Fort Lupton Press 020223

Our in-depth look at the housing crisis

Aims seeks to fill nursing shortage

New program hosting orientation March 3

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With the high demand for nursing aides, the Fort Lupton branch of Aims Community College will try to help fill the gap.

The college is offering one class per semester through the “Care For Colorado” state grant signed by Governor Jared Polis.

Shelly Powell, Aims Community College Med Prep Programs chair, said the program will help pay all the necessary supplies.

“Your gait belts, supplies, books, and the tuition,” Powell said.

High home prices, lack of supply sever metro residents from communities

tender nally has a house to call his own.

“I almost feel guilty that I have it,” said Laney, 49.

somewhere, putting down roots,” said Laney. He has worked at Jake’s Brew Bar in Littleton since 2012.

Powell said it’s an effort to try to fill positions and get people back into health care with opportunities in long-term rehabilitation, nursing homes, home health care, assisted living facilities and hospitals.

“Also, high school students can take the course and possibly have it paid for through their high school. Home health care companies are flexible with school schedules,” said Kendra Merriott, Aims Community College program coordinator.

BY ROBERT TANN COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Laney is one of a handful of residents who have secured housing through a subsidized program aimed at helping lower- and middle-income people live where they work. But as cities and towns contend with historically high home costs and a lack of supply, residents like Laney have struggled to live in their communities.

“ is is where I want to be,” Laney said. “My friends and family are Jake’s.”

In numerous counties, residents — spanning a range of employment from the service industry to teaching — have faced the brunt of what many o cials are calling a housing crisis.

The Greeley Aims campus also offers the Nurses Aide program. A career as a Nurse’s Aide could lead to other allied health programs in nursing, such as radiology tech, with many growth opportunities.

e median price of a single-

Every year before Thanksgiving, First United Methodist Church in Fort Lupton and the Fort Lupton Food and Clothing Bank provide community members with food boxes. This will be the program’s 10th consecutive year. Above, Joe Hubert, left China Garcia and Sue Hubert with Change

When Chris Laney moved into his new three-bedroom home last summer, he felt like he’d won the lottery. After more than a decade of chasing the cheapest rent across the metro area, the Littleton bar-

“I’ve always felt like I was just passing through instead of living

To get started with the program, students must attend an hour-long orientation to sign up for the class and learn about the requirements of a nurse’s aide,

Change, another organization that helps with the food drive. See more on Page 2.

Lower- and middleincome people struggle to live where they work

Dogs, snow and endurance: The sport of mushing

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Karen Land has an a nity for endurance sports, and for dogs.

Land was hiking the Appalachian Trail with her dog Kirby when she stopped to rest, shower and visit a small library to get a book to read in her tent.

She did, and it changed her life forever.

“ e book was called ‘Winter Dance’ by Gary Paulsen. It’s when I got inspired for the sport of dog mushing,” Land said.

Land has participated in the sport of sled dog racing and dog mushing for about 25 years and has participated multiple times in the grueling Iditarod Sled Dog race across Alaska. In her 2004 outing, she nished the course in just more than 12 days.

Land brought her story and two of her dogs, Noggin and Chloe, to Brighton’s Anythink Library Jan. 23. She visited the Perl Mack branch in Denver, York Street branch in ornton and the Commerce City branch later in the week.

Starting without good snow

Land grew up in Indianapolis and hadn’t heard of the sport of dog mushing or the Iditarod.

“We never had good snow in Indianapolis, so I learned about mushing later in life,” Land said.

But snow was just one ingredient. Another was a love for animals, and she had that. She began working in a veterinary hospital and clinic in Indianapolis when she nished high school. at’s when she met her eventual Appalachian Trail companion, Kirby.

“A stray dog showed up at the door, and we couldn’t nd its owner, so I decided to keep it,” she said.

Kirby was a Louisiana Catahoula mix, an energetic breed meant to hunt bears. e duo started hiking to stay busy, eventually hiking Indiana’s Nob Stone trail. ey moved to Montana where she nished college and decided to take on the Appalachian Trail – a feat in itself. e hiking trail is 2,100 miles between Georgia and Maine.

She had a new obsession when she returned.

“I got a job working for a dog musher because the sport is costly and requires lots of dogs,” Land said. Dogs and Iditarod e Iditarod race, her new obsession, startseach March in downtown Anchorage and ends in Nome, some 983 miles. Racers and their teams of dogs face blizzard conditions, winds of 90 miles per hour and windchills of 100 degrees below zero.

Land said that when she started in 1973 there were no rules as to how many dogs were in the race, so some people showed up with 20 dogs.

“ en the o cials decided 20 dogs was much power, so they dropped it to 16, and in the last several years, it’s down to 14 dogs, “ Land said.

e dogs are monitored throughout, with EKGs, blood workups, and drug testing before the race. During the race, they stop at regular checkpoints where veterinarians look over the dogs and sleds. While racing, Land said she carries bags of frozen meat under her parka to keep her team fed.

Sled dogs need to eat 10,000 calories a day when running.

“We have the best veterinarians in the world, and they do lots of research on the diet of a sled dog,” Land said.

Land said much of what the Iditarod veterinarians have learned has changed the modern diet for all dogs.

“In Montana, my dogs are fed a high protein diet, mostly meat from hunters and trappers such as elk, antelope, deer, bu alo, moose, beaver, sh, pork, chicken, and beef,” she said.

Dogs can get injured or tired during the race and the musher will remove them from the team, dropping them o at the next checkpoint. Called

“dropping a dog”, the team must continue one dog short. ey can’t add another, and the dog will be own back to its handler once the race is complete.

Smaller, faster lighter

Mushers prefer slimmer Alaskan Huskies with an Inuit Yupik Athabascan bloodline, which is native to Alaska. ey have a good disposition and make the perfect sled dog, she said. Larger Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes are too big and heavy and are not as fast. ey are also more likely to have injuries from pounding and sinking in the deeper snow.

Land said she prefers mixed breed dogs, such as her dog Noggin, an Alaskan Huskie-Greyhound mix.

“We also use German Shorthaired Pointers, Labrador Retrievers and hound dog mixes,” she said. “So if you see dogs with big oppy ears, it’s because they have hound dog mix. We don’t care what the dog looks like; they are bred for exceptional health, great endurance and are super intelligent dogs.”

ey also breed for disposition and friendliness.

“We can’t hook up 14 dogs together that ght, and you’ll never get anywhere,” she said.

e dogs train year around daily, running miles following bikes or fourwheelers; some people use a cart. Each dog they learn likes a particular position but is trained in all positions.

e dogs learn by voice command training to turn and stop.

“ e sled dog engine – running

1,000 miles or 200 miles or 20 miles – is based on the dog’s pure joy, love, enthusiasm, the desire to run,” Land said.

Gearing up

eir coats are another concern. ey don’t breed dogs with long fur coats but for excellent medium coats and dense undercoats. ey don’t want the dogs overheating when racing.

Mushers have to stock up for their dogs, too, packing coats, leggings for deep snow and booties to protect their feet. e dog’s weight forces its feet to splay in the snow. Ice crystals can leave painful cuts in between the pads if the feet are not protected.

It’s grueling for the mushers as well. When the dogs climb up a mountain, the musher must jump o the sled and run up the mountain with the dogs, hopping back on when they head back downhill.

Land said they always wear a rope around their wrist to stay connected to the sled. If they sled crashes or ips – which happens regularly – the wrist strap can be a lifesaver.

“ e rope is my safety,” she said. “If I accidentally let go of the handlebars, I can drag from the rope instead. e golden rule on mushing is never to let go because if you let go the dogs could run o and could get lost. So you want to make sure you hold on at all costs,” Land said.

e race continues from checkpoint to checkpoint, with the teams camping on the trails along the way. If the weather is severe, she digs a hole, lls it with straw and the team – the dogs and Land – sleep in the hole together.

“During the race, we run for six hours and rest for six hours and the dog are trained for this process,” Land said.

And while wild animals might seem like a concern, they are not.

“Coyotes and elk run away. When the dogs are running, it’s silent so going around the corner and a moose is standing there, I carry a gun to make a big bang to get the animal to run in a di erent direction. But then you have 16 dogs that want to chase a moose, adding to the danger factor,” Land said.

Left, Tracy Cox, Lucy Cox, Amelia Cox, Olivia Cox and Grey DeAro, with race dog Noggin, little Chloe with Karen Land’s public speaking at Brighton’s Anythink Library. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Dog trainer opens 11,200 square foot facility

Complete Canine includes police, family pet behavior options

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As a new pet owner, Chris Pelle wanted to train his young German Shepherd for personal protection. At rst, he did it as a hobby, working with friends and acquaintances.

“I’ve always been very business minded and saw a potential need for it,” Pelle said. “I developed my skill set and started taking clients, working for free with family and friends.”

No longer a hobby, Pelle celebrated the opening of his Complete Canine Training at 695 N. 7th Ave. in Brighton Jan 26.

Pelle initially took to dog training as a side job, perfecting his skill set and expanding a client base which turned into a full-time job working on his property.

His training facility is 11,200 square feet and fully equipped with a training room for K-9 police dogs not only for obedience but also nose work – sni ng out drugs and tracking to locate missing humans. e facility has a large kennel, several training rooms and outdoor training spaces to take the dogs on runs. He is also building a 7,000 square foot’s agility training center, he said.

But Pelle said they also do general pet obedience and other issues dog owners have with their furry friends at home, including urinating on the carpet or not listening.

“We do behavior modi cation so bad behaviors such dog reactivity, or some light dog aggression,” Pelle said. “We can rehabilitate the dog to change their behavior set, so they understand that those behaviors are no longer acceptable. en we move into teaching them acceptable behaviors and how to win at life.”

Tips from a trainer

Pelle said high-energy dogs are hard to control in the home, so putting an obedience foundation brings it down to a manageable level.

“A timid dog rebuilds con dence through obedience, so once the dog understands the structure and how to win, they sit down they get paid,” Pelle said. “Once they understand how to get paid, and you start

winning their con dence level and it increases, by creating structure around it.”

Pelle said owners can correct destructive behaviors, such as a dog jumping, by not giving a ection, love, or attention.

“To correct the behavior, tell them no, as they are coming towards you, command them to sit then they get paid,” Pelle said. “We start paying them with food and then we pull food away throughout the process, then give the pets and praise and a ection.”

Pelle was never able to rehabilitate the dog fully; training only goes so far, coupled with owner management.

“ ose two combined can limit or minimize the chances of something negative happening. But at the end of the day, there’s always the possibility because they are animals, and going to make their own decisions with what suits them best in their brain at that moment,” Pelle said.

Training only goes so far

Pelle said the genetics of breed plays a factor in behavior and some dogs’ breeding is for something other than a pet. Some breeding is for working dogs, herding, or hunting

e students will learn infection control, the proper way to wash hands, how to use personal protective equipment (PPE), use an assistive device and other equipment.

health requirements, background checks, and everything they need to know before starting the classes.

e orientation begins on February 8 at 5:30 p.m., in prairie building room 208, and orientation is on March 2.

e class is a hybrid with two days a week on campus, supplemented by course study online.

e nurse’s aide certi cate course is up to six weeks with classroom learning, a 30-hour clinical rotation, and hands-on training with actual patients. In addition, they are o ering summer classes starting June 21 after a required orientation.

In addition, learning personal care assistance, patient bathing, grooming, taking blood pressure, pulse, height, and weight, helping the patient with eating and drinking, and educated on any changes in a patient’s condition to alert the nurse.

“ ere is demand for nurses aides to help the community,” Powell said.

For more information about the Nurses Aide program or register, call the Fort Lupton Aims Community College Campus admission at 970330-8008 or email at events.aims. edu or admissions@aims.edu.

because it is their original purpose.

“So those genetic factors come out di erently in every single dog. Some Labrador retrievers are great hunting dogs and other labs are terrible hunting dogs, depending on how their genetics have been modi ed over the years,” Pelle said.

Pelle said, always get a dog that suits your lifestyle. For example, getting a working dog, such as a cattle dog, for an apartment is not a good t genetically.

“If you work at home all day, and never get out of the house, don’t get a Belgian Malinois, they are going to run you crazy inside the house. Get an English bulldog, who’s happy to lay down on the couch next to you while you work at your desk job,” Pelle said.

