AUGUST 16, 2018
IT’S IN THE BAGS Cornhole’s popularity on the rise in metro area P10
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Feeding neighbors fills community need Father, daughter provide food pantry, snack boxes BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Deidra Bates believes that if every neighborhood had a food pantry box, nobody would go hungry. So, about a year ago, she set up such a box outside of her southwest Denver home, near South Federal Boulevard and West Exposition Avenue, where she has lived for the past nine years. Bates fills the box with basic necessities such as flour and sugar and other nonperishable items, such as canned goods and pastas. “It’s just to get the general public fed. I’d rather see the food go to a family that needs it rather than it sitting on a shelf gathering dust,” said Bates, who with her husband is raising five children ranging in age from 6 to 18. “My family and I saw a need in our community, so we put up a box.” Shortly after that box was set up, her dad, Jake Burkhardt, and his late wife, Sheila Lymm, recognized a similar need in their Wheat Ridge neighborhood. Lymm passed away last August, but Burkhardt followed through with their idea about six months ago. In a spinoff from his daughter’s concept, Burkhardt wanted to gear his box toward the seniors he often sees enjoying Founders’ Park on Jay Street. “This has been a quiet neighborhood for years,” said Burkhardt, who has lived in his home since 1955 when his parents bought the house and raised him in it. But Founders’ Park is a “popular park.” In the vicinity is the Seniors’ Resource Center, Wheat Ridge’s Active Adult Center and a couple nursing homes, Burkhardt said, so it attracts a lot of seniors. SEE NEIGHBORS, P9
Police share final outline on use of force Document has long been in works with input from community members BY KEVIN BEATY DENVERITE.COM
Wheat Ridge resident Jake Burkhardt organizes his snack box located across Jay Street from Founders’ Park. Burkhardt fills the box with healthy snacks for park visitors, and because he is just getting started with it, would like suggestions on what kinds of snack foods people would enjoy. CHRISTY STEADMAN
After more than a year and a half workshopping “force related policies” with community stakeholders, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen unveiled his department’s final document on Aug. 6. The 27-page document outlines proper use of weapons, scenarios in which officers should use them and how incidents should be reported after the fact. In 2016, when then-Chief Robert White announced the new policy would be penned, community groups made it clear they wanted a seat at the table as the document came together. In January 2017, White announced they’d have their shot. In the months since, a small group of civilian representatives has sat through meeting after meeting, providing input and fighting for changes as small as a single word to make sure the document represents community interests now and holds officers accountable in the future. Pazen said the entire force should be trained in the new standards by the end of the year. SEE FORCE, P9
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“I always bring a chip on my shoulder, not because I’m mad but because I know what I have to do.” Phillip Lindsay, Broncos rookie | Page 13 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 6 | SPORTS: PAGE 13 VOLUME 91 | ISSUE 41