Highlands Ranch Herald 033122

Week of March 31, 2022

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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO

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INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22

VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 17

How thirsty is Douglas County?

Water providers work to transition to renewable sources

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On an average day, 25 people move to Douglas County. Each one needs to

drink, shower, water their lawn and wash their dishes.

The full impact of that growth is difficult to see, but it’s easy to understand: more people need more wa-

ter. And in a county where thousands of homes rely on a limited supply of underground aquifers, water providers are constantly working to shift to more sustainable resources before they run out.

Some aquifers buried under Douglas County have lost two to six feet in depth

of water. Local water providers have noticed their supply wells aren’t producing like they once did.

“It’s like sucking water out of the bathtub with a straw,” said Rick McLoud, water resources manager for Centennial Water & Sanitation. “There’s only so much water in the bathtub and the

sooner you suck it out with a straw, the sooner it will be gone.”

Centennial Water, which provides water to about 100,000 customers in Highlands Ranch and Mirabel metro districts, is one of the county’s providers that has SEE WATER, P6

Voters pick three for HRCA board Two incumbents, newcomer chosen in 5-way race

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Blue and Scott Gessler, says its fees are normally $425 an hour but that it will charge DCSD $225 an hour for attorneys’ time and $150 to $175 for paralegal work.

Blue is a former deputy attorney general for Colorado and Gessler is a former Colorado secretary of state. The board also retains Hall and Evans, which had represented board directors in the lawsuit to date.

Highlands Ranch homeowners re-elected two of its community association board members and welcomed a new face to the organization on March 22.

Resident delegates voted to seat Dan DeBacco, Melissa Park and Monica Wasden to two-year terms in the annual election. DeBacco and Park were already serving on the board, while Wasden is a longtime delegate and community volunteer.

Per the results of the March 22 election, DeBacco received 18,924 votes, Wasden got 17,457 and Park had 14,907 votes. DeBacco, Park and Wasden beat out two other candidates for the board, homeowners Mikell Wilcox (12,590 votes) and

SEE SCHOOLS, P11

SEE BOARD, P24

The Douglas County School District continues to deal with the fallout after Superintendent Corey Wise was fired.

PHOTO BY THELMA GRIMES

Douglas County School Board hires more legal counsel Majority directors said they want to bolster legal team in lawsuit fight

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Douglas County School Board has retained a second law firm in its defense against a lawsuit

alleging the four board majority members violated open meetings laws.

The board’s debate about whether to bring on more counsel also broached the majority’s desire to appeal a judge’s order that prohibits serial meetings, as the four directors maintain they followed Colorado law to the letter.

The engagement letter for the Greenwood Village based firm Gessler Blue Law, run by Geoff

20 22 SPECIAL SECTION

PULL-OUT SECTION INSIDE!

2 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

Denver transfers 33 bison to tribal nations in an effort to bolster and conserve herds Herds are from Douglas and Jefferson counties

BY KYLE COOKE, BRIAN WILLIE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

On a snowy, blustery March morning, Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) donated 17 bison yearlings to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma.

The bison had been staying at two of the Denver Mountain Parks: Genesee Park in Golden and Daniels Park in Douglas County.

“This is what we should’ve been doing for decades as owners and as stewards of these wonderful animals: returning them, as we have nurtured them and raised them, but returning them back to our Indigenous leaders of this land, the caretakers of this land,” said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, who spoke at the March 21 event at Genesee Park.

According to DPR, this year is the first time in “recent history” that Denver is not holding a bison auction; that tradition ended last year when the department said it would instead “select tribes across the country that will accept the bison to build and enhance conservation herds on tribal lands.”

In total, Denver is transferring 33 bison this year: 15 to the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming; 17 to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma (which happened Monday); and one to the Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado.

Jordan Dresser is a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming. He was at Monday’s event at Genesee Park.

“Being able to reclaim the bison is a big moment for us because it’s taking back what was taken from us,” Dresser said.

American Bison used to roam North American grasslands in massive herds but were nearly extinct in the 19th century due to commercial hunting and diseases. By 1900, there were fewer than 1,000 bison in existence, according to DPR. On March 22, there are about 31,000 free-range wild bison in North America. DPR operates two bison herds

More than 30 bison were relocated.

in the name of conservation: one at Genesee Park and another at Daniels Park. The herd was first established at City Park by the Denver Zoo, but moved to Genesee Park in 1914 and expanded to Daniels Park in 1938.

DPR’s executive director Happy Haynes said she hoped the bison transfer shows “a commitment to working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of oppression and inequities and recognize the current and future contributions of Indigenous communities in Denver and Colorado.”

“Oppression and inequity is built over hundreds of years, and it can be dismantled piece by piece,” added City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, who represents District 3 in Denver.

Various Colorado officials have made recent efforts to preserve the country’s bison population. In addition to DPR’s bison transfer last year, Governor Jared Polis and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Boulder) recently asked the U.S. Department of the Interior to put a stop to the National Park Service’s plan to kill a dozen bison in Grand Canyon National Park.

Polis and Neguse were unsuccessful.

Dresser hopes people can learn lessons from Indigenous peoples’ treatment of bison.

“The bison was important to us not

COURTESY OF RMPBS

A bison at Genesee Park west of Golden.

only for our cultural ways but also for everyday use. We used the bison for meat, also for household items.

We utilized every single part of the body. So that’s important for today’s world because we live in a society that’s so wasteful.”

COURTESY OF RMPBS

This story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonprofit public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online.

Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

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Highlands Ranch Herald 3

March 31, 2022

Briefly In Highlands Ranch

What would you do if you suspected child abuse or neglect?

Call 303-663-6270 or 1-844-4CO-KIDS. Visit douglas.co.us and search Child Abuse FAQs for additional information.

Full property tax payments due Payments must be received by the Treasurer’s office by April 30, 2022. Payments received after the due date must include applicable interest. To obtain the amounts due or to pay online, please visit douglascotax.com and search for your account using the Public User Access.

E-check payments are free.

STEM has talent On March 24, STEM schools hosted the 10th annual STEM’s Got Talent at the Mission Hills Church.

A packed house saw 20 top quality student performances and of course, the infamous teachers’ lip sync, which was Lion King themed.

Mother’s Day walk coming Looking for an active, familyfriendly way to kick off Mother’s Day weekend? Join the Highlands Ranch Community Association Race Series for our Mother’s Day 5K on Saturday, May 7.

Run, walk, or stroll through the 5K then enjoy a free-to-participants pancake breakfast. Nothing much better. https://runsignup.com/.../High landsR.../2022HRCAMothersDay5K Comedy night coming in April Looking for a night out? Come to the Southridge Recreation Center for a comedy show and enjoy an evening of laughter and amuse-

ment. There will be performances

by Terri Barton Gregg, Eddie from New York, Ryan Burmester, followed by headliner Christie Buchele.

The event is located at the Southridge Recreation Center, 4800 McArthur Ranch Rd. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at bit.ly/HRCA-ComedyNight.

STEM staff upsets STEM students in basketball matchup Earlier this month, the STEM Highlands Ranch High School hosted a basketball game between STEM staff and STEM students.

According to the social media recapping the game, in a stunning upset, the staff actually won the game.

In the fundraising week, STEM school set a goal to raise $15,000 for the Make-A-Wish program.

To make a monetary donation, visit the website at http://site. wish.org/goto/stemwishweek22.

Funds available to veterans Emergency assistance is available for veterans struggling with housing (mortgage/rent), transportation, employment, healthcare or other emergency needs. To apply for the veteran assistance funds visit douglasveterans.org or call 303-663-6200.

Need help with home heating costs?

Eligible low-income households in Douglas County may apply for energy assistance through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) through April 30.

For more information visit douglas.co.us and search for LEAP or email LEAPHELP@discovermygoodwill.org

Decode Douglas County Visit eight Douglas County Open Space or Park locations, and look for clues to crack the code. Pick up or print your 2022 booklet today, discover new places including Sandstone Ranch, and decode the secret of Douglas County outdoors! Visit dcoutdoors.org/decode to start your outdoor adventure.

Free Noxious Weed and Wildfire Prevention Workshop Did you know noxious weeds on your property can damage native flora and increase the risk of a wildfire spreading to your home? Learn to ID and eradicate them. Join land, vegetation and wildfire experts for a workshop from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 16, in-person or online.

Visit douglas.co.us and search Noxious Weed Education.

Visit douglas.co.us

4 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

Colorado is reshaping early childhood system Some school districts are nervous about proposed changes

rado’s 4-year-olds attend state-funded preschool, which serves children with certain risk factors. More than threequarters of those slots are housed in school district classrooms. Most other children attend preschool elsewhere, in child care centers or private preschools, for example.

BY ANN SCHIMKE In expanding to serve all 4-yearCHALKBEAT COLORADO olds whose families want 10 hours of tuition-free preschool, the state As Colorado prepares to launch expects to lean on private providers. free universal preschool, lawmakers The idea is to give parents a choice of are taking up legislation that could settings and help accommodate the reshape Colorado’s early childhood influx of new students. landscape and reverberate for decades The state no longer will rely to come. exclusively on school districts to Many advocates and early educators administer state-funded preschool lolaud the changes laid out in the bill, cally. Instead, nonprofits, community including the creation of a new state groups, and districts all will be able to early childhood agency, saying it will vie for the job. elevate the profile of early childhood These changes, along with many issues, cut red tape for families and others included in the legislation, providers, and dramatically expand follow recommendations that a state preschool access. early childhood commission issued in But the plan also has prompted conNovember and January. Still, school cerns about how school district roles district officials have questions and could change and whether they’ll be concerns. left serving a disproportionate share Smith, of the Cherry Creek district, of students with special needs. And said, “We don’t need private providsome early childhood leaders worry ers. We can accommodate this interabout how fast the process is moving, nally,” speaking about any additional how many details are unresolved, and students who want slots under the whether there are enough providers universal program. to meet new enrollment demands.

Currently, the district houses all of Angela Fedler, who heads several Cherry Creek’s 800-plus state-funded early childhood programs for the preschool slots in its classrooms.

Delta County School District in westBut many districts already contract ern Colorado, said, “I love the idea of with community-based providers to universal preschool. I believe in the offer state-funded preschool slots. idea of universal preschool. I do have Denver, the state’s largest district, is Big changes for school districts some fears around it as well.” one of them.

Right now, about a quarter of Colo“We’re moving really fast for such a Priscilla Hopkins, the district’s executive director of early education, said the use of both public-school classrooms and private preschools — often called “mixed delivery” — PRESENTS: works well.

“I think � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �parents � � want � �high-quality � preschool,” she said. “As school districts, that needs to be our north star.”

Fedler, of Delta County, agreed, but Thursday, April 21, 2022 worries that private providers could 6:30p.m.– 10:30p.m. shy away from the universal preschool program if subject to lots of Location: new quality requirements.

Cielo at Castle Pines, “It’s hard, especially in rural ColoA NIGHT IN 485 W. Happy Canyon Rd, rado, to get people to want to work Castle Rock, Co. 80108 with little learners,” she said. “If we start asking more of them, how many Attire: more of them will walk away?” big jump,” she said.

Bill Jaeger, vice president of early childhood and policy initiatives for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said of the legislation, “There’s a lot of reimagining of the early childhood system to make it child-, family-, and provider-focused and break down those silos, and that requires significant statutory change.

“There is a degree of urgency,” he said, noting that some of the bill’s provisions need to get underway as soon as possible.

State lawmakers recently moved up the department’s July 1 start date to this spring. The governor likely will name an executive director in the coming weeks. Among other things, the department will roll out universal preschool in the summer of 2023.

The initiative, funded largely with a voter-approved nicotine tax, is a top priority for Polis.

Scott Smith, chief financial and operating officer for the Cherry Creek school district, said his district supports universal preschool but noted the state had “some blind spots and some missteps” in planning, including leaving too small a role for school district leaders during the early stages.

“Not including school people from the beginning really left us behind,” he said.

Smith and other school district leaders said state officials have recently held regular meetings to gather feedback from district staff.

Arapahoe Community College Foundation

Black Tie Optional

What about disabilities?

Some school district leaders worry that the universal preschool program — specifically the availability of slots in private programs — could hurt children with disabilities.

Currently, the vast majority of All funds raised will be used those children are served in public for student scholarships, school classrooms that also include student emergency funding a sizable share of typically developand the mission of the ing children. But there are questions ACC Foundation. about what happens if lots of families with typical children opt for private programs, segregating children with � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �disabilities � � � in � public � �schools. � � “We want to make sure we don’t become the special education preschool,” Smith said.

Theoretically, the families of children with disabilities may choose community-based preschools when universal preschool launches, but WOODS � SON PIANO COMPANY it’s not clear whether or how those programs will provide free therapies or other services outlined in those preschoolers’ special education plans.

For more Information visit: www.arapahoe.edu/ foundationevents

Mat Aubuchon, the director of early childhood and elementary programs in the Westminster district north of Denver, said under federal special education law, school districts must ensure that students with disabilities get the right services from qualified staff members.

“We don’t want to set an expectation that [special education] services can just happen anywhere,” he said.

Aubuchon said he’s not opposed to the mixed delivery model, but said it must be planned carefully to ensure preschoolers with disabilities are appropriately served. Placements, he said, will have to be determined case by case.

Other sticking points Besides providing for an expanded field of preschool providers, the new legislation envisions a simple application process — one that allows families to easily apply for universal preschool and other early childhood programs.

Just about everyone agrees with the idea in principle.

But some school leaders worry that integrating technologies from different programs into one application is too complicated to roll out in a year.

If it’s not done well from the get-go, it’s just “one more confusing thing for families to deal with,” said Aubuchon.

Claudia Strait, who heads the Early Childhood Council for Yuma, Washington, and Kit Carson counties in eastern Colorado, said many families in her area don’t speak English and aren’t computer savvy, so she hopes the new application process won’t leave them out.

Some early childhood leaders are also leery about the plan to empower the new agency’s executive director to make rules, which spell out how state laws should be implemented.

The provision is meant to make the new department nimble, but some observers worry it puts a lot of power in one person’s hands.

“We’d prefer to see some sort of accountability,” said Smith of Cherry Creek. “I’m not sure what mechanism exists right now that would hold that executive director accountable.”

About half of state agencies have a rule-making board and half don’t.

The new early childhood department would have a rule-making advisory council and state officials also say the executive director would have to follow state laws that require public hearings and testimony on state regulations.

Aubuchon said a rule-making board might be beneficial for the first couple years of the new department, with that authority transferring to the department’s executive director later on.

Strait said she’s a little nervous about the new executive director having so much power, but is also circumspect about the many unknowns that lay ahead.

