September 30, 2021
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 45
Fallen firefighter ‘epitomized the term brother’ South Metro Fire Rescue’s Anthony Palato is remembered after losing life to cancer
Demarea Mitchell, 19, sentenced in 2019 death of Lloyd Chavez, 18
BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Anthony Palato dreamed of being a firefighter ever since he was a small child, said his brother-in-law, Steve Durie. “Tony epitomized the term ‘brother’ all his life,” Durie said at a memorial service Sept. 21, days after Palato died at age 55 on Sept. 15 after fighting cancer. “He loved every aspect of being a firefighter, especially the camaraderie, the joking around, the pranks, and (helping) neighborhoods that he served — but mostly the love he shared with his brothers and sisters” at South Metro Fire Rescue, Durie said. Palato — a “humble hero,” as Durie put it — served as a fireSEE FIREFIGHTER, P4
BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
didate for school board District E, is running as part of a slate with Jen Gibbons, who is contending for school board District D. Gibbons pointed out that her and Leach’s campaign donations have not come from the teachers’ union in the district. “Bill and I have been working together because this is a volunteer position — there are not many
The father of Lloyd Chavez IV stood at the lectern in court, a stuffed animal lying beside him. The stuffed animal, he said, was on his son’s bed when he went to clean out his room. Chavez, fatally shot at age 18 during an attempted robbery in May 2019, was “loving and caring and giving” — traits that showed in the way he treated family and strangers, his father said. “He loved (the stuffed animal) as he loved everyone else in his life: He squeezed the stuffing out of him,” Lloyd Chavez III, the father, told the court. He added: “This is all I have to remind me of my son.” He made his comments at the Sept. 22 hearing in Arapahoe County District Court to sentence Demarea Deshawn Mitchell, one of the four teens who was convicted in the incident in east Centennial that caused Chavez’s death. “Unfortunately, Lloyd’s mother won’t be able to be here because she was a recovering alcoholic, and the death of her son pushed her over the edge and she drank herself to death (earlier) this year,” said Chavez, the father. He emphasized the opportunity
SEE FORUM, P10
SEE SENTENCING, P8
A stage holds items in remembrance of firefighter paramedic Anthony Palato for a memorial service Sept. 21. Because Palato’s cancer was considered job-related, his memorial service was classified as Level I Line of Duty Death, according to South PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD Metro Fire Rescue.
Cherry Creek school board candidates talk masks, diversity Hopefuls also discuss who teachers’ union supports BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
At the start of a forum where Cherry Creek school board candidates expressed their views, the candidates agreed on two notable points: that parents should not re-
Teen gets 40 years to life in shooting of student
ceive taxpayer-funded vouchers or reimbursements to pay for costs of sending children to private schools — and that if charter schools in the Cherry Creek School District do not meet the same high standards as traditional schools, they should be closed. Past those points, some differences began to emerge among the candidates in the Sept. 21 forum at Eaglecrest High School. For example, Bill Leach, a can-
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 21
BRIDGES TO THE ARTS
Communities are creating centers to boost local culture
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