Fort Lupton Press 062223

Brighton trucker o ers a message and sanctuary for indigenous women

Suncor pollutes into nearby neighborhoods more often than similar facilities

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

e Colorado regional o ce of the EPA vowed tougher enforcement action against Suncor in Commerce City, issuing a report showing the re nery releases air pollutants into nearby neighborhoods more often than many similar facilities around the U.S.  Suncor logged more excess releases of sulfur dioxide-laden tail gas than any of 11 comparable re neries from 2016 to 2020, according to the Region 8 EPA study. Sulfur in tail gas is meant to be recovered to cycle back into the re ning process to avoid potentially toxic emissions.

Elizabeth Johnson’s Ho-Chunk Trucking spreads message about murdered, missing women

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

You might see Elizabeth Johnson’s semi-tractor trailer traveling the U.S. interstate highways — especially between Winnebago, Nebraska and

Brighton, Colorado.

And if you do see it, there’s no way you can miss her message. e entire trailer carries the simple direct message — Stop killing indigenous women.

Starting in 2017, Johnson — a

member of the Ho-Chunk Tribal Nation of Nebraska — has spread that message.

“My message as a woman is, if any woman sees this semi-truck and needs help, me and my dog Delilah will help you to safety. Knock on my semi-truck door,” Johnson said.

Estimates say there are 506 cases of missing or murdered indigenous

Suncor’s Commerce City re nery also had the second-highest number of excess hydrogen sul de releases, or acid gas, among the same group of reneries, according to the EPA analysis, which was conducted with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment using federal recovery act funds.

Elizabeth Johnson with her son Bruno and grandchildren Bruno Jr. Ximena and her dog Delilah standing by her semi-truck.

Photo by Belen Ward

phone keys wallet bag

BRIEFS

Independence Day celebration July 1

e city will host it’s Independence Day celebration on Saturday July 1 featuring food, games, live music and fun. e event features a Pancake Breakfast, Resource Fair, Kids Zone, Tractor Rides, Slip-nSlide, Zip Line and much much more! Learn more online at https:// www.fortluptonco.gov/471/Independence-Day-Celebration

Signing up for Citywide yard sale

e city’s annual Citywide Yard Sale is on July 7 & 8.

If residents are interested in hosting a yard sale at your property and would like to be included on the City map for the event, they should submit their information by June 26 online at https://forms.gle/zx52bfmjXCks37NP9

Event maps will be available online at https://www.fortluptonco. gov/556/Citywide-Yard-Sale, in the Fort Lupton Press and shared on social media.

Butterfly Pavilion hosts pollinator extravaganza

e Butter y Pavilion’s Pollinator Palooza Festival is set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. June 25 to o er a spectacular celebration of pollinators of the vital role pollinators play in our world.

e Pollinator Palooza Festival provides entertainment and enjoyment for all ages. Families can participate in engaging activities like face painting, arts and crafts, and interactive games designed to highlight the importance of pollinators.

e festival showcases the beauty and signi cance of pollinators. It serves as a platform for raising awareness about the challenges facing these important creatures, such as habitat loss and pesticide use, and encourages individuals to take action to protect them.

Food vendors are often present, creating a festive atmosphere for attendees to enjoy.

Farm to Market tickets on sale

scan to learn more about our collective effort

Tickets for Farm to Table, a fundraising event for the Platte Valley Medical Foundation scheduled for Aug. 17 are on sale now.

e Foundation’s biennial fundraising campaign will bene t women’s health services to help women connect with the care they need throughout their adult years and to support area women who do not always prioritize their own health needs. e foundation hopes to raise $500,000 in the campaign cycle. ey conduct multiple fundraising e orts annually with Farm to Table as the largest event.

Farm to Table will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 on the hospital campus.

Platte Valley Medical Center’s Chef Mike Anderson uses produce donated by area farmers to create a gourmet meal for about 450 guests.

e event garners so much support that it often sells out long

before the date. is year, Muñoz reserved a block of tickets that are available to the public for $75 each. ey are available at https://ftt2023. cbo.io.

State youth council needs members

e Colorado legislature’s nonpartisan Colorado Youth Advisory Council has openings for new members across the state for the 2023-25 term.

e Youth Advisory Council is a statewide organization dedicated to youth-led civic service learning. Youth members lead policy committees that analyze issues and policies that impact youth across Colorado. Policy work can include making recommendations about current policies or advocating for new ones. Council members conduct research, write problem/solution statements, meet with subject matter experts, build relationships with legislators, and seek feedback from their peers and communities.

e Colorado Legislature created the youth advisory council in 2008 to give Colorado’s youth ages 14-19 a voice in lawmaking. Youth council members work each summer to propose policy ideas to a committee of legislators. Each summer, students present policy proposals to legislators. During the last two years, several policies the youth council identi ed became law, including increased crisis services, higher education programs for fostered youth, educational standards and e orts to prevent eating disorders.

Applications are due June 19. State organizers plan to host an informational session for applicants at 6 p.m. June 14. Find info at www. coyac.org/apply.

Donation time

e Fort Lupton Food & Clothing Bank is asking for donations of canned fruits and nuts, varieties of dry pasta and pasta dinners, peanut butter and canned meat such as tuna (including the pouches).

Other potential donations could include chicken, Vienna sausages, spam and salmon. e bank also needs personal items, such as toiletries and baby needs.

Drop o donations at the food and clothing bank’s back door, 421 Denver Ave., on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Call 303-8571096.

Walk with a doc

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

is is a walking program for everyone interested in taking steps for a healthier lifestyle. After a few minutes to learn about a current health topic from the doctor, spend the rest of the hour enjoying a healthy walk and fun talk.

when you shop, bring your bag

Suncor layo s impact in Commerce City unknown

BY TEDDY JACOBSEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Canadian oil re nery company Suncor Energy is poised to eliminate 1,500 positions but in the nearly two weeks since the announcement, there are no indications if the company’s Commerce City location will be impacted. Suncor’s new chief executive ofcer, Rich Kruger, noti ed sta about impending cuts on June 1. In an email, he said the company needs to reduce sta ng costs related to competitors, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News. Kruger said the layo s will impact both employees and contractors across the entire company, but did not o er speci cs like locations that would be a ected.

POLLUTION

In another tracked category, hydrocarbon aring, Suncor was in the middle of incidents recorded from the 12 total re neries, the EPA said.  e analysis by a third-party engineer said Suncor’s Commerce City facility may be producing more air quality incidents because of faulty electrical equipment, lack of preventative maintenance, and not testing or inspecting other control systems adequately.

“We will use this information and other targeting tools to focus our e orts for future inspections and enforcement,” said Region 8 EPA Administrator KC Becker, a former Democratic Speaker of the House at the Colorado legislature.  e state health department, which reached a large settlement with Suncor over past emissions incidents and failures, also said the new study would result in stepped-up enforcement for the facility under increasing pressure from neighbors and local elected o cials.

