August 12, 2021
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
A WILD RIDE AT THE COUNTY FAIR
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 25
School town hall turns noisy over COVID-19 plans Many attendees condemn masks, rebut pandemic science BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
vote this year. “I think we’re gambing with the people’s land, their open space, their way of life by waiting until the last minute,” Laydon said. The Open Space Sales and Use Tax, which funds acquisitions and maintenance of county open spaces, trails, parks and historic sites, is a tax of 0.17% and is included in the county’s 1% sales tax.
A back-to-school town hall meeting put on by the Douglas County School District on Aug. 4 quickly turned raucous as district leaders attempted to outline the district’s plans for mitigating COVID-19 this school year. The crowd first erupted with boos when Superintendent Corey Wise displayed a slide saying the district was recommending universal masking at school. That opened a contentious meeting where many attendees called for an end to pandemic precautions and refuted COVID-19 science, such as the validity of testing and efficacy of face coverings. DCSD is among school districts across metro Denver and beyond that have been establishing markwearing policies and other rules to address the threat of COVID-19 as the new school year approaches. In Douglas County, school opened the week of Aug. 9.
SEE OPEN SPACE, P10
SEE TOWN HALL, P22
Garrett Uptain of Craig hangs on tight in the saddle bronc riding event Aug. 6 at the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo. Check out the PHOTO BY PAUL DISALVO/SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA action on Page 6.
County won’t ask to extend open space tax this year Two commissioners balk at taking question to ballot BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After a disagreement among the county commissioners, Douglas County won’t ask voters this year
to renew the Open Space Sales and Use tax — currently planned to sunset in January 2024. Two of the commissioners, Lora Thomas and George Teal, said during an Aug. 2 work session that they didn’t want to pursue the ballot measure out of fear that it would fail. Both said they’d like to ask voters the question during the next possible election cycle, in 2023. Commissioner Abe Laydon voted in favor of taking the question to a
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