sassman of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic. ey are now a party to the industrial pollution rulemaking, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Cargill, Molson Coors and environmental giants like the Sierra Club.

“It’s important for us to just have that ability to be able to keep an eye on things, and make sure that the rule is being written in a way that is understandable,” Lehman said. She worries that the big companies targeted by the industrial rules “have the big,

big pockets, and you can sort of buy your way out of this.” Sassman, she said, is helping the community group understand the rule drafts word by word, and “what’s even in the realm of possibility.”

State o cials said they have worked hard to create meaningful community engagement.

A series of state and federal policies made into law in recent years require agencies to consider how past pollution has disproportionately impacted communities with lower incomes and higher minority populations. By default or conscious zoning, Colorado industries are concentrated in communities like north Denver, Adams and Pueblo counties, and in other locations with measurable impacts on the physical health of lower income residents.

“We just are looking at our process from beginning to end, thinking about how we can interact with all stakeholders and open the door to include voices we aren’t hearing, which was quite a few,” said Lauren McDonell, climate change outreach planner for the Air Pollution Control Division. e division sta s the air quality commission and carries out day-to-day air regulation.

e commission’s rulemaking sessions debate how to carry out directives from the legislature. As part of

Colorado’s overall e ort to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, the legislature added details in 2021 requiring the largest industrial polluters to cut emissions 20% by that year, from a 2015 base year. Any industrial company emitting over 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases a year would need to start limits in 2024.

After rounds and rounds of lings by the parties, public comments and state responses, the commission will take up the industrial rules, called GEMM Phase 2, in September. e list of 18 Colorado companies ranges from American Gypsum to Molson Coors and Cargill Meat Solutions, to Sterling Ethanol and Suncor Energy’s Commerce City re nery.

Public comments are great, McDonell said, but if a community group is granted “party” status, “they’re actually around the table with other entities, who actually can get into the details of the rule language, they can propose di erent language, alternate proposals.”

Becoming an o cial “party” has more involvement and in uence, “but it’s also more time, and it comes with deadlines and things that are related to a legal process. ey don’t require an attorney, but it’s a heck of a lot easier if you have one,” McDonell said.

TRIVIA

1. GEOGRAPHY: Which European city is home to the Prado Museum?

2. MOVIES: What is Forrest’s hometown in the movie “Forrest Gump”?

3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the only vowel that isn’t on the top row of letters on a keyboard?

4. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What breed of dog is the TV star Lassie?

5. CHEMISTRY: What is a common name for nitrous oxide?

6. MUSIC: Which musical instrument does the singer Lizzo play?

7. LITERATURE: What is a bildungsroman?

8. U.S. STATES: Which two states share the most borders with other states?

9. TELEVISION: What decade is represented in the TV sitcom “ e Goldbergs”?

10. FOOD & DRINK: In which century was co ee introduced to Europe?

Solution

Answers

1. Madrid, Spain.

2. Greenbow, Alabama.

3. A.

4. Rough Collie.

5. Laughing gas.

6. Flute.

7. Novel that focuses on the moral and psychological growth of a protagonist from childhood to adult.

8. Tennessee and Missouri, with eight bordering states each.

9. e 1980s.

10. 16th.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

NOW HERE’S A TIP

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* “Kitchen stores sell grill brushes, but they can be expensive. I use a good-quality paintbrush from the hardware store for grilling only, and replace it a couple of times throughout grilling season. I nd it to be a better brush, and less expensive to boot!” -- B.F. in Illinois

* Your grilled meats will be more moist and taste better if you let them rest for a few minutes after you take them

o the grill. It allows the meat to redistribute the natural juices. If you are worried about temperature, just cover the meat with foil.

* “It’s best to clean a grill just after cooking, but if you weren’t able to, that’s OK. When faced with a messy grill surface, just preheat, then clean. e heat will burn o drippings and make it easier to scrub.” -- R.T. in Florida

* You should never use a cooking spray on your grill. Instead, soak a paper towel in oil and use your tongs to oil the grill surface.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

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PUBLIC NOTICES

Public Notices call

Legals City and County

Public Notice

PUBLICATION REQUEST

Case Name: Text Amendments to the Adams County Development Standards regarding Data

Centers

Case Number: PLN2023-00005

Planning Commission Hearing Date: August 10, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.