“It’s just like anything else, anything that’s new, it’s going to be hard adjusting,” she said. “The longer that it’s in place, the smoother it gets.”

This story is from Chalkbeat Colorado, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Used by permission. For more, and to support Chalkbeat, visit co.chalkbeat.org.

March 31, 2022

Highlands Ranch Herald 5

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March 31, 2022

WATER FROM PAGE 1

p T a t

noticed declines in well production.

That’s because the water they’re pulling to the surface is depleting.

And it’s not replenishing itself.

Growth is expected to continue in the county, with nearly 60,000 more people projected to move to the area by 2030, according to the state’s demography office. That means the community’s thirst is only going to increase.

To meet those demands, water providers are planning a mix of conservation efforts, wastewater projects and new infrastructure for renewable resources of water. The county government is also looking at how to bring in more water and is considering spending a portion of their $68 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act on the issue.

‘Over-reliance on groundwater’ As Douglas County’s development has surged since the 1990s, many of the largest communities such as Parker and Castle Rock have relied on groundwater to fill residents’ bathtubs and sinks, said State Engineer Kevin Rein.

In Colorado, the Office of the State Engineer administers water rights, manages wells and their permits and monitors water use, among other water-related duties.

Groundwater from aquifers makes up about 65% of the water used by Parker Water and Sanitation, which is the provider for Parker and parts of Lone Tree and Castle Pines, and

by Castle Rock Water. Centennial Water uses about 20% groundwater.

Those ratios can change depending on drought conditions.

According to the state engineer’s office, Douglas County has about 440 municipal wells, which are used to drill into the aquifers.

“Douglas County is unique in that its overreliance on groundwater in some ways has spoiled it in the sense that we’re not as subject to the hydrologic cycle as other areas are,” said Brock Smethills, president of Sterling Ranch Development Company and a board member of Dominion Water and Sanitation.s That’s because areas relying on renewable surface water and snow melt will feel the impacts of a drought year more acutely.

A simulation produced by the United States Geological Survey shows that from 1880 to 2003, about half of the water removed from the Denver basin aquifers came from the South Denver Metro Region, said Suzanne Paschke, the Associate Director for Hydrologic Studies for the Colorado Water Science Center in the USGS. “That is where most of the storage depletion is occurring in the basin, according to our simulations,” Paschke said.

Aquifer is depleting Since 1996, the state engineer’s office has been advising those using wells in the Denver basin to be aware that the aquifers contain a finite amount of water, Rein said.

“We recognize the non-renewable nature and we have advised… that anyone using this resource should recognize that it’s non-renewable and it may not even last for the 100 years it’s allocated on,” Rein said.

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A map from the State Engineer’s Office shows the 445 existing municipal wells in Douglas County.

In 2003, news reports said the aquifer was in such decline that some areas of the county could run dry of groundwater in 10 to 20 years.

Studies completed by the United States Geologic Survey in 2011 and 2019 showed that aquifer declines were continuing but stopped short of giving predictions on the amount of time until they’re empty.

“We can pull out less now than we used to when we first started,” said McLoud with Centennial Water.

“We’re feeling its finiteness.”

Mark Marlowe, the Castle Rock water director, said many of their wells have seen declines in water levels, though he added it’s difficult to determine how widespread that withdrawal is within the basin.

“There’s a big supply but it is going to become more difficult to extract that supply over the long term,” Marlow said. “Quite frankly, we want to protect that supply for periods when surface water is not available.”

That’s because as the water level in the aquifer decreases, more wells must be drilled to maintain the same amount of production, causing increases in costs.

Castle Rock is currently working with Colorado State University to study their deep groundwater, Marlowe said.

“There’s still a lot to know and learn about the Denver basin groundwater in terms of how long it will be sustainable as a resource,” he said.

Ron Redd, the district manager of Parker Water and Sanitation, said from their well monitoring, they’ve also seen declines in multiple aquifers.

“On average we can see a two-tosix-foot decline,” he said.

Douglas County sits on a layer of several aquifers, including the Arapahoe, Denver, Dawson and the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. Most major water providers use the water in the Arapahoe and Denver aquifers, which reaches depths of 1,700 and 600 feet beneath the ground, respectively.

“While the aquifers are thicker there, I think there’s so much use that it’s heavily impacted,” Pashcke said.

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Rueter-Hess Reservoir, which was completed in 2012, is owned and operated by Parker Water and Sanitation. It has a capacity of 75,000 acre-feet. PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER

Development is growing While communities like Highlands Ranch are essentially built out, areas like Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Sterling Ranch and Castle Rock have hundreds if not thousands of homes scheduled to be developed in the coming years.

“Water is a linchpin of development around the Denver Metro Area,” Brock Smethills said.

The state engineer’s office is required by statute to allow developers to continue using the Denver basin groundwater.

“Our State Engineer’s office personnel, we’re really bound to allow this water’s use, according to the law,” Rein said. “And they should be mindful of our advice that we’ve given them about the non-renewable nature of the resource and again be aware that they may need alternate supplies in the long term or the short term.”

Under Douglas County’s guidelines for development in unincorporated areas, only the western part of the county is not allowed to rely on their groundwater for development, said Steve Koster, assistant director of planning services for the county.

Those communities must provide either a renewable water source or

use groundwater from the eastern part of the county.

Koster said the county is not actively looking at requiring or incentivizing developers to instead look for renewable resources of water.

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Projects to address p All the major water providers w in the county have said they are p confident in their plans to address growth and water demands. t Parker Water and Sanitation “ is working on a project that will i partner with a water conservancy t district in Sterling, a town in eastern Colorado, to capture unused p water during high runoff years e from the South Platte River there a and store it to pipe back to the i town. The project won’t impact ex- b isting water rights and won’t allow t buy-and-dry of nearby agriculture, d o Redd said.

In order to meet Parker’s projectedi water demands, the project will need p to be complete by 2040, Redd said. m That project would get Parker Water to 75% renewable water and a would provide water for more than b 300,000 people in Douglas County, including in Parker, Castle Rock andm s S SEE WATER, P7

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WATER FROM PAGE 6

portions of Castle Pines and Lone Tree, according to a project proposal. Castle Rock Water is a partner on that project.

Over the next 20 to 30 years, Castle Rock plans to invest about $500 million on renewable water projects including new pipelines, additional storage and water rights. Marlowe said the reason they spread out those projects over time is to keep rates for their customers down.

By 2050, Castle Rock plans to move to 75% renewable and by 2065 have a 100% renewable system for wet or average years.

Dominion Water and Sanitation, which serves about 1,200 homes in Sterling Ranch, plans to be 90% renewable by 2040. Sterling Ranch is slated to add about 11,000 more homes to their community in that same time period at a rate of 450 homes per year. Dominion also plans to include about 700 other existing homes from smaller communities to their service area soon.

Right now, Dominion is 100% renewable but is set to drill wells in the Cherokee Ranch area to blend some groundwater into their system, making it more droughtresistant, Cole said.

They are also planning to build a river intake on the South Platte River and a wastewater treatment facility, which will provide at least 1,600-acre-feet of water per year to Sterling Ranch.

An acre foot is the equivalent of a one-foot-deep pool about the size of a football field. Most homes in Douglas County use less than half an acre foot per year of water.

In the next few years, Dominion Water will also begin the state’s first pilot program for rainwater harvesting.

Paschke said she doesn’t want her work for USGS to be interpreted to mean the only solution is to completely get rid of groundwater.

Instead, she said, she advocates for a combination of approaches, including water reuse and conservation.

“It’s a balance of maybe there’s more reliance in drought years when there’s less surface water, relying more on groundwater,” she said.

Water wasted Conservation and education of the public are also big parts of all the water providers’ plans to continue providing water to the community.

“We consider water conservation to be a water supply,” Marlowe said.

“Especially given how much water is still wasted on outdoor irrigation.”

Castle Rock plans to incorporate programs in the coming years that encourage more efficient utilities and lawns that don’t require heavy irrigation. At the statewide level, a bill being considered by the legislature this session would pay residents up to $2 per square foot to rip out their irrigated turf and replace it with less thirsty alternatives.

Sterling Ranch has focused on a program they call “demand management” that allows residents to have a live look at their water usage and bills.

“It gives the residents the information to manage their water,” said Harold Smethills, an owner of Sterling Ranch and board member

A diagram from a United States Geological Survey study shows a visualization of the Denver Basin aquifer system.

COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

of Dominion Water.

Their community also has banned the use of bluegrass, a type of turf that demands lots of water. Instead they offer a variety of drought-resistant plants for landscaping.

Water providers are also working to educate their customers about the realities of the water supply.

“It’s important to us to educate and help customers understand what the water supply situation is, especially constant education so we don’t just have to go out and educate when we have a drought,” said Stephanie Stanley, the director of finance and administration for Centennial Water.

Multiple entities, including Dominion, Parker Water and Castle Rock Water have already built or are planning to invest in wastewater treatment plants to reuse their existing supplies as much as possible.

Even with all the plans set, water managers say the job isn’t complete.

“There’s a lot of work to do, we’re not done,” Marlowe said. “We live in a state that is an arid state and we need to continue to work on this for sure.”

McLoud, with Centennial, said he sees one main goal for water providers in the county.

“The work is to obtain surface water,” McLoud said. “People are doing various things to do that and they all have the pressure of the groundwater usage pushing them to be successful.”

Lisa Darling, the executive director for the South Metro Water Supply Authority, said she’s confident in the plans the Douglas County water providers have produced but that issues such as climate change continue to demand attention.

County funds As the commissioners consider how to approach the issue, $68 million in federal funds has the potential to aid in addressing the water demands of a growing community.

One proposal for the money, which the commissioners have dedicated six 2-hour meetings to discussing, would pump about 22,000 acre feet per year to Douglas County from the San Luis Valley.

Renewable Water Resources, the private company proposing the project, says that’s enough for 70,000 houses.

The project has been met with ire from many in the valley, though, as multiple water conservation districts and elected officials there

Sterling Ranch, in partnership with the Denver Botanic Gardens, connects homeowners with drought-resistant plants for their landscaping. The community doesn’t PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER allow bluegrass.

have said they don’t have enough to spare and it would damage their agriculture-based economy. Opponents from across the political spectrum have come out against it including Rep. Lauren Boebert, Gov. Jared Polis, Rep. Cleave Simpson and Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Both state senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett, have also opposed the project.

So far, all the major water providers in Douglas County have said they are not interested in using the water from the proposal. Darling says that’s in part because many providers have already heavily invested in other projects.

“It would be difficult to foresee a provider saying ‘oh well I’ve got so much invested in that but heck, I won’t do that anymore I’m going to go swing over to this other project,’” she said.

If commissioners decide to invest the initial fee of $10 million, the project would then have to go through the water court process before it could begin. While it’s possible ARPA funds couldn’t be used directly on the project, RWR has suggested the county use the federal

dollars to backfill their general county budget.

Commissioners have also heard presentations from Parker Water, who asked them to consider using about $20 million of the federal funds to fund their South Platte River project, and Dominion, who asked for help funding their regional wastewater plant in partnership with Castle Rock Water and the Plum Creek Reclamation Authority.

With new projects, costs are also a factor. Water providers often work to spread out infrastructure needs to keep their customers’ costs down.

That’s one concern Darling has with the county considering funding multiple major water projects.

“I don’t think it’s practicable to expect to have a number of these huge projects and play on that same customer base,” she said. “That’s a huge economic impact.”

Still, as water becomes harder to find, Darling says costs are likely to go up regardless.

“It would be hard to believe that in future, anything that is becoming scarcer would become less expensive,” she said.

8 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

O’Toole’s Garden Center was ‘lifeblood’ for many Plans to close longtime business in Littleton send shockwaves for patrons, partners

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

There is much that patrons and community members love about O’Toole’s Garden Center in Littleton beyond just the rows of eye-popping, verdant vegetation.

There’s Pickles the cat, the store’s unofficial mascot, who can be seen lounging in plastic growing trays atop wooden, soil-dusted shelves.

There’s the fact that it’s a familyowned business with more than 30 years of stories and legacy. But maybe most importantly, it’s a place where people gather, where you’re treated as a friend and where community thrives.

It’s why when store owner Adele O’Toole announced March 22 that the business would be closing Aug. 31 after selling its property to a developer, shockwaves could be felt throughout the Littleton community and beyond.

North Carolina-based developer Lennar Multifamily Communities, which bought the property from O’Toole, had been eyeing the neighboring site at Columbine Square for a new mixed-use development for

years.

O’Toole said the store had been on “borrowed time.”

“That will leave a hole,” said Rick Townsend, who helped found the Columbine Memorial in Clement Park following the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School.

“I believe those are the places that become kind of the lifeblood of the community,” Townsend said.

“O’Toole’s has really been invaluable to us … we always knew they were there to help us when something came up.”

A legacy of community Much of the store’s character is embodied by manager Chris Ibsen, who for years has helped spearhead various community involvement efforts.

Townsend lost his daughter, Lauren, more than 20 years ago in the attack on Columbine High School that ended with 15 dead. Ibsen’s daughter Tara, also a student at Columbine at the time, survived.

“O’Toole’s has been very generous to us over the years,” Townsend said, recalling that Ibsen would donate flowers whenever the roses around the memorial were looking thin or when the annual remembrance ceremony was held, which called for columbine flowers.

Todd McPherson, who helps run a longstanding food bank through the nonprofit Integrated Family Community Services(IFCS), said O’Toole’s and its manager Ibsen

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have been champions for the organization.

“They’ve been just amazing, just greater than anyone could ever expect,” McPherson said. “We feel like we’re ingrained in the O’Toole family … our philosophy intertwines, so we’re overjoyed to partner with them.”

McPherson said the store has “had their back day to day” and regularly helped with food drives, turning its space into a drop-off where community members can leave food to be taken to the nonprofit. Ibsen has led several fundraising initiatives for IFCS, such as the “buck a basket” campaign that gives IFCS a portion of sales made from gardening supplies as well as barbecues and other community events.

And the store itself has served as a canopy under which IFCS can connect with local residents who share a common goal of getting fresher, healthier food to those who are struggling.

McPherson said the nonprofit will talk with O’Toole patrons who may be looking to donate an excess of home-grown fruits and vegetables or reserve a row of their plot for growing food just for IFCS. During the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when hunger soared and IFCS fed 5,000 to 6,000 people per month, up from about 400 to 500 before COVID, McPherson said O’Toole’s stepped up even more.

The staff’s commitment spoke volumes to McPherson, especially given that the store was facing economic hardship due to shutdowns and social distancing requirements.

“They just weathered that and said ‘it doesn’t make a difference, you guys need us,’” McPherson said.

“It’s less usual in this environment to have businesses like O’Toole’s that made people feel like family.”

