Arvada Press 061523

Forge Christian High School hopes to create new culture despite lingering controversy

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Leaders at Grace Church of Arvada have begun detailing their plans for Forge Christian High School. Plans for the school, purchased for $12 million, come a few months after the announcement that Faith Christian Academy would close its doors due to mounting nancial woes.

Grace Church Pastor Rick Long promises a new vision for Forge, despite lingering nancial issues and a history of controversy over racial discrimination allegations at Faith Christian Academy, as well as the fact that most of Faith’s sta members will remain at Forge.

Looking back on the Hall of Fame career of Colorado’s high priestess of singing

Since she was in third grade, Hazel Miller — and more than likely, those around her — knew that she would be a singer. e legendary Colorado vocalist and resident of Arvada was

When Miller was in third grade, a priest at her school named Samuel Viani asked her to join the eighth graders for a Christmas song — a prospect that, to Miller’s knowledge,

you go to school.’” at she did. ings were lean in the Miller household, but the

While some things will certainly be di erent at Forge this fall, other hallmarks of Faith — also known as FCA (Faith Christian Academy) — will remain. For one, 95% of Faith’s student body has reenrolled in Forge, according to Long.

Most of the Faith faculty will also return — including former Superintendent Andrew Hasz, whose father Martin founded FCA in Denver in 1971. Hasz will serve as Forge’s head of school, according to Long, who coached football with Hasz at FCA and whose children are

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A family photo of the Miller’s at Hazel’s son’s First Communion, 1979. Front row, from left: Bobby Smith (Hazel’s nephew), Kim Baylor (Hazel’s niece), Bobby Young (Hazel’s son), Kenneth Miller (center-front; Hazel’s son), Eric Daniels (Hazel’s nephew), Kelli (Hazel’s niece). Second row, left to right: Carol Smith (Hazel’s sister), Cathy Baylor (Hazel’s siter-in-law), Lissie Miller (Hazel’s mom), Hazel Miller. Back row, left to right: Don Harold (Hazel’s ex), Willie Baylor (Hazel’s brother).

COURTESY OF HAZEL MILLER

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graduates from the now-defunct school.

Additionally, all but three teachers from last year’s FCA faculty will teach at Forge next year, and eight outside educators have been brought in so far to round out the sta .

Grace Church Pastor Rick Long said Grace is currently undertaking a series of renovations of the former Faith Christian High School campus on Carr Street to give the school a distinct identity apart from Faith. Long said the renovations are currently over budget, and that the Grace leadership team is seeking donations to cover the di erence.

“I think that what we specialize in at Grace is loving everybody,” Long said. “I mean, that’s our motto — ‘love no matter what;’ whether we agree or disagree …We love everybody.”

Changing the culture

In 2018, Gregg Tucker, a teacher at Faith Christian High School, was red by the school’s leadership after holding a chapel discussion pertaining to “a number of disturbing incidents of racism” at the school. e discussion was spurred by former student Ramya Sinha, one of the only Black students at the school

at the time, who came to Tucker to con de in him regarding the racism she’d experienced.

After Tucker was red, he sued

FCA for discrimination. e case is still being litigated, with Faith arguing that by discussing race in the chapel, Tucker — a history teacher — had acted in the capacity of a minister, thereby foregoing federal employment protections that are afforded to teachers.

In his defense, Tucker has claimed that he was a secular teacher and thus did not fall under what is called the “ministerial exemption.” On June 12, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, sending it back to district court for trial, which is slated to begin in the coming months.

Richard Katskee, the vice president and legal director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State — Tucker’s legal counsel — said the case underscores broader cultural issues at FCA.

“ e school had some really ugly problems with racism, there were students who showed up in KKK robes, students who did mock executions of students of color in the school,” Katskee said. “Gregg did what a really good teacher does, he tried to educate the students, teach them about racism and make them see what they had done in that way.” en some parents complained, Katskee said.

“What the school did was say, ‘We can’t risk losing one parent’s tuition over one unhappy parent,’ so they red Gregg,” Katskee continued. “And that meant that they red him for teaching that racism isn’t a good thing. at ts into the category of a discriminatory ring, particularly because Gregg had been subjected to this awful hateful stu as well. He didn’t respond by getting angry, he

responded by trying to teach.”

Long said he was involved in discussions between Tucker and FCA and says that FCA’s demographic makeup — which was predominantly white — is simply due to the local population, not, as Sinha put it, a “culture of white supremacy.”

Nevertheless, Long said he’s committed to building a student body that mirrors that of Grace Church, which Long says is “very multicultural.”

To that end, Forge is working with the ACE Foundation — ACE President Jason DiFraia sits on Grace Church’s board of directors — to make 140 scholarships covering between 40% to 60% of tuition, which Long said will be around $11,000.

“I would much rather have a student in our school that wants to be there and need some assistance than a student who’s been forced to go who’s got all the money in the world,” Long said.

In addition, Long said his team is being intentional about bringing in educators who come from diverse backgrounds.

Many of Forge’s new hires are people of color, Long said.

Sinha said that since the leadership at Forge will mostly be the same as that of FCA — Forge will not have a principal, but Hasz will serve as head of school, while a six-person advisory team includes ve former FCA sta ers — these changes fall short of adequately changing the culture.

“ e leadership behind Forge will be the same as Faith which will ensure that the culture of abuse, oppression, violence, and silencing will continue to ourish without accountability,” Sinha said. “Changing the name of Faith Christian to Forge Christian will not change the inherent culture of abuse and will not hide the fact that the school is an oppressive institution that fosters white supremacy and promotes hatred all while excusing it under the guise of some loving (white) Jesus.”

Sta at Forge Christian

In addition to Hasz, many other members of FCA’s leadership team will stay on with Forge.

e advisory team is comprised of Academic Director April Everitt, a former FCA teacher; Director of Instruction and Curriculum Amy Horton, a former instructional coach at FCA; Athletic Director Abram Ziemer, who served in the same capacity at FCA; Dean of Students Micah Connor, a former FCA football coach; and Enrollment Director Dori Naas, who also held the same post at FCA.

Fine Arts Director Alexa Etchart — a former Grey’s Anatomy cast member who attends church at Grace, according to Long — is the only member of the advisory team who did not come from FCA.

Speaking about Hasz, Long said that the former FCA superintendent

Incoming students pose in Forge apparel.

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is undergoing a journey of personal transformation. Long also implied that in the Gregg Tucker case, Hasz was not the one making nal decisions.

“ e former superintendent, Andrew Hasz, is going to be the head of our school. But he has gone through a rigorous — and is still going through a rigorous — trans-

formation. is is such a di erent approach to the school compared to what it used to be.”

“I watched (Hasz), throughout that situation,” Long continued, “I watched how hard it was in the early days on his heart… Some of what was happening — and he would never pin this on anybody, and I’m not blaming anyone — had to do with who the principal was and who was handling those situations at the time.”

Long said he has written a one-day seminar that all Forge teachers and

sta will participate in to discuss the culture of the new school and how things will be operated di erently. He added that in his opinion, Long doesn’t feel Hasz has ever discriminated against a student and added that the head of school seems open to change.

“I have watched (Hasz) coach every student of every ethnicity,” Long said. “We go to some of the communities that are mostly Hispanic or are mostly African-American. Nothing but love and grace for people. Of course, we see di erences, but he’s

never treated anybody di erent, nor does he feel that he’s better than anyone.”

Finances

Faith Christian notably closed due to mounting nancial woes.

In a video posted to YouTube in December 2022, FCA Pastor Jason King said that between 1991 and 2000, FCA took out a $6.8 million loan to purchase its Carr Street campus. In 2002, Faith took out an

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Don’t Let Capital Gains Tax Deter You From Cashing Out on an Investment Property

According to the Census Bureau, our country has nearly 116M housing units for a population of 330M men, women, and children. Sixty percent of the housing units are single-family detached homes.

The National Association of Home Builders states that roughly 7M of the housing units (about 6%) are second homes or vacation homes not available to rent.

The Census Bureau calculates there are 20M rental properties in the U.S., owned by 14.3M individual investors. According to AirDNA.co, there are 1.1M short-term rental properties.

So, to sum up, there are over 28M properties out of 116M that are either vacation homes, second homes or investment prop-

Meet Our Broker Associates and Me at the Farmers Market in Golden

Every summer, Golden Real Estate gets a “showcase” booth at one of the farmers markets held in downtown Golden, and this Saturday, June 17th, is this year’s date.

Bring your questions about real estate, or simply come to say “hello.” We’ll have our laptops online so we can even help you look at homes and set up an MLS email alert matching your search criteria.

You’ll be entered in a drawing for a $100 gift certificate to a Golden restaurant. Bring your reusable bags, too — this is one of Denver’s top rated farmers markets!

We’ll be there from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is next to the Public Library on 10th Street in downtown Golden.

erties of some type.

The Colorado Association of Realtors reports that the number of second home sales has jumped 44% since the beginning of Covid in March 2020. So, whether you own a vacation home, second home, rental home, or short-term rental condo, you own real estate that is subject to capital gains tax when you sell it.

Many sellers of such investment properties take advantage of the Sec. 1031 tax deferred exchange option, which allows the property owner to roll the taxable gain into another piece of real estate and put your full pre-tax proceeds to work.

Doing a 1031 exchange of real estate requires what’s called a “qualified intermediary” (or QI) and not the title company conducting the closing to hold your proceeds until you reinvest them, and the IRS allows 45 days to identify and 180 days to close on the replacement property. As the seller, you cannot “touch” the proceeds from the sale of your relinquished property. The QI must work with the title company to facilitate transfer of the proceeds to the new closing. If a qualifying replacement property cannot be closed within 180 days, that opportunity is lost and the gain will be taxable.

Unless the investment property is inherited at your death, there will be a capital gains tax liability. For some, the gain has been so significant that perhaps it’s time to pay the tax and laugh all the way to the bank with the remainder. Note: You cannot use the 1031 tax deferral strategy to sell or

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purchase a primary residence.

