Week of May 12, 2022
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
HighlandsRanchHerald.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 23
School board weighs how to handle tense public comment Directors seeking right balance BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As the local teachers union president walked back to his seat after giving public comment at Douglas County School Board, a squabble erupt-
ed between him and a group of women. Kevin DiPasquale wasn’t sure which person it was, he said, but as he passed by, DiPasquale heard one of the women jeer at him, “Go sit down, Kevin.” DiPasquale stopped and said he retorted with “Pardon me,” visibly upset. From the dais, Peterson asked DiPasquale and the women to stop arguing and moved the meeting along.
The group of women were among others who openly laughed at public comment they disagreed with throughout the evening, burying faces into their shirts and turning to each other to roll eyes. One of the women loudly called out DiPasquale by name when it was her turn to speak, defying a long-held board rule and requests from board SEE SCHOOLS, P10
Metro board members elected Two new faces join Dickerson, Schierholz STAFF REPORT
Helen Kellogg and Maryna Sheveria sit in the living room in Kellogg’s Larkspur home.
PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER
From Ukraine to Larkspur A family of six adjusts to life in Douglas County BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Maryna and Oleksandr Sheveria miss Ukrainian bread. They miss the taste and the texture of the
freshly baked crust. They miss their home and their dog and their two cats. They miss the mundane day-to-day tasks of going to work, grilling out on weekends and planning for vacation. All those parts of their lives were stripped away the day Russia invaded their homeland and — for the safety of their four young children — they decided to flee the country.
CHOREOGRAPHED COMEBACK Ballet and opera look to begin anew post-COVID
P14
SEE UKRAINE, P6
Highlands Ranch Metro District voters chose two new directors and two returning board members for open seats on the Board of Directors in its May 3 election. With ballots being counted, the results are unofficial as of May 4. Voters were asked to elect one board director from four regions. In the West Central and South Central regions, sitting directors Mark A. Dickerson and Carolyn Schierholz were re-elected. The only other competitive region was the Northwest, which Eric T. Rysner was selected to represent. David Simonson was the only candidate in the Southeast Region, receiving the most votes of any candidate at 1,370. Dickerson beat Curtis Robert Hanock with a tally of 1,104 votes to 881 votes. Schierholz received 1,189 votes to beat Robert W. Mainger, who received 798 votes. Rysner’s 1,181 votes beat Scott A. Densmore’s 534 votes. The winning candidates will serve three-year terms. The metro district election this year experienced issues with incorrect instructions on ballots causing them to be resent and having ballots sent to ineligible voters. Highlands Ranch’s contracted election services provider, Colorado Resource Services, said the ineligible votes were voided before the election and would not impact the outcome of the election.
YOUTH SERVICES EXPANDED
County creates second Youth Community Response Team P8