SEE ELECTION

CSP continues to investigate fatal wreck on U.S. 285

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating whether alcohol and excessive speed contributed to the cause of a deadly crash on U.S. 285 and Kings Valley in Jefferson County that killed an Englewood woman and a 2-year-old on Aug. 26 as well as the driver suspected of causing the crash, who died on Aug. 27.

A 2021 red Dodge Ram 1500 driving southbound on U.S. 285 at about 3:40 p.m. Aug. 26 passed two vehicles on the shoulder, came back onto the highway and then crossed the double-yellow line, colliding headon with a black 2010 Ford F-150 driving northbound that was pulling a trailer, authorities said.

Master Trooper Gary Cutler said last week that the collision pushed the Ford backward from the impact. U.S. 285 was closed for fi ve hours during the cleanup and investigation.

Diana Snell, 55, of Englewood, who was driving the black Ford, died at the scene, and 2-year-old Jordan Snell died at the hospital, the CSP said. The other passengers in the vehicle, a 35-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

According to the State Patrol, the adults in the car were not wearing seatbelts, and the child was in a safety seat.

The driver of the red Dodge, who died from his injuries on Aug. 27, was Benjamin Bobier, 36, of Colorado Springs. The passenger in the Dodge, a 53-year-old Colorado Springs woman, also was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Trooper Josh Lewis said he didn’t have any additional on the condition of the victims, and it will take two weeks to get test results on the driver.

Cutler said initial reports that another child had been thrown from one of the vehicles were incorrect.

O ces Closed

Arapahoe County O ces will be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Visit arapahoegov.com/calendar

Get the latest COVID-19 vaccine info

The Colorado COVID vaccine hotline is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926)

Facing eviction? Struggling to pay rent?

Call 303-738-7891 today if paying rent has become a challenge during COVID-19. You may be eligible for short-term rental assistance through Arapahoe County. Visit arapahoegov.com/rentassistance

OUTBREAKS

a positive molecular amplifi cation test or antigen test, among students/ teachers/staff from separate households with onset within 14 days in a single classroom/activity or other close contact in the school setting (including transportation to- from- school and affi liated events),” a state defi nitions sheet says.

The defi nitions sheet acknowledges the question of whether a case was exposed to COVID-19 elsewhere in the community rather than at the facility listed with an outbreak.

“It is possible that a person may have been exposed elsewhere (and we can rarely prove where any individual was exposed with a person-toperson pathogen), but when a person worked/lived/spent time in a facility with a known outbreak, we attribute their illness to the outbreak even if there is no defi nitive determination that the case acquired the illness at the facility,” the sheet says.

Asked whether the public should interpret outbreaks in schools as indicative of COVID-19 spread in the broader community or as more indicative of spread occurring within the schools themselves, O’Guin said it should be viewed as both.

“With high levels of community infection, like there is now, infection can get introduced into the school by students or staff — frequently. Full in-person classrooms, lots more physical interaction in classrooms (or) sports (or) extracurriculars can contribute to an infected student or staff then transmitting in (the) school setting,” O’Guin said.

“Given the length of time that students spend in school settings, often in close contact with others — many of whom are unvaccinated — schools remain a source of primary exposure concern. That’s why masking is important and why vaccination of 12-17 years old is important,” she added.

WHERE SCHOOL OUTBREAKS OCCURRED

The COVID-19 outbreaks in school settings as of Aug. 26, according to TriCounty Health, included: • Acres Green Elementary School in the Lone Tree area • Bear Canyon Elementary School in Highlands Ranch • Cherokee Trail Elementary School in Parker • Cimarron Middle School in Parker • Hinkley High School in Aurora • Mesa Middle School in Castle Rock • Newton Middle School in Centennial • Ralph Moody Elementary School in Littleton • Roxborough Intermediate School in the Roxborough Park area • Sierra Middle School in the Parker area • STEM School Highlands Ranch • Timberline Elementary School in Centennial • Turnberry Elementary School in Commerce City • Westgate Community School in Thornton

The health agency also listed an outbreak at a facility called “ESC 1.”

ELECTION

council will decide which of its members will serve as mayor and mayor pro tem.

Joe Jefferson, Englewood’s presiding municipal judge since 2017, is running uncontested for the four-year position again this fall.

Let’s get moving, Colorado!

