Castle Rock
News-Press
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 32
November 1, 2012
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Knock, knock: Don’t bother More than 2,500 homes on town’s no-solicitation list By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Parks and Recreation Director Rob Hanna displays the National Gold Medal Award his department earned from the National Recreation and Park Association. The award recognizes communities throughout the nation that demonstrate excellence in parks and recreation planning and management. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen | ckuhlen@ourcoloradonews.com
Parks and rec gets national honor By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com The Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department received the nation’s highest honor from its peers with the Recreation and Parks Administration’s 2012 Gold Medal Award. The award was announced Oct. 16 by the National Recreation and Park Association, which recognized communities throughout the nation that demonstrate excellence in parks and recreation planning and management. Castle Rock garnered the award in its class for a population between 25,000 and 50,000 residents. Parks and recreation director Rob Hanna represented the town at the awards ceremony and was joined at the podium by Eileen Matheson, recreation manager, and Kristen Trbovich, business analyst, who helped assemble the town’s winning gold medal submission. Their reaction as they walked the stage in front of thousands of their peers to accept the award on behalf of their staff? Total shock, Hanna said. “Our mouths dropped when it was announced,” he said. “It was very rewarding to be a part of such an elite group of award winners in the parks and recreation profession. This is the highest award you can get.” The NRPA Gold Medal Awards program was founded in 1965 to honor communities that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management, environmental stewardship, program development and agency recognition, among other things, according to the NRPA. “We are excited to be the recipient of this year’s Gold Medal Award — the most prestigious award in the parks and rec industry,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Green, who is a town council representative to the town’s parks and recreation commission. “The award reflects our
Growing interest in Castle Rock’s nosolicitation list prompted officials to offer homeowners another way to let sales people know — don’t knock on my door. The town in late August mailed residents on its no-knock list a sticker to display on their windows to let solicitors know they are on the town’s no-solicitation list. The list had grown to nearly 40 pages and was updated daily for distribution to solicitors who registered with the town, said Lisa Anderson, Castle Rock executive assistant. The no-knock list tells solicitors which addresses in town prohibit commercial solicitation. Town council in 2008 adopted a solicitation ordinance to create the list, prohibiting commercial solicitation at those addresses. At the same time, solicitors are required to register at the town clerk’s office and obtain a copy of the list before embarking on their day’s visits, Anderson said. “We had so many people on the list that solicitors didn’t know who was on the list,” she said. “We updated it every day and it was almost impossible to print out a list every day and for them to know
Knock continues on Page 12
Owen Lovelace, 8, and Cole Whittingham, 6, play Oct. 27 on the equipment at one of Castle Rock’s 19 developed parks. The Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department received the nation’s highest honor from its peers: the Recreation and Parks Administration’s 2012 Gold Medal Award.
WATCH THE VIDEO As part of the application process for the National Recreation and Parks Administration’s 2012 Gold Medal Award, each agency submitted a video for consideration by a panel of five parks and recreation professionals. Agencies are evaluated on their ability to address the needs of those they serve through the collective energies of residents, staff and elected officials. View Castle Rock’s video and winning submission on the town’s Facebook page, facebook.com/CRgov. staff’s dedication and effort in providing fantastic amenities as well as the continued support we receive from our residents.” The association each year recognizes five communities throughout the United States that rise above the rest in their parks and recreation efforts. Castle Rock made it to the top four in 2008 and
this year brought home the gold medal plaque. The plaque, which weighs about 80 pounds, will be displayed on the wall at the Castle Rock recreation center, Hanna said. Hanna credits the win to his staff, a supportive town council and a community that constantly communicates with its parks and recreation department. Hanna has spent a career in parks and recreation management and is going into his 16th year as the Castle Rock department director. “It’s definitely one of the highlights, absolutely,” Hanna said. “I’m excited for the department. It recognizes the dedication of the staff, what they do day in and day out and their dedication to the town and all of their customers. It’s a big feather for the department.”
About 2,600 Castle Rock residents have signed up for the town’s no-solicitation list. Stickers are now available to registered homes for display in a window. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen | ckuhlen@ourcoloradonews.com
Find election results online Due to our press deadline, we will be unable to bring you results of the Nov. 6 election in the Nov. 8 print edition of the News-Press. However, you can find results of the county commissioner, district attorney, 4th Congressional District and other races online. Just go to ourcastlerocknews.com. Then, you can find more coverage in the Nov. 15 edition of the newspaper.