February 25, 2016
VOTING STARTS NEXT WEEK!
VO LU ME 52 | ISSU E 2 8 | 50 ¢
Northglenn-ThorntonSentienl.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Mother of three ‘glowed’
STATE WRESTLING Legacy’s Ryan Deakin dominates on the way to state title. See more on PAGE 21
Ceremony welcomes 49 new citizens
Monica Zapata killed on Valentine’s Day in drunken driving crash By Jeremy Johnson jjohnson@coloradocommunitymedia.com Westminster’s Monica Zapata was a daughter, a sister, a mother of three and a friend to many throughout the North Metro region. Zapata “Monica had this glow about her — she was always happy, always smiling, always wanting to have a good time,” Mary said over the phone Feb. 18, the day of Monica’s viewing, which was followed Feb. 19 by her burial at the Healing Place Church in Brighton. “She was caring and warm and she just made you feel like family, and you gravitated toward her for it.” Zapata, 40, died Feb. 14, killed in Zapata continues on Page 15
People swear allegiance to the U.S. in Denver ceremony By Christy Steadman csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com
New mementos were added to older memorials like this one at the corner of Sheridan Boulevard and 80th Avenue after Westminster mother of three, Monica Zapata, was killed Feb. 14 by an alleged drunken driver who ran a red light. The intersection has been the sight of three fatal accidents in three years. Photo by Crystal Anderson
Teens provide free tax filing services IRS-certified students on duty at Thornton High School By Jeremy Johnson jjohnson@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Brianna Gloden was among the Thornton High School students on Feb. 18 preparing for their futures by helping prepare tax filings for low-income families all along the Front Range. Photo by Jeremy Johnson
A lot of them don’t even pay taxes yet, but IRS-certified students at Thornton High School are nonetheless once again offering quality tax preparation assistance to low-income families across the Front Range. Through March 3, THS students working with the Piton Foundation’s Tax Help Colorado program are helping inneed families file their taxes for free. It’s the fifth year the program has been held at Thornton High School, one of just eight in the state to participate in the Tax Help Colorado program, and one of just four with a free tax site on campus. “It’s a unique program,” said Kevin McFarlane, department chairman of Front Range Community College’s ac-
counting program. The business and accounting class required for students to be IRS-certified and qualified to prepare tax filings was originally offered through Front Range, but can now be taken at the college, online or in Adams 12 high school classrooms, McFarlane said. “Tax Help Colorado is one of many … low-income tax prep programs,” he added. “But we are one of the few in the country who use high school students to do it.” Tax Help Colorado is a partnership between The Piton Foundation and the Colorado Community College System offering free tax preparation assistance to individuals and families who earn less than about $53,000 a year, helping to ease the burden of commercial tax preparation costs on low-wage earners. The program was launched in 2007 to help link even more Colorado families to valuable tax credits such as the Filing continues on Page 6
Hundreds of people sat smiling in rows of folding chairs set up in a large room at the History Colorado Center in downtown Denver. The first few rows were filled with 49 of the United States’ newest citizens. In honor of Presidents’ Day, the 49 new citizens joined nearly 20,000 others like them across the country to take the Oath of Allegiance at more than 180 naturalization ceremonies held between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22 by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In Colorado, Immigration Judge Melanie Corrin administered the oath on Feb. 17. The new citizens represented 25 different countries from six of the world’s seven continents. They came from cities throughout the Denver-metro area, including Arvada, Englewood, Lakewood, Northglenn, Thornton, Westminster and Wheat Ridge. Some traveled from Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. No matter what country they originated from, all had to complete a series of steps to gain citizenship, said Andy Lambrecht, director of the Denver field office of citizen and immigration services. They each have their own story and their own reason for pursuing citizenship, he added. The first most important action on Feb. 17 was to raise their right hands and recite the oath, said Scott Koenigsberg, a supervisory immigration services officer. The second, he added, was to register to vote. President Barack Obama welcomed the new citizens through a short video presentation, and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet read a welcome letter or speeches. “By being here today,” Bennet’s letter read, “you have demonstrated that you can achieve great things.”
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