December 10, 2015 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 17
HOLIDAY WORSHIP
SERVICE GUIDE INSIDE
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
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CDOT rolls into Lakewood to talk transport By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Athletes compete in the 2016 USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship at the Denver Curling Center on Dec. 4. Photos by Clarke Reader
Curling center attracts national attention Top athletes in mixed doubles visit Jeffco venue By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com For Olympic curler hopefuls, the road to top-tier competition begins in Jefferson County. This year, the 2016 USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship was held at the Denver Curling Center where some of the country’s top athletes competed for the national crown and a spot in the world championship qualifier. “We’re so happy so many people came from all over the country to participate in this competition,” said Phil Moir, vice president of the Denver Curling Club, at an opening ceremony on Dec. 2. “This is our first major event at this facility, and we’re so proud to host everyone here.” Competition started Dec. 2 and ran through Dec. 7, with 29 teams from as far away as Alaska, Massachusetts and
ABOUT CURLING Curling was invented in medieval Scotland, and first appeared in writing and art in the 16th century. Curling has been an Olympic sport since the 1998 winter Olympics in Nagano. In curling, two teams slide 40-pound granite rocks (also called stones) down a sheet of ice toward a target at the other end. Each team tries to get more of its stones closer to the center of the target than the other team. Each player on the team throws two stones
California. Mixed doubles curling is the newest addition to Olympic curling, Moir explained, with the sport only being added in 2008. Instead of a team of four — as is the case with traditional curling — the new addition features only two team
in each end. Each team throws eight stones in an end. The players alternate throwing with their opposite number, the player on the other team who plays the same position they do. When a rock is thrown down the ice, depending on its rotation — which is applied intentionally — it will curl, or bend, one way or another. The extent of the curl or bend depends on the playing surface. Sweeping makes a rock curl less and travel farther.
members, which emphasizes more the thrower’s skill and less the team’s sweeping skills. “Everyone is trying to figure out the Curling continues on Page 5
Fox Hollow makes perfect pitch Wins $20,000 from FirstBank By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com Fox Hollow Animal Hospital received an early Christmas present this year thanks to FirstBank’s inaugural “Elevator Pitch” Business Contest. The animal hospital, 2950 S. Bear Creek Blvd., won $20,000 for a video created by Ross Henderson, who works at Fox Hollow with his father, Tony and brother, Ryan. “The video became something way bigger than just a fun little side project I expected,” Ross said. “I thought it would just be something some of our friends thought would be cool, and that’s it. And yet we had more than 20,000 views on Fox continues on Page 5
The doctors and staff, and Barrington the dog, of Lakewood’s Fox Hollow Animal Hospital, won first place and $20,000 in FirstBank’s “Elevator Pitch Contest.” Courtesy photo
There are a lot of challenges facing Colorado’s Department of Transportation, and Shailen Bhatt, executive director of CDOT, is eager to share the progress being made. Bhatt was the lead speaker at the Lakewood legislative group’s monthly town hall meeting on Dec. 5, and provided attendees with information about CDOT’s work. “I’ve been the executive director here for 10 months, and while Denver doesn’t have the bad traffic of places like WashShailen Bhatt, ington D.C., New executive director York or Los Angeof CDOT les, it’s joining the list of places with bad traffic,” he said. “It used to be really good, and that’s what we’re trying to get to.” CDOT is responsible for more than 3,500 bridges, 23,000 lane miles of highway, 35 mountain passes that are open year-round and 6.1 million miles of plowing a year, Bhatt told attendees. The purpose of the department moving forward is to provide freedom and connection through travel. This goal requires focus on three key areas — technology, people and systems. “There are going to be huge transportation changes coming with advances in technology, particularly with automated cars,” Bhatt said. “But we can’t build our way out of the traffic problems we have in Denver.” On a national level, Colorado is 32nd in pavement condition, 15th in bridge condition and 17th in fatalities, according to Bhatt, and he is looking for ways to improve the state’s standings in all areas. County commissioner Casey Tighe was on hand to provide updated on cycling in the county, especially with community efforts to increase bike lanes in Jeffco. “It’s important we have multi-modal transportation here,” he said. “Thanks to the efforts of groups like Bike Jeffco, we were able to get the template approved that includes bike lanes.” Tighe said this kind of progress is an example of what happens when people speak out about an important issue. Attendee questions ranged from concerns about congestion in the mountains to light rail progress to DIA. “So many of these issues are Republican or Democrat,” Bhatt said. “It’s ‘is the solution more important than the politics?’”
‘We can’t build our way out of the traffic problems we have in Denver.’