Talking ‘Twin Victories’, new generation speaks

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A study from Earthjustice blames the Suncor re nery in Commerce City and re ghting foam for leaching cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals’ PFAs into the municipal water supply for several Adams County cities. And it’s legal.

Story of Tuskegee

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Speaking to a small group Feb. 23 at the Commerce City Civic Center for the city’s Black History Month commemoration, Martin talked about growing up as the daughter of a Tuskegee Airman.

gave more personal accounts of growing up; learning about their fathers’ sacri ces, what it all meant and how it a ected them.

For now, Gabrielle Martin, speaks for her father as well as herself.

“Here we are in 2023, and we are still talking about getting recognition for the Tuskegee Airmen,” Martin said. “You talk about ghting the war. ey had to ght just for the right to be there.”

“ ey fought to serve their country and when they came home, they came home to a life of service,” Martin said. “ ey were teachers, instructors. Many stayed in the military to earn higher ranks so they could teach others. Many made a military career, something they could be proud of.”

A long line of cars outside the city of Brighton’s rapid testing site at Riverdale Regional Park. The site has had to close early many days in recent weeks due to high demand. Adams County’s 14-day test positivity rate was 15.9 percent, as of Nov. 17, according to Tri-County Health Department. Brighton and Commerce City’s test positivity rates were both higher than 13 percent. Forty- ve people in Brighton and 29 in Commerce City have died from COVID-19 related health issues. To limit the spread of COVID-19, at least 15 counties moved to tighter restrictions that prohibits indoor and personal gatherings.

Martin is the daughter of Capt. Robert Martin, retired, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, a group of 932 ghter and bomber pilots and their support crews who trained at Tuskegee Army Air eld in Alabama during World War II, breaking records, making history and creating a legacy. Her father died in 2019.

She was joined by Daphne Rice-Allen, daughter of Price D. Rice, another member of the Tuskegee Airmen, and by John omas of Longmont, a re-enactor for the Denver-based Hubert L. “Hooks” Jones Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

While omas spoke of their experiences in a deeply segregated U.S. during World War II, based on interviews and conversations with original members, the daughters e group was invited to speak by the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group. Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer Allen- omas, a member of Commerce City’s DEI group, brought her father, a former City Councilor — who represented the same seat his daughter now holds — and a retired member of the U.S. Air Force himself.

A water source for ornton — the South Platte River — runs past that facility. According to City Spokesperson Todd Barnes, a portion of ornton’s water comes from the South Platte river, but they grab it before the Suncor facility.

By Ellis Arnold Colorado Community Media

“ ornton currently gets most of its South Platte surface water above where Suncor impacts the South Platte via the Burlington Canal,” he said.

Twin Victories ey all spoke of twin battles the soldiers needed to ght, against an enemy in war but also against bias and discrimination at home.

As Denver metro counties continue to inch closer to local stay-at-home orders under Colorado’s system of coronavirusrelated restrictions, the state announced a new level of rules that prohibits indoor dining and personal gatherings — a change that applies to the majority of the Denver metro area and many counties in other regions.

Formed near the start of World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen’s rst class of 13 cadets began service in July 1941 in deeply segregated Alabama. ey grew to include e state’s COVID-19 dial, which has been in e ect since September, is the set of di erent levels of restrictions that each county is required to follow based on the severity of a county’s local virus spread. e dial grew out of the state’s safer-athome order — the policy that came a er the statewide stay-at-home order this spring and allowed numerous types of businesses to reopen. e state recently switched to color identi ers — levels blue, yellow and orange rather than numbered levels — to avoid confusion. Until Nov. 17, level red meant a stay-at-home order. Now, level red — “severe risk” — is the second-

However, Barnes said the city is concerned about PFAS from the Suncor facility impacting their water supply. ey are actively investigating their PFAS sources.

“ ornton is actively engaged in an investigation to determine the source(s) of our pollution and will identify and pursue those potentially responsible parties once that investigation is complete,” he said.