Board of County Commissioners Hearing Date: September 19, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.

Case Manager: Nick Eagleson

Request: Text amendments to the Adams County Development Standards and Regulations regarding Data Centers

Location of Request:

Unincorporated County-Wide

Applicant: Adams County

Public Hearings Location: 4430 S. Adams County Pkwy., Brighton, CO 80601 Please visit http://www.adcogov.org/bocc for up-to-date information. The full text of the proposed request can be obtained by accessing https://adcogov.org/ current-land-use-cases.

Legal Notice No. BSB2583

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Metropolitan Districts

Public Notice

NOTICE OF VACANCY ON THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF BRIGHTON RIDGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-2

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the electors of the Brighton Ridge Metropolitan District Nos. 1-2 (each a “District”), City of Brighton, Adams County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 32-1-808, C.R.S., that one or more vacancies currently exist on the Boards of Directors of the Districts. Any qualified, eligible elector of the Districts interested in serving on the Boards of Directors for the Districts should file a Letter of Interest with the Boards by 5:00p.m., on Monday, August 14, 2023.

Letters of Interest should be sent to Brighton Ridge Metropolitan District Nos.1-2, c/o WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON, 2154 E. Commons Ave., Suite 2000, Centennial, CO 80122. BRIGHTON RIDGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-2

By: /s/ WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON

Attorneys at Law

Legal Notice No. BSB2586

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Misc. Private Legals

Public Notice

BEFORE THE ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

IN THE MATTER OF THE PROMULGATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FIELD RULES TO GOVERN OPERATIONS FOR THE NIOBRARA, FORT HAYS, CODELL, AND CARLILE FORMATIONS, WATTENBERG FIELD, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO

CAUSE NO. 407

DOCKET NO. 230400130

TYPE: SPACING

NOTICE OF HEARING

PDC Energy, Inc. (“PDC” or “Applicant”) filed an Application with the Commission for an order to establish a drilling and spacing unit, as well as to set the maximum number of wells that may be drilled in the proposed unit on lands identified below. This Notice was sent to you because the Applicant believes you may own oil or gas (“mineral”) interests within the proposed unit. Generally, spacing is the process whereby an ap-

303-566-4123

plicant obtains approval to assign certain mineral interests to be developed by a specific number of wells. Importantly, spacing is not pooling, and it is not an application for a drilling permit.

APPLICATION LANDS

Township 1 South, Range 66 West, 6th P.M.

Section 30: E½, E½W½

Section 31: E½, E½W½

Township 2 South, Range 66 West, 6th P.M. Section 6: E½, E½W½

DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF HEARING

(Subject to change)

The assigned Hearing Officer will hold a hearing only on the above-referenced docket number at the following date, time, and location:

Date: September 27, 2023

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Place: Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission

The Chancery Building 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 Denver, CO 80203

PETITIONS

DEADLINE FOR PETITIONS BY AFFECTED PERSONS: August 28, 2023

Any interested party who wishes to participate formally must file a written petition with the Commission no later than the deadline provided above. Please see Commission Rule 507 at https://ecmc. state.co.us/#/home, under “Regulation,” then select “Rules.” Please note that, under Commission Rule 510.l, the deadline for petitions may only be continued for good cause, even if the hearing is continued beyond the date that is stated above. Pursuant to Commission Rule 507, if you do not file a proper petition, the Hearing Officer will not know that you wish to formally participate in this matter and the date and time of the hearing may change without additional notice to you. Parties wishing to file a petition must register online at https://oitco.hylandcloud.com/DNRCOGExternalAccess/Account/Login.aspx and select “Request Access to Site.” Please refer to our “eFiling Users Guidebook” at https://ecmc.state.co.us/ documents/reg/Hearings/External_Efiling_System_Handbook_December_2021_Final.pdf for more information. Under Commission Rule 508, if no petition is filed, the Application may be approved administratively without a formal hearing.

