FREE
July 29, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 17
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 6
County fair competitions return with Jeffco 4-H Junior Fair Event has a new name and look but the focus on youth continues STAFF REPORT
An attendee picks up food from the Arvada Tavern’s booth.
PHOTO BY RYAN DUNN
Taste of Arvada returns for 2021
Popular culinary event sells out with 1,500 tickets and 30 food and drink vendors BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After going on hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taste of Arvada — a local fa-
vorite highlighting the community’s food scene — returned to the Apex Center on July 22. The event sold out its 1,500-ticket capacity and hosted 30 food and drink booth and over 70 total vendors. Local bands the Pocket Squares and Bird Dawgs provided live music, and the parking lot and gymnasiums of the Apex Center housed the event space. For the price of admission, attendees were able to help themselves to a smattering of food and drink
options and learn more about local businesses such as the Lane Academy of Martial Arts and Peak One Art Studio. The event is organized by the Arvada Chamber of Commerce in partnerships with local businesses. Chamber of Commerce Events Director Samantha Geerdes said that Taste has taken on added significance for the community. “It’s really special this year,” SEE TASTE, P8
City employee in ICU after lawnmower accident Incident occurred on July 22 at Jack B. Tomlinson Park STAFF REPORT
A city of Arvada employee was injured and is in critical condition after a ride-on lawn mower the employee was operating tipped over into Birdland Lake at Jack B. Tomlinson Park on July 22. The employee remains in the ICU and is stable as of the morning of July 27. On July 23 the City confirmed that the employee is Joe Herrin, a parks maintenance worker that has been employed by the City
since May 2018. Herrin’s family has set up a GoFundMe to cover his medical expenses. Arvada Communications Manager Ben Irwin shared the news on the City’s social media channels and said he wanted to update the community on the incident. “We just wanted the community to know that the incident happened yesterday at Jack B. Tomlinson Park,” said Irwin. “The name of our colleague is Joe Herrin; he’s a parks maintenance worker, he was admitted to an ICU and is currently in critical condition. Our focus right now is on supporting Joe and his family as well as caring for our team.” Irwin continued to say that the City had launched a review of the incident and will continue to share
DONATIONS The Herrin family has authorized a GoFundMe set up by a friend of the family to help pay for Joe Herrin’s medical bills incurred by the accident. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/ help-joey-and-family-with-medical-bills updates as they become available. “When something like this happens,” said Irwin, “we do a full review to evaluate, learn and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That process is just beginning. We will share additional information as we do so, but also navigating supporting Joe’s family. We are committed to sharing updates as we can do that.”
Jeffco 4-H kids are busy preparing their cows, pigs and goats for Jeffco’s annual county fair. But when they get to the fairgrounds, they may no longer fully recognize the event they know and love. That’s because the county announced in 2019 that it was dissolving the annual fair and festival, which included food trucks, bands and rodeos and other festivities along with the kid’s 4-H shows and competitions that are the centerpiece of the fair. However, those shows and competitions, as well as the annual livestock auction and youth market, are now continuing on with a smaller new event called the Jeffco 4-H Junior Fair. Now, after a year in which the fair had to be scaled back even further because of COVID-19, Jeffco is set to get its first taste of this new version of the fair from July 31-Aug. 8. Jaren Tolman, a Jeffco 4-H leader whose kids will be competing in the fair, said that while the changes mean attendees will no longer be able to enjoy as activities as they have in the past, the actual 4-H activities will look much as the same as they have in previous years. The one major change? The fair events are now spread over a full week, a change that was instituted last year in response to the SEE JUNIOR FAIR, P3
JEFFCO 4-H JUNIOR FAIR The Jeffco 4-H Junior Fair will take place at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds July 31-Aug. 8. All events, except for the barbecue dinner on Aug. 7, are free to attend.