Etiam gravida tellus facilisis dui gravida mattis. Etiam urna nunc, gravida eget fringilla vitae, lacinia id sem. Fusce ullamcorper, orci vel dapibus pretium, mi sapien accumsan tellus, feugiat lacinia nunc felis a ante.

Maecenas a nibh mauris, sit amet pretium felis. Nulla lectus enim, fringilla non condimentum id, facilisis ut odio. Aliquam erat odio, sollicitudin at interdum ut, accumsan non purus. Praesent ultricies urna in mauris ornare lobortis. Aliquam sed sollicitudin nisi. Integer vel interdum leo.

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Donec scelerisque lacinia orci, at porta ligula laoreet at. Ut ultrices eros in arcu ornare bibendum. Nullam ultrices justo at erat commodo rutrum. Aliquam sodales ornare eros quis commodo. Donec nunc arcu, porta sit amet eleifend aliquet, vulputate eleifend arcu. Morbi ultrices elementum urna, eu volutpat dui vulputate faucibus. Suspendisse vitae lorem dolor. Nulla facilisi. Cras nisi mauris, porta id tempor pretium, ornare sit amet odio.

Etiam gravida tellus facilisis dui gravida mattis. Etiam urna nunc, gravida eget fringilla vitae, lacinia id sem. Fusce ullamcorper, orci vel dapibus pretium, mi sapien accumsan tellus, feugiat lacinia nunc felis a ante.

Maecenas a nibh mauris, sit amet pretium felis. Nulla lectus enim, fringilla non condimentum id, facilisis ut odio. Aliquam erat odio, sollicitudin at interdum ut, accumsan non purus. Praesent ultricies urna in mauris ornare lobortis. Aliquam sed sollicitudin nisi. Integer vel interdum leo.

Phasellus interdum, arcu vitae mattis elementum, turpis libero porta nisi, non accumsan mauris augue non neque. Quisque iaculis dapibus magna, eget cursus sem euismod in. Vestibulum venenatis, leo in lacinia dapibus, lacus justo sagittis ante, quis molestie diam urna ut odio. Sed a metus quis turpis commodo vehicula nec eget erat.

Etiam orci augue, vulputate ut porttitor ac, tempor eget magna. Fusce venenatis accumsan quam a eleifend. Quisque sit amet nunc nulla. Aliquam porta blandit mattis. Pellentesque nisi risus, venenatis id aliquet et, sagittis ac est. Sed vitae velit sem, vitae porta arcu.

Morbi at dignissim nulla. Pellentesque ut leo in diam eleifend fermentum eu non est. Phasellus consequat tincidunt lacus ac mattis. Nulla congue, mauris quis mattis gravida, odio quam accumsan augue, molestie vulputate enim massa sit amet tellus.

Curabitur blandit nisl vitae mi ultrices varius. Donec non magna vitae orci pretium sodales a eget neque. Sed porttitor est augue, sed porttitor sem. Quisque aliquam, risus et convallis eleifend, magna lacus scelerisque nibh, ac aliquet nisl sapien vel risus. Sed eget dui a mi aliquet feugiat sed quis est. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Phasellus at tortor est, vel consequat lorem.

Mauris nisl turpis, vestibulum sed gravida vitae, rhoncus vel lectus. In rutrum dolor at mi faucibus at aliquam lorem porttitor. Morbi imperdiet, augue et gravida feugiat, mi magna porta nisl, eu dignissim dui diam sed velit. Suspendisse aliquet euismod consectetur.

Aliquam non lorem et dolor suscipit laoreet eu vel mi. Aenean sodales fermentum magna nec lobortis. Ut id mi eget libero adipiscing accumsan et tincidunt nisl. Curabitur ac tortor felis. Nunc vel massa eu felis facilisis rhoncus. Nullam vitae ipsum neque, nec pharetra ligula. Fusce ac ipsum id augue feugiat ornare non vel velit.

