GLUTEN-FREE GROWTH
September 8, 2016 VOLUME 93 | ISSUE 4
More people are cutting gluten from their diet, but the reasons vary. PAGE 12
LakewoodSentinel.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
New facility introduced to community during fair
BELMAR GETTING FESTIVE
Jefferson Center for Mental Health brings integrated care to south Lakewood By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Festival Italiano returns to Lakewood this weekend, Sept. 10 and 11. Learn more about the sights, sounds and scrumptious foods on PAGE 4. Photo courtesy of Belmar
Jefferson County archives turn 25 By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com Property tax appraisal cards, aerial maps, Justice of the Peace dockets, county commission minutes and marriage applications, all going back to the 1860s. These are just a handful of the materials visitors can get lost in at the Jefferson County Archives. “When working on our two books about Lakewood, and West Colfax property research, the archives have proved invaluable,” said Bob Autobee, of the cultural resources firm of Autobee & Autobee in Lakewood. “It’s a great resource that deserves more attention than it gets.” The archives celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, which makes it a perfect time to learn about the little-known resource, said Ronda Frazier, county archivist of the past seven years. “We have all kinds of people come through here,” Frazier said. “Students working on research projects, genealogists, historians, environmental firms and historical societies.” The archives are located in the Laramie Building, 3500 Illinois St., Ste. 2350, and are open by appointment. Researchers cannot check out any of the material, and are supervised to ensure documents are not damaged or removed. “There is some really interesting stuff here, and because it’s the 25th anniversary and October is American Archives Month, we’ve launched a social media campaign to let people know what is here,” said Jeremy Fleming, outreach program manager with the county. “We
The Jefferson Center for Mental Health has a simple philosophy to providing care — look at the whole person. There are parts of the county that have yet to learn of the center’s approach to integrated behavioral and primary care, and so the center just opened its southernmost health home to reach residents in south Lakewood. The Aug. 31 fair at Jefferson Plaza Family Health Home, 3595 S. Teller St., highlighted the many resources available and introduced the new location to the community. “At this location we’re focusing on adolescents and families,” said Shannon Gwash, director of Wellness Services. “There are a lot of health services here for patients. Like our other integrated care facilities, we have the Metro Community Provider Network and Arapahoe House to provide a range of services.” This location has been in the works for about a year, explained Shannon TysonPoletti, a psychiatrist with the Jefferson Center. “When looking at our data, we realized this was an area that has not been served as much,” she said. “In this part of town you have a lot of working poor — they’re not in the extreme poverty designation, but on the edge. There is also a fair amount of Latino and immigrant residents in the area.” The health home focuses on preventive care and wellness throughout patients’ lives. There will be prenatal services for expecting mothers all the way through adulthood. Services include domestic violence prevention, wellness education and healthy eating classes. “We’re here for anyone who needs a area primary care physician. Everyone is eligible,” Tyson-Poletti said. “Everyone who visits us will get some level of mental health screening, and people with serious mental health concerns will be referred to specialists with the Jefferson Center.” The Metro Community Provider Network will be providing the family doctors, Center continues on Page 8
The Jeffco Archives collection includes everything from incorporation records to tax assessment rolls and all Columbine records releases to the public. Photo by Clarke Reader have Jeffco employees who have worked here for years and didn’t know we had the archives.” The county’s old documents were kept prior to 25 years ago, but not carefully maintained, managed and cataloged like they have been since. Records were spread around in the courthouse vault, basement closets of various county buildings, over the garage of the Lakewood Library, in a warehouse on Violet Street, and in a cell block in the former jail, Frazier said. There has been a noticeable uptick in interest since the county started its social media campaign, Frazier said,
with many people interested in learning more about their genealogy or the history of their property. “It’s up to me to know how the records work,” she said. “It really is like playing detective sometimes.” Some of the most sought-after items include tax appraisal cards, which the archives have for almost every property in the county, and tax lists, which are special because they don’t exist in any other form. “These lists put a person at a specific place and time,” Frazier explained. Archive continues on Page 8
RIVALRY RESUMED Arvada West and Lakewood tangle in a prep football clash on PAGE 20.