Denver Herald Dispatch 0720

July 20, 2017

DENVER

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COTTAGE INDUSTRY: Home entrepreneurs take their wares from the kitchen to the consumer P14

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DENVER, COLORADO

A publication of

SUMMER CATCH: A lot

happens in one day in southwest Denver

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WHAT WILL IT BECOME? The community weighs in on the future of the Colorado Heights University campus P2

FOOD, FIREWORKS AND FUN: There will be plenty of those things and more at a festival in Harvey Park P7

HELP WANTED: A record-low unemployment rate is leaving a depleted labor pool P12

THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL

‘We will not give the (Presidential Advisory Commission) information that is not public in our state.’

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams | Page 4 INSIDE

VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 16 VOLUME 90 | ISSUE 39

2 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

Community discusses hopes for historic campus Loretto Heights is cherished location for many in southwest Denver

MORE INFO For more information on the campus’ closing, contact Denver City Councilmember Kevin Flynn at Kevin.Flynn@ denvergov.org or 720-337-2222.

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

More restaurants and gathering places. An art museum. A park. A multi-use cultural complex with artists’ lofts and a theater. Or, as it is now, a place for students to learn.

Those were among the many ideas proffered for the historic Loretto Heights campus by more than 50 community members who recently discussed the site’s fate — sometimes emotionally — at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building at West Warren Avenue and South Sheridan Boulevard.

Norma Brown, who graduated from Loretto Heights, pushed for turning the administration building into a library.

“I’ve (had) an education that is more than book learning that stayed with me through many years,” Brown said. “I would like to see that area become more of an educational type of thing ... It’s got lots of space.

You could also have an art museum, you could have beautiful parks ... I just feel this area needs a cultural center.”

Denver City Councilmember Kevin Flynn responds to the crowd at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building at West Warren Avenue and South Sheridan Boulevard. The June 29 community meeting discussed the upcoming closing of the Colorado Heights University campus and the future of the property.

ELLIS ARNOLD The June 29 meeting over the future of Colorado Heights University — still more affectionately known by its original Loretto Heights name — reflected a microcosm of the clashing needs and wants of living in an increasingly population-dense Denver. Englewood City Councilmembers Laurett Barrentine and Rita Russell; Denver City Councilmember Kevin Flynn, whose district includes the 126-year-old campus; and former Colorado state Rep. Tony Hernandez, a Denver Democrat, also attended.

“I am sad that this oasis in the city is going away,” one attendee, in tears, said to the group.

Keeping community in conversation Community members aired their desires for affordable housing, open space, more retail and an event center — and also shared their concerns that the neighborhood would change if a buyer builds affordable housing on the campus. One resident also worried about crimes and apparent danger in the area because of the potential for population density.

Jim Gibson, a main organizer for the community meeting and professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said he plans to continue holding the gatherings until after the property is sold. He plans to distill the com-

To join the community conversation or get information on community meetings, contact Jim Gibson at gibsonjim@comcast.net or 303-949-3370.

munity’s desires into a report for the new owner and city officials. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled.

The not-for-profit, private university, owned by Japan-based Teikyo University Group, announced last November that it would close the institution toward the end of October. The 76-acre campus at 3001 S. Federal Blvd. sits at one of the highest points in Denver and houses 14 buildings, including a 1,000-seat theater, an interfaith chapel, a swimming pool, a cafeteria, residence halls and recreational amenities.

SEE HEIGHTS, P11

Denver Herald-Dispatch 3

July 20, 2017

Hancock laments lack of affordable homes State of the City address focuses on issues of housing, transportation CALM AFTER THE STORM

BY ERICA MELTZER EMELTZER@DENVERITE.COM

car to get to work to 50 percent by 2030.

In the immediate future, Denver will partner with RTD to provide free bus passes to 1,500 high school students.

Longer term, the city wants to develop bus rapid transit on East Colfax Avenue and then other major corridors. One possibility is creating the city’s own transit authority to improve the socalled “first and last mile” issues — how people get to and from the bus stop or transit station.

SEE CITY, P13

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On recreation Denver is going to open its first new rec center in the city’s urban core this fall, the $20 million, 60,000-square-foot Carla Madison Rec Center on East Colfax at 1530 Josephine St. It will also have a dog park, along with all the people amenities.

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On displacement Hancock said the city is “pulling on every lever” to create more housing that is affordable to people earning 80 percent of area median income or less — “banking” vacant lots for future affordable housing, financing projects near transit stations, building supportive housing for the chronically homeless. He praised the state Legislature for passing construction defects reform that many hope will lead to more condo construction, and he touted last year’s creation of a city affordable housing fund.

One new initiative is a pilot program to help 400 households move into units that are sitting vacant “because there’s a gap between what it costs and what people can afford.” The details are still being worked out, but Denver Housing Authority, employers and apartment building owners are all involved, he said. (Why wages don’t go up or rents come down in response to these market pressures remains a mystery.)

The 2018 budget will include money to reduce displacement, Hancock said. In an interview after the speech, he said some of those efforts will involve making sure residents and property owners are aware of existing programs, like help with home repairs and property tax rebates for seniors. There may also be new initiatives to help people stay in their homes in neighborhoods under significant pressure from gentrification.

Many community activists say Denver could do more to beef up protections for tenants.

C ol

On transportation Hancock announced a “Mobility Action Plan” that will be coordinated by a new department of Transportation and Mobility, the creation of which Hancock announced last week. There will also be a Multi-Modal Citizen Advisory Committee to guide the expansion of transit and bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

Hancock said the city needs a $2 billion investment over the next 12 years to meet its transportation goals. Some of that will come from roughly $400 million in dedicated money in the 2017 general obligation bonds and a $100 million annual general fund commitment, an increase from the roughly $70 million the city spends now.

The rest will have to come from new revenue. Hancock said in an interview after the speech that he is committed to not raise property taxes to pay for this, but every other option is “on the table,” including potentially raising the cost to park downtown.

The goal is to go from 73 percent of Denver commuters driving their own

Mayor Michael Hancock delivers his 2017 State of the City address at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center in Northeast Park Hill on July 10.

KEVIN J. BEATY

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Last year, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock chose the plaza between the Westin Hotel and Denver International Airport for his State of the City address and encouraged people to travel there on the newly opened A Line train.

This year, rather than bask in the potential of shiny New Denver, Hancock highlighted his roots and the city’s unmet obligations to the Denver that has always been here. Speaking at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center in Northeast Park Hill on July 10, Hancock said it “cuts me to the core as I witness my friends and family members get priced out of their homes and entire minority neighborhoods struggle just to get by.”

“We are leading the way, and the state of our city is indeed strong. But it is not strong for everyone,” he said.

Hancock said that like many Denver residents, he finds the pace of development and change “shocking” — even though he has a lot more control over what that looks like than most Denver residents — and he also reiterated his long-held belief that Denver’s economic prosperity can be made to extend into every corner of the city.

Hancock promised that his 2018 budget will include major anti-displacement efforts, and he laid out an ambitious transportation program to reduce the number of people driving in their own vehicles. And Hancock said Denver would meet its climate goals and protect its immigrants, even if the federal government would not do the same.

Here are five key points from the speech:

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4 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

‘Remain calm and stay engaged’ in election process Local officials urge calm amid confusion created by federal election commission

BY TOM SKELLEY TSKELLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Local election officials are reporting that a federal commission’s request for personal voter information has spurred more than 3,000 Colorado voters, more than 2,000 of those in the Denver metro area alone, to withdraw their voter registration since July 1.

“It is the topic of the day, actually of the last week,” said Beth Clippinger, executive assistant for Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Faye Griffin, on July 10. “Citizens are pushing to not be on that list.”

In May, President Donald Trump formed the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, promising to find evidence of voter fraud to support his claim that millions of people voted illegally in 2016.

On June 28, the commission sent a letter to all 50 secretaries of state to submit voter registration information, including dates of birth and — if available — the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

The commission has since sent another letter, asking secretaries to wait to send the information until two lawsuits, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center on June 10, are resolved.

Nonetheless, the request has led some voters in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties to withdraw their voter registration, apply for confidential voter status or call election officials with questions about the safety of their personal data.

Legitimate questions

On June 29, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams touched off a storm of controversy when he said he would comply with the commission’s request, though he noted he would only send information that is already available.

At a July 5 news conference to clarify his comments, Williams said Williams he’s seen no evidence that voter fraud is happening on the scale Trump alleges. But he is bound

by Colorado’s Open Records Act to provide publicly available information to the commission — or anyone else who requests it.

“Many people have asked very legitimate questions about what is public, what’s not,” Williams said.

“We appreciate that.”

At the conference, Williams said his office received some calls from voters asking to withdraw their registration, though doing so is unnecessary because Colorado allows people to register for confidential voter status if they fear criminal harassment or for their safety.

“We will not give the commission information that is not public in our state,” Williams said. “Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, the specific date of your birth — all of that is confidential information that is not provided and is not available under existing Colorado law.”

But Williams’ comments haven’t stemmed the tide.

‘The impact is real’ Clippinger said that from July 1-13, 469 Jefferson County voters withdrew their voter registration and about 61 applied for confidential status.

In Adams County, 305 voters withdrew from the rolls from July 1 to July 13, and 35 applied for confidential status, according to Election Administrator Christi Coburn.

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DID YOU KNOW? Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said he will only provide publicly available information to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Election Integrity.

Publicly available information can be requested by any citizen, political party or group.

Private information requested by the commission will not be submitted, according to Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

BY THE NUMBERS Some metro-area voters have withdrawn from voter registration databases and some are applying for confidential voter status, which requires a $5 fee and that the applicant sign an affidavit affirming that he or she could face criminal harassment or physical danger by providing addresses or other information to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Here’s what’s public: • Year of birth • Mailing address • Full first, middle and last name • Political party affiliation • Inactive or active voter status • Which elections a voter participated in • Whether a voter is registered as a military or overseas voter

Here are figures from July 1 to July 11 on withdrawals, applications for confidential status and total registered voters in the following counties:

Here’s what’s private: • Last four digits of Social Security numbers • Full date of birth (day, month and year) • How a person voted in an election

Arapahoe County Withdrawals: 186 Applications for confidential status: 83 Total registered voters: 410,860

Numbers from the Clerk and Recorder’s Office in Denver County totaled 644 withdrawal requests and 251 applications for confidential status from July 1 to July 13.

