Parker Chronicle 060123

Daughter died in 2020 from fentanyl poisoning

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When Patti Lujan sees butter ies, she thinks of her daughter, Lauren, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 18.

A senior at Littleton High School at the time, Lauren died from fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit Percocet she got through the social media app Snapchat.

As Lujan continues to cope with the loss of her daughter, she has now joined a legal ght against Snapchat, which she believes is partly responsible for her daughter’s death.

She is among nine families nationwide participating in a wrongful death lawsuit led by the Social Media Victims Law Center against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat.

“I know she would want me to do this. She’d want me to get involved in this lawsuit and ght, and so I’m doing it,” Lujan said.

SEE LAWSUIT, P6

Toborg touts town’s accomplishments in annual address

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e PACE Center was lled with people as Mayor Je Toborg on May 23 delivered an address during the 14th annual State of the Town co-hosted by the Town of Parker and Rotary Club of Parker.

“ e state of our town is growing with incredible families who are choosing to live, work and learn,” Toborg said.

Among the business owners and sponsors in attendance were state Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Douglas County, Douglas County Commissioners, representatives from the Parker Police, the Water and Sanitation District, Parker Chamber of Commerce, members of the U.S. Marine Corps and others.

Jeremy Hubbard, a Fox31 News anchor, was master of ceremonies.

Impact Awards

With service and volunteerism at the forefront, the Parker Rotary Club puts “service above self.” For the 12th year, two members of the community received Impact Awards that recognize an individual or group who made a signi cant impact on the quality of life in Parker and the surrounding area.

“ e criteria is simply that they must serve either in an employment situation or as a volunteer monitoring, being part of and excelling in the service above self,” said club member Dan O’Neill, in presenting the awards. “ ese people have taken it one step further.”

Although he was not there, one recipient was Bob Baker, the re chief from the South Metro Fire Rescue district.

“Bob Baker has taken that department to a level of professionalism that goes above and beyond just being a re chief in a metropolitan area,” said O’Neill.

e South Metro Fire District has been awarded an ISO Class 1 Designation by the Insurance Services Organization. In addition, through social media and a website, Baker has directed a social presence, helping to make the district one of the most well followed.

e second recipient was longtime community volunteer and rotarian, Kam Breitenbach. Not only known as

SEE MAYOR, P10

Littleton High School student Lauren Lujan, 18, passed away in 2020 from fentanyl poisoning. COURTESY OF PATTI LUJAN

Local lawmakers dish on 2023 legislative session

MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With more than 600 bills introduced in the Colorado statehouse this year, Douglas County’s representatives stayed busy throughout the 2023 legislative session.

All four of the county’s representatives, Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Douglas County, Rep. Lisa Frizell, RCastle Rock, Rep. Anthony Hartsook (R-Parker) and Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, were rst-year legislators who all together passed 24 bills.

Here’s a look at what each legislator did:

Rep. Bob Marshall

As the only Democrat from Douglas County, Marshall introduced legislation for veterans’ issues, teacher pay, increasing county commissioner numbers, and restricting law enforcement from political activities in uniform.

Marshall said he’s proud to have been able to shepherd a bill that will expand property tax exemption for veterans with disabilities.  “ at was kind of a lay-up once I brought it up,” Marshall said. “To me, it was about equity and respect.”

He also highlighted that he fought for a budget supplement that would fund veterans’ groups that honor fallen soldiers with things like ags for their families.

“We rolled the (joint budget committee), which I didn’t realize was such a big thing,” Marshall said.

Of his introduced legislation, Marshall said he is disappointed that his bills to provide a teacher stipend for classroom supplies, to increase county commissioner boards in large counties from three to ve seats, and to restrict uniformed law enforcement from participating in certain political activities were not successful this session.

“I didn’t realize how hard a lot of this stu is,” he said. “With hindsight and now knowing how the whole process works, I’m actually pretty impressed with what I did.”

Marshall said he plans to bring the law enforcement and county commissioner bills, or something similar, back to the statehouse next session. He added that he’s considering bringing legislation to align metro district election schedules with state elections.

