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Local News

  • Answers from AJ: Makeshift memorials permitted for a short time in Foothills parks

    Question: What is Foothills Park & Recreation District's policy on impromptu memorials?

    Answer: Makeshift memorials are OK for a short time if they don't interfere with park users or create a safety hazard, but they will eventually be removed.

    The tragic death of 13-year-old Alexander Cook on July 8 near Weaver Hollow Park elicited the sympathies of those who knew him. Someone erected a makeshift memorial in the park, prompting a question on the rules about such things.

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  • Jeffco commissioners on summer meeting schedule

    The Jeffco commissioners will cut back on their schedule of public meetings for the remainder of the summer.

    The July 14 meetings went ahead as scheduled, and the commissioners will hold public hearings followed immediately by staff briefings at 9 a.m. July 21. The meetings are then canceled July 28, with at least two of the commissioners traveling to Tennessee for a conference. Meetings will go forward as scheduled Aug. 4 but are canceled Aug. 11. They resume Aug. 18, but are canceled Aug. 25. Meeting times will go back to normal Sept. 4 and resume the weekly schedule.

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  • South Jeffco sparks 70 percent of sheriff’s fireworks calls

    The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to 237 calls related to fireworks over the July Fourth weekend, with nearly 70 percent of them in South Jeffco.

    “It makes sense,” said Capt. Patricia Woodin, head of the sheriff’s South Jeffco operations. “We do make up 50 percent of the (unincorporated) county’s population.”

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  • Penry brings campaign to Jeffco

    MORRISON — Conservative state Sen. Josh Penry brought his nascent gubernatorial campaign to Jefferson County on Sunday, speaking to enthusiastic supporters and outlining his intentions for Colorado’s economy. He invoked former President Reagan and took swings at Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter along the way.

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  • Looking beyond his limitations: Mike Shaak gets things started at Mile-High Nationals

    MORRISON — When Mike Shaak served as a starter Sunday at the Mile Hi Nationals, his spine tingled with the seismic vibrations of 14,000 horsepower, and his nostrils were assaulted by the smell of nitro-methane fuel.

    The senses of sound and smell are especially acute for Shaak. The former drag racer is now blind.

    Before Shaak lost his eyesight 16 months ago, he had raced Chevy Camaros for 10 years. And a few weeks prior to the Mile Hi Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, owner John Bandimere took Shaak out on the track.

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  • Townhome fire leaves 7-year-old with severe burns

    A fire at a South Jeffco townhome Friday afternoon left a young boy severely burned.

    Reports indicated the 7-year-old boy was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after the fire started.

    The West Metro Fire Department responded to the blaze on West Phillips Drive near Garrison Street just after 5 p.m.

    Firefighters said the boy's mother was also injured. West Metro Fire was still putting out hot spots in the evening.

    No additional details were immediately released.

     

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  • Man sought in South Jeffco sex assault

    The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is looking for a man who is suspected of sexually assaulting a South Jeffco woman in her home June 26.

    The man is described as being white with short brown hair, about 5-foot-9, weighing about 170 pounds. He's thought to be in his 20s and was wearing dark blue clothing at the time of the attack, according to sheriff's spokesman Jim Shires.

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  • Commissioners nix charity bike ride on Deer Creek Canyon Road

    The Jefferson County commissioners have denied a special-event permit for a charity bicycling event Sept.13 on Deer Creek Canyon Road.

    Tuesday’s 2-1 decision came after two hearings, the first of which Commissioner Faye Griffin did not attend, and after numerous objections from canyon residents.

    Commissioners Kathy Hartman and Griffin voted against issuing a special-event permit, deeming the two-lane road unsafe for the event and citing hostilities between motorists and bicyclists.

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  • Jeffco libraries see increased demand with no money to expand

    Fifteen minutes before the Columbine Library opened June 26, roughly a dozen customers stood outside waiting. As soon as the doors opened, the people flooded inside, occupying computers, picking up materials or perusing the shelves.

    "That's how it always is," said one man as he read a newspaper while waiting for one of the computers to be free.

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  • County, city leaders break ground on new animal shelter

    With ceremonial shovels known affectionately as "pooper scoopers," Jefferson County commissioners and leaders of several municipalities within the county broke ground on a new animal shelter June 30.

    The shelter will replace the aging and crowded Table Mountain Animal Center in Golden, which has been the county's animal control facility for 33 years. The new shelter, set to open in fall 2010, will be called the Foothills Animal Shelter.

    The June 30 groundbreaking ceremony was at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, where the new shelter is being built.

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