Castle Pines News-Press 0430

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FARMERS’ MARKET April 30, 2015 VOLU M E 2 | I S SUE 38 | F R E E

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D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

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WHAT’S INSIDE

GETTING THE BUGS OUT

Suicide warning signs: Castle View brings in expert to discuss mental health. See Page 2

DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS

Bond issue drives debate Presentation on capital needs draws supporters, detractors

Master classes: Parker’s PACE center offers in-depth art classes this summer. See Page 14

By Jane Reuter

jreuter@colorado communitymedia.com

Jumping in: Liberty Bell Invitational gathers 1,000 track and field athletes. See Page 23

P O W E R E D

B Y

ShopLocal Colorado.com F IND ALL OF OU R ADVE RTIS ER S O NL INE

P L E ASE S UPPORT OUR LOCAL A DVE RT I SER S FOR THE I R C ONTR IBUTION TO KE E P I N G OU R C OM M UNIT Y CONNECTED

Gracie Richardson, of Castle Pines, who dressed as a ladybug for the day, frees the last of the 1,500 ladybugs released during Riverstone Education’s Earth Day event in Lone Tree on April 22. Turn to page 18 for more coverage of local Earth Day events. Photo by Jane Reuter

‘Shark Tank’ pays off for local moms NeatCheeks face wipes are now in 69 Colorado Walgreens locations By Mike DiFerdinando

G E T SOCI AL WITH US

P LE ASE RECYCLE T HI S COPY

mdiferdinando@colorado communitymedia.com Castle Rock moms Danielle Stangler and Julia Rossi appeared on the April 17 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank” to try to make a deal for their company, which makes NeatCheeks flavored face wipes. The company was born when Danielle accidently dipped a napkin into what she thought was her husband’s water, but turned out to be lemonade, to wipe her baby’s face. The sweet treat was a big hit. She soon reached out to idea buddy Rossi and the pair went about creating a company. Research revealed that stevia was a good alternative to other sweeteners because it didn’t leave hands and faces sticky. By February 2014 the company had inventory and NeatCheeks were soon being sold in two local Walgreens stores.

After 87 meetings with more than 1,000 community members on the school district’s long list of facility concerns, the Douglas County School Board said more work should be done before it can decide whether to put a capitalneeds tax issue on the November ballot. The school district has a final opportunity in November to ask taxpayers to maintain tax bills that would otherwise go down this year. If voters approved the proposal for a new $200 million bond, their school tax bill would remain unchanged instead of dropping by about $36 a year. After deciding not to put the question to voters in 2014, the board charged its Long Range Planning Committee with educating and getting feedback from the public about the $275 million in unmet capital needs. Committee members and financial staff gave a detailed presentation to the board about their findings during the April 21 board meeting. Surveys and comments they gathered from community members show support for funding those needs with a bond or some form of tax. “We heard the recognition of the need for a bond; we heard a concern about a long-term strategy to address our capital needs,” said committee chairman Todd Warnke, adding they also heard a desire for “quick and decisive action” to address the unfunded capital needs. “One thousandplus people came out, on snowy nights, on school nights, to sit there thoughtfully and give us very good feedback.” Warnke repeated the committee’s concerns for the increasingly grave condition of many district

Ballot continues on Page 9

HOW DISTRICTS COMPARE Castle Rock moms Danielle Stangler and Julia Rossi made a deal for their flavored face wipe business NeatCheeks on ABC’s Shark Tank. Neatcheeks is now in 69 Walgreens locations in Colorado. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando Stangler and Rossi entered “Shark Tank” later that year hoping to receive an investment of $150,000 for 20 percent of their company. They walked away with a deal with investor Barbra Corcoran for $150,000 for 25 percent of the company. Colorado Community Media caught up with the two for the following Q&A.

How did you end up on “Shark Tank?” Danielle Stangler: We submitted an audition video in April 2014. We just did an iPhone video of our heads. We talked about our product and two days later they called us. It’s the secret life of TV. We had our audition and then we couldn’t talk about anything. We Wipes continues on Page 9

Douglas County receives among the lowest per-pupil funding in the Denver metro area. In 2014-15, that amount was $6,763.59, according to the CDE. Neighboring Littleton Public Schools is also on the low end of the state funding list, getting only $1.66 more per-pupil than Douglas County in 2014-15. The CDE shows its per-pupil funding at 6,765.25. Littleton’s per-pupil state funding rank did not dissuade voters there from passing a refinancing mechanism similar to the one proposed in Douglas County in November 2013.


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