Denver Herald 051123

Grant to expand colleges’ oral health programs

Four Colorado schools will get aid from Delta Dental Foundation

BY TATIANA FLOWERS THE COLORADO SUN

The Crown Jewel of concerts

Denver Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Oldies but goodies, indeed.

e Denver Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and it is planning a jubilant throwback concert.

“We’ve been operating continuously for 75 years and putting on wonderful concerts for the community for all those years,” said

Lawrence Golan, DPO’s conductor since 2013. “ is particular concert is the culmination of our 75th anniversary, basically a re-creation of May 18, 1948, which was our rst concert.”

e 75th anniversary Crown Jewel program takes place on May 25 on the Antonia Brico Stage at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St., in Denver.

The renowned Antonia Brico

By the time she had settled in Denver, Antonia Brico had conducted professional orchestras in Europe and the U.S., including the Berlin Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic.

According to the DPO’s website, Brico saw a “need for a classical music venue to showcase the talents of local, classically trained musicians ‘with no place to play.’” She founded the DPO as the Denver Businessmen’s Orchestra in 1948. Brico, who lived from 1902-1989, continued to conduct the DPO until her retirement in the 1980s. Today, she is the namesake of the stage that the DPO performs on.

Same music, di erent eras

Golan plans to boost the nostalgia quotient of the Crown Jewel concert with performances from

SEE ORCHESTRA, P4

SMALL STAGES, BIG ACTS Bars host talent on

Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, one of the largest funders of oral health initiatives in the state, said it’s granting a total of nearly $5 million to four colleges to help them expand existing dental hygiene programs or start new ones from scratch — all with the goal of addressing workforce shortages and diversifying the profession.

e grants, split among Front Range Community College, Community College of Denver, Colorado Mountain College and Pikes Peak State College, will be distributed in installments over the next four years. e colleges were selected in part because of their diverse student populations, said Adeeb Khan, executive director of Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation.

e grants will help establish dental hygiene programs at Front Range Community College, Colorado Mountain College and Pikes Peak State College by 2025 and will expand the number of seats available to students in an existing dental hygiene program at Community College of Denver starting this fall.

SEE DENTAL, P2

The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra performs in 2019 on the Antonia Brico Stage at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St., in Denver.

PHOTO BY AMANDA TIPTON PHOTOGRAPHY

e three public colleges that currently o er dental hygiene programs in the state have a total of 75 seats for students who want to become dental hygienists. e new grants aim to double the state’s capacity to train dental hygienists in programs that usually last two to three years.

“Two years ago, we made a fundamental decision to deepen our commitment to oral health equity by investing with an expectation of long-term outcomes,” Khan said. “ e investments we’re celebrating today will ensure that Colorado has the ability to address oral health care workforce shortages by expanding our capacity to train dental hygienists and also providing more pathways for diverse populations.”

Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation leaders announced the grants at a time when the number of dental hygienists continues to dwindle and the industry struggles to meet the needs of Colorado’s growing population. Coloradans won’t see a drastic change in the number of dental hygienists for a few years, but Delta Dental leaders said the grants are essential to eventually closing the gap.  e grants are o ered to schools that already have a commitment to diversifying their student population. Attracting, educating and retaining dental hygienists who are

people of color, and those who speak multiple languages, for example, can help achieve racial balance between dental providers and their patients, increase access to care and create oral health equity.

Higher education o cials recently gathered with Gov. Jared Polis, at a Denver coworking space for health care professionals to announce the distribution of the grants.

At the event, Polis said, the dental industry is not the only profession navigating a workforce shortage in Colorado. Last year, the state created e Care Forward Colorado Program to address shortages in health care jobs. e program provides a free education to students interested in becoming certi ed nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians, pharmacy technicians, phlebotomy technicians, medical assistants or dental assistants, he said.

Since the program was implemented, more than 1,400 Coloradans have gone through the program, and there has been a 20% to 30% increase in the number of people seeking certi cation to work in those professions, Polis said.

Now, with the new grants from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, many more students will have the opportunity to train for careers in dental hygiene to help ll the gaps the state has, said Polis, who has made addressing workforce shortages part of his gubernatorial agenda. e number of dental hygiene po-

sitions needed will grow by 35% by the end of this year with about 650 openings remaining every year, said Joe Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado community college system, who spoke at the event.

About 95% of students who attend community colleges in Colorado remain in the state after they graduate, he said. And nearly half of all students of color involved in higher education are also educated in Colorado’s community colleges, he said.

“ ese are often the students who have been overlooked or who haven’t been able to access higher education opportunities in Colorado, and yet, they are the fastest growing demographic in our state,” he said. “We’ve got to start to serve them and we’ve got to rely on them because they’re going to serve us. We cannot meet our workforce needs or gaps without doing a better job of educating underrepresented populations.”

Since September 2020, employment of dental hygienists has steadily declined and may continue to dwindle without swift and immediate interventions, according to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.

A March 2022 poll by the Health Policy Institute found almost 34% of dental practices were actively recruiting dental hygienists. More than 80% of dental practices that responded to the poll said it was “extremely challenging” or “very challenging” to recruit dental hygienists.

Delta Dental Foundation leaders o ered funding to schools that are able to continue fundraising to handle any remaining costs associated with expanding or starting new dental hygiene programs.

Projections show that by 2045, people of color will make up the majority of the U.S. population for the rst time. And as demographics of the U.S. population continue to shift, a diverse and culturally competent workforce will become more crucial than ever.

Research shows patients are more trusting of health care providers who share their race or ethnicity. But the demographics of the dental workforce don’t match the makeup of the U.S. population. A 2020 Health Policy Institute poll showed less than 10% of dentists were Black, Hispanic or Latino in 2020, while those groups made up more than 30% of the U.S. population, according to the Health Policy Institute.

In Colorado in 2019, 81% of Black people had insurance, meaning they collectively had more coverage than any other racial group in the state. However, only 56% of Black Coloradans visited a dental professional that year, meaning they were the least likely to visit a dentist when compared with all other racial groups, according to the 2019 Colorado Health Access Survey.

e data highlights a disconnect that needs to be resolved, and a lack of diversity in the workforce is a signi cant part of the problem that

should be swiftly addressed, Delta Dental leaders said.

For example, Black dentists are about twice as likely to accept Medicaid compared with white dentists, according to the Health Policy Institute poll. If the profession remains overwhelmingly white, patients with Medicaid will continue struggling to access oral health care, as they have for decades.

Creating more dental hygiene programs in Colorado that include a more diverse student population will increase access to oral health care and could reduce oral health inequities that have persisted for many Coloradans of color and for people living in rural and urban parts of the state, Delta Dental leaders said.  e expansion of the programs is especially vital, more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the oral health care system for 10 or 11 weeks in Colorado, which was followed by apprehension and fear about visiting dental o ces among patients and providers, a trend that caused some hygienists to leave the profession altogether or retire early, Khan said.

Now, with the new grants, the dental profession has another chance at reviving the dental hygiene industry. e Colorado schools selected to receive grants got their rst payments in November, Khan said, and will receive another installment sometime this week.

Lance Bolton, president of Pikes Peak State College, said the funding will help school leaders develop a new dental hygiene program that will open in fall of 2025. e number of students accepted will depend on formulas determined during the upcoming accreditation process and the number of faculty available to teach. e new program will most likely be able to accommodate 30 students, he said.

“We don’t have a dental hygiene program,” he said. “Starting one is incredibly expensive. It requires us to hire a faculty member for approximately two years before we even enroll our rst student to build the curriculum, get the program accredited and get ready to start. It also requires a very signi cant investment in dental equipment. So the Delta Dental gift absolutely catalyzed the initiation of this program. We wouldn’t be here without that.”

Pikes Peak State College leaders plan to develop curriculum based on existing dental hygiene programs at other Colorado colleges, Bolton said. irty percent of the seats in the dental hygiene program will be reserved for students graduating from the school’s dental assistant program, where about 75% of students are minorities, he said. at strategy will help train students who are underrepresented in the dental industry and hopefully encourage them to work in Colorado, he said.

ere is no dental hygiene program o ered in the Pikes Peak region, he said, meaning local dentists

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the organization’s inaugural program. It will include three selections from the 1948 show, including Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture,” “En Saga” by Jean Sibelius and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40.”

“ e original concert was much longer, two or three hours,” Golan said. “At that time, it was before television, and (it) was a time really used for live entertainment (and) live events, whether it was theater, opera, symphony.”

Today, there’s many forms of entertainment — including TV and the internet — and more things that families do together, Golan added.

“Everybody is so busy these days,” he said, “and concerts tend to be short.”

He expects the Crown Jewel program will last about an hourand-a-half to two hours, including intermission.

More Than Music

Attendees will also get to participate in the DPO’s More an Music. ese events are themed for each concert and o er an additional experience to the concert. More an Music ranges from pre-concert chats, during which concert-goers learn insight into the program’s mu-

sic, to post-concert receptions where concert-goers can enjoy refreshments and meet the musicians.

To get an idea of how the More an Music themes work, when DPO performed its Celtic Celebration around St. Patrick’s Day, the program included both Scottish and Irish music — Mendelssohn’s Scottish symphony, as well as an Irish piece of the Brendan Voyage, written by Shawn Davey, a living Irish composer.

“Before the concert, and during intermission, there were more hap-

penings, such as serving Irish whiskey and Scotch, plus tastings and Irish step dancing,” Golan said. “For the kids, we had miniature golf.”