Littleton resident Betty Harris, who founded and leads the Littleton Garden Gang, said Ibsen and O’Toole’s were bastions of knowledge. Whenever Harris had a gardening question she couldn’t answer, the next person to ask was Ibsen.

“O’Toole’s was kind of like an anchor there for us,” she said. “It’s just been such a big part of our life.”

The garden center was also one of Harris’ first introductions to gardening in Colorado after she moved from Virginia in 1993. It was at the store where she bought her first plant in the state, a Christmas cactus.

For Ibsen, it was these relationships that made his work at O’Toole’s more than just a job.

“If you don’t have the community spirit, you don’t have a store, I don’t care how much stuff you have in the store,” Ibsen said. “This place gave people a sense that they were part of the community, and I think that’s important to people.”

The garden center is also where Ibsen, who has served as its first and only store manager, met his wife and credits it with helping him start his family.

“O’Toole’s has impacted a lot of lives,” he said, adding that the work he does for others is a reflection of the strength of those communities. “It’s not me, it’s everybody else

around me.”

Future plans uncertain The store has finally met the inevitable, said its owner, Adele O’Toole, the widow of founder Jim O’Toole.

Plans from Lennar, the developer, to build 359 apartments and new commercial spaces in the Columbine Square area would have eaten up the vast majority of the parking area that the garden center relied on, since much of the parking was not on O’Toole’s property. With just 30 parking spaces owned by her company, O’Toole said the plans would have made business nonviable.

“I did not go looking to sell,” O’Toole said. “It was out of my hands.”

According to Mike Sutherland, community development deputy director for the City of Littleton, the area that includes O’Toole’s property is currently zoned for commercial use. But under a new land-use code approved by city council in October, developers are able to apply for zoning changes to certain commercial sites to allow for new housing, as is the case with the Columbine Square area.

Sutherland said the city has yet to receive a formal application for the plans, although it recently met with Lennar on Jan. 13 for a pre-application study.

The current plans from Lennar do not include the O’Toole’s property and Sutherland said he is not aware of how that site will factor into the proposal.

“It’s always concerning to see a good corporate citizen like O’Toole’s close their doors,” Sutherland said.

“But it does open up some possibilities for the future of both those sites.”

As of press time, Lennar senior development manager Pete Dikeou and development associate Peyton Oldenburg have not responded to requests for comment about the plans.

The news led to dozens of comments on social media from patrons who called Littleton’s O’Toole’s their “go-to nursery” and who asked, “where would people go to get their garden materials?”

But O’Toole said she is hopeful the store will be able to reopen at some point in the future, though it may not be in Littleton. O’Toole’s two other stores, located in Westminster and Lakewood, will remain fully up and running, O’Toole said.

Some of the Littleton store’s roughly 25 full-time employees could transfer to either of the two other locations, O’Toole said, who added that all will be compensated with a severance bonus when the store closes.

But for some longtime partners, hope remains.

“It’s sad to know that there’s a chapter that ends,” McPherson said.

“But there’s maybe a new chapter that opens up.”

And Ibsen knows the sun will always rise.

“This world that we’re in, there’s a lot of good, and a lot of dark,” he said. “This is a place where everybody could come in and get a little bit of sunshine.”

Highlands Ranch Herald 9

March 31, 2022

Bill to protect workers who use cannabis fails House Bill 1152 was rejected on a 12-1 committee vote

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

A Colorado House committee voted down a bill that sought to stop employers from denying jobs to or firing workers for their off-the-clock cannabis use, either medical or recreational.

House Bill 1152 also sought to require employers to let their employees consume medical marijuana while on the job. The legislation included exceptions for workers whose jobs are in dangerous fields or require fine motor skills, such as positions involving the use of heavy machinery.

The bill was rejected on a 12-1 vote in the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on March 23 afternoon even after the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Edie Hooton, a Boulder Democrat, offered an amendment to dramatically scale back the legislation before the vote was taken.

The amendment, which was adopted, would have erased all of the bill’s provisions and instead convened a panel to study the issue and make recommendations to the legislature about how employers can accommodate medical marijuana users. But even that wasn’t enough for lawmakers on the committee, who were concerned about any

move toward forcing employers to allow their employees to use marijuana on or off the job.

Many in the business community are fiercely opposed to the measure and testified in opposition to it on March 2.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Hooton, who has brought similar legislation for several years, said of the outcome.

“I got a lot of very, very valuable feedback about how we might be able to move forward in the future.”

The question of whether the use of cannabis off the clock can disqualify a person for a job or lead to their firing has been swirling in Colorado since voters passed Amendment 64 in 2012, which legalized the sale and use of recreational cannabis. Most states that have lifted prohibitions on pot leave the question of how to handle employees’ marijuana use up to employers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Nevada and New Jersey are two exceptions. In New Jersey, employers can prohibit employees from using cannabis while on the job or from showing up to work impaired.

But they are not allowed to penalize an employee solely because of their off-the-clock recreational cannabis use.

In 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court sided with Dish Network, which fired an employee, Brandon Coats, after he tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol – or THC – in a random drug test. Coats had a

SHUTTERSTOCK

medical marijuana card as a result of back spasms caused by his quadriplegia. Muscle spasms are one of the seven debilitating conditions for which medical marijuana can be recommended under Colorado law.

The closely watched case highlighted Colorado’s pot paradox: Marijuana is legal but consuming it can still be grounds for termination.

Amendment 64 included the following provision: “Nothing in this (ballot measure) is intended to require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, delay, transportation, sale or growing of marijuana in the workplace to affect the abil-

WE’RE JUNE 10-12, 2022 MAIN STAGE:

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ity of employers to have policies restriction the use of marijuana by employees.”

Amendment 20, the 2000 ballot initiative allowing medical marijuana sales and use in Colorado, included a provision about how it does not “require any employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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10 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

Douglas County School Board names superintendent finalist The district offers superintendency to Erin Kane

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a divided 4-3 vote, and with one board director participating remotely from a hospital bed, the Douglas County School Board named Erin Kane as the sole finalist to become the next superintendent of Douglas County Schools.

The board listened to more than two and a half hours of public comment in its March 22 meeting, much of which focused on the superintendency and showed passionate support for each of the two finalists.

Board directors commended both — Kane and Executive Director of Schools Danny Winsor — as outstanding candidates.

Still, majority board Directors Mike Peterson, Becky Myers, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar said Kane is the leader needed to refocus the district on academic performance, pass a mill levy and bond ballot measure in November, and unify a deeply divided community.

“I am extremely humbled,” Kane said after the board voted to offer her the job.

Kane said she has spoken with people on both sides of district issues in recent weeks and found “people are tired of the conflict.”

The community has more in common that it might appear, she said, and vowed to work with all seven board members.

Director Susan Meek voted against selecting Kane, saying the charter school director should have disclosed she had prior relationships with some board members.

Peterson has previously confirmed he reached out to Kane before the position was open to see if she had interest in being superintendent.

Kane also made $50 donations to the majority’s campaigns, he said March 22.

Meek noted some people in public comment spoke about Kane attending a private retreat the majority held after they won the November election.

Kane is executive director at the charter school American Academy

and a former interim superintendent for the district. American Academy comprises three campuses and enrolls roughly 3,000 students in preschool through eighth grade.

Kane worked in the high technology industry for more than a decade before working at American Academy.

Winsor is an executive director of schools for DCSD and oversees the district’s choice programming department and postsecondary readiness programs. He is a former principal, counselor, teacher and coach. He joined DCSD in 2013 and has worked in education for 20 years.

Peterson said Kane will represent the teacher voice, and will push back and challenge any board director if needed. Peterson also said she respects the role of the parent, including in making health decisions. His “final testament is her followership,” he said, which he called emblematic of her leadership and unparalleled in the district.

Supporters of Kane who spoke during public comment on March 22 said she has the needed experience after leading the district from 2016 and 2018 as interim superintendent.

“Now, we have a chance to bring her back, and the choice couldn’t be more clear,” one woman said.

But to critics, selecting her would do the opposite. Speakers who opposed Kane said she was a divisive choice, particularly after widespread scrutiny the board majority pre-determined her as the next superintendent well before launching the search.

Winsor was a proven educator who was nonpartisan and less polarizing, his supporters said.

“Not only is his career experience far more suitable for the job, but his hiring does not continue the theme” of dishonesty and collusion, one speaker said.

Board Director David Ray had argued Winsor was a symbolic, unifying choice. Kane was a qualified leader, he said, but she came with much baggage because of community perceptions of her.

Winegar said both finalists clearly love the district, understand its needs and have a heart for children.

“For me, one was more confident, courageous and not afraid to challenge the narrative,” she said.

Winegar also made a surprise announcement at the meeting’s start

Erin Kane

COURTESY PHOTO

— she gave birth to her daughter that morning. She participated in the meeting remotely and voted for Kane from her hospital bed.

Former Superintendent Corey Wise was fired without cause in a split board vote on Feb. 4. The board minority of Directors Ray, Meek and Elizabeth Hanson vehemently opposed removing Wise, saying he was a beloved district veteran and highly qualified leader. Wise spent his entire 26-year career with the district and served in the superintendent role for less than a year.

Board majority Directors Peterson, Becky Myers, Christy Williams

and Winegar said they questioned not whether he was well-liked or a good person, but whether he was the right leader for Douglas County Schools.

Some of their concerns with Wise included his management of masking mandates during COVID-19, the district’s implementation of its educational equity policy, and suspicions he had undermined them among district staff.

In moving forward, the district and Kane will next enter contract negotiations, although it was unclear when Kane will be officially voted in as the next superintendent.

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Highlands Ranch Herald 11

March 31, 2022

SCHOOLS FROM PAGE 1

Douglas County resident Robert Marshall sued the board on Feb. 4 alleging directors Mike Peterson, Becky Myers, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar used a chain of private, one-on-one meetings to evade quorum requirements and plan the former superintendent’s removal.

A judge has issued a preliminary injunction in the case prohibiting the use of serial meetings or violations of Colorado open meeting law.

President Peterson said he brought the idea of retaining Gessler Blue Law before the board on March 22 so it could consider diversifying its legal representation moving forward. The resolution passed in a 4-3 vote does not require the board to use the firm but will place Gessler Blue Law on retainer for this specific lawsuit.

“My fear is if this case moves forward and we don’t have competent legal representation and variety and diverse opinions on what the impact could be,” Peterson said, “that this could create new Colorado law.”

Peterson also noted the judge pointed to cases in other states in his preliminary injunction. Colorado does not appear to have case law regarding the use of serial meetings, walking quorums or daisychain meetings, although several states have found they violate open meeting requirements.

Director Susan Meek said it’s impossible for a firm to represent the full board without a conflict of interest. What’s best for the majority directors might differ from what’s best for the district, she said.

The lawsuit names Peterson, My-

ers, Williams and Winegar individually in addition to the Douglas County School Board. Marshall sued after Meek, Ray and Hanson made public allegations that the majority broke open meeting laws by privately asking former Superintendent Corey Wise to step down.

Peterson had countered Meek, saying minority directors have a conflict of interest “to even vote on this, seeing as they were witnesses for the plaintiff,” also adding they provided evidence used by Marshall’s legal team.

Director Elizabeth Hanson fired back at Peterson for implying minority directors voluntarily acted as witnesses and informants for the plaintiff’s attorneys.

“President Peterson, that’s a gross misrepresentation of what happened, and I think you know that,” she said.

Hanson emphasized that Meek and Ray were subpoenaed to provide documents in the case and called as witnesses by the plaintiff’s attorneys, who could call anyone to testify.

“They don’t have an option whether or not to show up, and they don’t have an option whether or not to produce documents,” she said.

Ray said hiring an additional firm was premature before the judge decides on a permanent injunction or makes a final decision in the case.

Ray and Meek also argued that the firm was a lightning rod because of its political ties.

“The optics are horrible,” Ray said.

Meek said in 2013 Gessler campaigned for past DCSD board directors known as the reform board. The community would likely see that as connecting the current board with the controversial reform era, she

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‘They don’t have an option whether or not to show up, and they don’t have an option whether or not to produce documents.’

Elizabeth Hanson, Douglas County School Board member said.

Meek also called hiring additional counsel for an appeal a frivolous use of district funds.

“If you feel like it’s appropriate for daisy-chain conversations to happen outside of public meetings, work with your legislators and try to get that passed. Those are steps you can take to work on clarifying the open meeting law. Try to make changes that you can make, but do it on your dime not on the taxpayer dime,” Meek said.

Peterson chastised Meek for her comments about the reformer era and said he was only concerned with finding competent legal counsel, not with political narratives in the community.

“Mentioning a narrative that could affect this is, in some cases, a creation of that narrative or reinforcing a narrative,” Peterson said.

Ray said the firm was also controversial because Gessler representats Tina Peters in Mesa County — the clerk and recorder who was arrested on allegations of facilitating a breach of the county’s election equipment.

The comment regarding Peters drew ire from Myers, who said Ray was politicizing the debate by bringing up Peters’ case. She criticized Ray for “alleging (Peters) is already guilty,” but then appeared to imply Peters is innocent.

“She was just doing her job,” Myers said.

Director Winegar, who gave birth to her baby that morning and participated in the meeting remotely from her hospital bed, said she was interested in in finding new legal representation.

Winegar said Hall and Evans “didn’t do the best representation of us,” as evidenced by judge’s preliminary injunction in the plaintiff’s favor. She wanted to try a new firm as the board challenges the order, she said, adding “we have every right to appeal that.”

“The person who we should be looking at that’s wasting district money is the plaintiff. They are the ones who brought this case against us,” she said. “We know we did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, we disagree with how the judge interpreted the law.”

12 Highlands Ranch Herald

LOCAL

March 31, 2022

VOICES

Mental health dilemma

S

ince the start of the pandemic, there appears to be a lot more emphasis on doing something about the mental health crisis in this country. The problem is the help is coming at a pretty late date.

FROM THE In talking to a clinician at the UCHealth hospital in Highlands EDITOR Ranch, she was adamant that this crisis did not grow from the pandemic. Instead, she compared the situation to a pot, filled to the rim, and once the COVID-19 crisis hit the world, the pot boiled over out of control.

If we could point at something good coming from that pot boiling over — it is that we as a society Thelma Grimes can no longer just ignore or place small Band-Aids on a catastrophic problem. The state, cities, counties and hospitals and doctors are now turning their focus to the crisis and doing a lot more to address it.

Recently, through a Kaiser Permanente grant, Englewood Public Schools put $24,000 towards addressing mental health needs for students. This is a great start here. It is great that Kaiser made the project possible.

In Douglas County they are ahead of the curve.

