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WEEK OF APRIL 17, 2025
VOLUME 159 | ISSUE 16
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Two years later, trial starts this month in Golden-area RV murder case Jury selection to start April 28; trial could last through May 9
REDISTRICTING MOVES NORTH GOLDEN VOTERS TO WARD 4 P2
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Beierle confirmed work is nearly complete on Lena Gulch’s Phase I — replacing a culvert underneath Heritage Road at the intersection with West Colfax Avenue/U.S. Highway 40. Beierle said the intersection should reopen by the end of April. (Editor’s note: For more information, see sidebar on Page 12.) Lena Gulch’s Phases II and III, which involves improving culverts both upstream and downstream of Heritage Road, were slated to start later this year. They are now on hold as Golden awaits federal funds. The city and its partners received a $23.8 million PROTECT Grant for that work, as confirmed last year by President Joe Biden’s administration. Golden and its partners were set to match it with $6 million of their own.
Two years after a man was found dead of a gunshot wound inside his RV, the jury trial is scheduled to start April 28 at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Donald Harris, the 52-year-old defendant, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Matthew Hire in spring 2023. Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office investigators believe Hire, 57, was killed in late March 2023, but his body wasn’t found until mid-April when a deputy found his RV door swinging open in the Golden-area Wooly Mammoth Park-N-Ride lot. Harris — an acquaintance of Hire’s — has been charged with first-degree murder, a felony charge of possession of a weapon by a previous offender and two sentence enhancers. He had a $2 million cash-only bond set in the case. Harris was scheduled for jury trial in early November; however, Judge Jason Carrithers declared mistrial after the prosecution and defense ran out of jurors during jury selection. On April 9, the parties gathered at the Jeffco courthouse to review all the procedural elements to ensure jury selection goes smoother this time, among other items. Harris, who’s in custody in Denver for a separate case, was not present in the courtroom for the April 9 status conference, but Carrithers made sure everything was ready for Harris to be transported to the Jeffco jail before April 28. The prosecutor and Harris’ defense attorney believed that, after jury selection on April 28, the proceedings would run through that week and part of the next.
SEE PROJECTS, P12
SEE HEARING, P31
Concept art shows what Golden’s forthcoming municipal center might look like while looking south from 10th Street. The building will be three levels and primarily made of wood and brick, and recent federal tariffs have impacted a Canadian mass-timber vendor the city had initially selected. COURTESY OF THE CITY OF GOLDEN
‘Wait and see’: How federal government policies are impacting Golden’s city projects SPRING CLEANING IS GLOBAL TRADITION OF RENEWAL P10
Lena Gulch drainage work delayed; new municipal center’s timber prices increase BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Amid so much change with federal government policies and international markets, City of Golden officials have said they’re moving forward with the programs and projects budgeted for 2025, albeit cautiously. “There’s a lot of turmoil taking place right now,” City Manager Scott Vargo said. “We’re in a wait-and-see approach for the most part.” Vargo told the Transcript on April 4 that the city’s being “deliberate and conscious of the changing environment that we’re operating within,” emphasizing how Golden will continue to provide all its services and programs as planned. As Mayor Laura Weinberg said at last month’s State of the City event, the City of Golden has strong revenue streams, well-thought-out
expenses and deep reserves. However, as Vargo confirmed, a few ripple effects from President Donald Trump’s policy decisions have already been felt at the city level. Lena Gulch project
The first was how federal funding has been frozen or re-evaluated. Vargo said there are several planned or ongoing city projects receiving federal dollars, describing how there’s a spectrum of vulnerability based on the federal funding source and the project status. Vargo explained how there are a few projects still waiting on federal funds, such as a utility project at U.S. Highway 6 and Heritage Road, but the most vulnerable project was flood mitigation work along Lena Gulch/ West Colfax Avenue. Public Works Director Anne
WESTMINSTER
MINSTER MINES SPRING FOOTBALL GAME IS APRIL 19
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