On the other hand, Pelle suggests that super active owners should get a super active pet like a Malinois that can keep up with you, and not an English bulldog. ey’ll never keep up with you trying to hike a Fourteener, he said.

“So nd the dog that ts your lifestyle, not the doggies you think are cool, because it’s ultimately its a disservice to the dog if you get the wrong dog,” Pelle said.

Pelle said it is also s all about communication; we have to learn how

to communicate with our dogs, and they have to understand how we communicate.

“ e dog will not change their language. ey speak dog. So we have to teach our owners how to speak dog, and each dog has some di erences,” Pelle said.

“ e best training is through clear communication. It’s not necessarily any one speci c training methodology is going to work with that dog or the next dog. We have to understand how to communicate to dogs, so they get it and then we can then teach the clients how to work with the dog.”

Pelle and his team’s focus is to educate owners and train dogs. Once the dogs complete the training program, the owners gain knowledge and education because each dog has di erent issues, problems, or personalities. To e ectively train the customers, they ensure that the clients understand the dogs relaying information to the customers and the best management techniques.

“ ere are several ways to interact with this dog, some dogs are food motivated, some dogs are praised and a ection motivated or a dog is not motivated- give him a hot dogpet him,” Pelle said.

Chris Pelle cutting the ribbon with his sta and the community members of Brighton.

PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Thorpe, former area school teacher, dies

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Andrea Thorpe, a former teacher in the Fort Lupton school system, died Jan. 11 at the age of 76. She was born July 17, 1946, in Duluth, Minnesota. Her family eventually settled in Des Moines, Iowa. Her father was a major in the Air Force, and her mother owned a stationery shop. Andrea Thorpe was one of the helpers in the store. While in college, she was a foreign exchange student in Argentina and learned to speak Spanish. She graduated from a teaching degree with an emphasis in Spanish in English.

Her first teaching job was in

Our Family Helping Your Family

Gresham, Nebraska, in 1968, where she was a Spanish teacher. She also met her future husband, Jack Thorpe, an English teacher and basketball coach. They married in December 1969.

Their next stop was Stromsburg, Neb., where they taught for two years. Then it was off to Wymore, Neb., for three more years. Mrs. Thorpe’s obituary at www.taborfuneralhome.com says, “This is where Andi first fell in love with exposing students to culture and the outside world when she and Jack took 20 students from a small farm town in Nebraska throughout Mexico and ended the trip in Acapulco.”

The Thorpes came to Denver

in 1974. She took the first AngloSpanish teacher position in the Fort Lupton school system. A year later, her husband took a job as an eighth-grade English teacher.

Aside from teaching, she was the yearbook advisor for most of her time at Fort Lupton High School and a student council advisor.

“Andi created friendships and connections that lasted for years and generations. She taught multiple generations of families, watching students grow from teenagers to parents and, in some cases, grandparents,” the obituary read.

She retired after 31 years to spend time fishing, sewing, knitting and being with her family, especially her grandchildren.

“She will be remembered by many as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, and great friend,” the obituary read. “Her hugs were there to always comfort you in a time of need; she would always have an ear to listen to anything you needed and advice that would touch your soul. She will be remembered by many as a calming light in the storm to help guide those who needed her. She will be profoundly missed by all.”

Survivors include her husband; her son, Dan (Laura) Thorpe; her daughter, NeSesana (John) Flores; her son-in-law, Greg Flores; grandchildren Landon, Kinsley,

24-Hour Phone Lines 303-654-0112 • 303-857-2290

Brighton: 75 S. 13th Avenue

Obituaries, Arrangements and Resources Online at taborfuneralhome.com

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HAMMERLUND George Hammerlund

April 8, 1924 - December 4, 2022

George H. Hammerlund of Brighton Colo. He was laid to rest along with Harriet Hammerlund Dec.27th 2022 at Fort Logan National Cemetery.

George and Harriet are survived by their 5 children , 9 grand children , 17 great grand children and 3 great great grand children. ey will be greatly missed.

July 17, 1946 - January 11, 2023

On January 11, 2023, Andrea P. orpe was called up to heaven while peacefully surrounded by loved ones and family.

Andi orpe (76) was born on July 17, 1946, in Duluth, Minnesota. She grew up in various areas until her family settled in Des Moines, Iowa, with a father who was a major in the Air Force and a mother who owned a stationery shop that she would help in after school. She went on to graduate with her teaching degree and an emphasis in both Spanish and English. While in college, she became a foreign exchange student in Argentina, where she fell in love with the culture and learned to speak Spanish uently.

Andi took her rst position as a teacher in Gresham, Nebraska, in 1968 as a Spanish teacher, where she met her best friend, soul mate, and love of her life, Jack orpe, who was an English teacher as well as a basketball coach. ey were married at Saint Andrew’s Church in Nebraska in December of 1969.

Both Jack and Andi moved to Stromsburg, Nebraska, where they taught for two years and then moved on to Wymore, Nebraska, to teach for three more years. is is where Andi rst fell in love with exposing students to culture and the outside world when she and Jack took twenty students from a small farm town in Nebraska throughout Mexico and ended the trip in Acapulco. She found her passion and her life’s calling while exposing these students to a culture and the world that they may not have been able to see otherwise.

In 1974, Andi was o ered a position as the rst Anglo Spanish teacher in Fort Lupton, Colorado, and took the position without hesitation, so she and Jack moved to Denver, Colorado, to start their own lives there. She started teaching during a time when Fort Lupton was going through hardship and gang riots, but she found a way to make a di erence in her students’ lives. Her husband Jack went on to become an 8th grade English teacher a year later. Mr. and Mrs. orpe were able to nd a special home within the Fort Lupton community. It was well known that Mrs. orpe’s door was always open for anyone in need, whether it was during school hours or not.

Andi was much more than a teacher; she was the yearbook advisor for most of her time at

Fort Lupton High School, as well as the student council advisor, Spanish teacher, and English teacher. From chili and study nights in their home for students, trips to the mountains for student retreats and shing trips, homecoming dance decorating and planning, and trips to England, Italy, and Greece with students, there were few that went to Fort Lupton High School that didn’t know the orpe name. Andi created friendships and connections that lasted for years and generations. She taught multiple generations of families, watching students grow from teenagers to parents and, in some cases, grandparents. After 31 years working at Fort Lupton High School, Andi retired to spend more time shing, sewing, knitting, and being with her family, with her true passion being playing with her grandchildren. She will be remembered by many as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, and great friend. Her hugs were there to always comfort you in a time of need; she would always have an ear to listen to anything you needed and advice that would touch your soul. She will be remembered by many as a calming light in the storm to help guide those who needed her. She will be profoundly missed by all.

Andi is survived by her husband, Jack orpe, of Fort Lupton, CO, her son, Dan (Laura) orpe, her daughter, NaSeana (John) Flores, and her son-in-law Greg Flores. along with her grandchildren: Landon, Kinsley, Odi, Devina, Spencer, Hayden, and Tanner. Andi is also survived by her brotherin-law Bobb (Anne) orpe, their sons Brook and James orpe, as well as her sister-inlaw Dee (Larry) Frost and their son David (Ti any) orpe.

Andi was preceded in death by her mother, Norma June Anderson, her father, Herbert Anderson, and her brother, Kirk Anderson. ere will be a Celebration of Life Memorial Service held at Fort Lupton High School on Saturday, February 4th, starting with a gathering at 11:30, Memorial Service at 12:00, and a reception with food to follow.

In lieu of owers, donations can be made to the scholarship fund in both Jack and Andi orpe’s names at the Bank of Colorado in Fort Lupton.

THORPE

Andrea P. Thorpe

SEE THORPE, P15

The game was close, there was less than two minutes to go, and the eld was a mix of snow and slush. On the previous play, his hand had been caught between two helmets as he attempted to make the tackle. When the play was over and he made his way back to the defensive huddle, he refused to look at his hand because he knew it had been broken. He didn’t want to come out of the game. As he took up his position as an outside linebacker, the opposing team threw a pass play in his direction, and with his good hand he was still able to make a play on the ball and de ect the pass. He played through the pain. at story was shared with me about a high school athlete who had the heart of a lion. After that last play his coach called him to the sideline as he knew something wasn’t right and he took him out of the game. And indeed, his hand was broken.

Each of us has probably lived through at least one season of life, if not many where we also played through the pain. It might have been personally or professionally, but we knew that no

Playing through the pain

WINNING WORDS

matter how much it hurt, we had to rise to the occasion and play through the pain for those around us.

If these last few years have taught us anything, they have taught us that things in life are broken. Education, healthcare, the economy, relationships, things at work and just about every other part of life. Some things just aren’t working the way we would want them to. And it becomes frustrating as we do our best to muddle through only to hit the wall again and again.

We think that there must be a better way. We believe that there must be someone somewhere who has the insight and intelligence to x the problems in our government, in society, in the workplace, and even at home. We ask ourselves, who is that person or where are those people who are supposed to have all the answers? And what can we do while we wait for those

in charge to come up with a better plan and get things moving in the right direction?

We start playing through the pain.

Soon enough we will realize that the people who we believe have the solutions to our problems and challenges might be struggling themselves. And it’s not that they don’t know what they are doing, it’s simply that the problems and challenges require more time, money, resources, planning and processes to get some resolutions and to turn things around for the better. And while that is going on, we need to do our very best to do what we are in control of doing, making a play, even if it means playing through the pain.

We can remain optimistic in the face of negativity and pessimism. We can look at our stack of to-do items and get after it without looking over at others who are paralyzed by the dysfunction. We can help those in our community who need help and do it generously and cheerfully knowing we are serving the greater good. Now don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean we don’t also feel the frustration and the challenges.

It doesn’t mean the pain and the problems aren’t just as real for us. It just means that we have a choice to make, we can choose to get sucked into the vortex of doom and gloom, pointing to all the reasons why we cannot be successful, or we can choose to do our part in playing our position as best as we possibly can, even if it means playing through the pain at times.

We are all part of a team somewhere. At work, home, school, church, in our community and in society. And it will never be perfect and will often be frustrating. As a part of a team or family, I would love to hear your story of how you deal with staying motivated in the face of frustration at gotonorton@ gmail.com. And when we can grit and smile, and play through the pain when we need to, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

Can new batteries help Aspen and Vail climate goals?

Will this smooth the renewable highs and lows?

Holy Cross Energy aims to distribute 100% emissionfree electricity to its 55,000 members in the Aspen, Ri e, and Vail areas by 2030. How will it do that?

Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Colorado’s second largest utility, has a di erent but related problem. It wants to best use infrastructure associated with its coal-burning operations at Craig after the last unit closes before 2030.

One clue may lie in Pueblo. ere a pilot program testing a new technology for long-duration energy storage will be deployed by Xcel Energy and Form Energy by the end of 2025. e new ironair batteries will be able to use chemical processes to store electricity and then discharge it for up to 100 hours.

e new battery technology has been reported to be 10 times less expensive than lithium-ion batteries. Iron is abundant in the United States, and the batteries are non- ammable.

In announcing the pilot projects, Bob Frenzel, the chief executive of Xcel, said the 100-hour batteries at Pueblo and at a coal site in Minnesota “will strengthen the grid against normal day-to-day, week-to-week, and season-to-season weather variability, in addition to extreme weather events, including severe winter storms and polar vortex events.”

Duration of storage matters entirely as electric utilities add low-cost and emissions-free renewables. Short-duration storage, such as the lithium-ion batteries installed in conjunction with a new solar farm near Glenwood Springs in 2022, can help. ey provide two to four hours of storage.

With 100 hours of storage, utilities can smooth the highs and the lows of renewables. Consider Uri, the week of cold in 2022 when wind on Colorado’s eastern plains ceased for several days. Utilities cranked up turbines burning natural gas that was suddenly in high demand. Consumers are still paying o those bills. Tri-State even resorted to burning oil.

Summers have brought inverse problems of spiking demand caused by heat. In 2021, it got so hot in Portland that electric lines for trains melted, and some people without air conditioning literally baked to death in apartments. Colorado regulators worry whether the state’s utilities can handle such weather extremes.

