1-Color
April 3, 2014
Free Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 12, Issue 1 A publication of
castlerocknewspress.net
Spurlock gets nod in sheriff ’s race Other hopefuls unhappy with system at General Assembly By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@coloradocommunitymedia.com Douglas County Undersheriff Tony Spurlock doubled the number of votes garnered by both of his opponents at the Republican General Assembly and will now run uncontested for the office of sheriff on the party’s primary ballot come June. After that, Spurlock will face off against
Libertarian Brock McCoy in November for the right to take over for term-limited Sheriff David Weaver. No Democrat has announced a candidacy for sheriff at this time. Receiving 233 votes from delegates, the undersheriff picked up 50.4 percent of the vote at the March 22 assembly, while Coroner Lora Thomas earned 24.8 percent and Castle Rock Police Cmdr. John Anderson wound up with 24.6 percent. For candidates to make it on to the Republican primary ballot they must receive 30 percent of the vote at the general
assembly. If they do not reach that amount, but finish with more than 10 percent, they had nine days to gather signatures equating to 20 percent of the total number of votes in the Republican primary during Spurlock the last sheriff’s election — which in this case meant 5,040 valid signatures by registered Republican voters in Douglas County. Neither Thomas nor Anderson chose to
go through with the petition process. “I think the message from the delegates is that the citizens of Douglas County are appreciative of the efforts of the sheriff’s office, they are happy with my vision and mission for the future, and they are happy with what I have been doing as the undersheriff,” Spurlock said. “I am very happy, humbled and proud to be representing the Republican Party. It is a daunting and humbling task to run for office. I really appreciate everything Spurlock continues on Page 6
Quiet zone possible for stretch of 85 County, Castle Pines Village residents may get relief from train noise By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Aspen View Academy kindergartner Davis May focuses on his landing after catching some air March 27 at the Metzler Ranch skate park. Davis, 6, along with a slew of others enjoyed being at the park instead of inside a classroom.
SHREDDING UP THE BREAK High temps alas, and finally no class. Skaters, bikers and scooter enthusiasts flocked to Metzler Ranch Community Park March 27 to enjoy some spring break free time and fill their hours with sunshine instead of fluorescent bulbs, iPads and books. The park was a hot spot all week long as kids of all ages hit the bowls morning, afternoon and night.
PHOTOS BY RYAN BOLDREY
High School Douglas County Adams takes freshman Cole le ring break whi advantage of sp . ke bi w air on his ne catching some
Flagstone Elementary School fourth-grader Jaden Dawson hit Metzler Ranch skate park with his dad and younger brother.
Douglas County residents who live along the U.S. 85 corridor may be used to the sound of blaring train horns thanks to the busy railroad that snakes along the roadway. But pretty soon, the county is hoping the noise will subside once improvement projects at seven crossings are complete later this year. County staff began pursuing a “quiet zone” for the tracks along U.S. 85 in late 2009 after receiving a petition from Castle Pines Village residents hoping the reduction in horn sounds would result in a “better quality of life,” according to Sean Owens, an engineer with the county. “In response to that, the commissioners told me to go get a quiet zone, and four and a half years later we might get one,” Owens said. After a phone survey showed low support for a public improvement district tax to fund the project, the Castle Pines Homes Association and Castle Pines Metro District agreed to split the cost, paying for half of construction costs while the county agreed to pay the other half as well as the engineering and permitting costs. “It has been a journey,” said Linda Battin, president of the Castle Pines Homes Association, which serves Castle Pines Village. “We’re cautiously optimistic. We’re very pleased with where we are now and we’re still knocking on wood that it gets done.” As part of the effort to seek the quiet zone, Douglas County commissioners approved an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for construction of a wayside horn, a stationary horn that Train continues on Page 6
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