October 28, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastlePinesNewsPress.net
VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 10
Colorado hospital ICUs fill up amid COVID surge Polis: ‘Get protected. Get vaccinated. Get boosted.’ Douglas County School Board President David Ray at a board meeting Aug. 24.
PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS
School district sues county health dept. over masks Suit alleges county opt-out order endangers students BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Douglas Benevento was selected as the president of the new Douglas County PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER Health Department’s Board of Health on Sept. 30.
The Douglas County School District and families of students at high risk of COVID-19 have sued the county’s new health department in federal court, alleging a public health order allowing SEE DISTRICT, P21
Castle Rock advances interchange reconstruction plans Funding for project will depend on election results BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Castle Rock Town Council
has approved a service agreement to begin the relocation of Dawson Ridge Boulevard and West Frontage Road as part of
the $75 million Interstate 25 and Crystal Valley Interchange project, which is contingent on results of the election that ends Nov. 2. SEE INTERCHANGE, P24
BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN
Gov. Jared Polis issued his most urgent plea in months Oct. 21, asking Coloradans to get vaccinated against coronavirus in order to break a continued surge in hospitalizations that left the state with only 120 available intensive care beds. Looking into the camera that was live streaming his news conference, Polis spoke directly to unvaccinated Coloradans, saying: “We want you here. We want you to be healthy. Please get vaccinated.” As of Oct. 21, more than 1,100 people were hospitalized in Colorado with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest number since last December. What is different this time, though, is the state has largely reopened, meaning hospitals are also filling up with victims of car accidents and other day-to-day events. During normal times, the state’s intensive care units would operate at about 68% full, said Scott Bookman, the state health department’s COVID-19 incident commander. Now, though, Colorado’s hospital ICUs are operating at around 90% of capacity, running the risk that they could be overwhelmed if the surge SEE COVID, P9
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INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
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