“We anticipate the ndings will result in direct actions for Suncor to make improvements,” said Trisha Oeth, the CDPHE’s director of environmental health and protection.  Suncor did not respond to messages seeking comment this week.

Clean air advocates said state and federal o cials have plenty of information, and now must toughen their responses to Suncor’s ongoing air pollution incidents and applications for permit renewals.

“We have known Suncor has been a bad actor for years,” said Ean Tafoya, Colorado director of GreenLatinos. “It’s time to plan the just transition, including the retirement and remediation of Suncor. Our leaders have had the data. Now they have more. Will they act?”

e EPA has said it will change policies and permitting to pursue envi-

“Sta ng reductions will occur at all levels of the organization and will be based on both performance and business need,” Kruger told sta in the email. “As we do this, we will eliminate work, critically looking at what we do, why we do it, how we do it and the value it adds.”

Kruger said the goal is to cut costs by $400 million by the end of the year.

Suncor Energy named Kruger as president and CEO in February. Kruger was previously CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd. from 2013 through 2019.

Suncor Director of Corporate Communications Sneh Seetal told the Commerce City Sentinel Express that the company is not providing any additional details at this time. She also

any announcements on the topic.

“Suncor is always looking for opportunities to drive value and improve performance in our business,” Seetal said. “Cost reduction is one of those opportunities.”

As of June 12, there were also no formal lings indicating any Suncor layo s in Colorado, according to state records.

e state requires that employers provide warning notices of mass layo s under the Worker Readjustment and Retraining Noti cation Act (WARN). Under WARN, employers must provide details 60 days in advance on how many employees will be laid o . e notices are meant to protect workers, their families and communities from the impacts of

Suncor reported pro ts of $1.8 billion in the rst quarter of 2023, a 34% decrease from last year’s $2.7 billion.

Suncor’s Commerce City re nery location produces around 98,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel fuel and paving-grade asphalt each day.

e company’s website says it sells nearly 95% of its products within the state and employs over 500 regional residents.

e re nery has recently made headlines over the past few months. It was shut down for maintenance for around three months at the beginning of the year. It has also made the news for multiple issues, including a settlement over past emissions violations and criticisms from the community about communications about health concerns.

limits for the rst time in a draft of the revised permit. PFAS is an abbreviation for per uoroalkyl and poly uoroalkyl substances, a group of potentially harmful chemicals used as waterproo ng in thousands of goods from stain resistant carpet to rain gear to re ghting foam.

ronmental justice for the neighbors of frequent polluters. Commerce City and north Denver neighborhoods surrounding Suncor have lower income, larger minority populations and higher rates of asthma and other health problems related to pollution than other Denver communities.

Suncor is the only petroleum re nery in Colorado, producing gasoline for cars and aviation fuel for Denver International Airport. e re nery released potentially dangerous sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sul de into the surrounding neighborhood in late April, the second incident that month, and state health o cials warned the emissions could exceed permitted levels throughout that day.

In March 2020, Suncor agreed to pay $9 million to settle air quality violations at Commerce City dating to 2017, including one in 2019 that blanketed adjacent neighborhoods in an ashy substance. It was the largest penalty Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had ever levied from a single facility to resolve air pollution violations.

Water quality advocates also monitor leaks of PFAS “forever chemicals” and benzene into waters around Suncor.

Discharges of toxic “forever chemical” PFAS into Sand Creek and the South Platte River by Suncor’s Commerce City re nery spiked to

thousands of times the EPA’s revised drinking water guidelines for three months starting in November, according to lings with state regulators.

e elevated discharges came as state clean water o cials are struggling to complete revisions to Suncor’s water out ow pollution permits that were rst opened to public comments more than 18 months ago. Colorado o cials noted then that they had included PFAS

e state health department’s water quality divisions have acted quickly recently to address potential pollution in runo from Suncor’s operations, Tafoya said. e air pollution division should use the study and other information to increase enforcement as well, he said. Various health divisions at the state should consider Suncor’s cumulative violations across all agencies.

“At the end of the day, we need CDPHE to take the lead,” Tafoya said.

is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com.

e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Suncor Energy’s Commerce City plant. The local EPA o ce has promised tougher enforcement of the company’s operation.

FILE PHOTO

women across the country. at’s likely an undercount due to bad data, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. Of the 506, 128 of the women are considered missing while 280 were known murdered. Another 98 are cases of unknown status, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute.

A study from the group that surveyed 71 police stations and one state agency found that 5,712 missing and murdered Indigenous cases were reported in 2016. But of those, only 116 were logged in with the Department of Justice database.

According to the National Institute of Justice, as of May 2023, 84.3% more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaskan Native women experience violence in their lifetime. Victimization of American Indian and Native woman is 1.2 times higher than white women.

On a mission

Johnson and her family moved to Winnebago when she was ve and she was raised as a tribal member of the Nebraska Ho-Chunk tribe, and given the name Rainbow Woman. She left home when she was in her preteens and has kept moving.

“I don’t know if God would bless

me to go further in my trucking industry or this is the end of my travels but when I see family I want to make an apple pie,” Johnson said.

Nebraska is always her home, she said, but Brighton, where her son and my grandchildren live, is her second home. She spends half her time with them.

Johnson started her mission because she was a victim of abuse herself. It was a two-way abusive situation, she said: He was abusive to her, but she fought back.

“He would put me on his lap with a knife at my throat. It was a toxic relationship; I left, and I was done. As soon that door closed, God, or wherever you want to believe, started to open other doors for me,” Johnson said.

She had worked as a construction driver in the summer and fall. She was laid o in the winter but guaranteed to return in the summer. Even so, she said she needed a more consistent job and she needed reliable transportation to do that. She found a pick-up truck she liked and approached a bank looking for a loan.

“ ey never wanted to give me a loan but I told them if you don’t give me a loan, I’m going to go somewhere else,” she said. “ is is income that comes to your bank and comes back out. ey gave me the loan and I purchased a brand-new Silverado. When I purchased the

truck, that was when I left the man. I thought I was going to die leaving him and was heartbroken, but I left.”

Johnson said she drove the Silverado for a while and although it was nice to drive a cute truck, she was still broke.

“I went back to the bank and asked for a loan to trade o the Silverado for a used semi to make money,” she said. “I told the banker it was a win-win; I could make money at the same cost Silverado,” she said. “ e woman sat across from me and said, ‘I’m going do it for you’. Usually, they didn’t give business loans.”

at opened a door for Johnson, and she started her trucking company, Ho-Chunk Trucking, in 2017. After a couple of years, she was able to upgrade and buy a new semitruck. en, after a couple’s years of hauling other companies’ trailers, she took out another loan and purchased her own trailer in 2020.

“I wanted my own trailer because women in the industry are treated badly; it’s a whole other story,” Johnson said.