“I never expected to come to work and see such a sudden increase in voter registration withdrawals,” stated Amber F. McReynolds, director of elections for the City and County of Denver, in a news release. “I never expected to see more withdrawals in a day than new registrations. The impact on voters is real. The impact on civic engagement is real.”

Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Merlin Klotz said voter fraud is an “urban legend,” but there could be value in the commission, provided it focuses on fact-finding, not politics.

“If they get strung up on political issues then forget it,” he said. “If they’re out to find 5 million illegal voters, that’s not the objective I would like to see.”

Klotz said 248 voters in Douglas County have unregistered between July 1 and July 11, though he said it could be for a number of reasons such as moving out of state. Applications for confidential status totaled 34 as of July 13.

Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Matt Crane said phones in his office are ringing more than usual.

“It hasn’t been an avalanche,” he said, “but we’ve definitely seen an uptick, which is unfortunate because we want people to stay engaged.”

Crane’s office reported that 434 voters asked to be unregistered and at least 83 submitted applications to become confidential voters from July 1-13. By comparison, withdrawals averaged 36 per month from January to June.

Up in the air At least 44 states have refused to submit information that is not already available to the commission, according to media outlets, and critics from both major parties have denounced the request as an attempt

Adams County Withdrawals: 193 Applications for confidential status: 29 Total registered voters: 269,749

Denver County Withdrawals: 472 Applications for confidential status: 185 Total registered voters: 448,682 Douglas County Withdrawals: 248 Applications for confidential status: 32 Total registered voters: 237,596 Jefferson County Withdrawals: 368 Applications for confidential status: 56 Total registered voters: 422,765 to validate Trump’s claim or suppress voter turnout.

Asked about such concerns, Williams said he doesn’t have the discretion to deny the request.

“Colorado law does not allow secretaries to pick and choose based on the purity of the motives of those asking for the documents,” Williams said.

Crane didn’t question the commission’s motives. Still, he worries the process could disenfranchise legitimate voters.

“To pull all of this information from all of the states and do datamatching is incredibly difficult,” Crane said. “I haven’t seen any indication there’s an infrastructure ready to do this sort of datamatching. (That) could lead to false positives and it appearing that people are double-registered and legitimate voters being kicked off voter rolls.”

Crane also mentioned that Colorado, the District of Columbia and 21 other states participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit formed by those states that uses information from motor vehicle departments, Social Security Administration records and other databases to compare voters across states.

“This work is already being done by experts,” he said. “It’s something that’s probably best left to the experts.”

SEE ELECTION, P5

Denver Herald-Dispatch 5

July 20, 2017

Perlmutter drops out of Colorado governor race

BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Congressman Ed Perlmutter, DArvada, has announced he is dropping out of the race to become Colorado’s next governor.

It’s disappointing for many, Perlmutter said at a press conference on July 11, but it is “the best course going forward.”

He said that running for governor is a big-time demand — traveling across the state to campaign and raising funds — all while still serving in Congress.

“I had to take a good, realistic look at it,” he said.

Perlmutter said he never considered leaving his seat in Congress to focus on the governor’s race.

“I will continue to fulfill my commitment to the people of Jefferson County and Adams County,” he said.

“I still have a lot of things on tap.”

Perlmutter said a top priority is completing the VA Medical Center in Aurora, which is scheduled to open in 2018 and expected to improve medical care for veterans across the region.

He said he would also continue work with aerospace, specifically the Orion Project, and marijuana issues.

Perlmutter also announced that he has decided not to run for re-election in November 2018 to keep his U.S. House seat representing Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, which covers much of Jefferson County, including Golden, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Arvada, as well as much of Westminster, Thornton and Northglenn.

He was first elected to Congress in 2006.

There are three great candidates for the seat, Perlmutter said of the Democrats vying for the House seat.

“Sometimes you need to move on and somebody else needs to bring in new insights,” Perlmutter said.

Perlmutter had announced his run for governor on April 9 in Golden.

“Coloradans deserve leadership, not partisanship,” Perlmutter said as part of his closing remarks at the event, adding he had always tried to serve his constituents, regardless of party affiliation.

Even with Perlmutter dropping out, the race for governor in 2018 to replace John Hickenlooper, who is term-limited, is crowded. Hickenloop-

ELECTION FROM PAGE 4

Important to ‘remain engaged’ Asked if he’s concerned about voters dropping off the rolls, Williams touted Colorado’s many methods of voter registration, and registration.

“It’s one of the easiest, if not the easiest state to register to vote in,” he said, mentioning that new voters

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RED ROCKS CONCERTS U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter answers questions from various media outlets about his decision to drop out of the Colorado governor’s race during a press conference on July 11 in Perlmutter’s office in the Applewood Tech Center.

CHRISTY STEADMAN er was elected to the position in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat from Boulder, announced in June that he would join the race. Polis was first elected to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in 2008.

Other Democrats running are former state Sen. Mike Johnston and former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy.

Johnston is a Denver resident who served in the state Senate from 2009-16, and before that, was a teacher and principal. Kennedy, of Denver, was elected treasurer in 2006 and lost a re-election bid in 2010. In 2011, she was appointed the City of Denver’s chief financial officer and its deputy mayor, and she continued in those capacities until 2016.

Notable on the Republican side is District Attorney George Brauchler of the 18th Judicial District, which covers Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. Businessman Victor Mitchell, a Castle Rock resident who served in the state House from 2007-09, also has filed for the race. Mitchell runs Lead Funding, an organization that helps finance homebuilders and developers.

Perlmutter will continue to be a team player for Colorado, he said.

“Maybe I’m moving from player to coach, I’m not exactly sure,” Perlmutter said at the press conference. “I love this state, I love the people of this state and I love this country. I’m going to do what I can to keep it going on the right track.”

as well as those who withdraw their registration can go online or use their cellphones to register.

Clippinger shared Williams’ lack of concern.

“I don’t think anybody will forget to re-register,” Clippinger said. “It’s heavy on their mind.”

But Crane said he is concerned that people will “fall away” from voter participation and urged his constituents to stay on the rolls.

“Remain calm,” he said. “Stay engaged.”

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6 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

Mother’s

Milk: New mom recounts breastfeeding journey

Mothers Milk Bank distributes breast milk throughout the country.

BY THE NUMBERS

33 740,000 years Mothers Milk Bank has operated

BY SHANNA FORTIER SFORTIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

K

elsey Danker, 24, sat in the living room of her Arvada apartment hugging her one-year-old son, Bodhi. It had been a long year.

After 30 hours of labor, Banker gave birth to her son on June 5, 2016. After meeting and breastfeeding her son for the first time, she suffered a seizure in her hospital room and soon learned she had a golf-ball sized tumor in the frontal lobe of her brain that would need to be removed as quickly as possible.

But despite the circumstances and the need for immediate surgery, Danker was committed to breastfeeding and providing her son with human milk throughout the process.

The new mom put off surgery for three weeks in order to breastfeed her son and pump in anticipation of her upcoming surgery.

“They told me that the surgery and trauma from that would affect my supply,” Danker said.

“But I was determined to keep it up.”

As a first-time mom, Danker said it was important to her to breastfeed her baby not only for the nutritional benefits, but also for the bonding.

“It’s a special bond between mom and baby,” Danker said. “It helps with postpartum depression, which I still had that because of everything else, but I felt really close to my baby.”

Nutritionally, mothers milk can coat the gut in a way that formula can’t, especially in the first few weeks of life, said Abby Malman Case, international board certified lactation consultant.

“There are live properties in breast milk that aren’t in formula,” Malman Case said, adding that certain vitamins and hormones that are beneficial to the baby can’t be replicated in formula.

“Because the mom is responding to the environment, she is able to create the antibodies that are specific to her babies,” Malman Case said.

“Formula can’t do that.”

Babies who are breastfed are reported to have a lower risk of asthma and allergies later in life. In addition, babies who receive breast milk exclusively for the first six months have fewer ear and respiratory infections, Malman Case said.

These are the the things Danker, who works as a bartender at the Arvada Tavern in Olde Town Arvada wanted for her son.

But the medications involved and the recovery time need after brain surgery would cause Danker not to be able to breast feed. The doctors were also concerned that the new mom may lose her milk supply once she was out of surgery.

“If the milk isn’t being removed, then the body gets the message that it doesn’t need to make as much,” Malman Case said.

To prevent this, Danker’s mom and stepmom helped her pump every three hours fol-

ounces of breast milk distributed in 2016

850,000 goal of milk distribution in 2017

140

hospitals around to country receive milk from Mother’s Milk Bank

Kelsey Danker utilized a donation of breast milk from Mothers Milk Bank to continue feeding her son after undergoing brain surgery.

PHOTOS BY SHANNA FORTIER

lowing the surgery.

“By pumping, she was keeping up supply for after recovery,” Malman Case said.

But what helped supplement Danker’s own milk supply in the thee days following surgery when her milk was not safe for the baby and the three weeks of recovery when she wasn’t producing enough milk, was a donation of human milk from Mothers Milk Bank in Arvada.

Mothers Milk Bank — a program of Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation — is one of 30 nonprofit donor human milk banks in North America. The nonprofit screens, collects, processes, tests and provides donor human milk to babies across the country.

Based in Arvada, the milk bank is the largest in North America distributing 740,000 ounces of milk in 2016. It is the only milk bank in Colorado and distributes breast milk to 140 hospitals around the country.

When Danker’s request for milk came, Laraine Lockhart Borman, director of outreach for Mother’s Milk Bank, delivered the donation herself to Presbyterian/St. Lukes Medical Center — where mom and baby were.

The milk bank provides milk to babies whose mothers cannot, but what made Danker’s situation different, Lockhard Borman said, was the seriousness and timing of her health condition.

“I talked to Kelsey briefly on the phone and there was something about her — we had this personal thing going on,” Lockhard Borman

26

operating milk banks in North America Source: Mother’s Milk Bank

said. “She was so kind and it was real mom-to-mom talk. I knew that the milk bank needed to help her in any way we could.”

Danker said the donation was a “blessing.” Between the donation and the milk she produced herself, she as able to feed her son breast milk exclusively.

“It was my dream to breastfeed as long as I could exclusively,” she said. “So when I found out I wasn’t able to do that, it was heartbreaking. I can’t even put into words how grateful I was at the time and still am that Mothers Milk Bank donated to me and Bodhi.”

Now, one year after brain surgery, Danker is still breastfeeding.

