thedenverpost--2020-09-13--As Colorado nears a milestone in COVID-19 deaths, remembering several of those we’ve lost

The coronavirus pandemic that disrupted daily life so suddenly six months ago may have slowed its march , but it ’ s pushing Colorado to the verge of a grim new milestone : 2,000 deaths .
As the nation nears 200,000 coronavirus fatalities , the Colorado toll — 1,988 deaths as of Saturday — reflects the number of people who had COVID-19 in their systems when they died .
Most of those deaths , 1,889 , were caused directly by the virus , according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment .
The state ’ s public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infecting people of all ages , has tended to more often kill older people : three-quarters have been 70 or older .
Fatalities also have included disproportionate numbers of men as well as some racial and ethnic minorities .
With this milestone looming , The Denver Post sought to put a human face on the virus ’ s deadly toll in Colorado , sharing the stories of some of the families most hurt by the pandemic .
On March 14 , when the Archuleta family gathered at Longhorn Steakhouse to celebrate two birthdays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no mask mandates , no quarantines .
Within days of the birthday party , 11 people — mothers , fathers , brothers , sisters , granddaughters and grandsons — had COVID-19 .
“ We ’ d barely heard about it and then we were sick , ” Connie Archuleta said .
On April 1 , Jessica Archuleta , 73 , died , followed by her 54-year-old son Gary Archuleta on April 4 .
The two had been hospitalized a day apart in late March along with Manuel Archuleta , Jessica ’ s husband @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one point , all three had been on ventilators .
Manuel , who had the most pre-existing health issues , survived .
The day he came home from the hospital , his children broke the news that his wife and son were gone .
He recovered from COVID but not the heartbreak , his daughter Nannette Archuleta said .
Manuel , 74 , died on May 26 — two days before his 57th wedding anniversary .
“ My mom did everything for him , ” Nannette Archuleta said .
“ He just couldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Manuel , who were born and raised in Fort Garland , met as students at Sierra Grande School in Blanca .
They married when he was 17 and she was 16 and moved to Denver .
Manuel retired from the U.S .
Postal Service ; Jessica ran a licensed , in-home day care , Nannette Archuleta said .
“ She was never mad , ” Nannette Archuleta said .
“ She just had so much patience.
” The couple raised three children , and most of the family lived within minutes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighborhood , often gathering to eat Mexican food and play cards .
Connie met Gary at Horace Mann Middle School .
Although they dated off and on for several years and raised children with different people , they finally got together for good in 2012 .
“ Gary , he had the best smile , ” Connie Archuleta said .
“ His smile .
His personality .
He was so much fun to be around.
” The day Connie called an ambulance because her husband , who owned a house painting business , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick , too .
She wasn ’ t allowed to go with him .
“ He stopped at the door and he told me , ‘ I love you and we ’ re going to be OK , ’ ” she said .
“ I didn ’ t think he was going to die .
“ This whole thing has changed our lives so much .
I try to go to work and smile .
But I ’ m so miserable .
I ’ m so brokenhearted.
” The couple married young — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and took off to Morocco , where Graham was stationed as a member of the U.S. Air Force .
They traveled the world before returning to the United States and eventually made their home in Aurora .
The only time they were apart was the year Graham spent in Vietnam during the war , when he worked as a photographer in reconnaissance , their daughters said .
“ They were tied together at the hip , ” said Diane Gregorius , their daughter .
Graham worked as a real estate agent after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
Mary worked as a teacher ’ s aide at Eastridge Community Elementary School in Aurora for more than 15 years .
Their house was always filled with polka or old country-western music , said Hayley Gregorius , their granddaughter .
Graham collected coins and Mary , when she was younger , collected animals .
Graham loved “ Saturday Night Live ” into his 80s and became funnier and more ornery as he aged .
Every road trip began with Willie Nelson ’ s “ On the Road Again , ” one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The couple played pranks on each other , traveled to nearly every state and slept side-by-side every night , even pushing their two twin beds together after moving into an assisted living facility in Centennial .
But the couple died apart , alone , of COVID-19 in May .
Mary , 86 , died first at the assisted living facility .
When the family told Graham , who was hospitalized with the virus , the 89-year-old stopped fighting .
He died a week after his wife .
“ He just refused everything , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Couldn ’ t live without her.
” They had just celebrated 67 years of marriage .
They hadn ’ t seen their family since April , or been hugged by them since March .
“ Nobody should have to die like that , and nobody should have to grieve like that , ” son-in-law Bob Gregorius said .
“ It ’ s a shame that they died like that , not being right next to each other.
” After Yoshihito Hashigami ’ s death , his son learned new dimensions about his father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left Japan for the United States nearly 50 years ago and had spent his life laboring with his hands .
Each day , Hashigami ’ s landscaping customers would call , unaware of his death .
They knew the 72-year-old Denver man as Yoshi , and he ’ d cut their grass , prune their shrubs and help with their flowerbeds .
They told Kaz Hashigami , 46 , stories about his father ’ s work and the family-like connections he ’ d forged with them — prompting regret for the deep conversations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My dad had a good heart , ” he said , and those accounts about his work “ kind of opened my eyes .
I had to find out about that after the fact.
” He had heard stories about his father ’ s adventurous youth , spent aboard whaling ships off the Japanese coast .
But Yoshi Hashigami spoke less about the odd jobs he had worked in Denver , including as a school janitor , to support Tamako , his wife of 48 years , and their son .
He spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the landscaping business in the warm months , while cooking at Japanese restaurants during the winter , most recently at Sushi Kazu in Centennial .
Kaz Hashigami said he ’ s felt guilt at the realization he likely brought COVID-19 into the southeast Denver home he ’ s shared since he returned home to care for his aging parents at the close of a 22-year career in the U.S. Navy .
He knows that he started coughing first , and the virus likely had spread inside the call center where he works .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ diabetes , began wheezing but brushed it off at first .
On March 30 , Yoshi took a turn and died at home as paramedics arrived .
Tamako , 85 , also got sick , spending more than a week in the hospital in early April while she and her son grieved Yoshi ’ s death .
She has recovered , but tests confirmed that she and Yoshi both had COVID-19 , their son said .
“ My whole thing was letting people know to take the minimal precautions — because you don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I went through , ” Kaz Hashigami said .
In the early days of the pandemic , Sandra Kunz lamented to her sister that the Walmart Supercenter where she worked the register wasn ’ t giving masks to store employees .
So she ordered her own and kept reporting for work .
By late April , the Aurora store , one of many where front-line workers labored to keep shelves stocked while other businesses closed , was shut down temporarily by local health officials .
Three people had died of complications from COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her husband , Gus , 63 , who didn ’ t work at the store but likely caught it at home .
Sandy and Gus Kunz ’ s story was one of opposites attracting .
It was a happy development for Sandra , according to those who knew her , after she ’ d had a rough early life that included teenage pregnancy , raising her son on her own after her father had kicked her out of the house , and a string of abusive relationships .
She persevered .
The couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Mervyn ’ s department store , recalled their friend Bonnie Williams , who was a sales clerk with Sandy .
Gus worked in receiving .
While Sandy was a free spirit , Gus was more of a nerd with a passion for building model airplanes .
Even after a long courtship and 16 years of marriage , they still called each other on nearly every break during the work day , said Paula Spellman , 64 , one of Sandy ’ s sisters .
While Sandy was at Walmart , Gus worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They just truly couldn ’ t get enough of one another , ” Spellman said .
Sandy had a lung condition and carried oxygen , but Williams said the couple stayed active .
“ They were constantly going somewhere — camping in the mountains and going to Estes Park , ” she said .
The Kunzes suffered a joint heartbreak when Sandy ’ s son , 54-year-old Paul Thomas , died in a car crash in December 2017 .
In early April , a new heartbreak formed , as Gus Kunz watched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He would soon follow , occupying a room on the same hallway .
He died on April 18 , and Sandy died on April 20 .
In her final days , Sandy was on a ventilator — likely unaware of her husband ’ s deteriorating condition , Spellman said .
“ I was just so sad , ” she said , “ because I wish they could ’ ve wheeled them in the same room .
Perhaps they could ’ ve gotten strength from that.
” Once , Lena Bramwell thought she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ernie Garcia , as he ran a 5K race .
Then he asked her where her running shoes were .
“ I never ran before a day in my life .
He told me , ‘ Never mind , I got an extra pair , ’ ” Bramwell said .
“ I remember I was so mad at him but then a couple hours later I knew that , if it wasn ’ t for that , I couldn ’ t have said I ever ran a 5K.
” That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He pushed everyone — his family , friends and his fiancé , Scott Johnson — to be better , inspired them .
And when Garcia , 39 , died on Aug. 20 after contracting COVID-19 , Bramwell said Durango lost a gregarious soul and friend to everyone he met .
“ Anywhere we ’ d go , he ’ d touch everybody ’ s life , ” Bramwell said .
“ He wasn ’ t shy .
He ’ d just make a friend .
The person standing next to him in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Garcia ’ s cousin , Chantell Toledo , said she is thankful he touched her life and so many others .
He was a great man , Toledo said , “ a diamond in the rough.
” A born caretaker , Bramwell said Garcia was a nurse , the director of his department and had spent time working in mental health and nursing home facilities .
He loved to run , completing several ultra-marathons and scheduling marathons to coincide with his vacations .
And while he took care of himself , Bramwell said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone around him that he cared for them more than himself , she said .
Bramwell said her family has been marred by loss .
Her father died when she was an infant and her brother died five years ago .
As she grew , Garcia stepped up and they bonded .
But now that he ’ s gone , she ’ s left to wonder how to overcome yet another massive loss .
“ He was the heart and soul of our family , ” she said .
“ A goofball and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us.
” Cody Lyster , one of the first young victims Cody Lyster lived and breathed baseball , from the Little League fields of Aurora where he first learned the game , and later umpired , to the club baseball team at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction .
“ Baseball wasn ’ t just a sport to him — it was a way of connecting with people , of educating and teaching , ” said his father , Kevin Lyster .
Off the field , the jovial college junior made a point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he could tell were having a tough time .
The athlete ’ s death from complications of COVID-19 on April 8 would sound an alarm — heard well beyond Colorado — about the potentially deadly threat for young people .
At the time , Lyster was , at 21 , the state ’ s youngest victim of the pandemic .
His parents recall the confusion of March , when Kevin first battled what seemed like pneumonia and then , after a new flare-up , tested positive for COVID-19 .
Cody , home for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was rushed March 30 to the Medical Center of Aurora .
Over more than eight days , hopeful signs of improvement gave way to a decline that perplexed doctors .
His parents mourn the son who was a criminal justice major and wanted to follow his father , a sergeant on the police force at the University of Colorado ’ s Anschutz Medical Campus , into law enforcement .
But mostly they focus on the attributes that drew Cody close to so many people , starting with his love of baseball .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long had sported a beard and hairstyle that bore a resemblance to his favorite player , Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon .
“ He was very proud of his mullet , ” said his mother Lea Ann Lyster , 49 .
“ I mean , the kid actually had pretty great hair.
” They also have tried to raise awareness of the need for younger people to take pandemic precautions seriously .
Thanks to media coverage of Cody ’ s death , including by People magazine , they have heard from people as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people have told us that Cody ’ s story has helped them save their own kids ’ lives , ” said Kevin Lyster , 49 , who still has reduced lung capacity lingering from his milder COVID-19 infection .
“ His story and his life have touched so many people.
” The April morning Kareem “ Korey ” Hawthorne died from COVID-19 , he was at home in Denver with his 13-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter .
His twin sister , Kimara Carter , who lives in West Virginia , had called their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answering his phone .
Hawthorne , 45 , always answered his twin , even in the week since he ’ d gotten sick .
He didn ’ t respond to his mother , either .
Charlotte Harbison , who also lives in West Virginia , called her grandson .
He told her , “ My Dad won ’ t wake up.
” “ I told myself , ‘ Don ’ t panic , ’ ” Harbison said .
“ Because if I panicked , he would.
” The boy had called his mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grandson stayed on the phone , waiting for paramedics .
They were too late .
“ I never thought in a million years I would have lost my brother this year , ” Carter said .
Hawthorne ’ s family believes he was exposed to the coronavirus by a co-worker at Denver ’ s Pepsi plant .
He received a positive COVID-19 test on April 2 .
“ He told me when he found out he had it that he was scared , ” Carter said .
“ I tried to encourage him.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a hospital but was told in the emergency room there was nothing the medical staff could do and he left .
He died two days later .
His family said Hawthorne was hilarious and kept everyone laughing .
He also was a great cook , specializing in hot wings , hoagies , steak and spaghetti .
But his priority was taking care of his three children : Gyasi , 13 ; Aja , 9 ; and Madison , 8 .
He cooked their meals , helped with homework , watched their sports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Broncos and Nuggets , his family said .
Linda Pierre would tell her brother he didn ’ t have to buy his children everything they wanted .
And he would say , “ Well they want it , ” Pierre said .
“ I ’ m going to take on an extra shift so they can get it.
” In his father ’ s funeral program , Gyasi wrote : “ My dad was a good dad .
He was caring , and never thought about himself .
He was a fun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about anything and he would keep it on the low .
Most of my best memories with him were on a daily basis , not just at a fun event or time .
If it wasn ’ t for him disciplining me when I did wrong , I would have been lost .
He was tough on me a lot .
Not to be a good athlete , but a good man.
” The bedroom in which Marty Evans slept for the last three years of her life remains untouched .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March when she and her daughter , Tracy Dilka , contracted COVID-19 .
“ It ’ s just like she still lives there , ” Dilka said .
Evans , 85 , died at the end of that month .
Dilka recovered , but said the pain of losing her mother remains .
Memories lie around every corner of Dilka ’ s home in Greeley , where Evans had stayed as she suffered from dementia .
Evans ’ adopted cats still yowl outside her bedroom door , Dilka said .
For weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the stairs , waiting for her to come down and watch Saturday morning cartoons with him .
“ We got snow in September and I can just hear her : ‘ You ’ d better get out there and cover up the flowers , ’ ” Dilka said .
During the “ bad mom days ” Dilka said she ’ ll crawl into her mother ’ s bed and read .
She recalls watching her mother in the hospital , and hoping she ’ d recognize her own twin daughters .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was awful , ” Dilka said .
But Dilka also recalls the happier times , Evan ’ s quick wit , her old-fashioned sensibilities , the jackpot — 2,000 pennies — she hit at the slots .
She remembers reading in the chair next to Evans .
They didn ’ t talk , Dilka said .
They didn ’ t have to .
Teresa Williams , Dilka ’ s twin sister , remembers as well .
They and their older sister had a wonderful childhood in Wray , Williams said .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams said with a chuckle .
On Fridays , Williams said she spent time with her mother , and as Dilka would leave , she ’ d remind them Evans needed insulin at a specific time .
“ We would stand at the door and wave goodbye , ” Williams said .
“ And as soon as the door shut , mom would say , ‘ OK , where ’ s the Peeps ?
Do you have the black licorice ?
’ ” The sisters say they find solace in each other , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet to hold a funeral for Evans , they say they take comfort knowing she now rests next to their late father in a tiny cemetery in St. Francis , Kansas , just down the road from their childhood home .
Gaurdie Banister served abroad in the Air Force , stood up to death threats from the Ku Klux Klan , worked to end job discrimination , presided over two local NAACP chapters , fed thousands of families through his church ’ s food pantry , served in endless Aurora community groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family and fried many catfish .
He was a dedicated father , a trailblazer who wore an easy confidence and was a staple in Aurora going-ons for decades , his family said .
“ If he walked into a room , everybody knew he was there , ” said Barbara Shannon-Banister , his wife of 64 years .
Gaurdie Banister died April 6 of suspected COVID-19 complications , just a few days short of his 89th birthday .
A month earlier , he was happily eating root beer floats and showing off his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff of his assisted living facility , his daughter , Gaurdia Banister , said .
“ We miss him dearly , ” she said .
“ It ’ s hard to wrap my arms around it.
” Gaurdie Banister grew up poor in New Orleans and , after getting out of the military , married Shannon-Banister .
A year later , the couple and their 4-month-old daughter hopped on a train to Casper , Wyoming , where they planned to start a new life in a state they had never seen .
Banister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NAACP chapter and became the focus of the KKK ’ s racist hate after he spoke against the University of Wyoming football coach who dismissed 14 Black football players from the team for protesting racism .
“ We left the South so our children would not grow up under segregation , ” Shannon-Banister said .
“ And here we are in the middle of Wyoming and this happens , so we had to do something.
” The family later moved to Aurora after he began a career investigating job discrimination .
Shannon-Banister , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , founded the Aurora chapter of the NAACP in 1991 and “ voluntold ” her husband , a natural leader , to be the first president .
Gaurdia Banister remembered her father as an avid fisherman and a man who saw a friend in every person .
He comforted her through breakups and drove her across the country several times as she pursued graduate degrees and jobs .
Although he only had a high school diploma , he wanted his son and daughter to have access to the best education , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my biggest cheerleaders and champions , ” said Gaurdia Banister , who earned a doctorate and holds several teaching appointments .

