Fort Lupton Press November 9, 2023

VOLUME 116 | ISSUE 45

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9, 2023

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AN INCREDIBLES HALLOWEEN

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Fort Lupton Trick or Treat street erves up plenty of smiles P9

POLICE & PUMPKINS Brighton Police help kids carve

• Page 9

TALKING RETAIL CRIME Caraveo, Thornton Police discuss shoplifting P2

•A fundraiser to combat domestic abuse • Page 3

•In-door dining and large gatherings prohibited by new restrictions

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2 4 6 13 14 15

LOCAL

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CARTEL BUST IN ADAMS LOCAL OPINION SPORTS LEGAL PUZZLE CLASSIFIEDS

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November 9, 2023No

Caraveo, police highlight local retail crime worries Chamber president: ‘A lot of our businesses have said they can’t sustain this anymore’

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With retail theft becoming a $120 billion problem nationally, U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo said Tuesday that the problem is one on the radars of police in Thornton.

“This is something we’ve been hearing a lot about, obviously, this crime of all sorts,” Caraveo said. “But retail crime has really come to the forefront recently.”

The Democrat came home to her 8th District in Northern Colorado before the House resumed business in Washington D.C. on Nov. 1.

She spent the morning at Thornton’s Fossil Ridge Public Safety Center talking with the president of the local chamber of commerce and police.

Bryan Bennett, a Thornton police detective and retail crime specialist, said many stores struggle with serial shoplifters who slip out with easy-to-conceal items, before moving on to nearby establishments and repeating the same crime. The richest targets are located in the Denver Premium Outlets mall on 138th Avenue and Grant Street and big box

Thornton Area Chamber of Commerce President Courtney Potter makes a point about retail thefts impact on small businesses SCOTT TAYLOR Oct. 31 while Rep. Yadira Caraveo, left, and Thornton Police Lt. Ernie Lucero and Det. Bryan Bennett listen.

retailers like Home Depot. He noted that Home Depot reports losses from theft of as much as $4 million in metro Denver over the most recent two years and said thieves sell items online.

“When we are talking about organized retail crime, we see a lot of skimmers placed on the devices and ATMs,” Bennett added. “We see a lot of organized thefts of retail products like high-end purses and bags and tools and things that everyone buys — things that cost more money that we use every day, like screwdrivers and drills and baby formula are targets. We’ve had thefts of tooth whitening strips and Rogaine. That’s why they’re all locked up in cases now.”

Bennett couldn’t provide local sta-

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tistics but said retail theft nationally has risen from roughly $90 billion to $120 billion since 2022.

“So it is a significant problem increase nationwide,” he said.

President Courtney Potter of the Thornton Area Chamber of Commerce said that kind of theft can be the difference between survival and closing for some retailers, especially locally-run ones.

“A lot of our businesses have said they can’t sustain this anymore and they close up shop and move their business online,” Potter said. “Or they will move to a different community that does not have these issues.

But for the most part, it’s just the cost of doing business these days.”

Many are unprepared, she said.

“Some of our newer businesses are completely unprepared, so being able to find resources that can help them combat these issues has been huge,” she said.

Caraveo touted what she said is a solution to at least part of the problem: the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. She is co-sponsoring the legislation with U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican for the 4th District, which covers the eastern third of Colorado.

The bill would expand federal enforcement of laws targeting organized retail crime and establish an Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center to create a national strategy for safeguarding small businesses from organized theft.

Careveo said the idea is to elevate the stakes for organized crimes, such as identity skimming at ATMs

and smash-and-grab thefts by large groups of thieves overwhelming a store and carrying away as much as possible.

“It’s really looking at how the Department of Homeland Security can play a role, making sure we are setting up coordination for the industry at the federal level and making the crime, when it’s an organized crime, a federal offense,” Caraveo said.

Bennett said that level of crime is rarely seen at his level.

“We don’t see too many of those organized things,” he said. “The bulk of ours is just organized shoplifting, three people go into a store and steal. And then a few days later, two more go in.”

Thornton police Lt. Ernie Lucero said the city is trying to help with that problem, creating a new Business Watch program that would act similarly to a Neighborhood Watch.

The program includes individual training sessions on how criminals commit crimes, what opportunities they look for and how retailers can discourage them “Our main goal is to just give those retailers the knowledge that they have support, and give them a better ability to plan,” he said. “Just like our citizens, it has to be a team approach, especially the Mom and Pops. They may not have that knowledge that they need.”

One goal is connecting retailers with each other so that when discover they’ve been robbed, they can alert their neighbors to be especially vigilant, sharing pictures and videos if possible.

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November 9, 2023

DA announced major drug bust in north metro area Nine indicted, drugs seized in a months-long operation

BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As part of a months-long investigation with ties to a Mexican cartel, North Metro drug enforcement officers recently confiscated 84.3 pounds of fentanyl – an amount they said could save the lives of more than half the population of Adams County.

Three people have been arrested and six more remain at large as part of the 47-point indictment.

The nine members of the drug trafficking organization were indicted for helping distribute fentanyl, methamphetamines, and cocaine into the Adams County area and other parts of Colorado.

They were allegedly part of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate once led by the notorious El Chapo.

Operation Dress for Less, so named because initial leads were discovered in a clothing store parking lot, began in May and ended with a late September grand jury indictment. Investigators went public with their months of work during a Nov. 1 press conference at the Adams County DA’s office.

The operation involved the DA’s office as well as members of the North Metro Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division.

In addition to the fentanyl, authorities also seized 66 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.4 kilos of cocaine, 14 grams of heroin, an active meth lab, five guns and $93,000.

The nine cartel members allegedly funneled the drugs into Adams County, and other parts of Colorado, as well as Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona. Local distributors were found in Westminster and Federal Heights.

“These were big players bringing in enormous quantities of drugs, (including) the most dangerous drug — fentanyl — into Adams County,” Mason said, noting au-

thorities confiscated about 382,000 fentanyl pills. “All of which could have been lethal to any member of this community who took them.”

While Mason said he is “incredibly proud” of the recent investigation, he said it is “just the beginning.”

“Fentanyl is literally killing our kids,” he said. “It is killing kids in middle school, high school, in college, in their 20s and 30s. Our work continues in this case and others as we try to rid our community of the drugs and poison.”

The individuals reportedly distributed the drugs to “various customers throughout the Brighton and Denver Metro area,” according to the indictment. “Each of the members of the criminal enterprise relied upon and utilized a complex system of cellular telephones and electronic communication devices” during the operation, often speaking in codes.

Mason said the operation hinged largely on a wiretap, which allowed them to eavesdrop on conversations among cartel members.

“We use that tool only when it’s appropriate and when the acts necessitate that,” he said. “In these cases … because we could listen to alleged drug traffickers making deals from across the United States to bring fentanyl to Adams County, we were able to make this case happen. And take huge amounts of fentanyl and other drugs off the streets.

“If we didn’t have the capability to do a wiretap… these drugs would be out on the street right now, and I am confident more people would be dead.”

Such investigations take money and coordination because the cartels are sophisticated and motivated by a lucrative business model, Mason said. Each fentanyl pill costs only a few pennies to make and can be sold locally for about $1. In other states, the selling price can be $20 or more.

“It obviously creates enormous profit for the cartels,” Mason said.

“We have more and more people addicted to fentanyl (which is) part of the drug cartel’s business model. (People) are buying drugs to feed that addiction. It’s destroying people’s lives across this community and across this country.”

District Attorney Brian Mason, flanked by representatives from the DEA and North Metro Task force, speaks during a Nov. 1 press conference about a multi-jurisdictional drug investigation that revealed links between a Mexican drug cartel and Adams County.

Jane Reuter

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VETERANS DAY November 11, 2023

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November 9, 2023No

The business of ballots

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The last week leading up to an election is usually busy for County Clerks, but Adams County workers know they have another job – hosting tours for people curious about how ballots are processed and votes tallied.

“I think voter education is the most important piece of this for many individuals who don’t know the process,” said Jamie Martinez, Adams County deputy director of elections.

“I’m happy to do these tours. I do them every single election the week before Election Day.” Adams County typically opens the doors for public scrutiny for the week before the election, offering a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes to groups of 15, one tour per day. The last tour of 2023 was scheduled for Nov. 3, the Friday before Election night on Nov. 7.

“We do them in the afternoon so that you can see most of the process coming through because our ballots are returned at that point,” Martinez said. “The individuals that go on our tour, they are the advocates out there, or they might come to work our election and are still advocates.”

Look, but don’t touch

Martinez usually starts the tours outside the county’s server room, where the ballots are made and will eventually be counted.

People on the tours are welcome to look at it, but only from the outside.

Access is extremely limited to only a few members of staff. Even Clerk and Recorder Josh Zygielbaum isn’t allowed in, Martinez said.

“Nobody else has access to this

room, not even the cleaning folks can go in there to clean- so it gets a little dusty between elections,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the county only lets four individuals have access to the server room. While remote cameras monitor all of the election rooms, the server room works are constantly watched by two cameras.

The room itself is physically isolated, too, protected by bullet-proof glass and tall walls.

“The walls go all the way up into the ceiling of this building so if you tried to get through my ceilings and drop down, you couldn’t do it in this room,” Martinez said.

But physical distance is just one part of the equation. The server room is also isolated from the rest of the operation electronically, operating on its own computer network.

Zygielbaum said all of that equipment is kept from the outside world.

“There is an internal network so that all the computers and machines can talk to each other,” he said. “But nothing is connected to the outside world.”

Zygielbaum said the system relies on a single laptop to communicate with the Colorado Secretary of State. It’s oversized and doesn’t have access to any other computer programs or websites or anything like that. Its only job is to collect the election data. Staff must transfer that data on a single-use thumb drive and walk it out of the room.

“It is the only place that can get to the outside world to communicate results from the internal system to the external system,” Zygielbaum said. “We use a secured thumb drive that never gets reinserted.”

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Picking up ballots

Teams of three, all members of different parties, make their way around the county, collecting the ballots from the collection boxes and voter information sites. Two people collect the ballots while the third stays on the lookout to make sure everyone is safe.

All the teams wear vests that identify them as county workers, storing the bags in military-grade containers. They carry 300 ballots in each container, signing documents to show the chain of custody.

“They need to note when they don’t have custody anymore,” she said. “When I unseal it, I notate the date and the time, as well as with signatures.”

The bags are brought into the election office and put in colored coded trays to identify where they came from and whether they came from the post office or the city ballot collection box.

Ballots are machine scanned oneby-one, to verify the voters’ signatures and to weed out anomalies, alerting election officials of potential red flags. That could include missing or non-matching signatures or a ballot envelope that is unusually thick or heavy – meaning they might contain something other than a ballot.

“We ensure the one ballot is in the envelope,” Martinez said. “The machine does not tally votes or remove any ballots from envelopes. It just does sorting work, taking that job out of the hands of elections workers,” Martinez said.

When the machines scan the signature, it compares it to previous signatures and those in county records. Problem ballots are isolated

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and set aside while the ones without problems are processed.

Bipartisan teams of two – usually a Republican and a Democrat – sit next to each other to review questionable signatures, rejecting those that clearly don’t match.

Voters are sent cure letters if there’s a problem with the signatures while the envelopes are set aside.

“If they don’t return the cure letter to us, we then turn it over to the district attorney to investigate,” Zygielbaum said.

Ballots with valid signatures are opened by a machine that slices the tops off of 3,600 envelopes per hour.

Bipartisan teams of two sit at a table, removing one ballot at a time and placing them face down in line for scanning.

In the final phase, the ballots are run through a counting system with a high-speed digital scanner that can process 75 ballots per minute, taking a digital image of the fronts and backs.

Processing work begins well before the election night, with workers scanning as many ballots as they have, sending voters notifications that their ballots have been processed. But the votes are not counted until the polls close.

