Arvada Press 102022

Arvada Fire Protection District opens Station 9 in Candelas

Je co Board of Education hears updates on possible school closures

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With the Jeffco Board of Education vote on whether to consolidate elementary schools approaching on Nov. 10, the board heard another update on how closures would affect enrollment, students, staff and transportation.

Lisa Relou, chief of communications and strategy for Jefferson County Public Schools, highlighted specifi c questions she said had come up at multiple community meetings. One is parents feeling that a decision has already been made, a sentiment made at the fi rst Emory Elementary community meeting.

12,000-foot facility

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Residents of Candelas and west Arvada have a new safeguard against the brush fires that have been threatening the area. The Arvada Fire Protection District opened its newest fire station, Station 9, on Oct. 8.

The 12,000-foot station is located at 9276 Wilkerson Court — near Highway 72 and Candelas Parkway — and will serve Candelas and the northwest corner of Arvada Fire’s service area. Station 9 is the first new Arvada Fire station since 1979

“While the district’s recommendation to the board won’t be changing between now and Nov. 10, of course, every board member has a vote in this process,” said Relou. Other questions were why there was one vote rather than 16 — one for each school — which Relou said was to make the process as equitable as possible. She also said community members can make their feelings known to the board by writing to individual board members, and speaking at public comments, including on the day of the vote.

On enrollment, Relou stressed that students currently enrolled, by both boundary and choice, would have a guaranteed place at their new school. Doing nothing at all would auto-enroll students to the accepting school, and through the enrollment process, parents will have support from Jeffco faculty trained in the process.

“They will be a point of contact for our families. They will bridge the gap between our families and the internal enrollment system. Most importantly, they will be there to help families discuss their options,” elaborated Relou.

JEFFERSON

The scene at Arvada Fire’s Station 9 on opening day.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARVADA FIRE

An old fire truck outside Station 9 on opening day.

Arvada’s first new station since 1979; set to serve city’s northwest area

Remember Me, Recuérdame

Golden Library patrons prepare sweet o erings for Día de los Muertos

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As people in Mexico and other countries prepare to celebrate and honor their dead Nov. 1-2, Jackeline Ruiz hopes to offer a taste of that tradition for Jeffco Library patrons.

On Oct. 12, Jeffco Library and the Denver-based Museo de las Americas cohosted a Día de los Muertos sugar skull activity at the Golden Library. The activity will be at other Jeffco Library branches through Oct. 30.

Ruiz described how Día de los Muertos originated in Mexico thousands of years ago and has evolved and spread to other countries over the centuries. While celebrations look a little different from place to place, Ruiz emphasized how it’s about taking time to honor deceased loved ones. Sometimes that involves feasting, singing, dancing and creating sugar skulls called Calaveras.

Ruiz told the 20 participants at the Golden Library that each sugar skull is meant to represent someone who’s died, and is painted with designs specific to that person. For instance, she described making one for her grandma with red lipstick and yellow flowers, which were her

grandma’s favorite.

Ruiz, who’s from Venezuela, said she didn’t grow up with the holiday, but has started celebrating it since moving to the United States four years ago. It’s become a healthy way to talk about death without feeling sad or intimidated, she described, adding helps start conversations with children “about what passing away means.”

“It feels super weird at first,” she said of celebrating the holiday, “ … but you connect with other people about it.”

For the activity, Ruiz brought premade sugar skulls along with paints and sequins to use for decoration. Both children and adults enjoyed customizing their sugar skulls, although the youngsters’ first instinct was to eat the sugar rather than decorate it.

Melissa Geinitz, who brought her two children and one of their friends, said they signed up for the activity because it’s “a lovely way to celebrate those we’ve lost.”

Geinitz described how her family frequents the children’s and family programming at the library, saying, “It makes the children want to be in the library more often.”

Kristin Ludwig, her 5-year-old son Nolan, and their friends also enjoyed painting the sugar skulls.

Ludwig said she and Nolan each made one to honor her mom, who died two years ago from cancer.

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Hudson Kazimir, 8, holds up his painted sugar skull during the Golden Library’s Día de los Muertos sugar skull activity on Oct. 12. The activity, presented by Museo de las Americas, will be traveling to various Je co library branches through Oct. 30.

Jackeline Ruiz of the Denver-based Museo de las Americas, center, shows participants examples of painted sugar skulls during the Golden Library’s Día de los Muertos sugar skull activity Oct. 12.

PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN

Gordon Klenske, 5, smiles after receiving a sugar skull to paint during the Golden Library’s Día de los Muertos sugar skull activity Oct. 12.

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She appreciated how Día de los Muertos traditions are about “celebrating and connecting with loved ones we’ve lost.”

Ludwig also thought the Oct. 12 sugar skulls activity would be an opportunity to talk to Nolan more about his grandma. In general, she added, it seemed like a more approachable way for children to connect with loss.

As the holiday gains more traction in the United States, Ruiz hoped to see Coloradans embrace it. She invited anyone interested to visit Museo de las Americas — the Museum of the Americas — on Nov. 4 for a Día de los Muertos celebration.

For more information, visit museo. org. To participate in the sugar skulls activity at another Jeffco Library branch, visit jeffcolibrary.org.

PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN

and is equipped with an advanced life support fire engine and a brush truck specifically equip to fight wildfires.

Arvada Fire Chief Mike Piper praised Station 9 and highlighted the improved response times the station will provide to northwest Arvada.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of our ninth fire station, which will save lives by reducing response times to emergencies in the region,” Piper said. “The new station is strategically located, environmentally friendly, and designed and built in a fiscally-responsible manner.”

Other features of the station include a 40-kilowatt solar power system to reduce the carbon footprint and energy use of the building, a decontamination corridor to limit firefighter’s exposure to carcinogens, a new alert system designed to reduce psychological stress of responding to nighttime emergencies and a 1,100foot firehouse gym.

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How Does This October’s Real Estate Market Compare to October 2021’s Market?

We all know that the Denver metro real estate market has changed dramatically this year, so I thought it would be interesting to compare the first 16 days of October with the same 16 days of October 2021. Here’s what I found.

I pulled the real estate records on REcolorado, Denver’s MLS, for both years, limited to the area within 18 miles of downtown Denver, which roughly includes the area within the C-470/E-470 beltway, but doesn’t include the city of Boulder.

Yes, the market has slowed, but the median sold price jumped from $450,000 for the first 16 days of October 2021 to $550,000 for the same period this year — a 22.2% increase. The number of closings, however, plummeted from 2,411 during that period in 2021 to 1,650 this year, a 31.6% decline.

The ratio of sold price to original listing price dropped from 100.82% last year to 99.94% this year, and the median days before going under contract increased from 5 days last October to 16 days this year.

What effect did this year’s increase in interest rates have? During October 1-16, 2021, 18.1% of the closings were cash. During the same period this year, cash closings rose only to 18.25% — hardly any impact, it seems.

If you missed our EV Roundup on Oct. 1st, you can view a short video of it on my YouTube channel, which is at www.YouTube.com/jimsmith145, where you can also view every listing video tour, plus tours of homes on the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour.

Anecdotally, I have observed that higher priced homes are selling more readily in this slower market, so I checked to see what percent of closings were $1 million or higher. During October 1-16, 2021, 6.51% of closings were over $1 million, but that rose significantly this October to 9.94% — and the milliondollar-plus homes sold quicker, with a median days before going under contract of 12, compared to 17 days for homes under $1 million.

There are many more unsold (that is, active) listings now than there were last October — 5,996 vs. 4,386 last year — and fewer pending listings — 3,310 vs. 4,913 last October. A consistent characteristic of the seller’s market was that there were more homes under contract at any given time than there were for sale, which was frustrating for buyers who would see “for sale” signs in front of homes, more than half of which were not, in fact, available to purchase because they were under contract.

Price reductions continue to be quite common in today’s real estate market. Of those nearly 6,000 listings currently active within that 18-mile radius of downtown Denver, over 1,000 per week are reducing their listing prices. As a result, we’re seeing a surge of low-ball offers for listings in all price ranges, as buyers know that homes are not selling for their asking prices and might go for far less.

Just this week, I know of one listing that was on the market for 100 days, starting at $685,000 (a price that was

Price Reduced on Wheat Ridge Ranch Home

This home at 3740 Tabor Court has a newly renovated interior with all new stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, oak hardwood floors, and custom tiled bathrooms. The main level has a primary bedroom with a 3/4 bath and two other bedrooms with double closets and a full bath in the adjoining hallway. All 4 bedrooms have new carpeting. The new furnace and A/C will keep you comfortable year-round. The basement has a family room large enough for a game room or home theater, plus a large bedroom and full bathroom. The wood deck and concrete patio are perfect for entertaining. Fenced yard and RV parking, too! View a video walk-through, narrated by Jim Smith, at www.ApplewoodHome.info, then come to the open house Sunday, 11am to 1pm. Or call listing agent David Dlugasch at 303-908-4835 to arrange a private showing.

justified by prior sales of comparable homes), reducing its listing price over time to $589,000. The seller finally threw in the towel and sold it to a quickclosing cash investor for under $500,000. That’s an extreme example, but it’s says a lot about the market we are in now.

That example also provides another lesson about the market, because it was an unrenovated home. It had an unimproved kitchen and unimproved bathrooms and nothing flashy or exciting to

catch buyers’ attention. My observation has been that homes which are unimproved or otherwise “plain” are sitting on the market and selling only after serious price reductions, whereas homes that are newer or beautifully updated are selling quickly and even attracting a bidding war.

The reason is simple, as I see it: Buyers are simply not inspired to “pull the trigger” at this time, especially if they need to borrow money. It takes a lot to get an offer from them.

This Might Be a Good Time to Do Some Renovation

Normally, I would advise a prospective seller not to renovate their home to make it more appealing to buyers, because statistics have shown that you don’t recover 100% of what you spend on improvements. The only exception to that is cosmetic improvements which eliminate eyesores, such as peeling paint, floor damage, or anything that draws immediate negative attention on the part of visitors. Those repairs are worth it.

My other frequent advice is to make improvements which make you happy, albeit with an eye to what would look good to prospective buyers. Would you like a new kitchen or bathroom? Renovate it now, don’t wait to do it when you are ready to sell and want the home to have greater market appeal.

Since you don’t recover 100% of what

you spend, do it now so that you can enjoy it, satisfying yourself that it will also help the home sell later on.

Because the market is cooling and interest rates are so high, it might be a good time for sellers to hold back and make those little or bigger improvements that would make life better. Maybe you will want to sell next year or maybe you won’t, but meanwhile, you’ll enjoy your home more.

My broker associates and I (see list below) would be happy to visit you and discuss both those little and big improvements that suit your needs but would also make your home more attractive when the time comes to sell. We won’t be trying to convince you to sell now, so feel free to request such a visit. We can also recommend vendors/contractors.

