Opinion

Oliver needed a friend.

The 9-year-old chihuahua mix was sick, missing about half his teeth and hadn’t had a place to call home for more than a year. He was a hefty14 pounds — a bit much for a pooch his size, likely due to months of inactivity and a poor diet.

Things weren’t looking good for him in general.

He was scheduled to die on Jan. 19 at a metro-area animal shelter.

The Jeffco school board took serious actions on Jan. 14 related to managing school facility capacity. The district’s student population has steadied at about 80,000-plus kids, and students “choicing” in and out of neighborhood schools have affected the numbers of kids at different schools.

Ken Caryl Middle School was on the block at one point so Jeffco could fill more seats at Deer Creek Middle School. A walk-through of the Deer Creek facility showed insufficient library, gym and cafeteria space for the roughly 1,200 kids that would be in that building.

“And he carries the reminders

“Of every glove that laid him down

“Or cut him till he cried out

“In his anger and his shame

“I am leaving, I am leaving

“But the fighter still remains.”

— Paul Simon

For me, hanging in our coverage areas is all about the happy little surprises that crop up and punctuate your day — and the unexpected connections that result from other, less-lighthearted encounters.

Shortly after I started as the founding director of Denver’s Mayor’s Office of Regulatory Reform in 1991, Elbra Wedgeworth, the office’s deputy director, told me she wanted us to have breakfast with one of her Leadership Denver classmates from the district attorney’s office. Shortly thereafter, she and I met with Bill Ritter. From that day, the three of us went on to bigger and better things. Elbra became president of the City Council and brought the Democratic National Convention to Denver.

The Denver Post recently reported that “Colorado’s budget shortfall has grown another $40 million, reaching a projected $600.6 million for the fiscal year that ends in June.” This is due in large part to declining tax revenues as a result of bad economic conditions.

To make matters worse, in the upcoming fiscal year — which starts in August — the budget shortfall is expected to be $1.5 billion. 

To put those numbers into perspective, the state's operating budget for fiscal 2009-10 is just about $19 billion.

As we all prepare our New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, spend less and reduce our stress level (again), remember to add these five simple resolutions. If you commit to these five things, you’ll be contributing to a safer 2010 for yourself, your loved ones and your community.

No. 1: Torture your kids by talking to them seriously about their safety

Another season, another scandal. This time, a minor car accident in Florida gave rise to a story that culminated in Tiger Woods issuing a public statement confessing to “transgressions.”

In what appears to be a semi-annual ritual, the press is having a field day with the foibles of another celebrity. Talk shows talk. Experts offer opinions. Eyebrows are raised. Heads move gravely from side to side.

Are we the better for it?

With recent news of libraries closing, hours being cut and services being reduced around the Denver area and the nation, it’s important not to lose sight of the growing need for library services in the community.

All good things come to an end, and for me, the time has come to leave the Columbine Courier.

I came to South Jeffco in September 2007 knowing virtually nothing about the area, outside of having visited Chatfield Reservoir as a child and watching the Columbine High School tragedy unfold while I was a junior at Eaglecrest High School in Aurora. I came here from Sterling for the chance to work in the Denver area, and had no idea how much I’d grow to appreciate this place.