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Week of April 28, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
SouthPlatteIndependent.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
VOLUME 77 | ISSUE 25
Sheridan forum shares struggles, solutions of homelessness Network of schools, police, nonprofits discuss challenges BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Alida Romero didn’t know what benefits exist for those experiencing homelessness
when she fled her home country of Venezuela and came to the U.S. as a refugee. Romero, who had taught at a university in her home country, was struggling to
find housing and only qualified for low-paying cleaning jobs. “To come with the trauma of persecution, I felt terrorized,” she said. “The door was shut on me.” Romero spoke about her lived experience with homelessness during an April 20 forum at the Sheridan
Municipal Center, which featured a line-up of speakers who shared the struggles, and solutions, to the unhoused crisis in the area. The event was sponsored by a network of nonprofits, including Change the Trend and the South Metro Community Foundation, which put on similar forums in
Therapy dog joins the force at Littleton schools Zeke sworn in by Arapahoe sheriff BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Zeke, a 5-month-old black Labrador, will be joining Littleton Public Schools as a therapy dog after being sworn in by Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown April 19. Zeke joins his older brother, Rex, who has been a therapy dog for the district since he was sworn in May of last year. Zeke will be accompanied by his handler, Deputy Travis Jones, a school resource officer at Newton Middle School in Centennial, as part of a program that Brown said will “make sure that we are supporting students and community members in the best way possible.” “And this again is just another resource that we have,” Brown said. Zeke will undergo months of onthe-job training with Jones, including a class through the American Kennel Club, before he is officially certified as a therapy dog. But from the moment he steps on school grounds, he’ll serve as an active resource for schoolchildren. Jones said he was inspired to SEE DOG, P6
PRSRT - STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LITTLETON, CO PERMIT #70 EDDM POSTAL PATRON
Englewood and Littleton last year. Mike Sandgren, who leads Change the Trend and has been active with the TriCities Homelessness Policy Group, made up of leaders in the cities of Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan, said SEE HOMELESS, P10
Community celebrates Earth Day with cleanup of Centennial Park Annual event sponsored by South Platte Renew BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown, left, and school resource officer Travis Jones PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN during Zeke’s swearing-in ceremony.
In observance of Earth Day, community members from Englewood, Littleton and beyond joined together April 23 to clean up trash and debris in Centennial Park and its lake. The event, sponsored by South Platte Renew, Colorado’s thirdlargest water treatment plant, saw over 100 people register, according to South Platte Renew spokesperson Erin Bartlet. The treatment plant, located in Englewood and run by the cities of Englewood and Littleton, set a goal of filling 250 bags worth of trash. “Our public space, and the South Platte River especially, is a really important natural resource for the SEE RIVER, P11
FAR FROM DELICATE
Orchids are not so fussy after all
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