Price Reduced on Central Park Condo

This 2-bed/1-bath condominium at 2608 Syracuse Street #101, Denver, is ready for a new owner. This is a ground floor unit with lots of natural light from the south-facing windows and is in a prime location close to open space and shopping. Updates include new paint, carpet, hardwood flooring, kitchen appliances and water heater. Included is a 1-car detached garage. View the video tour at www.DenverCondo.online, narrated by listing agent Chuck Brown, then call your agent or Chuck at 303-885-7855 to arrange a private showing.

Jim Smith

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851

Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401

Broker Associates:

JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727

CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855

DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835

TY SCRABLE, 720-281-6783

GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922

Congratulations to Chuck Brown, Our Third Quarter Top Producer

Jackeline Ruiz of the Denver-based Museo de las Americas, left, and Je co librarian Sarah Messina read a book about Día de los Muertos during the Golden Library’s sugar skull activity Oct. 12. Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday to celebrate and honor deceased loved ones.

Colorado begins Mount Evans renaming process

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board has begun the decision-making process of changing the name of Mount Evans.

The board met on Oct. 11 for the first meeting regarding the name change of the mountain. Indigenous community members and tribal representatives gave presentations at the meeting to inform the board and the public about the significance of changing the name.

Mount Evans was named after Colorado Territorial Governor John Evans, who set the framework

FILE PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN

in 1864 to start the Sand Creek Massacre, which killed hundreds of Indigenous people who were living on “safe” land.

Dr. Andy Masich, a historian with the Heinz History Center present at the meeting, explained the harrowing details of the massacre.

“This was genocide in its most complete sense,” he said.

Tribal representatives and descendants from the Sand Creek Massacre told accounts of the massacre that claimed the lives of over 230 men, women and children. One participant, Otto Braided Hair Jr., was only able to be present for the meeting because his great-grandmother escaped the massacre on horseback.

This first meeting of the Naming Advisory Board was not open to public comment, but supporters sounded off in the comments with messages of support for a name change. The next meeting of the board will be on Nov. 17, where board members will hear proposals for several different names.

Mount Evans, seen here in December 2020 from Fire Tower Trail along Highway 103, was named for John Evans, Colorado’s second territorial governor. Evans is believed to have authorized the Sand Creek Massacre.

The mountain, named after a man who contributed to the genocide of indigenous people, is getting a new name

CLOSURES

Relou also highlighted Jeffco’s transportation rules, which give bus transport if walking distance is more than one mile, and safety considerations such as highways, railroad crossings and roads with speed limits higher than 40 MPH that would also grant bus transport.

Specifi c distances and safety considerations for every school can be found in the presentation.

In terms of staff impact, Jeffco did a survey of about 300 staff members that would be affected and found 85% wanted to continue working in Jeffco, but their most important concern was not necessarily moving into the accepting school.

“In all the communities we’ve heard families say they want their teachers to be able to go with them to the receiving school, but…that’s not necessarily of the highest importance to our teachers,” said Relou. According to the survey, remaining at the elementary teaching level was of the highest concern to the most, with working near where they live the next important. For the majority of staff, but not all, teaching in the accepting school was not important.

A common question Relou pointed out is why the closing school staff have to re-apply for jobs while the receiving school

“The schools that are closing, those roles are going away. In the receiving schools, those are positions that are staying, they aren’t changing. So those folks in them still have a right to those jobs,” she said.

Jeffco Board of Education President Stephanie Schooley asked whether the timing of hiring and knowing how many positions are open at receiving schools will line up.

“You don’t really know how much staff you have, until you know how many kids you have, and what grades you have them in,” Jenifer Jones, the Jeffco

resources officer, responded. She continued that principals will need to develop a budget and how many teachers they do or don’t need. The rough timeline, she explained, is budgeting in Jan. and Feb., and job postings, hiring, selections and matching to schools in February as well.

Also briefly spoken on was a hiring freeze from outside hires possibly through March or April, according to Jones. Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland added that the Board was also entertaining the idea of early notification bonuses for those deciding to leave Jeffco,

PHOTO BY BOB WOOLEY

there’s space for impacted staff. Some closing schools still have a second community meeting ahead, but after those will be one-hour public hearings in front of the Board of Education on Oct. 24 through 27, and on Nov. 2 and 3. Sign-up to speak will open five days prior to the date of the hearing, and speakers will be heard in order of sign-up. Relou elaborated that the first seven spots will be reserved for current staff and family affected by the possible closures, and they estimate enough time for 15 speakers with three minutes to speak each.

The Je co Public Schools Board of Education heard another update on the e ects of possible elementary school consolidation.

Chef celebrates Día de los Muertos with recipes

Oscar Padilla honors his family traditions

BY JULIO SANDOVAL AND SONIA GUTIERREZ

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

During Día de los Muertos, Oscar Padilla honors his grandmother Gloria.

“She showed me the basics to celebrate and incorporate all these components and food to receive and welcome our family after they pass away,” said Padilla.

Padilla is originally from Los Angeles, California, but said at one point in his life he went to live with his grandmother in Mexico City. “This changed my life,” he said. “It gave me the opportunity to discover my blood, my family in Mexico and all the traditions they have at that amazing country.”

Padilla is now the executive chef at Toro, a Cherry Creek restaurant that features a ceviche bar, small plates and family-style entrees. Toro shares authentic Latin ingredients, international fl avors and artful dishes.

While in Mexico, Padilla was fi rst introduced to a career in the kitchen. His fi rst teacher? Gloria.

“She showed me the traditional techniques to make molcajete salsa, moles — traditional dishes to celebrate the specifi c parties or traditions that Mexico has,” he explained.

Those recipes, Padilla said, have been passed down in his family from generation to generation.

“These traditions are to celebrate them but it’s also to celebrate us too,” added Padilla.

Prior to his role as executive chef at Toro, Padilla was a culinary trainer for Richard Sandoval Hospitability. He helped open more than 15 new restaurants in the United States, Dubai, Qatar, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Padilla

also has a passion for training aspiring chefs, never forgetting his Mexican roots and traditions.

“A lot of people are so scared of death,” he said, “but in Mexico, we celebrate with the dead. It’s to celebrate and share and be happy because at some point you are in communion again. You remember your family and you’re there on that day.”

Día de los Muertos is celebrated November 1-2 every year primarily in Mexico, but also by others around the world including some in the United States. The holiday is rooted in Aztec culture, where the dead are the guests of honor. The ceremony is like a family reunion that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory.

Through the years, people have developed different combinations of the fundamental traditions,

which most often include setting up a candlelit altar so spirits can fi nd their way back to their relatives. The altar includes food and items that were important to the one who passed. Families then often gather in the graveyard for a big party that includes a huge feast, cleaning the tombstones, singing songs and talking to their ancestors.

“It’s something we need to respect, and we want to share it not only with the people in Mexico, but we want to share it with everybody around the world,” said Padilla.

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofi t public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

Oscar Padilla, the executive chef at Toro Latin Kitchen & Lounge, pours achiote ponzu sauce over the restaurant’s salmon dish.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN

Oscar Padilla is the executive chef at Toro Latin Kitchen & Lounge, a Cherry Creek North restaurant that features a ceviche bar.

Arvada Elks raise over $12,000 for family of fallen Arvada Police O cer Dillon Vako

by having two uniform officers stop and do the drawing for 50/50 raffle and we also raffled off a foursome of golf to Indian Tree

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The skies were fittingly blue on Oct. 9 when the Arvada Elks Lodge hosted a fundraiser for fallen Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff. The Elks’ fundraiser collected over $12,000 for Vakoff’s family.

The fundraiser ran from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elks Lodge in on Yukon Street and featured live music from local band TalkBox — who donated their time and talent to the Elks. Over 30 Elks members volunteered, working a combined 200 hours.

Elks member Rick Asmus, who organized the fundraiser said that the event was attended by APD officers past and present, as well as Arvada city team members.

“We had numerous officers, retired officers and city employees come by, including numerous community people as well,” Asmus said. “We topped off the day

Asmus said that additional donations from corporate sponsors were still coming in as of Oct. 12, so the estimated $12,000 raised will likely increase. Officer Vakoff was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11. The Elks held a fundraiser for fellow fallen Officer Gordon Beesley last year.

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The scene at the Elks lodge for their fundraiser for Dillon Vako .

COURTESY OF RICK ASMUS

The Elks hosted a fundraiser with live music, food and libations at their lodge on Yukon Street

Meet the Colorado moms who microdose mushrooms

BY ALISON BERG, BRIAN WILLIE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Tracey Tee felt stuck when COVID-19 hit in 2020.

Tee lost her business and the sudden shift in her children’s schooling meant more responsibilities at home. Plus, the lack of in-person community left her feeling isolated from any support.

Under the crushing weight of raising children in a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, Tee was willing to try anything to lift at least some of her spirits.

After reading Michael Pollan’s “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence,” and attending a webinar on microdosing mushrooms, Tee thought she’d give the practice a try.

Tee had never experimented with illicit drugs, but from what she had heard, the experience of taking a small dose of a psilocybin mushroom seemed different from the ‘60’s-style psychedelic trip the substance is best known for.

Once she took the plunge and swallowed her first capsule of a ground-up mushroom, Tee knew she’d found aid to her life’s stress.

“I just really felt a calm and a space between my world that I hadn’t felt before,” Tee said. “In the same way that you take an antidepressant, that’s what microdosing

is.”

During the first several doses, Tee said she felt like she’d taken a hefty dose of caffeine, with slightly more energy and ease going about her day. But over time, Tee said she was able to process trauma and cope with anxiety in ways she’d never been

able to before.

“It helps you bring your PTSD, your trauma, your anxiety, any issues that you have to the surface. You kind of look it right in the face,” Tee said. “It’s just easier to show up in life a little bit happier.”

As she continued her microdosing

journey, Tee said most of the folks she found with the same interest in microdosing were not mothers. They were primarily younger folks or CEOs of popular companies.

For Tee, the product was simply about making mundane life slightly easier, especially for her fellow mothers. After connecting with other women interested in the idea, Tee started Moms on Mushrooms, a Colorado-based, nationwide group that teaches interested moms about using a small dose of psilocybin

Shayna Bryan, a Denver woman and a member of Moms on Mushrooms, began microdosing in April, after an initial class from Tee’s group. Bryan said the other moms in the group seemed to mirror her struggles as a parent, which is what ultimately made her feel safe enough to try microdosing.

“Everyone has to kind of deal with the same challenges when it comes to motherhood and all of us were kind of looking for something,” Bryan said. “It was really wonderful to watch the other women in the course see the medicine start to work.”

Bryan and Tee both emphasized that the micro-mushroom experience is not a “trip,” but a very subtle mood booster.

“That energy that I wished I’d had for the last 15 years has come forth, and it’s a vibrancy that I feel so

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Some moms are starting to look into how helpful mushrooms can be.

COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Online program helps neurodiverse kids

Children’s Hospital Colorado researchers created resource

BY DANA KNOWLES, LINDSEY FORD ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Leo Krause, 10, can’t help but smile while snuggling with one of his two family dogs, Louie, a mini Australian Labradoodle. It’s one of the many strategies he uses to calm himself after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD when he was 7 years old.

