LOCAL

FORT LUPTON POLICE BLOTTER

Here are the police reports for May 14 to May 20 to the Fort Lupton Police Department. Not every call made to the police is not listed on this report.

May 14

Police issued a summons to a Loveland man, 37, for criminal mischief and assault in the 60th block of Grand Avenue.

An employee of Martin Marietta reported a vehicle trailer and tools stolen from a construction site in the 1200 block of Weld County Road 6. The case is under investigation.

Police arrested a Fort Lupton man, 36, in the 100 block of Sixth Street for domestic violence menacing charges. He is being held on bond at the Weld County Jail.

May 15

A Denver man, 20, was taken into custody at Ninth Street and Rollie Avenue for DUI, protection order violation, driving while license is revoked and possession of marijuana by a minor. He is being held on bond at the Weld County Jail.

May 16

A Commerce City 17-year old was issued a summons by police for animal abuse for running over a baby goose at the golf course.

May 17

Police arrested a Fort Lupton man, 35, in the 300 block of Ponderosa Place on a warrant out of Weld County for failure to appear on harassment and assault on a child. He is being held at Weld County Jail.

May 18

Police arrested a Lochbuie man, 32, for a protection order violation at U.S. Highway 52 and Weld County Road 29.5. He is being held on bond at the Weld County Jail.

May 20

An Aurora man, 43, was issued a summon at Rollie Avenue and First Street for causing a traffi c accident by failing to obey a traffi c signal.

New Weld County public works director started at the ground level

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Curtis Hall started with the Weld County Public Works Road and Bridge Division in 1996 as a seasonal worker, and today, he is the county’s new public works director.

“I am grateful the board of commissioners has entrusted me with this position,” Hall said. “I know my experience and background will provide me with a good foundation to continue to lead this team of amazing employees who plan, design, build and maintain the county’s infrastructure.”

Hall replaced current director Jay McDonald as the department head after McDonald retired last year.

While Hall was moving up the ladder, he continued with professional development courses and certifi cates. He also gained experience training employees in several divisions and was a supervisor and manager.

“Curtis has grown with the department and has experience in multiple divisions as a trainer, supervisor and manager,” said Commissioner Chair Scott James. “The board is confi dent Curtis will continue to lead the department in a professional manner that keeps up with the growing infrastructure needs of the county while also refl ecting the fi scal responsibility desired by the board.”

Curtis Hall has been named as Weld County’s new public works

director. COURTESY OF WELD COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS

TAZA

eventually moved up to shift lead and manager and now director. Churches ran her own nonprofi t and a children’s theater company for 20 years.

“Management also takes a twohour training to have crucial conversations within the workplace, how to identify people skills and build teamwork,” Churches said.

Taza coffee house teaches practical skills such as how to save money to buy a car and rent an apartment but also how to have a crucial conversation and handle relationships with friends, family, parents, roomates and partners.

“We are trying to build lives,” Borrego said.

Aletta Torrez, 21, has been working with Taza since it opened.

“I heard about the program from Chris Churches,” Torrez said. “It’s been a great experience, and I love the classes. I’m learning how to do their social media. It’s amazing.

“It’s the best job I’ve ever worked at, and I used to dread going to work, and I look forward to being at work,” Torrez said.

Jacqulyn Churches has been with CUP for two years.

“I started as just a barista, and now, I do the marketing for all three-coffee houses, videos and signage,” Churches said. “I love working here.”

The Cup also operates the Anythink Coffee shop in the Thornton Anythink Library and is planning to open a fourth location in the Greyhound Park Development in 2023.

3FREECONCERTSTHISSUMMERATTHELIBRARY!

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

BUDGET

FROM PAGE 1

Kaylor told the board it budgeted $321,000 for high-school sports programs and spent $305,000 as of May 26. Jessica Holbrook, the district’s director of fi nance and business services, presented a draft budget to the board May 26. It included no plans to disband the football program.

“To cut the football program, or any other program, due to budget cuts is absurd,” Michelle Galicia told the school board. “We are supposed to be here for the students. Now, let’s show them we are.”

She said cutting the football program will have a trickle-down effect on other sports programs, the school’s marching band and student council, as examples.

“You still have to pay to upkeep the stadium,” she said. “If the program is cut, you start losing current and future students. In turn, that means loss of funding.”

Kathy Rodriguez told the board it was time to start asking questions of the people making these decisions.

“In 2019, the superintendent was making 10% more than the average superintendent. The teachers’ salaries were 6% below other teachers in the state,” she told the board. “In 2021, the superintendent was making 15% more than average. Teachers were still making 6% (below average.)”

Galicia told the board a football program isn’t about wins and losses. She cited the examples of several students who have gone on to college with football scholarships. Galicia also suggested that the district start hiring people “who are vested in the town” and “who aren’t here to use it as a stepping stone.”

“We need an urgent plea to CHSAA to ask them to drop us to 1A so we can rebuild,” Galicia said. “The current two-year league placement has already been implemented. Right now, we don’t have an AD to fi ght for this (present athletic director Cora Lanter will move on to a similar job at Severance High School), so we need to do it.”

