Lone Tree Voice 091522 by Colorado Community Media

SEE HEALTH, P6

Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin talked about her road to recovering from mental-health struggles at a special event held in Castle Pines on Sept. 10. The event — titled “Unmasked” — was hosted by the City of Castle Pines and Mental Health Colorado.

‘Unmasked’ highlights mental health

At the Sept. 8 meeting of the Douglas County Homeless Initiative, Pastor Mike Polhemus of The Rock church in Castle Rock told the group he was hoping to get help outlining the details of a year-round church shelter network.

Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon was enthusiastic about the idea, noting the community has asked the county to partner with faith-based organizations on the shelter program.

“We were absolutely impacted by the compensation gap. We continue to lose employees that I have personally vetted and trained within my magnet model,” said Mindy Persichina, the prin-

At Lone Tree Elementary School, Persichina said teachers who left typically went to Cherry Creek schools. She said she knows some teachers

Olympian Missy Franklin shares story of highs and lows

Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin was the guest speaker at the special “Unmasked” event hosted by the City of Castle Pines and Mental Health Colorado on Sept. 10.

Douglas County discussesproposalshelter

Since the expanded shelter network is in the early discussion stages, its unclear which churches might participate, what the services would be in conjunction with the housing and what requirements would be in place for people participating in the program.

Council supports school measure

of what’s left. And that’s really the proposition,” Peterson said. “If we cease to be competitive, we just will no longer be able to make good on that promise.”According to data Kane presented, the school district’s average teacher pay from 2021-22 was $57,919, about $18,000 less than Cherry Creek’s average of $76,050. Littleton and Jeffco school districts also offered higher pay at $68,686 and $62,612 respectively.

cipal of Lone Tree Elementary School. Persichina was joined by Douglas County Superintendent Erin Kane, Douglas County Board of Education President Mike Peterson and Doug Humphreys, the principal of Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Lone Tree, to discuss the school district’s funding issues and ballot questions.This November, Douglas County School District will ask voters for a $60 million mill levy override and a $450 million bond to help raise staff compensation, build and expand schools, do capital maintenance, invest in student programming and more.“We want to be (the) best of the best, not best

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

PHOTO BY THELMA GRIMES

A publication of Week of September 15, 2022 DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADOFREE LoneTreeVoice.net VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 30INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24

The current winter shelter network only serves women and children, while also requiring them to travel to a new church each week that they use the shelter network. Last year, the winter network helped ﬁve households.

SEE SCHOOLS, P13 SEE SHELTERS, P10

“We want to have one (unit), where we can bring in one person and help them, but have 20 other churches in Douglas County that each take one, then we have a community in a sense,” Polhemus said. “What we realized is the major need is not shelter, it’s relationships. If we can solve the relationship issue, then we can solve the shelter issue.”

He said he envisions multiple churches making up the network with one or two families or individuals housed at each location to avoid having a large homeless community.

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County teachers are getting about $18,000 less than those working in Cherry Creek schools, resulting in a loss of teachers and recruitment difﬁculties, school ofﬁcials told Lone Tree City Council Sept. 6.

Douglas County is considering hiring a facilitator to ﬂesh out an idea to make the existing winter shelter network into a more expansive year-round program.

Teacher pay at core of $60M mill levy

The unmasked theme for the night was aimed at removing the stigma of mental health, encouraging more people to come out and get help when they are struggling. Throughout the evening, three women took turns on the microphone to talk about their struggles with mental health and declare that they are ofﬁcially “unmasked.”

One speaker talked about the shame she has suffered after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Another, who called herself Lexie, said in her teens she started feeling depressed and was struggling by the age of 13. However, she did not want

A court has dismissed Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties from a lawsuit that arose out of the impending breakup of Tri-County Health Department — a ruling that signals that the health agency, not the counties, may end up on the hook for an alleged $50 million penalty.Thepullout of Douglas County from Tri-County Health — and the domino effect it had on Adams and Arapahoe — has placed the counties on a path toward establishing their own individual health departments. The costs of Arapahoe and Adams pulling away from TriCounty could be in the millions.

In a major development in the case, the Adams County District Court on Sept. 2 decided to dismiss the three counties from the lawsuit but denied Tri-County Health’s request to throw out the lawsuit in general, leaving the door open to

• On Sept. 2, 2021, a Tri-County ofﬁcial contacted PERA asking who they could “engage ASAP to determine an estimate of the [cost] reserves requirement if TriCounty Health Department ceases to exist.” The Tri-County ofﬁcial stressed a 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 a company to prepare a report estimating the Tri-County disafﬁliation costs.

While the counties have argued they aren’t responsible for covering any money Tri-County may owe, PERA’s complaint points to an agreement Douglas County made that called that argument into question.According to the complaint, the following events, among others, led up to Douglas County’s agreement:

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

withdrawal,” the complaint cited.

Arapahoe County’s understanding is that the September 2021 agreement between Douglas County and Tri-County does not require Douglas County to pay part of the PERA penalty, Arapahoe County said in a statement. Through a spokesperson, Adams County declined to comment on that question.

The outside of the Tri-County Health Department’s administrative o ce in Greenwood Village. Several of the soon-to-be-dissolved department’s leadership sta are set to join Arapahoe County by the beginning of next year.

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The court “recognizes the inconsistencies between the IGA and the later stipulation,” the order says. But the court appeared not to address the question of whether the agreement requires Douglas County to pay, instead only ruling that the retirement association didn’t have the right to sue the counties in general.

“While TCHD certainly has an interest in enforcing the IGA, and PERA may certainly beneﬁt from that enforcement,” the retirement association is still not directly tied to the agreement, so it lacks standing — or a valid reason — to sue the counties, the court wrote.

the possibility Tri-County alone will bear the penalty.

Counties say contract doesn’t require payment

state troopers, and other types of public employees.

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 or penalties imposed by Colorado PERA.’”

As to why all three counties in general aren’t required by state law to pay Tri-County to pay the PERA fee, the court wrote that the

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 MembersColorado.ofPERA include public school teachers, many university and college employees, judges,

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

On the other hand, the court pointed to a lawsuit focused on the validity of Douglas County’s withdrawal and highlighted that the county argued it shouldn’t pay the

Breaking up from Tri-County is hard and expensive

FILE PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

“Indebt.the stipulation resolving the matter Douglas County stipulated that it agreed to pay its proportionate share of any PERA liability ‘if any is owed’ and if ‘any liabilities or debts are determined by a Court to be owed to PERA.’ But, Douglas County expressly denied any responsibility” for the liability, the court wrote in one of its Sept. 2 orders this year. The stipulation was entered into in February 2022, according to the court.

SEE TRI-COUNTY, P31

Court dismisses counties from lawsuit over split

But on top of those costs, the counties have been pushing back against a government body that says they owe a penalty because of Tri-County’s upcoming end.

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 Feb. 1 complaint in a lawsuit ﬁled by the retirement association said.

But it’s unclear whether the health agency could pay the full cost. The bank accounts and investment accounts tied to Tri-County have a combined balance of roughly $23 million, according to an Aug. 29 court ﬁling related to the health agency.“Allof the counties agree that the PERA liability is the responsibility of (Tri-County), the entity that joined and participated in PERA,” Douglas County said in a statement.

• 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

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

3September 15, 2022

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and convinced her of Primrose’s approach to learning.

Mandy and Mike Fawcett opened the 474th Primrose Academy in Sterling Ranch earlier this summer.

Primrose Sterling Ranch continues to hire teachers in an effort to open up more classroom spots, since the school can serve 172 students fully staffed.Though competition for educa-

Additionally, the school works with parents for potty-training and accomplishing other life milestones.

Primrose Academy opens in Sterling Ranch

Fawcett credits part of the demand to the popular Primrose Academy curriculum, which incorporates life skills and educational basics in small groups with the opportunity for children to choose how to learn. Some classes introduce Spanish or American Sign Language as well.

To serve 100 students

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

“It really boiled down to how prepared my girls were for kindergarten,” Fawcett said. “They knew how to act in a classroom, how to socialize with adults and kids, manners.”

tors is ﬁerce, Primrose helps train teachers to get their early childhood credentials, offers a week-long onboarding and uses a standardized curriculum across its schools, so teachers can focus on implementation.Fawcett, who has worked at other Primrose locations in a variety of positions, said she was excited to open her own location and share the Primrose experience with more families. Mentoring both teachers

“Primrose blends (child-directed and teacher-directed) philosophies together because we all learn differently,” Fawcett said. “We all need a little structure in our lives, but we like to make choices as well.”

Both of Fawcett’s daughters went through Primrose schools, which she said was critical to them being successful in school in later years

and students is the highlight of her days.“Ilove going into all of the classrooms,” she said. “Also, being able to support and guide our educators to help them set goals and reach those goals.”Currently, Primrose Sterling Ranch is offering full days for students from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays yearround. For more information, go sterling-ranch.www.primroseschools.com/schools/to

A new early childhood education center is serving around 100 students in the Sterling Ranch area since opening in July.

Mandy and Mike Fawcett opened the 474th Primrose Academy this summer at 8159 Piney Rivere, Littleton. It’s the ﬁrst two-story center in Colorado and features 11 classrooms for children from six weeks old to prekindergarten.TheSterlingRanch school is already at teaching capacity and running a waitlist thanks to high demand in the area.

“They need somebody who’s approachable that they can talk to, that can help them through what they’re dealing with. She’s that bridge,” he said.Gillepsie also said Buttercup helps him to learn about social conﬂicts and stressful situations going on in the school, which is information he can use to keep the students safer.

Meet Rocket, a therapy dog that works with CRPD school resource o cer Luke Godfrey to serve students at Mesa Middle School.

Both of the CRPD teams graduated from a 40-hour program called Paws & Stripes College at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce in Florida, which trains law enforcement therapy dog teams.

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

emotional or mental crises, Godfrey said.“What makes a dog so amazing is that the dog doesn’t have any kind of judgment. The dog doesn’t judge your situation; the dog just listens,” heGodfreysaid. said he has seen students who were upset or crying visibly calm down just from sitting with Rocket for a few minutes and petting him.Mesa Principal Jarod Nicholson said he used to work at Ponderosa High School, where he witnessed the positive impact of a therapy dog that worked with a social worker. Because of this experience, he is excited to have a therapy dog at Mesa.

who are upset, Gillespie said Buttercup de-escalates situations. He said his presence as a police ofﬁcer can add stress to scenarios in which a student needs an advocate instead.

The program started at Castle View High School in 2021 when the school introduced Buttercup.

SRO Luke Godfrey and Rocket also hold the Canine Good Citizen through the American Kennel Club and the Multi Discipline Therapy K-9 certiﬁcation through United K9s, according to the CRPD.

There’s a photo of a 1-year-old miniature husky in Chloe Simpson’s transparent phone case. But contrary to what one might expect, it’s not her dog.

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Mesa Middle School introduces therapy dog

According to Buttercup’s partner Scott Gillespie, she was the ﬁrst SRO therapy dog in Colorado.

“When I met with Ofﬁcer Godfrey, I gave him 100% support,” he said. “It just brings such a positive energy to the to the school and it’s incredible to see kids light up.”

At Mesa Middle School, the blackand-white canine is a celebrity, conﬁdant and friend. In addition to carrying around his photo, students look for him between classes to give him head scratches and belly rubs. In return, he helps them feel safe andRocket,happy.a therapy dog from the Castle Rock Police Department, is part of a program that pairs school resource ofﬁcers with therapy dogs to protect and serve students in the Douglas County School District. In August, Mesa became the second school in the district to have an SRO-therapy dog team.

