FREE
August 19, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 9
Last-minute mask order for all Jeffco students County health order makes masks mandatory BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
laptop. He then left the scene without stealing a vehicle at that time. Arvada Police responded to the scene shortly after the initial break in, and one of the vans which had an extra key was moved off-site. A car was used to block one of the other vans in, but shortly after the police left the scene the man returned and drove the van over the curb, through landscaping and away from the premises.
Timing, as they say, is everything. At 5:40 p.m., Monday, Aug. 16 — the evening before the first day of school for roughly 80,000 Jeffco students, Jefferson County Public Schools sent out a notice informing parents that all Jeffco PK-12 students in the county would be required to wear masks in school. The updated policy was a result of a late-breaking Public Health Order issued by Jefferson County Public Health’s Executive Director, Dawn Comstock. The email to families of Jeffco students was direct and to the point. “Late this afternoon, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) issued a Public Health Order (PHO 21-002) requiring masks be worn inside all schools and childcare settings, PK-12 for all individuals aged 2 and older regardless of vaccination status. Masks are required in any location that serves students age 2 and older,” it read. “We must follow this PHO beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, August 17. All Jeffco Public Schools students, staff, visitors, and volunteers must wear masks while indoors in our schools and district buildings.” Prior to the PHO being issued, Jeffco Public Schools intended to require only students aged 3-11 to be masked. Masking for vaccinated students over the age of 12 would have been optional. This new Public Health Order comes in the wake of protests and discord among parents who object to mask requirements in schools. Protest organizer and member of Jeffco Unites: Kids First, took issue with the timing and substance of the PHO.
SEE VAN, P17
SEE MASK ORDER, P11
2020-2021 Arvada Elks Lodge Firefighter of the Year Tracy Leyva, left, and 2020-2021 Arvada Elks Lodge Police Officer of the PHOTO BY RYAN DUNN Year Matt Archuleta.
Elks honor police officer and firefighter APD’s Matt Archuleta and AFPD’s Tracy Leyva honored BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Arvada Elks Lodge honored their Arvada police officer and firefighter of the year at a ceremony at their Yukon Street Lodge on Aug. 13. Arvada Police Department Detective Matt Archuleta
was named the Elk’s 2020-2021 Police Officer of the Year and Arvada Fire Protection District Firefighter Tracy Leyva was named the Elk’s 2020-2021 Firefighter of the year. Archuleta and Leyva were nominated for the awards by their peers at APD and AFPD. Arvada Elks Exalted Ruler Gene Schluter said the Elks usually hold their first responder awards ceremony in Feb. or March but were delayed this year due to COVID-19 and then
pushed the awards back again after the June 21 shooting in Olde Town. Schluter added that the Elks have honored first responders for over 40 years and appreciate the opportunity to honor police officers and firefighters in the community. “It’s a great honor for especially Arvada Elks to go out of our way to give an award to deserving people who have been selected by their peers,” said Schluter. SEE ELKS, P5
Hope House van makes swift U-turn Van found by Denver Police a day after theft BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A van was stolen from Hope House Colorado’s headquarters on Benton Street in Arvada on Aug. 12. The van – a 2012 Honda Odyssey wrapped in purple Hope House decals – was recovered by Denver
Police at 50th and Tennyson the evening of Aug. 13. After being recovered by Denver PD, the van was handed over to Arvada Police over the weekend of Aug. 14. APD is checking the van for damages and will return the van to Hope House once processing is complete. Early in the morning on Aug. 12, a man broke into Hope House’s facility through a back entrance and stole keys to three of the nonprofit’s vans along with a few iPads and a