Good thinking many years ago has led to a great program there aimed at helping adults and children struggling with mental health. They continue to focus on getting people help rather than throwing them in jail cells. They focus on going directly into homes and showing that someone cares through the Community Response Teams.

The county initiative is also inside the schools, making sure students who need help are getting it.

At the college level, a recent discussion with a school official said young adults are taking on more today than ever before. They are trying to pass full class loads while working 40 hours a week just to be able to pay rent and get by.

As this official said, all of these students are one flat tire away from having full-blown meltdowns.

To some, a flat tire should be seen as no big deal, but to the student juggling everything and barely holding it together, the flat tire is the last straw.

The pandemic has shown that while we often say our young children are resilient and will be fine — evidence shows the opposite. We should be applauding what Children’s Hospital Colorado had the foresight to do in 2021. That foresight was essentially speaking out.

CHC said hospital beds are not being filled with physically sick children. Instead, they are being filled with children and teens causing self-harm.

CHC called out the state government for not doing enough to address the issue. That has led to more discussions, more effort to help our children.

The problem, however, is the pot is boiling over and the concern now is did we wait too long to really start taking the crisis seriously? Can we stabilize an out-of-control situation?

I know there are a lot of local programs and community leaders who are taking on the crisis head on. As citizens, hopefully we too can jump in and help where we can.

Thelma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media

Learning through serving

Y

ears ago, I had the opportunity to caddie several times for a good friend of mine Chris. He was an awesome amateur golfer playing in the state’s mid-amateur tournaments. I refer to this as an opportunity to WINNING volunteer to serve Chris as his WORDS caddie because it gave me the opportunity to spend a few days watching and learning from the other great amateur golfers like Chris.

As I watched, I became more familiar with the rules of the game. I observed the way that fantastic golfers approach different shots and how they managed Michael Norton the course. I was happy to carry Chris’ bag for free because he and the other golfers were helping me to learn the game and improve my own score. During one of those seasons, I was carrying his bag for the weekend, and he won the state mid-am championship. That meant that we were paired up with some really terrific golfers, so I had the best of the best amateurs to learn from along that journey.

In my earlier career I was also given the opportunity to be an observer in board of directors meetings. This meant giving up evenings and sometimes weekends, but the knowledge and experience I gained was worth every hour that I invested in being amongst some brilliant minds for a few hours every month and for a longer

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meeting each quarter.

During those meetings I managed to make myself useful by serving coffee, making sure there was water in the room, and most importantly taking notes. I also took notice of the way these leaders asked questions, including their line of questioning, it was truly impressive. I paid attention to what they wrote down as important, and how they navigated difficult decisions to come to an agreement amongst nine members of the board. I was truly learning by serving.

A young man that I coach and mentor, and who lives and works with a servant’s heart, aspires to be a keynote speaker himself one day. I had an opportunity where I was delivering a keynote speech in Chicago, so I invited him to join me.

I covered his travel costs, but he invested two days of his time to come and experience how corporate events like this work. He also made himself useful by handing out books and materials and collecting business cards from people he thought that I might want to meet one day. When the event was over he shared how much he had learned, and that he was grateful for the opportunity.

Two of my favorite places to serve are through my church and in my community. We are a part of a small church in our town. My wife and I both have volunteer positions within the church.

Again, giving up a few hours each month is absolutely worth the investment of time as we work with others in our church, engaging and

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SEE NORTON, P13

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

Highlands Ranch Herald 13

March 31, 2022

C

New options in end-of-life care

olorado now has more options available for care at end of life than ever before. The vast array of options allow for more personal choice during the final days of life, as well as for funeral and body disposition. Every option available may not be right for you personally, but knowing and understanding your options will help you make the best choices for you and your loved ones.

The need for end-of-life doulas Many people are familiar with hospice care for the terminally ill. Although hospice services are immensely helpful, there is a gap between what hospice can provide and what the dying person needs to successfully navigate the end of life. This is where end-of-life doulas, or death doulas, come in.

End-of-life doulas are non-medical support for the dying. They are not a replacement for hospice, but are in addition to hospice to help fill the gap. One of the major gaps in hospice care today is the limited time hospice workers are allowed to spend with patients. End-of-life doulas are able to provide the time for additional care, such as offer-

NORTON FROM PAGE 12

learning as they manage each of their different ministries.

In the small town that we live in, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and serve. I have coached a few young people for free, putting in the time and energy to help them improve their skills, make a hard decision, or find the right career path. Again, what I get out of the oopportunity is incredible and gives me insights into how the younger generations are thinking these days.

By giving of my time and serving, in return I was receiving tremendously valuable information that

n

ing emotional and spiritual support and companionship, serving as a liaison for the care team, completing a life review, creating legacy projects, developing a vigil plan, providing respite care and sitting vigil, just to Cindy J. Kaufman name a few. Some doulas also serve as home funeral guides to help families and communities who wish to care for their own deceased at home, as was both custom and tradition years ago.

Each end-of-life doula brings their own unique skills, experience, and talents to their work. Thus, no two doulas are alike. In searching for an end-of-life doula, it is recommended that one interviews several doulas to find the one that best fits.

LIVING & AGING WELL

Additional autonomy options at end of life Choice in care is one way to exercise autonomy at end of life.

Another is in making personal decisions about when and how one’s suffering will end. Colorado’s

Choices for body disposition Colorado is at the forefront in terms of options available for body disposition. No longer are embalming with interment or fire cremation the only two options. The desire for more environmentally

friendly ways of final disposition have given way to more sustainable methods. Colorado now has alkaline hydrolysis (aka water cremation or aqua-cremation), natural organic reduction (aka human composting), and a dedicated green burial preserve.

The most important thing to realize is that you have choices available and knowing your options will help you make the decisions that honor your own personal wants, needs and desires at end of life, as well as knowing you can make your last act on earth a kind one.

Cindy J. Kaufman, MEd, EdS is president and co-founder of Colorado End-of-Life Collaborative. To learn more contact 720-989-1929, cindy@coeolcollaborative.org or visit coeolcollaborative.org.

This column is hosted by the Seniors’ Council of Douglas County.

Please join us for our next virtual online presentation May 5 at 10 a.m.

Cindy J. Kaufman will be our presenter and provide an overview on end-of-life care. For more information, please visit www.MyDougCoSeniorLife.com, email DCSeniorLife@ douglas.co.us or call 303-663-7681.

would help in understanding the different age groups and how they learn, what motivates them, and how they see the future.

There are so many great benefits when it comes to volunteering our time and serving other. How about you? Is there something that gets you excited about serving others?

Do you live and work with a servant’s heart? I would love to hear your story at mnorton@xinnix.com, and when we realize that we can learn while we serve, it really will be a better than good year.

Michael Norton is the grateful president of XINNIX, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

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• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

• Letters advocating for a political candidate should focus on that candidate’s qualifications for office. We cannot publish letters that contain unverified negative information about a candidate’s opponent. Letters advocating for or against a political candidate or ballot issue will not be published within 30 days of an election.

End of Life Options Act went into effect in early 2017, allowing the terminally ill access to medication to end their suffering peacefully and on their own terms. Since then, hundreds of terminally ill patients have been prescribed the aid-indying medication, even though barriers to access remain problematic for many people across Colorado.

The need for education still exists around this option to help those who want access.

Another available option is called Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking, or VSED. This process falls under the terminally ill person’s legal right to refuse medical care, which includes nutrition and hydration.

For both the Medical Aid in Dying and VSED options, it is best if one has an experienced support system of hospice workers and/or end-oflife doulas to safely carry them out.

• Publication of any given letter is at our discretion. Letters are published as space is available.

• We will edit letters for clarity, grammar, punctuation and length and write headlines (titles) for letters at our discretion.

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Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. 303-566-4100 obituaries@coloradocommunitymedia.com Self placement available online at HighlandsRanchHerald.net

14 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

LOCAL

LIFE

Some Front Range mental health workers are using nature as a ‘co-therapist’

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

L

ots of Coloradans spend their free time hiking through the forest, climbing mountains and backpacking through the wilderness, but some of these adventurers are simultaneously working on improving their mental health.

That’s because of a variety of outdoor mental health programs along the Front Range that are using nature as a “cotherapist.”

Whether it’s the guided meditations

Climbers working with Aleya Littleton in adventure therapy make their way up the rocks.

COURTESY PHOTO

A group of climbers that work with Aleya Littleton in adventure therapy show off their COURTESY PHOTO muscles at the crag.

of forest bathing, the extended alone time of wilderness therapy or the activitybased programs of adventure therapy, there are multiple options for people who want to improve their mental health but aren’t interested in sitting in an office or a clinical setting.

Adventure therapy Aleya Littleton, an adventure therapist based in Golden, uses a variety of experiences in nature as the backdrop for her therapy work.

“It’s using nature as your office and your co-therapist,” she said. “Nature herself creates a neutral and regulating space for us to be in while we’re feeling and talking about difficult things.”

Littleton’s work includes hikes at North Table Mountain, climbing at a nearby crag or even camping and backpacking. While her clients are pulling on their climbing harnesses or stopping to take in mountain views, they’re also talking about and addressing specific mental health concerns.

Littleton, who is a trained rock climbing guide, also takes out new and experienced climbers to work on things like fear and body autonomy.

“What happens when you climb is you have to refine and renegotiate your relationship with your body, with the rock and with other people,” she said.

“You get to learn about yourself with a constant, neutral backdrop.”

One of her priorities during these excursions is to allow the climbers to make their own decisions about whether they want to push forward or come down.

“We celebrate choice and people who are learning to listen to their body,” she said. “It’s not about the actual climbing, it’s about you being good to you and making wise decisions for you.”

Littleton points out that from the research she’s seen, adventure therapy is equally as effective as traditional forms of therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, but for some people it’s just a better fit.

“What makes the difference is that relationship with the therapist,” she said. “And your belief that it’s going to work.”

Forest bathing When Sandy Troyano tells new clients about her work in forest bathing, they often picture something involving a swimsuit.

The reality of the practice is far from that, however.

Instead of diving into a body of water, when Troyano, an Evergreen resident, meets with a client or group of clients, she walks them through a series of sensory-opening exercises followed by a long, slow walk through the forest.

“There’s a saying that the guide opens the door, but the forest actually does the work,” Troyano said.

The practice comes from a Japanese concept called shinrin-yoku, which literally translates to “forest bathing.” The sessions have an approach that’s similar to meditation, with exercises intended on opening up clients’ senses through slow, deliberate walks in nature and a focus on the present moment.

Troyano begins her sessions — which can be one-on-one, groups or couples — with a type of sensory-focused, guided meditation that includes feeling the textures of the earth, noticing smells in the air and deeply listening to sounds both near and far away.

“The next step is take a small walk, a slow walk and notice everything that’s moving around you,” she said.

Then, she invites the forest bathers to find places to sit still for about 15 minutes each, observing the world around them. The process takes about two and a half hours.

“It’s really about putting yourself into the present moment,” she said.

Troyano has worked with clients who are grieving or dealing with mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety. But she believes everyone can benefit from the practice, she said.

Troyano, who is a certified nature and forest therapy guide, said the mindfulness practice also helps clients become more in tune to the nature around them even when they’re not in the forest.

“Once you open your SEE NATURE, P15

Highlands Ranch Herald 15

March 31, 2022

‘1776’ on stage through April 3

F

ranklin, Jefferson, Adams, Washington ... The Performance Now Theater company, which started out in Highlands Ranch some years ago, is performing “1776” at Lakewood SONYA’S Cultural Center, SAMPLER 470 Allison Parkway, Lakewood, through April 3.

Box office: 303-9877845, lakewood. org/Government/ Departments/Community-Resources/ Arts-and-Culture/ Lakewood-CulturSonya Ellingboe al-Center/Ticketing-and-Box-Office.

Colorado Gallery of the Arts Arapahoe Community College’s Colorado Gallery of the Arts is holding an online exhibit for Littleton Student work through April 8. My understanding is that exhibits this year are online only.

See arapahoe.edu/littleton-publicschool-district-art-show-2022.

Reminder to artists Entries are invited to the All Colorado Show at the Depot Art Gallery, via CaFE, callforentry. org. Limited to the first 150 submissions of one to three works. Entry fee: $30-All Colorado at the Depot.

Juror is Doug Dawson. Deadline is May 15 or the first 150 submissions, whichever comes first. Must

have been created in the past three years, no more than 30 inches in height and width and weighing less than 25 pounds. Hanging works are limited to 20 inches height and width, 10 inches depth. Notification

by June 17.

Curtis Center Small prints by members of the Boston Printmakers will be exhibited at the Curtis Center for the Arts, 2349 E Orchard Road, Greenwood Village — one of many area exhibits that are part of the Month of Print (MoPrint). Reception April 2, 6-8 p.m. Free admission. This traveling show includes 130 small prints from across the country. All are no larger than eight by 10 inches and are about the theme of communication. Some area galleries already have exhibits of prints, and we expect there will be more, but have not been notified. (Blame COVID!) Hours: open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 303-797-1779.

Genealogy group Columbine Genealogical and Historical Society meets at 1 p.m. inperson and on Zoom. Meeting April 12 at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 8545 E. Dry Creek Road, Centennial. Presenter: Jonathan Fairchild, historian for the National Park Service, at 1 p.m. speaking about Homestead Laws (Homestead SEE SAMPLER, P24

NATURE FROM PAGE 14

senses, you start noticing more,” she said. “More comes into you.”

Wilderness therapy When Anthony Riske was first introduced to wilderness therapy, the programs were typically nomadic backpacking trips accompanied by clinical support. The clients were often teens or young adults with substance abuse problems or lifestyle issues.

Now, his work includes more consultations for those interested in trying out “solos,” where they spend extended time alone in the outdoors as a way to treat mental health concerns.

“We spend so much time with machines that we think that we are machines now,” he said. “But really, we are a part of nature.”

Riske, who is a therapist originally based in Arvada but currently living in Costa Rica, meets virtually with clients to help them set up their own wilderness therapy experience. Often, his clients will search for an isolated area and camp there for up to 72 hours.

He recommends journaling prompts, symbolic ceremonies and books for them to engage with during their time alone.

“If you get bored, look closer,” he said he advises people. “Find the trail of ants, the different kinds of soil.”

Riske usually advises clients to slowly work their way up to spending more time alone outside and ensures

Aleya Littleton, who has a master’s degree in adventure therapy, takes clients on hikes and climbs for their therapy COURTESY PHOTO sessions.

that the client is comfortable with safety precautions.

Often, clients will report that during the first 24 hours alone, they remained busy with their assigned activities along with setting up camp and eating. After 48 hours, some say they feel good but somewhat exhausted from their thoughts, he said. Many of those who remain for 72 hours, though, say they reach a blissful, relaxing state.