“He really makes their days just a little bit better,” he said. “And I think, as a community, if we can all strive to make each other’s lives a little bit better, we’ll all improve as a whole.”

In Godfrey’s eyes, Rocket’s ability to cheer people up is something we could all learn from.

PHOTO BY NINA JOSS

Rocket helps students feel sense of safety and happiness

“When students pet her, they talk with me about all kinds of things. And so it ends up being an intelligence-gathering tool for me where I learn about problems before they happen,” he said.

And Simpson is not the only one toting around his image.

“The role of the school resource ofﬁcer is to protect and educate,” said Godfrey. “And Rocket really helps me to improve my mission by being so approachable, by being present.”Asatherapy dog, Rocket helps kids who are struggling with mental health, problems at home or other

According to Simpson, a love for Rocket is something that unites the student body.

In addition to helping students

“It’s where students can come together on one thing... That’s what we agree on, that’s one thing we can all agree on,” she said. “We all think he’s amazing.”

has going from suffering from the three Es – exhaustion, expensive and embarrassing – to believing in the three Ps – purpose, passion and positivity.Franklin ﬁnished the evening by taking questions and talking about the struggles she had after entering the spotlight on the world’s largest sports stage at age 17.

Now, Franklin said, strong family support and the community have helped her realize she is not alone.

PHOTOS BY THELMA GRIMES

Because of the early success, Franklin said she returned to the Rio Olympics in 2016 well known, with sponsors in place and a lot more pressure. That pressure turned into struggles, she

“As hard as it was to talk about it, it was worth it,” she said. “Going through my mental health journey has been about ﬁguring out who I am and not who everyone thinks I should be.”

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Franklin, with ﬁve gold medals in swimming, became famous in the 2012 Olympics when she was mostly unknown. She competed hard and became a U.S. legend.

HEALTH

explained. While her body was in great shape, Franklin said her spirit and mind were not cooperating.Franklin described a “devastating” ﬁnish in the 2016 games. She described tough moments as the media followed her asking what was wrong.“Iwent from being this 17-year-old that no one expected anything from to four years later having all these high expectations,” she said. “Then, I was this 21-year-old woman with 2 million people watching and trying to make them happy. But I was struggling.”Following the Olympics, Franklin said she was diagnosed with a stress and anxiety disorder, an eating disorder and depression. Over

As part of the annual event, Castle Pines Mayor Tracy Engerman also gave a special award to the Douglas County Community Foundation.Engerman said the foundation has committed to donating 80% of all 2022 grant funding to programs that prioritize mental health.

The theme of the special Mental Health Colorado fundraiser was “Unmasked” as the ﬁght continues to remove the stigma that often comes with admitting to a mental-health condition.

FROM PAGE

to admit it — she did not want to burden her family.

Denver resident, Nancy Alterman, said she and family members have suffered from depression and mental-health struggles for decades. In her official “unmasking,” Alterman said through family support, medication and finding other treatments, she continues to fight and work to get healthy. She said she

Live music was part of the “Unmasked” special event hosted in Castle Pines.

Mental Health Colorado CEO Vincent Atchity.

By the age of 17, Lexie said, she attempted suicide. Now, as an adult, Lexie said she is unmasking and hopes to help ﬁght against the stigma that comes with mental health.

the next few years, Franklin said she worked to address the issues, seeing a therapist regularly.

Hill said the taxpayer cost is still set to be about the same as it was when using Tri-County Health De-

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hire a company to conduct clinical services such as vaccines, family planning and sexually trasnmitted disease protection.

The department is also in the process of hiring its medical ofﬁcer. The deadline for applications is Sept. 15.

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Inspections underway

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Public Health Director Michael Hill said. “Rather than coming in and smacking them if we think they are doing something wrong.”

The Douglas County Health Department is nearing completion after setting up its environmental health services at the start of the month.These services include inspections of things like restaurants, septic tanks, tattoo parlors and child care centers.“Ourcommitment is to make this a friendly, facilitative relationship where we are helping them, training them, helping them do a good job,”

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7September 15, 2022

The department has hired nine inspectors for the county, leased cars for their travel to facilities and purchased iPads to aid in their work.Between these services and those already set up — vital statistics, disease surveillance and emergency preparedness — the department is about 85% complete. They will still work on setting up services for nutrition, tobacco education, maternal child education and some mental health supports.

Have you been stockpiling cans of latex paint, waiting for the next Douglas County Household Chemical Roundup? Good news – latex paint is water-based and safe to throw away, if prepared properly. If the paint is completely dry, simply remove the lid and throw the can away. If there is still wet paint in the can, mix in some dirt or cat litter to fully absorb it. Once it is dry, throw it away. Save yourself a trip to the Roundup (and the $25 contribution) if you have water-based paint.

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partment, at about $2.5 million. The whole operation will cost about $5 million, with the remainder set to be paid for by grants.

Health department o ers environmental health services

The health department plans to use a softer touch for most minor infractions, Hill said. Major health concerns will still be punished, he said.The department hopes to have a tool on its website that allows residents to ﬁle complaints and see health reports available soon.

PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER

In one video on his website, Wells encourages voters not to back third-party candidates, saying a vote for third-party candidates is “a vote for Jared Polis and the Democrats.” He appeared to be referencing Danielle Neuschwanger, the American Constitution Party’s gubernatorial nominee, who left the GOP after failing to make the primary ballot. She raised only $7,200 in August, and had less than $8,500 in Neuschwangercash. is expected to win

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SEE GANAHL, P9

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IF IT’S IN YOUR DUCTS, IT’S IN YOUR LUNGS

September 15, 20228 SINUS PROBLEMS? ALLERGIES? ASTHMA? DUST PROBLEM? HEADACHES? HIGH POWER BILLS?

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from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education.

While the group’s stated mission is to support Republican candidates, nearly all of Deep Colorado Wells’ $600,000 in spending last

We will provide the highest quality of work possible. Our professional sta will assure a high level of professionalism that cannot be matched in our industry. We guarantee our products and services.

The 2022 race for Colorado governor may boil down to who wants to spend more of their own money: Democratic Gov. Jared Polis or Steve Wells, a Weld County rancher and oil and gas booster who is now one of the state’s most proliﬁc Republican donors.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl

Polis gave his 2022 reelection campaign another $1.2 million in August, bringing his total so far this cycle to $7.1 million, according to a campaign ﬁnance report ﬁled Tuesday. He had $3.3 million in his campaign’s bank account to start September after spending $4.4 million, most of it on TV ads scheduled to run through Election Day.

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself.Inthis way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.TheSun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. It covers everything

how much he’ll spend to defeat Polis.“Ihonestly believe this is probably the most important election Colorado will ever see,” he said. “I look at the drugs, I look at the crime. I’m looking at the homelessness, I’m looking at the economy. These guys have made a mess out ofPoliseverything.”spokeswoman Amber Miller said the governor “is working hard to earn voters’ support, including getting his positive message out to all Coloradans about how he will protect our freedoms, ﬁght to cut costs and always do what’s right for Colorado.”

His ﬁrst TV ad is set to air starting today. Polis spent more than $23 million to win his ﬁrst term in 2018.Meanwhile,

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun.com.

University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl, Polis’ Republican opponent in November, brought in nearly $252,000 last month. She paid off $46,000 of a $250,000 loan she previously made to the campaign and had $188,000 heading into this month, putting her at a major cash disadvantage compared to her deep-pocketed opponent.ButWells appears to be helping Ganahl make up the difference. Wells Ranch, the company owned by Wells, put another $5 million into Deep Colorado Wells, the state-level super PAC he formed in June.This brings Wells Ranch’s total investment in the PAC to $6 million. And it makes the ranch the biggest donor to a state-level super PAC in Colorado so far this cycle.

Ganahl gets big funding boost

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

BY SANDRA FISH AND JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Republican rancher spends millions to support candidate for governor

Clean up and reduce wildﬁre risk

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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Renew your driver license or motor vehicle registration and more from the convenience of your smartphone, tablet, desktop or laptop. You can also renew vehicle registrations at MVExpress kiosks. Find information at DouglasDrives.com

homelessness.” The ads are slated to air Sept. 12 through Nov. 6. The super PAC has two websites, one that features pictures of the billboards and videos about Wells. Another, Had Enough Colorado, is headlined “It’s time for a change! Inﬂation, crime, drugs & deaths. Coloradans are feeling the pain and chaos under current ‘leadership.’”InJune, Wells donated $100,000 to Defend Colorado, a state-level super PAC that supported Ganahl in the Wellsprimary.Ranchdonated $100,000 in 2019 to a committee to recall Democratic Rep. Rochelle Galindo. The Greeley lawmaker resigned before she could be recalled over allegations that she was later acquitted of by a Wellsjury.hasalso donated $5,800 to GOP state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer’s campaign in the 8th Congressional District.

Winter readiness begins now

Please visit douglas.co.us and search Snow and Ice Removal as a reference guide to frequently asked questions about snow and ice removal in unincorporated areas of Douglas County.

Steve Wells, Republican donor

property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

‘I honestly believe this is probably the most important election Colorado will ever see.’

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September22

Wells, who says his family has been farming and ranching in Colorado since 1888, even promotes his efforts on his voicemail message. “Hi, this is Steve Wells,” said the message on the phone listed for the PAC. “After three and a half years of the Democratic leadership we have in the state of Colorado, if you still support that, please hang up. I don’t have time for that. Everyone else leave a message.”

GANAHLABOUTLETTERSTOTHE

EDITOR

Now is the time to clean up tree limbs, shrubs and brush from your property and reduce your wildfire risk. Dispose of them at the County’s slash-mulch site, 1400 Caprice Drive in Castle Rock. Open Saturdays-only from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. through October. For more information, visit douglas.co.us and search for Slash

9September 15, 2022 Visit douglas.co.us

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votes in November that would have otherwise gone to Ganahl.

Open House on Sept. is

Wells has partnered with Noble Energy, which was acquired by Chevron in 2021, to drill on his family’s tens of thousands of acres of land in Gill. He questioned the science behind climate change in a 2016 Christian Science Monitor article.Deep Colorado Wells spent $500,000 in August on radio ads opposing Polis and supporting Ganahl.Thesuper PAC spent more than $401,000 on anti-Polis billboards in July and August, and is scheduling TV ad time that’s billed as mentioning “inﬂation, drug abuse,

Douglas County students, in grades 9-12, have an opportunity to become involved as youth delegates at the 2022 Douglas County Youth Congress on Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Legacy Campus, formerly the Wildlife Experience. To complete your online registration or to learn more, visit douglas.co.us and search for Youth Congress

• Letters advocating for a political candidate should focus on that candidate’s qualiﬁcations for o ce. We cannot publish letters that contain unveriﬁed negative information about a candidate’s opponent. Letters advocating for or against a political candidate or ballot issue will not be published within 30 days of an election.

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 public meeting agendas, participate in-person or remotely, or watch select meetings via live stream, visit douglas.co.us and search for Business Meetings / Public Hearings.

Youth Congress seeks delegates

Fire, floods and severe winter weather. Are you ready should a local emergency occur? For detailed information visit, ready.gov

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You’re invited to learn about plans to improve Lincoln Avenue through the I-25 interchange. Join an open house virtually or in-person at the Lone Tree Arts Center on Thursday, Sept. 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. AdvancingLincolnAvenue.com

NationalMonthPreparedness

What’s happening with your County government?

