March 17, 2016
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VOLUME 52 | ISSU E 31 | 50 ¢
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Northglenn-ThorntonSentienl.com A publication of
A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
SPACEMAN TO TOUCHDOWN
FINAL FOUR RECAP Find out how area teams fared in the semifinals of the state basketball tournament on PAGE 24.
Driver facing homicide charges NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren will visit the Thornton library March 23 for a special interactive program and presentation, part of Anythink York Street Library’s district’s Space Month, going on through the end of March. Read more about Lindgren’s pending visit on page 4. Courtesy photo
Westminster councilman faces uphill battle in race Bruce Baker admits path has obstacles from incumbent and his own party
By Jeremy Johnson jjohnson@coloradocommunitymedia.com Westminster City Councilman Bruce Baker, saying he offers an “alternative to cardboard politicians,” is running on the GOP ticket against popular Congressman Ed Perlumutter in the 7th Congressional District race this November. “Elections should be — not that they are — a chance to offer voters alternatives,” said Baker, a retired pharmacist who was elected to Westminster City Council in November 2013. “A lot of times … there aren’t really any alternatives being offered. Nothing new is ever offered. But in this campaign, I intend to offer the voters true choices.” Based on past election challenges to the seat, campaigning will be no easy feat against Perlmutter, a Democrat who first served in the state Senate from 1993 to 2003. Perlmutter has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2006 and most recently won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014, when he handily defeated Republican Don Ytterberg in the general
election by more than 25,000 votes. “It’s a very difficult mountain to climb,” Baker acknowledged. “Ed is very, very popular.” Baker, who recently stirred controversy when he called for a flat-out Baker end to immigration, also has been unable, so far, to garner support from fellow Republicans. The Adams County Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment. But party officials in February told the Colorado Statesman, Perlmutter a Denver-based political publication, that Baker would have to run independently of the Republican party if he chose to run on an anti-immigration platform. The Republican vice-chair of the 7th Congressional District, Maria del Carmen Guzman Weese, denounced Baker’s candidacy and called for his resignation in February because of Baker’s anti-immigration remarks. But Baker said Weese’s complaints were based on misunderstanding and could
have been avoided if she’d reached out to him before going public with her call for his resignation. “I think so many times, especially when you address sacred cows — and immigration is a sacred cow — people don’t hear what you’re saying,” Baker said. “I’ve never said anything demeaning or derogatory or negative about immigrants at all.” Baker said he believes Weese, whose family fled Cuban tyranny when she was young, according to the Statesman, let her own experience cloud her judgment regarding his views. “Because of her own history as an immigrant, and her being so thankful for being allowed in… I think she heard some negative things Donald Trump said and ascribed them to me,” he said. Weese did not respond to a phone call and email for comment. Specifically, Baker said ending immigration would help improve the economy and boost “manipulated” employment figures and “make (unemployed Americans) valuable again” because they would comprise the available labor force. “We’re going to have to stop it sometime, aren’t we?” he said. “When there’s 600 million Americans, do we stop it then?
Pair of pickup truck thieves accused of causing crash that killed 33-year-old Jessica Holman By Jeremy Johnson jjohnson@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Charges are pending against a pair of alleged robbers Westminster Police say is responsible for a March 8 crash that killed a 33-year-old Thornton woman. Jessica Holman was killed just after 6 p.m. near Wadsworth Parkway and
Holman
Crash continues on Page 15
Program offers college credit to students Northglenn High students can earn associate’s degree alongside high school diploma By Gene Sears Special to Colorado Community Media Starting next year, Northglenn High School students can jump from junior high to college without leaving their high school campus or taking out a single student loan. That’s the opportunity being offered to about 65 high-achieving eighth-graders
Baker continues on Page 5
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Program continues on Page 28