Transcript Golden
GOLDEN 3/21/13
March 21, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourgoldennews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 147, Issue 16
Sequestration socks Jeffco State and county cuts affect vulnerable By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com The most vulnerable in Jefferson County, including the homeless and the developmentally disabled, will be among those most affected by automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration. Jefferson County Community Development Director Kat Douglas said programs offering rental assistance and homeless shelters face immediate cuts. She said the county would be cut between $100,000 to $150,000 for 2013. “The people who are hurting the most are those who need those services,” Douglas said.
Douglas said once the Department of Housing and Urban Development decide on how to apply the budget cuts, they will hand off the reduced funding to states, who then in turn will have to decide how to divvy up the reduced funding to counties and cities. “And so far, nobody has any answers for us,” said Douglas. The only news so far is not encouraging. The state will fund Jeffco at 50 percent of its usual allocation, and hopefully increase that amount once HUD has decided what it is doing. Douglas said the county usually signs grant contracts with area nonprofits at the start of March, but have had to reduce those contracts in half, or not offer them at all this year. A similar air of uncertainty surrounds education funding. According to the White House, sequestration will result in $16.5 million less money
for Colorado students this year. Roughly half of that money would have gone to Title One programs — targeted at lower income students who qualify for free or reduced lunches. The other half would be for children with disabilities. “These are populations we care deeply about and we want to do everything we can to give them a bright future. They’re hard cuts to make,” said Heather Beck, chief academic officer with Jeffco Public Schools. The Jeffco school district enrolls about 10 percent of the state’s children. “But I don’t know if the state is just going to hand down a straight percentage of cuts to us or not,” Beck said. The new academic fiscal cycle begins July 1, which should be when the cuts go into effect, though Beck said she had not received confirmation of that. She says even if the cuts do come down, the district has
enough reserve funding budgeted to forestall any reduction to teaching staff or services for one year. Beck said that if sequestration is not reversed, the district would be looking at $9 million in less revenue over the next five years. “That will mean teacher loss, program loss,” Beck said. Across the state, sequestration cuts will hit many sectors. An estimated 12,000 Department of Defense employees will face furloughs. Army and Air Force spending will be reduced by $65,000. Program funding for children, seniors, veterans and law enforcement will also be effected. Beck says for now at least, all that can be done is to wait and see, and keep fingers crossed. “We’re sticking on the optimistic side of things and hope Washington can figure these things out.”
Jeffco suspect on FBI’s top 10 The cod team from Camborne School of Mines in England frantically shovel gravel into a twoton ore car as part of their winning Ore Mucking run. Photos by Glenn Wallace
Mining Games hits CSM International competition brings dirty fun to Golden By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com They came. They saw. They drilled, panned, sawed and mucked. They did it all as part of the 35th annual International Intercollegiate Mining Games, held at the Colorado School of Mines, March 13-17. A total of 16 schools from around the globe were represented over the weekend by teams of students competing in the male, female and coed categories. The team from Murdoch University in Perth Australia went through 21 hours of air flight to attend. “Our whole team loves it here, and wants to move,” Murdoch Co-Ed team captain Kylie Nettleton said. The competition was the first time Murdoch had competed overseas. While Nettleton said her team enjoyed the competition, the social element was what they POSTAL ADDRESS
really came for. “To get involved, meet the sponsors and to meet people who will be our future colleagues,” the metallurgy major said. The hollering teammates, the ping of drill bits biting into stone and the staccato din of the hydraulic drill helped bring some community spectators, including Michael Morian, who rode his bike up to the school’s freshman lot, where the competition was held. “It’s fun to come up here and see the kids working so hard. It’s fun to see them come from this far away, too,” said Morian as an English team assembled a section of ore cart track by hand. The Mining Games celebrate historic mining practices, and help create a sense of community between mining students from around the world. The games were first held in 1978, in honor of the victims of the Sunshine Mine fire in northern Idaho. Colorado School of Mines senior Wade Orourk said much of the international event was organized and funded through student effort. “We raised almost a quart million dollars, and planned this for almost a year,” Orourk said. He added that once the events
actually got underway, the CSM organizers all breathed a sigh of relief. The Mining Games wasn’t all about competition though. Orourk said the DJ knew a song that inspires the Aussie men to moon the competition, and more than a few unlucky competitors were dunked in the cold, murky water of the gold panning troughs.
A team member from Murdoch University’s Co-Ed team lines up for another hammer swing during the Hand Drilling competition.
Edwin Ernesto Rivera Gracias wanted for murder By Staff Report Last week the FBI announced that a man wanted for the brutal beating and stabbing of a Colorado man would be placed on the agency’s Top 10 Most Wanted list. Edwin Ernesto Rivera Gracias is charged with the murder of Richard Limon. The body of 69-yearold Limon was dumped on the side of Lookout Mountain Road above Golden in 2011. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading directly to the arrest of Rivera Gracias, who is a member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang — MS-13 — and is believed to be in El Salvador. Today we are asking for media and public assistance in bringing this dangerous fugitive to justice,” James Yacone, special agent in charge for the Denver regional office said in a statement. Gracias is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds, with short brown hair and no facial
h a i r. He has several tattoos, including the inscript i o n “ M a ria” on Edwin Ernesto his left Rivera Gracias chest, “MS 13” on his back, “El Salvador” on the back of his right arm, “503” on the back of his left arm, “LA” on his right forearm and “Nena” on his left hand. “Elevating Rivera Gracias to the Top 10 list sends a message,” said Special Agent Phil Niedringhaus. “No matter where you are as a fugitive — in the U.S. or anywhere in the world — we are coming after you.” The public is asked to pass along any information concerning the whereabouts of Rivera Gracias, by contacting the FBI’s Denver Field Office at 303-629-7171 or your nearest law enforcement agency or U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Tips can also be submitted online. Gracias’ girlfriend, her mother and her mother’s boyfriend were also implicated in the crime. The mother, Tina Moya was convicted of first-degree murder, and was sentenced on March 20.
GOLDEN TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 0746-6382)
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