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Week of April 28, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 102 | ISSUE 11
Sheridan forum shares struggles, solutions of homelessness Network of schools, police, nonprofits discuss challenges BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Alida Romero didn’t know what benefits exist for those experiencing homelessness
when she fled her home country of Venezuela and came to the U.S. as a refugee. Romero, who had taught at a university in her home country, was struggling to
find housing and only qualified for low-paying cleaning jobs. “To come with the trauma of persecution, I felt terrorized,” she said. “The door was shut on me.” Romero spoke about her lived experience with homelessness during an April 20 forum at the Sheridan
Municipal Center, which featured a line-up of speakers who shared the struggles, and solutions, to the unhoused crisis in the area. The event was sponsored by a network of nonprofits, including Change the Trend and the South Metro Community Foundation, which put on similar forums in
Community celebrates Earth Day with cleanup of Centennial Park South Platte Renew sponsors annual event BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In observance of Earth Day, community members from Englewood, Littleton and beyond joined together April 23 to clean up trash and debris in Centennial Park and its lake. The event, sponsored by South Platte Renew, Colorado’s third-largest water treatment plant, saw over 100 people register, according to South Platte Renew spokesperson Erin Bartlet. The treatment plant, located in Englewood and run by the cities of Englewood and Littleton, set a goal of filling 250 bags worth of trash. “Our public space, and the South Platte River especially, is a really important natural resource for the community,” said Ben Wise, an environmental scientist with South Platte Renew. “It’s really important to come out here and pick up some trash and help preserve that resource.” SEE EARTH DAY, P8
Englewood and Littleton last year. Mike Sandgren, who leads Change the Trend and has been active with the TriCities Homelessness Policy Group, made up of leaders in the cities of Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan, said SEE HOMELESS, P10
Business, community, civic leader honored Erika Zierke named Citizen of the Year BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Sam Koy reaches for trash in Centennial Lake. “I love to come to parks and to be able PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN to clean it up is such a good thing,” Koy said.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
For Erika Zierke, being a resident of Englewood is about “taking care of each other.” The owner of the popular bar Englewood Grand, now a de facto community space, Zierke has made that statement a core mission of her life in Englewood for the past 13 years. She’s led community events, served on city boards and was a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she’s been honored as Englewood’s Citizen of the Year after city council members named her during an April 18 meeting. “I am deeply honored and a little bit in shock, I just never expected a recognition like this,” Zierke said. SEE ZIERKE, P6
FAR FROM DELICATE
Orchids are not so fussy after all P14