Any Affected Person who files a petition must be able to participate in a prehearing conference during the week of August 28, 2023, if a prehearing conference is requested by the Applicant or by any person who has filed a petition.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information, you may review the Application, which was sent to you with this Notice. You may also contact the Applicant at the phone number or email address listed below.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if any party requires special accommodations as a result of a disability for this hearing, please contact Margaret Humecki at Cogcc. Hearings_Unit@state.co.us, prior to the hearing and arrangements will be made.

ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

By Mimi C. Larsen, Secretary

Dated: July 18, 2023

PDC Energy, Inc.

c/o Jamie L. Jost

Kelsey H. Wasylenky Jost Energy Law, P.C. 3511 Ringsby Court, Unit 103 Denver, CO 80216 720-446-5620 jjost@jostenergylaw.com kwasylenky@jostenergylaw.com

Legal Notice No. BSB2580

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Pursuant to Rule 523.d, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission Staff has applied to the Commission for an Order Finding Violation against Berry* Walter V dba Berry Energy Incorporated to adjudicate allegations in the Notice of Alleged Violation Nos. 4026952033 and 402952059.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to: 1) the general jurisdiction of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of the State of Colorado under § 34-60-105, C.R.S.; 2) specific powers granted pursuant to § 34-60-106, C.R.S.; 3) the Colorado Administrative Procedures Act at § 24-4-105, C.R.S.; and 4) the Commission’s Series 500 Rules at 2 C.C.R. 404-1, that the Commission has scheduled this matter for hearing before a ECMC Hearing Officer at the following date, time, and location (subject to change):

Date: September 27, 2023

Time:9:00 a.m.

Place:

Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission

1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 Denver, CO 80203

The Notice and documents related to this matter can be found on our “Hearing eFiling System Document Search” page here https://oitco.hylandcloud.com/DNRCOGPublicAccess/index.html.

Select “Search for Docket Related Documents” from the pull-down menu, use the above “Docket Number”, and select “Search”.

Legal Notice No. BSB2578

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Storage Liens/Vehicle Titles

Public Notice

Brighton Security Storage 1111 S. Fulton Ave. Brighton, CO 80601

Notice is hereby given that a sale will be held pursuant to Colorado Lien Law Titles 38-21.5-101, 102, 103 on or after August 14th by Brighton Security Storage in the form of a Public Auction at Brighton Security Storage, 1111 S. Fulton Ave., Brighton, Colorado 80601, where personal property to be sold is in storage units 118 and 220.

The property to be sold is as follows: Household items Furniture

More information regarding this sale may be obtained by calling 303-968-1227. Legal Notice No. BSB2574

PR 238

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before November 27, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Angela Mazzocco Personal Representative 5713 Slate River Pl Brighton, CO 80601

Legal Notice No. BSB2569

First Publication: July 27, 2023

Last Publication: August 10, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of ROBERT J. GREWE, a/k/a ROBERT JOHN GREWE, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30527

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before November 20, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

David 0. Colver, Attorney for Personal Representative 131 W. Emerson Street Holyoke, CO 80734

Legal Notice No. BSB2553

First Publication: July 20, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of William James Nelson Jr, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 89

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before November 20, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Jeannie Nelson Personal Representative 1780 Elmira St Aurora CO, 80010

Legal Notice No. BSB2549

First Publication: July 20, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Rebecca Ann Ybarra, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 111

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before November 20, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Veronica Rozales Personal Representative 824 Nucla St Aurora CO 80011

Legal Notice No. BSB2552

First Publication: July 20, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Geraldine Marie Knodel, Deceased

Case Number: 2023 PR 159

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before December 4, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Nadine Marie Knodel Personal Representative 514 North 6th Avenue, Brighton, CO 80601

Legal Notice No. BSB2579

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 17, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Randy DiGesualdo, a/k/a Randal Rocco DiGesualdo, a/k/a Randal DiGesualdo, a/k/a Randal R. DiGesualdo, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 0255

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before December 4, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Susan DiGesualdo

Personal Representative 107 Bridge St Brighton, CO 80601

Legal Notice No. BSB2582

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 17, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of DEBBIE KAY ROTH a/k/a DEBBIE K. ROTH a/k/a DEBBIE ROTH, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30540

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before December 4, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Thomas J. Roth Personal Representative 7991 Shaffer Pkwy., Ste. 203 Littleton, CO 80127

Legal Notice No. BSB2581

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 17, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Public Notice of Petition for Change of Name

Public notice is given on July 13, 2023, that a Petition for a Change of Name of an adult has been filed with the Adams County Court.