Earthjustice pointed to a study

Please see RESTRICTIONS, Page 2 nearly 1,000 personnel — the group includes pilots but also ground crew and support sta — and served with distinction. Of that group, 355 ew some 1,500 missions in Europe between 1942 and 1946. e pilots were mostly African American and were the rst aviation unit of their kind during a time when the U.S. military was still racially segregated and many U.S. states still had Jim Crow laws on their books. e unit had an excellent combat rating, was highly praised by military commanders and earned six Distinguished Unit Citations while its members earned 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

But members got the sense that they were never meant to succeed. Re-enactor omas explained how the 332 Air Group had trained on used and outdated equipment and monitored closely, with any infraction grounds for washing out of the program. ey could not practically leave the base, since it was located in the heart of Jim Crowe south.

When they nally were deployed, they were given unnecessary missions at rst. ey’d come up to their objective — a bridge to be blown up or a beach to patrolled — to nd that other pilots, their white counterparts, had already completed the mission.

“We said give us something to do, something we can be proud of,” omas said.

But they found their role, protecting the vulnerable, slow-moving bombers, omas said. e Germans had learned that American pilots, seeking to improve their kill ratios, would leave the bombers vulnerable to engage the enemy ghters. en a second wave of German ghters would take out the bomber, he said. e Army began sending ghters from the Tuskegee Airmen’s 332 Air Group, in their distinctive ghters with red-painted back ends, along.

“Pretty soon, the bombers’ squadron leaders didn’t know we were black,” he said. “ ey just said ‘We Want the Red Tails.’” e unit gained a reputation as “Red-Tailed Angels.”

Despite their successes, the Army was still segregated and members of the Air Group were not allowed to celebrate with their white peers in the o cers’ clubs. at was brought home as they disembarked from their ship at the war’s end.

“ e worst thing was coming back on the troop ship after the war and walking down the gangplank I see two signs,” omas said. “One goes this way, the other turns o , says ‘Colored.’ I put my life on the line every day, just like everyone else.”

Top Secret to Top Gun

In fact, their service was not acknowledged until 60 years later. Much of it was labeled “classi ed” meaning that the servicemen themselves were not allowed to speak of it.

at had not changed four years later in 1949 when the Air Force decided to host a competition for its best pilots. Called Top Gun, the namesake for the Tom Cruise movies, the contest pitted teams of pilots in six skills over the Nevada salt ats that would become Nellis Air Force base. e teams competed in aerial gunnery — plane-to-plane shooting — at 12,000 and 20,000 feet, dive bombing, skip bombing, stra ng runs and ring rockets. eir win, like their service, was declared a classi ed secret and the trophy was boxed up, labeled “Do Not Open” and hidden in a closet. It was discovered in 2004 by a journalist. It, and a plaque commemorating the win, are on display in a trophy case at the Nellis base.

Four pilots from the 332 Air Wing competed — Capt. Alva Temple and 1st Lts. James Harvey, Harry Stewart and Halbert Alexander. ey not only fared well, they won the team competition.

“Of course, it’s in a building that has no direct public access,” Martin said. “You know that sometimes if you call ahead and make arrangements, you can come see it.”

Rice-Allen and Martin said they didn’t know much of their fathers’ service growing up. Rice-Allen said she was in third grade when her father built storage cubbies in the house for the family to store there favorite things — ve cubbies in all, one for her, her brother and her sister and both parents. e children asked their father what he had to put in his cubby.”

“My mother was nudging him, saying ‘You need to tell them. If you don’t I will,’ Rice-Allen said.

He eventually showed them a map he had detailing a bombing mission he’d own to Berlin.

“He was somewhat reluctant,” she said.

Both agreed their fathers pushed them and their siblings to succeed and be the best they could be.

“ e family motto was, you are getting an education so failure is not an option,” Rice -Allen said. “If it doesn’t work the rst time, gure it out and make it happen. And I think that lesson has served me well: Never quit. Figure it out and make it happen.”

