Lone Tree Voice 040722

Week of April 7, 2022

FREE

DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LoneTreeVoice.net

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24

VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 7

Survivors speak about recovering from mass shooting Special panel answers questions in Lone Tree

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Speaking to a panel of survivors and loved ones of mass shootings, former

STEM School Highlands Ranch teacher Erin Christian told them she was grateful for their strength and candor.

“In the early days, I

didn’t see how I was going to get through this,” she said. “To hear from you guys that there’s this other side is so powerful for me.”

Hosted by the STEM Center for Strength, the panel on April 1 focused on recovering from trauma

with speakers sharing their individual journeys of healing from mass violence. It featured Columbine survivors Frank DeAngelis, the former principal, former teacher Paula Reed and graduate Michelle Wheeler; two fam-

ily members of victims in the Aurora Theatre shooting, Tom Sullivan and Heather Dearman; Amber Brown, a survivor of the Las Vegas Route 91 shooting; and Carley Posey, a SEE STEM, P3

Vibe Foods on healthy path Superfood bowls, smoothies among fare at Lone Tree shop

BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

and despite being happy with the school board’s final offer, Kane had not signed yet. Her day was instead filled with goodbyes and mentally preparing to box up her things to leave the charter school she helped found more than 15 years ago.

Most formative for Kane during her time running the DCSD charter school, comprising three campuses and serving nearly 3,000 preschool

Shannon Weston said she could write books about how hard it’s been to expand her Lone Tree-based business during the pandemic.

While many businesses were contracting, Vibe Foods opened its second, third and fourth locations in the 20 months following COVID-19’s arrival in Colorado. Yet through it all, owner Weston remained confident in the local chain’s success, she said.

“It’s the power of good food and positivity,” Weston told Colorado Community Media. People underestimate it, but she said she’s seen lives change when people eat healthily.

Vibe Foods serves smoothies, superfood bowls, wellness shots, bone broth, kombucha and freshly

SEE SCHOOLS, P6

SEE VIBE FOODS, P5

Erin Kane in her American Academy office on her last day of work leading the Douglas County charter school before filling the DCSD superintendency.

PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS

Kane steps into new role under spotlight

DCSD superintendent brings both background and baggage

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Erin Kane sat down at her desk on her last day of work at American Academy and looked around

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the room. Dozens of photos from her career, framed diplomas on the wall, a stack of books about state education law, all sat untouched.

The packing hadn’t begun yet.

It was March 30 and Kane was poised to sign a contract that day to become Douglas County Schools’ next superintendent. The deal included a three-year term, $250,000 annual salary and a proposed start date of March 31.

Morning bled into the afternoon,

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2 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Briefly In Lone Tree

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Price receives Adaptive Sports Award Mr. Jerome Price of Rock Canyon High School is the recipient of the Tom Southall Adaptive Sports Award at the Colorado High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) Hall of Fame Banquet. Coaches who receive the award help make sure athletes with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or other special needs have a place on the field, according to the Douglas County School District announcement on social media.

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana: De La Frontera The Lone Tree Arts Center will host Flamenco Vivo Calota Santana on Sunday, April 24 on the main stage.

De la Frontera is a new eveninglength work choreographed by José Maldonado and Karen Lugo, with an original score by Jose Luis de la Paz. De la Frontera is an investigation of life and connectedness. It asks: “What is stronger - what unites us or what separates us?” Despite the barriers we inevitably encounter from the moment we enter this world; we are driven to push beyond these obstacles and seek deeper connection. Using flamenco’s innate ability to embody and express the full range of the human condition, Maldonado and Lugo probe our emotional boundaries by questioning their very existence. De la Frontera underscores that flamenco does not understand nor accept borders; rather it is our means of connection and expression, giving the artist power to supersede these limitations. Hailed by the New York Times for his “bursts of brilliance and uncommon invention,” Maldonado is the winner of the 2019 Premio Artista Revelación at the XXIII Festival of Jerez, an award for best up-and-coming artist. His last commission for Flamenco Vivo was heralded as “the rare flamenco group piece that doesn’t stifle the individual spirit.”

SEE BRIEFS, P3

Lone Tree Voice 3

April 7, 2022

STEM FROM PAGE 1

mother of survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Emphasizing that recovery looks unique for every person and doesn’t follow any set timeline or logic, panelists answered a series of questions at the Lone Tree facility from moderator Kyle Dyer about what they had learned about processing trauma and what other people should know.

“One of the hardest parts is understanding that who you were before is gone and you’ll never be that self again,” Reed, the former Columbine teacher, said.

“But none of us are who we were yesterday, and you’re not supposed to be. You’re not supposed to go back, so no matter where you are on your journey, you are you.”

Though each individual healing process was different, the panelists highlighted a variety of resources that helped them, including therapy, medication and yoga and exercise.

D’Angelis said he still has his counselor on speed dial.

“It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength,” he said.

Posey likened trauma to a physical wound, in that it’s important to get help and no one should feel

BRIEFS FROM PAGE 2

Gift card scam alert The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents to be aware when purchasing gift cards in the area.

According to the department, gift cards with fake barcodes were found at a King Soopers in Centennial. A woman purchased a $500 Visa gift card only to find there were no funds on it.

Here’s how it works: Scammers are printing out their own barcodes and placing them over the actual gift card barcode at local retailers. When the card is activated, the money is added to the scammer’s card instead of the

ashamed for that, including loved ones or community members who were impacted as well.

“We can’t compare trauma in these events,” Posey said. “Trauma can’t be leveled.”

During her healing process, Wheeler said she was initially worried that if she moved on then she would be leaving behind her classmates who died that day.

“Moving on after trauma does not mean you forget,” Wheeler said. “I carry those 13 with me everyday. But I learned how to live, so I live for those 13.”

When it comes to being in the “club that nobody wants to join,” as Wheeler put it, the support from other survivors and loved ones is bolstering.

Reed agreed and noted that one of the most crucial things she can do is be an example for others.

“The most important thing that I do when I (go to other schools that have experienced mass violence) is stand in front of them looking normal, promising them that someday normal comes back to you,” she said.

Looking forward, the panelists encouraged the STEM Center and others to provide mental health support through the long-term so that people can continue to access it as they need it.

“That need is not going to stop,” Brown said. card being purchased.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Examine the back of the gift card before you buy it and check for signs of tampering, like barcode stickers. Make sure the gift card’s barcode number, visible through the window on the back of the gift card’s packaging, matches the number on the packaging itself Pick a gift card from the middle or back of the rack since they are less likely to have been tampered with.

Douglas County School student honored Rock Canyon Senior Kira Zizzo is making headlines. She was named Colorado Journalist of the Year by the Colorado Student Media Association.

Free Noxious Weed and Wildfire Prevention Workshop Did you know noxious weeds on your property can damage native flora and increase the risk of a wildfire spreading to your home? Learn to ID and eradicate them. Join land, vegetation and wildfire experts for a workshop from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 16, in-person or online.

Visit douglas.co.us and search Noxious Weed Education.

Your voice will help us protect your home and our community Douglas County is updating its Community Wildfire Protection Plan – a document that defines how we can proactively protect life and property. The first step in updating this plan is your input, by completing a short survey. Visit douglas.co.us/cwpp-survey to complete the survey by April 26.

E-recycling: Saturday, April 9 Douglas County residents may dispose of unwanted electronics free of charge at Techno Rescue, 3251 Lewiston St. in Aurora, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and occasional Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Proof of residency is required. For a list of acceptable items, Saturday drop-off dates and more visit douglas.co.us/community-recycling

SCFD Free Days Want to learn more about history, spend time appreciating abstract or contemporary art or get in touch with nature?

SCFD organizations have your entrance fee and cultural passions covered. For more information, including specific dates and locations, visit scfd.org

What’s happening with your County government?

Our commitment to open and transparent government includes online posting of information about public meetings at which the business of government is conducted. To view various public meeting agendas and to participate in-person or remotely visit douglas. co.us and search for Meetings and Agendas.

What would you do if you suspected child abuse or neglect?

Call 303-663-6270 or 1-844-4CO-KIDS. Visit douglas.co.us and search Child Abuse FAQs for additional information.

Visit douglas.co.us

4 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Autopsies released in Franktown-area double murder case Results show victims had used drugs, sustained other injuries

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

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The autopsy results, recently released by the Douglas County Coroner’s office, show the victims in the double homicide in the Franktown area had bruising, shallow injuries and were shot by two different firearms.

The report shows both victims also had meth, alcohol and marijuana in their systems.

Jessica Mitchell, 32, and her boyfriend Bryan Gray, 34, were found dead in an unattached garage at their home on Russellville Road Feb. 8.

Casey Devol, Mitchell’s brother, was arrested Feb. 9 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Devol is still awaiting more legal proceedings that are scheduled for May 24.

As of Feb. 11, Sheriff Tony Spurlock said his office did not yet have a clear understanding of the motive in the case.

Gray had six gunshot wounds and Mitchell had three, according to the autopsy reports. Both had also been shot once with a shotgun, according to the report.

Both Gray and Mitchell also had bruises on them and “abrasions”

on their faces and bodies. Douglas County Coroner Jill Romann explained that an abrasion is considered a scratching of the surface of the skin. A skinned knee, for example, would be considered an abrasion.

Romann added that these abrasions likely occurred in the immediate period before Gray and Mitchell died.

It’s noted in Mitchell’s autopsy report that the abrasions on her arms show a pattern consistent with her being in a shielding position at the time.

An arrest affidavit for Devol revealed that Gray had been found with a plate of food on top of him.

Mitchell had a pry bar on top of her.

