WEEK OF AUGUST 1, 2024
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 5
FREE
Arvada plane crash survivor visits local fire With rising water station after being released from hospital bills on the
horizon, Arvada’s City Council OKs team to look into bond and debt BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Tom Sawyer Jr. explores the inside of an Arvada Fire Truck.
13-year-old Tom Sawyer Jr. stopped by Arvada Fire Station 1 with his family BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Over a month after a tragic plane crash took the life of a mother of three, one survivor of the crash stopped by Arvada Fire Station 1 to pay a visit to one of the first responder teams that responded to the crash.
Tom Sawyer Jr., 13, was a passenger in the small Beechcraft airplane that collided with a spruce tree and crash landed into an Arvada front yard on June 7. In the weeks that have followed, it has been determined that four passengers were on the plane; two adults and two kids. One of the adults has been identified as mother of three Melissa Brinkmann, who was pronounced dead a day after the crash. Sawyer was accompanied by his mother and sister at the fire station, and was greeted by Arvada Firefighters and police officers who responded to the plane crash. Sawyer
VOICES: 14 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19 | SPORTS: 22
was recently released from the hospital after spending weeks following the crash recovering from serious injuries. “This was so important to officers from APD that they see how Tom Sawyer Jr. is doing today because they were all impacted deeply by this tragic event,” Arvada Police Public Information Officer Dave Snelling said. “We grieve with the Brinkmann family and hope for a full recovery for all involved. We are grateful to work in such a supportive community.”
Another water rate hike is on the horizon for Arvadans — with this next one set to up rates by at least 10% — as the city works to address its ongoing issues with aging water infrastructure. In service of that goal, Arvada’s City Council approved the city team to look into bond and debt funding as an option to solve mounting water system issues. Rates went up by 12.3% in 2023, followed by another 12% increase this year. While council has not yet been presented with or voted on this year’s increase, a 10% increase for water and sewer services, along with a 5% increase for stormwater, is forecasted in the city’s 10-year strategic plan for 2025. At city council’s July 22 workshop, council members expressed support for the city team looking into bond and debt funding sources to deal with the aging infrastructure — chief amongst which is the city’s declining water treatment plants. “We are doing very well with what we have to work with, and that is due to staff… bonds and debts are the way to go, and Arvada is well positioned to pay those back,” council member
SEE CRASH, P6
SEE COUNCIL, P8
COURTESY OF ARVADA POLICE DEPARTMENT
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