Out of all the political controversy the coronavirus has caused in Colorado, the pullout of Douglas County from the Tri-County Health Department — and the domino effect it had on Adams and Arapahoe counties — may be the action that ends up having the biggest consequences on some metro Denver governments. The costs of Arapahoe […]
Ellis Arnold
Posted inNews
Plane crashes near Centennial Airport
A small plane crashed Tuesday afternoon on the grass median in the middle of the E-470 toll highway near Centennial Airport. The two people who were in the aircraft sustained minor injuries and were taken to an area hospital, according to South Metro Fire Rescue. The plane that crashed was a single-engine Cessna P210N. The […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties will have indoor mask mandates starting Wednesday
Facing the possibility that the current COVID-19 surge could breach Colorado’s hospital capacity, the public health agency for Adams and Arapahoe counties Monday issued a new indoor mask mandate through at least the end of the year. Also Monday, Jefferson County Public Health’s board voted 4-1 to pass a new ordinance to require people ages […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Metro Denver health officials urge mask wearing amid COVID surge
With Colorado’s number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continuing to rise, health officials are once again urging people to wear masks in public. “As public health officials, we are issuing this statewide advisory due to steadily increasing cases and a concern for hospital bed capacity,” metro Denver health officials wrote in a news release. Colorado and the […]
Posted inHealth, News
Don’t count Tri-County Health Department out yet, its leaders say
The formal bonds that hold the public-health partnership among Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties together may be loosening, but the complete demise of the Tri-County Health Department, which has been around for decades, may be less certain to happen than it appears. “My best-case scenario is, after a couple months, Adams County works with us […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Teen sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for killing high school student during Centennial vaping products robbery
The father of Lloyd Chavez IV stood at the lectern in court, a stuffed animal lying beside him. The stuffed animal, he said, was on his son’s bed when he went to clean out his room. Chavez, fatally shot at age 18 during an attempted robbery of vaping products in May 2019, was “loving and […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Arapahoe County leaders raise concerns about possible Tri-County exit
Some local leaders in Arapahoe County worry that a decision of whether to break away from Tri-County Health Department on the heels of neighboring Douglas County’s move to exit the agency would be influenced by the “politicization of public health.” “There was this question about what is the message to our residents about the politicization […]
Posted inHealth, News
Arapahoe, Adams may leave Tri-County Health Department after Douglas split
After Douglas County announced that it plans to form its own health department, Arapahoe County confirmed that it and Adams County have also been contemplating splitting away from Tri-County Health Department. The split is being driven by Douglas County’s intention to leave the three-county health agency. By October, both the Arapahoe and the Adams county […]
Posted inEducation, Health, News
Tri-County Health mandates masks for people in schools, removes ability of counties to opt out
Tri-County Health Department on Monday repealed the ability of counties to opt out of its public health orders and issued an order requiring masks for all people 2 and older in schools and child care settings. The vote, which undoes decisions by Douglas and Adams counties to opt out of a requirement for masks in […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, News
Arapahoe, Douglas and Adams counties see school COVID-19 outbreaks
School settings in Douglas, Arapahoe and Adams counties saw 15 confirmed coronavirus outbreaks starting in August, according to the local public health agency that serves those counties. “What we feared could happen is beginning to happen,” said John Douglas, executive director of Tri-County Health Department, during an Aug. 26 telephone town hall event. In mid-August, […]