INCOMPLETE SENTENCE
State bill could stop cities like Aurora from imposing harsh jail sentences for misdemeanors
In a world that’s lost all semblance of sanity, can we just make time to reclaim the hour of power?
Last year bout this time, Donald Trump was campaigning to his fans and talking about magnets when he shone a light on his renown stable genius.
“All I know about magnets is this: Give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that’s the end of the magnets,” Trump said.
Trump thinks water neutralizes magnetism. It does not.
His science and mental prowess are legendary, as he tells it himself. This is a man who really thinks that windmills cause cancer, and he’s persuaded others to believe the same.
“I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things... I know what I’m doing and I listen to a lot of people, I talk to a lot of people and at the appropriate time I’ll tell you who the people are. But I speak to a lot of people. My primary consultant is myself, and I have, you know, I have a good instinct for this stuff.”
DAVE PERRY Editor
Yeah, we’ve seen his brilliance play out in public over the last few weeks.
Those of us who can see the car headed for the cliff are losing a lot of sleep, and we’re about to lose a precious hour of that commodity again next week.
That we have not yet conquered the Daylight Savings Time conundrum is a testament to the times.
Given that the worm-eaten brain of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the best we could do to put in charge of the science that protects our health and lives, it’s not surprise that the Sunshine Protection Act of 2024 — which would end the annual switch from Daylight Savings Time to standard time every few months — went the way of the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020,,,you get the picture.
A Monmouth University poll in 2022 revealed that only about a third of Americans don’t mind pushing their clocks ahead and back twice a year.
The U.S. Senate, which struggles regularly to count to 51, voted unanimously last year to end the twice-annual hour swap in the middle of the night.
Closer to home, Colorado passed a law in 2022 that would push the state into Daylight Savings Time forever, but it’s contingent on two other nearby states joining Colorado, Utah and Wyoming in making the leap to sensibility.
Dark and crickets there.
Determined, Marco Rubio, when he was a Florida Senator and not a Trump toady, last reintroduced the Senate Sunshine Protection Act. We live in a country, however, that, for political sport, flirts with economic meltdown by casually threatening debt limits and massive tariffs on our friends and enemies. Rubio got nowhere except a job at the White House. Another Florida senator, Rick Scott, yeah, that Rick Scott, has picked up the baton and is running with it this year. And so, we begin, again, this time with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025: Lock the Clock.
In the giant encyclopedia of incredibly stupid things humans have inflicted on themselves and the planet, which
boasts such notable feats Congressperson Lauren Boebert and cappuccino-flavored potato chips, daylight saving time rises to the top of the list of heinous gaffes.
The story of time is marginally interesting. The story of saving it, not so much.
This gets a little nerdy here, but the gist is that ancient Egyptians had a thing for keeping track of time and the number “12.”
Way-old timers identified 12 stars moving across the sky after sunset that marked the night. After several hundred years of refinement, voila, the 24-hour day was created.
It wasn’t fancy, but it helped people know when to meet to watch mastodon demolition derbies.
Within a few hundred years, we were all winding watches to let us know when to get to the bank to cover last night’s hot check before it got there.
Then came electric light, full-time jobs and The Great War. Germans invented the game of moving the clocks ahead in an effort to conserve energy needed to generate electricity.
Of course Americans had to do the same thing.
After the Great War, when the Germans went back to pouting and inventing other stuff, we all forgot about daylight saving time, because it was ridiculous, and we love us some electric light in this country.
Then the Germans started up again, this time inventing World War II, and we all needed more of everything and decided we could get it if we just moved the clocks ahead one hour in the spring.
A lot of things didn’t make much sense about World War II, and this was one of them. So the war ends and the Germans go back to making great trochen riesling and skis, but we don’t shake off the daylight saving time.
Rather than scrap this ridiculous notion of “saving daylight,” we institutionalize the damn thing.
We say it saves energy, which several studies show it clearly does not. We say that we keep at it to appease the farmers, which is a lie. Farmers are smart, rational people. They don’t care if you call it Work-Thirty. When the sun’s up, there’s farming to be done.
And so for the past 60 years, we’ve been dragging this useless boat anchor all over the calendar, saying that we’re all too vacuous or too OCD to go back to having the celestial dog wag the intervallic tail.
I would prefer that we just keep standard time yearround, because I’m old and fall asleep before the sun sets after one beer at the end of June, but I support anything that ends something as dumb as a bucket of hair inflicted on me just because state and federal lawmakers love hand-wringing.
Together we can beat the clock, if we can find the time.
Follow @EditorDavePerry on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@SentinelColorado.com
Electric Time Company employees Dan LaMoore, left, and James Simonini test the lights in three large clocks being constructed at the company’s production facility in Medfield, Mass., Clocks should be pushed up one hour at 2 AM Sunday March 8 when daylight savings time takes effect. AP File Photo/Stephan Savoia
REP. CROW URGES PACKED TOWN HALL TO COMBAT FEAR AND DIVISION WITH BIPARTISAN MUSCLE
At the biggest town-hall meeting in his congressional tenure, Rep. Jason Crow told a packed high-school auditorium Feb. 27 that the nation is at a “crossroads.”
The Aurora Democrat said he doesn’t “pull his punches,” but at a time of chaos spilling out of the Trump White House, he said he chooses bipartisanship as both an offense and defensive tactic.
“I believe that the antidote to those who want to tear and destroy is to build,” Crow said. Crow, who frequently says he established a reputation as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, said he is still committed to finding common ground.
“I will always look for opportunities to build and to work together,” he said. “But if somebody threatens this community, tries to take their job, tries to deport our law-abiding friends and neighbors, I will fight them with every ounce I have.”
Crow’s words were met Thursday night with thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the nearly 1,500 people attending the meeting at Hinkley High School.
“As imperfect as our country sometimes can be, and as unfulfilled as that promise of the more perfect union is, I still love this country for what we can be and what we are at our best moments when we fulfill our highest ideal,” Crow said.
The sold-out event was marked by a palpable audience energy as Crow addressed a range of issues, from veterans’ healthcare to immigration reform.
Janice Gibson said she was concerned about the new Department of Government Efficiency, asking what could be done to limit its power.
“Elon Musk is one of the largest government contractors and defense contractors in our country,” he said. “You have the fox guarding the henhouse.”
As the minority political party in the House, which he said makes it harder, even impossi-
ble, to make decisions, the Democratic Party is currently working to pass a bill to prevent “unfettered unauthorized access to information into systems.”
“We’re going to hold people accountable,” Crow said. “Even if it can be hard to pass something, we’re going to do it anyhow. We’re going to force them to say no.”
Crow accused the members of the Trump administration of either trying to line their own pockets, pursue vengeance against their perceived political enemies or some combination.
“They’ve wrapped it in the cloak of government reform and efficiency and try to legitimize it,” Crow said. “I actually am also a government reformer. My job is not to defend agencies and government action. My job literally is to hold government agencies accountable. To push for transparency, to push for reform. That actually is my job.”
He said he does agree that the government works too slowly when it comes to infrastructure like roads and electric vehicle charging stations, but the “farcical” DOGE is not the answer. The real answer, he said, is a good government that should be honest about what is working and not working and develop a community consensus to make it faster and more efficient.
Beth Edwards asked about the economic impacts of the Trump administration’s actions on average Americans.
“The impact is pretty bad,” Crow said. “It will get much worse if they continue down this path.”
For an administration that promised lower prices, everything is still too expensive, Crow said.
“Two of the fastest ways to increase costs in our economy is to impose broad-based tariffs and then threaten to deport mass swaths of our workforce,” Crow said. “You want to see costs go up. We’re about to see costs go up.”
As far as approved government spending goes, Crow said that there is already the Em-
powerment Control Act.
“If Congress authorizes and appropriates funding for a purpose, the president, whether that person is a Republican or Democrat, has to spend money for that purpose,” Crow said. “That’s not discretion. That is one of our most important tools right now because the president is refusing to do that, in violation of that law. So that’s why right now, as we go through the budgeting process, our biggest leverage.”
Gary Robbins asked Crow what he would do to save U.S. Agency For International Development, targeted for closure by the Trump administration from the first day the president took office.
Crow said that as someone who has been to war three times, wars have cost the United States trillions of dollars, along with thousands of American lives.
“The best way to preserve peace and security is to prevent a war in the first instance,” Crow said. “We need more diplomacy and more engagement around the world, so we don’t have to enter an era of extreme conflict, which going down this road where Donald Trump is leading us, is where we will be. Where autocrats and dictators and the strong and powerful feel like they can take the weak with no check.”
Crow called on his constituents to think about how they and he could preserve the structures in institutions and how to keep government talent engaged so those systems can be rebuilt.
“I’m very afraid we’re going to lose a lifetime of talent in our pipeline,” Crow said. “In the meantime, I will fight with the votes that we have and the ability we have in Congress to preserve that funding and preserve those programs.”
Denise Miller asked about any hope for bipartisan bills being proposed.
Crow said he is committed to bipartisan legislation with bills addressing climate resilience and suicide prevention for military veterans.
Crow said nearly three-quarters of the bills he has introduced have had Republican co-sponsors. His team realized that all but one of his Republican partners are no longer in office because of the extreme partisan atmosphere.
One of Crow’s named legislative efforts is the CLEAR Act, which aims to nationalize Colorado’s approach to community resilience in response to natural disasters. The bill, co-sponsored with a Republican colleague from California, would help smaller communities develop stronger building codes, zoning policies and emergency preparedness strategies based on lessons learned from Colorado’s recent responses to wildfires and floods.
Crow said he also introduced the Veteran Sentinel Act with a Republican Navy SEAL veteran to address high rates of veteran suicide, particularly. The bill would require the VA to collect and analyze data on veteran suicides at its facilities, helping Congress develop more effective prevention policies.
Jame Coddington asked about the future of the Buckley Space Force Base and the defense innovation ecosystem in Aurora.
Crow said Buckley Space Force Base employs more than 10,000 people and serves as a key intelligence and missile detection hub. Buckley played a crucial role in detecting an Iranian missile attack on U.S. troops, allowing them to take cover. Buckley’s growing aerospace and defense industry includes 260 businesses and 30,000 employees.
As a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, Crow said he is pushing for reforms in government contracting to eliminate waste and strengthen Colorado’s leadership in defense and aerospace.
“We’re going to fight and defend for that,” Crow said about making sure to keep Space Force at Buckley.
Janet Gensler asked if anything can be done to overhaul the immigration system that’s
Congressperson Jason Crow, D-Aurora, talks to about 1,500 people during a town hall meeting Feb. 27, 2025, at Hinkley High School. PHOTO VIA CONGRESSMAN JASON CROW’S OFFICE
BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer
AROUND AURORA
9News sues Aurora police in effort to get all video from police shooting of Kilyn Lewis
After multiple changes to Aurora’s “public invited to be heard” at the beginning of city council meetings, Feb. 24 was quieter, still absent decorum and one speaker launched news of a lawsuit linked to the death of Kilyn Lewis.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Mike Coffman posted on his Facebook page, “No settlements for meritless lawsuits.” The post said that no matter how much the family or the protesters disrupt the city council meetings, their demands will not be met.
“There will be no formal apology, no check written to the Lewis family, and the APD officer responsible for the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis, who was cleared in a subsequent investigation, will not be disciplined,” Coffman said in the post.
The unarmed Black man was shot by an Aurora SWAT officer in May 2024 at an apartment parking lot while Lewis was being arrested in connection with attempted murder charges. The group has attended city council meetings for months, regularly dis-
›› CROW, from 4
been broken for decades.
“Anybody who pays attention to this knows that our immigration system is badly broken in every single way,” he said. “Every way. From border security, which is broken and not working, to the pathway to citizenship, which is similarly absurd.”
He said that violent criminals should be taken off the street, and he said he knows of no one who disagrees with that. Otherwise, he said the system should be revamped for law-abiding immigrants to gain work, prosperity and a path toward citizenship.
“Three percent a year is our GDP growth. Close to half of that is due to immigration,” he said. “Imagine the possibilities if we were able to expand lawful avenues for that, for economic growth and for prosperity for our community.”
Crow said he condemned the administration’s program of mass deportations, saying they are “not the reform that’s needed.”
He said he wanted to work toward a more comprehensive approach to securing the border, providing a pathway to citizenship and protecting programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protective Status.
Tina Covey asked how veterans can be assured that veteran healthcare benefits will not become the next target.
Crow said recent Veteran Affairs budget cuts have already affected thousands of employees, including those working on the VA suicide crisis hotline, which risks veterans lives. He said these cuts cannot be reversed like a corporate restructuring. Government services deal with people’s lives, not profits.
“We need to tell the story,” Crow said. “We need to continue to tell the story because the winds are shifting fast.”
He said that Elon Musk’s DOGE attacks on Medicare and Medicaid could lead to the closure of rural hospitals, and Americans across political lines are realizing the true impact of these cuts. Crow said the Democrats would continue to try to block
rupting the meetings.