Donec scelerisque orci sit amet velit placerat sed tristique felis mattis. Fusce dictum sem aliquet mauris pharetra suscipit. Fusce vel dui libero, non adipiscing felis. Proin nulla ante, placerat in adipiscing at, lobortis ac tellus. Duis odio dolor, consequat id pellentesque tristique, ultrices consequat justo. Phasellus a dapibus est. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Nam non turpis ipsum. Suspendisse potenti.

Praesent sed felis elit, convallis fermentum dui. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam porta, felis at dignissim suscipit, tortor leo fringilla mi, at convallis elit nisi venenatis dui. Curabitur sed lacinia enim.

Aenean eleifend vulputate nisl, a pretium ligula suscipit a. Phasellus neque libero, interdum vitae porttitor vitae, eleifend aliquet tortor. Morbi vitae velit metus. Curabitur in sodales odio. Aenean nisl augue, aliquam id sagittis eu, interdum at tortor. Aenean commodo dui quis enim sollicitudin pharetra.

Donec scelerisque lacinia orci, at porta ligula laoreet at. Ut ultrices eros in arcu ornare bibendum. Nullam ultrices justo at erat commodo rutrum. Aliquam sodales ornare eros quis commodo. Donec nunc arcu, porta sit amet eleifend aliquet, vulputate eleifend arcu. Morbi ultrices elementum urna, eu volutpat dui vulputate faucibus. Suspendisse vitae lorem dolor. Nulla facilisi. Cras nisi mauris, porta id tempor pretium, ornare sit amet odio.

On March 2, District 1 City Councilwoman Paula Sandoval announced that she would not be seeking re-election due to the health of her husband Paul Sandoval. The timing of her announcement gave potential candidates seven days to get the required 100 signatures required to get on the ballot. Seven candidates met that deadline: Larry Ambrose, Katherine Cornwell, John Haney, Ken Padilla, Samantha Padilla Scheitler, Jeffrey Schitter and Susan Shepherd.

Padilla had been gathering signatures for several weeks because he had intended to run against Sandoval.

“I am invigorated and humbled by the overwhelming support I have received from the community since I decided to run for Denver City Council in early February, 2011, several weeks prior to Paula Sandoval announcing that she would not continue in her campaign for City Council. It is unfortunate that Paula had to drop out of the race due to the health of her husband. I extend my prayers to Paul, Paula and their children. I collected 558 signatures from a cross section of the community in Northwest Denver. In fact several of the candidates, who decided to run after Paula withdrew her candidacy, signed my petition. I decided to run because I felt that the interests of working class families, children, the community and small businesses needed to be given priority,” wrote Padilla to the Tribune.

Haney, Shepherd, and Ambrose also ran in the election last year. Haney wrote about Sandoval’s announcement and his decision to run, “I have had the pleasure of calling Paul Sandoval my friend for many years and was deeply saddened by the news of his poor health. My family’s thoughts and prayers go out to the Sandoval family. As a life-long resident of North Denver, I would be honored to represent my neighbors on Denver City Council and work with them to make our neighborhoods prosperous and safe for our families and businesses.”

Shepherd too voiced sympathy, “My family and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Sandoval family in their time of need. I would also like to thank Paul and Paula for their many years of dedicated service to this community. I am running because I want to leave this place better than I found it to secure my three year old son’s future. We need to make Denver a more sustainable city by creating more economic opportunities for Denver residents and small businesses so that people can afford to live near where they work, make our neighborhoods safer and more pedestrian and bike friendly, and focus on water wise landscaping techniques to conserve water in our parks and reduce costs.”

Ambrose writes about his focus, “I am running for City Council to improve the quality of life for all residents of our uniquely diverse District. As a businessman with a strong record of Community Leadership in Northwest Denver, I understand how to get things done. I will work tirelessly for stronger public safety. I will fight for more resources and investment in our District, from Parks & Recreation programs to library and school improvements. I look forward to sharing my vision for our District with voters and hearing their ideas and concerns in the weeks ahead.”

