Lakewood Sentinel 0604

FEROCIOUS FIGHTER Teen perseveres, helps others despite ‘suicide disease’ P16

JUNE 4, 2020

JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

RALLY FOR EDUCATION FUNDING Jeffco employees rallied last week for emergency funds P12

DRIVE-BY BOOKS

JAIL NUMBERS

NO CROWDS. NO WAIT. Jeffco libraries open curbside

Latest on COVID-19 infections in county lockup P2

DMV offices are nowP8 open by appointment only, Your newspaper is made possible by advertisers like this one, who THE BOTTOM LINE oDMV.com iskeep open 24/7 without support our efforts to you connected to your community! limits!

OPEN SEATING

Lakewood restaurants begin to reopen P5

“It’s easy, in the wake of the horrors of the last week, to sit out here in suburbia and tsk tsk, as if we know anything. But a wise person once said ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of Columnist Michael Alcorn | P14 yourself less.’”

INSIDE

VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16

LakewoodSentinel.com

VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 41

2 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

40 inmates positive for COVID-19 at Jeffco jail

MY NAME IS

DOMINIC IACOPINO

Wheat Ridge student at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When I graduated high school in New Hampshire, going to the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland seemed like a good opportunity. It was too good of a chance to pass up, and I just decided to give it a try.

I spent around nine years flying helicopters for the Marines and making things go “boom.”

I was deployed to Japan and Germany, and I learned that there is nothing you can do by yourself. Working in ways to collect good ideas for the better of the team in my experience was a better course of action.

Life changing hike I grew up as more of a science guy and earned my Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the U.S. Naval Academy.

I’m the best at science trivia, but I never experienced my artistic side.

In 2019, I hiked the Appalachian Trail, which runs around 2,200 miles between Georgia and Maine. I knew I wanted to document the adventure — but I’m not much of a writer.

I got a camera to document the trip, and I enjoyed having it. It introduced me to photography and led me to where I am now.

Changing states right before the pandemic After that trip, I wanted to try to get better at photography, and I figured that enrolling at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Lakewood would help.

I moved out to Wheat Ridge at the beginning of the year to attend the college to major in photography. But when COVID-19 forced us to learn remotely, I no longer had access to the college’s darkroom — a resource that allowed us to process photographic film and make prints.

We had just started the darkroom course for photography, but we only printed one picture in two weeks. I was really bummed when I couldn’t use it anymore, so I decided to build my own darkroom in my backyard shed.

It wasn’t hard to construct, and I was

Dominic Iacopino in wearable art he made from old piano parts.

COURTESY OF DOMINIC IACOPINO able to get some materials on Craigslist for pretty cheap.

I have around two more years left until I graduate.

Waiting to explore Colorado I’d say one of the toughest things about going through the pandemic has been being so new to an area. I was looking forward to going to explore, but the pandemic ended all the fun stuff.

I look forward to going to do outdoor activities like rock climbing, and the good thing is, those mountains aren’t going anywhere.

If you have a suggestion for someone to interview for My Name Is... contact Joseph Rios at jrios@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Forty inmates at the Jefferson County jail have now tested positive for COVID-19, Sheriff ’s Office Public Information Officer Michael Taplin said on May 28.

Taplin said the jail has tested 126 inmates for COVID-19. The jail is now testing all inmates who exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19 after previously requiring that inmates exhibit at least two symptoms to receive a test.

“We have tests now where our medical provider was having issues getting tests previously,” said Taplin.

Taplin said he could not speak to whether the cases were tied to inmates who have contact with one another, saying that such questions are investigated by the jail’s medical staff and Jefferson County Public Health as they investigate outbreaks at the jail. All inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 are isolated in cells by themselves.

On May 8, the jail had announced 17 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19.

Eight jail employees have also now tested positive for COVID-19, Taplin said.

“I don’t know if we can expect a certain number never having dealt with this sort of pandemic but I would say that we are not surprised that we have it in the jail due to how infectious the disease is,” he said.

The Jefferson County jail is not the only jail in the metro area to have current COVID-19 outbreak. Colorado Public Health and Environment’s COVID-19 outbreaks page also lists outbreaks at the Denver County jail, Douglas County jail and Weld County jail.

Also, 539 inmates have tested positive at the Sterling Correc-

tional Facility in Sterling. The active outbreak at the Jefferson County jail outbreak is listed as starting on May 5. A facility is considered to have an active outbreak when there have been two or more cases of COVID-19 within a 14 day period.

As of midnight on May 28, the jail population was 559, which is less than half of its current operational capacity of 1,148.

Taplin said the jail population has been below 600 for the past two weeks.

As a result of the reduced capacity, Taplin said the jail is now able to get almost every inmate into their own cell on the old side of the jail while there are bunks spaced between inmates on the newer side of the jail.

Taplin said the jail has also recently began issuing inmates surgical masks to wear inside the jail after the Sheriff ’s Office received additional PPE. Inmates were previously issued masks made from old jail uniforms.

Taplin said the jail continues to do the best it can as it deals with the pandemic.

“We’ve never dealt with a pandemic like this before and we are making decisions based on everybody involved, employees and inmates,” he said.

Inmate who died did not have COVID-19 Taplin said the Sheriff ’s Office has also been notified by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office that Paul George Abeyta, the 50-year-old inmate who died at the jail on May 1, did not have COVID-19. Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Dan Pruett said the autopsy report for Abeyta, which will include the results of a toxicology screening, has not been completed. However, Pruett confirmed Abeyta tested negative for COVID-19.

NO LINES. NO CROWDS. NO WAIT. While Jeffco DMV offices are now open by appointment only, JeffcoDMV.com is open 24/7 without limits!

Lakewood Sentinel 3

June 4, 2020

Varied Jeffco COVID case rates suggest disease hitting low-income areas

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

From highly populated suburbs like Lakewood and Arvada to more rural locations like Genesee and Indian Hills, COVID-19 has turned up in communities across Jefferson County.

But while few corners of Jeffco have escaped the reach of the disease, it has not hit all areas equally.

New, more detailed case information data compiled by Jefferson County Public Health shows significant disparities in the rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in communities in Jefferson County.

According to that data, the Jeffco community with the highest rate of

COVID-19 cases is Edgewater with a rate of 7.1 cases per 1,000 persons.

Wheat Ridge has the second highest rate at 6.8 cases per 1,000 people while Lakewood has the third at a rate of 5.0 cases per 1,000 people.

Those rates are all significantly higher than the county average of 3.7 cases per 1,000. Other communities with an above average rate are Golden (4.2 cases per 1,000), Coal Creek (4.2 cases per 1,000) and Kittredge (4.0 cases per 1,000).

Coming in at below the county average were Arvada (3.4 cases per 1,000) and Westminster (2.8 cases per 1,000) as well as smaller communities like Evergreen (2 cases per 1,000) and Indian Hills (2.8 cases per 1,000).

Jefferson County Public Health Epidemiologist Kate Watkins said the community numbers, as well as more detailed case information that breaks down cases by census tracks, show that the county is seeing higher rates of cases in communities and neighborhoods that have higher numbers of low income and minority residents.

“Jefferson County is not any different than the rest of Colorado or the rest of the country in that we are seeing with those lower income folks that are having to continue to go out and work every day and interact with the public more, we are seeing higher rates among those populations. And that’s to be expected because they are as important as our health care work-

ers and have as much risk.”

But while most communities seem in line with population trends, JCPH COVID-19 Incident Commander Christine Billings said she wonders if Wheat Ridge’s rate is being impacted by the presence of a drive-thru testing site at the Stride Community Health Center, as the site means Wheat Ridge residents have easier access to testing and thus might be more likely to get tested if they presented symptoms.

“I am curious about whether the increase in testing is affecting that number,” said Billings. “Which is what we want, we want to increase testing so we can do contact tracing and isolate those cases in the community.”

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More Metro Area Homes Went Under Contract in May Than Ever Before Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic hurt the real estate market in April, but it sure made a rebound in May! The 13-month chart at right is for Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.

Last week and this, you probably heard or read about how bad the real estate market was in April, and that was true here in the Denver Metro area, as it was throughout the country.

Pending sales of existing homes in April were roughly half the pending sales of April 2019. But pending sales in May surged to a number that was greater than the number for any month since before 2010, which is as far back as REcolorado’s statistics application goes. (Note: The number of pending

sales could go up as new contracts are reported during the first 3 days of June.)

The number of closings in May (also subject to adjustment as they are reported this week) was an especially low number because of the super-low number of homes that went under contract in April. The number of sold listings in any given month is always within range of the number of pending transactions the previous month..

It should be noted that, despite the lower number of pending and closed listings in April compared to 2019, the median sold price was much higher — $430,000 vs. $405,000 in April 2019. The median sold price for May, although down slightly from the stay-at-home month of

Accessory Dwelling Units Are Gaining in Popularity Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have been around for a long time. Fonzie lived in one (above the Cunningham’s garage), but they fell out of favor with local governments. Recently, local governments have warmed up to ADUs, promulgating zoning regulations encouraging them, especially detached units in a backyard or above a garage.

You may have heard ADUs referred to as backyard bungalows, micro homes, retirement cottages, guest houses, mancaves, she-sheds, or mi casita. They are created for many reasons: independent living for relatives (aging parents, 20somethings), rental income/investment property, home office, studio, etc. These days it could be quarantine quarters.

Local governments like them as one way to address the pressing issue of affordable housing in a way that is sustainable, is a compliment to the neighborhood, and provides more affordable housing. People hardly realize they are there, and when they do, often want one.

ADUs have been approved by the state of California, where affordable housing is a crisis throughout the state.

The tiny house movement has popularized the idea of radical downsizing and the concept that living in a small space has many positives. ADU’s are not tiny houses, as the term is used to-

day. ADUs are something more. Although small, they are a complete living unit with a full kitchen and bathroom, with a comfortable living area suitable for entertaining. They have a foundation and meet all code requirements. ADUs are more expensive than tiny homes, but they can be worth it.

How much do they cost? Predesigned manufactured (built off-site) units can be less than $200,000, and even less depending on the characteristics of the site and choices made by the owner.

Would you like to know more? A good resource is at www.Accessory Dwellings.org, created by Kol Peterson.

Peterson lives in Portland, Oregon (an early adopter of ADUs), has built many himself, and conducts workshops on all aspects of the process.

Locally, a company called Verdant Living sells manufactured ADUs, not ones that are “stick-built” on-site, so if that works for you, you can email them (bungalow@verdantliving.us) for more information. They can refer you to other companies which build ADUs, whether free-standing, over your garage, or in a walk-out basement.

Personally, I have sold homes which have ADUs. Having a rentable unit can make a home more affordable to many.

April, was still higher than the median sold price in May 2019.

It’s also worth noting how quickly listings went under contract in April and in May. April listings went under contract in 5 days (median figure), which was even faster than last year, while May listings went under contract at the same pace as last year.

These statistics may come as a surprise to those who think that the real estate market is on a downturn because of Covid-19. I am as surprised as anyone at the resilience of our real estate market.

Driving the market is the fact that there is still a low supply of homes for sale and an over-supply of people needing or wanting to buy a home. That explains the low “Days in MLS” figure for April when the number of homes for sale was so low. Because so many sellers postponed putting their homes on the market during the lockdown, it became more of a seller’s market than before.

That meant that the homes that were on the market had less competition for the large number of buyers.

