Arvada first responders working on Thanksgiving were treated to free meals during their shifts, thanks to Chow for Champions, an annual effort to provide meals to Arvada police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service providers on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This year’s Thanksgiving Day delivery effort saw 90 meals — provided for the first time by the Arvada Hilton Garden Inn, which joined the program this year as a catering partner —
After 35 years with the department, Arvada Police Chief Link Strate announced his retirement on Dec. 1, effective Dec. 31.
APD Deputy Chief Ed Brady — who was a finalist for the position along with Strate when the position was last available in 2018— will begin serving as Interim Chief on Dec. 5.
A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Strate’s tenure with APD began in 1987 and spanned his entire professional career. He began as a patrol officer and worked his way through the department’s ranks, becoming a motorcycle officer early in his career and earning promotions from sergeant to commander to deputy chief.
He was named chief on June 2, 2018, succeeding now-Deputy City Manager Don Wick, who was chief for 10 years.
“It has been my greatest professional joy to serve as an Arvada police officer these past 35 years,” Strate said.
Over the course of his career, Strate worked to advance the JEFFCOM Regional Dispatch Center and Jefferson County Regional Crime Laboratory, encouraging the collection of DNA evidence to prosecute crimes that typically went undetected. He also helped lead the Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team, which investigates officer-involved shootings.
The last two years brought scores of tragedies to the department. The Olde Town Arvada shooting in 2021 claimed the life of Arvada Police Officer Gordon Beesley, and APD Officer Dillon Vakoff was killed while responding to a domestic violence call earlier this year.
Arvada City Manager Lorie Gillis praised Strate’s leadership of the department during trying times and his involvement in the community.
”Over the past two years, through tragedy and healing, he has brought
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delivered by over two dozen volunteers.
First responders were treated to traditional Thanksgiving fare including turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole.
Chow for Champions was founded in 2020 by Arvada City Councilmember Lauren Simpson and resident Kimber Just, who has since moved away. This year’s effort was organized by Simpson in partnership with the Arvada Chamber of Commerce handling sponsorships.
“What’s really special about Chow is that it’s growing,” Simpson said. “We’re in our third year now of doing this, and I really think the program has hit a new level. The Hilton Garden Inn coming on as our catering partner is elevating the menu, and support from sponsors and community volunteers alike is growing too, which I’m extremely
grateful for.
“This was our best Thanksgiving yet, and I think we needed that,” Simpson continued. “Losing Dillon Vakoff only a year after Gordon Beasley… we’ve all felt that. But our team hasn’t wavered. All of our first responders are still out there, doing these important but often dangerous jobs. They do it for their community, and this is how we as a community can say thank you to them.”
The philanthropic effort will also give out meals to Arvada first responders on Christmas Day. Simpson said she is still looking for delivery drivers for Christmas and donations to support the meals.
Volunteers can contact Simpson to get involved at lsimpson@arvada. org, and donations can be made to the Arvada Chamber of Commerce.
This year’s Thanksgiving sponsors include the City of Arvada, Arvada-Jefferson Kiwanis Club, Arvada Elks Lodge and Arvada Rent-Alls. Simpson said Sonsio is confirmed as a sponsor for the Christmas edition of Chow for Champions.
strength and compassion to the Police Department and the community,” Gillis said. “Link’s dedication to leading the Department has never wavered. He has been a leader in areas beyond APD, facilitating the City Council’s strategic planning process and serving on the board of the Ralston House among other citywide committees.”
Strate’s predecessor Wick echoed Gillis’ sentiment and highlighted his commitment to the Arvada community.
“Having served with Link for more than 30 years, I am proud of Link’s accomplishments throughout his career with the Arvada Police Department,”
Wick said. “Link’s commitment to the department and the community is exemplary. As a community, we are all grateful to Link for the way he helped lead through challenging times.”
Arvada’s Communications Manager of Infrastructure Katie Patterson gave an update on APD’s search for a replacement for chief, stating that, “The City of Arvada is well-positioned for an internal appointment for Chief of Police.”
“City Manager Lorie Gillis will lead the process to replace Arvada Police Chief Link Strate and intends to fill the position with an internal candidate,” Patterson said in a statement. “By leveraging talent within the organization, the City will continue to ensure certainty in the Police Department’s leadership and move the organization forward.”
One of my favorite newsletter subscriptions is to “Big Pivots,” edited by Allen Best. The focus is on sustainability, especially as it relates to real estate and home building.
This week’s edition featured an article which I am reprinting it with permission because it would be hard to improve upon it.
By ALLEN BESTIt took Rod Stambaugh a couple of years before his vision of high-performance housing on the northeastern edge of Pueblo had anything to show. Now he and his two partners have started piling up the statistics.
In recent weeks they’ve sold three houses for an average price of $780,000. All three were cash buyers.
“It’s been a long road, but it’s getting easier,” says Stambaugh.
The company, Pure Zero Construction, has 14 of the single-family houses under construction with work also underway on the first of 51 townhomes.
None will have natural gas. The company has rights to build as many as 500 additional homes in North Vista Highlands.
“We will compete all day on the merits and benefits of high-performance, allelectric homes as compared to the stickbuilt housing that uses natural gas,” says Stambaugh. “We will win that battle every time.”
The townhomes will have 2,200 square feet and come in at around $600,000, he says. The company expects buyers to come from Denver and the northern Front Range.
Pueblo has a deserved reputation for lower real estate prices, but it does have pricier homes, too. Pure Zero is staking its reputation on both environmental performance, which translates into cost savings over time, and in health benefits. Accumulating evidence points to harmful impacts of indoor air quality from natural gas combustion, whether for space and water heating or for cooking.
Gene Meyers, a long-time “green” builder in the metro area, has said recently that if for no other reason than health considerations, it’s time to get rid of natural gas in the homes he builds.
Having no natural gas comports with Colorado’s goals for greenhouse gas reduction goals. Several laws passed in 2021 provide direction to decarbonizing of buildings through various new met-
rics, including building codes that make natural gas less desirable. Colorado has so far, however, not imposed bans. The lone exception is Crested Butte, and the restriction there applies to relatively few units.
Stambaugh got into the building technologies world about eight years ago when he began pursuing the concept of 189square-foot “tiny” homes after he returned to Colorado from living in California. That business is called Sprout Tiny Homes. He sold some of the tiny homes to the Aspen Skiing Co. for use in Basalt. He is now at work on a third generation of workforce housing for Aspen.
Then, in 2020, he purchased land in a subdivision in Pueblo called North Vista Highlands. He had thought that there would be no natural gas at all in the giant subdivision. That has not been completely true. But it’s true for the housing he and his two partners are building—and he has no plans to change.
“We will not deviate from our mission. We are not going to race to the bottom,” says Stambaugh. “We are going to build high-performance homes where you can see, feel and breathe the difference. That is our mission.”
One measure of a building’s performance is a metric called HERS, short for Home Energy Rating System. The lower the HERS score, the more energy efficient the home. Existing homes may have HERS ratings of 130. New stickbuilt homes have improved to 100 – although a few production builders are shooting for lower scores. KB Homes has said it plans to achieve HERS scores of 45 nationally by 2025. How do the Pueblo homes rate? “We’re in the low 40s and we actually had a negative 9 after adding solar,” says Stambaugh.