Mitchell was found with a “digital recorder device,” according to her autopsy report.

The manner of death for both cases is marked on the autopsies as homicide, which Romann said means the deaths were not caused by self-inflicted wounds and don’t appear to have been accidental.

In addition to the toxicology reports, notes were made in both autopsies that each had a history of methamphetamine use.

Devol was also charged with felony animal cruelty. Authorities said a dog named Cleo was found dead at the scene.

Devol’s affidavit said that responding deputies found the home to have been ransacked, with drawers throughout the home open.

Deputies also discovered security

s a m g

s s p p t t

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Sheriff Tony Spurlock.

FILE PHOTO

footage for the home that showed someone entering the garage carrying “multiple handguns and a long gun.” After a tip from a friend of the family, investigators identified Devol as the person in the video.

Devol’s next court hearing is set for May 24 at 9 a.m.

The case has shocked the rural community of Franktown, with many people from the community commenting on the sheriff’s office’s social media accounts saying they are a friend of Devol’s and

surmising there must be more to the story.

“We’re getting the same information from witnesses and people interviewed that this kind of behavior would be out of character for the suspect,” Spurlock said.

Spurlock said none of the people involved, including both victims and Devol, had anything more than “minor law enforcement contacts” in the past. There also hadn’t been calls for service or for mental health concerns at their homes.

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Lone Tree Voice 5

April 7, 2022

VIBE FOODS FROM PAGE 1

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According to Weston, professional athletes, yoga moms, high school kids and folks with impaired immune systems are all part of a unique customer base that appreciates Vibe Foods’ nutritious, colorful menu.

Weston’s been on the health train for over 15 years now, but that wasn’t always the case.

“My generation was so divorced from the idea of what goes in your mouth makes a difference in your health,” the 54-year-old mother of four said.

In fact, it took a crisis for her to make the connection between food and well-being.

In 2008, Weston’s son was diagnosed with celiac disease and lab work showed he was deficient in several nutrients. “Massive” changes were needed, but his health — and the health of the whole family — “turned on a dime” once they cut gluten and artificial ingredients from their diet, she said.

SEE VIBE FOODS, P9

Green smoothies are one of many dairy- and gluten-free goodies at Vibe Foods.

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Vibe Foods serves smoothies, fresh-squeezed juice, wellness shots, kombucha and more.

Vibe Foods offers made-to-order smoothie bowls.

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6 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

SCHOOLS FROM PAGE 1

through eighth-grade students, she said, was the chance to lead both American Academy and the district as an interim superintendent.

“I have seen through the lens of a charter leader, and I have also seen through the lens of a school district,” she said. “I sort of have this 360-degree view.”

A new leader The next morning, Kane made her first official statement as superintendent of Colorado’s third largest school district, serving nearly 90 schools, 64,000 students and employing 8,600 people.

In a letter to the community, Kane promised to unveil her 100-day plan this month, capping a tense superintendent search process for the district.

Her predecessor Corey Wise was controversially fired without cause in a split 4-3 board vote on Feb. 4.

The decision was complicated by allegations from the board minority that majority directors violated open meetings by privately planning Wise’s removal, and asking him to step down in a closed-door meeting before holding a public vote.

Speculation started almost immediately that the majority had predetermined Kane, a well-known school leader in the district, as Wise’s replacement. It was fueled further when board President Mike Peterson confirmed he asked Kane if she had interest in the superin-

The Douglas County School District named Erin Kane as superintendent effective March 31.

tendency before Wise was terminated.

As the board narrowed its search from two finalists to naming Kane as its sole finalist, again in a split decision, calls ramped up for Kane and the majority to disclose more detail about a retreat the newly elected directors held after winning office in November. Kane attended.

Her opponents wanted to know why.

Asked if she took part in any conversations regarding Wise’s employment with the district, Kane’s voice raised.

“Absolutely not. Absolutely not,” she said.

She attended the retreat to present about school financials and push for funding, she said. Kane said people alleging she colluded for the job “are creating a narrative

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that isn’t true.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” she said.

Community reaction to Kane was strong, met with both fierce and passionate support for her to become DCSD’s leader, and staunch opposition from those leery of her path to secure the job.

School Board Director David Ray said the other finalist, Danny Winsor, was a unifying choice. He considered Kane to be the opposite. She is a successful leader, he said, but a divisive name that would continue to polarize the community.

Ray, who passionately opposed the manner of Wise’s firing and the superintendent search process, boycotted Kane’s hiring by refusing to attend the special meeting in which directors approved her contract.

But the embattled superintendent argues her track record tells a different story.

“I don’t think people calling me divisive makes me divisive,” Kane said.

Skeptics remain Twice now, a board president has asked Kane to consider helming the district amid a season of chaos. The most recent instance was earlier this school year when Peterson approached her. The second was back in 2016, when the then superintendent left for another job and the district needed an interim leader.

Kane felt apprehensive, she said.

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She spent two months thinking of every reason why applying to be interim superintendent was “a terrible idea,” she said. No education degree. A charter school leader?

And after a board of reform-minded board had made contentious changes in the district, such as pursuing a voucher program and changing the way teachers were paid, tensions ran high in DCSD. “The district was just a mess at the time,” Kane said.

Kane said she expected her time as interim superintendent to be brief. Six months, at most. Instead two years went by, although not without pushback.

Two directors at the time, Ray and former board Director AnneMarie Lemieux, gave Kane negative evaluations of her interim performance and voted against extending her contract in 2017.

Lemieux has remained a vocal critic of Kane’s fitness for the job throughout the 2022 search.

She said Kane lacked transparency with the board as interim superintendent, citing an example in which Kane informed school principals she was making budget cuts before talking with directors about her plan.

Lemieux said Kane is taking credit for a boost to employee morale between 2016 and 2018 when she shouldn’t be. A superintendent left.

New board members were elected.

SEE SCHOOLS, P7

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Lone Tree Voice 7

April 7, 2022

SCHOOLS

‘I don’t think people calling me divisive makes me divisive.’

FROM PAGE 6

Those were significant factors, Lemieux said.

Lemieux worried Kane will open the door for more charter schools in the district. Of DCSD’s 89 schools, 18 are charter. Increasing the number of charter schools “takes funding out of the Douglas County School District pot,” she said.

“Her track record is an outspoken proponent of the charter school model, and she is now leading a district that needs its neighborhood schools to be taken care of.

And that’s not in her wheelhouse,” Lemieux said.

Lemieux questioned if Kane would instruct employees against best practices “because she doesn’t understand pedagogy.”

“It’s alarming because she’s not qualified for the position,” Lemieux said. “This is the third largest district in the state and a deep understanding of the diverse educational needs of the students has to be a No. 1 consideration. And someone with no educational background doesn’t have the qualifications. I’m not being mean, I’m being honest.”

Where it all started Kane went to college at the University of Colorado in Boulder, earning a degree in applied math and computer science. Her sophomore year, Kane said, she was hired as the university’s only undergraduate teaching assistant.

“I’m a math girl, and so I started teaching math classes at the univer-

Erin Kane, superintendent of Douglas County Schools

The new superintendent of Douglas County Schools, Erin Kane, officially started the job on March 31.

PHOTO BY JESSICA GIBBS

sity for arts and science students who didn’t like math,” she said.

She was 19 and getting her first go at helping run a classroom. Kane recalled the feeling of students have a lightbulb moment, clicking with a subject that did not come easily for them.

“It really, I think, lit an early fire in me for caring about getting that lightbulb to come on,” she said.

Her first group of students gifted her a card and teddy bear at the end of their course, which Kane has kept to this day.

She landed her first job out of college at the technology company IBM, working on positioning global satellites, or GPS. It was 1994 and the technology had yet to make its way into cellphones. People still bought separate GPS devices, Kane said.

“I used to program telemetry,” she said.

From IBM, Kane moved to the private sector and worked for a business intelligence company in D.C., specializing in data science.

She and her husband returned to Colorado in 2000, settling in Castle Pines North to start their family af-

ter the birth of their first daughter.

There, Kane raised her three children. She worked a few more years in high technology before spending a brief stint as a stay-athome mother. In that time, she also tutored district students in pre-calc SEE SCHOOLS, P8

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8 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

SCHOOLS FROM PAGE 7

and trigonometry.

“Nerdy. I’m very nerdy,” she said Also during that period, Kane formed the idea of starting a charter school. The district had great schools, Kane said, but she envisioned an education model that prioritized science, technology, engineering and math.

“STEM was literally not even an acronym in 2004,”she said.

Kane helped found American Academy in 2005. Opening with 391 students, the school launched at a strip mall in Lone Tree. Parents and staff painted the 20,000 square feet of warehouse space, carpeted the floors, and watched as a waitlist began to form.

“Concrete playground and all,” Kane said.

The county and district was undergoing a phase of growth, she said, and American Academy helped absord that. As enrollment climbed, the charter school moved to Castle Pines North, opening its first building in 2009. That same year, the school’s director left.

American Academy’s board asked Kane to step in “for just five minutes,” she said, while it sought new leadership.

A board member at the time, and still dabbling in the engineering field, Kane recalled feeling reluctant. She knew she did not have experience as a principal, she said, but she agreed.

“I stepped in for five minutes, and that was 14 years ago,” she said.

An emulated leader Mark Middlebrooks, the specials department director for American Academy, oversees art, music, technology and physical education for the school. He’s one of the charter school’s employees to have joined

its staff in 2005, and never leave.

He recalled a culture of camaraderie, and a vision for the school that drew people in despite the “less than desirable” facility it opened in. People joined because “of what we sensed was a really great thing happening.”