Traveling platform

Johnson said that once she had a trailer she started thinking about it as a platform for other Native American women.

“I went through hell and back. What is the message I wanted to say to the world?” she said.

Johnson decided to do a custom wrap on her trailer with a message about indigenous women missing and murdered. She also included pictures of her family dressed in regalia and a friend dancing pow-pow and included information about 500 gone missing or murdered women. One photo, showing a woman with a red hand over her mouth, is her niece Jalisa Horn who was left for dead from abuse and had to crawl to get help. Horn agreed to add her photo to draw attention to the message, “Murdered, Missing Indigenous Women.”

State laws

Governor Jared Polis signed SB22150, a law requiring o cial reports of missing indigenous people within eight hours. Missing children must be reported to law enforcement within two, under the law. e act also requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to work on investigating missing or murdered indigenous persons and also work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to e ectively investigate the cases.

In addition, an alert system and an agency called “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives” are responsible for reporting and improving the investigation of missing and murdered Indigenous women and addressing injustice in the criminal justice system.

Fort Lupton departments move to new location

Community development functions gets new home

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fort Lupton, Mayor Zo Hubbard, the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses celebrated a ribboncutting ceremony for the grand opening of the city’s Community Development Center.

ree city o ces have relocated from City Hall to 1200 Dexter St., according to the June 13 news release.

“It’s a happy day, we’ve been working on this for several months and it’s nice to have the team here. We’re still a part of the City but just a di erent location,” said Todd Hodges, Planning Director for the Planning & Building Department.

After the ribbon cutting, they toured the new o ce space. e Community Development team comprises several agencies within the City of Fort Lupton.

“We wanted to show the ofce we have set up. We ran out of

Mayor Zo Hubbard cutting the ribbon with Community Development sta in celebration of its grand opening.

Tribal voices part of Colorado River discussion

Voices of Native Americans, long shunted to the side room, if acknowledged at all, are being heard more clearly in Colorado River discussions, as re ected in two recent water conferences in Colorado.

At the rst, a drought summit held in Denver, a panel that was devoted to the worsening imbalance between water supplies and demands included Lorelei Cloud, the vice chairman of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Her presence was an overt acknowledgement by conference organizers that the Ute tribe, if a part of Colorado, is also a sovereign. at’s something new.

e conference was sponsored by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the state’s preeminent water policy agency. Cloud recently became a board member, representing southwestern Colorado. She’s the rst Ute ever on the board.

Cloud lauded Colorado for being ahead of many other states in including native voices. “We’re making strides,” she said but added that work remains.

e next week, she was on a stage in Boulder, at the Getches-Wilkinson Center’s annual conference about the Colorado River. irteen of the 30 federally recognized tribes that hold water rights in the Colorado River Basin were present.

eir rights stem from a 1908 Supreme Court decision involving

BIG PIVOTS

tribal lands in Montana. e high court agreed that when the U.S. government created reservations and expected tribes to live there, water su cient to the presumed agrarian ways was part of the deal.

e states were fully engaged.

“We need to be at the table, not just at a side table,” said one tribal representative at the Boulder conference.

south of Phoenix, pointed out that his tribe has undertaken the largest integration of solar panels over water canals in North American, a practice called aquavoltaics.

He worked hard for his whole career, climbed the ladder as he was taught to do, and nally landed in the role that he wanted most, the position he was born to have, he became the CEO of the company. Having experienced plenty of successes along the way, nothing compared to the surge of pride that Brian felt ll his head and heart the day the public announcement was made, Brian CEO.

Having nally reached what he

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Allen Best

is decision, called the Winters Doctrine, has enormous implications for the shrinking Colorado River. Tribes collectively hold 25% to even 30% of the water rights in basin. Not all claims have been adjudicated. Most tribal rights predate others. e Southern Ute rights, for example, date to 1868.

All predate the Colorado River Compact. Tribes were not invited to Santa Fe in 1922 to apportion the river’s waters among the seven basin states, though the compact does acknowledge federal obligations.

Now, with the Colorado River delivering an average 12.5 million acre-feet, far less than the 20-plus assumed by those who crafted the compact, with ows expected to decline further, we have hard decisions to make. Tribal voices are being integrated into the discussions. Not fast enough for some, but very di erent than just a few years ago, when the federal government merely “consulted” tribes in the 2019 drought plan.

Some tribes have been amenable to leasing their rights to cities and others. But will tribes with a few thousand members exert as much in uence as California with its giant farms and its huge cities? California maintains that its senior rights be respected in any agreements. Still unclear is what hewing to that principle means when it comes to tribes with their even more senior rights.

Also unclear is the practicality of fully integrating the 30 tribes, each with unique circumstances and perspectives, in discussions with the seven basin states and federal government about how to address the sharp limitations imposed by the river. What has changed is broad recognition that tribal voices must better be included. rough the Water and Tribes Initiative, the tribes themselves have insisted upon being heard.

Residual anger at being shunted aside remains. Also ample is a spirit of cooperation. Many representatives suggested their tribes o er creativity and innovations in the community of 40 million Colorado River water users that extends from the farms of northeastern Colorado to the metropolises of Southern California.

Stephen Roe Lewis, the governor of the Gila River Indian Community

Others suggested they o ered perspective. e Hopi have been in Arizona for more than 2,000 years. ey’ve experienced drought before, said tribal member Dale Sinquah. “Our ceremonies and prayers revolve around water,” he said. “ at is what Hopi can contribute, along with dialogue.”

Native Americans often talk of water as being sacred, but that does not mean roped-o , kept in closets. e Native understanding is di erent than the legalistic framework most of us use. ey see water as something to be used, yes, but not in the same lens as most of us, who view it more narrowly as a commodity. What that means in practice is hard to tease out.

Peter Ortego, a non-native attorney representing the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado, said he found it odd the session had not started with a prayer. “Maybe we should ask, `What should we do day to day to respect the spirituality of water?’”

He’s got a point. I’ve never asked that question, but I am very curious about the answer.

At BigPivots.com, Allen Best analyzes and reports on the energy and water transitions underway in Colorado and beyond.

From success to significance to legacy

WINNING

believed was the pinnacle of his career, Brian found himself wondering, “What’s next?” As a 52-yearold CEO, he began to think about the impact he could have on the company he was now leading, the e ect he could have on the people who were now in his care. I remember our

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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

SCOTT TAYLOR Metro North Editor staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com

BELEN WARD Community Editor bward@coloradocommunitymedia.com

conversation as we made our way around the golf course. With each passing hole, we dug deeper into his thoughts, and nally Brian asked me what I thought.

e real question he was trying to answer was whether or not he saw this as a huge opportunity to have a signi cant impact on the business and the people or was he already planning for what happens next. At 52, the wheels in his head were spinning fast, so much more to do and so much opportunity in front of him.

STEVE SMITH Sports Editor ssmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

TERESA ALEXIS Marketing Consultant Classified Sales talexis@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

CEO today, chairman of the board tomorrow. Who knows what the world holds for Brian?