High-performance building has several components. One is building tightly to avoid loss of heat or, in the summer, cool air. Unlike houses built from two-byfours and two-by-sixes, the Pure Zero houses use structural insulated panels, or SIPs. They provide superior installation and, says Stambaugh, provide corners that are always on the mark. They cost more than wood at one point, but no longer.
No natural gas is another fundamental of the houses. Instead, electric-powered Mitsubishi air-source heat pumps extract
the heat from outside temperatures efficiently down to zero (and to a lesser extent below zero). They do the reverse during hot weather, replacing the need for air conditioning.
Stambaugh swears by Mitsubishi. They cost $1,500 more than other air-source heat pumps, but their superior performance at lower temperatures will result in less need for backup heating. Those lower costs will recoup the original investment in five years.
Instead of natural gas stoves, the houses in Pueblo have induction-heating stoves. Bathrooms are tiled from top to bottom. Temperatures throughout the 3,900-square feet houses (with fully finished basements) are consistent. They’re so structurally tight that they are quiet even within a construction zone.
There used to be a higher cost premium for the materials. That has somewhat gone away.
But building high-performance homes requires rethinking, including finding
subcontractors willing to learn new techniques.
Stambaugh admits his team had difficulties at first finding craftsmen willing to learn how to install the new technology. Some refused. Now, as the housing market has slowed, some of those workers have returned, looking for jobs.
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You can subscribe to the Big Pivots newsletter (and find lots of other interesting articles) at www.BigPivots.com
You’ll learn a lot from it!
I came across a website that gives a great description of heat pumps, how they work, and why they are more efficient. I have posted a link to that page from Treehugger’s website in the posting of this article on our company blog, www.GoldenREblog.com
You’re probably used to heating systems that create heat, whether by using fossil fuels, wood, or electricity. But heat pumps don’t create heat, they move heat. Here’s how the process is explained on that website:
Heat pumps function similarly to refrigerators or air conditioners, which take warm air from one space and send it to another. In the winter, a heat pump transfers heat from the outdoors inside and, in the summer, it reverses this process.
There are two main types of heat pumps, and both can function as space heaters or coolers and as water heaters.
A ground-source (or “geothermal”) heat
pump sends a mixture of water, antifreeze, and/or a refrigerant through a network of pipes buried below the frost line. As the liquid passes through the pipes, it absorbs the Earth’s approximately 55-degree heat. The liquid is then drawn up into a compressor, which heats it further, creating a vapor. A fan in the heat pump then distributes the warm air through ducts or tubes throughout a building.
In the summer, a ground-source heat pump reverses the process, taking the warm air out of the house and storing it in the soil.
An air-source heat pump extracts heat from the air rather than from the ground. It functions the same way, but because air temperature, unlike ground temperature, can get very cold, it has more work to do bringing up the temperature. As with a ground-source heat pump, a reversing valve inside the heat pump allows the same process to act as an air conditioner in the summer.
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A concrete retaining wall adjacent to the post office on Allison Street in Arvada is becoming a work of art.
Artist Marco Antonio Garcia was selected as the muralist.
The narrative depicted in the proposed mural will tell a story about the important connection we have to the people we care about through the letters and packages that we send through the mail, according to a press release about the project.
Work on the mural began in October 2022 and completion is expected to take approximately six weeks.
“I was part of the final selection committee for the mural at the Arvada post office,” said Kimberly Wagner, a member of the Arvada Arts and Cultural Commission.
“One of our goals as The Arts and Cultural Commission is to use art to create deeply connected communities. ... The mural is vibrant and dynamic. It reminds me of connecting with my family and friends across the globe.”
Garcia is a self-taught artist who is rooted in his Mexican Culture. He is inspired by the detailed paintings of the Alebrije wooden mythical animals popularized in Mexico in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the release said.
His proposal for the mural brought together his colorful artistic style with childhood memories of his mother sending letters to his grandmother in Mexico. The mural will feature human and animal elements
After a two-year pandemic-induced halt, Santa House will provide holiday gifts for underprivileged Jefferson County School District students.
300 families with 800 children from 10 local schools are expected to receive
Arvada K-8, Campbell, Fremont, Lawrence, Little, Parr, Peck, Swanson, Thomas and Vanderhoof are the schools taking part this year.
The event is organized by Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth and the ArvadaJefferson Kiwanis Club.
Liaisons at schools are working to connect families with the program. Donations of new toys and new or gently used books can be made until Dec. 2. Monetary donations can be made at ajkiwanis. com at any time.
Families can pick up presents Dec. 7-10 at Storyline Church in Arvada.
Toys and books can be dropped off at Apex facilities, Red Rocks Community College, Arvada Chamber of Commerce, La Patisserie Française, School House Kitchen & Libations, Super Zoom Bang, New Dawn Chiropractic, Rheinländer Bakery or Indian Tree Golf Club (only on Wednesdays).
Any undonated or unclaimed toys will go to Hope, Connection and Community, who will distribute them to children in need.
Over the last 15 years, Santa House has provided presents for over 12,000 families and 33,000 children.
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Officials hope to announce finalists for Jefferson County manager before the end of the year. Commissioners are conducting phone interviews with six candidates in the coming days.
After at least one round of phone interviews, the commissioners will host in-person interviews.
Deborah Churchill, chief of staff to the commissioners, said recruitment firm Raftelis received 52 applications. They were reviewed for completeness and the candidates’ qualifications and experience. The firm then presented its findings to the commissioners on Nov. 29, who
then decided which six candidates to interview.
Candidates are expected to meet with community stakeholders, including business, nonprofit and municipal leaders. The county’s leadership team will also will spend time with each candidate.
Deputy County Manager Kate Newman is the interim manager. Don Davis resigned July 1 to take a similar role in Broomfield.
The 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office has launched the Pathways diversion program to connect individuals suspected of low-level, nonviolent crimes with treatment,
social support and other resources.
The DA’s Office has launched a Pathways office in Lakewood. The program started earlier this year and has already served more than 500 clients.
The previous adult diversion program required a guilty plea before participation, but Pathways can help get individuals into treatment even before charges are filed, diverting people from the criminal justice system.
It offers four “pathways” or programs: Safe and Licensed Driver; Substance Intervention; Encourage; and Engage. Each uses a collaborative, strength-based approach with clients and community resources to provide targeted
services and a path toward compassionate accountability, according to the DA.
“Expanding our diversionary options for individuals who are low-risk and who can be stabilized in our community, is essential to community safety and well-being,” District Attorney Alexis King said. “I am proud to have delivered a program that is and will continue to positively impact our community.”
The DA’s Office has planned a Dec. 6 grand opening for its Pathways building at 405 Urban St., Suite 120 in Lakewood.
For more information on Pathways or other DA’s Office resources, visit firstda.co or call 303-271-6800.
Clear Creek County announced on Nov. 28 the closure of Guanella Pass Scenic Byway for the winter season.
The gates to the road closed early on Nov. 28, after a sweep of the summit parking lots and surrounding areas. According to a press release from the county, the pass is also inaccessible from the Park County side. Officials expect the byway to reopen for Memorial Day weekend in May 2023.
Dispersed camping along the pass is prohibited until reopening. There are multiple areas still open for winter recreation, including the Silver Dale Recreation Area and Leavenworth Creek Road.
Karl Schell is the head of Road and Bridge for Clear Creek County. He said that Thanksgiving weekend has been the usual yearly closure date for some time now, both for budgetary and safety reasons.
