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Week of February 10, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
Arvadans plan benefit concert for Marshall Fire victims
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 34
Jeffco Public Health Executive Director Dawn Comstock resigns Tumultuous year as agency head comes to an abrupt end BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
herself waiting for an opportunity to help the victims, something she believed the Denver music community would have done in the past. Her phone didn’t ring. “I kept watching the newspaper and listening to the news — 20 years ago, the day after the fire, every musician in town would have been calling each other to say, `Hey let’s do this.’ No one was calling me to say anything. I was not happy. I couldn’t figure out; am I being left out? Then I realized that maybe no one was talking,” Miller said. At that point, Miller decided to take it upon herself to do something. She isn’t alone in her efforts. Joining her cause are Arvada mainstays Debbie Hansen, owner of La Dolce Vita Coffee Shop in Olde Town, as well as fellow musician Warren Rubin, an accomplished guitarist and soundman known to some as `The Amp Whisperer.’
Jefferson County Public Health Director Dawn Comstock has resigned. Comstock offered her resignation during a closed-door Board of Health meeting Feb. 7. It was accepted after a unanimous vote of the Board. The special Board of Health meeting was held almost entirely in Executive Session, keeping its contents private. Board President Cheri Jahn released a statement after Comstock’s resignation was accepted. “Dr. Comstock has been a committed public servant, and this board is grateful for her public health expertise and guidance throughout the past year. She offered her resignation to the JCPH board today, and we have accepted it,” Jahn said. “We will begin the process of transitioning her position once her resignation is complete. We are grateful for Dr. Comstock’s service and look forward to keeping the public updated as we put together a transition team and search for the next director of JCPH.” Board member Kimberley Krapek told the Denver Post that Comstock will be put on paid administrative leave to give the department time to finalize the details of her resignation. Comstock’s resignation comes after just one year in the position. Hired in February 2021, Comstock previously worked as an adjunct professor for the Colorado School of Public Health. Comstock’s time at JCPH came amid heated debates about Jefferson County’s implementation
SEE CONCERT, P5
SEE RESIGNS, P2
Benefit concert organizers hold an impromptu meeting at La Dolce Vita Coffee Shop. From left: Maria Steele, Warren Rubin, PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN Hazel Miller, Debbie Hansen.
Local musicians look to rally support for those affected by Marshall Fire at Feb. 20 fundraiser BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
“Let’s play some music, make some money, and give em’ the money.” It wasn’t quite that simple for Hazel Miller and company, but the result might not be far off. Miller, a singer whose performance credits include Red Rocks and the White House, has spent the last few weeks tirelessly organizing a benefit concert, dubbed the “Concert for Our Neighbors” to aid those affected by the Marshall Fire. The benefit is set to take place on Feb. 20 at the Arvada Elks Lodge. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go to victims of the Marshall Fire,
with Brighton-based nonprofit Let Your Light Shine taking on the task of allocating funds to families affected by the fire. In addition to performances from Miller and local acts Twenty Hands High, Dive Bar Diva and Soda Blue, the benefit will also include a silent auction and food trucks. 100% of proceeds will go to victims of the fire, according to the event’s organizers. Miller said she was inspired to help because the fire hit close to home. “We were on stage at the Broadmoor (Hotel) doing a private party and my guitar player got a text from his dad, whose house was just blocks away from where the fire stopped… We found out the next day that his dad’s house was ok, but we also found out about a week and a half later that an old friend of ours — 25 years we’ve known this guy — was the first person they found dead,” Miller said. The proximity of the tragedy hit Miller hard, and she found