Transcript Wheat Ridge
WHEAT RIDGE 1.10.13-20 January 10, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 29, Issue 29
Parkway issue settled Land swap means 617 acres of open space, new toll road route By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com
Construction is under way on the Metro Community Provider Network Jefferson County Health Services Clinic in Wheat Ridge. Photo by Andy Carpenean
Community clinic on the way Metro Community Provider Network expects to serve 10,000 new patients By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews. com A new health-care facility will soon bring its services to 10,000 underserved and uninsured residents in Jefferson County. The facility is the newest location of the Metro Community Provider Network, a federallyfunded nonprofit health organization founded in 1989. “We’re a federally funded community health center that provides primary care and other related services to un-
insured family and children, and that also includes working class adults that can’t afford the high cost of health-care coverage,” said John Reid, the vice president of development with MCPN. The new facility, the Jeffco Family Health Services Clinic, 7495 W. 29th Ave. in Wheat Ridge, is slated to open April 10. The clinic will allow MCPN to nearly double the number of patients receiving health-care services in Jefferson County. “We already see close to 10,000 patients at the Jeffco Clinic (8500 W. Colfax Ave. in
Lakewood) and another 5,000 at the Arvada Clinic (11005 Ralston Rd. No. 100-G),” Reid said. “This will double our capacity to see individuals.” The new, state-of-the-art and green facility will feature 48 medical exam rooms, six dental offices and a co-located office with the Jefferson Center for Mental Health. “We’ve been on a push for the last seven or eight years to integrate behavioral health services at all of our primary care centers,” Reid said. “We’re really happy that the Jefferson Center will be at that new site. They’ll
have a major presence and be able to provide mental health services to our patients in the community.” The Jeffco Family Health Services Clinic will provide the entire gamut of health-care services, Reid said. Services available will include preventative care, immunizations, physicals, chronic disease management, prenatal care, pharmacies and lab work, dental care and mental health services in terms of diagnosis, treatment and counseling. Reid said he expects a variClinic continues on Page 19
Wheat Ridge 2020 hosts challenge 12-week program offers reduced yoga, Pilates, running classes By Staff Report Wheat Ridge 2020 and local businesses are getting residents up and active with the 2013 Winter Fitness Challenge. The 12-week program rotates between yoga hosted by
Santosha Yoga, running with Live Local Active Run Club and Pilates hosted by Elixir Pilates. Following each activity, participants are welcome to join the Wheat Ridge 2020 group for coffee or a bite to eat at a local Wheat Ridge restaurant to socialize and support local businesses. The program is open to residents of all skill levels, whether they are a Pilates pro or a running rookie. Registration for the Winter
POSTAL ADDRESS
Fitness Challenge is $85. Included in registration is three yoga classes at Santosha Yoga, a $45 value; three mat Pilates classes at Elixir Pilates, a $51 value; six run or walk sessions with Live Local Active Run Club, including coaching sessions on proper form, footwear and training, a $35 value; a Live Local Active water bottle, a $10 value; a Fitness Challenge discount for Live Local Active team T-shirt, a $5 value and a 20 percent off discount card applicable at post-session restaurants. Prizes will also be raffled off throughout the challenge for participants who attend the most often. Yoga sessions are from 10:15-11:30 a.m. Saturdays, Jan. 12, Feb. 9 and March 9 at Santosha Yoga in the Wheat Ridge Center Building, 5810 W. 38th Ave., Suite 11. Pilates will be hosted from
noon to 1 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 27, Feb. 24 and March 24 at Elixir Pilates, 7047 W. 38th Ave. The running and walking sessions hosted by at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays, Jan. 19, Feb. 2 and 16, and March 2, 16 and 30. Live Local Active Run Club will rotate locations between Crown Hill Park, 9307 West 26th Ave., the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling St., and Dragonfly Café, 7300 W. 38th Ave. Attendance at each session is not required, but raffle prizes are awarded to those who attend most often. If participants miss a yoga or Pilates class, they can use the punch card for other sessions after the Winter Fitness Challenge is over. For more information or to register for the Winter Fitness Challenge, visit www.wheatridge2020.org.
It was a bumpy road, but a land swap to grant a swath of the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge for use as a new tollway through Jefferson County has happened. The $10 million land swap deal, involving U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, Jefferson and Boulder counties, the city of Arvada and others, officially adds 617 acres of land to the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge. In exchange, the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority (JPPHA) was granted a 300-foot-wide transportation right-of-way along the refuge’s eastern edge, over the objections of some nearby cities and environmental groups. “I am delighted that we have overcome all the obstacles through hard work and perseverance by our fellow county commissioners, mayors and council members and their staffs as well as the United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the State Land Board and the many others who have negotiated and compromised, always keeping in mind the vision of what is best for our citizens,” said Jefferson County Board of Commissioners chair Don Rosier following the decision. The land swap was opposed by a lawsuit claiming an inadequate environmental review, filed by environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Rocky Mountain Wild, along with the cities of Superior and Golden. In mid-December a federal judge ruled that the swap was legal, and dismissed the lawsuit. Superior and the environmental groups filed an appeal, along with a request for a temporary injunction to keep the deal from being finalized on Dec. 31 as scheduled. The injunction was initially granted, but the three-judge panel decided to let the deal close as scheduled after receiving a rebuttal to the injunction by the JPPHA. The JPPHA may now proceed with plans to construct a 10-mile toll road. The new road would connect the current terminus of the E-470 Northwest Parkway in Broomfield to Highway 93, about three miles north of the city of Golden, as part of the continuing effort to complete a ring road around the Denver Metro Area. Like the Northwest Parkway, the road would be public, but rely on the investment of a private investor, who would then receive the parkway’s fee revenue. JPPHA Interim Executive Director Bill Ray said the lawsuit set back the parkway project by at least a year, even as the project itself still has years of study and planning ahead. Ray added that “extensive environmental reviews,” would still need to be conducted for the major interchanges, and affected wetlands associated with the parkway plan. Ray said the authority would be watching closely, in case the federal lawsuit is granted an appeal.
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