“We do have a pretty substantial avalanche zone on the pass,” he said.
Schell explained that plowing the pass and keeping it clear would take a lot of manpower the county
simply doesn’t have right now. He also said the seasonal closure can be considered a wildlife closure, giving animals a break from the usual pass traffic.
Dale Atkins is a longtime member of Alpine Rescue Team who knows the history of the area.
“It used to be open year-round,” Atkins said. “It used to be open because there was a ski area on the Park County side.”
The ski area was Geneva Basin, which was operational until 1984.
Records show the ski area was built during a time of expanding interest in the sport.
In the present day, the lack of homes or a ski area up the pass makes it unnecessary to keep open and plowed during the winter months, a job that is dangerous to plow operators due to the avalanche-prone area.
Atkins said the closure of the pass makes a huge difference in safety.
“By closing it there, it basically removes 99% of the avalanche danger that affects the road,” he said.
With the pass closed to cars, the dangers of the area remain only to those who venture up into the area to backcountry ski, snowshoe, cross country ski and other similar
activities.
Atkins reminded winter adventurers to “be searchable,” as in carrying an avalanche receiver and bringing gear to help in an emergency (phone, whistle, warm clothes).
“It’s really important to let someone know where you’re going, when you’re gonna be back, where you parked and even what kind of vehicle you have. License plate number is even better,” Atkins said.
Check out tips from the Alpine Rescue Team on being outside this winter, including the team’s BackCountry Survival Guide.
Applications are being accepted for the following citizen boards and commissions in 2023 and you can now apply online:
Arvada Urban Renewal Authority
Building Code Advisory Board
Design Review Advisory Festivals Commission
Golf Advisory Committee
Housing Advisory Committee
Human Services Advisory Committee
Liquor Licensing Authority
Park Advisory Committee
Sustainability Advisory Committee
Transportation Committee
Information about each board, as well as application details, can be found at Arvada.org/2023boards. Applications can be completed online using electronically submitted Google forms, or you may download, print and complete your application. You may also include a short resume, although it is not required.
Applications are due in the City Clerk’s O ce by NOON on Monday, January 9, 2023. Please contact the City Clerk’s O ce at 720-898-7550 with any questions.
The pass is closed for the winter, something the county has been doing for over 20 years
If your current Connect for Health Colorado plan is going away and you want to continue care with Centura, we are here to help. Rocky Mountain Health plans are available and in network for Centura. To make it easy to stay covered for 2023 and avoid a gap in your coverage. Our plans come with extra benefits, such as:
Or find a plan at ShopAffordableCarePlans.com/CO
1 The Peloton offering is available to members enrolled in applicable fully insured UnitedHealthcare plans and participants enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Level Funded NavigateNOW plans who are 18+ years of age and register for an account with Peloton. Offer is valid until June 30, 2023. UnitedHealthcare members and participants that own a Peloton Bike, Bike+ or Tread can redeem a 3-month All-Access Membership. Limit one code redemption per UnitedHealthcare member or participant. All services provided by Peloton directly to consumers are governed by Peloton’s Membership Terms, located at https://www.onepeloton.com/membershipterms. Discounts available on applicable purchases until June 30, 2023. Equipment offer void in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Washington D.C. To inquire about eligibility for a retroactive refund on applicable purchases, contact Peloton customer service. Peloton Bike, Bike+ or Tread purchase requires an All-Access Membership to access content. All prices are exclusive of applicable taxes. Offer applied at checkout. No substitutions. Peloton equipment discount is limited to a purchase of one unit of each equipment type per member or participant. Void where prohibited. Not transferable. The information provided under this program is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be nor should be construed as medical advice. UnitedHealthcare members and participants should consult with an appropriate health care professional before beginning any exercise program and/or to determine what may be right for them. The value of this offering may be taxable. Members and participants should consult with an appropriate tax professional to determine if they have any tax obligations from having access to this offering at no additional cost.
2 The benefits described may not be offered in all plans or in all states. Some plans may require copayments, deductibles and/or coinsurance for these benefits. The policy has exclusions, limitations, reduction of benefits, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of the coverage, review the plan coverage documents, or call or write your insurance agent or the company, whichever is applicable. Medical plan coverage offered by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates.
Medical plan coverage offered by Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization, Incorporated. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Members age 18 and over can earn a $100 gift card for select retail participants upon completion of four activities: 1) Member sees their primary care provider for a wellness visit; 2) Member signs up for text messages from UnitedHealthcare; 3) Member opts in to paperless communications; and 4) The subscriber of the plan signs up for auto-pay of premiums on behalf of all members enrolled on their plan. Limit one gift card per eligible member. Eligible members who are unable to participate in a qualifying activity may be permitted to earn the same reward in a different way. Contact us to learn more.
*Some plans may require copayments, deductibles and/or coinsurance for these benefits. Always review your plan documents to determine your specific coverage. Plans in metal tiers varies and are subject to plan deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Policies have exclusions, limitations, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete coverage details, contact your insurance agent or UnitedHealthcare. The above is an independent insurance broker presenting plans underwritten by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates.
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BY MARK HARDEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
During the warm months, Denver Botanic Gardens’ 23-acre York Street campus, next to Cheesman Park, blazes with colorful flowers and plants. Over the holidays, the color is provided by an estimated half-million LED lights.
An annual tradition since 1988, Blossoms of Light heralds the holiday season with dazzling color at every turn of the gardens’ paths. It takes months to install the lights using poles, lifts, climbing harnesses, waders and cherry-picker buckets. Each year, a few new lighting arrangements are added, while many favorite displays return.
Blossoms of Light opened for the season Nov. 18, and runs nightly from 4:30 to 9 p.m. through Jan. 7, except on Nov. 24 and Dec. 25. It’s the gardens’ most popular attraction each year, so it’s wise to plan ahead if you hope to enjoy the spectacle.
Timed tickets must be purchased in advance; they are not sold onsite. For the general public, tickets are $24 for adults, $22 for ages 65 and older, $20 for children ages 3-15, and free for children 2 and under. Botanic Gardens members get a $3 discount. The event is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers but icy conditions may exist. For more information and to order tickets, go online to tinyurl. com/CCMBlossoms.
And the Botanic Gardens’ Chatfield Farms campus in Jefferson County offers its own holiday display, Trail of Lights. For information, visit tinyurl.com/CCMTrail.
BY LINDSEY FORD ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS
Out of thousands of nurse educators in the country, one of the top five is right here in Colorado.
Tammy Spencer, DNP, RN, has dedicated most of her life to nursing. She has taught at the University of Colorado College of Nursing for over 30 years. Earlier this year, she was honored with the National League of Nursing’s “Nurse Educator of the Year” award.
“I can think of several times in the past three months that patients have had an impact on me,” said Spencer. “I mean, you can’t help but be moved by their stories, and you can’t help but feel such an honor and privilege to be with that person at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.”
Spencer was nominated by her nursing colleagues and friends, Gail Armstrong and Peggy Jenkins.
Armstrong said Spencer has been honored with 18 awards since she became a faculty member and completed her master’s degree at the University of Colorado College of Nursing in 1989.
“For Tammy to be identified as one of the top five nurse educators in the country is a really, really prestigious award,” Armstrong added.
Armstrong said Spencer’s award did not come as a surprise to her colleagues and students. The nursing school’s Facebook page was flooded with heartfelt comments congratulating her.