“It’s kind of like liquid gold,” she said, while laughing and sitting on the couch with her son.

Danker said she hopes her story will encourage moms to donate their excess milk.

“I feel like it’s really important for mothers to donate if they can,” Danker said. “I know a lot of moms who have extra milk who could easily donate if they knew they were able to.”

Mother’s Milk Bank opened in 1984 and has been using donated milk to help children throughout the country for the past 33 years.

“Any mother who may have extra milk, they can impact the life of a child by their personal donation,” Lockhard Borman said. “They can really make a big difference and save a baby’s life.”

Denver Herald-Dispatch 7

July 20, 2017

Painted rocks help family, friends with grief over daughter’s death

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Katerina Elizabeth Graham would have been 15 on the Fourth of July.

But the teen, who loved ballet, died May 7 after a suicide attempt three weeks earlier that left her in a coma.

But her story lives on in the painted rocks that are spreading positivity and suicide prevention messages — such as “You matter” and “You are not alone” and even the number of a suicide prevention hotline — across the world.

“Kat loved art drawing and painting, anything crafty,” said Amie Graham, Katerina’s mother. “This gets people painting, an activity she loved to do — and talking to each other.”

A few weeks after Graham’s death, Graham’s parents and her godmother, Kristen Garcia, started a Facebook group called Kat’s Rocks to raise awareness about suicide and start conversations that may help people who feel depressed.

Graham, who lived in Castle Pines, began feeling depressed after an ankle injury in fall 2015 that left her unable to participate in dance competitions.

She also experienced bullying by students at her high school over social media about her family not having much money, Garcia said.

Graham didn’t leave a note, said Garcia, 33, an Englewood resident for 15 years, so no one knows exactly what drove her to attempt to take her own

life.

But on April 16, Graham swallowed an amount of medication that left her unconscious and was taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Garcia said. She was transferred to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children near downtown Denver that same day but slipped into a coma, Garcia said.

While Graham was still in the hospital, one of her friends, Sami Chapin, began painting rocks that read “Pray for Kat” and scattering them throughout the area. A hiker in Daniels Park in Sedalia found a rock and posted a photo of it on Facebook.

“The first rock post was a screen shot from one of my old neighbor friends,” Amie Graham said. “She saw it on (the) Colorado Rocks (Facebook page). It gave me chills to know someone took the time to do that and was praying for her to pull through.”

For Chapin, the rocks keep Katerina’s memory alive — she keeps some “special ones” that she looks at every day.

Painting “the rocks was very therapeutic and made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile in a situation where I felt helpless,” Chapin said. “Kat was one of my very close friends. I knew no matter what that I could talk to her about anything, and she would have advice for me ... she was one of my best friends.”

On May 29, when Graham’s father and Garcia’s husband were making a memory box for Graham, her mother

decided to track the rocks because they appeared to be traveling all over.

So Garcia started the Facebook page the next day and began tracking the rocks on a map website. To date, the group has more than 2,300 members, many of whom post pictures of the rocks they paint. Nearly 200 have dropped pins on the map to mark their locations.

Her mother also wanted the rocks to be a feature of Graham’s June 23 memorial service. She and and Garcia bought 500 rocks from Home Depot and — with help from members at Graham’s old dance studio and her brothers’ gymnastics studio — painted 500 rocks for the event. People at the service took the rocks home to place somewhere else.

Garcia called it a “Live for Kat” challenge.

So far, the rocks have made it to three continents — North America, Europe and Africa — and places in

Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, to name a few.

Some have taken the rocks, with messages such as “Dance for Kat” and “Play for Kat,” on vacation.

Dancers at a studio in Kansas, where Graham used to live, painted rocks and posted a video that broadcast those ideas June 3 — it challenged other studios to do the same.

And a dance studio in Australia painted an “inspiration wall” in the studio after finding out about Graham’s story.

The Facebook group has received messages from people who have attempted suicide or who have known someone who committed suicide, as well as from people of all ages who come across the page.

For her mother, that’s what the effort is all about.

“If Katerina’s story has helped even one person,” Amie Graham said, “then the rock painting is worth it.”

Catch fireworks, food and music at Harvey Park’s Summer Festival Neighborhood bills park event as largest festival in southwest Denver

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Didn’t get enough fireworks this Fourth of July? Hankering for some food truck dining? Want to get to know your neighborhood and southwest Denver better?

The fourth annual Harvey Park Improvement Association Summer Festival will bring giveaways, a DJ, activities for kids and a crowd of hundreds to the neighborhood July 22. Catch a concert by the Denver Municipal Band and fireworks when the festival ends put on by the Riviera Circle Lake Club and the HPIA — right there in your backyard.

It’s the largest festival in southwest Denver, said Xochitl Gaytan, president of the association, in the neighborhood’s newsletter.

Gaytan said the event draws hundreds of attendees from neighboring communities.

Food trucks and a Palango dance

CHANNEL YOUR INNER NINJA! The Harvey Park Improvement Association Summer Festival will take place July 22.

COURTESY PHOTO

instruction — a fitness routine that incorporates Latin music — will liven up the park as well. Community-based vendors and several business sponsors are part of the event, and Denver Councilmember Kevin Flynn sponsored the park permit, the newsletter said.

The festival will run from 4-7 p.m. at Harvey Park at West Evans Avenue and South Tennyson Street.

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8 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

Southwest

Denver: a day in the life

Phoenix Shelton, 12, poses with a fish he caught at the lake in Harvey Park July 13. Shelton, who said he’s lived in the neighborhood for two or three years, fishes here during the summer and most of the year, he said. He throws them back once he catches them. Shelton said he sees turtles in the lake, too.

F

ishing in the park, enjoying a high school baseball game and eating at Mexican food trucks are just a few of the slices of life you can find in a summer day in southwest Denver.

Phoenix Shelton, 12, fished at Harvey Park — the only place he can go to fish without his parents worrying about where he is, he said.

Shelton said he fishes there during the summer and most of the year, and he sees turtles in the lake as well.

Here are a few snapshots of what you might see in this part of the city.

PHOTOS BY ELLIS ARNOLD

From left, Lourdes Mora-Villalpando, 54, LaDray Roybal, 36, and Claudia López, 45, sit in Harvey Park July 13 to recruit potential students to Rocky Mountain Service, Employment and Redevelopment’s Head Start Centers, which are located in the southwest, west and north Denver areas. The Head Start program offers free, preschool-type care and meals to children.

Maria Anguiano, 45, poses in front of a food truck she works in at a parking lot at South Federal Boulevard and West Iliff Avenue July 13. Anguiano, who does not speak much English and lives in Denver, sold Mexican food to customers in the afternoon across the street from Abraham Lincoln High School.

Players from the D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School Jaguars, from the Jefferson County Public Schools district, play against The Batter’s Box club team at Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver July 13.

Families watched in the crowd behind the chain-link fence.

July 20, 2017

Denver Herald-Dispatch 9

10 Denver Herald-Dispatch

LOCAL

July 20, 2017

VOICES

A guy walks into a bar, and then he has a conversation that’s very funny

I

QUIET DESPERATION

really look forward to your columns,” a reader said. “The funny ones, that is.”

I was crushed.

As an eagle-eyed journalist, I try to provide you with commentaries about the most meaningful things that go on around us, especially at times like this, with grim death gargling from every corner.

School vouchers, pros and cons? Global warming, true or false? The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming?

But, no, you want to hear the one about Lassie.

“Mom, mom, it’s Lassie.”

“What is it, Timmy?”

“Lassie ate the cantaloupes.”

Craig Marshall Smith

“Oh, no. Is she sick?

“No, but she’s a little melancholy.”

I was all set to write about health care. But, no.

What do you call a camel without any humps? Humphrey. Get it?

My perspicacious insights are being dismissed, and it makes me feel like Marilyn Monroe.

I’ll never forget my grandfather’s last words.

“Quit shaking the ladder, you little creep.”

One man’s or woman’s idea of humor is not another man’s or woman’s idea of humor.

If we both wrote down a list of our favorite comedies and a list of our favorite comedians, chances are there would be very few duplica-

tions Have you ever heard of the Algonquin Round Table? Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? George F. Kaufman?

I am steeped in Ogden Nash. Not “M*A*S*H. Steven Wright is all right with me. “I went fishing with Salvador Dali last year. He used a dotted line. He caught every other fish.”

Jerry Seinfeld? No. Jonathan Winters? Yes. Winters plays brothers in the film version of Evelyn Waugh’s “The Loved One” — “the motion picture with something to offend everyone.”

Evelyn Waugh, a man, was briefly married SEE SMITH, P11

Start the day right, and while you’re at it, finish it right, too

H An attack on any American is an attack on all Americans

E

va Levine’s birthday – July 6 – always follows hard on our own American Independence Day. I commemorate Eva’s birthday, as I do every year, by reflecting on the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis.

When I visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., an exhibit at the time was “The Collaborators.” On display were grainy films, black-and-white photographs, newspaper clippings and vintage posters depicting

ALCHEMY

Andrea Doray

DENVER Since 1926

the campaigns of whispers, the parades of shame, and the lies of propaganda that marked even the earliest days of Jewish persecution.

Neighbors turned on neighbors, because they supported the ideology of the Third Reich or feared persecution themselves. Employees and employers eyed each other with suspicion. Some, envious of others’ valuables, turned in the owners for a share of the loot.

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ave you ever had one of those days that seemed to start out so awesome and then all of a sudden, before you knew it, WINNING the day had WORDS become a disaster and everything you thought would happen didn’t? Me too, we have all had one of those days I am sure. But Michael Norton stay with me, because this column is not about the days that go horribly wrong, it’s about days that start well and finish even better.

I have had more and more of the good days lately, many more actually, and I wanted to share some thoughts as to why I believe my days are getting increasingly better and minimizing the days that go in the wrong direction.

For me, starting my day begins with a spiritual moment. As soon as I wipe the sleep from my eyes and the fog from my head, I say a quick prayer of thanks as I greet the day. The very next thing I

do is read Scripture and then share my thoughts with my accountability partner via text.

For us, it is a fantastic way to ground ourselves and prepare ourselves for anything that may happen during the day.

We focus on how we can apply what we just finished reading to the planned and unplanned events of the day.

The second thing I do is some sort of physical activity.