I asked Brian if I could share something I heard Zig Ziglar share with so many of us. Of course, he said yes. Zig, and now his son Tom, speak about the fact that we move through our careers and life in cycles. We rst have to be before we can do, and do before we can have. And once we become who we want to become,

SEE NORTON, P7

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Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

do all the things we want to do, and have all that we desire to have, we can then give more of who we are, what we do, and what we have. At that point we move from being successful to becoming signi cant, and then to leaving the legacy we want to leave.

Brian remained silent as we drove on to the next tee box and even through our drives on the next hole. I could tell he was processing. As we walked back to the cart, I reminded him that I was only the messenger

NEW HOME

space at City Hall and felt this was a good time to move the Community Development section, which includes the Economic Develop-

Our Family Helping Your Family

HOWLAND

of that message, but I wished I was the one who thought of the concept. He laughed and then said that it was the best insight and reality check he had heard in a long time. He shared that it made him stop thinking about how high he could climb, and instead start thinking about how high he could help others climb.

Last week my column was a tribute to a friend and colleague Jill. In the past 15 years of writing this column I had never received the number of emails, texts, and comments on any previous column. And all of the messages had common themes, “I wish I would have known her,” “She must have been something really special,” “I hope people remember

me that way,” or “What a legacy she left behind.”

And now I share Brian’s story above because regardless of our role in life, we all don’t have to be a CEO, we can move from being to doing to having to giving and to leaving a legacy. And it starts with a very simple concept that David H. Sandler, the founder of Sandler Training, introduced us to, the idea of focusing on our attitude, our behaviors, and our techniques, in other words building the whole person, to set us on the path to one day moving from success to signi cance and signi cance to legacy. Is it always about what’s next and how high you can climb? Or

is it about how you can help others climb higher faster, and helping them on their own journey of being, doing, giving, and leaving their legacy? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can remember to strive for success so we can move to signicance and then leave the legacy we would be proud of, 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.

ment and the Building & Planning Department. All of that is under one shelter,” said Hodges.

e Planning Department works with the planning board and council for the redevelopment of Fort Lupton using the master plan and zoning codes.

e Building Department enforc-

es building regulations established by the state and local building regulations.

Economic Development works to expand, retain and help existing businesses to grow and to attract new businesses and develop growth to provide economic stability for a community.

“We believe that people will be able to get in. We have more parking and I think it’s just a friendly atmosphere where its more conducive to positive work and growth of the City. It just shows how the City’s been growing over the past 10 or so years and how much has happened.”

Anthony M Howland

October 14, 1947 - November 3, 2021

Anthony M. Howland, 74, of Brighton, CO passed away on November 3, 2021. He was born on October 14, 1947. Anthony is survived by his son, Jarett Howland.

DOMINGUEZ Leonard Dominguez

August 28, 1958 - June 9, 2023

Leonard Dominguez 64, passed away peacefully June 9th. Leonard was born to Manuel Pacheco Dominguez and Mary Reynaga on August 28th 1958. Leonard grew up in Fort Lupton, attended Fort Lupton high school and went on to learn several di erent trades.

In 1999 he married Grace Adams in New Zealand. Leonard enjoyed spending time reading the Bible and volunteering at several ministries with Mark Roggerman. Leonard

also enjoyed time he spent in New Zealand with Grace, Esther and her family. Leonard is survived by one daughter Esther (22) and grandson Israel (4) and one on the way, his brother Robert (Sharon) Dominguez and many nephews and nieces. Leonard is preceded in death by his wife Grace, mom and dad Mary and Manuel Dominguez, and brothers Manuel Dominguez, Jimmy Dominguez, John Dominguez and sister Rosalie Roggerman. Services will be determined at a later date.

Masaru “Mack” Katayama

January 25, 1933 - June 7, 2023

Masaru (Mack) Katayama was born in Salinas, California, the youngest of four children. His family had successful farm which was taken away from them with the Executive Order 9066.

e Katayama Family were interned at Poston Relocation Center in AZ. Upon their release they moved to the Tonville area in Colorado. Mack often told stories of how di cult this time was on their family and they really had nothing. ey eventually settled in Brighton, where he lived till his passing on June 7, 2023 at the age of 90.

Mack graduated from Brighton High School in 1951. (He enjoyed attending his class reunions). He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War with the 3rd Engineer Company C Battalion 24. He was very proud of his experience and got to meet some relatives in Japan.

Returning home Mack utilized the GI bill and was able to attend some higher education in Kansas City, but was cut short to come back to help his family’s struggling farm.

Mack later worked for Boise Cascade and Component and Construction Company. In the 70’s Bob Hill, Mack and Bill Stephen formed a development company, HKS. Mack built many houses and had his hand in several projects throughout Brighton and surrounding areas.

He helped many people out throughout his lifetime in a lot of di erent ways. He said he missed the days where you knew people around town and people would just help to help one another. To know Mack you were bound to hear a story or learn something. ( ere are so many life stories we could never include them all.)

His friends and family meant a lot to him. He had saved cards, holiday notes, graduation announcement, thank you notes and funeral programs

Mack was able to travel throughout the US, the only state he never made it to, Hawaii. For many years on Sundays and holidays he and friends could be found up at the “hill”. In his later years you could set your clock on his lunch and dinner routine.

Proceeded in death by his siblings Joe, Jane (Watanabe), Charlie, Yo (Miyoshi) and several friends. He leaves behind his sibling’s families, great neighbors and many friends. (You know who you are.)

We thank all those who cared for Mack during the last few years.

A special thanks to friends and family that were able to visit him over the recent years. He was his very independent self until the end.

We are sorry, per Mack’s request (in capital letters) he did not want any services.

KATAYAMA

Therapists describe how they incorporate horses into their practice

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When people think of horses, they might associate them with ranch living, horse racing or recreational riding, but horses can be therapeutic, too.  erapy takes many forms, from physical to mental. Some people travel to a ranch to work with horses as part of the therapeutic process.

Equine-assisted therapy was something Arvada native Kelsey Petitt discovered while studying occupational therapy at Pima Medical Institute in Denver. Having grown up riding horses, it immediately caught her attention.

“I just, kind of, was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever. I can combine my true passion of horses and really being able to help and assist participants and patients with doing therapy and reaching their functional goals while also having fun with horses and having that relationship,’” Petitt said.

Although she knew immediately that equine-assisted therapy was something she wanted to pursue, she did not do so immediately. Following her schooling and clinical internships, she quickly began working and then had her daughter.

However, in 2021 Petitt, who now lives in Brighton, decided to establish the Brighton-based Prestige erapeutic Equestrian Center, o ering an occupational therapy program that brings the four-legged companions into the practice.

