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December 25, 2014 VOLU M E 6 | I SS UE 52 | 5 0 ¢
BrightonBanner.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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VA catches heat for hospital dispute Congressional delegation blasts agency’s actions By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Jaslyn “Jazzy” Gallegos demonstrates the “arm bar” wrestling move on her opponent Daniel Sanchez during practice at Brighton Wrestling. Photo by Michelle Boyer
Gallegos jazzed about wrestling Sport not just for boys By Michelle Boyer
Mkboyer8@gmail.com
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OFFICE: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the Brighton Banner is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210, Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT BRIGHTON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 Ridgeline Blvd., Ste. 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
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Wrestling just because she wants to, Jaslynn “Jazzy” Gallegos, 13, has enjoyed being a wrestler on the Brighton youth wrestling team since she was 11, but started wrestling overall at the age of 6 for the Fort Lupton Blue Devils. Jazzy grew up watching her older brother, Orlando Jr. wrestle. “I would usually mess around or just watch, but one day my dad (who was a coach) asked if I wanted to join and I said yes,” she said. Her brother is a sophomore at Brighton High School and a state-ranked 132-pounder wrestler, currently 10-0. Jazzy said her mother was a little skeptical at first when she tried wrestling, and it took her seeing how good she was.
“My mom has been nothing, but a great support,” she said. She said when she was younger, that there weren’t many girl wrestlers, there were a lot of sexist parents and referees. “I’m not intimidated by the ‘it’s only a guy sport’ thing,” she said. “I’m used to it now. For me, it was definitely a challenge to keep wrestling because some referees would cheat, by being partial to the boy wrestler. Parents would say ‘show her how a man’s sport is done.’ Or they wouldn’t let their child wrestle because they were against it. They didn’t want their boy to lose to a girl.” At first she said she didn’t understand, but after a few years she finally understood. “At first I was hurt, but then it made me furious,” Jazzy said. “That’s what kept me wrestling, because I wanted to prove all of the people were wrong. Wrestling isn’t only a guy sport, wrestling is a sport, and it’s meant for everyone, it shouldn’t make a difference Wrestling continues on Page 3
Brighton Chamber hosts eggnog social By Lou Ellen Bromley
bromleyclan@hotmail.com The Brighton Chamber of Commerce hosed its annual Eggnog Social Thursday evening to help celebrate the holidays. Karah Reygers welcomed guests to share appetizers and beverages provided by the Chamber. Services Coordinator Karah Reygers, said “the Eggnog Social has been a longstanding tradition at the Chamber of Commerce in Brighton, it has held long before I became part of the chamber, maybe ten years or more.” President of Brighton Chamber of Commerce Holy Hansen, agreed, saying “The Chamber of Commerce was hosting this event before I was hired, and we plan on continuing it. This is our end of the year celebration. The year is wrapped up and we can take a moment to have a little fun with our associates and friends and wish them well for the coming year.” This year’s event was attended by more than 30 guests; Brenda Sanchez and her daughters Leea and Liliana have been coming to the eggnog social every year for over five years and enjoy it very much. “We always enjoy the social; it’s become part of our holiday tradition,” said Sanchez. Yvette Martinez, Community Concierge, called the event an “open house style celebration.”
Colorado State Senator Mary Hodge, at the Chamber of Commerce Eggnog social in Brighton. Photo by Lou Ellen Bromley “Guests can drop in at any time during the two hours we are here to join in, have something to eat and visit with friends. It’s very informal,” Martinez said. The Brighton Chamber of Commerce is designed to help local business and promote special events throughout the year in Brighton.
Colorado’s congressional delegation last week blasted the Department of Veterans Affairs for its handling of a construction contract dispute that has further delayed the building of a new VA hospital and has left hundreds of workers in limbo. A fast-moving news cycle began on Dec. 10, when a federal civilian board of appeals ruled that the VA was in breach of contract with the group it hired to build a state-ofthe-art veterans hospital in Aurora. The contract dispute was over money. The contractor, Kiewit-Turner, claimed it could not finish work on the project at the price tag that the VA had originally set, which was $582.8 million. Kiewit-Turner said it would take about $1 billion to finish the work. The Civilian Court of Contract Appeals ruled in favor of Kiewit-Turner, which resulted in the contractor abruptly stopping work at the site, located at Interstate 225 and Colfax Avenue. About 1,400 construction workers were employed at the site. “Where we are right now is really unfortunate,” Republican Congressman Mike Coffman told Colorado Community Media. Coffman’s 6th Congressional District includes Aurora. “Workers lost their jobs right before the holidays and it’s unfortunate for taxpayers who foot the bill and the veterans who earned health-care benefits that this hospital is needed to deliver.” The day after the appeals board ruling was handed down, Coffman and every other member of Colorado’s congressional delegation attached their signatures to a letter to VA officials and higher-ups at Kiewit-Turner, urging the two to come together to find a solution. “We are deeply concerned about this situation and urge VA and KT to immediately negotiate a path forward for this project,” the letter reads. In the letter, the elected officials urged, “in the strongest terms possible,” for the negotiations to result in a modified contract that will allow construction to continue for 60 days while a long-term contract is worked out. Any long-term contract will be handled by the Army Corps of Engineers, rather than the VA. That’s because on Dec. 11, the VA agreed to hand over construction oversight on the Aurora project to the Corps. The next day, Coffman announced that he will introduce legislation to strip away the VA’s authority to manage all future construction projects. Coffman cited a Government Accountability Office report that shows VA projects in four cities, including Aurora, to be hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and almost three years behind schedule. “Really, this is a pattern of total mismanagement by the VA in major construction projects,” Coffman said. Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter said in an emailed statement that the VA wanted a $1 billion medical center, but “the project was never redesigned to fit” the near-$600 million contract budget. “There has been a serious dispute between the VA and the prime contractor for too long,” Perlmutter said.