“It wasn’t perhaps the most glamorous of roles in which to get started,” he said, “but there was such a sense of purpose about it.”

In interviewing for the job, Middlebrooks said he wanted to try new, emerging strategies in music education such as music workstations for each child, and found receptive leaders at American Academy willing to let him innovate.

He met Kane while she was still an American Academy board member and not yet its director. Roughly 17 years later, he holds her up as someone innately skilled at building a covetable work culture.

“I would characterize her leadership style as one that I strive to emulate,” he said.

She fosters innovation, and lets staff takes risks to do so, he said.

“One of her tenets of leadership is building a culture where individuals feel comfortable to take risks and to try new things, and to sometimes make mistakes,” he said.

Kane has said her approach to managing COVID-19, such as allowing optional masking in times when district-run schools were not doing so, did not make everyone in her school community happy. Kane did her best to support starkly polarized views on the pandemic, she has said.

Supporters pointed to her prowess for data as crucial in managing pandemic response. The board’s conservative majority praised her as someone who has pushed back against policies the four found too progressive.

To Middlebrooks, Kane has “this uncanny ability to zoom out” on an issue and look at the big picture, he

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said.

Her dedication to the district and teachers has been evident in her advocacy for the 2018 bond and mill levy override, he said. Kane helped pave the way for the ballot measure’s passage, he said, and she “was true to her word” at American Academy regarding how she would distribute the funds if the initiative was successful at the polls.

“They were distributed directly into staff salaries,” he said. “It was just a huge boon to staff morale, and it was an obvious and outright indication of the value that is placed on staff members and teachers by Erin.”

Middlebrooks described feeling ambivalent about Kane’s departure as American Academy’s director, because while “I simply love working with her,” he said, he’s also celebrating for the district.

“Point blank my reaction was that, and I follow the district fairly closely I think, and knowing some of the challenges in our school district, I don’t know that I could imagine anyone better positioned and better equipped,” he said.

Looking ahead Today Kane holds a master’s degree in public administration and points to her time as interim for evidence she is the right leader for DCSD. In those two years, turnover decreased significantly, grades improved and an annual spending deficit was eliminated, according to

the district.

Kane said she worked fervently to bring the community together between 2016 and 2018. She vowed to do the same now.

She described herself as a listener, and reasonable. Someone who puts “kids at the front, all the time.”

Political rhetoric doesn’t have “any place in a school district,” she said.

When it comes to the district’s hotly debated equity policy — which sparked accusations of critical race theory in schools but hope among its supporters for a greater focus on equity in DCSD — Kane said she wants to conduct more community outreach. She’ll seek to understand in detail how people want the policy to be implemented, she said.

“If we can provide clarity around that for people, I think that we will see a lot less rhetoric,” she said.

Kane said one cause of division in the community — the COVID-19 pandemic — is fading into the rearview mirror, leaving her optimistic toward a more unified future for DCSD. She repeated a mantra of hers throughout the selection process, emphasizing her belief the community has more in common that it may realize. The district community “can’t let the 5% fringe define us,” she said.

“I think I can bring people together,” she said. “Our kids need people who are willing to step up and walk into the fray.”

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Lone Tree Voice 9

April 7, 2022

VIBE FOODS FROM PAGE 5

“We became really, really, really good cooks and really obsessed with making everything from scratch.”

Weston read all she could on nutrition and holistic health. Later, she used that knowledge and her healthy home-cooking experience to open Vibe Foods in 2017.

“I have total faith in what we’re doing,” she said of Vibe Foods’ mission.

Because she believes there’s a need for what they offer, Weston remained optimistic even though one thing after another seemed to go wrong as she tried to navigate Vibe Foods through the pandemic.

A granola shortage, a compostable cup shortage, equipment delays, permit delays, price hikes — Weston said she has 50 stories about the complications that hin-

dered her expansion dreams.

“It’s been the craziest two years of our lives,” Weston said of the work she and her husband, Mark Weston, have put into the business.

“We’re both exhausted, but thank God we have superfoods.”

Vibe Foods’ latest store, located in Littleton’s Aspen Grove shopping center, opened four months ago. However, it doesn’t sound like Weston is slowing down much.

New juicing equipment is going in at the Parker location, Vibe Foods’ largest eatery, and she’s considering adding an additional location in Tennessee.

Once supply chain disruptions abate, hopefully within the next 12 months, the company will launch paleo baked goods and collagenprotein waffles in its restaurants.

They’re just one more way Weston hopes to use food to change health outcomes.

“It’s a mission,” she said. “It’s a passion. It’s a lifestyle.”

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10 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Douglas County to see millions in road construction this year Biggest project is widening of stretch of Highway 85

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County commissioners received an update on March 29 on a number of road projects happening in the area to address growth.

Of the millions of dollars in construction planned, this year’s biggest project is widening Colorado Highway 85 from four lanes to six lanes from Highlands Ranch Parkway to C-470, which is expected to total around $105 million.

The cost of the project will be heavily shouldered by Douglas County, though the Denver Regional Council of Governments is contributing $26.2 million and the Colorado Department of Transportation is paying $7.6 million.

Construction has been delayed by the need to relocate a City of Englewood water line. Douglas County Project Manager Art Griffith said Englewood officials are negotiating a permit with the Army Corps of Engineers for moving the water line.

“It is essentially the last thing that prevents us from bidding the project,” Griffith said, adding he still hopes to bid the project in May. Another project that will consist of multiple phases and upgrades is the work identified on Lincoln Avenue from Park Meadows Drive to Oswego Street, known as Advancing Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree.

Griffith said project staff are currently evaluating six different options for the Havana Street intersection and 12 alternatives for the Interstate 25 interchange.

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so we’re going through the screenings and once we (finish screening), we’ll do detailed traffic analysis on the top four and move forward with one preferred alternative,” Griffith said.

Pre-construction work for Advancing Lincoln Avenue is slated to be finished this December in preparation for final designs, which are planned for 2023 or 2024.

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ture Lone Tree mobility hub off I-25 near Sky Ridge. Griffith said the project aims to improve existing Bustang operations in the area.

Similar to the Lincoln Avenue work, project managers are in the process of choosing the best of three location options for the mobility hub, which will need bus stations on both sides of I-25.

For the $20 million hub, CDOT is putting up half of the funds, while the county and city hope to contribute $1 million each, with the remaining money coming from the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

“There’s a similar mobility hub concept at US 36 and McCaslin,” Griffith said. “So essentially you have parking and direct connections to the buses.”

In Parker, the town and county are working on extending Dransfeldt Road from the Twenty Mile Road intersection to connect with Motsenbocker Road, north of Salis-

bury Park. Final designs for the $18 million construction are expected this month with construction following next year.

“It helps provide a more resilient transportation network with less reliance on (Colorado Highway 83),” Griffith said.

Highway 83 will see its own updates this summer, with just under $700,000 to be spent improving signage, striping and traffic signal modifications. Another $50 million in intersection improvements have been identified, but not all of the funding has been dedicated.

A roundabout is also in progress at the intersection of Highway 83 and Palmer Divide Road.

Douglas Forum Transportation plans to recommend that these projects, as well as the Crystal Valley Interchange, further widening on Highway 85 and a study of a portion of Colorado Highway 86, take priority in future CDOT planning at a meeting on April 6.

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April 7, 2022

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12 Lone Tree Voice

LOCAL

April 7, 2022

VOICES

Tough to explain

L

ast week, an important issue came out thanks to Hollywood. No. I am not talking about Will Smith ridiculously slapping Chris Rock.

Instead, I am talking about the news that Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia. This hit home for me because just a few months ago I would have had the same reaction that many others FROM THE did to this news. I would have wondered what the heck is aphasia.

EDITOR When his family made the announcement that Willis has now quit acting, I knew why because my dad was diagnosed with aphasia several months ago. While the VA doctors are not completely sure what the cause is, they know my dad’s recent issues in communicating are due to this condition.

Aphasia is an inability to compreThelma Grimes hend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma. Aphasia can also be the result of brain tumors, brain infections, or neurodegenerative diseases.

In looking at my dad’s brain scans, doctors showed me a dark area in his brain where speech is impacted.

There is no fix for this, which means family and friends must be more patient and understanding.

Getting past all the scans, and Webster’s definition of aphasia, there is a person this condition impacts and it must be incredibly frustrating.

After my dad’s diagnosis I researched it and became a lot more sensitive to the struggles he is going through.

The inability to express a thought even though he is thinking it. The struggles to understand conversations happening around him. It must be incredibly tough to go through day-to-day activities with an important part of your brain not functioning correctly.

Another person who has publicly talked about the impacts of aphasia has been former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In my early days as a journalist in Arizona, I got to know Giffords well. She survived being shot in the head, but not without some lasting effects.

One of those conditions is aphasia. Through social media, Giffords often describes what aphasia does to a person. She is open about how the idea is there, but she can’t get the words out to express it.

Giffords will always be someone I admire, and seeing her still speak in public engagements and work as hard as she does to make a difference in the world is impressive. I also love that she continues to bring more awareness to this condition that can impact a range of reading, writing and speaking.

With my dad, we continue to learn patience. We have worked to slow down when we are speaking. We are understanding when he says something that may not make a lot of sense to us, but he is trying.

For those who may encounter someone dealing with aphasia, understand it is more frustrating for the person living with it than it is for us. It is important to practice patience and understanding for this condition just like we would with any other medical condition a person is working through.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Saddened by ‘Liberty Girls’ I was saddened by the front page article about Fed-up Women Conservatives. Instead of “Liberty Girls” their name should be “We only care about ourselves.” Since when does liberty mean you do want you want at the expense of others? Fortunately now our county and the country are at a very low COVID transmission rate. But at the height of this pandemic I am sure that at least one of their childrens schools had a cancer and /or immunocompromised student or teacher. What a great teaching moment for our children to tell them we are wearing a mask to make a fellow student safe, or show compassion for a sick teacher.

