Transcript
Wheat Ridge 3/28/13
Wheat Ridge
March 28, 2013
50 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 29, Issue 40
Looking for a home
Lawmakers mull aerial fire fleet By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Tundra, an adoptable 7-year-old Siberian Husky, checks out the scene with her volunteer handler, Debbie Fleckenstine, at the grand opening of the new Eddie Bauer location in the Colorado Mills shopping mall March 22. Fleckenstine and other Foothills Animal Shelter volunteers attended the opening with adoptable dogs and collected donations. The store was offering to match any donation made to the animal shelter during the grand opening. Photo by Glenn Wallace
Pinwheels to be planted for support Ralston House hosts annual program to raise awareness, funds By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews. com Blue pinwheels will soon be sprouting across Jefferson County. Ralston House is preparing to recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month in April by selling blue pinwheels and encouraging residents and businesses to plant them as gardens. “Pinwheels are a national symbol for child-abuse prevention,” said Don Moseley, executive director of Ralston House. “When we think about child abuse, it’s such a difficult subject. We should talk about prevention and getting better. The pinwheel is a very hopeful symbol.” Ralston House has set a goal
of raising $30,000 through this year’s pinwheel program, all of which will go toward providing child victims of abuse with forensic interviews, medical exams and emotional support. Ralston House, 10795 W. 58th Ave., is a non-profit childadvocacy center that provides a safe and comfortable environment where children who have been sexually or physically abused can receive help and tell their story. Pinwheels are $5 each, and businesses and individuals can buy them from Ralston House to create their own gardens, or they can sponsor a pinwheel at one of the large public gardens, which will be at Faith Bible Chapel, 6210 Ward Road in Arvada; Gold Crown Sports Foundation, 150 S. Harlan St.; and Jefferson County Open School, 7655 W. 10th Ave. in Lakewood. “For me, it’s a very easy way of doing what we all talk about,” Moseley said.
Pinwheels will be planted at Faith Bible Chapel and Gold Crown Sports Foundation on April 9, and at Jeffco Open School on April 10. A business that wants to plant its own garden can contact Ralston House to receive a kit. They then sell the pinwheels at their business and turn the proceeds over to Ralston House. The support demonstrated through the pinwheels means something special to the victims of child abuse, whether they are still children or have
grown up, Moseley said. “It’s a nice symbol, and it shows victims that the community gets it,” he said. “It’s a chance to show that the community supports them. Countless victims never tell because the perpetrator tells them not to. It’s a reminder that it’s not their fault.” To purchase a pinwheel or pinwheel kit, or to sponsor a pinwheel at a large garden, contact Ralston House at 720898-6741 or go online to www. RalstonHouse.net.
POSTAL ADDRESS
Ralston House is selling blue pinwheels to residents and businesses so they can create their own pinwheel gardens in support of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Proceeds from the pinwheels, which cost $5 each, go directly to Ralston House to support services for children who have been physically and sexually abused. Photo by Sara Van Cleve
As drought continues to plague the West, and with the memories of blazes that covered much of the state last summer still fresh, a group of lawmakers on March 21 announced their plans to introduce a bill to create an aerial firefighting fleet in Colorado. But what they don’t know yet is how much such a bold undertaking would cost, or how they would pay for it. Four legislators told reporters during a Capitol press Report conference that wildfire season has already begun, and that Colorado can’t always rely on the federal government’s limited aerial fleet to come to its rescue, whenever massive fires break out. State Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, said the federal government has slashed its firefighting air fleet over the years, leaving Colorado in a potentially precarious situation for this and future wildfire seasons. “They have an entire country to cover and that could be a very dangerous situation for Colorado,” Jahn said of the federal government’s role in fighting fires. “When we make that phone call to the federal government and say we need assistance, you hope they can show up.” Jahn was joined at the press conference by Democratic Senate President John Morse and Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, both of Colorado Springs, as well as Republican Sen. Steve King of Grand Junction, who will co-sponsor the forthcoming legislation with Jahn. “Quite frankly, we are one lightning strike, one careless match throw, one terrorist, intentional match throw away from a catastrophic wildfire in Colorado,” King said. “God help us if that is in one of our watersheds.” But what no one was prepared to talk about was how much a wildfire aerial fleet is expected to cost. “Good question,” King said when a reporter asked about the price tag. “Next question,” quipped Cadman. King said that “we’re working on that,” saying they would need cost input from the Department of Public Safety, which would be in charge of the fleet. King also said that the department would “figure out” how many planes it would need. King also said lawmakers will look into receiving federal funding. Last year’s wildfire season in Colorado was particularly destructive. The Waldo Canyon Fire that started northwest of Colorado Springs in June destroyed more than 350 homes. Earlier that month, the High Park Fire in Larimer County burned more than 87,000 acres. And with current snowpack around the state sitting well below average, conditions are expected to be ripe for another unpredictable and potentially damaging wildfire season in Colorado this year. “Wildfires absolutely don’t know politics,” Jahn said. “There are no Democrats or Republicans when a fire breaks out and consumes the land. We know that our wildfire threats can be even worse this year than last.”
Capitol
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