It could be a workout in the gym, it could be a long walk, either way, it gives me more time to process what I had just read and discussed, and it also allows me to think about what the day will hold. 30-60 minutes of exercise provides an opportunity for more reflection and allows those stress-relieving, stimulating, and healing endorphins to start kicking in too.

The third thing to starting the day off properly for me is to have a healthy breakfast. This was not always the case. I used to justify my carbohydrate-heavy morning feast by saying that my workout earned me that stack of pancakes, extra side of bacon, a large orange juice,

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Denver Herald-Dispatch (ISSN 1542-5797)(USPS 241-760) A legal newspaper of general circulation in Denver, Colorado, the Herald-Dispatch is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 1345 Perry St., Denver, CO 80204.

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Denver Herald-Dispatch 11

July 20, 2017

HEIGHTS FROM PAGE 2

The historic graveyard on the campus has 62 nuns buried in it, Flynn said. The university has offered to donate the cemetery to the Catholic organization Sisters of Loretto, said Bronson Hilliard, a university spokesperson. That organization opened the campus in 1891.

Potential buyers will be evaluated on their commitment to preserve the iconic administration building and the chapel, Hilliard said.

Flynn said the Denver City Council has “very little” say in who will buy the property — the city would become involved only if a buyer wanted to add uses that currently aren’t permitted, such as retail. Zoning regulations already permit multi-unit housing on the property because of the existing college dorms, Flynn said.

NORTON FROM PAGE 10

and maybe even a pastry or three. Not any more, now I cap off my morning devotional and workout with a sensible breakfast with the right proteins and healthy amount of the right kind of fats. This is important and relevant because ever since switching to this behavior, my days really have been getting better. My energy is higher, my focus clearer, and my patience is greater and even much more relaxed.

The fourth thing is to make sure I have told my family how much I love them and appreciate them before the work day begins.

It could be a text, a call, an email, or if I am lucky enough I get to tell them in person.

Each day will bring exactly what we plan for and expect. And yes, many days also bring unplanned

But Flynn wants to keep the community in the conversation. He said he’s had multiple meetings with Teikyo University Group leaders, and has been urging the city to acquire the 1,000-seat theater or find a way to retain it as a community building that could provide a “revenue stream” by hosting actors, artists, concerts and the like.

The school’s real estate firm, Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE), has asked interested buyers to submit qualifications by late July, Flynn said.

Differing visions for campus At the VFW meeting, one of several in the past few months, residents shared their visions and concerns.

“I raised my children in this neighborhood,” one resident said. “The character has changed. When I moved in, I felt safe with my children when they were little. Now, we have more lawlessness; we have people shooting off firecrackers every night, which is

events, challenges, and disruptions that we least expected. Perhaps you have always done a wonderful job of staying the course and handling whatever life throws at you better than others. For me, it took some time and coaching to become better at responding to those unexpected and unplanned for situations.

And my big aha moment was learning that the way I started each day would not only determine how most of my day would go, I was much better prepared to manage how each day would go, and also how each day would finish.

Starting the day is strong, but equally as important is how we finish. How we finish each day helps set the tone, mood, and expectations for the following day.

My evening ritual includes reading, more prayer time and reflection, a review of the day’s events, and then creating a list of what I need to do the next day. Even if it

DORAY FROM PAGE 10

Ordinary German citizens became vigilantes, dealing out their own concepts of righteousness against a group of people demonized by the country’s leader. Fear of “the other” pervaded society to the point that these ordinary citizens collaborated with Hitler’s regime to exterminate a whole population, often taking punishment into their own hands.

If there are parallels to be drawn today – and I believe there are many – they are that, once again, a segment of society is being demonized, once again because of their heritage and religious beliefs, and that so-called ordinary citizens are have taken to meting out their own punishments.

illegal.”

MJ Neighbour, who has lived in the south Harvey Park area for 10 years, wanted more restaurants, “gathering places” and pubs.

“My hope is for a mixed-use complex where the theater is kind of integral for it,” Neighbour said. “Maybe artists’ lofts there — I would love to see an entertainment complex there.”

Other residents pushed back against the idea of bars and restaurants and lobbied instead for a park or open space.

Marianne Ramos said she’d like the campus to continue as an educational institution.

“It would be so nice to have (kids in Denver) go to a college at Loretto Heights,” she said, noting that it’s near Kennedy and Lincoln high schools and next to the Denver School of Science and Technology College View.

Metro State looked at opening a satellite campus on the property, but backed out in March 2016 because of a $60,000

is in my calendar already, I mentally prepare better by writing my list out so I can further prioritize what I need to do and when I need to do it. And by the way, if there is a hard or difficult task, that always becomes number one on the `to-do’ list. Get it out of the way and off the plate.

So how about you? Are you starting well and finishing better or can you make a change or two to your daily habits to help set the tone and foundation for each day that will result in a better outcome? Either way I would love to hear all about it at gotonorton@gmail.com and when we have a plan to start each day strong and finish each day even stronger, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the former president of the Zig Ziglar Corporation, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.

Yes, you can tell me (and many people have) that the Jews of Nazi persecution weren’t terrorists, and I would agree. I would also point out that the two young Muslim women on the train in Portland were not terrorists, young women for whom strangers intervened when they were threatened by an attacker. Two of the three men who came to their aid were killed by a knife-wielding extremist American citizen.

Who was the terrorist here?

Recently, another deranged hatefilled individual who carried a list of targeted U.S. Congress members opened fire at the Republican softball practice. Several people were wounded and Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise was re-admitted to intensive care just today.

Members of Congress were understandably shocked and shaken that

price tag, mostly related to asbestos, Flynn said.

Several residents suggested pursuing a landmark designation from the city, but Flynn said that would increase the property value to where it would be out of reach for buyers, and the area could lose the chance of development.

The administration building — known to some as “the tower building” — has been on the federal National Register of Historic Places since 1975, according to the register website.

Mark Upshaw, who has lived in neighborhoods near the university, remembers the serenity the campus brought him when he needed it.

“What I’m struck with is the cultural value, cultural landscape,” said Upshaw, who would run around the campus to de-stress from his job as an architect.

“And I would get around the back of the campus, and all of that would drop away,” he said. “I was in a very peaceful space.”

SMITH FROM PAGE 10

to a woman named Evelyn.

Evelyn Gardner.

“The Loved One” is called a “black comedy.” It came and went in 1965, but it is seen as something of a prize since then.

I admit that I laughed, and I rarely laugh.

Outside of what I call “side effects” commercials, there isn’t a single thing on television that amuses me. A side effects commercial consists of a medicine that might cure something, like “Elvis leg,” but at the risk of about 100 possible side effects, that are far worse than Elvis leg.

The side effects are often things I have never heard, that require medicines of their own, which have side effects too, so what started out as Elvis leg holds the potential of every imaginable and unimaginable ailment, affliction, infection, and malady.

they had become targets, applauding House Speaker Paul Ryan’s resounding declaration that “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

I agree, Mr. Ryan, but in a broader context. An attack on any American (even, or perhaps especially, by a fellow American), is indeed an attack on all of us. Attacks on Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Black Americans, gay Americans, female Americans, and American journalists are attacks on all Americans.

Eva Levine was rounded up and transported because she was Jewish.

She lost her husband and the rest of her family in the brutality of the Nazi death camps. After she was liberated by the British in 1945, Eva emigrated to the U.S. in 1950.

I wonder what Eva Levine would think about the administration in her adopted country demonizing a seg-

These commercials have me in stitches. (Rim shot).

A dung beetle walks into a bar and says, “Is this stool taken?”

Julius Caesar walks into a bar, holds up two fingers and says, “Five beers please.”

Is that what you want? It’s beneath me. It’s under me. I think you are trying to preposition me.

What kind of a game do you play with a wombat? Wom. But all seriousness aside. Do you want to hear about this new tax on sugary drinks or not?

Someone threw a bottle of Dr Pepper at my head. Fortunately, it was a soft drink.

Two cows are standing in a field and one cow says to the other cow, “Have you heard about that mad cow disease?”

And the other cow says, “Good thing we are penguins.”

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net.

ment of the population, proposing registries, decrying an entire religion, tolerating and even inciting violence.

Yes, a member of our government, Rep. Clay Higgins (R.-La.), has publicly urged people to kill anybody they suspect could be a radicalized Muslim.

And he is not the only one.

When we attack one another, we are making the task of those who hate Americans that much easier. Let each of us strive not to become collaborators, and to fight against persecution, in any form.

Andrea Doray is a writer who also wants us to remember the WWII internment camps – some right here in Colorado – where thousands of American citizens were relocated and imprisoned for no reason other than that they were Japanese. Contact Andrea at a.doray@ andreadoray.com.

12 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

As unemployment drops, businesses labor to find workers Record-low jobless rate making it tough for some companies to fill openings

HOW THE COUNTIES COMPARE Below is a comparison of unemployment rates of six counties in the Denver metro area from May 2016 to May 2017. Rates are not seasonally adjusted.

BY ALEX DEWIND ADEWIND@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Husband and wife Jim and Kate Curtis opened Village Roaster, a coffee store in Lakewood, 23 years ago. Some employees have been with them for five to 10 years, others are seasonal high school and college students. But although they describe their staff as stable, they have noticed a change in the past year.

“We don’t have as many applicants for positions,” Kate Curtis said. “There is not a lineup of people to choose from.”

The struggle to find employees is the result of a historically low state unemployment rate of 2.3 percent, the lowest in the nation, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reports.

That rate, which has remained the same for April and May, compares to a state unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in May 2010 and of 3.9 percent in May 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate for May was 4.3 percent, compared to 4.7 percent a year earlier.

Openings are highest in nonfarm payroll jobs, which include goods, construction and manufacturing positions.

Business leaders in the Denver metro area agree the low unemployment rate signals a strong economy of employed people who have the means to spend money.

“Job security means the economic engine in sales is doing well,” said Pamela Kelly, general manager of Park Meadows shopping center in Lone Tree, which has 200 retail stores and 16 restaurants.

But conversely, the selection pool for employers has diminished in size and quality. Chamber of commerce leaders in the Denver metro area agree that their members — employers of small to large businesses — are finding it difficult to fill positions.

“It used to be that the typical ad you would see for employment was `help wanted: rock stars.’ Nowadays it’s more like `help wanted: warm bodies,’ ” said Doug Tisdale, executive vice president of economic development for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, which has 700 business members.

“We are just really hard-pressed to find people to fill available positions.”