Iron-air batteries alone are unlikely to solve the intermittencies of renewable energy or the havoc produced by a warming and more erratic climate. is

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pilot project does represent a notable e ort to explore whether they can be scaled.

“ is is an exciting new frontier for energy storage in Colorado,” said Mike Kruger, chief executive of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association, a trade group of 275 members. “ is announcement goes to show that when there is clear policy, American companies can innovate to meet the electric power sector’s needs.”

Holy Cross Energy has been diversifying its supplies, both locally and regionally, but still depends largely upon wholesale deliveries from Xcel. e Glenwood Springs-based cooperative in 2022 delivered 50% emissions free electricity but has a goal of 100% just seven years from now.

Sam Whelan, the vice president fornance at Holy Cross, said that increased reliability by Xcel will help Holy Cross reliably deliver electricity to its members.

Holy Cross has been investigating its own options—and has had conversations with Form Energy. It will look at many alternatives, including green hydrogen and pumped-storage hydro, each with problems but also promise.

“You have to start something, and you have to start in small increments as well,” says Whelan. e solar industry, he also started small. “It was not that long ago that solar costs were signi cantly higher,” he

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observed. Now, solar has become competitive. “It will take these incremental storage projects to prove out and hopefully pave the way.”

Tri-State, at a recent meeting with stakeholders, also reported that iron-air storage technology was among several options for Craig being studied once the coal plants there close. Transmission lines already exist, capable of carrying renewable energy to the site to be stored - and then released as needed.

Xcel may have gleanings about how they will act at scale and be used to manage the grid by 2026.

Will these new batteries eliminate need for expensive natural gas plants designed for use to meet peak demands? Such plants are expensive to build, and they do produce emissions. Too soon to tell, says Robert Kenney, the president of Xcel Energy’s Colorado division.

“If we see success with this program, we will explore how we can expand it and scale it up further. But to what extent it will displace `peaker’ plants or any other technology, that would be the learning that we would expect to come out of the pilot itself. So stay tuned.”

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, which covers energy and water transitions in Colorado made necessary by climate change. See bigpivots.com

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Michael Norton BIG

The most vulnerable of the housing crisis The Long Way Home

BY MICHAEL DE YOANNA MICHAEL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Our monthlong series exploring the affordability and accessibility of housing in the Denver area takes a turn to one of the most perplexing issues facing our communities: the lives of those who have no homes. Point-in-time counts in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties find 2,000 people living unsheltered and 3,000 in emergency shelters. Most of those people were found in Denver but many live in our communities and neighborhoods.

While panhandlers and tent cities are visible across the metro area, many of the unhoused are unseen and may not even be included in the numbers because they are sleeping on a friend’s couch or a family that’s living in a relative’s extra room. The federal government includes this status in its definition of homelessness, along with those who are at imminent risk of losing a roof over their heads.

Homelessness has long been a problem in the metro area and the soaring housing costs that we’ve tracked in our series certainly don’t help. Typically, a family shouldn’t spend more than 30% of their wages on rent and utilities. Elsewhere in our series, we’ve found that many people across the metro area are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to afford a place to live. Minimum wage earners might spend upward of 60% of their paychecks on rent.

Across the Front Range, rising housing costs are worsening the problem. In Littleton, south of Denver, the price of single-family homes has jumped roughly $300,000 since 2017. Lone Tree saw increases in excess of $473,000. In Brighton, $225,000.

Apartment rents have followed in recent years, part of a trend spanning the last two decades where median prices rose faster than median household incomes “in every Colorado county and city with 50,000+ residents,” according to Denver-based Root Policy Research, which analyzes

housing affordability issues.

Some of the most needy in our communities find homes through federal funding, like vouchers. But the system, reporter Nina Joss finds, is based on lotteries, where people in need of housing may wait for years before winning. Others wind up roughing it on the streets, as reporters Andrew Fraieli and Olivia Love discovered in an interview of a man who lost his legs sleeping under a highway bridge during a horrific snowstorm.

There are consequences to it all, like how the mentally ill are especially vulnerable to homelessness and highly likely to find themselves in the criminal-justice system — meaning a record of police contacts for crimes connected to their situation, such as trespassing, becomes a barrier that prevents them from turning their lives around. There are costs associated with this to taxpayers, like those associated with providing more policing and beds in jails. Trends like those will be on Colorado Community Media’s newsroom in the months ahead.

Contributors to the project include:

family home in the metro area has roughly tripled since 2010, according to an August 2022 report by the Colorado Association of Realtors. Back in 2010, the median price was about $200,000.

And wages have not kept up with home costs. Between 2000 and 2019, median rents rose at a faster rate than household incomes “in every Colorado county and city with 50,000+ residents,” according to a November 2021 report from Denver-based consulting rm Root Policy Research. e report also said that, as of June 2021, Colorado’s overall housing inventory was 13% of what is needed for a functioning sales market.

“Quite honestly, we just don’t have enough housing, whether it’s a ordable or otherwise,” said Kelly Milliman, city council member for Littleton’s District 4 and a member of the city’s housing task force. “It’s really vitally important to the overall health of our community going forward.”

e sentiment is similar for leaders in the neighboring cities of Englewood and Sheridan. ere, o cials said a ordable home options used to be more common.

“For the people that can a ord it, they have lots of choices in the metro area,” said Brad Power,

Englewood’s director of community development. “But we’re starting to see more gaps with people who are on the other side of the income spectrum.”

Devin Granberry, city manager for Sheridan, said higher home costs have driven workers out

of what he described as a historically blue-collar area.

“It leads to a very transient pipeline of citizenry and workforce,” he said. “ ere’s no sense of

Orchard Crossing Apartments in Westminster is an a ordable housing community that also includes housing for people with vouchers. PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

Homelessness is a series of trapdoors of obstacles

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AND OLIVIA LOVE COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Jonathan Townshend Garner spent nine sleepless nights in 2017 covered in snow staring up at the bottom of a frozen overpass in Aurora. Just a few short months before, the 35-year-old was planning to purchase a condo with his girlfriend.

He never expected that a breakup would send him down a series of increasingly di cult trapdoors — without housing or insurance, each door became harder to climb through. Because of those cold nights in 2017, Garner even lost his legs.

What led Garner to homelessness is not unique. As homeless rates continue to climb in this country for people in many di erent situations, the causes can range from one lost paycheck to addiction or mental health issues with no money to support treatment.

In Garner’s case, he was in a stable housing situation that was reliant on two incomes. e loss of a girlfriend meant the loss of a second, necessary paycheck.

“I’m all of a sudden in a situation where I’ve lost half my income in regards to what’s going towards payments,” Garner said.

Homelessness a ects many types of people. It also comes in all forms from living on the streets to couch sur ng or sleeping in a car. Common among all situations that have forced someone into homelessness is the world around them not being designed to help.

According to HUD fair market rent data, rent for a studio apartment in the metro area has increased by more than $300 per month since 2019, but minimum wages have only increased by about $2.50 an hour — increasing the percent of wages needed to be put towards housing from 54 to almost 60%.

e National Low Income Housing Coalition — a nonpro t that aims to end the a ordable housing crisis through policy and data research — deems housing costing more than 30% of wages spent on rent and utilities as una ordable, placing workers at risk for homelessness.

is lack of a ordable housing acts doubly as a factor for becoming homeless and a barrier from escaping it.

Unable to deal with the breakup and loss of income, Garner said it triggered a dormant alcohol addiction.

“As soon as she left, I started drinking again too, which was probably one of the worst decisions that I made,” he said. “And I’m a hell of a drinker. It took me no time before I was drinking before work every day.”

His addiction became another trapdoor. He was evicted from his home as his costly addiction grew, losing his job within a few months, and he continued falling until he landed on the streets.

In 2017, he found himself buried by snowdrifts, numbed to the elements by frostbite and an empty bottle.

Over the next three and a half months, he was in an ICU burn unit, where his legs were amputated for frostbite. What happened to land him there remains a blur, with Garner saying he was just lost in a blizzard of snow and substance abuse.

Garner had not looked for a shelter because he felt he deserved what he was experiencing on the street, his addiction giving him too much bluster to ask for help.

“And so when things have gotten so bad for me, I was like, ‘I guess that’s where you go when you’re at this place,’” Garner said.

But from Aurora to Lakewood, many who look for shelter have a hard time nding it — especially in winter.

The stick and carrot of winter shelter

“Police show up to tell you to leave, but don’t have an answer as to where we can go,” said Marshall Moody, who experienced homelessness in Lakewood over the summer.

He wasn’t hunting for winter shelter, but acknowledging how there were no shelter options in Lakewood, and describing how he felt harassed by police telling him to move along.

In Aurora, one of the only overnight shelter spaces is the Comitis Crisis Center.

“Comitis has, what, 30 beds?

I’m sure there’s easily 200 homeless people in Aurora. Easily,” said Jason, 40, who declined to give his last name, pointing out the lack of shelter options.

Jason has been homeless since 2019, falling on hard times after breaking his back and not having the ability to a ord medical care.

Anna Miller, director of business development and public relations at Mile High Behavioral Healthcare

— which Comitis Crisis Center falls under — has said before that the center has an outreach team that goes out every day working with the

city and police department to inform people on the streets about available resources. e organization was supportive of Aurora’s camping ban passed last summer.

But like the ban, these opinions are from the summer.

During the winter, many more people experiencing homelessness look for indoor shelter due to low temperatures, snow, rain and windchills causing regular, local shelters to ll up fast.  is is where short-term emergency weather shelters come in.

For much of the metro area, the “extreme weather” needed to open these emergency shelters — which vary from the Severe Weather Shelter Network across Je erson County that uses a network of churches, to opening some day-only centers for overnight stays — requires the temperature to be freezing or below with moisture, and 20 degrees or below without moisture.

In Denver, the required cuto is 10 degrees or six inches of snow — though, according to Sabrina Allie, the communications and engagement director for the Department of Housing Stability — or HOST — in Denver, the city council has asked the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, which created the cuto , to revisit these regulations.

e issue is that cold-weather injuries like frostbite and hypothermia can set in as high as 45 degrees depending on wind and moisture. is is according to doctors from Denver Health and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which sent a joint letter to HOST and DDPHE asking the city to raise their cuto .

“Hypothermia and frostbite may develop in minutes and often occur in the setting of risk factors for heat loss or decreased heat production including pre-existing medical conditions, exhaustion, dehydration, substance use and malnutrition, all

of which are common among people experiencing homelessness,” doctors said in the letter.

Some see winter shelter as a carrot-and-stick situation though, requiring the cuto to not be too comfortable for those experiencing homelessness.

“We do not want to enable, we want to empower,” said Lynn Ann Huizingh, executive director of development at Je erson County’s Severe Weather Shelter Network.

“We do the best we can to provide some good relational development, but we also want to encourage people to pursue answers that would lead them o the street, and if they get too comfortable, they just don’t have any reason to try and pursue anything else.”

However, at all times, the goal is to keep people from freezing to death, Huizingh added.

Aurora’s policy, according to Emma Knight, manager of homelessness for the city’s Division of Housing and Community Services, is to open emergency cold-weather shelters at 32 degrees during wet weather, and 20 degrees otherwise.

In Garner’s case, freezing to death almost became a reality. Instead, he left the hospital as a double amputee — disabled, homeless, and penniless.

“And I wish I could have said that that was my rock bottom as well. But it wasn’t,” Garner said.

Police interactions and laws against homelessness

Over the next nine months, Garner continued drinking and using drugs while trying to condition himself to his surroundings.

“ ere isn’t a rock bottom, there isn’t some stable ground that you hit. It is a series of trapdoors that gets progressively lower on to in nity,” Garner said.

Some of these trapdoors take the shape of police interactions and the possibility of jail time due to criminalization of homelessness. In the summer of 2022, Aurora passed a camping ban, following in the footsteps of Denver, which passed a similar measure a decade ago.

“Can’t camp, but you have only one shelter in the city of Aurora,” Jason said, referring to the Comitis Crisis Center. “ e camping ban doesn’t mean we can’t be outside — that’s really the main point — the camping ban means we can’t be safe outside.”

Terese Howard, homeless advocate and founder of Housekeys Action Network Denver, said these bans just push people around, possibly into more dangerous and secluded areas if they don’t just move a block away from where they were before.