Hoﬀman, DO Amanda Judd, NP Call 303-403-6850 or visit sclhealth.org/highlandsranch to conveniently schedule an appointment

September 15, 202210 BusinessCenterDr. St.QuebecS. S.QuebecSt. 8671 S. Quebec St. 7 We oﬀer a full range of services: • Annual Well Visits • Well Child Visits • Family and Internal Medicine • Management of Chronic Conditions • Well Woman Check-Ups Virtual Visits Available Healthcare for the Whole FamilySCLHealthMedicalGroup – Highlands Ranch 8671 S. Quebec St. Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 • 303-403-6850 We accept most major medical insurance plans, including Medicare & Medicare Supplemental Plans. Meet ProvidersOur

“This is very early and nothing has been decided, it’s really just a response to your comments to work with the faith-based community and I think that’s going to go

“We certainly don’t want to be attracting homeless people to Castle Rock and certainly not to The Meadows, where I live and many children play,” one man said. “Is any of (the funding) available for the increased need for hiring and equipping ﬁrst responders, as increased issues and crime will come with this initiative?”

“I think there’s a misunderstanding that The Rock is going to have a homeless community there and we absolutely are not and we do not want to have that because that creates the problem of bringing people in, but if we can have one, I think we can get them back on their feet,”

“The winter shelter network has had a lot of great success in this area,” Laydon told the audience at the meeting.

No decisions were made about the shelter network, though the initiative indicated it would begin looking for a facilitator to head the work. The next meeting for the Douglas Couny Homeless Initiative is Oct. 13.

Polhemus reiterated that the plan would spread the shelters out, which he said would address a lot of the concerns.

Nicole

However, public commenters at the meeting were less supportive of the plan, voicing concerns about crime and drugs. Commenters also raised many questions about what kind of services would be available in conjunction with the housing, such as mental health care or sub-

COURTESY OF SALVATION ARMY

Pallet shelters at Aurora Safe Outdoor Space help provide temporary housing and resources to homeless people.

11September 15, 2022 DEN VER DISPATCH DISPATCH DEN VER Since 1926 TANDARD BLADESBRIGHTON SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903 75c ENTINEL EXPRESSSCOMMERCE CITY 50c PRESSFORT LUPTON SE R VIN G THE C O MMU N T Y SINC E 1 90 6 Jeffco COURIER C A N Y O N www.canyoncourier.comest.1958 VisitacrossReachingColoradoCommunityMedia.comYourLocalNewsSourceover311,000localreadersColorado’sFrontRangeusonlineandSUBSCRIBETODAY!

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LOCAL

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Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Voice. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

AUDREY BROOKS Business abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.comManager

Nearly eight years ago, we moved our family from Arizona to Denver. At the time of our move, I was at a high point in my career. With two adopted daughters and a new baby boy, I really was happy. But my husband’s career was going nowhere in Tucson. My young daughter was not getting the help she needed in the Arizona education system.Wehad to move.

Soon, I started believing I really was not as good as I thought. I started down a dark road that led to some thinking that even today is hard to admit to.

I had family members, especially my mom, telling me I did not sound like myself, asking if there was something wrong. I often replied, “I am ﬁne.”

LINDA SHAPLEY lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.comPublisher

My mom even drove from New Mexico to Denver one weekend because, in her words, I “did not sound right.”

I remember the fear of the unknown but believed I had built a good career and reputation in Arizona and was optimistic it would be no problem to bring that talent to Colorado. However, not everything goes as planned. I struggled to get my foot in the door in the Denver media market. Some editors/publishers told me I was overqualiﬁed. Some didn’t even give me a call back. I did not know anyone here.

Thelma Grimes

Mailing Address: 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110

A publication of

Web: LoneTreeVoice.net

With September comes the end of the 3rd Quarter for the businesses who operate on calendar year, beginning in January and closing the books in December. Depending on the industry and the organization, many times it comes down to the 4th Quarter, just like a football game. Although in football there is a chance for overtime, in business, when the year ends, the year ends.

Many of my family, friends and co-workers know me as being outgoing, happy, friendly and a strong, driven person. However, that has not always been the case. You see, there were several dark years in my life that I have only started to admit to over the last year.

Thelma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

Marketing eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.comConsultant

recently went to a beneﬁt in Castle Pines hosted by the city and Mental Health Colorado. The event had a special theme/title –“Unmasked.” Throughout the night, people stood up and talked about their recovery from attempted suicide, their ﬁght to beat depression and the shame society makes us feel when we are diagnosed with conditions such as bipolar disorder.

As people come back from summer vacations, September is usually a strong month for planning and preparing for the things we can do that can have an immediate impact on how we finish the year. And more importantly, how we are all planning for 2023. This is the time to plan and prepare, with most budget decisions and commit-

ments happening before Oct. 31. For some, that budget deadline date is the scariest part of Halloween.Tomake the most of the upcoming season, the first thing we need to do is to make sure we have executed against all the planning we did for 2022. Did we do what we said we would do when we said we would do it? Next, we should evaluate where we are and what we can build upon tactically to finish the year as strong as possible. An increase in sales behaviors, creativity in marketing, leveraging existing relationships and referral sources, and maybe an amplification of the social media sources that drive our business.Newproducts, services, or solutions will not be brought to market within three months — that is aligned with more long-term thinking. So, the best thing we can do is focus on what we can do in the short run that will have the greatest impact on our finish, while positioning us for success in the new year.Ina recent conversation with the

Making the most of the upcoming season

ERIN FRANKS

SEE NORTON, P13

Eventually, I opted to just deal with the dark thoughts and pretend to the outside world.

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.comManager

ERIN ADDENBROOKE

That meant several hours a day of being alone with my dark thoughts. I believed I had not lived up to expectations, especially the ones that I had set for myself. I believed I was a failure in my career, at home and in life. I started believing the world would be ﬁne without me.

TAYLER SHAW Community tshaw@coloradocommunitymedia.comEditor

I started relying on my 2-year-old son to serve as my only source of human interaction during the day. At night, I went to bed and slept. Eventually, I put him in preschool early because I knew what I was doing was not healthy for him.

FROMEDITORTHE

Olympic champion Missy Franklin was the featured speaker. In listening to Missy talk about her battle with mental health, all I kept thinking was, “I was there too.” I am betting there are a lot of people out there who can say the same thing.

Phone: 303-566-4100

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To all of you out there who struggle with what I call “dark thoughts” – you are not alone. Until we as a society truly make it OK to “unmask” and admit that mental health is not something to be ashamed – only then will we, as a society, be able to help make true changes and support those who are afraid to say they need help.

Over the years, doctors would throw medications at me. None of them worked. In fact, they usually made me worse.

I have been there

Call ﬁrst: 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124

Lone Tree Voice

he summer season is coming to an end, with many of us looking forward to fall. It’s been a hot summer and it will be nice to get some cool air, turning of leaves, and just a change of pace. For some of us we get locked into the summer doldrums, especially in those severely hot days and nights. And yet for others, being outdoors and in the sunshine bring us energy.

A legal newspaper of general circulation in Lone Tree, Colorado, the Voice is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124.

September 15, 202212 12-Opinion

For this column, I would like to focus on the changing of the seasons for businesses and salespeople, although most of what I am about to share could be relevant to almost everyone.

Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Today, I credit my children for keeping from doing something irreversible because no matter how much I thought I was a failure in life – I knew these people relied on me.

My days started being ﬁlled with lying on the couch. I resented my husband for bringing me here. He was thriving and I was not going anywhere.

WORDSWINNING

Michael Norton

NORTON

nations, quiet quitters who stay but do the bare minimum, supply chain issues, and just the chaos, confusion and stress happening all around us. And one way to make the most of the upcoming season is to energize and motivate ourselves and our teams in such a way where we all can win and feel good about what we are accomplishing together.

energized to make the most of the upcoming season? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@ gmail.com, and when we can finish as strong as possible while setting ourselves up for success in 2023, it really will be a better than good year.

In addition to teachers, the district is also struggling to competitively pay support staff as well, such as custodians, bus drivers and educational assistants, resulting in “a huge amount of vacancies,” Kane said.

Mike Anderson said there’s a challenge in terms of getting the word out to the public in an understandable way.

Taxpayer impact of ballot initiatives

SCHOOLS

“I have six positions open,” Humphreys said, explaining a focus of the school is on mental health support and there is a need for educational assistants. “I think more hands and more adults helping kids and coaching in the right directions can make the biggest difference for us as we learn and grow into adulthood.”

Competitive compensation and a shortage of teachers are big challenges facing the whole school district, Kane explained.

“It’s so important in growing that community that we have the type of teachers that we all want, and that requires money. So you made the case, and I will share the word,” said Councilmember WynneCouncilmemberShaw.

“Our existing bond payment is about to step down. The new bond payment would ﬁll in, so that taxpayers would not see a change to their taxes because of that bond,” KaneAccordingsaid.

what they’d like to do for their kids or their quality of life.”

Mayor Jackie Millet thanked the presenters for their leadership on

A $60 million mill levy override has an impact of $1 per week, per $100,000 of assessed home value for residential taxpayers, Kane said. The $60 million is a ﬁxed dollar amount, so it will not go up when assessed values go up, she said.

When people look where to locate their businesses or select their homes, they often look at the quality of the school district, said Councilmember Marissa Harmon.

13September 15, 2022 Name: Untitled 995 copy copy copy co1; Depth: 8 in; Ad Number: -; Customer Name: OBITIn Loving Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. Memory obituaries@coloradocommunitymedia.com303-566-4100SelfplacementavailableonlineatLoneTreeVoice.net

FROM PAGE 12

Given these challenges facing the district, Kane said staff recommended two ballot initiatives — the mill levy override and bond.

the issue, which she said is critically important. Children are the most important natural resource and people must invest in them, she“Wesaid.recognize that Lone Tree, the ability for us to attract and retain the businesses, the jobs that we want to see in our community, that we must have a strong school system to support that,” Millet said. “I think we want to be resources to both of our schools and to our school district, and we consider you guys very strong partners.”Thoseinterested in learning more about the ballot initiatives can visit: bit.ly/DCSDfunds.

possible. Small daily rewards and recognition that cost the company little, but created a fun yet daily competitive environment that are driving greater results. Then, build upon that with weekly and monthly larger stretch goals and opportunities to win. Not a winner-takes-all approach, but making it so that if everyone exceeds their own personal goals by a certain percentage, everyone had the chance to win. For many organizations, the grind has been especially difficult with labor shortages, resig-

“I will support you and I will continue to extend my support to my village of people,” Harmon said. “We know that RidgeGate is going to grow quite fast, and I think that this will be really important — that we can offer a good salary pay for our teachers so that we really do offer the best of the best.”

“As an industry, we’re seeing fewer and fewer teacher applicants,” Kane said. “When you are the lowest paying district in the metro area, that means that we are being even more impacted by the teacher shortage than perhaps other areas that can afford to pay their teachers more.”

How is the end of the year looking for you personally or professionally? Did you start strong and are looking to finish stronger? Or do you need to get creative and

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

got a salary increase of $13,000 to $18,000.“I’vehad staff turn away positions this current school year due to a lack of a competitive pay, and I have two positions still continuously sitting out there, trying to get applicants,” Persichina said. “My whole hope for this mill is to not only retain our fabulous teachers in Douglas County, but to continue to recruit the best of the best.”When Humphreys was hired as principal at Eagle Ridge Elementary about 14 years ago, he was interviewing about 300 applicants per position, he said. This year, he’s interviewing two applicants, and he has lost some great candidates, because of the pay.

