LOCAL
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en ennial las s o into summer
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POLITICS
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District 37 Democrat makes late entry
The City of Centennial kicked off summer and celebrated the grand opening of the improved amphitheater at Centennial Center Park, June 7.
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After a period of election-year uncertainty for Democrats in Republican-leaning state House District 37, Nancy Cronk has been drafted.
Volume 32 • Number 29 • June 12, 2014
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SCHOOL
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Kent Denver graduates Class of 2014
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Congratulations to the Kent Denver School Class of 2014. The seniors graduated at the Chenery Theatre on June 7.
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Index
Page 4........................................ Opinion Page 8................................... Classifieds Pages 11 - 22 ............................Fleurish Pages 16-17 ..........Father’s Day Section Pages 23 - 28 ..............................Legals TheVillagerNewspaper
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A ‘Runaway’ Success Englewood’s Jim Ratts makes music his way
Jim Ratts performs in the basement studio he built in his Englewood home more than 20 years ago. Ratts has welcomed a wide range of local and national artists to the studio.
Photo by Peter Jones
BY PETER JONES When Jim Ratts looks back, he doesn’t stare – or regret what he sees. “I consider myself the luckiest guy on the planet, if you can say that spending your life making music was a lucky thing to be directed to,” the 65-year-old singer-songwriter said with a laugh. “I could have actually made a living.” As it happens, the name Ratts is almost “star” spelled backwards, and though the Englewood-based musician is not a household name, he became a sort of backwards star, writing songs for better-known artists, scoring the on-off hit single and joining the loose extended family of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. When all is said, sung and done, Ratts has never been passionate about chasing the brass ring. He has been more than content to come home to his wife Salli, his studio and Runaway Express, the Colorado country-folk-rock band that he and Salli have fronted for more than three decades. Salli doubles as a CD cover designer for the likes of Steve Martin and Colorado-based Poco founder Richie Furay. See story on page 2
County sheriff stands by billing practices Inmates billed booking fees, although some go uncollected
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BY PETER JONES rapahoe County is among the metro sheriff’s offices that have in recent years collected millions of dollars in jail booking fees from inmates – though unlike what some reportedly do, Arapahoe does not send unpaid bills to collection agencies. “I don’t necessarily see a need to do that,” Sheriff David Walcher said. “We’re also not going to hold somebody in jail because they can’t meet that cost to get out. However, if there is a balance, we give them an invoice when they leave.” The somewhat nonbinding policy has kept Arapahoe County relatively free of a controver-
sy that has brewed in other parts of Colorado, even though the Sheriff’s Office does try to collect older fees from its recurring inmates and seize funds from their jail accounts to do so. Last year, the Denver City Attorney’s Office concluded that collecting such old debts was in violation of state law, a decision that prompted the Denver County Sheriff to stop the practice. Some repeat inmates have generated tabs in the hundreds of dollars, disproportionally affecting the poor and indigent, critics say. Arapahoe County takes in about $180,000 a year from the $30 fees, Walcher said. The fees are collected from each inmate processed through the jail during the arrest or sentencing phases and refunded if the defendant is found not guilty. In 2004, the Colorado General Assembly passed a law that lets sheriff’s departments
charge booking fees of up to $30, but the law does not allow the collection of unpaid fees, according to several reviews, including those by the Denver city attorney and the Office of the Independent Monitor. Walcher believes the fee system is fair. “The legislature determined this is something we can do,” he said. “Ultimately, these are people who are booked into our jail. They’re the ones who incur the costs of doing what we do. It’s not like they’re paying a daily rate to stay here. … The indigent population gets benefits others don’t. We buy them haircuts. We do all kinds of things for the indigent population anyway.” The law requires that 20 percent of the revenue collected be used for a jail’s mental health and substance-abuse programs. Another 20 percent is earmarked for deputy training on
mental-health issues. The rest defrays the cost of housing the inmate. Walcher says sheriff’s offices have come to depend on such funds. “We would have to cut some programs [if the money was lost],” he said. “If we don’t have that money in the budget, something has to give. But in the grand scheme when we’re talking about a budget pushing $80 million, $180,000 isn’t anything.” Booking and court fees are two of many potential charges incurred by inmates before or after conviction. For example, Colorado is one of 49 states that require defendants to pay for electronic monitoring devices, meaning that those who cannot afford the service must stay in jail. Some defendants in Colorado have been required to pay a $25 fee for the services of a public defender.