Source: REcolorado

Given what we’re seeing now, it’s hard to be pessimistic about the future of our real estate market, however pessimistic we might be about the country as a whole, given the rioting in multiple cities around the country, including Denver. We’ll see in June how much impact that may have.

Another wildcard is the possible resurgence of the coronavirus, given how our state, like others, has yielded to pressure to reopen earlier than CDC guidelines recommended. A resurgence could result in another stay-at-home order.

Last Week’s Column About Seniors Being Cheated Out of Their Home’s Equity Got Lots of Response

One reader said they were offered a quick sale of $120,000 cash, but called me before agreeing to the transaction.

My research showed their home could sell for twice that amount.

I wasn’t contacted in time to save an elderly Arvada couple from being coerced into selling their home for half its

worth by a developer who made a point of telling the couple not to tell anyone about their transaction. They actually felt threatened, not just coerced. Indeed it was a neighbor who told me about the transaction, because the couple still felt obliged not to reveal anything.

Call me if you’ve been victimized.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851 Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

Every article in this ad is also posted at www.GoldenREblog.com

Broker Associates: JIM SWANSON — 303-929-2727 CARRIE LOVINGIER — 303-907-1278 CHUCK BROWN — 303-885-7855 DAVID DLUGASCH — 303-908-4835 ANDREW LESKO — 720-710-1000 CAROL MILAN — 720-982-4941

4 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

Colorado may consider small-business relief fund Restaurants now allowed to reopen across the state

RULES FOR REOPENING RESTAURANTS

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Eateries across Colorado are now allowed to resume sit-down service, but Gov. Jared Polis acknowledged “the pain our restaurants have been through” during the state’s closure of dine-in service.

“And that means everybody,” Polis said at a May 26 news conference. “It means, of course, restaurant owners, but it also means chefs, sous chefs, bussers, wait staff, greeters” and other workers associated with restaurants.

The day before, Polis announced that restaurants could reopen for limited in-person dining as of May 27.

In response to a Colorado Community Media reporter’s question during the May 26 news conference, Polis didn’t say the state could provide immediate financial assistance to help restaurants survive. But he expressed desire to work with the state Legislature on a small-business relief fund and hopes the federal government can offer more help.

“Many restaurants are participating in the (federal) Paycheck Protection Program, but as originally constructed, it didn’t work perfectly for them because they didn’t have a big payroll or any payroll in some cases during the time period where they were closed,” Polis said.

He added: “We hope there’s a piece in the next federal legislation that applies specifically to tourism businesses (and) to restaurants.”

Colorado’s restaurant industry accounts for more than 294,000 jobs, or roughly 10% of statewide employment, according to Polis’ presentation.

In authorizing restaurants to resume dine-in operations, Polis said in a May 25 statement that the state is “still a long way from returning to normal, but these updates are a step in the right direction because Coloradans are doing a good job so far limiting our social interactions.”

He added: “If we can continue staying at home as much as possible, wearing face coverings and washing our hands when leaving the house, then we will be able to slow the spread of the virus while reigniting our economy.”

But he warned: “If not, it will cost lives, and the economic pain will also be worse.”

Colorado on March 16 ordered bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service for 30 days — still allowing delivery, take-out and drive-through service — in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.

But extensions of the shutdown have kept restaurants and bars closed — except in counties with waivers from state requirements — until now.

Restaurants are now able to open with limited seating, with different parties spaced at least 6 feet apart, and the state is encouraging local officials to allow expanded outdoor seating options. Polis has suggested cities

People dine at Vines Wine Bar in Parker May 29. Restaurants are once again allowed to serve customers on-site with social distancing guidelines in place. The Town of Parker passed an emergency ordinance allowing restaurants to expand outdoor seating areas to increase capacity.

NICK PUCKETT and counties should consider seating on sidewalks, parking lots and even streets. Municipal parking areas could also be an option, he said.

“That’s really the only way, with the spacing, that we’re going to have a thriving restaurant” industry, Polis said at a May 18 news conference. He added: Restaurants “simply can’t stay in business with a quarter or half capacity.”

Polis also hopes restaurants would expand on their own property outdoors and on adjacent or non-adjacent private plots nearby, as long as they have permission of the landowner.

Bars, however, don’t all have the green light to open for dine-in service. The state will evaluate in June whether establishments that do not serve food can open, according to a fact sheet from the governor’s office on the new guidelines.

“The intent of this guidance is to open establishments in which people traditionally associate only with those in their party,” the fact sheet says.

Whether a business can open as a restaurant depends on whether it is set up to host patrons for meals, the fact sheet continues.

“In many cases, this is straightforward when an establishment already functions as a conventional restaurant and has a full-service kitchen,” the fact sheet says. “There may be some establishments, like breweries with large indoor and outdoor spaces, that want to change their business model to re-open and operate like a restaurant. In these cases, food must be provided by a licensed retail food establishment.”

A business could partner with neighboring restaurants to provide food or partner with food trucks, according to the fact sheet. Light snacks, such as bar nuts, or things that are commercially prepared somewhere else and heated up in a microwave don’t count as food service. Allowing patrons to bring their own takeout or order food from an app does not count

either, the fact sheet says.

Any establishment that can adhere to the state’s guidelines and ensure access to food for on-premise consumption can open, the guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says.

With dire spread, restrictions could return The governor’s office’s fact sheet addresses the question: What if COVID-19 cases spike up after opening up more businesses?

“The governor won’t hesitate to take the necessary steps to protect the health and safety of Coloradans, including going back to the stay-at-home level” of restrictions or issuing other rules, the fact sheet says.

Under the state’s safer-at-home order — Colorado’s current set of social distancing standards — “we must continue staying home as much as possible, and take the necessary steps like washing hands and wearing a mask when leaving the house,” the fact sheet says.

Some camps open; skiing able to open Meanwhile, children’s day camps and youth sports camps were allowed to open June 1, according to the governor’s office’s news release.

Residential overnight camps remain closed, and decisions for July and August overnight camps will be made in mid-June. Children’s residential camps that choose to operate as day camps must work with the Colorado Department of Human Services and their local public health agency for approval.

Day camps, including mobile, youth sports camps and outdoor camps, must operate with restrictions as specified in the state’s guidance at tinyurl. com/ColoradoCampGuidance.

Effective May 25, private campsites could open, according to the release.

If a host county would like to keep campsites closed, county commissioners should consult with their local public health agency and then notify

State guidance for restaurants opening dine-in service, from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, was released May 25. The state health department still encourages restaurants to continue pick-up and delivery service, including for alcohol.

For those that reopen indoor dine-in service, the following requirements apply: • Patrons can be served at 50% of the posted occupancy code limit and a maximum of 50 patrons.

• Patrons in different groups must be a minimum of 6 feet apart. Spacing of tables may need to be 6 feet or more to ensure proper physical distancing between parties.

• All employees must wear face coverings.

• “Ensure maximum ventilation” by opening windows and minimizing air conditioning to the extent possible.

• Deep clean and disinfect all shared surfaces between groups — at each turnover.

• Do not allow parties to mingle with each other, and limit party size to eight people or fewer.

• Encouraging, and preferably requiring, reservations. Waiting parties must not congregate in entrance areas and should wait in cars or outside until seating is available.

• Provide contactless payment or prepayment options whenever possible.

• Discontinue use of tablecloths, move to single-use or remove and replace laundered tablecloths between patrons.

• Use disposable single-use menus or menu boards, or create online menus for guests to review.

• Provide single-use or single-serving condiments.

• Disinfect restrooms every hour and provide hand sanitizer at check-in area and throughout venue.

The state encourages outdoor dine-in service, for which the following requirements must be met: • Patrons in different groups must be a minimum of 6 feet apart. Spacing of tables may need to be 6 feet or more to ensure proper distancing between different parties.

• All employees must wear face coverings.

• Staff must disinfect and deep-clean all shared surfaces between seatings.

See more of the guidance at tinyurl.com/ RestaurantGuidanceCDPHE. According to the guidance, restaurants also should implement symptom monitoring protocols for employees, including temperature monitoring and symptom screening questions, where possible. They should encourage sick employees to use the CDPHE Symptom Tracker at tinyurl. com/SymptomTrackerColorado. the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the state health department in writing, the release said.

Campgrounds in the state park system are already open.

The state’s Executive Order D 2020049, which extended the closure of ski resorts, has expired, the release said. Ski resorts may work to secure approval from their local authorities in order to open.

Arapahoe Basin re-opened for spring skiing May 27.

Lakewood Sentinel 5

June 4, 2020

Lakewood restaurants given green-light for dine-in services You can now eat at a Lakewood restaurant — but it will be different

BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Chad Hotchkiss, owner of the Lakewood Mexican restaurant Jose O’Shea’s, has been getting phone calls from customers asking when the restaurant will reopen.

A caller asked if Jose O’Shea’s would require face coverings, and Hotchkiss told her yes. The customer then told Hotchkiss she would not be going to dine-in at Jose O’Shea’s.

“That’s why I want to see how (the week of May 25) goes for (restaurants). There are so many who feel they don’t need to wear a mask — but then you’re endangering my staff and other customers,” said Hotchkiss. “It’s a tough one.”

Hotchkiss chose to wait a week to open Jose O’Shea’s as the restaurant continued to offer takeout and delivery, despite having a green-light from the state to offer dine-in services.

But other Lakewood restaurants opened their doors for dine-in seating for the first time in more than two months on May 27 after receiving guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Larry Rehn of Lakewood dines in at Sunrise Sunset. Indoor dine-in service can be held at 50% of each restaurant’s occupancy limit.

JOSEPH RIOS Restaurant employees are required to wear face coverings and must deep clean and disinfect all shared surfaces between parties, under state guidelines. Customers are strongly encouraged to take precautions while visiting a restaurant like wearing a face covering when they’re not eating or drinking.

Tables must be spread out at least six feet apart, and party sizes are limited to eight people or fewer. Additionally, indoor dine-in service can be held at 50% of the restaurant’s occupancy limit — but only a maximum of 50

people can be dining at a particular time.

Jose O’Shea’s can hold 400 customers. But because of the 50-customer limit at restaurants, it won’t be able to open at 50% capacity.

“We’re trying to figure out how to make it work. (State guidelines are) not a one size fits all model,” said Hotchkiss. “There are too many restaurants that it doesn’t make sense for everyone.”

Lakewood has put together a temporary site modification application for businesses that allow for restaurants

to apply to expand outdoor seating.

One restaurant that is utilizing its parking lot for outdoor seating is Sunrise Sunset — a breakfast establishment with a location at 1424 S. Wadsworth Blvd.

Jill Hope, general manager for the restaurant, said Sunrise Sunset added 10 tables to its parking lot. Hope said her and her staff are adapting everyday and that she is ecstatic to be able to see her customers and staff again.

“What (the state) is asking of us isn’t unreasonable, and it’s nothing we can’t take care of. I think the outside seating is a great option, and the whole time, we had people who were eating in their cars,” said Hope. “It’s going to be different. Rather than just being a dine-in, we have a dine-out.”

Theodora Osei-Fordwuo, owner of African Grill and Bar in Lakewood, also expressed excitement about reopening as the restaurant has made 1% of its usual income during the pandemic, despite offering takeout.

Osei-Fordwuo, said the restaurant’s space is large, and spreading tables out won’t be a challenge. African Grill and Bar has a small patio and plans to gradually install additional seating outside — but Osei-Fordwuo admitted it will be a financial challenge to do so.

