Westminster WindoW 3.21.13
March 28, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 23
Taking a SWAT at literacy barriers Mentor program helps students gain reading success By Ashley reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com Second- and third-graders in four Adams County school districts are getting attention from a literacy SWAT team. Volunteers in the Schools Where All Thrive — or SWAT — Tutor-Mentor program are working with students who are a year or more below grade level in their reading. The program was started by Tom Rapp, Senior Hub RSVP director and retired Adams County school educator, who has always had a passion for helping struggling students. “Tom served as an assistant principal for many years, and in that position he dealt with many students who were acting out for many different reasons,” said Ron Ausmus, RSVP-SWAT program coordinator. “It broke his heart to know that many of the kids he dealt with were acting out because they didn’t have the skills to keep up in the classroom, so he dreamed up the SWAT program in 2009 to do something about it.” Since 2009, the program has grown quickly, and now serves more than 350 students in four districts: Adams County School District 50, the Adams 12 Five Star
Hodgkins Elementary student Brian Martinez works on his reading and literacy skills with Juanita Soper, wife of former State Rep. John Soper. Both John and Juanita volunteer in the Schools Where All Thrive tutor/mentor program once a week. Photo by Ashley Reimers School District, Mapleton Public Schools and School District 27J. Ausmus said the volunteers truly make the program a success. Senior citizens, college students and housewives are among
those who spend one day a week helping out a child in need. One of his volunteers is John Soper, a former Thornton state representative. Soper and his wife, Juanita, joined the
Girders and deck panels installed along US 36 By Ashley reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews. com As part of the US 36 Express Lanes project, bridges along the highway are getting a needed facelift. On March 21, the Colorado Department of Transportation began girder and deck-panel installation on the Wadsworth Parkway bridge. This is just the beginning of spring and summer seasons filled with bridge construction along US 36. The girder and deck-panel installation will cause the closure of US 36 in both directions from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. daily until Tuesday, April 2, weather permitting. CDOT project director John Schwab said the department is trying to avoid full highway closures during the project, but the girder installation requires highway closure for safety reasons. “On Wadsworth, we are setting 39 girders across the highway, some weighing approximately 111,000 pounds and measuring 120 feet long,” Schwab said. “We will have detours using the ramps, but we encourage drivers to use alternate routes if possible as there will likely be delays.”
The delay is estimated to be about 10 minutes during the 9 and 10 p.m. hours, but throughout the late night hours and early morning hours, the delay should be minimal. Schwab said it’s important for drivers to obey all construction signs and flaggers, and to “slow down for the cone zone.” Schwab said five bridges are being completely rebuilt and three more are being widened as part of the project. The Wadsworth bridge and the 112th Avenue bridge will be completed by November. The Sheridan Boulevard bridge; BNSF bridge; and the US 36 bridges over Lowell Boulevard, the Westminster Promenade, and East and West Flatiron Crossing will also be under construction this spring and summer. The US 36 Express Lanes Project is a $312 million, multimodule project between Federal Boulevard and 88th Avenue Street in Louisville/Superior. The project will build an express lane in each direction of Highway 36 to accommodate high-occupancy vehicles, bus rapid transit and tolled singleoccupancy vehicles. Instead of a physical barrier to separate the managed lanes from the general purpose lanes, the project will create a 4-foot buffer, the first of
SWAT Tutor-Mentor program this year and spend time mentoring at Hodgkins Elementary School and Pinnacle Charter School. Soper is a big believer in the power of reading and said if children can read, they can teach themselves. “I’ve worked with kids for 40 years, so I really enjoy kids,” Soper said. “The best technique I have is to praise every little thing they do well and don’t criticize the bad parts. Just encourage them, and once they are rewarded they will work a little harder.” Susan Blatter is the literacy interventionist at Hodgkins Elementary. Her philosophy is, “The more you read, the better you get. She said that idea also applies to reading at home, but some students in her school don’t have the support at home to enhance their reading skills because of language barriers and lack of time. With help from the SWAT Tutor-Mentor program, she said, students are now getting the extra attention needed for success in reading. “I think the opportunity to have a mentor, and have special time with just one child and one adult every week, is wonderful,” she said. “The students get to interact with their mentor and have the chance to have someone care about them. Plus, they get the bonus of increasing their reading.” For more information on the SWAT Mentor/Tutor program, contact Ausmus at 303-426-4408, or go online to www.seniorhub.org/rsvp_swat.php.
Bridge to be replaced at 72nd and Raleigh By Ashley reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Installation of girders and deck panels for the Wadsworth Parkway bridge began March 21. The bridge work is part of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s US 36 Express Lanes Project. For the installation, US 36 will be closed in both directions daily from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. until April 2. Photo by Ashley Reimers its kind in the state, according to Schwab. Another element to the project is bus-on shoulders. This feature will allow buses to travel on the shoulders of the highway during periods of high traffic volume. Schwab said buses will
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only be able to use the shoulders, which are the same width of the lanes, under certain conditions and will have restrictions. Buses can only use a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, and if vehicles are driving more than 50 miles per hour on the roadway, the buses will not be able to use the shoulders, he added. “This is an accelerated project happening in a span of two and half years,” Schwab said. “We want to minimize as many traffic issues as possible for drivers, and have this project complete and open to the public by January 2015.”
A project to replace the bridge at 72nd Avenue and Raleigh Street is under way in Westminster. The current box culvert structure will eventually be replaced by an actual bridge, with the help of $1.8 million in federal funding. “Three or four years ago, the Colorado Department of Transportation rated this particular structure an eight out of 100 in their off-systems bridge-inspection program,” said Stephen Baumann, assistant city engineer for Westminster. “This low rating qualified the project for some federal funding.” The total cost of the project is estimated at $6 million; what’s not funded by federal dollars will be funded by the city’s general capital improvement fund and the utility fund. Not only will the box culvert structure be replaced, but other street and utility improvements will be made, Baumann said. “The bridge will be slightly bigger than the structure now, which will allow for the water in Little Dry Creek to flow more efficiently,” Baumann said. The regional trail alongside the bridge also will be raised slightly to allow for better water flow Baumann said the city is taking advantage of construction in the area to replace the water and sanitary sewer systems. “Both the water and sanitary sewer systems are near the end of their lives,” he said. “It’s a great time to get those replaced while there is already construction happening in the area.” Baumann said the sidewalks along 72nd Avenue from Raleigh Street are also being widened to give pedestrians a better walkway. Construction on the project is set to begin this fall and is estimated to last one year.