WESTMINSTER WINDOW 3/14/13
March 14, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 21
Sigg hearing ongoing By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Westminster High School students rehearse a song for their musical, “In the Heights.” The show runs March 14-16 at Westminster High School. Photo by Ashley Reimers
Students take a step into NYC By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
F
or the first time, the Broadway musical “In the Heights” will debut on a high school stage. And luckily for the Westminster community, it’s happening in their backyard. The Westminster High School CenterStage Theatre Company is presenting the production of “In the Heights” March 1416. “In the Heights” takes place over the course of three days in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights. It focuses on a community of people struggling to live the American Dream, while dealing with the heat of New York City, debt, gentrification, poverty and loss that threatens their dreams. But amidst these struggles, the characters survive the tough times with the help of family, music, home, dreams and dancing.
Theater director Andre Rodriguez is new to Westminster High School this year. He said he chose the musical because it’s the only musical that he knows of that represents the Latino culture in a positive light, with Latino people doing positive things. He said he’s never seen more energy and excitement from a cast in his career. “This is the best cast I have ever worked with in my life,” Rodriguez said. “Not only are the students talented, they are really kind and hardworking and just genuinely hungry to be good.” Erin Ramsey is the set director for “In the Heights.” She said it was a struggle at first to design the set because she had seen the musical a few times. She focused on creating a design that would display what the Washington Heights neighborhood truly looks like. “The design was mine, but the students have built and painted most everything themselves, with some assistance,” she said. “We try to do, keep it as educational
theater. They learn a lot about how hard it is to put up something that looks simple.” Sophomore Faith Angel is playing the role of Nina Rosario. When talking about the musical, her face lights up with excitement. She said this is the best production she’s been a part of, especially because playing Nina Rosario is her dream role. She said hopes people come out to experience the positive journey the characters take in “In the Heights.” “It a huge honor to follow up with a performance of Nina Rosario, because she is one of my highest inspirations, “Angel said. “This is a feel-good musical. At the beginning everyone is struggling to find their home and by the end, everyone feel is very much at home.” “In the Heights” is running March 14-16 at Westminster High School, 6933 Raleigh St. The show begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are $8 for general admission and $10 for reserved seats. To order tickets, call 720542-5415.
Austin Sigg, the teen accused of killing Jessica Ridgeway of Westminster, did not enter a plea during his arraignment hearing on Tuesday, March 12. Instead, Judge Stephen Munsinger continued the hearing for 30 days, allowing Sigg’s defense team more time to investigate possible defenses. Originally, the defense team asked for an addi- Sigg tional two months due to the massive amount of information in discovery. One defense attorney told the judge more time was needed because the team hasn’t thoroughly gone through every piece of discovery, which includes 50,000 pages of information, 2,500 photos and 1,800 pieces of physical evidence. Sigg is now expected to enter a plea April 12. “You have three choices, guilty, not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity,” Munsinger told the defense team. “I will allow you to amend the plea down the road if needed.” Sigg is facing 18 charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child. During the preliminary hearing on Feb. 22, Westminster investigator Louis Lopez testified that Sigg confessed to the murder of Ridgeway during a 911 call. Sigg told the dispatcher “I murdered Jessica Ridgeway, I have proof.” He said the remains were in the crawl space at his home, and he was giving himself up completely. Police investigated Sigg’s home in Westminster and found the remains. Lopez testified that Ridgeway’s death was asphyxiation, according to the coroner. Sigg is accused of kidnapping and killing Ridgeway in early October 2012. He is also accused of attempting to abduct a woman jogging around Ketner Lake in May 2012.
Public input sought on changes for Adams County fair Organizers say new demographics spurring adjustments to event By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com Adams County officials say next year’s county fair could be facing some of its first changes in nearly a decade to ensure the longtime tradition remains viable and successful among residents, vendors and 4-H participants.
Adams County Co-Fair Manager Melanie Snodell said the proposed changes, which would rearrange and consolidate some of the 4-H fair exhibits at the Adams County Regional Park grounds, stems from fairgoers’ comments over the past few years that say there is a lack of animals at the annual fair. “A lot of why that may be is because we are under utilizing some of our spaces but also overusing them as well in some areas,” Snodell said. At issue, Snodell said, is a shift in the types of animals exhibited at the fair — a factor that has also led to a shift in at-
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tendance numbers to some animal programs. The fair’s large animal program, which includes horses, cattle and pigs, went through several years of declining attendance, while attendance increased at small animal shows. Snodell said the attendance numbers for the fair’s large animal program have leveled off and rebounded over the last two years but has not returned to levels seen about a decade ago. “It takes a lot of room to raise a large animal, so at the end of the day, becomes a very expensive task,” Snodell said. “We’re seeing this growth in our small animal program and that has led to some serious space issues where we house those animals.” To address these issues, Snodell said fair organizers are hosting a series of five public meetings to consider a total of five proposed changes. One of the most significant changes would be reconfiguring one of the barns used during the fair by taking out the horse stalls and installing pipe stalls to move one of the animal shows from the
indoor arena into the barn. The remaining four operational changes includes moving the small animals once housed in the Al Lesser building into the indoor arena; moving the 4-H exhibits from the exhibit hall to the Al Lesser Building; and moving some of the animal shows and sales into the indoor arena from the livestock tent. As a part of these changes, Snodell said the horse shows that are typically held on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the fair would be scaled back to two days on Sunday and Monday. No money has been allocated to fund the proposed changes, but Snodell said any approved changes would be subject to a budget approval process. She said the implementation of these changes would also dovetail the fair’s 110th anniversary in 2014. The remaining public meetings to discuss these changes will be held at 6 p.m. April 3, May 1, Oct. 2 and Nov. 6 at the Adams County Regional Park Complex Administrative Offices, 9755 Henderson Road in Brighton.