“If I told you I’m not nervous (about offering dine-in services), I’d be lying.

But at the same time, we have bills to pay,” said Osei-Fordwuo. “We don’t want to get sick, and we don’t want our customers to get sick.”

C Mo #1 olora rtg Rev do ag ers ’s eB e rok er

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6 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

Councilmember’s boyfriend charged for threatening with a knife Anita Springsteen had issues with Rocky Mountain Assisted Living for years

BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A Lakewood City Councilmember’s feud with a Lakewood assisted living facility has led to her boyfriend being hit with multiple charges — including felony menacing.

According to affidavits from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and interviews with staff at the Rocky Mountain Assisted Living at 1570 S. Newland St., Lakewood City Councilmember Anita Springsteen has had frustrations with the assisted living facility for years.

Those frustrations, pertaining to parking and trash, reached a new level when Springsteen’s boyfriend, Jeremiah Axtell, allegAxtell edly charged at Rocky Mountain Assisted Living staff and a hospice chaplain on Jan. 28.

Axtell was charged with felony menacing, disorderly conduct, violation of a protection order and obstructing a peace officer following the Jan. 28 incident. He has a motion hearing

scheduled on Sept. 30 in a Jefferson CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUES? County court.

Springsteen was elected to LakeStacie Oulton, a spokesperson for Lakewood City Council to represent Ward 3 wood, said that since 2015, Rocky Mounlast fall — a centrally located portion tain Assisted Living received two official of the city that includes Belmar. She written warnings from a code enforcement declined to comment on this story, officer about overflowing trash containers saying that she can’t because she is a and having trash containers left on the potential witness in Axtell’s pending street for more than 48 hours. criminal case.

“In both cases, follow up from code enThe assisted living facility’s issues forcement showed the issue was resolved, with Springsteen and Axtell began according to Oulton. months before the alleged Jan. 28 incitwo derogatory names and yelled at dent, according to sources. them to pick up Rocky Mountain AsAccording to an affidavit, Lakewood sisted Living’s Police were trash, according called to Rocky to Ziegler.

Mountain As“There was no sisted Living on trash anywhere.

Oct. 9, 2019 on He would walk reports of Axtell down the street, yelling, cussthen would come ing and physiback and flip us cally threatening off,” said Ziegler, Meghann Ziegler, who said that the assisted livRocky Mountain ing facility’s exAssisted Living ecutive director.

Meghann Ziegler, had previous Ziegler told the Lakewood Rocky Mountain Assisted Living issues with its trash Sentinel she was executive director, speaking former company not getting ready to about Jeremiah Axtell picking up trash. leave work at the “He would say time of the inci‘I’ll show you’ dent when Axtell and beat his exited Springschest like he was physically going to teen’s home near the assisted living do something.” facility and started yelling at her and The affidavit says Axtell kept repeather coworker. He allegedly called the ing “Do you want to go?” during the same incident Ziegler described.

“At that point we called 911. We declined to press charges because we were hoping it was a one-time thing,” said Ziegler.

When police approached Springsteen to ask if she knew anything about the situation, she said she didn’t and added that her and her children are the only members of her household, the affidavit says.

“Agents explained to (Springsteen) that a male had been seen exiting her residence by several witnesses and that he had started a verbal altercation with (Ziegler and the other Rocky Mountain Assisted Living employee).

(Springsteen) continued to maintain that she did not know anything about (the situation),” the affidavit reads. “(Springsteen) would not identify (Axtell) and stated that she did not know him.”

Springsteen later admitted to Axtell being her boyfriend in an affidavit from the alleged Jan. 28 incident.

‘He would say “I’ll show you” and beat his chest like he was physically going to do something.’

Tensions continue Police were called to the assisted living facility on Jan. 28 on reports of a man being upset and charging at Rocky Mountain Assisted Living staff, the affidavit from the incident reads.

A hospice chaplain who was at the assisted living facility said in the affidavit that Axtell was yelling about “poop.” Axtell allegedly approached the hospice chaplain and a Rocky Mountain Assisted Living employee saying he had a knife in his pocket.

The hospice chaplain and the employee then retreated into Rocky Mountain Assisted Living, and staff

members locked the assisted living facility’s doors, the affidavit says.

Axtell told an officer there were diapers in the street from the assisted living facility and said Springsteen didn’t like it, according to the affidavit. He allegedly repeatedly called the officer an “asshole,” wouldn’t answer officer questions and refused to sit down after being asked to do so. “(Axtell) began advancing towards me with his hands up above his head.

Due to the proximity and safety issued I put my right hand, open handed, on his chest and pushed him backwards causing him to step back a few times,” the officer’s affidavit says. “At the same time, I told him to step back.”

At some point during the Jan. 28 incident, officers say Springsteen began to record Axtell’s interactions with them on her cellphone and later declined to give Lakewood Police the footage.

Axtell was detained because of his “erratic behavior,” the affidavit says, and he admitted to police that he had consumed alcohol. Lakewood Police say that at that time, Axtell had a protection order in Adams County that prohibited him from possessing or consuming alcohol, and because of that, police had probable cause to arrest him.

In 2017, Axtell pleaded guilty to felony criminal trespassing in connection to a 2016 burglary and trespassing case. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and his protection order stems from that case.

A neighborhood feud Jessica Harmon was the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Assisted Living location next to Springsteen’s home for nearly four years. She said the assisted living facility had issues with Springsteen since it was constructed, more than six years ago.

“She would make snide comments to the builders, and as soon as we built the home, she started to become upset anytime a staff member or visitor would park in front of her house,” said Harmon.

According to Harmon, Springsteen toured the assisted living facility and met its residents. Harmon said she had thought the two sides were okay, but said Springsteen continued to become upset anytime someone parked in front of her home.

“We’re talking several feet away from her driveway,” said Harmon. She added that Springsteen would regularly yell at residents when they parked their cars next to her home.

“She would call me on my days off, text me and email me. It made my job challenging,” she added. “I offered mediation — but she refused.”

Ziegler said when Rocky Mountain Assisted Living has a lot of visitors, it occurs during significant events like a holiday, celebration or someone passing.

“It’s not often we don’t have a lot of parking. We only have 12 residents here,” said Ziegler. “It’s small. We have tops, three staff members a day.”

Ziegler said she is preparing to file a restraining order against Springsteen and Axtell.

Lakewood Sentinel 7

June 4, 2020

Jeffco summer camps closing, going virtual in 2020 Some camps open, but many are still choosing an alternative approach

BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When Camp Granite Lake in Coal Creek made an April announcement that summer camp would be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the decision, which seemed premature to some, drew significant media attention.

“Families really understood it. A few of them said it’s early, but we have a really thorough medical lens that we view things through,” said founder and director Tommy Feldman. “Right now, there’s just not enough known about the virus.”

Despite some feeling surprised over the announcement, it wasn’t long before other day camps and sleepaway camps across the Jefferson County area began to take the same steps, making for a summer 2020 just as unprecedented as the spring has been.

On May 25, Gov. Jared Polis announced that beginning June 1, summer camps including day camps and sports camps could open under strict health and safety precautions.

But even with the option available, most local Jeffco camps are looking at other structures or virtual alternatives, at least for the month of June.

4-H summer camps “Going to a camp in this current climate, where you can’t be close to your friends and you’re all wearing a mask, I wonder how it would alter a child’s feelings on what a day camp is going forward,” said Sharon Moore, who coordinates Jefferson County summer day camps for 4-H youth.

She believes that for some, it may be better to hold off on in-person camp — “But we think it’s important to have that opportunity (to have virtual camp); we don’t want to lose our relationships with families, either,” she said.

The 4-H camps — programmed through the Colorado State Univer-

sity Extension office — will run in a virtual setting this year. As opposed to taking campers to a different open space or park each day, kids will be able to log onto an interactive map and virtually visit a different place Monday through Friday.

When they click on the map, they’ll be able to watch video clips created by the staff.

“They’ll be teaching some of the lessons and just giving the kids a view of what they see out there and giving them a connection to the team,” Moore said. “Then as best we could, we recreated some of the hands-on activities. Some might be inside or a lot of them can be done outside in your backyard.”

The website will also link to other sites for more information on certain topic. The entire camp will provide several hours of content per day, but the idea is that campers can choose how much or how little they would like to participate in each day, Moore said.

The camp is open to incoming third-graders through sixth-graders “in the community and beyond,” she said. Families can register for free at jeffco.extension.colostate.edu/4-h/4-hsummer-camps.

Camp Granite Lake Meanwhile, Camp Granite Lake is likewise making changes, holding fast to its decision not to hold its summer sessions in 2020. The choice was partially made protect the camp from unexpected economic hardship that could come if the pandemic began to spark additional closures later this summer.

“We’re still a young camp; this would have been our 15th year overall,” Feldman said. “If we were open (this year) and had to close because of the pandemic, we would have never been able to open again.”

Camp Granite Lake is now completely focused on preparing for 2021.

“The nice thing about being closed is we are not in a hurry; we’re just rolling it out slowly for next year,” Feldman said. “The support of our families has been overwhelming. I think when we open up in 2021, we’re going to have a strong return.”

ARTISTIC START TO SUMMER

Camps normally run for about three hours Monday through Friday, but will now be held over Zoom video conferencing for about one-and-a-half hours each day. By doing this, the camp has been able to discount tuition by 50%.

Though the camps are online, each camp is organizing certain elements that may need to be done in person under social distancing restrictions.

For example, ceramics campers could bring their projects to the center so that they can be fired, Cirrincione said.

Students ages five through their teens are invited to sign up for the programs, with registration available at arvadacenter.org/education/ summer-camps.

The center is also looking at opening its July and August camps as normal and will make that decision in early June, Cirrincione said.

But for now, staff members are excited about the virtual June opportunities and the new ways the format has allowed them to expand.

“We’re finding it’s allowing us to break down some geographic barriers.

We’re having families register from different parts of the state, we have families interested in registering from New Mexico, Wyoming, Missouri,” she said. “It’s going to look different and feel different but we’re still aiming to achieve our goals and most importantly, have fun.”

Though camp won’t be running as usual this summer, families who enroll for next year now will be invited for half-day opportunities to enjoy camp activities like paddle-boarding, ceramics, canoeing and others, Feldman said.

The camp is also looking at opening up later in the summer so families can stay the night if possible under health guidelines.

Lakewood summer camps The city of Lakewood has canceled all of its summer camp programs this season, with several barriers standing in the way of opening even despite the governor’s announcement.

For instance, some of the Lakewood programs were set to take place in Jeffco Public Schools facilities, which are unavailable at this time, said Amber Wesner, public engagement and operations manager with the city.

Because of this, the city is joining other organizations in offering virtual activities. Lakewood began posting activities May 29 and they can be accessed through Lakewood.org/Register, Lakewood.org/VirtualRec and Lakewood.org/VirtualArts.

Arvada Center camps The Arvada Center’s summer camps, which include dance, drama, visual arts and other camps, are also going virtual this June out of concern for families’ safety, said assistant education director Teresa Cirrincione.

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8 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

Jeffco Libraries offering curbside pickup of materials

BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On May 16, Jeffco residents were again able to do one of many things they hadn’t been able to in nearly 10 weeks: drive away from the library with a new book to read.

But while the end experience of cracking open something new to read will is still the same timelessly familiar and welcome one, the process residents take to get their hand on that latest read or watch now looks different.