Katherine Cornwell worked on Susan Shepherd’s campaign last year, but has decided to seek the position for herself in this election. Cornwell wrote, “why choose me, Katherine Cornwell, to fill this seat? Because I spent the last fifteen years as a city planner, I am in a unique position to understand the capacity of City Council members to impact their communities through policy and policy implementation. I co-authored Blueprint Denver, authored the West Colfax Plan, developed zoning for our city’s Main Streets, created the Living Streets Initiative, currently serve as the Director of the Sustainable Food Policy Council and serve as the Director of Operations for the Sunnyside Music Festival, among many other activities in our community.”

Samantha Padilla Scheitler is no stranger to the world of North Denver politics. As the daughter-in-law to Bill Scheitler, the long time city councilman in North Denver, she says “I’m a wife, a mother, a community activist, a former small business owner and I know something about surviving. Like most of us, I have been through some tough times, including waiting twelve years for a liver transplant that would save my life – I survived and that gift of life made me passionate about giving back through public service. But I also know it’s not just enough to survive, we must thrive! When you run for office everyone tells you to play it safe – but that’s not me. I will not be your typical politician. And if sometimes we disagree it will be respectful and you will know why I disagree. I will never pander to you or say just anything to get your support.”

Jeffrey “Candleman” Schitter currently runs the Healing Glow candle shop on the corner of 32nd and Perry.

As of Thursday, March 10 neither Paul nor Paula had endorsed any candidates. “I’m in the campaign for my life,” said Paul.

Federal Boulevard is noisy, unkempt, intimidating for pedestrians and lacks a sense of identity, according to participants in a brainstorming session about the historic street.

More than 60 residents and business owners talked about Federal and how it can be improved during a recent meeting sponsored by the Federal Boulevard Partnership, a volunteer neighborhood organization, and Jefferson Park United Neighbors.

The partnership is seeking people’s views for a pilot “streetscape” project for four blocks: Federal from 23rd to 26th avenues and West 25th between Federal Boulevard and Eliot Street.

The blocks are a small part of the partnership’s designated area, which extends from 52nd to Sixth avenues and from Irving to Decatur Street.

A committee of the partnership, including activists and architects, plans to take ideas from the session and see how they might be applied during a walk-through of those blocks on April 2.

There’s no money for any ideas yet, Marshall Vanderburg, president of the partnership, told the brainstorming participants. But the committee, which has met for six months, plans to draft proposals incorporating some of these ideas by May and “set the stage to find some funding,” he said.

The city is expected to solicit proposals for community development block grants, and the partnership will be ready, according to Vanderburg. The non-profit organization would be empowered to hire contractors to carry out some of the work, he says.

The block grants have funded many streetscape projects, including on West Colfax and Santa Fe Boulevard, and neighborhood non-profits have overseen them in some cases, according to Derek Woodbury, spokesman with the Denver Office for Economic Development.

But the block grants are being eyed for budget cuts. President Obama has proposed cutting them 7.5 percent in the 2010 budget, and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, 62 percent.
Another funding method might be to create a business improvement district, Vanderburg said. Commercial property owners pay for improvements in those districts.

“It’s more than an intellectual exercise,” he said. “We want to come up with ideas and hope that they’re realized someday.”

Encouraged to think inside and outside of the box, the participants voiced complaints about the boulevard and came up with suggestions to make it more user friendly, attractive, and interesting. Four groups were formed and ideas were jotted down on giant note pads propped up on easels.

Some wondered whether Federal Boulevard should be more than just a way to get from one place to another. Would improving it discourage people from using shops, restaurants and other establishments on the side streets?

Still, the participants dove in and talked about trash out on the open, graffiti, not enough trees, no bike lanes, obstructive medians, not enough things to hold people’s interest.