Police harassment often comes out of these laws as well, Howard said. O cers will tell people experiencing homelessness to “move along” without o ering alternatives, according to Howard.

Denver’s camping ban speci es “shelter” to include “blankets, or any

Jonathan Townsend Garner, 35, lost his legs to frostbite after spending days covered in snow while homeless. Now, he hosts open mic night at Cactus Jack’s Saloon in Evergreen where he also performs.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

The di culties of using housing choice vouchers

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

About a year and a half ago, David Hernandez received a call from a number he did not recognize. When he called the number back, he heard news that would drastically change his housing situation.

“I was confused,” he said. “At rst I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ She’s like, ‘You got chose (from the) lottery, so we’d like to go forward with it.’”

At the time, Hernandez was living with his grandmother in Westminster. But then, after spending years unmoored, moving between states and staying with family members, Hernandez got approved for a voucher for government-subsidized housing.

“When I got it, it was a big relief,” he said. “It was so much stress that was taken o my conscience … It was kind of lifesaving, to be honest.”

e news was a complete surprise to him. What Hernandez didn’t know is that it took ve years for that call to come. His aunt had signed him up for a housing choice voucher lottery at Maiker Housing Partners, the public housing authority in Adams County, without telling him.

anks to her action, his unknowing patience, and, some would say, his luck, Hernandez became one of 2.3 million families and individuals in the United States to bene t from a housing choice voucher program, federally funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

Formerly, housing choice voucher programs were known as Section 8, but experts have widely replaced this language in an e ort to be more accurate about the type of rental assistance and to avoid the stigma the term carries with it.

Housing choice voucher programs, which are implemented by local authorities like Maiker, subsidize rent to help “very low-income families, the elderly and the disabled a ord decent, safe and sanitary housing,” according to HUD.

On one hand, vouchers make it possible for those without other options to have a roof over their heads.

But, according to housing experts, the program is not a fast-track to housing for many people in need, as it faces a range of issues from lack of funding to scarcity of units.

Eligibility

Within housing choice voucher programs, vouchers may be earmarked by local authorities for di erent types of rental assistance.

For example, some public housing authorities o er vouchers speci cally for veterans or for families whose lack of adequate housing is the primary cause of the separation of a child from their family.

Another type is what HUD calls “project-based” vouchers. ese offer rental assistance that can only be used for speci c properties approved by the public housing authority. is is the type of voucher Hernandez received.

Hernandez said the voucher helped him nancially, emotionally, physi-

cally and mentally, but being tied to one apartment complex has its downfalls. If he could choose, he said, he would rather live in a place with different management. In his complex, he feels like he and his neighbors are treated poorly, partially because they have low incomes.

But the most common type of housing choice voucher allows a recipient to choose where they want to live among properties in the private market. A HUD senior o cial told Colorado Community Media in a call that after 12 months, participants in the project-based voucher program can typically request to have this type of voucher, which is more open-ended.

Properties for a typical housing choice voucher must meet standards of health and safety before a tenant can move forward with a lease. In addition, public housing authorities review rents to ensure they are reasonable for the speci c housing market, according to HUD.

Families with vouchers generally pay 30%-40% of their monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities, according to HUD. e public housing authority covers the rest.

In Colorado, landlords are required to accept housing choice vouchers and are not allowed to discriminate against rental applicants based on source of income, per a 2021 law.

e voucher approval process begins with an application, said Brenda Mascarenas, director of housing services and programs at Maiker.

“ e couple of things we look at under formal eligibility (are) background, income, and citizenship,” she said.

Generally, a household’s income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area. But most vouchers go to applicants with incomes much lower than that. By law, a public housing authority must provide three quarters of its vouchers to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30% of the area median income, according to HUD.

In Adams and Arapahoe counties, a single person who earned no more

than $41,050 was eligible for a housing choice voucher in 2022, according to Maiker and South Metro Housing Options, a public housing authority in Littleton.

Wait times and lotteries

Unfortunately, the likelihood of getting a voucher is not solely dependent on whether a person is eligible.

Because of lack of funding for the program, HUD acknowledges “long waiting periods are common.” e o cial with HUD, speaking generally about the department, told Colorado Community Media that for households that receive a voucher, the average wait time is 28 months. e o cial noted that this number only includes people who actually receive a voucher, so the true average wait time is likely signi cantly longer.

Some public housing authorities use a lottery system to select voucher recipients. At Maiker, Mascarenas said the team aims to open their lottery pool every other year, meaning applicants could wait up to two years if they are selected from the lottery their rst time. If not, they might wait through several cycles.

At South Metro Housing Options, the voucher waitlist was last open in 2012, Executive Director Corey Reitz said. ey anticipate it opening again this year, more than 11 years later. ese long wait times are not unique. Only two housing agencies among the 50 largest in the U.S. have average wait times of under one year for families that make it o of wait lists for vouchers, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute based in Washington, D.C.

To Hernandez’s bene t, he wasn’t aware he was waiting for his voucher. He said it would have been challenging to be in “limbo” for so long.

“If I would have known I’d have to wait ve years for that, I probably personally wouldn’t have done it,” he said.

Peter LiFari, executive director at Maiker,  attributes long waitlists at public housing authorities to lack of federal funding and a massive de-

mand for housing vouchers.

“It’s a program designed to exist in scarcity, which is really disappointing,” he said. “I get emails every day, basically from folks (saying) ‘How do I sign up?’ and ‘I’m homeless and I’ve never asked for help before and I’m ready now,’ and it’s like, unfortunately we don’t we don’t have the vouchers to be able to meet the need.”

Because of limited funding for HUD, designated by Congress each year, only 1 in 4 households eligible for a housing voucher receive any federal rental assistance, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

e HUD o cial interviewed by CCM agreed that a main shortcoming of the program is that there are not enough vouchers. e o cial said rental assistance programs are an outlier compared to other federal safety net programs in that many people qualify but do not receive the support. e o cial attributed the lack of funding to the fact that the voucher program was created in the 1970s, after other programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were already underway.

Congress increased funding into the voucher program throughout the pandemic, but the funding generally went to special populations as opposed to the entire program, LiFari said. e American Rescue Plan Act, for example, provided 70,000 emergency vouchers to assist individuals in violent, dangerous or homeless situations. Mascarenas said Maiker received 46 vouchers from the funding.

Last year, the Biden administration awarded more than 19,000 housing choice vouchers to more than 2,000 public housing authorities. Twentynine of the authorities are in Colorado, including agencies in Adams County, Je erson County, Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Englewood and Arvada.

But even with the extra funding, housing authority employees say it is challenging to keep up with the demand.

“One of the challenges with any … new sources of funding to support housing, it’s still administering the money and the funds and the vouchers,” said Reitz from South Metro. “So we still need sta to do so. And we’re no di erent than most other agencies or industries right now in terms of sta ng, so that’s a challenge.”

e demand for vouchers in Adams County is higher than Mascarenas has ever seen.

“I’ve been with Maiker for 30 years and I’ve never seen the market in such a bad condition,” she said. “I’ve never seen the need grow so great.”

Maiker has about 1,625 housing choice vouchers to distribute in Adams County. In July 2022, the last time their lottery was open for applications, over 3,500 people applied.

“Even two-parent households are still nding it very di cult to make ends meet with two incomes coming into the home,” Mascarenas said.

Next to his kitchen, David Hernandez has a DJ setup where he likes to mix music for fun.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

belonging, there’s no sense of ownership, and all of those are negative impacts on a community, the wellbeing of a community.”

Searching for a home

After leaving the house he owned near Houston, Texas, more than a decade ago, Laney knew buying a home in Denver would be a nearimpossible feat.

He was making good money at a medical diagnostics company and had been able to purchase a brandnew home in a Houston suburb for less than $150,000. But his mental health was su ering and he knew he needed a change. With friends living in Colorado at the time, Laney decided to move more than 1,000 miles north to Denver.

With his fresh start came the opportunity to dive into a longtime passion: wine. He took classes to become a sommelier — a trained wine professional. He sold wine to businesses across the metro area, worked parttime at a cozy wine bar and restaurant in the heart of Littleton’s historic downtown, and eventually landed a full-time job at Jake’s.

Laney settled on wherever he could nd the most a ordable apartment — something hovering around $1,000 per month, in places around Denver. e ones he found in Littleton were too run-down. As rents around the region rose, Laney moved ve times in six years.

“During this whole process I knew I wanted a house,” Laney said. “I wanted something that was my own, and it’s hard to build a home in an apartment, especially when you keep moving.”

Laney’s experiences came as Littleton residents expressed less condence that their city was a ordable.

From 2012 to 2022, residents who cited a ordable cost of living as a reason for living in Littleton declined from 30% to 14%, according to biennial city-issued surveys of hundreds of residents. Over those same years, residents who said a ordable housing and rental rates were a reason for living in the city went from 20% to 9%.

Laney said he worked, saved and kept his spending habits to a minimum during those years, staying laser-focused on his ultimate prize. Credit-card debt from college “really destroyed a lot of opportunities,” he said, but he kept “working, working, working.”

Even though Laney estimates he was making about $48,000 yearly, he says he was far short of what he needed for a down payment on even the least expensive of homes in Littleton.

He wasn’t alone. A 2020 analysis from Denver-based contractor Root Policy showed that individuals who earned $29,000 to $95,000 yearly in the metro area could not a ord the average price of a home, which was nearly $420,000 that year.

“It’s a pretty serious situation,” said Corey Reitz, executive director of Littleton’s housing authority, South Metro Housing Options. “ e list of folks who can’t continue to live here continues to grow.”

at list, according to Root’s analysis, includes workers in health care, education, construction, food service

and more.

Essential workers risk being priced out Sta ers at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood say the housing problem also a ects them. ey blame the shortage of essential hospital workers they’re contending with, in part, on the cost of housing.

“Absolutely the rising cost of housing here in Colorado is a topic,” said Dena Schmaedecke, the hospital’s vice president of human resources. “Colleagues are often bringing up those stresses.”

at housing-cost factor has caused hospital leaders to o er a $10,000 housing stipend to incentivize new employees, Schmaedecke said.

In Brighton, northeast of Denver, Michael Clow, chief human resources o cer for 27J Schools, said the cost of housing has impacted the district’s ability to maintain and support sta .

“We hear from candidates and from our new hires that the cost of housing and their ability to nd housing is a real problem,” Clow said. “

We recently had two math teachers (husband and wife) join us. ey were excited to live their dream and move to Colorado. After just one year and realizing they could not a ord to raise a family here, they moved back to their home state.”

Clow said the crisis has restricted the district’s pool of applicants graduating with teaching degrees, creating intense competition for sta and teachers.

“ e cost of housing is becoming a serious obstacle for us to maintain service levels and serve our mission,” he said.

Farther north, in Fort Lupton, the Weld R-8 School District has faced similar pressures. Superintendent Alan Kaylor said the annual salary for a rst-year teacher in the district is about $41,000.

Kaylor bought his home in 1995 for $72,000. He said a home across the street from his was recently listed at $685,000. e price of that house across the street rose more than four times faster than the pace of in ation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ in ation calculator.

“How can any family a ord that?” he asked. “Something has to give. After a while, you have to wonder how long people will tolerate living on teachers’ wages.”

Even for some residents making a larger income, housing remains elusive.

West of Denver, in Evergreen, hus-

band and wife Bill and Charm Connelly bring in a combined six- gure salary.

Bill Connelly is an insurance agent and blackjack dealer for a Black Hawk casino. Charm is the front-house general manager for Cactus Jack’s, a bar and restaurant in Evergreen. e two rent a three-bedroom home and are struggling to save for a house. Even downsizing to something smaller, they said, would likely increase their spending by roughly $400 a month.

e two currently pay $2,200 per month on rent.

“I feel like a failure. I nally get a good full-time job making great money, and eight years ago, 10 years ago, we could easily have gotten something,” Bill Connelly said.

“Between the two of us, I see what we make,” Charm said. “We are making decent money, but I want to be able to save money and not blow it all on rent.”

For Adam Galbraith, a Cactus Jack’s bartender, the only way to keep his rent a ordable is to live with others.