There are several capital gains tax calculators online, and I’ll post a link for one at www.GoldenREblog.com along with links about the 1031 process.

To determine your tax exposure, start with the original purchase price. What did you pay for the property when you bought it? Second, add up all the money you put into capital improvements of the property. Then subtract depreciation which you took on your tax returns. The IRS considers investment real estate’s “useful life” to be 27.5 years. The cost basis of the property is the amount you paid, plus the cost of selling it – commissions, settlement fees, and closing costs, minus the depreciation taken.

An agent in our office calculated the following numbers for a deal he is doing and roughly calculated the net gain. His seller’s unit was purchased in 2016 for $275,000, netted the owner $10,000 per year in passive income, enjoying a 61% profit in just six years, after tax. The lucky owner paid the tax man and was left with roughly $377,000 in cash after everything

We join many other Golden citizens in mourning the death of our former broker associate and all-around great person, Carol Milan, was passed away last month. Our condolences to her family.

was deducted. Discuss your particular situation with your CPA if you have one, and, if not, I can recommend a local firm. These figures are round numbers and for the purposes of this article.

I believe in paying taxes. It is pothole season and street crews are at work. Fireman are on call and the police are vigilant. Our national defense is strong, and we live in the most prosperous nation in the world where wealth can be created simply from smart investing. Be proud, as I am, to pay your taxes, for you made a lot of money in a beautiful place called Colorado.

Austin Pottorff, who deals more than I do with investors, helped with the research for this article.

If the Energy Efficiency of the Home You Buy Matters, Call Us.

One of the two value statements on our yard signs (see logo below) is “Promoting and Modeling Environmental Responsibility.” If you’re a buyer wanting to assess the sustainability of the homes you are considering, you owe it to yourself to hire one of our agents, because we know this topic better than most real estate agents.

In addition to pointing out the good and bad points of the houses we show you, our inspectors “speak green” too, and, as a summer special, we are offering buyers we serve a Free Energy Audit after closing.

We Welcome Broker Associate Kathy Jonke to Our Team

Kathy, who lives in downtown Golden, joined our brokerage this week. We’re no longer an all-male brokerage.

This home at 1004 4th Street is truly oneof-a-kind. There are magnificent views of North and South Table Mountain from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the main level. You are within walking distance to downtown Golden with its famous shops and restaurants. This is a 4-BR, 4-bath home on a corner lot. The wide-open main level floor plan is great for entertaining, or just appreciating the fabulous views and staying cozy near the gas fireplace. The state-of-the-art kitchen is a chef's delight. It has a 6-burner stove with an additional griddle and double oven. The refrigerator is oversized, and there is a walk-in pantry. The primary suite has a spa-like feel with a walk-in steam shower with 3 shower heads. There are 2 sinks with quartz counter, a soaking tub an extra-large walk-in closet. The upper level has two bedrooms, and a tiled 3/4 bath. Outside the bedrooms, there is a wide-open bonus area with desks, bookshelves and fantastic views. Above the 2nd floor a rooftop office/reading room that opens to a private roof-top deck. The lower level could be used as a mother-in-law living space with its extra-large bedroom with a walk-in closet, large living area with a wet bar, and its own private patio. Included is a one-year builder warranty. Take a narrated video tour at www.NorthGoldenHome.com, then come to David Dlugasch’s open house on Saturday, June 17th, 11am to 2pm. Or call him at 303-908-4835 to see it.

$1,995,000

She was born and raised in Wheat Ridge. With her degree in Geology and Earth Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her career with the U.S. Forest Service in geophysics, she relocated often, which gave her the opportunity to renovate houses and historic commercial buildings, and also to design and build new homes. Her passion for real estate led Kathy to become a real estate broker, and she loves helping people navigate the buying and selling process in the local Golden market.

Kathy settled in Golden five years ago and had a home built in the 9th Street historic district. She is active in the community, where she volunteers with her friend Judy Denison (who I featured recently) at the International Rescue Committee. She also serves on the City of Golden’s Historic Preservation Board.

Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851

Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com

JIM

tight-knit bond of the family largely made up for that. Miller said that her mom raised seven children on $150 a week salary.

Miller said she wasn’t particularly aware of social class before she transitioned from a parochial Catholic school to a public school. ere, she faced bullying but was undeterred.

“I didn’t know I was broke until I got to public school, and these girls… they let me know in no uncertain terms that I’m from the project,” she said.

Early career

After high school, at age 21, Miller enrolled at the University of Louisville and sang in bars on weekends. Newly divorced and with a newborn baby boy in tow, she biked with her son to school, singing all the while.

“I used to wrap a towel around the crossbar — it was a boy’s bike — and we’d ride to school, the college was about four miles up the road,” Miller said. “And we’d sing all the way there and sing all the way home. My son, to this day, says, ‘I didn’t know we were broke. We were having so much fun!’”

Shortly thereafter, following the birth of her second son, Miller changed her focus to music, with the

support of her family.

“I went to work at the best nightclub in Louisville, Joe’s Bomb Room,” Miller said. “I started making real money — $400 a week — and I worked from ursday to Sunday. And my mother treated me like I was Aretha Franklin. She said, ‘Go do this, we’ll watch the kids.’ I have never known a time where my family didn’t support me.”

Miller built a strong following in

Kentucky but was beginning to outgrow her hometown.

In 1982, she recorded the Louisville anthem “Louisville, Look What We Can Do,” which brought her further local acclaim. Earlier this year, she was invited back to her hometown in January to perform the song at Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s inauguration. Still, Miller’s sights began to drift elsewhere.

Dana Marsh, Miller’s longtime

keyboardist, moved to Colorado in 1982 and stayed in touch will Miller, with the latter ying Marsh back to Louisville for shows periodically.

“I kept telling her about Colorado,” Marsh said. “I said, ‘ ere’s no one out here like you. I think you would really like Colorado, and they would love you.’”

In 1984, Miller packed up a UHaul with her belongings, her two sons, a friend’s son she was taking care of and a friend who was running from her husband. At this point, Miller’s oldest was 12 years old and her youngest was 6.

“I made the four of them a promise; ‘No one will ever live in our house,’” Miller said. “No one will ever come between us.’ And that was that. And I’ve been happily single for 43 years.”

From Kentucky to Colorado

Miller’s sights were set on the bright lights of Los Angeles, but her van had other plans.

Just inside Colorado’s borders, her UHaul broke down. Miller took the speedbump as a sign and has lived in the Centennial State ever since.

“To be honest with you, if I’d gotten to L.A., I’d probably have had to go home,” Miller said. “But God put me in Colorado. And I have had nothing but success.”

Without many local connections

Hazel Miller photographed at a recent performance.

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besides Marsh, Miller struggled to gain a foothold in the Denver scene at rst. en, she began sitting in at the fabled El Chapultepec every Saturday night, and her fortunes began to change.

“People like (fellow Colorado Music Hall of Famer Chris Daniels) took me under his wing,” Miller said. “ ere were other guys who worked at the Pec, they would tell me about who was looking for a singer. It was a lot of sitting in for no money, it was a lot of hanging out, trying to let people know who I was.”

Luckily for Miller, her generational voice left a lasting impression. El Chapultepec’s owner hired Miller to sing with the house band every Sunday night, for $40. After a few years of dues-paying, Miller had formed her own band in 1988, and, in her words, “was rollin’ and never looked back.”

‘Beloved by the people of Colorado’

One of Miller’s rst bands, called Rich Relations, earned a reputation in the local scene and was hired to do a Department of Defense tour in the Far East. Miller’s backing band at the time was entirely white, leading to their — perhaps infamous — name change.

“We walked out on stage one night in Korea, this little bitty base in South Korea,” Miller said. “And I said, ‘Hi we are Hazel Miller —’ and these Black soldiers yelled, ‘And the Caucasians!’”

As Miller tells it, the base broke out in raucous laughter, prompting her to change the name of her band, in earnest, to Hazel Miller and the Caucasians. Perhaps in accordance with changing social norms, or perhaps simply because her point had been proven, Miller changed her band’s name to Hazel Miller and e Collective in the 2000s.

While Miller was, as she puts it, “rollin’,’” she had yet to gain a larger audience outside of Colorado by the 1990s. at would change after a fortuitous meeting with one of Colorado’s top bands of the era; Big Head Todd and e Monsters.

“We had rst seen Hazel at JJ McCabe’s when we were students at Boulder in the ’80s,” Todd Park Mohr, Big Head Todd’s frontman, said. “We thought she was a soul diva and she knew about music we did not.  We invited her to sing on a track called ‘Wearing Only Flowers’ in 1995, but soon after she joined us a lot. “

Mohr might have been enticed by Miller’s music, but e Monster’s management wasn’t sold.

“ eir manager, Chuck Morris, said, ‘You can’t have her there, your fans won’t understand,’” Miller said.

“’Her voice is too ethnic.’”

Nevertheless, the rock out t continued their pursuit of the vocalist, sending a cab to her home with a demo CD of “Wearing Only Flowers.” Two days later, she was in the recording studio laying down vocal tracks.

“Wearing Only Flowers” was released on e Monster’s 1994 album “Stratagem,” and Miller accompanied the band on stage at their album release show. Soon after, Miller and Big Head Todd hit the road together.

“In 1996, my son graduated from high school at Mullen, and I went out on tour (with Big Head Todd and the Monsters) for a month,” Miller said. “ ey said, ‘Just come and see if you like it.’ I went back home, got (my son) into college, and went back out with them the next fall.”

At rst, Miller just sang backups on the one song but felt like her salary outweighed her contributions to the band. Little by little, Mohr began to incorporate Miller into more songs.

“Todd started saying ‘Can you do this part? Can you sing on this?’” Miller said. “And they did a second CD with me on it and I was singing on two songs. Little by little, I wormed my way in. It was like being on the bus with three of your little brothers. ey treated me like I was Aretha Franklin.”

