Sentinel Colorado 10.9.2025 by Sentinel Colorado

TO BE CONTINUED

Colorado Supreme Court rules that The Sentinel has standing in lawsuit against Aurora for a meeting deemed illegal, but sends case back for final ruling

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Seriously suffering from demented squirrels, drivers and overpriced chickens

Hate is such a strong word. I like that.

I’ve really been hating hard on 2025, and, clearly, I’m nowhere done yet.

Yeah, I join the other 74,999,165 voters who knew this was exactly what the nation would be suffering if they voted for Donald Trump.

DAVE PERRY Editor

But my free-flowing and general malaise is much more than just the constant headache I have from clenching my jaw so tightly as I roll through the national wire news as editor of this newspaper. I understand that, somehow, I have fallen into a parallel universe where reality, Saturday Night Live and discarded doggy doodie bags meld and ripple across the 2025 continuum.

As the squirrels, staring at me, munched on the last of my prized tomatoes and the cool and gray crept in this week, I realized how many things are driving me crazy. Whether it’s my advancing old age and the chronic pain, blindness and deafness that seems to inflict, or the nation’s erupting political calamity, and the chronic pain that seems to inflict, I just hate so much. I’m hoping that an airing of these growing grievances will alleviate them. Join me in my catharsis.

I really hate how there are now several instances every single time I drive on metro highways where some asshat nearly takes out themselves and dozens of others nearby. In nearly every episode of this dirt-bag derby, the jerk is at the wheel of a silver pick-up truck, a black pick-up truck, a black Jeep, a blue pick-up truck, an Audi or a Land Rover. These freaks just don’t do 15 miles or so above the speed limit, like I do.

They’re pushing 100 mph or better as they wild-weave among cars, into the shoulders and medians, up the butt of your car or that of the horrified guy in front of you. Until a few years ago, I saw this behavior maybe once in my life. Then, it seemed like I’d be retelling an episode as much as once a month. Now,

it’s a couple of times each way into and back from work. Every day. I’m not exaggerating. Since nobody teaches anybody to drive like this, these jerks are watching this and thinking it looks like a good idea to them. So they imitate it. So, what kind of stupid jerk sees something totally wrong and senseless on almost every level and thinks, “Oh, hell, yeah”? And if it’s this bad here, can you just imagine what it must be like in states where Donald Trump won?

As much as I hate Colorado’s highway hellions, I loathe how the metro restaurant scene has become so obscene. The number of restaurants that believe in their heart of hearts and monthly margins that they have a God-given right to charge upward of $45 for a roasted chicken dinner is alarming — à la carte.

These are the same restaurants boasting wines that their reps gave them deals on because they aren’t moving with the public, and they then “step on” them five or even six times. It means they pay about $1.50 for a glass of wine, and charge you $15.50 or more. I love restaurants. I worked in restaurants for much of my life. I don’t begrudge hard-working restau rant owners, managers and employees a good living. But I’m not paying well over a hundred bucks for tacos and beer, or for an OK chicken dinner for two, because at least it’s not a two-hundred-dollar baked pork dinner with three carrots glazed in locally sourced water. The reason why an increasing number of restaurants are doing this is because an increasing number of patrons are willing to pay it.

Then they gush on YELP about having peeled off a good chunk of their paycheck for the best roasted chicken dinner ever. I can only assume that their previous roasted chickens were waiting at the checkout at Walmart, and that these people drive like idiots on metro highways to get to their self-absorbed dinners.

But even loathing doesn’t describe the burn I have for health care, or the lack of it, in this country now. My employer and

I pay a princely sum for crappy health insurance each month for everyone who works here.

For the most part, I’ve been lucky my entire life to have never been seriously ill. So I’m the guy that pays into the insurance pool and never draws. You’re welcome. But I also make a huge effort to push away from the trough, even when I don’t want to.

And I hate having to stop eating cheap, stale candy out of the grocery store remand bin, but, hey, I’m an adult. I regularly bike, hike and ski. I avoid foods that researchers have consistently said for decades are anathema to good health, other than cheap, stale candy in the remand bin. And I look for answers other than drugs when I get sick.

As a reward, I now pay more for health care for my family than I do for my mortgage and a long list of other bills. It’s all for nothing. If I were to break my leg, it would cost me another $6,000 or more in “out-of-pocket” and co-pays and other insurance scam rip-offs.

Don’t blame Obamacare. We were 90 percent here even before Obama took office. It’s just that the Affordable Care Act never did squat for prices or making people take better care of themselves. Why? It’s because nearly every member of Congress and the president takes oodles of campaign money from the insurance and medical industries, which they make very clear will go to a political competitor if votes go the wrong way. And I abhor the fact that the people who are the most unhealthy and driving up insurance rates the fastest live in states that have worked hardest to undermine the ACA.

And, you saw this coming, they live in the states that supported Trump and have sent us their demented drivers. I hate that.

Follow@EditorDavePerryonBlueSky,Threads,Mastodon,TwitterandFacebookorreachhimat303-750-7555or dperry@SentinelColorado.com

The last exquisite Black Krim tomato in Dave Perry’s backyard garden after a squirrel that’s tormented Perry all summer chewed off a couple of bites as Perry was watching and then tossed the carcass aside. PHOTO BY DAVE PERRY

DA rules Aurora o cer justi ed in shooting Black Army vet wielding ‘air’ ri e

“IT IS PARTICULARLY TRAGIC THAT MR. DILLARD DIED HOLDING AN AIRSOFT GUN,” DA BRIAN MASON SAID IN A STATEMENT. “THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT ANY REASONABLE POLICE OFFICER WOULD HAVE ACTED DIFFERENTLY.”

BY SENTINEL STAFF

Adams County District

Attorney Brian Mason announced last week that his office will not pursue criminal charges against Aurora police officer Kevin Rodier, who fatally shot 39-year-old Kory Dillard during a chaotic confrontation with a fake rifle outside a northwest Aurora apartment complex one year ago Oct. 3.

After reviewing an investigation by the 17th Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team into the shooting, Mason concluded the officer was justified in the shooting and that any criminal charges against Rodier could not be won in court.

“The evidence supports a conclusion that Rodier’s use of deadly physical force against Mr. Dillard was reasonable,” Mason said in his decision letter.

Anna Harris, Dillard’s longtime partner, said Friday that her impression of conversations with Mason is that “he only looks at the law, and in his opinion this killing was justified,” she said.

“What that really means is that no one is taking responsibility. The DA points to APD, APD points back to the DA, and Kory’s life is treated like it doesn’t matter. We’re not going to stop fighting until someone is held accountable for Kory’s death.”

Aurora police declined to comment on Mason’s decision.

The ruling ends the criminal review of a deadly chain of events that unfolded in front of several witnesses Oct. 3, 2024, just blocks a hospital and family care center in a busy neighborhood.

The decision comes amid new controversy in Aurora, where police are being scrutinized after three other relatively recent officer-involved shootings involving Black men. Dillard, an Army veteran, was Black.

The Aurora police department is under a consent decree imposed by the Colorado attorney general to implement a series of reforms after

a determination police have for years exhibited “patterns and practices” of using excessive force against suspects, especially people of color.

The Dillard shooting began at about 1:45 p.m., when security cameras captured a silver Kia Forte pulling into the lot of Brent’s Place, a housing facility for families of children receiving medical treatment at hospitals nearby.

Dillard, who had been driving, and a white male later identified as “E.M.” got out of the car.

Investigators released only initials of witnesses and others involved in the shooting to protect their identity.

E.M. told investigators his Kia had broken down and that Dillard, whom he didn’t know, approached him offering to help. But once inside the car, Dillard refused to give back E.M.’s keys, according to the investigation.

The argument escalated into a fistfight in the parking lot.

Witnesses saw the two men grappling on the ground, E.M. demanding his keys back as Dillard held him down.

At one point, E.M. told investigators, Dillard struck him with both a fist and a rock, before running off and shouting, “I’m going to kill you.”

A few minutes later, Dillard came back. Witnesses told police they saw him crossing Oswego Street toward the Elm Grove Apartments, climbing onto a balcony, and then coming back again to the parking lot.

This time, he was carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle.

The first 911 call came into police at 1:55 p.m., describing two men fighting. At that time, no weapon was reported.

But about 15 minutes later, the same person called back to say the man later identified as Dillard was pointing a gun at the other man. She described it as an “M16” or “AR-style” rifle.

Just after, E.M. called 911 and said Dillard was waving an “AR-15” around near a white van and trying to carjack him.

Dispatchers upgraded the alert to an armed incident.

Aurora police officers Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin, were nearby working unrelated to the incident at the Elm Grove apartments, investigators said.

Rodier, who was driving an unmarked car both officers rode in, later told investigators the thought it was “imperative that we contact the suspect as soon as possible to prevent him from shooting anyone,” he said, pointing out the area was busy with children and families.

At 2:12 p.m., both officers got out of their unmarked police car, rifles in hand, and immediately spotted Dillard standing at the entrance to the Elm Grove Apartments. A woman was just a few feet away from him.

The officers yelled at Dillard to drop the rifle and show his hands, investigators said. All of this was recorded on officer body cam video.

Dillard lifted the weapon and aimed it at the officers, as seen in the video and according to witnesses.

Rodier fired two shots, striking Dillard, who fell to the ground, as the video revealed.

Investigators later discovered that the gun was not an assault rifle but what they described as a realistic-looking Airsoft replica. The black rifle, manufactured by Lancer Tactical, fires BB-style pellets. Its blue-colorado magazine displayed gold-colored rounds.

One witness, a woman who lived in the apartment complex, told investigators that Dillard had grabbed her push-cart during the melee and demanded she open the building door. She initially thought that the gun was fake because of its “blue magazine.” But she told investigators she was scared and unsure when he threatened her life.

“Open the f******* door or I’ll shoot you,” she told investigators Dillard said.

She told investigators she ducked when she saw Dillard raise the fake rifle toward police.

Both Rodier and Shamblin told investigators

they believed they were about to be shot at. Shamblin said he had raised his rifle and was preparing to shoot Dillard when Rodier fired first.

“I believed the male was going to shoot Officer Rodier,” Shamblin said. “But just as I was about to shoot, Officer Rodier shot the male two times.”

Another Aurora police officer arriving just as the shooting unfolded described the shooting the same way, saying he saw Dillard point the rifle at Rodier.

A third officer arriving in a marked patrol car, Adam Harris, corroborated their accounts, saying he too saw Dillard point the rifle at Rodier.

Both Rodier and Shamblin said neither considered using less-lethal options at the time, because the events happened so fast and appeared to be so dangerous.

Any less lethal alternatives would likely have been futile,” Rodier told investigators, “since the suspect could have easily killed us with his rifle.” Immediately after the shooting, Shamblin kicked the rifle away while both officers began rendering aid, police said.

Dillard was pronounced dead by rescuers. Toxicology reports from an autopsy revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.249, more than three times the legal driving limit. In addition, an undetailed amount of cannabinoids was detected.

As part of the investigation, Dillard’s girlfriend told detectives that he had been struggling with mental illness and had been drinking heavily. She said he often carried the Airsoft rifle into the parking lot while intoxicated, hiding behind cars because he believed he was being hunted.

“She believed he was trying to engage police to shoot him,” investigators said in the report. She recalled him saying he had “nothing to lose.”

“It is particularly tragic that Mr. Dillard died holding an Airsoft gun,” Mason said in a statement.“There is no evidence to suggest that any reasonable police officer would have acted differently.”

Photograph of Airsoft gun held by Dillard. PHOTO VIA 17th Judicial District.

AROUND AURORA

Aurora lawmakers maintain virtual meetings, overriding calls for inperson assembly

Virtual versus in-person city council meetings have been an ongoing issue in Aurora for more than a year, prompting a small number of city council members to create their own version of a public meeting through an almost watch-party setup in person.

The question of whether the city council should return to public meetings was brought back to the table during a special meeting held before a city council fall workshop Oct. 4. The discussion came amid an event two weeks ago where three council members, Alison Coombs, Ruben Medina, and Crystal Murillo, decided to start hosting in-person events to view the regular city council meeting at various public locations throughout the city.

“There’s always going to be an element of friction in our representative form of government,” Mayor Mike Coffman said. “And it’s going to be very offensive from time to time, but I believe we have an obligation, whenever possible, to be in person, and that’s what we ought to do.”

Coffman presented the question of returning to public meetings, urging city council members to resume in-person meetings.

This back and forth about the city council meetings going virtual and being in-person follows more than a year of protesting from loved ones and activists demanding officer discipline and police reform after the death of Kilyn Lewis. Lewis was an unarmed Black man who was shot in 2024 by an Aurora police officer during his arrest after being pursued as a suspect in a shooting in Denver about a month before his death.

As pointed out by members of city council, such as Françoise Bergan, last weekend, the interruptions and protests were inconsistent, unpredictable and would halt city business when a small group would also sign up for agenda items to speak about issues involving Lewis and police reform instead of the topics on the agenda. The group would start speaking on topic for agenda items and then veer off to talking about Lewis, police deaths, voting certain members of city council out, or even yelling at those city council members.

“I just think it’s a disservice to the public when we have such disruptions that it precludes other people from wanting to even be there,” Bergan said.

Recently, the group of activists announced that they would stop protesting at meetings and instead focus on the election, aiming to get councilmembers Danielle Jurinsky, Steve Sundberg and Amsalu Kassaw voted out of office this November, as they run for reelection. Midian Shofner, the lead activist in demanding police reform, said she has focused on the three councilmembers for their so-called “tough on crime” approach and their opposition to police reform actions.

Although the three city council members who created the new public meetings in their own hands are not working in collaboration with the rest of city council, there is little that could be criticized with their approach, especially since the whole point of the meeting is to make it more public, according to Jeff Roberts at the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

Colorado Open Meetings laws are designed to ensure that public information is accessible and transparent, which is what the city council members have advertised as their intention for the in-per-

son meetings.

Roberts said the central aspect he noticed that might benefit their approach to the new in-person versions of the meetings is if they could collaborate with the city and have the location posted on the city website, so more people can hear about it, making it more accessible to the public.

The meeting on Oct. 4, which began with an executive session to ask Pete Schulte, the city attorney, about the legal actions that could be taken if they return to in-person meetings, ended in a city council tie, meaning the meetings will remain virtual.