Councilmember Cathie Frazzini said sometimes getting into people’s homes, such as through house parties, can be the best way to get people to listen.

Lone Tree council members voice support

The district has about 111 buildings it has to maintain, which costs about $35 million a year in capital funding, Kane said.

District challenges

Frazzini said there are some people who are against taxation of any kind, regardless of what it’s for.“You’ve done a really nice job here of trying to get a message out that might be able to bridge that, and certainly, we stand ready to help in any way that we can,” Frazzini said.

chief revenue officer of a technology company, we kicked around the concepts and tactical approaches that their sales team was pursuing. And the idea was not to have the team grind it out, stressing themselves to the max, and getting frustrated. No, the idea was to make the push to finish the year strong as positive, fun, engaging and motivating as

The Douglas County School District has 89 schools and serves about 64,000 students, Kane said. It has about 8,600 employees, and 75% of them live in Douglas County, she said.

“Please be specific with the different demographics,” Anderson said. “Certainly, don’t forget our senior citizens, who are very much impacted by inflation and fixed income who have sympathy for people that don’t have money to do

“In addition, we need new schools in the communities that are really exploding, and I know RidgeGate is one of them,” Kane said, referring to Lone Tree’s RidgeGate East development.

to the school district’s presentation, if the bond does not pass, “taxes would decrease slightly.”

FROM PAGE 1

“So a taxpayer with a $500,000 home would be impacted $5 a week, or $255 a year,” she said. “The more homeowners that $60 million is spread over, the less the impact is on any single homeowner.”Ifitpasses, teachers and support staff, such as custodians and educational assistants, will receive an average of a 9% increase in salary, Kane said. Other staff, such as human resources professionals and principals, would receive a 6% increase.The$450 million bond would have a zero net impact, Kane said.

the cancer was back in about 2016, and around 2019, it had worsened and was in her spine. By November 2021, it started to change drastically and her doctor told her she needed to start injectable chemotherapy treatment.“Shestarted to feel better with some of the symptoms, and then in February, it just didn’t seem like it was responding anymore. And that’s when her doctor was like, you know, I think that you should go into hospice,” Barr said.

Karen Keeran, a death doula based in Golden, at her home o ce on Aug 24.

Vanessa Johnston, a death doula of ﬁve years, with her dog at her home in Highlands Ranch on Aug 25.

Assembling this plan, which Johnston calls vigil planning, is part of her job as a death doula, a versatile and evolving role.

“Part of the problem of not being willing and able to talk about something scary, like death, is it just promotes more fear and anxiety. And I really wanted to dismantle that, if I could,” she said.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

SEE DEATH DOULA, P15 LOCAL LIFE

Aboutcontinued.10years ago, Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer, Barr said. She got a mastectomy and understood that the surgery was curative for her at the time, and she

Smith had a tense relationship with a lot of her family members, and her parents are elderly and didn’t really understand what was happening, Barr said. Smith relied on her friend network, including Barr.Around this time, Barr was reading a ﬁctional book, “The Book of Two Ways,” and through reading, she learned about the concept of death doulas. Her curiosity piqued, and she began Googling death doulas in Colorado to potentially help Smith come to terms with what was happening, as Smith initially was hesitant to acknowledge or accept she was dying, Barr explained.

ultimateing.dy-are“My

“She was very warm and welcoming. She valued having meaningful relationships with people,” Barr said, her voice ﬁlled with emotion. “She had this beautiful laugh, beautiful eyes.”

September 15, 202214

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Rose Barr, a 45-year-old veterinarian at Tender Touch Animal Hospital, met Smith in 2010 through work, and the two became close friends and eventually like family to one another.

“She was the one that you could turn to every single time, and she’d be able to do what we needed to do,” Barr

Originally, around February, Smith began working with a different death doula, but after that person had a family emergency, Smith was referred to Johnston in April.

COURTESY OF CRISPIN SARGENT

In the ﬁve years since starting her business, Denver EOL Doula, with EOL standing for “end of life,” she has had about 15 private clients and serves people all throughout the metro Denver area.

Crispin Sargent, an a liate member of the Colorado End-of-Life Collaborative.

A veterinary technician of about 20 years, Smith was great at her job — especially when it came to dealing with naughty cats, Barr said.

“I tell my clients, I can’t take away the sorrow and the sadness, but maybe with more knowledge, we can focus less on fear and anxiety and more on love and meaning,” she continued.

“There are a lot of different names for what I do,” Johnston said, explaining other names include end-of-life doula, death midwife, exit coach and death companion. “The simplest way I can say it is that I provide emotional, spiritual and informational support for people at the end of life, and for their loved ones around them.”

how she’d like to die.

Death doulas help clients at end of life

A warm and welcome friend

putwas on Smithhormones.andtionsmedica-oraltotrycontrolfoundout

At that point, Smith stopped getting chemotherapy and she began hospice, which was done at Barr’s

One of her recent clients was Michelle Smith, a 52-year-old veterinary technician and beloved friend who passed away on June 4.

lthough she’s healthy, hasJohnstonVanessaalreadyaplanfor

Although Smith was told to go into hospice around February, afterward, Smith’s doctor said chemotherapy might actually be working, and Smith continued getting treatment. However, on May 24, Smith collapsed in a parking lot as she was headed to an appointment.

goal is to help people have an empowered ending … to have a peaceful ending, whatever that looks like for them,” she said.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

Talking about death is hard, she said, but knowledge is power. When she works with clients, she aims to help them prepare for what’s to come and design an ending that best ﬁts with the rest of their life, rather than experiencing a “default panic mode” about death.

She’ll be close to the outdoors, able to see the trees she loves. The smell of Nag Champa incense will ﬁll the air, and a Spotify playlist she’s created will be playing. Her friends and family will visit, writing down funny stories or memories to

As a death doula, Johnston typically works with people who are in hospice, and she’s usually contacted by the child of the person dying, sheShesaid.offers a variety of services including offering information about the dying process, addressing worries and issues, providing emotional support and planning and helping implement the atmosphere the client would like to have as they

“What I was hoping to get out of it was just somebody who had experience with death that could help us in a way that wasn’t just, ‘Get your affairs in order,’” Barr said. “Somebody that could just listen to her, talk to her in her own home.”

She began connecting with other doulas in the Denver area, and in 2020, they decided to form the Colorado End-of-Life Collaborative, a nonproﬁt membership organization. She explained it helped create a support network for the doulas and get the word out about their profession.“Weﬁgured that our voices together would be louder than our voices separately, so that was the impetus for just, let’s get together and cultivate a community,” she said. “We want to provide a community not just for the providers who are doing this work, but for people who need these services.”

Johnston also helped get a lawyer and a notary to visit Smith and Barr to complete Smith’s will, something Barr said they were panicked about beforehand.

home.“And hospice, I kind of always thought they would just be there all the time, and that’s not how it works,” Barr said, explaining the nurse came over about three times and the chaplain and social worker each checked in once. “And so just having another support system was huge.”Barr said it was valuable to have Johnston around, who had been through the process before and would often reassure everyone that they were doing a great job. She said Johnston offered emotional support to people, often explaining what was happening to visitors and helping remove some fear about the situation.

SEE DEATH DOULA, P31

or because they had no family, or where the court made a determination that a disinterested third party was needed to serve in the role of conservator,” she said.

The following year, Johnston established her business, which she said was a complicated process. Part of the difﬁculty was convincing people that her services were valuable and something everyone would beneﬁt from.

“We don’t know when we’re going to pass unless we’ve been given that kind of diagnosis. So for me, it was really powerful and … made me feel strong about it,” Wagoner said. “It’s just a very comforting feeling, and empowering yourself to be able to express what you really want, because to family members sometimes, you can’t express that.”

“If you try and do all of that at the deathbed, your brain isn’t functioning, nothing is functioning, nothing is in place, and you don’t have that opportunity,” she said.

Prioritizing education

A network of support

Now,on.there are more than 35 afﬁliate members across Colorado, and the number is growing, she said.

A main focus for Keeran, she said, is targeting education efforts toward older generations, communicating the value of putting together an end-of-life plan and exploring topics of pain, caregiving and medical aid in dying. She also helps people learn about the variety of body disposition options available to people in Colorado, such as water cremation.

Earlier this year, she began working with her friend, Karen Keeran, who recently became a death doula. Together, they began discussing Sargent’s wishes, such as having a calm and quiet environment when she is close to passing.

“And so I said, ‘I’m happy to do that. I have no medical experience whatsoever, but if he’s just looking for a companion, I can do that,’” Johnston said.

15September 15, 2022

While Keeran was completing her training last year, she needed people to practice her skills with, Wagoner said. Wagoner volunteered, and they did the “best three months” course.

One afﬁliate member is Crispin Sargent, a certiﬁed grief yoga instructor who worked for 30 years as a geriatric care manager, offering services such as advance care

While caring for the man, she heard about a book called “Caring for the Dying: The Doula Approach to a Meaningful Death.” Through reading, she learned “death doula” was the term for a person who serves as a compassionate companion to someone at the end of life.

Becoming a death doula

“I think that it’s a great thing to help you on that part of the journey, to have a death doula,” Barr said. “I think that it can help with all of the feelings and fears and emotions.”

Johnston also helped Smith’s family and friends navigate the ﬁnal days, encouraging people to talk about what was happening and to share happy memories of Smith.

She has since begun a new company, Chun Hwa LLC, which focuses on offering yoga and grief counseling, she said. However, as an afﬁliate member of the nonprofit, she still offers services related to advance care planning and the “business of death,” as she calls it.

Choosing to become a death doula was a spiritual type of decision for Keeran.In2020, a year before she retired from her career in business, Keeran was meditating and asked the universe what she should do next. She said she woke up the next morning and it was like a light switch had been turned on — she should become a death doula.

“When she introduced it to me, what she was doing, it was really interesting. I was kind of surprised, but yet, at the same time, I was like, wow, that’s a really unique business and a unique way to help people,” Wagoner said.

PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW

Michelle Smith at Niagara Falls on her birthday, May 12, 2022. Going to Niagara Falls was on Smith’s bucket list, her friend Rose Barr said.

“It’s that community that says, nobody can do this work alone,” Sargent said about the nonproﬁt, explaining members of the collaborative can call on one another for assistance. “All of the members of that group have a specialty, have a passion.”Deathis a life experience, she said, and she knows from personal experience the value of planning and preparing for death before a person is close to it or is in crisis.

With this goal of educating and helping others, Keeran launched her business, Golden Heart Transition, this spring. She offers a range of services including grief support, doula services, end-of-life planning and coaching using the “best three months” model developed by the Conscious Dying Institute.

“And I felt like I had really helped him and his wife just go through that last milestone in a way that honored his story. And I thought, ‘Well gosh, I really want to continue to do this if I can,’” she said.

“You want to do all of your planning at a time where there can be stories that are told,” she said, explaining planning ahead of time allows for more consideration of options and for a person’s loved ones to understand the plan as well.

“I have a very signiﬁcant level of gratitude to her because she knows that I can be a different kind of challenge because I know too much,” Sargent said, explaining she looks at situations from every angle. “She keeps me on track.”

DEATH DOULA

Before entering the death doula profession, Johnston worked as a high school English teacher.

Although Sargent had previously done the legal parts of planning and preparing for her death, she said she hadn’t thought about the actual time of death and the type of environment she would like.

Johnston decided to pursue training with the International End of Life Doula Association, which she completed in the summer of 2017. She began volunteering in hospice and applied her new skills towards helping care for the man, who passed in October 2017.

