On Saturday, at about 9:15 p.m., Jefferson County deputies responded to the King Soopers store at 9800 W. Belleview Ave. concerning reports of a suspicious man in the store. The man, later identified as Evan Bynum, 40, of south Jeffco, was reported to be wandering around the store talking to himself, and had a hand gun visible in his back pants pocket.

Several Jeffco deputies reported waiting outside the store entrance to contact the man because of concerns for the safety of store customers and employees. One deputy reportedly entered the store to monitor the man’s behavior. When Bynum walked out of the store, deputies asked to speak to him. According to deputies, he responded by pulling a gun from his pocket. A series of shots were fired between the gunman and deputies.

Bynum was shot at least once by deputies and transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital. A second handgun was discovered inside his jacket. He was pronounced dead that night.

No other injuries were reported. The store remained closed overnight during the investigation but has since reopened.

Three deputies were placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting, according to Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley.

“The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team is investigating, and they’ll have a report in a few weeks,” Kelley said.

Kelley said investigators have completed a search of Bynum’s residence. She said a motive or explanation for Bynum’s behavior may never be known.

“Getting to the why is sometimes the toughest question for us to answer,” she said.

Jefferson County will have a new county commissioner in January. In a very close election that wasn’t finalized for two weeks, Casey Tighe was the winner by a 738-vote margin.

Tighe, an attorney and former audit director for the Colorado Department of Transportation, defeated incumbent Commissioner John Odom and will represent District 2. The swearing-in ceremony will be Tuesday, Jan. 8.

County Commissioner Faye Griffin was re-elected to a second term representing District 1.

Pete Weir was elected as district attorney for Judicial District 1, representing Jefferson and Gilpin counties. Both Griffin and Weir were unopposed in the election.

Commission Donald Rosier, Sheriff Ted Mink, County Assessor Jim Everson, Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson, County Treasurer Tim Kaufman and Coroner John Graham were not up for re-election.

Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) will provide access to more than 20,000 eBook titles, twice as many as were available at the start of 2012, just in time for the holidays.

It is now easier to use JCPL’s eBooks services, too, thanks to the recently launched 3M Cloud Library eBook Lending Service. The library also offers several classes to teach patrons how to download eBooks to their electronic devices; go online to jeffcolibrary.org and click on the “Locations, Events and Scheduling” link for class times and locations.

Also, JCPL makes it easier to get started with electronic reading. Its locations are offering eBook gift cards to help patrons give the gift of an eReader, tablet or smartphone.

For additional information on downloading free eBooks, audiobooks and music, visit the library’s download center at jeffcolibrary.org/downloadcenter.

Last week, some of the last signs of the mulching operation at the Rooney Road Recycling Center in Golden went up in smoke. 

Golden Fire responded to reports of smoke from the green waste and mulch site next to the recycle facility. The mulch operation closed for business on Oct. 31, but one of the remaining waste piles had begun to smolder. Firefighters monitored the pile, and kept the fire from spreading, though it smoked for several hours.

The green waste operation was used and supported by Golden, Arvada, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Lakeside, Edgewater, Morrison, Mountain View and unincorporated Jefferson County.  The operating company A-1 Organics has been working to clear the site of slash since its closure.