That Monday night, while the “public invited to be heard” was beginning, activist MiDian Shofner, a primary spokesperson for the Lewis protesters, announced that the group and the family of Lewis were not the ones suing the city over Lewis’ death.
She said that Denver news TV station 9News was preparing a lawsuit against the Aurora Police Department linked to a “lack of transparency” in the shooting.
9News posted an online story Tuesday, announcing the lawsuit and their effort to seek complete and unedited police body cam videos linked to the Lewis shooting.
“You continue to pretend that the Lewis family is coming, asking you to sign a check,” Shofner said, referring to Coffman’s Facebook remarks. “I’m just here to inform you that you’re not being sued by the Lewis family. You’re being sued by 9News.”
On Tuesday morning, the Lewis family and Shofner issued a statement.
“The family of Kilyn E. Lewis stands firm in their demand for full transparency and accountability in the fatal shooting of their beloved son and brother,” the statement said. “We have been informed that Channel 9 News of Denver is pursuing a lawsuit against the Aurora Police Department
further rollbacks in Congress.
Lula Gilbert asked what advice Crow had for constituents who want to push back.
Citizen engagement and advocacy are crucial to change, Crow said, urging attendees to become involved in oversight, join civic organizations and assert their rights.
Crow also said his constituents can take action by supporting legal advocacy groups, seeking constituent services, and ensuring they know their rights. A “Citizens Action” handout was distributed, outlining five steps people can take, including recording and reporting abuses, engaging in community discussions and educating others on their rights.
“Our democracy can’t exist, and I can’t legislate the scene and do my job unless I have healthy civic organizations and community organizations where people are actually coming together and talking, join those community organizations, and if you’re a part of it, speak up during the meetings and let people know where you stand,” he said. “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be intimidated.”
Dawn Barrett asked how people can effectively communicate concerns and expectations with Republican leaders.
Crow said to stay engaged, show up and make sure their voices are heard. He said that public pressure influences policy decisions, and he told his constituents to attend Republican town halls, contact representatives and maintain a visible presence on critical issues.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I will fight for you. You will fight for me. We will fight together.”
Crow said that the Trump administration and its allies use fear and intimidation tactics, and their power relies on silencing opposition rather than effective governance. He said people must reject fear, stand united and be forgiving while welcoming others into the movement, even those they may not always agree with, to defend democracy and fight for their community.
“I don’t do fear, and neither should you,” Crow declared. “Together, we are stronger than they will ever be.”
under the Colorado Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act (ELEIA), citing APD’s failure to release the full body camera footage of Kilyn’s death.”
The Sentinel and other Colorado media have asked for and not received all police bodycam video recordings from just before, during and after the shooting, unedited. Aurora police previously told the Sentinel that the request was denied because the shooting was still under investigation, which is no longer the case.
Lawyers for 9News insist state law makes clear the entire video must now be released.
“Members of the press and public have the right under the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act to access unedited versions of all bodycam videos that captured the police shooting of Kilyn Lewis — not just the selectively edited versions released by the Aurora Police Department,” said Rachael Johnson, the Colorado Local Legal Initiative attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Access to bodycam footage and other videos showing the actions of police officers is critically important to the public’s ability to hold law enforcement accountable.”
City officials said the next dat that they’ve already complied.
“The city has already released all unaltered and unredacted body-worn
camera video of the Lewis incident itself as the law requires,” Aurora spokesperson Ryan Luby said in a statement “The complaint of officer misconduct which prompted the release of the video was specific to the shooting. Consequently, the videos APD has released to date are specific to the shooting.”
9News reporters say the videos are unusual in how they begin and end and the length of the videos, indicating they’ve been edited, according to their online story.
Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte said police had provided segments of video that the Lewis family initially requested, depicting when Lewis was shot, which he says is compliant with Enhancing Law Enforcement Integrity Act.
Lewis protesters have for months called for the firing of SWAT Officer Michael Dieck. Both a local district attorney and Aurora police chief have said that Dieck’s shooting of Lewis was not a crime, and Dieck did not stray from Aurora police procedure during the arrest.
Beyond news of the lawsuit, Schulte said the city council and he are still unsure what the Lewis family wants at this point.
“This is a tragedy. Somebody lost their life, but it was a lawful shooting, and that is the position of the city.”-
Spring forward
Schulte said.
The remainder of the public comment section was not unlike comments during every meeting for the past several months.
Only five people spoke at the lectern. Two more were announced but never answered when called, and the entire “public invited to be heard” lasted less than 30 minutes.
Four of the five speakers were from the Justice for Kylin Lewis group, a cadre of friends, family members and activists linked to the death of Lewis.
Not part of the official city council agenda, the commentary isn’t recorded nor live-streamed, and it no longer requires city council members to even sit on the dais.
Though their presence wasn’t required, each council member sat in person on Monday night to hear the public speak, except Councilmember Crystal Murillo, absent from Monday’s meetings.
One commenter Monday was a resident regular speaker, Tanya Tabacheck. She said she had been frustrated for a while because of the constant disruptions caused by Lewis protesters at the council meetings.
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
Daylight saving time starts Sunday, March 9. Be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night.
Growing Herbs
Learn all you need to know about cultivating and using herbs at a free information session at the Aurora Central Library on March 20, 2-4 p.m. Understand how to grow and use herbs and how they can positively impact your health. Register at https://bit.ly/CSUHerbs.
Last fall, Arapahoe County voters approved ballot measure 1A, which releases the County from spending limits imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and invests those funds in critical services that serve our residents. We now seek qualified individuals to serve on a 1A Resident Advisory Committee to help oversee the investment process and ensure transparency with taxpayers, residents, and other stakeholders. Learn more and apply at arapahoeco.gov/citizenboards
e eyes have it: Local artist Detour is on the road to fame
FROM DIA TO THE ARVADA CENTER, THOMAS EVANS’
BY MONTEY
Denver artist Thomas “Detour” Evans has planted his artistic footprint all over the metro area, including Aurora.
Recently, his work creating the mural at the Arvada Center’s main gallery for all visitors to see and then displaying the finished product drew rave reviews from the Center’s visitors, said Collin Parson, Director of Galleries and Curator.
“Our visitors loved it,” Parson said via email. “It was an interactive piece that took the art of murals to the next level. Detour is an innovative artist who a few years ago was considered a “muralist” but not as “an artist” who happens to also make murals.”
“I’m proud of him and think he represents the quality and creativity of Colorado arts,” Parson said.
Evans became a household name in Aurora first after creating a mural portrait of Elijah McClain in Denver’s RiNo district. McClain became a national cause for police reform after dying at the hands of Aurora police and rescuers in 2019.
Evans also raised his brand in the center of Aurora by creating a multi-mural project near Aurora City hall at the Parkside apartment and restaurant complex, renamed Stella on the Park. Evans could not be reached for comment for this story.
Described as a painter, muralist and installation artist, Evans served as a Creative in Residence at the Denver Art Museum in the fall of 2017, exploring work that encourages a mixture of traditional art and interactive paintings. He has gained state and national fame for his mural and print creations that celebrate African American history as well as musical, civil rights and sports icons.
What may be Evans’ most acclaimed piece was recently unveiled before international travelers that streamed though Denver International Airport.
The airport introduced Evans’ sculpture “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back” in its permanent public art collection in January in the Concourse B expansion area. “DEN’s participation in the City’s 1% for Public Art program is a point of pride for the airport. Many of the works in our permanent collection loom large in the memories and imaginations of our millions of annual visitors. Thomas Evans’ work, “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back,” will soon become an iconic fixture of the world’s sixth busiest air-
port, welcoming or bidding farewell to our passengers,” airport CEO Phil Washington said in a news release. “I am so pleased to welcome Evans’ unique and vibrant sculpture to DEN.”
“It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back” was inspired by the idea that life is always in perpetual motion and it’s our luggage that carries the items we hold dear. It was selected by a panel of community representatives, arts and culture professionals, and civic leaders in 2022, the news release states.
“I was super ecstatic to be selected to be a part of the process of adding art to such a vibrant place where millions of travelers pass through during their journey in life,” Detour said in the news release.
The artwork, located on Concourse B East near gate B60, is 26 feet long by 12 feet wide by 8 feet high and suspended from the concourse ceiling. To help build the sculpture, Ev-
ans put a call out to the public for personal luggage that had a story behind it. That resulted in 183 donated bags that were incorporated into the final design, including pieces from Cleo Parker Robinson, Ed Dwight, a flight attendant of 33 years, three DIA employees, as well as from folks with Denver’s five professional sports teams.
Evans said on his webpage that the exhibit showcases the frenzied nature of modern life. “The goal is to symbolize the 24/7 nature of both the airport and the journey of life, as well as memorialize the stories and experiences you gain when you travel,” Evans said.
Evans said that his fabricators, Demiurge, built a steel armature in six different sections that will serve as the backbone of
WORK HAS BEEN SHOWCASED ALL OVER THE METRO AREA, INCLUDING AURORA
Artist Thomas “Detour” Evans stands with his creation at Concourse B at DIA Credit: Photo courtesy of Denver International Airport
WHALEY, for Colorado Community News
Artwork by Detour at the Parkside Apartment Complex, now Stella on the Park. File Photo/Sentinel
the sculpture. Each piece of luggage will have its own plate extension that will be welded onto the armature.
For more information about the backstories of the donated bags and their donors, go to the airport’s arts page which opened for views this month. A time-lapse video of the installation can be found there as well.
The news release points out that the City’s 1% for Public Art Ordinance directs that 1% of any capital improvement project over $1 million undertaken by the city be set aside for the inclusion of art. At DIA, funds are set aside and then site-specific large-scale public art opportunities across the campus are identified. For this specific project, funding was designated by the Gate Expansion Program’s construction budget. No taxpayer dollars are used for any artwork at DIA.
Evans also explores ethnic identities through his African art display “They Still Live,” which mixes photography, DNA mapping and African objects, according to the Huffington Post. His prints celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., the music icon Prince and soccer legend Pele.
Evans also honored the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets with a mural planted on the side of the building at 1919 E. Colfax Ave. Evans said he only created the mural to replace another that was in disrepair. However, “this mural evolved to be a beacon for the community because of the awesome year that the Denver Nuggets had,” Evans wrote on his webpage. .
The mural got statewide and national attention and was featured in The New York Times, the Athletic, the NBA’s social media accounts and several other media outlets, Evans said.
Evans drew plenty of local acclaim for his work at the Arvada Center. Evans used sound and interaction to draw patrons into his brightly colored creation at the Arvada Center’s main gallery, said the Arvada Center’s Parson.
Evans was part of a temporary exhibition titled “In Sight On Site: Murals,” Parson said. Working on the site at the Arvada Center as artist schedules allowed, visitors were able to see murals develop over a weekend, a week or even a month, he said. Evans contributed to a temporary exhibit at the Center so it was only displayed for a few months.
“Detour and artists like him use exhibitions like this to test ideas and concepts that otherwise might just be experiments in their studios,” Parson said.
He said that he donated a bag to the DIA exhibit, at Evans’ request. Parson said he was caught off guard by the request but suddenly remembered that his four-year-old daughter, Cora, had left her Kitty Cat purse in the back seat of Parson’s car. “I knew she’d be momentarily upset, but I also believed she’d understand its significance when she was older,” he said.
“So I took the risk,” Parson said. “So far, it’s paid off. She’s forgotten all about the purse, and I can’t wait to take her to see her small but meaningful mark in Denver’s art history.”
IF YOU GO
Date: 7:30 p.m.
March 7 and 2 p.m. March 8
Tickets: $29 -$44
Details: 303-987-7845 and Lakewood.org/LCCPresents
Venue: The Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway
scene & herd
Guys and Dolls
Back from the past, some of the most memorable favorites of the stage will run through March 23 at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora. Guys and Dolls and all the favorites, including “Adelaide’s Lament,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “If I Were a Bell,” and “Luck Be a Lady,” and all the classic characters from the legendary Broadway musical are on tap.
IF YOU GO
Dates: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through March 23. Evening curtains at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$39
Venue: Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St. Details: vintagetheatre.org and 303-856-7830
DREAMCATCHERS: The Untold Stories of the Americas
An evocative and moving dance production, “DREAMCATCHERS: The Untold Stories of the Americas” brings to life narratives that have been overlooked or forgotten. Through powerful storytelling, music and dance, this production explores the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of Black and Indigenous communities throughout history.
IF YOU GO
Public Show: 7:30 p.m. March 8
Where: Parson’s Theatre, 1 E. Memorial Parkway Entrance
Tickets: $25-$30 online at NorthglennARTS.org or call the box office at 303-450-8888
Pig and web
The Mizel Arts and Culture Center’s Denver Children’s Theatre presents “Charlotte’s Web,” offering both in-theatre and in-school performances.
