Brighton Standard Blade 040623 by Colorado Community Media

STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903

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VOLUME 120

Issue 14

WEEK OF APRIL 6, 2023

EYES ON THE BALL

Colorado snowpack tops 140% in good year Reservoirs remain low BY JERD SMITH FRESH WATER NEWS

Brighton captain Kelsi Veik (4) battles for possession of the ball in the midfield against Erie’s Kelsie Cox (24) and Ella Jimenez (12). The Bulldogs lost to Erie 3-0 in a league match in Brighton March 30. See more photos on page 7.

Minor suspect arrested in homicide case STAFF REPORT

Brighton Police Department arrested a juvenile female in connection to a homicide that occurred in the 400 block of North 6th Avenue. Officers were dispatched just after midnight March 28 to check the well-being of a man who had not been heard from in several days. Responding officers observed a person down inside the residence who was unresponsive, made entry and found

a man, later identified as 44-yearold Joseph Johnson of Brighton to be deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. Upon further investigation, detectives identified the suspect as a 15-year-old female. Police arrested that suspect just after 1 p.m. that day in Castle Rock. She was transported to Brighton Police Department for processing and booked into Prairie Vista Youth Services Detention Center on charges of murder and

LOCAL OBITUARIES VOICES CLASSIFIEDS LEGALS

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motor vehicle theft. The identity of the suspect will not be released at this time due to her age. The case will be filed with the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office where the final decision of formal charges will be determined. Under Colorado laws, the arrest and filing of a criminal charge is merely a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

T BES E OF

2023

T BES

VOTE NOW - APRIL 15th TheBrightonBlade.com

CULTURE • Nostalgia key as antiques make a comeback

• Page 8

Colorado is awash in white this spring, with statewide snowpack topping 140% of average this week, well above the reading a year ago, when it stood at just 97% of normal. “Conditions in the American West are way better than they were last year at this time,” state climatologist Russ Schumacher said at a recent joint meeting of the Water Availability Task Force and the Governor’s Flood Task Force. “In Colorado we went from drought covering most of the state to most of the state being out of drought.” Like other Western states, mountain snowpacks in Colorado are closely monitored because as they melt in the spring and summer, their runoff delivers much of the state’s water. A drought considered to be the worst in at least 1,200 years has devastated water supplies across the West. While no one is suggesting the dry spell is over, Colorado water officials said 2023 will likely allow for a significant recovery in reservoirs and soil moisture. The snow is deepest in the southwestern part of the state, where the San Juan/Dolores river basin is seeing a snowpack of 179% of average. The Yampa Basin, in the northwest corner of Colorado, is also nearing historic highs, with snowpack registering 145% of average, according to the Natural Resources SEE GOOD YEAR, P5