Faculty member Shawna Johnson, right, checks the temperatures of students outside the entrance for third-grade students at Second Creek Elementary School in Commerce City onon Sept. 3. School leaders directed students to five entrances to maintain social distancing.
In August, school districts across Colorado began the delicate dance of bringing children back to classrooms amid a global pandemic. As quickly as COVID-19 trends change, so too do school districts’ plans for how to host classes. Infections and hospitalizations have surged since late October, leading the state, counties and municipalities to take more aggressive steps to curb community spread of the coronavirus. Those trends have also prompted rapidly evolving changes in learning formats at schools across the state.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Imani Strong, 10, bottom, and her mother Tristanda Hill, 47, are in the living room after Imani's virtual school day in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday. October 7, 2020. For children with sickle cell disease, there's only one long-term fix, which is a bone marrow transplant. But there's a shortage of compatible donors for those who don't have a sibling who can donate.
Crisis Point
The pandemic and racial protests have raised the stress levels of Colorado’s youths. The state’s Safe2Tell system can pinpoint someone in need, but it can also bring police to the door of a teen experiencing a mental health crisis. As part of an examination of youth suicide, The Denver Post asked teens for their thoughts and worries. Read excerpts of their replies and the full series .
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Katherine Bucaro, 13, left, and Kianna Kent 13, of Drake Middle School in Arvada. Jan. 14, 2020.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Isaac Rivera, 17, at Sam Gary Branch Library in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday. Feb. 5, 2020.
Depression doesnÕt care if everything is going well in life. It doesnÕt matter if you have great friends, a stable job, a strong relationship with your partner. That all means nothing in the face of the abyss.
Needless to say, depression isnÕt much of a choice. ItÕs different for everyone, and often we canÕt face it alone -- and itÕs why weÕre scared to ask for help. My story is unfortunately all too common. I was one of the lucky ones. I asked for help when I knew I couldnÕt control who I was anymore.
The scariest thing about depression is that itÕs you. ItÕs an illness inside your head that is as real as you and me. The moment I took it all in, that moment that I accepted help and realized what I had become, that was the moment the healing could start.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Excerpt from Stephen Satterfield, 18, of Fruita on March 4. “No matter how hard it is, there is always someone there for you willing to listen and help you work through your problems.” CENTER: Excerpt from Lia Kim, 14, in Aurora on Feb. 27. “The constant pressure I gave myself and the expectations that people gave me were crippling.” RIGHT: Excerpt from Kamea Clark, 19, in Cortez on Aug. 18. “I live on the reservation. I would love for our community to make alcoholism and drug abuse more known.”
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Excerpt from Robert King, 15, of Grand Junction on March 3. “While there are very good ways to reach out and get help, there could always be more. It could be a friendly check-up with your doctor. Something as simple as talking to a person that you know has had a bad time recently could help.”
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
An excerpt from what Jael Iyema, 17, of Denver wrote on Aug. 25. “Every time I walk into a store I feel their eyes watching my every move / My heartbeat quickens as I am followed in every section and direction in the building / And even quicker when I’ve touched nothing and I’m asked / To open my bag / Every time I hear sirens drive by me or behind me / Knots form in my stomach, my hands shake uncontrollably, my lips quiver and tears quickly fill my eyes as I take the cross kept in my father’s glove department / And pray today isn’t the day that I will meet my maker.”
Uncertain Times
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Hayley Gregorius, 29, poses with a wedding portrait of her grandparents at their home in Aurora. Graham and Mary Davies both died of COVID-19 in May, about a week apart from each other and shortly after their 67th wedding anniversary. RIGHT: Nannette, left, and Connie Archuleta lost their family’s matriarch, 73-year-old Jessica Archuleta, and her son, Gary Archuleta, 54, to COVID-19 within days in April. Manuel Archuleta, 74, survived COVID-19 but died May 26, two days before his 57th wedding anniversary to Jessica.