“We’re walkers,” said Celeste Melville, who lives at 23rd and Clay, referring to her and her husband. “We’ll always avoid walking on Federal… It’s not pretty, just traffic.”

“Driving on Federal, you won’t notice businesses unless you’re right on top of them,” said Jesse Shelmire, an at-large candidate for city council.

Suggestions included improved sidewalks, longer green lights for crossing Federal, naming the area, opening coffee shops, bringing back streetcars, holding street fairs, installing historic plaques and showing movies at Jefferson Park.

Vanderburg says he has “very informally” talked to business owners about the formation of a business improvement district and they’ve made some positive comments about it.

When Donna Lucero sent out invites to the mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe remembering her daughter Anita who had died in a plane crash 20 years ago, she had anticipated that the event would be very joyous. The March 4th mass was supposed to be a a celebration because Fr. Valentine Arteaga, the Superior General from Rome, of the Theatine Order had declared on February 26 that the wall would be coming down. Instead sometime during the week someone vandalized the mural with spray paint. The church has decided not to investigate.

Mike Wilzoch declared that this was an “outrageous decision by the Archdiocese to squelch an ongoing police investigation into the vandalism at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church—where an already desecrated mural of Our Lady covered by a wall was further disfigured last Friday by spray paint across her image—just before a mass of a Faithful member to honor the 20th anniversary of her daughter’s death—which was to include prayers behind the wall.”

Faithful United, a group protesting the covering up of the wall, held a press conference on Thursday, March 10 during which time they described the anger they felt at the loss of the mural. They also contended that the mural and the newly erected altar could co-exist in the space at the church and the assertion that if the wall came down the church would lose its alter was false.

Elina Martinez, parishioner and Highland Mommies moderator, said that she grew up attending Our Lady of Guadalupe. She said, “I miss it [the mural] terribly. It is part of my memories of growing up in Denver, and truly part of what I consider my culture… How could I not want to see a beautiful painting, of a woman, who on top of everything else looks indigenous and dark like the strong examples of women I grew up with.” But Martinez added after attending mass on Sunday, “I went to mass today, looking at the church through a new lens. What felt so comforting? The guitar player strumming to a mixture of English and Spanish music. The echo of people praying in unison. No drama or anyone protesting…I keep reflecting on what is so different, because everything changes with time, but it just wasn’t as beautiful as before. Just a plain wall that didn’t do Our Lady of Guadalupe the justice of its beautiful art before, that was my memory from childhood.”

The parish did not respond to Tribune questions.

On Monday, March 14, North High principal Ed Salem announced to his staff that he will be leaving North High School. He will become the principal at Abraham Lincoln High School. Salem has been the principal at North for three years.

Also new to North High School, after all of the public discussion about whether or not the public had a right to use the renovated fields at North, Denver Public Schools announced it will open four state-of-the-art fitness centers open to students, staff and the public. North High is one of them.

The district currently has four Sound Body Sound Mind fitness centers at four different high schools across the city, and thanks to a $495,455 grant from The Colorado Health Foundation, there will be eight fitness centers in total to provide staff and community members with a low-cost, convenient way to exercise in the afternoons and evenings.

All fitness centers are expected to be open to the public by the time school begins in August.

The cost of the fitness centers is $10 per semester for DPS staff and $15 per semester for parents and community members.

Clean out your medicine cabinet!

Contents of household medicine cabinets seem to grow quickly with partially used and expired medications.

Some people think unused medication is like a savings account in a bank. They can save it for the next time they feel bad. Unfortunately, medicines cannot be saved for future need. In fact, all medications have strict expiration dates set by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Like opened and stored soda loses its fizz, medicines can lose the ability to work. In addition, use of antibiotics after the expiration date and without specific doctors’ orders can lead to germs that become resistant to antibiotics or “super bugs.”