Shifting attitudes A major reason many employers are struggling to fill positions is the mindset of the millennial worker.

Millennials —a term used to describe the population born after 1980 — are taking the traditional four-year university route over

Kate and Jim Curtis, owners of Village Roaster, a coffee store based in Lakewood.

COUNTY

MAY 2016

MAY 2017

Adams

3.5 percent

2.6 percent

Arapahoe

3 percent

2.3 percent

Denver

3 percent

2.3 percent

Douglas

2.6 percent

2 percent

Elbert

2.6 percent

2.1 percent

Jefferson

2.9 percent

2.2 percent

Source: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

COURTESY PHOTO

“Hiring now” signs aren’t uncommon in the Denver metro area as businesses search for employees in the midst of Colorado’s record-low unemployment rate of 2.3 percent, the department of labor and employment reports. The selection pool is slim, business leaders say.

ALEX DEWIND trade professions, such as electricians, plumbers and mechanics.

According to a 2017 study by Pew Research Center, 40 percent of millennial workers ages 25 to 29 had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2016, compared to 32 percent of Generation X workers — who are in their mid-30s to early 50s — and smaller shares of the baby boomer generation.

In 2015, to address the shortage of craftsmen and women in the trade industry, Colorado lawmakers created the Skilled Worker Outreach, Recruitment, Key Training Act, which included a three-year, $10 million grant for training programs, including pre-apprenticeships and peer-to-peer outreach through local colleges and associations. The second cycle of the act will be rolled out this October.

Still, business leaders say the at-

titude toward blue-collar jobs must shift.

“We created an image that you weren’t as good if you were doing hard labor,” Tisdale said. “We need electricians, plumbers, because we have all these fancy gadgets and nobody to fix them.”

Pam Bales, president of the West Chamber of Commerce, which includes 750 small- to medium-sized businesses in Jefferson County, has a similar outlook. She applauds the Jefferson County Business Education Alliance, formed five years ago to prepare high school students for the workforce, and Warren Tech, a career and technical high school in Lakewood, for fostering paths for young adults that don’t include a four-year university.

“There are all kinds of fits for young millennials who don’t want to go a traditional route,” Bales said. “They can get into a profession that they love.”

Business leaders also say millenials are as concerned with the lifestyle of a position — access to transportation, hours and benefits — as the pay. Companies need to recognize and address that mentality, said Tisdale.

Some companies have devised work environments and schedules that appeal to millennials and their older counterparts.

Lockheed Martin, an aerospace and defense company in Littleton, offers a 9/80 work schedule, in which employees work nine hours a day and get every other Friday off. It also offers medical benefits, incentives to stay healthy, including a health and exercise facility on campus, and clubs where people of like-minded interests can connect, said Reese Reynolds, humans resources director of Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Division.

“Healthy, happy and fulfilled employees get engaged in their work and end up dong great work,” Reynolds said. “We have outlets for their interests that are beyond

their careers.”

Creative ways to keep employees Restaurant and retail employers are finding unique ways to attract and retain entry-level employees in a competitive market.

Raising Cane’s, a popular Louisiana-based restaurant chain that opened this month in Highlands Ranch, closes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the evening of Super Bowl Sunday. On Memorial Day, management hosts a picnic for all employees and their families. Each manager has a monthly budget called Cane’s Love to creatively reward the crew.

“Our culture is very strong,” said Amanda Klein, a Raising Cane’s recruiter.

Even so, the restaurant chain encountered challenges in finding employees for its newest Colorado location. A job posting in Highlands Ranch had far fewer applicants than a similar position posted in St. Louis, according to Klein.

Kate and Jim Curtis get to know their employees on a personal level.

They ask about families and pets and celebrate occasions with their team outside of work. Commitment to their employees has allowed for slow and steady growth of their Lakewood business: Village Roasters, at 9255 W. Alameda Ave., now has a café in St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood and a kiosk in the Lakewood Cultural Center.

“The Golden Rule — treat people the way you want to be treated — is our philosophy,” Kate Curtis said.

“We definitely have rules and procedures, but we have flexibility.”

While there may not be one solution to the record-low unemployment rate’s adverse affects, business leaders hope to see more young adults apply for nontraditional yet highly needed positions in the workforce.

“It’s a great problem to have,” Bales said, “but it’s still a problem.”

Denver Herald-Dispatch 13

July 20, 2017

Denver artists fear safety focus will bring homelessness City’s proposed ordinance hopes to create way to legalize DIY spaces The fatal Ghost Ship fire in Oakland motivated cities around the country, including Denver, to take a much harder look at the converted warehouses that artists have been using for decades as homes and studios.

That was a highly visible tragedy, Shane “Bobby” Melnitzer told the Denver City Council, but a far more likely tragedy — homelessness — remains unseen.

Denver artists told the City Council on July 10 that their efforts to create a way for unpermitted DIY art spaces to gain legal status carries a high risk of unintended consequences — including artists losing their housing, the very outcome the city says it wants to avoid.

“You’re asking people to take risks with their housing and livelihoods when they are in these spaces because it is what they can afford,” Lauri Lynnxe Murphy said. “And the reason for that is because the landlords have no interest in fixing the spaces up, which is why they let us have them in the first place.”

The ordinance before Denver City Council, believed to be the first program of its kind in the country, would

create a two-year window for certain types of unpermitted buildings to gain legal status. Eligible spaces include such things as performance spaces with an occupancy of 300 people or less (but not restaurants or bars), residential living spaces with two stories or less with up to 16 units, offices, galleries, showrooms and retail spaces.

Normally when the city discovered unpermitted work, the property owner pays double the standard permit fees to come into compliance. This ordinance would waive those fees, and it would also provide for an extended time frame for compliance, as well as flexibility around certain code requirements.

Most significantly, the ordinance would allow for a conditional certificate of occupancy so that people could legally live in the building while the work was being done.

However, people would not be allowed to live in unsafe conditions under the ordinance. Asked if Rhinoceropolis would be open today if this law had been in place in December, Manny Almagure, Denver Fire’s division chief for fire prevention, said no.

Brad Buchanan, executive director of Community Planning and Development, acknowledged that the city has a trust problem with the artist community that must be overcome. Property owners wouldn’t get a “free pass on safety,” but residents wouldn’t be automatically evicted either, he said.

“Is the glass blowing area next to the balsa wood storage area?” Buchanan

CITY

and the communities of Globeville, Elyria and Swansea will decide how to spend it, Hancock said.

BY ERICA MELTZER EMELTZER@DENVERITE.COM

FROM PAGE 3

Hancock is very proud of the My Denver Card program that provides free access to pools and rec centers for school-aged children. The city will now roll out a My Denver PRIME card to provide free rec center access to people 60 years old and older, as well as Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

And Denver will also renovate 13 camps and lodges in Denver’s mountain parks that were originally used by Civilian Conservation Corps workers.

Crews made up of veterans and people experiencing homelessness will do the work, in partnership with HistoriCorps, and the lodges will becomes places for outdoor education and weekend get-aways for families.

On community investment Denver voters will be asked to approve something in the range of $900 million for new projects through a general obligation bond this fall. The final project list will be decided by the Denver City Council later this summer, with the Mayor’s Office expected to release his recommendations this week.

Hancock also announced a National Western Center Community Investment Fund to start at $200,000 annually.

This money will come from National Western Center revenue as the center is renovated into a year-round facility focused on agribusiness and biosciences,

On Denver’s role on the national stage Neither gridlock in Washington nor the change in national priorities will stop Denver from acting on its values, Hancock said.

“Cities should not be punished for Washington’s failure to fix a broken immigration system,” he said. “It’s time to stop threatening our cities, stop targeting innocent people, and get to work on real solutions to bring hard-working undocumented people out of church basements, and out of the shadows.

“We have marched for women. We have marched for science. We have marched for immigrants and refugees.

And every time, we have marched together.”

To thunderous applause, Hancock said Denver would continue to pursue its climate goals and try to meet the Paris climate agreement commitments, even if the U.S. pulls out of the agreement.

Asked afterward if he was considering running for higher office, Hancock said being a big-city mayor is the best job in politics.

“We are getting things done, and we are not mired in partisan politics,” he said.

Denverite is an online local news source for everything you need to know about Denver in 5 minutes. Visit denverite. com/subscribe for more.

asked as an example of an issue that might be a significant safety hazard yet also very solvable.

But Murphy said this idea, which sounds good in theory, takes a lot for granted about the landlord-tenant relationship. Many artists in unpermitted live-work spaces are on month-to-month leases. They could be easily evicted for raising safety issues with the city. They could be just as easily evicted after investing their own money in solving safety issues and making their spaces nicer because the lease often specifies that they accept the building conditions as they are.

Denver City Council gave initial approval to the ordinance July 10.

However, several council members raised the possibility of amendments before the ordinance gets final approval. Councilwoman At-large Robin Kniech said not only prop-

erty owners and tenants who come forward voluntarily but also those who are found out as a result of a surprise inspection should be able to take advantage of the program.

And Councilman Paul Kashmann and Councilwoman At-large Debbie Ortega both said the city needs to find some money to put toward helping artists make their spaces safe.

Kashmann noted the many types of businesses that receive city assistance in one form or another.

“There is not a business I can think of that gives more to our community than our artists,” he said. “I don’t want to live in a community where that doesn’t exist.”

Denverite is an online local news source for everything you need to know about Denver in 5 minutes.

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14 Denver Herald-Dispatch

LOCAL

July 20, 2017

LIFE

Homemade leaves home

Cottage food producers spread jam and joy as they sell their wares

COTTAGE FOODS: THE BASICS Allowed foods • Jams, jellies, preserves, honey • Spice blends, tea, dehydrated produce, flour • Bread, cookies, candies, tortillas • Pickled fruits and veggies with a verified pH below 4.6 (free testing is available through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) • Up to 250 dozen whole eggs per month, only if washed and sanitized (the only cottage food that requires refrigeration)

BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

J

oanne Littau seems to float as she works, blending strawberries and rhubarb with pectin and lemon juice with the deftness and grace of an orchestra conductor. Ceramic pigs peer down at pots of jam bubbling like cauldrons on the stove of her little kitchen. On the wall hang the former New Yorker’s blue ribbons, earned at county fairs for delicacies like ginger pear butter, peach butter with rum and cranberry chutney.

“Oh, it’s a delightful hobby,” Joanne said. “I’m proud of what I do, and people just love my jams.”

