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February 26, 2015 VOLU M E 2 8 | I S S UE 1 4
HighlandsRanchHerald.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Mom gets eight-year sentence for abuse
CHINESE NEW YEAR
Plea deal means attempted-murder charges dropped against Giberti By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Performers with the Joyful Chinese Culture Center perform the Red Silk Dance at the Chinese New Year celebration, which took place Feb. 21 at the Southridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch. Photos by Christy Steadman
A moving performance Staff report It’s the Year of the Sheep, and about 580 people braved a snowy, cold weekend to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Feb. 21. The Great Wall Chinese Academy, which has about 80 students, ages preschool to high school, said Mei Cheng, the school’s founder, put on two hour-long performances on stage at the Southridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch. The show opened with the popular lion and dragon dance when costumed dancers went up and down the aisles, interacting with the excited audience. Attendees of the celebration also enjoyed the cultural fair in which traditional Chinese food and refreshments, and handmade Chinese arts and crafts such as calligraphy and origami, were available for viewing and purchasing. New Year continues on Page 6
Sandy Battulga give a contortion demonstration at the Feb. 21 Chinese New Year celebration. Contortion is a Chinese art form of bending the body.
Artist knows how to fold ’em Jessie Lo sells origami at celebration
Giberti continues on Page 9
Don’t get scammed
By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com The most popular piece of origami art that Jessie Lo sold at the Chinese New Year celebration was Pikachu, a yellow and chubby Pokémon character. “Kids love the Pikachu,” said Lo, an artist of 3-D origami from Lakewood, “and the dragon. It’s more traditional Chinese.” Lo, 53, began practicing her talent of folding paper about 13 years ago when her father passed away. As a coping method for her mother, who is now 86 and still crafting, Lo taught her how to make origami. Both women were making origami, and the basement soon became full, Lo said, so she decided to sell the art at Chinese New Year celebrations in the Denvermetro area. This is the second year Lo has attended the Highlands Ranch Community Association’s celebration, and sold little 3-D origami animals. “For the hobby, it’s good,” Lo said. “It’s not for the money — I only sell once a year.” Because it is the Year of the Sheep, they were popular this year, she said. A sheep cost buyers $6. Last year, she experimented with mak-
A Highlands Ranch mom accused of attempting to murder her children will spend eight years in prison and 10 years on probation after reaching a plea deal. Prosecutors agreed to drop attempted murder charges against Erin Elizabeth Giberti, 37, who pleaded guilty Feb. 17 to two counts of child abuse, one being a Class 3 felony of attempting to cause the death of a child. A jury trial had been expected Giberti to start that day, but the plea is a “fair and just” way to solve the case, Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Gallo said, because it avoids having to make the children testify, which is always a big concern among a prosecution team. “The hardest choice you have to make,” Gallo said, “is what is the worth of making a child testify.” As part of her sentence, Giberti is court-ordered to have no contact with children, including her own, for the duration of her incarceration and probation. This ensures the children will be adults by the time her sentence is completed, Gallo said. On Dec. 9, 2013, Giberti took multiple Xanax pills and drank a large amount of vodka within a short period of time, according to court documents. She told her two sons, ages 3 and 6 at the time of the incident, to get in the car because they were going to the store. Once the three were in the car, Giberti purposefully left it running with the windows rolled
Sheriff ’s office boosts awareness, offers tips By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Jessie Lo stands with her table of origami art during the Chinese New Year celebration at Southridge Recreation Center Feb. 21. To see more of Lo’s origami, visit www.jessielo.com and select “table of contents.” Photo by Christy Steadman ing a Broncos origami figurine. She used orange, blue and white paper, she said, and picked out a shape that most resembled a horse. It wasn’t exact, but people must have liked it, she said, because she sold all eight that she brought to this year’s celebration. Pikachu is made of 900 pieces — paper
that is folded then glued — and it took her a day-and-a-half to make one 3-D figurine. But Lo enjoys spending the time making the intricate craft. “I love people to see them,” she said. “You have to do something that makes you happy.”
It may be a person calling to say you won a large amount of money, and you have to pay a fee to claim it. Or someone might say a loved one is in jail and you have to pay their bail. Sometimes the person will claim to be from the FBI, the IRS or a debt collector. The scammer tries to appeal to a person’s fears. Locally, people fall victim to this type of scam on a weekly basis, said Sgt. Ron Hanavan, of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. But scams can happen anywhere in the nation, or the world. “Chances are,” he said, “if something doesn’t seem right, it’s probably a scam.” The sheriff’s office has received numerous Scam continues on Page 9