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November 9, 2023

Cops and kids carving pumpkins First ever Carve with a Cop event comes to Brighton Police building

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Brighton’s finest showed off their skills with a pumpkin, a paint brush and a sharp knife Oct. 30 for the city’s annual Carve with a Cop event.

“It’s another great opportunity to get out with people from the community on a

positive, exciting basis instead of a negative,” said Brighton Police Chief Matthew Domenico.

Children and teens picked out pumpkins to carve and participated in spooky games, coloring, and trick-ortreating for candy.

It’s the Brighton Police Department’s first time hosting the Carve with a Cop event.

“We wanted to do an event that was safe and accessible for good kids of all ages. We have all kinds of activities, not just carving, but coloring,” said Kylynn McTague,

Public Information and Engagement Manager.

“These are great opportunities to connect with community members in a more casual environment, build relationships and for kids to see officers in uniform in a fun environment.”

Deanna Smith brought her grandchildren to meet the policeman.

“It teaches them that these guys are great and to not see them as an evil person.

It helps the community and that’s why we are here,” Smith said.

Princess Samantha Gurule lit up her crown and mixed some colors to paint her pumpkin Oct 30 during the BELEN WARD Brighton Carve with a Cop event.

Christmas Past & Present at the Adams County Museum 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 9601 Henderson Road in Brighton

Free!

Come join us in this celebration of the holidays – the buildings are decorated inside and out.

There will be entertainment, free admission into the buildings, free cookies and hot cider and hot chocolate (while supplies last), and marshmallow roasting!

Food available for purchase!

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November 9, 2023No

For Frederick business, goats are breaking new ground Hooved herd eating weeds and improving soil around Brighton’s Ken Mitchell Park

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The next time you see a herd of goats grazing along the shores of the lake at Ken Mitchell Park, you should know these broadleaf browsers are doing their job, helping to rejuvenate the land.

“Other cities have been using goats for years to help restore some of the soils in their open space areas,” said Bob Woods, Brighton open space manager.

A herd of goats at work grazing to rejuvenate the land at Ken Mitchell Lake.

PHOTO BY BOB WOODS

Woods said his director found Goat Bros, which had just started their

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business, and forwarded the information to him and called them up.

Ken Mitchell Park is 600 acres of dedicated open space that the City of Brighton opened in 2020. It sits along the South Platte River and has three large lakes and three miles of Colorado Front Range trail along its open space.

The park is full of plenty of deer, turkey, coyotes, raptors, and migrating waterfowl. It’s also home to the last remaining delisted Bald Eagle with an active nest.

The park was a former gravel mining operation that had depleted the soil of essential nutrients, making it difficult for native vegetation to grow, so populations of invasive weeds took over the soil.

Enter the goats.

The grazing goats spent five days working at Ken Mitchell open space, Woods said, and before the goats arrived, they spread native seed on the soil. The goats went to work, spreading the seeds into the soil with their hooves, into the soil. That part is essential, he said.

There is a chance some of the seeds would grow if they’re just thrown on the soil, he said. By burying the seeds just enough, they have a much better chance of surviving the winter and then sprouting the spring.

“With a goat herd, we water thoroughly into the soil and they walk back and forth with their hooves and they plant those seeds into the ground. It’s almost like their hooves were designed for that,” Wood said.

And they improve the soil in other ways.

“The goat’s urine and manure add nutrients to the soil and, after a few years, improve the quality of that soil.

We had them working in a test area, about an acre in size,” Woods said.

Woods said they plan to make it an annual thing to keep grazing in the same area.

Woods said using goats is an environmentally friendly alternative to using toxic-chemical pesticides, especially around lakes and streams.

The goats are a new culture to help the environment to heal, and it’s educational.

“When people see 300 goats hard at work, they inherently have a way of bringing people back to the land” Woods said. “Goats are designed to eat; it is their favorite thing to do, and they are really good at it. They are the perfect tool to implement into land management practices.”

“We’ll have them back out into the same spot for the next couple of years, hopeful our budget allows to expand upon that and depending on results,” he said. “The cost is less than $3.50 per goat per day or about $0.85 per hoof per day. The total cost for grazing was $4200.”

Getting back to the land

Owner Jordan Sarazen of Goat Bros started his goat grazing business after he watched the TV show Shark Tank. At the time, he was a financial advisor. His dream began at five years old.

“I always wanted to figure out a way to get back on the land but be able to continue to be a financial advisor, and having livestock as like a hobby,” Sarazen said. “As time went on, I thought of working with the goats and being out on the land.”

Sarazen said he and his wife began researching and learning about goats, how to take care of goats, and what it’s like to take care of them fulltime.

They also researched ways to use the goats for land management purposes. He took on an apprenticeship with another company before branching out on his own.

“So I’ve been doing it on our own for about a year now,” he said. “So in total, five years in the working with goats and but three years boots on the ground.”

SEE GOATS, P7

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November 9, 2023

As climate warms, state’s fire risk ramps up More than 1 million Coloradans live in areas with elevated wildfire risk

BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

A warming planet and decadeslong drought are expected to spark bigger and more destructive wildfires across the Mountain West, and new data from the Colorado State Forest Service shows more than one million Coloradans live in areas with moderate to very high risk of wildfire.

Chad Julian, wildfire mitigation program specialist for the Colorado State Forest Service, said the big-

GOATS FROM PAGE 6

They started the grazing business last April with 150 goats, growing the herd to 300. It’s been a success, and their goats are booked with jobs until the end of December. Goat Bros uses male and female goats but separates them during breeding season.

“So you don’t want goats breeding year-round, which could double or triple the size of your herd quickly.

We have a unique herd but the primary goat breeds are Spanish goats and Boer goats,” Sarazen said.

Sarazen said what makes them unique is that about 75% of their diet is weeds. Goats are broadleaf browsers that tend to favor that type of vegetation over grasses.

“The goats are very hardy animals.

They can eat even poisonous plants, such as poison ivy, water, Hemlock, and all kinds of things that most animals can’t with a herd of 300 working,” Sarazon said, Brighton was a restoration project, Sarazen said, because it was a gravel pit with heavy equipment disturbing the soil and being tough on the land.

“The goats, with their gentle touch giving organic matter and fertilizer back to that soil, really will help re-

gest change from previous maps is improved technologies showing where people build homes and other structures.

“More rural areas, smaller communities, subdivisions; there was a lot more growth in homes in those areas in the wildland-urban interface,” Julian outlined. “There are more homes at risk than there were in 2017.”

The latest Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment offers maps showing wildfire risk by neighborhood.

It also found the size of the state’s wildland-urban interface -- where human development encroaches into natural terrain with flammable vegetation -- has expanded to 4.5 million acres, about 45 times the size of the City of Denver.

The Forest Service’s Home Igni-

juvenate over the years to come.

Especially with coupled the seeding out there that Bob Woods threw down some native seed giving those seeds the best chance of germination in the spring,” Sarazen said.

Future

Sarazen said they are looking at the big picture and what would like to see happen with their goat grazing business.

“We are the first to say that goats are not the end of all be all. We believe they help complement and enhance the land management practices,” Sarazon said.

Sarazen said we want to continue to grow the herd over the years and continue to be involved in the community and get the education out there of land management practices to get the community on the land to enjoy the open space.

“It’s a huge part of our work bringing our 300 goats to work with municipalities, private landowners, HOA organizations, and communities,” Sarazen said.

“We look towards the future as opportunities arise to share with people how to start one of these goat grazing businesses.”

For more information on hiring goat grazers, contact Jordan Sarazen at 303-913-6726 or email GoatBrosLLC@gmail.com. Visit: https:// goatbrosllc.com

tion Zone Checklists offer strategies for protecting homes.

Recent mega-fires, including the 2021 Marshall Fire with its $2 billion price tag, have shown scientists and land managers new priorities for adapting to the new climate reality.

Julian pointed out a variety of data -- including from Lidar, a laserbased mapping tool -- have also provided a clearer picture of vegetation and other fuel sources for land managers working to protect communities, water sources and ecosystems.

“The wildfire problem is not solely a home loss problem,” Julian noted.

“That’s one component of many negatives that do come from these fire events. But we do see a lot of ecosystem degradation, watershed issues.”

Wildfires have been a natural part of the Mountain West for thousands of years, and have grown in scale for a variety of reasons including fire suppression strategies and now climate change.

Julian believes better outcomes in the future are possible because the main drivers behind increased wildfire risk and property loss are land use policies.

“We have the ability to influence that,” Julian stressed. “We can change how we build, or the existing structures that are already built.

We can change where we’re developing into.”

This Public News Service story via The Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

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November 9, 2023No

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Call first: 143 S. 2nd Pl., Brighton, CO 80601 Mailing Address: 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110 Phone: 303-566-4100 Web: FtLuptonPress.com To subscribe call 303-566-4100 LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief

BRIEFS Community Art Show registration is open

Registration for Fort Lupton’s annual Community Art Show is open and available to local community artists ages 16 and up. Each artist may submit up to two eligible pieces. View submission guidelines and register on our website today: https://www.fortluptonco.gov/971/Annual-Community-Art-Show.

The Annual Community Art Show is scheduled for November!

Cookies & Cocoa with Santa

bward@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Santa will be on hand from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Fort Lupton School & Public Library for the annual visit from St. Nick Families can enjoy crafts, cocoa-togo, and family portraits with Santa.

Photos will be delivered via digital download.

JOHN RENFROW Sports Editor

Northern rail discussed

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The future of passenger rail along Denver’s northern metro area will be the topic of two open houses Nov. 8 and 9 in Longmont and Broomfield.

Hosted by the Front Range Passenger Rail Service Development Plan team, the open houses will provide information about the development plan, describe the differences between Northwest Rail and FRPR, and speak to collaboration and partnership between the two projects.

The first open house is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Civic Center in Longmont, 350 Kimbark St. The second is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Lakeshore Room of Broomfield Community Center, 280 Spader Way. The team is developing technical memos that look at route, service, and capital investment options for passenger rail The team is still analyzing fare strategies, diversity of ridership, and benefits and drawbacks for disadvantaged communities.

Severe Weather Soliciting and Scams

Fort Lupton officials are warning that severe weather and natural disasters attract out-of-town contractors and solicitors. Not all “storm chaser” contractors are scammers but some may be.

The City of Fort Lupton does require solicitors to obtain a license before they go out and engage in sales.

More information and the application for a solicitors/peddlers license can be viewed here: https://www.fortluptonco.gov/552/

Mobile-Food-Vending-LicenseSolicitorsPe?fbclid=IwAR2miHGz65HnRzy0zgs-mXikm3bANJ056VP5qgK4WZFBEfAk-T8G-dGrCk Contact your insurance company and ask about your policy coverage and filing requirements.

Do your research: Find businesses you can trust and preferably local.

Resist high-pressure sales. Some storm chasers use tactics such as the “good deal” you’ll get only if you hire the contractor on the spot.

Adams County sets Operation Freebird for Nov. 18

The Adams County Sheriff ’s Office and Human Services Department are teaming up for the annual Operation Freebird event. This event provides Adams County families in need with everything to prepare a Thanksgiving meal.

Operation Freebird will be from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Nov. 18 at Mountain States Toyota, 201 W. 70th Ave. Community organizations are welcome to participate to provide resources or information for residents. If interested, reach out to Karla Ojeda.

Donation time

The 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. The bank also needs personal items, such as toiletries and baby needs.

Drop off 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 303-857-1096.

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.

This 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.

Blessings in a Bag

Fort Lupton’s Backpack Program

helps school children in need with a backpack of healthy food. It’s an allvolunteer program and is in need of volunteers. If interested in volunteering or donating, call 303-718-4440.

Mail donations to Blessings in a Bag, 306 Park Ave., Fort Lupton 80621.

Drop-in child care

The Fort Lupton Recreation Center offers drop-in child care from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 303857-4200.

Fort Lupton senior lunches

Senior lunches are available at noon Mondays at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center, 203 S. Harrison Ave. Sign up by noon the previous Thursday.

Call 303-857-4200, ext. 6166.

