LETTER

ing a policy of hoping the lower-paid would go to the next town to nd housing—or just go away—that such an overbearing bill was justi ed. But predictably, it was exactly those authorities—including Westminster City Council—who objected loudest to the usurpation of their prerogatives. SB23-213 is o cially `laid over daily’, or to you and me, `dead’.

It is somewhat defensible for elected local o cials to object to having their policies overridden, but in the case of workforce housing, we have an intractable situation. If you do essential work in a town in which you cannot a ord to live then you must live elsewhere. But if that essential work is lower-paid then you may not be able to reach your place of employment. And if all the towns in the area have the same hostile negative way. On the other hand, a restaurant in Historic Westminster has been a desire of the people for many years. Perhaps, the council should bite the bullet and spend the funds to make it happen (assuming they nd a viable restaurant operator). It would demonstrate to Historic Westminster residents and businesses that the council is willing to support their dream. Plus, it would interject new life in the original part of the city. It seems like it boils down to how much is it nancially and politically worth to restore a historic building which has such high expectations attached to it.

Finally, just how much e ort the restaurant operator would expect the city to invest in the interior of the building would add a further consideration on the whole deal.

Like I said, city council would be “between a rock and hard place.”

Is there a smoking gun in Trump’s handling of classified documents?

One thing about following Donald Trump, there is never a dull moment. A twist or turn is just around the corner with his antics and missteps. e latest revelation in the Mar-a-Lago classi ed documents may just be the “smoking gun” which special prosecutor Jack Smith has been looking for.

Federal prosecutors have obtained an alleged audio recording from attitude to a ordable housing then you can neither work nor live there. Sayonara. e Senate bill, despite its intrusive nature, sought to remedy a situation in which many local authorities were ignoring reality and treating a ordable housing as a problem inapplicable to their jurisdiction. Prop 123 attempts to scratch the surface of the problem by throwing public money at those authorities.

So why is the 213/123 comparison so sobering? It’s because the only reason Prop 123 exists is that many city council majorities, like Westminster’s, could not bring themselves to `do the right thing’.

It is indeed sobering and sad that many of our elected o cials, including the majority of those on Westminster City Council, cannot see the value of equitable and compassionate policies unless they come wrapped in dollar bills.

Christopher Stimpson, Westminster

Turn To The Colorado Sun For News Across The State

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself.

In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. It covers everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education. summer of 2021 in which former President Donald Trump acknowledged he kept a classi ed Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran. If this is true, it would undercut Trump’s argument that he declassi ed everything. e recording indicates he understood that he retained classi ed material after leaving the White House according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. Here is the kicker—Trump’s comments suggest he would like to share the information but he is aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records.

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun.com.

I am putting my money on Jack Smith going for an indictment. We shall see!

Another “end of an era” is about to happen in Commerce City

How many of us loved to take our date to a drive-in movie on a warm summer evening back in the day? Ah, I remember those days quite well. I recall the time in high school I even borrowed my good friend’s Oldsmobile convertible to take my girlfriend (now my wife of 55 years) to the drive-in theatre. It was a treat! Well, the one remaining drive-in theatre in the Denver metro area is going to close. After showing movies since 1976, the owner of the 88 Drive-In eatre is selling the 6.5 acres to an industrial warehouse developer. And they call that “progress.”

Like so many things in a person’s life span, change is inevitable. Personally, I hate to see drive-in theatres fade away. It’s nostalgic to think back on how life was in the 1950’s and 1960’s. As Archie Bunker use to sing, “those were the days.”

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

BRUNDAGE Donald L. Brundage

May 21, 1931 - June 1, 2023

Donald L. Brundage, Attorney-at-Law, passed away peacefully June 12, 2023 after 87 years of life. Don was born in Tulsa, OK and moved to Westminster, CO in 1959 to attend Law School. He married his high school sweetheart, Martha, the love of his life for 67 years. Don is preceded in death by his daughter, Kimberly.

He is survived by Martha and their two children, Don Jr. and Debbie, two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Don saw the world many times as a proli c cruise traveler. He loved to socialize and entertain with his stories.

Visit HoranCares.com to leave comments for the Brundage family.

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When people think of horses, they might associate them with ranch living, horse racing or recreational riding, but horses can be therapeutic, too. erapy takes many forms, from physical to mental. Some people travel to a ranch to work with horses as part of the therapeutic process.

