Littleton Independent 040722

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Week of April 7, 2022

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LittletonIndependent.net

VOLUME 133 | ISSUE 37

How Littleton’s Bemis Library became a resource for the unhoused Nixing of sleeping ban, emphasis on training create safe space BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When Mark Raburn goes to Bemis Library in Littleton, he likes to read history books. “I’ve studied war stories since I was like 6-years-old, that’s how I learned to read,” Raburn said. Raburn, 56, has been homeless ever since he was evicted from his apartment near the University of Denver during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no job and short on cash, Raburn relies on places like Bemis to stay warm, brush his teeth and take his mind off the world. “The library staff is better at Bemis, they actually let you sleep,” said Raburn, who drifts between Littleton and Englewood. “Englewood will run you out if your eyes even just close.” SEE HOMELESS, P10

Fireworks incidents have plagued area, residents seek solutions BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

to say about an alleged $50 million fee Tri-County Health and the counties may owe to another government body if counties continue to pull out. At issue is a payment that the health agency may eventually owe to the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA, which provides retirement and other benefits to employees of government agencies and public entities in Colorado.

First, there came a loud “BANG,” then Dawn McGonagle saw the flames just feet from her home. “I looked out the door, and then I grabbed the phone,” McGonagle said. With firefighters on their way, several neighbors ran outside to fight the fire with a hose, an extinguisher and their feet, stomping and dousing the flames as fast as they could. The grass fire at Jackass Hill Park in Littleton on March 24 burned for just minutes, with the flames igniting around 9:40 p.m. and out by about 10 p.m. according to South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Eric Hurst. But for some neighbors that night, the situation could have easily spiraled into disaster. “I was terrified, absolutely terrified,” McGonagle said, with the nearby flames evoking scenes from the devastating Marshall Fire in Boulder County that burned more than 1,000 homes in late December. “You start thinking ‘what do I need to take?’” McGonagle said. “That went through my mind, because you never know.”

SEE TRI-COUNTY, P8

SEE FIRE, P9

Bemis Library in Littleton has become a safe space and resource for those who are PHOTOS BY ROBERT TANN homeless in the area.

Lawsuit looms over cost of Tri-County Health breakup Court case for $50 million highlights Douglas County agreement BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Out of all the political controversy the coronavirus has caused in Colorado, the pullout of Douglas County from the Tri-County Health Department — and the domino effect it had on Adams and Arapahoe counties — may

‘I was terrified’: Neighbors recall fire just feet from their homes at Jackass Hill Park

be the action that ends up having the biggest consequences on some metro Denver governments. The costs of Arapahoe and Adams counties pulling away from Tri-County Health could be in the millions. And the situation could get a whole lot more expensive — possibly for all three counties — depending on what a court has

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 26

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