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Week of October 13, 2022
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 59 | ISSUE 10
Housing, drug addiction prove to be root of motor vehicle thefts BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Michael Rutherford’s forearm tattoo reads “Family.” “It’s the family you hope for, not the family you were born with,” he said. He found that family in Colorado. He’s a successful chef working full-time while going to school to earn a degree in human services, concentrating in addiction and a secondary in trauma. The degree feels very personal to him. He wants to work with people through counseling to help them with their drug problems. Not that long ago, he was on the other side, caught by the police and charged with the theft of a motor vehicle — just one part of the rising wave of crime in the state. As in Rutherford’s case, motor vehicle theft is often paired with other underlying problems and situations. For the most part, motor vehicle thefts are a result of housing and drug addiction, according to Lisa Pasko, an associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver. “We see people stealing cars in order to get money, but also stealing cars to live in for some time,” she said. “We will also see a correlation with methamphetamine abuse in the winter months.” A common situation The Common Sense Institute, a Greenwood Village-based non-profit focused on economic research, found Colorado to be the top state in America for auto thefts in a study published Sept. 8, and four Colorado cities rank in the top ten in the United States. Those cities are Denver, Aurora, Westminster and Pueblo.
Thornton won’t appeal water line decision City to work with Larimer County rather then appeal to State Supreme Court BY LUKE ZARAZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Riverdale Ridge’s Bradley Weinmaster gets the winner’s hug after capturing the 4A boys state golf championship in Windsor Oct. 4. See our coverage on page 16.
SEE THEFTS, P6
The City of Thornton will not appeal Colorado’s Court of Appeals’ decision denying their permit to construct a water pipeline in Weld County, the city said on Oct. 6. “After thorough consideration of its options, the City of Thornton has decided against filing a petition with the Colorado Supreme Court in its lawsuit against Larimer County,” the city announced in a statement. The statement said the decision is about time. The time waiting for a potential Supreme Court decision is better spent working with Larimer County and its community. The entire Thornton Water Project is 74 miles long and potentially will deliver water from a reservoir near Fort Collins, nearly doubling the city’s current water supply. Twelve miles of the pipeline will run through Larimer County, 34 miles through Weld County, and five miles through Adams County. The rest of the pipeline will go
PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
CULTIVATING HOME
Farm program helping Afghan refugees P12
SEE WATER, P2