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Week of September 22, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 14
CCM writers, staff net 19 newspaper awards CPA hosts annual event STAFF REPORT
Colorado Community Media reporters and staff received 19 awards in the Colorado Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest, which honored the state’s best jour-
nalism work for 2021. Leading the honorees named during a Sept. 17 ceremony at Coors Field was Arvada Press reporter Rylee Dunn. Dunn, who primarily covers Arvada, received two firstplace honors. Dunn received the top prize in the Best Series or Sustained Coverage in the Class 4 division for the work on the Olde Town Arvada
shooting and aftermath, and a firstplace award in the Best Business/ News Feature category for her work on Namiko’s 30-year history spanning two generations. Dunn also took second place for Best News Story for her investigative work on a former political candidate being charged with felony identity theft.
Douglas County reporter Elliott Wenzler also took home several awards, including first place for Best Health/Enterprise Story for an interview with Dr. John Douglas, the head of Tri-County Health Department, after one year of the COVID pandemic. SEE AWARDS, P4
First Judicial Fallen Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff remembered at memorial service District Attorney gives update on Vakoff murder investigation BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A local law enforcement family looks on as the police procession passes by.
Hundreds of mourners attend services at Flatirons Community Church BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Less than a week after 27-year-old Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff was killed in the line of duty, hundreds of mourners paid their
respects on Sept. 16 during a funeral service at Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette. Vakoff’s family and friends were joined by 85 agencies, encompassing 558 service attendees and 268 vehicles. This does not include the dozens of officers and vehicles with the Arvada Police that also took part. “When I would pass Dillon in the hallways, I’d say, ‘How you doin?’” Arvada Police Chief Link Strate said. ”He’d say, ‘I’m doing great
PHOTO BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY
chief, I love this job.’ To Dillon’s family, we promise to always be by your side and we promise to honor and remember Dillon’s legacy.” Members of the Jefferson County Sherrif’s office and Arapahoe Sherrif’s Office also were present. “When multiple gunshots rang out that morning, he placed himself between the gunman and the men women and children being shot at, and he fought,” Strate said. “For his SEE FALLEN, P2
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King released a statement Sept. 14 on the status of the investigation into Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff’s Sept. 11 murder, stating that suspect Sonny Almanza has been advised of the charges he faces and will be held without bond, and that the First Judicial Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the use of force by Officer Vakoff in the incident. Officer Vakoff was killed while responding to a large familial disturbance on Sept. 11. Almanza was arrested and transported to a local hospital shortly thereafter, where he was treated for at least one gunshot wound incurred during the incident. At a press conference earlier this week, Arvada Police Chief Link Strate said that gunfire had broken out before Vakoff and another APD officer responded and continued once they arrived. One female victim was shot in the exchange and is expected to survive. Almanza and Vakoff also incurred gunshot wounds. King’s statement said that Almanza appeared before the Jefferson County Court on Sept. 14 and was advised of the SEE UPDATE, P3