“Now, I’m going on 11 years of being a therapist and so it’s taken me a little bit of time to get back to, really, what I wanted to do,” said Petitt, who also works as an occupational therapy assistant for a company called erapeutic and Rehabilitative Associates.

Her purpose, like many other therapists incorporating horses into their practice, is clear: “Transforming lives through the therapeutic power of horses.”

Bringing horses into occupational therapy

Occupational therapists help people develop skills so that they can perform day-to-day tasks such as bathing, dressing and eating, as well as techniques to aid in memory and concentration, according to the American Occupational erapy Association.

For example, occupational therapists may work on a person’s ne motor skills, such as being able to button a jacket or holding a fork, Petitt said.

ey also work on sensory integration, which she said usually comes up when working with someone who is on the autism spectrum.

Another example of work they do is helping someone with their feeding skills, such as for patients with Parkinson’s disease who experience a lot of tremors. Improving core strength may also be a focus for patients, such as for someone who struggles to put their shirt on due to a lack of strength.

“ ere’s an array of di erent settings that you can get into in the occupational therapy eld, but I think for me, the equine-assisted movement is just something that I’ve always loved,” she said. “Horses are just so therapeutic in general, for anybody.”

e term “hippotherapy” refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use equine movement as a therapy tool, according to the American Hippotherapy Association.

To use hippotherapy in treatment, a person must be a licensed therapist who has completed continuing education in the inclusion of horses and equine movement, per the association. Petitt has gotten her rst level of training with the association, and she plans to continue with her training this fall.

However, Petitt explained that she does not refer to herself as a hippotherapist because hippotherapy is not its own therapy.

“We’re not hippotherapists,” she said. “Hippotherapy is utilizing the horse. All of our treatments are either occupational therapy, speech therapy or physical therapy, and we’re just using the horse as a treatment tool, basically.”

With her clients, she said she is working on all of the same therapy interventions that she would be in a therapy gym or in an outpatient program, but instead she’s now doing it by having her clients get onto a horse and incorporating the horse’s movement into the treatment.

“We work o the horse’s pelvis, so their pelvis is very similar to ours,” she said.  ere are di erent planes for the horse in the way that their pelvis moves — the sagittal plane, frontal plane and transverse plane, she said.

“We’re working on that constantly, so when we have our riders on the horse, they’re also working on that. And it’s one of the most multi-dimensional movement(s) that’s rhythmic and repetitive,” she said.

For someone experiencing conditions such as limited mobility, limited core strength, cognitive delays, or sensory processing disorders, “it can really just kind of help bene t and improve all of those elements,” she said of equine-assisted therapy.

According to a study published in the international journal, Physiotherapy eory and Practice, there are “signicant positive e ects” of equine-assisted therapy on exercise tolerance, mobility, interpersonal interactions and quality of life of people with disabilities.

Another study focused on the ef-

fects of equine-assisted activities and therapies for individuals on the autism spectrum and concluded that these programs “substantially improve” the social and behavioral functions of people who are on the autism spectrum.

“Communication is pretty key, too … because horses mirror us, so a lot of our participants can learn a lot more speech and communication successfully with the horses, which is really great,” she said.

Petitt has three horses she works with. e horse a client is paired with is dependent on their individual needs, she explained.

“Part of what’s so cool is because we can kind of tailor it to that participant, that patient, and kind of really work on what we need to work on with them,” she said. “ eir postural control, sensory systems, motor planning.”

In a typical therapy gym for occupational therapy, Petitt said there are tools such as a swing, a ball and a mat to use for the session. However, these do not provide the same level of sensory input and rhythmic, consistent movement that equine-assisted therapy can, which she said is great at building overall strength, control and balance.

“We can work in the therapy gym all day but the bene ts and the outcomes that we’re seeing while doing therapy

A young girl works on her skills at the Prestige Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

Sage is one of the horses at the Prestige Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRESTIGE THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN CENTER

HEALING

on the horses are just so much more transformative and more meaningful than we can get in the gym,” she said.

Looking ahead, Petitt said she hopes to soon expand her team to include a physical therapist.

“And then I’m really hoping to hire a speech therapist as well, because riding the horses … there’s so much to do with our respiration rate when we’re riding them,” she said. “What that can do for speech language pathologists is really help with that physiological system of how we talk.”

At the Prestige erapeutic Equestrian Center, Petitt also o ers “therapeutic horseback riding,” which she explained is not a professional therapy service but is rather like a recreational sport where individuals learn riding skills. is experience can, in turn, lead to other bene ts such as helping deal with anxiety.

However, when it comes to getting professional therapy treatment for mental health conditions like coping with trauma, grief, abuse, or other challenging experiences, community members have an equinebased option — the therapists with Rocky Mountain Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, LLC.

Horses and psychotherapy

Carina Kellenberger and Dana Schultz, both licensed clinical social workers who grew up loving horses, established Rocky Mountain Equine Assisted Psychotherapy in 2013.

Schultz, who lives near Superior, and Kellenberger, who lives in Longmont, primarily practice at the Happy Dog Ranch in the Littleton area and at Medicine Horse in Boulder.

“We are licensed clinical social workers that have a trauma-specialty focus in … equine therapy,” Schultz said, explaining they do formal intakes and development clinical-based treatment plans.

ere is a di erence between equine-assisted therapy and equine-facilitated therapy, Kellenberger noted.

“When we rst started our business back in 2013, the word ‘equine-facilitated learning and psychotherapy’ did not exist, but that is the work we are doing,” Kellenberger said. “Equine-facilitated psychotherapy and learning means that the horse — the relationship with the horse is the vehicle for change.”

Under the practice of equine-facilitated psychotherapy, it is the client’s relationship and connection with the animal that is moving the sessions forward, she said.

“ e di erence between the learning and the psychotherapy are, like, a lot of the group work is mainly more learning because we’re not really diving into personal issues and we’re keeping it a little more surface level,” Kellenberger said. “But (in) the psychotherapy … we go as deep just like any o ce therapist would.”

Equine-assisted therapy is di erent because while horses are incorporated into the practice, the client’s relationship with them is not the driving force, she said. Rather, the horses are more of a tool component of the therapy.

“ ey might be being used more as a metaphor or as a way to help move through an activity, but they’re not — the relationship with the animal isn’t the central piece,” she added. “In the facilitated work that we do with our clients, it’s the relationship as the primary drive and the connection with the horse.”

Kellenberger and Schultz may use an equinefacilitated or an equine-assisted therapy approach when treating a client, as it depends on what the client is seeking, Schultz said. Kellenberger added that equine-assisted therapy is bene cial as an assessment tool.

Both Schultz and Kellenberger received certi cation in animal-assisted social work from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work, as

well as completed training through the organization Natural Lifemanship in trauma-focused equineassisted psychotherapy.

“A lot of our clients, they’re coming to us because they’ve experienced trauma, and so we’re making sure that everything that we’re doing is through that lens as well,” Kellenberger said.