“Tammy Spencer is one of the absolute best out there! She lives her passion for nursing,” one commenter wrote. “I feel blessed to have been one of her students!”
“So well deserved,” another person said. “She’s one of my favorite professors I’ve had out of all three of my degrees.”
One of Spencer’s students, Barbara Klontz, shared that Spencer’s teach-
ing style is the reason she can understand complicated topics in school.
“Tammy is about a couple of things: kindness, always — she has a really bright personality and lots of energy — but also she really likes being with people and she treats everyone ... like they’re a friend or a close acquaintance, so it’s really easy to be with her,” Klontz said.
Spencer said her passion is teaching.
“My students bring me a lot of joy,” she said, “to be in the classroom and to be able to really impact them in such a profound way, to think that you are educating the next generation of nurses.”
Spencer said another passion of hers is policy-making; she explained that she was involved with getting emergency orders signed by Governor Jared Polis to “help lessen burdens of clinical hours required for graduation.” Spencer said she did this because it helped “fill the pipeline at a time when nurses were leaving” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think that more and more policy is needed around nursing. I think nurses have a huge voice in health care,” Spencer said. “We need to use that voice; we need to feel empowered to use that voice.”
Spencer lives by a mantra written by Virginia Henderson, a renowned nurse, writer and scholar.
“[Henderson] described nursing as, ‘nursing is work of the head, work of the heart and work of the hands,’” said Spencer.
Spencer believes one cannot get into nursing without “being passionate.”
“You are handing a newborn for the first time to a mother, you are holding the hand of a patient that’s dying. You can’t help but be moved by that,” Spencer said. “So, that’s what nursing means.”
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.
Todd Park Mohr @ 9pm
Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, 1215 20th St, Denver
Erin Stereo at The Matchbox @ 10pm
Matchbox, 2625 Larimer St, Denver
Blue River Grass: BRG Live at New Terrain Brewing @ 6pm
New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden
Polka Folka: Den‐ver
Christkindlmarket @ 6:30pm Denver Christkindl‐market, 101 W 14th Ave, Denver
Ballet Ariel's The Nutcracker @ 2pm / $25-$40
Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Alli‐son Parkway, Lakewood. bal letariel@comcast.net, 303-9877845
Jade Cicada @ 6:30pm / $44.95
Fillmore Auditorium (Denver), 1510 Clark‐son, Denver
Beauty And The Beast
@ 7:30pm
Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Ar‐vada
WICCA PHASE SPRINGS ETERNAL @ 8pm
Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver
the Burning Angels @ 8pm
The Black Buzzard, 1624 Market St, Den‐ver
LIVE WIRE: A Tribute to AC/DC w/Kickstart My Heart: A Motley Tribute & Rattlehead (Megadeth) @ 7pm
Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver
Spital�eld @ 8pm
Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St, Denver KSHMR @ 10pm
Temple Nightclub Denver, 1136 Broadway, Denver
Tony Goffredi: Polkadot Palace w/Holden Reed Band and More!
@ 3pm
Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver
HERO Winter Break Full Day Camp @ 9am / Free Dec 19th - Dec 23rd
Midtown Montessori Academy @ Sloan's Lake, 3480 Ames St, Wheat Ridge. 720593-8409
Darryl Purpose: Moth Storytelling
GRAND SLAM
@ 7:30pm
Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E Iliff Ave, Denver Kxllswxtch @ 8pm
Bluebird Theatre, 3317 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver
12/16
Wolf Blitzer @ 6pm
Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver
BIRTH-TAY BALL feat. DJ Rockstar Aaron @ 9pm
Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Rock @ 11:30am
Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Denver
Morning Bear: Sofar Sounds Denver @ 7:30pm Sofar Sounds Denver, Denver
Tue 12/20
The Unreal Garden | Denver @ 11am Verse, 500 16th St Mall, Denver The Impressionists @ 7pm Lighthouse Denver, 3900 Elati Street, Denver Tenia Nelson/Brendan O' Donoghue Duo @ 4pm
Hotel Denver, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, 818 17th St, Denver Keith Hicks @ 4pm Renaissance Downtown City Center, Den‐
Geoff Tate @ 8pm
Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Den‐ver
Grocery stores have been consolidating. With utilities, the opposite is occurring. We’re seeing some of them start to come apart. Specifically in question is whether Colorado’s second-largest electrical provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, will survive this great pivot in how we produce and consume electricity.
Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, seems secure in its business model even as the world of electricity turns upside down. It might have the last coal plant standing. Comanche 3 — sometimes called Pueblo 3 — is scheduled to retire no later than the end of 2030. But the utility has been fleeing coal since at least 2017 when the plunging prices of wind and solar became obvious.
The investor-owned utility delivered 52% of all electricity sales in Colorado in 2018. It also reliably gives shareholders of around 9%.
Tri-State has no private investors. It was created by electrical cooperatives in 1952 to transmit electricity. Over time it added coal plants and other generating sources to its portfolio. It delivers power to 42 electrical cooperatives in four states, including 17 in Colorado.
A decade ago, Tri-State was stodgy and calcified. At the time, it was still going through the motions of trying to build a humongous coal plant in Kansas. Luckily for its members, Tri-State failed.
By 2019, Tri-State had set out to embrace changes. That includes closing its last coal-fired station in Colorado by 2030.
The changed outlook in rural Colorado served by the cooperatives was evident in even the agenda items at the annual conference of the Colorado Rural Electric Association in late October. The very name of the conference, “innovations summit,” reflected a recognition of change.
Absent were undercurrents of just a few years ago of panel moderators making jokes about climate change with rolls of their eyes. One farmer, who said his tractor was already worth more than his house, pushed back against the idea of electrification of agricultural implements. That was not the general tenor, though. Rural coops mostly accept that we will have to figure out electricity –and energy more broadly – without emissions into the atmosphere and that electricity will play a broader role in transportation and buildings.
Some co-ops have been moving more briskly than others. Holy Cross Energy, the cooperative serving 50,000 members in the Vail, Aspen, and Rifle areas, has
an audacious goal of delivering 100% emission-free energy. Bryan Hannegan, the chief executive, explained his cooperative’s plans for microgrids. Holy Cross is one of five cooperatives in Colorado independent of Tri-State.
As for Tri-State, 15 years ago it had a chief executive who poopooed the idea of climate change on national television. Now, it has a chief executive who openly discusses the way forward toward even deeper emissions cuts. The answers to emissions reductions beyond 80% to 90% are not obvious.
Some technology must be scaled up that will balance the intermittency of storage. Deeper thinkers about the energy transition, including Aspen native Hal Harvey, co-author of “The Big Fix,” says nuclear may deliver the answer. It’s not cost-effective now, but at one time, neither was solar. Geothermal is another candidate. Both were agenda items at the conference.
Might hydrogen work? Duane Highley, the chief executive of TriState since April 2018, said he sees hydrogen working nicely when the coal-fired coal plants close in Craig. It could employ existing infrastructure, including transmission lines, and use many of the same skill sets as existing workers at Craig.
Who will Tri-State’s customers be a decade from now? Tri-State
has lost two customers to DenverBased Guzman energy in recent years, and neither co-op seems to be looking back. Now, two more coopers, both in southwestern Colorado, have plans for using a new policy for lesser deliveries of Tri-State electricity. La Plata Electric and San Miguel Power both plan t instead get partial supplies new suppliers.