Jon Murray, Elise Schmelzer, Conrad Swanson, Noelle Phillips

The coronavirus pandemic that disrupted daily life so suddenly six months ago may have slowed its march, but it’s pushing Colorado to the verge of a grim new milestone: 2,000 deaths.
As the nation nears 200,000 coronavirus fatalities, the Colorado toll — 1,988 deaths as of Saturday — reflects the number of people who had COVID-19 in their systems when they died. Most of the state’s COVID-related deaths, 1,889, were caused directly by the virus, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The state’s public health data shows that the virus, while infecting people of all ages, has tended to more often kill older people: three-quarters have been 70 or older. Fatalities also have included disproportionate numbers of men as well as some racial and ethnic minorities.
With this milestone looming, The Denver Post sought to put a human face on the virus’s deadly toll in Colorado, sharing the stories of some of the families most hurt by the pandemic.
The Archuleta family, torn by losses
On March 14, when the Archuleta family gathered at Longhorn Steakhouse to celebrate two birthdays, there were no stay-at-home orders, no mask mandates, no quarantines.
Within days of the birthday party, 11 people — mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, granddaughters and grandsons — had COVID-19.
“We’d barely heard about it and then we were sick,” Connie Archuleta said.
On April 1, Jessica Archuleta, 73, died, followed by her 54-year-old son Gary Archuleta on April 4. The two had been hospitalized a day apart in late March along with Manuel Archuleta, Jessica’s husband and Gary’s father.
At one point, all three had been on ventilators. Manuel, who had the most pre-existing health issues, survived. The day he came home from the hospital, his children broke the news that his wife and son were gone. He recovered from COVID but not the heartbreak, his daughter Nannette Archuleta said.
Manuel, 74, died on May 26 — two days before his 57th wedding anniversary.
“My mom did everything for him,” Nannette Archuleta said. “He just couldn’t live without her.”
Jessica and Manuel, who were born and raised in Fort Garland, met as students at Sierra Grande School in Blanca. They married when he was 17 and she was 16 and moved to Denver. Manuel retired from the U.S. Postal Service; Jessica ran a licensed, in-home day care, Nannette Archuleta said.
“She was never mad,” Nannette Archuleta said. “She just had so much patience.”
The couple raised three children, and most of the family lived within minutes of each other in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood, often gathering to eat Mexican food and play cards.
Connie met Gary at Horace Mann Middle School. Although they dated off and on for several years and raised children with different people, they finally got together for good in 2012.
“Gary, he had the best smile,” Connie Archuleta said. “His smile. His personality. He was so much fun to be around.”
The day Connie called an ambulance because her husband, who owned a house painting business, couldn’t breathe, she was sick, too. She wasn’t allowed to go with him.
“He stopped at the door and he told me, ‘I love you and we’re going to be OK,’ ” she said. “I didn’t think he was going to die.
“This whole thing has changed our lives so much. I try to go to work and smile. But I’m so miserable. I’m so brokenhearted.”
Graham and Mary Davies, married for 67 years
Graham and Mary Davies lived a love story.
The couple married young — Mary was 19 and Graham was 22 — and took off to Morocco, where Graham was stationed as a member of the U.S. Air Force. They traveled the world before returning to the United States and eventually made their home in Aurora.
The only time they were apart was the year Graham spent in Vietnam during the war, when he worked as a photographer in reconnaissance, their daughters said.
“They were tied together at the hip,” said Diane Gregorius, their daughter.
Graham worked as a real estate agent after retiring from the Air Force after 23 years. Mary worked as a teacher’s aide at Eastridge Community Elementary School in Aurora for more than 15 years.
Their house was always filled with polka or old country-western music, said Hayley Gregorius, their granddaughter. Graham collected coins and Mary, when she was younger, collected animals. Graham loved “Saturday Night Live” into his 80s and became funnier and more ornery as he aged. Every road trip began with Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” one of Graham’s favorite songs.
The couple played pranks on each other, traveled to nearly every state and slept side-by-side every night, even pushing their two twin beds together after moving into an assisted living facility in Centennial.
But the couple died apart, alone, of COVID-19 in May. Mary, 86, died first at the assisted living facility. When the family told Graham, who was hospitalized with the virus, the 89-year-old stopped fighting. He died a week after his wife.
“He just refused everything,” daughter Marlene Davies said. “Couldn’t live without her.”
They had just celebrated 67 years of marriage. They hadn’t seen their family since April, or been hugged by them since March.
“Nobody should have to die like that, and nobody should have to grieve like that,” son-in-law Bob Gregorius said. “It’s a shame that they died like that, not being right next to each other.”
Yoshihito “Yoshi” Hashigami, quiet and hard-working
After Yoshihito Hashigami’s death, his son learned new dimensions about his father — a reserved man who’d left Japan for the United States nearly 50 years ago and had spent his life laboring with his hands.
Each day, Hashigami’s landscaping customers would call, unaware of his death. They knew the 72-year-old Denver man as Yoshi, and he’d cut their grass, prune their shrubs and help with their flowerbeds. They told Kaz Hashigami, 46, stories about his father’s work and the family-like connections he’d forged with them — prompting regret for the deep conversations they’d never had.
“My dad had a good heart,” he said, and those accounts about his work “kind of opened my eyes. I had to find out about that after the fact.”
He had heard stories about his father’s adventurous youth, spent aboard whaling ships off the Japanese coast. But Yoshi Hashigami spoke less about the odd jobs he had worked in Denver, including as a school janitor, to support Tamako, his wife of 48 years, and their son.
He spent his last two decades or so building the landscaping business in the warm months, while cooking at Japanese restaurants during the winter, most recently at Sushi Kazu in Centennial.
Kaz Hashigami said he’s felt guilt at the realization he likely brought COVID-19 into the southeast Denver home he’s shared since he returned home to care for his aging parents at the close of a 22-year career in the U.S. Navy.
He knows that he started coughing first, and the virus likely had spread inside the call center where he works. His father, who had asthma and diabetes, began wheezing but brushed it off at first.
On March 30, Yoshi took a turn and died at home as paramedics arrived. Tamako, 85, also got sick, spending more than a week in the hospital in early April while she and her son grieved Yoshi’s death.
She has recovered, but tests confirmed that she and Yoshi both had COVID-19, their son said.
“My whole thing was letting people know to take the minimal precautions — because you don’t want to go through what I went through,” Kaz Hashigami said.
Sandra and Gus Kunz, victims of a front-line outbreak
In the early days of the pandemic, Sandra Kunz lamented to her sister that the Walmart Supercenter where she worked the register wasn’t giving masks to store employees. So she ordered her own and kept reporting for work.
By late April, the Aurora store, one of many where front-line workers labored to keep shelves stocked while other businesses closed, was shut down temporarily by local health officials. Three people had died of complications from COVID-19 — including Kunz, 72, and her husband, Gus, 63, who didn’t work at the store but likely caught it at home.
Sandy and Gus Kunz’s story was one of opposites attracting. It was a happy development for Sandra, according to those who knew her, after she’d had a rough early life that included teenage pregnancy, raising her son on her own after her father had kicked her out of the house, and a string of abusive relationships. She persevered.
The couple met more than three decades ago at a Mervyn’s department store, recalled their friend Bonnie Williams, who was a sales clerk with Sandy. Gus worked in receiving. While Sandy was a free spirit, Gus was more of a nerd with a passion for building model airplanes.
Even after a long courtship and 16 years of marriage, they still called each other on nearly every break during the work day, said Paula Spellman, 64, one of Sandy’s sisters. While Sandy was at Walmart, Gus worked in security at Denver International Airport.
“They just truly couldn’t get enough of one another,” Spellman said.
Sandy had a lung condition and carried oxygen, but Williams said the couple stayed active.
“They were constantly going somewhere — camping in the mountains and going to Estes Park,” she said.
The Kunzes suffered a joint heartbreak when Sandy’s son, 54-year-old Paul Thomas, died in a car crash in December 2017. In early April, a new heartbreak formed, as Gus Kunz watched as his wife was hospitalized with COVID-19.
He would soon follow, occupying a room on the same hallway. He died on April 18, and Sandy died on April 20. In her final days, Sandy was on a ventilator — likely unaware of her husband’s deteriorating condition, Spellman said.
“I was just so sad,” she said, “because I wish they could’ve wheeled them in the same room. Perhaps they could’ve gotten strength from that.”
Ernest “Ernie” Garcia, runner and caretaker
Once, Lena Bramwell thought she was going to cheer for her uncle, Ernie Garcia, as he ran a 5K race. Then he asked her where her running shoes were.
“I never ran before a day in my life. He told me, ‘Never mind, I got an extra pair,’ ” Bramwell said. “I remember I was so mad at him but then a couple hours later I knew that, if it wasn’t for that, I couldn’t have said I ever ran a 5K.”
That’s the way Garcia was, Bramwell said. He pushed everyone — his family, friends and his fiancé, Scott Johnson — to be better, inspired them.