When she was on the road, Miller would go shopping at TJ Maxx or

Ross and send clothes home to her family in Kentucky. During a stop in her home state, the Miller family came to a show and provided the band with four fried chickens, mac and cheese, cornbread, greens and desert.

“ ese guys (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) thought they died and went to heaven,” Miller said. “Todd goes, ‘Are y’all taking this food with you when you go?’ (Miller’s sister) Carol goes, ‘No, it’s for the bus.’ ey love my family. My family shows up, they cook.”

e rst time Miller and e Monsters played Red Rocks; Carol came to see her sister play. e Miller family was aware of Hazel’s success in Colorado but couldn’t quite conceptualize the heights to which she had risen.

“ e rst time I played Red Rocks with Todd, Carol, my sister came out,” Miller said. “She had no idea how many people were there. We came through the back. We walk up, and I say, ‘Turn around.’ She saw all those people out there, she said ‘Oh my god!’ (When I started singing) I looked over and Carol was crying. She’s like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.’”

Mohr said his favorite performances with Miller have been their stops at Red Rocks over the years.

“My favorite memories of Hazel

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DIVERSIFY RETIREMENT STRATEGIES

personally are her performances with us at Red Rocks,” Mohr raid. “I say that plural because it usually goes down the same way.   ere is usually some over-the-top garments involved.  She just goes for it in every way and people lose their minds hearing and watching her energy and sincerity.”

Fittingly, Miller and Big Head Todd and e Monsters were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame together on June 10 — at their sold-out Red Rocks show.

Karen Radman, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s executive director, said that Miller is being honored for her solo work and collaborations with e Monsters, and added that she has been crucial to spreading Colorado music across the globe.

“(Miller) really is seen as one of our key female artists,” Radman said. “We just decided to put them together, for what they’ve done collaboratively but what they’ve done individually as well.

“When we looked towards her as an artist to honor and celebrate with Hall of Famer status, it was the work that she’s done here and the impact that she’s made in Colorado music,

SEE HAZEL, P8

Hazel Miller’s current band; The Collective. From left: Je Nathanson (sax), Dana Marsh (keys), Coco Brown (vocals), Rich Lamb (bass), Hazel Miller, Brian Mikulich (drums), Cody Carbone (guitar). COURTESY HAZEL MILLER

but also to bring that Colorado music and bring that Colorado artistry to other places in the world,” Radman continued.

Miller toured with e Monsters until the birth of her granddaughter in 2001, when she decided to spend more time with her family. Nevertheless, the pair’s collaboration has continued throughout the years.

“We have had the pleasure of her company on many tours, shows and trips since but still maintain our separate identities,” Mohr said. “We have a close relationship beyond music and have been through a lot together over the years.”

Since retiring from touring, Miller has become one of Colorado’s most celebrated — and proli c acts. She plays frequently in far- ung localities from Denver to Buena Vista to Parker and beyond, always retaining the same energy and charisma which has de ned her career.

At Winter Park Jazz one year, Miller sang with one of her heroes; Dianne Reeves. Miller said she considers Reeves to be the best jazz singer of their generation.

When Milller received word that she had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, she called her brother, who’s rst reaction was to make

sure Reeves was already in.

“‘When I told my brother, he said, ‘Is Dianne (Reeves) in?’” Miller said. “I said, ‘Hell yeah!’ He said, ‘Cool.’”

When asked about Miller, Reeves raved about her now-fellow Hall of Famer, describing Miller as “our precious treasure.”

“Hazel Miller is a consummate artist beloved by the people of Colorado,” Reeves said. “Over the years she has consistently brought joy, healing and celebration to us all. Hazel has always been and still remains to be a genuinely loving and caring human being. She is our precious treasure.”

A mentor for young musicians

In recent years, Miller has helped a number of young Colorado artists get their start, including 20 Hands High, Julia Kirkwood and Blankslate — the latter of which happens to be the author of this article’s band.

Miller said she wanted to be the role model for others that she never had. As a young singer, Miller was sitting in with an older band, when the band purposely played the song in the wrong key to mess with her. She stormed out, grabbed her coat and walked home. Miller was 17 at the time.

“I don’t want anyone to ever tell me that they had to go through that,” Miller said.

In her mentorship, Miller channels another one of her inspirations; Bonnie Raitt.

“I want to be like Bonnie (Raitt),” Miller said. “She resurrected Ruth Brown when (Brown’s) record company dropper her. And Bonnie started bringing her on tour. at’s what I want to be to these young kids. ese kids call me, ‘Miss Miller, would you come mentor my band?’

“And I say, ‘Well, I’ve got to come see you rst, make sure you’re doing something cool,’” Miller continued.

One of Miller’s protégés, Chad Wooten — the frontman of country act 20 Hands High — said Miller discovered him in a karaoke bar in Morrison. Miller told Wooten to form a band and before long, he had taken her advice.

“She said, “A voice like yours needs to be on stage,’” Wooten recalled. “She’s a sel ess shining light who has been enough to mentor me, as I had zero experience with a band, playing out live, booking … She loves to see others succeed... everyone in every music scene and genre could learn from her.”

Miller said that she especially hopes to mentor young female musicians, who she believes are often undervalued in the music community.

“We get the short end of the stick,” she said. “... ey play, they sing, they write. I didn’t know how to do any of that. Nobody ever said, ‘You can write your own song.’ Nobody ever said, ‘You can start your own band.’ I started my band because I was tired of getting ripped o .”

‘If I die on stage, I’ll die happy’ While she doesn’t have any regrets from her career, one area that brings Miller sadness is that

she — one of Colorado’s foremost Black artist — has never played for a predominantly Black crowd.

“I love my audiences because they don’t see me as being Black, they just see me as the band they came out to see,” Miller said. “ e only thing that disappoints me — I have never had a Black audience. I can usually count Black people on one hand at my shows.

“And I can go see a Black band, and they’ll have all these people there, and they’ll know me — but they don’t come to my shows,” Miller continued. “I don’t know why. But I had to let go. Because the people that come to see me want to be there, and we have a ball. I don’t worry about it anymore, but it does hurt. It’ll never stop hurting.”

Miller recently turned 70 but has no plans to slow down.

“I don’t know how to give it up. In all honesty, if I die on stage, I’ll die happy,” Miller said. “Everyone I love and respect were still working when they died. From Ella Fitzgerald to Aretha Franklin. They were all working when they passed away. And you can’t beat that.”

All in all, Miller’s career has taken her around the globe, bringing the fifth of seven children from Louisville, Kentucky to stages massive and modest. The most important accomplishment from her career, she says, is that she was able to give her children and grandchildren opportunities that she was never afforded.

“My job allowed me to give my boys things that I never had,” Miller said. “I have been to places that I dreamed of, and I got to see them because I was there singing. I woke up one morning and looked out the bathroom window at Mount Fuji. It was unbelievable — there was snow on it!”

Hazel Miller (left) and Ronnie Shellist (back middle) join Moses Walker for a few songs at the Oriental.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL MCGRATH

FORGE

additional $14.2 million to nance the building of its worship center, King said.

By 2017, the ministry had only paid o about $1.4 million, leaving Faith with a debt of $19 million. At that point, the ministry began working to cut its overhead, with King stating that they were “led of the Lord.”

As of December 2022, Faith had paid o $4 million of the $19 million-dollar debt. ese issues called for Faith to sell the Carr Street property to Grace, in what King called a “Kingdom Transaction.”

However, Grace — which paid $12 million from the Carr Street campus — seems to be over budget, according to Long.

Long said that Grace raised $4 million in cash from Grace’s congregation and raised an additional $2.4 million in three-year-pledges. He then added that renovations for the campus have exceeded the original $2 million budget by the same gure — creating a $2 million “shortfall,” according to Long. e pastor also added that Grace took out a $7 million loan from their bank as well, which will eventually need to be

repaid.

“We’re raising the money to do this,” Long said. “We raised $5 cash and got a $7 million loan from our bank — we have a great Christian banking institution, they’re wonderful — then, we raised another $2.4 million in three-year pledges. What we’ll be working on over the next three years is continuing to add to that number in three-year commitments.”

Long said the debt relief will come

from those three-year commitments. He added that Grace has about $7 million worth of equity at their Arvada campus.

Among the renovations, Long said, are added security measures, including a $1 million fence around the parking lot to prevent auto thefts and other issues. Long said that other renovations include updating Faith’s signage with Forge’s logos, which he hopes will give the school its own unique identity.

Long said he does not expect the school to be for pro t.

“To operate both the church and the school, we have no desire to make money from the school, just break even,” Long said. “ e church is not in this for money. When I look at the challenges nancially ahead of us, the biggest thing is just getting the safety and security of the school covered.”

Long said renovations are on track to be completed by the beginning of the school year, which kicks o on Aug. 10 with back-to-school night, while the rst day of school will be on Aug. 16. Enrollment is open until Aug. 1.

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The interior of Forge’s campus will see a thorough renovation before school starts this fall. COURTESY FORGE CHRISTIAN

County considers consolidation of Moore Middle School and Pomona High School

BY JANE REUTER SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Westminster’s Moore Middle School and Arvada’s Pomona High School could be consolidated into a 6-12th-grade facility under a plan proposed by both schools’ principals.

e Je erson County School Board heard a presentation on the idea during its June 7 study session. e board will vote on the recommendation June 22 during its regular meeting.

If it’s approved, Moore Middle School would close at the end of this school year, and its students would attend Pomona High School starting with the 2024-2025 school year. e two schools are about a 5-minute drive apart.

e proposal is among several school closures and consolidations planned districtwide due to declining enrollment. Je co Public Schools voted to close 16 elementary schools in November 2022.

But the Pomona/Moore consolidation is unique; the idea came from the Pomona/Moore school communities and was not initiated by the

district. District leaders have made no recommendations about the consolidation or closing of any middle or high schools at this point.

Pomona Principal Pat Rock and Moore Principal Brenda Fletcher rst approached district leadership with the consolidation proposal in

January, describing it as a vision for “a thriving 6-12 secondary experience.”

