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Week of March 9, 2023
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
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VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 38
SUMMER CAMP LISTINGS In this week’s paper!
Arvada festival season kicks off with Winterfest BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The ice is starting to thaw, the birds are returning and the Arvada festival season is already underway. Winterfest — the Arvada Festivals Commission’s annual celebration of
diverse culture — was held in McIlvoy Park on Feb. 25, with over 3,000 people coming to celebrate. This year’s Winterfest kicked off with an ugly sweater contest alongside a pet parade, followed by Red Feather Woman — a Native American vocalist — who then ceded the
stage to Mariachi Sangre Mexicana. The event was closed out with a Dragon and Lion Dance put on by the Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center. Along with the showcases, free carriage rides throughout Olde Town were offered during the festival. Live
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits Arvada to speak on climate crisis
SEE WINTERFEST, P4
Jeffco School Resource Officers may soon have mandated training
Rep. Brittany Pettersen and professional rock climber Sasha DiGiulian discussed Colorado’s climate issues with the VP
BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
we are doing with the infrastructure law around lead pipes, is we’re saying, ‘This is a public health matter, it affects all of us,’” Harris said. “And
It takes 600 hours of training to be licensed by the State of Colorado as a nail technician — the person who does mani-pedis and applies toenail polish. As of 2022, it takes 556 hours and a background check to become a police officer. Becoming a School Resource Officer — a sworn law enforcement officer, usually armed and with arrest powers while working in a school — takes none. That’s because under current state law, training for SROs is “encouraged” to be completed before being assigned to a school or within six months after. A bill being proposed by Senator Chris Kolker, a Democrat representing Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, would change that suggestion to a
SEE HARRIS, P2
SEE TRAINING, P6
BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Arvada with Rep. Brittany Pettersen on climate action, highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat climate change through a “clean-energy economy.” The March 6 discussion at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities touched heavily on water policy, as well as wildfires, droughts and equity issues stemming from climate change in Colorado and the rest of the country, highlighting the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. Lead pipes and their effects on lower-income people who cannot
ice sculpting — a favorite from preview years — also returned, as did the Olde Town Business Improvement District’s beer garden. Adelle Burton, Arvada’s special events coordinator, said Winterfest
Vice President Kamala Harris sat with Rep. Brittany Pettersen and professional rock PHOTO BY ANDREW FRAIELI climber Sasha DiGiulian to discuss Colorado’s climate issues.
afford to replace the pipes themselves, bringing medical issues that can arise in pregnant women, children and the elderly was one example she gave, “And so the significance of what
WHEN WISHES COME TRUE P14
T S E B F THE O T S E B
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