The stolen photos that no one knew were gone Lakewood EV

Earth Day was a snowy block party for the community

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A smattering snow did not stop a small crowd from attending Earth Day celebrations in Lakewood. e April 22 event at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park o ered a mix of educational opportunities paired with food and music.

Lakewood Sustainability Manager Jonathan Watchal said the event, which is in its 13th year, started as a workplace fair to help city employees learn about conservation and sustainability.

“Over the years, we also wanted to make sure that it was just a fun community event to bring people together to celebrate the love of our community,” Watchal said. He and others underscored the educational aspects of the day.

Wheat Ridge police reunites vintage photos with rightful owner

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e story begins with a warrant served. At that time, Wheat Ridge Police recovered property that did not belong to the person they arrested. Wheat Ridge Police Public Information O cer Joanna Small did what so many organizations have done in the past years: she placed a notice on Facebook. e recovered property was family photos, some that looked like they were more than 80 years old. According to the post, the evidence technicians “did not have the heart to destroy them, because they are

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24 obviously someone’s cherished family history.” WRP did perform a search online to nd the name Blanche Ashmore — one of the people in the recovered photos. e rest of the work was done via the internet, in about 24 hours. Small and her team captured the moment that the owner of the photos, Cheryl Ashmore, was reunited

SEE PHOTOS, P4 e Lakewood Forestry Department gave away brochures with information local plant life. e department had a few succulents on hand, packs of wild ower seeds and a ponderosa pine seedling. e aim was to encourage people to grow native plants that typically need less water than non-native species and are better for Je erson County area yards. e Je erson County Public Library gave away bookmarks with live seeds embedded in the paper. People can plant the bookmarks to see what grows. e library also

SEE EARTH DAY, P3