“ e only reason I’m able to save money is because it’s a 1,100-squarefoot place and we crammed four people in it,” Galbraith said, adding monthly rent is about $1,500. “If you’ve got roommates, that’s the only way you’re going to save money.”

A housing ‘limbo’

Near the end of 2019, Laney, the Littleton bartender, was beginning to feel more con dent about reaching his goal for a down payment. He’d paid o his car and credit-card debt and said he “worked hard to keep it that way.”

His savings account was beginning to bulk up. en came COVID-19.

Years of careful saving and unyielding restraint on spending evaporated in months. Laney was forced to drain his savings account during the beginning of the pandemic amid lockdowns. He received nothing from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, though he would gain $3,200 from stimulus checks in the months to come. Still, he was hanging on.

It was “the community around Jake’s, our regulars, who kept us alive,” Laney said.

“I was there every single day, for damn near a year,” he said, with the bar able to do curbside orders even as its indoors remained shuttered.

Before the pandemic, Laney estimates he brought in about $4,000 each month before taxes. By the end

of the month, after paying for rent, utilities, groceries and gas, he would be left with just $200 to $300, which usually went into his savings.

Living that way was “terrifying,” said Laney, who always felt he could be on the edge of losing his housing should he have a bad month. e pandemic only exacerbated the uncertainty.

As his savings depleted, Laney’s dream of owning a home never seemed further away.

But his resolve didn’t waver and he used what federal relief he had to rebuild his savings because, as he put it, “I had a goal: I wanted a house. When I came out of the tunnel I knew what I wanted.”

By 2021, he started looking again. A townhome might come up on the market — far from perfect, but within Laney’s means — and he would ready himself to put down an o er. It never was enough.

“Someone comes in and puts 20k cash on the o er, or 30k or 40k,” Laney said. “I went through about a year and a half of that and I knew in my head I was not going to be able to get a house.”

A real-estate agent who came into his bar told Laney to apply for a $300,000 bank loan. He had good credit, the agent told him, and would be a shoo-in for the money.

“ ree hundred thousand dollars does not get you a townhome,” Laney thought to himself.

He was frustrated. More than frustrated. He felt depressed.

“I’d done everything right, everything I was supposed to do and it still didn’t matter,” he said. “I’m just stuck, like the hundreds of thousands of other people, in limbo.”

Laney’s luck began to turn near the end of 2021 when he heard there were about to be dozens of singlefamily homes for sale in Littleton for less than $300,000. He thought it was too good to be true.

‘We can’t all win the lottery’ at year, South Metro Housing Options, which manages a ordable properties throughout Littleton, sold 59 of its single-family homes to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, which pledged to renovate the units and sell them at a below-market price.

Laney’s hourly wage had slightly increased since the pandemic from $8 to $10, though 90% of his income still came from tips, he said. Still, Laney believed he met the nancial requirements for a Habitat home, which would only sell to people who earn no more than 80% of the area’s median income.

But when Laney applied to be on a waitlist at the beginning of 2022, he was quickly denied. He was told his income, roughly $56,000 when he applied, exceeded the cap by less than $1,000.

Laney said he was actually making less than that, about $54,000, but because Habitat counted his “unrealized interest gains,” such as money held in stocks, Laney was over the threshold.

Habitat was also only looking at the income of recent months, Laney said, rather than his income over the past year. is made it look like he made more than he did because his monthto-month income would uctuate dramatically based on tips.

He applied again and was denied

The view of Lone Tree homes from Blu s Regional Park and Trail on Oct. 21, 2022.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.”

“ ere’s this illusion that you need this stick to connect people to services,” Howard said. “ at’s a lie, it doesn’t work. You can just look back at the last 10 years of Denver to see the reality of that lie. It’s meant, rst and foremost, to push people out of sight, out of mind.”

According to one national study from 2013, criminalization can create a cycle of incarceration that perpetuates itself.

Noting a loop of jail time and homelessness, the report says: “Incarceration has been noted to increase the risk of homelessness” as it can weaken community ties, limit employment opportunities and make it more di cult to get public housing.

“ is bidirectional association between homelessness and incarceration may result in a certain amount of cycling between public psychiatric hospitals, jails and prisons, and homeless shelters or the street,” the report concludes.

A homeless count across the metro area

Nationwide, at the start of every year, a count is taken to try and estimate the unsheltered homeless population.

At the same time, a count is made of people who have stayed in a participating shelter at some point across the country. ese counts are run by HUD through volunteering shelters and local governments.

In the 2022 point-in-time count across Je erson, Broom eld, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Denver counties, there were nearly 2,000 people living unsheltered, and just over 3,000 in emergency shelters.

According to the data, most of the homeless population is in Denver.  HUD’s de nition of homelessness includes those who are in imminent risk of losing their housing. However, the annual report does not include that data or consider people who are couch sur ng, or temporarily living at a friend or family member’s home.

Jason had been working, but with a broken back, he could no longer work or a ord needed medical care.

Like Garner, Jason requires a wheelchair to get around, which creates another level of di culties for those experiencing homelessness.

The cost of a disability

One day in the spring of 2018, Gar-

VOUCHERS

She attributed part of the higher demand to the pandemic, which impacted many workers and families.

Another theory comes from Reitz, who said higher demand could be because salaries and wages have not kept up with rising housing costs.

Unit scarcity

In addition to the lack of funding, LiFari said the lack of physical housing supply is a detriment to the function of housing voucher program.

“We just don’t have enough units,” he said. “We don’t even have enough housing to support folks that are above the poverty line … because we just abandoned building for one another.”

ner’s wheelchair got caught in some weeds in a eld. He spent hours there, yelling for help, until a couple happened upon him.

e couple befriended Garner, brought him some basic necessities, and got him into a detox facility. After a few stints, Garner has now been sober for more than four years.

“But the patience that these strangers showed me was something that was unbelievable to me,” Garner said. “I will never forget before they took me in the third time telling them: ‘Well, what if I just do this again? You know, what if I, what if you take me to this detox, you come pick me up, and I just start drinking again?’”

Garner said the couple told him they would keep trying. Services like detox are di cult to use for people with addictions and mental health issues, as they often have no support system to encourage them to go, as well as there often being little state support.

In 2019, a study showed that about 20% of all Americans were a ected by mental illness in the past year. According to e National Coalition for Homelessness the general e ects of various mental illnesses “disrupt people’s ability to carry out essential aspects of daily life,” as well as make social bonds.

“ is often results in pushing away caregivers, family, and friends who may be the force keeping that person from becoming homeless,” the report elaborated.

But the couple that helped Garner in

e lack of units creates scarcity in the housing market, LiFari said. With high demand, competition and rents increase across the region.

As a result, “lower-income Coloradans are left on the outside looking in,” he said.

“ e program can’t run unless there’s houses and units where people live, right?” he said. “So, without that, we’re just creating this ‘Hunger Games’ construct.”

After being chosen for a voucher, the competition begins. People have about two months to nd a home to rent and sign the lease. But that’s not enough time for many folks to nd homes and Maracenas elds many requests for extensions for as many as four more months.

Even with these extensions, LiFari said the highly competitive market presents a challenging dynamic for

that eld became his support, hosting him until they fell on hard times and divorced.

Eventually, Garner’s friend helped him get a studio apartment in Evergreen, helping to pay rent for the rst three months.

“So I stayed those rst three months and realized I didn’t want to leave,” Garner said.

Garner said without his friend helping with rst and last month’s rent and more in those rst three months, he wouldn’t have been able to a ord it. After the rst three months, Garner continued to stay in the apartment, getting help from friends. He got what he needed, he said, but it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t how he wanted to live.

“I come from the salt of the earth, blue collar, working folk, you know, and really, at the bottom line, I’m just trying to work in any way I can,” he said. “All I’m trying to do is provide for myself.”

The housing and wage gap

Part of this di culty, especially in Evergreen, is the gap between wages and housing costs.  is lack of a ordable housing acts doubly as a factor for becoming homeless and a barrier from escaping it.

Adam Galbraith works as a bartender at Cactus Jack’s in Evergreen. He said the only reason he can save money at all is because his 1,100-square-foot apartment has four people in it.

“If you’ve got roommates, that’s the only way you’re going to save money,”

people to nd vacant units within the time frame. Part of this is because renters must be approved for leases by landlords and there are many barriers that can work against voucher holders – from the potential for discrimination to criminal records

Is it a solution?

In LiFari’s eyes, the housing choice voucher program “only exists as medicine for a misdiagnosed illness.”

Although it certainly makes a difference in combating homelessness, he said American society and government need to focus more on the root of the problem.

“ e program is a function of how we value people and how we value where they live,” he said. “We refuse to address the root cause of the illness because then we have to view how we view poverty.”

For Hernandez, viewing poverty

he said. It’s also the only reason he can live in Evergreen, along with his landlord keeping rent lower than it could be at $1,500, “so locals would rent it.” Others he knows have seen their landlord sell the property and give them two months to get out — he’s had it happen to himself twice.

Evergreen isn’t really the place to perform hip hop on the corner, but Garner had a background in performance and music — participating in rap battles and the underground scene in his younger years under his stage name, LaKryth. After practicing, studying and preparing, he took to the streets with his guitar, not in his wheelchair, but instead standing on prosthetic legs.

“I’m a pretty damn good musician, you know, and I can sing pretty damn good too, but I’m not going to pretend like I’m oblivious to the fact that my disability and my prosthetics aren’t a contributing factor to the response that I’ve made in the community,” Garner said.

After getting attention on social media, he began to book more gigs, participate in rap battles, and through participating in Colorado Community Media’s housing series panel discussion, met the owner of Cactus Jack’s Saloon, where he is now host of the weekly open-mic night.

He said he can’t work a job “on paper,” and he still faces struggles with his health and well-being. Garner has a roof over his head and food to eat. He says that’s all he can ask for.

realistically is important.

“Believe me — a lot of people don’t want to be depending on the government,” Hernandez said. “But at the same time, they need (vouchers) because it’s crazy out there.”

Although the housing choice voucher program is not perfect, LiFari said it still makes an impact.

“We have no other way that reaches the scale and has the complexity to be able to address individual housing markets, to drive housing stability and stave o extreme poverty and homelessness than this program,” he said.

And on top of that, Hernandez said it makes an important di erence in people’s spirits.

“It’s good for people to get (themselves) on the right track,” he said. “It’s a good thing to get your sense of, you know, you’re involved in society, you’re part of something.”

Jonathan Townsend Garner, 35, lost his legs to frostbite after spending days covered in snow while homeless. Now, he hosts open mic night at Cactus Jack’s Saloon in Evergreen where he also performs.

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

Sheri , family remember Heath Gumm

Police remember deputy on fifth anniversary of his shooting

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Family members and rst responders lled the plaza outside of the Adams County sheri ’s department o ces in Brighton Jan. 24 to memorialize one of their own who died ve years ago.

“Detective Heath Gumm made the ultimate sacri ce,” Adams County Sheri Gene Claps said at the veyear anniversary memorial ceremony. “It takes a very special individual to perform these duties of law enforcement o cer, to answer the calls for helps and stand in harm’s way to protect our community. Each year we re ect and grieve the loss

PRICES

again, this time for making just $300 more than the cut-o . But, a slow month at work turned out to be a good thing. His income dipped just enough that by the third time he applied he made it on the waitlist.

at did not come with the guarantee of a home. Laney was in a line of people just like him and demand far outweighed supply. Number 10 was his position. Who knew how many more were behind him, he thought.

en it happened. Laney was made an o er, a 1,275-square-foot detached home near Ketring Park in

of Detective Heath Gumm. Heath’s memory lives on and will never be forgotten.”

Gumm was 31 in January 2018 when he joined other deputies responding to a report of an assault in progress at about 87th and Dawson in unincorporated Adams County. e deputies searched the area, making contact with a man who ed, leading the chase behind a house in the neighborhood. Gumm was chasing the man, who turned, drew a weapon and red, striking Gumm in the chest and killing him.

Dreion Dearing, then 22, was later convicted of killing Gumm.