FROM PAGE 1 WATER

FILE PHOTO

“ ey have this large ume of contaminated groundwater that underlies the facility that is highly contaminated with PFAS from decades of using PFAS-containing foam,” said Caitlin Miller, senior associate attorney for Earthjustice.

She said that water leaks into the Sand Creek before it is treated by Suncor, which then makes its way down to the South Platte.

Miller said the study is credible because it’s based on Suncor’s own monitoring data and was independently done. e study was also peerreviewed.

Loa Esquilin Garcia, a spokesperson for Suncor, disagrees.

“ e Westwater report is inaccurate, misleading, and should not be relied upon. It signi cantly overstates Suncor’s PFAS contributions to the South Platte River by ignoring upstream PFAS sources in Sand Creek that are not from the re nery, ignoring other Non-re nery PFAS contributions to the South Platte River, and selectively using data from only ve days that are not representative of current conditions to exaggerate the PFAS contributions from Suncor’s Outfall 020A,” she wrote in an email.

Forever chemicals ornton has a history of PFAS contaminating their drinking water. e Environmental Protection Agency set a new health advisory on June 15 at 0.0004 parts per trillion for PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS. ose levels are over 1,000 times higher than the health advisories. Barnes said meeting the new advisory will be costly with the need to update and upgrade water treatment facilities.

In May 2022, the ornton Water Treatment Plant measured 7.1 parts per trillion for PFOA and 3.5 parts per trillion for PFOS. e Wes Brown Water Treatment Plant saw 5.4 parts per trillion for PFOA and 2.0 parts per trillion for PFOS.

On Jan. 30, e City of ornton announced they led suit in federal court against multiple chemical manufacturers, alleging that their products contaminated portions of their water supply with PFAS. ey want them on

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“ e city of ornton alleges in the lawsuit that re ghting foam made with these companies’ chemical products have unlawfully contaminated a portion of the city’s surface and ground water supply to various degrees over recent Environmental Protection Agency’s Health Advisory levels,” a news release from the city reads. ornton Deputy City Attorney Adam Stephens said in the news release that the companies knew, or should have known, the chemicals were harmful to the environment and public health.

Politics, lobbying and safety

In 2019, the state passed HB19-1279 which restricted the sale of certain re ghting foams. But the bill had exemptions, like airports and re neries.

“For use at a gasoline special fuel, or jet fuel storage and distribution facility that is supplied by a pipeline, vessel, or re nery;” the bill reads.

HB22-1345, passed in 2022, aimed to close that loophole by repealing that section and the initially submitted bill did so. However, as the bill process moved forward, the repeal was taken out of the signed version.

Roger Hudson, a spokesperson for Colorado House Republicans, said that Republican Rep. Mary Brad eld, a co-sponsor of the 2022 bill, declined to interview and required written questions and answers. Hudson said in a phone call that Brad eld may not remember the process of the 2022 bill.

In Brad eld’s responses, sent to Colorado Community Media by Colorado House Republican sta members, she noted that her original bill, Suncor, was not exempt from regulations. She didn’t see any loophole in the 2019 bill.

“In 2019, the focus was to eliminate as much PFAS as possible in re ghting foam and to take legislative steps to ensure this dangerous chemical would not leach into groundwater. As far as I’m aware, there was no intentional loophole,” Brad eld is attributed to writing.

Democrat Sen. Lisa Cutter, a cosponsor of the 2022 bill, said she knew

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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

SCOTT TAYLOR Metro North Editor staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com the original bill would need to be cut and amended.

“I wasn’t 100% thrilled with all the changes we made last year, but we passed a bill that was really signi cant and really meaningful, and that’s part of the process, negotiating along the way,” she said.

One of those negotiations came from re departments, she said. Cutter explained a concern with catastrophic res at places like Suncor played a role in keeping the exemption. She also noted federal lawmakers will soon address re ghting foam through their PFAS legislation, and alternatives may be on the horizon.