Silver Sneakers

Silver Sneaker Yoga is available Fridays from 9 to 9:45 a.m. and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the Fort Lupton recreation Center, 203 S. Harrison Ave. Water aerobics

The city’s water aerobics class meets from 6 to 6:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center, 203 S. Harrison Ave. Call 303-857-4200.

Coffee group

Fort Lupton’s weekly coffee group sessions are at 8 a.m. Wednesdays.

Call 303-857-4200.

Pen pals

Fort Lupton’s senior pen pal program through Twombly Elementary School is looking for participants.

Learn more at: https://www.fortluptonco.gov/950/Senior-Pen-Pal-Program.

Craft classes

Monthly craft classes through the Fort Lupton Recreation Center (203 S. Harrison Ave.) are available. Call 303857-4200, ext. 6166 with questions.

Free short-term radon test kits

Weld County residents can receive a free radon test kit (one per household, while supplies last). Test kits can be requested online at www.drhomeair. com/weld, according to a statement.

Call the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment at (970) 400-2226 or visit: www.weldgov. com/go/radon.

9

November 9, 2023

Fort Lupton celebrates with Trick or Treat Street

Hippy Mary Ellen LeBlanc, with scarecrows Melissa and Eric Rickman owners of Wholly Stromboli for Fort Lupton’s Trick or Treat Street Oct 31.

Aily Barron won the eight-to 13-year-old category with her vibrant Day of the Dead Catrina costume at Fort Lupton’s Trick or Treat Street Oct 31.

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Downtown Fort Lupton was a Halloween smash, hosting the annual Trick or Treat street on Denver Avenue crowded with families and kids costumes dressed in scary and cute comic book and movie characters on Oct. 31.

Brianne and Aria Sipres are whimsical circus clowns for Fort Lupton’s Trick or Treat Street Oct 31.

Caty Gerwig as Wednesday Adams doing her famous dance at for Fort Lupton’s Trick or Treat Street Oct 31.

In addition, they had a costume contest for babies, pets, and over 21 categories. The Avengers Wasser family took it home for best family costume.

Carter Wesser said,” I can believe we won.”

“It’s fun,” Aexei Wasser said.

Numerous Fort Lupton businesses set up Guillermo, Camila, Guillermo Aliana Anali Arriaga are the decorated booths, donated candy and a cos- Incredibles ready to save the world at Fort Lupton’s Trick or PHOTOS BY BELEN WARD tume contest prize, and sponsored the event. Treat Street Oct 31.

10

LOCAL

VOICES

November 9, 2023No

Trusted and reliable, local newspapers matter to their communities

A

recent Gallup study showed that America’s confidence in the national mass media has reached a near-record low. While that’s disturbing, it’s not unexpected. The digital age has brought a barrage of GUEST national news sources that are COLUMN focused on sound bites, opinions, partisan views and a race to push out breaking news, even if it hasn’t been properly factchecked or vetted. The problem has been exacerbated by social media channels that allow disinformation to be distributed virtually unchecked.

Dean Ridings

Americans trust local newspapers

However, Americans feel differently when it comes to their local newspaper.

According to a 2023 national survey of 5,000 adults, local newspapers are the most relied on and trusted media source of original reporting: more than television and radio, and significantly more than social media. Trust in local newspapers extends across age groups and demographics, as adults of all segments recognize the value of reliable local reporting that newspapers deliver.

And, beyond just trusting the reporting local newspapers provide, Americans recognize how important it is to have a healthy local newspaper in their community. In fact, 74% of all Americans stated that having a newspaper in their community is important for providing them with much needed local news and information. It’s hard to get Americans to agree on anything, but they agree that local newspapers are important.

Local newspapers shine a light on important issues

American’s trust in their local newspaper is not surprising. A local newspaper’s commitment to reporting the news is different than the national mass media. Local newspapers are just that, local, and are staffed with dedicated professional journalists who live and work in the communities they cover. The issues that are important to the community are also important to local reporters, and that creates a deep accountability to delivering trusted, unbiased news.

Readers and non-readers alike rely on their local newspaper to shine a spotlight on the issues that matter most to them. From holding local institutions accountable, to reporting on local schools, sports or entertainment for the weekend, local journalists often uncover stories that might otherwise go unnoticed. That local connection instills confidence that the information being delivered is coming from a source that is invested in the health of the community and

committed to high standards of journalistic integrity.

Local newspapers are a trusted advertising source

The trust in local newspapers goes beyond just traditional news. It applies to local advertising, as well. The same national study of 5,000 adults found that 60% of Americans use newspaper advertising to help them decide what brands, products and local services to buy. That’s about the same as local television and much higher than radio, direct mail and social media ads.

Supporting newspapers makes a difference

Despite the high levels of trust in local newspapers, the business model continues to face challenges. The way people consume news has changed, but Big Tech’s continued use of local newspapers’ content without paying for it puts even more strain on the newspaper business model.

There are easy ways for you to support your local newspaper — and ensure that quality local journalism remains in your community. In addition to subscribing or advertising, ask your congressional

representatives to support the Community News and Small Business Support Act (HR 4756) that has recently been introduced in Congress.

This bipartisan bill provides much-needed support to local newspapers that invest in their journalists. For every local journalist who is employed to work on local news, the newspaper will receive a tax credit. The act is a cost-effective way for local newspapers to keep professional journalists covering their communities. It’s a win for everyone.

Visit www.supportcommunitynews.com for more info, and thanks for reading this newspaper!

On behalf of its approximately 1,700 newspaper and Solutions Partner companies, America’s Newspapers is committed to explaining, defending and advancing the vital role of newspapers in democracy and civil life. We put an emphasis on educating the public on all the ways newspapers contribute to building a community identity and the success of local businesses. Learn more at newspapers.org.

Dean Ridings is the CEO of America’s Newspapers and can be reached at dridings@newspapers. org.

s

11

November 9, 2023

LETTER TO THE EDITOR First and foremost, safeguarding the Dolores River is crucial for maintaining a healthy and biodiverse ecosystem.

The river and its adjacent canyons are home to a wealth of plant and animal species, some of which are rare or endangered. Conserving this habitat is essential for the longterm survival of these species and the overall health of the region’s ecosystem. From the threatened Gunnison Sage Grouse to the very rare Paradox breadroot, protection of this area is crucial to endangered species that call this piece of Southwest Colorado home.

Protecting wildlife is important because it is a huge part of why I moved out west. Clean water, clean air, spotting healthy wildlife on hikes and backpacking trips are of the utmost importance.

The ecosystems in the United States are being depleted. It is up to us to ensure wildlife has a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem in order to survive in the long run. Wildlife enthusiasts, hunters, fisherman, tourists, and our planet depends on it.

Furthermore, the Dolores River and its canyons serve as a vital watershed. They provide essential wa-

ter resources for both wildlife and human communities downstream, contributing to the health and sustainability of the entire region.

Protecting this water source is essential to ensure a stable and clean water supply for the communities along the Dolores River and in the wider Colorado River Basin.

The Dolores River and its canyons are also invaluable for recreational and cultural reasons. The canyons offer unique opportunities for hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities, attracting tourists and providing economic benefits to local communities. These areas are

also rich in archaeological and historical significance, with important Indigenous sites across the area.

Protecting the Dolores River and its adjacent canyon country is not just a local concern but an important step to show where our values lie as Coloradans.

From the endangered species to the recreation opportunities to the important cultural resources this area is deeply special to what makes Colorado, Colorado. It is a reminder that responsible stewardship of our natural resources is essential for our future.

Lyndsey Collin, Brighton

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November 9, 2023No

LOCAL

LIFE

A guide to audio tours

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

T

he self-guided audio tour has been common in the art world since the 1950s, but like many other virtual tools, there has been a rise in the popularity of audio tours in other industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Audio tours can add extra elements that visitors do not get when walking the areas alone, according to Luna Hernandez, who works in the Dinosaur Ridge welcome center.

“The audio tour definitely gives you more information than if you were to just walk the trail on your own,” Hernandez said. “We do have those outdoor plaques and stuff like that on the trail. So you still get some information when you’re walking it. But with the audio tour, there is a resident geologist who guides you up the ridge and gives you a lot of information.”

Today, it’s not uncommon to plan a full-day trip complete with a tour of any place around the globe. This includes communities in the Denver metro region.

Self-guided tours in the region cover art, like the 40 West ArtLine; local landmarks, like Dinosaur Ridge; and whole natural regions, like the I-70 Audio Tour. The key to finding these tours is deciding what to see, the level of planned involvement and time allotment.

What to see

Art was the original self-guided audio tour and is a popular self-guided tour focus. In Lakewood, the 40 West ArtLine audio tours take participants through the growing arts district. There are three tour options, all narrated by “art advocate and tour guide” Corrine Anderson.

The Grit and Glitter tour is a primer on the importance and legacy of West Colfax. The tour takes listeners through the neighborhoods going toward Aviation Park in Lakewood. The tour gives history and a sort of mini art lecture on the outdoor art, murals and more along the busiest part of the 40 West Art District.

The Art and Leisure Tour begins at Lamar Street Light Rail Station and follows the track through some of Lakewood’s outdoor art, architecture and more. The Art and Leisure Tour also touches on Lakewood’s agricultural heritage before ending at Mountain Air Park.

The Transportation and Art Tour also begins at the Lamar Street Rail Station. It runs along Lamar Street to the 40 West Art District headquarters. The tour takes a historic slant and guides listeners through the history of the area in addition to highlighting the murals and outdoor art along the way.

However, art is not the only focus of guided tours in the area. Take an urban stroll through the history of the Five Points neighborhood with the Five Points Business District Walking Tour. It takes listeners on a reverent tour of Denver’s historic Black neighborhood.

The kids will love the blast to prehistoric Colorado in the Dinosaur Ridge Audio Tour. The tour is packed with dinosaur facts that will almost make the listener forget about the steepness of the 2.5-mile ridge climb.

The Wild I-70 Audio Tour is more of a natural Front Range focus that takes listeners from Golden to Glenwood. This tour is best done by car, bike or motorized vehicle. It’s 144 miles long and talks about wildlife, including historic animal migration facts, in addition to other natural history and environmental facts.

There are other tours like the State Capitol Audio Tours which concentrates on the Capitol building in Denver, The Story Line Audio Tour touches on 15 sites integral to the history of the city of Aurora and Arapahoe County and the Highlands Ranch Mansion self-guided tour.

What to consider

Choosing a tour can be a chore. There are a few things to consider before deciding, so a little research is required.

Pricing is one issue to consider. Some apps that offer a slew of guided tours also charge up to $50 per person. However, many of the self-guided tours are free to the public. The 40 West ArtsLine Tours are free, but the Dinosaurs Ridge Tours cost $7 per streaming device.

Also, consider the activity level and time commitment. It can take about 3 hours to complete the Dinosaur Ridge Audio Tour, but there are actual fossils and tracks along the hike. Parts of the ridge itself is a drag mark from beasts that roamed the area millions of years ago, according to the tour.

Only bikes and feet are allowed on the tour, so taking the Dinosaur Ridge tour is much more intense than the Highlands Ranch Mansion tour. There is also the weather and seasons to consider for any outdoor tour. The Wild I70 Tour is a brilliant idea for fall foliage. Also consider the drive in May or June, when the wildflowers are in bloom and the baby animals are about.

Some of the tours, like the ArtLine tours, have chapters so that listeners can schedule accordingly.

Be sure to factor in the time of day. Sitting in traffic after an intense hiking tour is tougher than it seems at the beginning of the trip.

Where to go

The research before you go is key. To find the tours, look at the sites for places you wish to visit. Chances are, there is an audio tour that you can preview before embarking.

Several apps exist that compile the audio tours in the area in one place.

However, sometimes the information on the apps is inaccurate and the price higher than the original site requires, so always go to direct websites.

13

November 9, 2023

Highlands Ranch Mansion’s audio tour takes you through the history of the building. It’s self-guided, so visitors can follow along at their own pace.