“It feels like it’s hard for me to focus sometimes. I just want to move around all the time, and it’s hard for me to sit still,” Krause explained.

He received help with his ADHD through a program that’s now free and online called “Unstuck and On Target.” It was developed by researchers through Children’s Hospital Colorado to improve the executive functioning of elementary-aged school children with ADHD and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Navigating ADHD

Executive functions come from the frontal lobe of the brain and involve things like paying attention, problem-solving, emotional regulation, planning, impulse control and setting goals. When left unaddressed, challenges with these traits

can create barriers to success for many children.

Leo’s mom, Jodi Krause, says the program has been a game changer for their entire family.

“Having a child who struggles with attention and having a child who struggles with anxiety can create obstacles that you want to be able to get ahead of, but as parents, we kind of react in the moment. So that’s really challenging,” she added, saying that the strategies taught in the Unstuck and on Target curriculum continue to help Leo function like any other 10-year-old boy. “A change in Leo from the program that I’ve noticed is that he’s way more willing to put into words the things that his body is feeling.”

Laura Anthony, Ph.D., is a psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and one of the researchers who developed the online curriculum for the program. It can be done in school with educators and at home with kids and their parents and/or caregivers

“We want all kids as they’re growing to be at their most optimum developmental trajectory. We want them to do and be their best,” she explained, adding that free access is the key. “From the beginning, we wanted to create a community-based program that would reach all the kids and families who needed it.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, between the years

of 2016 and 2019, 6 million children from the ages of 3 to 17 were diagnosed with ADHD, while one in 44 children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. “Kids with either Autism or ADHD have particular difficulties with executive functioning skills and [that’s why] we designed this intervention for them,” added Anthony.

Free to be himself

Leo told Rocky Mountain PBS some of the strategies he’s learned in the program include walking away from tense situations, taking deep breaths and thinking happy thoughts. His favorite coping mechanism? Squeezing

a lemon when he’s feeling anxious. “I feel a lot different. I’m able to calm myself down more,” he explained.

Jodi says these days Leo can be fully himself; a boy who’s compassionate and empathetic. A boy who loves his dogs, his family, friends, playing soccer, mountain biking and skiing.

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofit public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

A REFRESHING SPIN ON SHAKESPEARE’S 400-YEAR-OLD CLASSIC

10-year-old Leo Krause can’t help but smile while snuggling with one of his two family dogs, Louie.

COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

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Election 2022: How Secure is the Vote?

BY VIGNESH RAMACHANDRAN COLORADO NEWS COLLABORTIVE

Colorado is known for its mailin-ballot system that some election experts have called the “gold standard” in the nation. But with unfounded claims of massive voter fraud rampant, some state residents remain concerned about whether their vote will get counted.

The Colorado News Collaborative is speaking with nonpartisan election experts to help the public understand more about the integrity of the vote. One of them, M.V. (Trey) Hood III, is a professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia. His state has been the epicenter of high-profile claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which have been found false.

This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.

How easy is it for someone to mess with the vote?

Certainly every state has a lot of things that have been put in place to prevent voter fraud, so a lot of safeguards are in place. It’s not necessarily easy to commit voter fraud. It does happen — it’s pretty episodic and rare, though. But, the fact that it does happen some – that’s what gets into the news and that’s sort of what reinforces the belief that it’s just completely rampant.

[Editor’s note: In Colorado, the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation has documented 16 cases of voter fraud in the entire state since 2005.]

Georgia has been in the news in the last few years because of Trump supporters and allies claiming fraud in the 2020 Election. What are your thoughts about these claims, which have been found baseless?

In Georgia, all kinds of claims were made, and there has just been

no evidence at all.

Outside of a handful of cases, there’s no evidence at all that there was voter fraud anywhere at the level that would fl ip an election. We had an initial presidential count, we had a machine recount and we had a full hand recount of the presidential election — all showing the same thing.

The only difference was that, administratively, we found out there were a couple of precincts and a couple of counties where their (results data) were not uploaded properly. So that was an administrative issue. It wasn’t fraud or anything like that. And they got corrected through the recount process. But even that didn’t come anywhere near to changing the outcome.

In Colorado, we have more than 3.7 million active registered voters. The conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation has documented 16 cases of voter fraud in the entire state since 2005. So what’s the takeaway from those numbers?

In general, cases of proven, verifi ed voter fraud are rare.

State (governments) are sort of the arbiters of elections, and even within that it’s really devolved down to the county level, or in some states, even to the township level. That’s where elections are being carried out at a very low level in the U.S. To perpetrate some kind of massive fraud, that makes it even more diffi cult given how devolved elections are in the U.S. It’s not like we have one central counting place in Washington, D.C.

You’d really need more than just voters. You need the cooperation of election offi cials, which is not going to happen, obviously. You

M.V. (Trey) Hood III is a professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia COURTESY PHOTO

should feel confi dent when you cast a ballot that it’s going to get counted and counted correctly.

What is a primary safeguard to ensure the integrity of the vote in U.S. states like Georgia, for example?

In Georgia, there are a lot of safeguards in place if you vote in person. You have to have a government-issued ID. So if you vote early, or on Election Day, it would be fairly diffi cult to try to impersonate someone. Even if you’re successful, that’s just one vote. I’m not saying that it’s not important to even stop fraud in terms of one vote, but it’s diffi cult to produce fraud on a massive scale.

We do have absentee-by-mail ballots. We used to use signature verifi cation. So the election offi ce would compare the signature on the ballot envelope to the signature that’s in the registration system or the DMV system to see if they match. We moved from that safeguard to having to now put your driver’s license or state

ID card number on not only your ballot envelope, but even on your application to get a ballot. There are exceptions — say you have a passport, for instance, you can photocopy that and attach it. But for most people, it’s putting their driver’s license or state ID number on their application to get a ballot or on their ballot envelope when they return it.

Every state has some kind of verifi cation process that they use, whether it’s signature verifi cation for absentee ballots, or a couple of states like Georgia using state ID numbers. In North Carolina witnesses sign your ballot affi davit or your ballot envelope as an affi davit that you are who you are.

[Editor’s note: Voter ID laws vary by state. In Colorado, an ID is requested for in-person voting and a photocopy of an ID may be needed when voting by mail for the fi rst time.]

What if someone just uses a fake ID to vote?

You would have to be in the Department of Motor Vehicles system. So you’d have to create a fraudulent identifi cation, essentially, for that to work, which is probably not going to happen.

TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

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What mistakes can happen with absentee ballots?

A lot of things that may look like fraud are a husband accidentally sends in his wife’s absentee ballot and vice versa. So not fraud — just a mistake that needs to be rectified.

Or someone who is dead votes. Well, what happened? They mailed their absentee ballot before they passed away. So not fraud. Now, it depends on the state as to whether that would count or not since the individual is deceased. Technically, in Georgia, it shouldn’t count. But it’s not fraud by any means.

For voters who have concerns that our systems are secure, what can they do?

I would just encourage people to the extent to which they are concerned, to look into things — see what safeguards are there and how they’re being employed, as opposed to just thinking something is going on without investigating. A lot of the election process in a lot of the places in the U.S. is a very open system. Obviously, the ballot is secret, but the administrative part of it is very open. Most counties have a board of elections or a board of

registrars — or both sometimes — and there are open meetings. There’s no shortage of information nowadays.

There is a lot of thought that has gone into this in any state. There are a lot of security and safeguards that are placed in the state’s election code to specifically prevent fraud. I would welcome anyone who’s brave enough to look at their state’s election code. It’s not the most interesting thing, but you can get an idea of just how many safeguards are in place. People can also certainly sign up to work the polls or in other capacities.

Are there other voting issues Americans should be focusing on?

What we should be doing is trying to increase voter confidence in the system for all partisans, whatever stripe. Now, this seems to be easier said than done, unfortunately.

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VOICES

What other dirty linen in our geographic drawer needs cleansing? BIG PIVOTS

Evans will almost certainly be replaced as the name for Colorado’s 14th-highest mountain. But what about other names associated with an ugly massacre?

Our heartburn about the name Evans appears to be nearing resolution. The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board this week heard testimony about the role of John Evans, then the territorial governor, in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.

The evidence presented by representatives of Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, the primary victims of the massacre, was not new, but it was damning. Can there be any doubt that Colorado’s 14 th highest mountain, dominant on Denver’s western skyline, should have a different name?

Blue Sky and Cheyenne-Arapaho are among the names formally proposed.

The board will likely adopt a recommendation to Gov. Jared Polis in January or February. Polis will in turn report to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, the final arbiter.

Other names assigned our mountains, streets and schools may cause indigestion if you examine the historical footnotes.

Just how much more geographic cleansing do we need to address those wrongs?

Take William Byers, a frontier newspaperman who encouraged and then defended the bloodletting. That most lovely triangle of a 12,804-foot peak overlooking Fraser bears his name as does

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

My fellow Coloradans, have you had enough yet?

Have you had enough of the Democrat-controlled state legislature, the Democrat Governor and the Democrat Attorney General’s soft-oncrime policies that have skyrocketed Colorado to the worst crime levels in the United States? Have you had enough of it affecting you, your family/loved ones, and friends? Do you think you can trust the very people that have caused these increases to now have a plan and reverse what they’ve done?

Have you had enough of high gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, and electric prices due to the policies and laws passed by the

an orange-hued canyon of the Colorado River.

Then there’s Irving Howbert, whose name adorns an elementary school. Then 18, Howbert was among the 3 rd Regiment soldiers nearing the end of their 100-day volunteer enlistments. They methodically killed between 150 and 230 people, mostly women and older men but also children and babies. Victims also included several AngloIndian “half breeds.” In camping peacefully along Sand Creek, they believed they had been afforded protection from the attack by the U.S. Army. They held up their end of the deal. Howbert, later a founder of Colorado Springs, never apologized.

And what to do with Downing, one of Denver’s most prominent streets, named after Jacob Downing, who participated in the massacre. Later, he helped create Denver’s City Park. Like many others, including Evans, who also did much good, his story is not a simple one.

Blame comes easily in the case of John Chivington, the commander of the volunteers. He was blatantly driven by aspirations for glory, likely aspiring to elevated military rank and ultimately high political office.

Evans has been a more difficult case. Abraham Lincoln had also

appointed him as Indian agent, giving him responsibility for looking after the best interests of the tribes. He did not, as a report issued in 2014 by a Northwestern University panel made clear. A University of Denver report the same year, the 150th anniversary, delivered a more stinging conclusion, putting Evans on the same high shelf of culpability as Chivington. The report found that Evans, through his actions, “did the equivalent of giving Colonel Chivington a loaded gun.”

Both institutions were founded by Evans.

George “Tink” Tinker, an American Indian scholar-activist who contributed to that DU report, told advisory board members that discussions were “much more radical than the final report was.”

Said Ryan Ortiz, a descendant of White Antelope, an Arapaho chief killed and mutilated at Sand Creek: “The most prominent peak in Colorado should not be named after a man who (was) comfortable with the massacre of other human beings.”

