Opinion

Vote for Pete Weir, a DA with integrity, compassion

Editor:

It is both my privilege and honor to support Pete Weir for re-election as Jeffco’s district attorney. I first met Pete in the darkest days following Jessica Ridgeway’s kidnapping and homicide, and I witnessed first hand Pete’s leadership and compassion, as well as his unwavering resolve in the pursuit of justice for Jessica.

Do you even bend down to pick up a penny anymore when you spot one on the street?

I do, because my father taught me that if I don’t, it means I no longer appreciate the value of money. After all these years, although the buying power of a penny has been devalued to almost nothing, the lesson hasn’t.

But many of you probably don’t pick up that paltry penny anymore, and I don’t blame you. Although it never bought much, it used to buy something. Now, it’s hard to think of anything you get for a single brass penny.

Upon resigning from the Friar’s Club, Groucho Marx famously said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.” That reasoning seems to be consistent with two ballot measures before us this fall concerning primary elections.

Visiting musician praises Jazz Festival

Editor:

My name is Kris Tokarski; I am a jazz pianist based out of New Orleans who recently had the pleasure of performing at the Evergreen Jazz Festival with my trio. I wanted to relay a few words about my experience in an effort to spread the word about this annual weekend-long event.

I hope you enjoyed the Fourth of July. I guess I’m really getting old, because although the music at Buchanan Park was good, I missed the National Repertory Orchestra playing patriotic music. I did get my John Philip Sousa fix later watching the celebrations from Washington and Boston. If you are like I am, you still get a strong feeling of patriotism and pride in our nation on special days like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

Memorial Day is not celebrated by all nations; it is a U.S. holiday. It’s a day of remembrance (lest we forget) to honor those Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the freedoms we all too often take for granted.

In Cambridge, England, however, not only is Memorial Day recognized, it is the most important day of the year at the American Cemetery and Memorial 3 miles outside the city center. This year, I had the privilege of attending their ceremony, surrounded by 8,939 names engraved in this garden of stone.

The 17th session of the Colorado General Assembly adjourned last week after a session that was long on partisan wrangling and relatively short on meaningful public policy achievements. As could have been expected in an election-year session when Democrats controlled the House by a 34-31 margin and Republicans had an 18-17 edge in the Senate, most bills that pursued a partisan agenda did not pass.

A half century ago in rural Pennsylvania, a woman named Clem spent her mornings immersed in the pungent smell of chlorine and the ornery noise of youngsters wakened too early.

Part drill instructor and part den mother, Clem preached water safety with the fervor of a country minister, and over the years she taught thousands of young charges how to swim. For the older students, the ones earning their lifeguard certification, this also meant a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.