Schultz noted their approach is always using a clinical, evidence-based lens and horses are a part of the team. She works with clients to identify their primary goals and the horse becomes their partner in that journey.

“We know that therapy is hard and incredibly personal, and it’s a di cult journey for people to admit, like, ‘Hey, I need help.’ And so one of the things that we always do is provide our potential clients with a free meet-and-greet,” Schultz said, explaining the person can visit the ranch to meet her and hear the elevator pitch.

“Part of that elevator pitch is recognizing how difcult the therapeutic process and journey can be for some, and that the relationship that you have with the therapist is as important as the relationship that you are going to form with your horse,” she added.

Most of the work during therapy sessions is unmounted, Kellenberger said, explaining the clients may do things like grooming the horse, leading the horse or doing other things that help them feel connected to the horse.

Once sessions begin, Schultz said herself and Kellenberger are skilled at identifying patterns in people’s behaviors.

“We basically say, ‘I’m noticing this pattern. Is it helpful or not?’” Schultz said, explaining they use the identi cation of patterns to build rapport and trust with clients before then delving deeper into working through their trauma.

e trauma a lot of their clients experience is a ecting the way they show up in their human relationships, Kellenberger said.

“Working with the horses — who are prey animals and are highly sensitive and attuned to our intentions, our emotions — they make excellent partners in this work, because they are able to kind of mirror or … show the patterns that people have in the same way that a human would,” Kellenberger said.

Schultz noted that the work being done during these therapy sessions happens in the moment, providing an opportunity for real-time change.

“Our horses … they are not magical unicorn creatures. ey are going to ignore our clients. ey are going to resist,” Schultz said. “And the client is going to, you know, respond or react.

“And that’s kind of what we’re observing and saying, ‘Hey, is this pattern helpful for you? Because it’s happening right here, right now. So, right now, in this moment, you’re feeling frustrated, you’re feeling abandoned, you’re feeling unheard, (or) you’re feeling whatever. What can we do right now in this moment to help shift the way that you’re feeling to a more balanced thought?’” she continued.

ese therapy sessions provide a way for clients to, in a safe space, start

to make changes to those patterns and feel more comfortable not only in their relationship to the horse but in their relationships with people, explained Kellenberger.

“ e actual brain starts to change while they’re working with the animal,” Kellenberger said. “And horses are really great at this, also, because they are prey animals. ey are looking for vulnerability and congruence from us because that’s how they keep themselves safe in the wild.”

“If a client is really holding back an emotion, they’re being incongruent, you’ll see the reaction from the horse in that way,” she continued. “As soon as … our clients are able to start to be more congruent in their own bodies, that feels very safe for the horse and that’s where the connections really start to form.”

It is through this real-time therapy work with the horse that the clients can begin to learn how to transfer the shifts in their approach into their everyday lives, Schultz explained.

“Having done this for 10 years, I can tell you, we have seen so many clients who come in and they’re like, ‘I’ve tried everything else. Nothing else works,’” Schultz said. “We see clients, I think, for a shorter period of time, I think, on average, than maybe what a traditional talk therapist in an o ce setting would see because it isn’t so retroactive or future-oriented.”

Kellenberger added, “It’s kind of just eye-opening, and it can unlock patterns that people didn’t know that they had that they’ve been working on for years in the o ce. So I would say that the horses are amazing partners because they are so sensitive and they can show us a lot about ourselves pretty quickly.”

Spreading the word

All three therapists expressed a desire to raise awareness of the existence of their practices and how it can help people.

“It’s as good as … any other therapy, and you don’t need horse experience to do it,” Schultz said. “It’s not just for any speci c type of person.”

Schultz said when she and Kellenberger entered into the industry, it was small and many people did not really understand it.

“ ere were so many people, especially when we were rst getting started, that were just kind of doing backyard therapy that were not therapists,” Kellenberger said, explaining that she and Schultz wanted to put their mental health degrees at the forefront of their work and help the eld gain notoriety.

“Because we were seeing the really great work that can be done when you’re doing it correctly,” she added, advising people to do their research and look for licensed therapists.    Schultz highlighted that this type of therapy is for everyone, saying they have clients ranging from the ages of 7 to 78.

“It’s inspiring. I’m inspired by my clients to, you know, for me to keep my training up, to be the best I can be because they’re showing up to do the hard work,” Schultz said.

In her work in occupational therapy, Petitt shared how powerful it is to see clients transform throughout equineassisted therapy sessions.

“It’s just so cool to see them being able to accomplish the things that they weren’t able to accomplish before,” she said. “Raising awareness of what we do is so important and amazing to help our riders grow.”

“It’s just amazing what horses do for us,” Petitt said. “ ey’re so inspiring.”

Thu 6/22

Mountain Warriors

@ 2pm

Jun 22nd - Jun 23rd

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

Crafty Corner: Punch Art (6/22) @ 4pm

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

Sat 6/24

AH. 6/26 Growing Naturally

Nature Play

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers @ 6:40pm / $12-$300

Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Thu 6/29

R.T.D N-Line to Union Station (6/29) @ 4pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Yoga at the Acres @ 10:30am

Salt & Acres, 9490 County Road 25, Fort Lupton

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Angels

@ 7:10pm / $18-$300

Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

@ 9am / Free

Bird Conservancy's Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton. 303-6594348 ext. 53

Lunch Bunch Week 5

@ 6pm

Jun 26th - Jun 29th

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

Dinner Out Slim Jim's (6/26) @ 10pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Tue 6/27

Keith Hicks @ 7pm

Thornton Twist and Shout Concert Series, Thornton

BR Ballet and Tap Begin-Performage 5-6 (Thu) @ 11:30pm

Jun 22nd - Nov 16th

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

Fri 6/23

Colorado Rapids vs Los Angeles Galaxy

@ 7:30pm / $25-$999

DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City

Sun 6/25

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers @ 6:40pm / $12-$300

Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Den‐ver

Wed 6/28

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Angels

@ 6:40pm / $16-$300

Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Den‐ver

Bingo & Ice Cream Social

@ 8pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

John King @ 10am

Butter�y Pavilion, 6252 W 104th Ave, Westminster

Mon 6/26

Teens : WaterWorld : June 26 @ 2pm Fort Lupton Community / Recreation Cen‐ter, 203 S. Harrison Avenue, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Engard! Swashbuckling with Arvada Center @ 2pm

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

Eric Golden @ 6pm

Odde's Music Grill, 9975 Wadsworth Pkwy, Westminster

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers @ 6:40pm / $12-$300 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Jacob Larson Band Funk & Soul: Jacob Larson Band LIVE - Twist & Shout Concert Series @ 7pm Harley Brown Amphitheater, Thornton

Greeley Stampede Rodeo @ 11:30pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

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TRIVIA

2. HISTORY: Which serious disease was declared eradicated in 1980?

3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What color is the “black box” that is used to record data on airplanes?