Littau, of Denver, is one of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Coloradans who sell homemade goodies under the auspices of the Cottage Foods Act, a set of guidelines designed to grease the wheels for home cooks to sell their wares at farmers markets, community events or even out of their driveways.

The short version of the regulations is fairly simple: take a food safety class — in person or online — keep a clean kitchen, make sure your items are properly labeled and get cooking. Many potentially nonhazardous foods are allowed, such as jams, jellies, honey, baked goods like bread and cookies, dried items like SEE HOMEMADE, P15

Not allowed foods • Meat, fish, or dairy products • Lemon curd, pesto, salsa, dressings, condiments • Beverages • Canned vegetables with a pH higher than 4.6 All items must feature labeling containing • Identification of the food • The producer’s name and address where the food was prepared • Current phone number or email address • Date the food was produced • Complete list of ingredients • The following disclaimer: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.”

Dorreen Strnad stocks her stand with homemade jam.

PHOTOS BY DAVID GILBERT

Training • Face-to-face training is available through Colorado State University’s County Extension offices. Classes generally cost $40 and last three to four hours.

• Colorado’s ServeSafe Manager Certification is intended for commercial establishments, but satisfies the cottage food requirements. Classes cost $120 and up.

• Online training is available through CSU, StateFoodSafety.com, and ServeSafe.

Selling • Cottage foods must be sold directly to consumers, and not for resale in a store or restaurant.

• Sellers are subject to income taxes, and a business license is required in some instances.

• Foods can only be sold within Colorado.

• In-state online sales are now allowed.

• At the point of sale, prominently display a placard reading: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection.

This product is not intended for resale.”

Joanne Littau tells tales of her younger days in New York while finishing off a batch of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Joanne Littau’s jam all ready for sealing. Joanne makes two batches a day, most days of the month.

More information • Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has a detailed page at www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/ cottage-foods-act • Call 303-692-3645, option 3 • Email cdphe_iepu@state.co.us Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

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Denver Herald-Dispatch 15

July 20, 2017

HOMEMADE FROM PAGE 14

spice blends and teas, and even fresh eggs. Pickles are allowed if their pH is below 4.6.

Nothing with meat is allowed, nor is anything that requires refrigeration, except eggs. Dairy products are off the menu, as are salsas and sauces.

Producers can only sell directly to consumers, and you’re only allowed to earn $10,000 per year per variety of food item — meaning you can make 10 grand off chocolate chip cookies and another 10 grand off chocolate chip cookies with walnuts.

Littau’s business keeps her hopping — she estimates she makes two batches of jellies, jams and preserves a day, most days of the month. She mainly sells her products, under the brand name The Jelly Jar LLC, at the Four Seasons Farmers & Artisans Market in Wheat Ridge, but she also makes the rounds of local festivals. She shared a booth at the Fourth of July parade and craft fair in Byers, and she’ll be at the Lafayette Peach Festival in August.

This year she’ll enter the competition at the Arapahoe County Fair for the first time, and she’ll be back to defend last year’s first place ribbons in the Boulder County Fair.

“I’ll never get rich off of cottage foods,” said the diminutive woman with smiling eyes and an easy, musical laugh. “But it occupies my time and makes me feel productive and involved with people. When I came here in the ‘90s, people kind of looked at me funny.

I’m a New York girl — we’re bold and brassy. People out here are a little more toned down. At the market I can really cut loose and be myself.”

Trying to fill a niche Being themselves is big for cottage food producers.

“I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” said Diego Hernandez, the proprietor of Ant D’s Fine Foods, as he presided over tables loaded with jams, jellies and crates of fresh fruits and veggies under a canopy outside O’Toole’s Garden Center in Littleton. “It’s a hard life, but I get to show what I can do from my heart. I don’t have to do what my boss says, because I don’t have one.”

Hernandez’s offerings include strawberry cracked black pepper jam and habanero peach jam, but the big seller is farm-fresh eggs. He has regulars who show up every Tuesday to snag a dozen or two or three.

“The only way you’d get ‘em fresher is if they were laid in your backyard,” he said.

Ant D’s was started “with a raspberry bush and my last unemployment check,” said Hernandez, a lifelong chef and a Denver resident.

Across the way on the hot asphalt, Dorreen Strnad sports a sheepish grin as she’s cajoled into talking up her sugary baked goods.

“My scones are selling like crazy mad today,” Strnad, of Littleton, said.

“Seems like nobody sells a good scone anymore, so I try to fill that niche.”

She does it well. Her scones are fluffy and moist, almost mouth-puckering with tart blueberries. She does loads more than scones, too: big hearty

RECIPE

JOANNE’S STRAWBERRY RHUBARB JAM Courtesy of Joanne Littau

Remove from heat

Ingredients

Skim foam off (but don’t toss it — it makes a great ice cream topping)

2 cups strawberries 2 cups rhubarb, chopped 1 packet dry pectin 1/4 cup lemon juice

Use spoon to remove bubbles from jars

5 cups sugar Dash oil

Wipe rims of jars

DIRECTIONS Stir in lemon juice and pectin

Carefully place heated and sanitized jar lids on jars, screw down rings finger-tight

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently

Place on towel, cover with another towel

Add sugar

Allow to cool, listening for popping of jar lids

Blend or process fruit

Joanne Littau’s strawberry rhubarb jam bubbles on the stove.

DAVID GILBERT

Bring to a rolling boil for one full minute Add a dash of oil to keep foam down

‘I’ll never get rich off of cottage foods. But it occupies my time and makes me feel productive and involved with people.’

Joanne Littau , Denver resident loaves of sandwich bread, flawlessly frosted cookies, and yes, jams and jellies.

“For me, cottage foods means freedom,” Strnad said. “I went to culinary school, then I did the whole punchthe-clock thing. I got tired of being a link in a chain and making money for somebody else. This is my nine-to-five now.”

Following the rules Getting set up in cottage foods isn’t difficult, said Sheila Gains, a Colorado State University extension agent who teaches a cottage food safety training class that satisfies the law’s education requirement.

Most important is understanding the ways in which a home kitchen is different from a commercial kitchen.

“In a commercial kitchen, everyone there is prepped to make food,” Gains said. “In a commercial kitchen, nobody’s coming home from work and wanting to taste-test, no dogs are roaming around, no cats are jumping on counters. When somebody’s sick, they stay home. You’ve got to get everyone in your home on board that when you’re cooking, they’re either helping you keep everything clean or staying out of your way.”

There are no hard numbers on cottage food producers — there’s no

Fill sanitized canning jars within 1/4 inch of the top

mandatory or voluntary registry.

There may be thousands since the law took effect in 2012, Gains said. Before that, to legally sell homemade goods, you would have needed a commercial food license and kitchen.

Store in cool dark place until ready to use; refrigerate after opening

“It’s like going from zero miles per hour to a hundred to become a food producer, so this lets people in at 10 or 15 miles per hour,” Gains said.

“They can develop their product through trial and error. They can see if producing food is something they want to do day in and day out. If they become super successful, they have a fighting chance of becoming a commercial producer.”

To date, there have been no known outbreaks of foodborne illness from cottage food, said Therese Pilonetti with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees administration of cottage foods.

“This law is about breaking down barriers,” Pilonetti said. “And it sure seems to be working.”

16 Denver Herald-Dispatch

THINGS to DO

THEATER

An Evening of Magic & Illusion: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 21 at The Bug Theater, 3654 Navajo St., Denver. Featuring Jeff Jenson, and magical duo Harwood & Woodward. Contact 970-7595015 or magicandillusion.wellattended.com. Suitable for all ages.

‘Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story’: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from July 28 to Aug. 19 at The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., Denver. Presented by Equinox Theatre Company. Recommended for mature audiences only. Go to www.EquinoxTheatreDenver.com The Magic Within: 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29 at the Mercury Café, 2199 California St., Denver. Psychic Explorations with Magician Erica Sodos. Reserve tickets at 303-294-9258 or buy at the door.

Additional 2017 shows are Sept.

30, Oct. 28 and Dec 30.

‘Annie’: through Aug. 6 at the Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis St., Denver. Presented by Phamaly Theatre Company, which casts actors with disabilities (including the dog, Sandy). Call 303-8934100 or go to phamaly.org/annie for tickets and details.

MUSIC

Taste of Jazz: 4-5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22 at The Historic Grant Avenue, 216 S. Grant St., Denver.

Enjoy Dizzy Tribute, with guest artist Brad Goode on percussion.

Enjoy small batch beer and urban wines. The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra performs in collaboration with A Gift of Jazz. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Tickets on sale at http://www.giftofjazz. org/2017/05/11/atribute-to-dizzygillespie/ Hudson Gardens Concert: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 23, Gladys Knight at 6115 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton.

Tickets on sale at www.altitudetickets.com. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

For information, call 303-797-8565 or go to www. hudsongardens. org. Parking is free. Lineup includes: Friday, July 28, Chris Isaak; Sunday, July 30, Creedence Clearwater Revisited; Sunday, Aug. 6, Lynyrd Skynyrd; Sunday, Aug. 13, Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys; Saturday, Aug. 19, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Sunday, Aug. 20, Kool & The Gang; Sunday, Aug. 27, The B-52s; Sunday, Sept.

July 20, 2017

this week’s TOP FIVE Miniature Garden Family Workshop: Journey to Japan: 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 22 at Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St., Denver. Journey to the land of the rising sun and discover the features of Denver Botanic Gardens’ Japanese Garden. Each child will design and create a miniature Japanese garden to take home. For ages 5-10. Go to www. botanicgardens.org.

German Fest Denver: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 22 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 23 at the Lakewood Heritage Center, 801 S. Yarrow St., Lakewood. Celebrate German American heritage and culture. A rain or shine event. Contact germanfestdenver@gmail.com.

City Park Jazz: 6-8 p.m. Sunday, July 23 (Los Bohemios); Sunday, July 30 (JoFoKe); and Sunday, Aug. 6 (Alpha Schoolmarm Orchestra) at City Park, 1600 City Park Esplanade, Denver. Bring blankets or chairs, and set up in the grassy area in front of the stage. Concerts are free, and take

3, YES featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman.