School group performances will take place at the Mizel Arts and Cul ture Center at the
Based on E.B. White’s beloved story, “Charlotte’s Web” follows the friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider, celebrat ing kindness and sacrifice. As Wilbur faces the fate of the farm, Charlotte weaves her magic to save him, prov ing that love, friendship, and sacri fice can create the most miraculous changes. The play is suitable for kids ages 4 and up.
IF YOU GO
Date: 10 a.m. March 2, 9, 1n 16
Venue: Mizel Arts and Culture Center 350 S. Dahlia St.
Tickets: $13-$16
Details: 303-399-2660 and jccdenver.org
Baroque Splendor: “Fanfares and Flourishes”
As part of the Lakewood Cultural Center Presents 25th anniversary season the center offers a showcase with violinist Cynthia Miller Freivo gel and Kathryn James Adduci on Baroque trumpet. The program in cludes “Handel’s Suite in D for trum pet and strings, Telemann’s “Don Quixote.”
The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama
The Life and Art of Tokio Ueyama features more than 40 paintings loaned to the museum by the Japanese American National Museum and Ueyama’s family, whose combined efforts to preserve his work have allowed the story of this accomplished and cosmopolitan artist to be told at the Denver Art Museum for the first time.
Born in Japan, Tokio Ueyama moved to the United States in 1908 at age 18, where he made a home until his death in 1954. This exhibition tells the story of Ueyama’s life, including his early days as an art student in San Francisco, Southern California, and Philadelphia; his travels abroad in Europe and Mexico; his role as artist and community member in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles; and his unconstitutional incarceration during World War II at the Granada Relocation Center, now the Amache National Historic Site, in southeast Colorado.
IF YOU GO
Through June 1
Where: Denver Art Museum, 100 W 14th Ave Pkwy Tickets: Included in general admission, which is free for members and for all visitors 18 and under.
Details: www.denverartmuseum.org
Wing it for breakfast
Fly fans are invited to join Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight for its monthly fly-in featuring planes, pilots, speakers and breakfast. On the second Saturday of every month, enjoy breakfast from a local food truck, watch aircraft fly in and explore interactive exhibits and simulators. Pilots can fly in for free breakfast. For tie-down space reservations, contact Flight@WingsMuseum.org or 303-360-5360 ext 160.
IF YOU GO
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mar 8. The event is weather permitting.
Location: Exploration of Flight museum at Centennial Airport, 13005 Wings Way, Food Truck: Cruz In and Eat Tickets: $1-$12.95
St Paddy’s Day Celebration at the Town Center mall
The luck and pluck of the Irish is slated for the Aurora Town Center mall just a day late, but not short of fun and festivities.
The lower-level court will the stage for a variety of family-friendly shows and events, including Irish step dancers, crafts for the kids. “Whether you’re here for the dancing, the music, or just a good time with family and friends, there’s something for everyone to enjoy, said mall marketing manager Chelsea Thatcher.
IF YOU GO
When: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. March 15
Where: Town Center at Aurora mall, 14200 E. Alameda Ave.
Tickets: Free, and free beer from Helga’s Haus during for adults.
Details: https://towncenterataurora.com/
MAD
LIBrarians Improv Show
No beige sweaters with this bookish cast. “Whenever this team of buttoned-up librarians hears about a fantastic new book, they go wild,” Arapahoe Library District officials said in a statement. “In each show, buttons go flying as the MAD LIBrarians craft a new book title based on your suggestions and then — right before your very eyes — they act, sing and shout that book out fullblast.” Improv-bookings? “Come visit the library that can’t ever keep quiet …no matter how hard its terribly serious and wonderfully silly librarians may try, presented by Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.” Suggested for kids of all ages, even old ones.
IF YOU GO
When: 1 p.m. March 15
Where: Smoky Hill Library, 5430 S Biscay Circle
Details: arapahoelibraries.org
Tickets: Free. Reserve your spot: arap.li/41ioB9c
Free day at the Denver Art Museum
Engage with art, explore onsite activities, and experience exhibitions on view all while enjoying free general admission, courtesy of an agreement with the Science and Cultural Facilities District. Includes extended hours on Tuesdays. General admission does not include entry to ticketed exhibitions
IF YOU GO
When: Starts at 10 a.m. March 11.
Where: Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Parkway
Details: www.denverartmuseum.org
Colorado art on Friday
The Denver Art Society is displaying original artwork created by more than 150 Colorado artists and live music during its regular First Friday event in the Denver Arts District.
IF YOU GO
When: 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. March 7
Location: Denver Art Society, 734 Santa Fe Drive
Tickets: Free Details: 303-534-1132 or www.denverartsociety.org
GETTING TOUGH ON TOUGH-ON-CRIME
State bill would make Aurora get tough on crime without imposing sentences more harsh than those imposed
by the state
BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer
The standing question in the state House Judicial Committee last week was whether cities like Aurora have the legal right to impose harsher penalties than those set by the state for crimes like shoplifting and trespassing.
Municipal proponents adamantly insist they should, and some cities, like Aurora and Pueblo, already do.
Some state lawmakers and advocates for equal justice say, absolutely not, and the U.S. Constitution expressly forbids it.
Regardless, members of the state House judicial panel gave a narrow and tentative approval to House Bill 1147, after hours of testimony for and against the measure, sending the bill and the hard-fought argument on for more.
It came down to arguments and questions about how the laws should or shouldn’t be different on different sides of Colorado roads.
“I also absolutely cannot bring myself to a resolution of the question that I have now asked multiple people: what is the difference in the crime on one side of Arapahoe Road versus the other?” said Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Centennial.
On the Aurora side of Arapahoe Road, walking out on a $15 restaurant tab can get you mandatory jail time. On the unincorporated side of Arapahoe Road, it’s a different story.
The House bill was moved to the House floor last week on a 6-5 Vote, mostly along party lines. The proposal would cap non-felony criminal sentences imposed by city courts, such as Aurora’s municipal court. It met with especially fierce opposition from officials from Aurora and Pueblo.
Both cities have, for the past few years, imposed mandatory jail time and other “get tough on crime” sentences for shoplifting, vagrancy and crimes such as stealing cars or car parts.
“Home rule municipalities, by the essence of Article 20 of the (State) Constitution, along with their elected city councils, have the authority to address the specific needs of their communities,” Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte told the committee. “That is why we strongly oppose this bill. It infringes on our home rule authority.”
The state Constitution enumerates the power of cities to set up home rule. It does not directly address the ability to supersede criminal sentences for crimes delineated in statute.
House Bill 1147 proposes to cap municipal court sentences, at state limits, and require specific standards for public defenders. This measure would directly challenge Aurora’s more harsh sentencing practices. The bill is part of a broader push to reform Colorado’s municipal court system and would address sentencing disparities and potential constitutional violations that disproportionately impact vulnerable and minority populations.
“It’s critical that we recognize that we have two distinct systems of justice happening side by side,” Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, said. “People who are in the same county, charged with the same conduct, housed in the same jail, can face vastly different sentences and receive different protections.”
By aligning municipal court sentencing with state standards, the legislation would aim to ensure equal protection for all defendants, regardless of where they are charged, proponents say. This is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which ensures equal protection under the law for all citizens.
Schulte said all convicts are treated equally in Aurora, and that was the intention of the framers of the state Constitution.
“If you want to choose to commit a crime in a municipality and you get caught, you’re going to be subject to the laws of that particular city,” Schulte said.
Schulte said Aurora is prepared to litigate if the measure is signed into law.
Equal for whom?
Under HB 1147, municipal court sentences would be capped at the maximum state law sentence for the same offenses. If there is no state-level comparable offense, the maximum period of incarceration is capped at the maximum for a state-level petty offense.
State law currently allows for up to a year in jail for shoplifting convictions up to $1,000. Aurora lawmakers, during the last few years, have imposed minimum sentences, requiring at least three days in jail for a conviction of stealing $100 or more in merchandise.
If HB 1147 were to become law, mandatory minimums and increased penalties for prior convictions would be prohibited unless the person is convicted of a municipal offense for which there is a comparable state offense or of an infraction that allows the same mandatory minimum or increased penalties based on prior convictions.
The bill also requires cities to provide “in-custody defendants” immediate public defense, and those public defenders cannot be “flat-fee” contract attorneys. Aurora became the target of state legislation last year after trying to shutter the city’s public defender unit and put the services out for a contract to the highest bidder. The city received no bids after issuing a request for proposals. Instead, Aurora lawmakers agreed to close the city’s domestic violence program in municipal court and send cases to Arapahoe or Adams county courts.
The bill also requires that all municipal court proceedings be open to the public and requires virtual access for in-custody hearings.
Sentencing disparities
Lawmakers and legal advocates mentioned various cases in court sentencing disparities between local municipalities and state sentencing maximums.
In Rifle, a couple, Jeremiah and Michelle Mobley, were sentenced to 30 days in jail for stealing two t-shirts priced at $30, according to Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, far longer than the sentence for the same crime if tried in county court, rather than Rifle’s city court.
In Longmont, a woman received a 30-day jail sentence for a probation violation and trespassing, which was three times longer than the maximum sentence allowed in state court, according to Mabrey.
In Aurora, a man was charged with a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail for trespassing when state law would have capped the sentence at 10 days, Mabrey said.
There were more examples of harsher sentences in local municipalities, including Pueblo, Westminster and Denver.
“If somebody commits a crime on one side of Sheridan or the other,” Mabrey said. “The Constitution mandates that they should be treated in the same way. That’s what we are talking about here.”
Aurora shoplifting laws include a “dine and dash” penalty with a mandatory three days in jail for walking out on a $15 bill. Dine and dash is a term for when people leave without paying for their meal after eating at a restaurant.
The law also includes a mandatory three days in jail for retail theft, $100 or more on the first offense, a mandatory 90 days in jail on the second offense and a mandatory 180 days on the third offense.
Colorado state law considers a retail theft of less than $300 a petty offense, which could receive as much as 10 days in jail but has no required minimum, according to statute.
Aurora also allows up to 364 days in jail for a trespass offense, which would be capped at 10 days in state court.
“This risk is compounded by the fact that those accused people tend to be society’s most vulnerable: the unhoused, the mentally ill, the extremely poor, and the disabled,” Mabrey said.
“Even for the most minor municipal offenses, people can be jailed, and they can lose their jobs, their housing, their driver’s license, their immigration status, or their gun rights. Even short stays in jail have grave consequences.”
ABOVE: Adams County deputys pass each other in a hall. Aurora Sentinel File Photo
Aurora’s defense for local law
Aurora lawmakers have for the past few years pushed for harsher sentences for a variety of crimes, reacting to what they said was a local increase in primarily theft and shoplifting. State records show that crime in Aurora closely mirrors that across the entire metro area. All types of crime spiked during the pandemic, a phenomenon that also occurred across the nation.
For the last two years, violent and non-violent crimes have been ebbing in Aurora and across the metro region.
Aurora’s overall crime rate in 2024 declined to below 2020 levels after a spike in 2022. Theft climbed from about 7,500 incidents in 2020 to 8,100 incidents in 2022 and has now gone back down to 7,300 incidents in 2024.
Year-to-date, year-over-year, city crime statistics for the beginning of February showed a 9.6% increase in shoplifting reports compared to February of last year, according to city records.
Some Aurora lawmakers say the increase in sentencing has helped drive down theft. The city has not made public any analysis of theft metrics, and the city’s theft and car theft cases closely mirror the same rates of communities across the metro region.
Schulte insisted that state law not only allows for local control, but that such control is responsive to and reflective of local communities’ needs.
“If citizens don’t like it, all the city councils are elected,” Schulte said. “Just like all the representatives in the assembly, if someone doesn’t like what the city council is doing, there are remedies at the ballot box, and that is, again, why we are so firm against this because it is approaching our home rule authority.”
Jeremy Schupbach, Colorado Municipal League legislative and policy advocate, sent out a statement of position for the coop of Colorado towns and cities, saying that municipalities require flexibility to respond appropriately to the needs of their communities.
Although this may differ from the needs of the state, municipalities should be able to impose harsher sentences to reflect their individual communities, according to the CML statement.
“The Colorado Supreme Court is reviewing cases challenging this very issue, making legislative action premature,” Schupbach said in the statement. “Deferring action on sentencing until the Court issues a ruling may avoid costly litigation and ensure judicial decisions inform future legislative decisions.”
He referred to a bevy of cases before the state’s Supreme Court exploring the issue of potentially excessive sentencing by Colorado municipalities
Bruce Eisenhower, legislative liaison for the Department of Local Affairs, also testified in opposition to the bill, agreeing with Schulte’s arguments for Home Rule Authority.
The argument of 14th Amendment rights
Broomfield lawyer Amy Tranery testified that the state Constitution does spell out special powers for “home rule” cities, but that it does not provide municipalities with unrestricted power, especially over the U.S. Constitution.
