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Week of September 29, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 15
Historical society celebrates founders
Accused killer of officer appears in court Preliminary hearing date set, sealed warrants and affidavits could become unsealed BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Cemetery Tour attendees take in Catherine Walter’s portrayal of Ida Wells.
Graveside tributes held BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For the 19th year, the Arvada Historical Society celebrated notable historical figures from the city’s history at the Arvada Cemetery on Sept. 24. In honor of the society’s 50th anniversary, this year’s Cemetery Tour featured historical society members portraying important figures from the society’s past, including Lois Lindstrom, played by Karen Miller; Robert Barton, played by Ed Tom-
linson; Mildred Graves, played by Bernice Aspinwall; and Gail Gilbert, played by Nancy Young. As is customary for the event, the actors gave 10-minute performances near the gravestones of the figure they portrayed, if they were there. Early leaders of the Arvada Historical Society Lois Lindstrom founded the Arvada Historical Society in 1972 and was instrumental in creating the Arvada Center, placing the Arvada Flour Mill on the National Register of Historic Places and documenting the first gold strike in Colorado. Robert Barton was Arvada’s last appointed town clerk and first-ever
CELEBRATING AUTUMN Fall festivals abound across Front Range
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FILE PHOTO BY R. DUNN
elected city clerk. He helped found the Arvada Historical Society, serving on its board from 1972 to 1978 and as its 5th president. Mildred Graves and her husband, Louis — a fourth generation Arvadan — were charter members of the Arvada Historical Society and founded the Speakers Bureau to help tell the city’s history. Gail “Doc” Gilbert was a two-term mayor of Arvada, a director of the Jefferson County School Board and a director of the North Jeffco Parks and Recreation District. Gilbert was on the Arvada Historical Society’s first board of directors from 1972 to 1976.
Sonny Almanza, the suspect in Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff’s murder, appeared in Jefferson County District Court before Judge Russell B. Klein on Sept. 20 for an advisement hearing where Almanza was made aware of the charges he faces in connection with the events of Sept. 11. First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King has charged Almanza with three counts of Murder in the First Degree (of a Peace Officer, After Deliberation/With Intent, Extreme Indifference) for Vakoff’s murder, two counts of Attempt to Commit Murder in the First Degree against Mercedes Lopez — who was previously identified as a “female victim” by APD. Almanza was also charged with Assault in the Second Degree (against Lopez), Possession of a Weapon by a Previous Offender, using a prohibited large-capacity magazine during a crime, First Degree Criminal Trespass and two counts of Crime of Violence. Upon arrest, Almanza was charged with two counts of child abuse, neither of which appear on the finalized complaint. The First Judicial Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the use of force by Officer Vakoff in the incident, while the SEE COURT, P4
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