“Let’s do the meeting in person, but keep the public comment listening session via phone at six o’clock,” Schulte said during Saturday’s meeting. “That way they’re not gonna be able to hijack the agenda.”

Schulte said this in response to Sundberg’s opposition to returning to in-person meetings, after he mentioned that many protesters “break all of the rules” and exceed the two-minute limit.

Councilmembers Sundberg, Jurinsky, Kassaw, Angela Lawson and Stephanie Hancock all voted to keep the meetings virtual. Councilmember Curtis Gardner was not present for the meeting, which is why the vote was a tie after Coffman voted to resume in-person meetings. Gardner did not immediately respond to a request to indicate how he would have voted.

— Cassandra Ballard, Staff Writer

Aurora identifies compliance gaps in ADA self-evaluation as review gets underway

Aurora has completed the first phase of the Americans with Disabilities Act self-evaluation and Transition Plan, which was approved by the city council at the beginning of September, to move forward.

“The ADA is very, very focused on having a plan,” Karlyn Shorb, Aurora’s ADA Title II coordinator, said to city council Aug. 25. “I think we’ll be really in a good place, because we’ll have a plan moving forward.”

The transition plan comes from the federal ADA law amendment, passed in 1991, which requires cities and states to remove barriers to accessibility in public facilities, sidewalks, parks, programs and digital spaces, Shorb said.

Compliance is guided by the ADA, and also by the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Architectural Barriers Act, Shorb said.

Colorado’s House Bill 21-1110 recently mandated accessibility for government digital services, as well.

“This ADA Transition Plan is a living document, intended to be periodically monitored and updated,’ according to city council documents.

Phase one of the city’s self-evaluation focused on Aurora’s public rights-of-way, including sidewalks, curb ramps and pedestrian push buttons. According to Shorb, the field data showed compliance gaps, including 95.9% of curb ramps were not compliant with ADA standards, 92% of pedestrian push buttons were non-compliant, and 77.9% of sidewalks were non-compliant.

“This is something that’s been common with cities,” Shorb said. “It’s not unique to our city. The ADA, the federal government didn’t give cities and municipalities a lot of guidance for a long time on what being compliant with curbs, curb ramps and sidewalks looked like.”

She said it’s probably been nearly 22 years.

This level of non-compliance is not

unusual for a city of Aurora’s size, as many municipalities across the country are still working toward full compliance, Emily Shuman, the director at the Rocky Mountain ADA Center, said.

“Accessibility is an ongoing process that requires ongoing attention and investment as communities grow and change,” Shuman said. “Particularly with sidewalks. They’re susceptible to changes in the environment, the elements wear and tear.”

Although there is no official ranking system for ADA compliance among cities, Aurora’s efforts to identify barriers and develop an improvement plan align with best practices, Shuman said.

ADA is currently not included in building codes, meaning that new projects can be constructed out of compliance. This is usually done unintentionally, because de›› See METRO, 6

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ARAPAHOE COUNTY

Join District 5 Commissioner Rhonda Fields and special guests from Arapahoe/Douglas Works! for an interactive, open conversation about the state of our economy, focusing on workforce changes, affordability, accessibility, and opportunity.

An honest conversation about the economy Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 | 5–6:30 p.m. CentrePoint Plaza | 14980 E. Alameda Dr., Aurora

Rhonda Fields Commissioner District 5

You’re in for a treat!

Come to the Arapahoe County Scaregrounds Oct. 18 & 19 for a weekend of trick-or-treating and spooktacular family fun. Enjoy costume contests, haunted maze, spooky sprints, food trucks, live entertainment, and more! Visit arapahoecountyeventcenter.com/treatstreet

See for yourself

Arapahoe County Elections is hosting public tours of the Election Facility:

• Tuesday, Oct. 28 @ 9 a.m.

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• Friday, Oct. 31 @ 10 a.m.

Get details and register: arapahoeco.gov/facilitytours

signers, builders or business owners may not realize specific requirements exist or are important, Shuman said.

Most enforcement is done after a complaint is filed, she said. Many ADA advocates and experts are having ongoing discussions about whether a more proactive, code-based enforcement should be created to improve accessibility outcomes, Shuman said.

“We don’t have to make the improvements tomorrow,” Shorb said.

“For the public right of way, it would be a 200–250-year plan. So really, in order, we have to just change our policy to make sure that we’re saying when we repave a road, we should be replacing that curb ramp.”

Councilmember Angela Lawson asked Shorb about funding priorities and how the city will ensure improvements reach older neighborhoods, not just areas benefiting from the city’s “Build Up Aurora” capital campaign.

“I didn’t see one slide about allocations,” Lawson said.

Lawson asked whether funding would be distributed by ward or targeted to older infrastructure, and Shorb said that prioritization policies will decide future investments, based on traffic, community feedback and safety needs. She said the city is “not there yet,” but it is a recommendation that the department is creating criteria for.

The city is now preparing Phases Two through Four, which will cover emergency services and operations, city buildings and facilities and parks, recreation, and open space.

Aurora has expanded ADA training for staff, launched a grievance process for residents and added accessibility policies to the employee onboarding process, Shorb said.

— Cassandra Ballard, Staff Writer

Boy, 17, sentenced to 35 years for fatal shooting at Aurora event center

A 17-year-old boy, charged as an adult, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting and killing another teenager last year at an Aurora event center.

Xavier Garcia, 17, was 16 when he shot and killed 19-year-old Joseph Martinez on March 23, 2024, according to police and court records.

Police were called that night to the Victory Grange event center at 2025 Tower Road in response to multiple reports of gunshots at a party, according to an arrest affidavit.

One 911 caller reported hearing “over 200 shots of multiple different calibers” being fired, and an arrest affidavit notes many cartridge casings were recovered from the scene.

When police officers arrived, they saw vehicles appearing to flee from the event center. Inside, they found Martinez, who had been shot once in the chest. The officers tried to resuscitate Martinez, but less than an hour later, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Witnesses told officers that Martinez had been involved in an altercation with the ex-boyfriend of his current girlfriend before he was shot. They told police the ex-boyfriend directed another person to attack Martinez, and that person shot Martinez.

One witness shared an invitation to the party that was posted on Instagram, and another said they believed the ex-boyfriend and shooter were affiliated with the organizers of the party.

A former Hinkley High School student provided a video of the shooting to an Aurora Police Department school resource officer, who forwarded it to investigators

on March 25.

The next day, Aurora police were contacted by an Arvada Police Department detective who identified the juvenile behind the Instagram account that had posted the invitation as the Garcia, according to police records.

Police showed the video of the shooting, in which the teen was visible, to witnesses, along with a photo lineup that included his driver’s license picture — those witnesses identified the teen as the shooter with varying degrees of certainty.

“This young defendant shot and killed a fellow teenager for nothing,” said District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement. “His actions were outrageous, unjustified and devastating. This case is yet another tragic example of the devastation caused by youth gun violence. A 19-year-old lost his life, and a 17-year-old threw his future away with senseless act of violence.”

— Sentinel Staff

Aurora man gets 5-year sentence for fatal hit-andrun that killed pedestrian, dog

A 73-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for a hitand-run crash that killed a pedestrian and his dog earlier this year in Aurora, according to prosecutors.

Michael Graham-Hyde was sentenced last week after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of a crash involving death and careless driving resulting in death, 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Eric Ross said in a statement. Graham-Hyde must also serve five years of parole following his prison term and has been ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.

The crash happened at about 7:30 p.m. on April 3 at East Wesley Drive and East Caspian Circle. Investigators said

Graham-Hyde was driving his SUV west “at a high rate of speed” when he lost control and struck 65-year-old Alberto Buitrago and his dog, Nova, on the sidewalk.

The dog died at the scene, and Buitrago later died at a hospital.

Buitrago’s wife told investigators her husband had taken the couple’s 2-yearold goldendoodle out for a short walk before the crash.

Prosecutors said Graham-Hyde fled the scene of the crash but turned himself in several hours later at Aurora police headquarters. He told investigators that he panicked and later learned through social media that Buitrago had died.

“Leaving the scene of a crash is inexcusable,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacob Kremin said in a statement. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions and the devastation left behind for the Buitrago family.”

Deputy District Attorney Debra Luna said fleeing the crash “only deepened the harm and pain for his family.”

— Sentinel Staff

Aurora police seek suspect in apartment parking lot shooting

An unidentified man arguing with a woman in a south-Aurora apartment parking lot was shot in the leg and injured Oct. 4 after another man fired a gun at him several times and then ran away, police said.

Investigators said the injured man was quarreling with an unidentified woman at about 4:15 p.m. in the parking lot of Summerfield condominium complex at the 3500 block of South Zeno Way when the shooting occurred.

“…an unknown male suspect, whose connection to the argument is unclear, approached and fired several shots at the man before running away,” Aurora police

spokesperson Matthew Wells Longshore said in a statement. “The victim drove himself to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg and is expected to survive. “

Investigators said they had no other information about the suspected gunman or his relationship to the woman or injured man.

Police said anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000, police said.

—

Sentinel Staff

Man pushing grocery cart in Aurora killed by fatal hit-and-run driver

“Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver they say struck and killed a man pushing a grocery cart in a busy southeast Aurora street Oct. 1.

Officers were called to the area of East Hampden Avenue, just east of South Picadilly Road, at about 6 a.m. by motorists who reported a person lying in the road, Aurora Police spokesperson Gabby Easterwood said in a statement.

“The investigation revealed that an adult man was pushing a shopping cart in the eastbound lane of East Hampden Avenue, just east of Picadilly,” Easterwood said.

An eastbound vehicle struck the man and the driver left the scene.

“The man suffered significant injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he later died,” Easterwood said.

Police said they are searching for witnesses and details about the crash.

— Sentinel Staff

Honest Journalism

Colorado Supreme Court sides with The Sentinel in open meetings lawsuit question, sends case back for ruling

BY SENTINEL

In what free-press proponents say is a critical ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday made clear that news organizations have standing under state open meetings laws to file lawsuits against government agencies and can collect attorneys fees if they prevail.

“This is an important win for the public’s right to know,” said Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Council. Ensuring that news entities have standing in the law ensures journalists, backed by their newsrooms, can pursue issues regarding government transparency and accountability.

The ruling is linked to a 2022 open meetings lawsuit filed by Sentinel Colorado against the City of Aurora where the Sentinel accused the city council of meeting illegally to decide a previous censure issue against Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky.

After a state appeals court ruled last year that the city did indeed violate state open meeting laws, the court panel ruled against the Sentinel’s request for attorney’s fees from the city. The three-judge panel said that, under state open meetings law granting “persons” and “citizens” standing to collect attorney fees, the Sentinel, as a newspaper entity, did not qualify.

The high court on Tuesday reversed that position, saying the intent of legislators and language is clear in regards to the state’s open meetings laws, and that the Sentinel would certainly have standing.

The high court, however, also ruled Tuesday for the city in a narrow question about whether lawyers for Aurora waived any attorney-client privilege by disclosing some highlights of the secret meeting in a letter, days after the meeting.

The case was remanded back to the trial court for proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s findings about the Sentinel’s requests for meeting records and attorney fees.

Counsel for the Sentinel, provided by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the lower court will determine whether the city must release tape recordings of the secret meeting and grant the Sentinel

attorney fees.

“We look forward to being able to report to the public what compelled city council members to quash a public censure proceeding against a fellow council member, in a closed meeting with the target of the proceedings and her attorneys in the room at the time,” said Sentinel Editor Dave Perry. “Without the power of open meeting laws, and courts that uphold them, the press, and the public it reports for, are unable to provide critical transparency and details.”

“The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with Aurora today and stated that the city did not waive the attorney-client privilege as the Sentinel alleged,” city officials said in a statement.

“The Supreme Court also stated that a corporation in Colorado indeed meets the definition of a “citizen” under the Colorado Open Meetings Law for purposes of being awarded attorney’s fees if a citizen wins a lawsuit against a governmental entity. “However, because the Supreme Court ruled that Aurora did not waive its attorney-client privilege, the case is being sent back to the District Court to analyze whether the Sentinel did, in fact, prevail in its lawsuit. Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte believes it did not pursuant to today’s order from the Colorado Supreme Court.”

The original case stems from when then-Councilmember Juan Marcano initiated censure proceedings against Jurinsky in early 2022 after Jurinsky told a regional talk radio show host how she had encouraged then-police chief Vanessa Wilson to replace deputy chief, Darin Parker. Jurinsky also criticized Wilson’s leadership of the Aurora Police Department, referring to the chief as “trash.”

Marcano accused Jurinsky of violating a section of the City Charter that prohibits council members from meddling in the appointment of employees who fall under the authority of the city manager.

He also said Jurinsky’s statements about Wilson went against part of the council’s rules of order and procedure, which require members to “conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times” when interacting with city staffers.

A supermajority vote of the council to censure Jurinsky would have been required before Jurinsky could be punished for her statements.

However — during a closed-door meeting on March 14, 2022 — a majority of the council voted to halt the censure process and pay more than $16,000 in fees for an attorney hired by Jurinsky.

Council rules stipulated at the time that, while an executive session could be called to receive legal advice regarding the process of disciplining an elected official, “no action or decision may occur in the executive session.”

Colorado’s Open Meetings Law also limits what city councils are allowed to do outside of the public eye and generally prohibits groups from adopting “any proposed policy, position, resolution, rule, regulation or formal action” in secret.

If a court finds that a group took such action anyway, recordings of that meeting must be made available for public inspection.

Because the council’s actions appeared to violate the state Open Meetings Law, and because the city also failed to announce the specific topic of the closed-door meeting ahead of time, which is required under state law, Sentinel Colorado requested the electronic recording of this private meeting from the city.

The city refused, with City Clerk Kadee Rodriguez writing that the recording was “privileged attorney / client communication and is exempt from disclosure.”

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz ruled in 2023 that the city did not have to the release the recording, finding that Aurora failed to provide proper notice of the private meeting but that the council “cured” the Open Meetings Law violation by including information about what was discussed March 14 in its March 28 council meeting agenda packet.

Volz acknowledged that there was a “roll call” taken during the closed-door meeting to decide how to proceed, but she said this did not constitute “formal action” in the context of the Open Meetings Law.

A trio of appellate judges overturned Volz’s ruling, saying among other things that the district court made a “clear error” when it found that the council’s secret vote did not violate state law.