The petition requests that the name of Adrian Lynn Keller be changed to Adrienne Lynn Keller Case No.: 23 C 1102

By: Deputy Clerk

Legal Notice No. NTS2559

First Publication: July 27, 2023

Last Publication: August 10, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Public Notice of Petition for Change of Name

Public notice is given on July 14, 2023, that a Petition for a Change of Name of an adult has been filed with the Adams County Court.

The petition requests that the name of Travis Gene Slapnicka be changed to Travis Scott Teller Case No.: 23 C 1027

By: Deputy Clerk

Legal Notice No. BSB2562

First Publication: July 27, 2023

Last Publication: August 10, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Children Services

(Adoption/Guardian/Other)

Public Notice

DISTRICT COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Drive Brighton, CO 80601

Child: Jayden Harrison

REGULATORS

e APCD’s Clay Clarke reached out to the Colorado Bar Association environment committee and wound up with a list of pro bono attorneys willing to dig in on behalf of community groups.

e corporations will have their general counsel and expensive private attorneys, and the established environmental nonpro ts have their sta and contract attorneys, Sassman said. Community members who may live right next to the industrial plants, meanwhile, are facing “complex and jargony” issues, in their spare time.  “ at’s where somebody like us could come in and help,” Sassman

UNSURE

who has worked in early childhood education for more than 40 years.

Lelm recently laid o four employees who are now collecting unemployment, keeping only one teacher and one teacher assistant on her sta . And as the Early Childhood department pivots to paying

said.

State o cials say they are prepared to handle the results from their efforts at balance, and know full well they are handing the community a list of lawyers who could make regulators’ lives miserable.

“No one’s ever too happy with us” anyway, McDonell said. “But in all seriousness, I think the priority here is to get the voices to the table to have a normal conversation because historically, again, it’s those wellfunded groups that have been part of the conversation. We don’t have any control or expectation about them being supportive of us or the proposal. We know they’re going to challenge us and we want that, we welcome that.”

Lehman and the advisory council already have some buzzwords in the

providers based on the number of kids enrolled, she anticipates her reserves will dwindle as she tries to cover even the smaller payroll. She’s applying for grants to help ll in the gaps and has so far collected $26,000, including from the state’s Child Care Stabilization and Workforce Sustainability Grants and a $4,000 state Capacity Building Grant that can fund necessities such as furniture and educational and health care materials.

Public Notices

Respondents: Valentina Burnham, John Doe

Case Number: 22JV125

Div: D Ctrm.:

ORDER OF ADVISEMENT

NOTICE TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPON-

DENTS: Valentina Burnham and John Doe

YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED that the Petitioner, has filed a Motion to Terminate the Parent-Child Legal Relationship which now exists between you and the above-named child;

YOU ARE FURTHER ADVISED that the Motion has been set for hearing in Division D of the District Court in and for the County of Adams, Adams County Justice Center, 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, Colorado, on the 21st day of , August 2023, at the hour of 10:00 a.m., at which time the Petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence 1) It is in the best interests of the child, that the parent-child legal relationship which exists between you and the child be terminated and severed; 2) That the child was adjudicated dependent or neglected; 3) That an appropriate treatment plan has not reasonably been complied with by the parent or has not been successful; 4) That the parents are unfit; 5) That the conduct or condition of the parent or parents is unlikely to change within a reasonable time; OR 1) That the child have been abandoned by their parent or parents in that the parent or parents have surrendered physical custody for a period of six months and during this period have not manifested to the child, the court or to the person having physical custody a firm intention to assume or obtain physical custody or to make permanent legal arrangements for the care of the child and 2) That it is in the best interests of the child that the parent-child legal relationship which exists between the child and the respondents be terminated and severed.