As for Byers, no proposal has been filed for shedding his name from Grand County, the site of the peak and the canyon. As editor of the Rocky Mountain News, the mining camp’s first newspaper, Byers had habitually inflamed local fears with “stories that focused on Indian war, atrocities, and depredations, greatly exaggerating the actual threat locally,” says the Northwestern University report. “This

press campaign made already apprehensive settlers think that Indians might set upon them at any moment.”

Like Evans, Byers refused to condemn the massacre even decades later. Instead, he argued that it had “saved Colorado and taught the Indians the most salutary lesson they had ever learned,” according to Ari Kelman’s “A Misplaced Massacre,” one of several dozen books about Sand Creek.

Oddly, while two congressional committees and a military commission that investigated Sand Creek pronounced it an unprovoked massacre, Colorado did not. Until it was toppled by protesters in 2020, a statue honoring veterans located at the Colorado Capitol referred to the “Sand Creek Battle.”

That statue now stands several blocks away in History Colorado, where museum visitors are asked: “Do we need monuments?”

Museums, yes, but not monuments, one person answered. But here we are, stuck in 21 st century Colorado with a lot of names of 19 th century men on our maps. Some seem not to offend, but those associated with the massacre assuredly do.

An Evans-Byers house stands near the Denver Art Museum. The names have been scrubbed from the sign, though. I suspect in time we’ll do the same with our mountains.

Allen Best writes about energy, water and sometimes other transitions at BigPivots.com.

Democrats? Do you remember voting against Proposition 112 in 2018 and having it defeated only to be resurrected and added to and passed by Governor Polis and the Democratcontrolled legislature?

Have you had enough of only 39% of Colorado students scoring proficient on the 2021 state literacy tests?

Have you had enough of the Governor deciding whose business was essential and who’s wasn’t and consequently losing your businesses, jobs, and homes because of it? Do you remember who gave the Governor those emergency powers he held onto long after they were needed?

There isn’t a single Democrat holding or seeking local, state, and

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federal office in/from Colorado that deserves to be elected or re-elected if they subscribe to the same disastrous policies, agendas and platform items that have been used to date.

Vote to save Colorado for you and your progeny.

Vote Republican!

Guy Pacot, Arvada

Vote for Don Rosier!

Having known Donald (Don) Rosier since he was previously a Jefferson County commissioner, I can’t help but be excited about the prospect of having him once again serve Jefferson County as a commissioner. His ability to perceive the ins and outs of the complex picture

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of Jefferson County is remarkable. His past performance in Jefferson County was totally in the best interest of the citizens. I always felt good about his realistic and practical vision for our county and his ability to see the best approaches to our situations. We would be well served by once again having him as a county commissioner. Please give him your vote and support.

William Hineser, Arvada

Tired of all the negatives put out by our Democrat Party

I was delighted to read Ms. Kupernik’s Oct. 6 letter how a recently

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Allen Best

Based upon a combination of policies to protect existing businesses and puritanical beliefs about the use of alcohol, Colorado’s liquor laws were designed to have a variety of provisions that limited a marketbased approach to many elements about how the product was sold in our state.

There have been limits of what kind of stores could sell what kinds of products, where they could sell them, how many licenses any person or company could have and when sales could occur.

While these limitations have impacted consumers, most discussions about the policy implications, and virtually all the money for lobbying and campaign activities to change or maintain them, have been about how changes would impact the businesses that sell alcoholic beverages.

Businesses whose operations have been protected from competition

LETTERS

FROM PAGE 12

constructed Fire Break due to our National or State Infrastructure efforts was going to help protect that family’s second residence and property in Western Colorado. Also, agreeing with Robin’s stance on voting’s importance to all of us. I would like to dissuade all readers from excepting her broad generalizations about the other political party she doesn’t and has never supported in all I’ve read in this paper.

I’m just tired of all the negatives put out by our Democrat Party both here and nationally about their op-

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On Colorado’s liquor laws

GREG ROMBERG Columnist

say they have built their businesses and made long-term investments based upon a regulatory structure that limited who could compete against them and how they could operate. Businesses who have been prohibited from business activities argue that the government should not be in the business of choosing winners and losers.

Over time, some limits have been relaxed and the market has become freer, but legislative changes have been tortured exercises with bizarre, negotiated agreements that stretch into the future and have resulted in phased-in changes that didn’t satisfy any of the parties.

Colorado voters are being asked

position. I think both the Democrat and Republican parties and most of their members are doing us all a great disservice by not advertising or promoting themselves and their own plans for the offices they run for. I feel it should be the duty of all Americans when voting to forget all these unfortunate negative messages and look less at both political party’s name calling and more at what can be done for all and not just a select few.

So, if inflation, open borders, the coming lack of energy for our cars and homes and higher fees and taxes matter most, please keep supporting present Democrats and policies. Please remember those of us on fixed incomes who can’t afford the expenses of all these governments,

to weigh in on three specific ballot initiatives on these topics in the November elections. Proposition 124 increases the number of liquor stores any person or company can own. Proposition 125 allows grocery and convenience stores that sell beer to also sell wine. Proposition 126 allows third-party vendors to deliver alcohol from licensed liquor establishments. If they pass, we’ll have a much more market-based regulatory structure than has ever been the case for the sale of alcohol in Colorado.

While I have a certain amount of empathy for people who opened and operated their businesses based on a regulatory model that carved out a specific market for them, it makes more sense for us to allow a free-market system where consumers vote with their feet and dollars to determine where, when and how people purchase alcoholic beverages than through an outdated and

all need protections and monies spent on us. Name calling politics don’t matter! Help in needs for basic

byzantine system that was designed to carve out a specific market solely for people with specific government licenses.

I will vote for Propositions 124, 125 and 126. If they pass, we will move forward toward a more rational and market-based environment for how alcohol is sold and purchased in Colorado. I further believe that if that happens, the ingenuity of current and future liquor store owners will lead to a market that will benefit Colorado consumers with a variety of different operators who will provide the products desired by their customers.

Greg Romberg had a long career in state and local government and in government relations. He represented corporate, government and trade association clients before federal, state and local governments. He lives in Evergreen with his wife, Laurie.

assistances and for all our public infrastructures do.

Gary Scofield, Arvada

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at

Designs from 15 creators being unveiled this fall

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Painter and muralist Eli Pillaert, a New Orleans native, spent a part of her formative years working as a Colorado ski instructor, teaching kids at Eldora Mountain Ski Resort.

But it was the summers spent hiking around the area that left her inspired.

“This one plant, the mountain mahogany, kept popping up. It’s so beautiful. It has spiraling pieces with little fluffy bits on them,” Pillaert said.

So, when she was selected by Adams County’s Cultural Arts Division to help bring some color to county open spaces, that’s where she looked.

“It’s local flora and fauna. It’s something that people see and could connect with. It’s exactly why I went with this design,” she said.

Pillaert is one of 15 national artists who are having their designs unveiled across Adams County this fall.

But it’s not a gallery show and you don’t need tickets to see any of them. All you need is a little time and some decent walking shoes.

Pillaert’s design, featuring long swooping branches and colorful fluff, is now a part of the county’s Clear Creek Trail at Twin Lakes Park, along 70th Avenue just west of Broadway.

Other designs featuring other artists and their inspirations are spread across the county’s trail system — not on the walls or entrances to tunnels but on the trails themselves.

It’s part of the county’s “Love Your Trails” series. Adams County is about halfway through the series, bringing colorful murals and designs highlighting the county’s natural resources and environment to those walking paths.

“Adams County has been dedicated to the arts for quite a while now,” said Adams County Cultural Arts Liaison Zoe Ocampo.

Adams County started its parks and open space Cultural Arts Division within the Arts and Cultural Department in 2019. Ocampo said arts and culture are part of a vision for Adams County to expand public art in its communities that

calls for increased spending on displays everyone can enjoy.

“It won’t just be new buildings, it will be parks, trails and also all different kinds of projects throughout the county that are deemed eligible,” she said.

Choosing 15

Ocampo said that 50 artists from around the country applied to be part of the Love Your Trails project. The county’s Visual Arts Commission, a nine-member board of community volunteers, selected the final 15.

Pillaert said the artists were given the opportunity to include the community in the project. Hers is the only one of the eight completed so far that did that.

“The community element is part of organizing the mural so that it can be painted by the community,” Pillaert said. “It’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart. It’s something that’s really cool to see people connect through art.”

South Florida’s Stephanie Leyden made her mural theme of the four seasons. It’s also located on the Clear Creek Trail along Tennyson Street and north of 54th Avenue.

She painted summer elements transitioning into fall, winter, and spring and added designs she associated with the state — butterflies flying, animal tracks, wildflowers and changing colors of leaves as they have blown off the trees.

“It’s something we don’t have in South Florida. The seasons are here, they’re just not as obvious,” Leyden said. “With each season, I painted four butterflies, four leaves, four types of animal tracks and four wildflowers. It was fun.”

Leah Nguyen is from Seattle and her mural was more specific.

Called “Community Vision: Bennett, CO,” it’s located in Bennett’s Civic Center Park off of South Street.

Nguyen’s patterns depict small-town life, farmers growing corn, sunflowers, hay and wheat in the surrounding areas. The patterns connect generations of families to preserve the town’s history.

“I created the Community Vision pattern to provide support for communities that are doing the difficult work of excavating their histories, having dialogues and taking actions toward reconciliation, healing old wounds, and visioning new ways to come together and collaboratively thrive,” Nguyen said. “The pattern makes sense there at Bennett City Hall, which holds space for visionary civic work and community building conversations.”

Di erent perspectives

Northampton, Massachusetts artist Kim Carlino calls her mural “Portals

Leah Nguyen’s mural is called “Community Vision: Bennett, CO.” COURTESY PHOTOS

Kerry Cesen illustrating the smallest species.

POP

FROM

for Looking Inward.” It’s located in Strasburg Community Park. Her mural is an illusion of depth and volume occupying space in a twodimensional surface with color that is expressive.

“I had this idea for a path coming across these portals or ovals reflecting the night sky with colorful Candy Land-like pathways that flow in and out of the portals as if they were going underneath the path and coming up the other side to give a sense of playfulness and movement,” Carlino said. “I love this idea of moving through space and coming across something that makes you take pause, and in that pause you can reflect.”

Traveling artist Kerry Cesen went small with his work. He said he lives in several places, including Maryland, Oregon and Washington state. His mural continues along the Clear Creek trail and is located just west of Lowell Boulevard along West 55th Place.

Cesen dives into the roots of the smallest species as though you are looking through a microscope. He illustrates the natural world beneath our feet.

“It emphasizes the interactions between plants, animals, aquatic life, and fungal growth,” Cesen said. “Several magnified areas within the design allow us a deeper glimpse into the micro-world, where scientific research and design techniques help inform viewers about some of the smaller parts that make up the whole.”

Clearwater, Florida artist Beth Warmath’s mural is inspired by the Colorado landscape and two notable flowers: Sunflowers in the fields and the Colorado columbine.

