Sentinel Lakewood
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 90, Issue 10
October 17, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Federal shutdown puts lives in limbo Politicians point fingers as workers face uncertainty By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com When Ann Humphrey received news recently that she was being furloughed as part of the federal government shutdown, she immediately drove to Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s Jefferson County office and sought answers, while wiping away tears. “I was very upset,” the Lakewood woman said. “I just wanted to vent and let them know how upset I was. I didn’t know if I was going to be getting paid or how long this would last. It was really scary.” Humphrey has been a government employee for the last 25 years, most recently as a management assistant with the Department of Treasury. She’ll probably end up getting back pay, but in the meantime she has no income and plenty of bills to deal with. “I called Wells Fargo to see if they would defer my house payment and they wouldn’t do it for me,” she said. “It’s really stressful. It really is the fear of the unknown.” Humphrey wasn’t the only one facing uncertainty amid the shutdown. Mickey Devitt of Denver is an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board. Her position was furloughed and she, like Humphrey, has been faced with uncertainty about what the immediate future will bring. “I have two young kids and I’m the breadwinner for my family,” she said. “I have half a paycheck to last me until (Oct. 10) and I don’t what’s going to happen after that.” While Humphrey and Devitt triage their bills and forgo unnecessary expenses, politicians point fingers. “We’ve done everything we can to keep this government funded and we are doing everything we can now, knowing that we don’t have a Senate or a president who wants to have a conversation with us,” said Republican Congressman Cory Gardner. “We now have a shutdown of the government, there’s now this overarching threat of the United States defaulting on its full faith and credit and not paying the bills,” said Congressman Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat. “And these guys (Republicans) have been holding the economy and working people hostage. “It really is unforgivable.”
Trading accusations
On Oct. 10 and 11, some movement was made toward a shutdown resolution, as House Republicans — stinging from national poll numbers that show they are receiving the lion’s share of the blame for the shutdown — began submitting short-term proposals to raise the federal debt ceiling
Limbo continues on Page 18
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
Alameda High School resource officer Jesus “Moose” Chavez and Gretchen Olmsted help her son Luke get into the athletic stroller that Chavez will be pushing Luke in during the Denver Rock-n-Roll marathon. Photos by Clarke Reader
Pushing to the finish Officer helps challenge student complete first half-marathon By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
O
ne Alameda High School challenge student will complete his first half-marathon, with help from one of the school’s resource officer. Luke Olmsted, who has cerebral palsy, will be pushed for half of the Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon on Oct. 20 by officer Jesus “Moose” Chavez. “This is my fifth year at the school as a resource officer, and since I started here I’ve been working to get involved in the school,” Chavez said. “I’ve been going to music and drama performances and sport events, so I was looking for a way to do something with the challenge students so they would feel comfortable around me.” Chavez has taken the students to the police department and shown them around, and he was also invited to a Special Olympics game day that Jeffco hosted. In speaking with the students and their families, he learned about Luke, who despite his illness and the fact that he is non-verbal is a major outdoors and sports lover. “Luke has always been an outdoors kid, and he loves participating and watching any and all sports,” his mother Gretchen said. “He does ski-sitting and we work with him in a swimming pool.” Gretchen added that Luke regularly participates in the adaptive sports that Jeffco offers to its students. All of this gave Chavez an idea — to literally push Luke farther than he’d ever been before. “I’ve been running marathons since 2007, and I had the idea to push Luke in a 5K, and before we knew it, it was a half marathon,” Chavez said. “Then we had to figure out how to do
Alameda High School students cheer on Luke Olmsted and Jesus “Moose” Chavez at a practice run at the school on Oct. 9. this.” Chavez worked with Athletes in Tandem, who was able to provide the athletic stroller that Chavez could push Luke in during the race. The cost was around $500, and the Police Athletic League, school and parents all donated money to pay for it. He ended up raising $1,200 dollars to help other students who would also like to compete in a road races, all of which went to Athletes in Tandem. “I didn’t think it was going to be that
big,” Chavez said. “Luke’s really excited for the race. He can’t speak, but he knows there’s a challenge ahead, and it’s a good thing.” Gretchen said she was blown away when she heard about Chavez’s offer, and thinks this is right up Luke’s alley. Luke’s entire family is going to be waiting at the finish line on Oct. 20. “What Moose is doing just emulates how we are raising Luke,” she said. “We look at the possibilities, not the disability.”