The opinion was written by Judge David Furman and joined by judges Terry Fox and Gilbert Román. In his opinion, Furman said

Volz erred when she relied on a 2012 ruling by the Court of Appeals that said that a public body can validate a decision made inappropriately in secret through a subsequent public meeting.

In addition, the Sentinel argued that not only did the meeting violate state law because a formal decision was made by lawmakers, but Sentinel sources revealed that Jurinsky’s attorneys were also in the closed meeting. The city has also argued that the meeting is exempt from state open meeting laws because it was an opportunity for “attorney-client” advice that should not be disclosed to anyone outside the city council.

Sentinel Colorado did not challenge the decision to end the censure process itself but rather the decision to deny the newspaper a recording of the illegal closed-door meeting.

The Colorado Court of Appeals also found that the council waived its claims to attorney-client privilege when the city published information about the March 14 private meeting.

“We conclude that the City Council violated … the OML by improperly convening and taking a ‘position … or formal action’ in deciding to end Jurinsky’s censure proceedings during the March 14 executive session,” Furman’s decision reads.

“Because we have concluded that the City Council waived the attorney-client privilege regarding its communications at the March 14 executive session, the recording of this session must be released.”

The state Supreme Court ruled against that position, saying that the city did not waive its privilege by releasing a written outline of what was discussed in secret.

Between April 2022 and November 2023, the city racked up more than $27,000 in expenses for the Law Offices Of Hoffmann, Parker, Wilson & Carberry, P.C. to represent it in the case and fight the release of the meeting recording, according to information obtained by Sentinel Colorado through a records request.

Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said last year after news that Aurora would fight the appeals court ruling, that the case highlights important provisions of Colorado’s Open Meetings Law and that it will have “precedent-setting value.”

Aurora Municipal Center.

Sentinel Colorado File Photo

STAFF

Roll up your sleeve, or just take a whi

IT’S TIME GET A FLU VACCINATION. HERE’S WHO NEEDS ONE, WHY, AND HOW TO GET IT

BY SENTINEL STAFF

It’s time to get a flu vaccine, and pediatricians are urging people to get them after last winter, when the U.S. saw the most flu-related child deaths in 15 years.

October is the ideal month to get protected, experts say, because flu cases typically begin climbing in November.

“The best time is today. If you haven’t already had it, get it. I got mine yesterday,” said Dr. Laura Riley, of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Gov. Jared Polis got his.

“It’s that time of the year when our kids are back to school, the air gets a little colder, and people can start to feel a little under the weather,” Polis said last week posing for cameras as he got a poke to the arm. “To avoid getting sick and spreading disease, I encourage my fellow Colordans to join me in getting the safe and effective flu and COVID-19 vaccines. We’ve taken steps to make it quick and easy here in Colorado. Getting vaccinated is a simple step you can take to help yourself and your family members stay healthy.”

Countering moves by the new Trump administration to limit access to flu and COVID-19 vaccines, Polis issued an order last month making them available to anyone who wants one, without a prescription.

“As we enter the respiratory virus season, it’s important to remember that flu, COVID-19, and RSV can be serious and even life threatening, especially for people at high-

er risk,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Colorado state epidemiologist. “Immunization reduces the risk of getting seriously ill. It also reduces the risk of spreading the virus to others, including those who are most vulnerable.”

Don’t like shots? This year marks the first time that some people can try vaccinating themselves at home using the nasal spray vaccine FluMist.

Just about everyone age 6 months and older needs a yearly flu vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and major medical societies. Despite lots of recent misinformation and confusion about vaccines, the flu recommendations haven’t changed.

Flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children, and people of any age who have chronic health problems including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and weak immune systems.

About 71% of seniors roll up their sleeves every year, but less than 50% of other adults do. Last year, just under half of children got a flu vaccine, down from over 60% a few years ago.

Flu vaccines may not block all infections, but they do a really good job of preventing severe illness and hospitalization, said Dr. Sean O’Leary, of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from the flu every winter. But during last year’s harsh season, the CDC counted 280 children

who died of flu-related complications. Nearly half had no prior health problems and about 90% hadn’t been fully vaccinated.

Another concern from last season: The CDC counted more than 100 children who developed a rare flu complication — brain inflammation that can lead to seizures, hallucinations, or even death. Flu vaccination during pregnancy is two-for-one protection. It’s important for mothers-to-be to understand that a bad case of flu can put them in the hospital or cause their baby to be born prematurely, Riley said.

Flu shot protection also carries over to newborns, and infants too young for their own vaccinations are especially vulnerable to flu.

Riley stressed that years of flu vaccinations show that recommendation is safe for mother and baby.

High-dose shots and those with a special immune booster are designed for people 65 and older, but if they can’t find one easily they can choose a regular all-ages flu shot.

For the shot-averse, the nasal spray FluMist is available for ages 2 to 49.

FluMist has been available for more than 20 years, but the at-home option is newly available for certain adults on the vaccine’s website. If they’re deemed eligible according to their age and a medical questionnaire, they’ll be shipped FluMist timed to arrive on a particular day, with instructions on how to administer it to themselves or their children.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the home administration option last year, too late to roll out for that season. It’s currently only available in 34 states, according to manufacturer AstraZeneca, which hopes to expand access.

Flu vaccines are supposed to be free under Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans if people use an in-network provider. Local health departments also can provide free or low-cost flu vaccinations for people who qualify.

As for the at-home FluMist option, the same insurance rules are supposed to apply, but there will be an out-of-pocket delivery fee. And yes, you get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, said Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas Health and Human Services. They’re safe to give together and “that’s a good way to get them taken care of,” he said. However, there still may be difficulty in finding COVID-19 shots — especially through a government-funded child vaccination program — given confusion after a federal advisory board quit recommending them but said people could decide for themselves.

Aurora residents living in Arapahoe County can for routine immunizations on select days. Call 303-734-5445 to schedule an appointment. For Adams County residents, a clinic is available in Westminster. Make appointments and get information at 303-451-0123.

SHOT IN THE ARM: Gov. Jared Polis gets a seasonal flu vaccine shot from a pharmacist at the Safeway at 560 Corona St. in Denver

PHOTO VIA COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Tickets: $24

Details: www.vintagetheatre.org

Wagon tours explore life on the prairie at Plains Conservation Center

scene & herd

First Date’ musical comedy at the Vintage Theatre

A fast-paced romantic comedy with a musical twist is set to open on the Berg-Young Cabaret Stage at the Vintage Theatre.

First Date, with book by Austin Winsberg and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, follows blind date newbie Aaron and serial-dater Casey as their casual drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a highstakes evening.

As the date unfolds in real time, the couple’s inner voices come to life through the people around them. Other restaurant patrons morph into best friends, exes and parents, singing and dancing them through awkward ice-breakers, appetizers and conversational traps.

IF YOU GO

Date: Through Oct. 23, 2025

Place: Berg-Young Cabaret Stage at the Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St.

A ride through the shortgrass prairie is slated for select Saturdays in October and November at the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora. Participants will travel by wagon across open plains, keeping an eye out for prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope and birds of prey beneath the wide Colorado sky. Along the way, naturalists will share insights into the prairie ecosystem.

The two-hour experience includes stops at “soddie” homes and a Cheyenne camp, giving visitors a glimpse of life for both homesteaders and Cheyenne people on the prairie during the 1800s. Tours are open to all ages but this fall’s sessions are geared toward adults. Organizers note that tours are weather dependent, with cancellations communicated directly to registrants.

IF YOU GO

Dates: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Oct. 18 and Nov. 8

Place: Plains Conservation Center, 21901 E. Hampden Ave. (entrance is at East Hampden Avenue and South Picadilly Road)

Tickets: $15. Registration required at botanicgardens.org

Aurora Fox brings ‘Schoolhouse Rock Live!’ to the stage on Colfax

The Aurora Fox Arts Center will bring Saturday morning memories to life with “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” running on the Fox Mainstage Theater. Directed by Kelly Van Oosbree, the high-energy musical is based on

the animated series that taught generations grammar, math and history through catchy songs.

The show follows Tom, a nervous young teacher whose TV characters leap off the screen to show him how to inspire his students through music and imagination. Audience members can expect classic favorites like “Conjunction Junction,” “I’m Just a Bill” and “Three Is a Magic Number.”

“This production is pure joy,” said Rich Cowden, executive producer of the Aurora Fox. “It’s educational, it’s fun, and it connects generations through music and storytelling.”

In addition to evening and weekend shows, nine daytime student matinees are scheduled, making the production a back-to-school field trip opportunity for young audiences.

IF YOU GO

Dates: Through Oct. 18 Curtains vary greatly for day and night performances.

Venue: Aurora Fox Mainstage Theater, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.

Tickets: $17–$42

Details: aurorafoxartscenter.org

‘Merrily We Roll Along’ opens Sept. 12 at Vintage Theatre

The Tony Award-winning musical Merrily We Roll Along is set to open Sept. 12 at Vintage Theatre, bringing Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s acclaimed story of friendship, compromise and the cost of success to Aurora audiences. Directed by Bernie Cardell, the show plays through Oct. 19 in the Nickelson Auditorium.

Told in reverse, the musical traces the lives of three friends from adulthood back to their youthful idealism, blending the excitement of a backstage

show with a poignant examination of staying true to one’s dreams. The production won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Revival.

YOU GO

Dates: Through Oct. 19

Venue: Nickelson Auditorium at Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora

Tickets: $39 general admission, $33 seniors, $20 students/children (12 or younger)

Details: 303-856-7830 or VintageTheatre.org

‘Unapologetically Chicano’ art experience

A six-week immersive celebration of Chicano culture at CHAC Gallery @40 West in Lakewood. “Unapologetically Chicano” will showcase traditional and contemporary works of art alongside music, food and community connection.

Curated by Rob and Tammy Yancey, the exhibition highlights the resilience and creativity of Chicano identity across generations. The opening reception runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and will feature local and regional artists, live music, DJs, authentic food vendors, classic cars from Los Compas Car Club and handcrafted spirits served by The Good Ol’ Time Mobile Bar.

A second First Friday event on Oct. 3 offers another chance to meet the artists and experience the work. Organizers describe the show as a celebration of heritage, resistance and joy.

IF YOU GO

Dates: Through Oct. 24, Opening reception: Sept. 5, 5 p.m.–9 p.m.

Venue: CHAC Gallery @40 West, 7060 W. 16th Ave.

Tickets: Free Details: www.chacgallery.org/

Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra launches Latin Jazz series

The Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra’s Latin Jazz Ensemble will kick off a monthlong celebration of Latin music in Lafayette, blending Brazilian grooves and Central American rhythms with the soaring vocals of Marion Powers. The concerts are part of National Hispanic Heritage Month and feature some of the region’s top Latin jazz artists.

Led by Artistic Director Drew Zaremba, the ensemble includes Victor Mestas on keyboards, Gabriel Santiago on guitar, Bijoux Barbosa on bass, Alejandro Castaño on drums, and Leo Corona on percussion. Together, they bring a bold mix of rhythm and soul that CJRO organizers say will create an unforgettable experience.

The series will include four performances across the metro area: the Muse Performance Space in Lafayette, Dazzle Denver, The Schoolhouse in Parker, and the Lakewood Cultural Center.

Each concert will feature “high-energy music” that organizers describe as “a Latin Jazz Fiesta.”

IF YOU GO Times, tickets and Places:

• Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., The Schoolhouse, 19650 E. Main Street in Parker. Tickets are $27–$32.

• Oct. 12, 3 p.m., Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway. Tickets are $36–$38.

More detail and tickets at: coloradojazz.org

From

Troy Flores pose with the Class 5A boys golf state championship trophy the Cougars won in a playoff Oct. 7 at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction.

Middle: Cherokee Trail’s Brayden Forte, right, hugs fell senior Dalton Sisneros after his eagle putt on Hole No. 18 at Bookcliff Country Club that would eventually earn the Cougars a chance to play for and win the state title.

Below: Eaglecrest senior Gregory White smiles after he received his medal for his tie for ninth-place at the Class 5A boys golf state tournament Oct. 7 in Grand Junction.

On a dramatic day at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction, the Cherokee Trail boys golf team made history.

The Cougars had fallen agonizingly close to winning the Class 5A state championship in the previous two seasons, but settled for second both times when other teams came through in the clutch.

On Oct. 7, it was Cherokee Trail’s mix of seasoned veterans in seniors Brayden Forte and Dalton Sisneros and state newcomers in freshman Jeffrey Chen and senior Braydon O’Neill that got it done.

to take the second place trophy, even though both teams officially finished in a tie for second.

This time, Cherokee Trail — which had four players to the three for Denver East — played with ice water in its veins.

First, Chen — whose older brother, Anthony, had been a part of the two runner-up teams, but did not make the top four this season — made a birdie putt, which came after Johnson had made one for the Angels. Forte sunk a birdie putt as well and after Denver East’s Murphy Rowen made par, Sisneros sealed it with a birdie putt that swirled around the cup and went down.

Cougars pounce

BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor

Coach Ryan Stevens’ Cougars — who had played like the state’s top team all season, but got off to an abnormally slow start in the opening round — shot 10-under-par as a team on the final day to get into a tie for first, then outlasted Denver East to bring home the program’s first title.

PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL For full state golf tournament coverage, visit sentinelcolorado. com/preps

Forte, a San Diego State commitment, put the finishing touches on his already memorable prep career with a clutch performance to help his team when it needed it most. As the last Cherokee Trail player on the course, Forte erased a one-stroke deficit to the Angels when he put his approach shot within two feet of the cup on Hole No. 18 and sunk the putt for a rousing eagle.

Denver East — in search of its first state golf championship since 1952 — recovered, however, as senior Elijah Johnson sank a birdie putt to force a playoff for the top spot. A team playoff that featured both Forte and Sisneros had not gone the Cougars’ way back in 2023, when Cherry Creek prevailed

Individually, Forte finished in third place with a two-day total of 7-under 135 (which included a blistering 64 in the final round), while Sisneros shot 140 to finish eighth. Chen shot 147 to tie for 24th and O’Neill carded a total of 152 to tie for 38th.

The Cherokee Trail players had Aurora-area company in the top 10, as Eaglecrest senior Gregory White — a four-time state qualifier — shot 1-under-par on the second day to earn a spot in a five-way tie for ninth place with a two-day total of 1-under 141.