COURTESY OF HIGHLANDS RANCH MANSION

Highlands Ranch Mansion has a self-guided audio tour option that is free to the public.

It’s available when the mansion is open.

LIZ OSBAN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Dinosaur Ridge tour begins with dinosaur statues PHOTO BY JO DAVIS located near the visitor’s center.

14

November 9, 2023No

Camp Hale monument celebrates one year Plan to honor Utes, 10th Mountain vets takes shape

visitor center. There will be a lot of signs helping to educate visitors about the 53,804-acre monument, Colorado’s ninth national monument and its first since Browns Canyon in 2015. The idea is to create a place to learn and remember.

A monument that celebrates the Ute tribes that have gathered in the headwaters of the Eagle River atop Tennessee Pass for centuries as well as the 10th Mountain Division soldiers who trained there during World War II and returned to Colorado to seed the country’s vibrant outdoor recreation industry.

Ute Mountain Ute tribal chairman Manuel Heart offered a blessing and prayer in late October as Forest Service officials joined federal, state and local leaders in unveiling the new national monument sign.

Heart urged the politicians and Forest Service to “erect something to not forget the Ute people, some kind of monument.”

“We just ask respectfully, don’t forget us as the Ute people who come from these lands … that were taken from us at one time,” Heart said. “And educate people, educate people about who we are.”

Colorado’s U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse — a Democrat from Boulder who supported the national monument designation — said collaboration will be needed for “keeping the sto-

BY JASON BLEVINS THE COLORADO SUN

Francis Lovett has a vision for Camp Hale, where in 1942 he trained for winter battle in Italy as a 10th Mountain Division soldier.

“It must include recognition, physical recognition, by signage, astute building and careful management so it does not become a scrappy trailer park. It must not become a tourist attraction,” the 101-year-old decorated World War II veteran and lifelong educator told a committee of politicians and tribal leaders last weekend in Vail following a visit to Camp Hale. “It must be aimed to inform the public who may stop by and see how we lived and what we lived, with good signage … that reflects the history of the 10th Mountain Division. All I hope for is true history. Shared history.”

A year after President Joe Biden traveled to Colorado to announce the Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument, a plan is taking shape for the historic location.

It won’t offer a lot of tourist amenities. There won’t be a sprawling

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ries of Camp Hale alive and making the case that this incredible part of Colorado history, American history, needed to be preserved.”

“There’s a lot of work to be done and we know this next stage will be just as important as all the stages that preceded it,” Neguse said.

Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat and longtime champion of protecting Camp Hale, said “learning where we’ve been and heading into the future in a collaborative way … is the opportunity for a better future.”

The White River National Forest is launching a planning process that will take a couple years. There will be public meetings, site visits and formal comment periods so everyone can vet the plan for Camp Hale.

“This is just the beginning of a very involved process,” said Adam Bianchi, the district ranger for the White River National Forest’s Dillon Ranger District, the most trafficked district in the country inside the most visited national forest.

The forest is a decade into planning a long term restoration project in the headwaters of the Eagle River, which include Camp Hale. The river was straightened to accommodate a warfare training camp for 17,000 soldiers in the early 1940s. Restoring the river to a more natural state while honoring the legacy of the training ground will require a balancing of cultural, ecological and historical interests, Bianchi said.

And the White River also will soon begin a revision of its overarching forest plan, setting a framework to manage the 2.3 million-acre forest — and its 11 major ski areas, eight wilderness areas, four reservoirs and 12 million annual visitors — for the next 20 years. And one last challenge: The designation of the new national monument did not come with any additional funds for the White River, which has a budget of around $18 million a year, down from more than $30 million in the late 2000s.

The proclamation that created Camp Hale recognizes “ongoing use of the area for recreation” — noting skiing, hiking, camping and snowmobiling — while urging a management plan that includes “education and interpretive resources” that reflect the area’s Indigenous history and 10th Mountain legacy “while

President Joe Biden, surrounded by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, back left, and White River National Forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams, back center, hands over the pen to Francis Lovett, far right, after signing the papers to designate Camp Hale, a World War II era training site, as a national monument, Oct. 12, 2022, outside Leadville. Robert Shoyer, center, and Lovett trained at Camp Hale as soldiers.

PHOTO BY HUGH CAREY THE COLORADO SUN

maintaining space for the area’s growing recreation economy.”

The overlapping planning process for the monument and the entire forest will give forest managers the opportunity, Bianchi said, to “protect areas as best we can and not make it a tourist destination.”

Maybe that will include directing visitors to areas outside the heart of the monument, like on Summit County’s Continental Divide side of the monument in the Tenmile Range, where improved trailheads and access can accommodate more users, Bianchi said.

“Creating this giant mecca for more tourists to come here, that’s not necessarily something that we have in the books, because, financially, we just don’t have that,” he said after the tour earlier this month. “We want to take this plan and do it correctly with our partners — tribes as well as veterans. At the end of the day, what that may look like is very similar to what they saw today.”

Lovett urged the politicians, tribal members and Forest Service to treat Camp Hale “wisely, kindly and selflessly.”

This story via a news sharing agreement with The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver that covers the state.

15

November 9, 2023

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November 9, 2023No

Buck won’t seek reelection in 2024 Conservative congressman cites election conspiracies in decision

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck announced Wednesday that he won’t run for reelection to a sixth term in 2024, citing the GOP’s embrace of election conspiracies and Congress’ inability to get work done.

The Windsor Republican’s decision first announced on MSNBC, is certain to set off a fierce race to replace him in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a highly conservative part of the state that spans across the Eastern Plains from Weld County into Castle Rock.

“I have decided that it is time for me to do some other things,” Buck, 64, told reporter Andrea Mitchell on her show Wednesday. “I have always been disappointed with our inability in Congress to deal with major issues and I’m also disappointed that the Republican Party continues to rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen.”

He added: “If we’re going to solve some difficult problems we’ve got to deal with some very unpleasant lies.”

In a video posted to his YouTube page, Buck, who was first elected to the House in 2014, thanked his constituents for their support “as we have fought against the left’s policies that have had real-world consequences.”

“Our nation is on a collision course with reality,” Buck said. “A steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward. Too many Republican leaders are lying to America claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system. These insidious narratives read widespread cynicism and erode Americans confidence in the rule of law.”

Buck said “it is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”

The congressman’s announcement wasn’t exactly shocking news.

He has been raising eyebrows and drawing conservatives’ ire for months for making the rounds on TV news shows to criticize fellow Republicans, including over the House GOP’s pursuit of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Buck, a member of the House

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Freedom Caucus, was among eight Republicanswho voted to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthyfrom his leadership post in October.

He said McCarthy hadn’t carried out his promises on federal spending.

Buck also voted against U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become speaker, citing the Ohio Republican’s participation in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. But Buck then backed current Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to lead the House, despite the Louisiana Republican’s leading role in objecting to the 2020 results.

The difference between Jordan and Johnson, Buck told CNN, is that Jordan “did a number of things that were election denialism in their highest degree,” including texting White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows a legal theory on how Congress could block Biden’s win and talking to President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 riot.

“Jim Jordan was involved in much of the post-election activity,” Buck said. “Mike Johnson was not. (Johnson) voted to decertify (the election results), absolutely. That wasn’t my vote, but we need to move forward.

We have some important business.”

Buck added that it wasn’t OK for Johnson to vote to decertify the 2020 presidential election results, but “we’re at a point now where we need to move forward and make sure the government stays open — that we fund Israel, we fund Ukraine, we fund the border efforts. And that’s going to take a human being in that speaker position. Not a perfect human being, but a Mike Johnson, who has done his very best to move issues forward and is a really good person.”

Buck has been a staple in Colorado’s Republican politics for decades.

Buck was elected Weld County’s district attorney in 2004. He went on to be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010, running unsuccessfully against Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to the seat in 2009.

He lost by nearly 30,000 votes in a year when Republicans took over both the U.S. House and Senate. Some attributed Buck’s narrow lossto his handling of a rape caseas district attorney.

In 2013, Buck initiated another run for U.S. Senate but dropped out

of the contest when Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner entered the contest, running instead for Gardner’s seat. Buck was then elected to the House in 2014 and served as Colorado Republican Party chairman in 2019 and 2020.

But Buck’s long tenure in the upper echelons of the state’s Republican ranks have not made him immune from criticism as of late. The Colorado GOP, now under the leadership of Dave Williams, a 2020 election denier, has blasted Buck for his opposition to Jordan’s speakership bid and unwillingness to go along with he impeachment inquiry.

The congressmanalso saidhe received death threats and was being evicted from his office, owned by a major GOP donor, for refusing to back Jordan.

Buck is leaving Congress at a time when other Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, are opting against reelection, too, because of election conspiracies.

Buck said his departure from the House, however, won’t be his departure from politics.

“I’m not going to be leaving the party and I’m not going to be leaving my role in trying to talk truth to the public,” Buck told Andrea Mitchell.

Among the Republicans rumored to be interested in running for Buck’s seat are State Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron Heidi Ganahl, a former University of Colorado regent who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 Deb Flora, a conservative talk radio host and failed 2022 U.S. senate candidate Former Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown Former 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler Former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, who is now a Logan County commissioner Former Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock Buck beat Democrat Ike McCorkle by 24 percentage points in 2022.

Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.

This story runs via a news sharing agreement with The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver that covers the state.

November 9, 2023

17

18

November 9, 2023No

Film shows toll of High Country mental health crisis, and a county’s successful response

BY TRACY ROSS THE COLORADO SUN

There’s a heartbreaking scene in a new documentary co-produced by Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller in which Grand County snowboarder Ben Lynch is driving down the highway sometime before taking his life while on a camping trip with his wife.

It looks cold up there in the mountains, a little gray. That’s the general vibe of the first half of “The Paradise Paradox.” By now, viewers understand the name.

A paradox exists in paradise: Too many people living in Colorado ski towns suffer with mental health problems, including a staggering number who’ve committed suicide in recent years, when it seemed like they should be having the time of their lives.

This happens due to a confluence of forces: wealth gaps in mountain towns that grew into chasms during the COVID pandemic; lack of affordable housing; communities that rely on shredding during the day and partying at night for their happiness; and lack of adequate mental health services to help those dealing with any of these struggles cope.

Alterra Mountain Company is a sponsor of the film, and several of the places highlighted are resorts owned by the company. Winter Park/Mary Jane is one; that may be why Lynch, who was 32 when he died by suicide, is featured. But a major part of the movie — and what bookends it — is a story about Eagle County’s unbelievable success at tackling the mental health crisis that peaked with 17 suicides in 2017.

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Minimal traffic during Winter Park’s shoulder season before ski resorts begin running their chairlifts, Oct. 30, 2023, in Grand County. Even people surrounded by the beauty of ski towns can succumb to mental health issues leading to suicide, a fact the new film “The Paradise Paradox,” executive produced by Olympic champion Bode Miller, PHOTOS BY HUGH CAREY THE COLORADO SUN explores.

In a tale well-known by now, residents couldn’t accept one more child taking their life, so they created a task force to tackle the problem. They galvanized to pass ballot measure 1A, which taxed retail pot sales and directed all funds to mental health and substance abuse services. The money allowed the group to do a gap analysis, looking for failings in the county’s mental health care system, and devise a plan to fill them.

Then, in 2018, Vail Health committed $60 million over 10 years to push the effort forward. Not long after, Vail real estate developer Amanda Precourt — who struggled with mental health issues and is

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one of the film’s anchors — gave Vail Health a “generous gift” toward building an inpatient behavioral health facility in Edwards. When the 50,000-square-foot hospital opens in 2025, it will offer all of the mental health services the grassroots organizers wished for in 2017 and then some.