In the past, he’s also led group backpacking trips with therapy intertwined and solo therapy meetings in the outdoors.

“People are certainly more interested in that kind of experience,” he said. “And in Colorado, you just head straight up into the foothills.”

The musical “1776” is on stage at Lakewood Cultural Center through April 3.

COURTESY OF RDG PHOTOGRAPHY

16 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

‘Weathered’ exhibit is treat for the eyes BEST OF THE BEST

2022 BEST OF THE

BEST

Depot Art Gallery hosts show through April

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A brisk wind was challenging several guests who visited Littleton’s Depot Art Gallery on March 22.

Appropriate introduction to the new exhibit, “Weathered,” which runs through April! The wind pushed us in through that front door.

Well-known Denver painter and collage artist Sandra Kaplan was the juror for this new collection, which covers the subject in many ways — from an approaching storm to a composition of weathered wood scraps to a wrinkled old man’s face. (“Rugged Years,” watercolor by Sharon Wink.)

It’s always fun to see what imaginative artists do with a stated theme.

“Reclaimed Fences,” by Tippy McIntosh, was named Best of Theme and features pieces of an old, weathered barn, mounted on a slab of Camphor veneer. This artist’s husband is a homebuilder and she likes to incorporate building materials like this veneer in her artwork.

Paintings range from Richard Simpson’s “Parry and Eva,” a detailed small landscape/mountain painting named second place by Kaplan, to Lorraine Herrera-Bonilla’s strong statement, “Stalwart” (third place), and Mary Clarke’s glowing, circling gold and orange feline trio, “Keeping Warm on a Winter’s Night,” one of several honorable mention award-winners.

Others named by Kaplan for honor-

IF YOU GO Housed in an original Santa Fe Railway depot used by early Littleton travelers and commuters, the Depot Art Gallery, at 2069 W. Powers Ave., downtown Littleton, is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Monday. Admission is free and exhibits change monthly, more or less. 303-795-0781, depotartgallery.org. able mention were photographer Peggy Dietz’s “International,” an aerial view, Talia Johns’ “Keeper of the Souls” and Bobbi Shupe’s small, detailed painting, “History.”

Merrie Wicks’ entry is a strong watercolor of one of those sad, sagging old homes one sees in Colorado’s ghost towns. It’s called “Deer Creek Derelict” and longtime member Paul Nutting has a small, subtly-hued oil painting called “Prairie Dawn,” with mist and clouds.

Active member Pam Roth O’Mara’s work is an acrylic painting named “Winter at the Sod Home,” inspired by the sod home at the fascinating Plains Conservation Center on East Hampden Avenue in Aurora, where she volunteers time. (Readers will want to add this spot to their “to be explored” lists for summer.)

Kathy Triplett exhibits a mosaic made from broken teacup plates and beaded cabochons on a fiddle-shaped form and another called “Ready for My Cameo.”

Near the entry door, a visitor finds a trio of handsome glass vases, with painted decoration by Chris Schranck, and member Gold Orman exhibits sculptural works in fused glass nearby.

“Reclaimed Fences” by Tippy McIntosh was named Best of Theme in the “Weathered” exhibit at LittleCOURTESY PHOTO ton’s Depot Art Gallery.

VOTE A week of top-notch musical options NOW! I

Through April 15th

HighlandsRanch Herald.net To provide the most accurate results by geographical area, Colorado Community Media does not require, but does encourage readers to vote for businesses in their immediate local community. All nominated businesses have an equal opportunity of winning, no purchase required. Please see voting website for complete contest rules and regulations.

don’t know how it happened, whether it’s just the result of musicians making up for about two years of missed touring, good karma returning or just how it crumbles, cookie-wise, but Denver and the surrounding areas are spoiled with a bevy of fantastic concert options.

So many that I’m devoting my entire column to five of the best bets for an evening out.

Any live music fan will tell you that there’s nothing like a good homecoming show. The atmosphere is always a bit more electric when the audience recognizes the performers as their people.

It’s been six years since the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra (CJRO) played the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., but that time afield ends at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26 with Back by Popular Demand: The CJRO Returns.

“We got our start at the Lone Tree Arts Center and were there for about two-and-a-half years,” said Art Bouton, the bandleader who founded the orchestra in 2012. “In that time, we’ve turned from a one-person shop to an organization that has a payroll that can pay the best professional musicians to perform.”

The reintroduction show will feature classic big band numbers like “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Moanin,” and “More Today Than Yesterday,” as

well as some new arrangements featuring the work of artistic and music director Drew Zaremba. Vocalist Marion Powers will be featured in the concert, which Bouton said will show how much the orchestra’s skill has Clarke Reader grown.

“It means a tremendous amount to come back to Lone Tree, especially because on the jazz side, we’re the professional equivalent of the Colorado Symphony,” he said. “If you’re a lover of classic big band or jazz of any time, you’ll really be pleased with this concert.”

Tickets can be purchased by calling 720-509-1000 or by visiting www. coloradojazz.org/concerts or call the LTAC box office at 720-509-1000.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

John Mayer at the Ball Arena John Mayer is one of those artists we just take for granted these days, which he seems to enjoy. He’s embraced all his influences and interests, channeling them into the simultaneously sincere and winking 2021 album, “Sob Rock.” But don’t let all that make you forget he’s also a scorchingly good guitarist, who weaves blues, folk and pop into his

work.

After several years touring with Dead & Company (and some COVIDrelated delays), Mayer is back hitting the road in support of his solo work and stops by the Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle in Denver, at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 27.

Get your tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.

Tyler, The Creator and Vince Staples at Ball Arena Over the last 15 years or so, Tyler the Creator and Vince Staples have been making some of the most adventurous, forward-looking rap in the genre, and in 2021, both shared top-notch albums.

Tyler’s “Call Me If You Get Lost” is one of his best and most beautiful records yet and Staples’ self-titled latest effort showcases his lyrical power while using beats both skeletal and haunting.

People looking for an example of hip-hop mainstays who are still evolving and getting better as a result, shouldn’t miss Tyler, Staples, Kali Uchis and Teezo Touchdown at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29 at Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle in Denver.

For information and tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

SEE READER, P18

Highlands Ranch Herald 17

March 31, 2022

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18 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

Boats used to float through Denver on Cherry Creek They’re long gone now, but their legacy lives on

BY DAVID GILBERT THE COLORADO SUN

One of the boats is a garden planter now. A couple more sit in a storage unit near Elitch Gardens.

The remaining handful of punts — think gondolas like in Venice — were given away as gifts, their fate today unknown.

It’s been 13 years since the last punt plied Denver’s Cherry Creek.

But the legacy of Venice on the Creek, the eccentric tourist attraction that once sent visitors on rides through the only boat locks in Colorado, lives on in how Denver thinks of the neighborhood around one of its primary waterways — and launched at least one political career.

“It captured people’s imaginations,” said Jolon Clark, a Denver city council member whose first job was a “punter” for Venice on the Creek in the 1990s, and said his experience led him down a path toward public service. “It was a magical thing that got people to dream about where Denver was going.”

Venice on the Creek launched in 1996, when downtown Denver was still finding its identity, said Jeff Shoemaker, the head of the Greenway Foundation, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing Denver-area waterways.

“It was one of the most delightful, challenging, goofy things we’ve ever done,” Shoemaker said. “Back then, the banks of Cherry Creek were asphalt and vacant lots. It was pretty forgotten. We wanted to prove it could be something beautiful.”

Founded by Shoemaker’s father, Joe Shoemaker, in 1974, the Greenway Foundation has led efforts to build miles of trails and dozens of parks along Cherry Creek and the South Platte River and hosts environmentally focused summer camps for schoolchildren.

In 1996, the Greenway Foundation built a series of five dams and locks that would allow boats to float less than a mile from Larimer Street to Confluence Park on the South Platte.

The foundation spent $50,000 on five “punts” — 23-foot wooden boats that could carry a half-dozen passengers plus a “punter,” a pilot who guided the boats with a long wooden pole. The punts were built by British craftsman Cliff Ansel, who also made boats that floated down the River Cam in Cambridge, England.

Funding came from $1.5 million in grants from the City of Denver, the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, and the Gates Family and Boettcher foundations among others. The project required the blessing of the Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA and Denver Mayor Wellington Webb.

The first season was slow, with just 3,000 passengers in three months of operation. But by 1997, the idea was starting to hold water.

Sat. April 9, 2022, 10am to 5pm Sun. April 10, 2022, 10am to 3pm

Former Venice on the Creek punter Joe Wood points out features in an old boat lock PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT/THE COLORADO SUN along Cherry Creek.

That’s the year Clark, then a student at South High School, came on board.

“My high school sweetheart told me I should apply, and I was sure she meant Cherry Creek Reservoir — how could there be boats on Cherry Creek?” Clark said. “But it was the coolest, funkiest thing ever.

I gave boat rides to honeymooners from Germany. A guy proposed to his girlfriend on my boat.”

Clark was hooked and came back every summer through high school and college. When he graduated from Colorado State University in 2003 with a degree in natural resources, Shoemaker put Clark in charge of the foundation’s summer camp program. The work led to fundraising and planning projects, and before long Clark said he was being courted to run for office. He was elected to Denver City Council in 2014.

“The vision I first saw from those boats was to build something positive for downtown,” he said. “It was inspiring.”

Clark said the neighborhood around the creek has radically transformed since his first summer on a punt, with apartments and the upscale LoDo shopping and dining district looming over the channel.

In some ways it’s a fulfillment of the Greenway Foundation’s goals, Clark

said, though downtown is again hurting as pandemic shutdowns and a shift toward work from home have left shops and restaurants struggling.

“You do see a lot of people living right in that downtown area, though, and I think that’s helped insulate downtown against some of the impacts of the pandemic,” he said. “If it were still almost strictly commercial in downtown like you saw through a lot of the 1990s, we could be in worse shape. I think the Greenway Foundation and Venice on the Creek helped make living there seem more feasible.”

“I was living somewhere with beauty and charm” Venice on the Creek wasn’t Denver’s first attempt at boating its shallow rivers, though.

“Denver has always wanted to be a seaside city,” historian Phil Goodstein said. “But the reality of how small these rivers really are always catches up with people.”

John Brisben Walker, who developed Red Rocks Amphitheatre, was said to have attempted to start a steamship service between Denver and Brighton in the 1880s, soon scaling it back to a four-block stretch of the South Platte deepened by a dam, Goodstein said. In 1894, miners left

READER

Beach House at the Mission Ballroom I’m not sure when the exact point is that a band turns into a hall-offame band, but with nearly 10 albums in about 15 years, Baltimore’s Beach House work like they’re racing to build one of the best discographies in indie rock. The duo - Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have consistently explored the fuzzy, reverb-drenched reaches of their sound and, in the process, created some startingly lovely music.

In February the band released “Once Twice Melody,” one of their most luminous albums yet. You can catch them at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30 at the Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver.

Secure tickets at www.axs.com.

FROM PAGE 16

More than 70 booths to explore along with a beautiful drive up to the Foothills Vendors: Booth space is available through the 31st

Conifer High School | 10441 County Hwy 73, Conifer

TICKETS: $5 AT THE DOOR

OR bring 2 non-perishable food items for complimentary entry for the Mountain Resource Center or the 285 Backpack Project for details: www.FoothillsHomeShow.com or email foothillshomeshow@gmail.com

Nation of Language at the Bluebird Theater New York’s Nation of Language are one of the best modern purveyors of the kind of new wave music that made some of the best music of the 1980s. But there’s nothing derivative about their music and the way they use synths is both propulsive and groovy.

On both of their two albums - including last year’s stellar “A Way Forward” - the group has produced collections of songs that are so good they both sound like greatest hits records. They’re stopping by the Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, which is the perfect venue for their tunes. Get tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.

SEE BOATS, P31

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

Highlands Ranch Herald 19

March 31, 2022

Democrats push abortion bill through Gov. Jared Polis agreed to sign into law

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Democrats in the state legislature on March 23 sent Gov. Jared Polis a bill affirming access to abortion and contraception in Colorado.

After the vote, Polis said he will sign the measure, House Bill 1279, into law.

The legislation passed the Senate on a 20-15, party-line vote after it was debated on the floor for about 13 hours on March 22 and then more than two hours on March 23 as Republicans fought the measure’s passage.

The bill was debated in the House earlier this month for 24 consecutive hours in what was one of the longest debates in the legislature’s history.

Democrats introduced the legislation in response to questions about the future of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision protecting the right to an abortion without excessive government restriction.

The court could overturn the precedent in the coming months in a ruling in a case out of Mississippi, potentially opening the door for abortion restrictions in Colorado at the county or municipal level.

Colorado, which in 1967 became the first state to loosen its abortion laws, is among the states with the fewest abortion restrictions in the

nation.

Abortion access wouldn’t be immediately affected in Colorado if Roe v. Wade is overturned, but abortion rights advocates warn there could still be threats.

The concern among abortion rights groups is that conservative Colorado counties or municipalities could try to pass local measures banning or significantly limiting abortion access. Without the protections in Roe v. Wade, those local measures may not be challengeable in court without the passage of affirmative abortion-access legislation at the Capitol.

But because House Bill 1279 changes only state law, Republicans would still be able to introduce bills and ballot measures seeking to limit abortion access. Only a constitutional amendment, which would require approval by 55% of voters, could more permanently settle the question.

Colorado voters have consistently rejected ballot measures seeking to restrict abortion access.

Abortion rights groups are considering whether to pursue a ballot measure in 2024 enshrining abortion access in Colorado’s constitution.

Gov. Jared Polis delivered the annual State of the State address on Jan. 13.

PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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20 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

High Line Canal Conservancy announces new COO Veteran public planner Tracy Young to manage 71-mile waterway

BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The High Line Canal Conservancy, a nonprofit working to protect and enhance the 71-mile waterway that runs through four metro counties, announced March 4 that it has named founding board member Tracy Young as its COO. Young has been with the conservancy since 2014, serving as its board secretary in 2020 and 2021. For the last 30 years, Young has worked as a landscaper and public planner for several urban areas and currently works as the planning, design and construction manager for Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space.

“I’m excited for a change, I’ve been in the public sector for over 30 years and I’ve absolutely loved every single minute of it,” Young said. “But this new position, working for the conservancy, is basically a dream job for me.”

Young said she has a long relationship with the High Line Canal, a 140-year-old human-made waterway that now serves as a popular recreation trail. She first began working on the canal with the City of Denver in 1990 and has since been involved in projects in Aurora.

“Tracy embodies everything anyone could ever ask for in a public servant and leader,” said Josh Tenneson, High Line Canal Conservancy board secretary, in a statement.