The school board has to adopt a budget by the end of next month.

“We want answers,” Rodriguez said. “We want decisions that place the interests of the students fi rst.”

An illustration on how the new technology works on existing and abandoned oil and gas wellbores to solve the climate crisis for a cleaner environment.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TRANSITIONAL ENERGY

ENERGY

Energy technology with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies’ Offi ce Wells of Opportunity grants.

According to company offi cials, Transitional Energy’s plans for its next pilot program are in Colorado. They will work with major oil and gas companies and on the utility side with United Power, which serves Weld and Adams counties.

Transitional Energy is a majority women-owned geothermal energy and development company that converts oil and gas waste streams into renewable energy.

Derichsweiler and Ben Burke, chief technology offi cer, co-founded Transitional Energy.

Derichsweiler was the fi rst Native American to graduate from Aurora Central High School and was valedictorian of the Colorado School of Mines’ chemical engineering and petroleum refi ning program and received an MBA fi nance from Pepperdine University. Her grandmother is of Alaskan descent.

In 2018, Derichsweiler, Burke and their executive team, all with experience in the oil refi nery business, talked about helping oil and gas companies reduce carbon emissions to get to net carbon zero.

Transitional Energy also developed the technology and innovative processes to generate renewable electricity at an oil site operated by Grant Canyon Oil and Gas. Its energy powered a section of Grant Canyon’s operations at its oil fi eld and reduced total greenhouse gas emissions.

Transitional Energy also collaborates with ElectraTherm, an Atlanta-based global leader in engineering low-temperature waste heat recovery solutions.

“We are thrilled with the results of this pilot project and happy to see the success of our geothermal equipment,” said Matt Lish, managing director at ElectraTherm. “We look forward to working with Transitional Energy to bring this technology to the oil and gas industry and further our shared goal of reducing carbon emissions and

‘We are thrilled with the results of this pilot project and happy to see the success of our geothermal equipment.’

Matt Lish,

managing director at ElectraTherm

increasing availability of baseload, renewable energy.”

Transitional Energy develops its geothermal energy in lower temperature zones because traditional geothermal development is barred in hotter climates in the Western United States, according to offi cials.

Using a lower capital avenue developed in lower temperature climates creates a hybrid energy source with operational and abandoned oil and gas wells. Its renewable energy opportunities are more cost-effective and plentiful than alternative conventional power generations.

According to offi cials, the United States has 1 million well bores with geothermal facilities. It is Transitional Energy’s goal to provide an affordable and sustainable energy surplus between fossil fuels and renewable energy.

“Just as the world is on a journey to a cleaner energy future, so are we,” Derichweiler said. “Transitional Energy’s initial goal with this pilot was to prove we could produce geothermal energy at an oil and gas site, and we’ve accomplished that. Next up is to optimize our operations for even greater results and scale them to provide an immediate solution that helps bridge the gap between fossil fuels and intermittent renewable energy.”

In an instant, the world changed again. As he left a successful sales call in New York City, he saw an alert for “Breaking News” pop up on his cell phone. When he read the headline, it said that 19 children and two teachers had died in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. His heart became heavy, his legs buckled, and he felt sick to his stomach thinking of his own grandchildren. His customer and the products and services that he sold were no longer important at all.

As she sat at her desk as a chief fi nancial offi cer poring over spreadsheets and fi nancial data, she also kept one extra monitor with a news feed so she could watch the stock market as she was doing her work. She saw the headline come up on her monitor with the same message as she received on her phone, “Breaking News,” 19 children and two teachers had died in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. With three children of her own, the fi nances of the company became less of a priority as she raced home to be with her family. In a prayer group on Facebook, the 1,000-plus members poured out their prayers for the families and the community who were impacted and for the world. They poured out their broken hearts for what happened that day as they prayed together. They prayed for what is happening every day in our country when it comes to senseless and random acts of violence. For the past week, online prayer groups, small church groups, and Bible study groups have been trying to wrap their heads and hearts around such tragic events, while leaning into their faith and standing on the promises of God.

Where do we go from here? What do we say when the words get caught in our throats and we cannot speak, or we just don’t know what to say? Sometimes there are no words. Sometimes the only thing we can do is to be present, available, empathetic, compassionate, and open to sharing how we feel as we try to understand and make sense of any of it. Yes, we are allowed to feel hurt and angry, but let’s not allow that hurt and anger to lead us down the wrong path. Instead, let it fuel our desire to pursue real change.

Where else can we go from here? For the past week we have seen politicians, entertainers, actors, professional athletes, and CEOs of large organizations share how they feel, also giving passionate pleas for the necessary change that needs to happen before we have yet another Sandy Hook, Parkland, Columbine, Robb Elementary (and so many other tragic events) take place. And where shouldn’t we go? We shouldn’t give in to the blame game, pointing fi ngers across the aisle.