Just two strokes out of that group was junior Will Farber, who placed 16th in his first season with Regis Jesuit. Senior Brady Davis shot seven strokes better in the second round than in the first to finish in a tie for 24th to help the Raiders finish 11th as a team. Junior Henry Criste was the third qualifier for coach Craig Rogers’ team and he shot 159 over two days.

Coach Kurtis Bailey’s Grandview team finished in 15th place as a team with help from a pair of two-time state qualifiers in junior Dominik Fedotov (who finished 46th) and sophomore Sam Silver (who took 58th) plus a first-time qualifier in senior Carter Guy Hays in 67th.

Smoky Hill junior Reece Nuwash shot 74 on the final day to finish in a tie for 34th.

BOYS GOLF

Right:

left, Cherokee Trail head coach Ryan Stevens, Anthony Chen, Jeffrey Chen, Dalton Sisneros, Brayden Forte, Braydon O’Neill and assistant coach

FOOTBALL

Tough week for Aurora teams in league play Conference play arrived with Week 6 of the 2025 prep football season and it proved difficult for Aurora area teams. Only Eaglecrest and Regis Jesuit managed to emerge with victories, while the other nine area programs suffered a variety of defeats from close to lopsided.

Eaglecrest became the first area team to reach the five-win mark and did so with a 48-7 victory over Smoky Hill Oct. 3 at Legacy Stadium to begin Centennial League play. Coach Jesse German’s Raptors (5-1, 1-0) celebrated Homecoming with a significant win that included two defensive touchdowns (a fumble return score from Sam Johnson and pick-six from Braydon Turner), a punt return score from Cameron Bell and two rushing touchdowns apiece for William Brinkman and Josiah Assibey. Jayden Hopkins rushed for the lone touchdown for coach Brandon Alconcel’s Buffs, who fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Regis Jesuit upped its winning streak to three games with and evened its record at 3-3 on the season with a 41-9 5A Southern League opening win over Chaparral Oct. 3 at Lou Kellogg Stadium. Luke Rubley threw touchdown passes to Colt Jones, Logan Singer and Cade Filleman for coach Danny Filleman’s Raiders, who also got a rushing score from Joe Pron to go with a pair of Jack Manthey field goals.

Grandview fell behind Arapahoe 140 in its Centennial League opener Oct. 3 at Littleton Public Schools Stadium, but scored 17 straight points to take a 4th quarter lead. After Noah Galvez’s 37 yard field goal gave coach Tom Doherty’s Wolves (3-3, 0-1) the lead, the Warriors returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards and held on to win 21-17. Chris Blanks rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown and Blitz McCarty threw a scoring pass to Jaxson Flores to round out Grandview’s scoring.

On Oct. 3 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium, Rangeview had a four-game winning streak come to an end with a 3523 loss to Erie to open 5A Front Range South League play. Tyson Tuck found Donte Allison with a touchdown pass, while Kemariahe Brown rushed for a pair of scores for the Raiders (4-2, 0-1).

Aurora Central also dropped to 4-2 with a 49-18 road loss to Montbello in a 4A Denver Metro League contest Oct. 3 at the Evie Dennis Campus. Coach Chris Kelly’s Trojans had a three-game winning streak come to an end. Vista PEAK Prep came off a bye week with a visit to Mullen Oct. 3 to kick off 5A Front Range South League play.

Coach Kyle Reese’s Bison got two second-half touchdown pass from Canaan Barthlow to Isaiah Watson (who had 148 yards receiving), but dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. Cherokee Trail is now 2-4 after a 49-12 loss to Cherry Creek Oct. 3 at Stutler Bowl in the Centennial League opener.

Coach Justin Jajczyk’s Cougars got 200 yards passing from Bryson Peterson, with 123 of those going to Evan Smith, who also caught both of Peterson’s touchdown passes. Gateway dropped to 2-4 with a 51-7 loss to Grand Junction in an Oct. 2 4A I-25 League contest at APS Stadium. Lyric Wynn had an 84-yard touchdown run as part of a 111-yard rushing effort for coach Rashad Mason’s Olys.

TOP: Rangeview’s Jay’Sean Toliver-Qualls (0) elevates to knock away a pass intended for Erie’s Gabe Sema in the Raiders’ 35-23 football loss Oct. 3. ABOVE: Cherokee Trail’s Bryson Peterson (7) fires a deep ball downfield during the Cougars’ 49-12 loss at Cherry Creek Oct. 3. RIGHT: Grandview’s Jaxson Flores (0) makes a big return during the first half of the Wolves’ 21-17 loss to Arapahoe Oct. 3 at LPS Stadium. (Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)

Still looking for their first wins of the season are Overland (0-6) — which lost a 14-0 5A Metro North League tilt to Mountain Range at 5-Star Stadium — plus Hinkley (0-5), which fell 60-0 at Kent Denver.

SOFTBALL

State postseason ﬁelds to be determined Oct. 13

The final week of the regular season in softball is ahead, with 32-team postseason fields scheduled to be revealed Oct. 13 by the Colorado High School Activities Association.

The top eight seeds in CHSAA’s Seeding Index will play host to fourteam tournaments Oct. 17-18 with two

the

half of the

40-14 Week 6 football loss to the Mustangs. ABOVE: Cherokee Trail centerﬁelder Izzy Becker tracks down a ball hit towards the gap during the Cougars’ 6-3 home softball loss to No. 1 Broomﬁeld Oct. 3. The Cougars currently sit No. 3 in CHSAA’s Class 5A Seeding Index. (

teams from each regional advancing to the Oct. 24-25 state tournament at the Aurora Sports Park.

Going into the final week, Cherokee Trail (16-4) held the No. 3 spot in the seeding index, one spot ahead of Eaglecrest (18-4), which would give both area programs — who were slated to play each other in the Centennial League Challenge championship game at 4:15 p.m. Oct. 9 at Cherokee Trail — home tournaments. Both teams lost to No. 1 seed Broomfield in the past week.

The only other Aurora area program currently sitting in the top 32 is Grandview (13-9), which is in the No. 14 position.

BOYS TENNIS Area teams spread out in regional tournaments

The individual portion of the Class 5A boys tennis postseason arrives Oct. 8-10 with a variety of regional tournaments in multiple locations.

Teams get divided into the eight regional tournaments based on final league standings and in Class 5A, two Aurora area programs — Regis Jesuit and Grandview — get to play host to tournaments that determine the field for the individual state tournament Oct. 16-18 at the Denver Tennis Park. Regis Jesuit’s Region 2 tournament

is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 9-10 and will include Broomfield, Centaurus, Denver North, Highlands Ranch, Legend and Rampart, while Grandview’s Region 7 tournament (which is set for 8 a.m. Oct. 8-9) has Castle View, Chatfield, Fort Collins, Fountain-Fort Carson, Ralston Valley and Riverdale Ridge. Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest both ended up in the field for the Region 5 tournament scheduled for Oct. 8-9 at the Ken Caryl Ranch House, while Overland and Rangeview head to the Region 3 tournament Oct. 8-9 at Valor Christian and Highlands Ranch high schools

TOP: Vista PEAK Prep’s Abraham Garcia (45) zeroes in on Mullen quarterback Cole Parsons (12) during

second

Bison’s

Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)

ABOVE: Gateway sophomore Miguel Roa (10) runs towards the bench in celebration after he scored a tie-breaking goal in the late stages of the Olys’ 2-1 Colorado League boys soccer win over Skyview on Oct. 2 at Gateway High School. RIGHT: Regis Jesuit junior No. 1 singles player Alec Rodriguez-Fields pumps his fist after winning a key point in the Raiders’ 7-0 win over Lakewood in a Class 5A boys tennis team state tournament quarterfinal Oct. 3. The top-seeded Raiders earned their second sweep in the tournament to advance to the Oct. 14 semifinals. PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL

›› PREPS, from 11

and Vista PEAK Prep is part of the field for the Region 8 tournament Oct. 8-9 at ThunderRidge and Mountain Vista.

BOYS TENNIS

Regis Jesuit moves into semis of 5A team state tourney; Grandview falls

The two Aurora teams that qualified for the Class 5A boys tennis state tournament were one match win away from meeting in the semifinals, but only Regis Jesuit advanced to the final four.

The top-seeded Raiders recorded back-to-back sweeps of No. 16 Pine Creek (Oct. 1) and No. 8 Lakewood (Oct. 3) to move into the Oct. 14 semifinals, where coach Laura Jones’ team will play host to No. 5 Fossil Ridge.

The SaberCats prevented an all-Aurora semifinal by virtue of a 4-3 win at fourth-seeded Grandview Oct. 3.

Coach Jeff Ryan’s Wolves got a singles sweep from Justin Son (No. 1), Kaahan Wani (No. 2) and Krish Wani (No. 3), but dropped all four doubles matches to fall in the quarterfinals for a second straight season. Grandview opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Rocky

Mountain Oct. 1.

The tournament concludes with the state championship match Oct. 21 at the Denver Tennis Park. For full schedule, visit sentinelcolorado.com/preps.

WEEK PAST

The week past in Aurora prep sports

MONDAY, OCT. 6: The Cherokee Trail boys soccer team edged Smoky Hill 2-1 in a competitive Centennial League contest. ...The Regis Jesuit softball team scored in all six at-bats on its way to a 16-6 Continental League win over Douglas County. Alex Tavlarides picked up the

win in the circle and had two hits as did Jill Samaras and Brynn Huckemeyer (who had 2 RBI apiece along with Brinley Stearns and Kendal Craven). ...The Rangeview girls flag football team earned an 18-6 City League win over George Washington. ...SATURDAY, OCT. 4: The Centennial League Challenge softball tournament began with contests at two sites, Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest. The Cherokee Trail softball team defeated Smoky Hill 15-3 (Leera Davis pitched four innings for the win, while Kayla Kee went 4-for-4 and Sydney Cobb knocked in 3 runs, while Kiley Snyder homered to lead the Buffaloes) and followed that with a 16-

1 defeat of Grandview as the

and

had 2 RBI apiece, while

went to

had half of the Wolves’

hits. Eaglecrest got five shutout innings with eight strikeouts from Haisley Elliott in a 10-0 victory over Arapahoe (which included a home run and 5 RBI from Sybella Trevino, another homer from Abby Files and 2 RBI from Zaya Elliott), while Zaya Elliott pitched a complete game in a 10-4 win over Cherry Creek. Elliott, Trevino, Lelia Kelliher and Giana Vialpando Williams had two hits apiece. Grand›› See PREPS, 13

win

Emma Rice Kate Kenney

Delaney Falzon

Monroe Donaldson

four

view went 1-1 with the win coming against Smoky Hill (14-2) as Kenzie Hiebert had three hits and 4 RBI and Monroe Donaldson drove in three runs. ...The Eaglecrest girls cross country team finished second among five scoring teams at the Niwot Invitational race as Jenna Winn led the way with a sixth-place individual finish. She was joined in the top 20 by Mia Silva (15th) and Jenna Hallman (19th). Cody Campbell finished 13th to lead the way for the Eaglecrest boys, who were sixth out of eight teams. ...The Grandview girls flag football team earned a 54-0 Centennial League win over Smoky Hill that featured three touchdown passes and two interceptions from Brooke Sullivan Abby Kirkpatrick rushed for a touchdown and threw for two, while K’Dence Thomas scored via rush and threw a scoring pass. ...The Overland girls flag football team posted a 38-6 Centennial League win over Cherokee Trail FRIDAY, OCT. 3: The Cherokee Trail girls volleyball team went to Smoky Hill and came away with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-21 Centennial League win. ... Sawyer Berg and Hugh Brophy both scored goals off assists from Connor Genson as the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team blanked Highlands Ranch 2-0 in Continental League play. ...Adrian Rodriguez scored twice and Alexis Hernandez had two assists for the Aurora West College Prep Academy boys soccer team in its 4-2 win over DSST: College View. ...The Cherokee Trail softball team dropped a 6-3 home contest to Broomfield in a meeting of 5A’s top two teams. Kate Kenney and Lily Buttshaw drove in runs for the Cougars. ...The Cherokee Trail boys cross country team won the championship for the Pat Amato Classic in Northglenn with a total of 54 points, which outpaced Fossil Ridge (68). Dylan Smith earned a fourth-place finish, while Jaxon Weber came in ninth. Brandon Pearcy of Vista PEAK Prep (23rd as a team) finished fourth individually. Cherokee Trail’s Madison Lange was the champion of the girls race and paced the Cougars to fourth place as a team with help from Jade McDaniel in 14th. ...Despite 2 rushing touchdowns from Rilee Bergquist and a passing score to Goretty Vazquez De Leon, the Vista PEAK Prep girls flag football team fell to Rangeview 24-18. ...The Smoky Hill field hockey team outlasted Grandview for a 1-0 overtime victory. The Buffaloes got a six-save shutout from Riley Leeser THURSDAY,

For more on these stories, visit sentinelcolorado. com/preps

OCT. 2: The Regis Jesuit girls volleyball team posted a 25-16, 27-25, 25-17 Continental League victory over Ponderosa. ...The Vista PEAK Prep girls volleyball team dropped a 23-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-23 match to Northfied. ...The Aurora Central softball team celebrated its seniors and then rolled to a 24-8 home win over Skyview. Winning pitcher Stephanie Gomez also drove in three runs, while Kaylah Leach knocked in six runs and scored four. ...Amara Herrera’s 4-for-4 performance plus three RBI from Rylie Camarillo helped the Vista PEAK Prep softball team to a 15-2 City League win over Thomas Jefferson. Jaya Gray added three hits. ...The Regis Jesuit field hockey team suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to Arapahoe. ...WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1: The Regis Jesuit softball team pounded out 15 hits en rote to a 13-4 Continental League road win at Chaparral . Elsa Pedersen drove in five runs on three hits, the same amoutn Kendal Craven collected. ...The Rangeview softball team downed Thomas Jefferson 19-9 in a City League contest in which the teams combined for 26 hits and nine errors. ...TUESDAY, SEPT. 30: The Eaglecrest girls volleyball team rallied past Cherokee Trail for a significant 25-23, 22-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14 Centennial League victory. ...The Grandview girls volleyball team won a Centennial League match at Overland 25-12, 25-19, 25-18. ...The Cherokee Trail boys soccer team claimed the coveted Arapahoe Derby trophy with a 2-0 victory over rival Grandview at Legacy Stadium. Caleb Bruce scored the only goal the Cougars would need in the opening half, while Mason Robledo converted a penalty kick in the second half for an insurance score. ...Kam Bachus scored two goals in the first half and assisted on Rory Schmeider’s tally as the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team held off Rock Canyon 3-2 in Continental League play. ...A three-goal opening half propelled the Gateway boys soccer team to a 4-0 Colorado League victory at Thornton. Jae Raudales and Jabez Samuel had the goals and Iker Lopez stopped all six shots he faced for the Lotus School For Excellence boys soccer team in its 2-0 win over Campion Academy. ...The Eaglecrest and Smoky Hill boys soccer teams played to a 1-1 Centennial League tie as Tylen Haller tallied the Buffaloes’ goal. ...Zaya Elliott struck out nine and scattered five hits in the Eaglecrest softball team’s 4-2 Centennial League win over Arapahoe. Elliott also joined Abby Files, Ryleigh Stufft and Sybella Trev-

ino with RBI for the Raptors. ...Sydney Cobb and Leera Davis combined on a three-inning no-hitter for the Cherokee Trail softball team in a 15-0 Centennial League win over Mullen. Eleven different Cougars had hits and 10 had RBI in the contest. ...A five-run sixth inning finally gave the Grandview softball team the margin to put away Cherry Creek in a 10-4 Centennial League win at Village Green

Field. Ally Birx homered in a 3-for-3 day and Maddie Donaldson and Sasha Kennedy both had three hits (Donaldson added three RBI and Kennedy scored three times) to back Aaliyah Carter on the mound. ...Kiley Snyder homered, stole six bases and scored four runs for the Smoky Hill softball team in a 12-2 victory against Overland Ellen Paris added two RBI to back a nine-strike-

out effort from winning pitcher Ava Matheny. ...The Grandview girls flag football team started fast and went on to a 41-7 victory at Overland. ...The Hinkley girls flag football team picked up the first victory in program history with a 19-6 defeat of Kennedy. ...The Overland boys tennis team earned a 6-1 dual match victory against Rangeview.