Both institutions have seen enrollment steadily decline. Pomona’s enrollment has decreased by about 15% over ve school years, and about 50% at Moore.

“Enrollment declines have been particularly acute at Moore Middle School,” said Claire Takhar, the district’s director of strategic initiatives. “Its capacity is 797, and enrollment next year is estimated at 300 students.

“Pomona has capacity of 1,979,” Takhar continued. “If every student in the Pomona and Moore boundary chooses to attend school there, we’d have more than enough space.” e drop in enrollment is in part because fewer students live in the area today.

“As enrollment declines, schools have fewer resources to provide robust experiences and programs for students,” Takhar said. “ is can lead more parents to choice out to more well-sourced schools, and exacerbate enrolment declines.”

Combining the two allows the school to maximize resources, school o cials said, and enhance opportunities for all students. It will

also save money.

“We anticipate ongoing annual savings up to $1.1 million,” Takhar said.

e conversion will also require some upgrades and one-time expenses. ose estimates will be shared with the district soon.

Pomona High School was built in 1975 and Moore in 1978.

More school studies coming

While the district wasn’t involved in the Pomona/Moore consolidation proposal, it is taking a close look at all its facilities through a two-phase program called Regional Opportunities for riving Schools. e initiative aims to create a plan that ensures “thriving schools with enrollment to support extraordinary student experiences across our district.”

Phase I of ROFTS, which focused on under enrollment in Je co elementary schools, resulted in the school board’s decision to close 16 elementary schools.

In Phase II, the district will consider consolidation recommendations for K-8 and middle schools with declining enrollment, conduct a study of school boundaries to get a better understanding of where students live, analyze its alternative education campuses to ensure they’re meeting students’ needs, and coordinate its plans with impacted municipalities.

“A lot of it has to do with the changing demographics of Je erson County,” said Kimberly Eloe, Je co Public Schools executive director of communications. “ e school-aged population of Je erson County has been steadily declining for 20 years, and is expected to continue.”

Public school enrollment has dropped nationwide since the pandemic. An Urban Institute report says increases in homeschooling and private schools accounted for some of that loss, while more than a third of the decline is unexplained.

For more information on the proposed Pomona/Moore consolidation, visit the Sustaining the Pomona Pipeline page on the school’s website.

TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

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In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and non-partisan journalism. It covers everything from politics and

culture to the outdoor industry and education.

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun.com.

Je co Public Schools signage at the district o ces.

FILE PHOTO

State does well in senior care

BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

Colorado ranks third nationally when it comes to caring for its most vulnerable adults, according to a new UnitedHealthcare report.

e strong showing can largely be attributed to the state’s lower than average poverty rate for people aged 65 and older, and the choices people make every day.

Dr. Michael Stockman, market chief medical o cer for UnitedHealthcare, said Colorado seniors ranked rst in the U.S. for being physically active.

“And being physically active leads to lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and premature death,” Stockman outlined. “ e prevalence of obesity and chronic medical conditions for Colorado seniors is also some of the lowest in the nation.”

e biggest challenges facing Colorado seniors between 2019 and 2021 include the high cost of housing, a lack of investment in community support services, and a shortage

of home health care workers. e success is not shared evenly across the state. Older Coloradans living in southeastern counties experienced the greatest rates of

social isolation, based on risk factors including poverty, marriage status and di culties involved with living independently.

Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical

o cer of Employer and Individual for United Healthcare, said there has been an alarming increase in drug deaths across the U.S., mostly due to opioid overdoses. Colorado saw a 70% rise between 2019 and 2021.

“So that same troubling trend that we’re seeing across other populations in the United States is a ecting seniors too,” Randall explained. “A lot of people don’t think that seniors may be as a ected by substance use disorders and opioid use disorders, but they are.”

Randall added nutrition is very important as we age, and the report’s data showed seniors saw signi cant improvements in food security during the pandemic. More people who were eligible signed up for SNAP bene ts, the program formerly known as food stamps, and other services designed to deliver food to

“Food insecurity decreased 6%,” Randall reported, noting fewer seniors are worried about getting access to nutritious food, more seniors got home-delivered meals, and more seniors got assistance with meals.

is Public News Story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

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Colorado is a top ranked state when it comes to caring for its most vulnerable adults, according to a new UnitedHealthcare report. SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE

Ranking tied to income, choices made in health

VOICES

Attention: Modern technology has gained control

May I please have your attention? It’s yours to give, after all. To a point. Very often, it is taken from you — like I just have. As a writer, I face the challenge of keeping your attention before you decide to take it back and redirect it or before it is taken by another attention-seeking agent, human or otherwise.

I nd myself getting worn down and out by the incessant barrage of stimuli thrown at me. Some of it is benign, like the signal telling me the water I heat to brew a cup of tea is boiling. But a lot of attention grabbers are not so nice. Like spam calls, online ads and system failures interrupting my internet connection. Modern technological devices and systems have gained control, and while they facilitate communication, they also own us.

It began with the ringing telephone. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we learned to respond to the ding-aling and even salivate at its chiming. It became like church bells tolling the onset of services. Who might be calling? Someone was demanding our attention, and we needed to give it to them.

In those ancient times, it was almost always a personal call. But then Madison Avenue, expanding from print ads to telemarketing calls, went to work on invading that space. Today, unwanted calls are on steroids. We have coined terms for them: spam and robocalls. ey

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

National debt

Legend has it that Everett Dirksen, the Illinois senator in the 1950s and 1960s, once said when talking about the U.S. budget, “A million dollars here, and a million dollars there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” Today a million dollars in the US budget is considered trivial, so you typically see this quote with the verbal in ation of the word “billion” substituted for “million.” While the origin of this quote is in doubt, its droll wisdom is clear. Of course, when it comes to the national debt nobody talks in terms of “millions” anymore. Even “billions” is becom-

JERRY FABYANIC

have become hideously unnerving, the occasional one even threatening, loaded with shrill screaming that the IRS is about to come after you.

Attention-grabbing has a deleterious e ect on our mental health. Wonder why you nd yourself grouchy at times? Perhaps you need to look no further than your cell phone with its alerts. Do you have a compulsion bordering on addiction to scroll through your phone or computer for the latest social media contacts and updates? at might also contribute to grouchiness.

ese attention grabbers clutter and pollute our minds with extraneous, demanding, trivial or useless energy-sucking information, and we don’t allow space for our brains to detach and rest. ink back to the many times you checked your cell phone for IMs, scrolled Facebook or watched a video in lieu of doing something unfettered and free.

Time spent unfettered and free was kid time when I was growing up. It included romping, frolicking and carefree abandonment of reality. Outdoor games. Climbing a tree. Swinging on a bull rope. Sledding down a hill. Rolling down a hill. Wearing out trouser knees. Getting

ing trite. Instead, we talk about “trillions.”

Today the national debt is increasing exponentially by a factor of 10 every 31 years or so. e national debt was about 0.2 trillion dollars in 1955, about 2.0 trillion dollars in 1986, and about 20 trillion dollars in 2017. is trajectory shows no signs of abating. Unless something big changes, we will reach a debt of 100 trillion dollars by 2038, about the time a child born 2020 graduates from high school. at toddler will see a national debt of $1,000 trillion around 2069 before she is 50 years old.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher

lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

a cut or bruise and coping with it. Dealing with a bully. Breaking some rules. Raiding a neighbor’s garden or fruit trees and absconding with delicious, healthy bounty. Or just lazing, lying on the grass and dreamily imagining what shapes the cumulus clouds formed themselves into.

How often do you see kids playing outdoors without adult supervision? Playtime has now become guided, organized and disciplined. It’s no longer about play. Instead, it’s become the complete opposite of Calvinball. at is true for both kids and adults.

e strictures we impose on ourselves directly short-circuit the creative aspect of the psyche. Not only does the brain need a time-out from the seriousness of life, so does the spirit. It needs time to imagine and create.

We bemoan the frightful intrusion of unwanted interruptions in our lives, but the truth is, we invite them in and create the environment in which they can thrive. e food we eat that overstimulates us, our poor sleep habits, and the lack of true playtime all aid and abet the decline of our spirit and attitude. No wonder so many people are pissed o at so many others.

In large part, we are to blame for our unhappiness. Just as Julius Caesar told Brutus that the fault lies in ourselves and not the stars, our unhappiness often lies in our willingness to allow other people

e politicians today are not arguing over “a million here and a million there.” ey aren’t even arguing over “a billion here and a billion there.” ese days they are arguing over “a trillion here and a trillion there.” When today’s newborns are fty, they won’t be arguing over millions, billions or trillions. ey will be arguing over quadrillions (1,000 trillion).

When talking about the 1959 U.S. budget, Dirksen said, “Already we have preliminary estimates that the Federal de cit will be eleven thousand million dollars. I say ‘thousand million’ instead of ‘billion’ because

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

and nonhuman agents to control our lives by seizing our attention.

Every teacher has likely told their students to pay attention or pointedly asked them, “Are you paying attention?”

One great answer a distracted, bored, disinterested student could give is, “No, I wasn’t, but I am, at least for the moment, now that you’ve taken it.”

Rather than unload on the truthful student, a wise teacher could respond, “I hear you. I’m that way when I’m bored to tears at faculty meetings.”

In days of yore, there was no need to make “me time.” It was generally the rule, especially in rural areas. For rural folks, cabin fever could be a serious malady. One antidote or elixir for it was a trek into town to connect and socialize with others.

Today the opposite has become the case. Urban and suburban dwellers now seek the cabin to escape the barrage of attention grabbers that incessantly yank and tug at them. Unfortunately, many people self-sabotage their e orts by toting along the instruments that keep them wired to the chaos from which they ostensibly crave to separate. For those folks, it ironically explains the old maxim that there is no rest for the weary.

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

it sounds bigger, and because it scares me more than the other way of expressing it.” Dirksen was concerned about the 1959 de cit because the 1958 de cit had already been three thousand million dollars, or 0.000003 quadrillion dollars.