Other coops may also exit, either partly or be gone altogether. United Power, serving outlying areas north of Denver, represents more than 20% of Tri-State’s total demand. The coop insists that it will be gone from Tri-State by May 2024 once officials at a federal agency rule on how much United must pay Tri-State to leave remaining members whole.
Tri-State has enormous value in its transmission system. Its coal plants, though, appear to represent a liability, not an asset. It has about $3.26 billion in short and long-term debt.
Will Tri-State by 2030 look somewhat the same, only sleeker and more agile? Or will it have a new business model altogether?
I understand the questions, but I don’t have the answers. I don’t know that anybody does.
Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, an e-journal, which is focused on the energy and water transitions in Colorado and beyond. See more atbigpivots.com.
The cultural biases we place on time increase our anxiety for perfection during The Holidays. However, greater awareness of how your beliefs cause stress and anxiety can help alleviate mounting pressures. Beliefs about what time is worth to you impact your relationships. Although you may think of time as ubiquitous, it’s an intensely personal experience. The more conscious you can become of how time impacts you, the more you can make choices that serve not only your well-being, but also those around you — chief among them the people with whom you live and work.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to begin having a more conscious relationship with time: What is there always time for and
what is there never time for?
Whose time is “worth” more than others?
Who can be kept waiting and who never waits?
What happens to you when you feel you’ve “lost” time?
At work, what are the costs when “optimization” and “streamlining” is placed above relationships?
How are you dehumanized by a system that tells you time is money?
Your answers to these questions can help you start to unlearn some tightly held beliefs you have about time.
During the holiday season in particular, expectations run high:
LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher
lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com
family is coming home, you want everything to look like a page out of a magazine, you dream the day will heal old wounds, be magical or make up for lost time. To take pressure off yourself, consider alternative ways of creating time as you look for the magic in celebration.
Query traditions you brought from your childhood.
Share ideas together for new traditions and new ways to celebrate.
Create a budget and stick to it – often, a severe cause of holiday anxiety is the amount of money spent to make it “perfect.”
Volunteer together as a part of your celebration — time spent doing something for someone in need.
Ask family members to take on tasks – and make them group fun.
Make a gratitude jar and leave pens and paper for people to write
what they’re grateful for. Share it with the group.
Take time for yourself – let everyone know when you’ll be unavailable and then, give yourself time — a bubble bath, a walk, a nap.
Most of all, allow yourself to be present to enjoy, moment by moment, the relationships time is affording you.
Happy Holidays!
Christine Kahane, NBC-HWC, MCHWC – is a Nationally BoardCertified Health & Wellness Coach, and owner of KAHANE COACHING (www.kahanecoaching.com), located at 30792 Southview Drive/Suite 206 in Evergreen, CO. For more information about coaching, or to write-in a question for UNLEARN IT! send your inquiries to christine@kahanecoaching.com.
MINDY NELON
Marketing Consultant mnelon@coloradocommunitymedia.com
AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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There are some stories that you can’t even remember when you first encountered them — they just seem to have always been around. For countless families, the immortal film “A Christmas Story” is a perfect example of this phenom-
Doing a show that so many people already know does bring its own set of challenges. We know that the characters on the stage will not look like the people in the film. The house cannot be recreated on the stage and we certainly cannot bring the winters on the shores of Lake Michigan in Indiana to the stage either.
there are several more festive options to add some holiday cheer to your libation atmosphere.
up close and personal.
The exhibit is open at the Lighthouse Artspace Denver, 3900 Elati St. in Denver. Get tickets at immersivemonet.com/Denver.
But we can bring back memories of our childhood. The days when snowbanks towered over our heads. When the problems we needed to solve seemed almost insurmountable. When moms and dads were our true heroes and bullies were not unbeatable.
Sponsored by Miracle, a “Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar that serves holiday cocktails in a festive setting,” drinkers can visit the Miracle at The Eddy Hotel, 1640 8th St. in Golden, Miracle at Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop in Denver, Miracle at The Rouge, 7939 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village and Sippin’ Santa at The Arvada Tavern, 5707 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada.
While most of us are familiar with it on the screen, Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington Ave. in Golden, has brought “A Christmas Story” to the stage and will be running it through Friday, Dec. 23. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Dec. 22 is a special benefit performance for the children’s theater program that will feature a visit from Santa, special beverages and more.
We spoke to director Rory Pierce about the show, bringing a classic to the stage and more.
Interview edited for clarity and brevity.
Tell me about the show: People have grown up listening to the stories of Ralphie Parker’s childhood and now know them almost as well as they know their own. It is a classic tale of Christmas, filled with best friends, budding romances and the longing for the best Christmas gift.
Why did you select this as this year’s holiday show?
“A Christmas Story” hits so many of the notes that people look for during the holidays: family, friendship, humor, tenderness and nostalgia for a time long gone but never forgotten.
What are the challenges of bringing a well-known story to the stage in such a different form?
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What has the audience reaction been like so far?
I couldn’t be happier with the way the audience has embraced this show. From people who know the movies so well they watch it multiple times every year, to the people that have never heard of it before, they have all left the theater with smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts. And they have shared their feelings about the show with us both at intermission and on their way out.
If people aren’t familiar with the story, what do you want them to know about what they can expect?
If you know nothing about this story, get ready for a Christmas adventure that will remind you of your youth and make you glad you came. What do you hope audiences come away with?
As people leave, I just hope they think of the holidays as a time for family, fun, and unforgettable memories.
For information and tickets, visit minersalley.com.
Miracle bars o er holiday atmosphere galore
Sometimes around the holidays, you just need a drink. Whatever the reason for this is (no judgment here),
Each of these locations offer special drinks, merchandise and atmosphere that will really get you in the holiday spirit. Visit www.miracledenver.com to see all the locations, links to make reservations and more.
The work created by the Impressionist movement of artists, which was established in the late 19th century, remains some of the most moving and well-known works ever created. Artists like Monet, Renoir and Degas remain firmly etched in our cultural history and visitors to the Immersive Monet and The Impressionists exhibit can see why
Who knows if we’ll ever get a proper Radiohead album again. It is certainly not something we can rule out, but in the meantime, we’ve got The Smile, which features almost half Radiohead’s members - Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, as well as producer Nigel Godrich - and drummer Tom Skinner.
The group released their debut album, “A Light for Attracting Attention,” this year and it’s one of 2022’s best releases. In support of the album, The Smile will be performing at the Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11. They’ll be joined by opener Robert Stillman.
Get tickets at www.axs.com.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.
Rosanna Mae “Sally” (McDowell) Cooper
September 8, 1932 - October 21, 2022
We are sad to announce that our mother, Rosanna “Sally” Cooper lost her battle with heart disease on October 21, 2022. Rosanna is survived by Gregory Cooper of Colorado ,
Tonya Andersen of Massachusetts , and several grandchildren. A private service for immediate family was held at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
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
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Darlene Danner was beloved by all and passed this anksgiving day. Darlene was heavily involved in the Rebekahs and was well known for her red hair with matching lipstick and laughter. Darlene was born on January 28, 1929, in Kewanee, Illinois to
Bettie and Elvan Heston. She was a long-time resident of the Denver area where she worked as a Realtor for 28+ years. Her services will be held at Olinger Funeral Home on December 9th @ 10am with her nal resting place at the Arvada Cemetery.
