13 minute read
SEE SIGN
School district again requires facial coverings
BY ELLIOTT WENZLER AND JESSICA GIBBS EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A federal judge on Oct. 26 issued a ruling sought by the Douglas County School District, temporarily halting a public health order by the county’s new Board of Health that allowed people to opt out of mask mandates and restricted quarantines.
The school district later announced it is reinstating its previous quarantining policies and will require masking for everyone inside its schools unless an individual has a written medical exemption.
District Superintendent Corey Wise said in a statement that the policy is aimed at giving every child, regardless of their circumstances, a fair shot at a safe education.
“As a school district, we strive to do everything possible to protect the health, safety, and learning of every single child, especially our most vulnerable and those with signifi cant health conditions who are particularly susceptible to COVID-19. Today’s ruling allows us to do just that,” Wise said the day of the ruling.
In a statement, school board President David Ray called the ruling “a win for the families of students with high-risk medical conditions,” and said no one should have to choose between sending their children to school and risking their health.
“All of our students deserve access to in-person learning, and the court’s decision allows us to continue enacting policies that ensure students — including those with disabilities and underlying medical conditions — have the ability to do so, safely,” Ray said.
Issuing a temporary restraining order in connection with a lawsuit fi led by the district, U.S. District Judge John Kane ordered the newlyformed Douglas County Health Department not to enforce the public health order for at least 14 days.
Before the public health order, the district mandated the wearing of masks inside its schools as a COVID safety measure. The county order allowed adults to opt themselves out of the district mask rule and students to opt out with a parent’s note.
“I fi nd the risk of irreparable harm to plaintiffs is signifi cant and they have suffi ciently demonstrated that the public health order denies student plaintiffs reasonable accommodations of science-backed mask and quarantine requirements,” Kane said.
The ruling came after arguments were presented by the Douglas County Health Department and the school district Oct. 25 and 26 in support of the district’s suit challenging the county health department. The suit’s plaintiffs include nine families of students said to be at high risk of COVID-19.
“The order denies student plaintiffs reasonable accommodations in the form of adequate masking and quarantining protocol necessary to provide them with equal access to public education,” Kane said in his ruling.
Kane said he would revisit the issue for a possible preliminary injunction Nov. 8.
In a statement in response to the ruling, the Douglas County Health Department said it disagreed with the decision.
“We remain confi dent that when we have more time to make a full case we will be able to demonstrate that the Douglas County Board of Health struck the proper balance of public health protection and parental involvement in health care decisions for their children,” according to the statement, released through a spokesperson.
“Our order allowed the school district to continue its mask mandate even though the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment lifted its statewide mask mandate for students in July,” the statement said. “We would continue to encourage the Douglas County Board of Education to make partners of all parents in decisions that fundamentally impact their children.”
Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon responded to the decision with a comment to reporters.
County School District, temporarily halting a public health order by the county’s new Board of Health that allowed people to opt out of mask mandates and restricted quarantines. ous quarantining policies and will require masking for everyone inside its schools unless an individual has a written medical exemption.
“While Douglas County continues policy is aimed at giving every child, to remain virtually without any regardless of their circumstances, a pediatric COVID hospitalizations, fair shot at a safe education. including students with disabilities, this school board refuses to relinquish their militant grip on kids’ the health, safety, and learning of and parents’ personal health care every single child, especially our choices in order to maintain sensemost vulnerable and those with less, one-size-fi ts-all authoritarian policies,” he said. The district and families of highrisk students sued the county’s new Fraught school board meeting follows lawsuit ruling health department Oct. 20, alleging that the agency’s new public health order violated civil rights of students with disabilities. “The message is simple: In these very complex times, our most vulnerable children cannot be left behind,” Ray said in a statement at the time. The Douglas County health agency passed its fi rst public health order on Oct. 8. The order allowed parents and guardians to opt children out of masking mandates in the county with a note saying masks negatively affected a student’s mental and physical health. Adults can opt themselves out. The health order also placed more limits on how people without COVID symptoms could be quarantined if exposed to COVID-19. It was that order that Kane’s ruling temporarily blocked. The district’s lawsuit says in the course of fi ve days, its “rate of mask-wearing dropped from 97% to 83%, and over 4,500 students and over 500 staff were exempted from wearing a mask” after the health order passed. Douglas County set up its own public health department amid a long-running dispute with the TriCounty Health Department over COVID safety rules. Tri-County had been Dougco’s public health agency for decades.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK
KID C T T
Witches, Zombies, Princesses...Oh my!