He added that the sport was born in Scotland.

Roger Haak joins the DPO

As DPO reaches back this year, the organization recently welcomed Roger Haak as its new executive director.

Haak replaces Valerie Clausen, who is transitioning from the position after 11 years. Clausen has been

a violinist in the orchestra for 17 years, and it is expected she will continue to serve the DPO.

Haak’s background includes work with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He also is a classically trained vocalist and a new talent coordinator at Comedy Works in Denver, which occasionally requires a little standup on his part.

Haak comes to DPO from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where he was VIP ticketing manager.

“I’m like a one-stop shop,” Haak said, adding his role with the DPO touches upon just about every detail involved in running such a unique organization. e DPO “enables me to incorporate everything I learned at DCPA and elsewhere.”

A local connection

Antonia Brico was a trailblazer, Haak said. She was told that she could not be a conductor of an orchestra based solely on her gender, he added.

But “she came to Denver, and now we get to perform this again in Denver,” Haak said of the Crown Jewel concert. “ ere’s a real local connection happening here.”

To learn more about the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, or to purchase tickets to its Crown Jewel concert, visit denverphilharmonic. org.

Lawrence Golan conducts the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra during the orchestra’s November 2019 performance of The Mozart Requiem. PHOTO BY AMANDA TIPTON PHOTOGRAPHY

Can you change gates at DIA’s Terminal B in 19 seconds or less?

BY REBECCA TAUBER DENVERITE

Even if you’ve never had to sprint through Denver International Airport (DIA) desperately trying to make a ight, you’ve likely seen a poor fellow traveler panting and sweating to make it to their gate before boarding closed.

But recently running enthusiasts have turned the airport hustle into something that’s for more than just the late traveler. Runners using an app called Strava that tracks workouts and ranks users running the same routes have been trying their luck with a route called “Gate change gnar” that runs through DIA’s Terminal B.

More than 130 people have competed in the informal airport race. e current record is 19 seconds. One runner commented in the app that his family set up nish line tape made out of toilet paper. e current leader wrote that he completed the run to make it to McDonalds before it closed.

Daniel Belk recently ran the segment before a ight to promote his Denver-based running club, cooldown.

He recorded himself sprinting through Terminal B, in a video that quickly went viral on Instagram and

TikTok.

“I think people honestly thought that I was going to miss my ight,” Belk said of the looks he got at the airport.

After running Division 1 in college, Belk started cooldown with a friend to grow community among young people in Denver. ey started with

a casual jog followed by drinks with around 15 people last September, meeting on Tuesdays at 6 pm.. e group grew through word of mouth and Instagram, and now has around 300 people coming out for runs. A cooldown group has started in New York, and Belk plans to host pop-ups across the country.

“I think there’s a decent amount of demand for community, especially post-college,” Belk said. “It’s just kind of a fun passion project for us because we like galvanizing people, bringing people together, starting community. We both loved running and walking and seeing people come that feel comfortable at all paces, all ability levels, come out and just have a good time is really fun.”

While most segments on Strava cover popular routes through parks and along trails, Belk plans to continue promoting cooldown through stranger segments that make Denver unique. He’s run through Red Rocks Amphitheater and around both Union Station and Empower Field.

Belk cautions people attempting to break records at the airport to only go when the terminal is less crowded to avoid the risk of running into people. And while he is trying to top Strava’s leaderboard for unique routes across the city, Belk welcomes a challenge.

“I don’t care if people beat me or not,” he said. “It’s just a fun thing. If there’s people that go out and beat me, that’s great.”

is story is via Denverite, a Colorado Community Media content partner.

Denver International Airport’s B Concourse. Dec. 15, 2022 PHOTO BY KEVIN J. BEATY/DENVERITE

Western Slope wolf plan gets state OK

Wildlife commissioners hand proposal to CPW managers after two years of work

BY JASON BLEVINS THE COLORADO SUN

e Colorado Parks and Wildlife board of commissioners have approved a nal plan to restore wolves in Colorado.

Concluding two years of work — and hundreds of hours of meetings across the state — the commissioners unanimously approved a 301page plan to begin restoring wolves, as mandated by voters in November 2020.

Commissioner Dallas May said it was “morally imperative” for the commissioners to approve the plan and hand it o to CPW wildlife managers on schedule. e agency is on track to begin introducing wolves on the Western Slope by year’s end –per the voter mandate in November 2020 – even though there are many challenges ahead that threaten to derail that schedule.

“We now have the opportunity to place this in the hands of people who are absolutely the best team that can be assembled to enact it,” May said. “Is it a perfect plan? Probably not. It is an assemblage of giveand-take, of trying to nd the middle of the road. ere will be many things that we did not anticipate.

“ is is where the CPW team of dedicated professionals will begin their di cult and arduous task to ful ll their mission,” May said. “It is not our job to micromanage their work. Our job is to give them this plan and let them do what they do

best.”

Gov. Jared Polis called the commission on May 3 to thank the agency’s sta and volunteer commissioners for what he called “a big lift.”

Outgoing commissioner Carrie Besnette Hauser, the commission chair, said the nal approval “was a bit emotional” after months of healthy debate.

“I’m really proud of Colorado and I’m proud of all of you,” she said.  e restoration plan was developed over two years of meetings with both a Technical Working Group and a Stakeholder Advisory Group. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also held 47 meetings that engaged with 3,400 residents. e plan calls for phased management that can be adjusted as wolf populations grow in the state.

e restoration will begin with introducing 30 to 50 gray wolves in the next three to ve years. e state proposes wintertime releases of captured wolves in two areas on the Western Slope: along the Interstate 70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Vail, and along the U.S. 50 corridor between Monarch Pass and Montrose. e rst releases are planned for state or private land around the I-70 corridor.

As the state has planned restoration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing an exemption under the Endangered Species Act that would establish wolves in Colorado as an experimental population. e so-called 10(j) rule allows exible management strategies, like allowing ranchers to kill wolves that are threatening livestock or people.

e plan will allow ranchers who lose livestock to wolves to be compensated as much as $15,000 per animal. e plan outlines many nonlethal interventions to discour-

age wolves from killing livestock and it does allow the killing of wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock, saying both the stakeholder and technical groups viewed lethal management “as being critically important to a successful wolf management program.”

e federal wildlife service has expedited its review and expects to issue a nal Environmental Impact Statement by December. Legislation introduced in the Colorado Senate in March — Senate Bill 256 — prohibits introduction of gray wolves in Colorado until that 10(j) analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is complete.

Mike Samson, a four-term Gar eld County commissioner, spoke during public comment before the agency’s commissioners began reviewing the nal plan, saying the wolf restoration was “Colorado voters attempting to be Mother Nature” and “ballot-box biology.” He urged the commissioners to allow lethal taking of wolves, pointing to Idaho, where lawmakers have approved legislation allowing for killing up to 90% of the state’s estimated 1,500 wolves. ( e Colorado plan does not allow hunting, but the adaptive management strategy leaves open most management options in future years

as wolf populations grow.) “Wolves need to be legally hunted and trapped to keep their numbers in check,” Samson said.

Representatives for cattlemen groups urged the commissioners to approve compensation for ranchers who spend money on wolf mitigation, not just those who lose livestock to the predators.

Many public speakers asked the commissioners where they plan to get wolves to relocate into Colorado. e state’s plan calls for capturing wild gray wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. e draft plan says Colorado has “begun to explore an agreement” with the three states. A recent report by 9News quoted ofcials in each state saying there were no discussions with Colorado about donating wolves. e draft plan also says Colorado “has also begun to explore an agreement” with Washington and Oregon. e 9News report also quoted o cials in Oregon and Washington saying they were not working with Colorado on sourcing wolves for restoration in the state.

is story from e Colorado Sun, www.ColoradoSun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, which owns Colorado Community Media.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife placed GPS collars on two wolves in North Park on Feb. 2, 2023. Male wolf 2101 has a gray coat and is in the foreground on the right. Male wolf 2301, believed to be the o spring of the gray colored wolf, has a black coat and is in the background on the left. COURTESY COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE

Taking an Alzheimer’s diagnosis ‘a mile at a time’

Evergreen’s Mark Macy battles the disease by connecting with others

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Mark Macy is a ghter. e Evergreen resident always has been driven to succeed as an attorney, an endurance athlete and a devoted family man. Now at age 69, he continues his drive to succeed in his battle against Alzheimer’s disease. He believes that his green diet, exercise and positive attitude will help him do what many others haven’t: beat the disease.

“Some people think I’m nuts,” said Macy, 69, who everyone calls Mace. “I believe I can beat it. If I don’t, I’m still a happy guy.”

Mace has lived in Evergreen since 1980 with Pam, his high school sweetheart and wife of 46 years. Mace still runs regularly, sometimes on the family’s six-acre property and sometimes with friends who help keep him steady and on track.

When Mace got his diagnosis in 2018 — considered early-onset Alzheimer’s disease because he was 64 — the family decided it was not going to hide from the disease,

friends or the community.

at’s why son Travis Macy, a 2001 Evergreen High School graduate and former EHS English teacher, decided to write a book with Mace about their journey called “A Mile at a Time: A father and son’s inspiring Alzheimer’s journey of love, adventure and hope.”

