Fireworks ban temporarily lifted beginning Saturday

Look out for fireworks booths popping up this weekend in Aurora because, starting Saturday, the citywide ban on the colorful explosives will lift.

Aurora Fire Rescue has decided to lift the city’s standing fire restrictions temporarily to allow residents to buy and light fireworks, according to a news release from the fire department.

Fireworks that do not leave the ground or explode may be bought and lit in Aurora from June 15 to July 4 this year, the release stated.

“None of the nationally recognized metrics we monitor to assess environmental fire risk in our community exceed thresholds requiring a fire ban,” Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton said in the release. “We urge those in our community to take precautions to prevent injuries or fires if you choose to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks.”

Last year, fireworks thrown away in an Aurora trash can re-ignited, starting a two-alarm fire at a townhome complex that damaged several homes and injured a firefighter, Aurora Fire Rescue said.

Another fireworks incident killed a man in an Aurora dog park this year.

— Lauren Penington, The Denver Post

Former youth soccer coach pleads guilty to assault

A former Littleton youth soccer club coach and president pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in Arapahoe County District Court on Monday, according to court records.

James William Bain, 74, was charged with five counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse in September 2022. Bain was a coach at Colorado United/Littleton Soccer Club for more than 30 years before he stepped down in June 2022, according to previous reporting.

Bain pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of third-degree assault, both misdemeanors, in a plea agreement with the 18th Judicial District.

The sex assault charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Bain was sentenced to 18 months probation in court Monday.

In a statement, District Attorney John Kellner said several witnesses were unavailable during the scheduled trial dates, and the judge denied their request to reschedule.

“There are cases where we believe a tougher sentence is appropriate — like this one — but we are confronted with making a difficult decision based on what we can prove in court,” Kellner said in a statement. “Given these difficult circumstances, a plea deal was the only way to guarantee a conviction.”

— Katie Langford, The Denver Post