January 8, 2015 VOLU M E 1 0 | I S SUE 32
ArvadaPress.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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Feeding the community Salon donates one ton to local food bank By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com Many needy families across Arvada will not go hungry via a series of moisture-locking paraffin wax treatments. Jeri Damge, owner of the Arvada Nail Shoppe, along with staff and a few customers delivered more than 2,300 pounds of donated, nonperishable food items to the Arvada Community Food Bank (ACFB) on Friday. The items, collected over the month of December, are part of the salon’s annual food drive for the
needy. “We’ve probably been doing this for seven to eight years,” Damge said, “Every year the need over there (ACFB) grows and you never know, any one can be one paycheck away (from hunger).” Started in 2006 with around 200 pounds of food, the drive has steadily grown, seeing more than a ton of food donated regularly over the past four years. “It’s giving back to Arvada,” said Bridgette Ewers, a longtime nail technician at the salon. “It’s giving to our neighbors and it’s our clients showing their generosity.” In exchange for the food donations, clients receive a free paraffin wax treatment, which seals moisture in to the skin. Damge
said over the years they’ve seen customers’ generosity continue to grow, making several return trips to the salon to check in on the drive’s status, and donate more. “It really becomes a team effort,” she said, “I go back to what Mother Teresa said, if you help those in your community and feed those in your community there will be no hunger in this world … help in your own community and there will be no problems.” In 2014, the Arvada Nail Shoppe clients brought in more than 2,300 pounds of food and more than $100 in donations. “I want the bottom line to say thank you to all our clients,” she said, “they’re the real heroes.”
Over the course of December, Arvada Nail Shoppe customers gathered approximately 2300 pounds of food for the Arvada Community Food Bank. Photo by Crystal Anderson
Election results, correction facility mark the year Highlights of 2014 in Jeffco Jefferson County saw old problems repaired, new faces move into leadership, and some criminally surprising action in 2014 Jeffco Open Space continued its focus on flood recovery efforts to fix the damage done in 2013. With the help of dedicated volunteers who have pitched in with trail repairs, majority of the work has been completed, reported David Davenport, outdoor recreation management coordinator for Jeffco Open Space. Jeffco Open Space requested $375,000 from FEMA last year. In early October of this year, the nearly 50-page environmental assessment was approved, and trail specialists can now move ahead on repair work for Mustang Trail, Mesa Top and Wranglers. Apex park is now open and the re-routing of Pick ‘n Sledge is being pushed until Spring 2015, but trail specialists said nothing is planned but getting trails open. Christopher Sullivan, 37, the armed carjacking Sullivan suspect who went on a crime spree around Lookout Mountain over the summer made headlines and acquired a slew of charges including child sex trafficking. His trials are set sometime in early 2015. At the time of his preliminary hearing for his incidents on Lookout Mountain, Sullivan faced 48 criminal counts. After his capture on Interstate 70 by Jeffco Deputy Sheriff Fred Haggett, Sullivan’s cash bond was set at $1 million.
New Jeffco sheriff
After 10 years as Jefferson County Sheriff, Ted Mink exited as sheriff and was replaced by a new face and astute insider Jeff Shrader. The term-limited Mink, will leave the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office after leading its departments and deputies for 11 years. During the Republican primaries, Shrader campaigned hard throughout Jeffco, and once he received 58 percent of the delegate vote at the county assembly, he said he knew he was a shoe-in. He held an early lead against his Republican opponent Jim Shires at 61.60 percent of the early total of
Sheriff Jeff Shrader ran a successful campaign for more than a year which paid off by capturing 72 percent of the votes on election night. Photo by Amy Woodward 35,307 votes cast during the primaries. His nearly 30 years at the Sheriff’s Office holding leadership positions and creating strategic management and response tactics for deputies, supervisors and command level ranks is what’s given voters the confidence that Shrader is experienced to lead and proved to be the “vast difference” between him and his opponents, he said. Just a month before the election, Shrader discussed deputy attrition at the Sheriff’s Office. If annualized, the attrition rate is at 20 percent, Shrader said. While he wants to make the Sheriff’s Office competitively worthy in the job market, he recognizes he will have to convince the Jeffco Board of County Commissioners that investing in public safety should be a high priority.
Community Corrections relocation The Jeffco Board of County Commissioners have attempted to re-locate its
community corrections facility known as ICCS for at least two years but each time, commissioners have retreated due to public outcry and planned protest. After the last decision to drop plans to relocate ICCS on W. 6th Avenue. Frontage Road near the Jeffco Fairgrounds, Commissioner Tighe held on to hope, stating, “I’m not ready to throw out the program. This is about trying to be successful with re-integrating these individuals.” It is unclear what 2015 will bring but commissioners could decide to keep ICCS at its current location in the New York Building on Kendall St. in Lakewood or find other ways to work with cities and communities. “I did receive direction from the Commissioners to resume considering options and alternatives for relocating Community Corrections,” said Ralph Schell, county manager. “This would include, perhaps,
looking into how we are running the program, but I see it more as getting back into the process of considering possible alternative sites and working with cities, communities, businesses … to see if something can be worked out considering all of the issues and opportunities involved,” he said. “Basically, I’ve been authorized to start working on the project again.”
County assessor The 2014 race for Jeffco County Assessor seemed run-of-the-mill until the Transcript discovered that Republican candidate (now county assessor) Ron Sandstrom carried tax debt according to a trio of judgments brought against him by the Colorado Department of Revenue. The unpaid state income tax amounts show balances Year continues on Page 8