“We know that there’s alternatives coming out, and the PFAS will need to go away,” Cutter said.

Deputy Chief of Operations for North Metro Fire Je Bybee said their re district replaced all PFAS foams on their trucks in 2018. However, they do carry PFAS-containing foams at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport due to an FAA regulation and their ability to put out certain types of res.

It comes down to safety.

“ e FAA has required a PFAS containing foams at airports because that type of foam has exceptional lm formation properties,” he said. ose res are similar to those at re neries.

It’s a balance of safety because experts have warned that PFAS can lead to numerous health risks. Bybee said that’s why they eliminated all the PFAS they were able to, and are waiting for an alternative to replace the remaining ones.

The debate on health e ects

An opposing force to the 2022 bill was the American Chemistry Council, and they sent lobbyists to the Capital, according to records from the Secretary of State. Cutter said the ACC “lobbied hard.”

In Brad eld’s attributed statement, she said the ACC identi ed products that contained intentionally added PFAS.

“ is helped us identify which products retailers would need to remove from their shelves and also helped in letting manufacturers know they

TERESA ALEXIS Marketing Consultant Classified Sales talexis@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com couldn’t market products that intentionally added PFAS in Colorado,” the statement reads. e Council also said that health risks are di erent among PFAS.

Cutter noted that the ACC wanted to change the de nition of PFAS, but she wasn’t in favor.

“We did not want to mess with that because it’s not proven that any kind of PFAS is safe,” she said.

In an email, the American Chemistry Council said that not all PFAS should be categorized in the same way.

“PFAS are a diverse universe of chemistries with di ering health and environmental pro les. ese di erences have been recognized by various regulatory and scienti c bodies, including the EPA. All PFAS are not the same, and they should not all be regulated the same way,” the email reads.

“Most experts also agreed that it is inappropriate to assume equal toxicity/potency across the diverse class of PFAS. e US EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and National PFAS Testing Strategy also recognize distinctions within the broad class of PFAS,” the email reads.

Dr. Ned Calonge, Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health co-authored the report Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up.

“If people are trying to say ‘these PFAS don’t have any human health e ects,’ it’s likely because we haven’t studied them,” he said.

His report looked at seven di erent types of PFAS and said the health risks do vary. ey don’t have a molecular connection on how PFAS might cause human disease, but they have extensive evidence on the association between PFAS levels and human disease.

Given that, there still is uncertainty with PFAS due to the di culty to study them. Calonge said there’s enough uncertainty that people should try to reduce their exposure to the chemicals.

He said there’s su cient evidence of an association between PFAS and a decreased antibody response, increased cholesterol, decrease in infant and fetal growth and increased risk of kidney cancer.

“For me as a public health person, trying to come down to what I think might be the most protective of public health would be to treat them as a class and recognize that there may be some PFAS whose health risks are less or even negligible, but we just don’t know,” he said.

Cutter emphasized human health is more important than pro ts.

“Industry is important, what companies do to make our lives better every day is really important. But do we protect corporate pro t and corporate interests above health and human safety?” said Cutter.

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

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City Sentinel

Help CCPD “Cram the Cruiser” at King Soopers on Feb. 25 e highlight of Commerce City’s annual “Spread the Love” food drive comes Saturday, Feb. 25 as police o cers encourage residents to ll police vehicles with donations of peanut butter and jelly for local food banks. O cers will be posted in front of both King Soopers stores in Commerce City — at 4850 E. 62nd Ave. and 15051 E. 104th Ave. —from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the event to chat with shoppers and give kids a look at their patrol vehicles while they collect donations.