Still gone, for now, is the time spent browsing the shelves to pick up any book that strikes one’s fancy. Instead, all materials must now be ordered ahead via an online hold with residents then making an appointment to come pick up their books curbside, just as they might a take out a meal from a restaurant.

“What the (library staff) will do is they will have the person who’s picking up the item open their trunk and they’ll put it in the trunk so it’s a touchless transfer of the items,” said Julianne Rist, who is leading Jefferson County Libraries transition to curbside pick-up. Those staff members are also required to wear masks and gloves.

Curbside pick-up is now available at eight out of 10 library locations — Arvada, Columbine, Edgewater, Evergreen, Golden, Lakewood, Standley Lake, and Wheat Ridge.

“The community has been very happy and glad to see their local library staff, even if it’s from a distance through their car window,” said Rist “And we have we’ve gotten a lot of really nice comments about how glad they are to be able to get a physical book again, even though we’ve had digital services and digital material available. They say they’ve missed holding something in their hand and the paper.”

The libraries are also now accepting returns. However, that does not mean patrons have to again worry about due dates, which were canceled during the crisis.

“We actually have extended the due dates for everything until the end of June,” said Rist. “And then we’ll start with our normal checkout time

A Jefferson County Public Library staff member outfitted in gloves and a face mask places books in the back of a vehicle.

COURTESY OF XAVIER PATRICK

frames. But of course, you can always renew an item if nobody is waiting for it.”

Rist said that customers wondering about the safety of picking up library books should know that the library’s adoption of curbside delivery was approved by JCPH and is also in line with CDC guidelines. As a precaution, all returned library books are also being quarantined for 72 hours before staff process or shelve them.

While curbside service will continue for the foreseeable future, Gov. Jared Polis has said he will further address the reopening of libraries on June 1.

However, Rist said Jefferson County Public Library staff are already making plans for the future.

“We plan on continuing our digital programming in our remote call in our dial in programming. for the foreseeable future,” she said. “It’s been very popular, it’s meeting a need that we didn’t know existed.”

Curbside service will also likely continue after libraries are able to welcome patrons again as many patrons will be unlikely to feel comfortable venturing inside right away.

But while Jeffco Public Library awaits a return to more normal inperson operations, Rist said its staff are also considering how the library

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HOW CURBSIDE SERVICE WILL WORK

Place a hold.

Wait to receive notification via phone or email saying materials are ready.

Make an appointment to pick up materials by calling 303-235-5275.

Go to the library within your appointed time window and park in or walk up to one of the marked curbside pick-up spots.

Call the number on the sign and a friendly JCPL team member will bring your materials to your car and place them in the trunk/hatch/back seat. The materials will be checked out to you and the receipt will be stapled to the bag that holds them. may evolve in a more permanent way as a result of the pandemic.

“We’re trying to be nimble and take a look ahead to make some predictions about what some of the changes might

The new curbside pick up area in front of Standley Lake Library in Westminster.

PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO

be and how they might affect us,” Rist said. “And we are having great community conversations about what the needs are and how the library might fit into those needs.”

Poem: Covid discovery STAFF REPORT

Covid, are you friend or are you foe?

You made me stop this frantic pace, of running with the human race.

Going here and flitting there, with never a thought or never a care about the purpose of it all.

Not wanting to miss out what others are seeing, doing or enjoying.

I might pass by things exciting. It might be thrilling and delighting.

It made me stop all this scrambling and see the error of my ways.

The greatest thrills are all around me, opened my eyes so I could see Natures evolving scenes before me, of quiet and storms, of light and shadow, of symbiosis and psychosis.

Where beauty and tragedy are mixed together, waiting for man to observe the pattern and realize it is useless to fight the flow.

Why not jump aboard and ride the storm.

It is an adventure to see what un-

folds in all this strife.

What’s the calling we are made for?

Where do we fit in all this struggle?

Open our ears to what we are hearing in the quiet of our minds.

Is it God who decides it all or where does man fit in his plan?

He gave us life to use and enjoy. It is not a trinket or a toy to be wasted.

Day by day we are invited to partake of what’s around us, where the path does seem to lead, where there is the greatest need.

Open our eyes to all the beauty that surrounds us without rushing.

If we stop and to see the unfolding and wait upon the calling, We will see a brighter picture of what this life is all about.

Listen to the world around us and be nudged by something greater To take a stance or take some action that flows within us.

Discovering our place in this web of life and bringing peace to our souls.

— Beth Tubach, Arvada

Lakewood Sentinel 9

June 4, 2020

Creative Coloradans plan virtual art festival June 5-7 Viewers see studios from behind the scenes STAFF REPORT

Six Colorado artists have felt the impact that the cancellation or postponement of art festivals has had on their art careers, according to a news release, and have planned a virtual art fair.

Using Facebook Events, artists Liz Covert, Lauri Dunn, Victoria Eubanks, Amelia Furman, Katie Hoffman and Rita Valis have found a way to connect with their audiences. Artists will offer behind-the-scenes views of their studios and artistic process, and some will set up displays. Viewers can ask questions about their work, purchase artwork and have it delivered to their home, the release said.

“Art fairs are such a special way to connect with your audience. Not only can patrons see a variety of work in one place, but they really offer an opportunity for a relationship to develop between artist and buyer. I’ve created the event to mimic that special aspect of art fairs,” event creator Lauri Dunn said in the release.

The Colorado Artists Virtual Art Fair features a range in artistic styles and mediums: • Liz Covert offers hand forged jewelry, art and accessories; vist www. covertmetals.com • Lauri Dunn transforms her photographs of insect wings into kaleido-

scopic images and three-dimensional photo sculptures; www.laurirosephotography.com • Katie Hoffman is inspired by magic, mythology, and folklore. She uses layers of oil paint, impasto media, powdered pigment, and beeswax to create her dreamlike paintings; www. katiehoffman.com • Amelia Furman works in paper collage and oil paint to create narrative landscapes. Her infusion of collage elements whisper to the viewer of past and present stories that make up the character and personality of a place and invite the viewer to connect to the subject matter on a deeper level; www. ameliafurman.com • Victoria Eubanks creates for the sheer joy of saying “Look what I made today.” She first applies layer after layer of encaustic paint, using heat to fuse the layers. Then scraping, sometimes outright gouging, exposes new patterns and textures. It is a very physical process that lets the piece tell the story; www.victoriaeubanksart. com • Rita Valis creates pottery combining fresh modern form and graphic patterns. She is inspired by landscape, textiles, botany and the microscopic world; www.ritavali.com The June 5-7 event can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/ events/3048063495254081, or by searching for Colorado Artists Virtual Art Fair on Facebook.

For more information contact Lauri Dunn, laurirosedunn@gmail.com or 720-882-3762.

Have a talk with your teen about their friends.

Teen friendships happen both in person and online, and social media plays an important role. Adults can’t regulate their teen’s friendships, but they can model positive relationships and talk to youth about healthy social interactions.

Ask your teen about the role social media plays on their friendships. Have conversations about their friends and yours. Be willing to share your advice — and listen to theirs.

The best way to show your teen you care?

Be there.

Demonstrators gathered the night of Thursday, May 28, at the Colorado state Capitol in Denver to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

Protests, vandalism and clashes with police continued over the next few days.

CHRISTY STEADMAN

DENVER PROTESTS ONLINE Denver is one of several cities acoss the nation that saw violence and disruption following mostly peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police.

For news about the Denver situation, visit ColoradoCommunityMedia.com.

Jefferson County Communities That Care

10 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

State honors Centennial foster family Mark and Chastity Gomez serve as community mentors

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

About five years ago, preacher Mark Gomez delivered a sermon about brokenness in communities.

He and his wife felt passionately that families with strained relationships should be put back together.

When a friend adopted a baby, the couple heard about the importance of foster families and adoption, and that resonated with Gomez and his wife, Chastity.

“Statistics were blowing my mind about how many kids are in the (foster) system,” said Chastity Gomez, who, like her husband, didn’t have exposure to the system until then.

Across Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties, more than 1,000 children are in foster care and 40 children are awaiting an adoptive family on average at any given time, according to Arapahoe County’s website — and the counties have less than 150 foster families to try to meet that need.

The foster system provides temporary housing for youth who are separated from parents by local officials due to neglect, addiction, domestic violence or other problems in a family. Children in the system can live with relatives or foster parents, and it can involve group homes, shelters or other facilities, according to the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Youth in poverty and racial minorities are over-represented, and older kids have a harder time finding homes because they tend to have more significant trauma, Mark Gomez said.

“There’s an overwhelming number of teens who they can’t get placement for,” Gomez said.

The Gomezes — married for 18 years — started down the road to becoming a foster family about half a decade ago, trudging through paperwork, training and a house inspection. Officials interviewed them and their biological children to see how stable they were as a family.

After about six months of preparation, they started as a foster family in August 2015. The Gomezes, both 41, live in west Centennial. Mark is a pastor at Sola Church in Littleton and an IT consultant full-time, and Chastity works for a real-estate company.

In the past five years, they’ve fostered nearly 20 children and youths — at one time having eight kids under one roof, including their four biological kids — and several kids have only stayed with them for up to a couple weeks. Almost all of them were able to find a family member to live with, Chastity Gomez said.

They entered into foster care not with adoption in mind, but one girl, Aubriana, came to them when she was about 10 days old in foster care.

Her mother struggled with addiction.

Aubriana was reunified with her mother for about a month and then was brought back to the Gomezes, who adopted her.

Aubriana is now 4 years old, and the Gomezes have “an amazing relationship with her mom,” Chastity Gomez said.

“It’s just amazing to see how far she’s changed and how resilient she’s been,” Gomez said. She added: “Fostering is more than helping these kids — it’s showing glimpses of what family and community could be.

“It’s not just me raising your kid.

It’s us co-teaming it.”

“We’re going to raise her together,” Gomez said. “I have enough love in my heart to say you’re her mom and I’m her mom.”

The family’s four biological kids — all who are in their teens or pre-teen years — have to “share their mom and dad, and that’s hard in a big family,” Chastity Gomez said. She and her husband take care to spend time with them, and friends in the community play a role in supporting their kids.

The kids’ “empathy has increased for people’s stories and where they come from,” Chastity Gomez said.

“I’ve seen that (grow) in them over the past five years.”

When a foster child moves on from the Gomez house, “there’s always tears,” and the family takes a month or two without fostering to grieve.

“It’s our (whole family) that fosters, not just me and Mark,” Chastity

Pandemic highlights need for foster parents

The Gomez family is one of five foster families being honored by the Colorado Department of Human Services “for their commitment to helping families and kids,” a news release said. Mark and Chastity Gomez started as a foster family in August 2015 and have four biological children. Back, from left: Sophia, 15; Mark, 41; Chastity, 41; Arianna, 15. Front, from left: Summer, their foster daughter, 12; Elijah, 11; Aubriana, 4; Ella, 13. COURTESY PHOTO Gomez said.

As part of National Foster Care Month, the Colorado Department of Human Services is recognizing “five exceptional foster families for their commitment to helping families and kids,” a recent news release said.

The Gomezes are one of those being honored. They have “created lasting relationships” with many of the kids they have cared for, the release added.

“Mark and Chastity are also mentors in the local foster care community, participating in foster care panels, information nights and foster parent training,” the release said.

