Kiowa receives drainage grant

State provides $500,000 to improve infrastructure

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

e Town of Kiowa received a grant for $500,000 from the Colorado Department of Transportation e $500,000 grant award is only a fth of the $2.5 million requested by the town to help alleviate the drainage issues.

TAP Program to start work toward the Kiowa Drainage and Sidewalk Project.

According to its website, the Colorado Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grants federal funds to transportation improvement projects that expand travel choice, strengthen the local economy, improve quality of life and protect the environment.

“When we had our severe weather this past winter with all the icing, we had a lot of problems. It was then that we started to seek funding to x the drainage issues,” said

“For a small rural school district to be represented and recognized alongside much larger metro school districts is an amazing feeling. is achievement is for all of Elizabeth and Elizabeth School District,” said Newton in an email correspondence from July 14. “We have accomplished so much over the last two years and achieved numerous milestones that set the bar for school safety standards. Each safety and security director that was nominated has done amazing things for their districts, so whoever was chosen to win was deserving. I know how much hard work, dedication and determination has been devoted to our students in Elizabeth School e Elizabeth School District issued a press release on July 13 about Newton’s achievement, citing his background and praising him for his role in upgrading the district’s security, one factor that led him to being named K-12 Security Director

According to the press release, under Newton’s leadership, Elizabeth School District has received roughly $730,000 in school safety grants, resulting in improved radio communication systems, security cameras and other school-hardening upgrades. He is in Elizabeth schools daily to help ensure safety and continually works with local law enforcement and emergency response agencies plan and practice for emergency situations.

With support from the Elizabeth School District’s board and administration, Newton continues to expand the scope of security e orts in schools: In a rst for the district, the 2023-24 school year will see fulltime school resource o cers from the Elizabeth Police Department assigned to Elizabeth High School and Elizabeth Middle School, and new, armed district security sta members will also be assigned to assist at all Elizabeth schools as well as extracurricular activities.

Newton shared his thoughts in a Q&A with the Elbert County News on July 14: is is a tremendous honor, but it was not achieved on my own. is was a collective team e ort and it ultimately is a direct re ection of the amazing students, sta , and community of the Elizabeth School District. Each day, our team comes to work and school prepared to protect and safeguard our students. is was not something I was actively working towards speci cally winning this award, but I am always actively striving to be the best for our kids.

What does this honor mean for you? Is it something you’ve been working toward for a while?

What are your 2023-2024 goals for the Elizabeth School District? Any upcoming projects?

School safety is a perpetual process that must be continuously evaluated and improved. We have so much ahead of us in the Elizabeth School District and we are just getting started. Just a few of the new safety and security measures for the 2023/2024 school year include the Raptor Alert and the Raptor Emergency Management suite, two full-time school resource o cers (SROs) from the Elizabeth Police Department assigned to Elizabeth High ere is still a lot more to come with this! I will have the opportunity to participate in and lead various webinars focused on school safety. Campus Safety magazine will publish an editorial focused on Elizabeth Schools.

School and Elizabeth Middle School, new armed districtwide security sta to assist at all Elizabeth schools and extracurricular activities, the SchoolSAFE radio interoperability program linked to rst responder radio systems, and additional professional development focused on threat assessments and pre-attack indicators. We have also applied for numerous school safety grants focused on facility and site hardening. I am hoping to have an answer on these grants within the next few months.

Now that you’ve been named K-12 Security Director of the Year, do you have any sort of obligations to the organization? Speaking engagements? Any duties?

Why is school security so important to you?

School safety has been something I have been passionate about for a long time. I have always had the desire to serve others, which led me to enlist in the Air Force, speci cally Security Forces. While deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Arapahoe High School shooting happened. Having that be so close to home, it was then I wanted to bring this desire and passion of mine back home to protect our most valuable assets: our children. I always felt safe growing up going to school, and I strive each day to make sure each student gets the “home away from home” feeling too while at school. School is the safest place our students can be each day, and it is my job to reassure our parents and community of that. Plus, one of the best parts of my job is interacting with and spending time with students at each of our schools.

To read Newton’s award announcement in Campus Safety magazine, visit tinyurl.com/MikeNewtonCSD