ART/FILM

Designing Women: A CrossCultural Design Collaboration: 5:30-9 p.m. Friday, July 21 at Space Gallery, 400 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. Enjoy cross-cultural designs, experience the design process, and show support for Denver’s refugee community and the work of ECDC’s African Community Center and We Made This, a sewing training and entrepreneurship initiative for Denver-area refugees. Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ designing-womena-cross-culturaldesign-celebrationand-fundraiser-tickets-34557595699.

528.0 Juried Printmaking Exhibition: Tuesdays through Saturdays through July 22 at the Center for Visual Art, 965 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. Admission free. Contact 303294-5201 or cva@ msudenver.edu.

Go to http://www. msudenver.edu/ cva/ Sci-Fi Film Series: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 26 (The Host); Wednesday, Aug. 2 (Arrival); Wednesday, Aug. 9 (A Scanner Darkly) at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, in the Phipp’s Auditorium. Museum scientists and Dr. Vincent Piturro, English and film professor at

place in the pavilion. Go to http://cityparkjazz.org/ Rob Proctor’s Garden Tour: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 29-30, at 3030 W. 46th Ave., Denver. Proceeds from the tour benefit the Dumb Friends League. A horticulturist, Proctor has entertained Colorado gardeners for a decade during his segments on 9News. Go to http://www.ddfl.org/event/robproctors-garden-tour/ ‘On Golden Pond’: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays and 2 p.m. Sundays from July 29 to Aug. 26 at the John Hand Theater, 7653 E. 1st Place, Denver. Presented by Lowry’s Spotlight Theatre, the heart-warming love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer and their long life together.

Contact 720-530-4596 or www.thisisspotlight. com

Metropolitan State University of Denver, break down the science behind these alternative possibilities and separate fact from fiction. Go to http://www. denverfilm.org/programs/series/ sci-fi-film-series/ for tickets and information.

Juried Art Show Entries: Tuesday, Aug. 15 is the deadline for entries for the Heritage Fine Arts Guild of Arapahoe County’s annual This is Colorado juried art show.

The show is open to all Colorado residents and runs from Oct. 10 to Nov. 2. A prospectus and entry form are available at www. heritage-guild.com or contact show director Mary Kay Jacobus at 303-5944667.

‘The Western: An Epic in Art and Film’: open through Sept. 10 at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with extended hours until 8 p.m. Fridays. Closed Mondays. Western genre, including moving pictures. Requires special tickets. 18 and younger admitted free. Go to www.DenverArtMuseum.org.

‘At the Water’s Edge: Floral and Fowl’: open through Sept. 30 at Old South Frame and Gallery, 1588 S. Pearl St., Denver. Features artwork of Michael Warren and Darryl Trott. Call 303-715-3828.

EVENTS

Brexit: What Does the Future Hold for the UK and the European Union? 2:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, July 24 at Springbrooke, 6800 Leetsdale Drive, Denver. On June 23, 2016 British voters elected to exit the European Union, sending global stock markets sharply down and provoking global reactions running the gamut from horror to congratulations. Join Active Minds as we place this pivotal event in its historic context and explore where this high-stakes path may lead, not only for the UK, but also the EU and the rest of the world. Space is limited. RSVP required; call 303331-9963. No groups, please.

Nuclear Energy: 5-6 p.m. Tuesday, July 25 at Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Nuclear power has a checkered history that includes the Chernobyl disaster, Three Mile Island, and the more recent incident after the earthquake in Japan. Advocates, however, point to advantages such as zero carbon emissions and cite the example of France, which produces over 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and is the world’s largest exporter of electricity due to its

very low cost of generation. Join Active Minds, over 30 years after Chernobyl and six years after the Japanese nuclear accidents, as we evaluate the pros and cons of this controversial source of power. Call 303-322-7727.

Eleanor Roosevelt: 9:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 27 at Rosemark Senior Living, 833 Jersey, Denver. As the longest-serving first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt was both outspoken and, at times, quite controversial. Join Active Minds as we examine her life and the impact it had on important causes such as human rights and the successful launch of the United Nations. Call 303-770-7673 to RSVP. Turbulent Waters: Conflict in the South China Sea: 6:45-7:45 p.m. Thursday, July 27 at Sam Gary Library, 2961 Roslyn St., Denver. The South China Sea is an incredibly strategic body of water located between China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. At stake is one of the busiest trade routes in the world as well as oil and fishing rights.

Recently China has been pressing its claim to long disputed parts of the South China Sea, raising concerns as to what may happen as tensions rise. Join Active Minds for a closer look at this delicate situation. This program is brought to you by the Stapleton Master Community Association.

Spain: 2-3 p.m. Friday, July 28 at the Virginia Village Library, 1500 S. Dahlia St., Denver. From its heights as the dominant country in the world in the 16th century, Spain is now one of the European countries struggling with debt. Join Active Minds as we explore the roots and legacy of the Spanish Empire and how this important country fits into the regional and global puzzle today.

Cuba: Past, Present & Future: 2-3 p.m. Saturday, July 29 at Athmar Park Library, 1055 S. Tejon St., Denver. With former President Obama’s announcement signaling a historic shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba, join Active Minds for a past, present and future look at our communist neighbor to the south. We will cover Castro’s revolution, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Guantánamo Bay and current implications of the change in U.S. policy.

Editor’s note: Calendar submissions must be received by noon Thursday for publication the following week. Send listings to calendar@ coloradocommunitymedia.com.

No attachments, please. Listings are free and run on a space-available basis.

Denver Herald-Dispatch 17

July 20, 2017

Stretches and stouts at Arvada brewery Yoga in the Taproom held every other Saturday

BY SHANNA FORTIER SFORTIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The yoga class is held every other Saturday before the brewery opens for business. SHANNA FORTIER

IF YOU GO WHAT: Tapped in Yoga WHERE: Odyssey Beerwerks Brewery & Taproom, 5535 W. 56th Ave. Unit 107, Arvada WHEN: 10 a.m. every other Saturday — next class is July 22 COST: $15 — includes one hour class and one beer after

Answers

Solution © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Beer is not normally associate with the practice of yoga. But the trend of combining the two is growing in the Denver Metro area and Allie Beckmann is bringing it to the Arvada community every other Saturday at Odyssey Beerwerks.

Beckmann said that having a nice cold beer after yoga practice is a good reward and a way to enhance the community aspect of a class.

“People who like beer, like to talk to each other,” said Golden resident Theresa Dixon, who attended the July 8 Tapped in Yoga at Odyssey.

For Dixon yoga gives her a sense of peace and balance and the community of sharing a beer after class adds the the draw of Beckmann’s class.

Tapped in Yoga started in March and meets every other Saturday at the Arvada brewery. Cost for the class is $15 and includes one beer after.

Currently, the class averages seven to 10 participants, but the space can hold at least 20, Beckmann said.

Yoga, Beckmann added can sometimes be so focused that it creates tension, which is why she likes the playfulness of teaching in the taproom.

“No matter where I’m teaching I try to incorporate an element of lightness, of play, of fun,” said Beckmann who teaches at a variety of studios and businesses in the metro area. “I think the space here at the brewery — the energy of that adds to it.”

THANKS for

PLAYING!

18 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

Bandimere Speedway echoes with thunder this weekend Mile High National Drag Races take place July 21-23

DID YOU KNOW? Drag-racing is about harnessing horsepower and torque to produce as much speed as quickly as possible. The top fuel dragsters are at the top of the list of achieving those goals. The powerful 8,000-horsepower engine is behind the driver in the long, low-slung dragster. The engine idles at about 2,100 revolutions per minute and gulps fuel at about 1.2 gallons per second to generate the power needed to accelerate the car from the starting line to 100 mph in about one second. The car can be traveling more than 320 miles an hour as it crosses the finish line.

BY TOM MUNDS TMUNDS@OURCOLORADONEWS.COM

Bandimere Speedway becomes the source of thunder on the mountain July 21-22 when hundreds of drivers fire up their powerful engines to compete in the National Hot Rod Association’s Mopar Mile High Nationals.

“Teams begin arriving July 19 to set up and be ready when racing begins July 21,” said John Miller, Bandimere media relations director. “There will be hundreds of cars competing in the different NHRA classifications.

A majority of the entries are in the sportsmen classes and those entries are driven by men and women from the local area.”

Although friends and families support drivers competing in the sportsman classes, Miller said the Mile High Nationals are a special time of year for drag-racing fans as all the top competitors in the four professional classifications — top fuel dragster, top fuel funny car, pro stock car and pro stock motorcycle — will be at Bandimere Speedway.

Drag-racing is a full-time profession for just about all the professional class drivers and teams, most of whom come from cities around the country. But this year also sports two local entries in the professional classes: Deric Cramer, currently 18th in points, will be competing in pro stock and Mike Berry, a Littleton resident, will be astride his pro stock motorcycle. Berry is currently 15th in the points standings.

“The top dragster division in the sportsman class will also be interesting to watch this year, particularly the competition between Arvada residents Steve and Vicky Johnson,” Miller said. “Steve is first in points here at the track and his wife Vicky

Tony Schumacher, driver of the U.S. Army top fuel dragster, spins the tires to heat them up so they grip the track better. Schumacher returns to Bandimere Speedway July 21-23 to defend the Mile High National event title he won last year.

FILE PHOTO BY TOM MUNDS is second. Vicky won the Mile High Nationals top dragster race in 2015 and her husband won it last year.”

Over the three days of racing, about 100,000 fans are expected at Bandimere Speedway. The Mile High Nationals is the only National Hot Rod Association national event in the Rocky Mountain area.

Pro class drivers expected to be at Bandimere include names like Ron Capps, the points leader in top fuel dragster and Bo Butler, who is in first place in the pro stock points standings.

Special attention also is focused on the outcome of the top fuel dragster races because, as of July 12, there was a fierce battle for second place with two points separating Leah Pritchett (1,087 points) and Antron Brown (1,085 points). Steve Torrence is the points leader with 1,188 points.

Points are awarded on participation and performance. Each driver who qualifies earns 10 points and the

IF YOU GO The Mile High Nationals action and fan interest pick up Friday and Saturday when the pro-class entries are on the track for qualifications runs. Top fuel funny cars and dragsters qualifying sessions are at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday, July 21, and at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 22. The eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, July 23.

Bandimere Speedway is at 3051 S. Rooney Road, Morrison, alongside C-470.

For information on tickets or the Mile High National schedule, call Bandimere Speedway at 303-697-6001 or visit www. bandimere.com. champion of a division earns 100 points, with 80 points going to the runner-up. It is possible, but not very likely, for a driver who has an unusually successful weekend to earn 130 points.