Do we really want a group of children to grow up without empathy for others? It’s disheartening enough that so many adults are this self centered.

Rather than wine and cheese in their living rooms these ladies should volunteer at their local hospitals to see firsthand the consequences of their no-mask, no vaccine

agenda. How ill-informed can they be to not have known when COVID numbers were rising and our hospitals were at a tipping point? This is no way of putting your community first.

Kathleen McCollough Parker Reckless spending by school board How can our conservative school board justify spending another quarter million dollars adding to close to half million taxpayers are paying out for superintendents’ salaries? Could this reckless spending be better spent on our students? Then these conservative elected officials who out of one side of their mouths have a platform of no new taxes and conservative spending going to ask taxpayers in November for bond/ MLO funds? It appears Republicans only say what one wants to hear and do whatever fits their agenda. Good luck in November!

Dave Usechek Parker

t a i H g t g

Giving and receiving grace

a t k a minimize the damage. young man stood by the side of WINNING a As an observer to this event, I was the road waiting for a bus. The WORDS beyond curious. I approached him and A rain was pouring down and he i offered the roll of paper towels that I was doing his best to stay dry.

A had in my truck. The man smiled at He was dressed for success, a nice suit w and tie, and carried an expensive laptop me, accepted the paper towels, and began cleaning himself off. I shared bag in the hand that was not holding the umbrella. A car came racing by and with him that I admired his response w to what happened, even sharing that h drove very close to the curb where the o I might not have been so forgiving. young man was standing. The splash w Again, he smiled, and he said, “Misfrom the car drenched him. No visible w sign of anger, no words came from his Thelma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Michael Norton i mouth, he just did what he could to SEE NORTON, P13 Community Media a s Columnists & Guest Commentaries LINDA SHAPLEY ERIN ADDENBROOKE Lone Tree Voice Publisher Marketing Consultant A legal newspaper of general circulation h Columnist opinions are not necessarily lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com h in Lone Tree, Colorado, the Voice is those of the Voice. We welcome letters published weekly on Thursday by g to the editor. Please include your full AUDREY BROOKS LISA SCHLICHTMAN Colorado Community Media, 9233 Park r A publication of name, address and the best number to Business Manager Editor-in-Chief Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124. reach you by telephone. abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com h lschlichtman@coloradocommunitymedia.com Call first: 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Send address change to: Lone Tree t Email letters to ERIN FRANKS Lone Tree, CO 80124 Mailing Address: 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110 Phone: 303-566-4100 Web: LoneTreeVoice.net To subscribe call 303-566-4100

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Lone Tree Voice 13

April 7, 2022

An unsolved math problem on the Colorado River

S

pring runoff last year in the Colorado River Basin was a bust, with snowpack of almost 90% of average reduced to a 30% inflow at BIG PIVOTS Lake Powell.

Nobody yet predicts another bust this year. While we wait, water managers talk about “the math problem.”

The gap between water flows and demands in the Allen Best Colorado River is enormous and likely to widen. The dysfunctional equation begins with 20 million acre-feet, the average annual flows assumed by the Colorado River Compact that was crafted 100 years ago by delegates from the seven basin states.

This cheerful assumption was based on early 20th century flows. It was made with almost willful disregard of evidence available even then of the river’s lesser flows during the prior half-century. The delegates who met at a lodge near Santa Fe in 1922 were determined to yoke all irrigable acres into agricultural production.

In this math problem, another key number is 12.3 million acre-feet.

That’s been the river’s average flow in the 21st century. Some of this reduced flow seems to be entirely natural, what we call drought, if exceptional in duration.

Something else has been going on.

Temperatures have risen 3 degrees Celsius altogether since 1970. By

some estimates, half or more of the reduced flows can be attributed to this global warming effect. This warming explains the grand larceny in the Colorado River, decent snowpacks reduced to a shrug in the Utah desert because of evaporation but also because plants need more water.

Too, baked soil sops up water.

We can’t flip the switch on global warming and it’s almost certain to worsen, the temperature rise doubling or tripling, as Colorado State University’s Brad Udall warns.

He describes what is occurring as aridification. Unlike drought, it’s not temporary.

NORTON

were inappropriate as we either overreacted or underreacted under times of stress. And when we think about our own misgivings and the errors of our ways, I am sure that we can also remember the people who gave us grace, and who demonstrated love and forgiveness, no matter how big or small our mistake may have been.

Perhaps, as we look upon our family, friends, community, and workplace, there are circumstances where we have a chance to offer such forgiveness and grace. Each time we receive grace from others should be seen as a deposit in our own bank account of love, forgiveness and grace. We just need to be reminded that we must make withdrawals from time to time and give that same grace to others.

There is enough division and conflict going on in our world today, we don’t need to add any more or pile on.

Instead, we should look at the events, the statements, and the actions that were obviously a mistake or that could have been handled better, as an opportunity to love and forgive.

Unconditional love and forgiveness sound idealistic, yet we know when we live with and apply this philosophy that the outcome is decisively better. I would love to hear your story of grace at mnorton@xinnix.com.

And when we can learn to give and receive grace, it really will be a better than good year.

FROM PAGE 12

ter, I have done so many bad things and have wronged so many people, it is only right that I forgave them.”

He continued, and said, “I have been given grace and forgiven so many times, I now know that I have to give grace and forgive others too.”

He was speaking my language.

I asked him where he was headed, and he shared that he was catching the bus to downtown Denver. I let him know that I was on my way to Denver and offered him a ride. He gratefully accepted and we began our journey.

As we drove, I learned that he was going downtown to interview for a job.

And he was laughing because now he was going to show up soaking wet.

As I asked him what kind of job he was looking for and the company that he was interviewing with, it turned out that I had many connections within the company and knew the woman who he was meeting for the interview. I didn’t tell him that. And as I dropped him off, I sent a text message to the woman, my friend, and let her know how he handled the day and his approach to giving and receiving grace. I advised her that even if his resume or experience didn’t qualify him as a great candidate, his character certainly would. He got the job.

Look, we all fall short, we all fail from time to time. There are things we wish we could have done better, there are words we wish we could take back, and there are certainly moments in time where our actions

Dismal forecasts This brings us to another number for this Colorado River Basin math problem: 11 million acre-feet.

That’s the number cited last week at a University of Utah conference about future flows of the Colorado River.

“The best climate scientists in the world say we will be lucky to have 11 million acre-feet,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency serving Las Vegas.

To recap this math problem, the Colorado River Compact assumed 20 million-acre feet, the reality has been 12.3 in the last two decades, and we’ll end up with 11 million-acre feet—or conceivably less.

“Every new use will have to be mitigated by someone, somewhere, using less water,” Entsminger added.

That’s not entirely right either. We all will have to use less water. Keep in

Michael Norton is the grateful president of XINNIX, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

mind that not one drop of the Colorado River gets to the Sea of Cortez.

Cinching of the water belt has been underway from Mexico to Colorado.

It’s not happening as rapidly as needed, though. Consider the rapidly emerging walls of Glen Canyon and the dam that creates Lake Powell.

Despite emergency releases from upstream reservoirs in Colorado and Utah last summer to bolster Powell, the water levels last week dipped below 3,525 feet.

That elevation is arbitrary but a loud warning that a further decline of 35 feet leaves Glen Canyon unable to generate electricity. Recent modeling by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a 25% risk. If — or perhaps when — that happens, municipalities and cooperative members who get power from Glen Canyon will still get electricity from elsewhere, but it will cost more. That includes Holy Cross Electric.

Long term, this worsening situation of subpar runoff in the Colorado River matters to well more than 90% of Colorado’s population. The Colorado River and its tributaries deliver half of Front Range water. Even the easterly flowing rivers in Colorado that pass through more distant, less

citified places, Sterling and La Junta, carry water augmented by diversions from the Colorado River.

Much remains to be worked out.

Within Colorado, agriculture uses 80% to 90% of all water. Farmers and ranchers who own the more senior water rights, not subject to compact limitations, have served emphatic notice that their water will not be the answer to the math problem.

Another problem is the compact clause that puts the upper basin states—Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming—on the hook for diminished flows. It says they “will not cause” the flows at Lee Ferry, just below Glen Canyon, to be depleted below 75 million acre-feet of water over a rolling 10-year average. The upper basin states cannot do this alone. The risk must be shared.

This sounds gloomy. That said, the seven basin states, Mexico, and the sovereign tribes who collectively own about 20% the basin’s water have yet to throw rocks at each other. They are talking. They just haven’t solved this math problem.

Allen Best publishes Big Pivots, a reader-supported e-journal. See more at bigpivots.com.

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Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. 303-566-4100 obituaries@coloradocommunitymedia.com Self placement available online at LoneTreeVoice.net

14 Lone Tree Voice

LOCAL

April 7, 2022

LIFE

From the foothills of Douglas County to the cliffs of Battle Mountain, history abounds in Colorado’s uninhabited towns A present-day photo of Gilman, a ghost town in Eagle County that became uninhabited in 1985.

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

“

There’s nothing abandoned in Colorado,” proclaims Melanie Roth from a set of wooden steps outside a cabin in St. Elmo — a ghost town in Chaffee County.

Roth’s assertion is a bold one considering the setting — a dead-silent main street consisting of 150-yearold buildings that haven’t been inhabited since the 1950s gives way to the towering foothills of Mount Princeton and the Collegiate Peaks.