And when Garcia, 39, died on Aug. 20 after contracting COVID-19, Bramwell said Durango lost a gregarious soul and friend to everyone he met.
“Anywhere we’d go, he’d touch everybody’s life,” Bramwell said. “He wasn’t shy. He’d just make a friend. The person standing next to him in a line would become his friend.”
Garcia’s cousin, Chantell Toledo, said she is thankful he touched her life and so many others. He was a great man, Toledo said, “a diamond in the rough.”
A born caretaker, Bramwell said Garcia was a nurse, the director of his department and had spent time working in mental health and nursing home facilities. He loved to run, completing several ultra-marathons and scheduling marathons to coincide with his vacations.
And while he took care of himself, Bramwell said Garcia could still party. He showed everyone around him that he cared for them more than himself, she said.
Bramwell said her family has been marred by loss. Her father died when she was an infant and her brother died five years ago. As she grew, Garcia stepped up and they bonded. But now that he’s gone, she’s left to wonder how to overcome yet another massive loss.
“He was the heart and soul of our family,” she said. “A goofball and yet he was the most successful of us.”
Cody Lyster, one of the first young victims
Cody Lyster lived and breathed baseball, from the Little League fields of Aurora where he first learned the game, and later umpired, to the club baseball team at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
“Baseball wasn’t just a sport to him — it was a way of connecting with people, of educating and teaching,” said his father, Kevin Lyster. Off the field, the jovial college junior made a point of striking up cheerful conversations with strangers he could tell were having a tough time.
The athlete’s death from complications of COVID-19 on April 8 would sound an alarm — heard well beyond Colorado — about the potentially deadly threat for young people. At the time, Lyster was, at 21, the state’s youngest victim of the pandemic.
His parents recall the confusion of March, when Kevin first battled what seemed like pneumonia and then, after a new flare-up, tested positive for COVID-19. Cody, home for spring break, also grew sick and was rushed March 30 to the Medical Center of Aurora. Over more than eight days, hopeful signs of improvement gave way to a decline that perplexed doctors.
Eventually, his heart gave out.
His parents mourn the son who was a criminal justice major and wanted to follow his father, a sergeant on the police force at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, into law enforcement.
But mostly they focus on the attributes that drew Cody close to so many people, starting with his love of baseball. In a bid to stand out, he long had sported a beard and hairstyle that bore a resemblance to his favorite player, Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon.
“He was very proud of his mullet,” said his mother Lea Ann Lyster, 49. “I mean, the kid actually had pretty great hair.”
They also have tried to raise awareness of the need for younger people to take pandemic precautions seriously. Thanks to media coverage of Cody’s death, including by People magazine, they have heard from people as far away as Australia.
“These people have told us that Cody’s story has helped them save their own kids’ lives,” said Kevin Lyster, 49, who still has reduced lung capacity lingering from his milder COVID-19 infection. “His story and his life have touched so many people.”
Kareem “Korey” Hawthorne, family man and jokester
The April morning Kareem “Korey” Hawthorne died from COVID-19, he was at home in Denver with his 13-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter.
His twin sister, Kimara Carter, who lives in West Virginia, had called their mother because her brother wasn’t answering his phone. Hawthorne, 45, always answered his twin, even in the week since he’d gotten sick. He didn’t respond to his mother, either.
Charlotte Harbison, who also lives in West Virginia, called her grandson. He told her, “My Dad won’t wake up.”
“I told myself, ‘Don’t panic,’ ” Harbison said. “Because if I panicked, he would.”
The boy had called his mother to come help so the grandmother and grandson stayed on the phone, waiting for paramedics. They were too late.
“I never thought in a million years I would have lost my brother this year,” Carter said.
Hawthorne’s family believes he was exposed to the coronavirus by a co-worker at Denver’s Pepsi plant. He received a positive COVID-19 test on April 2.
“He told me when he found out he had it that he was scared,” Carter said. “I tried to encourage him.”
On April 6, Hawthorne went to a hospital but was told in the emergency room there was nothing the medical staff could do and he left. He died two days later.
His family said Hawthorne was hilarious and kept everyone laughing. He also was a great cook, specializing in hot wings, hoagies, steak and spaghetti.
But his priority was taking care of his three children: Gyasi, 13; Aja, 9; and Madison, 8. He cooked their meals, helped with homework, watched their sports practices and raised them to cheer for the Broncos and Nuggets, his family said.
Linda Pierre would tell her brother he didn’t have to buy his children everything they wanted. And he would say, “Well they want it,” Pierre said. “I’m going to take on an extra shift so they can get it.”
In his father’s funeral program, Gyasi wrote: “My dad was a good dad. He was caring, and never thought about himself. He was a fun dad. I could talk to him about anything and he would keep it on the low. Most of my best memories with him were on a daily basis, not just at a fun event or time. If it wasn’t for him disciplining me when I did wrong, I would have been lost. He was tough on me a lot. Not to be a good athlete, but a good man.”
Marty Evans, who left difficult and happy memories
The bedroom in which Marty Evans slept for the last three years of her life remains untouched. It’s just as she left it in March when she and her daughter, Tracy Dilka, contracted COVID-19.
“It’s just like she still lives there,” Dilka said.
Evans, 85, died at the end of that month. Dilka recovered, but said the pain of losing her mother remains.
Memories lie around every corner of Dilka’s home in Greeley, where Evans had stayed as she suffered from dementia.
Evans’ adopted cats still yowl outside her bedroom door, Dilka said. For weeks, her great grandson sat at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to come down and watch Saturday morning cartoons with him.
“We got snow in September and I can just hear her: ‘You’d better get out there and cover up the flowers,’ ” Dilka said.
During the “bad mom days” Dilka said she’ll crawl into her mother’s bed and read.
She recalls watching her mother in the hospital, and hoping she’d recognize her own twin daughters.
“To lose mom the way I did was awful,” Dilka said.
But Dilka also recalls the happier times, Evan’s quick wit, her old-fashioned sensibilities, the jackpot — 2,000 pennies — she hit at the slots. She remembers reading in the chair next to Evans. They didn’t talk, Dilka said. They didn’t have to.
Teresa Williams, Dilka’s twin sister, remembers as well. They and their older sister had a wonderful childhood in Wray, Williams said.
“I was called the Disneyland Daughter,” Williams said with a chuckle.
On Fridays, Williams said she spent time with her mother, and as Dilka would leave, she’d remind them Evans needed insulin at a specific time.
“We would stand at the door and wave goodbye,” Williams said. “And as soon as the door shut, mom would say, ‘OK, where’s the Peeps? Do you have the black licorice?’ ”
The sisters say they find solace in each other, in those memories. While they have yet to hold a funeral for Evans, they say they take comfort knowing she now rests next to their late father in a tiny cemetery in St. Francis, Kansas, just down the road from their childhood home.
Gaurdie Banister, community organizer and veteran
Gaurdie Banister served abroad in the Air Force, stood up to death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, worked to end job discrimination, presided over two local NAACP chapters, fed thousands of families through his church’s food pantry, served in endless Aurora community groups, sang in church choirs, raised a family and fried many catfish.
He was a dedicated father, a trailblazer who wore an easy confidence and was a staple in Aurora going-ons for decades, his family said.
“If he walked into a room, everybody knew he was there,” said Barbara Shannon-Banister, his wife of 64 years.
Gaurdie Banister died April 6 of suspected COVID-19 complications, just a few days short of his 89th birthday. A month earlier, he was happily eating root beer floats and showing off his visiting daughter to all the residents and staff of his assisted living facility, his daughter, Gaurdia Banister, said.
“We miss him dearly,” she said. “It’s hard to wrap my arms around it.”
Gaurdie Banister grew up poor in New Orleans and, after getting out of the military, married Shannon-Banister. A year later, the couple and their 4-month-old daughter hopped on a train to Casper, Wyoming, where they planned to start a new life in a state they had never seen.
Banister served as the president of the Casper NAACP chapter and became the focus of the KKK’s racist hate after he spoke against the University of Wyoming football coach who dismissed 14 Black football players from the team for protesting racism.
“We left the South so our children would not grow up under segregation,” Shannon-Banister said. “And here we are in the middle of Wyoming and this happens, so we had to do something.”
The family later moved to Aurora after he began a career investigating job discrimination. Shannon-Banister, a staple of Aurora civic engagement herself, founded the Aurora chapter of the NAACP in 1991 and “voluntold” her husband, a natural leader, to be the first president.
Gaurdia Banister remembered her father as an avid fisherman and a man who saw a friend in every person. He comforted her through breakups and drove her across the country several times as she pursued graduate degrees and jobs. Although he only had a high school diploma, he wanted his son and daughter to have access to the best education, she said.
“He was always one of my biggest cheerleaders and champions,” said Gaurdia Banister, who earned a doctorate and holds several teaching appointments.


