October 8, 2020
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
GoldenTranscript.net
VOLUME 154 | ISSUE 44
Still finding joy through community for 98-year-old Golden resident BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For years, the sight of Alice Dempsey riding a bike to meet someone to interview for her column in the Golden Transcript was a familiar one around town. “I love people,” said the 98-yearold, who has lived in the same house on Washington Avenue since moving to Golden in 1968. But while Dempsey has not been riding her bike in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished neither that love of people nor Dempsey’s ability to enjoy their company. On the contrary, it’s simply allowed Dempsey to do so in a whole new way. “With her being somewhat restricted, a lot of neighbors and friends have been coming to see her,” said Alice’s daughter, Sharon Dempsey. Among the most frequent visitors is Alice’s mailman, who makes a point of saying hello to Dempsey from a safe distance. “He talks to her every day,” said Alice’s son, Mike, who is one of three of her seven children who takes turns staying with her. “He waves and shouts.”
Officials urging community to get flu vaccine as season approaches BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Golden resident Alice Dempsey sits on her porch next to a sign consisting of arrows pointing to the home cities of her children and her hometown of Mount Prospect, Illinois. PHOTO BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO Then there has been Dempsey’s neighbors, who started coming over each night to howl on Dempsey’s porch every 8 p.m. The howling, an activity that took root in Golden and across Colorado in the early days of the pandemic. The howling SEE DEMPSEY, P9
DECADES OF DEMPSEY Alice Dempsey’s community profiles have graced the pages of the Golden Transcript for quite some time. A collection of her writings, “People Leaving Footprints in Golden,” volumes I and II are available at the Golden Library, spanning 1976-2003.
Bringing help and humanity to the isolated Lakewood nonprofit helps feed 151 households this week BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Volunteers bring food to those at highest COVID-19 risk. Just a short distance off West Colfax avenue in Lakewood — an area not always thought of for charity, kindness
Elevated Jeffco COVID-19 case numbers keeping restrictions in place
and the spirit of goodwill. The small but growing group of volunteers has been hard at work feeding metro-area residents that have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are working with Benefits in Action, a nonprofit, in partnership with the State of Colorado to help those in need navigate health care benefits like Medicare, Medicare and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for the past five years. In March, the Lakewoodbased nonprofit launched a no-con-
tact food delivery program to serve those in need who are homebound, or have a high degree of vulnerability to the virus. According to the numbers provided by Jane Barnes, one of the founders of BIA, the need is definitely there. “In March, we started calling the folks that we serve, and saying “how are you— is there anything you need? And people said, “we need food,” so that’s how it got SEE FOOD, P8
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Jeffco has continued to be elevated from recent lows for the third straight week, leaving the county farther away from a potential loosening of restrictions. In his last public health update to the county commissioners, retiring Jefferson County Public Health Executive Director Mark B. Johnson told them on Sept. 29 that Jeffco has slipped from having about 300 cases in a two-week period to well over 600. “It’s rather disappointing,” said Johnson who noted the county’s numbers are approaching where they were during the county’s last case spike in mid-July. “We believe that reopening the schools did have an impact but I believe that as we look at the numbers it has more to do with our lack of discipline around the Labor Day period where I think we again had people traveling and going to parties and barbecues where they tend to take down their guard a bit and take down their masks a little more and get closer to loved ones,” he added. Johnson also said that while cases are up, the county is also seeing a rise in positive test rates. There also seems to be spikes in hospitalizations and deaths, although Johnson noted that those spikes so far seem to be controlled. Another source of good news is that there has not appeared to be much COVID-19 transmission in the county schools, with county contact tracers SEE COVID, P9
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | SPORTS: PAGE 29
ELECTION 2020
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