Here, over a hundred miles from the bustling cityscape of metro Denver, it’s easy to feel isolated — yet not entirely alone.

St. Elmo is perhaps the most well preserved of Colorado’s many ghost towns — remnants of a bygone era when mining, agriculture and railroad routes largely governed where people lived.

While many of these settlements have been decimated by years of weathering — and in some cases, vandalism — a small group of dedicated historians have worked to preserve them as markers of Colorado’s history.

“Two things make Colorado ghost towns different than any other state,” said Lee Dahl, a member of the Ghost Town Club of Colorado.

“First of all, the setting; a lot of them are up in the mountains, that kind of makes them a little remote, off the beaten path, not a lot of people knew about it for a long time.

“The other thing is that a lot of those ghost towns had a huge infrastructure where you’d have a mine shaft, and a milling building, some rather large structures that were built rather stoutly for the industry.

That made them interesting, also made them sturdy, so they’d withstand time,” Dahl continued.

At a 1958 meeting of Colorado historians in Golden, a man named John Farr stood up after a presentation on ghost towns and said, ‘We ought to start a club.’ The Ghost Town Club of Colorado was formed shortly thereafter and remains active in educating and preserving Colorado’s towns of yesteryear.

Ethan Knightchilde, a documentary filmmaker and member of the Ghost Town Club, said that many of Colorado’s ghost towns followed a

COURTESY OF KATHY HEICHER

A building in Dearfield, Weld County, slated for historic preservation.

COURTESY OF COLORADO’S MOST ENDANGERED PLACES

The St. Elmo General Store, which still operates during the summer months.

PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN

similar trajectory; a discovery was made, followed by a boom, then a bust — then, the town went “ghost.”

“When a town no longer had a reason to exist, it ceased to exist, in short. And so, a lot of the mining towns were built around a single commodity, whatever ore was in the ground. It’s a limited resource; when it ran out, the people left,” Knightchilde said.

Joan Fields, a member of the Ghost Town Club since 1979, explained the difference between the two main types of ghost towns commonly found in Colorado.

“It depends on where the ghost towns are. Because there are ghost towns out on the Eastern Plains, and a lot of those were based upon agriculture. The mountain towns, of

course, if the minerals ran out or it wasn’t a particularly prosperous mine, oftentimes the towns would disappear,” Fields said.

In the roughshod days of the American West, settlers moved like locusts across the country, building up towns around a single commodity with little regard for maintaining anything for the next generation, according to Knightchilde. Most of the settlers were men looking for work in mines or on farms, which begat a largely nomadic population, according to Fields.

“A lot of communities didn’t have families. A lot of women didn’t move out west until they knew SEE GHOST TOWN, P15

A store and post office in St. Elmo that doubled as the home of Annabelle and Tony Stark, the town’s last original PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN residents.

Lone Tree Voice 15

April 7, 2022

GHOST TOWN FROM PAGE 14

things were going to be settled, or there weren’t children involved. So, you’d pack your frying pan and your mule, you’d pack your things, and you’d just go,” Fields said.

Sometimes, according to Knightchilde, the difficulty of moving an entire household’s worth of possessions down a treacherous mountain pass made the task insurmountable, and settlers would simply move to the next town and start over.

Sometimes, the towns would become something else entirely.

“They’d become what we call ‘ghosts of their former selves,’” Dahl said.

Ghosts you see, ghosts you don’t “Technically, towns like Georgetown and Silverton are ghosts,” Knightchilde said. “You’d never want to say that to a resident — they will take offense. But they are shadows of their former selves in terms of size, and their continued existence is because they no longer make a living off of what started them.”

In a way, Knightchilde has a point — Georgetown today largely subsists as a tourist destination, far from its roots as a silver mining camp. When faced with the prospect of going ghost or reinventing themselves, towns of their ilk have been forced to find new ways to get by.

Other historic settlements haven’t been as lucky as the roadside mountain towns.

“In the old days, you’re traveling by horse and wagon, to travel 10 miles a day was a good trip,” said Ed Bathke, a member of the Ghost Town Club since 1961. “So, there were a lot of little towns that were about 10 miles apart.

“Today, you can go much greater distances in an auto pretty quickly, so therefore a lot of these little towns that were really supply points, business centers for their surrounding community, are now essentially ghost towns because people don’t need a supply point that close,” Bathke said.

“What would happen to Georgetown if I-70 wasn’t there, or had not gone through? Or before that, (Route) 40?” Knightchild wonders.

Towns that can’t reinvent themselves run the risk of falling by the wayside entirely.

Cotopaxi was a community established along the Arkansas river by primarily Russian-Jewish settlers in the 1880s. When the colony failed, most of its residents scattered to other parts of the country, leaving little of the original settlement in place, according to Bathke.

Uravan was a uranium mining town in Montrose County that went bust in the 1980s as the United States began sourcing uranium elsewhere.

Due to radioactive contamination, the town’s buildings were burned, and everything else was thrown in a pit and buried there, according to Fields and Dahl. Nevertheless, the town’s history isn’t entirely forgotten.

“The people of that area have an annual reunion — they still get together, the people who worked there, especially the descendants of those

Main Street in St. Elmo, a well-preserved ghost town in Chaffee County.

people,” Bathke said.

Some places don’t receive the same treatment. Dakan, a shortlived mining camp in Douglas County, is largely invisible to the naked eye.

“If you go out there today and look, you’ll see a pasture. There is no sign of it whatsoever,” said Larry Schlupp, president of the Larkspur Historical Society. “There were numerous mines out there at one time — it was a gold town. “ Despite the many challenges surrounding the task, efforts to preserve ghost towns have gained steam in recent years.

Dearfield, a historically Black settlement in Weld County, was in danger of seeing its few remaining buildings disintegrate before Colorado’s Most Endangered Places — an initiative of Colorado Preservation, Inc. — stepped in and listed the site on its “priority saves” list in an effort to raise funds and organize preservation efforts.

In doing so, one of the state’s earliest markers of Black independence will live on for future generations to learn from and experience. “(Dearfield) was a colony founded by pioneering Black settlers who understood that having some independence and owning land and maybe farming and building a town was a greater way to achieve independence — freedom — in society,” said Kim Grant, director of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places.

“They actually prospered there for 20 years, and then the Dust Bowl came, and climatic factors intervened that nobody really foresaw and it just ruined the farm economy for nearly everybody. And the town just died away,” Grant continued.

While the town largely died off with its founder, Oliver Toussaint Jackson, in 1948, a few buildings — including a gas station, a diner and Jackson’s homestead — remain in rough shape. Now, with the help of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, the buildings will be restored as tangible historical artifacts.

A modern-day ghost Unique even among the colorful history of Colorado ghost towns is Gilman, a modern-day ghost that

couldn’t survive its own reinvention.

Early settlers arrived in Gilman around 1879, as overcrowding in Leadville forced miners to try their luck elsewhere. The town was formally settled in 1886 amid the Colorado silver boom. Gilman was initially named “Clinton” after John Clinton, a judge and speculator from nearby Red Cliff, but was later renamed in honor of Henry Gilman, a foreman of the Iron Mask Mine.

Like many towns on Battle Mountain, life in Gilman revolved around mining. By 1890, the town had a growing population and a newspaper, the Gilman Enterprise. Then, the silver crash hit.

“With the silver crash of 1893, a lot of the town was abandoned,” said Matthew Mickelson, the local history librarian for Eagle County.

“It went from a population of well over 1,000 down to 400 at that point.

Soon after that was when they started mining for zinc.”

Faced with similar prospects of other boomtowns of the era — reinvention or abandonment — Gilman chose the latter and became a profitable zinc mining outfit that was purchased by the New Jersey Zinc Company in 1912 with designs of turning the settlement into a company town.

“It was considered a model company town — a good one,” said Kathy Heicher, president of the Eagle County Historical Society and local history author.

Heicher added that during this time, Gilman had a hospital, a store and even a bowling alley. New Jersey Zinc had a reputation for taking care of their workers, and wages and accommodations in Gilman were good throughout much of the 20th century.

The population of Gilman hovered between 300-500 residents, with booms occurring around both world wars as demand for zinc increased.

By the 1980s, however, natural resources in the mines were becoming depleted, and the town was growing less profitable.

On April 11, 1985, residents of Gilman received a letter from the Battle Mountain Corporation — the name of the company that owned

PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN

and operated the town at the time — stating that they would need to vacate the premises by June 30.

The terms of the departure notice were severe.

“We would like to offer rent-free living until your departure from the premises. In addition, we would like to offer Joe Trujillo’s assistance with packing your belongings, if necessary,” stated the letter from Battle Mountain Corporation.

In an instant, Gilman — a mountain town that had prospered for almost a century — was gone. However, its story as a ghost town was just beginning.

When the Battle Mountain Corporation abandoned the town, the property was completely abandoned, and the water pumps were shut off. Battle Mountain — which Heicher describes as a catacomb of mines — soon felt the impact of Gilman’s abandonment.

“They shut off the electricity that had been pumping the wastewater out of the mines, and the mines started filling up with water and it got decades of toxic waste in there,” Heicher said. “The water started flowing out into the Eagle River. The Eagle River was flowing orange. You wouldn’t, in the 1980s, eat a fish that you caught in the Eagle River.”

In 1986, the mine was declared an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site and work began on quelling the contamination from the runoff. Cleanup work on the site was declared completed in 2001, but spikes in pollutants occur to this day, making the decontamination process ongoing.

The pollution at the site has put a damper on plans to revive the area.

