Transcript Wheat Ridge
December 13, 2012
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 29, Issue 25
Drug ring on the run Operation Blood Sport results in 10 arrests for drug running By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com
Jim Lewis is a Wheat Ridge resident with multiple sclerosis who decorates his house every Christmas. Photo by Andy Carpenean
Bringing holiday cheer Wheat Ridge man with MS brightens holiday with elaborate light display By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews.com Every Christmas for nearly two decades, a Wheat Ridge man has made his yard, and the season, a little brighter for him and his neighbors. Jim Lewis has grown his decoration display every year since moving to his home and now features dozens of lighted Christmas figurines and displays. “I started it for my daughter, who is 26 now,” Lewis said. “It gives me great joy. I love seeing the expression on kids’ faces when they see it, and adults too.” The yard is now filled with dozens of decorations that take weeks for him to assemble and put on display. His display includes everything from his very first, a nativity set, to some of
his more recent additions, like his granddaughter Molly’s favorites, the holiday pig and gingerbread house. In 2001, Lewis was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. For Lewis, the disease affects his eyes as well as his muscles. “Last year or the year before I had a relapse and lost my vision (temporarily),” Lewis said. “I feel better than I have in a few years, but it takes a toll on me. It wears me out, but I plan to continue doing it until I can’t.” While he has had to tone down his display in recent years, such as only being able to put a few strands of lights on his roof instead of covering it with lights, he continues to grow it every year. “He doesn’t let much stop him,” said Katie Sullivan, Lewis’ daughter and neighbor. Decorating is almost therapeutic for his MS, he said. “I really enjoy doing it,” he said. “It gets me, but I enjoy it. It helps with the MS and
it pushes me.” Lewis, a member of the Wheat Ridge Fire Department until he was diagnosed, said he considers it his way of giving back to the community, something he has enjoyed doing since he joined the fire department. And the reactions he hears from his neighbors and the community shows how much they enjoy it. “People will come by the yard and say `It looks great. Keep it up,’” said Patti Lewis, Jim’s wife. “It’s magical to both adults and kids.” Many of Lewis’ neighbors have come to expect his decorations to help put them in the holiday mood. “There’s so much negative in the world, it’s nice to spread Christmas cheer and make someone smile,” Sullivan said. The display is still a work in progress, he said, having a goal of adding at least one decoration every year. Lewis’ Christmas light display can be seen every night after sunset in front of his home at 3880 Reed St. in Wheat Ridge.
Authorities in Jefferson County broke up a major cocaine and methamphetamine interstate distribution ring. Nicknamed “Operation Blood Sport” because several of the suspects were believed to be involved in cock fighting, authorities called the arrests and drug seizures made so far in the investigation “a major dent” to the drug trade in the Denver metro area. “This was a major drug smuggling ring brought down with the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies,” Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink said at press conference held Monday. DEA Special Agent in Charge Barbra Roach, Lakewood Police Chief Kevin Paletta and Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan were at the press conference, where First Judicial District Attorney Scott Storey revealed details of the Nov. 30 grand jury indictment that included 49 counts against 16 individuals. Ten are currently in custody on charges of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy to distribute, and money laundering. “This investigation was actually part of a national effort called Operation Below the Belt,” Roach said. Investigators found evidence of interstate drug smuggling, cocaine arriving from California, and meth from Arizona. In the course of their investigation authorities say they found $21,500 in drug proceeds, two kilograms of cocaine, and 12 pounds of meth (hidden in the engine of an SUV). Last week a search of a suspected location in the 6300 block of West Mississippi Avenue in Lakewood revealed approximately 70 roosters, as well as cockfighting accessories. Roach said additional charges regarding cockfighting could be forthcoming. Authorities are seeking six more individuals who are named in the indictment: Francisco Leon, 22; Homero ReynosaCardenas, 21; Francisco M. Barragan, aka Chapetes, 26; Jesse Rubio, aka Chapito, 24; Manuel Eduardo Carrola-Hernandez, aka Anthony Castro, aka Trompis, 25; and Oswaldo Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33. Roach said she believes some of the six may still be in the area because they have strong local ties.
Cash tight for county budget Approved 2013 budget reflects decrease in revenues By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews. com The purse strings are tight in Jefferson County, as the county commissioners voted 2-0 to approve a $382.9 million budget for 2013.
Commissioners Donald Rosier, District 3, and Faye Griffin, District 1, voted to approve the budget at the Dec. 4 board meeting. District 2 Commissioner John Odom was absent. The adopted 2013 budget — available at www.jeffco.us/budget — includes $3.1 million less in
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operating expenses than the 2012 budget. Those reductions mirror the roughly 1-percent reduction in projected tax revenue for the county. On the day of the budget’s adoption, County Budget Director Tina Caputo warned the two commissioners that she had just received the “December letter” from the county assessor’s office, indicating “an unanticipated slide,” revenues would be $157,257 lower than previously anticipated. The figure was expected to be close to $2 million. Back in October, the county’s budget office, in conjunction with Jeffco department heads, presented a $386.5 million budget, which relied on $24.5 million in reserve and operating fund transfers. In commission budget talks, commissioners made it plain that
they would seek to reduce that figure, and cut that transfer figure down to $20.9 million. “We can’t continue to take at the rate we have been,” Rosier said. Only one member of the audience spoke during the budget approval hearing. Kathy Doyle of Golden criticized the county for not making it clearer to the public just how much money was being spent annually as part of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority. Caputo said the 2013 budget includes a floating $1.5 million allocation set aside to assist with the parkway. Virtually all staff increase requests were denied for 2013. The budget includes zero salary increases for county employees. Those employees will have their medical benefit costs rise 5 percent next year, of which the
county will cover half. The Sheriff’s Office, the largest county department by expenditure and employee count, had its expenditure budget reduced from the draft budget by $500,000 as well as having several project requests being denied. The commissioners also set mill levy rates for unincorporated Jefferson County at the meeting, opting to keep rates steady by extending a temporary 1.6-mill reduction in place for at least another year. Rosier said that himself, “and the commissioners believe that now is not the time in this economic recession to increase taxes.”
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