Travis and Mace travel around the country speaking about Alzheimer’s disease, and they will be at the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Alzheimer’s & Caregiving Educational Conference on May 17. e family also will be at the Evergreen Taphouse for a book signing that evening.

“To his credit, (Mace) decided he was not going to be ashamed of Alzheimer’s and not going to hide it,” Travis said. “He’s continued to do that, and honestly it’s turned out that his treatment has been communicating with other Alzheimer’s families.”

Dr. Allison Reiss with the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Medical, Scienti c and Memory Screening Advisory Board said Alzheimer’s disease is not always obvious, especially at rst.

“We all get more forgetful, and sometimes we get so much clutter in our brains that we may do something wrong or di erent like misplace our keys or forget something

on the chore list,” she explained. e line between forgetfulness and an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis would be when someone suddenly doesn’t know where they are, Reiss said. ey wander o or try to go someplace from the past.

Another big one, she added, is not getting words right.

“Not just mispronouncing,” said Reiss, who is an associate professor of medicine at the NYU Long Island School of Medicine, “but when you can’t find the words or when you forget something basic like your own phone number. After a point, it becomes clear that it cannot be attributed to a normal situation.”

WANT TO GO TO THE CONFERENCE?

Before the diagnosis

Mace spent his life as a hard-working trial attorney, forsaking sleep to do it all – spending time with his family while working long hours at his practice. He began competing in adventure racing in the 1980s when the grueling sport was forming and competed in all eight Eco-Challenge races from 1995 to 2002.

Travis, following in his dad’s footsteps, became an accomplished ultra-athlete, traveling around the world to race professionally. Prior to Mace’s diagnosis, the father and son did hundreds of the same races, mostly solo events in which both

SEE ALZHEIMER’S, P9

• The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is hosting a free Alzheimer’s & Caregiving Educational Conference as part of its 2023 national Educating America Tour. It will be from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, at the University of Denver’s Fritz Knoebel Events Center, 2044 E. Evans Ave., Denver. Travis and Mark Macy are speaking at the conference about Navigating Alzheimer’s a Mile at a Time. To register, visit www.alzfdn. org/tour.

• Mark and Travis Macy will be at the Evergreen Taphouse at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, for a book signing.

Mark “Mace” Macy and his wife Pam stand on the deck of their Evergreen home. Mace was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2018.

PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

ALZHEIMER’S

entered.

“We did lots of the same adventure races in which Dad competed on a team with friends and I raced for the win with a competitive team,” Travis explained.

In 2019, a year after Mace’s diagnosis, the duo traveled to Fiji to race in the revived Eco-Challenge, a 10-day, 417-mile race with 280 competitors who traversed mountains, rivers, swamps and oceans, the rst time the two had competed on the same team. While the team did not nish, Travis considered it a win because endurance racing doesn’t have a category for competitors with Alzheimer’s disease.

The beginning

Mace said leading up to his diagnosis, he noticed he wasn’t talking properly, making his trial-attorney career more di cult.

“Word nding had become more di cult for him,” wife Pam said, “but not to where anyone would notice.”

Mace saw a neurologist, and a brain MRI came back normal, so they thought he was in the clear. But the symptoms kept persisting: things like Mace couldn’t read a map, and he suddenly had di culty pulling a car into a parking space.

But concern about Mace’s health had to wait while Pam received a

kidney transplant. Mace wasn’t a match, but he donated one anyway to someone else who needed one. Donors must be in excellent health to donate.

When Mace was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the doctor told him to start getting his a airs in order immediately and to take a family trip soon.

“We weren’t surprised by the diagnosis,” Pam said, “but we were still shocked. He is the healthiest person I know. I have had the health issues, so we thought I’d be the rst to go. ( e diagnosis) was reorienting as we think about the future.”

Travis added: “When the diagnosis came, it was not a surprise, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was really tough. For me, initially, it was a mad scramble to try to nd a cure and treatments. Immediately, we have to gure out nances, putting things into a trust, maybe we need to build a house on my parents’ property so we can take care of them. In hindsight, I was trying to control something uncontrollable.”

Since his diagnosis nearly ve years ago, Mace is losing more cognitive abilities: he no longer drives a car, he sometimes has di culty reading and writing and his balance isn’t what it once was.

In addition to his wife and son, he has strong support from his two daughters, Katelyn Macy Sandoval of Denver and Donavahn Macy of Tampa, Florida, plus ve grandchildren to play with.

Reiss said the degree of stress and sadness for both the person with the Alzheimer’s diagnosis and that person’s loved ones can be overwhelming.

“ e outcome is inevitable,” she said. “ is disease only goes in one direction, and the nal pathway is grim. Living with this person you love and watching the loss of that is just horrendous.”

Plus caregivers, who want to take care of their loved one themselves, face stress and depression because they become xated on caring for the other person, not themselves. She said caregivers must take care of themselves and lean on family members and friends for support.

Coping with Alzheimer’s

Travis said Mace has had sayings during races and life. In fact, Mace has a tattoo that says “It’s all good training” on his forearm because he believes there’s value in going through something di cult. at’s Mace’s attitude toward Alzheimer’s disease.

e disease’s toll can be seen in the races that father and son have undertaken as time goes by.   ey ran the Leadville 50-mile race in 2021, the Leadville Marathon in 2022, and they are planning to do the Leadville 10K this year.

“I have realized that winning doesn’t matter; I just want to run with my dad,” Travis explained.

e family knows that Mace’s health continues to deteriorate,

so they are planning for the future while still trying to be present in the here and now.

Mace wants people to know that people with Alzheimer’s disease are like everyone else, and they go on with life, though a little di erently.

“Just love the person (with Alzheimer’s),” Pam said. “ ey are the same person. As things change, we will have to change. It’s not going to get easier.”

Pam, already patient with an optimistic outlook, said she’s learned that it’s OK to ask for help.

Helping others

Pam said it was important for them to reach out to others on the Alzheimer’s disease journey to share information and to connect for support.

“Why stay home and hide?” she asked.

Travis said connecting with others on the same path has become a new mission, and a big goal of the book is to make a di erence and help people. Secondarily, it gave father and son something to do together.

“We are not Alzheimer’s experts,” Travis said, “but we are sharing our story.”

Mace continues to nd happiness in his life, and Travis attributes that “to my mom being incredibly supportive and energetic.”

“What is important to know,” Mace said, “is you will still be OK even after the diagnosis. I’m still an athlete and as good as I ever was. I’m perfectly happy. I have a great family.”

Woman faces terminal illness with resolve

Ellie White aims to raise awareness surrounding Wolfram syndrome

BY DANA KNOWLES AND JEREMY MOORE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

How do you show up for life and all it can potentially o er when you’re only 21 years old, knowing you may only have a few years left?

at’s a question Ellie White asks herself almost every day.

She was born with a rare neurodegenerative disease called Wolfram syndrome, which causes diabetes, blindness, hearing loss, and eventually it a ects the brain stem, resulting in respiratory failure at an early age. With no current cure, the life expectancy of someone with Wolfram syndrome is typically between 25 and 40 years.

“Eventually my body will forget how to breathe, and I won’t be able to breathe, which makes this disorder a terminal disorder,” White said, adding that dying at a young age is di cult to contemplate, even for her. “I want to get stu done. I want to live life.”

In fact, she is — getting stu done and living life — as best she can.

White nds joy by surrounding herself with family, friends and pets at her home in Centennial. She is also studying music therapy at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Over the last several years, she has performed with her dance group, e Silhouettes, on the television show “America’s Got Talent” and she traveled to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

ese are things that are paramount for her, as much of her time is also spent traveling out of state to meet with various specialists for what can feel like constant medical testing.

“I just went to St. Louis and was there for ve days. I had doctors appointments from seven in the morning until three in the afternoon. I did cognitive exams like memory and speech, taste tests, smell tests and blood work,” she added.

Wolfram syndrome is considered an orphan disorder, which means it is extremely rare and there is not a lot of research for funding to help nd a cure, and there is no treatment for it yet.

Ellie’s mother, Beth White, a molecular biologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the school of medi -

cine’s infectious disease department, is trying to change that. And she feels her background in research can help.

“I feel like I see her dying in front of me,” she said. “We started the Ellie White Foundation for Rare Genetic Disorders because we realized we needed to raise money for research because Wolfram syndrome is so rare that when Ellie was diagnosed with it, not only was she the only person alive in Colorado at the time who had it, but there was no research being done to nd a cure.”

Wolfram syndrome typically starts with a diagnosis of childhood diabetes, then vision problems, which is what happened with Ellie. When she was three, doctors diagnosed her with diabetes. Four years later, during a routine eye exam, Ellie was found to be colorblind. After more tests, Ellie was diagnosed with Wolfram syndrome.

“Unfortunately, it’s a terminal disorder. So, we’re working as quickly as we can to help nd a cure and save her life,” explained Beth White, adding that her goals are raising awareness and money. “Ultimately nding a cure for Wolfram syndrome is the most important thing in my life right now.”

at’s when Beth started reaching out to as many researchers as possible, sending pictures of her daughter with pleas to do something.

“I wanted to reach out to these doctors and scientists and say, ‘ is cute little girl has this horrible terminal disorder that’s going to steal her entire life.’ I wanted to see if I could nd someone to work with her. And I discovered that Dr. Urano was doing similar research,” Beth recalled.

“People like Ellie keep me going and keep my enthusiasm high. Partnership and friendship is very important while working to nd a cure and treatments for this disease,” said Urano.