Various proposals to make Gilman into a ski resort or additional housing for Vail workers have stalled because of the contamination.

The town was annexed into nearby Minturn in 2008 with the hopes of bringing a ski resort plan to fruition, but the developer backed out shortly thereafter in 2009.

Today, Crave Real Estate Ventures owns the townsite, which has become victimized by vandalism SEE GHOST TOWN, P16

16 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Cranes grace valley on northward trip BEST OF THE BEST

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Magnificent birds make stopover at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

What could be more beautiful than an excursion to the San Luis Valley to see thousands of big, graceful sandhill cranes, as they make a rest stop en route from their winter home to the northwestern U.S. and Canada, where they nest.

The sky was blue and endless, the surrounding mountains were capped with a skiff of fresh snow, fields were greening and the sun was shining.

That valley is a protective spot for cranes and those who love to watch them.

They winter in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, near Albuquerque, New Mexico and start arriving in the San Luis Valley in February to feast on barley in the fields at the valley’s Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge and nearby San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area.

It’s located 15 miles west of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, so one can spend a splendid few days with nature at its finest.

It’s a beautiful drive from our south area on Highway 285, which goes through Bailey, Fairplay, Buena Vista ... (We like to make a brunch/lunch stop at one of the latter two.) Turn west in Monte Vista to the refuge.

Overnight stays are available at the Movie Manor Motel in Monte Vista (kids love the two big screens they can watch from the window). Or, we

GHOST TOWN FROM PAGE 15

in recent years. Trespassers on the property are frequently cited.

Nevertheless, remnants of Gilman’s heyday can still be found at the site.

“They left in such a hurry, the people who have snuck into town say they went into the doctor’s office and there were X-rays lying around. One woman, whose dad had worked at the mine, was able to find his old paystub in the mine offices. That’s why people are really intrigued by it,” Heicher said.

Heicher added that the “boom or bust” nature of Gilman’s history is representative of larger trends in Colorado history.

“It was once a thriving, kind of utopian community, and people liked living there. Colorado is a boom and bust place. Whether it’s oil or whatever, it’s like a classic example of boom and bust,” Heicher said.

‘Take only photos, leave only footprints’ According to Knightchilde, the biggest threat to ghost towns isn’t time, or weather, or even pollutants — it’s people.

“A century and a half of weathering can bring a building down, but people have had a disastrous effect on what remains of these towns,” Knightchilde said.

Sandhill cranes fill the sky at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado’s San COURTESY PHOTO BY KATE MIYAMOTO / U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Luis Valley.

had a pleasant B&B this trip.

The Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge has lakes, fields, a wetland area and a number of large parking places set aside at the edges of the refuge, so that families can get out of the cars with binoculars and cameras to watch and wonder at these large, long-legged birds with a six-foot wingspan.

Cranes mate for life, but in the spring, they repeat a courtship ritual that includes dancing and bowing — and communicating with a sound I’ll never forget ... some pairs will have last year’s chick, now a teenager, with them in the field as it learns how to be

a grownup ...

Hope to see flocks in the air mornings and evenings as well as watching them in the fields.

They spend the night in the wetlands, which is closed Feb. 15 to July 15 for nesting season.

Our information says there are 250 species of birds found in the Great Sand Dunes Park and Preserve, which is right next to this refuge, so pack in a bird identification book or two along with those binocs.

We spent about four hours en route, including a brunch stop, and it’s scenic all the way from Red Rocks Park to the valley.

Knightchilde and his Ghost Town Club compatriots rattle off examples of this problem — Lamartine was robbed of its wood, the Lee Mansion in Capitol City was dismantled for its bricks, Carson has nary a plank of wood without someone’s initials echoed into it, Caribou’s buildings have been tagged heavily with graffiti.

Human interference is not a new phenomenon — as Colorado’s even best-preserved ghost town can attest.

By 1957, St. Elmo’s population had dwindled to just two residents — siblings Tony and Annabelle Stark. Urban legends detailing the Starks’ descent into madness became fodder for campfire circles, but their true fate was far more insidious.

“They weren’t (mentally incompetent) at all — they weren’t,” Roth said on the cabin steps.

“They might have been up here by themselves and they had a neighbor telling everybody they were loony tunes, and so they were declared mentally incompetent and removed.

“Before the ambulance reached Nathrop, all of their valuable possessions were stolen by the person who promoted their insanity and commitment,” Roth continued.

The town eventually was bequeathed to Marie Skogsberg, a family friend of the Starks, who passed down the legacy of preserving St. Elmo to her granddaughter — and Annabelle Stark’s

goddaughter — Melanie Roth.

Roth’s efforts have preserved St. Elmo as a snapshot of Colorado’s history, replete with sturdy buildings, historical exhibits and a general store that operates in the summertime. Organizations like the Ghost Town Club and Colorado’s Most Endangered Places have worked to preserve similar sites throughout the state.

“We formed a preservation committee; we raise funds throughout the year and then at the end of each year we will present grants to deserving historical organizations in the state,” Bathke said of the Ghost Town Club. “Typically, they have to be 501(c)(3), so we avoid giving to an individual and we avoid any tax problems.”

Knightchilde said that preservation efforts have galvanized recently, spurred in part by damage incurred by urban development in the late 20th century.

“Preservation efforts have strengthened over the years.

It’s not just ghost towns. During America’s love affair with urban renewal during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, we lost a lot. And that probably was galvanizing for preservation movements of all kinds,” Kightchilde said.

“You have beautiful historic theatres that were bulldozed for parking lots. And you have people that love those types of buildings SEE GHOST TOWN, P21

Lone Tree Voice 17

April 7, 2022

powered by

Thu 4/07 Boogie T (Afterparty) @ 5pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐ wood

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The Custom Shop-Band: the CSB @ The Alley

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Jenny Shawhan Video Premiere Show @ 6:30pm Studio@Mainstreet, 19604 Main‐ street, Parker

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Marty NIghtengale @ 5pm Black Bear Golf Club, 11400 Canterberry Pkwy,, Parker

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Ballet Ariel's American in Paris Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt @ 9am South Fellowship Church, 6560 South Broadway, Littleton. amy@ southfellowship.org, 303-797-1500

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@ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐ wood

Theater: Classic American Realism (13-18yrs) @ 10:30pm Apr 13th - May 18th PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker

Thu 4/14 Keith Hicks @ 3pm Inverness Hotel, Englewood

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Venardos Circus @ 6pm / $27 Apr 14th - Apr 24th Aspen Grove Shopping Center, 7301 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton. tickets@venardoscircus.com, 949393-0567

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18 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Worship

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April 7, 2022

Lone Tree Voice 19

Worship

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20 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ takes stage

T

ennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” plays through May 8 at Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora. 303856-7830, vintagetheatre.org.

Aurora Fox The Aurora Fox Arts Center, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, presents “Hurricane Diane” through April 10. 303-739-1970, aurorafox.org.

Town Hall Arts Center Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St., downtown Littleton, presents “Once on This Island” through May 8. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 303-7942787, townhallartscenter.org.

Arts festival April 23, 24— Arts Festival at Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 S. Datura St., Littleton. Community art show and newly commissioned work by composer Thomas Keesecker. 303-794-6379, littletonumc.church.

Littleton Garden Club Littleton Garden Club welcomes new members to its monthly meetings at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at Littleton Educational Services Center, 5776 S. Crocker St., Littleton.

Nixon’s Coffee art exhibit Littleton Fine Arts Guild members Dorothy Jaltuch and Carol

SONYA’S SAMPLER

Broer will exhibit work at Nixon’s Coffee House in Englewood, 871 Englewood Parkway, through July 1.

Miners Alley Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden, offers a regional premiere Sonya Ellingboe of “Blue Ridge” by Abby Rosebrock, directed by Len Matheo, from April 15 to June 5. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m; Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

303-935-3044, minersalley.com.

Cherry Creek Theatre “Ann,” the story of legendary Texas Gov. Ann Richards, will be presented by Cherry Creek Theatre Company at Jewish Community Center, 350 Dahlia St., Denver, April 22 to May 15. Tickets: $2/$38/$26.

303-800-6578, cherrycreektheatre. org.

Colorado Symphony The Colorado Symphony announces the return of “Beethoven and Brews” on April 20 at the Breckenridge Brewery’s Farm House, 2990 Brewery Lane, Littleton. Starting at 5 p.m., with games available prior to the concert at 6:30. coloradosymphony.org or 303623-7876. Tickets: $40, VIP $65.

Linda Williams, Jan Cleveland and Andy Anderson appear in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” COURTESY OF RDGPHOTOGRAPHY through May 8 at Aurora’s Vintage Theatre.

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Lone Tree Voice 21

April 7, 2022

GHOST TOWN FROM PAGE 16

that can only see so much of that before they band together to do something about it,” Kightchilde continued.

Members of the Ghost Town Club said that part of their mission is to educate people on the history of ghost towns, which they hope will in turn instill respect among visitors for the historic sites they go to. Fields said that one of the taglines of the Ghost Town Club is “Take only photos, leave only footprints.”

“One of our challenges is getting the word out. We get so many people that come into our mountain towns on their ATVs and all they want to do is run up and down the road as fast as they can,” Fields said.

Knightchilde said that traffic at ghost towns has been on the rise.

“The signs are there that they are increasingly being visited. If you are that interested, you will do some research, the way I did, the way everyone I’ve spoken to who has a love for these places did. And in doing so, you’ll gain respect for them. My hope is that once you’ve done that, you’re jazzed to go see the place in person, you know something about its history, and you have a respect for it. You’re not going to run roughshod over it,” Knight-

Arapahoe Community College Foundation

childe said.