“I feel like Vanessa gave us a lot more support than hospice was able to, and even if it was just talking and checking on us and trying to help facilitate things with visitors,” BarrBarrsaid.describes death doulas as wonderful people who can guide others through the dying process, whether it be navigating the paperwork, the emotional part or the physical part. She said she’s considering hiring a death doula again to help her get her own affairs in order before this year is over.

Originally, Johnston said the idea was to only have a directory of doulas in the nonproﬁt, but then the members saw there was a need to also have a network of other providers, called afﬁliate members, such as people working in funeral homes, grief counselors, notaries and so

She had learned about death doulas a few years ago from a friend, she said. Following her retirement in 2021, she began her six-month training with the Conscious Dying Institute, as well as began training to become a certiﬁed nurse aide. In February 2022, she also completed training through the Conscious Dying Institute as a conscious dying educator.“Knowledge and information, I’m a big believer in, reduces fear,” she said. “I want to be able to bring that planning to the fore and have that in place before we reach (the) end of

One of her ﬁrst clients was her friend, Maxine Wagoner, an owner of a yoga studio in Golden that Keeran is a member of. Wagoner said she had never heard of a death doula until Keeran approached her.

“You have to put yourself in a mindset of, you have three months left to live. And then, in that threemonth time, what practically do you want to accomplish?” Wagoner said. “And it was good to be able to do it without actually being in that situation.”Aspartof the experience, Keeran gave Wagoner a map to write down what Wagoner’s wishes were so her family would know, helping alleviate some of the stress her family would experience following her death.

Having a death doula helped get Smith to a point where she could talk about her death and share her wishes with others, Barr said.

In 2015, she was looking for a different career outside of teaching, and a friend asked if she would be interested in serving as an assistant to a man who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a progressive nervous system disease.

FROM PAGE 14

Early in the morning on June 4, Smith passed away in Barr’s home. Upon her passing, Barr asked Johnston to check in with Smith’s parents, as she didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to do so. Johnston also came to Smith’s celebration of life, held at Hudson Gardens.

SAMPLERSONYA’S

Wind concert

Ranch. Speaker: Jim SeeHRHSsuggestedAFinalSociety,DenverpresidentBarnard,oftheSpaceon“TheFrontier.”$3donationisfornon-members.thehrhs.org.

Cherry Creek Chorale

Curious Theatre’s new production is “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” by Will Arbery, who has had several notable productions off-Broadway, but not previously in Denver. Regional premiere, directed by Kent Thompson. Through Oct. 15 at Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St., Denver. See curioustheatre.org, 303-623-0524.

‘Xanadu’ on stage

Space history

Denver Center

CORE New Art Space, 6501 W.

“Turquoise Shutters at Giverny Gardens,” an oil painting by Ivy Delon, is part of the “Far Away Places” exhibit at Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center. COURTESY PHOTO

Lakewood exhibit

Gardens sale

Denver Art Museum

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Cuban mambo

Depot Art Gallery

Newman Center at the University of Denver presents Orquestra Akokan at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3. Cuban mambo. Tickets: newmancenterpresents.com. 303-871-7720. Plan ahead: Pilobolus Dance Company will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1415.

Greenwood Village art

Highlands Ranch Historical Society will meet 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Southridge Recreation Center, 4800 MacArthur Blvd., Highlands

Cherry Creek Chorale presents its 43rd season at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave., Cherry Hills Village, starting Oct 14-15 with guests, Littleton-based Young Voices of Colorado. See cherrycreekchorale.org.

Colorado Wind Ensemble will perform music from its 1980s years at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at King Center at Auraria, 777 Lawrence Way (enter parking garage at 7th and Lawrence). Tickets $25 adults; $20 seniors and military; $10 students; free ages 5 and younger. See concerts.coloradowindensemble.org/

Colfax Ave., Lakewood exhibits work by Danid Karim and Susie Biehl through Oct. 2. Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. See coreartspace.com.

Denver Art Museum presents

Denver Center Theatre Company begins the season with “The Chinese Lady” by Lloyd Suh through Oct. 16, followed by Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” through Nov. 6. See denvercenter. org, 303-893-6030.

Curious Theatre

tanton Gallery at Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St. in downtown Littleton, hosts the latest Littleton Fine Arts Guild exhibit, “Faraway Places” through Nov. 13. The gallery is open during box ofﬁ ce hours, Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and during performances. All work is for sale — and could make a grand holiday gift! One can pay at the box ofﬁ ce and reserve a painting. Littleton photographer Andy Marquez was the juror.

“Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks” from Oct. 16 through Jan. 22. The show focuses on 15th17th century Flemish artworks: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque paintings. From the Belgiumbased Phoebus Foundation. More

Gallery hosts ‘Far Away Places’ exhibit

“Art on the Green” is a free all-Colorado art fair Sept. 17-18, next to Curtis Center for the Arts, 2349 E. Orchard Road, Greenwood Village. More than 80 artists, food trucks, live music.

Town Hall Arts Center at 2450 W. Main St. in downtown Littleton is staging “Xanadu” from Sept. 16 through Oct. 16. 303-794-2787, ext. 5, or townhallartscenter.org.

The annual Fall Plant and Bulb Sale at Denver Botanic Gardens, York Street, will be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free admission to the sale and the Gardens, but advanced reservation is required. See botanicgardens.org. Members receive 10% off.

“Side by Side” is a new exhibit at the Depot Art Gallery, 2069 W. Powers Ave., Littleton. Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. See depotartgallery.org.

Aurora Denver Concert Band: An Epic 55th Season @ 1pm / $22 Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street, Lone Tree. Info@ DenverConcertBand.org Newsies, Jr. @ 3pm / $450 Sep 26th - Jan 21st Valor Center, 3775 Grace Blvd, Orchestra Room, Highlands Ranch. 303-471-3000 Theater: Movie Musicals (8-13yrs) @ Sep10:30pm27th- Dec 6th PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker Ladies Night @ 5pm / $5 Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora The Avalanches @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood DJ Rockstar Aaron: Forbidden Bingo at 'Bout Time Pub & Grub @ 7pm Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan @BAYNK7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood The best place to promote your events online and in print. Visit us @ https://littletonindependent.net/calendar powered by FeaturedFeaturedFeatured FeaturedFeaturedFeatured FeaturedFeatured FeaturedFeatured

Ibibio Sound Machine @ 7pm

@Project7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S

Stillhouse Junkies @ 3pm

Bailey Zimmerman @ 3:30pm

Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre, 6350 Green‐wood Plaza Blvd., Englewood

Legacy Point Elementary, 12736 Red Rosa Cir, Parker. 515-708-0433

Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St, Lone Tree Terror Jr @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Megan Leigh Music: Eli Lev with Megan Leigh at Blue Spruce Brewing Co. @ 5pm Blue Spruce Brewing Company, 4151 E County Line Rd, Centennial

Englewood Felices Fiestas

Sep 22nd - May 26th

6 Million Dollar Band @ 6:30pm

Wild Goose Saloon, Parker

Gerald Albright @ 7pm

Sep 24th - Sep 30th 9180 Swan River Avenue, Littleton Kids Cooking: Apple & Pumpkin Patch Treats (6-12yrs) @ 2pm PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker

Corey Kent @ 5pm

Cripple Creek Fall Colors Casino @ 1pm

Legacy Point Elementary @ 2:30pm / $667

Sat 9/24

Thu 9/22

Fri 9/23

La Fe Nortena @ 7:30pm Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora

Prairie Sky Park, 9381 Crossington Way, Lone Tree

Sun ThuWedTueMon9/259/269/279/289/29 Billy

Ibibio sound machine @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Greenwood Village

Night Ranger @ 6:30pm

Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Greenwood Village

Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, Englewood

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

conjunto azabache @ 7:30pm Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora Cobham's Crosswinds Broadway, Patrias 2430 South Havana, Aurora cimarron 2430 S Havana St,

Drunken Hearts @ Lone Tree @CraftoberFest3pm

@ 10am / Free Stampede,

Parker Arts, Culture & Events Cen‐ter, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker

Farm House Restaurant at Breck‐enridge Brewery, 2990 Brewery Ln, Littleton

@ 10am Stampede,

Dustin Lynch @ 3:30pm

Nate Smith Country @ 2:30pm

Miles 4 Madison 5K & 1K @ 8am / $10-$25

17September 15, 2022 powered by

Conjunto

Jacob Larson Band Funk & Soul @ 5pm Private Event, Littleton

rehearsals (they were on Wednesday nights last year), a holiday concert and a couple of seasonal performances happened first, then the joy of outdoor summer concerts drew even more interest as the Highlands Ranch community grew and matured.

go-round

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Rootin’ Tootin’s Dixieland Band will perform at the Highlands Ranch Music Arts Festival.

Band, which evolved a bit later. The concert band was started by several residents who had a band instrument stashed in a closet or basement and recalled how much fun it is to make music with others — an inquiry went out in the Highlands Ranch Herald and elsewhere, and the high school band director helped get it started — and soon there was a viable group of happy members rehearsing regularly, who enjoyed both social and musical aspects of the Highlands Ranch Concert Band.Weekly

Originally, high school musicians were accepted if they had assurances from their teacher or music instructor that they were capable of playing the music selected by the director. Now, they areMusicianswelcomed.pay $85 a year for membership now (waived for high school and college students). No auditions required. Check the website for rehearsal dates and time and appear, it would seem. The website does list a contact person. See hrconcertband.org.

The Music Arts Festival idea grew out of the Concert Band and has expanded to six performances announced, but I am not able to find a schedule for times on the 17th yet as we write. We are told there will be a beer garden and the Civic Green Park should surely be a place to hang out on

Saturday. We’d suggest visiting that website later in the week, but must send this off to press now.Littleton’s Rootin’ Tootin’s Dixieland Jazz Band, directed by John Morgan, was formed because Littleton needed bands to perform at community events like Western Welcome Week. A group started the Littleton Community Music Association and at that point the Dixieland Band and a concert band were formed, as well as a resource list of possible music instructors for instrumental and voice. There is still a Littleton Community Band listed ... no other information.

Bands coming to weekend at park

COURTESY PHOTO

(The Castle Rock Orchestra also appears on the LCMA website, littletonmusic.org, in case there are musicians seeking that organization.)

September 15, 202218 Greenwood Village To advertise your place of worship in this section, call Erin at 303-566-4074 or eaddenbrooke@ColoradoCommunityMedia.comemail Serving the Southeast Denver area Call or check our website for information on services and social events! www.cbsdenver.org 303-505-9236 Congregation Beth Shalom Serving the southeast Denver area Castle Rock/Franktown WORLD MISSION CHURCH (KOREAN CHURCH) 7249 E. Park Dr. Franktown, CO TIME: 10:30 PM PHONE: 303-688-1004 TRANSLATIONENGLISH ISEVERYONEWELCOME! Sunday Services - 10:00 a.m. Meditation before service - 9:30 a.m. Cimarron Middle School 12130 Canterberry Pkwy, Parker, CO 80138 www.CSLParker.org • (303) 805-9890 Parker Advertise Here! Advertise Your Place of Worship HERE Advertise Here! Advertise Your Place of Worship HERE

The 16th annual Highlands Ranch Music Arts Festival, presented by the Highlands Ranch Concert Band, will be held in Civic Green Park Sept. 17-18, starting with activities at 11 a.m. Vendors will have food and beverages and the music festival on Saturday will feature the Highlands Ranch Concert Band, conducted by Jim Brice; the Rootin’ Tootin’s Dixieland Band, directed by John Morgan (from Littleton); The Blue88’s Big Band, Golden Eagle Concert Band, Over the Hill Band and the Highlands Ranch Swing Shift Big

Highlands Ranch event back for 16th

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — The War on Drugs at Red Rocks

-Tell me about bringing a production of this scope to the

Venture ‘Into the Woods’ at the Arvada Center

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.

