February 26, 2015 VOLU M E 1 0 | I S SUE 39
ArvadaPress.com A publication of
J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Highway 93 named for deputy Baldwin was killed in crash while on duty By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com State lawmakers have named a roadway to honor Sgt. David Baldwin, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was killed while on duty on Highway 93 last January. On Tuesday, Feb. 17, legislators unanimously adopted a House joint resolution sponsored by Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, to designate a stretch of Highway 93 as
JCSO Sergeant David M. Baldwin Memorial Highway. The renaming of the highway will begin at mile marker zero in Golden and end at Highway 72 near Coal Creek. “This is a small token,” Keyser said to Baldwin’s family. “We grieve with you, but we hope with this resolution we can celebrate the life of service.” An Air Force veteran, Baldwin began his career with the sheriff’s office in 1987. In 1996, he was promoted to sergeant. Baldwin spent five years on the sheriff’s bomb squad as well as holding additional positions such as a firearms instructor. In 2013, he coordinated the first motorcade training course for Colorado’s law enforcement agencies and oversaw DUI enforce-
ment and DUI grants for Jeffco. At the time of his death, Baldwin was supervising the sheriff’s traffic unit. On Jan. 26, Baldwin was killed when his Harley-Davidson was hit head-on by a Saturn driven by Kenneth Hosch, 83. Hosch later pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and was sentenced to six years in community corrections. Sheriff Jeff Shrader said the recognition of Baldwin on Highway 93 will serve as a reminder to deputies that the job they hold is important. It will also serve as a stark reminder of the potential sacrifice that public safety officers face each day. “My hope is that it will cause many drivers to be very mindful of their driving be-
havior and drive in a safer manner,” Shrader said. “It’s so easy for people to drive fast on Highway 93.” During the last fiscal year from September 2013 to September 2014, Jeffco deputies issued 721 written summonses related to speeding on Highway 93. Out of that number, 78 percent were for speeds 10 to 19 mph over the posted limit, and 15 percent for speeds 20 to 24 mph over the limit. The remaining 7 percent were issued for speeds more than 24 mph over the legal limit. The dedication of the first sign for the Sgt. David M. Baldwin Memorial Highway will be in the spring.
Arvada kids dominate the mat A-West and Pomona go one-two at state wrestling tourney By Scott Stocker It came down to a neighborhood battle between resident Arvada high schools — Arvada West and Pomona — in the Class 5A state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver. And, it was not an unexpected finish between the two schools. As it turned out, Arvada West was able to claim top honors as the Wildcats, coached by Ron Granieri, came through with the title. They crowned two champions, Payton Tawater, at 152 pounds, and Devin Rothrock, at 220, which helped the Wildcats score 163.5 points. As for the finals, they also came through with four runner-ups. Pomona finished with 153.5 points for its runners-up honor. But the Panthers coached by Sam Federico, had much better results in the championship matches as they came through with four titles from their six finalists. The Panthers also counted three of those victories against their Arvada West neighbors. Grand Junction placed third in the final standings with 113 points, crowning one champion, Isaac Rider at 138 pounds. That championship, by the way, came when he pinned Arvada West’s Bennie Pachello in 4:14 in their 138-pound match. Winning titles for Pomona was Dayton Marvel (106), Tomas Gutierrez (113), Travis Torres (120) and Deyaun Trueblood (170). Rothrock didn’t waste much time in his final as he pinned Grand Junction’s Tyler Zook in 1:10 to close out his unbeaten senior season, 32-0, and win his second state title. For that matter, he didn’t need much overall time to reach the final. Rothrock only needed :17-seconds to stick Pine Creek’s Jeremie Medina in the first round, and only 1:03 against Fruita’s Chase Clayton in the quarterfinals. His third opponent, Max Gonzales of Rangeview, gave him a little more tussle, but still saw the mat slapped at 3:19. “This just feels great,” Rothrock said. “I
Arvada West 220 pounder Devin Rothrock raises his hand in victory after winning the Class 5 A championship match at the state wrestling tournament. Rothrock pinned Tyler Zook of Rocky Mountain early in the first period. Photo by Tom Munds wrestled him a couple of weeks ago, and I just wanted to go out and get my job done. All the hard work this season has paid off, and this feels so good. This year was actually a lot less stressful, but winning takes a lot of weight off my mind. Now, it’s on to college at Northern Colorado.”
Zook came into the final with a 42-4 record, also making short time of his opponents. He pinned Michael Steele of Centaurus in 1:02 to begin his tournament spree, the Brandon Forney of Mountain Range in 1:18. Loveland’s Charles Dunkelman last a bit longer, but still got stuck at
3:15. Tawater, a senior, pinned Rocky Mountain’s Roman Ortiz in 1:22 to cap his season with a 44-3 record, while Ortiz, also Mat continues on Page 20
Leyden Creek Master Plan proposed Staff Report On Feb. 17, the city of Arvada in conjunction with Jefferson County and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District presented a master plan proposal for the Leyden Creek area. The proposal offers a number of water drainage and flood-control solutions for
the 11.8-square-mile Leyden Creek watershed, which is bounded by 72nd Avenue and Simms Street to Highway 72. Constructed over the past year, the plan details different mitigation strategies to help prepare those areas for and alleviate potential flooding. Among other options, ideas such as increasing Arvada’s roadway crossings to a 100-year conveyance level, increasing 72nd Avenue by 70 feet, increas-
ing existing channel conveyance capacities and increasing road capacity around Quaker Street and 82nd Avenue, were proposed. “It’s going to involve looking at funding, right of ways, ease of implementation, and where we can get the most bang for our buck,” said Pat Dougherty, an engineer with the City of Arvada. “We have to figure out what the right solutions are. Right now we’re at the conceptual point.”
Over the next few weeks, the city and the flood control district will gather community comments to gauge whether their recommendations were amenable or if they need to revisit certain areas. If approved by the citizens, the three organizations will move forward with the plan, finishing the study within the next six months. For more information on the project, visit www.iconeng.com/leyden-creek-update.