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in Denver’s newest high-rise
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Volume 31 5 • Number 48 • October 24, 2013 offers top- page notch care
Centennial retirement community
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What’s 6 Inside page
A supplement to the Villager Newpaper
Page 2
Art ready to gobble up snow in Cherry Hills Village
Downtown district is Halloween treasure trove
Page 16
Western Fantasy’s 20th raises record funds for VOA
Page 27
Creek’s Starks to play in Army All-American Bowl
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and DeGette back • Coffman compromise Page 4 tennis coach continues • Creek suspension Page 18 Academy Admissions • Aspen Open House set for Nov. 2
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Index
Page 5..................................Opinion Pages 6-7.......... Letters to the Editor Page 10..................Service Directory Pages 12-17........................Fleurish Pages 20-25..........................Legals
TheVillagerNewspaper @VillagerDenver
By Peter Jones ld Town Tavern may be a frequent “haunt” for happy-hour revelers, but by some reckoning, the bar’s ghosts are much more than memories of forgotten bar tabs. Sometimes when Tavern coowner Mark Lane saunters down the creaky stairs to the storage cellar, he sees the flash of a mysterious small child. “It looks like a boy with a blue hat or something,” he said. “The hair on my arm will stand up and I’ll get goose bumps. Sometimes I’ll be over by the grill cooking – I swear, I can feel someone looking at me.” One night, Lane’s husky business partner was downstairs doing inventory while Lane was manning the bar. Aside from a few regulars, there was no one else in the Tavern that night, least of all in the dank and dingy cellar. “He heard someone clearing their throat and ran upstairs,” Lane recounted. “He is 6 foot 4 and 300 pounds – and he was white as a ghost.” When Ever, a cook who asked that we not use his last name, overheard our conversation, he offered up his own experiences. “It’s a person,” he said of the vague figure he has seen haunting the Tavern’s backrooms. “I don’t say anything ‘cause I don’t want to sound crazy.” Oddly enough, there is nothing unique about the Old Town Tavern and its bevy of ghosts. Amble into virtually any building along
O
in Historic Littleton Ghost sleuth John Brackney peers into what is left of the catacombs beneath a downtown Littleton store. Note the mysterious orbs in the right corner and near Brackney’s left arm. Photo by Peter Jones Littleton’s historic Main Street and chances are you will hear a tale of ghouls or goblins. On a recent Wednesday – in anticipation of Halloween – John Brackney, the president and
CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber and an amateur ghost sleuth, took The Villager on an impromptu tour of Historic Downtown Littleton. As we made our unannounced stops into lo-
cal businesses, virtually everyone had a ghost story. “If you go though these places at night, it is creepy. The Continued on page 3
was initiated based on a Sheriff says hiring practices not ‘discriminatory’ tigation lawsuit filed by a former employee
Feds order Robinson to rescind U.S. citizenship policy
the Civil Rights Division, said employers must ensure their hiring practices do not violate the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and praised Robinson By Peter Jones for his cooperation. “Any restrictions in Arapahoe County hiring based on citizenSheriff Grayson Robinson ship status must be purhas denied any wrongdosuant to requirements ing in connection to his office’s legal settlement Arapahoe County established by law or with the U.S. Justice De- Sheriff Robinson government contract, not internal policies,” partment. Last week, federal officials an- Samuels said. “The office of the nounced an agreement with the sheriff’s cooperation and its efforts sheriff’s office that resolved allega- to reach out to noncitizens affected tions that Robinson had violated the by its past policies reflect its comImmigration and Nationality Act by mitment to address the issues raised requiring deputies to be U.S. citi- in this investigation in a meaningful manner.” zens. According to the Justice DepartIn a statement, Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for ment, Robinson would have been
empowered to enforce his U.S. citizenship policy if the county’s Board of Commissioners had passed an ordinance requiring such an outcome, but federal officials says the elected sheriff was not empowered to make such a policy unilaterally. Although Robinson stands by the merits of the now-overturned job requirement, he says it would have been a waste of taxpayer dollars to pursue the matter further. “We had an obligation to ensure that those serving as peace officers were U.S. citizens,” Robinson said. “Obviously, that isn’t the case based on some technicalities. Very frankly, my decision to go forward and not object any further was a business decision. My concern is the word ‘discriminatory.’ Without any hesitation, we adamantly deny that we did anything wrong.” The Justice Department inves-
against the sheriff’s office alleging discriminatory termination. The former employee who filed the lawsuit was a U.S. citizen and had documentation that showed her work authorization, but not her citizenship. Under the settlement agreement, the sheriff’s employment-eligibility practices will be subject to monitoring by the Justice Department for three years. The sheriff’s office also agreed to pay $500 in civil penalties. Robinson’s office had already addressed the identified victim’s back-pay claims through an earlier agreement based on her private lawsuit. In addition, the sheriff’s office informed other affected non-U.S. citizen applicants that they could reapply for available positions. Al key staff in the sheriff’s office will undergo an hour of related Webbased training.