Funny cars are powered by the same highperformance engines as the dragsters. But, instead of the sling shot-style dragster body, funny cars use bodies fashioned to resemble production-model automobiles. Speeds and times for funny cars are just a little less than that of the top fuel dragsters.

Pro-stock cars are powered by 500 cubicinch engines and the bodies must be production models. Teams use bodies such as the Chevrolet Cavalier and the Dodge Stratus. The cars run times in the 7-second range and hit speeds of about 190 miles an hour. The cars are very evenly matched and, frequently, a win or a loss is determined by one-thousandth of a second.

Motorcycles are part of the pro classes, too.

The drivers guide the bullet-like motorcycles as the machines cover the quartermile in 7.5 seconds and hit speeds of 180 miles an hour.

National drag-racing events are special because a ticket includes a pit pass, which allows fans to watch mechanics prepare the cars for action and even get a chance to talk and get autographs from their favorite drivers. It equates to allowing football fans access to a pro football team’s locker room.

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Denver Herald-Dispatch 19

July 20, 2017

‘Bad Jews’ ask the big questions of audiences Edge Theater stages family clash for second summer show

BY CLARKE READER CREADER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Funerals are a time for families to come together to grieve and celebrate the life of the deceased. But when family members who are dealing with loss and anger are in the same place, that mix of personalities can lead to a combustible situation.

That’s the case in Joshua Harmon’s dark comedy, “Bad Jews,” which runs at The Edge Theater, 1560 Teller St., July 14 through Aug. 6. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Directed by Josh Hartwell, “Bad

Jews” chronicles the clash between traditional and observant Daphna (Missy Moore) and her cousin, Liam (John Wittbrodt), who takes a more secular approach to life.

When their grandfather dies, both claim the Chai necklace he managed to save while surviving the Holocaust. Liam’s non-Jewish girlfriend Wittbrodt Melody (Chloe McCleod) and brother Jonah (Ben Hilzer) get dragged into the brawl, and things get messy for everyone.

“It’s like watching a crash happening on stage,” Moore said. “You have these cultural and spiritual philosophies and family dynamics all mixing together, and these people trying to figure out how to sustain their identities and ideas.”

The play is brisk and entertaining,

IF YOU GO

show you just sit back and enjoy. Its one you have to listen to and engage with.”

Both Moore and Wittbrodt said the play’s themes of staying true to a religious or culture identity are particularly relevant in current times, with so much pressure being put on people to assimilate into a homogeneous society.

“I see the show and its ideas a dialogue,” Moore said. “At the end, its who people are that matters.”

Bringing audiences something more than light summer fare has always been a mission of The Edge, and Wittbrodt is looking forward to taking audiences along on the journey the characters go through.

“Everyone in the show keeps thinking and growing,” he said. “It’s going to actively challenge the audiences, and they may come away with more questions than they had going in.”

WHAT: “Bad Jews” WHERE: The Edge Theater 1560 Teller St., Lakewood WHEN: July 14 - Aug. 6 Friday and Saturday - 8 p.m.

Sunday - 6 p.m.

COST: $30 INFORMATION: 303-232-0363 or www. theedgetheater.com Wittbrodt explained, and the perfect show for an intimate theater like The Edge.

“It all takes place in a New York City Studio, so the audience feels like it’s there with us,” he added. “Which is great because this is not the kind of

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NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of SAMUEL EUGENE THOMASSON, also known as SAMUEL E. THOMASSON, also known as SAM E. THOMASSON, and SAM THOMASSON, Deceased Case Number: 2017PR30737

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All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 6, 2017, 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 Denver County, Colorado on or before November 6, 2017, or the claims may be forever barred.

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Dated this 6th day of July, 2017.

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 9, 2017, or the claims may be forever barred.

Thomas E. Thomasson Personal Representative 2445 South Leyden Street Denver, Colorado 80222 Legal Notice No.: 8124 First Publication: July 6, 2017 Last Publication: July 20, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch

Legal Notice No.: 8126 First Publication: July 6, 2017 Last Publication: July 20, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch PUBLIC NOTICE

KURT WILLIAM DAHLIN Personal Representative to the Estate 1412 Syracuse Street Denver, Colorado 80220 Home Phone: 303.329-8473 Legal Notice No.: 8127 First Publication: July 6, 2017 Last Publication: July 20, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 20, 2017 or the claims may be forever barred.

Thomas R. Leemon, Esq. Attorney to the Personal Representative 1777 South Harrison Street, Suite 1500 Denver, Colorado 80210 Legal Notice No: 8132 First Publication: July 20, 2017 Last Publication: August 3, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of John Bernard Van Heuvelen, aka John B. Van Heuvelen, aka John Van Heuvelen, Deceased Case Number: 2017 PR 30795

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Audrey T. Hillman, Deceased Case No. 2017PR30170

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of EVERETT C. TERRY, also known as EVERETT CLYDE TERRY and EVERETT TERRY, Deceased Case Number: 2017 PR 30787

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of CLINTON E. BROMLEY, Deceased Case Number: 2017 PR 30833

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Probate Court, City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 6, 2017, 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 Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 13, 2017 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 Denver Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado on or before November 21, 2017, or the claims may be forever barred.

David Hillman, Personal Representative c/o Siffring Law Office 2000 Wadsworth Blvd., #157 Lakewood, CO 80214

DIANA L. TERRY, Personal Representative 401 Elm Street Denver, Colorado 80220

Beverly Boosinger, Personal Representative 7546 Quay St. Arvada, CO 80003

Susan Van Heuvelen Personal Representative c/o Katz, Look & Onorato, P.C. 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 1100 Denver, Colorado 80203

Legal Notice No.: 8125 First Publication: July 6, 2017 Last Publication: July 20, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch

Legal Notice No: 8128 First Publication: July 13, 2017 Last Publication: July 27, 2017 Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

Legal Notice No.: 8131 First Publication: July 20, 2017 Last Publication: August 3, 2017 Publisher: The Denver Herald-Dispatch

Legal Notice No: 8135 First Publication: July 20, 2017 Last Publication: August 3, 2017 Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

Public Notice

Public Notice

All persons having claims against the abovenamed estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the Probate Court of the City and County of Denver, Colorado, on or before November 21, 2017, or the claims may be forever barred.

In the matter of the adoption of E.B., Case No. 172900263 STATE OF UTAH TO: Unknown

A petition for adoption has been filed in the Third Judicial District Court, State of Utah, regarding a child born on May 23, 2017, in Utah to J. Warfield.

IF YOU INTEND TO INTERVENE IN OR CONTEST THE ADOPTION, YOU MUST FULLFIL THE REQUIREMENTS OF UTAH COD E§78B6-110(6), INCLUDING FILING A MOTION TO INTERVENE WITH THE COURT, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF RECEIVING THIS NOTICE. IF YOU DO NOT, THE COURT WILL ENTER AN ORDER THAT YOU HAVE WAIVED ANY RIGHT TO FURTHER NOTICE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE CHILD, FORFEITED ALL RIGHTS IN RELATION TO THE CHILD, AND ARE BARRED FROM THEREAFTER BRINGING OR MAINTAINING ANY ACTION TO ASSERT ANY INTEREST IN THE CHILD.

Any motion must be filed with the Third Judicial District Court, 8080 S. Redwood Rd, #1701, West Jordan, UT 84088, and a cop ymailed to Larry Jenkins, 50 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. A motion must set forth specific relief sought accompanied by a memorandum specifying factual and legal grounds on which the motion is based. For a copy of the petition, contact Mr. Jenkins at (801) 328-3600.

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Legal Notice No: 8130 First Publication: July 20, 2017 Last Publication: August 3, 2017 Publisher: Denver Herald Dispatch

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20 Denver Herald-Dispatch

July 20, 2017

‘This can be a turnaround moment for them’ Hospital offering services in addiction, mental health is set to open this month

BY TOM SKELLEY TSKELLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Metro-area residents will soon have another option for substance abuse and mental health services: Denver Springs Hospital, scheduled to open in unincorporated Arapahoe County in late July, will offer inpatient and outpatient treatment services to meet a growing demand of patients struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety and other issues.

“We have put a lot of resources into programming and the environment that a lot of other hospitals don’t have,” said clinical director Brian Snyder, who said the center’s treatment options will include pet therapy, music therapy, yoga, nutrition, art therapy and an interfaith chaplain.

Treatment will employ the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model, helping patients change negative thought patterns to improve how they cope with challenging situations. Anonymous group therapy is a large component of the CBT model, and each unit of the facility includes a community room for sessions.

Patients will also have the option of

Clinic al Director Brian Snyder and Therapist Kate Breslin stand outside the Denver Springs Hospital on July 10. Breslin says she looks forward to working in an environment with lower staff-to-patient ratios than in other centers she’s been associated with. TOM SKELLEY using outpatient treatment and Cognit, a web-based therapy service.

David Morris, CEO of Denver Springs and a former licensed clinical social worker, said the primary function is to provide a safe place for patients to start over.

“We’re taking them into a controlled, safe environment,” he said.

“Then we can get some insight into why someone’s feeling that desper-

ate or out-of-control and help them develop new coping mechanisms.”

About half the patients accepted will use third-party insurers to pay, Morris said, and 40 to 50 percent of patients’ treatment will be paid for by government programs, though that is “totally up in the air” pending congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He stressed that anyone who comes

through the doors for help will be seen, regardless of means.

“We don’t want to be siloed away as a private hospital,” he said. “If someone shows up for care, we’ll treat them, regardless of payment.”

The hospital is at 8835 American Way, near E-470 and Peoria Road. Six therapists and 75 staffers are already on board, with more to come, according to community relations director Ethan Dexter.

The facility features four units: one for substance abuse detoxification and rehabilitation, one for adult mental health treatment and one for adolescent mental health treatment. One unit is still unoccupied and will be designated after staff evaluates which types of service are needed, Dexter said.

Rooms in the inpatient unit are double occupancy and handicapaccessible, and can accommodate up to 96 patients at a time. Outdoor areas feature xeriscaped walkways and a basketball court while the interior is decorated with warm color schemes and an open design.

Therapist Kate Breslin said the staff ’s goal is to help anyone who has made the difficult choice to seek help realize they did the right thing.

“This can be a really low moment for them,” Breslin said. “We want to get them to see that they made the right choice and this can be a turnaround moment for them.”