Equine-assisted therapy was something Arvada native Kelsey Petitt discovered while studying occupational therapy at Pima Medical Institute in Denver. Having grown up riding horses, it immediately caught her attention.

“I just, kind of, was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever. I can combine my true passion of horses and really being able to help and assist participants and patients with doing therapy and reaching their functional goals while also having fun with horses and having that relationship,’” Petitt said.

Although she knew immediately that equine-assisted therapy was something she wanted to pursue, she did not do so immediately. Following her schooling and clinical internships, she quickly began working and then had her daughter.

However, in 2021 Petitt, who now lives in Brighton, decided to establish the Brighton-based Prestige erapeutic Equestrian Center, o ering an occupational therapy program that brings the four-legged companions into the practice.

“Now, I’m going on 11 years of being a therapist and so it’s taken me a little bit of time to get back to, really, what I wanted to do,” said Petitt, who also works as an occupational therapy assistant for a company called erapeutic and Rehabilitative Associates. Her purpose, like many other therapists incorporating horses into their practice, is clear: “Transforming lives through the therapeutic power of horses.”

Bringing horses into occupational therapy

Occupational therapists help people develop skills so that they can perform day-to-day tasks such as bathing, dressing and eating, as well as techniques to aid in memory and concentration, according to the American Occupational erapy Association.

For example, occupational therapists may work on a person’s ne motor skills, such as being able to button a jacket or holding a fork, Petitt said.

ey also work on sensory integration, which she said usually comes up when working with someone who is on the autism spectrum.

Another example of work they do is helping someone with their feeding skills, such as for patients with Parkinson’s disease who experience a lot of tremors. Improving core strength may also be a focus for patients, such as for someone who struggles to put their shirt on due to a lack of strength.

“ ere’s an array of di erent settings that you can get into in the occupational therapy eld, but I think for me, the equine-assisted movement is just something that I’ve always loved,” she said. “Horses are just so therapeutic in general, for anybody.” e term “hippotherapy” refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use equine movement as a therapy tool, according to the American Hippotherapy Association.

To use hippotherapy in treatment, a person must be a licensed therapist who has completed continuing education in the inclusion of horses and equine movement, per the association.

Petitt has gotten her rst level of training with the association, and she plans to continue with her training this fall.

However, Petitt explained that she does not refer to herself as a hippotherapist because hippotherapy is not its own therapy.

“We’re not hippotherapists,” she said. “Hippotherapy is utilizing the horse. All of our treatments are either occupational therapy, speech therapy or physical therapy, and we’re just using the horse as a treatment tool, basically.” ere are di erent planes for the horse in the way that their pelvis moves — the sagittal plane, frontal plane and transverse plane, she said.

With her clients, she said she is working on all of the same therapy interventions that she would be in a therapy gym or in an outpatient program, but instead she’s now doing it by having her clients get onto a horse and incorporating the horse’s movement into the treatment.

“We work o the horse’s pelvis, so their pelvis is very similar to ours,” she said.

“We’re working on that constantly, so when we have our riders on the horse, they’re also working on that. And it’s one of the most multi-dimensional movement(s) that’s rhythmic and repetitive,” she said.

For someone experiencing conditions such as limited mobility, limited core strength, cognitive delays, or sensory processing disorders, “it can really just kind of help bene t and improve all of those elements,” she said of equine-assisted therapy.

According to a study published in the international journal, Physiotherapy eory and Practice, there are “signicant positive e ects” of equine-assisted therapy on exercise tolerance, mobility, interpersonal interactions and quality of life of people with disabilities.

Another study focused on the ef- fects of equine-assisted activities and therapies for individuals on the autism spectrum and concluded that these programs “substantially improve” the social and behavioral functions of people who are on the autism spectrum.

“Communication is pretty key, too … because horses mirror us, so a lot of our participants can learn a lot more speech and communication successfully with the horses, which is really great,” she said.

Petitt has three horses she works with. e horse a client is paired with is dependent on their individual needs, she explained.

“Part of what’s so cool is because we can kind of tailor it to that participant, that patient, and kind of really work on what we need to work on with them,” she said. “ eir postural control, sensory systems, motor planning.”

In a typical therapy gym for occupational therapy, Petitt said there are tools such as a swing, a ball and a mat to use for the session. However, these do not provide the same level of sensory input and rhythmic, consistent movement that equine-assisted therapy can, which she said is great at building overall strength, control and balance.

“We can work in the therapy gym all day but the bene ts and the outcomes that we’re seeing while doing therapy