The lettuce is blooming nicely on the rollaway walls.
According to the farmer’s iPad, the calibrated nutrients are flowing smoothly and accurately through the tubes.
It’s 30 degrees outside, but there’s a tantalizing garden of tangy, restaurant-ready produce inside this cozy, pristine shipping container.
Somewhere behind and among the pawn shops and the gas stations and the used tire traders and the body shops along South Broadway, on a former used car lot on Acoma Street, a couple
of snazzy high-tech containers are parked to start an urban farming revolution.
Ullr’s Garden, launched a few months ago by a couple of brothers who want to save the world and sell some sustainable arugula, is growing the equivalent of a 10-acre farm on a dusty 7,500-square-foot lot. The lettuce and arugula and basil and romaine grow horizontally, while hanging from moveable walls packed inside the climatecontrolled trailers. The farmers sit at a folding table in the nearby shed and plot their next expansion: stackable farm containers.
Nick Millisor, one of the brothers behind Ullr’s Garden, still can’t believe they’re doing what they’re doing.
“We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you
drove by,” Millisor laughs.
Vertical farms don’t stint on flavor
And their stuff tastes great. The emerald green basil snaps with a hint of licorice. The arugula is laced with a wild mustard flavor. The butter lettuce, sold with root ball intact, has an earthy flavor belying the fact the growing walls are purposefully insulated from any local dirt.
One trailer with 365 days of optimal growing conditions can produce the equivalent of a 5-acre seasonal farm, Nick and Luke Millisor say. Employing a closed loop for the water and nutrients, each trailer uses up only five gallons a day from water buffaloes they fill offsite.
“We don’t even have a water tap here yet,” Nick laughed.
And when the weather turns truly frigid, say 10 degrees from a recent overnight snow, a conscientious farmer can check on the baby bibb while sitting at home in bed with a laptop.
“If anything isn’t running optimal-
ly, the farm will literally send me a text message,” Nick said, waving his iPhone over the transplanting tables. Sensors throughout the trailer are connected to wi-fi.
Urban farming and hydroponics a great mix, experts say
Independent experts on vertical, hydroponic farming say they can’t predict the success of Ullr’s business model, but agree the revolution in well-designed shipping containers could indeed preserve the environment and extend better nutrition to remote consumers.
Rising world population, scarce water amid climate change and urban neighborhoods neglected by fresh food stores, “these are the multifaceted reasons why we’re seeing this surge in interest,” said Josh Craver, an assistant professor in controlled environment horticulture at Colorado State
Ullr’s Garden grows tangy artisanal arugula in climate-controlled trailers
University.
“It’s not hard to see pretty quickly that you can produce, per square foot, way more food in these containers than you can in the field,” Craver said.
We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you drove by.
The Ullr’s Garden name for their parking lot container farm honors the brothers’ time growing up skiing in Breckenridge, home to the Ullr Fest winter sports party. Nick Millisor comes at farming with all the technical skills of a self-described liberal arts eclectic and sci-fi nerd. He’d been toiling in real estate when the strange winds of COVID and climate change turned his 2021 upside down and he went in search of a meaningful project to better the world.
There was a week where Germany flooded and the West was burning and a Canadian heat wave was cooking shellfish alive in the ocean.
“I didn’t want to deal with super-rich people’s problems with real estate anymore,” Nick Millisor said. “And so I convinced my brother to join me, and then my cousin, and I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’ And they said yes.”
Luke Millisor supplied the actual technical knowledge, from his experience managing a neuroscience lab at University of Colorado. Colorado’s increasing water challenges led them toward water-stingy hydroponic farming and to the equipment catalogs of storage container outfitters.
“We’re not the only ones doing this you know. I would love to say that we’re the pioneers behind this, but a lot of smarter people have basically led us to this point where this technology is almost automatic,” Nick Millisor said. “It’s so easy. I mean, I have zero experience farming, other than growing some stuff in my mom’s garden as a kid.”
Ullr’s Garden sent itself to indoor farm training
The container outfitters supplied a two-day boot camp on vertical farming.
The would-be farmers learned there’s almost zero water use in the latest designs, no contamination of runoff with excess fertilizer or pesticides, precise control of nutrients, efficient LED lighting powered by clean electricity.
They have two electric vehicles to deliver produce within a 5-mile radius, boosting their effort to become carbon neutral with the overall operation. Leaving the root ball on a head of lettuce helps it last on the shelf for a couple of weeks and reduces food waste.
A fully outfitted container, with 24,000 individual LED pinpoint lights and temperature controlled at 68 to 70 degrees, costs about $170,000, Nick Millisor said. Ullr’s Garden can grow 500 varieties of produce to meet the whims of the market, and tweak the grow lights for goals as esoteric as the optimal color of a red lettuce leaf.
Accelerating efficiencies in lighting and heating have powered the surge in hydroponic container farms, said CSU’s Craver. Old grow lamps built up too much heat, while improved LEDs produce precise photons that the plant can employ for photosynthesis.
“So we really are sitting on the shoulders of giants on this one,” Nick Millisor said.
Vertical and remote, but not out of touch
As the water drips down the wall channels and then recirculates, sensors constantly check pH and mineral levels, among other growth factors. Reserve tanks dribble in supplement adjustments to the mix at the touch of the iPad. Key in siting the containers is pouring concrete footings at a 2% tilt to guarantee the water flow.
Most varieties started from seeds are ready in six to seven weeks. Harvesting means clean scissors trimming the walls, or pulling whole heads with root balls.
Now, about that business model. Negotiating with individual restaurants may not be the full answer, though Ullr’s Garden is in talks with a few looking for local supply and input into the varieties. The next challenge for the Millisors, joined by cousin and chief financial officer Ian Randall, is to launch a farm share program.
Other farm share subscriptions are popular in summer and fall, with buyers picking up or getting delivered a box of outdoors-grown seasonal items ranging from lettuce to tomatoes to squash. But the outdoor shares run out by late fall, where Ullr’s Garden can deliver lettuce, herbs and other greens year-round. The company has 150 shares on sale now, to be delivered within the 5-mile radius.
A prime calculation in closequarters farming, Craver said, is which plants draw top dollar for
the space they take up. Corn is all fibrous scaffolding, producing a handful of kernels that sell for 25 cents an ear. Root ball lettuce is nearly 100% edible, and can retail for $5 or $6 a head.
There are large hydroponic operations in metro Denver that appear to be thriving, Craver said, and smaller operations like Ullr’s Garden are busy figuring out their costs and a workable scale.
“When you look at the business model, it definitely does work,” Craver said.
I didn’t want to deal with superrich people’s problems with real estate anymore … I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’ And they said yes.
Of course, there’s a lucrative container model selling billions of dollars of product a year in Colorado — marijuana. The Millisors, though, are adamant they want to feed the world, not medicate it.
Denver’s zoning office is well organized to approve urban farming, Nick Millisor said, but they did have to address the elephant in the container.
“I was like, ‘I’m doing a hydroponic garden,’ and you could just see it in their eyes, oh no, there’s another one, and I was like, ‘Not marijuana! Not marijuana!’ And she’s like, okay, STAMP, get out of here.’ ”
Container farms could be stackable
The Ullr’s Garden trio plots their next move from underneath the modest shed looking out on the lot. If marketing picks up and the consumer-direct shares
work out, there’s room for expansion with ground space for two or three more containers.