›› PREPS, from 12

LEFT: Eaglecrest pitcher Zaya Elliott throws a pitch during the Raptors’ 10-4 win over Cherry Creek in the Centennial League Challenge softball tournament Oct. 4.

ABOVE: Members of the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team celebrate as they hold up the Arapahoe Derby trophy earned with a 2-0 victory over rival Grandview Sept. 30 at Legacy Stadium. RIGHT: Grandview goalie Camden Kuhn, right, skies over a group of players to punch out a service attempt during the Arapahoe Derby boys soccer contest Sept. 30.

PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL

Candidates for Aurora at-large council seats offer voters clear choices Five for two in ‘25

BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer

Despite the cooler fall days, the race for two at-large city council seats is heating up. There are new faces, familiar names and some Aurora-sized controversy.

In what is technically a nonpartisan race, Republican leaders are pushing to keep their majority on city council while Democrats hope to disrupt it.

Aurora City Council elections are held on Election Day on odd years, resulting in more unpredictable and generally lower voter turnout, according to decades of Aurora voting history. Election results for 2023 in Arapahoe County reveal a 39% voter turnout. Last year’s general election drew 76% of voters. Like all local elections, this year’s election is conducted by mail ballot.

A variety of topics are on the minds of Aurora voters and candidates, including the city’s approach to crime and immigration, particularly in light of the changes being implemented by the Trump Administration.

In talking to at-large council candidates and attending campaign events over the last several weeks, The Sentinel focuses this week to report on policies that have been on the dais and in the news over the past two years. Questions to candidates were linked to police officer-involved shootings and police reform, the city’s approach to homelessness, and how city council can work to make housing more affordable or obtainable for all income levels.

Aurora is currently under a consent decree, imposed by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in 2021. It was the result of investigations into allegations of the Aurora Police Department’s excessive use of force and discriminatory practices, particularly against people of color. Triggered in part by the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police and rescuers after being stopped, unarmed, the decree mandates broad reforms in training, accountability, use-offorce policies, data systems and community engagement.

This year, four people have died in police involved shootings, and three were unarmed. Critics have concerns about whether the city is making changes to the police department quickly enough and whether the city should implement an independent police oversight structure, a long-standing issue that has been ongoing for years.

Homelessness is also a compelling issue for people in Aurora, as a two-year-old camping ban was backed by a Supreme Court decision last year. For about three

years, the city has increasingly made the ban more restrictive. Although the city is not required to offer shelter for the homeless while ticketing for it, the city council, spearheaded by Mayor Mike Coffman, is about to open the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus, which will offer a three-tier workfirst approach to homelessness. This has been controversial because almost all national, credible studies point to the greatest shortterm and long-term success for permanent housing and rehabilitation being linked to some variation of “Housing First” policies. Candidates were asked whether they would keep the policies as they are or make changes.

Other questions concerned affordable housing and how candidates might utilize policy or their position as a city council member to create more affordable and workforce housing for groups of all income levels.

Danielle Jurinsky

Danielle Jurinsky, a Republican, at-large, first-term incumbent, has been a highly controversial and polarizing figure in local politics since she took the dais in 2021. Her aggressive stance on public safety and immigration issues has drawn both staunch support and fierce criticism.

Jurinsky currently chairs the council’s Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Policy Committee. Last year, she raised allegations that the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had “taken over” parts of Aurora, garnering her and the city national attention, much of it on Fox News. She later walked back the comments to say they had only taken over multiple apartment complexes within Aurora.

Those claims have been repeatedly challenged by law enforcement, and eventually Jurinsky and Mayor Mike Coffman acknowledged that the framing of TdA’s presence was overstated, insisting the gang’s influence is limited to the few properties, rather than the city at large. The city’s court, suing

the landlord who owns three controversial apartment complexes, has also argued that the extent of gang activity, including Venezuelan gang activity, has been overblown and that critical issues at the complexes, shut down by the city, were caused by the building owners’ negligence.

Aurora police arrested eight individuals who were said to be members of TdA in December last year, and a few later raids were able to prove the presence of the gang infiltrating parts of Aurora, but there has been no evidence of a city or even a full apartment complex takeover.

She took part in a campaign rally last fall with now-President Donald Trump, in which Trump repeated exaggerations and factless claims that Venezuelan gangs had taken over the city and even much of Colorado. After Trump’s re-election, Jurinsky, in a public safety committee meeting, said she’d been in contact with the new administration and wanted the city to coordinate with the Trump team on how it would handle dealing with immigrants in the city.

Her confrontational style quickly became a hallmark of her tenure.

She publicly became a harsh critic of former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, calling her “trash” on a right-wing radio talk show in 2022. Wilson was appointed as chief just as national attention was drawn to the city because police became embroiled in controversy over the 2019 death of Black men contacted by police. Dispute over

the police-involved death of Elijah McClain grabbed national headlines as the nation roiled from protests linked to the Minneapolis police death of George Floyd. Some Aurora police union members pushed back against a state-ordered consent decree against Aurora, which, after a state investigation, found that police exhibited “patterns and practices” of using excessive force, especially against people of color.

Wilson is now suing Aurora for wrongful firing, and Wilson’s attorney has linked at least part of the allegations to Jurinsky.

Jurinsky became a target of progressives on the city council, linked to her public comments about whether to fire top police officials. That controversy evolved into a call by former Councilmember Juan Marcano for her censure. City lawmakers are prohibited from dictating work or deciding employment matters for city employees. The chief of police is appointed and reports to the city manager’s office.

The call for censure controversy ended up in a closed city council meeting, where conservative members outvoted progressives to drop the call for censure against Jurinsky. The Aurora Sentinel has sued the city, saying the meeting and vote conducted in secret were done illegally. The state appeals court has upheld the Sentinel’s argument, demanding the city release recordings of the meeting. The case has been appealed by the city to the state Supreme Court, expected to rule this week. As a

result of the closed-door decision to abandon censure proceedings against Jurinsky, the city council also voted along party lines to award Jurinsky $16,162.50 for defense attorneys David Lane and Suzanne Taheri of law firm Killmer, Lane and Newman stemming from fees she linked to the issue.

Jurinsky has, from the beginning of her term, billed herself as a proponent of small business. She owns and operates JJ’s, a local tavern.

Last year, she made ending the city’s so-called head tax — a $2 per month tax on each employee in the city — a signature issue.

While she initially garnered a majority of council support for the cause, that support evaporated last year when it became clear the city was headed for a budget deficit and the loss of the head tax would cost the city $6 million a year in lost revenue.

When council allies turned against ending the tax, Jurinsky turned against her council allies with a vengeance.

Jurinsky sent a string of text messages to four of her conservative council allies — council members Françoise Bergan, Stephanie Hancock, Steve Sundberg and Dustin Zvonek — in advance of a meeting last year that would decide the fate of the head-tax cessation. The texts were obtained by the Sentinel.

Jurinsky was angry about Bergan’s proposal to continue levying

Sentinel Colorado File Photo

the tax.

“I will not be at the meeting on Monday, and every single one of you can go fu** yourselves!” her first message reads.

“I fu***** campaigned on that you fu***** pieces of shit! AND FU** YOU DUSTIN!!”

“And I hear you’re a co sponsor, Francoise. You can definitely go fu** yourself! You’ve never owned a business or a fu***** thing in your life you pretentious bitch!”

“My friendship will literally (sic) every single one of you is dead! DEAD! oh, and my loyalty… also dead! I hope you all have miserable fu***** lives! I might make that happen for a few of you. FU** YOU!”

Jurinsky did not respond then to the Sentinel’s inquiries for comment about the invective.

Sundberg defended Jurinsky despite her harsh words toward him and fellow Republicans.

“I don’t know one member of City Council who has not, in frustration, spontaneously expressed their passion. Many of us, including Councilwoman Jurinsky, can be fierce in our love for the city, as we want the best for it,” he wrote last year in an email to the Sentinel.

Bergan, Hancock and Zvonek — the three other recipients of the threatening texts — did not respond for comment.

In a public meeting, however, Bergan called Jurinsky’s behavior “abusive and toxic.”

“Whenever we have a discussion and she doesn’t get her way, let me tell you what she does, she’s a bully and she has bullied a lot of people on the council over this issue, and she curses me out with cuss words and is vile,” she said.

Jurinsky eventually got the votes from her conservative colleagues and was able to end the employee “head tax” right as the city realized it was about to hit a $20 million budget shortfall in 2026. The overall shortfall will now lead to employee furloughs, programming cuts and a draw on the city’s “rainy day” reserves.

Each of the conservative colleagues she attacked in the emails has also endorsed her in her run for city council this year.

Her supporters view her as a tough-minded defender of law and order, while critics state that her rhetoric is reckless and divisive. Jurnisky did not reply to repeated requests for an interview from the Sentinel.

Jurinsky has taken a position of full support of the Aurora Police Department and their actions, while occasionally touting her close relationship with officers she attended high school with. In her most recent political rally, she stated that she fully supports the Aurora Police and that the media vilifies the police department because they hate them.

Homelessness is not a topic Jurinsky talks about in many meetings, but she voted and stated support for Coffman’s “work first” approach to housing. She also voted in favor of a camping ban. She supported the Supreme Court ruling that legalized camping bans, which did not require municipalities to offer housing options when citing people for violating the ban.

In multiple city council meet-

ings, Jurinsky has stated that she believes the city no longer needs to focus on building affordable apartments, condos and townhomes, but rather it should concentrate on building middle housing, such as single-family homes.

“The amount of multifamily housing that is coming in, unless those are duplexes, I know council member Bergen and I are working on a few things to kind of bring that to a screeching halt in Aurora,” Jurinsky said during a Planning and Economic Development meeting in August. “I think that is, for every developer listening, that is a huge let down for me to see the amount of multifamily housing coming into this city, unless it is duplex or affordable housing for seniors or veterans.”

Jurinsky says one of her most important pet projects during her term so far was just that. Jurinsky has spearheaded, over the past few years, an effort to secure $51 million in funding for the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the city’s aging and decaying animal shelter.

“We (were) on the verge of totally being shut down and not having the animal shelter at all,” Jurinsky said earlier this year.

The shelter, originally intended to house a limited number of strays, faced a capacity crisis, with 90% to 95% of kennels occupied. The new facility will have 250 spaces for animals, improved services, and better access for both staff and animals. The project will be funded through federal relief, city capital, and lease-purchase financing mechanisms.

“I first adopted an animal from the animal shelter about 14 years ago,” Jurinsky said. “I adopted a Rottweiler. I have a passion for animals in general, but the Rottweiler breed specifically, I’m very fond of.”

Jurinsky has also been an advocate for increased community police, promoting events like “Coffee with a cop.” She has also sponsored and appeared as a special guest at youth enrichment events, such as the Fall Break Boxing and Basketball Camp.

“I can’t be quiet, so I have to be brave,” Jurinsky said during a campaign rally Sept. 25. “So I’m going to be brave, and I’m going to keep being myself, and I’m going to keep representing Aurora, because I’m going to win this re-election, and I believe that the sky is the limit.”

for a political lobbying and public relations firm. This appointment made Kassaw the first refugee and Ethiopian immigrant and the third naturalized citizen to serve on Aurora’s City Council. Kassaw immigrated to Aurora in 2007.

Kassaw accepted the role of atlarge city council member after becoming acquainted with Coffman through legislative work supporting Ethiopia through the Ethiopian American Civic Council. When he won his appointment as an Aurora City Council member, he said he is committed to public safety and inclusive representation. He told the Sentinel that in Ethiopia, he worked for a nonprofit organization that focused on teaching democracy, human rights and civic engagement.

“We’ve got to be a bridge, not the divider,” Kassaw said. “As a council member, I want to try to bring together both sides of the aisle.”

He currently works as a lieutenant for GEO Group, Inc., which runs the ICE immigrant detention center in Aurora.

On public safety, he has aligned with the Republican “tough on crime” stance, arguing that firm enforcement is necessary to keep neighborhoods safe. He has said his approach to how the city should handle officer-involved shootings centers on rebuilding trust between police and residents through something like a town hall or community meetings. Kassaw said he supports following existing state investigative procedures through the judicial districts rather than creating new police oversight committees.

