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June 17, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 37 | ISSUE 47
Work begins on Lutheran hospital’s new location BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
double by 2050.” Gill admits she hasn’t read the whole report, which she said is around 500 pages long, but gleaned enough from what she did read to learn the expansion of Bear Creek Lake is part of a bigger goal of adding 500,000-acre feet of water storage for Colorado. “The 20,000-acre feet increase in Bear Creek Lake would make up that 5%, and I think that’s a little bit too much to ask of our little park,” she said. Gill readily admits the park probably needs to be part of the solution and says she’s not a “not in my
Ground has been broken for the SCL Lutheran replacement hospital campus in Wheat Ridge. The new hospital will be located in the new Clear Creek Crossing development near I-70 and 44th Avenue. The June 9 affair was attended by Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker, several city council members, Police Chief Chris Murtha, first responders, hospital staff, board members and supporters. Lutheran Hospital’s roots date back to 1905, when it was known as the Evangelical Lutheran Sanitarium. When the new facility is completed, it will be the newest and one of the most advanced hospitals in the country with a Level II Trauma Center designation. It will also have the capability of turning most of its rooms into ICU rooms when necessary — an innovation driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Described as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” by SCL Health CEO Lydia Jumonville, construction of the replacement hospital will allow SCL Lutheran to serve the community for decades to come. “Health care comes into our lives at our most critical moments of joy and vulnerability,” Jumonville said. “Today is the continuation of our mission and it marks the start of the construction of our new building, but as you all know, a hospital
SEE STUDY, P12
SEE HOSPITAL, P10
An illustration depicts Bear Creek Lake at 22,000-acre feet of storage. The darker blue in the center shows the current footprint COURTESY OF KATIE GILL of the lake.
Expansion study proposed for Bear Creek Lake reservoir BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Water. It may be the defining issue of the American West. As the population of the Front Range continues to swell, the need to find solutions to the vexing problem of water usage persists. Bear Creek Lake, sitting on the edges of Lakewood and Morrison, is currently allowed to store 2,000acre feet of water. A plan proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers (which builds and regulates dams) would expand that capacity to 22,000-acre feet of water storage — a number so large, it has some area residents asking, “Why?”
Katie Gill, a Morrison resident, first read about the plan in the Bear Creek Watershed Association newsletter. She says at first she thought it was surely a typo — that they must have put an extra zero on the number. So, Gill started doing what any retired teacher would do — her homework. And sure enough, the number was accurate. The state did want to research adding 20,000-acre feet of water storage to the lake. “This really became a topic with the publishing of the Colorado Water Plan in 2015,” she said. “And that plan was written, estimating the population in Colorado would
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
GREEN THUMB, BIG BENEFITS
Gardening can give you something to be proud of P16