WHAT’S YOUR HOUSE WORTH?
VOTE SPLASH PAD!
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LOCAL | PG 12
Center Park’s water play makes USA Today’s Top 10
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S O U T H
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Cancer League preps for next week’s Hope Ball FLAIR | PG 14
M E T R O
VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 24 • MAY 4, 2017
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TheVillagerNewspaper
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Fracking app submitted to Arapahoe County Proposed site is nine miles from Centennial
Botanic Gardens CEO Brian Vogt, right, greets former Denver newspaper columnist Bill Husted at the April 28 grand opening.
BY BECKY OSTERWALD MANAGING EDITOR
Two fracking wells have been proposed for the southern end of Arapahoe County by Londonbased Highlands Natural Resources Corp., which has an office in Denver. According to the application, the wells would be located on approximately 8.26 acres just north of the Elbert/Arapahoe county line on County Road 194, nine miles from the Centennial city limits and two miles from Aurora. The land included in the application constitutes approximately 1,280 acres. The two wells are proposed to extend 2,000 horizontally in an east-west direction. Once the cement pad for the well is completed, the company would plan to bring in a drilling rig, which would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the project is completed in an estimated 18 days. According to the Colorado Geological Survey website, such wells are drilled vertically 7,700 to 7,900 feet, until they reach what is called the Niobrara Formation of the Denver Basin, which is a “rich source of natural gas,” according to earthjustice.com. When the drill is turned horizontally, it blasts sand, water and other chemicals so that the limestone fractures and oil can be extracted. Fracking, also called hydraulic fracturing, has been controversial. The U.S. Geological Survey has detected an increase in the number of earthquakes in areas where fracking has been started. Some environmentalists say the process can pollute groundwater. If the application is approved, the land above the proposed fracking operation would have to reclassified from agricultural to oil and gas. Applications have been submitted to both the county and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Comments concerning the application were to be submitted to the Arapahoe County Planning Department by May 4.
Urban art meets nature: The art of Alexander Calder, one of the 20th century’s most influential sculptors, is on display at Denver Botanic Gardens through Sept. 24. The works utilizing industrial materials are sculpted together, quite literally, with nuts and bolts. The Gardens landscape is a natural backdrop, said CEO Brian Vogt of Littleton. Photos by Stefan Krusze
Hmm. What do you say to a “Two-Faced Guy”? Sandy Rower, founder of the Calder Foundation, strolls around his grandfather’s work.
Staying ahead of the curve The onramp is here—the ‘future shock’ of driverless cars
If the strange idea of a self-driving car still seems like something out of sciencefiction movie, think documentary instead. Last year, Reengineering SAM followed the real-life quadriplegic, former racecar driver Sam Schmidt as he was outfitted with what amounted to the first autonomous racecar—or at least, the first that did not require its driver to use a steering wheel or pedals. Schmidt can now remove the word “former” from his business card. He will be pitted against Mario Andretti soon. The paralyzed driver gestures above the neck to control his direction. He blows into The semi-autonomous SAM car was the subject of the 2016 documentary Reengineering SAM. It was on display last month outside the South Metro Denver Continued on page 8 Chamber. Photo by Peter Jones