“I love nature and its perfect beauty, so I challenge myself to rec-

reate it larger than life. I draw from actual objects so I used the surrounding landscape for my inspiration,” Warmath said. “I was happy to see wildlife in its natural habitat such as fox, elk, chipmunks and bison.”

Paz de la Calzada is originally from Spain but has lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 18 years. Calzada’s mural is located at Riverdale Regional Park in Brighton near the South Platte River. It’s an abstract design that keeps flowing, intertwining with the landscape and river.

“The landscape inspired me with the color of green flowing with nature and the color of blue metaphor flowing with the river both intersecting together, and both need each other water needs nature and nature needs water,” Calzada said.

Milwaukee artist Theresa Sahar researched the Adams County area and learned that trout fishing is a popular sport in Colorado. That became the centerpiece of her mural, which is located along the South Platte Trail just east of Riverdale Dunes Golf Course and the county’s Fishing is Fun Pond. It features a realistically rendered fish leaping off of the trail.

“I’ve done some anamorphic (3D) chalk art pieces in downtown Milwaukee and decided it would be a fun and interesting addition to the Love Your Trails project,” Sahar said.

Adams County’s Ocampo said the remaining murals should be finished this fall, at least before the snow falls. The additional artists selected to work on their mural scheduled for painting are Toni Ardizzone, Sofi Ramiez, Wes Abarca, Keeley Hertzel, Eye Cough, Angela Beloian and Julio Juls Mendoza.

For more information about the artist and mapping location to see the artist’s trail mural, visit: adcogov.org/cultural-arts-currentprojects.

To learn about more projects and its process, visit the call-for-entry website at adcogov.org/call-for-entry.

ST. JOANOF ARC

Proclaiming Christ from the Mountains to the Plains www.StJoanArvada.org 12735 W 58th Ave · 80002 · 303-420-1232

Daily Masses: 8:30am, Mon-Sat Confessions: 8am Tue-Fri; 7:30am & 4:00pm Sat

Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00pm Sunday Masses: 7:30, 9:00, 11:30am, 5:30pm

Theresa Sahar learned that trout fishing is a popular sport in Colorado. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

Kim Carlino calls her mural “Portals for Looking Inward.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Magical realism is one of the most difficult genres to tackle – blending the recognizable with the mystical is a fine line to walk.

Say yes to ’The River Bride’ at the Arvada Center COMING ATTRACTIONS

For the first production of the Arvada Center Black Box Theatre’s 2022-2023 season, audiences are treated to a show that takes them to a small Brazilian fishing town, where a mysterious man is pulled from the Amazon River. What ensues is a stirring adventure that delves into the topic of family and more.

“The River Bride” runs at the center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada, through Sunday, Nov. 6.

We spoke to director Jamie Ann Romero about the show, what she hopes audiences take away from it and more:

Interview edited for brevity and clarity.

-What drew you to directing “The River Bride”?

I had the great privilege of acting in the 2016 world premiere of “The River Bride” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It was there I fell in love with Marisela Treviño Orta’s beautiful play and her continued body of work. “The River Bride” is about being brave in love, what happens when you are and what happens when you aren’t. It’s a play that asks you to take a leap of faith.

-What is the show about?

The playwright calls “The River Bride” a “cautionary folk tale for adults.” It’s set on the Amazon

River in Brazil and focuses on the myth that every June “botos,” or pink river dolphins, are given three days to venture on land and find their true

-Tell me about the cast?

The cast of this production is remarkable. I feel immensely lucky to have worked with an entire cast of Latine actors that bring their culture and years of experience to the stage. This play is centered around a family that love each other deeply but are struggling with secrets and broken promises and a stranger who comes ashore and changes everything. This cast has bonded together like a true family and the love they have for one another carries onto the stage. They act with depth and honesty and it is thrilling to watch them discover the play night after night.

-Tell me about bringing magical realism to the stage?

I would be nowhere without my brilliant design team; David J. Castellano (scenic and costume design), Kate Bashore (lighting design) and Jason Ducat (sound design). These artists brought the Amazon to the Black Box Theatre and they also brought the magic. We treated the “magical realism” moments as if they were the heightened moments

you experience in real life.

-What do you most hope audiences come away with?

I think anyone who has experienced love in their life and its many beautiful, painful facets is going to find themselves somewhere within this story. I hope our audiences leave the theater reminded of the power of love and the ability within themselves to choose it, accept it and believe it. I hope you leave our darkened theater, our piece of the Amazon, with a sense of magic.

For information and tickets, visit https://arvadacenter.org/events/theriver-bride.

40 West Arts throws a fundraising party

If you’re not familiar with the work Lakewood’s 40 West Arts District does, you absolutely should be. The state-certified Colorado Creative District located along historic West Colfax has created an inclusive and dynamic arts scene that features some truly great venues and events.

To keep 40 West doing its work, the organization is hosting its annual Fundraising Gala, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the 40 West Gallery in The HUB at 40 West Arts, 6501 W. Colfax Ave. Get tickets at https://40westarts.org/ fundraising-gala

Throw in the dark at FlannelJax

October isn’t called spooky season for nothing, and what better way to add a little fright to your life than

axe throwing in the dark?

FlannelJax’s, 7270B W. 88th Ave. in Westminster, is hosting its annual Halloween Glow Throw Event for the entire month. Throwers of all skill levels can have the fun of seeing the lights turned off and having some glow in the dark fun.

Get all the details at www.flanneljaxs.com/denver-arvada/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — The Jesus and Mary Chain at the Paramount Theatre

One of the seminal music moments of my life comes at the end of Sofia Coppola’s masterpiece, “Lost in Translation.” As the two main characters say a mysterious and moving goodbye, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey,” kicks in. Those booming drums, reverb-drenched guitars and faraway vocals just grabbed my imagination and have never fully let go.

Although the Scottish group hasn’t released a new record since 2017’s “Damage and Joy,” they have plenty of dreamy alt-pop rockers to perform when they play the Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23.

Their music fits the season perfectly, so get your tickets at www. ticketmaster.com.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

The beast within

Icall my essays Higher Living Refl ections. What, though, does living higher entail? It includes elevating oneself and rising above base proclivities, a challenging endeavor often fraught with obstacles.

The concept is ancient. Buddhists call those base proclivities desires, which cause suffering. Christians call them the Seven Deadly Sins, which bring about eternal suffering in the world beyond our ken.

Rising above is not just a spiritual quest. It is also an earthly one that involves becoming a better human by doing any number of basic things: checking passions; being kinder and more gracious; saying please and thank you; covering coughs or sneezes; respecting others’ spaces and sacred places; and not slurping soup (unless culturally acceptable) or eating with unwashed hands.

It entails showing compassion toward all others, practicing the kind of love the Greeks called agape, offering gratitude for being alive and conscious of the world around us, walking in another’s shoes to see life from their point of view, and realizing that we are not owners of the earth but, instead, temporary caretakers who are charged with preserving it for generations to come.

For me, it also includes articulating clearly when I speak, reading challenging works to sharpen my critical thinking skills and my ability to comprehend and convey complex thoughts, entertaining ambiguity, appreciating nuance and irony, divining symbolism and fostering my innate curiosity.

All those beliefs and practices enrich life experiences and help dignify the human experience by demonstrating that we Homo sapiens are intrinsically above the rest of the animal kingdom. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Yet too often, we witness fevered animalistic groupthink taking hold among ostensibly psychologically and emotionally mature adults.

Scenes from “Lord of the Flies” come to mind: the hunt, the chilling chant, the sound of the fury.

In the novel, the boys are developmentally immature adolescents. After butchering a sow, which symbolizes the beast within the human psyche, the

Clarke Reader

JERRY FABYANIC

Columnist

Thu 10/27

Reno Divorce: Mile High Startups & Music

@ 5pm

Local 38, 3560 Chest‐nut Pl, Denver Shift @ 8:30pm

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

Wreckno @ 10pm

The Church, 1160 Lincoln St, Denver

Fri 10/28

Scott Fowler Music: Scott Fowler @ The Oxford @ 5pm

The Oxford Hotel, 1600 17th St, Denver Erin Stereo at Bar Standard @ 9pm Bar Standard, 1037 Broadway, Denver Lee Foss @ 9pm Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St,, Den‐

Haus Catz pres. DJ Poolboi [Shall Not Fade] + Pint Club @ 10pm

Secret Denver Warehouse TBA, Denver

Sat 10/29

High Lonesome Trio at The Eddy @ 5pm

The Eddy Taproom & Hotel, 1640 8th St, Golden

Sun 10/30

SALT Contempo‐rary Dance @ 7:30pm / $25 Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Alli‐son Parkway, Lakewood. Tickets@ Lakewood.org, 303-987-7845

Tenia Nelson @ 3pm

Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E Alameda Ave, Denver

gigi: Denver, CO w/ Noah Cyrus @ 8pm

Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St, Denver

Patrick Dethlefs @ 6:30pm

Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

DOMi & JD BECK: NOT TiGHT TOUR - Cervantes' Ballroom @ 7pm

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver

Good Looks @ 8pm

Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Mon 10/31

Club Level Seating: Lizzo

@ 8pm / $129.50

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Den‐ver

DJ AirWolf presents Disco Of Doom @ 8pm / $18-$23

Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, 1215 20th St, Denver

The Fright Fest Tour | Slacker University @ 9pm Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder

Tue 11/01

Mercyful Fate @ 6:30pm

Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver

Wild Faith: Sofar Sounds Highlands @ 8pm Highlands Sofar sounds, Denver

PLAN Jeffco Stew‐ardship Academy @ 9am / $35

American Moun‐taineering Center, 710 10th Street, Golden. ContactUs@ PLANJeffco.org Dopapod @ 8pm

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Cer‐vantes' Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Den‐

SuperAve. @ 9pm Club Vinyl, 1082 N Broadway, Denver

DJ Logic @ 8pm CERVANTES' AND THE OTHER SIDEDUAL VENUE, 2635 Welton Street, Denver

Noah Cyrus - The Hardest Part Tour with special guest gigi @ 7pm / $27.50 Summit, 1902 Blake St, Denver

Wed 11/02

CSU Spur Water in the West Symposium

12pm / $40 Nov 2nd - Nov 3rd

Seawell Ballroom at the DCPA, 1350 Ara‐pahoe Street, Denver. waterinthewest@ colostate.edu

Fox Lake @ 6pm Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

The Plot In You

7pm

Oriental Theatre-CO, 4335 W. 44th Ave., Denver

powered by

Drug rehab providers in Colorado struggle to meet demand as the fentanyl epidemic continues

Opiate addiction treatment facilities across the state are swamped with people asking for help. Individuals from all walks of life are asking for support, and many are entering facilities as they withdraw.

Colorado, like many other states, is witnessing an increased need for substance use treatment and mental health services post-pandemic. Experts feel that it will become busier if a new proposed state law passes that could send even more people into the state’s substance use treatment system.

The state is battling the fentanyl epidemic, and part of the new bill would focus on anyone who was convicted of a fentanyl-related charge to be assessed and likely ordered to treatment. Court-ordered drug rehab is not unusual, and historically it has proven effective.