“Home Rule Authority is much more tightly constricted than many believe,” Tranery said. “Municipal ordinances cannot conflict with state laws, and when a state law exists, municipal regulation is only permissible to the extent that it does not contradict statewide statutes.”
Tranery said that the home rule language is also deciphered by the charter of the local municipality.
La Plata Sheriff Sean Smith said city overreach on sentencing in his county has had a real negative impact on the Durango community and La Plata County jail. He said harsher sentences have created jail crowding and big expenses for county residents who are affected only by those who live in the cities.
Sentencing disparity affects more than just taxpayers, other critics told state lawmakers.
Elizabeth Cadiz, chief public defender for Aurora, said the numbers behind those receiving the harsher Aurora sentences are important.
“Through efforts to reform low-level sentencing, we identified 47 offenses that are identical in our municipal code to state statutes but carry a potential 364 days versus caps of 10 or 120 days under the state law,” Cadiz said. “In a sample of 150 cases involving only these kinds of comparable charges, 42% were theft, 19% were trespass, 4% were prostitution and 9% were police charges, meaning resisting or obstruction.
Of those receiving the harsher Aurora sentences, “the demographic data showed that 1.31% were Asian, 27.45% were white, 26.14% were Hispanic or Latino, and 45.1% were Black or African American.”
She said the numbers made clear that minorities were being impacted far greater than their white counterparts in Aurora.
Cadiz told the committee she was testifying separately from the City of Aurora, and she said approving the bill would help end what she called unconstitutional practices in municipal courts.
“This bill doesn’t say you can’t prosecute thefts if you’re a municipality or enforce identical criminal laws,” Cadiz said. “It doesn’t say you can’t put people in jail and max them or run your own court and write your own docket and your police department and direct where your resources can go. It just sets a precedent and guarantees fairness.”
Aurora lawyer Anne Moorhead said that the bill would also enshrine the full right to counsel, which she said Aurora denies people in court.
“Aurora Municipal Court treats weekend and holiday
courts differently than other in-custody dockets run Monday through Friday by prohibiting in-person access to clients, expressly prohibiting the entry of a plea, expressly prohibiting plea negotiations, prohibiting appointment of counsel for future hearings, substantially limiting communication with the client prior to the hearing in automatic PR bond cases, and only allowing conditional appointment of counsel for clients held on bond, unnecessarily delaying the case just to reset the arraignment several weeks out to then allow full appointment of counsel,” she said
Many people during the trials mentioned that the statewide change could push these cases into the county courts, putting additional strain on the counties.
Schulte said he would likely send all criminal cases to the county if the bill passed.
Critics argue that Colorado’s municipal courts operate with minimal oversight, allowing for unchecked sentencing disparities. Municipal courts are structured, funded and supervised by the same cities that bring charges.
Aurora has its own judicial review system, and the courts are overseen by an administrator that reports to the city council, not the city attorney’s office.
Wallace said there are many reasons why these sentences can be considered a conflict of interest. She then referred to a Denver Post article in which Marc Sears, president of the Aurora Fraternal Order of Police, said that officers in Aurora are encouraged to write tickets to municipal courts instead of county court to bring the money directly back to the municipality.
The bill now goes to the House floor for consideration. If it passes, it faces a state Senate committee and floor vote, and must be signed by Gov. Jared Polis, who has indicated he may oppose it.
“The Governor is focused on making Colorado one of the top ten safest states and while he is skeptical of actions that may limit local governments’ ability to keep Coloradans safe, he will carefully review any bill that reaches his desk,” a spokesperson for Polis said in a statement.
TOP LEFT: A variety of handcuffs and shackles are stored, Aurora Sentinel File Photo
BOTTOM LEFT: Aurora Municipal Jail inmate transfer.
Aurora Sentinel File Photo
TOP RIGHT: Supervisor Mitch Huston, rides in the inmate elevator at the Aurora Municipal Jail.
Aurora Sentinel File Photo
BOTTOM RIGHT: Statistics show the current housing issue concerns for the Arapahoe County Detention Center.
Screen grab from video produced by Arapahoe County
Right: Eaglecrest senior Anthony Nettles (1) had 10 of his game-high 23 points in the pivotal fourth quarter as the second-seeded Raptors topped No. 34 Rocky Mountain in the Class 6A boys basketball first round Feb. 28.
Below top: Grandview senior Breven Anderson (11) scored 22 points or more in Wolves’ wins in the play-in and first round of the 6A boys basketball state playoffs.
Below middle: Senior Lucas Dickinson, left, scored 22 points for the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team in a 7462 win over No. 24 Monarch in the 6A state first round.
Below bottom: Smoky Hill senior Kaylan Graham, left, scored 22 points in the 14th-seeded Buffaloes’ 81-67 loss to No, 19 Rock Canyon in the 6A boys basketball state fiirst round Feb. 28.
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
Aurora boys and girls basketball teams were at their best as the postseason arrived, but not all of them could continue on.
As the Class 5A and 6A boys and girls state tournaments moved through play-in and first round matchups, eight area squads remain in the championship chase, while another sixth others felt the sting of a final defeat.
STATE BASKETBALL
Here’s a look at how the postseason played out for Aurora teams ahead of Sweet 16 matchups March 4 (boys) and March 5 (girls) as teams sought to earn bids to play in the Great 8 when the tournament shifts to the Denver Coliseum.
Senior Lucas Dickinson paced Regis Jesuit with 22 points, while juniors Eric Fiedler and Joseph Haubert added 19 and 10 points, respectively. The Raiders have now been to at least the Sweet 16 for six straight seasons.
Overland — which defeated Grandview in the third-place game at the Centennial League Challenge to conclude the regular season — drew a familiar first round opponent in No. 11 Broomfield, which had come into the Trailblazers’ gym and won a first round contest just last season.
Coach Danny Fisher’s Overland team paid that back this time, however, as it outscored the host Eagles in three of the four quarters — including a 27-10 edge in the third quarter — to make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.
Sweet survival
SEEDED IN THE 20S, GRANDVIEW & OVERLAND JOIN RANGEVIEW, EAGLECREST AND REGIS JESUIT IN 6A BOYS SWEET 16
BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor
Though not much of a surprise to Aurora-area basketball observers, Grandview and Overland — the Nos. 22 and 25 seeds in the 40-team Class 6A boys basketball postseason — hold spots among the final 16 teams left.
The Wolves (14-11) — who missed the playoffs completely last season and hadn’t won in the postseason since just before the coronavirus pandemic — downed Castle View in a play-in contest and then went on the road and stunned No. 8 Horizon in the first round Feb. 28.
Coach Ryan Turk’s Grandview team went up 10 after three quarters on a jumper by senior Trevor Thomas, watched the lead dip to four early in the fourth and then held on as senior Breven Anderson and juniors Matthew Samson and Noah Sevy coolly finished things up at the free throw line, going a combined 10-for-10 in the last 1:08. Anderson scored 22 points in the play-in win and tallied 23 in the first round victory, while Samson and Sevy each had 10.
Grandview’s win set up an all-Aurora Sweet 16 contest, as it will make the short trip west on Arapahoe Road to Regis Jesuit, where the ninth-seeded Raiders (18-6) will be waiting for a 6 p.m. contest to determine which team will play in a Great 8 game March 8 at the Denver Coliseum.
Coach Ken Shaw’s Regis Jesuit team fell behind 24th-seed Monarch by as many as six points in the opening half, but closed the half with a 10-2 run that gave it a lead going into the second half as it went on to a 74-62 victory.
Senior Isreal Littleton returned to the lineup after missing several games and gave the Trailblazers a fourth double-digit scorer with 12 points, as he joined seniors TJ Manuel (18) and Siraaj Ali (16) and junior Mehki McNeal (10). The next challenge for Overland is sixth-seeded Mountain Vista (19-5), which it will visit March 4 in the Sweet 16.
In an opening round in which many of the high seeds were challenged, No. 1 Rangeview saw No. 33 Cherokee Trail stay within three points at halftime before the Raiders turned it up in the second half in a 62-25 win. The run that took away the doubt for Rangeview came late in the third quarter when freshman Marceles Duncan had a dunk and senior Kenny Black-Knox III followed with two 3-pointers and a dunk of his own to send the home gym into a frenzy.
Black-Knox III had a game-high 16 points for coach Shawn Palmer’s team, which also got 14 from Duncan and 10 from sophomore Archie Weatherspoon V. Senior LaDavian King scored seven points before he exited with an injury in the third quarter.
Rangeview hopes to have King back for its third matchup of the season with fellow City League team George Washington, the No. 16 seed that took the Raiders to double overtime earlier. The teams will play at 7:30 p.m. at Rangeview March 4.
Cherokee Trail ended its season 10-14, but it was plenty significant. Coach Brandon Brown’s Cougars defeated No. 32 Erie 63-47 in a play-in game Feb. 25 for the program’s first postseason win since 2017-18. Sophomore Jordan Mitchell and senior Vince Guthrie had 13 points apiece and seniors Nathan Baack and Jake Scott added 12 and 10, respectively.
Second-seeded Eaglecrest got a challenge of its own from No. 34 Rocky Mountain, but came up big in crunch time of a 61-53 victory. The Raptors
ABOVE: Rangeview’s Yasin Sekue, left, flips a shot over his head and in as he is fouled by Cherokee Trail’s Vince Guthrie during the top-seeded Raiders’ 62-25 Class 6A boys basketball first round playoff win Feb. 28 . BELOW TOP: Grandview’s Sienna Betts scored 24 points and took over Colorado’s all-time career rebounding lead (boys or girls) in the No. 1 Wolves’ 72-30 win over Horizon March 1. BELOW MIDDLE: Regis Jesuit’s Khloe Miller drives upcourt during the 10th-seeded Raiders’ 60-39 Class 6A girls basketball first round win over Arapahoe March 1 (Photo courtesy Eric Brown). BELOW BOTTOM: Cherokee Trail’s Delainey Miller (20) looks for a teammate in the Cougars’ 6A first round win over Mountain Vista.
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY OAKES/AURORA SENTINEL
played for the first time in nearly a week since they took the Centennial League Challenge title game and found themselves locked in a tie ballgame with the Lobos midway through the fourth quarter.
Coach Jarris Krapcha’s team got a big finish from senior Anthony Nettles, who scored its seven points and had 10 of his game-high 23 in the pivotal stretch. Sophomore Kris Coleman knocked down a big 3-pointer late on his way to 10 for Eaglecrest (22-2), which will play host to No. 15 Arvada West (18-6) in the Sweet 16.
The season came to an end in the first round for No. 14 Smoky Hill, which had a streak of eight straight trips to at least the Sweet 16 come to an end with an 81-67 loss to No. 19 Rock Canyon. Senior Kaylan Graham and junior Carter Basquez had 22 points apiece for coach Anthony Hardin’s Buffaloes, who finished 13-11. No. 39 Vista PEAK Prep, which qualified for the postseason in its first year in 6A, lost 59-43 to No. 7 ThunderRidge in the first round. The Bison knocked off No. 26 Legacy 69-46 in a play-in contest (boosted by 20 points from Marquilos Mata and 17 from Mitch Oliver) and finished 10-15 in coach Jordan Carter’s first season on the bench. In 5A, No. 38 Aurora Central and No. 40 Gateway both lost in play-in contests on the road and finished 11-13 and 9-5, respectively.
time career rebounding leader (boys or girls) according to Colorado High School Activities Association records.
Betts snared career rebound No. 1,448 to move in front of Custer County’s Scott Wilson, who was credited with 1,447 between 1972-75. Earlier, Betts surpassed Discovery Canyon grad Ashten Prechtel atop the state’s girls rebounding leaderboard.
Sophomore Ava Chang added 22 points in the win for Grandview (21-3), which will play host to No. 16 Rocky Mountain (18-6) at 6 p.m. March 5 for a spot in the March 8 6A Great 8 at Denver Coliseum.
For full hoops coverage, visit sentinelcolorado. com/preps
Regis Jesuit — last season’s 6A state runner-up — started the postseason in strong fashion, as coach Jordan Kasemodel’s team held visiting and 23rd-seeded Arapahoe to four points in the opening half during a 60-39 win.
The Raiders got a 15-point effort from freshman Tiana Rogers, who was joined in double figures by senior Jane Rumpf with 12. Senior Izzy Davies contributed nine as well for Regis Jesuit, which will go on the road for its Sweet 16 contest against Continental League rival Legend. The Titans took a 62-59 overtime victory on the Raiders’ home floor during conference play.
A win would put Regis Jesuit into the Great 8 for a third straight season and potentially set up a quarterfinal with No. 2 Valor Christian, which defeated the Raiders in last season’s 6A state title game.
GRANDVIEW, CHEROKEE TRAIL & REGIS JESUIT GIRLS MOVE INTO CLASS 6A SWEET 16
Top-seeded Grandview, No. 10 Regis Jesuit and No. 11 Cherokee Trail had very little difficulty moving into the Class 6A Sweet 16, as all three posted lopsided first round wins March 1.