Having a “huge community around us” that provides emotional support, meals, transportation and babysitting is part of what enables the Gomezes to foster, Chastity Gomez said.

“Even though you yourself might never want to foster, you can support a foster family,” she added. “None of us can do this by ourselves.”

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Lakewood Sentinel 11

June 4, 2020

Foster care experts worry about safety during COVID-19 Drop in hotline calls shows need for community awareness

BY KATHLEEN DUNLAP SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Colorado child safety experts say that a drop in the number of calls to child abuse hotlines since the COVID-19 outbreak has them concerned.

“We usually field about 60 calls per day,” said Kaleo George, a Jefferson County certified foster parent and trainer. “Now we get around 15.”

George said she has never seen the volume of calls dip this low in her seven years of working with Jefferson, Douglas, and Arapahoe counties. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Colorado in March, the Colorado Department of Human Services has reported a 50 percent decrease in the number of hotline calls for Child Abuse and Neglect.

Elizabeth Aznar, Certification Caseworker with the Collaborative Foster Care Program, said she in-home schooling could be one factor in the decrease.

“One reason for this is that there are not as many eyes on kids, especially mandated reporters,” Aznar said.

While not all calls received through the hotline lead to new foster care

placements, the lack of reporting means kids are potentially at risk, she said.

Governor Polis’ latest “Safer at Home” Order has allowed nonessential businesses to reopen, while schools, churches and other large community programs are opening more gradually.

That order needs to be narrower, she said.

“Safer At Home specifically relates to the pandemic crisis, but we need to figure out ways to say connected with the most vulnerable in our neighborhoods,” she said.

Parents that are either working from home or have been laid off must still engage their children with at-home learning, and that can lead to tension.

The potential for abuse and neglect intensifies.

“A lot of parents don’t have the skills they need to juggle what is now expected of them,” George said.

Leaning on community Community involvement ensures parents and children have the education, nutritional, and financial tools they need, she said, and that’s more than just an opinion, she said.

George, her husband Benjamin and their three biological children have housed 12 foster children over the last seven years. They constantly lean on their close friends and faith congregation for help. They even bought

ABUSE OR NEGLECT RESOURCES To report potential child abuse or neglect, please call the state’s hotline at 1-844-CO-4-Kids. To learn more about becoming a certified foster parent, visit www.collaborativefostercare.com. To help support a foster family, visit www.fostertogether.com a house adjacent to another family who also fosters kids. Both families share a backyard and their kids float in and out of each house with ease and familiarity. The adults listen to and care for each other through every hurdle faced.

George has also forged relationships with biological parents and seen her foster kids successfully reunited with their parents. This result of the foster care program has only deepened her belief that a strong community builds healthier families.

“We get attached to the kids placed with us,” George said. “They deserve that.”

There are struggles. Learning how to live with children from varying socio-economic backgrounds, religious affiliations, differing personalities, and conflicting value systems has certainly challenged her family.

“My biological kids have coping skills that many people don’t learn until adulthood,” George said. “But I’m also very intentional in asking for

help. I know the places I can go when I need it.”

Knowing where to go for assistance could make all the difference to struggling families as the effects of the pandemic will linger into the summer months. Since most Colorado residents are still stuck in their neighborhoods or backyards, George encourages people to be aware of their surroundings. Keeping eyes and ears out for harmful situations is crucial.

“These are our kids,” George said.

“And by ‘our’, I mean, the community.

This is the outlook we should have.”

As the state of Colorado slowly reopens, the Collaborative Foster Care Program is poised for the influx of new foster care cases. The goal of foster care in Colorado is reunification with children with their families, but this goal won’t be achieved without the aid of an involved and caring community. Aznar and George spend countless hours in trainings and certifications for new foster care families.

They continue to host Informational Nights virtually to inform interested volunteers on how to become foster parents. Their efforts are tireless— evidence of their outlook that it takes a village to raise children. No parent should feel alone.

“We need to come alongside families,” George said. “There is hope beyond the circumstances of abuse and neglect. We get to participate in that hope.”

Virtual Juneteenth Music Festival will be celebration of freedom Event will present full day of online programming STAFF REPORT

A full day of online programming that includes panels, performances, a marketplace and the Dream Big awards will make up Denver’s newly imagined virtual Juneteenth Music Festival.

The 2020 online festival will take place June 18 on www.JuneteenthMu-

sicFestival.com.

According to a news release, the goal of the festival is to educate the larger population about the American milestone and mobilize to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

The Dream Big awards honor individuals who have set high standards for achievement in business, education, arts, and service, as well as community activists, leaders and entrepreneurs who dream big enough to have a positive impact on their communities and the African American community as a whole, the release said.

This year’s recipients include Joy Ann Reid, of the “Reid This Reid That” Podcast and MSNBC; Tiffany Aliche, “The Budgetnista”; Chanel Turner, founder of The Black Owned Wine and Spirits Festival; and John Burns, founder of Icon Talks.

The 2020 Virtual Juneteenth Music Festival acknowledges the importance of the arts and the role music played in communication among enslaved African Americans. This year’s platform is a global stage for musicians, vocalists and artists to celebrate the importance of art, storytelling and

inclusion.

The full day of programming will include live content such as a women’s panel, LGBTQ panels, an “Icon Chat” with Sen. Rhonda Fields and more celebrating the African American and Black experience and Juneteenth history.

Historically, Juneteenth takes place in the historic Five Points neighborhood of Denver and is the largest Juneteenth celebration in the country.

Presenter JMF Corp takes on the challenge of continuing this tradition amidst social distancing guidelines.

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June 4, 2020J

Education professionals take action with parade at Capitol Groups asking legislators to pass emergency tax, use reserves

BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The morning of May 26, the state capitol served as the grounds for a car and school bus parade put together by Colorado education support professionals.

The parade was a kickoff of two weeks of action organized by the Colorado Education Association (CEA), which unions from Denver and across the state, as well as local unions Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) and Jeffco Education Support Professionals Association (JESPA), are affiliated with. JESPA rented school buses from Jeffco for the parade, which then drove in front of the capitol building.

The goal of the parade was to put pressure on legislators to mitigate some of the economic struggles school districts are facing.

Because of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, Colorado school districts have been told to expect significant cuts in state funding. Jeffco Public Schools’ chief financial officer, Kathleen Askelson, said at a May 13 study session that for the 2020-2021 school year, the district could see around $74.3 million in reductions from the state.

Support professionals are particularly worried what this may mean for their jobs next year, said Lara Center, JESPA president, during a May 26 press conference. Support staff include educational aides, food service workers, custodial staff and others.

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The Jeffco Education Support Professionals Association, or JESPA, rented school buses from Jeffco Public Schools to be used in the parade.

COURTESY OF COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Staff cuts are being made at each individual school, and while the organization did not have data on how many support professionals have lost their jobs for 2020-2021 so far, “there have been staff told they will not have a job in August,” she said. “Support staff can frequently be the place administrators go to cut.”

First-grade teacher Jon Cefkin from Lukas Elementary shared that he has seen support professionals cut throughout his 26 years of teaching, which has resulted in educational aides spending fewer hours helping students in the classroom.

“It really cuts down on the one-onone time with the students and the

time (staff) get to listen to students and help with their mental health needs,” he said Jenn Muñoz, secretary with Jeffco’s Community & Family Connections office, said when support staff are cut, students who are already facing hardship may find themselves in an even more difficult situation.

“We have students who struggle with homelessness. We have students who struggle with transportation to and from school,” she said at the May 26 conference. “Students now more than ever deserve more support, not less.”’

The CEA is asking legislators to pass an emergency tax; not increase

Local support professionals union members participate in the parade and rally to get their message to legislators.

COURTESY OF COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

the Budget Stabilization factor; make use of some of the state’s budget reserves; and pressure the federal government to provide additional aid to the state.

“Our lawmakers have a tough job,” Center said, “but they need to be brave, they need to be bold and they need to protect our students.”

Castle Rock coffee shop files lawsuit over shutdown The Castle Rock restaurant that drew national attention for opening to in-person dining on Mother’s Day in defiance of state and public health orders is suing the governor along with state and local agencies.

Attorney Randy Corporon filed the lawsuit on behalf of his clients, C&C Coffee and Kitchen owners Jesse and April Arellano, on May 22 in Douglas County District Court.

The Arellanos are alleging shutdowns of the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic were government overreach and constitutional violations that created “economic catastrophe” for their operation.

The suit names Gov. Jared Polis, the State of Colorado, the Tri-County Health Department, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and CDPHE Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan as defendants.

Tri-County Health Department had ordered the restaurant to close and CDPHE indefinitely pulled C&C’s business license

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Many of those driving in the parade created signs with messages like this one, which reads “Protect our Schools.”

on May 11, the day after Mother’s Day. Polis and Hunsaker Ryan rebuked the business’ actions in statements and press conferences following the Mother’s Day incident, saying it could threaten lives and further the spread COVID-19.

The business’s reopening sparked a fierce debate regarding when to ease restrictions on small businesses experiencing economic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also drawing strong criticism for the restaurant’s lack of social distancing that day.

Crowds packed the restaurant, masks were scarce and a line formed out the door.

The court filing refers to Polis’ categorization of essential and non-essential businesses during his pandemic response as arbitrary.

The lawsuit states that “given the governor’s unprecedented and unlawful exercise of executive authority” the court should “declare the defendants’ actions against plaintiff ultra vires (beyond one’s legal authority), unconstitutional and, therefore, void and of no effect.”

The Arellanos operate two locations of C&C Coffee and Kitchen, one in Castle

Rock and one in Colorado Springs. The first opened in 2013 and the second in 2019.

The restaurants closed to dine-in on March 17 when the CDPHE issued a public health order closing all bars, restaurants, theaters, gyms and casinos, according to the filing.

The lawsuit states the Arellanos attempted to comply with the public health orders by offering curbside service until May 10, choosing to reopen its Castle Rock location then “due to several financial hardships.” The Castle Rock location has remained entirely closed since May 11.

The lawsuit says the coffee shop and restaurant earned a profit between Jan. 1 and March 14, but that revenue declined 55% the week of March 17 and it operated “at a further loss” from then on, despite laying off employees and cutting other costs.

The business is now in debt, the lawsuit states, and may not be able to reopen. The lawsuit asks the court to reverse the orders suspending its operation and award the Arellanos relief for attorney fees and costs incurred by suing.

Lakewood Sentinel 13

June 4, 2020

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14 Lakewood Sentinel

LOCAL

June 4, 2020J

VOICES

All that is impossible and unknowable about this moment HITTING HOME

Michael Alcorn

O

nce upon a time, I took it upon myself to start writing down phrases and passages from different sources that spoke to me on sticky notes, and placing them around my world. The other day I came across one of them, and it sang to me like it hasn’t in years. It’s from the Old Testament Book of Micah: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” Humility is a very difficult quality to come to grips with. And especially in a day and age when we’re told to puff our chest out and let the world see everything we’re doing, when we’ve invented sticks that

make it easier to chronicle our latest great outfit or envy-inspiring outing, holding on to an appropriate sense of humility is a challenge, to say the least.

But I believe that humility and wisdom work together, and a wise man once said that “the beginning of wisdom is ‘I don’t know’”. Actually, I think it was Data on Star Trek TNG who said that, who wasn’t a wise man but a cyborg, but, it’s also entirely possible he was quoting somebody else. At any rate, “I don’t know” is at once a powerful statement of humility and the first step on the path of wisdom.

