1-Color
April 24, 2014
Free Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 1, Issue 37 A publication of
castlepinesnewspress.net
Injured Castle View wrestler returns home Joe Hunsaker regains limited movement, continues his battle back By Nick Puckett
Special to Colorado Community Media It should have been just another tournament for Castle View senior Joe Hunsaker. He knew the routine: Wake up early, meet at the school to carpool, weigh-ins at 7 a.m., wrestle at 9. He’d done it time and time again. Only this time, by the end of the day, Hunsaker’s life would be changed forever. On Feb. 1, Castle View’s wrestling team headed to Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver. Hunsaker weighed in at 194 pounds. He had a bye the first round in the 197-pound weight class.
“I sat around for a while and was just sort of napping,” he said. “My time rolled around and I started to warm up.” He stepped onto the mat. The match started like many of his matches had that year. He found himself getting off to a slow start and quickly losing points. “I wouldn’t say the guy was a good wrestler,” he recalled, “but he wasn’t bad. Somebody I definitely should’ve beaten pretty good.” Hunsaker’s opponent took him down and threw him in a double wing, a common wrestling move that stacks an opponent onto their shoulders. That’s when things went wrong. “I remember feeling the pop and the fracture,” he said. “My whole body from my neck down went numb and warm and I couldn’t move anything.” He rolled to his stomach and lay still. Wrestler continues on Page 19
Castle View senior Joe Hunsaker, front center, had plenty of visits from friends and family during his 10-week stay at Craig Hospital. From left, 2012 CVHS graduate Gus Marker, CVHS junior Hudsen Marker, CVHS senior Kaleb Geiger, the Markers’ younger brother, Ricky, and Becca Westlake. Courtesy photo
Donahue re-elected as mayor
Green replaces Procopio as town’s mayor pro tem By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@coloradocommunitymedia.com
LEFT: A group of sixth-graders from Renaissance Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound School in Castle Rock watch with Chuckie the Beaver as an employee of the Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department rolls a tree into the hole they just dug April 18 at Metzler Ranch Community Park. The students are, from left, Saskia Braakman, Max Dietz, Zoe Maurice-Snider and Christian Townsend. RIGHT: Renaissance Expeditionary sixth-graders (from left) Jett Firenze, Jeremy Dawson, Grayson Andra and Hunter Murdock plant a tree at Metzler Ranch Park April 18 with the help of a Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department employee.
A ‘Renaissance’ of
TREES
What do you get when 42 sixth-graders from Renaissance Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound School in Castle Rock cross the street? If there are employees from Castle Rock’s parks and recreation department waiting for them at Metzler Ranch Community Park, and it happens to be Arbor Day, you get two plum trees, two crabapple trees, three linden trees, one maple tree and a pair of pear trees planted with the help of the department’s official mascot, Chuckie the Beaver.
PHOTOS BY RYAN BOLDREY
Employees of the Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department put a tree into the ground with a group of sixth-graders from Renaissance Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound School April 18 at Metzler Ranch Park.
Paul Donahue has been elected by his fellow councilmembers to serve another twoyear term as the mayor of Castle Rock. Donahue, who was elected to council in 2008, has served as mayor since 2011. Councilmember Jennifer Green nominated him April 15, moments after the newly elected council was sworn into office. Green was later elected by her colleagues as mayor pro tem. Both Donahue and Green — each of whom live in the Meadows — defeated Councilmember Chip Wilson, 5-2, in the two separate council votes. Councilmember Mark Heath nominated Wilson for both roles. “I knew I didn’t have the votes for mayor but I have served as mayor pro tem in the past, and I would welcome that opportunity Donahue again,” Wilson said prior to the second vote. “I think having one representative from the Meadows as mayor and one as mayor pro tem from a different district would be a welcome tag team.” Councilmember Renee Valentine, who like Green Green had just been sworn in for her second term, nominated Green to the post with the following words. “Over the last three years I’ve been on council with Jen I’ve come to admire her professionalism and how she conducts herself,” Valentine said. “I highly respect her character, Mayor continues on Page 7
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