Show off your costumes in this fun Halloween costume contest! Top three winners will receive prizes from our generous sponsors!
VOTE NOW!
( IF YOU DARE! )
VOTE ONLINE FROM OCT. 13 - 31, 2021
Kientz said Matte started working as a custodian for Arrowwood at the time of the school’s opening in 2000.
“He was instrumental in the daily running of this building, and he took great pride in keeping our building very clean,” Kientz said. “Visitors frequently commented on how this place sparkled — especially the windows.”
Kientz said Matte also had two children attending Arrowwood. In 2014, Matte was diagnosed with cancer. Kientz said while going through treatment, Matte never missed a day of work.
In 2015, Matte died due to complications of surgery.
Kientz said following his death, the school wanted to honor Matte’s memory. Administrators decided it was fi tting to name the pickup/ dropoff lane in Matte’s honor in 2015.
Kientz said over fi ve years there has never been a problem with the signs until now.
After attempting to get the signs returned through emails to school parents, Kientz said now they are hoping to fi nd results by reaching out the community.
Anyone with information about the signs can contact Kientz by email at Barbara.Kientz@dcsdk12. org. COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Last week I had the privilege to participate in a professional development program for salespeople delivered by my good friend and mentor Bryan Fla- WINNING nagan. Although WORDS I have seen Bryan and many other corporate trainers deliver quality programs for more than 20 years, I still pick up something new, or a lesson that needed to be reinforced. Michael Norton
I listened to this one sentence, and I was immediately transported back to hearing Zig Ziglar talk about how important it is to develop the person, not just the skill set. Here is what was said: “Personal growth always precedes professional growth.” Having spent most of my professional career in the personal and professional development industry, I know this to be an accurate statement.
Working with companies of all sizes, one of the questions I receive is around guidance for a sales training program or leadership development program that can help companies accelerate growth. And before I answer, I ask a question in return, “What have you done so far to build the people in your organization?” Almost everyone will answer with a list of courses or companies that they have worked with to address or focus on a specifi c skill set such as sales training, time management, communication skills, customer service training, presentation skills, etc.
When this happens, I pause and reframe the question. I acknowledge that those skills absolutely help develop capabilities, and then I ask them to think about some of the other character traits that can impact their people personally and professionally while still helping the company to grow. Some understand my question as they recognize that when we work on building our people, the people will in turn help us build our business.
Equally, if not more important than the skills mentioned above, are the softer skills training such as confi dence, developing a positive attitude, building winning relationships at home and at work, goal setting and achievement, and learning to work and live with hope. When we can instill or work to strengthen these qualities, our people will be in a much better frame of mind to receive the other skills-based training that can further their career while contributing to their team and the organization.
Having been in the people building business for most of my life, I can share with you that unfortunately many organizations miss this opportunity. This is a shame because there is so much available data that supports the fact that when we work on the personal growth aspects of our people, the professional growth always follows. Companies who overlook investing in personal development opportunities often fi nd themselves paying substantially higher replacement costs.
Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that all the people we hire or who are already a part of our team don’t need any help in their personal growth. This is fl awed thinking because each of us will go through life’s challenges, and we may not always be prepared for the impact or toll those challenges can take on our lives. Even some of our people whom we see as strong and capable may be going through a hardship that can cross over into their professional work. We all bring our home life to work and our work life home, both the good and the bad.
Self-confi dence helps us to develop a positive outlook and attitude. A positive attitude contributes to building winning relationships. Confi dent and positive people who work well with others become goals oriented and results focused. And when we can help develop all these character traits in our people, hope abounds. And as John Maxwell says, “If there is hope in the future, there is power in the present.”