I don’t know what it’s like to grow up in America as a black man.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Next steps for COLEG As a candidate for County Commissioner, one of my top priorities is a flourishing environment for Jefferson County businesses. Little did I know when I made that commitment that our businesses, and their employees, would be hit so hard, so fast. The pandemic threw a sucker punch that might be tough to recover from.

There are 611,000 small businesses in Colorado employing 1.1m people; 24 percent are two months, or less, away from permanent closure; 11 percent less than one month away from going out of business. (U.S. Chamber) It’s too late to argue the merits of mandates that forced the closure of many — that’s water under the bridge. Now it’s time to look at what we can do to help our business community recover. The first step is to do no further harm.

As the Legislature reconvenes, several new bills would shift financial burden from government to businesses. Among them a COVID -19 related Worker’s Comp provision that would result in higher insurance rates for employers; mandated sick leave; whistle blower 90-day job protection for employees claiming their employer isn’t taking appropriate safety precautions; and with the Unemployment Trust Fund being depleted, the implementation of a solvency surcharge paid for, you guessed it, by businesses.

This is a difficult time to be in business. Most will struggle to survive. Some will never recover. Now isn’t the time to place more of a burden on our business community. I urge the Legislature to help our business community, not harm it.

Joni Inman, Golden

A publication of

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Polis should stop Here we are 2-3 weeks after the Water’s Edge Winery and C&C Café openings without a single related COVID-19 incidence being exposed in the media. It is highly unlikely that the media would miss spreading something like that far and wide and frequently.

This likely upends the assertion of the Polis orders being necessary to safeguard the masses for their own good.

If this is true the people of Colorado and their livelihoods continue to be put under unnecessary duress in perpetuity, as well as any potential real economic gain from the substantial summer tourism dollars that normally come into the Colorado coffers.

It seems to me that this is more about Governor Polis attempting to justify his heavy-handed orders in relation to the infinitesimal numbers that were orders of magnitude lower than the models or even he predicted would happen by now.

Considering the actual statistics, it’s hard to explain this as anything but politically motivated and aimed at the November election. His executive orders significantly weaken petition and ballot initiative integrity and telegraph that he may limit in-person voting significantly by enforcing social distancing requirements in the primaries and potentially November if he extends the state of emergency. Does he really think he needs social distancing with little data to support it?

Restore Colorado fully to its prior COVID-19 state Governor Polis, your state of emergency and emergency powers are no longer needed and very telling if allowed to continue.

Guy Pacot Arvada

I don’t know what it’s like to be in fear for anything other than my bank account when I see flashing lights behind me in traffic. Actually, I also have a certain fear of explaining the bank account to a certain wife after that, but that’s a story for another time.

I don’t know what it’s like to leave the house in the morning and kiss my children goodbye, knowing that it might be the last time I ever see them.

I don’t know what it’s like going to work and strapping on Kevlar as part of my uniform.

Money is in the cards, and some will stay there

F

SEE LETTERS, P17

SEE ALCORN, P18

our million Americans will find a prepaid debit card in their mailbox soon, if not already.

I found mine. How about you?

The Economic QUIET Impact PayDESPERATION ment Cards are going to certain people who filed a tax return but don’t have bank information on file.

At first I thought it was a scam. No: It simply turned Craig Marshall out to be a pain in the neck.

Smith To activate the card, I had to call an 800 number.

I guess they’re kind of busy.

At least that’s what I was told over and over and over. It was mind-numbing. I thought it might be a tactic. One of many.

Eventually, I spoke with a customer service representative.

She asked me everything except my birth weight.

Then came a series of questions. She wanted to know what state someone I have never heard of lived in.

And who “Micah” was.

I correctly answered the question about the make, model and

year of my car, but it wasn’t good enough and I was denied activation.

However, something else was activated: my aggravation.

I thought it was pretty clever to issue cards rather than a paper check, which could have been deposited directly.

Maybe you already know this: according to cnbc.com, “Half of Americans currently own unredeemed gift cards or store credits and that adds up to tens of billions in unused money.

More than one-third with unused cards won’t use up all of the funds.”

The experience was so aggravating I thought about throwing the card away.

I counted to 10 and called the 800 number again.

For some reason, I was guided through a different menu and was able to activate the card without listening to the outgoing messages or talking with anyone.

Who knows?

Maybe your experience was or will be better than mine. In any case, read the letter that comes with the card, and take a look at the May 19 Forbes article that answers frequently asked questions about the cards.

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

JERRY HEALEY President

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Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Sentinel. We welcome letters to the editor. Please Include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

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SEE SMITH, P18 Lakewood Sentinel A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Lakewood Sentinel is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 14143 Denver West Pkwy., Suite 100, Golden 80401.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Lakewood Sentinel, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110

Lakewood Sentinel 15

June 4, 2020

Police and black folks — the swagger and disrespect must end

I

’m a 65-year-old black man, and I have literally spent most of my life doing everything possible to avoid encounters with police.

My mother GUEST warned me when I was about 12 COLUMNS to beware of the police because even though I was a good boy, I could be killed with impunity. I’d be just another dead black boy supposedly mixed up in guns, drugs or gangs.

Gregory L. Moore I wish I wasn’t afraid of the police.

I have never had a cop live on my street. I’ve known only two law enforcement officers socially; one is a former FBI agent who I met a decade ago and is a great guy, and the other is a black cop who I played street basketball with in the 1980s.

The vast majority of police never fire a weapon, but the bad deeds rightly get more attention because of the suffering.

As a journalist I did some of those stories. I wrote about suburban police officers using sap gloves to beat suspects. I wrote about a white cop who shot and killed an unarmed black man, who was on his way home from a party. The police officer had numerous complaints against him and was known in the department as the “Orkin Man,” after a commercial for a pest-control company.

I’ve made it this far by being extremely careful. I’ve never hung out in bars, don’t lose my temper with authority figures, and haven’t had a fight since high school, all in an effort to avoid any dealings with the police.

Yet, I know the fear. I have been stopped at least 20 times by the police, fortunately without escalation.

Once I was stopped on an early Sunday morning as my family hurried to church. I was admittedly speeding. But you could feel the air being sucked in by my family as I pulled over and waited for the officer to approach.

I rolled down the window, careful to put both hands in plain view on the steering wheel. The officer asked me if I knew why he stopped me. I quickly offered that I was late for church and was probably over the speed limit.

He said yes sir, that was correct, took my license and registration and walked to his cruiser. When he came back, he said he was giving me a warning. Shocked, I said thank you.

He leaned into my car and replied: “Despite what you think, my job is not to make your day worse.”

There have been other encounters like that. But there have been dark moments.

Returning from a concert with four black male college classmates in the 1970s, we were pulled over and ordered out of our car in the snow, some of us without our shoes or coats on, because we allegedly “fit

the description” of robbery suspects. After standing in the cold for a half hour, we were let go after we checked out with no warrants.

Then, there was the time in the early 1990s when I was traveling with my family from Boston to Vermont to start vacation. We were driving along a deserted New Hampshire road around midnight when we passed a cop sitting at a closed gas station.

My wife and son were slumped down in the car asleep, but I immediately knew it was trouble when the cop car slowly rolled out behind me.

After following me for a mile or so, the blue lights and siren came on.

My wife jumped up in her seat and asked what was going on. I told her I didn’t know.

I was driving the speed limit, so that couldn’t be it. The officer tapped on the window and brusquely asked for my license and registration.

I calmly asked him what was the problem, but he silently stalked off as my 8-year-old son came to life in the backseat.

As my blood began to boil, my wife and kid pleaded with me to stay calm. No other cars were on the road. After about 10 minutes, the officer came back and handed me my documents. My hands in plain view, I asked why he had stopped me. “You were driving too close to my vehicle,” he snapped.

I sat there for a moment fuming, letting him take off before me. I told my wife that he stopped me simply because he saw a black man and suspected I was a criminal only to be surprised to find a family.

Then, there was the time the cops showed up at my house in Golden.

My wife was in the car with our two daughters, and when she buzzed herself into our gated street she noticed a police car pull in behind her.

She assumed they were heading to a neighbor’s house, but they pulled into our driveway and asked for her brother, who was living with us at the time. He is the nicest guy and has never been in trouble.

But apparently he had gotten into a verbal altercation with a white guy after he rolled through a roundabout and cut him off as they both turned into a gas station. The enraged white guy berated him, and my brother-in-law gave it back to him. As they both pumped their gas, the guy threatened to call the cops.

My brother-in-law said go ahead, got into his car and headed home.

It’s mind boggling that two cops showed up at our house simply based on the word of a white guy over a minor traffic dispute. No witnesses, no physical altercation, no evidence of a crime.

After my wife in a tense exchange demanded the officers get off of our property as she held her brother in the garage, they finally left. Incredibly, he was issued a court summons, which was withdrawn after I called the police chief to object. It is the only time I have ever mentioned my position as editor during a personal complaint.

We were outraged and have no

doubt that my brother-in-law would have been face down in our driveway or worse had he stepped outside of that garage. And for what?

Watching the life ebb from George Floyd on TV brought these memories flooding back. I literally said that could have been me under that officer’s knee. And very few of my white friends can honestly say they had that feeling.

That speaks volumes. Over the years, I have had many discussions with white colleagues and friends about the police, and it’s clear that we live in different worlds.

They have run from police, driven off from traffic stops, and flung clipboards handed to them across highways without any repercussions. I can’t imagine a black person getting away with that.

Maybe that’s because for many whites they know cops as fathers, brothers, cousins, friends and neigh-

bors.

We, however, know them as a swaggering, disrespectful, and threatening presence.

The history of the police and black people dates back to the slave catchers and overseers. A lot of police officers in our country come to the job generationally with stereotypes and disdain toward black people that has been handed down from the old days.

Whether they want to admit it or not, it is part of the DNA of the profession, and it really doesn’t matter what color the person is who wears the uniform. Those attitudes are ingrained in the culture.

So to fix the problem the culture has to be changed, which is no easy feat. We have had black police chiefs, and that has not made much of a difference. To change the culture SEE MOORE, P18

In Loving Memory Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. Private 303-566-4100 Obituaries@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Funeral Homes Visit: www.memoriams.com

16 Lakewood Sentinel

LOCAL

June 4, 2020J

LIFE

Take to the water at Big Soda Lake

Patrick Boland perseveres, helps others despite ‘suicide disease’

B

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

F

or eight years, Patrick Boland, 16, has lived with a pain throughout his body that is so excruciating, it can feel as if he’s wrapped in barbed wire, doused in gasoline and set on fire.

He has had a headache for the past five years: It’s in his eyes, in his gums, everywhere.

He stopped attending school in person in the eighth grade and has had to relearn to walk four times when the constant, unimaginable pain — caused by a rare neurological condition — became too much.

But the Highlands Ranch teen never stays down for too long.

His passion for baseball gets him out of bed each morning. His treatment regimen propels him through each day. His mom, younger sister and several friends who understand his reality bolster his spirits.

And fierce independence and unwavering self-discipline form a bedrock of inner strength and have led him to want to create a community for others in his shoes.

Six years ago, Patrick, with his mother’s help, started the nonprofit Ferocious Fighters to connect those dealing with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS. “CRPS is known as the suicide disease,” his mother Meg Boland said.

“Patrick was really in a bad place and didn’t want other people to feel as alone as he did.”