Beth White describes her daughter as someone who is so brave that other people don’t realize that she’s su ering. “She has such a beautiful tendency to always look for the best in every moment of life, and the best in every person.”

Ellie describes herself as feeling empowered. “I’m hoping to make a di erence. I’m not doing this to save my life. I’m doing this to help save other people’s lives.”

is story via Rocky Mountain PBS, a Colorado Community Media content partner.

Thu 5/18

Arkaik

@ 6pm

The Roxy Theater, 2549 Walton St, Denver

Son Little @ 7pm Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 W. Florida Ave., Denver

FIDEL RUEDA @ 2pm

Stockyards Event Center, 5004 National Western Dr, Denver

CRL CRRLL: Somebody's Friend

Movement and Music Festival 2023 @ 7pm

The Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer St, Denver

Geoff Rickly @ 7pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Den‐ver

Alamo Black @ 8pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

Patrick Dethlefs @ 8:30pm

Hi-Dive, 7 S Broad‐way, Denver

Sat 5/20

Suzi Moon @ 9pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broad‐way, Denver

Sun 5/21

Retro Vertigo @ 4pm Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St, Denver

Mon 5/22

Oona Dahl @ 9pm Bar Standard, 1037 Broadway, Denver

Fri 5/19

Malachi @ 8pm

Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, 1624 Market St, Denver

Fitness FIELD DAY at Belmar @ 10am / Free Belmar, Lakewood. info@belmarcol orado.com

Float Like A Buffalo @ 12pm

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, 200 S Kalamath St, Denver

Akeem Woods: Akeem Headlines in Denver! @ 7:30pm Denver Comedy Underground, 1201 E Col‐fax Ave, Denver

Alestorm w/ Gloryhammer @ 7pm Oriental Theatre-CO, 4335 W. 44th Ave., Denver

Skating Polly @ 8pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver

GZA @ 8pm Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

Tue 5/23

MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE @ 6pm The Roxy Theater, 2549 Walton St, Denver

Wed 5/24

The Stone Eye @ 6pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

The Nocturnal Affair @ 6pm Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

Stryper @ 8pm Oriental Theatre-CO, 4335 W. 44th Ave., Denver

Moms are saints FROM THE EDITOR

Ilove the Luke Bryan song, “Most People are Good.” Besides agreeing with the song’s premise that despite what we hear on the news and read on social media about the worst in society –most people are good humans and try to do right by others.

e song also has the line, “most mommas oughta qualify for sainthood.” I also agree with this one particular line. Moms in the world work hard. Over the years — through journalism, through reading, and through becoming a mom and nding myself around other moms a lot more often — I have met some amazing women who get little to no credit for what they do.

First – we have to start with my own mother. She has three biological children, but raised 10 or 20 kids at some point. She raised her brothers and sisters when her own mom died at the age of 50. My uncle is more like my brother because he was only 7 when his mom died.

She also had a hand in raising some of my cousins and others through the years. I can’t say I remember a time in my childhood when my parents were not helping kids and family members.

I have more respect for how hard she worked all those years now that I have a busy, crazy life managing three children of my own. ey say the apple does not fall far from the tree. at is true, as I myself have helped raise other children who needed a parent. I am proud of my adopted daughter and where she has come in the last few years. I’d like to think that my mom’s in uence on me has generated a bit of how I raise her.

en, there are the other mothers out there who deserve

more credit. A story I heard about here in the Denver metro area this year is about an immigrant mom working to take care of her 7-year-old daughter. In her home country she was a lawyer. Here, she is a housekeeper worrying every month that another rent increase will put her in the streets.

Moms like her carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and every day they work to do whatever they can to keep their children safe.

All the single, struggling moms out there deserve our support these days in a world where just getting by is getting harder than ever.

To the working moms. I have to say I feel your pain. I recently got my son to hockey practice late. I was distracted with a work thing, and somehow started driving to the wrong ice center. My son was late in hitting the ice and his coach was asking him why. It was no surprise when my son threw me straight under the bus. Another nearby mom said it happens, pushing me to cut myself a break. She went on to tell me how she was more than 30 minutes late for private practice because she made the same mistake.

Working moms are hard on themselves. To you all, I say what she told me — “Cut yourselves a break.”

I could extend this week’s column to thousands of words by listing all the amazing moms we have in this world. My boss, my publisher, speaks often about her adult children and the time she spends with them. I hope to be like her when my kids are grown because her love and support shows that we really never top being mom.

Ahead of the day to celebrate moms — I just want to send a heartfelt Happy Mother’s Day wish to all of you.

elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA

Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this annual observance hits close to home for me, as a former single parent resident of Warren Village.

Warren Village is a Denver-based nonpro t organization that helps lowincome, single-parent families achieve sustainable personal and economic selfsu ciency. I moved in with my 4-year-old daughter in August of 2019, hoping to build a new life after leaving a domestic violence situation. Little did I know that this decision would not only provide me with a ordable housing

CHRISTY STEADMAN

Editor csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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THELMA GRIMES South Metro Editor tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

and education opportunities, but also vital mental health services.

Before coming to Warren Village, I had already earned a certi cate in medical assisting, but was struggling to make ends meet. I saw the nonpro t as an opportunity to not only continue my education and pay low rent, but also access a range of services such as career development, housing and personal nance, child development and, of course, mental health counseling.

It was just before COVID-19 struck that I began meeting with Pam, a counselor at Warren Village. In response to the pandemic, we shifted to virtual sessions. Despite the challenges, this counseling proved to be life-changing for me. I was diagnosed with PTSD and ADHD, and being able

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

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We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

Denver Herald-Dispatch (ISSN 1542-5797)(USPS 241-760)

A legal newspaper of general circulation in Denver, Colorado, the Herald-Dispatch

Thelma Grimes

‘Mental health is just as important as physical health’ GUEST COLUMN

Jada

Galassini

Spring avalanche danger looms as deaths near record

BY PAOLO ZIALCITA COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Conditions across the state are warming, and in the mountains, that means more avalanche hazards.  e chance of “wet avalanches” increases when snowpack melts in the springtime. ose types of avalanches occur when layers of snow beneath the surface become unstable due to increased moisture. Colorado’s snowpack is 38 percentage points higher than the median for this time of year, according to the National Water and Climate Center. at means there’s even more potential runo than normal.

Brian Lazar, deputy director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, said the high amount of snow that’s fallen this winter has contributed to the high risk of wet avalanches. e state’s high-elevation areas have received snowfall as recently as the nal week of April.

“As that cold snow warms up and sees sun after the storm leaves, it will tend to sheet o the underlying crust and produce kind of long-running wet avalanche activity, which is also what we saw over the last couple days,” Lazar said.

Lazar said wet avalanche activity will likely drop o once higher temperatures become more consistent and snowpack melts, but there will still be plenty of risk for backcountry skiers and other outdoor recreators in the coming weeks. He said anyone going out into the snow should be extra careful.

“Outside of checking your forecast,

you want to make sure you’re still carrying your minimum required rescue gear, which includes an avalanche transceiver, a shovel, and a probe,” Lazar said.

A man died near Breckinridge over the weekend after he was caught in a slide, becoming Colorado’s 11th avalanche fatality this snow season. One more recreational fatality will tie the

state’s all-time record, set in 1993. is story via Colorado Public Radio, a Colorado Community Media content partner.

A quarter of adults su er from seasonal allergy symptoms

BY STAFF REPORT COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

As spring temperatures arrive across the Front Range, allergists and immunologists at UCHealth

Cherry Creek Medical Center are prepared to help Coloradans who experience seasonal allergy symptoms.

“Once the weather starts warming up, we see an in ux of people come to the clinic because they begin to experience symptoms of seasonal allergies,” said Dr. Mohini Pathria, an allergist and immunologist at

HEALTH

to work with a professional to organize my thoughts and feelings was a game-changer.

Since leaving Warren Village, I now own a home and possess the necessary resilience and coping

UCHealth Cherry Creek Medical Center. “Many of them want to know what they’re allergic to, and what can be done to make them feel better throughout the warmer months.” Congestion, sneezing, and itchy eyes, nose or throat are just a few common symptoms of seasonal allergies caused by pollen from trees, grasses and weeds. Typically, a quarter of adults will develop seasonal allergy symptoms between the months of March and October, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Pathria said patients nd some

skills to prioritize other aspects of my life, such as decorating my new house and providing my daughter with quality possessions without relying on government aid. I consider myself lucky to continue receiving help from Pam through regular counseling sessions, and I will always be appreciative to Warren Village for facilitating this connection.

success with over-the-counter remedies. However, allergen immunotherapy (allergy shots) is an e ective option to better control symptoms and formalize a care plan to improve their quality of life.

“ e goal of allergen immunotherapy is for people to develop an increased tolerance and decreased symptoms to what they are sensitized to that are triggering their symptoms,” Pathria said. “Over time, once their tolerance improves, they may be able to reduce or even stop their medications.”

Additional treatment options

Now, more than ever, it is crucial to prioritize your mental well-being.

e recent pandemic has taken a toll on all of us, but particularly those who were already struggling with psychological issues.

So I urge all of us to take the time this month to focus on our mental health and well-being. It is not always easy to prioritize ourselves, but it is crucial to living a healthy and

include nasal sprays, antihistamines, and prescription medications. Providers also perform skin prick testing or serum-speci c immunoglobulin (IgE) testing to help diagnose seasonal allergy triggers.