But the 2023 ceremony marking the fth anniversary of the shooting had little to do with the shooting itself. Instead, Sheri Claps, former Sheri Mike McIntosh, prosecutor Jess Redman and Gumm’s father Jim thanked the o cer for what he did, extending that gratitude to others police o cers and deputies.

central Littleton valued at $285,000, roughly a third of what similar properties sold for.

“I can’t even express how happy I was,” Laney said. “I’ve been living and serving this community for 10 years and I want to live here.”

Still, the program has some drawbacks compared to traditional homeownership. Laney cannot build as much equity as many of his neighbors because he does not own the property the home sits on. Instead, it is owned by something called a land trust — a collection of entities.

“ e beauty of the land trust is it removes the cost of the land from the equation from the cost of the home,” said Kate Hilberg, director of real estate development for Habitat for

“I went through many di erent thoughts in my mind while trying to come up with this speech, but most of them ended up being sad and depressing. But I knew there would already be too much sadness and too many tears today,” Jim Gumm said. “So I started thinking about what Heath would want. He would not everyone being down today. He would want you to ll your thoughts with his memories and happy stories.”

Gumm had earned a reputation as a playful prankster and friend, something his father noted.

“He was the smartest person I have ever known and I believe that’s what gave him the amazing ability to come up with the most inappropriate comments at the most inappropriate times,” Jim Gumm said. “And I’m sure right now that all of you have one of those inappropriate comments in your minds.”

e memorial ceremony was

Humanity. “It allows the homeowners to pay on that mortgage for that home and improvements to that home but not the land.”

Land trusts are crucial tools organizations like Habitat use to lock in the a ordability of homes even as property values rise elsewhere. e owners of these units will see some equity from their homes, Hilberg said, about 2% each year. But it won’t be enough to match the likes of homeowners who have used their growing property values to build decades of generational wealth.

“A lot of families use this as a starter home option and they do gain enough equity and stability to turn that into a down payment on a home in the open market,” Hilberg said of homes under

bracketed with music, a Tom Petty playlist to open the memorial and the bagpipe dirge of “Amazing Grace” to close it.

Former Adams County Sheri Mike McIntosh, now wearing his uniform as a Douglas County Chief Deputy, said he can no longer listen to one Tom Petty song, “I Wont Back Down,” without thinking of Gumm.

e song was playing nearly ve years ago as the pallbearers carried Gumm’s casket into Lafayette church for the former deputy’s funeral.

“I can’t hear that song anymore without thinking about Heath and thinking about the sacri ce he made and the fact that he didn’t back down,” McIntosh said. “He went into the face of danger not knowing what the outcome was going to be. He stood his ground and he didn’t back down.”

e memorial service was also shown live on the Adams County Sheri ’s Facebook page.

land trusts.

But fathoming a concept like equity is a luxury for those who still can’t buy a house on the market, Laney said.

While he’s thankful for what Habitat did for him, he fears the few dozen homes it manages in Littleton can only go so far to meet the demand of hundreds, if not thousands, of residents who have struggled as he has.

“ ere isn’t enough income-based housing for people … the people who live and work in this community can’t a ord a house,” Laney said. “We can’t all win the lottery.”

The family of slain Deputy Heath Gumm listen during a ceremony honoring the police o cer Jan. 24 at the Adams County Building.

PHOTO BY SCOTT TAYLOR

Adams County Deputies stand guard at a wreath placed in front of a memorial honoring fellow deputies killed in the line duty. Heath Gumm, killed on Jan. 24, 2018, became the sixth name on that memorial plaque.

Adams County Sheri Gene Claps welcomes family and friends Jan 24 to a memorial ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of Sheri s Deputy Heath Gumm at the Adams County Building.

Former Adams County Sheri Mike McIntosh talks about Deputy Heath Gumm during a Jan. 24 memorial at the Adams County Building in Brighton. Now a Chief Deputy Sheri in Douglas County, McIntosh was the Sheri in Adams County when Gumm was killed.

Colorado Community Reporters Andrew Fraieli, Steve Smith, Tayler Shaw and Ellis Arnold contributed reporting to this story.

Thu 2/02

Family Makerspace

@ 1am Feb 2nd - Feb 1st

Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Boot Camp Feb 2023 @ 1am

Feb 2nd - Feb 27th

Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Parent/Tot - Farm Animals (Bilingual) @ 4pm

Feb 2nd - Feb 23rd

Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Los Mocochetes in Concert @ 7:30pm / $25

Parsons Theatre, 1 East Memorial Parkway, Northglenn. mstricker@ northglenn.org, 303-450-8888

Sat 2/04

Daddy Daughter Dance- A Night in Paris

@ 1am

Feb 4th - Feb 3rd

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Brushes and Brunch

@ 5pm

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Denver Nuggets vs. Atlanta Hawks

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Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors

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Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Anavrin's Day: Thurdsay Night @ Hoffbrau @ 9pm Hoffbrau, 9110 Wadsworth Pkwy, West‐minster

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Breakfast Out "Doug's Café" (2/3) @ 4pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Tiny Treks @ 4pm

Feb 3rd - Feb 17th

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

"Doubt: A Parable" by John Patrick Shanley @ 7:30pm / $12.50

Armory Performing Arts Center, 300 Strong St, Brighton

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Anythink Wright Farms, 5877 East 120th Avenue, Thornton. mhibben @anythinklibraries.org, 303-4053200

Hearts and Friends @ 8pm

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Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

American Sign Language- Beginner @ 11pm

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Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves @ 8pm / $12-$3970

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Sports Conditioning Feb. @ 10:30pm

Feb 7th - Feb 28th

Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

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Colorado Mammoth vs. Georgia Swarm @ 7pm / $20-$999

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Basic Archery Instruction @ 11am

Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Pica‐dilly Road, Brighton. Dnr_bar rlake.Naturecenter@state.co.us, 303-659-6005

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Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Legal Self-Help Clinic @ 2pm

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Gambling Lodge Casino (2/7)

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Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

2023 USA Curling Men’s & Women’s National Championships @ 9am

Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt Street, Denver

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Fort Lupton riding 13-game win streak

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fort Lupton High School boys basketball coach Jim Roedel grew a beard over the holidays. And while he plans to trim it every so often, he doesn’t plan to shave it o until his Bluedevils team loses a game.

rough Jan. 24, the beard was in place. Fort Lupton’s winning streak reached 12 after a 62-45 home- oor win over Middle Park on Jan. 23. Other recent wins were against Arvada (91-35) and a 5844 win over Platte Canyon.

e big change has been a switch in the o ense.

“I told the boys I’ll take responsibility for the rst loss,” Roedel said after the win against Arvada. “I didn’t know the style we needed to play and what we had. If we were to go back and play that game again, we wouldn’t have the result we had. Eaton was the same way. It took us a half to gure it out. We learned the style of play that we are, which is athletic, trap, full court, press, get after it.”

Freshman Shane Callahan likes

Frederick stays undefeated after win over Fort Morgan

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In times when it’s di cult to nd unanimity on much of anything, the Frederick High School boys basketball team agrees on this: Improved defense will be a key to the Golden Eagles’ chances when postseason play begins in February. e Golden Eagles had no trouble scoring points against Fort Morgan Jan. 26. e nal was 88-52, Frederick’s 16th straight win of the season. But coach Je Conway was happier with the defensive e ort, one that forced 20 Mustangs’ mistakes and a resulting 22 points for FHS.

“Tonight was pretty good. e other night (Jan. 24) at Mountain View, we only gave up 39 points,” he said. “ at’s what we’ve been focusing on. We know that coming down the stretch, it’s going to come down to defensive stops once we get in the playo s. Good defense turns into good o ense.”

“We don’t play good enough defense,” said team captain Harry Singh. “We know there are better teams in our league. We have to play defense.”

Matias Aldana led the Golden Eagles with 22 points, including four, 3-pointers. Luke Justice scored 17, and JJ Strojnic contributed 11. Wesley Carnes led Fort Morgan with 17 points, including three from long range. Nathan Gerken added six.

“We worked as a team,” Aldana said. “We’re trying to focus on our

High-school o cials’ fees to increase

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e long, sought-after pay increases for high-school game o cials are o cially in play.

e Colorado High School Activi-

ties Association’s legislative council, which makes CHSAA’s decisions, voted overwhelmingly Jan. 24 to increase o cials’ pay by $10 over the next three years. With it comes an increase in mileage fees for o cials.

It’s 40 cents now, increasing to 50 cents a mile for the 2023-2024 school year and up to 60 cents per mile in the 2025-2026 school year.

CHSAA’s new commissioner, Mike Krueger, said Colorado has been

in the bottom third nationally and regionally in o cials’ pay for several years.

“It’s a crisis situation,” he told the council before its vote. “A lot of older o cials are retiring, and we have a lack of a personnel pool.”

Schools will feel a sizable budget increase, but Krueger said that would apply to just the rst year of pay increases. He thought the impact would be somewhere north of

30 percent.

Krueger also told the council more pay for o cials means higher expectations.

“We’ll work with them to make sure they have the education and the memberships they need,” he told the council. “One area where we have fallen behind is hospitality. We have to support each other. We’ve got to

CHSAA approves slight change to Sunday contact rules

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

DENVER – e Colorado High School Activities Association changed the rules for Sunday contact between coaches and studentathletes Jan. 24.

e association’s legislative council, the decision-making arm for CHSAA, voted to keep the Sunday no-contact rule in place during a team’s season, de ned as the start of o cial practice through the state tournament.

e original rule was in place during a given school year. e switch

allows high-school coaches to be in touch with their athletes during club-level contests but only after their seasons end.

Sta notes said many high-school coaches are coaching club sports where a lot of their players – and others – play Sundays. In addition, athletes and coaches can be in the same place when college coaches are in attendance and potential scholarships are in the discussion.

Brendan Carlucci, the athletic director for Poudre Schools in Fort Collins, said the state needs more quality coaches.

“We’ll be on the verge of hiring

someone, but then they say they aren’t willing to give up coaching six Sunday tournaments,” he told the council. “We are putting less talented coaches in front of kids. Our student-athletes deserve the very best.”

“We need to get the most quali ed coaches in front of our kids,” added Lakewood’s athletic director, Mike Hughes. ere were no dissenting comments, nor were there any dissenting thoughts in CHSAA’s sta notes.

“ is doesn’t lead to Sunday games,” Carlucci told the council. “We need to put the very best

coaches in front of our kids. is is hampering us.”

e new rule takes e ect July 1. ere is no expected nancial impact.

Soccer overtime

e council also turned down a request to eliminate overtime periods in regular-season soccer matches. It needed a two-thirds vote to pass, and 81 percent of those casting ballots voted no.

Arrupe Jesuit High School’s assistant principal for student services,

Frederick’s Luke Justice sends a behind-the-back pass against Fort Morgan’s Aiden Garver during a Jan. 26 game in Frederick.

PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH SEE FREDERICK, P15

Commissioner calls it “first step in ongoing process”

unite around that shared responsibility.”

CSHAA’s o cials’ fee committee will take another look at the pay scale in three to four years. Chairman Eric Johnson, the athletic director at Windsor High School, said the time frame was about the same for other states when they discuss pay rates for game o cials.

“It’s the rst step of an ongoing process,” Krueger said. “We aren’t competing with club teams for ofcials’ pay. It helps get us to where we need to be but it doesn’t put us so far ahead that we put a strain on the budget numbers.”

Treatment of o cials

e council also agreed to amend CHSAA bylaws to include a piece on intimidation of or physical threats to game o cials.

Sta notes de ned game o cials as referees, judges, umpires, linesmen and those serving in similar capacities. e agenda de ned an

FORT LUPTON

the change.

“We’re playing fast-paced, run and gun,” he said. “It’s my favorite. It’s more exciting. It’s not slow. When we play bad, we play that slower tempo. But when we pick it up, fast tempo, we get the ball up the court. We try to stick to the fast pace.”

“ ey bought into the system, that’s for sure,” Roedel said. “ ey work hard in practice at it. So, games are sort of a more intense practice.”

FLHS had a 12-point lead after one quarter against the Bulldogs. e lead grew steadily from there.

FREDERICK

FROM PAGE 14

defense. We just need to get better at it. When we get further down the road, we’re going to face better teams.”

Fort Morgan was playing its third game in as many nights.

“We knew they were tired,” Singh said. “We had to push them.”

