Email Author Jessica Centers

Awards

• 2007 - National Council on Crime and Delinquency/Prevention for a Safer Society Award, published October 19, 2006

  "All Grown Up"

• 2006 - National Council on Crime and Delinquency/Prevention for a Safer Society Award, published December 1, 2005

  "Focus on the Family"

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2008 Stories by Jessica Centers

• Train Gang

  published December 25, 2008

  In all the brooding and debating over I-70 ski traffic and how to fix it or give people a way out of it — with a train — one little... More >>

• Do the Dew

  published December 18, 2008

  After years of following the skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross events of the Summer Dew Tour — the most-watched and best-attended... More >>

• Soul Sisters

  published December 11, 2008

  Looking to take the edge off your holiday-shopping experience? How about perusing unique, affordable gifts in a spa-like atmosphere while sampling... More >>

• Winter Wonderland

  published December 11, 2008

  It took a few years, but I finally convinced my Midwestern mother to join the rest of the family on a ski vacation this winter. The only problem... More >>

• Governor Ritter wants to revamp Colorado's human-services system

  published December 4, 2008

  Thirteen children whose families had been brought to the attention of child protection workers still died as the result of abuse or neglect in... More >>

• Sharles Johnson is a hero to his children -- and the arch-enemy of Jefferson County.

  published December 4, 2008

  Sharles Johnson was on the phone with his mother when the doorbell rang at his home in Bolingbrook, Illinois. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and... More >>

• Old-World Charm

  published December 4, 2008

  With the hustle and bustle of its shops and restaurants all lit up by holiday lights, Old South Pearl Street is a beautiful stretch to walk along... More >>

• Tag Team

  published November 20, 2008

  When graffiti artists Wiser and Keith White started their custom art company, Your Name in Graffiti, a couple of years ago, one of their... More >>

• Skate Or Die

  published November 20, 2008

  By the time I was five, my mom had already figured out I was a little too chubby and clumsy to be a ballerina, but when I decided I wanted to be... More >>

• 

  published November 13, 2008

  It's that time again. The white stuff is building into a thick blanket over Denver's backyard playground, and Westword is here to remind... More >>

• Cool School

  published November 6, 2008

  When high school principal Michael Johnston settled in, like 33 million other Americans, to watch Barack Obama's thirty-minute prime-time... More >>

• Ski Bums

  published November 6, 2008

  Ski season’s almost upon us — which, if you’re anything like me, means that you missed Sniagrab, still haven’t bought a season... More >>

• What Lies Beneath

  published October 30, 2008

  Zoe and Kim Boekbinder aren’t like any duo of singing sisters you’ve seen before. While my siblings and I were imitating Rosemary... More >>

• Belief System

  published October 23, 2008

  Eight years ago, a group of transgendered Christians at the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in San Francisco created the world’s first... More >>

• Running Scared

  published October 23, 2008

  Running through Washington Park at dusk with ghouls and vampires on your coattails might constitute a bad dream most nights, but tonight it’s... More >>

• Climb Every Mountain

  published October 16, 2008

  You’d be hard-pressed to find a more inspirational speaker than Erik Weihenmayer. In 2001 he became the only blind man in history to reach... More >>

• Blast from the Past

  published October 2, 2008

  It’s been several years now since Eddy Joe Cotton was a little-known hobo, hopping freight trains and playing hand-made instruments in a... More >>

• Let There Be Night

  published October 2, 2008

  There’s something strange and wonderful about capturing the darkness, says Denver Darkroom director Standish Lawder, whether a scene is... More >>

• Summer Lovin'

  published September 11, 2008

  If you’re starting to feel depressed about the first chills of sweater weather, hold those tears until next week, because tonight is the... More >>

• Heroine Chic

  published September 11, 2008

  “Before Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon…There Was Red Heroine.” Those words flash... More >>

• Convergence of Thought

  published September 11, 2008

  Jim Kunstler keeps a blog called the Clusterfuck Nation Chronicle, and his latest book, The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging... More >>

• Pass the Pigskin

  published September 4, 2008

  It’s September, that rare and glorious time when seasons merge and you get best of summer’s weather along with the beginning of... More >>

• Barack Obama gives principal Michael Johnston extra credit

  published August 28, 2008

  At 3:10 p.m. on May 28 — dismissal time on the last day of school at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton — 500... More >>

• Superintendent Charlotte Ciancio may have super powers

  published August 28, 2008

  When Charlotte Ciancio became superintendent of Mapleton Public Schools in 2001, she took a long, hard look at the district that had always... More >>

• Two Wheels on a Mission

  published August 28, 2008

  Seeking a way to celebrate the Democratic National Convention, Tai Beldock decided to throw a viewing party. Her business — the Erico... More >>