It has taken years of doctors appointments, experimental treatments and grit, but today, Patrick stands strong despite his physical suffering.

“I think I handle the pain really well at this point. But it took a really long time,” he said. “The pain doesn’t affect any functionality anymore — even if it’s as high as it can possibly be.”

The diagnosis Patrick was 8 when he jumped from a step in his front yard and twisted his left ankle. Four months later, he was still in excruciating pain. His ankle was cold to the touch.

It turned purple.

“The doctors did an MRI and called me and said, ‘Everything is normal,’” Meg said. “And I said ‘Well, he hasn’t walked in four months.’ ...We went to the first physical therapy visit and within five minutes of being with Patrick, they said ‘This is CRPS.’” CRPS is a neurological condition that causespatients to experience constant nerve pain even after an injury has healed.

The illness is shrouded in mystery with very little known about its

Patrick Boland, 16, was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain syndrome when he was 9 years old. A few years later, he started Ferocious Fighters, an international non-profit organization benefitting other kids with CRPS. ELLIOTT WENZLER cause or how to treat it effectively, said Dr. Jeffery Kesten, one of Patrick’s physicians. Experts believe patients with CRPS likely have a genetic predisposition to the disease, but there is virtually always an inciting event, such as a minor injury or surgery.

Sometimes, patients will experience swelling, color or temperature changes and nail or hair growth changes.

“He used to describe it as being wrapped in barbed wire, doused in gasoline and set on fire,” said Meg. One pain scale, called the McGill Pain Index, ranks CRPS higher than amputation of a finger without anesthesia and unprepared childbirth.

After his initial diagnosis in 2012, Patrick continued to receive more and more diagnoses for other conditions sometimes related to CRPS, including a lacking immune system, weakened cartilage and ligaments, frequent muscle cramps and other issues.

He has been in and out of a wheelchair as the nerve pain and other symptoms spread to the rest of his body, as it often does for CRPS patients.

About 200,000 people in the U.S.

experience the condition every year, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

While specialists can offer a variety of treatments, there is no cure.

The best CRPS patients can hope for is finding subtle relief, functioning through the pain or, if they’re one of the lucky ones, remission. Patrick has never entered remission, he said.

People with a CRPS diagnosis also commonly experience suicidal ideations, Kesten said. That’s why the illness has been dubbed “the suicide disease,” according to the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Sydrome Association, a nonprofit supporting people with CRPS, sometimes known as RSDS. “It must be a horrible place to be,” Kesten said. “I would be concerned if a patient did not have mental health support in a true chronic pain condition because I don’t have a clue how it would not get to you and those around you.”

Starting Ferocious Fighters Patrick, deemed a gifted student a few years before his initial injury, was 10 years old when he decided he SEE BOLAND, P17

w b

a s w

y all accounts the summer of 2020 will be a dry one, with W city water parks and regional n attractions like Water World s remaining closed for the season. c Fortunately, Lakewood’s Big Soda S Lake in Bear Creek Lake Park is offering an active way to enjoy the t o water.

On May 30 the park, 15600 Morri- n son Road, reopened to offer on-lake o C approved paddle craft including paddleboards, canoes, kayaks, wind- F C surfing, belly boats and rafts. The swim beach, marina and other shore areas are to remain 7 j closed to swimCOMING h ming and shoreline ATTRACTIONS activities until t further notice.

“We feel that we r have implemented h a a plan that will h allow many park b users to get out and enjoy their favorite activities p while remaining as safe as a possible,” a Clarke Reader wrote Drew Sprafke, l Regional Park supervisor, in an email h interview. “We are hopeful that users will be happy with this opportunity “ and will realize that following the rules will help protect everyone while keeping access to this amenity available.”

According to provided information, access to the lake will be clearly signed with activities that will not be allowed, including swimming, picnicking, sunbathing, wading and similar shore activities. Paddle craft users will be allowed to launch and load only, without congregating on the shoreline.

“We evaluated multiple options for reopening to determine what would provide quality recreational access while also addressing public health concerns. We determined that preventing shoreline use and gathering was the single most important safety step we could implement,” Sprafke said. “At the same time, the City has developed signage to remind everyone of safe social distancing practices and a sign package to clearly communicate the rules that will be in place when the lake opens.”

As the park reopens, rangers will patrol first to educate, but then place more of a focus on enforcement as needed. Sprafke said violators will be subject to a citation.

The lake’s swim beach and all associated activities were closed to visitors on May 9 in response to overcrowding and mandates from Colorado and Jefferson County Public Health, and Sprafke said allowing those uses to return will be reevaluated on June 30.

“At this time, we do not feel that there is a safe way to do so (allow SEE READER, P19

Lakewood Sentinel 17

June 4, 2020

BOLAND FROM PAGE 16

wanted to help other kids with CRPS by sending them all care packages.

But Meg explained that as a teacher at a Douglas County charter school, she couldn’t afford to send every kid with the disease a package.

“He said, ‘Well, how does Make-AWish do it?’ And I said well, they’re a nonprofit. He said ‘Well, let’s do that,” she remembers.

In 2014, Patrick registered Ferocious Fighters as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Six years later, 1,253 kids in 19 countries are linked together through the organization. They range in age from newborns to 21-year-olds and live all over the world. Thirty kids are from Colorado, nearly all living along the Front Range. There are six in Douglas County.

That first year, the organization sent 70 care packages. In 2019, the number jumped to 350. So far, the organization has sent more than 1,000 packages total.

The packages include a blanket, a Ferocious Fighters T-shirt, a keychain, a hand-crocheted hat, a bumper sticker, a journal and rice hand warmers. All have flames on them to symbolize the burning pain that the kids experience.

They also include a hand-written, personalized letter from Patrick.

“I’m so sorry that you’re having such a great amount of sensitivity on your left leg,” he wrote in one letter. “I know how hard that can be to deal with.”

Each letter ends with his sign-off: “Gentle Hugs, Patrick.”

There also are the quarterly encour-

LETTERS FROM PAGE 14

COVID fever?

Would much, if any, of the post Minneapolis event mayhem, now occurring in Denver and other cities, have happened, if the frustrated, fear driven, and unemployed rioters still had their jobs?

Do we not see by their actions yet another manifestation of the old adage: ‘The Devil makes work for idle hands!’?

Isn’t it well past the time for Mayor

Patrick Boland, 16, poses in his Mountain Vista baseball uniform before being required to turn it in. The school’s spring baseball season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. COURTESY PHOTO agement letters and birthday cards.

And every November, Ferocious Fighters organizes a virtual walk to encourage the kids to get moving, an important treatment for their disease.

The group also organizes dozens of support groups for kids and parents throughout the world.

In a note to Meg and Patrick, one mother expressed how much the package meant to her daughter.

“She will not be dancing at the dance or marching with the bands, she cannot keep up with friends and has missed out on several school trips and clubs,” read a note from Nina Nation, the mother of a 13-year-old in Nevada.

“But tonight, she got a package with her name on it, for her. She smiled. ... She opened the box and cherished everything inside piece by piece.”

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Patrick has tried dozens of treatments throughout the years, including a host of prescription medications and experimental treatments. He’s been in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber; tried medical marijuana; taken ketamine pills; attempted painful “exposure therapy” sessions, which try to desensitize the patients’ nerves by vigorously rubbing them with a coarse blanket; seen chiropractors and massage therapists and more.

After eight years, Patrick has found a cocktail of supplements, medications and treatments that work for him. On top of his daily pills, he receives weekly immune boosters through an IV and, every three months, he undergoes an intense ketamine infusion used to treat chronic pain conditions.

One morning in February, Patrick entered Kesten’s infusion clinic wearing a Mac Miller T-shirt, a beanie and sweatpants. At 6 feet 3 inches, he towered over his mother and the infusion director who is administering his treatment. As she prepared the medication, the infusion director asked what pain he was feeling on a scale from one to 10.

“It’s at an eight, but that’s only in my back and the rest of the body is a five,” Patrick said. “So really, really good.”

His baseline of pain on a daily basis is about a seven out of 10, he said.

It’s Patrick’s second day of the infusion therapy and, already, he’s reporting improved comfort. The treatment isn’t without side effects, however. He vomited the night before and on the way into the clinic. In the past, he’s experienced hallucinations, inability to eat, anxiety and memory loss from the treatment.

Every baseball day is a good day

When asked about what parts of his day-to-day life bring him comfort and joy, Patrick has two answers: medication and baseball.

Patrick, who plays a variety of positions including first base and pitcher, wants to play in college with the longterm goal of being on a professional team.

Even though his education is online through Colorado Connections Academy, Patrick plays baseball for Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch.

“Baseball keeps him alive,” his mom said. “This is his passion, this is what makes him want to get up in the morning.

To his coaches, Patrick is just another athlete, said Ron Quintana, Mountain Vista’s head coach. What makes him stand out isn’t his constant battle with his health, but his deep discipline and fervent work ethic, he said.

“The other day we were working out and he didn’t have a ride to practice, ... so he ran from home,” Quintana said.

“When I ask him to do something, he will sprint to it.”

It may not look like it, but as Patrick trots around the baseball field during practice, helping wherever he can, he’s still in pain.

In February, before his most recent ketamine session, Patrick was experiencing the most intense pain he’s ever endured, he said.

But, he said, there’s a bright side.

“I’m at my worst right now. And I’m so happy to say that,” Patrick said before the treatment. “I’m still playing baseball, I’m being a normal teenager, I’m still hanging out with friends, suffering through school work, everything.”

mail-in ballots in Colorado, the story noted.

President Trump has opposed mail-in balloting, calling it corrupt.

He recently took to Twitter to oppose what he said was Michigan’s recent mailing of absentee ballots to the state’s voters. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!” the president tweeted. Trump has threatened Nevada in a similar way.

Americans in every state should be allowed to vote by mail if they choose to, especially in the middle of

a pandemic and if they are worried about their health. Mail-in voting does not create measurable voter fraud, which is still rare in our system. It is a powerful moment in history right now and it is important that we stand up to him to ensure that everyone can access mail-in ballots if they choose.

Trump is worried about his reelection prospects, which is why he is eager to attack mail-in voting. We need a new administration that allows every American to use their voice to vote either in person or mail-in. Please vote for a change in November!

Lauren Rombach Littleton

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18 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J

MOORE

ALCORN

FROM PAGE 15

FROM PAGE 14

you have to send police officers who murder innocent civilians to prison, plain and simple.

Police officers who abuse their power have to be held accountable, just like in any other profession. A clerk miscounts the money, they get fired.

A journalist makes big mistakes, they get dismissed. You’re sitting in the car when a companion robs a store, you go down, too.

The argument that we ask police to risk their lives and make split decisions is no excuse for them being wrong when making life-and-death decisions. They should have a higher standard to be right when using lethal force, not a lower one.

Reforming policing in America will require changing their culture, reinventing their training and unerring accountability.

I’m exhausted watching black men die at the hands of police. I hate seeing the fear in my daughters’ eyes from knowing I could die, begging for air, under the knee of a police officer.

I don’t hate cops. I fear them. But I’m about to turn 66 years old, and I’d like to exhale for a change.

I don’t know what it’s like to look around a room full of people and realize that I’m the only one who looks the way I do.

I don’t know what it’s like being sent out into the world and being told that my job is to be the one thing standing between good people and chaos and anarchy.

To be the sheepdog between the wolves and the sheep.