“We had 20-some assists,” Justice said. “We have so much chemistry We hang out o the court. On the court, we’re trying to share. We’re trying to win ballgames.

Frederick spent part of the o season playing in Green Mountain High School’s spring league and against class 6A powerhouses Rangeview, Rock Canyon and Valor Christian high schools.

THORPE

Odi, Devina, Spencer, Hayden and Tanner’s brother-in-law Bobb (Anne) orpe; their sons, Brook and James orpe; and her sister-in-law Dee (Larry) Frost and their son, David (Tiffany) orpe.

assault as “an intentional act, or threat ... that puts another person in reasonable belief of imminent harmful or o ensive conduct.” reatening behavior can include words, actions or behaviors that can cause others to be concerned for their safety.

e consequences for violators can include permanent exclusion from CHSAA events, It will be up to the commissioner and the a ected school’s administration to decide the penalties.

Golf changes

e legislative council also approved a couple of changes in highschool golf. One was to add a 2A classi cation for both boys and girls golf, beginning in the 2024 cycle.  e other is to seed 5A regional tournaments two weeks before regionals. Locations will be determined by league rotation. e golf committee said each league will have one team per regional to act as host.

“ e goal is to have a four-way rotation for 5A state sites with a Western state host every six years,” sta notes said.

“We passed the ball really well. We got a lot of assists,” Callahan said. “Our coach said it was the best we’d played all year. We practiced. We have good chemistry, and there’s a lot of trust in our teammates.”

“ ey were inexperienced. ey work hard. ey are well-coached. It was our athleticism and experience that made the di erence tonight,” Roedel said. “We played our style. We pushed the basketball. We turned them over. ey couldn’t quite keep up.”

“We’re just as con dent as we were at the beginning of the season,” Callahan said. “We never lost con dence. We tried practicing what we were doing wrong. It ended up working for us.”

“I thought we were going to click this year,” Justice said. “Over the summer, we played well. e job is not nished.”

Frederick advanced to the state semi nals last year for the rst time since 1956.

“Conway told me when I came o the court that we were going to be back,” Justice said. “it really stuck with me. Last year was an experience. We are read going to win it this year.”

“It helped us not be nervous,” Singh said.

“We’re just working as a team,” Aldana said. “We don’t underestimate anybody. We come in, and we play our hardest every game.”

“ ey know they can score at will,” Conway said. “But we have to start locking teams down and focusing more on defense.   ey are doing a good job.”

Her mother, Norma June Anderson, her father, Herbert Anderson, and her brother, Kirk Anderson, predeceased her.

A celebration of life will begin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Fort Lupton High School, 530 Reynolds St. A reception follows. In lieu of owers, make donations to a scholarship fund in both Jack and Andi orpe’s names at the Bank of Colorado in Fort Lupton.

CHSAA

Mike Lovinguth, the chairman of the state’s soccer committee, outlined some reasons in sta notes to request the change. It aligns with the NCAA, and the state’s high-school soccer o cials association agreed.

“ e committee felt that by eliminating overtime in the regular season, o cials would have the ability to accept back-toback games at di erent locations, knowing that there will not be a situation where overtime would delay the time they could leave one venue and arrive at another,” the report said. “With a 10 percent decrease in the overall number of o cials in 2022, this was an attractive solution to making ocials available for multiple games on the same day. Additionally, lower-level games that follow a varsity game where lights are not available often have their game time cut short when overtime is played.”

Broom eld High School athletic director Steve Shelton thought the proposal would hurt the Northern League because it’s a competitive league.

“Kids need to prepare for performances at state,” he told the council. “In a league like ours, games are going to end up in multiple ties, which creates challenges for the RPI (the Ratings Performance Index, one of the factors in considering which teams advance to the state playo s).”

Fort Lupton High School

Wrestling

Fort Lupton’s Josiah Gonzales (126 pounds), Will Alvarado (157) and D’mitri Garza-Alarcon (138 pounds) captured championships at the 2023 Mile High Classic at omas Je erson High School Jan. 28.

Donovan Birmingham placed second among 106-pounders. Danny Rodriguez was second at 144 pounds, and Kayden Derbigny was second at 215 pounds. Royce Guerrero was fourth at 150 pounds, and Alex Mata took fourth at 175 pounds.

Christopher Galicia was fth at 165 pounds.

e Bluedevils were third in the team standings.

Fort Lupton split its matches in a triangular meet Jan. 27 in Fort Lupton.

FLHS beat Monarch 57-17. Donovan Birmingham (106), Cameron Reeves (120), Josiah Gonzales (126), William Alvarado (157), Christopher Galicia (165), Alex Mata (175) and Kayden Derbigny (215) picked up the on-mat wins.

e Bluedevils and Grand Junction Central tied at 33 after their match. GJC earned the win based on total number of wins.

FLHS’ contested match wins were from D;mitri Garza-Alarcon (138), Danny Rodriguez (145), Royce Guerrero (150), Alvarado, Mata and Derbigny.

Fort Lupton topped Fort Morgan 68-12 on Salute to Service Night Jan. 24 on the Bluedevils’ mats.

SPORTS SCORECARD

FLHS’ on-mat winners were Xavier Aragon (132), Rodriguez, Guerrero, Alvarado,, Christopher Galicia, Camren Galicia (190), Uriel Leon (113) and Gonzales..

Girls wrestling

FLHS was fourth at the Chat eld Girls War Horse Invitational Jan. 28 at Chat eld High School.

Genevieve Hunt won the 125-pound title. Rylee Balcazar took third at 105 pounds, while Gizell Adame was fourth at 235 pounds. Valeria Villalobos was sixth at 130 pounds Lashya Tijerina took sixth at 155 pounds. Dahlila Tijerina was sixth at 190 pounds.,

Chat eld neat Fort Lupton 44-33 in a dual meet Jan. 27 in Littleton.

On-mat winners for the Bluedevils were Rylee Balcazar (106 pounds) and Genevieve Hunt (125)/

Fort Lupton downed Greeley West 45-30 in Fort Lupton Jan. 26. On-mat winners for the Bluedevils were Hunt, Valeria Villalobos (130 pounds), Lashya Tijerina (155) and Abigail Retana (110).

Fort Lupton beat Skyview 48-18 in a Jan. 24 triangular meet in Fort Lupton.

On-mat winners for the Bluedevils were Villalobos and Alexia Buschman (170).

Riverdale Ridge beat the Bluiedevils 6-0 in the other piece of the three-way meet. e Ravens’ Natashak Kuberski won the only contested match.

Girls basketball

Fort Lupton beat KIPP-Denver Col-

legiate 50-25 in Denver Jan. 26. It was the Bluedevils’ rst Frontier League win of the season.

No stats were available for FLHS. Kayla Martel scored nine points for the White Eagles.

Middle Park topped Fort Lupton 50-32 in Fort Lupton Jan. 23. No stats were available for either team.

Frederick High School Wrestling

Frederick nished 16th at the 2023 Mile High Classic at omas Je erson High School Jan. 28.

Adrian Casillas was fth at 157 pounds.

Riverdale Ridge downed Frederick 47-36 on the Golden Eagles’ mats Jan. 24.

Frederick’s on-mat winners were Nikolas Carrillo (113), Ricardo Moreno (138) and Stephen Savage (190).

Girls basketball

Mountain View bested Frederick 62-35 on the Mountain Lions’ oor Jan. 24. Addison Branscum scored 21 points for MVHS. Meghan Keil scored 18, and her twin sister, Madison, added 12.

Boys basketball

Frederick made it 15-for-15 by beating Mountain View 62-39 in Mountain View’s gym Jan. 24. Noa Phillips led the Mountain Lions with 16 points. Gavin Hatch was next with ve. No stats were available for the Golden Eagles.

CROWSSUPDRO ELZZ

©

TRIVIA

1. GEOGRAPHY: Where is Mount Fuji located?

2. MOVIES: What is the material used in Captain America’s shield?

3. MUSIC: Who wrote the lyrics to the 1961 “West Side Story” movie?

4. SCIENCE: Which color has the longest wavelength?

5. HISTORY: When did the United States outlaw child labor?

6. TELEVISION: Who played the leading role in the legal series “Ally McBeal”?

7. AD SLOGANS: Which fastfood chain tells customers that “We have the meats”?

8. LITERATURE: What is the setting for the “Divergent” novel series?

9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which animal represents the 2023 Chinese zodiac year?

Solution

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of butter ies called?

Answers

1. Japan.

2. Vibranium.

3. Stephen Sondheim.

4. Red.

5. 1938.

6. Calista Flockhart.

7. Arby’s.

8. Chicago.

9. e rabbit.

10. A kaleidoscope.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Crossword Solution

NOW HERE’S A TIP

* To store asparagus, trim the ends and wrap them in a few paper towels that you have dampened. Keep it in the fridge for two days max. is will keep it very fresh and tasty.

* “To stretch your food dollar -- especially now that the weather is colder, and soups and stews are daily fare -- substitute peas, beans and lentils for meats whenever possible. Not only will this semi-vegetarian diet keep your food dollars down, it will make you healthier and it’s a more eco-friendly diet.” -- K.F. in Connecticut

* If you add dried fruit or raisins to your batter for cakes or mu ns, roll them or shake them in our rst. is will prevent them from sinking down to the bottom of the pan.

* Bathroom fan reminder: When you leave your

bathroom fan running excessively, you are pumping heat out of your house. Set a timer for 10 minutes maximum, and then turn it o .

* “Old pantyhose can be washed and cut up to use as stu ng for a toy. e same is true for other light materials. is can be a good way to get one more use out of something rather than putting it in the trash bin.” -- P.L. in Pennsylvania

* If your bathtub has a grainy or rough texture, try soaking the bath in vinegar, either by adding a large bottle to some water and plugging it up, or by laying down a towel and soaking it in vinegar. Scrub and remove.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

FLASHBACK

1. Who wrote and released “Never Surrender”?

2. “Caribbean Queen” was also known under what other titles?

3. Which group released “Won’t Get Fooled Again”?

4. Name the hit instrumental by the Surfaris.

5. Name the song that contains these lyrics: “Livin’ alone, I think of all the friends I’ve known, But when I dial the telephone nobody’s home.”

Answers

1. Corey Hart, in 1985. e song won numerous awards and was used in both “Future Man” and “Stranger ings” television episodes.

2. Depending on where it was released, the 1984 song was also titled “African Queen” and “European Queen.”

3. e Who, in 1971. e song was written by band member Peter Townsend. Over the years he penned over 100 songs for the group.

4. “Wipe Out,” released in 1963. e song started as the B-side to “Surfer Joe,” a song that never got much attention. “Wipe Out,” on the other hand, has been used in 20 television shows and movies.

5. “All By Myself,” by Eric Carmen in 1975. Singer-songwriter Carmen modeled the song after Rachmanino ’s second piano concerto (1901), which he mistakenly thought was free for the taking, in the public domain. e Rachmanino family let him know that, no, the song was legally protected and he had to pay them royalties.

(c) 2023 King Features Syndicate

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PUBLIC NOTICES

Public Notices call

Legals

Metropolitan Districts

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

§§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Cottonwood Conner Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Cottonwood Conner Metropolitan District

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP785

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR DEER TRAILS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the electors of the Deer Trails Metropolitan District of Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election will be held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, three (3) directors will be elected to serve a fouryear term and two (2) directors will be elected to serve a two-year term.

Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms are available from Sarah H. Luetjen, the Designated Election Official for the District, at email: sluetjen@ cegrlaw.com. Self-Nomination and Acceptance forms must be filed with the Designated Election Official for the District at the above email address not less than 67 days prior to the election (Friday, February 24, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.).

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that applications for absentee ballots may be filed with the Designated Election Official of the District at the above address during normal business hours, until the close of business on the Tuesday immediately preceding the election (Tuesday, April 25, 2023). All absentee ballots must be returned to the Designated Election Official by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

DEER TRAILS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

By: /s/ Sarah H. Luetjen

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP782

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

LLAMADO DE CANDIDATURAS

A QUIÉN CORRESPONDA y, particularmente a los votantes del Distrito Metropolitano de Bromley Park No. 2 del Condados Adams y Weld, Colorado.

