Herald Highlands Ranch 5.9.13
Highlands Ranch
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May 9, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Teachers mostly happy, survey says Union official says results don’t extend to district By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com A state-directed teacher survey shows Douglas County educators feel supported by their communities, happy in their work-
places and empowered as instructional leaders. That, district officials say, is cause for celebration. But others say the results reflect only conditions at the school level, and that satisfaction with the Douglas County School District overall is poor. The state education department’s Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) survey is an anonymous statewide survey of educators, conducted every two
years and designed to assess teaching conditions at the school, district and state level. More than 70 percent of DCSD’s teachers participated in the 2013 survey, giving high marks to support for schools from their communities, clarity of policies and expectations, the work environment, professional standards and the curriculum. In total, 84.7 percent agreed their school is a good place to work and learn. “We were really pleased,� DCSD spokes-
woman Cinamon Watson said. “We had lots of teacher participation, and we improved in two-thirds of the data points over 2011. Some of those important ones I’d say (are that) teachers are empowered as instructional leaders in their classrooms. Teachers feel there’s a real sense of collaboration and trust. Our teachers feel very supported by the community.� On most questions, DCSD teachers’ satSurvey continues on Page 12
Election overhaul advances
OPEN FOR THE SEASON
Republicans incensed over proposed changes By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Balloon artist Alan Cooey crafts an inflatable laser gun for Grayson Watson, 4, of Highlands Ranch. Cooey joined a collection of other artists, vendors and bakers May 5 GPS PQFOJOH EBZ PG UIF )JHIMBOET 3BODI $PNNVOJUZ "TTPDJBUJPO 'BSNFST BOE 4USFFU .BSLFU IFME BU 5PXO $FOUFS 4PVUI Photo by Deborah Grigsby
Town Center construction continues Storage facility, Chick-Fil-A, Wendy’s among those in talks By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Town Center North, the final frontier for commercial development in Highlands Ranch, continues to take shape with multiple businesses in the planning stages or having already made the leap through the approval process. A car wash is under construction on the north end, and Christian Brothers Automotive has already been approved for a 4,000-square-foot repair shop to be located at the southeast corner of Lucent Boulevard and Town Center Drive. Chick-Fil-A also has plans to build a second Highlands Ranch restaurant at the corner of Highlands Ranch Parkway and Town Center Drive. Another fast food chain looking to build a second eatery in the community, Wendy’s, came in front of the Highlands Ranch Community Association’s Developmental Review Committee May 1 to discuss plans for a 3,200-square-foot restaurant at the corner of Highlands Ranch Parkway and Hepburn Street. Corporate representatives from the chain were asked to return June 5 with modifications and clarifications to their site plan before the DRC will grant approval. Also on DRC’s agenda next month will be Town Center Self Storage, a five-building storage facility being discussed for the southeast corner of Town Center Drive
$POTUSVDUJPO DPOUJOVFT BU 5PXO $FOUFS /PSUI JO )JHIMBOET 3BODI XJUI NVMUJQMF CVTJOFTTFT HPJOH UISPVHI UIF BQQSPWBM process or already building. Photo by Ryan Boldrey and SSG Chris Falkel Drive. A site improvement plan filed with Douglas County says the facility calls for one three-story storage building, three one-story storage buildings, a caretaker residence, and a paved loop driveway. Access to the facility will be off of SGT Jon Stiles Drive and construction is proposed to begin later this year.
Not all happy with direction
There has been much talk over the past couple years in HRCA board of directors
and delegate meetings over the distaste for the way in which Town Center is being built out. However, as Board President Scott Lemmon pointed out at April’s delegate meeting, there is not much the HRCA can do to stop who leases or buys land from Shea Properties, the developer that owns all of the property in Town Center. “I think it’s safe to say we’re all worried about Town Center North and are tired of seeing the fast food restaurants,� Lemmon Construction continues on Page 14
A major Democrat-sponsored overhaul to how elections are conducted in Colorado passed the Senate on May 2, much to the chagrin of incensed Republicans who uniformly object to the effort. House Bill 1303 — the “Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act� — would make substantial changes to the state’s voting and registration process, primarily by allowing residents the ability to register to vote all the way up through Election Day. Also, every registered voter would receive a ballot in the mail. That includes socalled “inactive voters� — those who currently do not receive mail ballots because they did not vote in the previous election. The bill essentially does away with polling precincts as we know them, and instead sets up “polling centers� where any eligible voter can show up to cast a ballot. Democrats believe the bill modernizes elections and alReport lows for greater involvement in the voting process. “At the end of the day, all we will find is that more people who are registered to vote will do so,� said Senate Majority Leader Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora. Democrats are touting this as a bipartisan piece of legislation, because the vast majority of county clerks in the state support the measure, including those who are Republican. But Republicans senators were apoplectic over the bill, which they dubbed the “Voter Fraud Act.� They argue that allowing same-day voter registration opens the door to more cheats casting ballots. “I have not talked to one clerk and recorder, except for maybe two, who think that same-day voter registration is a good thing, and that we should be allowing this huge open door for voter fraud to come to the state,� said Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch. Harvey also blamed Democrats for “cramming� through such a major bill, with just a handful of days left in the legislative session. At one point during an April 30 debate, Harvey requested that the
Capitol
Election continues on Page 14
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