News
ElbErt 3/21/13
Elbert County
March 21, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourelbertcountynews.com
Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 118, Issue 8
4-H kids chosen for event Citizenship Washington Focus builds leadership by rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Elizabeth C-1 School District board member Deb Spenceley talks with a parent at the district’s March 12 “meet-and-greet” at Grumpy’s Coffee in Elizabeth. Photos by Rhonda Moore
Informal gatherings focus on schools Elizabeth school board listens to parents, staff over coffee by rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com It is not your average coffee talk when the Elizabeth C-1 school district board members host a gathering. The district launched a “meet-andgreet” outreach at the beginning of the year for a chance to hear from parents and staff in a more informal setting. The events are an effort to reach those in the community aiming to bring their concerns and questions to school board members outside of the confines of a school board meeting, said Chip Swan, board of education secretary. Swan was among those members who heard from parents and staff with questions about school policies, campus security and myriad questions about Elizabeth schools. “Some people aren’t comfortable going to a school board setting to talk,” Swan said. “This is more to let the public get to know
Elizabeth parent Jessica Giles-Eastman has a conversation with Elizabeth C-1 School District board member Chip Swan at the “meet-and-greet” outreach. us, where they can feel more comfortable to bring up issues with us.” Board members conduct no business at the meetings, using the time instead to be an earpiece for those who join. The March 12 meet-and-greet was at Grumpy’s Coffee,
where Jessica Giles-Eastman was among the parents who took advantage of the opportunity to voice concerns about Elizabeth Middle School, where her daughter Ashley Goodwin is an eighth-grader. Board continues on Page 7
Elizabeth Middle School responds to queries Parent’s questions about lunch, backpacks answered by rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com At the Elizabeth C-1 School District board of education March 12 “meet and greet,” middle school parent Jessica GilesEastman had some questions for the board. Giles-Eastman had received word that students would be limited to four visits to their lockers each day. The news triggered a handful of questions.
Within 48 hours, Acting Principal Apryl Parkerson submitted answers about the school’s locker, backpack and lunch hour policies. The new locker policy resulted from a discussion between teachers and school administration on March 11, to limit locker visits to before and after school and around the lunch period. In the first days after adopting the policy, administrators reported fewer tardies and observed more “desirable behavior,” in the halls and at lunch, Parkerson said. “When those hallways are filled with students wearing backpacks, the hallway becomes even more congested and students
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can’t help but accidentally bump into each other,” she said. “This can cause emotions to run high and easily lead to students becoming unnecessarily irritated and frustrated.” The school requires students to keep their backpacks in their lockers during the day, in part because the backpacks create a hindrance in the school’s modest-sized classrooms, Parkerson said. “It is difficult to accommodate 20 to 25 backpacks in those classrooms without students tripping over them and causing disruption to the focus of the educational process,” Parkerson said. While Giles-Eastman received word the lunch hour was about 15 minutes, students get a 40-minute lunch/intramural break, including the passing period before and after lunch, Parkerson said. Since 2012, the breaks have been gender-separated and administrators have observed more students eating their lunches, Parkerson said. “(A)nother positive that we have seen is that more students are being included in friend groups during the lunch period,” Parkerson said. “There are fewer problem behaviors from both boys and girls.”
Two Elbert County 4-H participants will join members from across the nation at the 2013 National 4-H Youth Conference. Tyler Pollick, from Kiowa, and Tyler Grant, from Elizabeth, were selected by Elbert County 4-H Youth Development to represent the county’s 4-H clubs at the event this summer. The two will participate in 4-H Citizenship Washington Focus, a firsthand look at the civic process. The four-week conference teaches participants about Grant the nation’s history, its leaders and the students’ role in national and local civic affairs. The program is for high school youths at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., said Sheila G. Pollick Kelley, Elbert County 4-H extension agent. Grant has been a member of the Sun Country 4-H Club for 13 years. He is the son of Mike and Colleen Grant of Elizabeth. Pollick has been a member of Kiowa Community 4-H for eight years. He is the son of Robert and Linda Pollick of Kiowa. They will be among nearly 2,000 youths to attend the Citizenship Washington Focus trip, which includes civic workshops, committees, and field trips. The goal is to teach participants skills intended to make them better citizens and successful individuals, Kelley said. “CWF is a premier 4-H opportunity that allows some of the brightest 4-H youth from across the country to visit their national 4-H home and explore the nation’s capital,” said Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO, National 4-H Council. “These youth are exceptional leaders today, learning through 4-H how they can impact their communities, country and world now and in the future.” Learn more about 4-H at www.4husa. org.
Suicides comprise most gun deaths Laws might do little to bring down toll, analysis finds by Kevin Vaughan and burt Hubbard I-News Network
During the 12-year span between the mass shootings at Columbine High School and Aurora, Coloradans used guns to kill themselves about four times more frequently than they used them to kill each other, an I-News analysis of death certificates found. In Elbert County, the ratio was nearly 14to-1 during that time frame, with 27 gunrelated suicides and two homicides. The analysis, which covered the years 2000 through 2011, also found that white residents disproportionately committed Deaths continues on Page 15