An edition of the Littleton Independent
WEEK OF JUNE 6, 2024
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 27
$2
Family, Arapahoe County pothole repair friends honor requests double in one year Danny Dietz Sr.
Official: ‘We are unable to keep up,’ many roads in ‘poor’ condition
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arapahoe County’s roads and bridges are in trouble. One measure: potholes. The number of pothole repair requests in the county nearly doubled last year. That’s according to the county’s top public works official, who says a backlog of more than $316 million of maintenance and transportation projects is to blame. After sounding the alarm bells about its budget shortfall for the past year, the county’s transportation infrastructure report card highlights myriad problems tracked in 2023 as consequences of the budgetary woes. Paved roads, traffic signs, bike lanes, crosswalks and guardrails are generally in “poor” condition, the report states. Fixes will require
An Arapahoe County Public Works staffer works on a road in 2023. Due to budgetary shortfalls, the county says this kind of work is being deferred in many cases.
SEE POTHOLES, P12
VOICES: 14 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAPAHOE COUNTY
In a moving coincidence, two military jets flew over the heads of more than 100 people at Fort Logan National Cemetery, just as the sound of taps started to float through the air. It was the burial ceremony for Danny Phillip Dietz Sr., a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a passionate servant to at-risk youth. Dietz, who lived in Littleton, passed away on May 11 at the age of 75. He was laid to rest next to his son, Danny Phillip Dietz Jr., a Navy SEAL who was awarded the Navy’s second-highest decoration, the Navy Cross, and the Purple Heart after his combat death in Afghanistan in 2005. “Senior was my hero,” said Henry Jones Jr., a retired Denver police officer who counted Dietz as a friend. “He would do anything for you … He’d give you the shirt off his back.” Dietz was born in Nebraska and raised his family in the Littleton/Englewood area. He served in the Navy SEE CEREMONY, P12
CENTENNIALCITIZEN.NET • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
SAYING GOODBYE
Pet lovers consider options for end-oflife care P16