Some studies have shown that court-ordered offenders were ten times more likely to complete treatment than those who entered drug rehab voluntarily.

MICHAEL LEACH

In Colorado, offenders could be ordered to an inpatient clinic or residential facility.

“Substance use treatment and adequate aftercare support within the community remain the best option to ensure life-long sobriety,” said Marcel Gemme of Addicted.org.

“It has been difficult for treatment providers post-pandemic.

The gaps in the system became visible. In reality, there should be no argument surrounding getting people sober but solutions to ensure the support is available.”

In 2020, Colorado had the 29th highest rate of overdose deaths. The drastic increase in overdose deaths stems from the flood of prescription opioids in the 1990s and 2000s. Since 1999, overdose deaths in the state have been increasing.

The sharp rise in overdose deaths in 2020 was due to the pandemic, which created social isolation, recession, changes to care delivery systems, and individuals using drugs alone. Using drugs alone was one of the most significant risk factors for experiencing a fatal drug overdose.

Unfortunately, too many people are not accessing the rehabilitation they need or are unaware of accessible treatment options.

Despite the potential for more courted-ordered drug rehab, many common barriers remain. Initially, there is the problem of inadequate or no health insurance, as health insurance alleviates much of the cost associated with treatment.

In Colorado, roughly 50% of residents are insured through an employer, close to 17% have Medicaid, and 10% are uninsured. In addition, there is significant stigma where blame is placed on individuals who are addicted to drugs rather than focusing on helping them gain

access to help.

Like many other states, Colorado provides Naloxone, has medication take-back programs, receives grants and funding, and has harm reduction legislation.

However, the best approaches remain education and prevention, residential or outpatient substance use treatment, and adequate aftercare support within the community. Historically, these have always proven effective in helping people achieve life-long sobriety.

Residential treatment, for example, provides a significant benefit that medication alone cannot. It also provides the connection people need and teaches them how to live life again. The road to recovery takes time, but the result is a happy sober and drug-free life.

Michael Leach has spent most of his career as a health care professional specializing in Substance Use Disorder and addiction recovery. He is a Certified Clinical Assistant.

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Hiking public lands shouldn’t require a ladder

Imagine you were part owner of a nice piece of rural land, maybe with a trout stream running through it. But your neighbors won’t let you in. You don’t have to imagine, because access to far too much public land islegally blocked by private property owners, causing headaches throughout the West.

If you look at a map of the region, big tracts of land run in a “checkerboard” pattern of mixed public and private land ownership. The West is literally diced up into alternating square-mile sections of federally managed land and private ground, which is generally owned by a timber company or ranch.

This is not a small problem.

Researchers have found that 8 million acres of public land are “landlocked” in 11 states. That’s roughly equal to the area of four Yellowstone national parks.

This land ownership pattern has been causing headaches since it was rolled across the West in the 1860s. It dates back to the days of Abraham Lincoln, when the federal government granted land to railroads as incentives to span the continent with tracks, thus opening up the West for development.

Unintended consequences continue to fi ll up courthouses. This year, in Wyoming, the absentee owner of a 22,000-acre ranch wasn’t happy when four hunters

FABYANIC

FROM PAGE 16

boys place its head atop a spike. Later, the boys hunt down Ralph, who represents civilization, the rule of law and courage. They intend to behead him and place his head on a pike.

It is telling that William Golding named the character who represents rational intelligence “Piggy.” He is pudgy, has asthma and is nearsighted, which make him vulnerable. Piggy’s nearsightedness also suggests that his intellect, though strong, is limited. He is incapable of seeing what is beneath or beyond that which he can discern — and that is intellect lacking insight or wisdom. Piggy shows us that evil cannot be defeated by reason alone.

Simon personifies wisdom and innate goodness. Like Samuel in Bless Me, Ultima, Simon is

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

crossed from one section of public land to another, thanks to a makeshift ladder they raised at the corner of his private land.

access is far from automatic, even if a Wyoming judge or jury agrees with the hunters in civil court. The question remains: Where do public rights stop and private property rights begin?

Legislatures across the West will be under political pressure to resolve the issue, and conservative legislatures could pass a law giving private landowners authority to block “corner crossing.”

Today, every major timber company in Montana has a conservation easement allowing the public to enter at least part of their domain. This has helped secure access around fastgrowing resort towns like Whitefi sh and Columbia Falls.

Ben Long

Once the hunters from Missouri accomplished their “corner crossing,” the ranch owner convinced a local prosecutor to fi le trespassing charges. After a jury failed to convict, the ranch owner was not satisfi ed.

He fi led a civil case, claiming that by merely crossing his land at the corner, the hunters had decreased the value of his property. To be clear, the hunters never stepped foot on his land. But the landowner claimed they violated the “airspace” over the corner where properties met. The suit charged that the loss of exclusive access to his land caused millions of dollars in damages.

The case is being watched closely around the country. Access advocates have raised tens of thousands of dollars in donations via GoFundMe accounts to help pay legal costs for the hunters involved. They hope that a victory in Wyoming will have benefi cial consequences elsewhere.

But a victory for public land

a Christ figure, destined to be scorned, mutilated and sacrificed. He is unafraid of the dark forest, for he innately understands he is as much a part of nature as every other creature. As things begin to fall apart, Simon wonders if there really is a beast. For him, the beast is not a physical being. It is, rather, something that lurks within the human unconscious. In a vision, the Lord of the Flies confirms it and says it cannot be easily dismissed.

Golding did not write “Lord of the Flies” in a vacuum. It is not an abstract, creative, philosophical tale drawn from his imagination. Rather, it arose from his utter revulsion of the horrors he witnessed during World War II committed by nations that were among the most advanced in terms of education and sophistication. Based on what he witnessed, he concluded that we are oblivious to the depth of evil humans are capable of perpetrat-

Under that scenario, the public would lose. Yet there are proven tools to protect access in checkerboarded landscapes.

All that’s required are private landowners who don’t hanker for a showdown.

Where I live in northwestern Montana, checkerboard landscapes were the norm, and when I went hunting I often had no idea whose land I was on. Public or private, though, didn’t matter, becausevisitors were welcomed by both.

That changed when timber companies shifted their focus from sawing lumber to selling real estate. Thousands of acres suddenly fell behind “No Trespassing” signs or fences put up around trophy ranches.

Luckily for me, groups like the Trust for Public Land and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks worked with willing landowners and elected offi cials to secure public access.

ing.

By ripping the façade from human nature, Golding forces the reader to come to grips with an essential truth: Intelligent and “good” people can swoon before and fall under the spell of charismatic, psychopathic leaders who tap into and exploit fears that lie submerged in their followers’ psyches. Feeling then a sense of validation and empowerment from those leaders, mobs go on todesecrate public buildingsand commit unimaginable atrocities.

Golding’s work deserves to

Meanwhile, then-Sen. Max Baucus brokered a huge deal where the federal government bought thousands of acres in the Swan River Valley, making the land state forest or national forest. Thankfully, there are sources of money through the Land & Water Conservation Fund that can pay for such solutions. Land trades are another way to settle the issue.

David-vs-Goliath fi ghts between hunting parties and wealthy absentee landlords generate a lot of passion, and perhaps the disputes will conclude by securing more rights for everyday folks to enjoy public land.

But larger solutions will require more people willing to work together, and a lot more money on the table. Not everything needs to be settled in court.

Ben Long is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange. org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is senior program director for Resource Media in Kalispell, Montana.

be read periodically to remind us how easy it is for people to descend to the depths instead of striving for higher living. In hindsight, I understand that I previously appreciated the profundity of “Lord of the Flies” merely intellectually and academically. Now I see it hauntingly playing out not in some faroff or imaginary land but in real time right here at home.

Jerry Fabyanic is the author of “Sisyphus Wins” and “Food for Thought: Essays on Mind and Spirit.” He lives in Georgetown.

Caring for next spring’s perfect lawn starts now.

Cyber attacks hit multiple communities

State of Colorado sees homepage taken down by foreign entity

BY PAOLO ZIALCITA AND MATT MORET COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

After ransomware disrupted the government services of multiple Colorado communities earlier this year, state officials warned that cybercrime is on the rise. That alert rang true on Oct. 5 when a cyberattack from a foreign entity took down Colorado.gov, the homepage for the state’s online services.

The attack seems to be limited to the main directory page, with state services still available through their individual websites. There’s currently no timeline for the homepage’s restoration.

A Russian-speaking group known as Killnet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s website outages in a post on Telegram, an instant messaging service that’s grown in popularity outside the United States. The “hacktivist” group ramped up its activity in NATO countries after Russia invaded Ukraine. This latest attack also took down government websites in other states, including Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Mississippi. Some of those pages are now back online.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s

Office of Information Technology declined to comment on the attack Thursday due to the ongoing criminal investigation. It’s unclear whether the attack came with a ransom demand.

That would put the state in a situation familiar to several local governments in Colorado that have faced multimillion-dollar extortion attempts in order to restore their systems.

Both Fremont County and the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge were recently hit by “BlackCat” ransomware attacks, which allow hackers to block access to a computer system or function until their target pays up or rebuilds their framework. Neither of the two communities targeted paid their ransoms, leaving some government services and internal functions down for a period of time.

“It’s like going back to the 1980s for our staff, where they are working around the clock and so hard to make sure that that impact is minimal,” Wheat Ridge spokesperson Amanda Harrison said. “But that means they have to resort to some really outdated ways of doing that. We don’t have all of our servers turned back on yet because we are ensuring that they are safe and secure.”

Harrison said the attack mainly impacted city employees, not members of the public. Fremont County wasn’t as lucky.

Many of the county’s offices were closed for over a month after it was targeted in mid-August. Despite

rejecting the hackers’ demands, both communities had to spend money to rebuild and bring services back online with new security measures.

Ray Yepes, Colorado’s Chief Information Security Officer, said the two attacks on Fremont County and Wheat Ridge are unrelated and came from two different groups who want money.

Yepes said that’s bad news, because it means future attacks are likely. He stressed that local governments need to be prepared for that possibility.

Because Colorado has historically relied on a decentralized approach to cybersecurity, smaller cities and counties often lack resources to deter hackers and quickly respond to outages. State lawmakers decided in 2021 to adopt a “whole of state” approach to cybersecurity, which allowed Yepes and his team to act as roaming support staff for communities in need.

“Any government entity’s problem is our problem and we’re here to help them. We have more resources than they have,” Yepes said. “When you look at the whole of a state approach it’s an idea, it’s a model. Local, federal, every resource that you can find, you bring them together, you combine your expertise, the resources, your main power to be able to fight cybercrime together.”

Yepes said the threat of cybercrime should be taken seriously. In addition to bringing down vital government services, they can some-

Cyber attacks are becoming more common as the state was a recent target.

SHUTTERSTOCK

times reveal sensitive information, like social security codes and bank account information.

“We are all driven by technology,” Yepes said. “The water system can be affected by cyberattacks, transit can be affected by cyberattacks. Anything that we do nowadays in our life depends on technology.”

