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WEEK OF MARCH 27, 2025
VOLUME 159 | ISSUE 13
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‘Is there a plan?’ Residents seek answers from reps Coloradans’ anxieties boil over at Bennet town hall in Golden A ‘GOLDEN TICKET’ FOR STUDENTS P2
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
COLORADO CREATIVES SWEAT FUTURE P12 OF ARTS FUNDING On March 15, local members of the Battlin’ Betties take a group photo at Red Rocks Amphitheatre during a fundraising event for the USMC Memorial Foundation. The Battlin’ Betties, which is a national pin-up cooperative, volunteer at events that support U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders and their families. PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Goldenite Corner: Paula Sarlls USMC Memorial Foundation president celebrates 76th birthday with Red Rocks stair-climb fundraiser BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
MINES WINTER SPORTS TEAMS SHINE AT D2 NATIONALS P18
For the last two-and-a-half months, Paula Sarlls has only been taking the stairs at her four-story office building. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran has been in training, working her way up to 426 stairs. By early March, she was able to climb 250 without much issue. On March 15, Sarlls put all that training to the test as she climbed 426 stairs — and a little extra — at Red Rocks Amphitheatre as part of a fundraiser for the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial in southeast Golden. Sarlls serves as president of the USMC Memorial Foundation, which maintains the memorial site at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and U.S. Highway 6. It costs about $33,000 annually to maintain it, and Sarlls’ March 15 stair climb raised about $4,000 to-
ward that effort, she explained. “It wasn’t as hard I expected,” she said, remarking how her training had paid off. According to the foundation, the number 426 was in honor of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 250th birthday, the 100th birthday of U.S. veteranswho fought at Iwo Jima, and Sarlls’ own 76th birthday on March 16.
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Coloradans’ passion, worries and frustrations came to a head at a March 19 town hall meeting, as they asked U.S. Senator Michael Bennet what they can do to fight President Donald Trump’s decisions. Almost 1,000 people packed the main auditorium on the Colorado School of Mines campus to ask Bennet, D-Colorado, and U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, for a shared town hall event. Bennet hosted others in Greeley and Colorado Springs the same week. While discussion was mostly civil and orderly, about a half-dozen people were escorted out of the auditorium for talking over other attendees and the elected officials. They protested Bennet approving Trump cabinet picks and ongoing violence against Palestinians, among other items. Attendees — who came from as far away as Louisville and Parker — expressed concerns about federal funding freezes, proposed cuts to critical government services, forthcoming tariffs, wide-scale layoffs of federal employees and more. “Is there a plan?” Denver-area teacher Amanda Arlington asked. “… I feel like you’re talking pretty. It’s frustrating that it just doesn’t seem like there’s a plan.” Bennet and Pettersen encouraged Coloradans — especially federal employees who have been laid off — to share their stories. They told everyone to attend future town hall meetings, contact their local officials on both sides of the aisle, and keep fighting. “(This is) a moment that’s calling all of us to recommit ourselves to our democracy and to our society,” Bennet said. Even though Democrats are the minority in both the House and Senate, Pettersen said, “Just because we’re not in power doesn’t mean we’re powerless. … It’s on all of us.”
This recurring section profiles Golden community members and their interesting or unique endeavors — whether that be an event, goal, hobby or life in general. To recommend someone for the Goldenite Corner, email cwesteman@coloradocommunitymedia.com.
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