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Local News

  • Commissioners don’t say no to short-term rentals

    The Jeffco commissioners rejected Aug. 23 the county planning commission’s recommendation against allowing short-term vacation rentals.

    The issue is being sent back to the planning commission and will likely be heard at its Oct. 5 hearing. The commission is now being asked to develop a definition of short-term rentals and to edit the county planning staff’s revision to the zoning resolution.

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  • Jury selection to begin Sept. 15 in Eastwood trial

    Jury selection for the trial of alleged Deer Creek Middle School gunman Bruco Eastwood is scheduled to begin Sept. 15, more than a year and a half since the shooting that wounded two students.

    Jury selection is slated to conclude Sept. 16, and opening arguments will follow beginning Sept. 20 in a trial that prosecutors said could last three weeks and public defenders said is likely to span more than a month due to a lengthy list of witnesses.

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  • South Jeffco woman wins Spirit Award at Ms. Wheelchair competition

    South Jeffco resident Kendara Peoples didn’t win the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant last month in Grand Rapids, Mich. — but she also didn’t walk away empty-handed.

    Taking note of the 24-year-old’s resilient personality, the national competition’s judges invoked an honor sparingly given, the Spirit Award.

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  • Elite hockey academy proposed for Foothills land

    By Emile Hallez

    Staff Writer

    An elite hockey academy for high school athletes could open in South Jeffco as early as 2013, and programs for soccer and lacrosse could follow.

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  • Library board’s deliberations a closed book

    By Emile Hallez and Doug Bell

    Staff Writers

    The Jeffco library board is playing fast and loose with the state’s Open Meetings Law, possibly committing several violations in two recent executive sessions.

    Several provisions of the law, which restricts closed-door discussions by public bodies to specific topics named in advance, appear to have been breached:

    • The board appeared to offer the library system’s executive director position to a candidate on the phone without ever taking a public vote to make the job offer.

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  • Littleton council names Brinkman mayor

    The Littleton City Council voted 5-2 on Nov. 15 to approve Debbie Brinkman as the city’s mayor, a position that carries the administrative duty of leading council meetings.

    The council also voted 5-2 in favor of appointing member Bruce Stahlman as mayor pro tem. In both instances Councilman Phil Cernanec was nominated though ultimately not appointed.

    Brinkman, who represents District 4, has a background in marketing, though she now owns an organization and interior-design small business.

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  • Sheriff losing officers to cities with higher pay

    The Jeffco Sheriff’s Office has for years been losing newly trained recruits and deputies to other metro-area police agencies, which employees attribute to a longstanding hiatus of the department’s step-and-grade pay system.

    Though the Sheriff’s Office said it could not provide a specific number of employees who left for greener pastures, other local law enforcement agencies have been luring away deputies since 2007 with offers of better pay, Sheriff Ted Mink said.

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  • Sheriff's Calls

     

    He left no plastic stone unturned

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  • County enacts moratorium on pot shops

    Jeffco has decided to put the brakes on retail marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county.

    The county commissioners voted 3-0 to prohibit any retail marijuana businesses from setting up shop. The ban includes retail sales and growing operations, along with testing and packaging facilities.

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  • Emergency notification system worked well, Sheriff’s Office says

    The Jeffco Sheriff’s Office is more than happy with how its new emergency notification system, CodeRED, performed during the Bluebell Fire.

    The emergency calls had a successful connection rate of 84 percent, said Mark Techmeyer, sheriff’s spokesman. He said a connection rate of about 60 percent is considered acceptable nationally. 

    “We really couldn’t be more pleased,” Techmeyer said. “When you’re looking at 84 percent, it really went well.”

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Copyright © 2013

Columbine Courier is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in South Jefferson County, Colo., and the surrounding area.