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Kevin and Lea Ann Lyster pose for a photo with their daughter Sierra, 15, at their home in Aurora on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. They lost their son Cody, 21, to COVID in April, making him one of the youngest in Colorado to die from the virus.
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Judge Diego Hunt, top left, conducts a virtual criminal motions hearing in First Judicial District Court in Golden on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020.
Sports in the Pandemic
“What more could you ask from a group?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the team’s playoff exit. “What more commitment, sacrifice, just everything in the last 82 days that our team has gone through. The history that we’ve made. The adversity that we faced and never ran from, embraced it…” For nearly three months, the team stuck together, authoring gripping comebacks, re-writing NBA history and changing how the Nuggets were perceived around the league. Denver ultimately lost the Western Conference Finals 4-1 to Los Angeles.
Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets scores against Danny Green (14) and LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter of game four at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers play during the third quarter at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Cardboard fans fill the seats as the Denver Broncos host the Tennessee Titans during the second half of Tennessee's 16-14 win on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher (37) celebrates his game winning overtime goal against the New York Rangers at the Pepsi Center March 11, 2020. The Avalanche won 3-2.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
The Rockies play an intersquad game on July 15 during Summer Camp 2020 at Coors Field.
Wildfires
The 2002 Hayman fire burned more than 137,000 acres. Its record as the largest wildfire in Colorado history stood for 18 years, until it was topped three times in 2020. The Pine Gulch fire, shown north of Grand Junction on Aug. 20, below, was started by a lighting strike on July 31. The Cameron Peak fire in October burned more than 200,000 acres and became the state’s largest wildfire. The East Troublesome fire, which started in October, became the second-largest wildfire in the state.
John Wark, Special to The Denver Post
The Pine Gulch wildfire burns north of Grand Junction on Aug. 20, 2020.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A Sikorsky Skycrane heads out to put water on the Grizzly Creek Fire fills on the east end of Glenwood Canyon on Aug. 17, 2020 near Glenwood Springs. The fire which started a week ago has burned an estimated 25,000 acres and currently has 0% containment. The condition of popular hiking spot Hanging Lake is still unknown but ariel views have shown so far it has been spared from the fire.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Amy Latham Largent, left, and her dad Dick Latham, share a quiet moment of reflection as they survey the damage to her family's land from the Pine Gulch Fire on Aug. 27, 2020 near De Beque. The fire burned the land so quickly and badly that in many parts nothing is left but deep ash, soot and stumps of trees and brush that had been there before. "It's like a moonscape," said Latham-Largent. The Latham's family have ranched in South Dry Fork for 70 years and four generations.
The Pine Gulch fire burned Latham family land so quickly and badly that in many parts nothing is left but deep ash, soot and stumps of trees and brush.
“Itap like a moonscape,” said Latham Largent.
The family has ranched in South Dry Fork for 70 years and four generations. The Lathams own 250 head of cattle and 2,500 acres in South Dry Fork. They lost practically all of their acreage, both their own and the BLM land they leased, to the fire.
“Every mountain as far as the eye can see has burned. Mountains and valleys both,” said Latham. He continued, “Every one of these mountains has memories for us. Every hill has a story.”
However, this is not a family that sits around and thinks about what they have lost but rather what they still have. Latham said they have strong family bonds, a mutual love and respect for the land whether it is burned or not, and a tradition of working and living on the land.
“One thing you find out about people here is that they are realists. They don’t sit around and say ‘poor me’.’ They say, ‘OK what do we do now? How do we move forward.’ God has a plan for us somewhere. I have hay to haul, cows to water, land to reseed and fences to rebuild,” said Latham. “We just have to move forward.”
Read more about the challenges caused by wildfire to Western Slope ranchers here.
Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post
A slurry bomber drops retardant over the CalWood fire near Buckingham Park northwest of Boulder on Saturday Oct. 17, 2020.
A devastating summer saw the three largest wildfires in state history blacken hundreds of thousands of acres and hundreds of homes. A longtime Grand Lake couple perished in the swift-moving East Troublesome fire.