Personal growth precedes and accelerates professional growth. If you have questions about how to go about this for you and your team, I would love to hear from you at mnorton@ tramazing.com. And when we can live and work with confi dence, a positive attitude, establish winning relationships, realize our goals, and become fi lled with hope, it really will be a better than good year.
Michael Norton is the grateful CEO of Tramazing.com, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager, and motivator to businesses of all sizes.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The county health board follies
When will this Board of Health farce end?
At a town hall, Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon insisted the new BoH will “not cost one more penny” than the $2.5M/year paid to the Tri-County Health Department now under their intergovernmental agreement (IGA).
That is inaccurate. In the IGA, the commissioners agreed to pay the $2.5M/year currently paid through 2022. But the commissioners also agreed to pay up to an additional $360K to offset administrative costs for leaving.
The BoH also discussed the requirement to hire a medical director, a position likely requiring $300K/year in salary/benefi ts, while the county has paid consultants, so far, $80K.
This cursory look shows the BoH will cost the county approximately $1M more than TCHD through 2022. And before the meeting, Adams County announced it was also leaving TriCounty, putting TCHD’s continued existence at risk … along with the county’s plan to provide public health services through 2022.
The BoH is also embroiled in a
SEE LETTERS, P15
Dual-tasking can help with balance
As you age, you may start to notice changes in your balance, or may have already experienced a fall. Noticing changes in your balance can feel intimidating or even scary at times, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone in this journey to maintain or improve your balance. In fact, most falls are preventable. With the proper education and training for balance, you can achieve signifi cant improvement in your balance and reduce your risk of falling.
A common misconception about balance is that it relies mostly on your body’s strength. The truth is, balance is just as much of a challenge for your brain as it is for your body, and strength only plays a small part. There are many things that impact your balance in addition to strength, such as vision, lighting changes, medications and more. For example, if you need to use your hands to get out of a chair, this may be a sign your coordination has changed, or that your strength has declined.
Balance is a refl ex, and you can improve your balance through physical exercises (such as onelegged stands) and cognitive exercises (such as solving math problems or playing memory games). What’s most effective is combining these exercises at the same time, also known as “dual-tasking.” Dualtasking challenges you to think and move at the same time, which helps your balance refl exes and better prepares you for the world and its many uncertainties. One real-life example of dual-tasking is being asked a question while walking — oftentimes if this happens to an older adult, they’ll typically stop walking in order to answer the question. This is because the part of the brain that controls balance has declined. The good news is that dual-tasking balance training can signifi cantly improve balance after
just a few weeks of training. There are also plenty of things you can do at home to help improve your balance in your everyday rouLIVING & tine. Try some of these helpful tips in your free time around the house: AGING WELL • Adjust your stance. • Every time you brush your teeth, challenge yourself to stand with your feet closer together. • Focus on your footing. • Focus on stepping from heel to toe when you’re walking. This gives your brain the information it needs to assess the walking surface. • Talk while moving. Sadie Schanbacher • Train your brain and body to work together by counting items around a room or carrying on a conversation. Listening to music is a great distraction as well. • Lift your feet over imaginary objects. • Practice lifting your feet over imaginary objects to prepare yourself for everyday trip hazards, such as rugs. Trip hazards exist everywhere — learning to safely and consistently step over them is better
SEE AGING, P15
A publication of
LINDA SHAPLEY
Publisher
lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
MARK HARDEN
Interim Editor
mharden@coloradocommunitymedia.com
THELMA GRIMES
Community Editor
ERIN ADDENBROOKE
Marketing Consultant
eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com
AUDREY BROOKS
Business Manager
abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com
ERIN FRANKS
Production Manager
Columnists & Guest Commentaries
Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Herald. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.
Email letters to
letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Deadline
Wed. for the following week’s paper. To opt in or out of delivery please email us at circulation@ coloradocommunitymedia.com
Highlands Ranch Herald
A legal newspaper of general circulation in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the Herald is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124. Send address change to: Highlands Ranch Herald, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110