POR LA PRESENTE SE NOTIFICA, de acuerdo con el Artículo 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., que se realizará una elección el martes 2 de mayo de 2023, en el horario entre las 7:00 a.m. y las 7:00 p.m. En ese momento tres (3) el Directors será elegido para cumplir con su mandato por el término de 4 años hasta el 4 de mayo de 2027.

Los formularios para la Auto Candidatura y Aceptación están disponibles y pueden obtenerse a partir de Lisa Jacoby, el Funcionario Electoral Designado para el Distrito Metropolitano de Bromley Park No. 2 c/o McGeady Becher P.C., 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80203, Teléfono: 303-592-4380, Correo electrónico: DEO@specialdistrictlaw.com y en el sitio web del distrito http://bromleyparkmd2.com/.

303-566-4123

El Formulario de Auto Candidatura y Aceptación o la carta debe presentarse ante el Funcionario Electoral Designado antes del horario de cierre (5:00 p.m. MST) el 24 de febrero de 2023, sesenta y siete (67) días antes de la elección regular. Las Declaraciones Juradas de Intención para ser un Candidato de Nominación Directa deben presentarse ante el Funcionario Electoral Designado antes del horario de cierre (5:00 p.m. MST) el 27 de febrero de 2023, sesenta y cuatro (64) días antes de la elección regular.

POR LA PRESENTE TAMBIÉN SE NOTIFICA, de acuerdo con el Artículo 1-13.5-1002, C.R.S., que las solicitudes para la devolución de las votaciones de los votantes ausentes pueden obtenerse a partir / presentarse ante Lisa Jacoby, el Funcionario Electoral Designado del Distrito (en la dirección/ teléfono/correo electrónico señalados más arriba), en el horario entre las 8:00 a.m. y 5:00 p.m. hasta el horario de cierre del martes inmediatamente anterior a la elección (martes 25 de abril de 2023).

BROMLEY PARK DISTRITO

METROPOLITANO NO. 2

Por /s/ Lisa Jacoby Funcionario Electoral Designado

Legal Notice No. FLP784

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS §§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Vista Meadows Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Vista Meadows Metropolitan District

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP793

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS §§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Cottonwood Greens Metropolitan District No. 2 (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 1 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS §§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Cottonwood Townhomes Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 1 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Cottonwood Townhomes

Metropolitan District

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP789

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

§§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Murata Farms Residential Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 3 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Murata Farms Residential Metropolitan District By: /s/ Designated Election Official Legal Notice No. FLP792

Self-Nomination and Acceptance Forms are available and can be obtained from Lisa Jacoby, the Designated Election Official for the Bromley Park Metropolitan District No. 2, c/o McGeady Becher P.C., 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80203, Phone: 303-592-4380, email: DEO@specialdistrictlaw.com and on the District’s website at http://bromleyparkmd2.com/.

The Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form or letter is to be submitted to the Designated Election Official no later than the close of business (5:00 p.m. MST) on February 24, 2023, sixty-seven (67) days prior to the regular election. Affidavits of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate must be submitted to the Designated Election Official by the close of business (5:00 p.m. MST) on February 27, 2023, sixty-four (64) days prior to the regular election.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, pursuant to Section 1-13.5-1002, C.R.S., that applications for and return of absentee voters’ ballots may be obtained from / filed with Lisa Jacoby, the Designated Election Official of the District (at the address/phone/ email address noted above), between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. until the close of business on the Tuesday immediately preceding the election (Tuesday, April 25, 2023).

BROMLEY PARK METROPOLITAN

DISTRICT NO. 2

By:

/s/ Lisa Jacoby

Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP783

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

FREDERICK-FIRESTONE FIRE DISTRICT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly, to the eligible electors of the FREDERICKFIRESTONE FIRE DISTRICT (“District”) of Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the District will conduct a regular election on the 2nd day of May, 2023, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At that time, (3) three directors will be elected for a 4-year term expiring in May 2027.

In order to be a candidate for one of the director positions, a qualified individual must submit a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on the Board of Directors may obtain a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form from the District’s Designated Election Official (DEO):

Sue Blair, DEO elections@crsofcolorado.com

Community Resource Services of Colorado 7995 East Prentice Avenue, Suite 103E Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Phone: 303-381-4960

Offices

Hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form must be returned to the Designated Election Official by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023. The form can be emailed to elections@crsofcolorado.com.

A Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form that is not sufficient may be amended once at any time before 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023. Earlier submittal is encouraged as the deadline will not permit correcting an insufficient form if received at 5:00 p.m.

Affidavit of Intent To Be A Write-In-Candidate forms must be submitted to the office of the Designated Election Official by the close of business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an application for an absentee ballot may be filed with the Designated Election Official, at the contact information referenced above, no later than the close of business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

FREDERICK-FIRESTONE FIRE DISTRICT

Sue Blair, Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP780

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press Public Notice CALL FOR NOMINATIONS §§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Lupton Village Commercial Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S.,

is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Lupton Village Commercial Metropolitan District

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP790

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

§§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Cottonwood Thermo Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time. A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Cottonwood Thermo Metropolitan District

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP788

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press Public Notice

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS §§ 1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Cottonwood Greens Metropolitan District No. 5 (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 2 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Cottonwood Greens Metropolitan District No. 5

By: /s/ Designated Election Official

Legal Notice No. FLP787

First Publication: February 2, 2023

College sports

Frederick football player Lafai Purcell committed to attend the University of Wyoming.

Girls soccer

Kyle Reddy is the new girls soccer coach at Fort Lupton High School. He’s the head coach of the Bluedevils’ boys soccer program for three years. FLHS has advanced to the state playo s the past three years.

Football

Here’s the list of all-state players through CHSAANow.com, MaxPreps and ColoradoPreps.com:

In class 3A, Frederick’s Cruz Zamudio and Will Triplett were second-team choices. Kooper Anderson was an honorable-mention choice.

In class 2A, Fort Lupton’s Kayden Derbigny earned honorable-mention honors.

Youth sports

e city of Fort Lupton needs third- through eighth-graders for its girls volleyball program. Practice begins the week of Monday, March 6.

e season begins Saturday, March 18, and concludes Saturday,

April 29. e early bird fee is $60, payable by Saturday, Feb. 11. e fee increases to $75 afterwards. Questions? Call 303-857-4200.

Public Notices

1-13.5-501, 1-13.5-303, C.R.S. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly to the eligible electors of the Murata Farms Commercial Metropolitan District (the “District”), City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election for the District will be conducted by independent mail ballot on May 2, 2023. At that time 3 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2027, and 0 director(s) may be elected to serve until May 2025. Eligible electors of the District interested in serving on a board of directors may obtain SelfNomination and Acceptance Forms by sending a request to the Designated Election Official (“DEO”) of the District. Such requests may be sent by email to SpecialDistricts@mdavislawoffice.com.

The deadline to file a Self-Nomination and Acceptance Form with the DEO, or a letter that meets the requirements of § 1-13.5-501, C.R.S., is 5:00 p.m. (“Close of Business”) on Friday, February 24, 2023. If the DEO determines that a Self-Nomination and Acceptance form or letter is not sufficient, the eligible elector who filed the form or letter may amend the form or letter prior to Close of Business on February 24, 2023. Early filing is encouraged as the deadline will not permit curing an insufficient form after this date and time.

A person who wishes to be a write-in candidate must file an Affidavit of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the office of the DEO by Close of Business on Monday, February 27, 2023.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that information on obtaining an absentee ballot may be obtained from the DEO, and applications for an absentee ballot must be filed with the DEO no later than Close of Business on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Services to Minority Seniors, Case Management Services to At-Risk Older Adults, Peer Counseling Services, HomeDelivered Meals, and Senior Nutrition Meal Delivery Services to persons 60 years of age and older residing in Weld County. These services will be funded under Title III of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the Older Coloradoan Funds. All public or private-non-profits or for-profit agencies interested in applying for Title III grants may obtain information concerning this request on the BidNet Direct website at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/ or on the Weld County Purchasing website at https://www.weldgov.com/departments/purchasing located under Bids/Proposals/Tabulations.

The Board of Weld County Commissioners reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any informality in proposals, and to accept the proposal(s) that, is/are in the opinion of the Board, is in the best interests of the Board and of the County of Weld, State of Colorado.

Weld County Colorado

By: Chris D’Ovidio Controller

Legal Notice No. FLP779

First Publication: February 2, 2023

Last Publication: February 2,

E-mail: akarsh@karshgabler.com fgabler@karshgabler.com

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS ACTION

You are hereby summoned and required to appear and defend against the claims of the complaint filed with the court in this action, by filing with the clerk of this court an answer or other response. You are required to file your answer or other response within thirty-five (35) days after the service of this summons upon you. Service of this summons shall be complete on the day of the last publication. A copy of the complaint may be obtained from the clerk of the court.

If you fail to file your answer or other response to the complaint in writing within thirty-five (35) days after the date of the last publication, judgment by default may be rendered against you by the court for the relief demanded in the complaint without further notice.

This is an action to quiet title to the following described real property in Weld County, Colorado: Parcel A:

A part of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 13, Township 5 North, Range 66 West of the 6th P.M., County of Weld, State of Colorado, and being more particularly described as follows: Commencing at the Southeast corner of said Section 13, and considering the East line of said Section 13 as bearing North 00°26’00” East, and with all other bearings contained herein relative thereto; thence North 00°26’00” East, along said East line and the center line of 23rd Avenue, 578.90 feet; thence North 89°34’00” West, 50 feet to the True Point of Beginning, said point being the intersection of the West right of way line of 23rd Avenue and the North right of way line of 27th Street; thence continuing North 89°34’00” West, along said North right of way line of 27th Street, 671.00 feet; thence North 00°26’00” East, 203.10 feet; thence North 23°35’43” East, 58.48 feet; thence North 00°26’00” East, 104.00 feet; thence South 89°34’00” East, 47.92 feet; thence South 89°35’22” East, 600.08 feet to a point on the West right of way line of 23rd Avenue; thence South 00°26’00” West along said West right of way line, 361.10 feet to the True Point of Beginning (“Parcel A”).

Parcel B:

A Part of the Southeast ¼ of Section 13, Township 5 North, Range 66 West of the 6th P.M., County of Weld, State of Colorado, and being more par-

ticularly described as follows:

Commencing at the Southeast corner of said Section 13, and considering the East line of said Section 13 as bearing North 00°26’00” East, and with all other bearings contained herein relative thereto; thence North 00°26’00” East, along said East line of Section 13 and the center line of 23rd Avenue, 578.90 feet; thence North 89°34’00” West, 50 feet to a point, said point being the intersection of the West right of way line of 23rd Avenue and the North right of way line of 27th Street; thence continuing North 89°34’00” West along said North right of way line of 27th Street, 671.00 feet to the True Point of Beginning; thence continuing North 89°34’00” West, 268.64 feet; thence North 43°01’00” West, 317.06 feet; thence North 46°57’31” East, 189.94 feet, (Also known as North 46°59’00” East, recorded as North 46°49’00” East, 189.97 feet), thence South 89°34’00” East, 371.86 feet; thence South 00°26’00” West, 104.00 feet; thence South 23°35’43” West, 58.48 feet; thence South 00°26’00” West, 203.10 feet to the True Point of Beginning (“Parcel B”).

Also known as:

2305-2401 West 27th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634.

Dated: January 10, 2023.

Karsh Gabler Call PC

/s/ Alan E. Karsh

Alan E. Karsh, #1620

Attorney for Plaintiff

Legal Notice No. FLP776

First Publication: January 19, 2023

Last Publication: February 16, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Misc. Private Legals

Public Notice NOTICE OF INTENT TO CREATE BINDING USE RESTRICTIONS

2550 Denver Partners, LLC and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) provide notice of their intention to impose binding environmental use restrictions (EURs) on real property located at 2990 County Road 27, Fort Lupton, Weld County, State of Colorado. The EURs limit access to soils with concentrations of petroleum products above the residential Remedial Screening Level (RSL). Pursuant to § 25-15-318.5, C.R.S., once the EURs have been finalized, they are binding on all current and future owners of the land and any persons possessing an interest in the land. CDPHE is accepting public comments on the draft EURs. Copies

needtogetinvolved.

2023 *

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