Just the interest payments on the quadrillion dollar debt in 2070 at a 5% interest rate would be $50 trillion a year, or about eight times the total federal government outlays for 2022. is is the burden we are saddling our children with. I don’t think this trajectory has a happy ending.

Tom Moriart, Arvada

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Press. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

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Columnist

Rushing water closes a highway in Western Colorado

The small towns of Paonia and Hotchkiss in western Colorado are seeing fewer tourists this spring. Exceptionally high runo blew out a culvert on State Highway 133 about seven miles northeast of Paonia, which then allowed rushing water to carve a gully into the roadbed.

Back in August 2020, the Colorado Department of Transportation evaluated the culvert, found it vulnerable, and put it in a queue for repair, said CDOT spokesperson Elise atcher. But Region 3, encompassing northern Colorado, had 100 culverts needing work. e one near Paonia apparently landed too far down on the list.

In what might be termed an oversight, CDOT issued statements to the media labeling the washout a “sinkhole.” According to the United States Geological Survey, however, sinkholes have no entry or exit. ey occur when subsurface material caves in, usually during a drought.

e rusty culvert on Highway 133 crumpled on April 29, allowing the usually meek Bear Creek to start excavating the roadway. CDOT was alerted and began monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, drivers continued to use the road until the early morning of May 3, when high water pushed the culvert down the hillside. After that, a 10-foot-wide section of highway collapsed.

Over the next three weeks, high water gouged an ever-deeper streambed through the road.

Other road damage in the area was discovered May 24 when fast runo washed out the seasonal Kebler Pass Road. e Forest Service said that a paved section near the resort town of Crested Butte was gone.

According to Gunnison County Sheri Adam Murdie, “Kebler is a

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

bigger washout than Bear Creek and took the whole road out.”

e good news is that Gunnison County Road and Bridge acted quickly to begin repairs, with June 9 as the expected date of completion, said Sheri Murdie.

per hour, then slowing before grinding to a stop 216 days later.

that vans transporting coal miners around the washout to the West Elk Mine were ignoring his town’s 25-mile-per-hour limit, tearing by at 50 mph.

Local law enforcement is problematic, due to the resignation of a Gunnison County deputy. Until a replacement arrives, Delta and Pitkin County sheri ’s departments are helping out.

Dave Marston

CDOT put the road-rebuilding job near Paonia out for an emergency bid in early May, and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, with an o ce in Frederick, Colorado, was awarded the contract May 16. at’s when the company began engineering work on what will be a temporary bridge, said CDOT’s atcher.

Physical construction began Tuesday, May 30, almost a full month after the roadway collapsed. atcher said work should be completed well before the end of June.

Judging from comments on social media, many local residents think the state moved far too slowly to x and reopen the highway.

“ ey could have dropped in a new culvert and back lled the roadway with gravel,” said Somerset Water Superintendent John Mlakar. As the Colorado Transportation Department will tell you, however, they have to proceed in a deliberate way.

Townsfolks are saying no one has seen road damage like this since the massive East Muddy Slide of 1986.

e mile-wide slide was threepronged and closed Highway 133 between Paonia and the town of Carbondale for four months.

Repairs progressed slowly as the landslides — which attracted geologists from all over the world — owed downhill, initially at one foot

Benchmark Theatre goes beyond Stonewall

The Stonewall uprising is a key ashpoint in 20th-century American history — one that changed the course of the struggle for LGBTQIA+ equality in the country. But a lot of what happened during the summer of 1968 is shrouded in memory and mystery.

And while there will always be questions that remain unanswered, the Benchmark eatre explores the events that lead to and followed the uprising in the world premiere of “Stonewall.”

“With how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go, it seemed like the right time to revisit Stonewall,” said Neil Truglio, director of the production and artistic director at Benchmark. “ e question for us was, how can we dramatize the

COMING ATTRACTIONS

events in a way that’s interesting and educational?

e highway’s temporary repair — as the slide area is still considered active — involved lifting the road up 40 feet and dumping the sliding material into Muddy Creek. at xed the problem but reduced the capacity of Paonia Reservoir, which sits downstream of the slide. It was meant to hold 20,950 acre-feet, but the reservoir today holds roughly 16,000 acre-feet.

Meanwhile, Paonia, with a population of about 1,500, lacks bustle from visitors to wineries, restaurants, organic farms and shops. Julie Bennett, owner of Root and Vine Market and Qutori Wines on Highway 133, said visitors are down 50%.

A problem for nearby Somerset, population 100, has been sparse but fast-moving tra c. Mlakar said

With road damage blocking two roads in Gunnison County and personnel changes to boot, Sheri Murdie admitted, “It’s been a heckuva time.”

Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonpro t dedicated to spurring conversation about the West. He lives in Durango, Colorado.

OBITUARIES

BRODERICK Sherry R. Broderick

January 6, 1931 - June 6, 2023

Sherry R. Broderick, 92, of Conneaut, passed away June 6, 2023 at Rae-Ann in Geneva. She was born January 6, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Carl and Ione (Drysdale) Blu .

Sherry worked for United Airlines and received her Associates degree of Applied Science in 1997 and Art in 2002 at Red Rocks Community College.

She was a member of Tri-City Baptist Church in Federal Heights, Colorado, and the RMCATOS Organ Club. Sherry enjoyed traveling, gardening, arts and crafts, genealogy which was a lifelong hobby and volunteering at Wish of a Lifetime Foundation.

Survivors include her children Sandra Clark, Linda Scott, Donna Ward, Debra

HEDBERG

Morgan, and Tamara Young, numerous grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; sisters Joyce Ehlert and Charlone Cordes; brother Rick Gallina; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her rst husband Otto Armoneit; her second husband Charles Broderick; her daughter Yvonne Gurney; and her sister Rosemarie Dalton.

No services will be held.

Contributions may be made in Sherry’s memory to Wish of a Lifetime Foundation at https://wishofalifetime.org/.

Light a candle or leave a memory at www. marcyfuneralhome.com. e Marcy Funeral Home and Cremation Center is honored to be entrusted with arrangements.

Ed Hedberg

July 1, 1953 - May 31, 2023

Clarke Reader

Developed by the creatives at Benchmark, 1560 Teller St. in Lakewood, “Stonewall” runs through Saturday, July 1. Performances are at 8 p.m. ursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

e aim of “Stonewall” was to tell as accurate a story of what happened as possible, so the show was culled from actual interviews and information about the uprising and was inspired by members of

Ed Hedberg, 68, passed away on May 31st 2023 after battling pancreatic cancer. Courageous to the end, Ed passed in the solace of his home in Arvada. He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Diane, three children, John, Jed, and Rose, and six wonderful grandchildren.

Ed was the youngest son of predeceased parents John and Ruby. Ed was a dedicated

BNSF Locomotive Engineer for 36 years. He enjoyed time on the tennis court, both in leagues and socially with the North Je co Tennis Club. Ed was “a big kid at heart,” a humble man of deep intellect. His curiosity and imagination show in all that he created–home, hobby, and cars. Sorrow is not forever. Love is. May our hearts be lifted in remembrance.

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Search-and-rescue dogs embody the mail carrier motto: “Neither snow, nor rain nor gloom of night” will keep these trusty canines from their appointed rounds — searching for people or items with single-minded purpose.

For the dogs and their trainers who are part of the Colorado branch of SARDUS — Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States — training is a weekly, if not daily, endeavor to prepare dogs to certify in an area of search and rescue or to keep the dog’s skills sharp after certi cation.

“ e training continues for life,” said Cathy Bryarly, a retired Boulder sheri ’s deputy who trains search-and-rescue dogs. “ is has to be part of your life. It goes way beyond a hobby,

or it’s not going to work. It’s a calling.”

SARDUS members agree that it’s a labor a love based in their strong resolve to help others. Not only do the dogs and their handlers train multiple times a week, enlisting family and friends to hide, so the dogs have someone to search for, but handlers also attend seminars on a variety of topics and work together by laying trails for others to follow.

Trainers are always learning, so they can improve their canines’ ability to help in emergency situations.

Search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers are not paid; in fact, handlers spend a lot on the dogs, the equipment, the training and more. e goal is to be certi ed to go on missions, the term for helping law enforcement nd people, bodies or objects needed in an investigation.

Call the people trainers or handlers, but

more importantly, they’re dog lovers who want to work as a team with their pets to help others.

The humility of training

e trainers say it simply: Training their canines is humbling.

“Our dogs don’t make the mistakes,” Anjie Julseth-Crosby of Morrison said. “We do. ere’s so much to remember. e training is about me trying to understand what (the dogs) are saying. e human fails, not the dog.”

In fact, Julseth-Crosby, who started training her bloodhounds two years ago, has compiled a 19-page document called “ ings I wish I knew two years ago.”

Training involves having a dog follow a scent for several miles, helping the dog return to the SEE DOGS, P15

DOGS

scent trail if needed and rewarding the dog when it nds the person or item it is directed to follow.

Training can be messy as canines follow the scent wherever it takes them over all sorts of terrain in all kinds of weather.

food or toys. Once you gure that out, then trainers must convince the dog to do what they want the pup to do for the reward. It begins with what is called a puppy run-away, where you get the pup to run after a person, and when the pup nds the person, the pup gets a reward.

at transitions to following a scent to nd a person.

“It’s just a matter of making it harder and harder to the point where a dog is searching 120 acres for one person or that trailing dog is following a 24-hour-old scent through a subdivision,” Bryarly said.

No matter what or who the dog is nding, it must go to it, stay there, lay down and point its nose, so the handler knows the dog is saying that the item or person is there.

Dogs cannot certify to be search-and-rescue dogs until they are at least 18 months old, but it usually takes two years or more for the rst certi cation, Bryarly said.

“Search-and-rescue dogs that are out in the public have to be just perfect,” Bryarly said. “ ey have to stay focused and not get distracted by other dogs, animals or people.”