“There are so many people in this town whose hearts are invested here,” said David Anderson, a Grand Lake resident since 1956. “Thatap where my soul is.”
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Local resident Dave Anderson points outs a spot on a map of the East Troublesome fire to James Reeman, left, on Oct. 28 in Grand Lake. The map was posted inside the Sagebrush BBQ & Grill, which became the hangout for residents to connect with each other after the fire threatened their homes and businesses. The fire, which in one night covered an astounding 150,000 acres, forced evacuations and burned more than 300 homes and 100 to 200 structures. A heavy snowfall helped stop the fire’s spread.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Jocelyn and Dan Farrell watch the sun as it sets amidst large amounts of smoke from the East Troublesome Fire on Oct. 21, 2020 in Lyons. Windy, dry conditions caused the East Troublesome Fire to explode today and large amounts of smoke could be seen from the Front Range. That fire has burned an estimated 30,000 acres. Also in the Lyons area is smoke from the CalWood Fire and the Cameron Peak fire.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Fire can be seen among the trees on the Lefthand Canyon fire on Oct. 18, 2020 near Ward.
The record-breaking forest fires in Colorado are the latest sign climate change is affecting the West, causing scientists to increase their rhetoric and urging policymakers to move beyond planning and start taking action.
“We’ve got to get motivated and stop turning the thermostat up. That is urgent, not a sci-fi thing. It is us turning up the thermostat. It does not readily turn down. The farther we turn it up, the worse it will get,” said Scott Denning, a Colorado State University atmospheric scientist.
Colorado and the West will continue to experience more hot days, scientists say. The rising heat is depleting water and drying soil across the Colorado River Basin and other river basins. Recently, federal authorities classified 97% of Colorado in severe to exceptional drought.
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Smoke mixed with blazes of fire drift through the trees and skies from the East Troublesome Wildfire making its way through the town of Granby, CO on Thursday, OCt. 22, 2020.
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Brooke Dryden holds her daughter, Berkeley Hughes, 7, in their hotel room at Winter Park Mountain Lodge on Oct. 23. Dryden and her two children evacuated from their trailer home in Granby because of the East Troublesome fire.
Eyewitness
On Saturday, Oct. 10, Denver Post photojournalist Helen H. Richardson was covering dueling rallies in downtown Denver when a man was shot and killed directly in front of her.
Family members later identified the man fatally shot as Lee Keltner, 49. Police identified 30-year-old Matthew Robert Dolloff as the suspect and confirmed he was working as a private security guard for 9News at the time and not participating in the protest.
Three of the images from that fatal encounter are shown here.
No one I’ve ever worked with wishes to cover something like this. I spoke with Helen on the phone just minutes after this happened, as she was cooperating with police to give eye witness testimony. I remember her saying that she didn’t even have time to think about running away. The shot was fired and as the man holding a gun looked around. She told me that her next thought was, “Is he going to just start shooting into the crowd?” I can’t imagine what it was like for Helen to witness this, but somehow she kept photographing, perhaps the only way she knew how to react, as a professional doing her job, photographing what was in front of her.
These are difficult photographs but, unfortunately, they are also part of the story of our community this year. — Patrick Traylor, The Denver Post
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Lee Keltner sprays bear repellant as Matthew Dolloff, an unlicensed security guard working for 9News, fires a gun during a confrontation in downtown Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 10, 2020. The fatal shooting occurred after competing right- and left-wing rallies in Denver's Civic Center.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Matthew Robert Dolloff turns after fatally shooting Lee Keltner after dueling protests in downtown Denver on Oct. 10.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Matthew Dolloff raises his hands above his head as he is taken into custody after fatally shooting Lee Keltner in downtown Denver on Oct. 10. Dolloff was working as a security guard for Denver’s 9News, but station officials said they did not know he was carrying a gun.