thedenverpost--2020-09-14--CSP releases more info on weekend crashes that killed 4 across Weld County

Four people are dead after three separate crashes this weekend across Weld County .
Just before 4 p.m. Friday , Colorado State Patrol responded to a collision at U.S. 85 , north of Colo. 392 .
It was later determined the 16-year-old girl driving a 2005 Nissan sedan continued through a stop sign west of the highway when a southbound 1997 Ford pickup collided with the sedan , according to Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis .
The driver of the Nissan , as well as a 37-year-old man who was riding in the car with her , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Evans man , were all taken to North Colorado Medical Center .
The driver and passenger of the Nissan were both declared dead at the hospital .
The Weld County Coroner ’ s Office has not yet publicly identified them .
The Evans man sustained moderate injuries .
Troopers do not believe drugs , alcohol or excessive speed were factors in the collision .
After 5 p.m. Saturday , troopers responded to a crash on westbound Interstate 76 , near mile marker 49 , outside of Roggen .
Troopers determined the 59-year-old man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went off into the right shoulder , where he struck a guardrail and went off the right side of the road .
Lewis said the semi began to roll before striking a second guardrail and coming to a stop .
The driver was declared dead on scene .
He has not yet been publicly identified .
Troopers do not suspect drugs , alcohol or speed were factors .
About 5:30 p.m. Saturday , troopers responded to a collision at Weld County roads 16 and 71 , in Roggen .
Troopers determined a 28-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sedan south on Weld 71 when she entered the intersection at Weld 16 .
She continued past the stop sign , according to Lewis , where she was struck by a 17-year-old Roggen girl driving a 2007 Subaru east on Weld 16 .
The 28-year-old was declared dead on scene .
She has not been publicly identified .
The 17-year-old was taken to Platte Valley Medical Center with moderate injuries .
Troopers believe the 28-year-old might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol , according to Lewis .
As of Thursday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 26 fatal crashes so far this year in Weld County , killing 32 people .
This weekend ’ s crashes bring that total up to 29 crashes with 36 dead .
From January to September 2019 , there were 35 fatal crashes across the county that killed 40 people .