Coach Josh Ulitzky’s Wolves — who were ousted last season in the Sweet 16 — got back there again with a 72-30 win over No. 33 Horizon.
Senior Sienna Betts scored 24 points to lead Grandview, but most significantly, became Colorado’s all-
Cherokee Trail — a Final Four team last season — earned a quality opening round victory over No. 22 Mountain Vista, as it claimed a 7339 home win. Coach Tammi Traylor-Statewright’s Cougars came into the contest after a fourth-place finish at the Centennial League Challenge, but wasted little time getting going. Down 3-0, Cherokee Trail launched a 9-0 run and pushed out to a 15-point edge by halftime. Led by matching 12-point efforts from seniors Ryen Galloway and Delainey Miller, the lead grew to as many as 30 early in the fourth quarter.
The Cougars go on the road to No. 6 Highlands Ranch (21-3) in the Sweet 16 in a rematch in the same round from last season.
The area trio very nearly had more company in 25th-seeded Eaglecrest, which came close to an upset of No. 8 Denver East in the opening round. The Raptors (14-11) fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first half, but roared back in the second half an even had a one-point lead in the last minute of regulation. Senior Jada Bobb dominated in the paint and scored 23 points, while senior Amaia Jones, sophomore Kaydence Waymire and freshman Avery Jones took turns with big plays in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Overland finished the season 1411 after a 61-36 1st round loss at No. 5 Pine Creek. A four-point deficit at halftime turned into a 23-point margin after three quarters for the Trailblazers, who came in off a 5029 home win over No. 37 Boulder in the play-in a few days earlier. Thirty-fourth seeded Vista PEAK Prep pulled off a 51-45 overtime upset at No. 31 Legacy in the play-in — extending the game on a clutch 3-pointer by junior Jade Hibbler in the closing second of regulation — then had its season end with a 91-59 first round loss at No. 2 Valor Christian. Seniors Amirah Pena and Eianna Jackson scored 22 and 16 points, respectively, as the Bison finished 10-14. Rangeview, the No. 36 seed, got past No. 27 Pueblo West 35-27 in the first round as sophomore Devyn Davenport’s 11 points led the way, but dropped a 50-25 first round contest at No. 4 Cherry Creek to conclude a 12-13 campaign.
Aurora Central picked up its first win in the postseason in more than two decades when the 31st-seeded Trojans edged No. 34 Niwot 35-33 in a 5A state play-in game to earn a trip to No. 2 Mead for the first round. Aurora Central got 10 points from junior Jamaea Johnson-Gonzales (who had 11 in the play-in) in a 55-13 loss that ended a 149 season. It was the program’s most wins since a 14-win 2010 campaign.
›› HOOPS, from 12
ICE HOCKEY
Cherry Creek falls 4-3 in 5A Frozen Four contest after ousting Regis Jesuit
The Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team lost in the Class 5A Frozen Four for the second straight season and did so in heartbreaking fashion.
The fourth-seeded Bruins got goals from senior Cooper Huang and juniors Davis Ritter and Brian Kopeck in the first two periods to take a 3-1 lead over No. 1 Poudre School District in their semifinal at Ed Robson Arena on the campus of Colorado College, but saw the lead disappear in the third period and lost 4-3 in double overtime.
Coach Jeff Mielnicki’s Cherry Creek team was kept off the scoreboard in the third period and first overtime, while Poudre School District scored on a power play early in the third period and tied it up inside two minutes left before getting the golden goal at the 7:34 mark of the second overtime period.
“That looked looked and felt like a championship game and both teams played like it,” Mielnicki said. “We had our chances and the kids did everything we asked. We checked every box and it took a great play to beat us.”
Senior Hudson Ipson and Logan Samador, juniors Shota Badasyan, Matthew Lopez and Carter Sharkey (Cherokee Trail) and sophomore Ari Gelfand picked up assists and senior goaltender Payton Mills (Overland) saved 34 of 38 shots on goal for Cherry Creek, which finished with a 12-7-2 record. The Bruins are don’t completely, however, as they’ve qualified for the USA Hockey High School National Championships March 26-30 in Irvine, California.
Poudre School District advanced to the March 3 5A state championship game to play No. 3 Valor Christian, which defeated No. 2 Monarch in the other semifinal.
To get to the Frozen Four, the Cherry Creek team knocked off last season’s 5A state champion — Regis Jesuit — in a quarterfinal contest Feb. 25 at the South Suburban Sports Complex. It was the first-ever postseason meeting between the two local programs, who play each other all the time in the regular season. The Cherry Creek program was on hiatus when the Regis Jesuit team began play in the mid2000s. Between them, the programs rank Nos. 2 (Regis Jesuit with seven) and 3 (Cherry Creek with four) behind Cheyenne Mountain for all-time state championships on ice.
Coach Terry Ott’s Raiders came into the game shortly after a 3-1 win over 12th-seeded Lewis-Palmer in a first round contest, while Mielnicki’s team had gone 11 days between contests. After a scoreless opening period played on rough ice due to open skating beforehand, the Bruins scored five times in the final two periods to top Regis Jesuit 5-1. Sharkey scored on an empty-netter late for his second goal, while senior Jack Linville, Badasyan and Gelfand also had goals. Mills made 19 saves and kept the Raiders off the scoreboard until a 5-on-3 chance late in the third period.
Senior Parker Brinner had the goal for Regis Jesuit, which also got 25 saves from sophomore goaltender Easton Sparks. The Raiders had been in search of their 17th appearance in the state semifinals in the past 18 seasons, but instead fell in the quarterfinals like 2022, the only other time they missed out.
WEEK PAST
The week past in Aurora prep sports
MONDAY, MARCH 3: The Rangeview boys volleyball team and played host to Gateway in a match moved forward a day. ...SATURDAY, MARCH 1: The Smoky Hill girls soccer team opened its season with a 5-0 home loss to Highlands Ranch.
FRIDAY, FEB. 28: The Aurora West College Prep Academy boys vol-
leyball team rallied from a set deficit to forth a decisive fifth and ended up with a 25-14, 22-25, 23-25, 25-15, 17-15 victory over Hinkley Jesse Dominguez Parra racked up 12 kills to go with five aces and six blocks for the Spartans, who also got nine kills from Nathan Padilla, 26 digs from Adrian Arellano and 28 assists from Erick Uriarte
THURSDAY, FEB. 27: The Cherokee Trail boys volleyball team earned a 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 home sweep of Rock Canyon to open the season. Jaeden Barnes led the Cougars with 10 kills and eight digs, while Quinn Trusler had eight blocks and four kills and Chase Cabaug dished out 19 assists and served up three aces. ...The Rangeview boys volleyball team welcomed DSST: Conservatory Green in for a season-opening match and came away with a 25-15, 25-12, 2511 victory. Aidan Johnson picked up seven kills, Johnathan Broderick
had nine digs and five aces and Felipe Prieto Suarez had 14 assists for the Raiders. ...The Smoky Hill boys swim team opened the season with a 139-28 Centennial League dual victory against Overland with wins in 11 of 12 events. Eli Neely, Charlie Newton and Ian Noffsinger earned two individual event wins apiece, while Nam Tran and Carl Johnson also picked up firsts to go with a relay sweep for the Buffaloes. Diver Chad Hamilton picked up the Trailblazers’ victory, while Roman Chavez came in third in the 500 freestyle. ...The Grandview boys swim team fell to Mullen 9984 in a season-opening Centennial League dual meet despite two event wins each from Oliver Schimberg and Gherman Prudnikau. They also teamed with Christian Burgeson and Evan Linnebur to win the 200 yard freestyle relay for the Wolves, who also had a first place in diving from Hunter Bull
WEEK AHEAD
The week ahead in
Aurora prep sports
THURSDAY, MARCH 6: The full compliment of spring prep sports can begin regular season competition after a few sports began a week earlier. Weather permitting, several local matchups are on tap in baseball (Gateway visits Rangeview with first pitch at 3:30 p.m.), girls soccer (Overland visits Hinkley at 6:30 p.m.), boys swimming (Cherokee Trail is at Grandview at 5 p.m.), while the Overland boys volleyball team plays host to Rangeview at 6:30 p.m.). ...FRIDAY, MARCH 7: The Eaglecrest girls tennis team is scheduled to play host to the Tom Moore Invitational tournament, which includes Cherokee Trail, Rangeview and Smoky Hill, with matches to begin at 8 a.m. ...The Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse team plays host to Denver South at 7 p.m. in a rematch from an
overtime contest last season. ...SATURDAY, MARCH 8: The Aurora City Championship track & field meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at Aurora Public Schools Stadium. All running events for boys and girls will be contested as finals, while field events will have prelims and finals for the top nine. The Cherokee Trail boys are the defending league champions, while Eaglecrest finished as the runner-up to Cherry Creek in the girls competition to lead local teams last season. Regis Jesuit will compete in the Continental League Early Bird meet at EchoPark instead. ...The Eaglecrest boys volleyball team plays host to a 10-team tournament that also includes Cherokee Trail and Regis Jesuit. Matches begin at 8 a.m.... TUESDAY, MARCH 11: The Cherokee Trail baseball team is scheduled to play host to Legend at 4 p.m. ...The Vista PEAK Prep girls soccer team plays host to Smoky Hill in a 4 p.m. contest.
TOP: Cherry Creek sophomore Ari Gelfand, top, fires a puck towards the corner of the net that made it past Regis Jesuit goaltender Easton Sparks (33) during the third period of a Class 5A state ice hockey playoff game on Feb. 25. The Bruins earned a 5-1 win and went on to lose in double overtime in the 5A semifinals LEFT: Senior Parker Brinner scored the lone goal for the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team in its 5-1 loss to Cherry Creek Feb. 25. The Raiders fell short of the Frozen Four for only the second time in the past 18 seasons. ABOVE: Smoky Hill defender Deanna Childers, left, closes on a Highlands Ranch player in the Buffaloes’ 5-0 season-opening loss March 1. (Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)
C.R.S.; and WHEREAS, the City Council has been advised by staff, and has taken official notice of all maps, records, and other information and materials on file with the City regarding said petition.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AURORA, COLORADO:
Section 1. The petition for annexation of certain land more particularly described in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein, is hereby determined to be in substantial compliance with Section 31-12107(1), C.R.S.
Section 2. The City Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed annexation on March 24, 2025, at 6:30 p.m., or soon thereafter, in the City Council Chambers, Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora, Colorado, or, if the hearing is not held in person, then by such telephonic or electronic means accessed as described on the City’s website Auroragov.org, to determine if the proposed annexation complies with Sections 31-12104 and 31-12-105, C.R.S., or such parts thereof as may be required to establish eligibility for annexation.
Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to publish this Resolution and a Notice of Public Hearing once each week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area proposed to be annexed.
RESOLVED AND PASSED this day of 2025. MIKE COFFMAN, Mayor ATTEST: KADEE RODRIGUEZ, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: PETER A. SCHULTE, CITY ATTORNEY By: BRIAN J. RULLA, Assistant City Attorney
P.M., COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE, STATE OF COLORADO, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS: COMMENCING AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SAID SECTION 11;
THENCE NORTH 0°31’07” WEST, A DISTANCE OF 30.00 FEET;
THENCE SOUTH 89°43’32” WEST, A DISTANCE OF 30.00 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING;
THENCE SOUTH 00°31’07” EAST ALONG THE WESTERLY RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF NORTH PICCADILLY ROAD, A DISTANCE OF 270.00 FEET TO THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF A PARCEL RECORDED AT RECEPTION NO. E4009096;
THENCE ALONG THE SOUTHERLY LINE AND THE WESTERLY LINE OF SAID PARCEL AND THE NORTHERLY PROLONGATION THEREOF, THE FOLLOWING TWO (2) COURSES:
1) SOUTH 89°43’32” WEST, A DISTANCE OF 417.70 FEET;
2) NORTH 00°31’07” WEST, A DISTANCE OF 270.00 FEET TO THE NORTHERLY RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF EAST 6TH AVENUE;
THENCE ALONG SAID NORTHERLY RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE, NORTH 89°43’32” EAST, A DISTANCE OF 417.70 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING.
CONTAINING: 112,779 SQUARE FEET OR 2.589
HEARING
IN THE MATTER OF THE PROMULGATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FIELD RULES TO GOVERN OPERATIONS FOR THE NIOBRARA, FORT HAYS, CODELL, AND CARLILE FORMATIONS, WATTENBERG FIELD, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
PDC Energy, Inc. (Operator No. 69175)
(“Applicant”) filed an Application with the Commission for an order to add the Fort Hays and Carlile Formations to the development approved for drilling and spacing units established for the lands identified below. This Notice was sent to you because the Applicant believes you may own oil or gas (“mineral”) interests within the proposed unit. Generally, spacing is the process whereby an applicant obtains approval to assign certain mineral interests to be developed by a specific number of wells. Importantly, spacing is not pooling, and it is not an application for a drilling permit.
