Voice
Lone Tree 5-23-13
Lone Tree
May 23, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 19
Time to buckle up or fork it over Police heighten focus on seat-belt enforcement By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Lone Tree Police don’t want to write citations during their Click It or Ticket campaign; they just want drivers to wear their seatbelts. “Our goal is not to issue tickets,” Sgt. Scott Cavenah said. “I’d rather stop 100 people and only write one ticket than stop 100 people and write 99. “Our whole thing is about reducing driver and passenger fatalities and injuries. If we can get people to buckle up, it helps save lives.” Lone Tree is among several law enforcement agencies that received a grant to step up enforcement during the May 20 to June 2 campaign. “As we kick-off the busy summer driving season, it’s important that everyone buckles up every time they go out, both day and night — no excuses,” said Lone Tree Police
Chief Jeffrey Streeter. “Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt.” The fine for a driver or passenger seatbelt citation is $35; for an unrestrained child, the fine is $100. To prove officers are more interested in safety than citations, Lone Tree Police released a description of the cars it will use during the campaign and the streets on which it will focus. An unmarked red Ford Crown Victoria and silver Ford Explorer will patrol all major thoroughfares, including Interstate 25, C-470, Lincoln Avenue, Yosemite Street, RidgeGate Parkway, County Line Road, Park Meadows Drive and Park Meadows Center Drive. “This has never been nor will it ever be about revenue,” Streeter said. “This is about compliance.” Seat belts saved nearly 12,000 lives in 2011, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which also shows seat belt use at an all-time high of 86 percent in 2012. Research shows lap seat belts reduce the risk of front-seat passenger fatalities 45 per-
Lone Tree’s variable message signs warn drivers of the seat-belt enforcement campaign. Photo by Jane Reuter cent, and the risk of injury 50 percent. In addition to physical trauma, accidents take a large financial toll in property damage, lost earnings, legal expenses,
emergency services and medical care. Parker and Castle Rock police departments also received a Click It or Ticket grant.
County urges emergency preparation Fire danger still predicted to be high this summer By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Amanda Wilson, left, with teacher Andee Ahrens, celebrate Wilson’s graduation from the Bridge program May 13 at Rocky Heights Middle School. Photo by Jane Reuter
Students cross graduation bridge Developmentally disabled young people move forward By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Julie Wilson’s mind traveled back over the course of her daughter’s life as she watched her daughter Amanda graduate May 13. But her memories were different from those of most mothers. The memories started with the moment she learned her 3-day-old baby had both Down syndrome and a heart defect a doctor said likely would kill her, and continued to include the now 21-year-old Amanda accepting a certificate of graduation from the Douglas County School District’s Bridge program. “I was back here crying,” said Julie Wilson, of Parker. “Twenty-one years just flashed through my mind all at once.” Amanda, meanwhile, was near tears for
a very different reason. “It feels exciting,” she said. “I just don’t want to leave because I’ll miss my friends and my boyfriend.” Amanda was among 20 developmentally disabled adults who graduated during the ceremony at Rocky Heights Middle School. The evening marked the end of a threeyear program aimed at transitioning them from high school to adult life. The federally mandated program is designed for students who have graduated from high school, but require additional support to transition to adulthood. DCSD’s Bridge program includes three sites in Parker, Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock, but most of the training takes place outside those locations. Students go into their communities to learn life and work skills, including laundry, cooking and budgeting, and work a volunteer job. Some of the students, like Amanda, may live independently someday; others will not.
“Our goal is whether they’re living independently or not, that they’re having a very, very full life,” said teacher Andee Ahrens. The program has helped Sarah Yourtz do just that, said parents Kay and Michael Yourtz of Highlands Ranch. “It moves kids along and keeps them focused on learning a skill and other just wonderful things,” Kay Yourtz said. “The social aspect of the program is great.” Sarah Yourtz has worked at the Littleton Goodwill Industries for two years. Though she likely never will live alone, Michael Yourtz said the Bridge program has made a remarkable difference in the quality of her life. “Her growth has been unbelievable,” he said. Sad as she is to leave the Bridge program, Amanda is looking forward to the next phase of her life.
Bridge continues on Page 11
As Colorado braces for what — despite the recent moisture — experts are still predicting to be a severe fire season, officials are asking people to take caution. “Without trying to be too dramatic, we want the point to be hard-hitting,” said Tim Johnson, Douglas County Director of Emergency Management. “We want to be in people’s faces a little bit and say: `Look, this is real, people can die, so pay attention. Take notice of what is going on around you.’” In a concerted effort to do just that, the county is preparing to launch a series of public service commercials with footage of a family driving out of last year’s Lower North Fork Fire as well as homes burning during the Waldo Canyon Fire. The message of the videos, which can be viewed at www.ourcoloradonews.com, is not just to show how real and scary wildfire can be, said Douglas County spokeswoman Wendy Holmes, but to prepare residents for disaster by getting them to sign up for Code Red, the county’s emergency notification system. In the spot that features a young family driving out of the flames and smoke of the Lower North Fork Fire, the viewer hears the voiceover say: “You may think this is the one call you never want to get, ‘Your area is being evacuated due to wildfire, leave immediately’; actually, it’s the one call you do want to get.” In another commercial, the viewer catches a glimpse of homes burning during the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, while statistics appear on the screen demFire continues on Page 11
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