Clarke Reader

Arrr ye ready for another Pirate Fest?

-Tell me about the cast and how they’re bringing their characters to life?

Take to the sky in a B-17 Texas Raider

It’s always an exciting challenge to bring a fairy tale to life on stage. I am fortunate to be surrounded by the best artists and artisans — from scenic design and lights to props and costumes, it has been a collaborationremarkableto put magic on stage. Our production is full of stage tricks that lift the audience out of the ordinary and into the fantastical.

We spoke to Lynne Collins, artistic director of theatre and director of the show, about the production, what makes it unique and more.

I am looking forward to seeing the whole picture come together for an audience. Coming out of the pandemic and difﬁcult times, this story can connect to so many different people — whether it’s about having the courage to set out on a journey alone or as a reminder

One of the most exciting aspects of directing is casting — it’s a new adventure each time and I feel so lucky that we have an incredibly talented group working on this production. When working on a piece that has so many familiar characters, the actors have to ﬁnd the nuances to bring them to life.

There’s no better way to connect with history than seeing it take ﬂight in person right in front of you. That’s just the opportunity

Answers were edited for brevity and clarity.

Attendees will be able to take part in a range of activities, including live music, food, costumes and the Cardboard Regatta boat race. Get the full schedule and information at https://thepiratefest. com.

-What’s the show about and what makes it special?

I think that audiences will see themselves in these characters — we’re all hopeful, ﬂawed, all wandering in the woods and hoping to ﬁnd our way home and “Into the Woods” shows us that in a magical and musical way.

For information and tickets, visit www.arvadacenter.org.

that no one is alone.

ATTRACTIONSCOMING

here are some names that stand on their own when you’re talking about the theater and Stephen Sondheim is right at the top of that list. So, when the Arvada Center announced it was kicking off its 2022-2023 season with his immortal “Into the Woods,” it was thrilling news.The production of this witty and powerful take on some classic fairy tales runs at the Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., through Sunday, Oct. 9. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. on Wednesday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Pirate Fest, one of Northglenn’s biggest events of the year, is back to take scallywags and landlubbers alike on a wild ride, with a whole slew of events for the entire family. The annual event kicks off with Pirate Night, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, and continues with the actual festival from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, both at the Northglenn Recreation Center and EB Rains Jr. Memorial Park, 11701 Community Center Dr.

Arvada Center?

-What do you hope audiences who see the show come away with?

that Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight, 13005 Wings Way in Englewood, is offering with its B-17 Texas Raiders Showcase, which is being held from Saturday, Sept. 17 through Thursday, the 22nd According to provided information, the event will also feature the SB2C Helldiver and SNJ / T6. In addition to ground tours, a limited number of ﬂights in these historic craft are available for purchase through the Commemorative Air Force.Forall the details on the showcase, visit org/b-17-showcase/.https://wingsmuseum.

19September 15, 2022 Sign up today to receive our weekly newsletter Stay connected to your local community! Go toandcoloradocommunitymedia.comclickthenewslettertabtosignuptoday!

“Into the Woods” is an iconic piece of musical theatre. It’s a tribute to the genius storytelling of Sondheim and James Lapine that these characters we think we know take on a whole new life in relatable moments. Our production takes a new twist on the story and is set in a child’s nursery. We get to see the story unfold through the imagination of a child and the story unfolds as life itself twists and changes.

-What are you most looking forward to about seeing the show come together?

For the last 10-plus years, Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs have been making some of the most ensorcelling indie rock you’re going to find anywhere. So, when I heard they were finally going to be playing Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway in Morrison, this summer, I know the group would absolutely understand theTheassignment.showisfinally upon us, with the band playing at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19. The group will be joined by cult faves Alvvays. Get your tickets at www.axs.com.

When Vescolani was hired in 2018, he launched a strategic planning process focused on community engagement and other DEI initiatives.

During the last few years, the Denver Zoo has hired two staff members

primarily focused on diversifying the zoo’s staff, and two team managers focused on getting the zoo involved in community events that should reach more people of color living and working in the neighborhoods surrounding the zoo.

Could inspire young people to save wildlife

Zoo leaders stayed relatively quiet for years after Alonzo Ashley died, but were thrust into a local debate about diversity, equity and inclusion after his death, before the topic came up again following George Floyd’s death, and then once more during the Black Lives Matter protests that followed in 2020.

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This year is pivotal for the Denver Zoo, he added, because many DEI initiatives outlined in the strategic plan are ﬁnally coming to fruition.

with sensory processing disorders.

The zoo’s visitor demographics would reﬂect the racial makeup of the metro Denver area if 5% of its visitors were Black, if 23% were Hispanic, if 4% were Asian and if 64% were white. Currently, 16% of visitors are Hispanic, 5% Black, 5%

It was an important gesture that is part of Vescolani’s strategic vision for the zoo, which includes diversifying the organization’s staff and visitorship to reflect the makeup of the metro Denver area. The equity work, zoo leaders said, also fits in line with the zoo’s core mission of inspiring communities to conserve wildlife for future“Thegenerations.Alonzoincident was definitely a moment for us to really reflect on who we are and who the community thinks we are,” Kubie said. “With the Black Lives Matter movement growing over the last decade, and George Floyd, there have definitely been key moments along the journey that have really been a moment in time for us to pause and reflect on how we’re doing things.”

COURTESY OF THE DENVER ZOO

is the central theme of our work,” she added. “It is internally focused, so we can be more representative of the community, but also externally focused, so that when people engage with the zoo, they feel seen, and they feel like their identities are taken into consideration when we create exhibits, when we make updates, when we put information out on social media. We want everyone to feel like they have a role in saving wildlife for future generations.”

“Thatdo.”

Zoo leaders are revamping their interviewing process to mitigate bias and create a culture where leaders can engage and manage a diverse team. There’s a focus throughout the organization on preparing leaders for diversity and ensuring guests, volunteers and employees feel that they are a part of the team, including by ensuring that workplace meetings are more accessible for people with disabilities.

Ashley died after a zoo volunteer felt he was acting strangely and then called police. It was later determined that Ashley was suffering from heat stroke. He died from cardiorespiratory arrest brought on by heat, dehydration and exertion during a struggle with police who had restrained and tasered him.

Last summer, Denver Zoo CEO Bert Vescolani apologized to Ashley’s family, and unveiled a water fountain and cooling station at the zoo in the 29-year-old’s honor.

Some of the zoo’s equity work is focused on training staff who provide services to guests. These frontline workers will soon be trained in

When an organization is diverse, it’s more innovative and creative, and improves business outcomes, said Elkin Alfred, director of equity and culture at the Denver Zoo, whose role was recommended a few years ago by the zoo’s DEI steering committee. “But it’s also the right thing to

The demographics of the zoo’s staff and visitors are not reﬂective of the area, a concern for organization leaders. Of the 406 employees working at the Denver Zoo, 19% are people of color.

BY TATIANA FLOWERS THE COLORADO SUN

Denver Zoo leaders work to diversify

Two years later, during nationwide Black Lives Matter protests calling for racial equality, the foundation of the strategic plan was ﬁnalized, Kubie said.

mental health ﬁrst aid, a course that gives people with little or no experience in behavioral health the tools they need to recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health crisis and then lead the distressed person to adequate services. Security staff will continue to be trained to use de-escalation techniques in a course that will include a segment about how biases can impact how a person views a threat to help mitigate incidents similar the one that led to Ashley’s death.

The Denver Zoo is a high proﬁle, visible organization where staff are the catalysts for making connections between guests, animals and the rest of nature, Kubie said.

Zoo leaders have partnered with Inclusive Journeys, an organization creating data-driven economic incentives that push businesses toward becoming more inclusive of patrons who typically experience discrimination.A$200,000grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services is being used to develop a more accessible recruitment and hiring process for early career professionals. Some of the money was used to create a paid internship program to help recruit young people of color who are hoping to break into careers in the zoological and wildlife conservationDenverindustry.Zooleaders attribute the lack of racial diversity in the industry to too few opportunities for paid internships at a time when a racial wealth gap makes it hard for interns of color to take low paying jobs. In 2019, the most-recent data available, 74% of zookeepers were white, 16% were Latino, 4% were Black, 2% were Asian and less than 1% were Native American, according to Zippia, an online site providing tools and information to help people achieve their career goals.

Teens, older adults, people of color and people with disabilities are among the main groups the zoo is trying to engage to increase diversity. Each year, the zoo is now hosting a sensory night, where all ﬂashing lights and music are disabled, speciﬁcally designed to welcome people

Lion brothers at the Denver Zoo.

SEE DENVER ZOO, P21

Denver Zoo leaders have worked earnestly over the last few years to diversify their staff and visitors, continuing on a journey toward equity that was renewed last summer, when the zoo took responsibility for the death of a Black man who was tackled and tasered by police in 2011 while he suffered from heat stroke.

“All of those things led to the creation of the steering committee, and to where we are today with our new strategic plan, and the personnel we have in place,” said Jake Kubie, director of communications at the Denver Zoo. “It’s all connected,”

The Denver Zoo has nearly 2 million guests per year who visit about 3,000 animals representing about 450 species. Zoos build empathy and curiosity for children who visit and create educational opportunities for adult patrons, Alfred said.

“I think there’s a case to be made for the likelihood of that increasing if a Black elementary school kid sees a Black vet tech or veterinarian or zookeeper,” he said.

The zoo recently opened a new animal hospital where guests are able to watch procedures in real time. The new hospital showcases the medical work done at the zoo but also helps kids see themselves in the shoes of a veterinarian or a wildlife biologist, Kubie said.

Asian, and 79% of zoo visitors are white. Kubie said the organization has inched toward its goals over the last few years but recognizes there’s still room for improvement.

These historical events coupled with a sense that people of color are not welcomed in the outdoors because of lacking representation has created distrust in the zoo and wildlife conservation industry, especially among patrons of color, Kubie said. Now, Denver Zoo leaders are working to engage with those communities.Manyskeptics are also concerned about the level of care provided by zoos. There are about 2,500 zoos in America and only 238 are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, meaning the accredited

zoos, like Denver Zoo, adhere to the strictest animal care standards and contribute to wildlife conservation.

But zoos haven’t always bathed in

“We are always looking at the barriers that prevent our community from visiting, and there are many barriers: there’s cost barriers, or psychological barriers, there’s emotional barriers, there’s people who don’t like zoos and are not going to agree with us, which is really where my department comes in to really tell people why zoos are important and what we do for wildlife conservation,” he said.

the U.S., and other parts of the world, where people of color were displayed in zoos, fairs and museums as living exhibits. White visitors would pet and photograph the people on display for having features they deemed unusual.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

FROM PAGE 20

DENVER ZOO

The vast majority of animals there are born and bred within a zoo setting in species survival programs to help conserve threatened, vulnerable and endangered species with an intent to eventually release them into the wild, he added.

