Citizen CENTENNIAL 2.1.13
Centennial
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 11
February 1, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcentennialnews.com
County delays decision on clerk Ethics committee plans to review candidate’s history By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Although the theme of the National Western Stock Show is livestock, many equipment vendors are also on hand to show off the latest in farming and ranching technology. Here, 3-year-old Hannah Snider of Lakewood finds a quiet place inside the giant wheel of a front loader. Photos by Deborah Grigsby
KIDS AND CRITTERS PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY
The National Western Stock Show on Jan. 27 concluded its 107th year. It is always one of the biggest events for ranchers from across the country. Kids and critters make the show fun and always unpredictable. A quick look around the show found a variety of barnyard favorites as well as a few new exotic breeds making their way into the mainstream. Kids worked, played and gave it their best shot in the annual stick rodeo.
A pair of goats, apparently not happy with their score from the last round, eat their score card right off the side of their cage. The goats were part of myriad livestock on display at the National Western Stock Show in Denver on Jan. 26.
Triathlete running on faith Local woman faces toughest challenge in breast cancer By Deborah Grigsby
BASH FOR BRIDGETTE What: Happy hour fundraiser to offset travel and medical expenses. When: 3:30 to 6 p.m., Feb. 7. Where: Pizzeria di Olinto, 2023 E. Arapahoe Road, Centennial More information: Call 303-790-2244
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com Diagnosed with breast cancer, Bridgette Duda Storms, a former triathlete and Ironman contender, thinks if cancer could be an Olympic sport, it would most likely be a race. But it wouldn’t be just any race. “It would have to be an endurance race in which you’d not know the route, the distance or even if there’d be water along the way,” mused the Ohio native. “There would also be no indicators of your time, your progress or even if you were close to the finish line.” Storms started that metaphorical race September 15, 2011 at the age of 36. Just 10 months after the birth of her youngest son, the former four-time world triathlete found a pea-sized lump in her breast that swelled to the size of a golf ball in less than three weeks. “I was still nursing my son, so naturally
I thought it was simply a blocked milk duct or something,” she said. “You read about it all the time, so I scheduled an appointment with my doctor.” Within 90 minutes of Storms’ arrival in the doctor’s office she had a biopsy and was sitting with a surgeon discussing a diagnosis of cancer. “It was the worst feeling,” she sighed. Doctors would eventually identify Storms’ cancer as triple negative, a subtype of breast cancer that is generally diagnosed based on the presence — or absence — of three estrogen and progesterone receptors, as well as a human growth factor receptor called HER2. According to Storms, this type of cancer targets young, female athletes. “It doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I was fit, I exercised, I ate right…I did everything Triathlete continues on Page 7
Bridgette Duda Storms, a former triathlete and Ironman contender, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, an agressive form of cancer that, according to Storms, targets young female athletes. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
An anonymous email has put the brakes on Arapahoe County’s plans to appoint a new clerk and recorder to replace Nancy Doty, now serving her first term as District 1 Commissioner. Sent just after noon on Jan. 27, and addressed to the entire Board of County Commissioners, the mysterious missive from “Jane Doe” suggests the board take a closer look at the life, integrity, conduct and work history of Matt Crane, Arapahoe County Deputy of Elections, and one of three candidates vying for the appointment. A statement from the county on Jan. 28 confirmed the BOCC postponed the decision “in light of information that was submitted anonymously” regarding one of the candidates. County Attorney Ron Carl will forward the information to the county’s Ethics Committee for review. “I look forward to this, Crane going before the ethics committee,” said Crane. “We’ve done nothing wrong and this is all old news that has been examined before when I worked for the City and County of Denver.” The three-page letter paints a questionable picture of Crane, pointing to his previous troubles while serving as operations manager for the Denver Election Commission in 2006, when voter check-in software crashed, leading to three-hour lines at some vote centers and an estimated loss of more than 20,000 votes due to the delays. The letter also calls out a “cozy relationship” Crane had with Lisa Flanagan, a Sequoia Voting Systems employee, whom he married. “My wife and I met when we both worked in the Secretary of State’s office in 2001,” Crane explained. “Our relationship pre-dates my employment with the City and County of Denver and any association with Sequoia Voter Systems.” Sequoia Voting Systems is the provider of the software that experts fault with Denver’s 2006 Election Day debacle. A 2007 investigative report by CBS Evening News charged Sequoia with providing the low-quality punch cards to Palm Beach County, Fla., for the 2000 election that were believed to be the cause behind the infamous “hanging chad” controversy. On Jan. 23, the board interviewed three candidates: Crane; Cindy Acree, a former state representative; and Susan Beckman, former Arapahoe County Commissioner. The person selected will fill the remainder of Doty’s term, which expires Jan. 15, 2015. Crane called the anonymous letter “nothing more than mudslinging.” “I look forward to the process and I will, absolutely, be an open book,” said Crane. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
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