“We really need to come together and sit together and have a dialogue,” Kassaw said about the police and the community. “Otherwise, the problem is still going to continue.”

He said that to build trust, both sides need to hear each other out, and that no officer wants to kill another person. He said he feels

talk to the police, they could understand where they are coming from.

Aurora is currently under a consent decree, imposed by the state attorney general. After a state investigation, the attorney general determined Aurora has for years exhibited “patterns and practices” of using excessive force, especially against people of color.

The problem should be addressed with community education, patience in police interactions and respectful engagement on all sides, he said.

Regarding homelessness, Kassaw said he supports Mayor Mike Coffman’s “work first” plan, which includes a strict camping ban and the upcoming opening of the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus in November. The center would offer some services to anyone who accepts communal shelter, but other housing services would be reserved for individuals who secure employment and undergo rehabilitation.

He said he has personally visited the Navigation Campus and the recently opened Aurora Mental Health Crisis and Acute Care Center, and he believes the city now has the resources to connect people to rehabilitation programs and help them rejoin the community as productive members.

“I strongly believe that now we are getting, one at a time, or we are connecting the dots that Aurora will have soon,” Kassaw said. “We’ll have the resources to fight homelessness.”

Kassaw said his views on affordable housing policy focus on expanding homeownership opportunities, particularly for young families and first-time buyers. He said there are already enough apartments being built in Aurora and that he would want to use his power on city council to pursue closer partnerships with developers to ensure that a portion of new projects are affordable across various income levels. He did not say specifically what leverage he would im-

want to streamline development processes to attract builders of affordable homes. Balancing housing options, including those suitable for single-income households, is crucial to creating a strong and inclusive community, he said.

“We gotta really fight for that so people can have their dream house,” Kassaw said.

Rob Lee Andrews

Rob Andrews ran for Aurora mayor two years ago but announced he would step down to support the previous council member, Democrat Juan Marcano, in the race against Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman. Andrews entered the race this year for an at-large seat, stating that he aimed to bring a community-centered message and nonprofit work background to the field.

“I think my greatest skill is building bridges and bringing people together for the greater good.” Andrews said. “I played quarterback for most of my life, so my job was always to make sure that everybody worked together. We may not agree on what the play is, but we’re going to run the play.”

Andrews founded the One Voice Coalition, a local nonprofit group that focuses on helping underserved populations find pathways

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Amsalu Kassaw

Republican Amsalu Kassaw joined the Aurora City Council after being appointed by the majority of city lawmakers to fill the vacant at-large seat left by Dustin Zvonek after he resigned last year to work

Democrat

into economic stability and opportunity. Along the campaign trail, he has stated that Aurora faces critical challenges in housing affordability, public safety and equitable economic growth, and that these challenges must be met with ambition and collaboration.

A Colorado native from Colorado Springs, Andrews’ journey includes a stint as a professional football quarterback before pivoting into community and public service. His time in nonprofit leadership has given him insight into what it takes to bridge divides between government, social services and neighborhoods, he said.

Andrews said he supports establishing an independent oversight committee for police-involved shootings, although he would want to add ordinances on how the positions are appointed in order to ensure it includes community members, especially those affected by such incidents.

Other concepts Andrews said he would want to work with the rest of the city council to implement include community policing, meaning building strategies between the community and the police to problem-solve. He also said he would want to implement restorative justice policies to reduce officer-involved shootings by repairing harm and promoting accountability by bringing together the community,

those affected and the police to discuss what is done next.

Providing young people with a “third place,” such as additional community centers, helps build trust in the community because the city is investing in their well-being, and it helps keep the youth out of trouble, Andrews also suggested.

“We also need to open up our rec center so kids have a place to go,” Andrews said.

He said that Baltimore significantly reduced their crime by creating more community spaces.

Much like most studies suggest, Andrews stated that addressing homelessness yields the most success through a “housing first” approach, rather than a “work first” model. People need stable housing

before they can successfully find and maintain employment, he said, based on both his professional experience and examples from the community.

The Denver Rescue Mission’s “housing first” strategy exemplifies the success of the “housing first” approach, which boasts an 80% success rate for individuals staying in stable housing after a year with the Denver Rescue Mission’s support. Andrews said he is skeptical about whether work-first models can be as effective.

The work-first approach neglects to address aspects of homelessness, like individuals facing significant barriers to employment, such as older adults and people with disabilities or mental health

disorders. Overall, he said he would want to focus on policies that prioritize providing stable housing as the foundation for addressing homelessness.

When it comes to affordable housing, Andrews said he would press the city to pursue a multifaceted approach. He stated that recent legislation has made the construction of townhomes and condos easier, and that he would support increasing the availability of this type of housing. He said that Aurora needs to make it more equitable for every construction owner to have the same rights to bid on contracts, which he said is currently not happening in Aurora. The city only sees affordable housing contracts when it already has a contract with them, he said.

Andrews also made sure to distinguish the difference between affordable housing and workforce housing. He said catering more to workforce housing is likely to be the best option for Aurora, as filling workforce positions is also a challenge in the city. This would include making housing affordable for police officers, nurses, and teachers to attract them to move to Aurora and work there. His goal would be for workforce families and individuals not to have to pay more than 60% of their adjusted monthly income. This is calculated by taking 60% of the income remaining after paying all bills except housing, and then only charging 60% of that for housing.

Finally, he also suggested that there should be more policies and incentives to make construction fair and equitable for developers, along with collaboration among city council, legislators, developers, and nonprofits.

“That’s why my slogan is Aurora together, because we got to bring people together to make these things work,” Andrews said. “And it’s a critical time, very critical time.”

Alli Jackson

A registered

raised by a Russian immigrant mother who worked for the Aurora Police Department and a Black father. Jackson is currently serving on the Aurora Charter Review Board and the Downtown Development Authority on East Colfax, which voters in the specified district area will be voting on in this election. When it comes to policing and officer-involved shootings, Jackson said that Aurora relies too heavily on armed responses and that she

Alli Jackson grew up in Aurora and has worked as a social worker in the metro area.

Democrat, she was

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would want to work with city council to expand the role of civilian crisis teams, such as the Critical Response Team (CRT), to respond to situations involving mental health crises instead of police officers with lethal weapons. She said that de-escalation training is standard in public-facing professions and says APD should “hold the line on de-escalation,” with clear limits on the use of lethal force.

Jackson said she backs the idea of creating an independent monitor and community-driven oversight structure, separate from the police chain of command.

“We need data to be collected and markers to be set that we’re trying to reach and meet,” Jackson said. “And they should be set by the community, first and foremost.”

She said she would want to work with city council to move Aurora’s Critical Response Team into its own freestanding department with separate funding and authority, which would also be helpful to avoid possible power dynamics.

Continued public data tracking of use-of-force outcomes and community-set benchmarks are part of the consent decree she supports and said she would want to maintain.

“When I talk about a culture problem in Aurora Police Department, I think it starts with the hiring processes that we have, because we do see that a lot of the police officers that we end up hiring have marks in their record where they use excessive force or lied on record when testifying in court, and so I think we should be taking

those offenses more serious, especially given the fact that we we know what the culture of Aurora Police Department is currently,” Jackson said.

With the current consent decree approaching its end, Jackson said she would favor a continued external mechanism, whether through a renewed consent decree or a strong monitor. She said she would also want this done without non-disclosure agreements for community members involved in oversight.

“This is supposed to be a process that creates more transparency and relationship building between the community and the police,” she said.

Jackson said there should also be more accountability from the police department and city council regarding the use of force. She suggested that police policies should avoid “shoot to kill” practices and instead use non-lethal measures whenever possible. One example she mentioned was how Aurora police recently used pallets or foam bullets as a non-lethal approach.

Jackson said she supports Aurora reallocating public safety funds to non-policing, supportive services, such as the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus, for people experiencing homelessness.

Although she supports some of what the city is doing with homelessness, she said she also supports decriminalizing homelessness and using more compassion, while expanding the definition of homelessness beyond visible street homelessness. For example, offering resources to people staying on peo-

ple’s couches or living in their cars while working, but not being able to afford their own housing.

“I definitely want to decriminalize being unhoused,” Jackson said. “I think that’s just a double whammy on somebody who’s already down.”

She also said she appreciates the one-stop shop for working with the unhoused, but she is concerned about whether transportation and healthcare are being adequately addressed within the facility.

Jackson said that she would hope to make services more inclusive. She also believed in more evidence-based policy and stated that adding criminal charges to the unhoused only worsens outcomes. Jackson’s views center on ensuring access to support, housing and dignity for all, rather than punitive measures.

With the navigation campus opening, she said she hopes there will be regular reporting on shelter capacity, waitlists, and outcomes once the campus is fully operational.

On housing, Jackson said she supports the rapid production of middle housing, such as condos, townhomes and accessory dwelling units, paired with tenant safeguards and accountability for negligent landlords. Recent state-level tools were created, she said, that allow third-party construction review and enforcement against bad actors, creating guardrails that clear the way for building denser, ownership-oriented housing in Aurora.

Jackson said she would also want to explore city-owned afford-

able units if she were elected to the city council. They could work to create stronger partnerships with the Aurora Housing Authority and implement zoning changes to permit ADUs, allowing homeowners to add lower-cost rentals. On financing, she said she supports directing more local revenue toward affordability programs and pursuing progressive tax and state/federal funding streams to expand HUDstyle vouchers and down-payment assistance.

Watson Gomes

Watson Gomes is a Brazilian immigrant who has lived all over the world, including in New York, before settling in Aurora to make it his final home to raise his family. He works as a college professor at the Community College of Aurora. Gomes, who is politically unaffiliated, said his views are always community-focused. He represents

himself as an independent candidate who does not want to be influenced by party politics.

Independent oversight for the Aurora Police Department was something Gomes said he agreed with, saying that there should be an additional oversight system to do additional research into police involved shootings in Aurora.

Gomes says he is the only candidate with a whole five-point plan for Aurora that involves affordable housing, addressing homelessness, public safety, investing in higher education and the workforce.

He said the oversight group can have a few appointees from the city council, but many of the positions should be decided separately. Overall, he said it should come from a broad community representation across different civil societies, not just political appointees, to ensure fairness and balance of political interests.

“We need to support accountability with transparency,” Watson said. “In that, we need to have independent oversight investigations of all officers involved in shootings to ensure fairness.”

Gomes said that transparency and accountability are crucial for the community. Much like in the consent decree, he thinks there should be an ongoing independent oversight body with public reporting and transparent actions to build trust between the police and the community.

Police should adhere to the

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Ambassador64 Notes from Arapahoe County

Rocky Mountain Public Media, the home of Rocky Mountain PBS, KUVO Jazz, and The Drop 104.7 has developed a partnership with Colorado Ethnic Media Exchange to launch this monthly essay series, as part of our vision to co-create a Colorado where everyone feels seen and heard. These stories are sourced from community members across the state—told in their own words and selected from our 64-county community ambassador program. They are not editorial products of our journalism team, but are first-person reflections on life in Colorado - building bridges through empathy. To learn more about all of our brands and content, check us out at https://www.rmpbs.org/about.

The Community Aurora Taught Me

By Maureen

Maycheco (she/they), Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Growth at COLOR, and 80013 resident

I love Aurora. I say that without hesitation, without apology, and with a kind of deep pride that feels rooted in my bones. Aurora is home, not just because I live here, but because it has taught me what community truly means.

In Aurora, community is a lived experience. It is exchanged through a bag of tomatoes over the fence, through a knock on the door to check in on a neighbor, through the unspoken understanding that we are looking out for one another. My neighborhood is stitched together with people from all over the world, refugees, immigrants, and families, who carry with them stories, recipes, music, languages, and traditions that make Aurora one of the most diverse cities in the country.

This diversity is not something I observe from a distance; it’s what I participate in every day. I have a food-trade system with my neighbors: herbs for eggrolls, squash for eggs. We share abundance, and in doing so, we share pieces of ourselves. It is a quiet, powerful act of belonging.

Serving on Aurora’s Immigrant and Refugee Commission (AIRC) has given me another vantage point on this truth. I’ve seen how Aurora becomes both a sanctuary and a launchpad for families who have crossed oceans, borders, and hardships. I’ve listened to their concerns about housing, health care, schools, and safety, and I’ve seen how, despite obstacles, they continue to give back, to contribute, to weave themselves into the fabric of this city. Aurora doesn’t just welcome, it absorbs, transforms, and reflects back the richness of the world.

But loving Aurora also means understanding the challenges we face. Our diversity, our collective strength, and the way we care for each other are all things that challenge systems built on exclusion and control. Too often, Aurora is spoken about in headlines that reduce us to crime statistics or deficits, instead of celebrating us as a model of shared humanity. What they miss is that the very thing they point to, our difference, is our power. It’s a power we must protect and nurture, a responsibility we all share.

That power goes beyond city borders. Today, as I sat in an Indigenous tattoo shop in Denver, my partner getting his first tattoo as part of a fundraiser for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), I felt it again: community is expansive. The people CIRC serves are my people. The families COLOR (the organization where I work) stand alongside immigrants, Latine, young, low-income, LGBTQ+, are my people. When I show up there, I am showing up for Aurora too, because community is not a zip code. It is a responsibility. It is love in action.

There are versions of “community” that are about individualism and ego, about curating the right neighborhood, the right coffee shop, the right school. But the kind of community Aurora teaches me every day is different. It is ancestral. It is energetic. It is about what is shared, not what is owned. It humbles me, and it calls me to keep giving. When I stretch my arms wide and think of Aurora, I don’t just see my street. I see the vast web of neighbors who check on each other, the families building new lives with courage, the children running between backyards, the elders passing down knowledge, and the organizers fighting for dignity and rights. That web stretches outward into Denver, into Colorado, into every place where care outshines ego and solidarity outlasts division.

And right now, as I walk back from my garden, arms full of tomatoes and herbs to share, I feel it: this is community. Aurora taught me that when we give, we are never empty; we are woven tighter together. That is why I love it here, fiercely, endlessly, with all of me.

We Want to Hear from You

We’re inviting community members across the state to share their own stories of living in Colorado — of identity, discovery, and what it means to belong.

Tell us about a moment or a place in Colorado that changed how you see yourself or your community. Share your reflections at ambassador64@rmpbs.org

Aurora police manual, which states that lethal force should be the last resort, not the first response, he said. Broader solutions he suggested include investing in crisis response teams and moving beyond policing to address root causes and enhance community safety.