I don’t know what it’s like being characterized and stigmatized by the worst actions of the worst members of the group who share elements of my appearance.

I don’t know what was go-

Gregory L. Moore was the editor of The Denver Post from 2002 to 2016.

This column was first published by The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. Used by permission. For more, visit coloradosun.com.

SMITH FROM PAGE 14

Momma said.

Momma said, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” meaning don’t question the value of a gift.

Checking a horse’s teeth is one way to determine its age.

You’ve heard another expression, namely that someone is “long in the tooth.”

As a horse ages, its gums recede, making the teeth look longer.

As I held my Economic Payment Card, I heard my mother telling me

ing through the mind of Derek Chauvin for nine minutes as he slowly choked the life out of another man. I know even less about what was going through the minds of the other three officers who were on scene and did nothing to de-escalate the situation.

I don’t know if I would have had the courage, as a bystander, to do anything about it.

What I think I might know is this: the good cop and the good black man should be friends, and should be powerful allies. Because they both know what it is to be asked to do the impossible in this world: the cop is asked to safeguard justice in a world without peace, and the black man is asked to behave peacefully in a world built on hundreds of years of injustice.

It’s easy, in the wake of the horrors of the last week, to sit out here in suburbia and tsk tsk, as if we know anything. But a wise person once said “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Maybe this week, it might be good to give some thoughts to the people we’ve put in impossible situations, and try to lighten their burdens. Be well and be safe, my friends.

what not to do.

She’s been dead these 12 years but I am still governed at times by her guidance.

Coincidentally, as essayed two months ago, I was scheduled for gum surgery with Dr. Kim. It is now completed.

The procedures were costly. My Economic Impact Card is spoken for.

I am, in short, an aging horse, and if I had my choice it would be Seabiscuit: a plucky, unlikely-looking, top money-winning racehorse.

I recommend Laura Hillenbrand’s book, “Seabiscuit: An American Legend,” but not the film based on

the book, or the 1949 Shirley Temple film “The Story of Seabiscuit.”

Watch it for actual footage of some of Seabiscuit’s races and skip the parts where Temple swoons over the jockey.

The debit cards, as an alternative to easily deposited checks, were a shrewd idea. The obstacles to activate them and the fact many will never be used partially or fully saves someone money.

Seven pounds, six ounces.

Michael Alcorn is a teacher and writer who lives in Arvada with his wife and three children. His new novel, “Charon’s Blade,” is available at Amazon.com, on Kindle, or through MichaelJAlcorn.com.” His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media.

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net.

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Lakewood Sentinel 19

June 4, 2020

READER FROM PAGE 16

swimming and other related activities) under current public health guidelines. The main concern continues to be the crowding that we know will happen, and the resulting inability to maintain safe social distancing,” he explained. “We will continue to reevaluate all closures and restrictions each month as new public health guidance is released from the State and County.”

Sprafke emphasized the important of all park visitors paying close attention to the rules, as not doing so could cause amenity usage to be reclosed.

“All park users need to realize that our parks are very busy. We need everyone to have patience with other users and follow public health guidelines,” he said. “These simple steps help to ensure that everyone can enjoy the parks safely.”

Bear Creek Lake Park remains open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with other amenity closures occurring. For more details on park activities and restrictions, call 303-697-6159 or visit Lakewood.org/BCLP. Visit a virtual arts fair An arts fair is a great way to meet some fascinating up-and-coming artists and support the work they do.

While arts and farmers markets are figuring out new safe approaches, the Colorado Artists Virtual Art Fair is bringing the experience home.

Running from 10 a.m. on Friday, June 5 through 3 p.m. on Monday, June 8, the event features six local artists: Liz Covert (jewelry), Lauri R. Dunn (digital art and photography), Victoria

Eubanks (encaustic), Amelia Furman (mixed media), Katie Hoffman (painting) and Rita Vali (ceramics).

Search Colorado Artists Virtual Art Fair on Facebook to find the fair and all the necessary details.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week - All in WA The state of Washington is home to one of the most eclectic and important music scenes in the country. And like everywhere else, it’s home to scores of people suffering during the COVID-19 crisis. Artists like Pearl Jam, Ben Gibbard, Dave Matthews, Sir Mix-a-Lot and other Seattle musicians are joining forces for All in WA, a streaming concert at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10.

Funds will be raised for relief efforts across the state, and the concert will be streamed on Amazon’s Twitch channel and will be available afterwards on Amazon Prime.

Streaming style - ‘Breeders’ I’m not a parent, but I’ve been reliably informed that one of the keys to making it through the experience is finding things to laugh at. That’s the basic premise behind the hilarious (and occasionally painful) British comedy, “Breeders.”

The show follows parents Ally (Daisy Haggard) and Paul (Martin Freeman) as they navigate parenthood while juggling careers and extended family. The show has just the right amount of absolutely biting British humor, but doesn’t skimp on the moments of genuine humanity.

The first season is available ondemand and Hulu.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

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(303) 425-6861

Roofing/Gutters

Family Owned & Operated Ask About Lawn Services

DEPENDABLE ROOF AND GUTTER REPAIR

Weekly Mowing & More

(303)425-1084

PayPal & Venmo accepted

Repairs are all I do!

Wind Damage & Fix Leaks Gutter repair/cleaning 40 years experience FREE Estimates

To advertise your business here, call us at 303-566-4100

(720)209-4589

720-301-0442

Local ads, coupons & deals are just one click away!

For Local News Anytime of the Day Visit

CHECK IT OUT AT:

ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Lakewood Sentinel 23

June 4, 2020

P L A C E A D S O N L I N E 2 4 / 7 AT

www.ColoradoCommunityClassifieds.com

To Advertise call Karen 303.566.4091 kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100 Colorado Statewide Classified Advertising Network To place a 25-word COSCAN Network ad in 91 Colorado newspapers for only $300, contact your local newspaper or call Colorado Press Association Network at 303-571-5117.

WANTED

COLORADO PRESS ASSOCIATION NETWORK

Cash for Mineral Rights Free, no-risk, cash offer. Contact us with the details: Call: 720-988-5617 Write: Minerals, PO BOX 3668, Littleton, CO 80161 Email: opportunity@ecmresourcesinc.com

Buy a 25-word statewide classified line ad in newspapers across the state of Colorado for just $300 per week.

Ask about our frequency discounts!

Contact this newspaper or call Colorado Press Association Network 303-571-5117

Misc. Notices

Health & Beauty

CASH FOR CARS: We Buy Any Condition Vehicle, 2002 and Newer.

Nationwide Free Pick Up! Call Now: 1-800-864-5960.

VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! 100 Generic Pills SPECIAL $99.00 FREE Shipping! 100% guaranteed.

24/7 CALL NOW! 888-445-5928 Hablamos Espanol

WIDOWED MEN AND WOMEN OF AMERICA. A social club offering many exciting activities and life long friendships.

Social hours for all areas of Metro Denver.

Visit Widowedamerica.org for details In your area!

Merchandise Firewood

Still paying too much for your MEDICATION? Save up to 90% on RX refill! Order today and receive free shipping on 1st order - prescription required. Call 1-888-906-1529 Recently diagnosed with LUNG CANCER and 60+ years old? Call now! You and your family may be entitled to a SIGNIFICANT CASH AWARD. Call 877-648-6308 today.

Free Consultation. No Risk.

Cemetery Lots

Split & Delivered $300 a cord Stacking available extra $35 Call 303-647-2475 or 720-323-2173

Please Recycle this Publication when Finished

For Local News Anytime Rentals To of Advertise the Day Visit call OurColoradoNews.com Office Rent/Lease VARIOUS OFFICES

100-2,311 sq.ft. Rents from $200-$1750/month.

Full service.

405-409 S Wilcox Castle Rock Wasson Properties

719-520-1730

BURIAL PLOTS FOR SALE: Two side-by-side plots sold together for $5500. Located at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery, 777 W 29th Ave, Wheat Ridge, Block 66, Lot 207, Spaces B 3&4.

Contact Crown Hill to see plots and ask about current transfer fee (buyer’s responsibility). To purchase email mrsearll@msn.com

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

Scrap Metal, Batteries, Appliances, Wiring, Scrap Plumbing/Heating, Cars/Parts, Clean out Garages/Yards, Rake, Yard work done w/chainsaw, Certified Auto Mechanical / Body Work & paint available Also can do inside or outside cleaning 303-647-2475 / 720-323-2173

DENTAL INSURANCE from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company.

Coverage for 350 procedures. Real dental insurance. NOT just a discount plan. [Don’t wait!] Call now!

Get your FREE Dental Information Kit with all the details! 1-888-6233036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258

Need some cash? Sell us your unwanted gold, jewelry, watches & diamonds. Call GOLD GEEK 1-844-209-9872 or visit www.GetGoldGeek.com/nani BBB A+ Rated.

Request your 100% FREE, no risk, no strings attached appraisal kit. Call today!

Only the Highest quality CBD products from AceWellness! We guarantee highest quality, most competitive pricing on CBD products. Softgels, Oils, Skincare, Vape & more. Coupon Code: PRINT20 1-855-681-3113 ATTENTION OXYGEN THERAPY USERS! Inogen One G4 is capable of full 24/7 oxygen delivery. Only 2.8 pounds. FREE information kit. Call 877-929-9587 BOY SCOUT COMPENSATION FUND - Anyone that was inappropriately touched by a Scout leader deserves justice and financial compensation! Victims may be eligible for a significant cash settlement. Time to file is limited. Call Now! 833-7290164 NEW AUTHORS WANTED! Page Publishing will help you self-publish your own book. FREE author submission kit! Limited offer! Why wait?

Call now: 866-951-7214

Karen 303.566.4091

Wesley Financial Group, LLC Timeshare Cancellation Experts Over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt and fees cancelled in 2019. Get free informational package and learn how to get rid of your timeshare! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. Call 844-909-3339 Eliminate gutter cleaning forever!

LeafFilter, the most advanced debrisblocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today.

15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855995-2490 AT&T Internet. Starting at $40/month w/12-mo agmt. Includes 1 TB of data per month. Get More For Your HighSpeed Internet Thing. Ask us how to bundle and SAVE! Geo & svc restrictions apply. Call us today 1-888-7968850 DISH TV $59.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. 1-833-872-2545.

DIRECTV NOW. No Satellite Needed. $40/month. 65 Channels.

Stream Breaking News, Live Events, Sports & On Demand Titles. No Annual Contract. No Commitment.

CALL 1-866-825-6523

Stay in your home longer with an American Standard Walk-In Bathtub.

Receive up to $1,500 off, including a free toilet, and a lifetime warranty on the tub and installation! Call us at 1-855-534-6198

Pets Dogs

Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppies

expected in June! Outstanding deep red color, royal bloodlines, completely health checked, and papered. Bred to German standards. One time event!

Contact @ 808-990-8490 www.RidgeAndRoyal.com

Wanted

Cash for all Vehicles!

Cars, Trucks, Vans, SUV’s Any condition • Running or not No title OK • Free towing

(303)741-0762

Cell: (303)918-2185 for texting

Bestcashforcarsco.com

Transportation Wanted

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!! 2002 and Newer! Any Condition. Running or Not. Competitive Offer! Free Towing! We’re Nationwide! Call Now: 1-888-416-2330.

Donate Your Car to Veterans Today! Help and Support our Veterans.

Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800-245-0398

kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com

24 Lakewood Sentinel

June 4, 2020J