APPLICATION LANDS Township 1 South, Range 68 West, 6th
P.M. Section 2: E1/2 Section 11: E1/2 Section 14: E1/2 Section 23: E1/2 Section 26: E1/2
DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF HEARING
(Subject to change) The Commission will hold a hearing on the above-referenced docket number at the following date, time, and location:
Date: April 23, 2025 Time: 9 a.m. Location: Virtual Hearing with Remote Access via Zoom To participate, navigate to https://ecmc. state.co.us/#/home and locate the Zoom meeting link on the left side of the webpage Energy and Carbon Management Commission 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 Denver, CO 80203
PETITIONS DEADLINE FOR PETITIONS BY AFFECT-
ED PERSONS: March 24, 2025
Any interested party who wishes to participate formally must file a written petition with the Commission no later than the deadline provided above. Please see Commission Rule 507 at https://ecmc. state.co.us/#/home, under “Regulation,” then select “Rules.” Please note that, under Commission Rule 510.l, the deadline for petitions may only be continued for good cause, even if the hearing is continued beyond the date that is stated above. Pursuant to Commission Rule 507, if you do not file a proper petition, the Hearing Officer will not know that you wish to formally participate in this matter and the date and time of the hearing may change without additional notice to you. Parties wishing to file a petition must register online at https://oitco.hylandcloud.com/ DNRCOGExternalAccess/Account/Login. aspx and select “Request Access to Site.” Please refer to ECMC’s “eFiling Users Guidebook” at https://ecmc.state.co.us/ documents/reg/Hearings/External_EfilingSystemGuidebook_2023_FINAL.pdf for more information. Under Commission Rule 508, if no petition is filed, the Application may be approved administratively without
a formal hearing.
Any Affected Person who files a petition must be able to participate in a prehearing conference during the week of March 31, 2025, if a prehearing conference is requested by the Applicant or by any person who has filed a petition.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For more information, you may review the Application, which was sent to you with this Notice. You may also contact the Applicant at the phone number or email address listed below.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if any party requires special accommodations for this hearing as a result of a disability, please contact Margaret Humecki before the hearing at DNR_ECMC_Hearings_Unit@state.co.us, and arrangements will be made.
ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
By Elias J. Thomas, Commission Secretary
Dated: February 19, 2025
Applicant: PDC Energy, Inc. c/o Attorneys for Applicant Jamie L. Jost Kelsey H. Wasylenky Jost Energy Law, P.C. 3511 Ringsby Court, Unit 103 Denver, Colorado 80216 720-446-5620
Jjost@jostenergylaw.com
Kwasylenky@jostenergylaw.com
Publication: March 6, 2025
Sentinel
DISTRICT COURT, ADAMS COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO SUMMONS TO LITTON MORTGAGE SERVICING CENTER, INC. n/k/a LLS, INC. Case No. 2024CV031909
Plaintiffs: SHARON KAY ENGLEDOW, personal representative for the estate of Bonnie Engledow; NANCY LANDRETH HOWARD, previous personal representative for the estate of Bonnie Engledow; v. Defendant: LITTON MORTGAGE SERVICING CENTER, INC. n/k/a LLS, INC.
To: LITTON MORTGAGE SERVICING CENTER, INC. n/k/a LLS, INC.
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to file with the Clerk of this Court an answer or other response to the attached Complaint. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you within the State of Colorado, you are required to file your answer or other response within 21 days after such service upon you. If service of the Summons and Counterclaim was made upon you outside of the State of Colorado, you are required to file your answer or other response within 35 days after such service upon you. Your answer or counterclaim must be accompanied with the applicable filing fee. If you fail to file your answer or other response to the Complaint in writing within the applicable time period, the Court may enter judgment by default against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint without further notice.
Dated this 18th day of December, 2024. This Summons is issued pursuant to Rule 4 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended. A copy of the Complaint must be served with this Summons. This form should not be used where service by publication is desired.
WARNING: A valid summons may be issued by a lawyer and it need not contain a court case number, the signature of a court officer, or a court seal. The plaintiff has 14 days from the date this summons was served on you to file the case with the court. You are responsible for contacting the court to find out whether the case has been filed and obtain the case number. If the plaintiff files the case within this time, then you must respond as explained in this summons. If the plaintiff files more than 14 days after the date the summons was served on you, the case may be dismissed upon motion and you may be entitled to seek attorney’s fees from the plaintiff.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs: Reid J. Allred, #37934 Douglas N. Marsh, #45964 CAMBRIDGE LAW LLC 4 610 S. Ulster St. Suite 150 Denver, CO 80237 (303) 488-3338 (303) 488-3337 reid@cambridgelaw.com doug@cambridgelaw.com
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Final Publication: April 3, 2025 Sentinel
INVITATION TO BID
THE POINT METROPOLITAN DISTRICT CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that The Point Metropolitan District (“District”) seeks bids from qualified entities for construction management services related to the construction of various public improvement projects, which may include, but not be limited to, grading, landscape, irrigation, water, sewer, park and recreation amenity, roadway, and median improvements related to the redevelopment of The Point at Nine Mile Station, City of Aurora, County of Arapahoe, Colorado (“Project”).
The successful proposer will be chosen on qualifications included in the written “Invitation to Bid” being issued by the District which may be obtained by contacting the District’s legal counsel :
The Point Metropolitan District c/o Icenogle Seaver Pogue, P.C. 4725 South Monaco Street, Suite 360 Denver, Colorado 80237
Attn: Shannon Smith Johnson sjohnson@isp-law.com
Sealed Bids are due by Thursday, March 20, 2025, not later than 5:00 P.M. MT to the District at the email address listed above. Bids will not be publicly opened and read.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: THE POINT METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
Publication: March 6, 2025 Sentinel INVITATION TO BID THE POINT METROPOLITAN DISTRICT DISTRICT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that The Point Metropolitan District (“District”) seeks bids from qualified entities for special district management services which include providing on-going management, consulting, accounting, and administrative services in conjunction with the business, operational affairs, and continuing obligations of the District. The successful proposer will be chosen on qualifications included in the written “Request for Proposals” being issued by the District which may be obtained by contacting the District’s legal counsel:
The Point Metropolitan District c/o Icenogle Seaver Pogue, P.C. 4725 South Monaco Street, Suite 360 Denver, Colorado 80237
Attn: Shannon Smith Johnson sjohnson@isp-law.com
Sealed Bids are due by Thursday, March 20, 2025, not later than 5:00 P.M. MT to the District at the email address listed above. Bids will not be publicly opened and read. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
THE POINT METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
Publication: March 6, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE AS TO PROPOSED AMENDED 2024 BUDGET AND HEARING SECOND CREEK RANCH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a proposed amended budget will be submitted to the SECOND CREEK RANCH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT (the “District”) for the year of 2024. A copy of such proposed amended budget has been filed in the office of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, 8390 East Crescent Parkway, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, Colorado, where same is open for public inspection. Such proposed amended budget will be considered at a hearing at the meeting of the District to be held at 1:00 P.M., on Monday, March 17, 2025.
The location and additional information regarding the meeting will be available on the meeting notice posted on the website for Green Valley Ranch East Metropolitan District Nos. 6-14, https://gvremd.specialdistrict.org/meeting-notices-scrmd, at least 24-hours in advance of the meeting.
Any interested elector within the District may inspect the proposed amended budget and file or register any objections at any time prior to the final adoption of the amended 2024 budget.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DISTRICT: By: /s/ ICENOGLE | SEAVER | POGUE A Professional Corporation
Publication: March 6, 2025 Sentinel NOTICE OF HEARING CONCERNING EXCLUSION OF REAL PROPERTY
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there has been filed with the Board of Directors of the Serenity Ridge Metropolitan District No. 2 (“District”), located in the City of Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado, petitions requesting the Board adopt a resolution approving the exclusion of certain property from the boundaries of such District (“Petitions”).
1. The names and addresses of the Petitioners and a general description of the Property that is the subject of such Petitions are as follows:
Petitioner: Aguirre, Robert and Berik 7648 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Ashokkumar, Jothimani and Ganesan 7697 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Bakogianis, Ada 7647 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Christofferson, Jenna and Kenneth 7609 Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Clouse, Eric and Schumacher, Hilary 7699 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Cochran, Traci and Richards, Derrick 26400 E Kettle Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Desai, Anuj and Maitree 7677 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Dias, Fernando and Caley
26401 E Moraine Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Doeden, Trevor 7637 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Dunston, Chance and Laura, and Kaufman, Valeriya 26422 E Moraine Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Fating, Gateek and Bhende, Kalyani 7546 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Fernandez, Karen and Vasquez, Pedro 7569 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Ferri, Nacer 7566 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Girma, Kibre and Disasa, Etana 7586 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Grafton, Erik and Lacey 7719 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Grasmick, Jackie 26482 E Moraine Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Grignani, Heloisa and De Oliveira, Ricardo 26405 E Kettle Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Hare, Lawton and Kristine 7809 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Harris-Sowell, Cassandra and Sowell, Nathaniel 7706 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Hungerford, Misty 26440 E Kettle Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Hester, Amy and Jeff 7506 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Hlusek, Stefan 7669 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Hlusek, Tomas 7579 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Humbert, Jacob and Branna 7517 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Jennings, Lamar and Sara 7798 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Johnson, Clayton 7659 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Karides, Steven and Julia 7799 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Lebouef, Matthew and Keener, Keri 7788 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Leuenhagen, Heather and Thomas 7507 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Lung, Crystal 7676 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Makoudi, Nacera and Boussad 7596 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Martinez, Barbara and John 7679 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Miller, David and Alexandra 7589 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Moyston, Akili and Jennifer 7599 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Nelson, Samantha and Patten, Cody 26402 E Moraine Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Nguyen, Tien 7626 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Osier, Matthew and Erica 7739 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Parman-Parkins Joint Living Trust 7627 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Pelaez, Emilio 7657 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Pyka, Kathryn and Jim 7576 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Quinones, Zachary and Dallas 26420 E Kettle Place Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Radpour, Saied and Nilofar 7849 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Ralston, Timothy and Rebugio, Jennifer 7759 Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Rice, Donald and Gardner-Rice, LaFrance 7779 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Rogers, Michael and Dutton, Darcy 7668 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Salter, Denise and Mason, Mark 7639 Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Scholes, Steven and Fuenmayor, Michelle 7598 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Shin, Young Su and Myung Ju 7516 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Simmons, Evan and Gisa
7608 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Sondakh, Melody 7749 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Stoyke, Cody and Luisa 7649 Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Szumiesz, Aaron and Rachel 7716 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Tekle, Teferi 7696 S Patsburg Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Thortvedt, Dandre and Ruth 7778 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Tillotson, Garret and Leoniza 7768 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Tolsma, Matthew and Shannon 7658 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: Valdez, John and Kala 7618 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner: White, Alexa and Thornton, Emily 7839 S Old Hammer Way Aurora, CO 80016
Petitioner:
SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION
Veni, vidi, vici Latin class as they fade in Aurora and other suburban schools
The students in Amy Rosevear’s Latin class at Cherry Creek High School are reading a poem by the Roman poet Catullus, one written during the first century B.C.E. in which he’s both feeling sorry for himself and admonishing himself over unrequited love.
With Rosevear’s help, the students translate the ancient words, touching on verb tenses and proper pronunciation but also 21st century connections. When she gets to the phrase “Val puella,” she laughs and tells the class, “You could have translated that on your first week of Latin.”
“Bye girl!” a student quickly chimes in.
The Latin program at Cherry Creek High School, Colorado’s largest high school with more than 3,800 students, is an anomaly in today’s public school landscape. It’s one of about seven Latin programs left in comprehensive district-run high schools across the state, down from about 17 two decades ago. For Latin educators, the decline is worrisome, representing the loss of lessons that help students understand the classical language and history that still echo in their lives.
Latin offerings will soon dwindle further as two other high schools in the Cherry Creek district — Smoky Hill and Eaglecrest — jettison Latin over the next couple years. Fairview High in the Boulder Valley district still offers higher level Latin classes, but this year for the first time doesn’t offer an introductory class. A district spokesman said the school may offer Latin 1 next year if there’s enough student interest. In a bright spot, Doherty High School in the Colorado Springs 11 district will launch a Latin program next school year.
Even as Latin offerings decline in some public schools, the classes are thriving in many charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run. Some charters, including several that feature a classical education model, offer Latin in elementary through high school.
While Latin educators and advocates are pleased to see robust Latin programs in charter schools, they also want to keep the classes alive in traditional public schools, which serve about 85% of Colorado’s public school students. The Colorado Classics Association recently made a promotional video called “You belong in Latin,” to get the word out.