4. GAMES: How much does getting out of jail cost in the board game Monopoly?

5. LITERATURE: What kind of animal is the novel “Black Beauty” about?

6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the youngest president?

7. TELEVISION: Who played the Penguin in the original “Batman” TV series?

8. GEOGRAPHY: What is the northernmost point of the United States?

9. ASTRONOMY: Which is the

Solution

only planet in our solar system that spins clockwise?

10. FOOD & DRINK: Which fast-food restaurant chain claims that “We have the meats”?

Answers

1. “Back to the Future.”

2. Smallpox.

3. Orange.

4. $50.

5. A horse.

6. eodore Roosevelt (42).

7. Burgess Meredith.

8. Point Barrow, Alaska.

9. Venus.

10. Arby’s.

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A LETTER TO OUR READERS AND ADVERTISERS

To our supporters:

At Colorado Community Media, we’re proud to be your go-to source of local news and advertising in the rich tapestry of growing communities in the Denver metro area and beyond. In recent weeks, we’ve brought you the news of spring ooding and its a ermath, the growing number of property valuation appeals and celebrations surrounding the Nuggets’ historic win.

We know our subscribers appreciate getting their news in many ways, from digital newsletters to timely updates on our website to printed newspapers delivered to your door. We’re committed to ensuring that continues, even as the media industry evolves and faces challenges.

We recently learned the facility that prints all of CCM’s newspapers, located in Pueblo, will be closing in August. In recent years, as newspaper circulation has declined, the costs associated with printing and distributing newspapers have increased dramatically, forcing press facilities across the country to close or consolidate.

is press closure presents a challenge for us, to be sure, but our commitment to continuing to print the newspapers you depend on remains unwavering. We have not yet identi ed a solution to ful ll the demand starting in August, but we are determined to nd innovative ways to solve it.

And we aren’t alone: We’re working toward a long-term approach by collaborating with partners throughout Colorado. By joining forces, we believe we can identify solutions that not only address this immediate challenge but also provide for future viability.

What does this mean for our subscribers and advertisers? Our goal is to nd a solution that ensures a seamless transition for your reader experience. We are evaluating every available option, and we are committed to keeping you informed as we go through this process.

We’re proud to be part of your community, and we know news plays an essential role in informing, engaging and empowering us. Please consider joining our mailing list, sharing articles, or donating to to help us continue this tradition.

ank you, as always, for your support of local news. We welcome questions and comments, and we’ll be sure to keep you informed in the weeks ahead as we identify a new printer.

Linda Shapley

Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro Publisher, Colorado Community Media CEO, e National Trust for Local News

Mobile home parks water to be tested

BY SAM TABACHNIK THE DENVER POST

Residents in Colorado’s mobile home parks have long sco ed when asked if they drink the community’s water.

It’s hardly even a question to think about. e answer: No, never. e liquid smells bad or looks like rust, they say. It stains dishes and sheets.

State lawmakers listened to these concerns — and now Colorado will embark on a multiyear e ort to address them.

HB23-1257, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in June, will launch a statewide e ort to test the water quality in

mobile home parks that fall through the cracks of existing testing mechanisms. If testing reveals an issue, the park operator will need to complete a remediation plan and provide safe water for residents.

“It feels very empowering,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, and one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “We’re nally listening to our communities and supporting working families.”

e legislation — co-sponsored by Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, and Sens. Lisa Cutter, D-Je erson County, and Kevin Priola, D-Hender-

son — also addresses concerns that go beyond federally mandated testing for contaminants, including the water’s color, odor and taste.

It will be enforced by the Water Quality Control Division inside the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the state attorney general.

On top of the testing requirements, the legislation also creates a $3.6 million grant program to help park owners, nonpro t entities and local governments address water quality issues.

Water quality issues will be added to the database created by the Mobile Home Park Oversight Program, which

tracks complaints against park owners. Velasco, who grew up in mobile home parks in Colorado’s high country, notes that this bill is just the beginning.

“We want to make sure there is clean water everywhere,” she said.

e bill marks the fth year in a row that the state legislature approved a bill concerning mobile home parks and residents. Previous legislation sought to make it easier for residents to purchase the land on which their homes sit, allowed the attorney general to enforce provisions of the Mobile Home Park Act and limited the number of times park owners could increase rent per year.

Legals City and County

Public Notice

NOTICE CONCERNING PROPOSED BUDGET OF WELD RE-8 SCHOOL DISTRICT

NOTICE is hereby given that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Board of Education of the Weld RE-8 School District for the ensuing year of 2023-2024; that a copy of such proposed budget has been filed at the Weld RE-8 Administration Office located at 200 S Fulton Ave, Fort Lupton, CO 80621, and online at https://www.weld8.org/, where the same is open for public inspection; and that such proposed budget will be considered at two public hearings of the Board of Education of the District to be held at 200 South Fulton Ave, Fort Lupton, CO 80621, along with virtually, on May 11th, 2023 at 6:00pm and June 8, 2023 at 6:00pm. Any elector with the District may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the budget on June 22, 2023, inspect the budget and file or register any objections thereto.

WELD RE-8 SCHOOL DISTRICT

By: Jessica Holbrook Director

of Business Services

Legal Notice No. FLP869

First Publication: May 11, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Metropolitan Districts

Public Notice

NOTICE OF VACANCY

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

NOTICE IS GIVEN that a vacancy has occurred on the Board of Directors of the District (the “Board”). One director may be appointed by the Board to serve until the next regular election of the District in May of 2025.

Any eligible elector of the District interested in serving on the Board may submit a letter of interest to the offices of the District’s legal counsel at: Law Office of Michael E. Davis, LLC, 1151 Eagle Drive, Suite 366, Loveland, CO 80537. The Board may fill the vacancy by appointing a qualified elector pursuant to § 32-1-808, C.R.S., ten (10) days after the publication of this notice, which date is July 2, 2023.

MURATA FARMS RESIDENTIAL METROPOLI-

TAN DISTRICT

By: /s/ LAW OFFICE OF MICHAEL E. DAVIS, LLC

Legal Notice No. FLP884

First Publication: June 22, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Notice to Creditors

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of ROBIN M. ARAGON, A/K/A ROBIN MARIE ARAGON, AND ROBIN ARAGON, Deceased

Case Number: 23 PR 30298

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the DISTRICT COURT OF Weld County, COLORADO, on or before October 9, 2023 or the claims may be forever barred.

Alan S. Ermer, Personal Representative 5806 W. Conservation Drive Frederick, CO 80504

Legal Notice No. FLP876

First Publication: June 8, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of KATHARINE LYDAY, aka KATHARINE ANNE LYDAY, aka KATHARINE A. LYDAY, aka KATHARINE HILTON LYDAY, Deceased

Case Number: 2023 PR 30335

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Weld County, Colorado on or before October 23, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Albert James Lyday, Jr.

