Citizen Centennial 6-14-13
Centennial
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 30
June 14, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcentennialnews.com
City says sheriff’s services a bargain Six-month study sees big savings on police calls By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Clare Mahoney tucks her head as low as she can in order to reduce drag as she makes her way down the track at Seventh Annual Sertoma Mile High Soap Box Derby on June 9 at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
Racers definitely
on a roll Photos by Deborah GriGsby
With wind pushing and gravity pulling, local youths tested their racing skills at the 2013 Sertoma Mile High Soap Box Derby, held June 7-9 at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. The derby is a racing program for boys and girls ages 8 to 17, challenging them to build their own gravitypowered car, suitable to compete in four different divisions. This is the first year the derby has been held at the fairgrounds, and many who attended, as well as raced, welcomed the wide-open space and less traffic.
Review continues on Page 11
Sara Stander, foreground, and A.J. Sippers are neck-and-neck as they race toward the finish line at the Seventh Annual Sertoma Mile High Soap Box Derby on June 9.
U.N. chief discusses world situation in visit South Metro Chamber served as co-sponsor of Denver event
Slain mother spoke of death Victim may have suffered from bipolar disorder By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com Ever the local advocate, John Brackney, president of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, talked up the metro area to none other than Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, during a luncheon at the Oxford Hotel in Denver on June 7. Ban was in town to speak at the University of Denver commencement ceremony, but first he attended The Denver Forum’s luncheon at the invitation of Colorado’s former U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth, who now sits on the U.N. Foundation’s board. Wirth described Ban’s job as perhaps more difficult than being president of the United States. “Dealing with 435 congressmen is hard, but dealing with 193 countries, each of which believes they have the paramount voice in the United Nations, is even harder,” he said. The U.N.’s military, with 110,000 troops in 15 countries, is outnumbered only by that of the United States. The U.N. vaccinates 60 percent of the world’s children and serves 90 million people a day, up to 36,000 of them refugees like those currently fleeing Syria as rebel forces and the government engage in deadly battle. Asked whether the United States should
A six-month study directed by city council says Centennial made a smart move when it outsourced its law enforcement services to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. Conducted by city staff, the internal review suggests the ACSO provides these services at a lower cost per capita than comparable metro Denver. Looking at elements such crime statistics, staffing levels and costs per capita and cost per call, the city says it enjoys significant cost savings compared to like-sized municipalities such as Arvada and Westminster. The report said Centennial’s cost per capita for law enforcement in 2011 was $194.44, while city staff estimates Arvada and Westminster’s costs were 30 percent higher. Centennial’s cost per call for service in 2011 was $439.82. Costs for Arvada were estimated to
Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, addresses the sold-out Grand Ballroom at the Oxford Hotel on June 7. Photo by Jennifer Smith get involved in the Syrian crisis, Ban said it’s a sensitive subject, but he expects all leading nations to convene a peace conference on the matter next month in Geneva. In the meantime, the U.N.’s humanitarian arm has asked the agency for more than $5 billion to help the millions of people affected by the conflict.
“We can’t let the Syrian people continue to die this way,” Ban told the audience of about 200 people. “The entire nation has been destroyed now.” He blames the inflexible attitude of the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, who refuses even to allow U.N. continues on Page 11
Diary entries found in Beverly Liggett’s home after her October death suggest the 56-year-old mother of accused killer Ari Liggett may have struggled with a form of mental illness. During Ari Liggett’s June 4 preliminary hearing, public defender Jennifer Ahnstedt quoted personal entries made by Beverly in the fall of 1999, suggesting she may have been depressed and contemplated suicide. “I want to die,” Liggett wrote Beverly Liggett. “I have no life.” Further entries hint the woman neighbors describe as very private “felt out of control” and took Tegretol, an anticonvulsant often prescribed to treat bipolar disorder. Liggett continues on Page 11
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