TREE CITY

e Metro District supports a thriving urban forest by maintaining the health of current trees, ghting tree-related insects and disease and providing free community tree and limb recycling . e metro district also leads a tree planting program, which coordinates with annual Arbor Day activities.

“We do a very good job of identifying the right tree in the right place for replacement,” said Donovan. “We dedicate our maintenance resources to get that new tree established to be a part of the Highlands Ranch landscape.” e Metro District was recognized as it met the program’s four requirements. According to the press release, Tree City USA communities must maintain a tree board or department, while the Metro District has a forestry division and the community must have a tree-care ordinance.

In addition, the community must have a dedicated annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and host an Arbor Day obser-

Superintendent Corey Wise speaks with Becky Myers at a Douglas County School Board meeting in 2021. Myers voted to fire Wise after she was elected to the board.

FILE PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS

Wise said he is thankful for the support he’s received from community members and wants the best for the district. He urged the district to continue to focus on educational equity and nd ways to come together.

“Each of our students’ experiences going through school is the social piece of learning, so (addressing equity) is just as imperative as teaching academics,” he said. “If we don’t provide a safe environment for every student to learn, how are they going to reach their potential?” vance and proclamation. e event will take place in the Redstone Park parking lot near Halftime Help Stadium located at 3270 Redstone Park Circle. e event will also have free mulch available on a self-serve basis. knowthesignsofchildabuseandneglectandwhat todoifyoubelieveachildisatrisk.

Wise’s ring was a watershed for the school district, with more than 1,000 teachers calling out sick and students walking out of class to protest the termination the day before it happened.

It came under extra scrutiny when school board members Elizabeth Hanson, Susan Meek and David Ray alleged the decision had been made outside of public meetings, which would violate Colorado’s Open Meetings Law.

Douglas County resident Bob Marshall, who is now also a state house representative, sued the district over the alleged open meetings law violation and that suit is still in court.

In a preliminary order issued in March 2022, Douglas County District Court Judge Je rey Holmes agreed that the board members had violated the law and ordered the members to conduct all public business in public meetings and follow open meetings law.

School board members Myers, Peterson, Williams and Winegar maintain they did not violate any laws. Wise currently works for the Cherry Creek School District.

On April 21, the Metro District will celebrate Arbor Day with a volunteer tree planting at Paintbrush Park, located at 4901 Valleybrook Drive. Boy Scout Troop 870 volunteers will help plant new trees in the park.

“We’ll have a little tree talk prior to the planting and then we will plant some trees and have a great experience with those kids and hopefully they remember it and can come back and look at these tree in perpetuity and say to their kids and grandkids ‘I planted these trees’,” said Donovan.

Donovan said they plan to plant bur oak, talpa and hackberry trees.

Following the Arbor Day planting, a spring tree recycling event will be held on Sunday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. where residents can recycle discarded tree limbs and woody plant materials.

For more information about tree care in Highlands Ranch, visit https://www.highlandsranch.org/ resources/forestry.

Slash-mulch site open

The County’s main slash-mulch site, at 1400 Caprice Drive in Castle Rock, is open Saturdays only from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. through Oct. 28. For more information, directions and a list of acceptable items, please visit douglas.co.us and search Slash Mulch

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