Four people are dead after three separate crashes this weekend across Weld County.
Just before 4 p.m. Friday, Colorado State Patrol responded to a collision at U.S. 85, north of Colo. 392. It was later determined the 16-year-old girl driving a 2005 Nissan sedan continued through a stop sign west of the highway when a southbound 1997 Ford pickup collided with the sedan, according to Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis.
The driver of the Nissan, as well as a 37-year-old man who was riding in the car with her, and the driver of the pickup, a 39-year-old Evans man, were all taken to North Colorado Medical Center. The driver and passenger of the Nissan were both declared dead at the hospital. The Weld County Coroner’s Office has not yet publicly identified them. The Evans man sustained moderate injuries.
Troopers do not believe drugs, alcohol or excessive speed were factors in the collision.
After 5 p.m. Saturday, troopers responded to a crash on westbound Interstate 76, near mile marker 49, outside of Roggen. Troopers determined the 59-year-old man driving a 2016 Freightliner with a trailer went off into the right shoulder, where he struck a guardrail and went off the right side of the road. Lewis said the semi began to roll before striking a second guardrail and coming to a stop.
The driver was declared dead on scene. He has not yet been publicly identified. Troopers do not suspect drugs, alcohol or speed were factors.
About 5:30 p.m. Saturday, troopers responded to a collision at Weld County roads 16 and 71, in Roggen. Troopers determined a 28-year-old Roggen woman was driving a 2016 Honda sedan south on Weld 71 when she entered the intersection at Weld 16. She continued past the stop sign, according to Lewis, where she was struck by a 17-year-old Roggen girl driving a 2007 Subaru east on Weld 16.
The 28-year-old was declared dead on scene. She has not been publicly identified. The 17-year-old was taken to Platte Valley Medical Center with moderate injuries.
Troopers believe the 28-year-old might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to Lewis.
As of Thursday, the Colorado Department of Transportation recorded 26 fatal crashes so far this year in Weld County, killing 32 people. This weekend’s crashes bring that total up to 29 crashes with 36 dead.
From January to September 2019, there were 35 fatal crashes across the county that killed 40 people.


thedenverpost--2020-09-14--TikTok picks Oracle over Microsoft in Trump-forced sales bid

The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as its preferred suitor to buy the popular video-sharing app , according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it .
Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid to buy TikTok has been rejected , removing a leading suitor for the Chinese-owned app a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban it in the U.S .
The Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by Sept. 20 and ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. business , claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The government worries about user data being funneled to Chinese authorities .
TikTok denies it is a national-security risk and is suing to stop the administration from the threatened ban .
TikTok declined to comment Sunday .
Oracle didn ’ t return a request for comment but has previously declined comment .
Microsoft said in a Sunday statement that TikTok ’ s parent company , Bytedance , “ let us know today they would not be selling TikTok ’ s US operations to Microsoft.
” Walmart had planned to partner with Microsoft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not clear if Walmart was still interested before Microsoft was notified of the rejection Sunday .
Microsoft said Sunday it was “ confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok ’ s users , while protecting national security interests.
” The company said it “ would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security , privacy , online safety , and combating disinformation.
” TikTok , which says it has 100 million U.S. users and about 700 million globally , is known for its fun , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pranks and jokes .
It ’ s recently become home to more political content such as the comedian Sarah Cooper , who drew a large audience by lip-syncing Trump ’ s own often-disjointed statements from public appearances .
But the app has also raised concerns because of its Chinese owner , ByteDance .
The White House has cracked down on a range of Chinese businesses , including telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE and messaging app WeChat , over worries that they would enable Chinese authorities to get U.S. user data .
Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about censorship and children ’ s privacy .
TikTok denies that it has shared user data with the Chinese government or that it would do so if asked .
The company says it has not censored videos at the request of Chinese authorities and insists it is not a national-security threat .
TikTok has sued to stop the ban , but not the sale order .
The sale situation has been complicated by several factors , including Trump ’ s repeated demands that the U.S. government should get a “ cut ” of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the president that experts say is unprecedented .
In addition , the Chinese government in late August involved itself in the process by unveiling new regulations that restrict exports of technology that appear to include the system TikTok uses to choose which videos to spool up to its users .
That means ByteDance would have to obtain a license from China to export any restricted technologies to a foreign company .
The deal had come together rapidly after the administration ramped up its threats against TikTok this summer , despite TikTok ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ app and its Chinese ownership .
It installed former top Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its American CEO , but he resigned in August after just a few months on the job , saying the “ political environment has sharply changed.
” Both Microsoft and Oracle are known more for their business software offerings than for those intended for consumers .
Oracle primarily makes database software .
It competes with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon that provide cloud services as well as business-software specialists like Salesforce .
Some analysts see Oracle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as misguided .
Oracle should focus on enterprise-market acquisitions and not invest in a consumer app like TikTok that doesn ’ t fit with the rest of its business , said Jefferies analyst Brent Thill , who compares the idea to Delta Airlines buying a motorcycle company .
“ It doesn ’ t make any sense , ” he said .
Thill suggested that TikTok competitors like Facebook and Snapchat should be “ cheering on Oracle ” as a buyer , because Oracle wouldn ’ t “ add a lot of value to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is unusual among tech executives for his public support of President Donald Trump , hosting a fundraiser for him in February at his Rancho Mirage , California , estate .
The company also hired a former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence ; its CEO , Safra Catz , also served on Trump ’ s transition team .
The president said on Aug. 18 that Oracle was “ a great company ” that “ could handle ” buying TikTok .
He declined to state his preference between Oracle and Microsoft as buyers @

The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as the American tech partner that could help keep the popular video-sharing app running in the U.S., according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations was rejected, removing the tech giant from the running a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban the Chinese-owned app in the U.S. over spying concerns.
TikTok and the White House declined to comment Sunday. Oracle didn’t return a request for comment but has previously declined comment.
Walmart, which had planned to partner with Microsoft on the acquisition, said Sunday it “continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment” and is talking about it with ByteDance and other parties.
The Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by Sept. 20 and ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. business, claiming national-security risks due to its Chinese ownership. The government worries about user data being funneled to Chinese authorities. TikTok denies it is a national-security risk and is suing to stop the administration from the threatened ban.
It’s not clear if the proposed deal will only cover TikTok’s U.S. business, and, if so, how it will be split from the rest of TikTok’s social media platform, which is popular worldwide. ByteDance also owns a similar video app, Douyin, for the Chinese market.
Any deal must still be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, a U.S. government group chaired by the Treasury Secretary that studies mergers for national-security reasons. The president can approve or deny a transaction recommended by the panel, though Trump has already voiced support for Oracle as a “great company” that could handle the acquisition.
Microsoft said in a Sunday statement that ByteDance “let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft.”
Microsoft added it was “confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests.” The company said it “would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combating disinformation.”
TikTok, which says it has 100 million U.S. users and about 700 million globally, is known for its fun, goofy videos of dancing, lip-syncing, pranks and jokes. It’s recently become home to more political content such as the comedian Sarah Cooper, who drew a large audience by lip-syncing Trump’s own often-disjointed statements from public appearances.
But the app has also raised concerns because of its Chinese ownership. The White House has cracked down on a range of Chinese businesses, including telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE and messaging app WeChat, over worries that they would enable Chinese authorities to get U.S. user data. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about censorship and children’s privacy.
TikTok denies that it has shared user data with the Chinese government or that it would do so if asked. The company says it has not censored videos at the request of Chinese authorities and insists it is not a national-security threat.
TikTok has sued to stop the ban, but not the sale order. The negotiations have been complicated by several factors, including Trump’s repeated demands that the U.S. government should get a “cut” of any deal, a stipulation and role for the president that experts say is unprecedented.
In addition, the Chinese government in late August unveiled new regulations that restrict exports of technology, likely including the artificial intelligence system TikTok uses to choose which videos to spool up to its users. That means ByteDance would have to obtain a license from China to export such technology to a foreign company.
The deal had come together rapidly after the administration ramped up its threats against TikTok this summer, despite TikTok’s efforts to put distance between its app and its Chinese ownership. It installed former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its American CEO, but he resigned in August after just a few months on the job, saying the “political environment has sharply changed.”
Both Microsoft and Oracle are known more for their business software offerings than for those intended for consumers.
Oracle primarily makes database software. It competes with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon that provide cloud services as well as business-software specialists like Salesforce.
Some analysts see Oracle’s interest in a consumer business as misguided. Oracle should focus on enterprise-market acquisitions and not invest in a consumer app like TikTok that doesn’t fit with the rest of its business, said Jefferies analyst Brent Thill, who compares the idea to Delta Airlines buying a motorcycle company. “It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Thill suggested that TikTok competitors like Facebook and Snapchat should be “cheering on Oracle” as a buyer, because Oracle wouldn’t “add a lot of value to the app.”
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is unusual among tech executives for his public support of President Donald Trump, hosting a fundraiser for him in February at his Rancho Mirage, California, estate. The company also hired a former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence; its CEO, Safra Catz, also served on Trump’s transition team.
The president said on Aug. 18 that Oracle was “a great company” that “could handle” buying TikTok. He declined to state his preference between Oracle and Microsoft as buyers.


