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April 22, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 37 | ISSUE 40
Supporters research options to save Jeffco Fairgrounds Renewed call for county to consider second “deBrucing” measure BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Braelin, a Girl Scout Brownie, makes a flower bouquet for new friends at Willowbrook in south Jeffco.
PHOTOS BY BOB WOOLEY
Girl Scouts deliver big dose of spring to Memory Care Flowers and songs put smiles on faces after long year of isolation BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The young ones brought the cookies — something they’re great at — and got right to work arranging flowers for the big exchange. The other ladies, the ones who live at Willowbrook Place and have reached a certain stage of maturity in life, sat in a sunny conference room making bou-
quets to give in return. It was a warm day in temperature and deed as the girls, Izzy, Braelin and Adella, technically Brownies, from Troop 65343 from Aurora paid a visit to a South Jeffco memory care center to make some springtime magic and meet a few new friends in person. The relationship actually bloomed last summer when the girls wrote pen pal notes to the ladies at Willowbrook, hoping to brighten up the long days of isolation. Sarah Kressig, Life Engagement Director for Willowbrook Place, SEE GIRL SCOUTS, P2
Elvira Barber arranges flowers at Willowbrook in south Jeffco.
A little over a year after the Jefferson County commissioners broached closing the Jeffco Fairgrounds in response to budget cuts, the decades-old facility has reached what Jeffco County Manager Don Davis says is a sustainable level of service. However, members of a new county board tasked with preserving the agricultural, equine and youth activities the facility has long hosted say doing so has come at the cost of making severe cuts to the facility’s offerings and left it in a precarious long-term position. “The whole revenue piece has got to change somehow because it’s got us in a stranglehold,” said Lisa Stavig, a member of that board, about provisions of the state TABOR law that have the effect of severely limiting the amount of money the county can spend on the fairgrounds without having to make cuts to other programs. “They’ve cut and cut to the bare bones, and there is nothing else they can cut there unless we close.” The impact of TABOR on county operation and the fairgrounds came to the forefront last year when County Manager Don Davis announced SEE FAIRGROUNDS, P21
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 27
ONE MORE RUN
Jeffco ski resort closes for season P16