Plus, as anyone who’s seen a modern port city can tell you, they’re stackable. Ullr’s Garden anticipates going at least a second story of vertical, and perhaps more if the zoning folks are feeling frisky.
They’re considering transforming the shed into an events and education space, knowing that schoolchildren would thrive on a cool hydroponics and LED lesson. As for the pro duce, they’re still considering winter decorative flowers, edible flowers that could draw top dollar, and radishes. One grower figured out how to do hops indoors, another grew berries, though that may not scale up to be useful.
One constant, besides the 68 degrees inside the trailers, is how welcoming and helpful everyone in vertical farming has been in sharing tips with Ullr’s Garden, Nick Millisor said.
“Everyone has the tool. Now everyone’s kind of figuring out how best to use it,” he said. “And that’s what I think is most exciting for me.”
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.
BRIGHTON — Golden High School opened up play in the second annual Nate Howard Memorial Classic by beating Pomona 54-39 in Brighton Dec. 1. No stats were available for either team.
Pomona beat Adams City 43-24 in a consolation-round game Dec. 2. No stats were available for the Panthers. Morgan Williams scored seven points for Adams City. Myla-
wajah Spencer added five.
Golden topped the host ThunderHawks in the semifinals by a score of 40-34. No stats were available for either team.
Broomfield topped GHS 57-30 in the tournament finale Dec. 3. Madison Bates scored 11 points for the Demons. Sage Manning added three. The Eagles got 15 points from Sophie Chirstopher and nine more from both Sydney Deem and Olivia Kim.
BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WHEAT RIDGE — Tommy and Vince Dowd will both be guiding Wheat Ridge’s boys basketball team, but the younger Dowd is in the forefront this season.
Tommy Dowd, who retired from teaching at Wheat Ridge High School before the start of the school year, has been the head boys basketball coach for the Farmers for more than two decades. His son Vince played for Tommy and has been an assistant coach for several years.
But now, the time has come where Vince will be the one running the show with his father as a mentor on the Farmers’ bench.
“It is always weird,” Vince said standing up on the bench with his father in an assistant coach role. “It’s big shoes to fill. I’m just glad he is still here and doing it with me. Sharing this with him is the most fun for me.”
Vince admitted he might bump into his father a few times on the bench this year when Tommy stands up from the bench.
“I had to tell him to sit down a couple of times,” Vince said with a laugh. “I think the refs were pretty relieved when they saw it was me and not him tonight.”
Nov. 30 was the season and home opener for the Farmers. Mullen, coming off a tough overtime loss to Legacy two days earlier, was able to take a 66-51 victory against Wheat
Ridge.
The Mustangs (Class 6A team out of the Centennial League) held a 26-point lead late in the third quarter, but Wheat Ridge mustered
a solid run cutting the lead to a little as 10 points in the fourth quarter.
“Kind of,” Mullen junior Jordan Leslie said when asked if he was having flashbacks to the Mustangs losing a fourth-quarter lead to Legacy. “This time we knew we had to stay solid and stick together.”
Leslie simple took over the game in the fourth quarter. The junior scored a dozen points in the final 4 minutes to finish with a game-high 23 points.
“I knew once it was getting a little close I had to step in and make sure we got the win,” Leslie said.
Wheat Ridge just didn’t have an answer defensively for Leslie after he got going in the fourth quarter.
“Jordan can play,” Vince said of Leslie. “We’ll watch the film and talk about how to defend a kid like that. I don’t know how many of those we’ll see in (5A/4A) Jeffco. Not a lot I’m guessing.”
Junior Anderson Brendle contributed 19 points, including three 3-pointers to even Mullen’s record to 1-1 on the season.
“We are happy we won, but we can always do better,” Leslie said. “We’ve got ThunderRidge on Saturday. If we want to compete with them we have to play better.”
ThunderRidge is No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com Class 6A boys basketball preseason rankings defeated Mullen 80-59 over the weekend.
“We played through the whole game,” Vince said of a positive to come out of the loss. “Last year we had a lot of games like that and it got out of hand. This group learned from that.”
The Farmers went 6-16 last year, but do return leading scorer Sam McCune. The senior had a slow start in the first half and got into foul trouble. McCune turned it on in the second half to finish with a team-high 19 points before fouling out with 2:47 left in the game.
“He is an all-conference player,” Vince said of Sam McCune. “The more he is on the court the better it will be for us.”
Wheat Ridge returns to the court next week playing in the Centaurus Tournament. The Farmers open up against Northfield on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
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data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, or CBI.
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COMFrom 2018 to 2020, reported incidents of hate crimes in Colorado more than doubled, according to statistics from the FBI.
These numbers also increased nationwide, but in Colorado the rate is higher. Over two years, the state’s cases increased by about 132%, compared to the the national average of 17%, according to data from the FBI.
Although there is no way to definitively prove the reason for these trends and no clear solution to the problem, law enforcement agencies, legal offices and organizations across the Front Range are taking steps to better care for victims and stand against bias-motivated crimes and incidents.
As defined by Colorado state law, a bias-motivated crime, also known as a hate crime, is a criminal offense committed “with the intent to intimidate or harass another person, in whole or in part, because of that person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation.”
Hate crimes can range from acts
of vandalism to shootings, such as that which occurred on Nov. 19 at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs where a gunman killed five people and wounded 17. The accused gunman is facing murder and hate crime charges.
In Colorado, most reported hate crimes arise from bias against a victim’s real or perceived race, ethnicity or ancestry, according to Jeremy Shaver, senior associate regional director at the AntiDefamation League’s Mountain States Regional Office (ADL). The second most frequent category of hate crimes are those that target individuals based on sexual orientation, he said.
Several localities across the Front Range reflect the state’s increase in hate crimes, but on a smaller and less consistent scale, according to
When examining hate crime data from governmental entities, it’s important to consider the likelihood of unreported cases, Shaver said.
According to a 2022 survey from Hate Free Colorado, a coalition of community partners dedicated to countering hate crimes in the state, the true number of hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents is significantly higher than what official government data represents.
“I think the challenge is that we know many of the frequently targeted populations in Colorado are those that also have the lowest levels of trust and confidence in law enforcement right now,” Shaver said. “And so … most of these cases end up going unreported.”
The survey found that almost 3 in 10 Colorado adults have experienced a hate crime or bias-motivated incident in the last five years. Additionally, only 18% of respondents in that category said they reported the event to the police.
Bias-motivated incidents, also known hate incidents, are not chargeable criminal offenses but still have negative impacts on individuals.
The underreporting of hate crimes is a large concern for some law enforcement officials, including Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown, who was recently reelected.
To encourage more trust in reporting, Brown said his office is striving to become more diverse and reflective of the communities it serves.
He also noted a program that trains LGBTQ+ staff members within his office to be community liaisons, with a goal of creating spaces where LQBTQ+ individuals feel safer.
“It gives people an outlet to be able to express their concerns to somebody from their community and allows them the opportunity to talk to somebody that might have some similar occurrences that they’ve had in their life,” Brown said.
The Golden Police Department also has an LGBTQ+ liaison, according to Police Chief Joe Harvey.
Shaver said it’s important to think of alternate ways for victims to report bias-motivated incidents without needing to interact with the police.
