1-Color
March 6, 2014
50 cents Adams County, Colorado | Volume 50, Issue 29 A publication of
northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com
Three-alarm fire destroys condo building By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@coloradocommunitymedia.com Authorities are investigating the cause of a three-alarm fire that completely destroyed a condo building at 8760 Corona St. in unincorporated Adams County. Firefighters got the call at 1:45 p.m. Tues-
day, March 4, to the Corona Village Condominiums located behind the Walmart Neighborhood Market at 88th Avenue and Washington Street. Six agencies helped to extinguish the blaze, including North Washington Fire District, Southwest Adams County Fire District, City of Thornton, City of Westminster, North Metro Fire Rescue
and Federal Heights Fire Department. “The initial building where the fire started is a total loss, all 12 units are gone,” Sandy Danne, public relations with the North Washington district said. “The second building has some damage, I am not sure of the extent.” Danne said that a total of four build-
ings, each with 12 units, were evacuated. Residents in the two buildings that were not damaged have been allowed back inside their homes. There were no serious injuries reported. “Approximately three firefighters had very minor injuries, no transports at all,” Danne said.
DA wants tougher ‘stoned driving’ laws
Making the effort
By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@ coloradocommunitymedia.com
Horizon freshman Kylie Jimenez walks back to the bench after the Hawks lost to Castle View in the second round of the state tournament Feb. 28 at Horizon High School. See story on Page 16. Photos by Kate Ferraro
Going bald for a good cause Firefighter heads shaved for childhood cancer research By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@ coloradocommunitymedia. com Worldwide, 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and in the U.S., more children die of cancer than any other diseases, according to St. Baldrick’s Foundation. To help the foundation raise money to fund cancer research to discover cures, North Metro Firefighters & Friends Local 2203 is one of five teams participating in a Shave-a-Thon event 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday,
March 14, at The Exchange Tavern, 11940 Bradburn Blvd. No. 300 in Westminster. While North Metro Fire Rescue District has been involved in Shave-a-Thon events in the past, this is the first time it has hosted its own event. “The goal was to bring something closer to home to honor local families battling cancer,” said Caleb Larson, firefighter/paramedic with NMFR. The other teams participating in NMFR’s event are Louisville Fire, Cure Bears, Westy Fire and Big Dogs Huge Paws. NMFR’s individual group goal is $4,000, which is surpassed as of Friday last week with $4,390 raised so far. The overall event
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Bald continues on Page 15
Caleb Larson, a firefighter/paramedic with North Metro Fire Rescue, gets his hair shaved as part of the St. Baldrick’s event last year for charity. This year, NMFR is hosting its own St. Baldrick’s event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Exchange Tavern, 11940 Bradburn Blvd. in Westminster. Photo courtesy of North Metro Fire Rescue
NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL (ISSN 1044-4254) (USPS 854-980)
OFFICE: 8703 Yates DR., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the NorthglennThornton Sentinel is published weekly on Thursday by MetroNorth Newspapers, 7380 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, CO 80030. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WESTMINSTER, COLORADO. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 8703 Yates DR., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. | Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Tues. 12 p.m.
Right now driving while stoned in Colorado falls under the laws of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). DUID can mean anything from illegal drugs to prescription drugs. State prosecutors expect to see more cases of DUIDs because of the legalization of recreational marijuana, and are pushing for additional laws on the books. Adams County District Attorney Dave Young said that last month a group of prosecutors met in Washington D.C. last month to discuss this topic with U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), who is drafting related legislation. “It’ll be interesting to see what the feds come up with,” Young said. Young said prosecutors are trying to establish a limit of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood in order to prosecute Colorado drivers. THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Craig Small, an attorney out of Boulder who advises clients on the legalities of Colorado marijuana law, said he believes setting the limit to 5 nanograms is flawed. He said medical marijuana patients have, over the years, built up a tolerance and may have high levels of THC in their system even if they hadn’t had marijuana in a while. “At any given time, a medical marijuana patient may have 5 nanograms in their system even though they haven’t had marijuana in two to three weeks and they aren’t impaired,” he said. Young pointed out that marijuana has been legalized in Amsterdam for years. “Their driving limit is 1 nanogram — so (prosecutors) thought 5 is fairly generous,” he said. The Adams County DA’s office will handle one of the first DUID cases of 2014 dealing with marijuana in the metro area. Keith Kilbey, 23, of Arvada is accused of driving while stoned and crashing into two Colorado State Patrol vehicles on Jan. 11 on the ramp to Interstate 76 from Interstate 25. The troopers’ vehicles had on their emergency lights and were blocking Laws continues on Page 15
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