He said it is a necessity for policies based on practical, people-centered solutions, with all segments of society involved in oversight and reform, including the police.

Gomes said he agrees with what the mayor is offering, a resource area and shelter for the homeless, but does oppose the “work-first” approach to homelessness, because it does not fully address underlying issues like mental health, substance abuse and trauma.

A “housing first” strategy prioritizes the stabilization of individuals with housing before requiring them to work or maintain sobriety, he said.

“Some people are living in their car, but they are working, and cannot pay the rent,” He said. “We need to get them stable first. Then we can move to getting them to work.”

He said he would want to integrate housing projects with comprehensive social and mental health services, enabling individuals to access the support they need to transition to a stable life. Gomes believes solutions must be multifaceted, encompassing transportation, skill development, and overall societal integration for the homeless.

He disagrees with criminalizing homelessness, and said there needs to be a need for persuasion and support rather than enforcement and citations. This is somewhat offered with the navigation campus, but if individuals choose not to go to the shelter, the law implies they will receive a citation or jail time instead.

Homelessness should be addressed with compassion, practical assistance and the inclusion of people with lived experience when developing policy, Gomes said.

A city-led approach to affordable housing, by using policy through city council to create more affordable housing, could include the city government directly purchasing land and developing housing, rather than relying solely on private developers for these purposes, Gomes said.

Hiring contractors and architects to reduce costs would be another area he would want to look into. Revitalizing underused or abandoned areas could be a helpful and affordable tool that the city council could utilize, ensuring these projects include amenities and public spaces to create livable, community-oriented environments. He mentioned amenities, such as requiring a developer to build a library or other publicly accessible facilities.

Gomes said he would be interested in working with the city council to propose balancing government-built homes with private development and integrating community backing and participation throughout the process.

Editorials

Colorado’s universal school lunch program feeds far more than empty stomachs

Before the first bell rings, thousands of kids across Colorado line up for breakfast in their school cafeterias.

For some, that tray of eggs, fruit, and milk is the first real meal they’ve had since lunch the day before. For everyone, it’s the start of a better, more focused school day, and it has an impact that lasts much longer than a quiet stomach. Colorado, like a growing number of states, has created programs to provide school breakfasts and lunches not just for kids who come from the neediest of families, but for every child.

If you scratch your head about why the state would pay for lunch for some children who come from very financially comfortable and even wealthy families, you’re not alone.

When Colorado was near starting its version of a universal free school lunch program in 2022, the arguments against such a venture were compelling. But the arguments for such a program, then and especially now, are convincing.

The evidence is in across Colorado and across the nation. Universal free lunch programs are hugely beneficial for everyone.

This year, voters are being asked ballot questions focused on how to fund Colorado’s universal school lunch program. The Sentinel Colorado is now operated by a non-profit organization. Because of that, The Sentinel cannot endorse election questions, but the newspaper can weigh in on the issue of whether the state’s universal lunch program has merits, and it does.

Research and evidence show unequivocally that these universal lunch programs are one of the nation’s quiet success stories. Every school day, more than 29.7 million students eat a school lunch and 14.6 million eat a school breakfast, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The vast majority of those meals are served to low-income households. Wealthier children often bring lunch from home or, as they get older, leave school grounds to spend lunch money at nearby convenience stores or fast food, according to a variety of juvenile behavior and nutrition researchers.

So here’s what happens when everyone gets school breakfast or lunch, or both. First off, kids coming to school hungry immediately start changing into better, more successful students.

Decades of research shows that well-nourished children learn better. Students who participate in school breakfast programs have higher attendance and test scores and are less likely to be late to school or sent to the principal’s office for behavioral problems, according to reports from the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and a host of similar research papers and journals.

But there’s more. Researchers in North Carolina revealed that when that state started offering free breakfast to all students, it resulted in measurably better academic performance across the board, not just among low-income families. Researchers in other states have seen similar results from both universal school breakfast and lunch programs. One of those studies comes from public schools in Greeley.

One of the reasons why, experts say, is that, for the most part, what the school cafeteria is serving kids is nutritionally a much better meal than just a Pop-Tart in a baggie or a big bowl of high-sugar cereal at home.

A national US Department of Agriculture assessment found that students who ate school meals were getting better nutrition than their peers who didn’t participate in school meals. The conclusion there and from other researchers is that when kids are regularly exposed to healthier meals at school, they eat better when they’re not at school.

Research from as far back as 2009 shows that students who regularly eat school meals consume more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy dairy foods, and they are less likely to suffer from nutrient deficiencies.

Even more striking, participation in free or reduced-price school lunch programs improves student health and in one study, published in the Journal of Econometrics, showed that children participating in the program significantly reduced child obesity. Offering breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students also leads to fewer visits to the school nurse, measurably better mental health, and lower rates of anxiety and depression, at least three national studies show.

The programs also work to de-stress kids already stressed out about how the “have-nots” appear to those who have plenty.

Under traditional means-tested systems, children who pay for lunch sit next to those who don’t, and everyone knows the difference. Universal meal programs end that stigma.

When Vermont implemented free school meals for all kids, teachers reported improved school climate, greater readiness to learn, and fewer visible income differences among students. The students and their families reported that the change made students feel more equal.

Educators, researchers, families and certainly students know that these programs work. They lift all children from hunger, improve their learning, strengthen their health, and unite school communities.

The evidence is overwhelming.

Colorado’s universal free-school-lunch program isn’t charity, it’s smart public policy.

MIKE ROSEN, GUEST COLUMNIST

Call for school fortification not gun control after another school shooting

How many times have you heard this anguished and furious cry: “We must ensure that something like this will never happen again!” The “something like this” would apply to horrific events like the 9/11 attack on America by Islamist terrorists, the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Navy fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Nonetheless, 13 other assassination attempts on U.S. presidents, three of them successful, happened again and again.

Many other terrible things repeatedly happen again. Like school shootings in Colorado, including the latest one at Evergreen High School, the sixth in this state starting with the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. That emotional “never again” battle cry is fully understandable, but talk is cheap and the only deterrent to repetitions is strong, effective action.

A week after the Evergreen shooting, several hundred Denver area high-school students took the day off from school for a protest march to the state Capitol. The event was organized by Students Demand Action (SDA), an anti-gun activist group started in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting. The SDA-ers led the students in anti-NRA chants during the march. As you’d expect, their solution is gun control, which is a prayer masquerading as a policy. It won’t end school shootings any more than outlawing illegal drugs ends their availability. There’ll always be a firearm black market for criminals and others who want them. Chicago has the toughest gun laws in the country to no avail. Colorado’s tough gun laws mostly inconvenience law-abiding citizens.

Those student protesters interviewed in a story by Denver Gazette reporter Michael Bratihwaite offered little in the way of specific policy measures. One who said our “state needs stronger gun violence prevention measures” also said “students don’t have to feel like they’re in a fortress.” He couldn’t have been more wrong; they would have to be in a fortress.

The principal failure of Evergreen High School’s security was the absence that day of its school resource officer (SRO), a full-time trained, armed Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy who was on medical leave. A part-time SRO who was there earlier had left to deal with a nearby crash.

I’ve dusted off a column I wrote on this topic in 2019. Demanding that this must never

happen again is an absolute statement, if you really mean it. The closest we could come to that outcome would be to fortify every school in the country with a permanent security force of armed, highly-trained paramilitary specialists (not mall cops) on duty to patrol and respond instantly to any attack. Every point of entry must be guarded and equipped with TSA-like screening devices. With about 130,000 K-12 schools in the country this would be massively expensive. Anything less would merely minimize the risk. And even fortification wouldn’t be foolproof. Students would still be vulnerable to off-site snipers.

I cited one sanctimonious advocate who called for the confiscation of all guns and proclaimed that “we are avoiding the hard truth about the root cause of a chronic, pernicious illness in this country. We love our guns more than we love our children.” This is irrational blather and a false dichotomy. Law-abiding gun owners can both love their children and also defend the constitutional right to possess a firearm, which might even be used to protect their family from a home invader. I also rejected his use of the personal pronoun “we.” We aren’t the “root cause” of school shootings and our society isn’t sick. An infinitesimal fraction within it are sociopaths who shoot up schools. It’s they who are sick.

I’m not minimizing this problem and this may be small consolation, but if you need to calm your schoolchildren’s fear and anxiety about being the victim of a school shooting, you can explain to them that the likelihood of that is also statistically infinitesimal, far less than being hit by lightning. Although, homeschooling may be your best option.

One last thought about those who proclaim that something must never happen again. Israelis have pledged to “Never Again!” allow the extermination of Jews like the Nazi Holocaust in Europe leading up to and throughout World War II. And they take necessary, effective actions to match their words. That explains and justifies their determination to finish the job and wipe out what’s left of Hamas’s militants in Gaza to deter another murderous attack on Israeli civilians like that of October 7, 2023.

Longtime KOA radio talk host and columnist for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News Mike Rosen now writes for Complete Colorado.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DISTRICT By: /s/ ICENOGLE | SEAVER | POGUE A Professional Corporation

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED 2026 BUDGET AND HEARING

WHITE BUFFALO METROPOLITAN

DISTRICT NO. 1

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a proposed budget has been submitted to the WHITE BUFFALO METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1 (the “District”) for the ensuing year of 2026. A copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the office of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 2001 16th Street, Suite 1700, Denver, Colorado, where the same is open for public inspection. Such proposed budget will be considered at a hearing at the meeting of the District to be held at 3:00 P.M., on Thursday, October 23, 2025.

The location and additional information regarding the meeting will be available on the meeting notice posted on the District’s website at https://wbmetro.specialdistrict. org/ at least 24-hours in advance of the meeting.

Any interested elector within the District may inspect the proposed budget and file or register any objections at any time prior to the final adoption of the 2026 budget.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DISTRICT:

By: /s/ ICENOGLE | SEAVER | POGUE A Professional Corporation

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED 2026 BUDGET AND HEARING WHITE BUFFALO METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a proposed budget has been submitted to the WHITE BUFFALO METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3 (the “District”) for the ensuing year of 2026. A copy of such proposed budget has been filed in the office of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 2001 16th Street, Suite 1700, Denver, Colorado, where the same is open for public inspection. Such proposed budget will be considered at a hearing at the meeting of the District to be held at 3:00 P.M., on Thursday, October 23, 2025.

Any interested elector within the District may inspect the proposed budget and file or register any objections at any time prior to the final adoption of the 2026 budget.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DISTRICT:

By: /s/ ICENOGLE | SEAVER | POGUE A Professional Corporation

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED 2026 BUDGET AND AMENDMENT OF 2025 BUDGET

GALLERIA METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Sections 29-1-108 and 109, C.R.S., that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Board of Directors of the Galleria Metropolitan District (the “District”) for the ensuing year of 2026. The necessity may also arise for the amendment of the 2025 budget of the District. Copies of the proposed 2026 budget and 2025 amended budget (if appropriate) are on file in the office of the District’s Accountant, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 2001 16th Street, Suite 1700, Denver, COO 80202, where same are available for public inspection. Such proposed 2026 budget and 2025 amended budget will be considered at a special meeting to be held on Monday, October 27, 2025 at 9:15 a.m. via teleconference by visiting the District’s website at www.galleriametrodistrict.org at least 24 hours prior to the meeting to obtain a link to the videoconference. You may also participate by telephone by dialing 1-720-547-5281 and enter the conference ID: 942 470 261#.

Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to the final adoption of the 2026 budget or the 2025 amended budget, inspect the 2026 budget and the 2025 amended budget and file or register any objections thereto.

GALLERIA METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

McGEADY BECHER CORTESE WILLIAMS P.C. Attorneys for the District

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 17

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 17, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail

ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A(Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B(Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C(Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D(Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F(Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H(De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I(In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J(Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K(Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M(Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N(Transportation)

Ballot Issue O(Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P(Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q(Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R(Security)

Ballot Issue S(Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T(Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U(District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V(District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W(Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z(Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF APPLICATION BY MOTION FOR CONFIRMATION OF ARBITRATION AWARD AND ENTRY OF JUDGMENT, AND AMENDED NOTICE OF HEARING Case No. CV35-25-1087

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF NEZ PERCE

PACIFIC CABINETS, INC., an Idaho corporation, Plaintiff, vs. SUPERIOR COUNTERTOPS, INC., a Colorado corporation, Defendant.

COMES NOW the Plaintiff, PACIFIC CABINETS, INC., by and through its attorney Douglas G. Kenyon of the law firm of Blewett Mushlitz Hally, LLP, and pursuant to Idaho Code §7-916 hereby provides Notice of the Application by Motion for Confirmation of Arbitration Award and Entry of Judgment.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Plaintiff will bring on for hearing its Application by Motion for Confirmation of Arbitration Award and Entry of Judgment before the above entitled Court on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the Nez Perce County Courthouse, 1230 Main Street, Lewiston, Idaho 83501, (208) 799-3040, at 9:30 a.m., or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard. DATED this 16th day of September, 2025.

BLEWETT MUSHLITZ HALLY, LLP By: /s/ Douglas G. Kenyon

Douglas G. Kenyon, ISBN 10936

Attorney for Plaintiff

DOUGLAS G. KENYON Idaho State Bar No. 10936

BLEWETT MUSHLITZ HALLY, LLP 710 16th Avenue

P.O. Box 1990 Lewiston, ID 83501

Telephone: (208) 413-6678

Facsimile: (208) 413-6682

dougkenyon@idahoconstructionlawyers. com

Attorneys for Plaintiff

First Publication: October 2, 2025

Final Publication: October 23, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION TO ALL CREDITORS OF AND CLAIMANTS AGAINST BURNS, FIGA & WILL, P.C. AND ALL OTHER PERSONS CONCERNED:

Take notice that Articles of Dissolution of Burns, Figa & Will, P.C., a Colorado corporation (the “Corporation”), heretofore having a principal place of business at 6400 S. Fiddlers Green Circle, Suite 1000, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, were duly filed in the office of the Colorado Secretary of State effective as of October 6, 2025. Pursuant to the provisions of C.R.S. 7-90-912, all creditors of and all claimants against the Corporation are hereby required to present their respective claims, accounts and demands against the Corporation in writing and in detail within five (5) years after the publication of this notice or within four (4) months after the claim arises, whichever is later. Unless sooner barred by any other statute limiting actions, all claims, accounts

and demands which are not presented in accordance herewith shall be forever barred against the property and assets of the Corporation and its shareholders and directors.

