February 26, 2015 VOLU M E 31 | I SS UE 35 | 5 0 ¢
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Student car project draws attention The Wheat Ridge Community Foundation visited Wheat Ridge STEM on Friday, Feb. 20 and students detailed the process of building the hydrogen fuel cell car to the foundation and Shades of Blue members.
PHOTOS BY CLARKE READER
Capt. Willie Daniels II, president of Shades of Blue, listens as Wheat Ridge STEM students explain how they build the body of their carbon fiber hydrogen fuel cell car. Wheat Ridge STEM member Kyle Brothers shows the electrical process behind the team’s hydrogen fuel cell car.
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Sandlin fled Jeffco jail for 10-day crime spree First inmate in detention center’s history to escape indicted on 35 counts By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com
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
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
A Jefferson County grand jury returned a 35-count indictment against Travis Sandlin, 33, who escaped from the Jeffco Detention Center in October. Following his escape, Sandlin went on a 10day crime spree across the Denver area before
his capture in Boulder. Sandlin stole seven cars in six cities between Oct. 6 and 15 and broke into cars, garages and houses, according to the indictment. His charges include, but are not limited to, six counts of second-degree burglary, five counts of identity theft and four counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft. A date for his advisement Sandlin was not released by press time. Shortly after midnight on Oct. 5, Sandlin escaped from the north tower on the sixth floor at the Jefferson County Detention Facility after
breaking through wire mesh located in the facility’s multiple recreation yards. From there, Sandlin jumped 15 to 20 feet down onto a roof, and continued descending the tower; jumping nearly 20 feet each time before reaching ground. He had a 30-minute head start before officials realized he was gone, the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office reported. The Jeffco Board of County Commissioners approved a $100,000 funding request last year from the sheriff’s office to fix and reinforce the meshing system. Sandlin was the first inmate in the detention center’s history to escape from the jail.
Jefferson Area Plan earns some excitement Jefferson Principal, board member among those praising plan By Crystal Anderson
canderson@coloradocommunitymedia.com A reconfiguration of schools in the Jefferson articulation area is causing excitement among the staff, the community and the Jeffco Board of Education. “My students are excited,” said Michael James, principal at Jefferson High School. “They’re ready and they understand their responsibility; they understand what they need to do to make our young Saints — our little Saints — come up and join us and feel safe.”
During the Feb. 19 Jeffco board meeting, district staff and principals from Jefferson High School, Wheat Ridge 5-8, and Lumberg, Edgewater, Stevens and Molhom elementary schools presented an update on the Jefferson Area Plan. Designed to help increase student achievement in the Jefferson articulation area, the $1.6 million Jefferson Area Plan creates a new 7-12 school by combining the seventh- and eighthgraders at Wheat Ridge 5-8 with the ninththrough 12-graders at Jefferson High School on that high school campus, while moving Stevens Elementary School and Sobesky Academy to the Wheat Ridge 5-8 site. “They have to personally find their place, which is raising achievement and showing what they have as students in order for us not to have to make changes in the future on a scale such as this,” James said of the area’s students.
“They understand their responsibility.” Alongside the creation of the school, the plan would extend dual language options for students, increase resources for students and teachers, utilize problem-based learning in all classes, allow staff to become a true, heavy professional learning community and create more secondary pathways for students. “Philosophically, we are in a position to support this plan locally through Jefferson,” said Jeffco’s chief school effectiveness officer, Terry Elliott. “I believe that the fact that this is working from the schools out will have greater buyin commitment, and they have our commitment to support that work.” This plan will come before the board for a vote on March 5. “You can put me into the excited/very excited pie chart,” said John Newkirk, board mem-