“She has always remained committed to making the community that she lives and works in a better place.”

As COO, Young will be tasked with helping implement the vision of the recently-formed High Line Canal Collaborative, a partnership of local governments, agencies and nonprofits working to provide $130 million in spending on the canal over the next 15 years.

Of that, about 20% to 30% will come from private donors, according to Suzanna Fry Jones, senior

The High Line Canal diversion dam on the South Platte River above the mouth of Waterton Canyon. The canal is more than 140 FILE PHOTO years old.

director of programs and partnerships for the conservancy. This will include individual donors, regional and national foundations and some corporate groups. About 40% to 50% of the funding will come from local and regional governments, with some possible federal funding.

The money will go towards a host of canal improvements and projects with an emphasis on accessibility and environmental stewardship.

The collaborative is eyeing new bridges, underpasses and mile markers as well as removing dead trees in the forests surrounding the canal and planting thousands of more drought-tolerant trees by 2030.

These initiatives will build on current projects already underway such as enhancements to stormwater mitigation to filter out pollutants, such as sediment, salt, phosphates and oil that may be collected by rain or snow when it touches the ground and drains into the canal.

Built with the “promise for a better future,” according to Young, the canal has historically served as an irrigation system for residences, governments and businesses. From the mouth of Waterton Canyon in southwest Douglas County, the waterway winds through Douglas,

Arapahoe, Adams and Denver counties, making it one of the longest continuous urban trails in the U.S. But as climate change continues to make the state dryer, drought has been an ever-present problem for waterways like High Line.

“Water conservation is something that is on everyone’s mind in the West these days,” Young said. “We have been experiencing drought, more and more drought, and there are also pretty strong new development patterns happening in our region.”

With this, Denver Water, the canal’s owner, has signaled a need to wean current users off the waterway in favor of more sustainable irrigation services with a focus on transitioning High Line to a purely recreational canal.

Currently, there are about 35 entities in the metro area that still rely on the canal for irrigation, including schools, parks and residences, according to Tom Roode, chief operations and maintenance officer for Denver Water.

“We have this great resource … and the challenge for us is it’s no longer a good asset for us to deliver irrigation water, but we don’t want to just let it fail,” Roode said in a

Tracy Young, a 30-year veteran of landscaping and public planning, will become COO for the High Line Canal Conservancy March 23. COURTESY OF TRACY YOUNG

previous article.

Ultimately, Young said she sees her work, and the work of the collaborative, as a means of bringing more people together to enjoy the recreational space.

“I see the canal as the way to enhance the connection between people, people from different backgrounds, people from different communities,” Young said.

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22 Highlands Ranch Herald

LOCAL

March 31, 2022

SPORTS

Chap baseball team downs Fort Collins 13-5 March 26 victory moved Wolverines into positive territory for season

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It was a tough question but Chaparral senior James Harbison answered quickly.

He was asked which he liked better, playing the in the outfield or closing as a relief pitcher.

Harbison did both on March 26 as Chap downed Fort Collins, 13-5, in a baseball game played at the Wolverines’ Eaton field.

He got an unexpected start in left field and made the most of it as Chap improved its season record to 4-3.

Harbison doubled and scored in the Wolverines’ five-run secondinning outburst and was summoned to pitch in the sixth inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, faced five batters, didn’t allow a hit and struck out the side in the top of the seventh inning.

“I like outfield more but it is always fun to come in and close too,” said the left-handed Harbison. “I felt really good. My off speed was working and had a good defense behind me. I felt good at the plate too.”

Chap head coach Alan DiGiosio did not hesitate to point out Harbison’s contribution.

“James Harbison was not scheduled to start in left field but he got the last start and then came in and closed the game for us,” said DiGiosio. “He had a pretty good showing today.”

Chap had 11 hits against four Fort Collins pitchers.

Andrew Isdale and Ryan Loomer each had two hits and combined for three runs batted in.

Isdale, a senior, was the starting pitcher for the Wolverines against the Lambkins and allowed just one hit in four innings of work before being relieved by freshman Ethan Adams and Harbison.

Chaparral shortstop Cole Jenkins (7) relays a throw to first base to complete a double play in the top of the second inning of the PHOTO BY JIM BENTON March 26 game against Fort Collins. The Wolverines won, 13-5.

Chap compiled a 2-3 record on an early-season trip to Arizona but came home to face Pueblo South on March 25 and Fort Collins on March 26.

“We played really well down in Arizona for five games,” added DiGiosio. “Two games we had the lead in and realistically we could have come out of there 5-0. Both the last two wins were nice but in this one (Fort Collins) we did a lot more things right.”

Chap held a 5-1 lead against Pueblo South but held on for a 5-4

win on March 25. Isdale and Tanner Donner each had two hits for the Wolverines.

Senior Nathan Pitts was the starting pitcher in the Pueblo South game and surrendered three hits in 5.1 innings before Nick Miszuk came in to get the save.

“We’re in a stretch of our schedule right now leading up to league where we’ve got to keep building and getting better because you know what our league (Continental) is like.

“We’ve got some young pieces and

some guys that are in their second time with us. “We’ve got a lot of arms and a lot of talent. We are just hoping we can put them in the right places and play up to our potential.”

Harbison agrees.

“We’re getting a lot better as we go along,” he said. “Those first couple games we lost, it was our first games in a while. Now that we are getting back in the groove, we’ll be pretty good the rest of the season.

We got all of it and good energy on the bench. Everybody knows their role and plays it well.”

Regis upsets Douglas County in volleyball matchup

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County won the first boys state volleyball championship sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association last year.

The Huskies went 18-0 in the historic season but on March 23, Douglas County suffered its first sanctioned loss.

Regis Jesuit pulled out a 3-2 win over the top-ranked Huskies in a match played in the Douglas County gym and the 10th-ranked Raiders snapped a 19-match winning streak for County, which opened this season with a win over Littleton.

“We are much younger this year,” said Douglas County Coach Jason Fitzgerald.

“We know we are going to get everyone’s very best and we are looking forward to the challenge. The game against Regis was another opportunity to grow into

who this year’s team will be. Chapter Two.” Douglas County, led by the play of Landon Keathley, Dillen Coney and Jensen Pascua, won the first set 25-20 but lost the next two sets.

The Huskies won three of the last four points to capture the fourth set, 26-24.

Fitzgerald’s team grabbed 5-1 and 6-3 leads in the decisive fifth set but couldn’t hold off the Raiders, losting 15-12.

Keathely and Coney, both juniors, each had 11 kills to pace the Huskies.Coney was credited with four blocks.

Zach Dubey finished with eight kills and Spencer Etchells had four blocks for the Huskies.

Pascua, another junior, had 32 assists, 18 digs and two service aces. Senior CJ Mullins was solid with 18 digs. Mullins, Pascua and Coney were the foundation of last season’s title team.

Shea Stadium has new name STAFF REPORT

Douglas County’s Dillen Coney (15) helps lead a cheer after the Huskies won a point in the March 25 match against Regis Jesuit. The Raiders won, 3-2.

PHOTO BY JIM BENTON

Effective March 1, the former Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch has a new name of Halftime Help Stadium.

Halftime Help is a veteranowned family operated business providing flexible work opportunities of lawn and garden, landscaping, household and concierge for student athletes within their own communities.

Highlands Ranch Herald 23

March 31, 2022

Colorado parks are full and getting fuller

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

If anybody could work the system and get access to wildly popular open space this summer, you’d think Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioner Taishya Adams would have a good shot.

But there she is, just like everyone else, penciling early March on her planner as the day she can first swing sharp elbows online to get summer group backpacking reservations at Rocky Mountain National Park, not far from her home in Boulder.

“I’ve had it marked in my calendar for six months,” Adams told her fellow commissioners last week. She endorsed a new timed entry proposal for Eldorado Canyon State Park, where overflowing parking lots on weekends back up onto lawns in the little town of Eldorado Springs.

But she added a warning message: Intergenerational families love the big picnic areas at Eldorado and other state parks. They come in more than one car. Managing crowds by managing cars should not shut out diverse uses of state open space.

“I would hate to see that become a barrier,” Adams said.

Up, up and away Everyone agrees Colorado’s open spaces are growing alarmingly crowded on popular days. The numbers are startling.

Visitation at close-in Front Range state parks has doubled or nearly tripled. Sprawling Lake Pueblo had to turn away cars for the first time in 2020, the year it passed 3 million visitors. Jefferson County Open Space does not have gated entry for counting, but believes visitation to its 28 foothills gems passed 7 million last year.

Staunton State Park near Conifer rocketed from 89,000 in 2015 to 277,000 in 2020. Barr Lake in Brighton, a hit with birders and flatland bikers, went from 119,000 in 2015 to 258,000 in 2020, before settling back a bit with indoor pandemic restrictions easing in 2021. Open space officials expect use to keep climbing rapidly, if not quite as steeply as in the first year of the pandemic.

Made with Flourish A Center for Western Priorities study of reservable camping spaces at federal and local public lands showed more than 95% of sites were taken at peak periods, with an overall 39% increase in summer camping at public spaces.

And the state parks commission may have just opened the gates on a new flood — the annual Keep Colorado Wild state parks pass will be only $29 in 2023, tacked on to annual car registration with an option to decline it, less than half the current $80 fee for one car.

Need to find a better solution than first come, first served Open space managers across the West are scrambling to accommodate the growth without provoking a public backlash against new rules.

Mandatory shuttles from remote lots, parking fee add-ons, timed entry, seasonal trail closures for wildlife protection, and extra fees for

non-residents are all under consideration in every parks-related office.

“You do have to be ready to say OK, first come, first served doesn’t work if you have an entrance line that’s a half mile long every day,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities, which advocates for expanded public lands and more parks funding. “We have to find a better solution.”

The answer can’t just be forcing everyone to online reservation systems or discouragingly high fees, Weiss and others say. The fix has to include more open land, they argue, including the Biden administration’s executive order seeking to protect 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030.

“Increased use of state and federal lands is a good thing, and the solution isn’t to curtail access, but rather increase it by conserving more land and removing barriers to entry from those who feel excluded or unable to access the outdoors,” said Jackie Ostfeld, director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign.

“The threat of overuse poses in these small spots, and it is a legitimate threat, is miniscule compared to the threat posed by development,” Weiss said.

Anecdotal evidence and polling data show the online ticket jockeying and the turned-away cars, from Pueblo to Roxborough, are altering the way Coloradans use — or try to use — the great outdoors.

About 58% of Coloradans said crowding in the last two to three years has changed where and how they recreate, according to this year’s annual State of the Rockies Project poll of Western states by Colorado College and New Bridge Strategy. The average across all eight Western states polled was 48% changing their time and location of outdoor recreation.

Larimer County hiker Suzy Paquette said she understands the need for control experiments like timed entry, but added that the online regimen started at Rocky Mountain National Park last year did change how she and her husband get outdoors.

Even on weekdays in the summer, the national park passes are “gone like lickety split,” she said. “So that’s one of the problems, you can’t just say ‘Oh, let’s go to the park today.’”

It’s not just the human visitors and residents whose behavior and attitudes are impacted by the outdoors rush, said Dana Bove, a volunteer who helps keep track of eagles and hawks at places like Barr Lake, St. Vrain, Boyd Lake and county parks.

He feels he’s lost his own “solace” in the crowded parking lots and packed trails, but worries more about the birds.

“These days, most of my walks on the trails where we live are at dusk or in the evening,” Bove said. He can choose to walk later, but he said, “wildlife is not so fortunate, as they have already moved away or been displaced from the ever increasing human traffic.”

The outdoors are turning into an overcrowded theme park Pueblo is proud that people come from all over to boat on Lake Pueblo, swim at Rock Canyon, or mountain bike on dozens of miles of trails, said Jamie Valdez, who has led

mountain bike classes at the state park. Pueblo gets less snow, and the warm winter sunshine attracts recreation from multiple states, he said.

Valdez has his eye now on the city’s Pueblo Mountain Park, with its own hiking trails in the foothills southwest of town sitting as a hidden gem. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful park, and it seems to be almost forgotten,” he said.

The nonprofit Boulder Climbing Community weighed in early on the proposed changes to how Eldorado Canyon is managed, knowing many of its members go dozens of times a year and count on driving, rolling or striding in just a few minutes after class or work.

To their credit, Boulder County and the state have consulted closely with climbers on improving the shuttle to the park and making sure timed car passes aren’t hoarded or sold, said Boulder Climbing Community executive director Kate Beezley.

The shuttles have spaces for climbers’ crash pads and other gear.

Robert Fix of Westminster and Mike Wright of Boulder prepare to go climbing at Eldorado Canyon State Park in Eldorado Springs on March 4. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America) Robert Fix of Westminster and Mike Wright of Boulder prepare to go climbing on March 4, 2022, at Eldorado Canyon State Park in Eldorado Springs. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America) More controlled-entry rules for open space are inevitable, Beezley

said, so parks managers need to make sure they consider all the user groups and keep things fair.

“Who is the primary user group?

Who are your frequent flyers? And how can you help them maintain those patterns of their health and well-being?” she said.

Parks managers flinch when they think of the potential overuse coming to stunningly picturesque, newly minted state parks like Sweetwater Lake in Garfield County, and Fishers Peak near Trinidad. Weiss, of the Center for Western Priorities, uses the word “harden” to describe how open space planners must anticipate the places a frenzied public will park, hike, build fires or camp, and create protections for those natural areas.

Marketing experts also must join in to help spread people out by showcasing alternatives to the closest, most Instagrammed locations, experts say.

Otherwise, Weiss said, the great outdoors becomes “this massive Disneyland problem that you end up with at Zion National Park, or at Chautauqua for that matter. There’s a lot to be said for making sure folks are aware, hey, there are equally great if not better experiences, because it’s less crowded.”

Angel’s Landing at Zion is one of Weiss’ favorite spots. But it’s no fun, he said, “If it looks like the line to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’”

SEE PARKS, P29

24 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

C R O S S W O R D BOARD P U Z Z L E FROM PAGE 1

Jack Mackowiak (9,716 votes).

Resident delegates are given a set number of votes based on the amount of lots and proportional residents that are in their district.

Park has the most experience on the board having served seven years as a director, on top of time as chair of the Backcountry Planning Area Advisory Committee.

In her candidate form, Park said she plans to prioritize hiring a new general manager, addressing financial stability and developing longterm goals.

DeBacco has been on the board for less than a year since he was appointed to finish the remainder of

SAMPLER FROM PAGE 15

Act of 1862) and techniques for researching homestead records and the effect the act had on the United States. On April 19 at 1 p.m., via Zoom, Susie Wickman will present “Mapping Your Family History.” columbinegenealogy.com.

