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Week of April 20, 2023
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 44
Arvada Mayor Marc Williams to deliver 365 Health his final State of the City on April 21 brings health fairs to the metro area Free and low-cost health screenings are available at local health fairs BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arvada Mayor Marc Williams delivers the 2021 State of the City address.
Term-limited mayor’s final address to focus on “Honoring the Past, Imagining the Future” BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After 24 years as public official in Arvada, outgoing Mayor Marc Williams will deliver his final State of the City address at 7:30 a.m. April 21 at Revive Church at the Bridge. The speech is themed “Honoring the Past, Imagining the Future” and will look at the ways Arvada has changed during Williams’ tenure. Williams — an attorney by day — was first elected to Arvada’s city council as an at-large candidate in 1999. He was twice reelected to that position before running a success-
ful campaign to become Arvada’s 34th mayor in 2011. He was again reelected twice; once in 2015, and a final time in 2019. Now term-limited, this year marks Williams’ last as Arvada’s mayor. Known for his colorful suits and sometimes even-more-colorful commentary, Williams typically takes the State of the City address as an opportunity to reflect on the past year in Arvada. Yet this year, he said he’s changing the script. “Traditionally, I’ve talked about the last year, but this year I want to reflect on my whole 24 years (on council),” Williams said. “The citizens, city team, and city councils have worked together to really bring us to this point in time. They’ve taken challenges we’ve had, opportunities we’ve had, and successfully — for the most part, I’d say — delivered to our citizens and our community what we have today.” Williams said the milestone is “bit-
PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN
tersweet” and added that he worked with the city team to put together this year’s presentation, which will have a multimedia component. He concluded by saying that he feels like it’s time to pass the post on. “It’s inspiring and bittersweet at the same time,” Williams said. “When I asked the city team to go back and pull some data over what’s happened over the last 24 years, it brought back lots of memories. It made me very proud of what our city has done in that timeframe. And the feeling that it’s time for me to pass the gavel along to someone else.” Williams’ successor as mayor will be elected in November. John Marriott, currently the councilmember representing District 3, is the only candidate that has filed for the race as of April 12. The State of the City Address is organized by the Arvada Chamber of Commerce.
The 365 Health community health fair is coming to multiple locations around the Denver metro area and offering free, low-cost health screenings. The health screenings vary at each fair but can include blood pressure, vision, dental, stress and more. Walk-up screenings are accepted, but registering ahead of time is recommended. Perhaps surprisingly, healthcare was largely ignored in the height of the pandemic, with many people avoiding doctor’s appointments, according to staff at 365 Health. “Preventative health care and health care, in general, was kind of pushed to the side,” media representative Shane Ferraro said. “We’re really pushing people to get back into the practice of taking care of themselves.” 365 Health is a non-profit organization that has been largely volunteer operated for over 40 years. Gary Drews, 365 Health CEO, explained what happens if someone gets abnormal results on a test at a health fair. “If the person’s result is out of range, then our staff calls that person within 48 hours and urges them to connect with their doctor,” he said. But many people in Colorado and across the country are uninsured and don’t have primary care doctors. So Drews started a program to help. “We started a low, low-cost telehealth program,” he said. The program, called Health in Hand, offers telehealth primary care, psychiatry, women’s health and diabetes support for $80 a year, with SEE HEALTH FAIRS, P4