Colorado has learned costly lessons from previous cyberattacks. The state paid $1.7 million in overtime, meals and equipment to restore the Colorado Department of Transportation’s servers in 2018. Earlier this month, Boulder County mistakenly sent $238,000 to a fraudulent account after a cyberattack allowed hackers to pose as vendors the county owed.

This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Colorado’s fall likely warm, dry

Drought monitor shows little relief in autumn

BY DELANEY NELSON THE COLORADO SUN

After a summer of high temperatures and a wet monsoon season, Coloradans can expect a dry fall.

As of Oct. 6, 84% of Colorado was experiencing dry conditions and over 45% of the state was in some form of drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map. Northeastern Colorado is

MUSHROOMS

FROM PAGE 8

lucky to have found,” Bryan said. “You don’t feel like you’re in college and you just took a bunch of mushrooms and you’re tripping with your friends.”

Courtney, a mother in Colorado who asked not to have her full name used, said microdosing on its own is a hardly noticeable difference in her day, and the real benefits come from meditation, journaling and other healing work alongside the mushrooms.

“What I like to say is it kind of makes you 10% of something: 10% happier, 10% more patient,

especially dry, with most counties experiencing severe to exceptional levels of drought.

Despite a couple of wet weeks forecast, National Centers for Environmental Information meteorologist Richard Heim, who authored this week’s map, said the fall months are predicted to be warmer and drier than normal in Colorado.

The southwestern U.S. is grappling with its driest 22-year period on record in the past 1,200 years, conditions that are unlikely to improve. Most of Colorado has experienced below-normal pre-

10% more creative, 10% more open,” Courtney said. “For me, microdosing allows me to address some mental health challenges.”

While anecdotal experiences have yielded positive results, research on psychedelic usage is limited because such the drugs are illegal at a federal level. Denver voters decriminalized mushrooms in 2019 within the city limits, but purchasing the substance remains illegal. Possessing mushrooms is still prohibited in parts of Colorado outside of Denver.

In efforts to invite research and make psilocybin more accessible to the general population, Coloradans will vote on the Natural Medicine Health Act, which

cipitation over the past three to five years, Heim said. Western Colorado has been in an extended drought period for at least the past five years.

Monsoon rainfall that hit the state in late summer granted short-term relief to some parts of Colorado, Heim said, but is not enough to replenish the moisture deficits that have accumulated over many years of drought. Summer monsoon rains had little effect on the state’s generally low groundwater levels, which pose a risk to

SEE FALL, P23

would create regulated access to mushrooms. While users and advocates of the medicine say they are proponents of its decriminalization, many will vote “no,” on the bill as it is written, as they believe its sponsors have not kept racial equity in mind.

“This could be cannabis 5.0, with the same people in charge and the lack of equity, so I am very cautious when it comes to how we do this,” said Melanie Rose Rodgers, a Denver resident and psychedelic advocate who helped with Denver’s decriminalization efforts. “I’m not opposed to legalization. I’m opposed to this legalization that’s being rushed.”

Rose Rodgers, a woman of color,

Climatologists believe the fall season will continue to be warm and dry in 2022.

JON GRIMES PHOTO

said people of color have been using mushrooms and cannabis for thousands of years and have been criminalized for it, while white business owners have profited from legalization.

“My perspective in this comes from social justice. It comes from watching what happens when you legalize in Colorado,” Rose Rodgers said. “I am cautious about what do we do with psychedelics.”

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofit public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs. org.

Your kitchen wishes granted.

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Homelessness on rise in Denver area

Survey shows numbers increased by nearly 13% since 2020

BY AMANDA HORVATH ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

Nearly 800 more people in the Denver-metro area were experiencing homelessness on a single night than that same night two years ago. The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) has recently released its full data of its annual Point-inTime count.

The organization creates an annual effort in January to count the number of those experiencing homelessness to understand the scope and demographics of the homeless population. This year’s count took place on Jan. 24 and included people in shelters and living outdoors in seven counties— Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson.

The count found 6,884 people were experiencing homelessness on that night. The year before, the PIT didn’t include those living outdoors because of COVID-19 concerns. In 2020, the count found 6,104 people living unhoused. That’s a 12.8% increase over two years.

“While this count can help us understand homelessness on a single night, getting to a place where we have comprehensive, real-time data regionally is the ultimate goal,” said Jamie Rife, the director of MDHI.

Each year when this count takes place, trained volunteers and staff are dispatched around the metro area to survey anyone they find who are unhoused using a standard set of questions. Over the course of several months, that data is compiled into this report.

Looking further into where people were found, the majority — 70% — were in shelters, according to the report. A number that remained nearly the same from 2020. While the number of unsheltered homelessness increased by nearly 500

2,078 people. The majority of those found in this count were also found within the county of Denver at 4,794 individuals.

MDHI admits there are number of factors could affect the count including weather, how well the volunteers are engaged and how well the subjects of the survey interact with the staff and volunteers.

The encouraging news from the point in time count is the number of veterans experiencing homelessness did drop by 31% in the last two years.

“The region’s emphasis on reducing Veteran homelessness is yielding results,” said Rife.

Veterans are typically overrepresented among the homeless population and typically represent 9% of the total unhoused population. This year’s PIT count found only 432 veterans, which is less than 1% of the total unhoused population.

Also, within the data on the metro-area homelessness is a break down of race, showing an over representation of people of color among the unhoused. About 20% in the count identify as Black, African American or African while

population in these seven counties. A similar difference can also be found among those who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native or Indigenous with 6% among this PIT count and only make up 1.4% of the census for the area.

“The overrepresentation of people of color, specifically Black and Native Americans, among those experiencing homelessness is critical to the response,” Rife explained. “Homelessness is an issue of race and must be approached through this lens,” she added.

The harsh racial realities of homelessness stem from longstanding historical and structural racism that has not improved over time. This includes but isn’t limited to segregation, housing discrimination and access to quality health care.

Part of the recommendations from the National Alliance to End Homelessness to help improve these disparities is to first collect and assess more accurate data. This is something MDHI is working toward beyond these PIT data collections.

Providers, cities and others in Colorado are working together to

irrigation-dependent agriculture.

“Pray for heavy mountain snowpack this winter,” Heim said.

There is no guarantee for any snow this fall, Colorado Climate Center climatologist Peter Goble said. The Front Range typically

starts seeing snow at the end of October or beginning of November, he said. While the two-week forecast shows no sign of snow in the lower elevations, Goble said that could change quickly in midOctober.

The National Weather Service predicts a third La Niña weather pattern year in a row, which Goble said is good for the prospects of building snowpack in the north-

ern Rockies in the early winter months. Drier conditions are predicted for other mountainous parts of the state, including southern Colorado and areas east of the Continental Divide.

Precipitation in the fall and winter will influence what drought conditions look like next spring.

“Unless we do receive meaningful moisture between now and then,” Goble said, “you’re going

PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI

region’s Homeless Management Information System to make data accessible each day on those experiencing homelessness.

“This data highlights the dynamic nature of homelessness and the importance of real-time data to allow the region to coordinate effectively and allocate resources efficiently,” said Rife

This summer, Boulder became the first community in the area to reach Quality Data for all singles, which means accounting for every single adult experiencing homelessness by name, in real-time.

The data from this PIT survey will also be used by MDHI to release its annual State of Homelessness report next January. Estimates show that with these numbers close to 31,000 people in this seven-county region experience homelessness in one year.

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofi t public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

to see the impacts rear their ugly head again come the next season.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Paul Johnson, 68, is a lifelong native of Lakewood who’s recently back on the streets after being kicked out of public housing.

SPORTS

Columbine boys soccer have sights set on a league title

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ARVADA — The 1-5 start to the season is well in the rearview mirror for Columbine’s boys soccer team.

The Rebels captured their sixth straight victory Oct. 10 at the North Area Athletic Complex. Columbine defeated Pomona 11-1 in the Class 5A Jeffco League game.

“Feels like it was a long time ago because we’ve worked so much harder and come such a long way,” Columbine junior Keagan Gerrasch said of the slow start for the Rebels. “We have really come into our true form of a team now.”

Columbine (8-5, 5-0 in 5A Jeffco) got first half goals from Ty Santangelo, Tony Iljkic and James Wirtzfeld. Gerrasch put in a pair of goals to put the Rebels up 5-1 at halftime.

“We dug a pretty big hole at the start of the season,” Columbine coach Brian Todd admitted. “It has just taken sometime to come together. We’ve got a more than decent group. They are starting to gel.”

It was all Columbine in the second half. Seniors Carter O’Keefe, Ryan Seaton and Brian Marshall all found the back of the net. Freshman Jack Dively scored a second-half hat-trick scoring three goals in the span of eight minutes.

“I defintely think this game is going to help us out a lot,” Gerrasch said of the Rebels giving plenty of bench players time in the 10-goal victory. “This next practice we’ll be able to go top speed and be ready for the next three upcoming games.”

Columbine was back at Lakewood Memorial Field and took a 3-2 victory over Bear Creek on Oct. 13 before finishing off its league schedule. The

Rebels are on the road this week against No. 1 Valor Christian and Ralston Valley where the league title will be on the line.

“Bear Creek is defintely in our way,” Gerrasch said. “It will be a good game, but I think we’ll come out on top in that one. Then we’ll have to really focus on Ralston and Valor to get that league championship.”

The Bears put up a great fight against Valor (11-0-1, 5-0) on Oct. 10 at Lakewood Memorial Field. Valor took a 1-0 victory over Bear Creek in double-overtime.

“It is setting up really nice for us,” Todd said of having a shot of being undefeated in league going into the final week of the regular season.

Pomona (1-13, 0-6) made sure it didn’t get shut out on its Senior

Night. The Panthers got on the board in the 34th minute with a nice free kick from long distance from junior Filip Korowasjski that found the back of the net. It was the junior defender’s second goal of the season.

Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Jeffco Public Schools. For more Jeffco coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.

Arvada West wins inaugural girls flag football Je co Tournament

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LAKEWOOD — The momentum that girls flag football has gained within Jeffco Public Schools was on full display Oct. 8 at Trailblazer Stadium.

Twelve teams from eight different Jeffco League schools competed in the inaugural Jeffco Tournament. After 12 games over five hours, Arvada West claimed the first girls flag football Jeffco Tournament title with a 26-6 victory over Chatfield in the championship game.

“I’m proud of my girls,” A-West coach Mario Lopez said. “They came a long way in four weeks to where they are today.”

It was announced in early August that the Denver Broncos Charities would fund a girls flag football pilot program that involved Jeffco, Cherry Creek and Denver school districts. The Jeffco League fielded teams from Arvada, A-West, Chatfield, Columbine, Evergreen, Lake-

wood, Pomona and Littleton that played in weekend jamborees over the last month.

“I’m shocked, actually,” Chatfield coach Alexis Rosholt said of the growth and success of the program this fall. “We were hoping and praying for 20 girls to come out at Chatfield, and we got 80. Moving forward, I think Jeffco is the powerhouse heading into playoffs.”

