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January 2, 2014
Free Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 11, Issue 41 A publication of
castlerocknewspress.net
Larkspur OKs new town hall Town pursues lease-purchase of bigger building By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@coloradocommunitymedia.com Larkspur Town Hall, a 1,100-square-foot house, has become big — in the headache department. “It’s a dire need,” said Matt Krimmer, Larkspur town manager, about the need for a more spacious town hall. Krimmer said they’re beyond being out of space, storage and otherwise, in the tiny building. And that’s why town staff and
council are working on buying a building down the street for a new town hall — a 1,700-squarefoot log building at 8720 S. Spruce Mountain Road. The current town hall, at 9524 Spruce Mountain Road, a onestory house donated to the town in 1984, has but four rooms: There’s the main room where both the receptionist works, the town council meets and a fullsize refrigerator sits; there’s no room for it in the kitchen, Krimmer said. Off of that room is the building’s sole office that has two desks in close proximity, shared by Krimmer and Sharon Roman, the town’s deputy clerk. Then there’s the filing room where they can’t put needed additional filing cabinets. If they did,
Krimmer said, town staff wouldn’t have walking room to be able to get to the existing filing cabinets. And, then, there’s the tiny kitchen. So documents that need to be close by — such as active files of businesses and developers in town — are in cardboard boxes “stacked in multiple places,” Krimmer said. Searching for other records means leaving the building, because they’re out back in the detached garage or in a portable storage unit. Other issues: Krimmer said when there is a project involving records and documents, materials are spread out on the town hall’s one large table. But then the Larkspur continues on Page 10
Larkspur Town Council is pursuing a lease-purchase agreement for this building, located just north of the town’s park, that would become the new town hall. Photos by Virginia Grantier
Puppy found in trashcan thriving
Judge says DCSD in violation School district will appeal decision regarding report emailed to 85,000 residents
‘Rambunctious’ Lilo was among dogs abandoned in Highlands Ranch park
By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia. com
By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Lilo squirms in owner Morris Hansen’s arms, wiggling out of his grasp and into the waiting arms of Denise Waggoner, who stands next to her husband. “She’s kind of rambunctious,” Hansen said, smiling. At almost eight months, the 12-pound puppy’s energy level is about normal. She’s come a long way from the first hours of her life, spent in a trashcan in Highlands Ranch’s Heritage Regional Park. Lilo was abandoned there with her four Shih Tzu-mix siblings, one of which died before the newborns were discovered on May 21. Just before Christmas, Lilo’s adoptive owners brought her back to the park for a pre-holiday romp. She ran and played within sight of the very trashcan in which she and her siblings nearly died. Lilo and her three surviving littermates, estimated at between three and seven days old when they were found, spent several weeks in foster care before they were made available for adoption in July. Castle Rock residents Hansen and Waggoner aren’t sure why they were selected from among the dozens who wanted to adopt. “We were told 60 people applied for the four puppies,” Waggoner said. “We don’t know how we got so lucky.” While in adoptive care, the helpless puppies grew into brown balls of fluffy fur. Lilo since has exchanged her dark puppy coat for a buff color; the fluffy fur remains. Waggoner said both the story of the puppies’ harsh beginnings and the sight of Lilo’s fluffy face in the newspaper compelled her to
Castle Rock husband-and-wife Morris Hansen and Denise Waggoner hold Lilo during one of her rare still moments at Highlands Ranch’s Heritage Regional Park. Photos by Jane Reuter suggest she and Hansen adopt the puppy. “It’s a touching story, but quite honestly, we saw her little face and thought, `She’s speaking to us’,” Waggoner said. “When the humane society posted little descriptions of their demeanors, we thought she’d fit in well with us. It’s just the two of us.” Douglas County Animal Control Officer Caitlyn Cahill, who fostered the puppies, had previously described Lilo as a loner. With Waggoner and Hansen as her human pack, she’s not a loner now. While they don’t see any signs of lingering trauma, her owners said Lilo prefers having them in her sights. “She wants people around,” Waggoner said. “If you’re not around, she’s coming to find you.” Because Hansen works from home, Lilo rarely is alone. Though the couple’s home has a yard, Lilo prefers to have company even there. “She likes to play outside and wants to go out, while I’m trying to work inside,” Hansen said. “She keeps us young,” Wagonner said. “She’s our kid.” During a recent visit, a veterinarian pro-
At almost eight months, Lilo is “kind of rambunctious,” owner Morris Hansen said. nounced Lilo “perfectly healthy.” Regardless, Waggoner still hopes the person who abandoned the puppies comes forward. “But mostly, they should know there are options for puppies you don’t want,” she said. “We just don’t want them to do it to other dogs.”
The Douglas County School District will appeal a judge’s ruling that it violated the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act and attempted to influence the outcome of the recent school board election. The ruling was in response to a mid-October complaint filed with the Colorado Secretary of State by unsuccessful school board candidate Julie Keim. She alleged DCSD used district resources to support its preferred candidates, and Administrative Law Judge Hollyce Farrell agreed. Those four ultimately successful candidates — Doug Benevento, Jim Geddes, Judi Reynolds and Meghann Silverthorn — support the school district’s education-reform policies. Farrell’s finding of a violation applied to only one of several claims — a district-financed report praising the reforms that was emailed to potential voters — that Keim’s attorney presented during two days of testimony. But the former candidate said it was the key piece of evidence. “We were really looking for the finding on that report, because that was the direct connection of using taxpayer resources to finance a political agenda,” Keim said, saying the other instances showed a pattern of poor behavior. “We’re just trying to make sure election law is followed and public dollars aren’t used for political Keim continues on Page 7