Being part of a multidisciplinary health system, Cherry Creek Medical Center can help facilitate strong collaboration with other specialties to optimize patient care. Allergists and Immunologists like Pathria typically work closely with providers from ENT (ear, nose, and throat), rheumatology, dermatology, gastroenterology and pulmonology.

ful lling life. Seek help now instead of potentially having problems compound over time.

Let us remember that mental health is just as important as physical health, and work towards ending the stigma and ensuring that everyone has access to the care they need.

Jada Galassini is a resident of southeast Denver.

Avalanche blast warning sign on the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel under the Continental Divide, March 12, 2023.

PHOTO BY HART VAN DENBURG, CPR NEWS

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

At e Alley in downtown Littleton, you might nd a musician who’s so into the music, they’ll get up and dance on the bar.

When a local band surprises the crowd with a stellar performance that no one saw coming, “it just knocks people’s socks o ,” said Mary Riecks, e Alley’s bar manager and a Littleton-area native.

e watering hole on Main Street doubles as a music venue that nds and helps grow local talent — and the shows are free. It’s one of the bars in the metro Denver suburbs that o ers a window into up-and-coming homegrown performers amid a music scene that one longtime bar owner says is growing.

“Twenty years ago when I opened up the bar, there were a few bars around that had live music,” said Doug Jacobsen, owner of Jake’s Roadhouse in Arvada.

Since then, he’s noticed that “all of these di erent bars” now o er space for shows, said Jacobsen, who has friends who perform at spots around metro Denver.

“ ere’s a lot of great musicians here,” Jacobsen said.

Here’s a look at places o the beaten path where you can catch some lesser known — and sometimes famous — music artists in person.

‘Something for everyone’ Wild Goose Saloon in Parker

o ers a bit of a di erent environment: It’s a bar but also a large event venue.

It aims to be “Colorado’s version of the Knitting Factory” — a unique, independent venue that hosts local and national artists, said Chris Dellinger, who serves as co-owner of Wild Goose Saloon with his wife.

ey’re both longtime musicians themselves — they perform in a band called Lola Black, garnered play on the radio and toured around the country — and have played Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre several times, Dellinger said.

ey take their knowledge of the industry to running the Wild Goose, which was built around the concept of serving as a music venue and has a bigger stage,

sound and lighting setup than most bars do, Dellinger said.

It’s “kind of like every musician’s dream to own their own venue at some place and time, and we just ended up being able to pull it o ,” said Dellinger, who lives in Aurora.

After opening in July 2021, Wild Goose has hosted some large country artists and “some `80s artists that are still big,” Dellinger said. National pop-rock act American Authors is set to play there in late April.

“My motto always is, ‘If you don’t like the music one night, that’s OK — it’ll be completely di erent the next night or the next week,’” Dellinger said. “So we really try to have something for everyone here.”

His venue tries to get exposure for local talent by letting them open for national touring acts. For the audience, the typical admission cost for a national artist’s show at Wild Goose sits around $25 to $30, but local artists’ ticketed shows can cost as low as $10, and most of the local artists’ shows are free.

Dellinger and his wife have

“snuck in” a performance or two at Wild Goose, he said — they were set to play there in late April with the Texas Hippie Coalition, an American heavy metal band. Keeping classics alive

You might also see Jacobsen, a guitarist himself, playing with a band at Jake’s Roadhouse in the north metro area every now and then.

His bar started o ering live music “right away” after opening near the end of 2003. Sitting in east Arvada close to Denver and Westminster, the venue o ers mostly cover bands and blues, and on Wednesday nights, bluegrass is on tap. Sometimes, artists play original songs, but it’s rare, Jacobsen said.

“Our people come in to hang out, and most original bands don’t have four hours’ worth of original music,” Jacobsen said.

But playing covers at Jake’s Roadhouse is one way to get a new artist’s foot in the door in the local music scene.

“We have bands that come to us all the time that can’t get these other bars to give them a chance to play because they haven’t played anywhere before,” Jacobsen said. He added: “We’re not like that. I know a lot of musicians around town, and we will give a band a chance to play just on the word of a friend.”

He feels that live music is

Local suburban bars a place for up-and-coming music talent in Denver metro area

MUSIC

important to promote — “especially nowadays.”

“I’m 68 years old, so I grew up with really a lot of good rock and roll from the `60s and `70s, and I think it’s important to keep that alive,” he said.

And there’s no ticket cost to watch the live music at Jake’s Roadhouse.

New talent in Littleton Music is always free to watch, too, at e Alley in Littleton on the southwest side of the Denver

suburbs.

e bar had its grand opening near the start of 2017 and has always featured live music, said Riecks, the bar manager.

“ ere were not that many places on Main Street here in downtown Littleton that featured live music other than karaoke or a DJ on the weekends, at least not regularly,” Riecks said. “If you did catch a live band, it was maybe one day a week.”

e Alley came in and established a consistent place for live music, leaning toward classic rock but offering a variety of genres including blues, jazz, folk and bluegrass. Most of the acts that Riecks books are

local. And among the original artists, performances typically include about 25% original songs and 75% covers, she said — catering to the crowds.

e small main-street outlet is still an ideal place where you can catch new talent: Some nights of the week are centered around new artists.

“If you come play my open mic night and the open mic host thinks you have some serious potential, they’ll send them to me,” and then the artist may be featured in “new talent ursday,” Riecks said. After that, Riecks may o er an artist a weekend spot — a paid opportunity to play from 8 to 11 p.m.

“So there’s kind of a ladder,” Riecks said.

Some well-known artists have played at e Alley, including Sean Kelly of e Samples, “which was a huge band in the `90s,” said Riecks, who added that she receives at least 40 to 50 emails a month from local artists and national touring acts.

A large part of e Alley’s crowd on any given night comes for the live music, Riecks said.

People can get a typical bar experience at many other places, she noted.

“But if they want to have a great craft-made cocktail and see some local talent,” Riecks said, “this is the place to do it in Littleton.”

James Steinbach, lead guitarist of Float Like a Bu alo, performs at The Alley in downtown Littleton. Josh Blackburn, a local musician, performs at The Alley in downtown Littleton.

A band plays at The Alley, a bar that features live music in downtown Littleton.

Shades of Red: Exploring the cracks in the Colorado GOP

BY NINA JOSS AND MCKENNA HARFORD COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Several hours before the restaurant opened one Wednesday in April, Maggiano’s Little Italy was already bustling with people sipping co ee and lling their plates with wa es and eggs.

It was the monthly gathering of the Arapahoe County Republican Breakfast Club. At the Denver Tech Center restaurant, leaders and neighbors build community and discuss issues important to the GOP in the metro area and across Colorado.

At this meeting, talk turned to the Republican Party’s identity crisis.

“It’s very clear that, even in this room of good friends, we are still very deeply divided,” Arapahoe County GOP Chair Anne Rowland said to the group. “In spite of that, if we want to win, we need to keep having conversations in a positive way and not to tear one another down.”

Rowland’s statement highlighted an idea that, despite not being on any o cial agenda for the meeting, was on everyone’s minds: What do Republicans need to do to win elections?

In 2022, Democrats edged out Republicans in most key elections. Along with wins in all four statewide elected o ces, including governor, and a U.S. Senate seat, Democrats gained a supermajority in the state House and a majority in the state Senate.

ere seems to be consensus within the Republican Party that unity is needed to start winning. Republicans appear to agree they need an identity, a clear message. e disagreement, however, is exactly what messages to push.

Some want the party to shift focus away from abortion, gun control, the results of the 2020 presidential election and Donald Trump in hopes of appealing to more una liated voters. Others say these topics are exactly what Republicans need to double down on

to win.

At the April breakfast, some of those themes played out. Republicans in the room disagreed on how much the party should focus on abortion. While many Republicans share a desire for more restrictions on abortion in Colorado, the question is how much these beliefs should be a part of mainstream messaging.

“It reminds me of an old saying: ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,’” said Bob Andrews, who lost the Arapahoe County assessor race in 2022.

As a “devout Catholic” with “strong opinions about abortion,” Andrews said Republicans need to stop focusing on it.

“We have this abortion albatross around our neck,” he said. “As an assessor candidate, I had to answer questions about abortion. at’s not in my purview. But until we give that up, we’re going to keep losing.”

Others argued the exact opposite is needed, saying the key to winning is to push harder on the controversial social issues that became a focal point of the 2022 elections.

“As a Republican, we’ll never walk away from protecting the unborn, period,” said Randy Corporon, Republican national committeeman and political radio talk show host. “We don’t need to moderate our position. We need to point out how radical the Democrat position is … It’s a wonderful opportunity to stand up for what we believe and convince people why we’re right.”

e passion of these comments — and the divisions they brought to the surface — extend far beyond Maggiano’s.

From Arapahoe County, which has a Democratic majority, to right-leaning Douglas County — Republicans nd themselves debating and questioning whether they can come to a consensus on how to present a one-party front to voters.

A numbers game

Last year in Douglas County, a Democrat won a legislative race in the Republican stronghold for the rst time since 1966.

Still, Douglas County elected mostly Republicans to the statehouse, re ecting its voter spectrum. Republicans account for 34% of active registered voters in the county, while 19% are Democrats and 46% are una liated. (Voters not included in these numbers are registered with minor parties.)

e numbers di erentiate Douglas County from neighboring Arapahoe County, where 21% of active registered voters are Republicans, 31% are Democrats and 46% are una liated.