We should never politicize any tragedy such as this. The victims and their families deserve better than that. The best way we can honor all the victims and families who have gone through this kind of senseless violence is to come together to fi nd the solution instead of trying to determine who is to blame. At the end of the day violent video games, violent movies and television shows, access to guns, the far left, the far right, and social media will all be blamed. But this, my friends, is not the answer.

Do I know what the answer is? No, I don’t. But I do know that human lives, at any age, young or old, are precious. And I know that I want to be a part of the solution in any way that I can. Knowing in some small way, we can all contribute, doing our part to live in the spirit of love.

Is your heart broken? Is your heart heavy? Mine is too as I write this column. I would love to hear your story of where we go from here at mnorton@xinnix.com, and when we can help fi ll the world with love, forgiveness, and compassion, it really will be a better than good life.

Where do we go from here?

WINNING WORDS

Michael Norton

Michael Norton is the grateful president of XINNIX, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

How can a me-fi rst terrorist be made into a hero?

Aconfounding aspect of the climate change challenge has been disagreements about the most basic of facts, namely human complicity. We had the same fact-based problem with the last presidential election. Then there’s what happened in Granby, the Colorado mountain town that continues to be at the center of alternative realities.

Granby lies between Winter Park, the ski area, and Grand Lake, the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It has changed little since I lived there 40 years ago. It has tried to be a resort town, but the DNA is different. It’s a commercial and services center. The mayor when I lived there was Dick Thompson, who owned an excavating business and showed up at town board meetings in a blue work shirt wearing suspenders to hold up his jeans.

The sky was blue the morning of June 4, 2004, the day of the bulldozer attack. The Fraser River, nearing the peak spring runoff, rushed to join the Colorado River. At the newspaper offi ce, Patrick Brower was mapping out the next week’s issue of the Sky-Hi News.

Brower, like many people in Granby, a town then of 1,500, wore several hats. Walking down Agate Avenue, the main street, you were likely to encounter town trustees and sewer board members in different roles as store managers and accountants. Brower was the newspaper’s publisher but also its editor and a reporter. He attended many meetings of the town board. A relatively minor issue of several years before had been a land-use dispute on the town’s industrial fringe, where a concrete batch plant was permitted on property adjacent to a muffl er shop.

That afternoon, Brower heard somebody had gone crazy in a bulldozer on the town’s edge. The Komatsu was like no bulldozer seen before, the driver encased in concrete save for two rifl e barrels and clearly bent on destruction. It fi rst attacked the batch plant, then it rumbled up the road to attack Mountain Parks Electric, followed by the town hall and library.

People had been advised to stay indoors because the bulldozer operator — whoever it was —had shot at police and the batch-plant operator. Children had fl ed the library only a minute before the giant Komatsu crashed into the building.

At the newspaper offi ce, Brower was trying to fi gure who the terrorist was. He was standing in the front of the offi ce when the blade caved in the building’s two-story front. Bricks and concrete blocks fell like shattered glass. He ran out the back, the bulldozer roaring at his heels. He didn’t trip. Had he done so, he says, he would have died.

The bulldozer also ripped into the home of the former mayor. His widow had been sleeping until shortly before. Then came an attempt to create an explosion of propane tanks. Finally, the bulldozer overheated and got stuck in the Gambles store basement. The terrorist shot himself with a handgun. He was the owner of the muffl er shop who thought he deserved special treatment. All of his victims played into that grudge-based narrative.

The strange thing was that almost immediately others made him into a martyr, a hero, the underdog getting back at a government elite. That’s laughable on the surface. I stress that the mayor when I lived there dug trenches. Nobody was wealthy. If anybody had a Ph.D., they certainly did not announce it.

Admirers of this terrorist pointed out that he killed nobody. It was a matter of luck. Dozens could have easily died from gunfi re, explosions, or — like the children in the library — crushed by bulldozer treads.

Several years ago Brower wrote a book about this. It’s called “Killdozer.” He lays out the facts. Facts don’t matter to many people. They want to believe in a little guy battling a big, bad government until he fi nally snapped.

Facts do matter, but so do broader truths that we agree upon, as David Brooks observed in a 2021 column. “It is a moral framework from which to see the world,” he explained.

Cooperation, not confl ict, defi nes every successful community I have known. Violence achieved nothing for the terrorist in Granby, nor did it achieve anything on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C. Communities large and small are built on cooperation that dwarf narrow, short-term interests. Happily, American leaders have come together in bipartisan agreement in how to resist Russian aggression in the Ukraine.

Climate change poses a broader, more diffi cult and dangerous challenge. From my perspective in Colorado, sometimes I can be optimistic. I see bold policies, great courage and a willingness to sacrifi ce for the greater good.

Other days, I see narrow me-fi rst grievances and entitlement hold sway. I’m still mystifi ed how people can look at the facts and reconfi gure this petty terrorist into a hero.

GUEST COLUMN Allen Best Allen Best

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, which focuses on climate change and the energy and water transitions in Colorado. See more at BigPivots.com.

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