Sloan’s Lake community receives funding for a ordable housing

STAFF REPORT e Department of Local A airs through the Division of Housing’s State Housing Board, voted on, approved and awarded more than 24 million dollars in funding in February with the objective of providing Coloradans more options for a ordable housing around the state, according to a DOLA press release.

As part of that objective, Zocalo Community Development has been awarded $5,000,000 to support the new construction of a 158 unit a ordablenhousing property one block from Sloan’s Lake in West Denver. e project site is located at 16th Avenue and Newton Street, next to the Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital.

BY KRISTEN FIORE KFIORE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lakewood residents can pick up free mulch in May

Lakewood residents are invited to pick up free mulch 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. on May 6 and 13 at the city Greenhouse, 9556 W. Yale Ave., according to a press release from the city. Sta will be available with a loader to assist residents.

Mulch is the byproduct of Lakewood’s tree trimming operations and limb drop-o events. e mulch has been reground and can be used for ground cover in shrub beds and around trees. Mulch helps landscaped areas retain water, which reduces the need for watering. It also assists with keeping soil temperatures consistent, which promotes the establishment of root systems, according to the press release. Mulch also is a weed barrier.

Mulch is not available for commercial contractors. Vegetation drop-o is not available at this time.

For more information, call 720-9635240.

New Lakewood police chief

Philip Smith, a veteran law enforcement professional with more than 37 years of experience who has served as a university-level adjunct professor teaching cultural diversity, law enforcement ethics and police administration, started his role as Lakewood’s police chief on April 3, according to a department press release.

“ e leadership of the Police Department has never been more critically important, and I am excited to welcome Philip Smith as the new police chief,” said City Manager Kathy Hodgson in the press release.

“His extensive experience in law enforcement, leadership and community engagement make him a great t for our city.”

She added that His background in community engagement and his leadership will be invaluable in addressing the complex challenges facing law enforcement today.

For the past nine years, Smith has served as the police chief in Roswell, New Mexico, where he created an innovative program that enhanced both the public’s safety and trust in law enforcement. He is dedicated to transparent policing and to implementing policies that improve partment to build a safer, stronger and more connected community,” he said in the press release.

New art on display at Lakewood gallery

“Werifesteria” by Colleen Tully is on display at Valkarie Gallery, 445 S. Saulsbury St. in Lakewood until April 30.

A press release from the gallery describes the exhibition by lo- through the haunting forests of her Tully creates themes of nature and gurative subject matter to bring a contemporary phase of realism, according to the press release. It is full of gures and atmospheres that stimulate the senses of familiar memories, dreams, thoughts and feelings that provoke new narratives in imagination.

For this exhibit, Tully worked with oil on aluminum, canvas and found wood for her haunting gures and subject matter.

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Je com 911 launches app for non-emergency services e Je com 911 app is now available on Apple and Google Play stores. e agency currently averages about 2,000 emergency and nonemergency calls a day, totaling about 800,000 annually.

Je com 911, the county’s emergency communications agency, has launched a free phone app to provide residents and visitors access to nonemergency public safety resources.

It also allows users to sign up for LookoutAlert emergency noti cations and report illegal reworks activity with the push of a button.

Executive Director Je Street stated that his agency wants to provide citizens “the best and most e cient response to requests,” and believed the app and the Je com911.org website would accomplish those goals.

In an April 3 press release, Streeter described how the app allows users to report non-emergency incidents, such as reporting code violations or inquiring about welfare check requests, without calling a traditional phone line or speaking to a dispatcher.

Instead, users can ll out a form on the app with their name, contact information, date and time of the incident, and brief description. Google Maps provides the location through the Je com 911 app. Once submitted, users will receive con rmation that the message has been received and appropriate public safety resources have been assigned.

Other features include:

•Immediate updates through push noti cations;

•A “ reworks” button to report illegal reworks activity closer to Independence Day; and e rst stage of the project will be daytime work to complete erosion control, widening and ADA curb ramps. e second stage kicks o in June with nighttime milling and paving operations along with guardrail updates. Finally, the third stage in late summer will switch back to daytime work to complete signage, striping and rumble strips. e entire project is expected to be complete by October.

•A sign-up for LookoutAlert emergency noti cations.

Je com 911, which is based in Lakewood, is celebrating its fth anniversary this month. It started as a consolidation of eight separate law, re and EMS dispatch agencies, and now provides communication services for 24 agencies and more than 600,000 residents.

For more information, visit jeffcom911.org.

CDOT begins six-month project along Highway 93 is month, the Colorado Department of Transportation kicks o a six-month project along Highway 93 between Golden and the west Arvada area.

Crews will repave the highway and make safety improvements along a 3.1-mile stretch between U.S. Highway 6 and 58th Avenue, CDOT and the City of Golden con rmed in a recent press release.

Daytime working hours will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and nighttime working hours will be 6 p.m.-6 a.m. Sunday through ursday.

Starting in April, motorists should expect northbound and southbound single-lane closures during normal working hours, potential tra c shifts during guardrail operations, rough pavement in the project area, and reduced speed limits during widening operations.

In total, the project will: Repave Highway 93; Replace the signal at 58th Avenue; Widen the road between Washington Avenue and Mesa Drive; Add ADA-compliant curb ramps and guardrail upgrades; Update signage and striping; Add rumble strips; Lengthen the northbound acceleration lane from westbound Washington Avenue; Add a second northbound lane between Washington Avenue and Golden Gate Canyon Road; and Add a median on the east and west sides of Pine Ridge Road to reinforce existing turning restrictions onto the highway.

For more information, call the project hotline 303-495-3030, email CO93Repaving@gmail.com, or visit COTrip.org.

CASA, Je co mark Child Abuse Prevention Month

Both Je erson County and the local chapter of CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, are recognizing April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

CASA of Je erson & Gilpin Coun- ties, which is one of ve chapters in the Denver area and one of 17 statewide, is hosting a special new volunteer training and a community event this month.

The organization’s volunteers advocate for children who’ve experienced neglect and abuse by being constants in their lives amid ongoing court cases.

CASA of Jefferson & Gilpin Counties has served more than 4,600 children since 2001, including more than 400 in 2022.

For anyone who’s interested in becoming a volunteer or wants to learn more about the organization, visit casajeffcogilpin.com.

Throughout April, Jefferson County typically has a month of activities and fundraisers for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, such as the iconic blue pinwheels near the county building in Golden. The pinwheel is an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve, as the county has described.

Residents are encouraged to wear blue during April to raise awareness toward preventing child abuse.

According to Jeffco, one in five Colorado parents doesn’t feel like they have anyone they can turn to for day-to-day emotional support in raising children. Everyone plays a role in strengthening families.

Anyone concerned about a child’s safety or well-being should call the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-844-CO-4-KIDS. Calls are accepted 24/7 and remain con dential. More information is available at CO4KIDS.org.