Kevin Edling, who ran for Arapahoe County sheri against incumbent Democrat Tyler Brown in 2022, said these numbers played a role in his loss.

“I knew before I ran for o ce for the Arapahoe County sheri that we’re behind the eight ball because there’s … more registered Democrats in Arapahoe County than there are Republicans,” he said.

If Edling could have run without choosing a party, he said he would have. Some races feel like they’re already decided down party lines before the candidates even start campaigning, he said.

“ at’s not what it’s supposed to be about,” he said. “It’s supposed to be about ideas and candidates and service.”

In the eyes of many Republicans, party registration numbers played a large role in the GOP’s cache of losses in 2022.

“I campaigned for several of the (November 2022) candidates,” said Arapahoe County Commissioner Je Baker, the lone Republican on the ve-member board. “None of my picks won. But you know … I don’t think they could have done anything better. It’s a mathematics game.”

Party registration numbers in Arapahoe County are similar to those statewide. Just under a quarter of active voters in Colorado are registered Republican and 27% are Democrat.

It is signi cantly more popular, however, to not be registered with any party at all – 46% of voters in the state are una liated, and that percentage has increased over time.

Staiert, thinks the shift to una liated could also have a systemic cause.

In the past, o cials at the Department of Motor Vehicles would ask residents if they wanted to register to vote and would allow them to select a party.

“Now, they don’t ask you the question anymore,” Taheri said. “You’re just automatically registered as una liated.”

A new process, implemented in 2020, automatically registers new voters as una liated when they get a driver’s license.

To register with a speci c party, voters have to change their a liation online or by responding to a mailed notice from the state.

“Your motivation to then go into the system and change your a liation to something else is much lower,” said Taheri, the former chair of the Arapahoe County GOP. “Like why? What is the bene t? Now we have open primaries, and if you don’t register as a Republican, then you can vote in either. If you register as a Republican or a Democrat, you only get to pick one. So I don’t know that we will ever see (party registration) really increasing in Colorado.”

In March, during a Republican town hall event in Castle Rock, one Douglas County resident said if voters were forced to pick a party, more would choose the right and Republicans would fare better in elections and registration numbers.

With the growing number of una liated voters in the state, many Republicans say the key to winning elections is getting these voters on their side.

“We need to make sure they know that not all Republicans look like me, are old white guys,” Baker said. “ at we have folks that are BIPOC, that they are LGBTQ+. We need to make sure that we’re addressing the issues that they nd important.”

But in Taheri’s eyes, not all una liated voters are “up for grabs.”

10

20% %

On Nov. 4, 2008, the day Barack Obama was rst elected, Democratic, Republican and una liated voters in Colorado were evenly split, with about 33% of voters registered in each category. Since then, both major party registration percentages have decreased while una liated voters have increased.

ere are multiple theories as to why registering as una liated is becoming more common among voters.

For some, the shift away from party a liation highlights the declining loyalty to both major political parties and frustration with the two-party political system.

Suzanne Taheri, who was known for much of her political career as Suzanne

“We’re not necessarily appealing to una liated (voters) — they’re unafliated by default, not necessarily by choice,” she said. “I think there’s a big di erence between someone who comes here who’s a Democrat, gets registered as una liated and doesn’t switch, versus somebody who made the switch from a party to una liated … If they were truly up for grabs, I would say, you know, you have to sell your issues to them.”

According to the secretary of state’s o ce, una liated voters can choose a party preference, meaning they can choose to receive a ballot for only the Democratic or Republican primary leading up to an election. Of the unafliated voters who have chosen a party preference since the June 2022 primary, 59% chose Democratic and 33% chose Republican.

Voter preference numbers for other recent primaries also show more Democratic preferences than Republican.

Despite these blue-leaning tendencies, many una liated voters, with the ability to vote for either party in the primaries, choose to vote on the Republican ballot.

In the 2022 primaries, 1.2 million total votes were cast, according to numbers from the secretary of state’s o ce. According to the o ce’s data, 248,192 una liated voters returned Republican ballots and 170,631 cast their ballots in Democratic primaries. With una liated voters impacting primary races, some Republicans support closing primary elections to only registered GOP voters. ey say this would compel people who want to participate to register with the party.

“As members of our community who have knocked countless doors and engaged untold numbers of residents, we know una liated voters are more aligned with conservative values than not,” Douglas County GOP Chair Steve Peck said in a statement. “We hope to prove the value of Republicanism to them over time and have them join our family to take part in our primary elections as registered Republicans themselves.”

Arapahoe County GOP chair Anne Rowland thinks the party can bring more voters in by selling their issues and, more importantly, by building relationships.

“If we’re going to win, we must work together,” she said. “And not only do we have to work together, but we have to persuade una liated and moderate Democrats. Otherwise we’re gonna lose every time.”

The drivers of division

In Rowland’s experience, there are two main causes of division within the party. Some Republicans, she said, are divided in their grassroots versus establishment attitudes.

e other division in the party, Row-

land said, is about how much weight to put on speci c issues.

“Some of us are divided because there’s an issue or another that we’re personally attached to, and that overrules everything,” she said.

During the Arapahoe County Republicans Breakfast in April, the issue dividing the crowd was abortion. Gun control, contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election and Trump also cause divisions among Republicans.

During a debate leading up to the 2023 GOP state chair election, in which Dave Williams was elected, several candidates said they believe Trump won the 2020 election and the party needs to focus on transparency and election security.

“We need to be bold, we need to stand up,” said then candidate Aaron Wood. “We need to not be afraid of people calling us ‘the Big Lie’ or ‘election deniers’ — Trump won. Plain and simple … I want to see without a doubt that elections are won legitimately and we need to be proponents of that.”

In 2020, President Joe Biden was declared the winner with 306 Electoral College votes and just over 81.2 million popular votes. According to the o cial results, Trump nished with 232 Electoral College votes and just over 74.2 million citizen votes.

Williams also believes Trump won the 2020 election.

When running for the state legislature in 2022, he led a lawsuit to try to force Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to allow his name to be listed on the primary ballot as “Dave ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Williams,” using a coded phrase that means “F--- Joe Biden.”

A judge ruled that Griswold had the authority to disallow the use of the phrase.

Erik Aadland, another candidate for the state’s GOP chair position and former congressional candidate, said election integrity is important, but focusing so much on the 2020 results is hurting the party.

“ is rehashing 2020 is not serving

Republicans,” he said. “Whether fraud dictated a role in the outcome of 2020, well sadly, we’ll never know, folks … Our republic hangs in the balance, and if we keep trying to ght 2020 over and over again, we’re going to lose this war.”

Tina Peters, a 2023 state chair candidate and former Mesa County clerk who was indicted last year on charges related to a security breach of the county’s election system, said focusing on the results is important for the party going forward.

“We need to learn from the past,” she said.

Peters was also recently convicted of obstructing government operations after an encounter in which police said she resisted investigators when they tried to seize an iPad that she had used to record a court proceeding.

Williams said he has o ered the six other candidates who ran for Colorado GOP chair, including Peters, titles and roles within the state party, as reported by e Colorado Sun.

Taheri said di ering perspectives on the 2020 election results are causing Republicans to turn against each other.

“I think what is driving the wedge in the party is that there is a group who doesn’t want to really talk about (other issues), they just want to talk about stolen elections and they want to sling mud at, not just the Democrats, but other people in the party that don’t want to talk about their issue,” she said.

For the party to be successful, Taheri said she thinks it needs to move away from Trump. Because of his prominent role in people’s perception of the party, she said his in uence trickles down to how people vote in local elections.

“ e saying used to be ‘All politics is local,’” she said. “Now I feel like all politics is national … I think if we are better at the federal level of articulating our issues, then people start to identify our candidates with our issues instead of just identifying our candidates with Trump.”

For other Republican voices and voters, Trump is the only way forward for the GOP.

During a March town hall hosted by several state House Republicans, several Douglas County citizens said Trump is the best choice to x not only the party, but also the country.

When asked if they would only support Trump, the Castle Pines and Castle Rock residents said they would support whoever wins the Republican primary.

Unifying issues

To move forward as a party, some Republicans think the key to winning is

to focus on the issues that a ect voters’ day-to-day lives.

“I don’t like to lead with (abortion and gun rights) because those are hotbutton issues,” Rowland said. “If it’s a topic that’s very partisan, I don’t think that’s where you start the conversation. I think you hold your values, but start with the things that you can agree on.”

In Rowland’s eyes, some of those things are crime, in ation, homelessness, school violence and fentanyl.

“ ese are all issues that should not be Republican or Democrat issues,” she said. “ ese are not partisan issues. ese are issues of life and community.”

Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker, said ideas that already have broad consensus in the Republican party, like addressing crime, keeping government small with low taxes and fewer regulations, educational choice and promoting individualism, have the best chance of recruiting una liated voters. While campaigning in 2020, Hartsook said he found that una liated voters and Republicans shared the same concerns with growing in ation, crime and cost of living.

For Edling, the core values of the Republican party are scal.

“What truly is not divisive in politics is people’s money — their wallet,” he said. “People often vote with their wallet. Money is money. So if we could somehow turn our politics back into something we all agree on, and we want to protect — our nancial freedom, our nancial resources.”