The Court, before it can terminate the parent-child legal relationship, must find that a continuation of the relationship is likely to result in grave risk of death or serious injury to the child or that your conduct or condition as a parent renders you unable or unwilling to give the child reasonable parental care.

YOU ARE FURTHER ADVISED that you have the right to have legal counsel represent you in all matters connected with the Motion to Terminate the Parent-Child Legal Relationship. If you cannot afford to pay the fees of legal counsel, you are advised that the Court will appoint legal counsel to represent you at no cost to you upon your request and upon your showing of an inability to pay.

YOU ARE FURTHER ADVISED that a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister of the child must file a request for guardianship and legal

rule drafts for which they are seeking more legal explanations.

Carbon capture, for example, bothers Lehman to no end. She fears state regulators may allow the industrial polluters to keep spewing damaging air into neighborhoods but then oset it through buying carbon credits or stu ng the carbon underground in long-term storage, an ethically controversial tradeo .

Community groups also want tough enforcement language written into the rules, Lehman said. If she gets too many speeding tickets, her driver’s license is taken away, she said. But companies like Suncor have years of multiple air violations and never lose their permits.

“It is a dual system of justice,” Lehman said. “Big polluters continue to do what they want, and our gov-

“ at money will go very quickly for payroll and rent,” Lelm said.

She might be forced to lay o her teacher assistant if enrollment continues to stagnate, but Lelm knows that having more than one trained adult in the classroom helps kids and teachers form better bonds.

Lelm wonders if she’ll be up against the same uncertainties around how many students she’ll serve and how many sta she needs each year of universal preschool — if

custody of the child within twenty days of the filing of the motion to terminate parent/child legal relationship.

If you have any questions concerning the foregoing advisement, you should immediately contact either your legal counsel or the Court.

Done and signed this 20th day of July, 2023.

BY THE COURT: District Court Judge/Magistrate

Legal Notice No. BSB2573

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice STATE OF COLORADO IN THE DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF ADAMS

Division D No. 22JV153

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO IN THE INTEREST OF:

Malia Nicole Trujillo A Child, and Concerning

Tiffany Nicole Trujillo, Joel Milswa (AKA Joel Doe), John Doe

Respondents:

S U M M O N S

To the parents, guardian, or other respondents named above, GREETINGS: Joel Milswa (AKA Joel Doe, John Doe

You are hereby notified that a verified petition has been filed in the above named Court in which it is represented to the Court that said child are alleged to be dependent and neglected; for the reasons set forth more fully in said petition, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference for greater certainty.

You are further notified that the parent-child legal relationship may be terminated by this action, if prayed for in the petition.

You are further notified that the Court has set said petition for hearing on the 15th day of September, 2023 at the hour of 8:30 am. You are hereby notified to be and appear, at said time, before this Court located at the Adams County Justice Center, 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, CO 80601.

Witness my hand and seal of said Court this 24th day of July, 2023.

ernment doesn’t have the courage to just say we are in the business of protecting our citizens and you have to shut down. How is that so hard?”

e air pollution division knows the lawyers on their pro bono list will bring those arguments, and more, to the industrial pollution rules, and other upcoming policy battles.

“We absolutely have a deep commitment to environmental justice,” McDonell said. “But we can only say that so many times.”

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

she manages to stay open.

“I just hope it works,” she said. “I don’t know if they thought it through thoroughly enough.”

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Alana Percy Clerk of the District Court

Legal Notice No. BSB2576

First Publication: August 3, 2023

Last Publication: August 3, 2023

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice STATE OF COLORADO IN THE DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF ADAMS Division D1 No. 23JV30074

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO IN THE INTEREST OF:

London Amelia Jacobs A Child, and Concerning

Melinda Jacobs, Charles Spahn, John Doe Respondents: S U M M O N S

To the parents, guardian, or other respondents named above, GREETINGS: Charles Spahn

You are hereby notified that a verified petition has been filed in the above named Court in which it is represented to the Court that said child are alleged to be dependent and neglected; for the reasons set forth more fully in said petition,