Pierre Habel, a spokesperson for the association, said the idea is to educate school leaders and parents “who have lost contact with Latin’s value,” or who experienced an earlier iteration of Latin education that involved chanting verb forms and noun declensions — endings that indicate a word’s function in a sentence. Habel retired in 2021 after teaching Latin at the Jeffco district’s D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School, which still offers a full menu of Latin classes.
Rosevear’s elevator pitch for Latin often highlights its interdisciplinary nature: “This is not only a language, but it’s also culture and history and mythology and art all combined.”
“I try to emphasize how it really does live on in so many places,” she said. “You’re going to understand American government more if you understand Roman government. You’re going to understand philosophy and religious discussions more if you understand the Latin underpinnings of some of those terms they’re using.” Talk to the students in Rosevear’s classes, which range from Latin 1 to AP Latin, and you’ll hear all kinds of reasons for enrolling. Some say singing Latin songs in choir class or studying
mythology piqued their interest. Others say Latin helps them excel in other classes, prepare for the SATs, or learn terminology that will come in handy for medical or law careers.
Many simply want to understand the building blocks of the language they use every day.
“It just gives you a really good insight into how so many people speak,” said Eden, a ninth grader who worked with three classmates to translate a story about a Roman family fleeing from a rent-collector.
Nyx, a junior who hopes to go into psychiatry, said some of her friends think Latin is a “little dorky,” sometimes saying things like, “Oh, it’s a dead language.” But she doesn’t care. To her, it’s unique and helps her see where words come from, including vocabulary from her language arts class.
“I find myself blowing through them because I can just dissect them and know the root words and stuff from Latin class.” she said. “Like the word amnesty and amnesia, they come from the same root,” which is to forget.
Before class started on a recent day, Noah, a 10th grader, compared favorite Latin words with his classmate Finn, a senior. Noah chose “placenta,” which means cake, and Finn chose “invictus,” which means unconquered and is the name of a famous British poem about fortitude in the face of hardship.
Noah, who’s vice president of the school’s Latin club, said he appreciates Latin because everybody starts on the same footing.
“It’s equalizing,” he said. “No one’s coming in like, ‘I already know Latin.’” Latin offerings decline over 20 years
Two decades ago, more than a dozen traditional public high schools in the state offered Latin, including five in Colorado Springs, George Washington High in Denver, Northridge High in Greeley, and Grand Junction High in western Colorado.
Barbara Hill, who used to coordinate Latin programming at the University of Colorado Boulder, said, “When I arrived in the 80s, Latin was thriving and there were [high school] programs all across the state.”
She said there are lots of reasons Latin has been steadily discontinued in some public schools, including the rise of American Sign Language offerings and increasing demand for Spanish, which is attractive to many students because of its prevalence in Colorado and its usefulness in future careers.
Hill said there’s also a misconception among some school leaders that Latin’s an elitist language — a claim that may have been true in some classrooms in the past, but not anymore.
“The teachers have changed with the times, and they realize that a Latin program depends largely upon their ability to connect with and … teach a wide variety of students,” she said.
Rosevear, who started taking Latin in eighth grade in her Fargo, North Dakota junior high school, said another impediment to broader Latin adoption is that the state doesn’t require any world language courses for high school graduation. And while Cherry Creek High School offers six languages — Latin, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and American Sign Language — the Cherry Creek district, like many in Colorado, also doesn’t require any world language to graduate.
Tim Smith started a recent Latin class at Loveland Classical School with a story about Saint Columba saving his friend from Scotland’s famed Loch Ness monster more than a thousand years ago.
Soon, Smith and his ninth grade students were discussing which form of “mordere,” the verb “to bite,” they should use to describe Nessie’s attack on the friend. Was it one clean bite to the leg? Or was it taking awhile to chomp through the limb?
As they talked it through, one student murmured, “It’s where we get
morsel.”
Smith, who’s one of four Latin teachers at the K-12 charter school’s two campuses, favors a newer approach to Latin education that emphasizes immersion in the spoken language, the same way students might learn Spanish or French.
Smith became a convert about a decade ago when his wife suggested he learn to speak Latin as an everyday language. At first he told her “That’s not a thing,” but after researching it, discovered a weeklong Latin immersion experience in West Virginia.
“I was confident that I could say things like, ‘Caesar led an army across the Alps,’” Smith said. “But to ask, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ or ‘How old are you?’ … I had never tried to have any kind of casual conversation before.”
The West Virginia trip jump-started his journey to becoming a fluent Latin speaker and now he emphasizes speaking in his Latin class as much as reading and writing. Smith also tapes a Latin cooking show on YouTube called Coquamus, or “Let’s Cook.” Recent episodes, filmed with his daughter, who’s a senior at Loveland Classical, feature the pair cutting up a pineapple — “ananas” — and making a chocolate pie — “scriblita socolata.”
Smith said he realized the impact of his immersion approach to Latin when he saw seventh grade boys trash-talking on the basketball court
“Like, a kid makes a basket, and he’ll shout, ‘Quid est nomen mihi?’” said Hill, laughing. “What’s my name? What’s my name?”
— ANN SCHIMKE, Colorado Chalkbeat
Colorado lawmakers seek to reverse planned cuts to therapies for children with delays
A powerful legislative committee last week expressed an interest in reversing some planned cuts to a Colorado program that provides therapies to babies and toddlers with delays.
While the details are still up in the air, lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee essentially pledged to find funding to prevent thousands of young children who get services through the state’s Early Intervention program from losing certain therapies starting in March.
The committee’s decision is sure to prompt a sigh of relief from parents and therapy providers, many of whom said they were panicked and heartbroken when they learned of the impending cuts announced by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood earlier this week. The state’s $87 million Early Intervention program serves around 11,000 children from birth to 3 years old each month
“We are going to get this done and help these kids,” said Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Democrat who represents parts of the Denver metro area and is chairperson of the committee.
The committee voted unanimously to authorize a bill that would lay out possible fixes to the cuts that directly impact children. The meeting was tense at times, with several lawmakers expressing frustration that the Department of Early Childhood’s leaders hadn’t informed the committee about the budget problems that prompted them to plan the cuts.
The cuts would have limited children to four hours of therapy a month, which is a fraction of what some get now. In addition, children who are on Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income people, would no longer have been allowed to get developmental intervention, which is therapy that can help young children with attention, cognitive development, and learning.
Planned cuts that only affect Early Intervention therapists — for example, not reimbursing them for no-shows — will go forward as planned.
Parents, therapists, and lawmak-
ers all expressed surprise when they heard about the cuts. Leaders from the early childhood department said the cuts were needed to stave off a projected $4 million shortfall caused by a growing Early Intervention caseload, the expiration of federal COVID stimulus funds, and the fact that fewer children are eligible for Medicaid.
But some lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee were angry they had never been alerted of the impending shortfall or service cuts to babies and toddlers with disabilities.
Rep. Rick Taggart, a Republican from western Colorado, called it “insulting, to say the least.”
Jeanni Stefanik, chief financial officer for the early childhood department, said the funding shortfall “was not fully realized until just a few weeks ago” and called the factors contributing to it “a perfect storm.”
It’s not entirely clear why state officials, who said they routinely monitor the number of children in Early Intervention, weren’t aware of the possible funding shortfall earlier.
— Ann Schimke, Colorado Chalkbeat
COPS AND COURTS
Police say charges likely in fatal crash that killed passenger in Aurora
An unidentified woman likely faces criminal charges after a passenger in the car she was driving was killed after being ejected during a crash early March 2.
Police said the woman, 23, was driving a Kia K5 east on East Quincy Road near Richfield Street at about 3 a.m. when the crash occurred.
The woman’s car “veered off the roadway, jumped a curb, and struck a light pole,” police said in a statement.
“The passenger, a 27-year-old man, was ejected and suffered fatal injuries. He died at the hospital.”
The woman was also transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of “non-life-thereatening” injuries, police said.
“No arrests have been made, but charges are expected,” said Aurora police spokesperson Agent Matthew Wells Longshore in a statement.
The road was closed for several hours during an investigation and reopened that morning.
The death is the fifth traffic-related fatality this year.
— Sentinel Staff
Unidentified motorcycle rider killed in crash in northwest Aurora
An unidentified man was killed Feb. 28 when the motorcycle he was riding in northwest Aurora crashed into the back of car, critically injuring him.
Police and rescuers were called to the scene of the crash at about 4:30
p.m. at East 11th Avenue and Kingston Street.
“A man was riding his Harley motorcycle westbound on E. 11th Ave when it ran into the back of a Jeep SUV,” police said in a statement.
The man was not wearing a helmet, police said. No one else was injured.
The man’s death was the fourth traffic fatality in Aurora this year.
2
— Sentinel Staff
teens charged with
multiple attempted murders in Aurora skating rink ‘shootout’
Police say an 18-year-old man and 16-year-old boy face multiple attempted murder charges in connection to a shooting earlier this month in the parking lot of an Aurora skating rink.
Jayden Martin, 18, of Aurora, was arrested last week by Aurora police’s fugitive unit.
Martin faces eight counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault, both felonies, Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement.
As of March 1, he was being held in the Arapahoe County jail in lieu of $1 million bond.
An unidentified 16-year-old boy was also arrested and faces the same charges, as well as a felony charge for unlawful possession of a handgun by a juvenile. The boy has a prior weapon offense, police said.
The boy, not identified because he is a minor, is being held at a juvenile jail in lieu of $300,000 bond.
An unidentified teenage boy and girl were injured Feb. 8 during what police described as a “shootout” in the parking lot of Skate City in Aurora.
The shootings occurred at about 5:30 p.m. in the southern part of the parking lot of the skating rink, 15100 E. Girard Ave. police said.
The teenage boy, whose age was undetermined, was driven to a nearby hospital after the shooting. His injuries were described as “serious.”
The girl,14, was treated by rescuers at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital. Her injuries were described as non-threatening.
Both teenagers have since been treated and released.
“Numerous shell casings of different calibers have been located in the parking lot, and additional evidence was discovered nearby,” police said. “No suspects have been positively identified, and no arrests have been made.”
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the victims knew the shooting suspects.
To date, investigators have recovered two firearms believed to be used in the shooting.
Police said anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
— Sentinel Staff
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Editorials Sentinel
With little for Colorado to emulate from Texas, a measles plague tops the list
At the top of the growing list of American tragedies this week is news that a child has died of measles in Texas, and dozens more were badly sickened by a disease the United States once eradicated.
Americans regularly are saddened and perplexed by news of the deaths of children in seemingly far-away places, succumbing to “third world” maladies such as starvation, scurvy — or measles.
In a nation where cancer has never been more treatable, and even curable, where human joints are routinely replaced and myriad debilitating ailments are routinely corralled by medical science, Texas is plagued by measles.
The death count has been relatively low, in part, because medical science has advanced far enough to capably save people from this deadly and highly contagious respiratory disease.
The upwards of 170 documented measles cases in western Texas is a testament to the folly of Americans taken in by nefarious anti-vaccination propaganda, which has led to this.
Texas, like most states, including Colorado, requires children to prove they’ve been inoculated for measles, mumps and rubella before being permitted to start school each year. The problem is that some states, including Colorado, make it too easy for parents to obtain a nonmedical exemption from school vaccine requirements, or schools simply don’t check or force compliance.
Colorado is among the states with red-lights flashing on the public health dashboard.
Only 93.6% of children were inoculated for measles during the last school year, down 0.2% from the already-dismal numbers for the year before that. Federal health officials consider anything below 95% inoculation rates to create a community health danger for the lack of “herd immunity” which prevents outbreaks.
And Colorado’s school vaccination rates remained dismal even after state lawmakers finally made it at least a little more difficult for parents to exempt their children from vaccination without medical exemption. In Colorado, like Texas, parents can “opt out” of school vaccination mandates if they personally “don’t believe” in vaccines. If that sounds like a recipe for disaster when so much vaccine disinformation and propaganda pervades the public info-verse, Texas is proof that it is.
Compounded with the alarming appointment of prolific vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the post, of all things, Secretary of Health, the opportunity for plague and yet another deadly pandemic grows nearly every day.
Shockingly, Colorado ranks near the bottom of states for rates of child immunization compliance even though the state boasts one of the highest proportions of highly educated parents in the nation.
But a large number of parents, and previous state lawmakers, have fallen victim to a pervasive ruse undermining immunization rates and public health.
That deceit is a regularly discredited study run by a discredited doctor who fallaciously tied autism to childhood vaccinations. The U.S. media irresponsibly published the claims despite experts exposing the author’s poor science, helping to legitimize them.
There is not one reputable pediatrician, pediatric organization, hospital, clinic or researcher that does not vehemently work to debunk the autism lie and plead with parents to vaccinate their children.
Real scientists and medical professionals are unequivocal: The purported autism danger of childhood vaccines are lies. Dangerous lies. The vaccines are safe and amazingly effective. While vaccine technology has greatly improved over the past decades, the science of vaccination is more than a century old.
