Remodeling of the Westminster Mall began last month with the city buying out two vacant buildings.  The purchasing of the two abandoned buildings is the first step toward turing the 108-acre site into a place for shopping, entertainment and residential living.  The old mall is in an ideal location for big business; it is just off U.S. 36 and W. 88th Ave, right between Denver and Boulder.  The soon-t0-be revamped mall holds great potential.  As of now the mall only is only about 50% occupied due to the competition from Broomfield’s Flat Iron’s Crossing Mall and others like it.  If renovation plans are successful the mall could become a new welcome attraction to Westminster.

This afternoon, Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton experienced tragedy.

A man in his 20s or 30s approached the school just as students were being let out of classes and shot two students. One has been identified as Regan Weber, a seventh grade student at the school. The other is a male eighth grader who has yet to be identified. Both students were transfered to Littleton Hospital.

Before the shooter (who has yet to be identified) could fire a third shot, math teacher Dr. David Benke tackled him. The suspect was disarmed and taken into custody by school teachers and administrators before Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies could arrive on the scene.

Students were transfered to nearby Stony Creek Elementary School, where parents could pick them up.

Coincidentally, Deer Creek is located just three miles from Columbine High School, which is, of course, the location of the devastating 1999 shooting that caused schools across the country, but especially within Jefferson County to take a serious look at student and teacher safety. Because of the tragedy 11 years ago, both Jefferson County Public Schools and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are well equipped and prepared for similar events.

More information can be found online at http://jeffcopublicschools.org and on the district’s Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/jeffcoschoolsco

Richard and Mayumi Heene just after sentencing. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

     The Heenes, a family from Boulder famous for their appearances on ABC’s Wife Swap, were sent to jail for their balloon boy hoax. Richard, father of the balloon boy, was sentenced to 90 days of jail time while Mayumi, the mother, recieved 20.

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Toys for Tots, an organization run by the Marines since 1991 that delivers new toys to thousands of needy children nationally and in the Colorado area, is running very low on donations this year. Toys for Tots received nearly 70,000 requests from struggling families this season, a higher number than usual; but because of a lack of donations it is estimated that nearly 50,000 of those requests will go unfilled, unless there’s a ton of donations going into the organization in the next couple of days.
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This male deer will get the Christmas lights off his antlers eventually, but he may have to wait for the spring when he sheds what he has now. Photo courtesy of kdvr.com.

     Yesterday, residents of Colorado Springs reported a deer with Christmas lights tangled in its antlers. They’ve tried to get close enough to remove them, but to no avail. Colorado wildlife authorities say that it isn’t uncommon for deer to get caught in outdoor decorations.

     Apparently the same thing happened two weeks ago, also in Colorado Springs. Deer with such afflictions are usually left alone unless they are reported to have said decorations wrapped around their throats or mouths.

     As the result of this problem, folks have been asked to use shorter strings of lights and to keep them off trees and bushes.

Written all over his face: Siebers's handiwork is very much visible.

Obviously, no one likes to go to work everyday, expecially on a Monday.  However, Aaron Siebers of Edgewater, Colorado, opted to stab himself instead of going to work at a Blockbuster video rental on Sheridan.
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     Colorado’s notorious strong winds are nothing new to natives, who rarely think twice about it. 
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Teenagers today experience many different rites-of-passage. One of these rites-of-passage is getting a first job. However, as many teens have discovered, getting a job is becoming way harder than it used to be.

Teen unemployment rates are at record highs. It is currently extremely difficult to find a job, especially for teenagers.

“I have submitted an application to over ten businesses, but it seems like that nobody is hiring,” says Danny Zimmermann, 11.
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