The zoo is using an ongoing guest experience survey to track whether guests feel welcome at the organization.One question asks visitors to indicate whether they feel the zoo is a welcoming place for them and other visitors in their group. To date, in 2022, 88% of people have ranked the zoo as “very” or “extremely welcoming.” Zoo leaders hope that ﬁgure will increase to 95% or greater by nextSinceyear.Vescolani started in his role, he said he has worked hard to diversify the zoo’s staff and its board of governors, which hires and ﬁres the CEO and maintains oversight of zoo operations. In 2018, when Vescolani was hired, 8% of the board of governors were Black and 8% were Latino. This year, the percentage of Black members rose to 13% and 20% for Latino board members.

and that same diversity should translate here.”

More than a decade after Ashley died at the zoo, organization leaders say they’re still on the journey toward creating a more diverse and equitable Denver Zoo.

COURTESY OF THE DENVER ZOO

Orangutangs at the Denver Zoo.

Kubie said the only animals that come to the Denver Zoo from the wild are those that were rescued.

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“You don’t change systems that have existed for hundreds of years in two, three years, so the zoo is focused on this long term,” Alfred said. “We’re doing the work, and we’re looking at systemic change, and not just meeting quotas.”

By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce, according to the Brookings Institution, a nonproﬁt public policy organization conducting research. “If you think about millennials, what they come to the workforce with is a far greater and more focused wanting of diversity in its broadest sense, and they come with expectations that that’s the way it’s going to be, so it is not an option for any

• And be at least two months out from the last dose you received.

COVID-19 boosters roll out in Colorado

“It’s particularly important for people that have only had two or three doses of the vaccine,” said Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, adding that “if you’re medically vulnerable, it’s particularly important. He spoke as he got his shot of the vaccine in front of a state vaccine bus at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.

We will update this article as more updates become available.

This story is from CPR News, a nonproﬁt news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

What about kids younger than 12?

Updated COVID-19 boosters are being rolled out at pharmacies and clinics in Colorado. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ofﬁcials expect the updated boosters to become more widely available in the state.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people who are eligible for these boosters get their shots. The news comes just ahead of the fall, when cases could surge.

Where can I get an appointment to get the updated booster?

CDPHE’s website lists several links to view availability of the updated booster at providers around the state. You can ﬁnd those links by clicking here.

Those offering the shots include many primary care ofﬁces, community health centers, pharmacies, and community vaccination sites.

A Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vial is held by Lincoln Community Hospital registered nurse Deanne Kahler of Hugo as she prepares to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to patients at the hospital in Hugo on Wednesday, Feb. 24 2021.

Josh Phillips, a resident of Highlands Ranch, came to the site for his shot, his ﬁfth, since he’d already had the original series, plus two previous boosters.“Itisjust, you know, trying to protect myself and my family as much as possible,” he said, noting he was ﬂying

“This is just another very easy step that you can take to protect yourself,” he said. Polis noted that the pandemic has claimed about 13,600 Colorado lives and that COVID-19 “has a much lower hospitalization rate and an extremely low death rate, if you are fully vaccinated.”About150people had signed up Wednesday to get their vaccine shots at the Ball Arena site. “There’s still a lot of demand,” said the governor.

Deaths, hospitalizations and positive cases have spiked every fall since the pandemic began in 2020, according to state health department data. And the omicron variant fueled a massive spike in cases earlier this year.

They also offer protection against the omicron subvariants that are currently the dominant strains in Colorado and the U.S.

PHOTO BY ANDY COLWELL / SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN

Who is eligible?

In order to get an updated booster you must:

to Pennsylvania soon. “I’m actually traveling next week. So I think it’s important, especially in a congested place, like the airport, to be as protected as possible. And the rest of my family will be doing this as well, as soon as we can.”

“I just thought it would be a good idea, you know, considering that we’re about to enter ﬂu season and all,” said Fred Bernal, a Denver resident who also got his omicron booster shot. He said he did catch the coronavirus last November, right before he got a booster. “It probably would’ve been a lot more serious had I not received my vaccine,” he said.

Bernal brought his in-laws to get their shots. That included his mother-in-law, Anita Easton, who was in town from Oregon and needed no encouragement to get her booster.

“I’m absolutely convinced, but I’m a biologist, so I know why it’s good for you and why you should do it,” sheWhat’ssaid. the difference between the original booster and the updated booster?DianaHerrero, deputy director of the Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response for CDPHE, said the updated COVID boosters contain a spike protein that offers speciﬁc protection to the omicron strain that caused a huge wave in cases at the beginning of 2022.

• Be at least 12 years old to get the

The CDC said in a press release last week that it “expects to recommend updated COVID-19 boosters for other pediatric groups” in the coming weeks.

BY JOHN DALEY AND OBED MANUEL COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

The booster shots millions of Coloradans received since last fall were not speciﬁcally formulated to protect against omicron, she added.“Much like viruses evolve over time, our vaccines really need to do the same thing to keep up with the strains that are circulating,” Herrero said. “We think these will be really effective at preventing the worst outcomes of severe disease, hospitalization and death.”

Now, with omicron’s subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — expected to drive infections in the fall and winter, state ofﬁcials say they hope Coloradans will take advantage of the added protection these boosters offer.

Who is eligible for the updated booster?

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Lutheran’s Zoe Stanzyk had two hits in the Sept. 7 win over Palmer Ridge and says competing in Class 4A this season is great.

year we had time so it’s a little more advanced version on both sides. It comes down to hard work always pays off.”And the off-season work started much earlier than in the late summer, which was the usual time that Littleton football players started working out.“It’s way different,” said senior

Maestretti was the Lions’ ﬁrst coach when the school introduced varsity softball to its athletic menu for the 2000-21 season and Lutheran went 17-2 and was the 3A state runner-up.Lutheran won last year’s 3A state championship with a 29-0 record, and this season the Lions have moved up to Class 4A.

Hailey Maestretti, a junior lefthanded pitcher, limited Palmer Ridge to two hits in her six innings of work and struck out 12 batters to give her 102 strikeouts for the season.

Littleton senior quarterback Timmy Higgins (5) says the team and players are getting more recognition at the school after the Lions’ 3-0 start this season.

Coach Ricky Manzanares claims it has been the hard work of the players that has made a big difference.

“That’s it.They are conditioned well, work out heavy and they are good kids. Little tweaks here and there and we’ll be ready. We just have to keep pushing.”

“We had a good crop of guys that just wouldn’t stop working in the off season,” said Manzanares. “After the

“We just have to keep working hard,” said Manzanares. “The biggest thing is we are heading into league play in a couple weeks (Class 3A, League 4). We have to start tuning things up, little mistakes on offense and defense.

The Lions are doing well with its latest challenge as the state’s topranked 4A team with a 10-0 record.

Team won 3A state championship last year

Manzanares said. “We got to put a little

PHOTO BY JIM BENTON

Moving up a classiﬁcation doesn’t bother either Stanzyk or Hailey

Littleton’s last winning campaign was 6-4 in the 2009-10 season and the Lions have been only 3-43 over the past ﬁve seasons, including 1-25 over the past three years.

Lutheran softball facing 4A challenge

A 3-0 record is not unusual for many Colorado football teams but it is for the Lions who have won only one game in the past three seasons.

“It’s been amazing,” admitted senior quarterback Timmy Higgins. “It has been great in the school. We are getting a lot of recognition. The teachers and students are looking at us a lot different. We’re loving it.”

Manzanares, who took over the program in June of 2021, hasn’t make many changes in the Lions’ offensive or defensive schemes.

September 15, 202224 24-Sports SPORTS LOCAL

And the rout over Alameda with a running clock started early in the third quarter was something that has been reversed in the past. Last season, the Lions were on the short end of ﬁve mercy-rule game scores.

“Obviously, you saw there are some things to clean up. We’ll just keep working and take it game by game.

In the game against Alameda, Littleton was dominate from the opening kickoff.“Coach said over the summer that the games would feel like practice and that’s what it was like against Alameda,” said Higgins. “It felt like another day at practice. We went through our regular stuff and it felt like routine. It wasThegreat.”Alameda game got lopsided in a hurry as the Lions jumped ahead 54-0 at halftime and two blocked punts help Littleton extend the advantage in the second half.

iting Bears saw their overall record dip to 7-4 and the Lions win stretched their two-season winning streak to 39 games.“The good thing is there is still a ton to work on,” said Maestretti.

Lions rack up 3-0 record to start season

running back Brycen Mhlana. “The change of culture is really happening. We’ve been putting in that work and it is “Atshowing.ﬁrstit was kind of hard but I fell in love with it. Coach keeps telling me, it’s going to show, it’s going to show and it has.”

Senior Taylor Cramer and sophomore MacKenzy Glenn each went 3-for-4 to spark the Lions’ offense while Zoe Stanzyk and Hailey Maestretti, the daughter of the coach, each had a pair of hits.

Littleton swamps Alameda International 74-0

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Coach Glen Maestretti and his Lutheran girls softball team are facing yet another challenge this season.

SEE SOFTBALL, P25

“74-0, that’s crazy,” added Mhlana. “I don’t think this school has seen anything like that. When the team is on the ﬁeld, we’re all clicking and we’re all executing and it is really happening. Like Timmy said, it felt like practice.”However, tougher games are ahead for the Lions.

Palmer Ridge scored ﬁve runs in the seventh inning off freshman reliever Ella Faries but the Lions had built up a cushion with an 8-0 lead.

Littleton’s high school football team is unbeaten and off to a 3-0 start this season.No,that’s not a misprint, a typo or mistake.Littleton routed Alameda International, 74-0, on Sept. 8 at Trailblazer Stadium to remain unbeaten.

“We have to pay attention to league. There is a tough schedule for us this year with a lot of the top 4A and 5A teams. We play Legend (Oct. 10) at the end of the year. I want to push these girls and get them good competition.”

“There’s always a challenge, they have to work a little harder, not that they have to go out and prove anything,” said Maestretti. “They’re a good ball club, regardless if it is 3A, 4A or 5A. They can compete with anybody.”Lutheran remained unbeaten with an 8-5 4A Pikes Peak League victory over Palmer Ridge on Sept. 7. The vis-

“We are very similar to last year,”

season last year, I told them we’d give them about a month and then we would start working. About a week and half later, they said, ‘coach, let’s start.’“And they never stopped. We’ve got a great core group of guys that really work hard and that’s the difference between this year and last year.”

PHOTO BY JIM BENTON

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA

Ethan Carlson connected on seven of 12 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown as fourth ranked Valor Christian (2-1) downed Fairview, 38-15.Senior John Brookhart passed for 216 yards and two TDs and sixthranked Legend (3-0) rolled to a 49-21 win over Castle View (1-2).

Solution

In other action, Jake Stonebraker averaged 9.5 yards per carry and rushed for 200 yards as Douglas County (2-1) defeated Rangeview, 35-12.Rock Canyon (3-0) scored 27 points in the second half to down Denver East, 37-15. Sophomore Austyn Modrzewski went 19 for 25 passing for 351 yards and four touchdowns to help Mountain Vista (3-0) topple Chaparral (0-3), 52-21. Payton Tay lor’s 78-yard kickoff return was the difference in Eaglecrest’s 18-15 win over Highlands Ranch (1-2).

Maestretti.“Thecompetition is deﬁnitely higher,” said Stanzyk. “It’s great. It is so much better than playing 3A. There are more teams that are our speed.“Ithink a lot about the games but put my trust back in my teammates to pick me up like a safety blanket. I trust my teammates our coaching staff and what we have been building on for years now.”

ThunderRidge, seventh in the Sept. 5 poll, jumped to a 27-0 lead after the ﬁrst quarter and went on to improved its record to 3-0 with a 48-12 victory over Lakewood.

“I try to pitch and trust my team is behind me and they are always going to have my back with the bat,” said Hailey Maestretti. “I love going to 4A. I love having the competition and having those close games, those are the ones you remember.