It’s a monumental success for a community that five years ago had no place locally to bring a child who was experiencing a mental health breakdown. But perhaps without intending to, the film overlooks some key factors in Colorado’s ongoing high country mental health crisis: Vail had help from Summit County in solving its problem and had the

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good fortune to get a windfall of money to improve its mental health services. The problem is tougher to solve in smaller counties, which are often less well-heeled or privy to government resources. “The Paradise Paradox” paints Eagle County as a town among ski resorts with the answers to solving ski country’s mental health issues, but there’s more to the story.

“It’s hard because there’s so much more wealth in Eagle County and because we’re in these zones with Mind Springs [Health] and what have you in Grand Junction,” Megan Ledin, executive director of the Grand Foundation in Fraser, said. (For years Mind Springs has been wracked with controversy over things like dangerous prescription practices, the quality and safety of the care it gives teenagers and children, and failure to serve the most vulnerable Coloradans, although Ledin didn’t mention these when discussing the organization.)

The size and population of Grand County is another challenge, Ledin added, saying, “I wish we could have some sort of 72-hour facility, but with our demographics would a detox or holding facility in Grand County be sustainable?”

Chris Lindley, chief population health officer at Vail Health and executive director at Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, admits Eagle County benefitted from Vail Health “being a trailblazer” in the industry.

But more importantly, as a community, he said, “We all agreed we needed a plan. Then we all agreed to the plan. Then came the funding.

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November 9, 2023

FILM FROM PAGE 18

And I would argue that if other communities do [the same], getting the resources becomes a lot easier. Yes, it might be easier in a resort community like Vail or Aspen or Steamboat. But these resources exist, not only from individuals. There’s a great amount of state grants available. Health care in general needs to take a much bigger role in behavioral health.”

Ledin agrees with Lindley’s last statement, but adds, “Behavioral health services are contingent on your population and needs of a community.” And when you look at the wealth in a place like Eagle County versus Grand County, the amount of money available to Eagle will likely be higher than to Grand.

That leaves Grand County having to do without certain services or providing smaller-scale versions with fewer resources. Ledin said when distributing money, the Grand Foundation “tries to look at what nonprofits aren’t meeting needs, usually because of a financial barrier, and then asks, ‘How can we support them to make things better?’” That’s work for a small foundation that started in 1996 through the sale of ski and golf passes and has since distributed $23 million in grants through multiple funding sources including donor advised and designated funds, and – coming – an endowment.

Two of the Grand Foundation’s notable mental health successes of late are a transportation service that takes mental health or substance abuse patients from Middle Park Health hospital in Granby to services in Grand Junction, and a “one-stop-shop” website that connects people experiencing a mental health crisis with appropriate services, Ledin said.

Called Building Hope Grand

County, the website helps people evaluate the severity of a mental health crisis, offers a list of 43 local providers specializing in dozens of different fields and relays information on grants for various services, screening for different ailments and a list of providers — all of whom accept vouchers from the Grand County Rural Health Network in place of money — accepting patients.

The foundation also funds a mental health voucher program and a scholarship program, which help both patients and providers. The patients get help paying for appointments above and beyond the 12 granted in the voucher program and out-of-county providers are given office space at no cost to see patients in the county.

There’s a moment in “The Paradise Paradox” when Ledin is asked about her work and she breaks down crying. Later, in an interview with The Colorado Sun, she said it made her think of her daughter dealing with two years of serious depression while a college freshman during COVID. And of the 12 kids connected to Grand County who took their own lives between 2018 and present. Then there was the son of a good friend who dealt with substance abuse issues and overdosed on fentanyl, thinking it was sleeping pills. “But what can we do? We have a culture problem where it’s OK to drink and do drugs, and then the isolation comes in and depression, and it exacerbates the problem,” she said.

Lack of affordable housing contributes to mental health issues in Grand County as well, Ledin added. “Young kids come here thinking they’re going to ski, and then they have to work three to four jobs just to afford rent. So we also have housing assistance funds. We look at someone’s gross pay versus rent and if it exceeds 30% we’ll bridge it for a whole year.”

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ers still use drugs and alcohol to cope. “And when you get to extremes, or have an addictive personality, if the culture is that of drinking or drugs, someone with those tendencies may lean toward that,” she said. “We just want our people to know resources are out there. And if you don’t want to go down that path, there’s lots of other avenues.”

Ledin wishes Grand County could fund full-time behavioral health counselors in its schools like Eagle County has done. But there’s not enough money for that, at least not at the moment.

The “other avenues” are trying to do their part, however. Stephanie Pierce, founder of the nonprofit Tame Wellness in downtown Fraser, came to Grand County in search of a mountain lifestyle after years of heroin addiction. She found what she wanted, and decided to open Tame for others trying to kick their addictions.

Tame offers recovery planning, one-on-one consultations, medication-assisted substance abuse treatment, and year-round sober events and gatherings. In late October, Pierce was hosting a Halloween eve mini-pumpkin painting event.

She says you don’t have to be sober to participate in Tame events, but that she created them to give people attempting sobriety an escape from the many other non-sober options in Grand County. And

Ledin says if you want to know how the Grand Foundation was able to start the Building Hope Grand County Fund, through which it has paid out $1 million to mental health and substance abuse services since its founding a year ago, take a look at Summit County’s Building Hope program, which was also a blueprint for Eagle County.

Like Eagle County’s and Grand County’s mental health programs, Summit County’s grew out of a rash of suicides. One of them was Patti Casey, a prominent community member who was highly involved in the Summit Foundation, a role model for the Grand Foundation.

She had struggled with medication-resistant depression, but no one outside of her immediate family knew about it, said Kellyn Ender, executive director of Building Hope Summit. When she became one of 13 people who died by suicide in 2016, the county knew it needed to do more to address its mental health problem.

“The Summit Foundation was fortunate in that following Casey’s death, her family created a memorial fund in her honor,” Ender said.

“One of the biggest focus areas was stigma reduction: They wanted to really promote talking about mental health, talking about how struggles are a part of our nature, they happen to everyone, and we should be able to talk about our mental health in the same way we talk about our physical health.”

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November 9, 2023No

Colorado rule change would give more universal preschoolers full-day classes

BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT COLORADO

About 3,000 more Colorado 4-yearolds will qualify for free full-day classes through the state’s universal preschool program next year under a draft rule that aims to better serve families in the lowest income bracket.

The proposed change would make 4-year-olds from families with incomes at or below the federal poverty level — about $30,000 a year for a family of four — eligible for full-day preschool at no cost to their families starting next August. This year, many children in this group lost out on tuition-free full-day classes because of a state funding shortfall. However,

if voters approve Prop II on Election Day, the state would get more than $23 million, which could help cover the extra full-day preschool costs next year.

“This rule would provide crucial support to Colorado’s most vulnerable populations,” said Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, in a press release that cited high-quality preschool as a tool against poverty.

Colorado’s $322 million universal preschool program launched in August and offers free half-day preschool to 4-year-olds statewide, with some eligible for full-day classes.

Some 3-year-olds also participate.

The proposed rule,

announced by the early childhood department, represents the state’s effort to fix a key problem that surfaced last summer during the new preschool program’s tumultuous rollout.

State officials originally planned to give full-day preschool to a wide swath of 4-year-olds. That group included children with any of five risk factors, including those from lowerincome families — defined as households with earnings up to 270% of the federal poverty level, or about $81,000 a year for a family of four. It also included English learners, children with special education plans, those in foster care, and those who are homeless.

But in July, just weeks before the

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first day of school, thousands of families were blindsided when they learned the state wouldn’t pay for full-day preschool as they’d expected. More families had applied for the program than state officials expected, triggering stricter eligibility requirements for full-day classes.

The longer days were thus offered to a much smaller group: children from families who met the income threshold and had a second risk factor. A group of school districts cited this 11th-hour shift among several grievances in their subsequent lawsuit against the state over universal preschool.

SEE RULE CHANGE, P21

21

November 9, 2023

RULE CHANGE FROM PAGE 20

The tighter eligibility rules meant many children with only a single risk factor, including many from very low-income families, were out of luck. In some cases, school districts decided to cover the cost of the extra hours. In others, parents scraped together the money to pay the difference, settled for the free half-day program, or dropped out altogether.

The proposed rule is designed to more carefully target children with the greatest needs, a population that research shows stands to benefit the most from quality preschool.

The rule creates a sixth risk factor — “living in poverty” — that includes any preschooler from a family living at or below the federal poverty level. These children will then automatically fall into the more expansive “low-income” risk factor group, which includes all low and some middle-income families. Together, the two risk factors will make children eligible for full-day classes.

Children play on the first day of school at Denver’s King Baptist Child Development Center, which is part of the state’s universal preschool program.

PHOTO BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT COLORADO

About 3,600 or 10% of Colorado’s 37,000 universal preschoolers are getting tuition-free fullday classes this year. That number could jump to about 6,600 next year under the proposed rule, according to state estimates.

With funding for universal preschool partly dependent on how much money the state’s nicotine tax brings in and how many children opt in, there’s still a chance the state could face a funding pinch in future years and limit the number of children who get full-day preschool at no cost to their families. However, the proposed rule would give children from the lowest-income families higher priority for full-day funding than they get now.

In addition, state forecasts on preschool participation and funding for next year indicate there’s enough money to serve the additional 3,000 4-year-olds expected to qualify for full-day classes.

State officials are collecting public comment on the proposed rule at least through Nov. 22, and expect to finalize it by the end of January.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

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November 9, 2023No

Raw milk debate takes on new energy Battle against pasteurization pasteurized boosted by ‘Food Freedom’ movement

BY JENNIFER BROWN THE COLORADO SUN

A blonde cow named Punky munches on a clump of deep-green alfalfa and orchard grass, her bottomless brown eyes fixed on the spot where her newborn calf is hidden in the tall weeds.

Farmer Doug Wiley will load the hours-old calf and his jersey-Brown Swiss cow into a trailer later today headed from the pasture to the milking barn. Punky has too much milk for the baby bull to drink on his own, though the cow will nurse her calf for the next few months. They’ll spend their days moving from pasture to pasture, chasing the thickest and greenest grasses.

From the peaceful farm east of Pueblo, where yellow sulphur butterflies hover above the fields and the cows seem like they’re living their best lives, comes perhaps the most controversial food product in Colorado: raw milk.

Selling raw milk, which is not pas-

teurized, or cooked, to kill any harmful bacteria, is illegal in this state. The only way to get it legally is to become one of the owners of a herd of cows or goats, because farmers are allowed to consume their own products.

Wiley, who wears a red cap that says “Make Milk Raw Again,” has about 250 shareholders, each of whom has signed a bill of sale to become part owner of his herd of 40 milk cows. The shareholders sign contracts specifying that Wiley will care for and milk the cows, and that the shareholders will pay a boarding fee of $57 per month. There is a waiting list, and no one can sign a bill of sale before touring Larga Vista Ranch and meeting the cows.

Each share comes with one gallon of raw milk per week, which shareholders must pick up by driving dirt roads through the sorghum and cornfields of Pueblo County, or meeting at the drop-off spots in Colorado Springs. In other words, they really want it.

About one-third of Wiley’s shareholders say they cannot digest pasteurized milk. Some are putting it in bottles for their babies. All go through the trouble of buying part of a cow herd because they believe raw milk is healthier, providing enzymes that they say helps digestion, and has a richer, sweeter taste.

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rado maintains that before milk is pasteurized, it’s a “living rich food” that contains colloidal minerals, vitamins A, C and B, and enzymes that aid in the digestion and absorption of the milk’s sugars and fats. “The alteration of foods and their nutrient content over the course of the last century has had long-term negative impact on the ability to maintain optimum human health and definitely worsens or initiates chemical and food sensitivities,” the association says.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of unpasteurized milk across state lines in 1987, aiming to protect consumers from sickening and potentially deadly outbreaks caused by E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter. The FDA maintains there are no health benefits to drinking raw milk and that it’s unsafe, especially for children and older people. But states are free to make their own laws.

Lately, the debate over raw milk is taking on new energy as part of the “food freedom” movement. The push for more farm-to-table food and less government interference has led Colorado policymakers in recent years to loosen restrictions on local, custom meat processing and pass the Cottage Foods Act, which lets people sell goods made in their own kitchens, no license or inspection required.