Getting involved

irty years ago, Julseth-Crosby made a pledge that she would own a bloodhound and train it to be a search-and-rescue dog. at’s because Ali Berelez, 6, who had been kidnapped and murdered in 1993, was found four days after her abduction by bloodhound Yogi.

Julseth, at that time a single parent with a 6-yearold, felt kinship with Ali’s family. However, as a full-time teacher, Julseth-Crosby decided to wait to train when she retired in 2021. True to her word, she began training her bloodhounds Bruno and Miley.

Niamh Coleman of Nederland was looking for something to do with her dogs, thinking it was a casual pastime. Now search-and-rescue dog training is closer to an obsession.

a multiple-day-a-week job.

Jayne Zmijewski, who taught outdoor skills to rangers most of her life, said search-and-rescue dogs were a natural progression. She’s had four search-and-rescue dogs in the last 30 years, most recently her chocolate Labrador Kodi.

Teresa Verplanck of Bailey is training Lilo, a border collie mix, for wilderness searches. She called the SARDUS group she trains with wonderful, and trainers and dogs have become a big family.

Jake Udel, who lives near Rustic, Colorado, is a volunteer firefighter and medic, and he trains his dog, Java the Mutt, a Czech shepherd, “for the love of dogs, helping people and the activity.”

Julseth-Crosby said the number of hours can be whatever trainers can put in, but at a minimum eight hours a week, and some weeks, she trains or prepares for training as much as 40 hours a week.

The right breed

While just about any breed of dog can become a search-and-rescue dog, bloodhounds, shepherds and retrievers are the typical dogs people think of, but other breeds — if they have the nose for the work — can be certi ed.

“It works better to start with a breed that is bred to do this,” Bryarly said. “In fact, there are some breeders who breed speci cally search-and-rescue dogs. But sometimes you nd a dog that is good at this, and it’s a breed you never would have guessed could do this work.”

e most important thing, Bryarly said, is the bond that the dog and handler have with each other.

“People have told me over the years that they are amazed at something their dog does,” she said. “People think they are the smart ones, but the dog is the smart one. We are just trying to keep up with them.”

Starting early

Training starts early — when pups are a few weeks old.

“Start with a dog who has a high drive,” Bryarly said. “A high-drive dog is always busy and always wanting something to do. If that energy is not channeled right away, the pup will tear your house apart.”

Most canines prefer one of two types of rewards:

TYPES OF SARDUS CERTIFICATIONS

Melanie Weaver of Lafayette knew her dog, Lego,

Udel figures he’s been on 75 to 100 missions since he certified his first dog in 2005.

SARDUS

SARDUS, one of several search-and-rescue dog organizations in the country, helps smaller organizations test and certify dogs. To get the trailing or air-scent certification, which is usually the first certification a dog earns, the canine must follow a 24-hour-old trail to find a person. SARDUS only works with law enforcement, so a person cannot request a search-andrescue dog.

Bryarly said about 30 dogs in Colorado are certified by SARDUS with most of them trailing dogs — the most of any organization in the country.

Membership in SARDUS is $25, and some people join who don’t own dogs, but they want to help in other ways such as creating tracking trails or hiding from dogs, Bryarly said.

Trainers must be physically fit since they follow their dogs through all sorts of terrain, plus they take classes such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s incident command courses, so they understand the structure of incidents and managing evidence.

For the SARDUS trainers, the work is definitely a passion.

a German shepherd, needed a job to have a ful lling life, and Weaver was looking for something practical. Little did she know that training Lego would be

• Trailing: Dogs who can find scents by putting their noses to the ground.

• Air scenting: Dogs who find scents by putting their noses into the air.

• Avalanche: Some dogs are good at smelling human scents through snow.

• Water: Some dogs are good at smelling human scents through water.

“If you think of it as work, you won’t do it for 20 years,” Udel explained. “You have to adopt the (search-and-rescue) lifestyle. It’s a life-anddeath commitment for some people — certainly the people we are looking for.”

• Disaster search: Dogs can smell through debris to find people.

• Human remains: Dogs can be certified to find human remains.

• Wilderness: A type of trailing in remote areas.

• Urban and suburban: Looking for missing children or older adults in cities.

Jayne Zmijewski and her chocolate Labrador Kodi take a break from training.

PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

Anjie Julseth-Crosby with bloodhound Miley practice trailing at a park in Niwot.

PHOTO BY CATHY BRYARLY

Doug Cummings and German shepherd Rogan trail a scent.

PHOTO BY ANJIE JULSETH-CROSBY

phone keys wallet bag

STONEWALL

FROM PAGE 13

the largest cast the space has ever seen. Since the crowds at Stonewall would have been incredibly diverse, diversity needed to be reflected in the production.

“We went about the piece by opening the casting as wide as we could,” Truglio said. “From the community that turned out to the auditions, we were able to create and elevate the characters we wanted to tell the story.”

While the creatives were building the show, it was almost impossible not to compare the situation at the time to where society currently is, especially with the rollback of trans rights in many states and book bans on LGBTQIA+ books. The resulting show serves as a dialogue between the past and present.

“A member of the cast was there at the time and said there’s too much of then in now,” Truglio remembered. “People still feel like second-class citizens and live their lives based on court decisions.”

The hope that audiences who see “Stonewall” come away willing to have conversations and think critically about what occurred at the time and what is happening now, according to Truglio.

“Every group, community and individual has their own vision of what Stonewall was like, so we wanted to create a show where everyone who attends will learn something,” he said. “I hope audiences walk away with newfound knowledge and an appreciation for where we are today. People should see Stonewall as the beginning, not the end.”

For tickets and information, visit www.benchmarktheatre.com.

Have a laugh at DMNS

scan to learn more about our collective effort

There are all kinds of approaches to learning and one of the best has to be by pairing education with laughs. That’s just the method the  Denver Museum of Nature & Science is embracing for the  Science Riot: Standup Comedy for Science Fans  event.

The 21-and-older show will be held at the Morgridge Fam -

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

• Submit your letter by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s

ily Atrium in the museum, 2001 Colorado Blvd. in Denver, at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 16. According to provided information, the event feature local STEM professionals trying their hand at standup.

Secure access to the event at www.dmns.org/visit/eventsand-activities/.

Rock and roll with ‘Coco’ in Northglenn

I’d never have thought of pairing the music of Led Zeppelin with the timeless power of Pixar’s  “Coco,”  but I reckon that’s why I’m a columnist and not in charge of a city like Northglenn, which is doing just that to kick off its free  Summer Concert & Movie  series at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21.

Ten Years Gone , a Led Zeppelin tribute act, will kick off the event and entertain attendees at the  Festival Lawn , 1 E. Memorial Parkway, until the “Coco” begins at dusk. Those looking for a quick bite can purchase food from one of the food trucks that will be on hand for the event.

All the details can be found at https://northglennarts.org/programs/summer-concert-movieseries/.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Neko Case at the Denver Botanic Gardens

You can’t go wrong with an outdoor concert almost anywhere in the metro area — there is no shortage of great spots for music under the starts. But the  Denver Botanic Gardens  is a gem among gems, which makes it the perfect place to host a performance by  Neko Case , who is, herself, a true gem in the alt rock world.

Through her multi-decade career as a solo artist and a member of The New Pornographers, Case has firmly established herself as one of the best and most powerful vocalists working. And she’ll be stopping by the Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. in Denver, at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20. She’ll be joined by opener Nora O’Connor.  Get 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.

newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not be submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

when you shop, bring your bag

Thu 6/22

Capaciti | Damn Selene | Team

Nonexistent @ 6:30pm

Mutiny Information Cafe, 2 S Broadway, Denver

CHADZILLA MUSIC: Clay Kirkland

Band at the Four Mile Historic Park Shady Grove Concert Series

@ 6:30pm

Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S Forest St, Denver

Fitness Expo on Tap at the Colorado Tap House @ 9am / Free Colorado Tap House, 14982 West 69th Avenue, Arvada. info@coloradotaphouse.com, 720826-8326

Bene�t Outdoor Concert @ 5:15pm / $20 9180 W 38th Ave, 9180 West 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge. info@WR Pres.org, 303-422-2354

Club Level Seating: Erykah Badu @ 7:30pm / $79.95 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Tue 6/27

Sam MacPherson @ 8pm Ogden Theatre, 935 E Colfax Ave, Denver Porcelain @ 8pm

Hi-Dive, 7 S Broadway, Denver

Wed 6/28

Soundularity: Equinox Sound Journey+Cacao

@ 7pm Intrinsic Collective, 922 Washington Ave suite 200, Golden Soup @ 9pm Puttshack - Denver, 2813 Blake St, Denver

Ace Aura @ 9pm The Church, 1160 Lincoln St, Denver

Fri 6/23

Team Nonexistent: Watch Yourself

Die EP Release Show @ 7:30pm Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver

Rochelle Jordan @ 9pm

Meow Wolf Denver Convergence Station, 1338 1st St, Denver

Sat 6/24

Dave Abear and Friends Vendor Market Bazzar at So Many Roads @ 1pm So Many Roads Brewery, 918 W 1st Ave, Denver

Heilig Art: Heilig Paints with Lunar Ticks w/ Mr. Speci�c

@ 8pm Your Mom's House, 608 E 13th Ave., Den‐ver

Eric Martinez Band @ 2pm Cactus Jack's Saloon, 4651 County Hwy 73, Evergreen

Sun 6/25

René Moffatt Music: René Plays The Larimer Square Arts Market @ 2pm Larimer Square, 1430 Larimer St, Denver

Treehouse Sanctum: The Keep's 10th Anniversary Party @ 3pm Ratio Beerworks - Overland, 2030 S Cherokee St, Denver

Team Nonexistent @ 6pm Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Lemon's: Lemon’s w/ Radio Fluke & Dabylon at Herman’s Hideaway @ 7pm

Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

Lady Denim @ 8pm Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St, Denver

Cory Branan @ 7pm

Goosetown Station, 514 9th St, Golden

Mon 6/26

The Scarlet Opera @ 7pm

Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St, Denver

Rising Appalachia @ 6:30pm

Denver Botanic Gar‐dens, 909 York Street, Denver

Aaron LaCombe @ 7pm Miller House, Arvada

Lions At The Gate @ 7pm Bluebird Theater, 3317 E Colfax Av, Den‐ver

Nita Strauss @ 8pm Bluebird Theatre, 3317 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver

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Clear Creek County to start mental health crisis co-responder program

Albers has been with the department since 1980 and was rst elected sheri in 2014. He most recently ran unopposed in November 2022 and is set to serve until 2026.