‘Blue Ridge’ Miner’s Alley Playhouse, 1224

Krystal Woodbury’s term after she stepped down. He previously served on the Architectural Review and Finance committees.

DeBacco’s candidate form says he would like to focus on evaluating bylaws, looking at staff retention and facility updates, and preserving the Backcountry Wilderness Area.

Though she’s the board’s newest member, Wasden has lived in Highlands Ranch since 1994 and has served as a delegate, as well as on the Architectural Review Committee. Wasden fills the seat left open by former Director Scott Lemmon.

Per her candidate form, Wasden plans to target hiring a new manager, adding facilities to the Backcountry Wilderness Area and keeping an eye on reserves for aging facilities.

The three elected directors will be sworn in at the April 19 meeting.

Washington Ave., Golden, opens a regional premiere of “Blue Ridge” by Abby Rosebrock, playing April 15 to June 5. 303-9353044, minersalley.com.

ACC Foundation The Arapahoe Community College Foundation presents “A Night in Monte Carlo,” its annual fundraiser to bring in money for student scholarships, on April 21 at Cielo at Castle Pines. Office phone for information: 303-7975602.

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March 31, 2022

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To apply for this position, please complete the Certified Application for Employment available on the East Central BOCES website www. ecboces.org under “Jobs”. EOE

Cherry Hills Christian School is growing!

If you are looking to work in a Christ-centered, stable, fun, and supportive environment, we want to hear from you! CHC is a dually accredited school and a certified Best Christian Workplace with a flourishing culture. We consider it a privilege to prepare students to live fully for God in a rapidly changing world with Alive Hearts, Anchored Souls, Academically Prepared Minds and Abiding Strength.

Visit cherryhillschristian.org/ careers/ and apply today!

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Special Education Teacher for a significant needs program located at the Strasburg Elementary School. Current Colorado Special Education Teacher license required.

BA salary range $34,650-$40,950 & MA salary range $39,900$46,200, based on experience.

May be eligible for Sign On Bonus!

Excellent benefits. Collaborative work environment with lots of free continuing education opportunities available. May be eligible for Student Loan Forgiveness.

Questions contact Tracy at (719) 775-2342, ext. 101 or tracyg@ecboces. org. Please complete a Certified application located at the bottom of the “Jobs” page on ecboces.org or email tracyg@ecboces.org. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Project Analysts Visa Technology & Operations LLC, a Visa Inc. company, currently has openings in our Highlands Ranch, CO location for: Project Analysts (REF45494A) Lead and direct large complex end-to-end IT initiatives.

Work across the solution stack and technology domains (compute, storage, database, network, middleware, etc.) and collaborate with engineers, architects, and product leads to deliver new and innovative payment solutions to the masses. Sr. Cybersecurity Engineers (Job# REF45839G): Take a lead role in the continued innovation of Visas Cyber Security strategy & drive Visas competitive advantage in payments by facilitating a best in class security infrastructure using Open source solutions.

Develop innovative solutions to protect the Visa brand, networks, assets & products by implementing state-the-art detection, prevention, & response capabilities.

To apply, please reference Job#s above when mailing resume to: LJ, Visa Inc., MS: M1-12 SW, 900 Metro Center Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404.

EOE

TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100

Help Wanted Speech-Language Pathologist or SLPA Positions Full-Time & Part-Time Open to School Internships. Able to provide supervision for CFY hours. Join our dynamic, multidisciplinary team of professionals for the 2022-23 school year. Administer assessments, provide direct, indirect & consultation services for students PreK-12th grades.

Competitive salaries: SLP - $44,100-$56,000 & SLPA- $36,050- $44,450, both commensurate upon experience.

May be eligible for a Sign On Bonus! May also be eligible for loan forgiveness. Excellent benefits, including full health benefits & mileage reimbursement. Flexible schedule. Questions contact Tracy at (719) 775-2342, ext. 101. To apply for this position, please complete the Certified Application for Employment available on the East Central BOCES website www.ecboces.org under “Jobs”. EOE

Need to get the word out?

Advertise with us to find your next great hire!

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303.566.4100

Local ads, coupons & deals are just one click away!

C H E C K I T O U T AT:

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CLASSIFIEDS

26 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

Market Place

Medical

Miscellaneous

Announcements

Attention oxygen therapy users!

Inogen One G4 is capable of full 24/7 oxygen delivery. Only 2.8 pounds.

Free info kit. Call 877-929-9587

Paying top cash for men’s sportwatches!

Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Day-tona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. Call 833-603-3236

Greetings, I am a environmental science student at wageningen university in the Netherlands however I grew up in Broomfield, Colorado. Currently, I’m conducting a research study for my master’s thesis about wildfires in the front range and I’m looking for home and business owners in Longmont, Louisville, Boulder, and Superior to interview as a part of this study.

If you or someone you know from these communities are interested please contact me at: connorhollis. hollis@wur.nl in order to receive a formal invitation and informed consent with the study details. if interested please respond via the above email by the end of this month

Misc. Notices WIDOWED MEN AND WOMEN OF AMERICA. A social club offering many exciting activities and life long friendships.

Social hours for all areas of Metro Denver.

Visit Widowedamerica.org for details In your area!

Merchandise Firewood

Split & Delivered $350 a cord Delivery $50. Stacking $50 Call 303-647-2475 or 720-323-2173

Health & Beauty DENTAL INSURANCE - Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures.

Real insurance - not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit!

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VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! 50 Generic Pills SPECIAL $99.00 FREE Shipping! 100% guaranteed.

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Miscellaneous DISH TV $64.99 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet.

Free Installation, Smart HD DVR included, Free Voice remote. Some Restrictions apply. Promo Expires 1/21/23. 1-833-872-2545.

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BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months!

Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725 The Generac PWRcell solar plus battery storage system. Save money, reduce reliance on grid, prepare for outages & power your home. Full installation services. $0 down financing option. Request free no obligation quote. 1-855-270-3785 Eliminate gutter cleaning forever!

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CLASSIFIEDS COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

Real Estate Cemetery Lots

4 Cemetery Plots at Crown Hill Near back, purchased in 1950.

Located under trees and all together.

Asking $15,000 plus transfer fees for all 4 or best offer. Please call for more information. 303-431-5133

!!OLD GUITARS WANTED!!

GIBSON, FENDER, MARTIN, Etc. 1930’s to 1980’s. TOP DOLLAR PAID. CALL TOLL FREE 1-866-433-8277 Become a published author. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920.

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Aloe Care Health medical alert system. Most advanced medical alert product on the market. Voiceactivated! No wi-fi needed! Special offer w/code CARE20 for $20 off Mobile Companion. 1-855-521-5138

CLASSIFIED AD SALES

303-566-4100 classifieds@coloradocommunitymedia.com

SERVICE DIRECTORY ADS

Contact Erin, 303-566-4074 eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Network

To place a 25-word COSCAN Network ad in 91 Colorado newspapers for only $300, contact your local newspaper or email Colorado Press Association Network at rtoledo@colopress.net AT&T WIRELESS DIRECTV DIRECTV for $79.99/mo for 12 months with CHOICE Package. Watch your favorite live sports, news & entertainment anywhere. First 3 months of HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix Included! Directv is #1 in Customer Satisfaction (JD Power & Assoc.) Some Restrictions apply.

CBD PAIN RELIEF

Call: 1-877-384-5339 DOGS, PETS, LIVESTOCK

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Use Happy Jack® mange to treat horse mane dandruff & lice.

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Pets Dogs

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AT&T Internet. Starting at $40/ month w/12-mo agreement. 1 TB of data/month. Ask how to bundle & SAVE! Geo & service restrictions apply. 1-888-796-8850

Transportation Autos for Sale 1992 Corvette 124K miles. Fantam green. Runs great! New computer. Asking $6,500.

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Wanted

Wanted to Buy Wants to purchase minerals and other oil and gas interests. Send details to P.O. Box 13557 Denver, Co. 80201

Great New Offer from AT&T Wireless! Ask how to get the new iPhone 12 mini for as low as $0 with trade in.

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Looking for assisted living, memory care, or independent living? A Place for Mom simplifies the process of finding senior living at no cost to your family. Call 1-833386-1995 today!

Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334-8353

DEADLINES CLASSIFIED LINE ADS: MONDAY, 5 P.M. SERVICE DIRECTORY: THURSDAY, 5 P.M. LEGALS: THURSDAY, 3 P.M.

Colorado Statewide

EmerGenSwitch model 6-5000 Manual generator transfer switch. $50/each. Quantity 2. John 303-9733638

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Local ads, coupons & deals are just one click away!

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Home for Sale

REAL ES TATE

2495 SELL YOUR HOME ½ %

$

OR

over 500k

up to 500k

If Buying a home in Denver Metro & I’m Agent

SELLING only?

Senior Housing

Senior Subsidized Housing Taking applications.

30% of monthly income equals rent.

Castle Rock Colorado.

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MARKETPL ACE

1%*

TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100

**listing commissions fees **+buyer agent co-ops

BUYING only?

Up to 1% credit of sale base price* *equal to 33% of my commission paid *applied to Buyer closing costs

Full Service Saving THOUSANDS $$$

Charles Paeplow Cornerstone Homes Realty

720-560-1999 • charlespaeplow@yahoo.com

*Commissions subject to change

CLASSIFIEDS

Highlands Ranch Herald 27

March 31, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

SERVICE DIRECTORY CLASSIFIED AD SALES

SERVICE DIRECTORY ADS

Contact Erin, 303-566-4074 eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Concrete/Paving

On The Level • Elder Care/Home Health Care/Personal Assistant • Housecleaning /Organizing /Meal Prep • Errands/Shopping /Downsizing /Companion Work • Pet/House Sitting /Childcare • Gardening

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DEADLINES CLASSIFIED LINE ADS: MONDAY, 5 P.M. SERVICE DIRECTORY: THURSDAY, 5 P.M. LEGALS: THURSDAY, 3 P.M.

303-566-4100 classifieds@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Buildings, Metal

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METALBUILDINGOUTLET.COM Heating/Air Conditioning

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Furnace Serving theand FrontBoiler Range Specials since 1955

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Serving the Front Range sinceHeaters 1955 Furnaces • Boilers • Water

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All of Flat Work by by AllPhases Phases of Flat Work

Cleaning

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$1000 OFF WHOLE HOME

Air Conditioner and Furnace Combo Purchase With qualifying equipment.

Not valid with any other offers Expires 04-30-22

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Looking for new customers?

Handyman MR.FIX-IT

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CALL FOR AN ESTIMATE Deck/Patio

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303-646-2355 Specialize in barn floors, Driveways, Remove and replacement

TEN DAYS. WE’LL GET IT DONE IN 48 HOURS.

Expires 04-30-22

720-244-3623 Cleaning

Driveways, Sidewalks, Patios Driveways, Sidewalks, Patios Tear-outs, stamped & colored Tear-outs, stamped & colored concrete.

Quality work, Lic./Ins. concrete. Quality Reasonable rates work, Lic./Ins. "Small Jobs OK!" Reasonable rates 303-514-7364 "Small Jobs OK!" tmconcrete.net 303-514-7364

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Residential/Commercial

Was Just Told She Would Have to Wait 10 DAYS Before the A/C and Furnace Company Could Get Her New System Installed!

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BEST PRICES 30+ years experience Clem: 303-973-6991

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TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100

28 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022 Landscaping

Fence Services

Roofing/Gutters

Have a Hail Damaged Roof?

Cowboy Fencing is a full service fence & gate company installing fences in Colorado for 23 6 years.

Residential/Commercial/ Farm & Ranch Fencing

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TM

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’s DeSpain HOME SOLUTIONS

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Landscaping/Nurseries

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t b t w c y o p

Highlands Ranch Herald 29

March 31, 2022

PARKS FROM PAGE 23

Looking for other solutions So what else can be done? Scott Roush, who oversees some of the busiest Colorado state parks close to the Denver metro area, said park users should expect more experiments with timed entry like the one moving forward for Eldorado Canyon this summer.

Highline Lake State Park is a place managers worry about, he said. Parking lots fill fast on weekends at the rare body of water in the high desert near Grand Junction. Without more parking controls, people leave their cars wherever they feel like it, just as at Eldorado Canyon, Roush said.

Jeffco Open Space is adding new parking spaces at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park outside Evergreen, community connections director Matt Robbins said. That may head off “volunteer” parking. Jefferson County also puts stock in educating park users on simple, highly effective tips like staying on the trail even in mud season. Hikers sidestepping mud create “braiding” that turns single track into 4-footwide throughways, Robbins said.

Charging for parking or timed ticketing are tougher, Robbins said, because Jeffco does not have controlled entry at its 28 parks in the way national or state parks do. The county did try an experiment last year partnering with Lyft for $2.50 off rides to and from open space parks. It was a bust, Robbins said.

Federal, state and county coop-

eration is key to pulling off more successful management techniques, said Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Gibbs lives in Breckenridge, where one of the busiest 14,000-foot peaks in the state, Quandary, beckons from the south.

County officials worked with the U.S. Forest Service to implement a reservation system for countyowned lots at Quandary’s base, and a shuttle system for remote parking areas.

“In these high-usage areas, I think that’s going to be the future, whether it’s on state lands or federal lands,” Gibbs said.

Roush said some state parks planners are interested in trying technology aids like Lot Spot, a smartphone app that Jeffco uses to provide real time updates on park crowding and can recommend a nearby alternative. State parks are much more spread out, though, than county open space, and alternate choices may not be practical.

The public appears to be adapting to shuttle use as a way to control car overcrowding, and park planners have noticed. Eldorado’s shuttle system will run again in 2022. Shuttles to Rocky Mountain National Park’s Bear Lake are now an essential part of park operations. Buses now operate to control entry to Maroon Bells and Hanging Lake. Expect more.

“Do we have an actual numberof-people problem, or do we have a number-of-cars problem? Because there are different solutions there,” Weiss said. “And shuttles are of course part of that.”

CLASSIFIEDS

Reservation systems at Arches and Rocky Mountain national parks are closely watched by state and county parks managers, Watkins said. Technology companies can offer ideas on counting parking space use, “frequent flyer” perks, and integrating real-time crowding information on apps that can spread out park visitors.

Backcountry users of Great Smoky Mountains National Park — which saw 14.1 million visitors in 2021 — initially balked years ago at implementing a $4 reservation fee for remote camping spots, Watkins noted. Now they think it’s a bargain, and are relieved to know there’s a spot open for them at the end of their day.

“There’s just an infinite amount of creativity and opportunity for experiment,” he said.

Open for all Open space fans and park managers worry that new layers of control and costs will widen the already large gap between tourists and outdoors enthusiasts with time and income, and those on tight budgets and less access to technology.

