December 17, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
SPECIAL REPORT
‘We used to never have anything like this’ In Douglas County, signs of homelessness are on the rise BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Often, Dan Makelky, the human resources director for Douglas County, looks out his office window in Castle Rock and sees someone get released from the nearby county jail and wander down the road with nowhere to go. Central Castle Rock is outside the Regional Transportation District. Without public transportation connecting the town to other areas, some newly-released people can’t afford a taxi and don’t have anyone to call for a ride. “I wonder where they go, honestly, that’s the first thing,” Makelky said. “Or where they’re heading to.” Makelky and others, like county Sheriff Tony Spurlock, say this is just one of many factors that may contribute to what appears to be a
BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN
Big Colorado water diversion projects itching to get going on
School board drops mask requirement Divided board votes 4-3 in hours-long meeting BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Officer Ricky Stegmaier with the Lone Tree Police Department shines his flashlight over an urban encampment used by people experiencing homelessness. Items left behind at the site -- located behind a trash compactor at a local store -- included PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER cooking supplies and tent components.
growing number of people experiencing homelessness in the county. “What happens is, they have no place to go, so they just try to find a place to stay,” Spurlock told Colorado Community Media. Multiple law enforcement agencies, nonprofits and local governments across the county say they are seeing a surge in the number of unhoused people in the area.
Reports from these agencies include new urban encampments, higher demands for services and — though it doesn’t always indicate homelessness — more panhandling. Castle Rock and Lone Tree are two of the main areas seeing these increases, local leaders say. But SEE HOMELESS, P10
2 big water projects want to tap Dougco stimulus funds County seeks ideas on spending $68M from American Rescue Plan
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 3
long-sought dam and pipeline dreams are rushing to get first in line for thirsty Douglas County’s $68.2 million in federal stimulus money. Drinking water dams and pipelines have joined smaller-scale local water treatment and sewage projects, for proposals totaling $247 million of the $280 million in overall stimulus requests in Douglas County so far, a county spokes-
REIMAGINING ‘NUTCRACKER’ Colorado Ballet’s production gets new garb
P14
woman said. The other categories making up the remainder of the $280 million in proposals include broadband, economic recovery and mental health delivery. Some of the biggest requests for Douglas County’s share of American Rescue Plan Act spending come from drinking water SEE WATER, P23
Masks are again optional in the Douglas County School District after a new board majority in the wee hours of Dec. 8 narrowly passed a resolution that prohibits the district from instating universal masking or COVID-19 vaccination policies. The resolution, adopted after the board’s special meeting on Dec. 7 ran past midnight, took effect immediately. Implementation will be up to each school, which is also tasked with making individual accommodations for people who might be vulnerable to COVID-19. The resolution said the district would comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which could require individual classrooms or activities to have mask-wearing rules around people at-risk of the virus. Federal, state and local mandates would supersede the policy, district officials said. Board President Mike Peterson — among four board members elected last month as part of a slate challenging some previous district policies — said the goal of the rule change is to provide students with a consistent, predictable masking policy and move to a system where individual accommodations are SEE MASKS, P13
FROM CAR REPAIR TO FOOD
Parker couple opening sandwich shops P6