Still, Colorado’s rules on raw milk are stricter than in any of its eight surrounding states and most of the West.

In Wyoming, Oregon, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, farmers are allowed to sell raw milk directly to consumers, such as straight from the farm or at farmers markets. Retail milk sales are legal in Utah, Idaho, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California.

A farmer who operated dairies in Loveland and Chaffee County is credited with developing the herdshare concept to sell raw milk in Colorado. State law bans its sale, but doesn’t prevent farmers from eating or drinking their own products straight from the farm.

The arrangement was nearly banned in 2004, though, when regulators at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment who knew about the herd-share option announced they were consider-

ing a rule change. Raw milk farmers and shareholders protested by the dozens, and public health officials backed off. Then in 2005, the legislature passed a law stating that a “consumer with an ownership interest in the cow, goat or herd” can obtain raw milk.

When a 2010 outbreak linked to raw goat milk from Longmont sickened 30 people and hospitalized two children, state health department warnings about raw milk resurged and there were renewed calls for stricter policies, such as creating consequences for people who get milk through a herd share and then give it to others. But the herd-share rule remained intact.

Then this summer, the Colorado Libertarian Party offered to make a deal to help Republicans get elected if they would, among other promises, pledge to support raw milk.

The state Libertarian Party vowed it would not run in competitive legislative districts when the GOP candidate agrees to vote to cut taxes and “support food freedom, such as raw milk and local meat processing.”

State law requires raw goat and cow milk dairies that sell shares to register with the state health department, though they are not inspected.

They also must include a warning about the potential risks, and shareholders are not allowed to share their milk with others, though it’s unclear whether there are consequences for violating that part of the rule.

The Raw Milk Association of Colorado lists more than 230 farms that sell raw milk, including options for milk from sheep, yaks and camels.

Colorado, with its independent spirit, is likely to eventually see a coalescence of freedom-loving libertarians, Republicans supporting farmers’ rights, and Democrats in favor of nonprocessed food choices to rally around raw milk, said Dan Waldvogle, director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.

This doesn’t seem far off. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat with libertarian leanings, is already on board, telling The Sun this week that he hopes Colorado moves to “fully legalize the production and sale of raw milk, properly labeled, so that those who prefer it are able to legally obtain it with greater ease.”

SEE RAW MILK, P23

23

November 9, 2023

RAW MILK FROM PAGE 22

The governor said people should have the freedom to choose whether to drink raw milk, pasteurized milk or no milk. “Compared to many other choices that are fully legal, including fatty foods and excess alcohol, the risk of raw milk is low,” Polis said via email.

Waldvogle, with the farmers union, said he felt he was in a “back-alley drug deal type of situation” when he was part of a herd share and picked up his weekly raw milk in Salida, literally in an alley. “And God forbid if I was out of town that Friday,” he said, explaining why he dropped out.

“We were paying a premium and we weren’t drinking all the milk.

“Food safety should be paramount,” he said. But “our policy absolutely supports informed consumers being able to assess risk … putting consumers in the driver’s seat.”

“That was enough of an uphill battle to create the raw milk allowances that we even have now,” he said.

“You get one person in there that says the word ‘salmonella’ and gets everyone worked into a frenzy. But there has got to be a balance to make sure you are creating access.”

The food-freedom movement is even more evident in other states.

Iowa, where the legislature had waved off previous attempts to legalize raw milk, passed a law allowing direct sales from farmers to customers this year. Wyoming in 2015 passed the “Food Freedom Act,” allowing farmers to sell raw milk and other farm goods directly to customers and at farmers markets, though not in retail stores. The law was a step up from the herd-share model Wyoming raw dairy producers had been using.

This year, Wyoming lawmakers were debating mayonnaise, clarifying that “potentially hazardous” products, such as those that contain raw eggs, are included among the homemade goods that people can sell.

“Raw milk is a superfood and I really think people are realizing that again,” said Christine Hampshire, who has grown from one family milk cow at her Wyoming farm to milking 12 cows to meet demand. She sells the milk at a farmers market that’s open four days per week and includes goods from other producers.

Aron Lam, mayor of the Weld County town of Keenesburg and a libertarian, said it’s time that raw milk policies evolve, arguing that animals raised naturally on small farms are kept clean and treated like pets.

Besides, he said, people should have the right to eat what they want.

He ran as leader of the small plains town northeast of Denver along Interstate 76 on a “food freedom” platform. One of his first acts as mayor was to get the town council to repeal its prohibition on residents selling chicken eggs to their neighbors.

“There is risk versus benefit to everything in life,” he said. “If some people think the small risk of illness outweighs the health benefits, I don’t think it should be the government stepping in to say, ‘You can’t do this.’”

Lam pointed to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises against drinking raw milk, indicating about 3% of Americans regularly drink raw milk yet there are only a handful of outbreaks reported each year.

But the CDC says that as more states have allowed raw milk sales, outbreaks are increasing. Places where raw milk was legally sold had 3.2 times more outbreaks compared with areas where it was illegal, according to one study that spanned 1998-2018. In the six years from 2007-12, 26 states reported 81 outbreaks linked to raw milk, resulting in 979 illnesses.

Colorado has had 14 outbreaks linked to raw milk since 1989, according to data from the state Department of Public Health and Environment. Those outbreaks sickened 247 people, and included a 2016 outbreak at Wiley’s Larga Vista Ranch in Pueblo County that resulted in 17 people falling ill.

Wiley, his face shaded by a widebrimmed straw hat as he walks through the cow pasture in rubber boots, says he knows what happened to cause the foodborne illness that health officials traced back to his farm nine years ago. He had been in the hen house just before milking his cows and must have carried some campylobacter bacteria on his hands.

Since then, there has been a strict policy on the ranch that no one milks a cow without first scrubbing up.

He lost a couple of shareholders because of the outbreak, but also got calls from people who wanted to sign up when they heard there was raw milk for sale in Pueblo County.

People who get food poisoning from campylobacter typically have diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.

In the milk barn, four cows line up at a time in an operation that looks about as far from a mass commercial dairy as exists.

Each cow has their udder washed with an iodine solution before they’re attached to a milking machine. The milk is carried down a tube through the wall and into a room where cows aren’t allowed.

There, it’s stored in a stainless steel tank at 37 degrees. Later, Wiley and his two workers transfer the milk to half-gallon glass or plastic jugs that line the shelves of a refrigerator until pickup or delivery day.

The milk has a yellowish tint, not white like the pasteurized, storebought kind, and it’s sweeter, though Wiley says he can taste a difference in the flavor depending on what grasses his cows are eating. As the milk jugs sit, the cream rises, creating a thick layer at the top. It’s best to shake it before pouring, unless someone is trying to hog the creamiest part for themselves.

“Most of the little children that come and sign up and try the milk say it’s like drinking a milkshake,” he said. “The last time I tried to drink store-bought milk it was like, oh ugh, no wonder people are coming to me.”

Wiley, the youngest of five brothers who grew up on the dairy farm, drinks a half-gallon every day. After he eats in a restaurant, he drinks a

tall glass of milk at home because he says it helps him digest. “Skim milk,” he said, “is a disaster that should never have been put on the population.”

Before Wiley began selling raw milk shares about two decades ago, customers were driving from Pueblo County to as far away as Loveland to get raw milk.

Wiley’s parents operated a commercial dairy for decades, but had to sell off their cows, equipment and part of their land in the farm bust of the early 1990s. He studied agronomy at Colorado State University and returned to the farm, where he began working the land that his family has farmed for 100 years. He grows vegetables organically, without pesticides, and typically plants onions, beets, sweet corn and melons. He raises grass-fed beef and pastureraised pork. His animals don’t receive antibiotics or vaccines. The cows eat only grass and a molasses supplement, no grain.

“Nutrition isn’t necessarily a starting point in discussions of farming and agriculture and it needs to be,” Wiley said. “If we started there, then raw milk would be part of the conversation. It all starts with nutrition.

You just don’t one day quit vaccinating. You have to have good minerals in the soil.”

Wiley’s goal is raising the most nutritious food possible while properly caring for the land.

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Solution

TRIVIA 1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the secondlargest country in South America?

2. COMICS: What is Dennis the Menace’s last name?

3. SCIENCE: Who established the universal laws of motion in the 17th century?

4. MOVIES: What is the name of Marlon Brando’s character in “A Streetcar Named Desire”?

5. FOOD & DRINK: What is The Dude’s favorite beverage in “The Big Lebowski”?

6. TELEVISION: Which long-running TV comedy features a character named Diane Chambers?

7. AD SLOGANS: What item did this ad slogan say you should not leave home without?

8. LANGUAGE: What is chiaroscuro?

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10. ASTRONOMY: Which planet in our solar system is covered in sulphuric acid clouds?

Answers 1. Argentina.

2. Mitchell.

3. Isaac Newton.

4. Stanley Kowalski.

5. White Russian.

6. “Cheers.”

7. The American Express card.

8. Distribution of light and dark in drawing and painting.

9. The Dakota apartment building.

10. Venus. (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Crossword Solution

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PUBLIC NOTICES

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Public Notices call 303-566-4123 Legals City of Brighton Public Notice NOTICE OF BUDGET NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO THE RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON THAT THE BRIGHTON CITY COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER AN AMENDMENT TO THE 2023 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF BRIGHTON AT A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON CITY COUNCIL ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2023 AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE CITY HALL BUILDING, 500 SOUTH 4TH AVENUE, BRIGHTON, COLORADO. THE AMENDMENT TO THE 2023 BUDGET OF THE CITY OF BRIGHTON IS ON FILE IN THE CITY OF BRIGHTON CITY CLERK’S OFFICE AT THE CITY HALL BUILDING. ANY INTERESTED CITIZEN MAY INSPECT THE AMENDMENT DURING NORMAL OFFICE HOURS OF 8:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M., MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. IT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE CITY’S WEBSITE WWW.BRIGHTONCO.GOV. ANY CITIZEN MAY APPEAR AT THE PUBLIC MEETING AND WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON SAID BUDGET AMENDMENT IF THEY SO DESIRE. ANY CITIZEN MAY FILE ANY WRITTEN OBJECTIONS TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET AMENDMENT AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE FINAL ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT. BY: KAYLA BARBER-PERROTTA BUDGET AND PERFORMANCE MANAGER CITY OF BRIGHTON Legal Notice No. BSB2805 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Metro Districts Budget Hearings Public Notice NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED BUDGET NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a proposed budget has been submitted to the North KiowaBijou Groundwater Management District for the ensuing year of 2024. A copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the office of the North Kiowa-Bijou Groundwater Management District, c/o Andrew F. McClary, Attorney at Law, 507 Warner Street, Fort Morgan, Colorado, where the same is open for public inspection. Such proposed budget will be considered at a meeting of the North Kiowa-Bijou Groundwater Management District to be held at the Law Office of McClary, P.C., 507 Warner Street, Fort Morgan, Colorado, on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at the hour of 10:00 a.m.

Any taxpayer within the North Kiowa Bijou Groundwater Management District may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the budget, file or register his objections thereto.

NORTH KIOWA-BIJOU GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT Glen Frihauf Secretary

Legal Notice No. BSB2812 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET AND 2023 BUDGET AMENDMENT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the proposed budgets for the ensuing year of 2024 have been submitted to the Eagle Shadow Metropolitan District No. 1 and Todd Creek Village Park and Recreation District (“Districts”), Adams County, Colorado. Such proposed budgets will be considered at a meeting and public hearing of the Boards of Directors of the Districts to be held on November 21, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. at Fire Station 55, 15959 Havana Street, Brighton, CO. NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that amendments to the 2023 budgets of the Districts may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the Districts. Copies of the proposed 2024 budgets and the amended 2023 budgets, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of Simmons & Wheeler, P.C., 304 Inverness Way South, Suite 490, Englewood, CO 80112. Any interested elector within the Districts may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2024 budgets and the amended 2023 budgets, if required, file or register any objections thereto.

ference on November 14, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., to consider adoption of the Districts’ proposed 2024 budgets (the “Proposed Budgets”), and, if necessary, adoption of an amendment to the 2023 budgets (the “Amended Budgets”). This public hearing may be joined using the following teleconference information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88644051453?pwd= 1zH4XRxf18mtBowVAZi98PAmaVnI4m.1 Meeting ID: 886 4405 1453 Passcode: 497288 Call: 720 707 2699 The Proposed Budgets and Amended Budgets are available for inspection by the public at the offices of CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.