The allure of ghost towns varPRESENTS: ies from person to person. Some are drawn to the sites because � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � they represent a beacon of a bygone era. Some, like Knightchilde, feel an intrinsic pull to their history.

“There is that haunting feeling that the building is looking back at you. It’s almost like it’s beckoning you to know its history.

A NIGHT IN People came under unbelievable odds to get to this place and they brought their hopes, their dreams, their fears. They lived and died in these places. There’s this weight of history surrounding you,” Knightchilde said.

“It’s part of our history. Many of us like to preserve our history,” Bathke added. “They say, ‘If you ignore your history, you’re only going to repeat the mistakes that were made in the past.’

There’s always that longing to go back to our roots, and that’s all part of it.”

Members of the Ghost Town Club understandably bristled at the mention of vandalism. � � makes � � my � �blood � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � “Vandalism boil because that just shows someone that’s completely lacking in any kind of sensitivity,” Kngihtchilde said.

“You need tangible things to remind you of where you’ve been, who you’ve been, as a society,” Kngihtchilde continued.

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22 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

Lawsuit looms over cost of Tri-County Health breakup Court case for $50 million highlights agreement made

by Douglas County

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Out of all the political controversy the coronavirus has caused in Colorado, the pullout of Douglas County from the Tri-County Health Department — and the domino effect it had on Adams and Arapahoe counties — may be the action that ends up having the biggest consequences on some metro Denver governments.

The costs of Arapahoe and Adams counties pulling away from TriCounty Health could be in the millions. And the situation could get a whole lot more expensive — possibly for all three counties — depending on what a court has to say about an alleged $50 million fee Tri-County Health and the counties may owe to another government body if counties continue to pull out.

At issue is a payment that the health agency may eventually owe to the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA, which provides retirement and other benefits to employees of government agencies and public entities in Colorado.

Members of PERA include public school teachers, many university and college employees, judges, state troopers, and other types of public employees.

If Tri-County Health is “allowed to withdraw from PERA without paying the withdrawal liability, all PERA members and employers will be negatively impacted,” a complaint in a lawsuit filed by the retirement association said.

PERA filed the complaint in the lawsuit on Feb. 1 against Tri-County Health and Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties.

Adams and Arapahoe are still members of Tri-County Health, but Douglas County has already formally exited Tri-County and formed its own health department.

Douglas County’s leaders have long clashed with Tri-County Health during the coronavirus pandemic, announcing plans in July 2020 to begin the process of withdrawing from the health agency after its decision

The Tri-County Health Department’s headquarters in Greenwood Village.

PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER

to require mask wearing in public.

Some of Adams County’s leaders had felt frustration with Tri-County’s policymaking, too, but Adams’ message wasn’t against mask orders. Arapahoe has appeared reluctant to cut ties with the health agency, with officials in that county maintaining they had no choice but to move toward going solo after Douglas withdrew and after Adams announced it would also pull out.

Although Douglas County formally broke away from Tri-County — opting to form its own board of health in charge of matters such as countywide public health orders — the county decided to continue to receive health services from TriCounty through 2022, approving an agreement on Sept. 28.

The other two counties are set to withdraw from Tri-County Health by the end of 2022, although the health agency appears not to regard that as a certainty, according to a document the health agency filed in the legal case.

“TCHD has not ceased operations and the finality of the county withdrawals remains in question,” Tri-County Health wrote, arguing the events that would trigger the health agency’s and the counties’ obligations to pay PERA’s withdrawal payment have not occurred.

PERA is a substitute for Social Security for most of its public employees, according to PERA’s website.

Benefits are pre-funded, which means while a member is working, he or she is required to contribute a fixed percentage of their salary to the retirement trust funds. Employers also contribute a percentage of pay to the trust fund, the website says.

Under legislation enacted in 2018, parts of the PERA program — such as the employer contribution rates and member contribution rates — are adjusted automatically in certain circumstances, according to PERA’s complaint in the lawsuit.

That’s a situation Tri-County’s exit could trigger, PERA argued.

“Because of this automatic adjustment provision that now exists in the PERA statute, all employers and members in all divisions will potentially face increased contributions and reduced retirement benefits to pay for the funding shortfall caused

by TCHD’s illegal withdrawal,” the retirement association’s complaint said.

Douglas agreement spotlighted Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties argued in a March 14 court filing that they aren’t responsible for covering any money Tri-County Health may owe.

But PERA’s complaint points to an agreement Douglas County made that could call that argument into question.

According to the complaint, the

following events led up to Douglas County’s agreement: • In January 2021, Tri-County Health inquired with PERA concerning the effect of Douglas County’s planned withdrawal from Tri-County Health and the potential dissolution of the health agency.

• Some time later, PERA informed Tri-County that the “cost of the reserves requirement” would be determined by PERA’s actuary. An actuary is a person who analyzes statistics and uses them to calculate insurance risks and premiums.

• On Sept. 2, a Tri-County official contacted PERA asking who they could “engage ASAP to determine an estimate of the [cost] reserves requirement if Tri-County Health Department ceases to exist.” The Tri-County official stressed the actuarial report was needed as soon as possible because it was a factor for the counties’ commissioners to determine “if they will stay with TCHD or start their public health department.”

• PERA then arranged for its actuary, The Segal Company, to prepare an actuarial report estimating the Tri-County disaffiliation costs.

• On Sept. 7, Douglas County’s elected leaders, the board of commissioners, formalized their withdrawal from Tri-County.

• On Sept. 14, Douglas County appointed its public health agency board and formally established the Douglas County Health Department.

• On Sept. 24, PERA provided Tri-County with Segal’s actuarial report. The actuarial report calculated Tri-County’s initial withdrawal liability as $50,235,215, subject to final determination at the date of disaffiliation.

• On Sept. 28, the Douglas County commissioners and Tri-County entered into what’s called an intergovernmental agreement, or the IGA. The IGA provided that Douglas County agreed to “pay for the services and costs associated with its withdrawal,” the complaint cited.

It added: “Most importantly, Douglas County agreed that if TCHD is dissolved in 2022 or 2023, paying for its proportional share of any expenses incurred as a result of the dissolution ... Such costs may include … the payment of any debt SEE LAWSUIT, P23

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LAWSUIT FROM PAGE 22

or penalties imposed by Colorado PERA.’” The complaint also argued that Adams and Arapahoe counties are “third-party beneficiaries of the IGA and thus similarly acknowledge the existence and enforceability of PERA’s termination provisions.”

The three counties, in their filing, pointed to “Article XI, Section I of the Colorado Constitution, which prohibits a county from being responsible for the debt of any ‘person, company or corporation, public or private,’” they argued.

The case was filed in Adams County District Court.

Murky path forward Asked whether Tri-County Health would have to cut some funding to public health services that the health agency would otherwise be providing in 2022 if a court decides Tri-County owes PERA the $50 million, Tri-County declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

The health agency also declined to comment on whether it has enough in savings to spare for the payment or whether Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties would be obligated to pay some portion of the $50 million from their own budgets.

For context, the total spending in Tri-County’s 2021 budget was roughly $55 million, according to the health agency’s budget document.

The health agency has argued in the legal case that there is uncer-

S

tainty regarding counties’ decisions to pull out of Tri-County.

“On July 10, 2020, Douglas County gave written notice of its intent to withdraw from TCHD ... The (PERA) complaint omits the fact that Douglas County rescinded that notice on November 10, 2020, and stated that it would remain with TCHD through at least December 31, 2022,” the health agency wrote in a March 11 court filing. “On September 1, 2021, Douglas County stated an intent to rely on its rescinded July 10, 2020, notice of withdrawal, but that TCHD could continue to provide public health services in the future.”

The health agency continued: “The complaint also omits the fact that Arapahoe County filed a lawsuit challenging Douglas County’s withdrawal from TCHD due to Douglas County’s (alleged) failure to comply with the statutory requirement for one-year’s written notice.”

Tri-County calls into question whether the withdrawals from TriCounty by both Adams and Douglas counties are legally effective.

On Oct. 26, the Adams County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution providing that Adams County would withdraw from TriCounty effective Dec. 31, 2022, TriCounty’s court filing cited.

“The resolution further provides that ‘staff shall give statutory notice of the withdrawal to the Tri-County Health Department …’” the health agency wrote. “The complaint does not allege, nor could it, that the statutory notice [one-year’s notice] was provided by Adams County to

Lone Tree Voice 23

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24 Lone Tree Voice

LOCAL

April 7, 2022

SPORTS

Vista beats Arapahoe with big fifth innning Defending state champions remain undefeated

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Arapahoe starting pitcher Easton Marks allowed four hits in four inning and had seven strikes. He also hit a solo home run but the Warriors suffered a 12-1 loss to Mountain Vista on the chilly afternoon of PHOTOS BY JIM BENTON March 30.

Mountain Vista’s baseball team warmed up in the fifth inning of a chilly March 30 contsest against Arapahoe on the Warriors’ diamond.

Vista, ranked second in the March 28 CHSAANow. com Class 5A state rankings and the defending state champions, scored nine runs in the fifth inning in a 12-1 route over Arapahoe.

Mountain Vista remains undefeated at 7-0.

In the big inning, the Golden Eagles had four hits, coupled with three walks, a wild pitch and a Warriors’ error.

“Our bats came alive and we capitalized on a few mistakes,” said Golden Eagles Coach Ron Quintana. “It’s still early and we have a lot to work on and we still have some first-year varsity guys.

It’s a good group of guys and they play hard for each other.”

Mountain Vista collected eight hits in the five-inning affair and junior Zeke Borel went 3-for-4, scored twice, had three runs batted in and stole a base.

