Brighton Standard Blade 091522 by Colorado Community Media

STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903

75cI

VOLUME 119

Issue 37

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

SPIKING THE BALL

27J Board puts property tax vote on November ballot STAFF REPORT

Rangeview’s Maddie Kilmer (1) spikes the ball over Prairie View’s players Paige Walker (8) and Kira Ulibarri (11). The Raiders swept PHOTO BY JUAN ARELLANO the Thunderhawks on Sep. 8 in Henderson. See more photos on page 9.

Adams County picks new health department head Decision further solidifies imprint of Tri-County on new agency BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Adams County has appointed a former Tri-County Health Department official to serve as director of the newly-formed Adams County Health Department, an entity that will oversee public health for the county once Tri-County fades away

at the start of 2023. One of the top priorities of the new department is to “achieve health equity,” Dr. Kelly Weidenbach, the appointed director, said in a news release. “We often talk about raising the voices of communities and populations that may have been historically undervalued, underrepresented, and who experience adverse or disproportionate outcomes,” Weidenbach said in the release. The partnership of Tri-County Health, which for more than 50 years has delivered health services to Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas

OBITUARIES LOCAL CALENDAR SPORTS LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS

SEE DECISION, P17

counties, will soon fade away, fractured largely by Douglas County’s disagreements over COVID-19 policies. The process of the three counties pulling out of Tri-County began with the Douglas County commissioners deciding to immediately leave the health agency in September 2021 after months of disagreements over COVID-19 protection measures. Tri-County became a magnet for attention during the earlier stages of the coronavirus pandemic as it

LOCAL

2 • Hudson twins doing 3 well after rough start 8 9 • Page 3 20 22

SPORTS • Catching up with former BHS golfer Kropp

• Page 9

Brighton-based School District 27J will ask voters to approve a mill levy override on November’s ballot. Members of the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously Sept. 6 to forward the funding request to voters. “We can’t afford not to go out and ask our voters again,” board director Ashley Conn said. “Look at our finances; look at our needs. We’re way behind and our community needs to understand those facts.” A mill levy override is a request of voters to approve an increase in the rate of their property taxes. The increased revenue can be used for operational expenses, such as programs and people. This will be the eighth time since 2000 that the board has asked for local support for schools at the ballot box. However, in those eight attempts, voters have yet to approve mill levy overrides for things like staffing, educational programs, teacher compensation, and instructional needs. 27J Schools is third from last in per-student funding statewide and it is the lowest funded district in the Denver metro area. 27J last passed a mill levy override in 2000 for $750,000 which today equates to $41 per student. “Our community has asked us to be more aggressive in our communication, informing people of the facts about the district’s finances,” Superintendent Chris Fiedler said. “They want to know how schools are funded, how community SEE BALLOT, P5