North Jeffco
Westsider
November 9, 2012 A Colorado Community Media Publication
North Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 44
ourwestminsternews.com
Stranger safety basics Arvada Police volunteers offer stranger awareness, safety tips to children By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews.com
Two of Jessica’s Angels, Darrell Law, left, a sophomore at Pomona High School in Arvada, and Kylie Walden, a sophomore at Standley Lake High School in Westminster, walk down Carr Drive near Warder Elementary School on Monday, Oct. 29. Photo by Sara Van Cleve
Jessica’s Angels keep watch High school students initiate effort to keep children safe after school By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews.com As the march for justice for Jessica Ridgeway proceeds, a group of students are on the streets to make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen again. High school students from Arvada and Westminster high schools rallied to be extra pairs of eyes for children walking home from their elementary schools. Alex Groen, a junior at Pomona High School in Arvada, came up with the idea for Jessica’s Angels as he watched the tragedy unfold so close to home. “It was mainly the tragedy and wanting to help Jessica Ridgeway,” Groen said. “Instead of sitting on the couch, I wanted to turn something bad into something positive and make the community united to prevent something like this from happening again.” The program, which is like a neighborhood watch, launched on Monday, Oct. 29. As of Nov. 1, about 30 students from
area high schools have been involved, walking up and down the blocks near feeder elementary schools simply watching out for children and being a presence to deter incidents. “I don’t want anything else to happen like what happened to Jessica,” said Kylie Walden, one of Jessica’s Angels and a sophomore at Standley Lake High School in Westminster. “It upsets me, and it makes me sad this happened.” Jessica Ridgeway, 10, disappeared in Westminster Oct. 5 and her remains were found at Pattridge Park open space in Arvada. Austin Sigg, 17, has been charged with murder. Jessica’s Angels have had a presence around three elementary schools so far — Warder, Weber and Parr. Groen said the response from parents has been positive and thanked students. “It’s a neat idea,” said Bill Boyle, a parent at Warder Elementary School. “We all need to look out for each other. It’s a great lesson for the high school kids to learn.” Jessica’s Angels has not been officially supported by Jefferson County Schools, mainly because it has become more of a community watch rather than a schoolyard watch, said Jeffco Schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer.
“We’re not sure what role a district would play in what he’s doing; it’s more of a community watch, but they’re still talking,” Setzer said. “We love his passion and his dedication to making sure kids are safe; we definitely admire that.” In the program’s first three days, Groen and his fellow students handed out 110 free Jessica’s Angels T-shirts to help raise awareness of what they’re doing as well as to encourage others to keep an eye out also. The purple shirts emblazoned with a ribbon, halo and “Jessica’s Angels” are being provided at a discounted rate by Color Concepts Apparel, 5556 Harlan St. Though the shirts are free, donations are accepted to defray the cost. Donation checks can be made Color Concepts Apparel with the memo “Jessica’s Angels” and dropped off or mailed to the store. Groen said Jessica’s Angels plan to be on the streets for as long as they can be. “We’ll be out here as long as possible,” he said. “We’ll get out as much as we possibly can.” Jessica’s Angels has relied mainly on social media to get the word out about the program and where the students will be each day. As of Nov. 2, their Facebook page has more than 3,000 likes.
Children knowing four simple words — no, go, yell, tell — can make all the difference if they are ever confronted with a scary situation. With stranger awareness and safety on the minds of parents everywhere, Arvada Police Department volunteers are hosting stranger awareness classes for school-age children. Volunteer Child Safety Liaison for Arvada Police Kelly Fochtman said “no” is every child’s power word, no matter their age. “If somebody is close to you and making you feel uncomfortable, first you’ve got the power word, which is ‘no,’” Fochtman said. “‘No’ is your power word anytime something doesn’t seem right.” Second, Fochtman said if a child is in a situation where someone is making them feel uncomfortable, they should ‘go,’ or keep a distance from the stranger and yell. “But don’t just go ‘ahh!’ like on the playground,” Fochtman said. “A lot of people might be doing that. Yell words. ‘Hey, this is not my mom! Get away from me!’ If you do that when you’re on the playground, you’ll sound different then everybody else who is yelling and having a good time and at the same time you can tell somebody.” If a child is put in a situation where they are approached by a stranger and feel uncomfortable, the child needs to know to tell a trusted adult right away, Fochtman said. Fochtman and fellow volunteer Sandy Fraser also have advice for children when they are staying home alone and if a friend wants them to go out and play. When staying home along, FoBasics continues on Page 19
Odom holds slight lead over Tighe Jeffco’s 2nd district race a tight one By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews. com The race for Jefferson County Commissioner for District 2 came down to the wire Wednesday morning with appointed incumbent John Odom narrowly leading challenger Casey Tighe by 131,940 to 131,807. If the vote total stands after all
overseas and outstanding ballots are counted, a recount would be required because the difference is less than one-half of one percent of the highest vote-getter. The Republican Odom was appointed to the Board of County Commissioners in March 2011 after former District 2 Commissioner Kevin McCasky stepped down amidst ethics complaints. A former audit director for CDOT, and chair of the Jefferson County Audit Committee, Tighe said he was thankful for the assistance and support he re-
ceived in his first run for public office, and said the experience was a good one, although he said he was not quite ready to commit to running again if he loses. “I’m still hoping to win this election. And if I win I hope I live up to their expectations,” Tighe said. Odom, who could not be reached before press time, is a lifelong resident of Jefferson County and holds a master’s degree in international trade. He helped introduce Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney earlier this year,
during a campaign stop at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Fellow Jeffco Commissioner Faye Griffin was unopposed and won re-election for District 1. Also unopposed was District Attorney Candidate Pete Weir. He steps into the office vacated by Jeffco DA Scott Storey, who was term limited. Both Republican candidates said they felt appreciative for getting to run unopposed. “I will keep the future of Jefferson County in mind with every vote, and I’ll continue to
do the best I can,” Griffin said. Weir, who had worked in the department for several years, said his new position was more of a passing of the baton, than regime change. “It’s going to be an honor serving the citizens of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties, but also a great responsibility.”
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