Answers

Among high-ranked squads, most triumph in weekend contests

Ponderosa, the top-ranked Class

4A team, beat Golden, 56-7, as senior quarterback Zach Stryker had 306 total yards. Stryker completed 15 of 19 passes for 178 yards and two scores and rushed for 128 yards and twoLutheranTDs. (2-1) and No.2 in the Class 3A poll rolled up 470 yards in total offense in a 50-0 win over Dis covery Canon. Ryken Daugaard was 13-17 for 269 yards and four touch downs passing in the win.

Hailey Maestretti improved her season earned run average to 0.37.

C R O WSUSP DRLOEZZ

South metro teams light up gridiron

25September 15, 2022 PLAYING! THANKS for THANKS

FROM PAGE 24

SOFTBALL

Littleton, a school with only one win in the past three seasons, moved to 3-0 with a 74-0 romp over Alam eda. Senior running back Brycen Mhlanga rushed for 155 yards and ﬁve IDs while senior quarterback Timmy Higgins hit on six of eight passes for 155 yards and two touch downs.

“I love being forced to compete and be a good pitcher, be solid and clean with my pitching and have the the defense be clean and those are the good games you remember. When all the girls come together and play as one team., it is awesome to see and be a part of.”

All the south metro teams ranked among the state’s Top 10 Class 5 teams won except for Arapahoe during during football games played SeptArapahoe8-10. (2-1), ranked ninth in the CHSAANow.com poll, watched Exander Carroll lead third-ranked Regis Jesuit (2-1) to a 23-10 victory.

Carroll rushed for a touchdown and passed for Top-rankedanother.Cherry Creek (2-1) held Chatﬁeld to 125 yards in total offense in a 28-5 victory.

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First Publication: September 8, 2022

“Last year, we probably were run ning 30% to 40% more staff choos ing to leave than previous years.”

had already become thinner.

Legal Notice No.942715

FROM PAGE 2

New player could weigh in

“Dr. Douglas noted that TCHD expects that all of its vendors who

Althoughserve.working as a death doula can take a lot of emotional capacity, it’s a job Keeran and John ston feel called to.

Currently, death doulas are outside of the medical care system,

‘Stability’ on the way out The appointment of a receiver “will also create stability for TCHD, which will allow us to continue our focus on minimizing the disruption to residents who need important public health services,” Dr. John Douglas, head of Tri-County, said in an Aug. 30 news release.

Bids

Legal Notice No. 942783

### www.ColoradoCommunityMedia.com/Notices Public Notices call Sheree 303.566.4088 legals@coloradocommunitymedia.com PUBLIC NOTICES Highland Ranch | Lone Tree Legals September 15, 2022 * 1

Second Publication: September 15, 2022

In response to the same question, Douglas County’s statement said: “If the receiver believes she has the authority to terminate the Douglas County IGA at some point in the fu ture and she desires to do so, Doug las County will discuss that matter with the receiver at that time.”

Douglas, the health chief, has said internal polling had shown a vast majority of current Tri-County staff have shown interest in mov ing to one of the new county-run health departments and expressed optimism that there would be a sig niﬁcant carryover. Tri-County itself

Tri-County has seen longer wait times for its clinics, said Douglas, adding the health agency had to make some reductions in its sexual health clinics. That area includes family planning, contraceptive services, and sexually transmitted disease and HIV testing services, Douglas said.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any and all responses, to waive formalities,

With “restaurant inspections, we’ve had to do some triage,” Doug las said in late July. “We’ve had to prioritize riskier settings.”

“We know it’s inevitable, so let’s work on our approach to this inevitable thing,” Johnston said. “A big part of what I do is to normal ize this for people, which it seems strange to say that this thing that happens to 100% of us needs to be normalized, but it does because we don’t ever talk about it.”

Although she said she wants to legitimize the profession, she’s hesitant about the idea of establish ing a national certiﬁcation board for death doulas, as there currently is not

In her current role, Johnston has maximum independence and ﬂexibility, she said. However, being outside the medical care system can hinder people’s willingness to pay for the death doula services since it’s out-of-pocket, she said.

The death doula profession has also evolved over time, Johnston said, and as an emerging profes sion, discussions continue about how it may change in the future.

our clients the best,” Johnston said.

“When somebody says, ‘That must be so depressing,’ I’m like, actually it’s the complete opposite,” Johnston said. “When you deal with death on a daily basis, it really makes you value life.”

The RFEI document may be reviewed and/or

relevant law applies to how counties cover costs for “maintaining” a local public health agency — but that the law does not require counties to make payments triggered by the “demise” of an agency.

DEATH DOULA

Publisher: Douglas County News Press Account Number: 2734

In a separate legal action, the Arapahoe County District Court on Aug. 29 agreed to appoint for TriCounty a “receiver,” a company that acts as an independent arm of the court to oversee the process of put ting Tri-County’s ﬁnancial affairs in order as it prepares to fade away.

Douglas County, Colorado (“County”) is seeking proposals from qualified organizations (“Respon dent”) who have an interest in partnering with the County to facilitate the expansion of broadband services in the County’s unserved and under served areas.

Works Engineering, Philip S. Miller Building, 100 Third Street, Suite 220, Castle Rock, CO 80104.

“Theone.tricky thing is, is that people have done what I do for millen nia,” Johnston said, explaining she doesn’t want to create further bar riers to entering the profession.

First Publication: September 15, 2022

provide goods or services in carry ing out public health programs after appointment of the receiver will be timely paid by the receiver in the ordinary course of business,” the news release said. But “other credi tors holding allowed claims against TCHD may be paid in their order of priority through the receivership under the terms of the order ap pointing receiver when and if funds areAskedavailable.”whether the receiver is expected to ﬁre some number of TriCounty employees as a cost-saving measure, Raile said in the state ment: “No, that is not anticipated at this time, although some employees are transitioning to the three inde pendent county health departments in an orderly manner during the receivership process.”

Tri-County’s announcement ap peared to imply that not all entities to which Tri-County owes money may be paid if money isn’t available.

In a provision that may be rel evant to the PERA case, the Arapa hoe court’s order says: “Following consultation with (Tri-County), and upon written notice to the counter party, the Receiver may immediately terminate any existing contract, agreement, lease or instrument of TCHD which she determines is not beneﬁcial to TCHD.”

As educators about death and dying, both Johnston and Keeran expressed the importance of chang ing how people discuss death and dying, such as not associating it with giving up or as a failure.

County; and that any person, co-partnership, association or corporation that has an unpaid claim against said SMH West LLC, for or on account of the furnishing of labor, materials, team hire, sustenance, provisions, provender or other supplies used or consumed by such contractor or any of his subcontractors in or about the performance of said work, or that supplied rental machinery, tools, or equipment to the extent used in the prosecution of said work, may at any time up to and including said time of such final settlement on said October 8, 2022, file a verified statement of the amount due and

Please submit one (1) original paper copy (no less than 11-point font) and one (1) identical version of the paper copy on a new flash drive (not password protected) of your RFEI response in a sealed envelope that is clearly marked with the informa tion described above. Electronic and/or faxed responses will not be accepted. RFEI responses will be received until 4:00pm on Friday, October 21, 2022 by the Douglas County Finance Depart ment, Purchasing Division, 100 Third Street, Suite 130, Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. Responses will not be considered which are received after the time stated, and any responses so received will be returned unopened.

“I have a deep background in death. My childhood was full of death and loss,” Keeran said, ex plaining she was basically on her own at 19 years old. “Who I want to be now, is that person that I didn’t have, and my family didn’t have when I was growing up.”

There has been some progress, as Keeran said she remembers a time when death and grief were hardly ever talked about, especially in the 1970s.

“I’m very hesitant to get into any kind of a role in the medical care system,” she said, explaining she worries about over-regulation. “If I were to be, like, a Medicare beneﬁt, then I would have this obligation to follow these strict rules, which really hampers my ability to meet families where they are, to serve whatever their needs are.”

Keeran agreed, saying she has seen how hospice nurses and aides are limited in how much time they can serve clients. She said she sees death doulas as offering specialty services, also noting that limiting death doulas to hospice care could reduce the number of people the doulas can

and NETWORKBROADBANDREQUESTPublicSettlementsNoticeFOREXPRESSIONofINTEREST(RFEI)#030-22INVESTMENT&EXPANSIONPARTNERSHIP

The loss of staff has “certainly had an impact” on Tri-County’s services, Douglas said.

informalities, or irregularities contained in a said response 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.

FROM PAGE 15

PUBLIC CONTRACTORSNOTICENOTICEOFSETTLEMENTCOUNTYOFDOUGLASSTATEOFCOLORADO

Last Publication: September 15, 2022

and Johnston said she thinks it should stay that way.

TRI-COUNTY

Failure on the part of claimant to file such state ment prior to such final settlement will relieve said County of Douglas from all and any liability for such claimant's claim.

Asked whether Tri-County is in danger of having to stop some services before the end of the year when the health agency is formally scheduled to end operations, Doug las said: “I don’t see any in particu lar that would be predictable that we would have to stop.”

“Every place saw the great resig nation going on, and we weren’t im mune to that,” Douglas previously told Colorado Community Media.

printed from the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System website www.rockymountainbidsystem.com.at While the RFEI document is available electronically, Douglas County cannot accept electronic RFEI responses.

“It’s this tricky thing of estab lishing value while providing the service, but I really think that the future of death doulas remains outside the medical care system just because that independence and ﬂexibility, I think, is how we serve

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 38-26-107, C.R.S., as amended, that on October 8, 2022 final settlement will be made by the County of Douglas, State of Colorado, for and on account of a contract between Douglas County and SMH West LLC for the FP-B1 Baldwin Dam Conver sion Project, Douglas County Project Number SP 2021-002, in Douglas unpaid on account of such claim with the Board of County Commissioners, c/o Director of Public Works Engineering, with a copy to the Project Engineer, Zachary Humbles, P.E., Department of Public

The Board of Douglas County Comm issioners of the County of Douglas, Colorado, By: Janet Herman, P.E., Director of Public Works.

terminate the agreement between Tri-County and Douglas County re garding the potential PERA penalty, Bellann Raile, the primary agent of the receiver, said in a statement that “the receiver is not presently in a position to comment on any pending legal claims at this time.”

Asked whether the receiver could

The future of death doulas

Please direct any questions concerning this RFEI to Carolyn Riggs, Purchasing Supervisor, 303-660-7434, criggs@douglas.co.us, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

31September 15, 2022 Legals

“This is me doing my heart’s work now, and it’s just super excit ing,” Keeran said.

Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

Despite what others may think, Johnston embraces life because of her job, she said.

Tri-County had already long been experiencing stafﬁng changes.

September 15, 202232 Come shop for unique gifts and special items during the Colorado Community Media Holiday Craft Show and Mini-Market; With more than 200 exhibitors filling the Douglas County Fairgrounds, this is the best place to find that special, personal gift for friends and family. The show will feature handmade crafts in all areas from metal and leather, to flowers, baskets, ceramics, and so much more. In it’s third year - expanding into two buildings. In 2021, 3,000 customers attended Interested in selling your handmade crafts? Interested in hosting classes? Contact Event Producer Thelma Grimes at tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com All applications must be approved to participate Admission is free to the public PRESENTS 2022 Holiday Craft Show& Mini-Market 10amSaturdayNov.26-6pm 10amSundayNov.27-2pm Douglas 500FairgroundsCountyFairgroundsDv.CastleRock,CO.