“One thing that the Hate Free Colorado coalition is recommending is that the state of Colorado and local communities look at establishing hate crime hotlines … It would most likely be a victim advocate or a social worker or somebody else who would reach back out to [the victim],” he said. “It would be one way to make a report that’s not an immediate call to law enforcement.”
Over the next year, Hate Free
Joel Zink, a hate crimes prosecu tor at the Office of the District Attorney for Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, said a potential factor in the rise of hate crimes is the internet’s role in radi calizing people.
“Prior to the internet, folks who might have had some of these ex tremist ideas would be geographi cally isolated,” he said. “But with the rise of the Internet, folks have instant access to these online echo chambers … where they can find like-minded people and bounce around these really radical ideas.”
District Attorney Alexis King, who serves Jefferson and Gilpin counties, said that “more malicious rhetoric in our overall community conversations” and “polarization” are probably the main drivers of increased hate crimes.
Shaver said legislation, such as that which eliminates LGBTQ+ top ics from school curriculums, also promotes harm against communi ties.
“We also need to see an end to leg islation and rhetoric that continues to further harm against LGBTQ people,” he said.
Some say the increase in hate crime numbers could reflect some thing positive: a better understand ing and recognition of hate crimes by law enforcement officers.
“I do think that at least in our jurisdiction … a small part of this is attributable to training that we’re doing with law enforcement to identify these crimes earlier on,” Zink said, adding that he leads a four-hour training for new deputies at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Incoming law enforcement of ficers in Colorado are required to have bias-motivated crimes train ing, according to Shaver.
Training programs such as those through the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Hate Free Colorado and the Anti-Defamation League teach prosecutors, district attor neys and law enforcement officers across the state to better conduct hate crime investigations, Shaver said.
A 2021 change in Colorado law that expanded the definition of bias-motivated crimes may also contribute to recent rising num bers, according to previous report ing by Colorado Community Media.
Each year, ADL provides training to more than 30 law enforcement
agencies across the state, Shaver said. The trainings cover Colorado’s hate crime laws, how to recognize bias indicators and acknowledging individual and social impacts of hate crimes.
Prosecutors use bias indicators to determine whether bias was a moti vating factor in a criminal offense.
“[Bias indicators] would include things like the defendant’s own words, prior cases and behaviors and the nature and timing of the conduct in question, among other things,” Zink said.
King said prosecutors may also analyze a suspect’s social media activity and social connections to look for signals of bias.
In addition to learning how to recognize bias in a suspect, partici pants in hate crimes training pro grams learn how to address their own personal bias.
“We believe bias is universal — it’s not unique to law enforcement agencies — but we think it’s really important to discuss addressing bias in responding to these types of cases,” Shaver said.
Outside of hate crime-specific training, many law enforcement agencies, such as the Golden Police Department, implement regular anti-bias training for their depart ments.
“We not only want to train our of ficers how to go in and handle these [cases], but we also want to elimi nate, mitigate, remove biases even from our own perspectives and how
we go about doing our job and mak ing sure that everybody feels that they’ve been treated with dignity and respect and compassion and empathy, that they’ve been treated fair and impartial,” Harvey said.
As law enforcement departments across the Front Range take steps to mitigate the frequency and impact of hate crimes, some acknowledge the emotional numbness that can come from facing the constant news of these incidents.
“Unfortunately, [hate crimes and mass shooting events] have become a common occurrence nationwide,” said Darren Weekly, who was recently elected as Douglas County sheriff. “The problem is, is I think we as a society are becoming numb to the violence … It’s a sad state of affairs for our nation.”
But even as events like this occur more frequently, Shaver said it is important to continue to recognize the impact of hate crimes on vic tims and communities, and work to fight against them.
“They not only impact the indi vidual who’s been targeted or those who share that individual’s iden tity, but they have a greater social impact,” he said. “When somebody commits a hate crime, that really destroys a community sense of safety, belonging, inclusion, and so that has a ripple effect … and it affects quality of life for all Colora dans.”
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT at the meeting of the Arvada City Council to be held on MONDAY, December 19, 2022, at 6:15 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 8101 Ralston Road, Arvada CO, City Council will hold a public hearing on the following proposed ordinance and thereafter will consider it for final passage and adoption. For the full text version in electronic form go to www.arvada.org/legalnotices, 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.
CB22-108, An Ordinance Repealing and Re enacting Section 40.5 No Trespass Orders for City-Owned Property, of Article II Miscellaneous Offenses, of Chapter 62 Offenses of the Arvada City Code.
Ordinance #4827
An Ordinance Amending Article I, in General, and Article II, Civil Emergency, Emer gency, or Local Disaster Regulations, of Chapter 26, Civil Emergency, Emergency, or Local Disaster of the Arvada City Code.
Ordinance #4828
An Ordinance Authorizing an Additional Appropriation for Fiscal Year 2022.
Ordinance #4829
An Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Article V, Cross-Connection Control Program of Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code.
Ordinance #4830 An Ordinance Repealing, Retitling, and Reenacting Section 58-1, Powers of Judge, of Article I, In General, of Chapter 58, Municipal Court, of the Arvada City Code, and
of Chapter 58.
Ordinance #4831 An Ordinance Amending Sec tion 98-70, Exempt Sales and Repealing and Reenacting Section 98-78, Exemptions of Article III, Sales and Use Tax, of Chapter 98, Taxation, of the Arvada City Code.
Ordinance #4832 An Ordinance Amending Sub section 102-34(c) of Section 102-34, Application for Service and Payment of Fees, of Article II, Chapter 102, Utilities, of the Arvada City Code.
Legal Notice No. 415301
First Publication: December 8, 2022
Last Publication: December 8, 2022 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript
NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT
Notice is hereby given that disbursements in final settlement will be issued by the Finance Director at 10:00 a.m., December 20, 2022 to Asphalt Specialties CO, for work related to Project No.
2022 Phase 2 Pavement
and
formed under that contract dated July 11, 2022 for the City of Arvada.
Any person, co-partnership, association of per sons, company or corporation that furnished labor, material, drayage, sustenance, provisions or other supplies used or consumed by said contractor or his sub-contractors in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done by said Asphalt Specialties CO, and its claim has not been paid, may at any time on or prior to the hour of the date above stated, file with the Finance Director of the City of Arvada at City Hall, a verified state ment of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim.
Dated this December 1, 2022
CITY OF ARVADA /s/ Kristen Rush, City Clerk
Legal Notice No. 415304
First Publication: December 8, 2022
Last Publication: December 8, 2022 Publisher: Jeffco Transcript Public Notice
Notice is hereby given that disbursements in final settlement will be issued by the Finance Director at 10:00 a.m., December 20, 2022 to Asphalt Spe cialties CO, for work related to Project No. 2022 Phase 1 Pavement Resurfacing and performed under that contract dated February 28, 2022 for the City of Arvada.
Any person, co-partnership, association of per sons, company or corporation that furnished labor, material, drayage, sustenance, provisions or other supplies used or consumed by said contractor or his sub-contractors in or about the performance of the work contracted to be done by said Asphalt Specialties CO, and its claim has not been paid, may at any time on or prior to the hour of the date above stated, file with the Finance Director of the City of Arvada at City Hall, a verified state ment of the amount due and unpaid on account of such claim.
Dated this December 1, 2022
CITY OF ARVADA
/s/ Kristen Rush, City Clerk Legal Notice No. 415303 First
