& central denver dispatch
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P . O . B o x 4 6 0 1 4 2 D e n v e r , C O 8 0 2 4 6
P R S R T S T D U . S . P O S T A G E P A I D D E N V E R , C O P E R M I T N O . 3 5 3
* * * T I M E S E N S I T I V E M A T E R I A L * * * P O S T M A S T E R P L E A S E D E L I V E R B Y N O V E M B E R 2 3
to say thank you to all our soldiers.
Adoptaussolider.org
A nationwide organization tohonor active US military personnel.Adopt A US Soldier is a volunteer- based program that connects support-ive Americans with deployed soldiersand offers a channel by which to com-municate encouragement and expressgratitude to the brave men and womenserving our nation.
SKIPcares.org
Special Kindness In Packages, Inc.(SKIP) – Free and Fun Military Care
Jeff and Lynda Parker loved theirhome in Park Hill. Built in 1942, andlocated near 17th and Monaco, theirEnglish cottage was their pride and joyfor nearly 20 years. But, they’ve founda new home that they have come tolove even more. A home located highabove the Mile High city with a life-style that they didn’t really know waspossible until they started experiencingit firsthand.“We live in a high rise now, and asnervous as we were about the changesthat would come from leaving oursingle family home, we wouldn’t tradeit for anything,” says Lynda, whoadjusted quite readily to living in anew condo building. “We used to live
Inside the
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•Dog Park for
Lowry
page 12
• Hornet
page 4
•Dealing with unemployment
and stress
page
7
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Pain the Neck
page 16
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Down the Garden Path
page 8
In recent years, Denver Water cus
-tomers have drastically cut their con-sumption, embracing conservationand watering restrictions, even in wet
years. And Denver Water has drasti
-cally raised rates. That perverse real-ity, a familiar one to anyone schooledin resource economics, isn’t broadly
spoken to by policy makers. Given cur
-
rent trends, Denver’s water ratepayers
face an endless future of increases,above the rate of inflation and farahead of personal income growth. Yet,even in the West, where water is king
and the commodity scarce, Denver is
not waking up to dry realities.With current rate increases, average
Denver residential customers would
see their bills increase by about $40 ayear — an average of $3.30 per month,or about $12 on a summer bill. Theincreases take effect in February.Part of the reason for the increase
are capital needs. Denver Water is
creating a 10-year plan includes 300projects, including upgrades to aginginfrastructure to prevent putting reli-able water service at risk.The plan also calls for expansionof the utility’s system capacity to meetthe future needs of its customers. Overthe next decade, the utility plans toexpand its recycled water system,
enlarge Gross Reservoir by 18,000 acre-
From Park Hill to the “high life”— living high above City Park
Conservation drives water rates up as dam expands
below towering blue spruce trees, andnow we enjoy a changing canopy of col-ors above the trees from our 12th floorwindows!”The couple discovered their ‘newview’ on things when they moved intoThe Pinnacle at City Park South lastApril. They had been paying closeattention to the development (locat-ed across from City Park, at the for-mer Mercy Hospital site at 17th andFillmore) since construction began onthe first of two towers in 2006. ThePinnacle development offered immedi-ate appeal to them because of its great
Denver location.
“We had always envisioned liv-ing in a condo building to simplifyour lifestyle, but I didn’t want tostep out the front door into ‘com-merce and concrete’, which is the
case with most of Denver’s other
new condo developments,” says Jeff. “At The Pinnacle, we’re notin the midst of the central businessdistrict. We have City Park out ourfront door, and are minutes awayfrom all the entertainment, shop-ping and dining experiences of downtown and Cherry Creek. It’sa perfect setting in a very friendlyneighborhood, where we can takeour granddaughter to the zoo ormuseum, right across the street.
feet, and finish developing gravel pitsthat store reusable water.
Denver Water has determined the
cost of making repairs and replace-ments to its aging infrastructure and building new supply within its systemwill total $1.3 billion over the next 10years.“Our water system is aging; someof our facilities are more than 100 yearsold. We need to be more proactive in ourwork to repair, maintain and upgrade
our assets,” said Brian Good, Director
of Operations and Maintenance. “Nextyear’s projects include increased mainreplacements, more cement mortar lin-ing of pipes to extend their useful lifeand upgrading underground vaults.We also will be doing major upgradesat the Marston Treatment Plant, replac-
ing gates at Cheesman Dam that date
back to the early 1900s, and installinga new hydropower turbine at Williams
Fork Reservoir.”
In 2010 the water department willneed an additional $13.5 million inrevenue to cover rising costs associ-ated with maintaining and improving
the city’s water system. Denver Waterowns and maintains 2,800 miles of
distribution pipe — enough to stretchfrom Los Angeles to New York —as well as 12 raw water reservoirs,22 pump stations and four treatment
plants. Rehabilitation and replacement
of infrastructure is needed throughoutthe water distribution system, much of which dates back to post-World War IIinstallation or earlier.
Denver Water is funded through
rates and new tap fees, not taxes. Itsrates are designed to recover the costsof providing water service and to
As we all begin to prepare for theholidays this season, let us notforget that there have been thou-sands of men and women serv-ing in the United States armedforces. Many of these folks arefar from home and will not besharing the joy of family andcommunity in the upcomingmonths.There are also countless fami-lies nationwide who have losttheir loved ones to war. For thesefamilies the holidays are nevergoing to be the same. For themthere is an empty place at thetable and a wounded heart thatcan never be mended.It is November, and most of us are thinking about the bigmeals, parties and hustle of thenext few months. Let us all take afew momentsto pause andhonor thosein the militarywho ensurethat we as anation contin-ue to enjoy our freedom. It does notmatter where we fall politically orspiritually. The men and women whoserve in the various branches of themilitary need to be remembered.Start now and find a way to paytribute to those past and present whohave given their time and maybe eventheir lives for our country.The list of organizations below area good starting point and a small way
Adopt a soldier for theholidays
go online to
thecherrycreeknews.com
to learn more
by Guerin Lee Green
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