Any interested elector of the Districts may file any objections to the Proposed Budgets and Amended Budgets at any time prior to the final adoption of the Proposed Budgets or the Amended Budgets by the Boards.

The agenda for any meeting may be obtained at brightonridgemetrodistricts.org or by calling (303) 858-1800.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS: BRIGHTON RIDGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1 & 2, quasi-municipal corporations and political subdivisions of the State of Colorado

EAGLE SHADOW METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1 & TODD CREEK VILLAGE PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT

/s/ WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law

By: /s/ Spencer Fane LLP, Counsel for the Districts

Legal Notice No. BSB2813 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Legal Notice No. BSB2804 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED BUDGET Notice is hereby given that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Hi-Land Acres Water and Sanitation District for the year 2024. That a copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the office of the District located at 15940 Elmira St., Brighton, Colorado, 80602 where same is open for public inspection. That such proposed budget will be considered at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Hi-Land Acres Water and Sanitation District, 15940 Elmira St., Brighton, CO, 80602 on Thursday, December 23, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Any taxpayer within such Hi-Land Acres Water and Sanitation District may at any time prior to the final adoption of the proposed budget file or register his objections thereto.

Hi-Land Acres Water and Sanitation District Susan Findling, Treasurer Legal Notice No. BSB2801 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED 2024 BUDGETS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE AMENDED 2023 BUDGETS The Boards of Directors (collectively the “Boards”) of the BRIGHTON RIDGE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1 & 2 (collectively the “Districts”), will hold a public hearing via telecon-

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION

Case Number: 2023CV031190 Attorneys for Plaintiff: THE DUPONT LAW FIRM, LLC Stephane R. Dupont, #39425 Address: PO Box 1073, Castle Rock, CO 80104 Phone Number: (720) 644-6115 Email: sdupont@dupontlawco.com SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): Christopher M. Kaspari 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 within 35 days after the service of this Summons upon you. Service of the 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 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.

THE DUPONT LAW FIRM, LLC

In the Interests of: Alan Reinhardt mralanreinhardt@gmail.com Case Number: 2023C 917 Division 1

NOTICE OF INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this matter has been set for An Initial Status Conference on December 19, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. The Initial Status Conference will take place via telephone.

All parties must attend.

Attorney for Petitioner: (720) 452-2540 Petitioner: (720) 296-0428 Respondent: Unknown Respectfully Submitted this 30th day of October, 2023.

BY: JOHNSON LAW GROUP, LLC /s/ Anne E. Hinds Anne E. Hinds, Esq. Attorney for Petitioner CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 30th day of October, 2023, a true and accurate copy of the foregoing NOTICE OF INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE was served upon the other party via Notice by Publication as follows: /s/ Megan Ramig Megan Ramig, Paralegal Legal Notice No. BSB2807 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: December 7, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice BEFORE THE COLORADO ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT COMMISSION NOTICE AND APPLICATION FOR HEARING DOCKET NO. 231000330 TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES AND TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This Summons is issued pursuant to Rule 4(h), Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure

Pursuant to Rule 523.d, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission Staff has applied to the Commission for an Order Finding Violation against Providence Operating, LLC DBA POCO Operating (Operator No. 10694), to adjudicate allegations in Notice of Alleged Violation No. 403493275.

Lot 34, Block 8, Deer Run Planned Unit Development, County of Adams, State of Colorado.

To: Raylord Haddy and Ginna Resun Last Known Address, if any: 14195 E Montview Blvd, apt 11, Aurora, CO 80011 A money case hearing for unpaid and owed rent will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued:

Attorney for Petitioner: Anne E. Hinds, Esq. #57202 Johnson Law Group, LLC 385 Inverness Parkway, Suite 270 Englewood, CO 80112 Phone Number: 720.452.2540 Fax Number: 720.500.6087 Anne@johnsonlgroup.com

By: *s/ Stephane R. Dupont Stephane R. Dupont

Exhibit A

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

Public Notice

Defendant: CHRISTOPHER M. KASPARI

Dated: October 11, 2023

Adams District Court County, Colorado Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Dr, Brighton CO 80601

Legal Notice No. BSB2806 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Plaintiff: DEER RUN HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Colorado non-profit corporation,

This is an action requesting the appointment of a receiver to collect the Plaintiff’s assessment lien in and to real property situated in Adams County, Colorado, more particularly described on Exhibit A, attached hereto and by this reference made a part hereof.

Misc. Private Legals

Date: 11/13/23, Time: 0830, Courtroom or Division: 1 Address: 1100 Judicial Center Dr, Brighton CO 80601

DISTRICT COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Drive Brighton, CO 80601

Also known as: 12608 Forest Drive, Thornton, CO 80241 Legal Notice No. BSB2771 First Publication: October 26, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice DISTRICT COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO 1100 Judicial Center Drive Brighton, CO 80601 In re the Parental Responsibilities Concerning: Petitioner: LUCAS W. MOORE and Respondent: JENETTE ALISON MORGAN Case Number: 2019DR1997 Division: B

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to: 1) the general jurisdiction of the Energy and Carbon Management Commission of the State of Colorado under § 34-60-105, C.R.S.; 2) specific powers granted pursuant to § 34-60-106, C.R.S.; 3) the Colorado Administrative Procedures Act at § 24-4-105, C.R.S.; and 4) the Commission’s Series 500 Rules at 2 C.C.R. 404-1, that the Commission has scheduled this matter for hearing before an ECMC Hearing Officer at the following date, time, and location (subject to change): Date: January 24, 2024 Time: 9:00 a.m.

Place: Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 Denver, CO 80203 The Notice and documents related to this matter

Brighton Standard Blade/Fort Lupton Press November 9, 2023 * 1

30

November 9, 2023No

Public Notices

can be found on our “Hearing eFiling System Document Search” page here https://oitco. hylandcloud.com/DNRCOGPublicAccess/index. html. Select “Search for Docket Related Documents” from the pull-down menu, use the above “Docket Number”, and select “Search”.

Legal Notice No. BSB2802 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice DISTRICT COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Drive Brighton, CO 80601 Plaintiff: STAR POINT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., a Colorado non-profit corporation; Defendants: JASON JOZEFKOWICZ; CHERRY CREEK MORTGAGE LLC; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.; COLORADO HOUSING AND FINANCE AUTHORITY LLC; ADAMS COUNTY TREASURER; UNKNOWN TENANT(S) IN POSSESSION. Case Number: 2023CV031376 Div.: Ctrm.: Attorneys for Plaintiff: THE DUPONT LAW FIRM, LLC Stephane R. Dupont, #39425 Address: PO Box 1073, Castle Rock, CO 80104 Phone Number: (720) 644-6115 SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): Jason Joze fk ow icz 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 within 35 days after the service of this Summons upon you. Service of the 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 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 for judicial foreclosure of an association assessment lien pursuant to C.R.S. 38-33.3-316, in and to real property situated in Adams County, Colorado, more particularly described on Exhibit A, attached hereto and by this reference made a part hereof.

Dated: October 19, 2023 THE DUPONT LAW FIRM, LLC By: * s/ Stephane R. Dupont Stephane R. Dupont This Summons is issued pursuant to Rule 4(h), Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure Exhibit A Condominium Unit 2 1 3 in Condominium Building 2 Star Point Condominiums, according to the Condominium M ap thereof recorded August 2 9 , 1 9 83 in PUD F ile 5 36 at Reception N o. 845 7 334 and Supplement recorded O ctober 1 9 , 1 9 83 at Reception N o. 846 7 1 44 in the Records of the Clerk and Recorder of the County of Adams, Colorado, and as defined and described in the Condominium Declaration for Star Point Condominiums recorded August 2 9 , 1 9 83 in Book 2 7 84 at Page 1 7 4, County of Adams, State of Colorado.

Also known as: 8701 Huron Street, #2-213, Thornton, CO 80221 Legal Notice No. BSB2785 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 30, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Storage Liens/Vehicle Titles Public Notice Abandoned vehicle sale Tri-County Auto Recovery LLC 720 298 7466 1998 Toyota 4 Runner 138345 1999 Honda crv. 049516 2000 let’ s go Aero trailer 245036 2000 Subaru Outback 609353 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante 001786 2004 Chevrolet Impala 143782 2006 Jeep Grand Cherok ee 342129 2007 Chrysler Sebring 530856 2009 Chevrolet Aveo 669630 2010 Hyundai Genesis 027839 2011 Dodge Journey 513611 2019 Chevrolet Spark 809364 Legal Notice No. BSB2808 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Notice to Creditors PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of MATTHEW NORMAN Z RUBEK a/k /a M. NORMAN Z RUBEK a/k /a NORMAN Z RUBEK a/k /a NORM Z RUBEK a/k /a MATTHEW N. Z RUBEK a/k /a MATTHEW Z RUBEK a/k /a MATT Z RUBEK , Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30793 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Kurt A Z rubek Personal Representative C/O Joyner & Few son, P.C. 3100 Arapahoe Ave., Ste. 410 Boulder, CO 80303 Legal Notice No. BSB2796 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of FLORENCE DELORES EWING, aka FLORENCE D. EWING, aka FLORENCE EWING, aka FLORENCE DELORIS EWING, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30774

Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of William E. Shields, ak a William Shields, ak a Will E. Shields, ak a Will Shields, ak a Bill E. Shields, ak a Bill Shields, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30778 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 9, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Joan P. Shields Personal Representative 4 Gresser Ave Linden NJ 07036 Legal Notice No. BSB2811 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Mark Raymond Stuck ert, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 389 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 9, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Sandra K Stuck ert Personal Representative PO Box 981 Fairplay, CO 80440 Legal Notice No. BSB2810 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of BARBARA JEAN VALLE ak a BARBARA J. VALLE ak a BARBARA VALLE, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30762 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 9, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before February 26, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Kimberly Ilene Giesler Personal Representative 3835 County Rd. 82 Elmore OH 43416 and Kevin Dale Smith Personal Representative 43216 Harvard Pl Bennett CO 80102

Bruce L. Ewing Personal Representative 643 S 5th Ave Brighton, CO 80601

Legal Notice No. BSB2809 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Legal Notice No. BSB2769 First Publication: October 26, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of JUDITH MARY KLEINSCHNITZ , a/k /a JUDITH M. KLEINSCHNITZ , a/k /a JUDITH KLEINSCHNITZ , Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30812 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before February 26, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Charles E. Longtine 9035 Wadsw orth Park w ay, Suite 2500 Westminster, CO 80021 Legal Notice No. BSB2768 First Publication: October 26, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Candice Thornam, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 279 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 9, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Joseph Thornam Personal Representative 3513 Raintree Lane Dacono, CO 80514 Legal Notice No. BSB2803 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of KAREN JOANNE FARREY, ak a KAREN J. FARREY,

ak a KAREN FARREY, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30813 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before February 26, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Michael A. Farrey Personal Representative c/o Bak er Law Group, LLC 8301 E. Prentice Ave, Suite 405 Greenw ood Village, CO 80111 Legal Notice No. BSB2778 First Publication: October 26, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of KAYLEB LEE KITE, ak a KAYLEB L. KITE, ak a KAYLEB KITE, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30831 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Kenneth Kite and Melissa Barger Co-Personal Representatives c/o Bak er Law Group, LLC 8301 E. Prentice Ave, # 405 Greenw ood Village, CO 80111 Legal Notice No. BSB2790 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of DAVID CHARLES ANDERSON a/k /a DAVID C. ANDERSON a/k /a DAVID ANDERSON , Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30668 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Melissa Anderson Personal Representative c/o Miller & Law , P.C., 1900 W. Littleton Blvd.