Now, huge swaths of the public are at dire risk across the nation. Measles is not an inconvenience. It is obviously deadly to children and adults with compromised immune systems who depend on “the herd” to remain disease free through mass immunization. It can be deadly to healthy children, too.
But state lawmakers in Colorado have succumbed to ignorant parent pressure and continue to allow anyone to keep from vaccinating their child and attend public schools without a valid medical reason.
Before 2020, it was actually easier to say that you don’t want to vaccinate your child than to prove that you already have.
That changed, slightly, with state Senate Bill 20-163. The measure required parents seeking an exemption because they don’t feel good about vaccines to watch an educational video, and if they persisted in seeking an exemption, to sign a paper.
That’s it. Exemptions flourish in Colorado.
But even the lack of so-called “personal exemptions” haven’t been helpful. In 2018, California ended its non-medical exemption program, requiring anyone attending public schools to prove they’re vaccinated, unless they have a valid medical-exception.
The state still lags behind the goal of herd-immunity, pretty much on par with Colorado. The reason, experts say, is that schools are either unable or unwilling to comply with the vaccination mandate.
And measles isn’t the only poor-nation malady simmering beneath the public surface. Whooping cough, RSV and other communicable ailments continue to keep hold or gain ground across the nation because of an irrational fear or disinterest in vaccines. Colorado lawmakers should immediately adopt a California mandate, not only for public schools, but for public venues, including recreation centers, pools and league sports.
This would not force stubborn or irresponsible parents to vaccinate their children, but it would require them to follow this age-old safe and sound medical advice in order to join the herd without putting innocent people at unnecessary risk of illness or even death.
We do not allow children to bring firearms to school, knives or other dangerous substances and items. Few things are as dangerous or deadly as measles, and the public has every right to expect communal schools and public activities are protected from needless disaster by such a simple precaution.
Colorado should not wait until a plague of deadly measles or some other preventable malady races through a Colorado community to do the sound and scientifically indisputable right thing.
I hate to say it, but AOC is right
If you listen to some right-wing pundits, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is running a smuggling ring across the southern border.
Far be it from me to defend La Cortez, but I find the misrepresentations from those who think there is a Constitution-free zone in this country to be annoying. It evinces ignorance at best, and at its worst, a desire to simply pretend that due process is discretionary. It’s not.
It’s the backbone of our legal system and if you decide that it’s OK to deprive immigrants of those established rights, it’s a shortstep to denying other groups.
Tom Homan, the new director of ICE director, recently called AOC one of the “dumbest congresswomen in DC” and slyly suggested that counseling immigrants on how to avoid arrest was illegal.
Homan knows this is a crock of frijoles and arroz. What AOC and other immigration advocates are doing is trying to explain what immigrants can demand, and what they cannot, under the current laws of this country.
Everyone who lives in the United States has the right to due process. The Supreme Court has made clear that your immigration status does not deprive you of those rights.
In Reno vs. Flores, in a majority opinion written by the great Antonin Scalia, the court held “it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.”
He does not write “legal aliens.”
Scalia was a very smart man, and knew the Constitution did not limit the gamut of legal protections to those who had “permission” to be in this country.
As the Fifth Amendment clearly provides, “no person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
It says “person.” It doesn’t say “person with a U.S. passport.”
So we can dispense with the idea that advising people how to exercise their rights is anything other than a tribute to the grandeur of the U.S. Constitu-
tion, the genius of the founders, and the integrity of a great Italian American jurist.
Scalia was as conservative as they come, but he wasn’t about to play games with that sacred document simply to score political points.
For that same reason, I’m not about to criticize AOC for insisting on telling immigrants they don’t have to let ICE agents into their homes without first presenting a signed warrant, they don’t have to say anything without first consulting with an attorney, and they don’t need to give up and stop fighting removal simply because some overpaid, blow-dried cable news host says they have to.
It’s disturbing to hear otherwise lovely people insist I don’t know anything about due process because Jesse Watters told them “illegals” don’t have any rights, and the guy who cheated on his wife but pretends to be a fountain of wisdom must be correct. He is not. Many of the others who are mocking the often-mockable AOC are also wrong.
In this, she is being courageous and much more American than people who wrap themselves in the flag, but would do better spending some time immersed in the Bill of Rights.
Imagine how difficult it is for me to have to defend the woman who I once called “the Bartender” and underestimated when she was whining about her fears about Jan. 6, when she was over a mile from the action.
Imagine how difficult it is for me to find more in common with the gal who took nice PR shots at the border fence, in her adorable white suit, than with Republican politicos.
Imagine me, defending the lady who thinks “Latinx” is actually a thing, when pretty much every Latina I know is insulted by this Waspy colonization of language.
But guess what? She’s right. Even though she’s on the left. Even Scalia would agree.
ChristineFlowersisanattorneyandacolumnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reachedatcflowers1961@gmail.com
CHRISTINE FLOWERS, CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
Township 2 North, Range 64 West, 6th P.M
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
Section 24: NE/4
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30124
Township 1 North, Range 64 West, 6th P.M
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30057
Section 30: SW/4
Estate of Vicky Rae Shaffer, 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 Adams County, Colorado, on or before July 3, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Gant Law, LLC 8213 W. 20th St., Ste. G Greeley, CO 80634
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: April 21, 2025 Time: 8:00 a.m. Courtroom or Division: 1
First Publication: March 6, 2025 Final Publication: March 20, 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30124
Estate of Shirley May Cheadle aka Shirley Cheadle, 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 July 6, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Attorney for Personal Representative
Estate of Vicky Rae Shaffer, 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 Adams County, Colorado, on or before July 3, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Gant Law, LLC 8213 W. 20th St., Ste. G Greeley, CO 80634
Anna L. Burr, Esq. Atty Reg #: 42205 2851 S. Parker Road, Ste. 230 Aurora, CO 80014
Address: Probate Court Adams County, Colorado 1100 Judicial Center Dr. Brighton, CO 80601
Phone: 720-500-2076
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Final Publication: March 20, 2025 Sentinel
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Final Publication: March 20, 2025
Sentinel
Note:
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30153
Estate of Mae Jewell Magee aka Mae J. Magee aka Mae Magee, 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 June 27, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
You must answer the petition on or before the hearing date and time specified above.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30153
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30107
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.
Estate of John Crockett aka John James Crockett aka John J. Crockett, Deceased.
Estate of Mae Jewell Magee aka Mae J. Magee aka Mae Magee, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or
www.publicnoticecolorado.com
petition is not answered and no objections are filed, the court may enter a decree without a hearing.
Attorney for Petitioner: Dusty Aldrich Law, LLC Dusty J. Aldrich, #44572 605 Coral St. Broomfield, CO 80020 Phone: 419-957-0671 Email: aldrichd88@gmail.com
First Publication: March 6, 2025 Final Publication: March 20, 2025 Sentinel Trails Park and Recreation District Invitation to Bid
Sealed Bids will be received by the Trails Park and Recreation District, hereinafter referred to as Owner, at The Trails Recreation Center, front desk, 16799 East Lake Avenue, Centennial, Colorado 80016 (request for manager to verify submittal)
Until 10:00 a.m. local time, March 17th, 2025 for the Tollgate Trailhead Improvements.
At said place and time, and promptly thereafter, all Bids that have been received will be opened and read aloud. This Contract provides for the following Work: Clearing and grubbing, site preparation (incl. herbicide treatment to kill existing grass), irrigation system addition/modification, seeding/revegetation, crusher fines paving, boulder installation, site furnishing installation, signage installation, and tree, shrub, and perennial plantings.
Beginning February 27th, 2025, electron ic copies of the Bidding Documents will be available by emailing Kerri Liljegren at kliljegren@streamla.com. Requests shall have “Tollgate Trailhead Improvements” in the subject line. Submittal requirements are outlined in the Bidding Instructions in
Sandra Carter, Attorney for Personal Representative Michael Magee c/o S2P2 Law, LLC 6105 S. Main St., Suite 200 Aurora, CO 80016
The hearing shall be limited to the petition, the objections timely filed and the parties answering the petition in a timely manner.
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
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 June 27, 2025, or claims may be forever barred.
If the petition is not answered and no objections are filed, the court may enter a decree without a hearing.
Sentinel NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR34
Kerri Anne Crockett aka Kerri Anne Bechard c/o Garfield & Hecht, PC., 910 Grand Ave., Suite 201 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Attorney for Petitioner: Dusty Aldrich Law, LLC Dusty J. Aldrich, #44572 605 Coral St. Broomfield, CO 80020
Estate of Willemina Bos VanOoyik aka Willemina VanOoyik, Deceased.
Phone: 419-957-0671
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
Email: aldrichd88@gmail.com
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 July 1, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Jacklyn VanOoyik Personal Representative 7160 S. Uriah St. Aurora, CO 80016
First Publication: March 6, 2025
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30127
Final Publication: March 20, 2025 Sentinel
Trails Park and Recreation District Invitation to Bid
Estate of Karen Margaret Bechtol aka Karen M. Bechtol aka Karen Bechtol aka Margaret Ann Bechtol aka Margaret A. Bechtol aka Marga- ret Ann Hain aka Margaret A. Hain, Deceased.
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
Sentinel
Sealed Bids will be received by the Trails Park and Recreation District, hereinafter referred to as Owner, at The Trails Recreation Center, front desk, 16799 East Lake Avenue, Centennial, Colorado 80016 (request for manager to verify submittal)
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PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR35
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are re- quired to present them to the Per- sonal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before June 20, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Tamara I. Kelley
Until 10:00 a.m. local time, March 17th, 2025 for the Tollgate Trailhead Improvements.
Estate of Peter R. Stringer, 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 July 1, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Sue A. Stringer-Hoyt Personal Representative PO Box 106 Foxfield, CO 80016
Personal Representative 220 S. Interocean Ave. Holyoke, CO 80734
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30143
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
At said place and time, and promptly thereafter, all Bids that have been received will be opened and read aloud. This Contract provides for the following Work: Clearing and grubbing, site preparation (incl. herbicide treatment to kill existing grass), irrigation system addition/modification, seeding/revegetation, crusher fines paving, boulder installation, site furnishing installation, signage installation, and tree, shrub, and perennial plantings.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30004
An optional site tour will be held at 2:00 p.m., March 10th, 2025 at the project site (5494 S Picadilly Street, Centennial, CO
The cutoff time for questions regarding the bid packet is 5:00 p.m., March 10, 2025. Questions must be submitted by email to kliljegren@streamla.com, and shall have “Tollgate Trailhead Improvements Bid Questions” in subject line. Refer to Bidding Instructions for required contractor qualifi cations, and other submittal requirements.
Publication: March 6, 2025
Estate of Christopher F. Pierce aka Christopher Frank Pierce aka Chris Pierce, 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 Adams County, Colorado, on or before July 9, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Margrit Parker PO Box 454
Firestone, CO 80520
Estate of Kathleen A. Piehl aka Kathleen Ann Piehl, 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 July 6, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Page Slevin
Beginning February 27th, 2025, electronic copies of the Bidding Documents will be available by emailing Kerri Liljegren at kliljegren@streamla.com. Requests shall have “Tollgate Trailhead Improvements” in the subject line. Submittal requirements are outlined in the Bidding Instructions included in the digital bidding packet.
Personal Representative c/o Diane R. Larsen 175 Main St., C-104 Edwards, CO 81632
may be forever barred. Sue A. Stringer-Hoyt Personal Representative PO Box 106 Foxfield, CO 80016
First Publication: February 27, 2025
Final Publication: March 13, 2025
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PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S.
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Final Publication: March 20, 2025
Sentinel
An optional site tour will be held at 2:00 p.m., March 10th, 2025 at the project site (5494 S Picadilly Street, Centennial, CO 80015).
PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF A MINOR ARAPAHOE COUNTY COURT, COLORADO Case No. 2024CV360
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Final Publication: March 20, 2025 Sentinel
The cutoff time for questions regarding the bid packet is 5:00 p.m., March 10, 2025. Questions must be submitted by email to kliljegren@streamla.com, and shall have “Tollgate Trailhead Improvements Bid Questions” in subject line. Refer to Bidding Instructions for required contractor qualifications, and other submittal requirements.
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PURSUANT TO
PUBLIC NOTICE is given on January 27, 2025, that a Petition was filed
Publication: March 6, 2025 Sentinel
VEHICLES FOR SALE
2018 NISSAN ALTIMA VIN—147109
2014 HONDA ACCORD VIN—-004376
or to the District Court of Adams County, Colorado, on or before July 9, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
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PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30089 Estate of Elaine D. Steffen aka Elaine Stef
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 June 27, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Robert M. Steffen
Extreme Towing 303-244-1400
Margrit Parker PO Box 454
Firestone, CO 80520
First Publication: March 6, 2025
Publication: March 6, 2025 Sentinel
Final Publication: March 20, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S.
Case No. 2025PR30089
Estate of Elaine D. Steffen aka Elaine Steffen, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to pres-