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Calling the killing of Christian Glass a “reprehensible act” that should never happen again, the Clear Creek County commissioners announced a mental health crisis co-responder program. e pilot program will be implemented this summer.

In addition, the commissioners said in a statement read at their meeting on June 6 that: “ e board does not believe that the sheri has adequately accepted responsibility for his central role in this tragedy or the need to swiftly correct all of the gaps in training and protocols that existed at the time of Christian’s death.”

Glass, 22, was facing a mental health crisis when he was shot to death by a Clear Creek deputy in Silver Plume on June 10-11, 2022. e case recently led to a $19-million legal settlement between the family and four agencies, the largest of its kind known in Colorado history.

Sally and Simon Glass, Christian’s parents, applauded the commissioners in a statement and expressed hope “the senseless and preventable use of force” that resulted in Christian’s death never happens again.

In addition, their statement, pro-

vided by the Rathod-Mohamedbhai law rm in Denver, called for county Sheri Rick Albers’ resignation: “Sheri Albers’ refusal to accept any personal responsibility for this unjusti able loss of life demonstrates a lack of leadership and a disregard for the trust placed in him by the community. Sally and Simon Glass join the board in condemning Sheri Albers’ conduct and call for

his resignation.”

e statement continued: “By resigning, Sheri Albers can begin to acknowledge and take responsibility for the failures that occurred under his watch. Only then can we begin to rebuild the shattered trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to protect.”

Alberts declined to comment to the Clear Creek Courant.

Christian Glass was stranded in his car and called 911 for help, saying he was trapped. O cers asked Christian to leave his car, but he refused in what turned into a stando that ended when o cers broke the car window and used a Taser on Christian. en, Deputy Andrew Buen shot Christian, killing him. Buen and another o cer, Kyle Gould, were later red and are facing charges, including second-degree murder. ey are slated to be back in court on June 21.

County board’s statement

“ e Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners completely supports the Glass family’s e orts to ensure that events such as the killing of Christian will never be repeated,” the county board’s statement said. “ e board has always supported law enforcement and greatly appreciates the commitment of Clear Creek County Sheri ’s O ce deputies and sta .”

e statement continues that the county board will do all it can within its authority to accomplish reforms that enable Albers to better focus on public safety and justice. e county will pay for the mental health crisis co-responder program with grant funds. e county also is pursuing a partnership with another organization that already has extensive experience with co-responder

Christian Glass, left, with his parents Simon and Sally Glass. COURTESY PHOTO

County board says sheri did not ‘adequately accept responsibility’ in death of Christian Glass

SEE GLASS, P20

GLASS

programs, training and protocols, so law enforcement can di erentiate between mental-health crises and public-safety concerns.

“We understand that no amount of money can bring Christian back or ease his family’s pain,” the statement said.

Background

On May 24, Gov. Jared Polis apologized to Simon and Sally Glass, then declared May 24 Christian Glass Day and displayed Glass’ artwork that is being hung in the Capitol.

“What happened to Christian should not have happened,” Polis told Christian’s parents in a livestreamed statement. “We are going to do the best we can to avoid any parents going through what you have gone through.”

Polis’ announcement came a day after four involved agencies reached

the multi-million-dollar settlement with the family. Under the settlement, Clear Creek County will pay $10 million; $5 million will come from Georgetown; $3 million from the state of Colorado; and $1 million from Idaho Springs. It is the largest known single payout for police violence in the state’s history.

More about Christian Christian was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. His mother, Sally Glass, is of British decent, and his father, Simon Glass, is from New Zealand. The Glass family relocated to California when Christian was 10 and eventually moved to Boulder, Colorado.

“Christian had an array of specialties and interests,” a statement from family attorneys said. “He was an avid tennis fan and player, a trained chef who loved to cook, and also a self-taught artist with an innate gift. Christian used many mediums to make his art, but the majority of his pieces involved oil painting and oil pencil.”

More about the settlement

The Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office has agreed to train and certify all its patrol officers in crisis intervention.

The Colorado State Patrol is expected to develop a virtual reality training based on Christian’s death, with “a focus on de-escalation in a high-stress situation.”

And, Clear Creek County has agreed to dedicate a public park to Glass, which will be selected in consultation with his parents.

While Albers did not comment on the statement from county commissioners on May 23,  a statement from him  acknowledged “that his officers failed to meet expectations in their response to Christian Glass when he called for assistance,” calling events on the night of Glass’ death “disturbing.”

“The sheriff has undertaken measures intended to prevent a future failure,” a statement in the wake of the settlement announcement read. “He has been working with partners to establish a program of county-wide crisis response. “

Albers also acknowledged that the initial press release describing events surrounding Glass’ death “did not give an accurate description of what occurred.”

“Rather, as stated in the conclusion of the investigative report subsequently issued by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office after an independent review requested by Sheriff Albers, the deputy who killed Christian Glass used lethal force that ‘was not consistent with that of a reasonable officer,’” the statement read.

Georgetown said its officers have been attending courses in intensive crisis intervention responses and are participating in a “countywide co-responder program that allows for the presence of a mental health professional and paramedic tandem to assist law enforcement in future settings.”

Idaho Springs Mayor Chuck Harmon has said that city “leadership remains committed to the constant self-evaluation and betterment of the (Idaho Springs Police Department) in all ways.”

Idaho Springs also “continues to work collaboratively with the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, which has a licensed clinician ride with an officer/deputy each week for community outreach.”

Idaho Springs police are also continuing to develop a mental health co-responder program within Clear Creek County.

FROM PAGE 18

The Clear Creek commissioners, from left, Sean Wood, Randy Wheelock and George Marlin, prepare to read a statement about the killing of Christian Glass by a sheri ’s deputy at a board meeting on June 6. PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST

Help Je co Clerk and Recorder “map the county”

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It’s redistricting time, and you can help “map the county.”

Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez gave an information session June 6 on redistricting.

Every 10 years, the county redraws the lines that determine a lot of political, economic and demographic information about Jeffco. This time around, Gonzalez is seeking the community’s help in redrawing the lines.

According to the Clerk and Recorder’s office, redistricting is a chance to redraw the lines from which county commissioners are selected. Those lines are also used to capture changes in the county, in community demographics, diversity, interests and more. It’s a way to expand lines for growing communities and redefine communities that have become more or less diverse.

At the information session, Gonzalez demonstrated a new tool that Jeffco residents can use to redraw district lines. The District Mapping Tool was developed in partnership with the County MGGG Redistrict-

ing Lab, a Tisch College of Tufts University research group. The software offers two options for residents. The option is to use a blank map to draw lines basically from

scratch and the second option provides a current district map with lines that residents can alter.

According to the Clerk and Recorder’s office, there are a few

things to remember when thinking about the new lines. First, the district populations must be equal or close within a 5% margin between the “most populous” and the least. Then, Gonzalez and her team do not want to divide communities “with the same interest.” So, there is a focus on keeping towns togeth-

In addition to redrawing lines, Jeffco residents can identify communities by interest and diversity. Once the new map is created, it can be submitted to Clerk’s Office

Gonzalez also offers residents an alternative to the mapping tool. Submit comments on redistricting through an online form found on the Redistricting webpage.  She is holding another information session from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on June 21 at the Golden Library, 1019 10th St, Golden.

Bring your maps (you can print them out), questions, comments and feedback to the session. Don’t miss this moment to redefine Jefferson County.

For more information, the mapping tool and an FAQ on redistricting, check out the Jeffco Redistricting webpage.

The District Mapping Tool allows Je erson County residents to not only draw the lines of their district. They can also identify key community boundaries to be considered when the new lines are o cially drawn.

PHOTO COURTESY JEFFCO CLERK AND RECORDER

Marshall fire caused by reignited burn on residential property, Xcel power line, Boulder County authorities say

BY OLIVIA PRENTZEL THE COLORADO SUN

Embers buried for six days on a residential property reignited and together with sparks from an “unmoored” Xcel Energy power line started the 2021 Marshall re in Boulder County, the sheri said.

A residential re Dec. 24 to burn scrap wood and tree branches resurfaced because of the winds Dec. 30, Boulder County Sheri Curtis Johnson said. e sheri said the re was put out “responsibly” Dec. 24 when it was buried. But around 11 a.m. Dec. 30 high winds, pushing 100 mph, resurfaced embers and started a shed on re at 5325 Eldorado Springs Rd.

A second re was started that day by Xcel power lines and also quickly spread, and at some point the two res combined, Johnson said on June 8.

e sheri , who lost his house in the re, said the underground coal res also cannot be ruled out.

e district attorney’s o ce determined there was “insu cient or no evidence of a crime” and no reason to le charges, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.

“If we were to tell you today that we were ling charges it would be wrong and unethical,” Dougherty said. “We can only le charges if there’s evidence of a crime being committed.”

Dougherty said investigators found no evidence of negligence or recklessness by Xcel. Rather, high wind caused a power line to disconnect and contact other lines, leading to electrical arcing and hot particles showering onto dry grass.

ere were no known problems with the power line prior to the re, Dougherty said.

“ is is a di erent discussion and a di erent decision, if that wire was worn or shoddy or they had maintenance issues in the past. ere was no such record of that, no indication of that.”

Xcel denied its power lines sparked the second of two res that combined to become the Marshall

re, disputing that part of authorities’ ndings.

