February 12, 2015 VOLU M E 31 | I SS UE 33 | 5 0 ¢
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Friendly feet on the street Foothills running club builds community By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com Saturday morning runs with the Foothills Running and Cycling Club in Golden look similar to the reunion of long lost friends. After joyful greetings are exchanged, club members pair-off with their running buddy as they begin the nearly four mile run up and down the Clear Creek path before reuniting for breakfast at Café 13. “This is the friendliest club,” said Simon Maybury, one of the club’s newest members. Started by Dan Dwyer, a recipient of the Mayors Award for Excellence for his achievements in improving health fitness in Golden, the club offers many running and fitness opportunities for both beginners and the advanced. “This is a great place for beginners,” said Joan Osborne, who holds a seat on the board of directors for the Foothills Running and Cycling Club. “Walkers are more than welcome.”
Since its inception, the club welcomes approximately 80 members each year from all age groups and fitness levels. “I’m the oldest guy in the club,” said Joe Petitti, 72. “I think it’s a good healthy lifestyle and the endorphins from running phenomenal. Nobody believes it until they do it.” Track workouts held by the club at Golden High School is a great resource for beginners who are in need of building endurance, Osborne said. But the club does more than provide group runs and exercise programs, it also promotes community engagement and the element of friendship. When club member Betsy Brooks first joined the group, she confessed didn’t know anyone. Now, as she decides to walk the Clear Creek path while recovering from a running injury, other runners in the group jog up to her to engage in friendly chat. “I love them all,” Brooks said. “I live for Saturday mornings.” Comradery is seen all over the Clear Creek path in fact. Joan Osborne ran with a new club member who was attempting her first four mile run. Back at the “finish line,” members exchange friendly jokes with City Manager, Mike Bestor, at his early presence since he
Runners from the Foothills Running and Cycling Club in Golden begin their trek along the Clear Creek Path on Saturday, Feb. 7. Photo by Amy Woodward usually gets there last. In all seriousness, however, the club encourages the journey not the destination. “I would guess that half of these people come to run so they can come to breakfast or so they can finish the story they heard talked about last week,” Osborne said, sitting at a table in Café 13 surrounded by chatting club members. “There is such an
amazing amount of variety in the club by professions, ages, interests — and what brings us all together is the running.” For more information about the Foothills Running and Cycling Club including ways to apply and fitness schedules, visit www.frcclub.com. A membership party will be held on Friday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. at the Capital Grill at 1122 Washington Ave.
Chief says no to powdered alcohol Wheat Ridge PD also asks legislators for tougher DUI laws By Hugh Johnson
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WHEAT RIDGE TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 1089-9197)
OFFICE: 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Wheat Ridge Transcript is published weekly on Thursday by Mile High Newspapers, 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210, Golden, CO 80401. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT GOLDEN, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Wheat Ridge Transcript 722 Washington Ave., Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. GE T SOCIAL WITH US
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Wheat Ridge Chief of Police Dan Brennan voiced his opinion against the sale and use of powdered alcohol in Wheat Ridge and in favor of felony charges for repeat DUI offenders at the annual legislative forum at the council study session Feb. 2. Each year, state representatives and senators show up to a council study session to garner the opinions of Wheat Ridge’s public officials on various bills headed to the state house and senate in the
legislative session. Chief Brennan announced the Wheat Ridge Police Department’s stance on HB151031, which would ban the use, sale, manufacture, possession or transfer or powdered alcohol. He also said the WRPD is in support of a bill that would introduce felony charges for multiple drunk driving offenses. Powdered Alcohol, or Palcohol as Lipsmark, LLC a privately held company based out of Arizona, calls it, turns into standard alcohol when dissolved in water. According to the Palcohol website, the benefits of powdered alcohol is that it makes the transport of alcohol, particularly mixed drinks, easier and more viable for people on-the-go especially for hikers and outdoorsman. However a number of states
have introduced legislation to outright ban the product and Colorado is one of those states. House Bill 15-1031, sponsored by Democrat Representative Nancy Todd out of District 28 and Republican Representative JoAnn Windholz from District 30, places a prohibition on powdered alcohol and makes a violation of the ban a class 2 misdemeanor. The bill passed the house Feb. 2. Chief Brennan believes permitting powered alcohol would have a profound impact on public safety especially on the youth of the city. HB15-1043 would make a third DUI in seven years a class four felony if the driver fled the scene, had a minor in the car at the time of the incident, had a Blood Alcohol content of .15 or greater or caused damage to any person or property.
A bill of this type isn’t new to the Colorado legislature as a similar bill failed on the senator floor in May of last year. Of the new bill, Chief Brennan said it addresses the need to get repeat offenders off of the road. “It takes those drivers who can’t control their alcohol or drug addictions and have multiple convictions off the streets and provide them the resources that they need,” Brennan said at the forum. The police chief also mentioned that there were a couple bills made in response to the recent controversies surrounding the deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Mike Brown in Ferguson. Chief Brennan said he would like legislators to keep the WRPD in the loop so they could assess the local impact of any proposed measures.
able to function cognitively...,” she said. “We just faced these challenges head on because neither one of us knew how to do it any differently. We committed to doing whatever it took to get through each day … we tried not to overly worry about tomorrow.” Advice from couples overcoming challenges from diseases easily transcends into sound guidance for couples who are facing other types of challenges in their personal relationships, Jeanne Lassard said. “I learned something from every
single one of the couples that we interviewed,” Lassard said. Lessons learned include finding different ways to communicate, finding better ways to deal with things as well as having a good sense of humor. “Hopefully everybody that reads it will be able to identify with one or more of the couples,” she said. “This book is not just for people with MS, any relationship, any couple can benefit from hearing these stories.” “A Dose of Devotion” is currently available on Amazon and Kindle.
In sickness and in health Golden couple’s medical struggle part of new book By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com Love is not easy. But for couples who are faced with adversity, only those who face the tribulation together discover true love ways. In “A Dose of Devotion, How Couples Living with Multiple Sclerosis Keep Their Love Strong” by Rhonda Giangreco and Jeanne Lassard, tales of love tested are explored through a compilation of stories shared by couples from across the nation who are working together to love better with multiple sclerosis. “Almost every marriage at some point is going to face a serious illness or a really difficult challenge,” said Giangreco. Co-authored by Jeanne Lassard, Giangreco spent nine months putting the book together conducting interviews with 24 couples who
were at different stages of multiple sclerosis. Giangreco and Lassard, who both have MS, were eager to put the book together after learning that 70 percent of relationships dissolve after an MS diagnosis. Twelve couples were ultimately selected for the book resulting in 12 inspiring stories. “… The wisdom and the insight that these twelve couples provide really is something that every young couple should read, this is really what love looks like,” Rhonda Giangreco said. Richard and Suzanne Pershall of Golden were one of the couples selected for the book. The Pershall’s have been married for 22 years. When Suzanne was diagnosed in 1996 at the age of 38, she and Richard were forced into a precarious situation just four years into their marriage. “We were both uncertain about what the future would hold for us and for our family,” Suzanne Pershall said. “Would I be able to work, would I be able to walk, would I be