Join the High Line Canal Conservancy for the second annual Walk FOR the Canal—a movement challenge to support your 71-mile High Line Canal. You can join the Conservancy’s e orts to preserve, protect and enhance the High Line Canal by setting a distance-based goal and walk, bike, run or roll anytime, anywhere while raising much-needed funds for the High Line Canal now through October 10. Register today! highlinecanal.org/walk

Make a di erence in your community

Join the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Advisory Council and make a di erence in your community. As a council member, you will join like-minded community members as part of a forum that shapes the community programs that are o ered by Arapahoe County. The County is seeking an individual who has a non-profit background and is a resident of or has worked in the eastern portion of the County – making them uniquely positioned to be a voice for the needs of those communities. Get details arapahoegov.com/csbg

arapahoegov.com

Presenters keep their cool as they speak against rule

BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

No signs. No lines. No outbursts. Yet more than half the people who gave public comment at the Aug. 26 Littleton Public Schools board meeting spoke against the new mask-wearing requirement that the district announced the previous week.

“This is power versus parental rights,” the third speaker from the audience said. “It’s force versus freedom. And it’s mandate versus choice.”

Although the board was not scheduled to discuss or vote on COVID-safety policies, the district’s recent change in mask guidelines for students in preschool through sixth grade drew fi ve community members and their supporters to the meeting to express opposition.

The policy change is a result of the Tri-County Health Department’s Aug. 17 order requiring masks for all children ages 2 to 11 years old in all indoor school and child-care settings.

“Littleton Public Schools is required by law to follow these public health orders,” Superintendent Brian Ewert wrote in an Aug. 19 letter to the district’s families.

Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from Tri-County Health, the third speaker explained why he felt the public health order was “baseless and without merit.” He, like several other speakers that night, asked that the school board opt out of the order when they have the opportunity.

“No one’s saying don’t wear a mask. Give us the option,” he said. “That’s what parents want. That’s what kids want.”

A 10th-grader from Littleton High School told the board about his negative experience with virtual learning and mask-wearing last year. He explained the social and educational impacts he faced, including diffi culty making friends.

“When everybody’s wearing masks you can’t put names to faces,” he said. “You don’t get to see emotions and expressions, that kind of normal human connection.”

His request? “Please let us be kids,” he said.

One woman from Twain Elementary spoke to the board via telephone and thanked them for following Tri-County Health’s mandate.

Ewert said in his report to the board that 14 students had withdrawn from the district to attend other places that don’t require masks. However, the district had six new enrollments from places that do not have a mask mandate, he said.

Currently there are 17 students in what he called a “temporary withdrawal state” who are waiting to see what happens in the upcoming weeks regarding masking.

Ralph Moody Elementary, Wilder Elementary and Newton Middle School have each experienced a COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of the school year, Assistant Superintendent Melissa Copper said. Outbreaks are reported on the district’s

SEE MASKS, P30

5 seek posts on Littleton school board

Three will be chosen by voters in November

BY SHANNA MAXCY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Littleton Public Schools district residents will vote to fi ll three of the fi ve seats on the Board of Education in the November election.

Angela Christensen, current assistant secretary, is the only candidate currently serving on the board. Christensen was board-appointed in March and is running to keep her seat. Before joining the board, Christensen co-chaired the Citizens for LPS Yes on 4C Campaign, which helped to successfully pass the mill levy override for school funding in the fall of 2020.

Other candidates are Joan Anderson, Dale Elliott, Andrew Graham and Jon Lisec. Board members are elected at large to represent the entire district.

Board members who will be leaving are President Kelly Perez and Secretary Jack Reutzel, who have both served since 2013. Both are term-limited and cannot run for reelection.

Free Concert

& CRUISE

Free Concert Free Concert & CRUISE Friday August 6th “Float Like a Buffalo”

& CRUISE Friday August 6th “Float Like a Buffalo” Friday September 3rd DAVE FRISK BAND 6:45-10:45 pm High-energy Funk Rock Band 6:45-10:45 pm (stage located on MAIN St. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm.

High-energy Funk Rock Band Cruisers meet at the Sep 10th - 20 HANDS HIGH. 6:45-10:45 Sep 11th - DAVE FRISK BAND. 6.45-10.45 6:45-10:45 pm (Stage located on MAIN ST. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. City of Littleton Building parking lot at 6pm. (stage located on MAIN St. near Bega Park) Bring your lawn chairs and spend the evening with us. Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm. The Cruise will conclude after 3 loops through Old Town Littleton Cruise will begin at 6:30 pm. Cruisers meet at the City of Littleton Building parking lot at 6pm. The Cruise will conclude after 3 loops through Old Town Littleton