“I just wanted to come out and help my team,” said Borel. “They had a starter who threw hard and I just wanted to help my team out as much as possible.”

Senior Tyler Mejia, the Golden Eagles’ leading hitter, went 2-for-3, with three runs and had an RBI. Senior Anthoney Urbani was Vista’s starting pitcher and was on the mound all five innings. He gave up three hits, one run and fanned 10 batters.

“We are really starting to get it going and we starting to get it together,” said Borel. “We are starting to feel each other. I saw that feeling in thelast couple innings in our dugout, once we get rolling, we get going.

“It takes energy. We have to make sure we’re playing like it’s the state championship in every game.”

With the loss, Arapahoe fell to 1-3 for the season.

Easton Marks was the ringleader for the Warriors.

The senior went 2-for-2 and clubbed a solo home run to lead off the second inning.

Marks was also the starting Arapahoe pitcher and in four innings of work, he allowed four hits, three runs and struck out seven batters.

“Easton is a great player who commanded the zone well and is an offensive threat,” said Arapahoe

Jaguars squeak by Ponderosa Manning scores game-winning goal

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Rock Canyon girls soccer coach Mat Henbest was pleased despite the close score.

The Jaguars, ranked second in the March 28 CHSAANow.com state 5A soccer poll, beat Ponderosa, 2-1, in a March 31 Continental League game at Halftime Help Stadium.

“In the end it would have been fantastic to score four or five goals but facing a little bit of adversity is also a good challenge,” said Henbest. “Every game you are working different parts of the mental game.

I’m pleased with the win but the close games are good. Hopefully that kind of experience willbe good for us down the road.”

Sophomore Grace Rossner scored for Rock Canyon 15 minutes into the contest but Ponderosa’s Fallon Anderson scored on a 48-yard shot to tie the game five minutes later.

Senior Josie Manning got the game-winning goal for Rock Canyon with 15:53 left in the first half.

“I was really happy with the way we played,” said Henbest. “The other team stayed really compact and tried to make it difficult for us to break it down.

We still have some great opportunities but their keeper played well.

Henbest said Rock Canyon had some players that were in newer positions.

Ava Todd, who was played mid, did a nice job, Henbest said, adding that the entire back line was especially good.

Abby Schecter came out of the back line and the SEE JAGUARS, P25

Rock Canyon’s Ava Todd (9) tries to get around Ponderosa’s Julia Francis (4) during the March 31 game.

PHOTO BY JIM BENTON

Lone Tree Voice 25

April 7, 2022

C R O S SWO R D P U Z Z L E

Grace Rossner (7) of Rock Canyon launches a shot towards the Ponderosa goal during the March 31 game. Rossner scored the first goal of the game in Rock Canyon’s 2-1 vicPHOTO BY JIM BENTON tory.

JAGUARS FROM PAGE 24

girls that scored certainly came through, Henbest saied.

Henbest said Josie just came off the bench and, “stepped up right away.”

The win improved Rock Canyon’s record to 3-0.

“We hope we can be there near the end,” said Henbest. “This is a good group and a good team. We hope to have good luck continue

to go our way and be in the conversation at the end.”

Ponderosa dropped to 1-3 for the season but coach Jim Engels is encouraged.

“We played really well against Rock Canyon,” he said. “I have six seniors, one junior, six sophomores, and eight freshman on varsity. I am really proud of my team. The fact my team competes with these much bigger 5A Continental League teams is pretty impressive. Our game plan was to defend and win 1-0 on a set piece.

It almost worked.”

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26 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

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Registered Occupational Therapist Full-Time and part-time Registered Occupational Therapist. OTR must have, or be eligible for appropriate Colorado licensure. Provide Pre-12 intervention, assessment, direct & indirect services just east of Denver on I-70, Bennett, Strasburg Byers & Kiowa areas. Support from an experienced COTA is available.

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Lone Tree Voice 27

April 7, 2022 Help Wanted

Arcis Golf

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April 7, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

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Lone Tree Voice 29

April 7, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

Landscaping

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720-436-6158 Lawn/Garden Services

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•Drainage solutions- French drains, runoff water from different elevation solutions , gutter water runoff solutions, French drain replacement etc.

•Tree & shrub services- tree and shrub trimming, removal, planting new vegetation etc •Annual landscape maintenanceinstallation of river rock, mulch, or any other desired ground cover. We can remove & replace your old steel edging with new, rust proof, edging!

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CLASSIFIEDS

30 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022

COLORADO COMMUNIT Y MEDIA

Roofing/Gutters

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Roofing

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Lawn/Garden Services

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OUTDOOR SERVICES

DEADLINES CLASSIFIED LINE ADS: MONDAY, 5 P.M. SERVICE DIRECTORY: THURSDAY, 5 P.M. LEGALS: THURSDAY, 3 P.M.

Lone Tree Voice 31

April 7, 2022

Postmaster arrested on internet sex charge Jefferson County investigators arrested Chad Miller at Elizabeth Post Office STAFF REPORT

Postmaster Chad Miller, 45, was arrested on March 31 at the Elizabeth Post Office by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

LAWSUIT

FROM PAGE 23

TCHD, because such notice has not in fact been given.”

The counties’ court filing ap-

investigators on suspicion of two counts of Internet Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Sexual Exploitation of a Child, all felony charges, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The arrest was made by the sheriff’s Cheezo Unit/Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on internet sexual exploitation.

The investigation began in August 2021, when Miller allegedly initiated communication with a member of the Cheezo

Unit based on the belief that the investigator was a 13-year-old girl. Miller allegedly expressed a desire to have sex with the girl but then stopped communicating with the undercover investigator, never setting a date to meet.

Then last month, between March 9 and March 30, Miller again initiated communication with an investigator from the Cheezo Unit who was posing as a 13-year-old girl and disclosed that he was a postmaster, the news release said.

During the 2022 interactions, Miller continually engaged in detailed sexual communications with someone he believed was a juvenile, described the sexual acts he wanted to do to the girl, asked for “live” pictures so he could verify the girl was real and requested videos, according to the sheriff’s office.

The state courts database shows Miller’s next court session set for April 7 in Jefferson County.

peared to touch on that topic, saying: “While each of the county defendants have given notice of their statutory one-year notice of intent to leave TCHD, the withdrawal of all of the county defendants has not occurred yet and TCHD currently remains operational and an

affiliate member of PERA.” Tri-County’s filing notes that Arapahoe County pointed to the possibility of Tri-County continuing to exist in a different form.

“On December 20, 2021, Arapahoe County gave TCHD a oneyear notice of withdrawal, which

notice also provides that ‘Arapahoe County is planning to work with TCHD and the other counties to explore the option of continuing TCHD as a public health service provider, but as a different form of legal entity, after December 31, 2022,’” the filing said.

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PUBLIC NOTICES

Public Notices call Sheree 303.566.4088 Legals Metropolitan Districts Public Notice NOTICE OF CANCELATION OF ELECTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Park Meadows Metropolitan District, Douglas County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third day before the election, there were not more candidates for director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 3, 2022 is hereby canceled pursuant to section 1-13.5-501, C.R.S. The following candidates are hereby declared elected:

Gary W. Godden: 3 Year Term Until May 2025 Michelle Murphy: 3 Year Term Until May 2025 Martha K. Sippe: 3 Year Term Until May 2025 /s/ Sue Blair Designated Election Official Contact Person for the District: Sue Blair, Designated Election Official Community Resource Services 7995 E. Prentice Avenue, Suite 103E Greenwood Village, CO 80111 303.381.4960 (voice) 303. 381.4961 (fax) sblair@crsofcolorado.com Legal Notice No. 941824 First Publication: April 7, 2022 Last Publication: April 7, 2022 Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

legals@coloradocommunitymedia.com

and Lone Tree Voice

Bids and Settlements Public Notice INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) #008-22 SURREY RIDGE HORSE ARENA PROJECT The Douglas County Department of Open Space and Natural Resources, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests bids from responsible and qualified vendors/contractors for the provision of the purchase and/or installation/ construction of a horse arena near Surrey Ridge.

The successful bidder shall provide all materials, machinery, and labor necessary to complete this project. The Surrey Ridge Horse Arena doesn’t have a specifically designated address; however, the adjacent lot address is: 9980 Heather Drive, Castle Rock, Colorado 80108.

The IFB documents may be reviewed and/or printed from the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System website at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com.

IFB documents are not available for purchase from Douglas County Government and can only be accessed from the above-mentioned website.

While the IFB documents are available electronically, Douglas County cannot accept electronic bid responses.

Bid responses shall be submitted in a sealed envelope plainly marked “IFB No. 008-22, Surrey Ridge Horse Arena Project” and mailed or hand-carried to the address shown below prior to the due date and time. Electronic and/or faxed bid responses will not be accepted. Bids will be received until 3:00pm on Friday, April 22, 2022 by the Douglas County Finance Department, Purchasing Division, 100 Third Street, Suite 130, Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. Bids will not be considered which are received after the time stated, and any bids so received will be returned unopened.

to reject any and all bids, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in a said bid and furthermore, to award a contract for items herein, either in whole or in part, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the County to do so.

Additionally, we reserve the right to negotiate optional items/services with the successful bidder.

Please direct any questions concerning this IFB to Carolyn Riggs, Purchasing Supervisor, 303-6607434, criggs@douglas.co.us, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Legal Notice No. 941842 First Publication: April 7, 2022 Last Publication: April 7, 2022 Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

###

Douglas County Government reserves the right

Lone Tree Legals 4.7.22 * 1

32 Lone Tree Voice

April 7, 2022