“We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Xcel Energy’s powerlines caused the second ignition, which according to the report started 80 to 110 feet away from Xcel Energy’s powerlines in an area with underground coal re activity,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Xcel Energy did not have the opportunity to review and comment on the analyses relied on by the Sheri ’s O ce and believes those analyses are awed and their conclusions are incorrect.”

New details on the investigation come nearly 18 months after the re exploded in late December 2021 and raced across 6,000 acres, as gale-force winds pushed em-

bers across parched grassland into subdivisions bordering open space. Two people died in the re and more than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in Louisville, Superior and unincorporated Boulder County.

In addressing the disastrous toll of the re, Curtis choked up and thanked the community for its patience as the investigation played out.

“I know personally the last 18 months have been hard and not having answers creates stress and challenges that we don’t need,” he said in a quavering voice. “And I hope that now we can focus on rebuilding our lives and getting back to our homes and our community.”

e Boulder County Sheri ’s Of-

ce said the re likely started near Marshall Road and Colorado 93, but federal agencies aided in its investigation to try to pinpoint the cause

Evidence included hundreds of body camera recordings and photos that were captured by rst responders during the initial response of the re, along with 49 physical items and 137 pieces of digital evidence, such as drone footage and video recording by witnesses, the sheri ’s e re also raised questions about Boulder’s emergency notication system, which is designed to send re warnings and evacuation alerts to people who signed up to receive them. Records obtained by e Colorado Sun showed that the rst phone alert was sent 42 minutes after the re started and only to 215 people. By then, at least one structure had burned and the re was well on its way toward consuming more than 1,000 homes and

Since the re, the sheri ’s o ce said it has improved the countywide noti cation system and now uses Amber Alert-style warnings that can be sent directly to the cellphones of people who may be in danger based on their GPS coordinates. e county acquired the technology prior to the Marshall re but had not nished setting it up.  Updates have also been made to the county’s other phone alert program, Everbridge, which sends alerts via landlines, cellphones, emails and text messages to those who register, the sheri ’s o ce said last month.

Boulder County strengthened its ordinances last year to provide speci c guidelines on how to fully extinguish res, Johnson said.

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

The Marshall fire burns in Boulder County on Dec. 30, 2021.

PHOTO BY JEREMY SPARIG / SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN

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Toyota Thunder Valley National strikes Lakewood

SuperMotocross World Championships called sport’s ‘ultimate test’

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Pro Motocross Championship stopped in Lakewood on June 10 for the Toyota Thunder Valley National.

Dirt flew and mixed with the smell of exhaust in the air as riders battled it out at an altitude of 6,128 feet at Thunder Valley Motocross Park — the highest professional motocross track in the world. Opening ceremonies began at 12:30 p.m. on June 10 as part of a campaign in 10 U.S. cities to crown two American Motorcyclist Association national champions.

“The whole point of this championship is to challenge these athletes with the toughest, most grueling race tracks in the world,” said Brandon Short, media manager with Pro Motocross. “This championship has been around for a half century and it has been the ultimate test for any athlete that competes in this motocross discipline. It’s the ultimate showcase.”

The track is composed of many different levels of unique challenges, such as slope, length, and in this case: elevation. The motorcycles are “starving for oxygen” just like their riders, Short said. The terrain at Thunder Valley is constantly changing from lap to lap.

“[Thunder Valley] is the complete mix of the best of what makes motocross so special and what makes it a unique and captivating sport,” Short said. “A venue that challenges riders in every facet possible, and even challenges the motorcycles in every facet possible. It’s the magic mix of what you could ever ask for to watch a true spectacle and what is going to unfold on the racetrack.”

The Pro Motocross Championship is one of the centerpieces of the larger, new SuperMotocross World Championship, with over $5 million on the line in payouts to athletes.

Created in 2022, the comprehensive 31-race season combines the winter AMA Supercross Championship (which takes place on man-made racetracks in stadiums across the country from January to mid-May) and the summer Pro Motocross Championship, (the original outdoor sport that visits rural venues in off-road motorcycle racing from late-May through

August).

The ultimate champion of both will be crowned following the first SuperMotocross World Championship playoffs and finals this September.

“We have come together with AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross. They’ve always been separate, but they’ve always had the same athletes throughout. So we’ve got to a point where we’re better together than apart,” Short said.

“The organizers [of both] have come together to form the Supercross World Championship. We’ll have the champion for the winter. We’ll have our champion for the summer. But then we get to see who the ultimate champion is this fall.”

Motocross races have been held at Thunder Valley since 2005. The event marks the second of two recent SuperMotocross World Championship races in the area, following the Denver Supercross at Empower Field at Mile High in early May.

“The fan response has been tremendous,” Short added. “It seems like everybody is really embracing the atmosphere of what this combined championship has become.”

The 2023 Pro Motocross Championship makes its annual stop in Lakewood at Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood on June 10. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MX SPORTS PRO RACING / ALIGN MEDIA

Thunder Valley Motocross Park, which sits at 6,128 feet in Lakewood, is the highest professional motocross track in the world.

Congratulations to the 2023 Je erson County Athletic Hall of Fame class

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Congratulations to the 2023 Jefferson County Athletics Hall of Fame class! The class was enshrined in history on June 7 at the 37th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony at The Vista at Applewood Golf Course in

Golden.

The latest inductees include Bill Coffey, Larry Franca, Jen Lazzeri, Jim Hynes, and Tim Walker. For more information on the 2023 Hall of Fame class, check out the introduction video honoring each of the inductees’ legacies and accomplishments above, as told by those close to them.

The newest Je erson County Athletic Hall of Fame class has been inducted. The members include Bill Co ey, Larry Franca, Jen Lazzeri, Jim Hynes and Tim Walker. COURTESY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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Polis signs bill prohibiting growth caps

Measure repeals limits in Lakewood, Golden, Boulder

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado cities and counties will soon be prohibited from imposing population and residential growth limits under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis this month.

House Bill 1255 will also repeal existing growth caps enacted in Lakewood, Boulder and Golden when it takes e ect in August.

“We know we have more work to do to make sure that all our communities are part of the solution, but what this bill does is it says no community can be part of the problem any longer,” Polis said before signing the bill.

e bill was introduced as a companion measure to Senate Bill 213, which would have rewritten land-use rules across the state and was the governor’s signature e ort at the Capitol this year to encourage more a ordable housing. But Senate Bill 213 failed on the nal day of the 2023 legislative session, leaving House Bill 1255 as one of the only major housing bills approved by the General Assembly and signed into law this year.

Rep. William Lindstedt, D-Broomeld, one of the prime sponsors of House Bill 1255, said while the measure was aimed at assisting the various elements of Senate Bill 213, it still will have an impact.

“It really does point the nger at the worst kind of action that you can see from a local government to limit housing,” he said.

House Bill 1255 aims to address the availability of housing by stripping local governments’ ability to limit how much new housing can be added to their communities.

“Anti-growth laws enacted by local

governments severely undermine the ability to construct the additional housing units Coloradans need,” the legislative declaration in the bill said.

e bill will require that local governments at least have a hearing for new developments before deciding whether to reject them, Lindstedt said.

“ e impact is big with (the) cities being preempted, but the larger impact is that other communities can’t get on that policy and make the problem worse,” he said.

Local governments across the state were strongly opposed to both House Bill 1155 and Senate Bill 213, calling them an overreach by the state and complaining that they would prevent communities from deciding how to address their unique needs.

House Bill 1255, however, didn’t receive nearly as much attention — or blowback — as its counterpart.

“ at one got overshadowed by the clearly more sweeping Senate Bill 213,” said Kevin Bommer, execu-

tive director of the Colorado Municipal League.

Still, the Colorado Municipal League, which represents cities and towns across the state, viewed House Bill 1255 as a similar attack on local control.

Elected o cials in Pitkin, San Miguel, Routt, Summit and Huerfano counties signed a joint letter opposing the bill in May. Mayors and council members in Aspen and Fountain signed on as well.

“ is bill responds to the policies of four Colorado municipalities, but strips away critical tools utilized by local governments across the state to actually achieve a ordable housing, reduce sprawl and incentivize the prudent planning of water, natural resources and infrastructure development,” the letter said.

e letter argued the bill could harm the state’s water supply, rural lands and agricultural areas, and that it failed to encourage any new a ordable housing.

e bill o ers temporary exemptions for local governments that

need to develop their infrastructure, including water services, to accommodate growth. Also excluded from the ban are areas with inclusionary housing ordinances, which require a certain amount of a ordable housing to be built each year, and local governments that have recently experienced a natural disaster and have been inundated with new construction requests, such as the town of Superior, which was hard hit by the 2021 Marshall re.

Golden’s growth cap, which limits residential development to 1% each year, was approved by voters in 1995. is year, the cap permitted only 88 new units.

Lakewood’s cap, which was approved by voters in 2019, has the same 1% restriction per year. In 2022, about 700 units were permitted.

Boulder has the same cap, which allows about 400 new units each year. It was originally enacted in the city in 1975 with a 2% limit then was reduced further to 1% in 1995.  e bill’s other sponsors are Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver. June 7 was the deadline for Polis to sign or veto any bills passed by the legislature during its 2023 lawmaking term, which ended May 8. House Bill 1255 was the nal measure to receive a bill signing ceremony, which Polis said was intentional because he thinks the measure is so important.

Any bills the governor doesn’t veto or sign will automatically become law at midnight.

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

Gov. Jared Polis signs House Bill 1255, which bans local growth caps in the state, on June 7. PHOTO BY JESSE PAUL / THE COLORADO SUN

37th Annual MILE HIGH HOOK & LADDER

In Partnership with South Metro Fire Rescue

Saturday, June 17, 2023

PARADE: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Littleton Blvd West through Historic Downtown Littleton

MUSTER: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Arapahoe Community College 5900 S. Santa Fe, Littleton

FREE • EDUCATIONAL • FUN!

• Firefighters & Other First Responders

• Antique & Modern Fire Rescue Apparatus

• Rescue Demonstrations

• Fire Truck Rides

• Junior Firefighter Games

• Emergency Helicopter Landing