thedenverpost--2020-09-14--El Paso Republicans lash out against Colorado GOP Chair Ken Buck

Faith shaken in the Colorado Republican Party after yet another local dustup , El Paso County GOP officials are considering a vote of no confidence in state party Chair Ken Buck , hoping to quash the chances of a second term for him in that role .
Missy Ward , a member of the El Paso County Republican Party Executive Committee , told The Denver Post on Sunday that Buck committed “ gross malfeasance ” in refusing to support the committee ’ s effort to remove the county party treasurer , and a no-confidence vote could be taken before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders , such as state Rep. Larry Liston , don ’ t want to take an official vote , although they , too , say Buck and the state party can no longer act with neutrality toward Colorado ’ s largest Republican county .
“ Ken Buck should go back to being a congressman and let somebody else who can be objective and reasonable and fair be the next state party chair , ” said Liston , also a member of the local executive committee .
A no-confidence vote would have little tangible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an awkward time as a major election approaches — one in which he is on the ballot in his position as U.S. representative for Colorado ’ s 4th Congressional District .
“ The State Party continues to work with County Partners on the internal challenges they may find themselves in , ” Colorado GOP spokesperson Joe Jackson said Sunday in response to a request for comment from Buck .
“ Our team is focused on winning elections , electing Republican leadership , and delivering results for all Coloradans.
” Buck has offered to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factions multiple times .
The new objections mark the third time Buck has been drawn into a county party controversy this year , with the other two situations arising in El Paso and Weld County .
El Paso Republicans say Buck ’ s actions have caused consternation , created grudges between party members and besmirched the party as a whole at a time when the focus should be on the re-election of President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner .
The “ ridiculous ” issues distract voters during a critical juncture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fountain , who also questioned Buck ’ s neutrality .
She said he is simply dividing the state party further .
“ I guess the state party doesn ’ t care about El Paso County , ” Landgraf said .
The latest friction in El Paso County began when the county party voted overwhelmingly in mid-August to remove treasurer John Pitchford , Liston said .
During a radio interview , Pitchford — an unelected member of the county party — had called more than a dozen locally elected Republicans racist for censuring county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black .
Tonkins was censured after she asked on the party ’ s official Facebook page whether people believed the coronavirus pandemic — which has killed nearly 200,000 people nationwide and nearly 2,000 in Colorado — is a “ PSYOP ( Psychological Operation ) .
” Party officials also had issues with how Pitchford was performing as treasurer , Ward said .
Despite a vote from the county ’ s executive committee to remove Pitchford , Tonkins rejected the move , Liston said .
She cited procedural concerns in her decision , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party .
“ It ’ s enough , it really is .
We can ’ t get anything done , ” Ward said .
“ And it ’ s just this one group of fringe radicals .
They refuse to follow the laws.
” On Saturday , Buck wrote to the local executive committee saying that he and the state executive committee reviewed the matter but took no action other than to say the issue should be resolved after the Nov. 3 election .
Buck did condemn Pitchford ’ s on-air comments and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more public comments — a move that El Paso County Commissioner and executive committee member Stan VanderWerf said was at least a small step in the right direction .
But still VanderWerf and Holly Williams , his fellow commissioner and committee member , said they were disappointed in the decision .
Both said they were not in favor of a no-confidence vote and would rather handle the disagreement after the election .
That new meeting will likely only be postponed into oblivion , however , Ward predicted .
Plus , she and others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new meetings with the state party .
“ Why would anybody go to another meeting and participate in anything with GOP headquarters ?
” Landgraf said .
State Rep. Tim Geitner of Falcon also expressed his disappointment with state party leadership , which he said has abandoned candidates and elected officials in El Paso County and stripped the local executive committee of its power by allowing a “ dictator-like rule.
” “ One thing is certain , if Sen. Gardner and President Trump are to be successful , it will be because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with local candidates to get out the vote , as well as the well-organized Trump ground campaign despite the deliberate sabotage of the county party leadership , ” Geitner said in a statement .
Earlier in the year Buck pressured an El Paso County GOP leader to submit caucus vote results to the state that were contrary to the actual results .
The Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation is currently investigating following a request from the left-leaning ProgressNow Colorado to have Buck , an attorney , disbarred .
And a complaint was filed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office in May alleging election fraud and corruption among several Weld County Republicans , including one of Buck ’ s aides .

Faith shaken in the Colorado Republican Party after yet another local dustup, El Paso County GOP officials are considering a vote of no confidence in state party Chair Ken Buck, hoping to quash the chances of a second term for him in that role.
Missy Ward, a member of the El Paso County Republican Party Executive Committee, told The Denver Post on Sunday that Buck committed “gross malfeasance” in refusing to support the committee’s effort to remove the county party treasurer, and a no-confidence vote could be taken before the Nov. 3 election.
Other local Republican leaders, such as state Rep. Larry Liston, don’t want to take an official vote, although they, too, say Buck and the state party can no longer act with neutrality toward Colorado’s largest Republican county.
“Ken Buck should go back to being a congressman and let somebody else who can be objective and reasonable and fair be the next state party chair,” said Liston, also a member of the local executive committee.
A no-confidence vote would have little tangible impact on Buck, but comes at an awkward time as a major election approaches — one in which he is on the ballot in his position as U.S. representative for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
“The State Party continues to work with County Partners on the internal challenges they may find themselves in,” Colorado GOP spokesperson Joe Jackson said Sunday in response to a request for comment from Buck. “Our team is focused on winning elections, electing Republican leadership, and delivering results for all Coloradans.”
Buck has offered to mediate disagreements between El Paso County Republican factions multiple times.
The new objections mark the third time Buck has been drawn into a county party controversy this year, with the other two situations arising in El Paso and Weld County.
El Paso Republicans say Buck’s actions have caused consternation, created grudges between party members and besmirched the party as a whole at a time when the focus should be on the re-election of President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.
The “ridiculous” issues distract voters during a critical juncture, said State Rep. Lois Landgraf, of Fountain, who also questioned Buck’s neutrality. She said he is simply dividing the state party further.
“I guess the state party doesn’t care about El Paso County,” Landgraf said.
The latest friction in El Paso County began when the county party voted overwhelmingly in mid-August to remove treasurer John Pitchford, Liston said. During a radio interview, Pitchford — an unelected member of the county party — had called more than a dozen locally elected Republicans racist for censuring county party Chair Vickie Tonkins, who is Black.
Tonkins was censured after she asked on the party’s official Facebook page whether people believed the coronavirus pandemic — which has killed nearly 200,000 people nationwide and nearly 2,000 in Colorado — is a “PSYOP (Psychological Operation).”
Party officials also had issues with how Pitchford was performing as treasurer, Ward said. Despite a vote from the county’s executive committee to remove Pitchford, Tonkins rejected the move, Liston said. She cited procedural concerns in her decision, and the matter was appealed to the state party.
“It’s enough, it really is. We can’t get anything done,” Ward said. “And it’s just this one group of fringe radicals. They refuse to follow the laws.”
On Saturday, Buck wrote to the local executive committee saying that he and the state executive committee reviewed the matter but took no action other than to say the issue should be resolved after the Nov. 3 election.
Buck did condemn Pitchford’s on-air comments and ask that the treasurer refrain from making more public comments — a move that El Paso County Commissioner and executive committee member Stan VanderWerf said was at least a small step in the right direction.
But still VanderWerf and Holly Williams, his fellow commissioner and committee member, said they were disappointed in the decision. Both said they were not in favor of a no-confidence vote and would rather handle the disagreement after the election.
That new meeting will likely only be postponed into oblivion, however, Ward predicted. Plus, she and others said they have no faith in any new meetings with the state party.
“Why would anybody go to another meeting and participate in anything with GOP headquarters?” Landgraf said.
State Rep. Tim Geitner of Falcon also expressed his disappointment with state party leadership, which he said has abandoned candidates and elected officials in El Paso County and stripped the local executive committee of its power by allowing a “dictator-like rule.”
“One thing is certain, if Sen. Gardner and President Trump are to be successful, it will be because of hundreds of volunteers that have been working with local candidates to get out the vote, as well as the well-organized Trump ground campaign despite the deliberate sabotage of the county party leadership,” Geitner said in a statement.
Neither Tonkins nor Pitchford returned messages seeking comment.
Earlier in the year Buck pressured an El Paso County GOP leader to submit caucus vote results to the state that were contrary to the actual results. The Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation is currently investigating following a request from the left-leaning ProgressNow Colorado to have Buck, an attorney, disbarred.
And a complaint was filed with the Colorado Attorney General’s office in May alleging election fraud and corruption among several Weld County Republicans, including one of Buck’s aides.