Personal Representative c/o Katz, Look & Onorato, PC 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 1100 Denver, CO 80203

Legal Notice No. FLP883

First Publication: June 22, 2023

Last Publication: July 6, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Public Notice

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Ronald L. Dwyer a/k/a Ronald Lee Dwyer, Deceased Case Number: 2023PR30269

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of Weld County, Colorado on or before October 8, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Harley Joshua Campbell Personal Representative c/o Charlotte R. Landvik, Esq 1712 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80302

Legal Notice No. FLP877

First Publication: June 8, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of James Ernest Loyd, also known as James E. Loyd, , also known as James Loyd, also known as Jim E. Loyd, also known as Jim Loyd, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30343

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Weld County, Colorado on or before October 23, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Lonna Jeanne Loyd

Personal Representative

c/o Long Reimer Winegar LLP

800 Glenarm Place, Ste. 1202 Denver, CO 80202

Legal Notice No. FLP885

First Publication: June 22, 2023

Last Publication: July 6, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of William Ericksen, aka William F. Ericksen, aka William Frederick Ericksen, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 139

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Weld County, Colorado on or before October 13, 2023, or the claims may be forever barred.

Troy Erickson Lisa Lewton

Co-Personal Representatives

Patrick R. Thiessen (40185) Frie, Arndt, Danborn & Thiessen P.C. 7400 Wadsworth Blvd., #201 Arvada, Colorado 80003 303/420-1234

Attorney for Co-Personal Representatives

Legal Notice No. FLP878

First Publication: June 8, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Children Services (Adoption/Guardian/Other)

Canyon County Courthouse 1115 Albany Street Caldwell, Idaho 83605

Tel:(208) 454-7391

Fax:(208) 454-7474

Email:cpmail@canyonco.org

Efile: CriminalEfile@canyoncounty.id.gov

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF CANYON MAGISTRATE DIVISION

In the Matter of the Termination of the ParentChild Relationship

Isaac Puga, Naihla P. Storms, Makayla Cabrera, Children, and

Philip E Cabrera, Carlo Isaac Puga, Amanda C. Storms-Cabrera, Parents.

CASE NO. CV14-21-01883

SUMMONS

THE STATE OF IDAHO SENDS GREETINGS TO:

Carlo Isaac Puga –242 3rd St., Ft. Lupton, CO 80621

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED That a Petition for Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship has been filed with regard to the above named children in the Magistrate Court of Canyon County, Idaho, by the Department of Health and Welfare, State of Idaho, Petitioners. A copy of said peti tion is attached hereto and on file in the above entitled Court.

YOU ARE HEREBY DIRECTED To personally appear before the Honorable Courtnie R. Tucker at the Termination Trial July 25, 2023 at 10:30 am at the Canyon County Courthouse located at 12th and Albany Streets, Caldwell, Canyon County, Idaho.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED That you have the right to counsel (a lawyer), and upon your request, if you are financially unable to pay for one, the above entitled Court will appoint counsel to represent you in the said termination hearing.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED That you have the right to appeal to the District Court of the above entitled Court from any disposition or Order of the above entitled Court within fourteen (14) days of the date of filing said Order of Decree.

WITNESS My hand and the seal of said Court this 1st day of June, 2023.

CHRIS YAMAMOTO, CLERK

By Deputy Clerk

Legal Notice No. FLP879

First Publication: June 8, 2023

Last Publication: June 22, 2023

Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Have you seen how Classifieds can work for you?

CELEBRATING THE CHAMPIONS

found his way through the crowd to a podium, the crowd erupted.

fan, he wasn’t sure if they could really win a championship until recently.

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Hatch family from Northglenn never misses a Denver Nuggets game, if they can help it. ey’ve been dedicated fans since moving to Colorado in 2011 and when the team won its rst NBA championship this week, they knew they’d be at the parade on ursday.

“We never really expected to actually win the championship, but we were hopeful for one,” Ariel Hatch said. “It’s amazing!”

e family of ve were among the estimated 700,000 to one million fans to descend on downtown on June 15 to bask in the glory of the a Nuggets NBA title that was more than 50 years in the making.

ere, they had the chance to see Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, who famously said he wanted to go home to Serbia following the title-clinching victory on June 12.

Instead, he was in a white Denver re truck with No. 15 in gold letters and his name, the missing Finals MVP trophy nearby. When he nally

“You know that I told you I didn’t want to stay for parade,” Jokic addressed the crowd. “But I [expletive] want to stay for parade. is is the best. We love you, Denver. is is for you.”

He was one of many Nuggets players at the parade. Also there was Head Coach Mike Malone, sta ers, cheerleaders and Rocky the mascot –showered with love, beer, and cheers from the masses as they passed on a procession of re trucks.

David Zuckerman brought his two kids down from the Boulder area to see the spectacle. He said he is thrilled Denver can o cially be called “Champion City” after seeing both the Avalanche hockey team and Nuggets win titles in back-to-back years. He said the Nuggets are more than a Denver team. ey’re a Colorado team.

“It’s exciting for everyone to be moving in the same direction for something positive, especially considering the Avalanche won last year (also),” Zuckerman said.

Taylor Wright has lived in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for eight years after moving from Kentucky.  ough he’s watched lots of great basketball from the Nuggets, and has become a self-proclaimed diehard

“After the performance in the NBA bubble in 2020, it seemed more realistic,” he said. “It’s unreal to witness a franchise winning its rst championship, though.”

Ashley Guss of Adams County said her family has been strong Nuggets fans since the J.R. Smith days, and to see a championship come to fruition is surreal.

“I knew as soon as we went up in the nals series that we were coming out here for the parade to celebrate,” Guss said. “It’s been a long time coming for this team, and you can see that in the amount of people who came out today.”

Stan Jacobsen from Evergreen agrees.

“Watching these guys this whole season really shows how much they deserve to win it. It’s great to see them get what they’ve worked so hard for.

e fans here have really embraced the entire team,” Jacobsen said.

Festivities kicked o with a pre-rally at Civic Center Park at 9 a.m., followed by the parade at 10 a.m. that traveled from Union Station to Civic Center Park.

During the parade, players and coaches signed merchandise. ey even hopped o the oats to interact with the crowd. Several players and

coaches addressed the massive congregation at Civic Center Park.

“Life’s about moments,” Coach Malone said. “We have people that have been supporting this team for 47 years … We’re some greedy [expletive], baby. We’re getting another one. It’s hitting me right now. For me, to share it with our fans, that means the world to me. is is an amazing experience. Something that I believed in. I had no doubt that we’d get to this point.”

Fans from all the corners of Colorado came. ey hailed from Fort Collins in the north to Pueblo in the south to Grand Junction in the west. ey might as well rename the team the Colorado Nuggets.

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Nuggets player Bruce Brown shows some love to the crowd at the beginning of the parade.

PHOTO BY JOHN RENFROW

Fans who braved crowds for Nuggets victory parade not disappointed