A FRIEND INDEED
September 1, 2016 VOLUM E 128 | IS S UE 6 | 75¢
Therapy animals help bring comfort for those in need. PAGE 12
LittletonIndependent.net
A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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New River Run gets juices flowing
Recreational facilities offer good times in and near South Platte
By Tom Munds tmunds@coloradocommunitymedia.com About 125 invited guests gathered for the Aug. 25 official River Run Recreational Facility opening, while perhaps proof of the project’s success was the fact that there were dozens of children on the playground and dozens of enthusiasts surfing the South Platte River.
The river amenities that made surfing possible drew a lot of attention. Garrett Dinnel came from Arvada to test his stand-up paddleboard in the whitewater created by one of the two chutes in the area. “This is just great and this kind of facility is long overdue,” he said as he waited his turn to go back into the whitewater. “This new facility is the latest amenity that is making the southwest area the place to go for fun adventure activities.” The Aug. 25 event culminated three years and a huge number of worker hours with the official
opening ceremonies for River Run, the recreational facility located just north of Oxford Avenue along the banks and in the water of the South Platte River. “This is an amazing project,” said Dave Lee, Englewood open space manager. “It turned out even better than I expected. It has so many features I expect it will be very popular.” Nancy Doty, Arapahoe County commissioner, said during the River Run opening ceremonies the project is an example of great unified cooperation. River Run continues on Page 17
Randall Fullerton gets in some surfing at the whitewater chutes west of the Broken Tee golf course at the River Run Recreational Facility, which opened Aug. 25. The project along the South Platte River includes water chutes, a picnic pavilion and paved trails. Photo by Tom Munds
Solutions to traffic problems explored Graphic illustration by Ben Wiebesiek/ Images by Shutterstock
A swing county in a swing state Once strongly Republican, Arapahoe now has a purple mix
By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com Amid the food vendors and festivalgoers, politicians and their supporters worked Main Street in an effort to sway votes. The recent sunny Saturday — Western Welcome Week’s Festival Day — in downtown Littleton was more evidence of Arapahoe County’s status as
INSIDE: Turn to pages 6 and 7 for more on the role of Arapahoe County and the metro area in the November election.
a political battleground in the lead-up to the November elections. Not long ago, Arapahoe would never have been thought of as “purple” — a
mix of Republican red and Democratic blue. “Traditionally, going back years and years, Arapahoe County was very red,” county Clerk and Recorder Matt Crane said. Over the last eight years or so, though, as the county’s population has increased, so has its share of Democrats and unaffiliated voters — also a trend in Colorado as a whole. Now, those who don’t claim any party make up the largest voting bloc in the county, with Democrats close
Interim city manager discusses Santa Fe and Mineral intersection, infrastructure By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com When Littleton conducted its resident survey this spring, 48 percent of respondents listed traffic among the three most pressing concerns in the city, the most of any issue. Traffic was near the top of residents’ concerns in the 2012 and 2014 surveys as well. Interim City Manager Mark Relph, who is also Littleton’s public works director, said there may be some solutions to the city’s traffic woes. Relph, who says he has experience tackling traffic problems in his previous roles with Grand Junction and Shoreline, a Washington-state city near Seattle, was
Election continues on Page 6
Traffic continues on Page 17
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LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 | 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.