COSTLY CONCERN
May 12, 2016 VOLUM E 127 | IS S U E 42 | 75¢
A publication of
A sharp rise in child care costs has impacted the finances of many families. PAGE 12
A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
LittletonIndependent.net
‘It seems like old times again’ Mother’s Day weekend event had B-17, World War II vets By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com
World War II veteran David Wilhelm speaks to a crowd at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum Blue Star Weekend media day on May 5, in front of a P-51 Mustang, the type of plane he flew when he earned his status as an ace fighter pilot in 1944. Photo by Kyle Harding
It had been 70 years since Len Estrin had been aboard a B-17 bomber before he began volunteering with Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum last year. “It was a lot of fun,” he said of getting to fly after all those years. “A big thrill.” Estrin served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17, also known as the Flying Fortress, in 1944 and 1945, a position that saw him manning a machine gun on the underside
of the massive bomber on missions over Europe. He was initially training to be a pilot after enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Forces out of Chicago. “I got through with primary (flight training) and they said they didn’t need pilots anymore, they needed gunners,” he said. Flight crews were voluntary positions, but he still wanted to fly. “You have a choice,” he was told. “You can be a gunner, a gunner, or a gunner.” Estrin, who lives in Aurora, was among several World War II aviation veterans in Wings continues on Page 7
Coming soon: C-470 toll lane project Construction will be from I-25 to Wadsworth and is expected to take three years By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Colorado Department of Transportation is hoping toll lanes will improve traffic on a 12.5-mile stretch of C-470 between I-25 and Wadsworth Boulevard after a three-year construction project set to begin this summer. “The traveling public has asked CDOT to relieve congestion within this critical corridor,” CDOT Project Director Jerome Estes said in a statement. More than 100,000 drivers travel through the segment every day, and CDOT projects volume to increase 40 percent in the next 20 years. C-470 continues on Page 7
COACH’S VIEW
Abby Cadogan of Living the Dream Brewing Company pours a sample of the brewery’s Empty Trophy Case IPA at the South Denver Beer Festival on May 8. Photos by Kyle Harding
Awards put area beer on map Three local breweries take home hardware at contest By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com
“Scrappy” Littleton team finds direction from veteran coaches. PAGE 22
Colorado has 284 craft breweries and cities like Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder and Longmont have been on the map of craft beer aficionados nationwide for decades now. But after three local breweries took home medals at the Denver International Beer Competition last month, some beer lovers may take a closer look at the south suburbs. Locavore Beer Works and 38 State Brewing Co., both in Littleton, and Living Breweries continues on Page 16
Steve Schuett, general manager at 38 State Brewing, pours a pint of the brewery’s Mile 419.99 Rye pale ale on April 29. Shuett says that breweries are beginning to replace neighborhood bars.
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120 | PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Littleton, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT LITTLETON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 5 p.m. | Classifieds: Tue. 8 a.m. | Obits: Tue. 11 a.m. | Legals: Thurs. 11 a.m.