Herald HRH 9-26-2013
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 45
September 26, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
HRCA appoints interim director Seymour wants to see vacancies filled By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Just Peachy
From left, Cougar Run Elementary School kindergartners Lillian Woolfolk and Addison Jensen enjoy grilled Colorado peaches and frozen yogurt on Colorado Proud Meal Day Sept. 18. Douglas County School District executive chef Jason Morse, assisted by Nutrition Services staff, student volunteers and teachers, set up a grill on the school’s playground. The day is designed to increase students’ interest in Colorado produce and agriculture. Photo by Jane Reuter
Wind Crest opens new building Continuing care facility welcomes first residents By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Wind Crest Retirement Community rolled out the red carpet for the first nine residents of its brand-new continuing care neighborhood this past week. The four-story Mill Vista Lodge, set for its grand opening Oct. 10, features 144 spacious suites and apartments, with one secure floor dedicated to memory care, two floors for residents in need of assisted living and a ground floor that is dedicated to short-term rehabilitation, long-term care and nursing services. Fred Krey, 95, and Hazel Vicenec, 93, became two of the first to call the lodge home, moving into their new assisted living apartments on Sept. 16. “My bed and bathroom, according to my bed, are on the wrong side of the room, but I’ll get that straightened out,” said Krey, who has lived at Wind Crest for six years. “It’s going to be pretty nice once I get used to it. I’ve just got to get situated. “They have a lot of nice places you can come sit when you have company.” Krey, who moved to Wind Crest from Kansas to be closer to his son, two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren, expects a lot of visits from family. Vicenec, meanwhile, hopes the friends she made in her old building at Wind Crest make good on their promises to come visit regularly. “They say `we’ll come visit,’ but I’ve got to see that first,” Vicenec said. “I’m excited about meeting new people too. People always say, `Hazel, you make friends everywhere you go,’ and I do.”
About Mill Vista Lodge
“When it comes to architectural design, Wind Crest continues on Page 12
Hazel Vicenec is all smiles and cheers as she gets wheeled into her new home by Wind Crest director of nursing Elizabeth Song on Sept. 16. Vicenec was one of the first five residents to move from the Aspen House into the retirement community’s brand new Mill Vista Lodge. Courtesy photo
The Highlands Ranch Community Association board of directors wasted no time in appointing an interim director following the August resignation of Craig Ziesman. The board unanimously appointed Backcountry delegate Dennis Seymour at its Sept. 17 meeting. Seymour, who has lived in Highlands Ranch since 2007, said he hopes to help fill the current vacancies in the delegate body as well as help to come up with solutions to improve communication between delegates and residents. He spoke toward the end of the meeting for about 10 minutes on both topics, presenting options on how to improve each area. “About 22 percent of the available lots within Highlands Ranch are not represented by a delegate,” he said. “This is something I want to take on and take some initiative as a director Seymour and get some input from the delegates as to how to fix this.” Seymour said he would like to see the current process of becoming a delegate revised and suggested options including lowering the initial minimum threshold of residential support from 10 percent to 5 percent, implementing online voting by residents and allowing the board to appoint delegates when there is an insufficient number of representatives. He also suggested that the HRCA increase awareness of vacancies by setting up a booth at public events to educate residents, as well as including mention on quarterly bills when there is a need for people to serve their community. A delegate since 2008, Seymour, who works as an operations chief for United Launch Alliance and is known for building the dachshund track for Oktoberfest, joked that he was the only one who stepped forward and expressed interest in the director vacancy. “It seemed everyone else took one step back and there I was and now here I am,” he said. “I’m here to help the delegates, help communication and help Highlands Ranch. “I’ve got eight months and then I have a re-election coming up with a few others.” In addition to Seymour’s seat, those occupied by Christina Caputo and board president Scott Lemmon — who like Seymour is a resident of the Backcountry sub association — will be up for election in March 2014. “It is a very tough position,” Lemmon said to Seymour after he addressed the delegate body. “We don’t get a lot of kudos for it, but we work real hard and we look forward to having you on the board. Thank you for your volunteerism.”
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.