Lone Tree
Voice
November 1, 2012 A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 42
Tennis courts ready for play Park replaces area demolished during pool construction By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
Mike Craig, dressed as “Banana Man,” high-fives Pine Lane Elementary School students Oct. 24 during the Fruits and Veggies Challenge kick-off.
DISTRICT KICKS OFF EATING CHALLENGE PHOTOS BY COURTNEY KUHLEN CKUHLEN@OURCOLORADONEWS.COM To kick off a healthy eating challenge, Douglas County School District Nutrition Services pumped up the music, broke out the balloons and served up grilled fruits and veggies to students at Parker’s Pine Lane Elementary School Oct. 24. The Fruits and Veggies Challenge will run through Nov. 16, with a prize going to the school that consumes the most fruits and vegetables per capita during lunch. Additionally, students are pledging to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Chef Jason Morse, with help from his student ambassadors, offered carrots, red and green peppers, zucchini, squash, cherries, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew melon fresh off the grill.
Sixth-grade chef ambassadors serve up grilled fruits and vegetables Oct. 24 at Pine Lane Elementary School in Parker to kick off the district’s first Fruits and Veggies Challenge. Douglas County School District Nutrition Services held the event as part of an effort to get children to eat a well-balanced diet. Ambassadors pictured from far right to left are Gage Bennett, Trevor Erpelding, Tallyn Wilkinson and Ellie Hunt.
Lone Tree’s newly dedicated Cook Creek Tennis Courts fill a niche in the community’s recreation program, and bring life to a once weed-choked, hidden parcel of land. “It’s like this land was waiting for this,” Councilmember Susan Squyer said after the Oct. 27 dedication of the tennis courts, bridge and park that surrounds it. “The bridge makes it welcoming to the whole community.” The tennis courts replace a pair lost in 2008 to construction of the new Cook Creek Pool off Yosemite Street and Lone Tree Parkway. The spot for the new courts is a tennis ball’s bounce away from the original site, just across Willow Creek from the pool, behind the Taos at Lone Tree neighborhood and adjacent to Sweetwater Park. Development around the courts includes a trail, a bridge spanning Willow Creek to the Willow Creek Trail, nine parking spaces, and picnic and restroom shelters. The City of Lone Tree and South Suburban Parks and Recreation shared in the $700,000 cost, an investment both agencies agree was worthwhile. “It’s a wonderful addition,” SSPR director Dave Lorenz said. “It just fits the Tennis continues on Page 10
Excursion helps spirits, hopes soar Volunteer pilots, ground crew take therapy to new level By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Craig Hospital patient Rex Haskins straps in for a flight in a small airplane as therapist Claire Cahow look on. Haskins’ excursion was part of the CraigFlight Mission program. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
For people with spinal cord injuries, recovery can be a long and difficult challenge, but a new program at Englewood’s Craig Hospital has some patients literally flying through the process. CraigFlight Mission, a unique partnership between Craig Hospital’s therapeutic recreation program and the Jeppesen Employees Flying Association, puts patients with spinal cord injuries into the cockpit of a small airplane for a short flight around the Denver skyline. Volunteer pilots and ground crew joined Craig personnel and patients on Oct. 27 at Centennial Airport to demonstrate the many life options still available, Flight continues on Page 10
Lone Tree Councilmember Kim Monson tests her tennis skills Oct. 27 on the newly dedicated Cook Creek courts. Photo by Jane Reuter
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.