thedenverpost--2020-09-14--Winds a worry as death toll reaches 33 from West Coast wildfires

BEAVERCREEK , Ore. — Nearly all the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for , authorities said over the weekend as crews battled wildfires that have killed at least 33 from California to Washington state .
The flames up and down the West Coast have destroyed neighborhoods , leaving nothing but charred rubble and burned-out cars , forced tens of thousands to flee and cast a shroud of smoke that has given Seattle , San Francisco and Portland , Oregon , some of the worst air quality in the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ acrid metallic smell like pennies and spread to nearby states .
While making it difficult to breathe , it helped firefighters by blocking the sun and turning the weather cooler as they tried to get a handle on the blazes , which were slowing in some places .
But warnings of low moisture and strong winds that could fan the flames added urgency to the battle .
The so-called red flag warnings stretched from hard-hit southern Oregon to Northern California and extended through Monday evening .
Lexi Soulios , her husband and son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a second time because of the weather .
They left their small southern Oregon town of Talent last week when they saw a “ big , huge flow of dark smoke coming up , ” then went past roadblocks Friday to pick through the charred ruins of their home .
While they are staying farther south in Ashland , known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival , she said by text message that the forecast may mean they could be on the move again .
“ So this isn ’ t over yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so we feel prepared , ” Lexi Soulios wrote .
Authorities last week reported as many as 50 people could be missing after a wildfire in the Ashland area .
But the Jackson County sheriff ’ s office said late Saturday that four people had died in the blaze and that the number of missing was down to one .
At least 10 people have been killed in the past week throughout Oregon .
Officials have said more people are missing from other fires , and the number of fatalities is likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how high the toll could go as they search .
In California , 22 people have died , and one in Washington state .
Thousands of homes and other buildings have burned .
Barbara Rose Bettison , 25 , left her farm among the trees and fields of Eagle Creek , outside Portland , when a sheriff ’ s deputy knocked on her door Tuesday .
They drove away on a road that became an ominous dividing line , with blue skies on one side and the other filled with black and brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elks Lodge near Portland , where evacuees wrapped themselves in blankets and set up tents out back .
“ It ’ s terrifying .
We ’ ve never had any form of natural disaster , ” she said .
Bettison , a UPS driver , was able to get out with her chickens , rabbits and cats .
She hasn ’ t been back , but neighbors said it is so smoky they can ’ t see their hands in front of their faces .
“ I ’ m hoping there has not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ break my heart , ” she said .
Farther south in the town of Talent , Dave Monroe came to his burned home , partially hoping he ’ d find his three cats .
“ We thought we ’ d get out of this summer with no fires , ” he said .
“ There is something going on , that ’ s for sure , man .
Every summer we ’ re burning up.
” Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in the U.S. to global warming from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Democratic governors of all three states say the fires are a consequence of climate change , taking aim at President Donald Trump ahead of his visit Monday to California for a fire briefing .
“ It is maddening right now that when we have this cosmic challenge to our communities , with the entire West Coast of the United States on fire , to have a president to deny that these are not just wildfires , these are climate fires , ” Washington Gov .
Jay Inslee said Sunday on ABC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rally in Nevada , Trump blamed inadequate forest management , which White House adviser Peter Navarro echoed on CNN ’ s “ State of the Union , ” saying that for many years in California , “ particularly because of budget cutbacks , there was no inclination to manage our forests.
” Firefighter Steve McAdoo has run from one blaze to another in Oregon for six days , seeing buildings burn and trees light up like candles .
“ We lost track of time because you can ’ t see the sun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so many days , ” he said .
“ Forty-eight to 72 hours nonstop , you feel like you ’ re in a dream.
” As he and his team battled the blazes , McAdoo worried about his wife and daughter at home just miles away .
They evacuated safely , but at times he could communicate with them only in one-word text messages : “ busy.
” McAdoo and other firefighters got their first real break Sunday to take showers , shave and check their equipment .
And though it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he can finally see the sun .
“ It ’ s nice today to at least see the dot in the sky , ” he said .
Meanwhile , Oregon ’ s fire marshal , who resigned after being placed on leave amid a personnel investigation , says he was trying to help a colleague and “ didn ’ t do anything wrong.
” Jim Walker told TV news station KOIN in Portland that state police leaders put him on leave after he tried to help a co-worker whose family was missing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ superiors decided he had overstepped his authority .
Whitehurst reported from Beavercreek , and Cline from Salem .
Associated Press journalist Manuel Valdes in Talent contributed .

BEAVERCREEK, Ore. — Nearly all the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities said over the weekend as crews battled wildfires that have killed at least 33 from California to Washington state.
The flames up and down the West Coast have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving nothing but charred rubble and burned-out cars, forced tens of thousands to flee and cast a shroud of smoke that has given Seattle, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, some of the worst air quality in the world.
The smoke filled the air with an acrid metallic smell like pennies and spread to nearby states. While making it difficult to breathe, it helped firefighters by blocking the sun and turning the weather cooler as they tried to get a handle on the blazes, which were slowing in some places.
But warnings of low moisture and strong winds that could fan the flames added urgency to the battle. The so-called red flag warnings stretched from hard-hit southern Oregon to Northern California and extended through Monday evening.
Lexi Soulios, her husband and son were afraid they would have to evacuate for a second time because of the weather. They left their small southern Oregon town of Talent last week when they saw a “big, huge flow of dark smoke coming up,” then went past roadblocks Friday to pick through the charred ruins of their home.
While they are staying farther south in Ashland, known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, she said by text message that the forecast may mean they could be on the move again.
“So this isn’t over yet but we just had the car checked so we feel prepared,” Lexi Soulios wrote.
Authorities last week reported as many as 50 people could be missing after a wildfire in the Ashland area. But the Jackson County sheriff’s office said late Saturday that four people had died in the blaze and that the number of missing was down to one.
At least 10 people have been killed in the past week throughout Oregon. Officials have said more people are missing from other fires, and the number of fatalities is likely to rise, though they have not said how high the toll could go as they search. In California, 22 people have died, and one in Washington state. Thousands of homes and other buildings have burned.
Barbara Rose Bettison, 25, left her farm among the trees and fields of Eagle Creek, outside Portland, when a sheriff’s deputy knocked on her door Tuesday. They drove away on a road that became an ominous dividing line, with blue skies on one side and the other filled with black and brown smoke.
She took shelter at an Elks Lodge near Portland, where evacuees wrapped themselves in blankets and set up tents out back.
“It’s terrifying. We’ve never had any form of natural disaster,” she said.
Bettison, a UPS driver, was able to get out with her chickens, rabbits and cats. She hasn’t been back, but neighbors said it is so smoky they can’t see their hands in front of their faces.
“I’m hoping there has not been too much damage because it would break my heart,” she said.
Farther south in the town of Talent, Dave Monroe came to his burned home, partially hoping he’d find his three cats.
“We thought we’d get out of this summer with no fires,” he said. “There is something going on, that’s for sure, man. Every summer we’re burning up.”
Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in the U.S. to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
The Democratic governors of all three states say the fires are a consequence of climate change, taking aim at President Donald Trump ahead of his visit Monday to California for a fire briefing.
“It is maddening right now that when we have this cosmic challenge to our communities, with the entire West Coast of the United States on fire, to have a president to deny that these are not just wildfires, these are climate fires,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
At a rally in Nevada, Trump blamed inadequate forest management, which White House adviser Peter Navarro echoed on CNN’s “State of the Union,” saying that for many years in California, “particularly because of budget cutbacks, there was no inclination to manage our forests.”
Firefighter Steve McAdoo has run from one blaze to another in Oregon for six days, seeing buildings burn and trees light up like candles.
“We lost track of time because you can’t see the sun and you’ve been up for so many days,” he said. “Forty-eight to 72 hours nonstop, you feel like you’re in a dream.”
As he and his team battled the blazes, McAdoo worried about his wife and daughter at home just miles away. They evacuated safely, but at times he could communicate with them only in one-word text messages: “busy.”
McAdoo and other firefighters got their first real break Sunday to take showers, shave and check their equipment. And though it’s a faint shadow of its usual self, he can finally see the sun.
“It’s nice today to at least see the dot in the sky,” he said.
Meanwhile, Oregon’s fire marshal, who resigned after being placed on leave amid a personnel investigation, says he was trying to help a colleague and “didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jim Walker told TV news station KOIN in Portland that state police leaders put him on leave after he tried to help a co-worker whose family was missing in a fire zone, saying his superiors decided he had overstepped his authority.
Whitehurst reported from Beavercreek, and Cline from Salem. Associated Press journalist Manuel Valdes in Talent contributed.
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and SARA CLINE


thedenverpost--2020-09-14--Alexander: Can Clippers beat a team that just won’t go away?

