Week of February 23, 2023
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
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VOLUME 157 | ISSUE 10
Leaving big shoes to fill
Golden planning on Fourth of July fireworks City Council wants to explore alternatives for future years BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
tory. Thistlewood, who tallied 19 points the night before against Colorado Christian, had eight points on 4-5 shooting and three assists versus Chadron. Dykema collected four rebounds and had two assists. Boone had good looks early, scoring backto-back jumpers in the paint, and made critical free throws at the end. Boone believed Senior Night always has weird energy because of the pregame celebrations, saying, “You either play really, really well, or you play awful at the beginning.” For the Orediggers, it was the latter. The Eagles took and held onto their lead through most of the first half. The Orediggers only managed to close the gap and take a lead of their own in the last six minutes. Throughout the whole game,
Depending on fire safety conditions, Golden’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display could return this year. The city plans to sign a $40,000 contract, which was already included in the 2023 budget. Officials clarified that, if Golden can’t do its fireworks display on Independence Day, it can opt for another time later in the year. However, City Council members said they wanted to get community feedback on whether to discontinue the fireworks display in 2024 and beyond. Councilors were concerned about continually investing money in displays that get canceled or postponed because of summertime fire dangers. The city didn’t sign a contract last year, citing drought conditions and the Marshall Fire as concerns. During the Feb. 14 City Council meeting, City Manager Scott Vargo asked for councilors’ input on whether to go ahead with a contract this year. If not, he said the city could use the budgeted money toward other aspects of the holiday instead. He’d hoped to have more time
SEE BASKETBALL, P27
SEE FIREWORKS, P3
The four seniors on the Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team celebrate Senior Night Feb. 18. The seniors are, from left, PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN Brendan Sullivan, Ben Boone, Trent Dykema and Adam Thistlewood.
Mines men’s basketball edges out Chadron State 78-74 on Senior Night BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Senior guard Brendan Sullivan chose his moment well. Fighting back from a 21-14 firsthalf deficit against Chadron State, the fifth-year Colorado School of Mines player squared up in the paint and let it fly. As the net swished, the surrounding Senior Night crowd cheered. Over the next few plays, Sullivan scored two more baskets and had one block, helping Colorado School of Mines take a 27-26 lead over Chadron State. The Orediggers went
into halftime with a six-point lead, and despite several ties and lead changes in the second half, ultimately edged out the Eagles 78-74 on Feb. 18. Sullivan scored 24 points on 9-13 shooting, including three treys out of five. He also racked up two rebounds, three assists and three blocks on Senior Night. “It means so much to be able to show out (for Senior Night),” Sullivan said. “ … Sometimes you get in a rhythm and whenever you get an open shot, you got to let it fly. It’s just one of those nights where I felt like I had that rhythm.” Mines, now 22-4 overall and 16-4 in conference play, celebrated three fifth-year seniors — Sullivan, Ben Boone and Trent Dykema — and transfer Adam Thistlewood on Feb. 18. All four started the game and helped lead the Orediggers to vic-
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
CLOCKING CONNECTIONS Speed dating as an alternative to swiping P16