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF ELECTION

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, and particularly, to the electors of the Murphy Creek Metropolitan District No. 1 (“District”) of the City of Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an election will be held on November 4, 2025, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. regarding the question of the waiver of property tax revenue limits the submission of the proposition of issuing general obligation bonds or creating other general obligation indebtedness or any questions necessary to implement the provisions of Article X, Section 20, of the Colorado Constitution as applied to the District. The election is being conducted as a mail ballot election by the Designated Election Official, Alexandria “Zander” Myers, c/o McGeady Becher Cortese Williams P.C., 450 E. 17th Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80203, telephone number 303-5924380. The place of deposit for mail ballots and walk-in polling place for voting at the election will be at said office. Not sooner than October 13, 2025 and no later than October 20, 2025, the Designated Election Official shall mail to each active registered elector of the District a mail ballot packet.

The walk-in polling place shall be open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. beginning not sooner than twenty-two days prior to the election, October 13, 2025, and from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the date of election.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an eligible elector of said District for the purpose of said election is a person registered to vote pursuant to the “Colorado Uniform Election Code of 1992”; and (i) who is a resident of the District, or (ii) who, or whose spouse or civil union partner, owns taxable real or personal property within the District, whether said person resides within the District or not. A person who is obligated to pay taxes under a contract to purchase taxable property within the District shall be considered an owner of taxable property for the purpose of qualifying as an eligible elector.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that applications for absentee voter ballots may be filed with the Designated Election Official at the address set forth above no later than the close of business on the Tuesday immediately preceding the election. Return of absentee voter ballots and replacement ballots may be received by the Designated Election Official at the above address, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. beginning on October 13, 2025, until the day prior to the election, or between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election.

Murphy Creek Metropolitan District No. 1 By: /s/ Alexandria “Zander” Myers Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION TO INTERESTED PERSONS AND OWNERS BY DESCENT OR SUCCESSION PURSUANT TO § 15-12-1303, C.R.S. AND C.R.P.P. 24 Case No. 2025PR30968

In the Matter of the Estate of: TIMOTHY DAVID ROBERTSON; Deceased.

To all interested persons and owners by descent or succession (List all names of interested persons and owners by descent or succession):

Brian Robertson and Steven Robertson.

A petition has been filed alleging that the above decedent(s) died leaving the following property (including legal description if real property):

Property 1 Estate of Sean Robertson Arapahoe County District Court Case number 2023PR31449

Property 2 Estate of John Robertson Jefferson County District Court Case number 2025PR30103

The hearing on the petition will be held at the following time and location or at a later date to which the hearing may be continued:

Date: November 28, 2025 Time: 8:00 a.m. Courtroom or Division: Probate Address: 7325 S. Potomac St, Centennial, CO 80112

This is a hearing without appearance pursuant to C.R.P.P. 24; attendance is not required or expected.

Filing Party/Petitioner:

Marco D. Chayet, #29815

Jennifer R. Oviatt

Personal Representatives for Estate of Sean Robertson

Personal Representatives for Estate of John Robertson

Office of 18th Judicial District Public Administrator

Chayet & Danzo, LLC

650 S. Cherry St., Ste. 710, Denver, CO 80246

P.O. Box 460749, Denver, CO 80246

Phone Number: (303) 355-8520 Fax Number: (303) 355-8501

E-mail: PublicAdministrator@ColoradoElderLaw.com

First Publication: October 9, 2025

Final Publication: October 23, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2026 BUDGETS AND 2025 BUDGETS AMENDMENTS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the proposed budgets for the ensuing year of 2026 have been submitted to the Colfax Sable Metropolitan District and the Citadel on Colfax Business Improvement District (collectively, the “Districts”). Such proposed budgets will be considered at a meeting and public hearing of the Boards of Directors of the Districts to be held on October 30, 2025 at 1:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter, via telephone and videoconference. To attend and participate by telephone, dial +1 612-213-1012 and enter passcode 403 628 217# or access via URL:https://teams.microsoft.com/l/ meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTc3Mjg4ZjAtYjcwNC00NWI4LThiMGYtZjNhMTIwMjEwOTE4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%224aaa468e93ba-4ee3-ab9f-6a247aa3ade0%22%2c %22Oid%22%3a%22294eff39-c7d0-48c1bc01-2bf9670aa52a%22%7d

Meeting ID: 237 216 815 552 6 Passcode: 4Zp2fT63

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an amendment to the 2025 budgets of the Districts may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Boards of Directors of the Districts. A copy of the proposed 2026 budgets and the amended 2025 budgets, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. Any interested elector within the Districts may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2026 budgets and the amended 2025 budgets, if required, file or register any objections thereto.

COLFAX SABLE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT AND CITADEL ON COLFAX BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT By: /s/ Jason Marcotte, President

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROPOSED 2026 BUDGET AND 2025 BUDGET AMENDMENT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the proposed budget for the ensuing year of 2026 has been submitted to the East Qunicy Highlands Metropolitan District (the “District”). Such proposed budget will be considered at a meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the District to be held on November 4, 2025 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter, via telephone and videoconference. To attend and participate by telephone, dial (669) 254-5252 and enter passcode 478265, or access via URL: https://spencerfane.zoomgov.com/ j/1601105042?pwd=8aLNvtl0XutT8DIzR8ALETcm4H3u2o.1.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that an amendment to the 2025 budget of the District may also be considered at the above-referenced meeting and public hearing of the Board of Directors of the District. A copy of the proposed 2026 budget and the amended 2025 budget, if required, are available for public inspection at the offices of Simmons & Wheeler, P.C.. Any interested elector within the District may, at any time prior to final adoption of the 2026 budget and the amended 2025 budget, if required, file or register any objections thereto.

EAST QUNICY HIGHLANDS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

By: /s/ Matthew J. Holtman, President

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION COTTONWOOD CREEK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Cottonwood Creek Metropolitan District No. 3, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

Ballot Issue B (Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C (Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D (Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F (Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (Sales Tax)

Ballot Issue I (In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J (Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L (Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N(Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Ballot Issue S (Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T (Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U (District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V (District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W (Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z (Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Questions to be voted upon:

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 6

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 6, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A (Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy

– Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B (Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C (Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D (Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F (Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I (In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J (Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N (Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Ballot Issue S (Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T (Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U (District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V (District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W (Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z (Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

NOTICE

Note: You must answer the petition on or before the hearing date and time specified above.

Within the time required for answering the petition, all objections to the petition must be in writing, filed with the court and served on the petitioner and any required filing fee must be paid.

The hearing shall be limited to the petition, the objections timely filed and the parties answering the petition in a timely manner. If the petition is not answered and no objections are filed, the court may enter a decree without a hearing.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issues to be voted upon:

Ballot Issue A (Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000

Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue to be voted upon:

Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT

MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

AURORA CROSSROADS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an indepen-

dent mail ballot election will be held by Aurora Crossroads Metropolitan District No. 1, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS:

WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue to be voted upon: Ballot Issue A(De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

BUCKLEY METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Buckley Metropolitan District No. 2, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issues to be voted upon: Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie

Designated Election Official Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

BUCKLEY METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Buckley Metropolitan District No. 1, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

vember 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS:

WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issues to be voted upon: Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION BUCKLEY METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 4

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Buckley Metropolitan District No. 4, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issues to be voted upon: Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION COAL CREEK

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that independent mail ballot elections will be held by Coal Creek Metropolitan District Nos 1-5, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (each, a “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

The elections will be conducted as independent mail ballot elections only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION COTTONWOOD CREEK

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Cottonwood Creek Metropolitan District No. 5, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

tion) Ballot Issue F(Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (Sales Tax)

Ballot Issue I(In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J(Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L (Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N(Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Ballot Issue S(Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T(Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U(District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V(District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W(Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z(Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Questions to be voted upon: Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By:/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT

MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

COTTONWOOD CREEK

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 4

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICEis hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Cottonwood Creek Metropolitan District No. 4, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS:

WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issues to be voted upon:

Ballot Issue A (Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B (Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C (Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D (Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F (Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (Sales Tax)

Ballot Issue I (In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J (Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L (Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N (Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Ballot Issue S (Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T (Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U (District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V (District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W (Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z (Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Questions to be voted upon:

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS:

WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A (Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B (Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C (Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D (Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F (Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I (In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J (Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N (Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Ballot Issue S (Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T (Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U (District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V (District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W (Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z (Debt Service

Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT

MAIL BALLOT ELECTION EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 19

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 19, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A (Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy

– Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B (Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C (Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D (Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F (Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H (De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I (In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J (Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K (Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M (Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N (Transportation)

Ballot Issue O (Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P (Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q (Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R (Security)

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 20

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 20, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A(Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B(Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C(Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D(Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issue E(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F(Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H(De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I(In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J(Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K(Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M(Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N(Transportation)

Ballot Issue O(Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P(Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q(Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R(Security)

Ballot Issue S(Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T(Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U(District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V(District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W(Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z(Debt Service Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB(High Speed Internet – Authorization to Make Covenants)

Ballot Question CC (Transportation Authorization)

By: /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 7 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 7, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ballot Issue A(Operations, Administration and Maintenance Mill Levy – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue B(Capital Costs – Ad Valorem Taxes)

Ballot Issue C(Operations, Administration and Maintenance – Fees)

Ballot Issue D(Capital Costs – Fees)

Ballot Issues to be voted upon:

Ballot Issue A (De-TABOR)

By:/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

BUCKLEY METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3

NOTICE

No. 3, in the

of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, No-

DROP-OFF LOCATION AND HOURS: WBA, PC Office of the Designated Election Official 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122

Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025, and Tuesday, November 4, 2025 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Ballot Issues to be voted upon:

Designated Election Official

Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE OF INDEPENDENT

MAIL BALLOT ELECTION

EASTERN HILLS

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 16

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025

NOTICE is hereby given that an independent mail ballot election will be held by Eastern Hills Metropolitan District No. 16, in the City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, State of Colorado (the “District”) on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

This election will be conducted as an independent mail ballot election only. Mail ballots will be mailed to eligible electors between October 13, 2025 and October 20, 2025.

Ballot Issue S (Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T (Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U (District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue V (District Private Agreements as Debt)

Ballot Issue W (Mortgage)

Ballot Issue X (Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement)

Ballot Issue Y (Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement)

Ballot Issue Z (Debt Service

Revenue for Operations)

Ballot Issue AA (High Speed Internet – Authorization to Provide Service)

Ballot Issue BB (High Speed

Ballot Issue E(Multiple Fiscal Year Intergovernmental Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue F(Regional Improvements)

Ballot Issue G(Multiple Fiscal Year Private Agreement Mill Levy Question)

Ballot Issue H(De-TABOR)

Ballot Issue I(In-District Special Assessment Debt)

Ballot Issue J(Street Improvements)

Ballot Issue K(Parks and Recreation)

Ballot Issue L(Water)

Ballot Issue M(Sanitation/Storm Sewer)

Ballot Issue N(Transportation)

Ballot Issue O(Mosquito Control)

Ballot Issue P(Fire Protection)

Ballot Issue Q(Television Relay and Translation)

Ballot Issue R(Security)

Ballot Issue S(Operations and Maintenance Debt)

Ballot Issue T(Refunding Debt)

Ballot Issue U(District Intergovernmental Agreements as Debt) Ballot Issue V(District Private Agreements as Debt)

First Publication: October 2, 2025

Final Publication: October 16, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR424

Estate of Diane Laukzemis, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before January 31, 2026, or the claims may be forever barred. Daniel W. Laukzemis

Personal Representative 4425 Perry St. Denver, CO 80212

First Publication: September 25, 2025

Final Publication: October 9, 2025 Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR453

Estate of Fred Ivan Becker, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before November 30, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Bonita J. Becker

Personal Representative 3755 Tennyson St., Apt. 312 Denver, CO 80212

First Publication: October 2, 2025

Final Publication: October 16, 2025

Sentinel

NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION

PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30942

Estate of Margaret Anne Ganister, Deceased.

All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before February 9, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.

Attorney for Personal Representative

Krista Beauchamp, Atty Reg #47615

Law Office of Alexandra White, P.C. 12625 E. Euclid Drive Centennial, CO 80111

First Publication: October 9, 2025

Final Publication: October 23, 2025

Sentinel

PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF AN ADULT

ARAPAHOE COUNTY COURT, COLORADO

Case No. 2025CV289

PUBLIC NOTICE is given on Sep- tember 19, 2025, that a Petition was filed for a Change of Name of an Adult has been filed with the Arapahoe County Court.

The Petition entered that the name of Cordell Christopher Soderquist be changed to Cordell Christopher Jensen.

/s/ Judge

First Publication: October 2, 2025

Final Publication: October 16, 2025

Sentinel

PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF AN ADULT

ADAMS COUNTY COURT, COLORADO Case No. 2025CV1092

PUBLIC NOTICE is given on Sep- tember 17, 2025, that a Petition was filed for a Change of Name of an Adult has been filed with the Adams County Court.

The Petition entered that the name of Austin Thomas Vanwey Baltzer be changed to Zebulon Thomas Vanwey Baltzer.

/s/ Judge

First Publication: October 2, 2025

Final Publication: October 16, 2025

Sentinel

PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF AN ADULT ARAPAHOE COUNTY COURT, COLORADO Case No. 2025CV281

PUBLIC NOTICE is given on September 9, 2025, that a Petition was filed for a Change of Name of an Adult has been filed with the Arapahoe County Court.

The Petition entered that the name of Jasmine Arlene Cecelia Moore Carrington be changed to Jasmine Arlene Cecelia Moore Love.

/s/ Judge

First Publication: September 25, 2025

Final Publication: October 9, 2025

Sentinel

DISTRICT COURT, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO CONSOLIDATED NOTICE OF PUBLICATION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT IN THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS FILED IN THIS COURT UNDER THE “UNIFORM DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE” AND “UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION” ACTS, due diligence has been used to obtain personal service within the State of Colorado and further efforts would be to no avail; therefore, publication has been ordered:

CASE NUMBER NAME TYPE OF ACTION

2025DR031404 Stephanie Damea Persaud v Gurdat Persaud Dissolution

2024DR001484 Clifton Eugene Washington v Jazzelle Mahogany Washington Dissolution

2025DR030897 Clemencia

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/S/Melissa Mansfield