Donation boxes will also be set up at both local King Soopers locations through Feb. 25. Donation bins are also in place at the following city facilities throughout the month of February: Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Ave., Eagle

Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City Civic Center, 7887 E. 60th Ave., Municipal Service Center, 8602 Rosemary St. Walk with a doc is is a walking program for everyone interested in taking steps for a healthier lifestyle. After a few minutes to learn about a current health topic from the doctor, spend the rest of the hour enjoying a healthy walk and fun conversation. It’s a great way to get out, get active and enjoy all the bene ts that come from walking.

Platte Valley Medical Center’s cardiac rehab team and Walk With A Doc will host monthly walks with Dr. Christopher Cannon, an interventional cardiologist at Brighton Heart and Vascular Institute.

‘Taking No Chances’ e 17th Judicial District Attorney’s

O ce and e Link, a community resource and assessment center in ornton, are o ering free, 10-week programs to families of Adams county teenagers to help develop personal and interpersonal drugresistance skills.

Sessions are from 5:30 to 6;30 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 720-292-2811.

Boards/commissions’ openings

Commerce City has openings for several of its boards and commissions, including the city’s cultural council, the housing authority and the Derby review board.

Visit https://www.c3gov.com/ Home/Components/Form/Form/70

316b05422c448492c51da0f0e0fd86/ to sign up.

Legal self-help clinic e Access to Justice Committee hosts a free, legal self-help clinic from 2 to 3:30 p.m. the rst Tuesday of every month. e program is for those who don’t have legal representation and need help navigating through legal issues. Volunteer attorneys are available to discuss such topics as family law, civil litigation, property and probate law. Call 303-405-3298 and ask for the Legal Self-Help Clinic at least 24 hours in advance.

Help for vets

Quali ed Listeners, a veteran and family resource hub serving northern

Colorado and southern Wyoming, has a number of power chairs, power scooters and electric wheelchairs available.

To nd the closest facility to you visit www.va.gov/ nd-locations.

Quali ed Listeners also need volunteers to drive veterans to and from appointments, run errands for veterans who cannot get out, handyman services, help administer veteran and family resource guide inventory in local libraries and veterans to be trained to become quali ed listeners. Call 720-600-0860.

COVID-19 testing

Here’s where you can receive a test for COVID-19:

Brighton Advanced Urgent Care, 2801 Purcell St. Call 303-659-9700 or visit https://advurgent.com/locations/brighton/

Brighton Salud, 1860 Egbert St. Testing is available on Tuesday, ursday and Friday. Visit https:// www.saludclinic.org/covid-testing

Fort Lupton Salud, 1115 Second St. Testing is available on Tuesday and ursday. Call 303-697-2583 or visit https://www.saludclinic.org/covidtesting online.

Mental health

Community Reach Center o ers in-person intake assessments from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays at the Brighton Learning and Resource Campus, 1850 E. Egbert St. in Brighton. Call Community Reach Center at 303853-3500.

For walk-in intake, bring an ID and insurance information. For those who would prefer to complete the intake forms and schedule an appointment, the intake forms are available online at www.communityreachcenter.org. ere will be a short screening for u-like symptoms before the entrance to the center to ensure safety and wellness for everyone.

Anyone feeling unsafe or suicidal should call Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255, text 38255, or visit the Behavioral Health Urgent Care (BHUC) Center at 2551 W. 84th Ave., Westminster.

Warm Line up and running Community Reach Center is o ering a Warm Line (303-280-6602) for those who want to talk to mentalhealth professionals about anxiety, lack of sleep and strained relationships, among other topics. e professionals can facilitate referrals to other programs for assistance.

A press statement said the line is not for crisis intervention. ose feeling unsafe or suicidal should call Colorado Crisis Services (1-844-493-8255) or text 38255 or visit the Behavioral Urgent Care Center, 2551 W. 84th Ave., Westminster.

Also, the center’s COVID-19 Heroes Program is set up to assist healthcare workers during the pandemic. ose who live or work in Adams County can receive up to six free counseling sessions. Use the Warm Line for support and free counseling.

Brighton’s community intake location is at 1850 E. Egbert St., on the second oor. It’s open from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays.