Sentinel
Lakewood 4/25/13
Lakewood
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 89, Issue 37
April 25, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Fed Center focuses on sustainable travel Two programs aim to bring green options to employees By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com The Federal Center celebrated Earth Week on Wednesday, April 24, by sharing with its employees and the public efforts the U.S. General Services Administration is making to encourage more environmentally friendly travel. Two of the major programs the GSA are developing is increasing the number of fuel efficient cars in its fleet, and launching the
Denver Federal Center b-cycle program. “The GSA has been proactively purchasing alternative fuel vehicles for the last 20 years,” said Gordon Lancaster, director of Fleet Management Division at the Federal Center. “We’ve been looking at electrical vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, gas-hybrid-electric, and low greenhouse gas vehicles.” Lancaster said that out of the 12,042 vehicles in the six-state Rocky Mountain Region fleet (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming) 7,398 are alternative fuel vehicles. “We recently finished phase one of a plug-in electric vehicle pilot program, where we incorporated about 116 into the fleet,” he said. “Phase 2 includes adding another 200 vehicles, with about eight more
here at the Federal Center.” During the event on Wednesday many different fuel efficient cars were on display so employees and visitors could see all the sustainable options available to drivers. According to Stephanie Downs, director of the Denver Federal Center Service Center, the idea for the DFC b-cycle program came from two goals — finding a way to help people move around the campus easier and finding a way to travel once the W Rail arrives. “There will be six bike stations spread out around the campus, with around 50 bikes that people can use to get around on campus,” she said. “We have a lot of employees here who are very sustainability-minded, and this was an idea that came from them.” B-cycle will begin as a pilot program in
early summer, and will only be available to Federal employees and contractors to start out with. They will be able to check out a bike at any station and use it on campus, returning it to one of the stations when they’re finished. Downs said it is hoped that this program will cut down on people using cars or other vehicles to get around on campus. Some of the bicycles were on display on Wednesday, and representatives from RTD were also on hand to answer questions about changes to the bus schedule due to the light rail. These kinds of programs reflect the work that the GSA is committed to doing to improve sustainability, Lancaster added. “Sustainability is a big part of who we are in the region,” he said.
Basketball referee arrested Man charged with unlawful sexual contact By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
Tony Monstanti of Wild Wings and Sophie, a great horned owl, greeted visitors to the Earth Day Celebration at the Lakewood Heritage Center on April 20. Photos by Clarke Reader
Earth Week hits environmental home run Diverse events give residents chance to be sustainable By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com Lakewood is turning Earth Day into a week-long event, which kicked off Saturday with an Earth Day Celebration and will end on April 27 with a project at Bear Creek Lake Park. According to Jonathan Wachtel, Lakewood sustainability planner, the city knows how important sustainability and the environment is to residents, which is why Earth Day has become a week-long affair. “Education and outreach are extremely important in these areas, so we view the events as a way to solicit input from the community,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to get outside and learn about what we can do to keep our city sustainable.” The celebration on April 20 was a chance for the public to learn more about alternative transportation — including alternative fuel vehicles, bicycles and the W Rail Line — and see some local companies and agencies that encourage sustainability. Visitors had the chance to see birds of prey with Wild Wings, learn about Jeffco Open Spaces and talk to representatives from Solar City about the benefits of solar power. During the week Bear Creek Lake Park took hikers on a full moon hike. Members of Lakewood’s Urban Parks Division gave
At the Earth Day Celebration Ward 5 Councilman Tom Quinn chats with Bear Creek Park Naturalist Jody Morse about the park’s upcoming volunteer day on April 27. out wildflower seeds and tree saplings at the Belmar Whole Foods, and also answered gardening questions. The week will wrap up at Bear Creek Lake Park, 15600 W. Morrison Road, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, with a volunteer project day. According to park naturalist Jody Morse, there will be several projects for people of all ages to do during the day, from pollinating gardens to relining the trail. “At our new cabins we’ll have people planting trees and flowers and there will be
trail improvement work as well,” she said. Morse said that the volunteer projects have become extremely popular at the park, and in previous years more than 150 people have registered to help maintain the park. “We get groups like Brownie Troops coming into help us out,” she said. “Without volunteers we simply wouldn’t be able to get all this work we need done.” To register to volunteer at Bear Creek Lake Park, go to http://www.lakewood.org/ ParkProgramsandEvents.
Lakewood police have arrested basketball referee Stephen Amador, 52, on charges of unlawful sexual contact. Amador was arrested April 15 on a warrant that included nine separate charges of unlawful sexual contact involving four juvenile females. Due to the nature of the charges and the juvenile status of the victim, no further details were available before press time. Detectives were made aware of the inappropriate Amador sexual contact that occurred during basketball games while Amador was refereeing. According to police, the inappropriate contact occurred over a period of approximately 3 months beginning in December of 2012. The games took place at different schools in Lakewood. Amador was not employed by the Colorado High School Athletic Association or by any school district. He was an independent contractor and a registered official certified to work Colorado High School Activities Association sanctioned games. He officiated for other area schools, leagues and age groups. Amador was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on April 15 on the nine misdemeanor charges. It is unknown when he will make his initial appearance. The case will be presented to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office for formal charging. Detectives are asking anyone who may have information that would assist in the investigation regarding Amador to contact Det. Anthony Gherardini at 303-987-7225.
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.