Fees are adding up at every level, Eldorado Canyon hiker Jeff Paquette said.

“So now you have the annual pass for your state, the annual pass for your county, and before you know it, it’s going to be for all open space,” he said.

The Sierra Club is among those fighting for more open space and recreation opportunities closer to cities, Ostfeld said. By Sierra Club’s definition of “nearby,” 100 million Americans lack easy access to open space.

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

Lawn/Garden Services

Painting

Plumbing

Residential Experts

ANCHOR PLUMBING

LAWN SERVICES C.Y.  FREE ESTIMATES  SIZE OF YARD MOW & TRIM MULCH & TRIM AERATION POWER RAKING

SMALL $25 $25 $30 $75

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LARGE $40$40$45$120-

I don’t take the grass or leaves away, but I do supply my own bags.

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In business since 1991.

Serving Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker and Centennial

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To Advertise, Call Us At:

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This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Plumbing

Tile

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“We must be very careful to ensure that the actions of public land managers don’t perpetuate the status quo, with many communities already feeling unwelcome or unsafe in some of our national and more remote parks and public lands,” Ostfeld said.

Being mindful of everyone’s time and resources is key to designing open space access, Weiss said.

“One thing we’ve learned from all of this is that any sort of time system where a clock turns over and everyone is mashing a button to try to get in, that is not fair and equitable,” he said. Some space needs to be reserved for lottery or last-minute access for those whose lives can’t revolve around one reservation window.

Colorado leaders say they are aware of all these pitfalls and will keep working to avoid them. The new $29 state parks pass linked to motor vehicle registration will bring in money to add new parks, experiment with reservations, expand shuttle systems and more, DNR’s Gibbs said.

He said he still prefers to look at access as a good problem to have.

“In the long run,” Gibbs said, “we want people to get outdoors. I mean, this is Colorado.”

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30 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

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PUBLIC NOTICES

Public Notices call Sheree 303.566.4088 Legals Public Trustees PUBLIC NOTICE Highlands Ranch NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0005 To Whom It May Concern: On 1/27/2022 12:26:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: Lisa Dewberry and Richard Dewberry Original Beneficiary: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as beneficiary, as nominee for Cardinal Financial Company L.P., its successors and assigns Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 5/6/2015 Recording Date of DOT: 5/13/2015 Reception No. of DOT: 2015030782 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $290,000.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $265,379.00 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: FAILURE TO MAKE TIMELY PAYMENTS AS REQUIRED UNDER THE EVIDENCE OF DEBT AND DEED OF TRUST. THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 85, HIGHLANDS RANCH FILING NO, 113A, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 101 Sylvestor Pl, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 3/24/2022 Last Publication: 4/21/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/1/2022 DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: AMANDA FERGUSON Colorado Registration #: 44893 355 UNION BLVD SUITE 250, LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 80228 Phone #: (303) 274-0155 Fax #: Attorney File #: CO11132 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www. douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No. 2022-0005 First Publication: 3/24/2022 Last Publication: 4/21/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Highlands Ranch NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0011 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/4/2022 1:31:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: GYSBERTHA A. VANDEGRAAF AND DONALD R. VANDEGRAAF

Original Beneficiary: MOUNTAIN PACIFIC MORTGAGE COMPANY Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 1/25/2007 Recording Date of DOT: 1/31/2007 Reception No. of DOT: 2007009181 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $462,555.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $227,516.09 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: This is a Home Equity Conversion Deed of Trust or other Reverse Mortgage. Borrower has died and the property is not the principal residence of any surviving Borrower, resulting in the loan being due and payable.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 47, HIGHLANDS RANCH - FILING NO. 118-A, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 10072 Sage Sparrow Court, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/8/2022 DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: ALISON L. BERRY Colorado Registration #: 34531 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 22-026248 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www. douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No. 2022-0011 First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Highlands Ranch NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0009 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/4/2022 12:08:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: CYNTHIA WIEST Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR R M K FINANCIAL CORP. D/B/A MAJESTIC HOME LOAN, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: THE MONEY SOURCE INC. Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 6/23/2014 Recording Date of DOT: 8/4/2014 Reception No. of DOT: 2014043599 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $332,352.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $296,856.85 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower’s failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the

legals@coloradocommunitymedia.com

property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 3, PARCEL 2, HIGHLANDS RANCH - FILING NO. 109-D, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 8618 Canongate Lane, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/8/2022 DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: DAVID R DOUGHTY Colorado Registration #: 40042 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 22-026260 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www. douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No. 2022-0009 First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Highlands Ranch NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0013 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/4/2022 2:16:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: MICHAEL P. HEFFERNAN Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR AMERICAN ADVISORS GROUP, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 5/11/2020 Recording Date of DOT: 5/18/2020 Reception No. of DOT: 2020041320 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $675,000.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $133,304.81 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: This is a Home Equity Conversion Deed of Trust or other Reverse Mortgage. Borrower has died and the property is not the principal residence of any surviving Borrower, resulting in the loan being due and payable.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 5, BLOCK 2, HIGHLANDS RANCH FILING NO. 11, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 8834 S Blue Mountain Pl, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building

Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: ALISON L. BERRY Colorado Registration #: 34531 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 22-026229

ANNA JOHNSTON Colorado Registration #: 51978 1391 Speer Boulevard, Suite 700 , DENVER, COLORADO 80204 Phone #: (303) 350-3711 Fax #: Attorney File #: 00000009280918

Legal Notice No. 2022-0001 First Publication: 3/10/2022 Last Publication: 4/7/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press

Bids and Settlements Public Notice

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www. douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No. 2022-0013 First Publication: 3/31/2022 Last Publication: 4/28/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Highlands Ranch NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2022-0001 To Whom It May Concern: On 1/12/2022 2:09:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: PERRY D. THOMAS AND PAULA D. THOMAS Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC., ACTING SOLELY AS NOMINEE FOR RYLAND MORTGAGE COMPANY Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST C/O U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 8/25/2003 Recording Date of DOT: 9/4/2003 Reception No. of DOT: 2003132993 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $322,700.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $409,830.75 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations of the terms thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 25A, HIGHLANDS RANCH FILING 122-R, FIRST AMENDMENT, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 10830 Hickory Ridge Street, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

Dated: 1/13/2022

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www. douglas.co.us/publictrustee/

Dated: 2/8/2022 DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

First Publication: 3/10/2022 Last Publication: 4/7/2022 Publisher: Douglas County News Press

DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #015-22 EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE and MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM The Department of Human Resources of Douglas County Government, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests proposals from responsible and qualified companies offering Employee Assistance and Mental Health Program services.

The RFP documents may be reviewed and/or printed from the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System website at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com.

RFP documents are not available for purchase from Douglas County Government and can only be accessed from the above-mentioned website.

All RFP responses are due on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 4:00pm. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to see that their proposal response is received on time. Proposals will not be considered which are received after the time stated.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in a said proposal and furthermore, to award a contract for items herein, either in whole or in part, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the County to do so. Additionally, we reserve the right to negotiate optional items/services with the successful vendor.

Please direct any questions concerning this RFP to Carolyn Riggs, Purchasing Supervisor, 303-660-7434, criggs@douglas.co.us, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Legal Notice No. 941802 First Publication: March 31, 2022 Last Publication: March 31, 2022 Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

Misc. Private Legals Public Notice NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the Same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to: KYLE DEAN COLLINSWORTH & JEANETTE NADINE COLLINSWORTH - OCCUPANT BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC - ANNE-MARIE FRISZELL & STEVEN J FRISZELL AKA STEVEN JAMES FRISZELL You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 2nd day of November 2017 the then County Treasurer of the County of Douglas, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC the following described real estate situate in the County of Douglas, State of Colorado, to wit: LOT 18-A PERRY PARK 1 PER LLAC 2020072726 0.889 AM/L and said County Treasurer issued a certificate of purchase therefore to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC. That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent* taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2016. That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of KYLE DEAN COLLINSWORTH & JEANETTE NADINE COLLINSWORTH for said year 2016 That on the 17th day of November 2021 said FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC assigned said certificate of purchase to BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC. That said BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC on the 17th day of November 2021 the present holder of said certificate, has made request upon the Treasurer

Highlands Ranch Legals 3.31.22 * 1

Highlands Ranch Herald 31

March 31, 2022

BOATS FROM PAGE 18

unemployed by the Panic of 1893 built flatboats in an attempt to float east to join Coxey’s Army, a nationwide political protest movement demanding solutions to poverty and unemployment, though most of the boats are believed to have run aground. Steamboats once chugged around Sloans Lake.

To Goodstein, Venice on the Creek is a relic of a “more democratic Denver,” that was more interested in how it could improve the quality of life for residents and visitors.

“Now, we seem to be in a time of removing benches, lest we give the poor somewhere to sleep,” he said.

“When I walk along Cherry Creek now, what I notice isn’t so much the old boat locks, but the steel grates under the bridges to keep someone from laying a sleeping bag there.”

For some who took a ride on a punt, it transformed how they saw Denver.

Karen Pellegrin and her husband moved to Denver in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to her hometown in Louisiana. Her first couple years in Denver were tough.

She missed the art, music and culture of Cajun country.

But in 2008 her husband took her on a boat ride for her birthday, and it helped deepen her affection for her new home.

“I was in heels and a dress, not really dressed to climb in an open boat,” she said. “But it was dusk, one of those beautiful Denver sunsets, and it was just so sweet and unique and romantic. It helped me feel like I was living somewhere with beauty and charm.”

Memories of punts on Cherry Creek feel like a vestige of a more low-key period in Denver’s history, said Joe Wood, who worked as a punter in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

“A lot of us who worked there were confused as to why Denver was drawing tourists,” Wood said.

“It didn’t feel like a cool city back

Two punts pass each other on Cherry Creek.

then.”

But Wood said spending his evenings on the creek was a transcendent experience.

“As afternoon faded to evening, things started to slow down, and we’d hang candle lanterns on the boats,” he said. “You’d see their reflection in the water. You got to know the river’s temperament. It wasn’t some Davy Crockett thing, but there we were beneath the nightclubs, experiencing nature in Denver’s own peculiar way.”

At the time, Wood said he felt certain he was just one in a long chain of young people who would pole along the creek, repeating a spiel about Denver history to delighted tourists or leaping out of boats to turn heavy cranks to operate the locks. But as it turned out, he was among the last.

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By 2009, Venice on the Creek’s boats were getting old, as were the complicated locks and inflatable dams. Repair costs topped $50,000, and the operation was never much of a moneymaker. Shoemaker and the Greenway Foundation tried to raise funds to bring the equipment back up to snuff, but amid the Great Recession, money was hard to come by.

Venice on the Creek shut down at the end of 2009, the boats were given away, and the doors of the locks were removed. Their concrete enclosures still stand in the creek.

“It was a funky tourist attraction, and it seems unlikely something like that could happen again,” Wood said. “It was like a giant ball of twine or something. An anachronism from before Denver saw the flood of interest it has today.”

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Shoemaker, who heads the Greenway Foundation, said pulling the boats out for the last time was a sad moment, but he felt he had succeeded in his goals.

“We wanted to see development up to the banks, to make something out of that part of town, and to get people to enjoy their river again,” he said. “All of that happened. And, hey, if we gave someone a beautiful birthday date that helped them love Denver, well, mission accomplished.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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006131

Public Notices of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said at 1:00 o’clock P.M., on the 30th day of June 2022 unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 17th day of March 2022 /s/ David Gill Douglas County Treasurer Legal Notice No. 941651 First Publication: March 17, 2022 Last Publication: March 31, 2022 Publisher: Douglas County News-Press Public Notice

NOTICE OF PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT TAX LIEN SALE AND OF APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF TREASURER’S DEED To Every Person in Actual Possession or Occupancy of the hereinafter Described Land, Lot or Premises, and to the Person in Whose Name the Same was Taxed or Specially Assessed, and to all Persons having an Interest or Title of Record in or to the said Premises and To Whom It May Concern, and more especially to: NORMA A STALEY & TRENTON J STALEY AKA TRENTON JAMES STALEY - OCCUPANT - BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC - MISSION VIEJO COMPANY A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION C/O COLORADO SHEA HOMES LP - KEVIN P

MURPHY VICE PRESIDENT COLORADO DIVISION MISSION VIEJO COMPANY A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION C/O COLORADO SHEA HOMES LP - JAMES B BORGEL ASSISTANT SECRETARY MISSION VIEJO COMPANY A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION C/O COLORADO SHEA HOMES LP You and each of you are hereby notified that on the 2nd day of November 2017 the then County Treasurer of the County of Douglas, in the State of Colorado, sold at public tax lien sale to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC the following described real estate situate in the County of Douglas, State of Colorado, to wit: LOT 29 BLOCK 5 HIGHLANDS RANCH # 5 .094 AM/L

and said County Treasurer issued a certificate of purchase therefore to FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC. That said tax lien sale was made to satisfy the delinquent* taxes assessed against said real estate for the year 2016. That said real estate was taxed or specially assessed in the name(s) of NORMA A STALEY & TRENTON J STALEY for said year 2016 That on the 17th day of November 2021 said FIG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CO13, LLC assigned said certificate of purchase to BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC. That said BUFFALO PLAINS 22 LLC on the 17th day of November 2021 the present holder of said certificate, has made request upon the Treasurer

of said County for a deed to said real estate; That a Treasurer’s Deed will be issued for said real estate to the said at 1:00 o’clock P.M., on the 30th day of June 2022 unless the same has been redeemed. Said property may be redeemed from said sale at any time prior to the actual execution of said Treasurer’s Deed. Witness my hand this 17th day of March 2022 /s/ David Gill Douglas County Treasurer Legal Notice No. 941690 First Publication: March 17, 2022 Last Publication: March 31, 2022 Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

###

Highlands Ranch Legals 3.31.22 * 2

32 Highlands Ranch Herald

March 31, 2022

Healthcare for the Whole Family E. County Line Rd.

We offer a full range of services: • Annual Well Visits • Well Child Visits • Family and Internal Medicine • Management of Chronic Conditions • Well Woman Check-Ups Virtual Visits Available

8671 S. Quebec St. Suite 210 Busin ess C enter Dr.

S. Quebec St.

470

. c St ebe u S. Q

Meet Our Provider Nicole Hoffman, DO

“I feel that family medicine allows patients to participate as part of their health care team in an atmosphere that generates trust and confidence. I encourage patients of all ages to ask questions and learn more about their health.”

Call 303-403-6850 or visit sclhealth.org/highlandsranch to conveniently schedule an appointment SCL Health Medical Group – Highlands Ranch 8671 S. Quebec St. Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 • 303-403-6850 We accept most major medical insurance plans, including Medicare & Medicare Supplemental Plans.