Leaving expired or partially used medications around the house can pose a severe poison risk to children. The curiosity of young children can lead them to get into medicine that may look like candy. And, teens wanting to intentionally abuse prescription pain medicine, sedatives and cough and cold preparations have free and easy access to those drugs from the home medicine cabinet.

Every 30 seconds a child in the U.S. is exposed to a hazardous substance. Last year, Denver Health’s Rocky Mountain Poison Center (RMPC) received close to 55,000 calls regarding a child age 5 or younger being exposed to poison; or about 150 calls a day.

During 2010, RMPC received almost 11,000 calls about teens intentionally exposing themselves to poisons found in medicine cabinets.
Six of the top 10 exposure categories include substances that are stored in medicine cabinets include the following:
• Cosmetic and personal care products;
• Pain relievers;
• Topical preparations such as diaper ointments;
• Cough and cold medicines;
• Vitamins; and
• Antihistamines.

What steps can you take to keep you and your family healthy and safe from partially used or outdated medications?

Be sure to take the entire course of medications as prescribed.

If your physician tells you to discontinue the drug before the end of the treatment period, be certain to discard the remaining medications.

It’s a good idea to clean out your medicine cabinet to celebrate National Poison Prevention Week and make a commitment to remain vigilant about discarding expired and unused medicine.

You can also take advantage of the upcoming National Pharmaceutical Drug Take Back event Saturday, April 30, 2011, to dispose of your medicine. Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration website (www.dea.gov) to find a disposal site in your neighborhood.

If you are unable to take part in the Drug Take Back event, you can dispose of your medicine by mixing them with an undesirable substance such as cat litter or coffee grounds and place them in the trash.
For more information, call the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center at 1-800-222-1222. The Poison Center is open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

Abelino is the youngest of four children and only his eldest brother has graduated from high school so far. When he was only six years old, Abelino’s parents noticed a small school on the corner of Pecos and 34th Street, just blocks away from their home. The family is Catholic and the school’s name –Escuela de Guadelupe—warmed their hearts. They wanted the best possible chance for their son to get a solid start in life. A good education could mean a good job, maybe even a career, certainly a chance at a better life. So his Mother walked to Escuela.

She was surprised that most of the staff spoke Spanish as well as English. That made things a lot easier. She discovered that the school was enrolling its very first class and, from day one, the students would be required to learn in both English and Spanish. It was a private Catholic school, so she knew her son would grow up with values that mattered to her. Finally, she learned there was some money available to help families who could not afford all the tuition. She wasted no time in enrolling her son.

Abelino was a shy boy with warm brown eyes and a smile that lit up his face in moments when he relaxed. He remembers liking the uniform—light blue shirts with darker blue slacks for everyone, girls and boys—“because I felt respected when I wore it.” His memories of his years at Escuela are all good ones, the best being the realization of his own potential.

But the transition away from Escuela to middle school was not an easy one for him, and things only got harder. He admits that he wanted to “fit in” and joined peers who “ditched classes, did drugs, ran with gangs.” Despite his difficulties and lack of focus, he didn’t drop out and he wasn’t yet failing. But he was walking a tightrope.

In high school it got worst when his girlfriend told him she was expecting a child—his child. For months he worked and went to school, wanting to “do the right thing”, he said. When the baby was born, he was the proud father of a beautiful little girl, and each payday he could “hardly wait to buy her a new piece of clothing.” When the baby was three months old, his girlfriend told him that he was not the Father, and the bottom of his small world collapsed. He describes feeling lost and hopeless. “I felt like I was nobody. I almost lost my way.”

Fortunately Guadalupe Sigalla, Escuela’s Graduate Support Director, had kept in touch with Abelino since his matriculation from Escuela. She follows each student until they complete high school, focusing her time on those who most need her support. All along she had told him she believed in him and she knew he could do it—he had to finish school and plan for a future.

This time when she called he was ready. He met with “Ms. Lupe” along with his principal and teachers at New American High School. They made a rigorous plan of long days. If he could follow and complete it, he would finish high school in March of 2011.

