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February 18, 2021
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 57 | ISSUE 28
Northwest Rail: end of line hopefully won’t be Westminster BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Regional Transportation District will take steps towards completing the Northwest Rail Line after the board of directors and Gov. Jared Polis urged RTD to do so at a Feb. 9 study session. There’s been recent uncertainty about whether RTD would finish the commuter rail line set to travel from Denver to Boulder to Longmont. However, at the study session, RTD CEO and General Manager Debra Johnson said her staff would present a plan to the board in the next 60 days. “It’s necessary to really complete the system. Without a complete system, you have populations, significant populations that are underserved,” said RTD Board Director Vince Buzek in a phone call after the Feb. 9 study session. Buzek’s district includes Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn and Federal Heights. In 2004, residents in RTD’s boundaries approved a 0.4 percent sales tax increase for the FasTracks program to fund construction of com-
Views atop the Regional Transportation District’s Park and Ride at the US 36 and Sheridan bus station. The Northwest Rail, or B-Line, upon completion, will chart a similar course as the bus route between Denver and Boulder. The only leg of the B-Line that is currently finished is the Westminster Station, located just off of Federal Boulevard. PHOTO BY LIAM ADAMS
muter rails, light rails, the Flatiron Flyer bus service and the intermodal hub at Denver Union Station. To date, RTD has finished the majority of FasTracks projects, including the G-Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge and N-Line to Thornton. The Northwest Rail, also known as the B-Line, is the largest, incomplete FasTracks project. In addition to operating expenses associated with the B-Line, RTD needs to pay BNSF Railway, who
owns the track the line will go on, to share the track. In 2004, RTD predicted the Northwest Rail to be finished by 2015 and to cost $565 million in total, explained William Van Meter, RTD assistant general manager, at the Feb. 9 study session. Partly due to BNSF asking for more money, the total expected cost has ballooned to $1.5 billion. Only one leg is complete to date, which is from Denver Union Station to Westminster Station. The plan is to
add six more stops, including a new station in Westminster at Church Ranch. The exact completion date remains unknown for several reasons, but it could be as late as 2046, Van Meter said. Residents and municipal officials north of the Denver metro area have begun to question whether the project would ever see the light of day, drawing criticism from Polis and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse. Stakeholders have been equally frustrated. All the buzz culminated in the Feb. 9 study session featuring Polis after the RTD board invited him. The governor articulated similar concerns many others had. The first is logistical. “It’s important for transit,” Polis said, “We want people from Longmont and Union Station and Adams County and Westminster and Boulder, we want them to be able to move around.” Buzek echoed the governor in a separate phone call. Adams County residents who commute westward for work, for example, need the B-Line to be done, the director said. SEE RAIL, P7
Adams 12 tries tackle students’ health, academic needs BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A couple weeks into the second semester, Adams 12 Five Star Schools is testing more students, vaccinating more staff and seeking new ways to support students academically in a difficult moment. At a Feb. 3 board of education meeting, Superintendent Chris Gdowski gave an update on efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in schools. The board also unanimously passed a resolution calling for the suspension of state standardized testing. More than 500 students are quarantining as of Feb. 8, the district’s COVID-19 tracker reports. To detect more cases, Gdowski said Adams 12
is testing people in two new ways. The district has expanded the regular, saliva-based testing by sending mobile teams to two schools per day to test students and staff who are interested. Gdowski said a goal is to identify more cases among high school athletes. There is also the new BinaxNow testing program that ships self-administered tests to homes of educators. State health officials recently launched the BinaxNow program and excitedly so. Gov. Jared Polis Tweeted out a photo of him hand delivering BinaxNow kits to two Adams 12 teachers. “Testing is one place where we feel like we’re better equipped than we were before,” Gdowski said at the Feb.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 19
3 meeting. Meanwhile, the district is vaccinating more staff, specifically nurses and health aides, paraprofessionals and some teachers over the age of 70. The majority of teachers haven’t received the vaccine yet. As of Feb. 3, 600 staff members have received the vaccine through Broomfield Public Health and Environment and the Thornton Fire Department. Later, the board passed a resolution calling for the suspension of standardized testing amidst concerns about learning during the pandemic. People across the state are concerned that preparation for testing will take away from limited classroom time. Not all parents are on board, though, a recent survey found. Stu-
dents would also have to turn in and later pick up their Chromebooks after staff have uploaded testing software to the devices. “We are very dedicated to making sure to know how our kids do … But in this case, with the disruptions to learning that have taken place, we’re not sure it would be an accurate measure,” said Board President Kathy Plomer. Boards at nearby Westminster Public Schools and 27J Schools recently passed similar resolutions. The resolution isn’t much more than a statement. However, state legislators are planning to introduce a bill in the upcoming session to direct state education officials to officially suspend testing.
VIRTUAL GUIDES
Guided virtual tours the perfect way to see the sights
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