Littleton Colorado 80120 Legal Notice No. BSB2784 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of MICHAEL SCOTT STOROZ UM, also k now n as MICHAEL S. STOROZ UM, also k now n as MICHAEL STOROZ UM, Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30811 All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado on or before March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

Eliza beth Hamid Personal Representative 11036 Oak land Drive Henderson, CO 80640 Legal Notice No. BSB2793 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade

Children Services (Adoption/Guardian/Other) Public Notice District Court

Adams County, Colorado Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Dr Brighton, CO 80601 In the Interest of: Maria Chavez Solis Case Number: 2023PR30742 Division: T1 Courtroom Attorney or Party Without Attorney (Name and Address): Jennaweh Hondrogiannis, Esq. 10701 Melody Dr., Suite 565 Northglenn, CO 80234 Phone Number: 303-222-1130 E-mail: jennaweh@somosimmigration.com Attv. Reg.#: 45094 NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION PURSUANT TO§ 15-10-401, C.R.S. To: Julio Cesar Chavez Padilla, Maria de Jesus Solis Gamboa A hearing on November 16 2023 at 10:00am, Petition for Appojntment of Guardian for Minor will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued: Date: November 16, 2023 Time: 10:00am Courtroom or Division: T1 Address: Webex with Magistrate Price The hearing will take approximately 1 hour.

Legal Notice No. BSB2789 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 30, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade Public Notice District Court Adams County, Colorado Court Address: 1100 Judicial Center Dr. Brighton, CO 80601 In the Interest of: Fernando Chavez Solis Case Number: 2023PR30741 Division: T1 Courtroom Attorney or Party Without Attorney (Name and Address): Jennaweh Hondrogiannis, Esq. 10701 Melody Dr., Suite 565 Northglenn, CO 0 Phone Number: 303-222-1130 E-mail: jennaweh@somosimmigration.com Attv. Reg. #: 45094 NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION PURSUANT TO§ 15-10-401, C.R.S. To: Julio Cesar Chavez Padilla. Maria de Jesus Solis Gamboa A hearing on November 16, 2023 at 10:00 am.

Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Minor will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued: Date: November 16, 2023 Time: 10:00am Courtroom or Division: T1 Address: Webex with Magistrate Price The hearing will take approximately 1 hour Legal Notice No. BSB2788 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 30, 2023 Publisher: Brighton Standard Blade ###

“Trust Us!” Without public notices, the government wouldn’t have to say anything else.

Public notices are a community’s window into the government. From zoning regulations to local budgets, governments have used local newspapers to inform citizens of its actions as an essential part of your right to know. You know where to look, when to look and what to look for to be involved as a citizen. Local newspapers provide you with the information you need to get involved.

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Brighton Standard Blade/Fort Lupton Press November 9, 2023 * 2

31

November 9, 2023

RAW MILK FROM PAGE 23

He doesn’t till the fields with a tractor, but instead rotates his cows and pigs from plot to plot by using a pig-tailed post to lift the wire of an electric fence and move its borders. The cows eat the ryegrass, alfalfa and orchard grass, leaving behind the thistle. Then the pigs come along, rooting up the ground and eating the thistle roots.

The soil, Wiley says, is dense with nutrients and minerals from decades of proper management. This summer, when there was abundant rain, the grass grew lush and multiple varieties of crickets moved in to sing like a chorus. The grasshoppers are gigantic.

The dozen animals in the pasture with Punky and her new calf, including Essie and Scarlett, are

almost all either nursing or pregnant. A few acres away, young heifers and bulls are in their own square of land, where they breed naturally.

“The trick to making that most nutritious food is covering up the soil,” he said. “We’ve had these 100-degree days and the soil is protected. The beauty of pasture is complex and diverse, and weeds are part of it.”

Mary McGonigle-Martin doesn’t care how idyllic the farm is or how pretty the cows are. “They lie in manure,” she said. “This movement makes it sound like if you just raise the cow as God intended, then your milk is safe.”

The California mom became a food safety advocate 17 years ago, after her then 7-year-old son ended up in the hospital for two months with hemolytic uremic syndrome that threatened to destroy his kidney function. The boy was sick-

Public Notices Legals Metro Districts Budget Hearings Public Notice NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET AND AMENDMENT OF 2023 BUDGET BROMLEY PARK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2 WELD AND ADAMS COUNTIES, COLORADO NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Sections 29-1-108 and 109, C.R.S., that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Board of Directors of the Bromley Park Metropolitan District No. 2 (the “District”) for the ensuing year of 2024. The necessity may also arise for the amendment of the 2023 budget of the District.

Copies of the proposed 2024 budget and 2023 amended budget if appropriate) are on file in the office of the District’s Accountant, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 8390 E. Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111, where same are available for public inspection.

Such proposed 2024 budget and 2023 amended budget will be considered at a regular meeting to be held on November 27, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. via Teams video/teleconference. Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the 2024 budget or the 2023 amended budget, inspect the 2024 budget and the 2023 amended budget and file or register any objections thereto.

BROMLEY PARK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2 /s/ MaryAnn M. McGeady Attorneys for the District You can attend the meetings in any of the follow ing w ays: 1. To attend via Teams Videoconference, e-mail Cindy.Jenk ins@claconnect.com to

ened by E. coli after drinking raw cow’s milk that McGonigle-Martin had purchased at a grocery store near her home in Murrieta, Calif., hoping that maybe it would help with his attention deficit disorder.

Two and a half weeks after buying the milk, McGonigle-Martin’s son got severe diarrhea and was rushed to the hospital.

McGonigle-Martin, who is on the board of the Chicago-based national organization STOP Foodborne Illness, said public health officials are losing ground on protecting the public from raw milk.

She has testified before policymakers across the country, including multiple times in Iowa, and watched as national raw milk advocacy groups, including the Weston A. Price Foundation, have built support in various states for food-freedom policies.

On top of that, TikTok and Instagram, where influencers are tout-

ing the health benefits of raw milk, are not helping, she said.

“On social media they make it sound so good that I think that is outweighing the public health message,” she said. “It’s just people saying, ‘I’m drinking raw milk. It’s great! It’s healing my body! You should drink raw milk.’”

Promoters have spread “propaganda” that pasteurized milk is a processed food, McGonigle-Martin said. “We’re in a time where you don’t want to eat processed food. I am all for eating healthy and a lot less processed foods, but people have to understand that milk is an entirely different medium.”

She puts milk in the same category as meat — it requires cooking to kill the pathogens.

“People could do it safely for five, six, seven years and not have a serious illness happen, and then one day, it happens,” she said. “I think that’s the hard part.”

Fort Lupton Press

obtain a link to the videoconference.

2. To attend via telephone, dial 1-720-5475281 and enter the follow ing additional information: a. Phone Conference ID: 156 120 214# Legal Notice No. FLP949 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Fort Lupton Press Public Notice FIRELIGHT IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT COMMERCIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT RESIDENTIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, WHIISPERING WATERS IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, AND WHIISPERING WATERS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-6 NOTICE CONCERNING 2023 BUDGET AMENDMENT AND PROPOSED 2024 BUDGET

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Boards of Directors (the “Boards”) of the FIRELIGHT IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT COMMERCIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT RESIDENTIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, WHIISPERING WATERS IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, AND WHIISPERING WATERS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-6 (the “Districts”), the meetings will be held on Monday, November 13, 2023, at 9:30 A.M. via Zoom for the purpose of conducting such business as may come before the Boards including a public hearing on the 2024 proposed Budgets (the “Proposed Budgets”). The necessity may also arise for an Amendment to the 2023 Budgets (the “Amended Budgets”). This meeting can be joined using the following information: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84946141386?pwd= S3hkZ2Fram1NcFBkMXdJNHlrcVg5Zz09 Phone Number: (720) 707-2699 Meeting ID: 849 4614 1386 Passcode: 218551 NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Proposed Budgets and Amended Budgets (if applicable) have been submitted to the Districts. A copy of the Proposed Budgets and Amended Budgets are on file at the District’s office, 405 rban Street,

Suite 310, Lakewood, Colorado, where the same are open for public inspection.

Any interested elector of the Districts may file any objections to the Proposed Budgets and Amended Budgets at any time prior to final adoption of the Proposed Budgets or the Amended Budgets by the Boards.

FIRELIGHT IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT COMMERCIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, FIRELIGHT RESIDENTIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, WHIISPERING WATERS IRRIGATION METROPOLITAN DISTRICT, AND WHIISPERING WATERS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-6 By /s/ AJ Beckman District Manager

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS tat tt ff a a tt ff a Case Number: 2023 PR 112 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 March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred. i ll ff Personal Representative 10251 Falcon St Firestone, CO 80504

Legal Notice No. FLP963 First Publication: November 9, 2023 Last Publication: November 9, 2023 Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Legal Notice No. FLP962 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Misc. Private Legals

Please Recycle this Publication when Finished

PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Notice TO: MICHAEL REWERTS: You are notified that you have 10 days after publication for this notice of levy to file your claim of exemption with the District Court of WELD, Weld County District Court, Civil Div. 915 10th St. P.O. Drawer 2038 Greeley, CO 80632-2038, in Case 2022CV030330 entitled: BERRY COMPANIES, INC., d/b/a BOBCAT OF THE ROCKIES, LLC, d/b/a BOBCAT OF THE ROCKIES vs. MICHAEL REWERTS, a/k/a MICHAEL ALLEN REWERTS, a/k/a MICHAEL A. REWERTS, a/k/a MIKE ALLEN REWERTS, a/k/a MIKE A. REWERTS, a/k/a MIKE REWERTS, a/k/a MICHAL ALLEN REWERTS, a/k/a MICHAL A. REWERTS, a/k/a MICHAL REWERTS, Individually, $ 2,408.95 garnished at First National Bank of Omaha, 915 S. Hover, Longmont, CO 80501.

Legal Notice No. FLP926 First Publication: October 26, 2023 Last Publication: November 23, 2023 Publisher: Fort Lupton Press

Notice to Creditors

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Henry George Platter (a.k .a. Henry G. Platter), Deceased Case Number: 2023 PR 30599 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 March 2, 2024, or the claims may be forever barred.

LEONA HAUSCHILD, Esq .

Attorney for Personal Representative 1801 California Street, Suite 2400 Denver, CO 80202 Legal Notice No. FLP960 First Publication: November 2, 2023 Last Publication: November 16, 2023 Publisher: Fort Lupton Press ###

For Local News Anytime of the Day Visit OurColoradoNews.com

Brighton Standard Blade/Fort Lupton Press November 9, 2023 * 3

32

LOCAL

November 9, 2023No

SPORTS Rifle brings Fort Lupton’s season to a close

BY STEVE SMITH SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

RIFLE – Rifle High School ended Fort Lupton’s boys soccer season Oct. 31 by way of a 2-0 win in the second round of the state 3A playoffs.

The win sends the Bears into the quarterfinals at Peak to Peak Charter School Nov. 4.

Adrian Valencia scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 35th minute of play. Eduardo Espino added an insurance goal by way of a penalty kick in the 60th minute.

Fort Lupton High School

No stats were available for Fort Lupton.

Senior Diego De La Fuente led Fort Lupton in scoring this season with 31 goals. Carlos Limones was next with 15. Goalkeeper Dominik Martinez finished his high-school with a goals-against average of 1.03.

Coach Kyle Reddy, who finished his fourth season in charge of the Bluedevils’ squad, has taken his team to the playoffs all four years.

The Bluedevils (11-2-4 this season) made it to the second round of the state tournament the past three seasons. His teams are 42-15-4.

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