GLUTEN-FREE GROWTH
September 8, 2016 VOLUM E 128 | IS S UE 7 | 75¢
More people are cutting gluten from their diet, but the reasons vary. PAGE 12
A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
LittletonIndependent.net
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
Urban renewal authority faces end City council looks at dropping Littleton Invests for Tomorrow By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Brooks, 3, hides out in the tire of an electric red tractor at South Suburban’s Touch-a-Truck event on Sept. 3. The piece of machinery was one of many in the parking lot of South Suburban Ice Arena, 6580 S. Vine St., Centennial.
Daylen Kidd, 2, plays next to snow made from a Zamboni at South Suburban’s Touch-a-Truck extravaganza on Sept. 3.
Mike Warren and his 3-year-old son, Hosea, spent Sept. 3 at the parking lot of South Suburban Ice Arena, 6580 S. Vine St., Centennial, for the fifth annual Touch-a-Truck extravaganza. “This is great,” Warren said. “He loves seeing all the trucks.” When asked what piece of machinery was his favorite, Hosea responded, “The fire truck.” It was a common answer among the young attendees. The free event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., gave kids the chance to explore a variety of machinery, including trucks, tractors, emergency vehicles and a Zamboni that made piles of snow on the cement. It was the perfect photo op for parents and grandparents. Touch-a-Truck usually has between 600 and 800 guests, said Dirk Doty, recreation coordinator of South Suburban. “It’s fun for all kids, all ages,” Doty said, “and it gives families something to do over Labor Day weekend.”
PHOTOS BY ALEX DEWIND
Months after an ordinance to abolish Littleton’s urban renewal authority was tabled, leading to a series of study sessions, the ordinance will come back before the city council next month. Critics of Littleton Invests for Tomorrow, or LIFT, contend it is a waste of money to have an urban renewal authority that has no projects, and say the entity has been poorly managed. The agency’s defenders say urban renewal is critical for the long-term development of the city. Mayor Bruce Beckman says urban renewal as a concept is not bad, but he seems to think LIFT is irredeemable. “It seems to find ways to spend taxpayer money without results,” he said, referencing LIFT’s hiring of a consultant for a blight study as well as the hiring of a public relations firm and attorney fees for a lawsuit it lost to the county over agricultural land in a plan area on Santa Fe Drive. Bill Hopping, one of LIFT’s proponents on the city council, concedes it may have been poorly managed, but says urban renewal can be used to bring desirable projects to the city that might otherwise not be economically viable, citing The Streets at SouthGlenn in west Centennial as an example. “It enables projects to reach a point of feasibility,” he said. Abolishing LIFT would be a rare move. Colorado Municipal League Deputy LIFT continues on Page 5
Runyon Elementary welcomes community Staff report
Runyon Elementary fifth-grader Sophie Mangiameli and her mom, Melissa Mangiameli, attend an open house at the school on Sept. 1. Photo by Kyle Harding
With two weeks of classes gone by, Damon Runyon Elementary School in Littleton opened its doors to its neighbors to see the newly renovated school on Aug. 1. While the school received a new roof and an interior remodeling last year, students took classes at the Whitman building at the Options Secondary Program campus, about a mile away from Runyon, as the school underwent an interior renovation. Students seem to be pleased with the upgrades to their classrooms. “I like that it doesn’t have the poles,” said fifth-grader Sophie Mangiameli, referring to poles that supported the failing roof prior to the renovation.
OPENING DRIVE Arapahoe kicks off the football season with game against Rock Canyon. PAGE 20
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