For Baker, core conservative values are limited government, property rights, the rule of law and supporting law enforcement and public safety o cers.

Instead of mainly focusing on the importance of these Republican ideals, state GOP chair Williams said party leaders need to show voters why Democrats are corrupt.

“Here’s the truth: swing voters are not driven by ideology, otherwise they would a liate,” he said during a February debate. “If we’re going to win, let’s provide that bold contrast because our issues do, in fact, win. Swing voters, speci cally, just want to be able to vote for someone they can trust. And I assure you, if we call out the Democrats for being morally bankrupt and corrupted, we’re going to earn their trust.”

In an email to Colorado Community Media, Williams said the GOP needs to “show that Colorado Republicans care about resolving their very real kitchen table, pocketbook issues

SEE GOP, P19

while exposing radical Democrats for making hard working citizens’ lives harder and more expensive.”

In addition to pointing out Democratic failures, Rowland said Republicans need to o er a better way.

“We have to say, ‘ is, this and this are going wrong — here’s a better way to x them,’” she said.

State Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, said the lack of improvement on many issues will be a motivator for people to start voting Republican.

“We’re not seeing an improvement in crime. We’re not seeing an improvement in homelessness. We’re not seeing an improvement in a ordability,” she said. “Democrats have had years to x these problems and they have been unable to.”

Get the brand out like Tony the Tiger

To get the party’s message out, Edling said the party needs to do a better job marketing through social media, schools and extracurriculars. He said the GOP could even consider hiring a consultant to help.

“We have to do a better job of marketing to all our young people for both parties to get the future talent of politicians (and) leaders,” he said. “I want young, new, bright faces, new ideas to come out.”

Andrews, who ran for Arapahoe County assessor, said this messaging needs to start in schools.

“We keep talking about reaching out to the young people,” he said. “ at’s just lip service — unless we start creating some young Republican clubs in every high school, it’s not gonna matter because all of the teachers and the media are speaking the language of the young people, and we’re not even in the game.”

In Taheri’s eyes, the party will be di cult to brand as long as Trump is still the national focus. Trump, facing criminal charges in New York, has

already announced he will run for president in 2024.

“I just think it’s going to be really hard (to sell the issues) in Arapahoe County if Trump’s still in the picture.” Taheri said. “I just think his tone, I mean, I just don’t see many suburban women supporting something like that. Arapahoe is a very educated county. I just don’t think any of us wanted that in our living room.”

From her perspective in the Capitol, Frizell said divisions in the party can distract from policy e orts to tackle constituents’ problems.

“We have to come together and unify if we’re ever going to succeed,” she said.

In Rowland’s eyes, the one true key to uniting the party and xing its image is to put real e ort into building relationships such as doing more community service, an idea she got from Boulder GOP Chair George Tristan.

“I think if the person you know — the person that came and helped build a tiny house for you, the person that came and did whatever service project your church was working on, and you meet that person, and you get to know them — that’s the person you vote for and you don’t pay attention to whether there’s an R or a D by their name,” she said. “Here in Colorado, it almost seems as though the R is like a scarlet letter.”

Both in the greater community and within the party itself, Rowland thinks the only way toward unity is giving each other a chance — sitting down for a cup of co ee over disagreement, and nding common ground.

“We have a Tony the Tiger problem,” she said. “For years, Tony the Tiger has taught us that Frosted Flakes are great. We grew up knowing that. But kids today grow up thinking Republicans are mean on social issues, that they’re too narrow-minded and too traditional and they don’t like any new ideas.”

“We have to be able to have discussions, respectful discussions, to come to a place where we can message,” she said. “And if we can’t agree on something, where can we work towards?”

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Public Notice

TO: COURI JOHNSON: You are notified that you have 10 days after publication for this notice of levy to file your claim of exemption with the District Court of Denver County, 1437 Bannock, Room 256, Denver, CO 80202 in Case 2021CV031742

entitled: HB ENTERPRISES, LLC v. TREADSTONE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, LLC and COURI JOHNSON, individually $7,438.24 garnished at Chase Bank, 5800 S. Parker Rd., Aurora, CO 80015

Legal Notice No. 82188

First Publication: April 20, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Notice to Creditors

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of ELIZABETH EARSMAN, a/k/a BETTE EARSMAN, a/k/a ELIZABETH A. EARSMAN, a/k/a ELIZABETH ANN EARSMAN, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR30472

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Pauline B. Fumagalli

Personal Representative

8101 E. Dartmouth Avenue, #59 Denver, CO 80231

Legal Notice No. 82231

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Judith Lynn Sempson, A/K/A Judi Sempson, A/K/A Judith L. Sempson, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30424

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Sera Sempson

Personal Representative 2800 S. University Blvd. Unit 78 Denver, CO 80210

Legal Notice No. DHD1105

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Kip M. Sleichter, also known as Kip Merle Sleichter, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR030464

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 28, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

/s/ Nadya Vecchiet-Lambert, Esq. on behalf of Diane Cole, Personal Representative 6855 S. Havana St. Ste 370, Centennial, CO 80112

Legal Notice No. 82211

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of MARY F. MAJORS, aka MARY FAYE MAJORS, aka M. FAYE MAJORS, aka MARY MAJORS, aka FAYE MAJORS, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR30439

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Katz, Look & Onorato, PC

Attorneys to the Personal Representative 1120 Lincoln Street. Suite 1100 Denver, CO 80203

Legal Notice No. 82223

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Arden Louise Rains, AKA Arden L. Rains, AKA Arden Rains, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR030450

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Meryl Arden Rains

Personal Representative c/o Mollie B. Hawes, Miller and Steiert, P.C. 1901 W. Littleton Blvd. Littleton, CO 80120

Legal Notice No. 82220

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of BONNAJENE FRANK, Deceased Case Number: 23 PR 30515

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the PROBATE COURT OF CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO, on or before September 18, 2023 or the claims may be forever barred.

Gregory Theiss Frank, Personal Representative 7588 Pyrite Way Castle Rock, CO 80108

Legal Notice No. 82230

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Curtis R. Means, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30363

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Stephen Philip Means

Personal Representative 1025 Jasmine St., Unit 10 Denver, CO 80220

Legal Notice No. DHD1102

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of John Steven Cassaday

a/k/a John S. Cassaday, John Cassaday, J. Steven Cassaday, Steven Cassaday and Steve Cassaday, Deceased

Case Number: 2023 PR 30467

named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Carolyn Moller Duncan, Atty. No. 33766

Attorney for Personal Representative Duncan Legal, PC 6436 S. Racine Circle, Suite 227 Centennial, Colorado 80111

Phone No: 303-394-2358

Legal Notice No. DHD1100

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Dianne Jean Hinton, a/k/a Dianne J. Hinton, and Dianne Hinton, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30354

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative, or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado, on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Brandon Groome, Personal Representative c/o Poskus & Klein, P.C. 303 East 17th Avenue, Suite 900 Denver, Colorado 80203

Legal Notice No. 82228

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Esther Katherine Bay, aka Esther Bay, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30347

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 27, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Anastasia Fainberg Attorney to the Personal Representative 3600 S Yosemite Street Suite 810 Denver, CO, 80237

Legal Notice No. 82208

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Jane G. Torrey, a/k/a Jane Gibbs Torrey, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30506

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 12, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Jim Greenwell

Personal Representative

4989 E. Oxford Ave. Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113

Legal Notice No. DHD1106

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Robert Martin, also known as Robert L. Martin, Robert Lee Martin, Robert Martin II, Robert L. Martin II, and Robert Lee Martin II, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30323

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Robert Martin III

Lakewood, Colorado 80232

Legal Notice No. DHD1108

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Ryan Nelligan, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR166

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 28, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Eduardo Salvidrez, Personal Representative 1596 W. Maple Avenue Denver, Colorado 80223

Legal Notice No. 82206

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Kelly K. Scott AKA Kelly Kourtney Scott, AKA K. Kourtney Scott, AKA K.K. Scott, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30397

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Brie Hein, Personal Representative 9045 Bermuda Run Circle Highlands Ranch, CO 80138

Legal Notice No. 82221

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of RUTH N. FLORES, a/k/a RUTH FLORES, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30470

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 4, 2023 , or the claims may be forever barred.

Tina Louise Hood, Personal Representative c/o Leslie R. Olson, Esq. Hutchins & Associates LLC 1999 Broadway, Suite 1400 Denver, Colorado 80202

Legal Notice No. 82225

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Ann Elizabeth Iford, aka Ann E. Iford, aka Ann Iford, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR65

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Cosme A. Ramirez, Personal Representative 720 East 4th Avenue Denver, Colorado 80203

Legal Notice No. 82222

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Luis Carlos Marquez Cordova, Deceased Case Number: 2022 PR 31442

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the

personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court, City and County Building, Bannock St. Room 230, Denver, CO 80202 on or before May 18, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Daniel McAuliffe, Attorney for the Personal Representative High Country Lawyers, PLCC PO Box 5091 Frisco, CO 80443

Legal Notice No. 82219

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Hesam Masoudi, Deceased Case No. 2023PR30440

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court, City and County of Denver, Colorado, on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Gerald F. Masoudi, Personal Representative 1311 Rockland Terrace McLean, VA 22101

Legal Notice No. 82229

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Andrew S. Kassel, aka Andrew Scott Kassel, aka Andrew Kassel, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30417

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 28, 2023 (date)*, or the claims may be forever barred.