The first time you blow a big lead when you have a chance to clinch a playoff series … OK , it ’ s an aberration .
The second time ?
Ah , these things happen .
The third time ?
I think it ’ s fair to say you ’ re in trouble .
So this is what the Clippers face Tuesday night , in a Game 7 they didn ’ t expect but maybe should have .
They will face a Denver Nuggets team that has been through this drill often enough that it seems impervious to nerves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Denver won three straight in the last round to eliminate Utah .
In 2019 , they advanced to two Game 7 ’ s , beating San Antonio in the first round and losing to Portland in the second .
They ’ re a young team , in an earlier stage of development .
But they may have more playoff experience as a unit than the group the Clippers brought together with an NBA championship in mind .
“ We don ’ t care .
We ’ re just going to go there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nuggets ’ versatile 7-foot All-Star , Nikola Jokic , after Denver wiped out an 18-point second-half deficit in just under nine minutes and won going away Sunday , 111-98 .
“ Coach ( Michael Malone ) said before in the meeting , just don ’ t forget to have fun .
And then the third and fourth quarter , we were having fun together and everyone – you see everybody laughing .
Everybody was feeling good because we were playing good .
We were playing amazing .
So when we play like that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when they ’ ve done it before .
They seem poised to do to the Clippers what they did to the Jazz in the last round , and even more so .
In Friday ’ s Game 5 Los Angeles blew a 16-point second-half lead .
And go back to the last round , and the 21-point lead the Clippers spit up against Dallas .
And suddenly it becomes clear that we were way too confident about that Hallway Series that we ’ ve been hyping up ever since that news conference in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Kawhi Leonard sat on an elementary school stage in South L.A. while Clippers ’ owner Steve Ballmer talked about bringing “ the Larry O ’ B ” to L.A .
Yes , and today Lakers fans are smiling and nodding .
Their team took care of business in Game 5 .
If they feel compelled to respond to this development with snark … nah , Laker fans wouldn ’ t do that , would they ?
The issue right now is that the Clippers find themselves faced with a supremely confident opponent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , no situation too dire .
And let ’ s not forget that Denver was the third seed in the West , and that they were only one game behind the Clippers for the No .
2 spot when the novel coronavirus shut everything down in March .
“ We started off training camp back in September ( of 2019 ) in Colorado Springs talking about winning a championship , ” Malone said .
“ And we still have those same goals .
We ’ ve never lost sight of that .
Four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the bubble , trying to get healthy … we ’ ve always felt that we were good enough .
No one else does .
But we don ’ t care about that .
We don ’ t listen to the noise .
“ We ’ ve always had this internal belief in ourselves as a collective group that we ’ re good enough to win a championship .
And we find it funny that the narrative is like , ‘ Oh , the Nuggets are a cute team .
Oh , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the West last year .
We were one possession away from going to the Western Conference finals .
Most of this year we ’ re the No .
2 seed in the West … So I think it comes down to just a tremendous belief and confidence in who we are , what we ’ re about and what we ’ re trying to accomplish.
” So the Clippers are up against a team that not only is resilient , determined and skilled – witness those one-legged step-back three-pointers Jokic drained Sunday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shoulder from listening to all of those folks , nationally as well as locally , predicting an L.A. vs. L.A. Western Conference final .
“ All the media counts us out everywhere , all the time , ” Jamal Murray said .
“ So it ’ s nice to see everybody eat their words.
” Whatever motivational magic Doc Rivers has left , he may want to bring it hard .
“ It ’ s frustrating , ” he said Sunday afternoon .
“ But listen , when you decide to become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be roses every day .
So we clearly have the right formula as far as how we ’ re playing , and then we lose it .
” … I caught it early , though , even before we lost the lead .
I turned to Ty ( Lue ) and said we lost our pace .
We ’ re walking the ball up the floor .
We were getting stops early in the third quarter and we just lost our pace , and that ’ s just not us .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tried to play.
” So what will his message to his players be Tuesday night ?
“ I don ’ t know , ” he said .
“ I ’ ll let you know.
” It had better be good .

The first time you blow a big lead when you have a chance to clinch a playoff series … OK, it’s an aberration.
The second time? Ah, these things happen.
The third time? I think it’s fair to say you’re in trouble.
So this is what the Clippers face Tuesday night, in a Game 7 they didn’t expect but maybe should have. They will face a Denver Nuggets team that has been through this drill often enough that it seems impervious to nerves, or anxiety, or even worry. Denver won three straight in the last round to eliminate Utah. In 2019, they advanced to two Game 7’s, beating San Antonio in the first round and losing to Portland in the second.
They’re a young team, in an earlier stage of development. But they may have more playoff experience as a unit than the group the Clippers brought together with an NBA championship in mind.
“We don’t care. We’re just going to go there and have fun,” said the Nuggets’ versatile 7-foot All-Star, Nikola Jokic, after Denver wiped out an 18-point second-half deficit in just under nine minutes and won going away Sunday, 111-98.
“Coach (Michael Malone) said before in the meeting, just don’t forget to have fun. And then the third and fourth quarter, we were having fun together and everyone – you see everybody laughing. Everybody was feeling good because we were playing good. We were playing amazing. So when we play like that, confidence is really high.”
Especially when they’ve done it before. They seem poised to do to the Clippers what they did to the Jazz in the last round, and even more so. In Friday’s Game 5 Los Angeles blew a 16-point second-half lead.
And go back to the last round, and the 21-point lead the Clippers spit up against Dallas. And suddenly it becomes clear that we were way too confident about that Hallway Series that we’ve been hyping up ever since that news conference in July, 2019, when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard sat on an elementary school stage in South L.A. while Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer talked about bringing “the Larry O’B” to L.A.
Yes, and today Lakers fans are smiling and nodding. Their team took care of business in Game 5. If they feel compelled to respond to this development with snark … nah, Laker fans wouldn’t do that, would they?
(Pause for a humility check: The last time the Lakers and Clippers had a chance to meet in a playoff series, somebody blew a 3-1 series lead to spoil it. It was the Lakers, losing to Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns in 2006 at the height of Kobe Bryant’s powers.)
The issue right now is that the Clippers find themselves faced with a supremely confident opponent for whom no deficit is too big, no situation too dire.
And let’s not forget that Denver was the third seed in the West, and that they were only one game behind the Clippers for the No. 2 spot when the novel coronavirus shut everything down in March.
“We started off training camp back in September (of 2019) in Colorado Springs talking about winning a championship,” Malone said. “And we still have those same goals. We’ve never lost sight of that. Four months during the hiatus, coming back into the bubble, trying to get healthy … we’ve always felt that we were good enough. No one else does. But we don’t care about that. We don’t listen to the noise.
“We’ve always had this internal belief in ourselves as a collective group that we’re good enough to win a championship. And we find it funny that the narrative is like, ‘Oh, the Nuggets are a cute team. Oh, what a good story.’ We were second in the West last year. We were one possession away from going to the Western Conference finals. Most of this year we’re the No. 2 seed in the West … So I think it comes down to just a tremendous belief and confidence in who we are, what we’re about and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
So the Clippers are up against a team that not only is resilient, determined and skilled – witness those one-legged step-back three-pointers Jokic drained Sunday – but has a chip on its shoulder from listening to all of those folks, nationally as well as locally, predicting an L.A. vs. L.A. Western Conference final.
“All the media counts us out everywhere, all the time,” Jamal Murray said. “So it’s nice to see everybody eat their words.”
(Yeah, I know. Guilty as charged. But hold the mustard and relish until we see what happens in Game 7.)
Whatever motivational magic Doc Rivers has left, he may want to bring it hard.
“It’s frustrating,” he said Sunday afternoon. “But listen, when you decide to become a coach, it’s not going to be roses every day. So we clearly have the right formula as far as how we’re playing, and then we lose it.
” … I caught it early, though, even before we lost the lead. I turned to Ty (Lue) and said we lost our pace. We’re walking the ball up the floor. We were getting stops early in the third quarter and we just lost our pace, and that’s just not us. We can’t play the way we tried to play.”
So what will his message to his players be Tuesday night?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll let you know.”
It had better be good.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander on Twitter