Escuela’s second class will not graduate until June of 2011. For Abelino, these dates are important because it means he will have completed his studies with the first class—his class—making their graduation rate 88%.

March 2011 is only a few weeks away. When I checked with “Ms. Lupe,” as the students fondly call her, she assured me that Abelino is on target to graduate and she arranged an interview for us. After telling me the story you just read, the local kid who beat the odds raised his head, those warm brown eyes full of pride and that smile spreading across his face. “I’m going to graduate, ” he said. “And now, I know I’m somebody.”

Mary Helen Gautreaux

Escuela de Guadalupe is a Catholic K-5 dual language school of excellence. It was co-founded by the Jesuits and the Sisters of Loretto.

Should the City of Denver allow six to eight chickens and two dwarf goats as a use by right? Two competing efforts at backyard farming are currently being considered. The first effort consists of a citizen’s initiative that would allow up to six chickens. The second effort is an ordinance sponsored by Councilman Chris Nevitt that would allow up to eight chickens and two dwarf goats. Denver currently allows both chickens and goats through a permitting process. Applicants pay a fee and undergo an environmental health inspection of their chicken coop. There is also a waiting period to allow for public input from the immediate neighborhood and neighbors. A “use by right” as is being suggested by the Nevitt ordinance and the citizen’s initiative would allow a resident to keep chickens and goats without the benefit of an inspection by environmental health or input from other residents.

There are good arguments for allowing food producing animals in the city in a controlled way. That is why it is something that Denver already allows. There are also very good arguments for not allowing a “use by right”. I read in a blog on the subject, “Our neighbors influence us in a city…how would my neighbors feel if I allowed flies to develop, or had a pool of mosquito- breeding rancid water, or let the chickens get sick, or poop all over. City ordinances keep things clean and safe. Goats and chickens are big projects that require managing flies and manure in a responsible way. I like rules- I just don’t like draconian ones.” The proponents think that the current rules are draconian. And the comment seems a little on the extreme side, or is it? The rules may actually be a way to keep things clean and safe.

Denver residents have been emailing me regarding their feelings on allowing food producing animals in the city. The best comment came from “Karen” who asked, “If the Denver City Council approves a zoning amendment that would allow for food producing animals to be kept in backyards, can I get a chicken or two and claim an agricultural exemption like Tom Cruise?” (Currently any land that is used for agricultural purposes becomes eligible for the agricultural exemption which in “every day speak” amounts to lower property taxes.)

I specifically wanted to let the community know about these two efforts because I may be voting on these in the near future. And is very frequently the case, a small vocal minority sometimes leads us to believe that their viewpoint is the majority viewpoint.

The Emerald City (Or the Yellow Brick Road to a Pay Raise)
The economic recovery feels as far away as the Emerald City and the yellow brick road is so long and difficult to get there. When we reach Emerald City will we find stability and prosperity? In our neighborhood, while we have seen our fair share of new businesses open, we have also seen our fair share close. Most notably the “Smokin’ Good Barbecue” establishment closed its doors a month ago. Although not in Council District One, the Trolley Car gelato place recently has been replaced by another establishment. Several eateries on 32nd Avenue have come and gone. It is tough out there.

So when city council contemplates a raise in the next four years, ears perk up. The arguments for the pay raise are that the salaries need to be high enough to attract quality candidates. Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz made an excellent point when she said that there is no shortage of candidates wanting to serve the city as Mayor, Auditor, Clerk and Recorder or City Council at the current salaries. In a sense the public officials are the CEOs of the city. What city worker wants to see the CEO compensation exceed the pay raises of the rank and file workers? What do you think?

I personally think we should continue to follow the yellow brick road and hold off on a pay raise until we reach Emerald City.

Councilwoman Paula E. Sandoval may be contacted at
303 458-4792 or at
paula.sandoval@denvergov.org