Alexis — wife of Chatfield football coach Kris Rosholt — actually had so many girls wanting to play that the Chargers had three separate teams. A-West and Columbine also had multiple teams this season with two teams each.

The top four teams — A-West, Chatfield, Evergreen and Columbine — from the Jeffco Tournament qualified for the state tournament Oct. 15 at the UCHealth Training Center in Centennial. The top four teams from Denver and Cherry Creek filled out the 12-team bracket.

Columbine junior Keagan Gerrasch (12) beats Pomona junior goalie Tyler Krapes before scoring one of his two first-half goals Oct. 10 at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Rebels won their sixth straight game with an 11-1 victory over the Panthers.

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Arvada West sophomore Sara Walker, right, makes a great catch during the Wildcats’ 36-6 quarterfinal victory over Arvada during the Je co Tournament on Oct. 8 at Trailblazer Stadium. A-West (purple) won the tournament and will be a top seed for the state tournament coming up Saturday, Oct. 15, at the UCHealth Broncos Training Center at Dove Valley.

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Arvada West (purple) girls flag football teams was all smiles after a 26-6 victory over Chatfield (black) gave the Wildcats the championship in the inaugural Je co Tournament on Oct. 8 at Trailblazer Stadium. A-West, Chatfield (black), Evergreen and Columbine (navy) will head to UCHealth Broncos Training Center at Dove Valley on Saturday, Oct. 15, to compete in the state tournament.

FOOTBALL

FROM PAGE 24

“Jeffco has a really good group of schools,” Lopez said. “Evergreen is a great team. Chatfield plays hard and has some great talent.”

A-West is undefeated on the season, but it wasn’t a breeze to get to the Jeffco Tournament title game. The Wildcats needed a defensive stop on a 2-point conversion in the final minute against Columbine to take a 14-12 victory. Previously undefeated Evergreen suffered a 6-0 overtime loss against Chatfield in a defensive struggle in the other semifinal.

Senior Sierra Gallup was the star in the title game against Chatfield. Gallup had a pair of touchdowns runs in the second half to give the Wildcats the 20-point victory.

“I’m pretty excited and we have homecoming (dance) after this, so that is another thing happening tonight,” said Gallup, who added she is thrilled to see and play at the Broncos’ training facility. “I’m just excited for state now and to take it.”

A-West sophomore Sara Walker is one of many multi-sport athletes quickly gravitating to flag football. Walker plays basketball for A-West during the winter season.

“I love basketball. This is a good break from all the pressure and intensity,” Walker said. “I really love this sport and basketball, too.”

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Walker had eyes on the Wildcats winning the state title in the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse and then going after titles the next two years. She hopes by her senior year, girls flag football will be a CHSAAsanctioned sport for the fall 2024 season.

The CHSAA board of directors approved girls flag football as a pilot program for the 2022 and 2023 seasons recently. If all goes as planned. the girls flag football will be a CHSAA-sanctioned sport in Colorado in two years.

“It took off very quick, and it’s really exciting,” Lopez said.

“The turnout by the parents and everyone supporting it has been great. The girls have homecoming tonight, but they stuck it out and turned it into a league championship. That just shows the dedication to flag football in the Denverarea and Colorado right now.”

Lopez had been heavily involved in flag football for a long time. He still plays competitively and runs a women’s pro team that competes at the national level. Having the opportunity to coach high school girls was something he jumped at the chance to do.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” Lopez said. “I got myself into a (Jeffco) championship.”

Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Jeffco Public Schools. For more Jeffco coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.

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Pomona sweeps individual 5A titles at Je co League XC Championships

Chatfield, Dakota Ridge, Conifer and Golden win team crowns

BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

DENVER — Pomona runner

Emma Stutzman continued her impressive cross country season Oct. 13 by dominating the Class 5A girls race at the Jeffco League Championships at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School.

Stutzman’s time of 17:38.50 was more than a minute and half faster than the time of Chatfield junior Hannah Anderson, who finished as the individual runner-up. Stutzman had a huge smile on her face as the crossed the line to claim her third league title over her four-year career at Pomona.

“I was pretty happy with it,” Stutzman said of her time that would have placed her in the top-10 in both the 5A and 4A boys races. “The plan was similar to last year. Just work the first mile. The second mile was reassessing and getting myself together. Picking it back up for that last mile.”

The graduation of Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart — winner of the last three 5A girls individual cross country state titles — has opened up the top of podium for a new face. Stutzman is doing everything in her power to make that climb and be that new face.

“I don’t really care what kind of time I get. I want to win,” Stutzman said of what it all boils down to going after her first state title in cross country or track. “I’ve been mentally working on if I want it I can get it. It’s up for grabs, and I want to

Pomona senior Gustavo Rivera sprints toward the finish line during the Class 5A Je co League championships Oct. 13 at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School.

PHOTOS BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SEE POMONA,

31

take it.”

The redesigned course finish at D’Evelyn that ran into Fehringer Ranch reminded the Pomona senior of how the state course at Norris Penrose Events Center in Colorado Springs finishes.

“The course at the end … that state with the little hill at the end,” Stutzman said. “That was kind of nice to have to see how that feels sprinting after the hills. It went pretty well for what we planned.”

The plan now is to focus in on claiming her first individual state title. Stutzman said she has been trying out some new hydration tactics, along with focusing on what foods she is eating leading up to regionals and state. She finished ninth last year at state and spent time in the medical tent due to dehydration.

“I’m trying to keep the pressure off by not focusing on that,” Stutzman said of some of the national attention she has garnered after running a 16:44 at the Liberty Bell Invitational earlier this season, which is the top 5K time in the nation.

Pomona senior Gustavo Rivera competed a one-two punch for the Panthers. He won the 5A boys individual title with a time of 17:00.30.

“It was pretty important,” Rivera said about winning the individual

title for the Panthers. “I don’t know the last time that Pomona won the individual title on the boys side. I’m glad it will be me winning on the boys side and Emma winning it for Pomona on the girls side. That’s pretty impressive.”

Rivera hopes to be a dark horse at regionals and state coming up over the next few weeks. He is also hoping for some cold and nasty weather

where Rivera believes he would have a mental edge on his opponents.

Dakota Ridge won the 5A boys team title edging out rival Chatfield. On the 5A girls side, the results were flipped. Chatfield grabbed three of the top-10 spots to beat out Dakota Ridge.

On the 4A boys side, Conifer won its third straight 4A Jeffco League team title. The Lobos had won six

straight conference titles dating back to their time competing in the Colorado 7 League.

“It feels phenomenal,” Conifer senior Patrick Doty said of the Lobos winning another league title. “We’ve won the past six in a row. There was definitely some pressure to win that seventh one. We came through and won it.”

Doty won the 4A boys individual title with a time of 16:26.6. Golden senior Henry Stubenrauch finished second.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” Doty said of his time of 16:26.6. “I could have gone a little bit faster. I got a bit of a cramp around (mile) 1.5 to 2.5. We worked through it.”

The fall 2022 season has been bumpy for the Lobos. Doty talked about how a wave of COVID swept through the team earlier in the season.

Golden senior Lily Mourer led the Demon girls to the team title. Mourer claimed the 4A girls individual title with a time of 19:41.50. Golden had all five scoring runners for the team title finish in the top-15.

“I’m so proud,” Golden coach Jen Byrne said after her Demons dominated the 4A girls race. “We came out with a mission to run strong with each other. That shined today. Their hearts were gold today.”

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FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT

The purpose of the Citizen Participation Plan is

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The City

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The

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solidated Plan and Annual Action Plan.

The City invites all citizens, public agencies, and other interested parties to review the proposed Substantial Amendment to Citizen Participation Plan and provide comments. The public comment period on the proposed Substantial Amendment Citizen Participation Plan is from October 20, 2022 through November 19, 2022. Comments can be mailed to the address below.

A copy of the proposed draft Substantial Amend ment to Citizen Participation Plan is available for public review at the:

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click on Current Le gal Notices, then click on the title of the ordinance you wish to view. The full text version is also available in printed form in the City Clerk’s office. Contact 720.898.7550 if you have questions.

CB22-075 An Ordinance Annexing Certain Land into the City of Arvada for Union Estates Property, a 2.11- Acre Parcel of Land Approximately Located at 12016 West 82nd Avenue.

CB22-076

An Ordinance Rezoning Certain Land Within the City of Arvada, Union Estates Property, from Jefferson County A-2 (Agricultural 2) to City of Arvada RN-7.5 (Residential Neighborhood 7.5) and Amending the Official Zoning Maps of the City of Arvada, Colorado, Generally Located at 12016 W 82nd Avenue.

CB22-077

An Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of the City of Arvada, Colorado, Water Enterprise

The

PUBLIC NOTICE

Council of the City of Arvada on second reading following the public hearing held on October 20, 2022:

Ordinance #4817 An Ordinance Amending Various Sections of Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code Pertaining to Water Users Rates and Bimonthly Service Charges.

Ordinance #4818

An Ordinance Amending Section 102-206 of Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code Pertaining to Wastewater Users Rates and Bimonthly Service Charges and Section 102-355 of Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code Pertaining to Storm water Users Rates.

to System Development Charges.

Ordinance #4820 An Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Subsection 62-32(b)(4), of Section 62-32, Assault and Harassment, of Article II, Miscellaneous Offenses, Of Chapter 62, Offenses, of the Arvada City Code.

Ordinance #4821 An Ordinance Certifying the City of Arvada Mill Levy for 2022 for the Board of County Commissioners for Jefferson and Adams Counties.

Ordinance #4822 An Ordinance Appropriating Funds for Fiscal Year 2023.

Metro Districts Budget Hearings

Notice

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2023 BUDGET AND 2022 BUDGET AMENDMENT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the proposed budget for the ensuing year of 2023 has been submitted to the Olde Town Arvada Business Improvement District ("District"). Such proposed budget will be considered at a meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the District to be held at 5690 Webster St. Arvada, CO 80002 at 11:00 a.m. on October 25, 2022. To attend and participate by telephone, dial 1-719-3594580 and enter meeting ID 827 7973 3090 and passcode 619588. Information regarding public participation by videoconference will be avail able at least 24 hours prior to the meeting and public hearing online at www.oldetownarvada.org/ about-us or by contacting Joe Hengstler, by email at director@oldetownarvada.org or by telephone at 303-420-4769.

The

P.M.,

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an amend ment to the 2022 budget of the District may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the District. A copy of the proposed 2023 budget and the amended 2022 budget, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of the Olde Town Arvada Business Improvement District at 7307 Grandview Ave. Arvada, CO 80002. Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2023 budget and the amended 2022 budget, if required, file or register any objections thereto.

OLDE TOWN ARVADA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Joe Hengstler, Executive Director

Ordinance #4819 An Ordinance Amending Sec tions 74-91 and 74-92 of Chapter 74, Planning and Development, and Various Sections of Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code Pertaining

Dennis Pleuss is the sports information director for Jeffco Public Schools. For more Jeffco coverage, go to CHSAANow.com.

Arvada

The

pack heads away

Junior/Senior High School

senior Gustavo

Ridge

team title.

PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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