Herald HRH 5-23-13
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 27
May 23, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Sheriff shifts his command staff Weaver says rotation has goal of cooperation By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver has swapped the command staff among has agency’s departments in a move intended to encourage cooperation in his leadership team. Weaver in early May rotated his command division, changing the leadership in each department of the sheriff’s office. He made the move as his term as sher-
iff begins to sunset, with about 18 months remaining in his eight years as sheriff. “I’ve done this before,” Weaver said. “I want to leave everyone with the experience they need to make them successful. They get Weaver the opportunity to see what the other commanders are dealing with.” The sheriff has rotated his leadership staff among divisions more than once since he became sheriff in 2006. The most recent sweeping change was in August 2010, said
Capt. Darren Weekly. Weekly was among the command staff to receive a new assignment. Formerly the head of professional standards, Weekly now leads the patrol division. “The sheriff likes to make sure command has experience in different areas of the sheriff’s office so we’re well-rounded and have a global view of the sheriff’s office,” Weekly said. “It’s important to understand the issues the other divisions are having.” The practice among law enforcement agencies of rotating command staff has become an industry standard in recent decades as a way to rejuvenate division commanders, said retired Westminster Police
Chief Dan Montgomery, owner and chief executive officer of Professional Police Consulting LLC in Westminster. “You get a different perspective brought into the different divisions. If you do it every three to five years, that’s a good amount of time for a command officer to get settled, learn the ropes and do their job effectively,” Montgomery said. “The rotation just gives the command staff the opportunity to rejuvenate themselves, get into a new assignment and look at these new assignments with a fresh set of eyes. Ultimately you want to improve the organization and that, to Sheriff continues on Page 8
County urges preparation for disaster
Fire danger still predicted to be high this summer By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Highlands Ranch resident Rick Burtt, a lieutenant colonel in the Colorado Army National Guard, is preparing to hike the 486-mile Colorado Trail to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Burtt served in the Army on active duty from 1996-2000 and in the Army Reserve from 2000-2008. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003 as a company commander. He has been preparing for his hike at Jefferson County Open Space areas and Castlewood Canyon State Park. Photo by Ryan Boldrey
Soldier set to hike for good cause Highlands Ranch man raising money, awareness By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com When Lt. Col Rick Burtt takes his first steps onto the Colorado Trail July 5 it will be the beginning of a 24-day, 486-mile journey in which every step will help to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. Burtt, a 40-year-old with many years of service in the Army and Colorado Army National Guard, had long desired to do something big, and he couldn’t think of a better foundation to tip his hat to in the process. As a company commander in Iraq in 2003, Burtt watched firsthand as soldiers in his company sustained everything from minor injuries to lost limbs, and even death. For those who did return home, many have suffered since with post-traumatic stress disorder, including, to an extent, Burtt. “I had some weird dreams, social anxiety for a little bit when I first got home,” he
said. “There were a lot of guys who had a real hard time adjusting to life, that were really impacted by PTSD. It always stays in the back of your mind.” And while issues with PTSD have surfaced more in recent years, Burtt points out that what today’s warriors face is no different from what veterans of past wars endured. “I think we are just more attuned to those issues today,” he said. “If anything, I’m grateful that all the focus now on the mental health and occupational health of today’s soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines has shined a little bit of light on previous generations of veterans and the struggles that they have gone through.” The Wounded Warrior Project works to help wounded service members of all wars acclimate in modern society, provides aid and assistance, and offers a variety of unique programs and services. “It’s important that people remember after all the homecomings and the parades and the fanfare is done, we have a lot of (service members) who are struggling in a lot of ways that most people don’t under-
stand,” Burtt said. “Where there isn’t a governmental program in place, the good folks at the Wounded Warriors Project take these guys to the finish line in getting their life back in order.” Burtt, who has been training for his hike primarily at Jefferson County Open Space sites and Castlewood Canyon State Park, plans to hike an average of 20.25 miles a day. He will spend much of his journey alone, but will be joined by his neighbor, Air Force Maj. Robert Carreon, as well as a couple other friends at different spots along the way. He will also have a sevenperson resupply team that will meet him at trailheads and road crossings to bring him clean clothes, cooking fuel and food. Burtt’s only luxurious stops include a night at Mount Princeton Hot Springs and a night at a friend’s condo in Frisco, likely the only time he will have a bed to sleep on. To learn more about Burtt’s journey or donate to the Wounded Warrior Project in his name, please visit www.facebook.com/ HealingThroughHiking or search for his fundraiser at www.woundedwarriorproject. org.
As Colorado braces for what — despite the recent moisture — experts are still predicting to be a severe fire season, officials are asking people to take caution. “Without trying to be too dramatic, we want the point to be hard-hitting,” said Tim Johnson, Douglas County Director of Emergency Management. “We want to be in people’s faces a little bit and say: `Look, this is real, people can die, so pay attention. Take notice of what is going on around you.’” In a concerted effort to do just that, the county is preparing to launch a series of public service commercials with footage of a family driving out of last year’s Lower North Fork Fire as well as homes burning during the Waldo Canyon Fire. The message of the videos, which can be viewed at www.ourcoloradonews.com, is not just to show how real and scary wildfire can be, said Douglas County spokeswoman Wendy Holmes, but to prepare residents for disaster by getting them to sign up for Code Red, the county’s emergency notification system. In the spot that features a young family driving out of the flames and smoke of the Lower North Fork Fire, the viewer hears the voiceover say: “You may think this is the one call you never want to get, ‘Your area is being evacuated due to wildfire, leave immediately’; actually, it’s the one call you do want to get.” In another commercial, the viewer catches a glimpse of homes burning during the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, while statistics appear on the screen demonstrating the number of homes lost in each of the state’s big four fires of 2012. “Last year’s wildfires were the most destructive Colorado has ever seen,” the voiceover says, “and not one of these homeowners thought it could happen to them.” “When you live by a forest you understand the potential for a fire,” Johnson said. “Yet there is a sense of safety when you live in an urban neighborhood, but a quartermile away you have open space. Now that we’ve had Waldo Canyon, it’s time for people to be a little more aware of the potential Disaster continues on Page 8
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