Election 2020
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, right, and Democratic former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper elbow bump after the first live televised U.S. Senate debate at Denver7 studio in Denver, Colorado on Friday. Oct. 9, 2020.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence are reflected on a vehicle during a drive-in watch party of the vice presidential debate at Denver South High School on Oct. 7. People in about 100 vehicles gathered to watch the debate on two large screens.
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
ELIZABETH, CO - OCTOBER 16: Congressman Kenneth Robert Buck, right, shakes hands with his supporters before heading inside to debate Democratic challenger Ike McCorkle at American Legion Post 82 in Elizabeth, CO on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Photo by Rachel Ellis/The Denver Post)
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Cody Melnikoff, 17, receives a poster Oct. 22 from 3rd Congressional District GOP candidate Lauren Boebert.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
A man who asked not to be named stands in full flag garb during a rally at Bandimere Speedway on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. The event was held to protest mandatory mask wearing in public places, as well as other regulations put in place by the state designed to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Anna Von Hoene, right, 18, from Highlands Ranch, shows her support for former Vice President Joe Biden in the middle of a President Trump supporter gathering at the intersection of Highlands Ranch Parkway and University Blvd. on Nov. 03, 2020.
Photos by Hyoung Chang and Daniel Brenner, The Denver Post
Angelica Quinones casts her ballot at Jeffco Elections Division office in Golden on Nov. 3. More Coloradans voted in 2020 than in 2016. CENTER: Election judge Stephanie Martinez zip-ties bundles of ballots on Nov. 3 at Denver Elections Division. RIGHT: Support judge Kye Hughes Conner, 18, waits to sanitize voter booths on Nov. 3 at McNichols Civic Center Building polling station.
Daniel Brenner, Special to the Denver Post
Election judge Mike Firth poses for a portrait at Denver Elections Divisions on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Suburban voters’ swing toward Democrats in the age of Donald Trump was substantially offset by fierce turnout among Trump’s base in some states on Election Day. But that wasn’t the case in Colorado — where metro Denver’s suburban counties helped power former Vice President Joe Biden to a statewide victory that more than doubled Hillary Clinton’s 5-percentage-point margin over Trump in 2016.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Kate Napier shows her support for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as hundreds gather at the Capitol in Denver in celebration of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory Nov. 07, 2020.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Ezra Comesario, left, and Brent Walker share a passionate kiss as hundreds of people celebrate the election of Joe Biden to be the 46th President of the United States on Lincoln Street near the Capitol in Denve, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
Eli Imadali, Special to The Denver Post
Jordan and Ava react to news on Nov. 7 shared on their phones that the presidential election had been called for Joe Biden. Their vehicle was on Lincoln Street near the state Capitol in Denver. RIGHT: People hold signs of Joe Biden’s face and the Democratic Party donkey symbol near the state Capitol on Nov. 7 as they celebrate the presidential election being called for Biden.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
The Colorado State Patrol stood between supporters of President Donald Trump and those opposing them at the Capitol in Denver as crowds gathered after the news broke of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory on Nov. 07, 2020.
Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post
Ashley Salazer, 17, right, celebrates Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election in downtown Denver on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
The Year of COVID
As 2020 draws to a close, Gov. Jared Polis has expressed hope that some Coloradans will begin receiving a COVID-19 vaccine by year’s end, as the virus’ spread continues to worsen, with hospitalizations and infections reaching record levels. The governor’s optimism followed drugmaker Pfizer’s announcement that data from late-stage trials showed its vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. A second company, Moderna, announced on Nov. 16 that its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be similarly effective, a second dash of hope in the global race for a drug to tame a resurgent virus that as of mid-November is killing more than 8,000 people a day worldwide.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Nurses Susie Burnett, in front, Laura Marshall-Brown, left, and Mary Andriano wait for patients to arrive for COVID-19 tests at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree on Nov. 9. The medical center requires patients to test for the presence of the coronavirus before having surgery or being admitted to the hospital. The clinic has been conducting COVID-19 tests for patients since April 22.