Donald Brian Miller, Personal Representative c/o Schafer Thomas Maez PC, 4 Garden Center #200 Broomfield, Colorado 80020

Legal Notice No. 82212

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Rodney D. Wicklund, aka R.D. Wicklund, aka Rod Wicklund, aka Rodney Dale Wicklund, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30492

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Phyllis A. Wicklund

Personal Representative 8101 E. Dartmouth Avenue #57 Denver, CO 80231

Legal Notice No. DHD1107

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of CHARLES LELAND DORCHESTER,II, aka CHARLES LELAND DORCHESTER, JR. and CHARLES LELAND DORCHESTER, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30549

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 11, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Douglas S. Holden, Attorney at Law 3751 West 136th Avenue, Unit B4 Broomfield, Colorado 80023

Legal Notice No. DHD1103

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

are having a di cult time lling those positions.

Paola Hernandez, a second-year student at Pikes Peak State College, from a young age had dreams of becoming a dental hygienist. But she’s currently studying to become a dental assistant because there aren’t any dental hygiene programs near her home in Colorado Springs.

e closest schools o ering dental hygiene programs are in Pueblo or Denver, too far away for Hernandez to consider.

e new grant will make it possible for her to come back to Pikes Peak State College to study dental hygiene after she graduates in May 2024 and spends at least a year working as a dental assistant. “ at has always been my number one plan and the rst thing that I wanted to do.”

Dental care is not routine in Durango, Mexico, where Hernandez was born. Her parents, who speak mostly Spanish, often struggle in Colorado to communicate with dentists and hygienists about where they’re feeling pain in their mouth. Sometimes her parents have to return to the dentist because the pain wasn’t resolved. Hernandez said she

sometimes attends those appointments to help interpret.

“Being able to communicate with your patients is what I want to be able to give,” she said.

e most important part about becoming a dental hygienist is gaining the skills needed to help people feel con dent and digni ed when they smile, she said at the event.

When visiting a dental clinic, most people expect to have their teeth examined by a dentist. However, patients often spend the most time at a clinic under the care of a dental assistant or a dental hygienist. Dental hygienists provide regular cleanings, o er uoride and sealants, perform screenings and give patients tips for e ective oral health care at home

Public Notices

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of ISABELLE GRANT CLARK, a/k/a ISABELLE G. CLARK, and ISABELLE CLARK, deceased

Case Number: 2022PR603

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 27, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

BOKF, NA, Personal Representative c/o Shana Rogers, Trust Officer, Vice President 1600 Broadway, 4th Floor Denver, CO 80202

Legal Notice No. 82209

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Marian L. Giannasi, a/k/a Marian Louise Giannasi and Marian Giannasi, Deceased

Case Number: 2023 PR 30461

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 12, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Sherrie E. Conway

Personal Representative

c/o Law Office of Byron K. Hammond, LLC 4500 Cherry Creek Drive South, Suite 960 Denver, CO 80246

Legal Notice No. DHD1104

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of MARGARET ELAINE JOHNSON, a/k/a M. ELAINE JOHNSON, AND ELAINE JOHNSON, Deceased

Case Number: 2023PR30405

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate

while dental assistants help dentists during treatments, ask about the patient’s medical history, take client’s blood pressure and pulse, sterilize equipment and help people feel comfortable before, during and after treatment, according to the American Dental Association.

Licensed dental hygienists have the opportunity to earn a good wage.

eir median annual wage was $81,400, according to May 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and those earnings increase as these professionals advance in their careers. Some dental hygienists who work on a contract basis have more exibility in their work, and in Colorado, a dental hygienist can open their own practice, Khan said.

One of the challenges many colleges face is nding people quali ed to teach dental hygiene classes and train hygienists.

Now, Delta Dental is raising awareness about the new and expanding dental hygiene programs in communities across the state where the organization is already working to advance oral health equity through other initiatives.

It’s too hard to say if more funds will be needed to help colleges add or expand dental hygiene programs, by the time the grants run out, or if workforce shortages will be addressed, Khan said.

Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Karen E. Johnson, Personal Representative 3107 South Stuart Street Denver, CO 80236

Legal Notice No. 82227

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Robert D. Hockenbury, a/k/a Robert Dennis Hockenbury, Deceased Case Number 2023PR30272

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 27, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

BAIGALMAA DELGERDORJ HOCKENBURY

Personal Representative 1617 Steele Street Denver, Colorado 80206

Legal Notice No. 82213

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Roberta Phyllis Martinez, a/k/a Robbie Martinez, a/k/a Roberta P. Martinez, a/k/a Roberta Martinez, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30341

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 28, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Daniel P. Kapsak

Attorney to the Personal Representative 610 Hover Street Suite 203 Longmont, Colorado 80501

Legal Notice No. 82210

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Colorado does not contribute as much funding to higher education when compared to other states and there may be other opportunities for the state to make monetary contributions to the dental hygiene e ort in the future, he said. For example, in Oregon, a proposed bill would provide $20 million for recruiting and retaining dental workers, and to support and create training programs.

“ is funding in and of itself is not enough for what the schools are going to need to be able to really execute on these programs, so they still have additional fundraising requirements to be able to fully execute on some of their plans,” Khan said of the foundation’s grants.

As the program progresses, schools will report to Delta Dental on progress made about how well it’s attracting and retaining hygienists from underrepresented groups and other data to show enough students are graduating to help close the workforce shortage.

“It’s a long runway, but at the end of the day, this is the solution we need,” Khan said.

is story from e Colorado Sun, www.ColoradoSun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, which owns Colorado Community Media.

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of JANET KATHERINE CANFIELD, a/k/a Janet K. Canfield, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR030398

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before August 27, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Mark Canfield, Co-Personal Representative 375 Lafayette Denver, CO 80218

Craig Canfield, Co-Personal Representative 538 Cherry Hills Road Billings, MT 59105

Legal Notice No. 82214

First Publication: April 27, 2023

Last Publication: May 11, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of CHANTAL S. PAPEZ, a/k/a CHANTAL PAPEZ, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30419

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to: The Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before September 5, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

/s/ Anthony D. Damon Attorney for Personal Representative

The Damon Law Firm, LLC

4465 Kipling Street #101 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Legal Notice No. 82218

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Name Changes

PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Notice of Petition for Change of Name

Public notice is given on April 13, 2023, that a Petition for a Change of Name of a minor child has been filed with the Denver County Court.

The petition requests that the name of

ILIANA GARCIA be changed to PENELOPE JAE EUSTAQUIO

Case No.: 23 C 41

By: Deputy Clerk

Legal Notice No. DHD1101

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: May 25, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch

Children Services

(Adoption/Guardian/Other)

Public Notice

NOTICE OF ADOPTION & HEARING

Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §43-104.14, Heather S. Colton, Attorney at Law, 1003 H Street, Lincoln, NE 68508 (402) 476-7474, does hereby provide the following Notice of Adoption & Hearing:

Timothy Wempen and John Doe, real name unknown, you have been identified as the possible biological father of twin female children who were born on April 23, 2018. The children were conceived in approximately September 2017 in Nebraska. The biological mother of said children, Tiffany Griggs, has relinquished her parental rights to the minor children and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services intends to place the children up for adoption in May 2023 in the County Court of Seward County, Nebraska.

If you are the biological father, you may (i) deny paternity; (ii) waive any parental rights you may have; (iii) relinquish and consent to the adoption of the minor children; (iv) file a Notice of Objection to Adoption and Intent to Obtain Custody, pursuant to section 43-104.02 if you are a putative father, or (v) object to the adoption in court within forty-five days after the later of receipt of notice under this section if you are an acknowledged or adjudicated father. If you wish to deny paternity, waive your parental rights, relinquish and consent to the adoption, or receive additional information to determine whether you may be the father of the children in question, you must contact Heather Colton at the above address. If you wish to object to the adoption and seek custody of the child, you must seek legal counsel from your own attorney immediately.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that if you take no action in this matter, a hearing to determine your parental rights and whether your consent to this adoption is required by law pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §43-104.22 will be held in the County Court of Seward County, Nebraska located at 261

S 8th Street, Seward, NE 68434 on May 30, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the same may be heard by the court.

Legal Notice No. 82226

First Publication: May 4, 2023

Last Publication: May 18, 2023

Publisher: Denver Herald-Dispatch Pubic Notice Denver Probate Court County, Denver, Colorado Court Address: 1437 Bannock St #230 Denver, Co 802449

In the Interest of:

Marilyn Del Rosario Hernandez Martinez, Minor Case Number: 2023PR030176

Division: 1

Attorney or Party Without Attorney (Name and Address): Lisa A. Guerra, Esq. THE GUERRA LAW OFFICE L.L.C. 3600 S. YOSEMITE ST., SUITE 520 DENVER, CO 80237

Phone: (303) 347-090

E-mail: lisaguerra@theguerralawoffice.com Fax Number: (303) 347-0901 Atty. Reg. #.:41583

NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION PURSUANT TO § 15-10-401, C.R.S.

To: Jose Sandro Hernandez Martinez

Last Known Address, if any: Unknown

A hearing on Guardianship for Interest of minor Marilyn Del Rosario Hernández Martínez will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued:

Date: June 6th

Time: 2:30p.m

Marti Summers, dental hygiene student at the Community College of Denver, works on a dental cleaning for a patient. THE COLORADO SUN

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