May 21, 2015
CONGRATULATIONS Class of
VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 18
2015
SPECIAL TRIBUTE INSIDE LoneTreeVoice.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
LEAVING THEIR MARKS
Council approves Hooters’ license Centennial residents voice concerns about Lone Tree restaurant at meeting By Jane Reuter
jreuter@colorado communitymedia.com
John Priddy goes for a top spot on Rock Canyon High School’s senior wall. On their final day at the school May 15, students from Rock Canyon High School’s class of 2015 put their handprints on the senior wall. The tradition began in 2009, with each year’s graduates adding a different colored set of prints. Students lined up to don plastic gloves, have their gloved hands painted teal blue and search for the perfect spot on which to leave lasting evidence of the time they spent at the school.
PHOTOS BY JANE REUTER
Since 2009, each Rock Canyon graduating class has left different colored handprints on the senior wall.
Before a standing-room-only crowd of concerned area residents, the Lone Tree City Council unanimously approved Hooters’ liquor-license application May 19. The council showed none of the hesitation some members exhibited during the May 5 meeting, when a motion to approve the license died for lack of a second. The council’s swift action came after comments from numerous people, most of them Centennial residents opposed to the business. Mayor Jim Gunning denied a motion from an attorney representing Centennial’s Willow Creek neighborhood to reopen a public hearing on the application, but allowed people to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Several people said they didn’t learn about plans to open the Hooters until after the May 5 meeting. The former TGI Fridays site on Yosemite Street in which Hooters plans to open is across County Line Road from Centennial’s Willow Creek, closer to those homes than to any in Lone Tree. “Nobody knew about the hearing that happened on the fifth,” attorney Neil Lipson said. “We just feel we would like to have been given a chance to speak.” Two petitions circulated in Centennial since the initial meeting gathered 198 signatures against the proposal. Hooters is a national chain famous for its chicken wings and “Hooters Girls” — waitresses who are typically young and lightly attired. Karby Allington-Goldfain was one of two Centennial residents who said they likely wouldn’t have bought their homes if Hooters had been nearby. “I think Lone Tree is a lovely city,” she said. “You have a reputation for the arts and culture. I think Hooters will really bring it down.” Several people urged the council to approve the application. Hooters continues on Page 9
Darcy Vogt’s plastic-gloved hand is painted teal blue in preparation for leaving a handprint on the Rock Canyon High School senior wall.
A standing-room-only crowd filled the Lone Tree Council chambers May 19 to weigh in on Hooters’ liquor license. Council unanimously approved the license for the planned new business at Yosemite and County Line Road. Photo by Jane Reuter