November 4, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 37
Tri-County Health halts COVID-19 services to Douglas County State agency to take over pandemic duties in breakaway county Mask use was mixed at an Oct. 26 Douglas County School Board meeting, where people gave public comment for hours about COVID-19 policies in the district. PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS
Brooker founded the nonprofit You Are Not Alone Mom 2 Mom (YANAM2M) and never looked back, developing a community service where mothers can get help before they do something that cannot be reversed. Brooker, of Highlands Ranch, started hosting weekly meetings
Tri-County Health Department is no longer providing COVID-19 services in Douglas County as of Nov. 1, county leaders said. That announcement, along with news that the state public-health department will be taking over those duties, were made during a Nov. 1 Douglas County commissioners’ work session. “I’m disappointed but not surprised that Tri-County is reneging on another deal that they have made with us, that we made in good faith,” said county Commissioner Lora Thomas in the meeting. At press time, neither Tri-County nor the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment had responded to requests for comment. It’s the latest chapter in the divorce of Douglas County from Tri-County, the agency that has provided its public health services for more than half a century, largely over disagreements about COVID-19 safety policy. After Douglas County formed its own health department in September, county commissioners made a deal with Tri-County to continue receiving all services, including
SEE SUPPORT, P15
SEE TRI-COUNTY, P3
Fraught school board meeting follows lawsuit ruling People support, oppose the district’s COVID masking rules BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
They’re sociopaths. They should resign. Nothing but dictators. They don’t care about kids, they
just use them as political pawns. That’s a few of the comments slung at Douglas County School Board members and the superintendent during an emotional, hours-long board meeting on Oct.
26. “They are possessed with the spirit of tyranny,” a man said about the board. But to other speakers, the board is a desperately needed sign of hope in a county where other elected officials have walked back COVID-19 safety measures. SEE SCHOOLS, P10
Support program for moms looks to expand Strong Mama Gala set for Dec. 3 in Centennial BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A local program aimed at helping moms who are struggling with mental health is raising funds to
expand services through partnerships with local hospitals. In 2016, Nikki Brooker was working as a substitute teacher at Bear Canyon Elementary Schoo in Highlands Ranch. When a mother from the school shot herself and her two children, it rocked the community and Brooker, being a Type A personality, could not stand by and do nothing.
BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
ELECTION RESULTS ONLINE
Visit ColoradoCommunityMedia. com for election results here and in nearby communities.
ON TARGET, INDOORS Local archers taking aim at indoor ranges P16