August 21, 2015 VO LUM E 1 4 | IS S U E 39 | FREE
CentennialCitizen.net A publication of
A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
In schools, new year, new leader Superintendent Ewert gets to work at Littleton Public Schools By Jennifer Smith jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com
Kai Fraley, 2, of Parker, stares in awe at a new firefighting apparatus at Centennial Airport. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Trucks pack firefighting punch Centennial Airport helps secure new vehicles for South Metro, boosting plane-crash response
By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com Firefighters now have more capability to respond to downed aircraft on and near Centennial Airport. The South Metro Fire Rescue Authority revealed the latest weapons in its arsenal during a ceremony Aug. 13 at Centennial Airport, the second-busiest general aviation hub in the country. The Stryker T-2500 and Stinger Q4 received a ceremonial “wet down” with a fire hose, a tradition to commission new equipment that dates back to the 19th century. The Stryker T-2500, also known as Red 1, adds capacity for water, equipment and personnel responding to a crashed aircraft. The Stinger Q4, or Red 2, is an all-wheel-drive vehicle with maneuverability and the capability for a quick response. It can carry 400 gallons of water and quickly suppress a fire. It joins Red 3, a military-style Unimog that was one of few vehicles at South Metro’s
Centennial Airport Director Robert Olislagers shakes hands with South Metro Fire Rescue Chief Bob Baker during a ceremony to unveil new firefighting equipment at the airport Aug. 13. disposal for aircraft disaster response. It was kept at station 44 at Lincoln Avenue and Peoria Street. All of the vehicles will be based at South Metro’s station 35, southwest of Arapahoe Road and Peoria Street and
just north of the airport’s property. The fire department and Centennial Airport have a mutual-aid agreement. As South Metro Fire Chief Bob Baker Fires continues on Page 9
Littleton Public Schools welcomed the kids back to class on Aug. 14, along with their new superintendent, Brian Ewert. “The first thing for me to do is to deeply understand this community,” he said. “This school district is a high-functioning, well-oiled system that knows how it should work. There’s nothing really to come in and just fix.” Littleton is a long way from his family farm in Ogalala, Nebraska, where he was born to a preacher dad and a pianoteacher mom. He attended Jamestown College in North Dakota for a year on a track scholarship, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from the UniverEwert sity of Nebraska in 1986. At the age of 22 he decided he needed a “big adventure,” so he moved to California to teach and finish his master’s degree at California State University. “That’s where I really began to understand the importance of public education,” he said. “There was abject poverty, and students speaking many different languages.” At the time, he said, teaching in California was complicated and there were not enough resources for schools. “So I thought, I can’t do this and do it well, so I need to find somewhere I can do it well or get out,” he said. “Colorado cares about education, regardless of funding problems.” He landed in Colorado Springs as a principal for five years, then went on to eventually become the director of human resources in the Douglas County School District. He left in 2010 before the controversy there began to really swirl. “I am cautious whenever we have partisan politics in the board room,” he said of what’s going on there and in Jefferson Leader continues on Page 7
‘There is Hope,’ says former Arapahoe teacher Simple book deals with complicated issue
By Jennifer Smith jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com She thought it was a mistake. “I really didn’t know Karl,” said Suzanne Tyler, who was a special-education teacher at Arapahoe High School on Dec. 13, 2013. But police told her that Karl Pierson had deliberately written her room number on his arm before entering school that day and fatally shooting his fellow student, Claire Davis. Had he not killed himself in the library moments later, police believe he would have been on his way to Tyler’s classroom to wreak more havoc. After the SWAT team rushed her and her students out of the building, Tyler found herself standing in the church next door, where they were all taking refuge.
“It was really hard walking around in the church afterward,” she said. “The sadness, and the looks on their faces. I think that’s what got me the most. One of my students grabbed me and said, ‘I just need you to know I love you.’ You still cry when you talk about these things. That day became a blur for all of us. You just kind of go through the motions of life.” The fog remained in the days and weeks that followed, she said. “I would get in my car and go places and not know how I got there,” she recalled. “I was scatterbrained. I look back and say, `Wow, you were a mess.’ The monster comes in, but he never goes away. It’s always there, but we do get better. We become different people, but we can become better people.” And that’s when the seed was planted for Tyler’s new book, “There is Hope.” It’s written on a child’s level, but the message is for anyone who lives with the monster of tragedy, said Tyler. Hope continues on Page 9
Suzanne Tyer, shown here with her daughter Kaitlyn, was a special-education teacher at Arapahoe High School on the day of the tragic shooting there. In the aftermath, she wrote a book about healing. Photo by Jennifer Smith