Rep. Brandi Bradley

Legislation sponsored by Bradley ranged from healthcare bills, such as prohibiting minors from COVID vaccines without parental consent and requiring higher education facilities to keep epi-pens on hand, to land use and education.

Bradley said her biggest accomplishments regarding legislation this year were passing bills to allow

Chat eld State Park to collect use fees to maintain water quality, put epi-pens in higher education facilities, and prohibition on selling over-the-counter diet pills to people under 18.

She also highlighted a bill that will address child support payments.

“We passed some great bipartisan legislation,” Bradley said.

As a member of the minority party in the statehouse, Bradley said one of her biggest frustrations this session is the budgeting priorities.

“ e most disappointing thing is the way we spend money and we don’t put toward the people who need it the most, like our teachers and our kids,” she said.

Of her legislation that was not successful this year, Bradley said she had really hoped to pass her bills preventing minors from getting the COVID vaccine without parental consent, and to restrict trans athletes from competing as their identi ed gender.

However, she said she doesn’t plan to bring the bills back next year.

One bill that Bradley does plan to retry focuses on preventing certain foreign governments, such as China and Russia, from owning farmland or water rights. She said other legislation she’s considering for the next session looks at school safety and mental health.

“How can we as a state look at funding (school resource o cers) in every school and getting better mental health resources in our schools,” Bradley said.

With a background as Douglas County’s former assessor, Frizell sponsored several bills aimed at property tax reduction and a ordable housing, as well as some legislation on healthcare and education.

Two of Frizell’s successful bills will allow municipalities and counties to reduce their property tax rates to provide homeowners with some relief and creates property tax exemptions for nonpro t organizations purchasing land for a ordable housing.

“I’m very proud of (the tax exemption) because we did a lot of stakeholding on that,” Frizell said, adding that she worked with Habitat for Humanity and community land trusts. “I would love to see us really launch o of this and have more conversation in the House and the Senate.”

However, Frizell also introduced legislation that would have capped this year’s property tax increase, but the bill didn’t pass because of different plans from Gov. Jared Polis to address skyrocketing property taxes this year.

“I’m disappointed the majority party did not take my property tax bill seriously,” she said. “ is is something that we should have come together on. is is a bipartisan issue.”

Next year, Frizell hopes to build on her a ordable housing success and introduce legislation to incentivize special districts, like school and re districts, to o er land for a ordable housing projects.

She said she doesn’t currently plan

to bring back any of her failed bills from this session.

Rep. Anthony Hartsook

Hartsook introduced legislation targeting healthcare, small businesses, and veterans in his rst session.  When he re ects on his e orts, Hartsook said he’s proud of passing bills that will require health insurance to cover prosthetic devices for recreational use and to lower healthcare fees for small businesses.

“In the military, I was used to seeing veterans who lost limbs in combat have both a work prosthetic and an activity one and the fact that that wasn’t available to kids was dumbfounding to me,” he said. “So I was very proud to sponsor that legislation and help kids get out there and live life and have fun.”

One bill he sponsored this year that Hartsook plans to bring back would limit the governor’s executive authority powers in an emergency, such as during the covid pandemic.

“If the governor thinks (a situation) is so bad then he should call the legislature back into session and tell us to nd a solution and then we could do our jobs representing the people,” he said.

Another bill Hartsook would like to re-introduce would require health insurance to cover biomarker testing to help patients determine treatment.

Hartsook said he’s considering other legislation around healthcare fees in the future but wants to allow for market adjustment to this year’s changes rst.

Rep. Lisa Frizell

WILLIAM PETERSON, ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS

County joins lawsuit against state over Prop. HH

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On the same day Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 303, Douglas County Commissioners announced they will be joining a lawsuit to challenge the measure that looks to put Proposition HH on the November ballot, asking voters to approve a plan Democrats say will slow the increase in property taxes.

As property owners statewide are facing up to 50% tax increases, Democrats introduced Senate Bill 303 three days before the 2023 legislative session ended. With no public discussion and little debate, the bill passed the Democrat-controlled House and Senate and was signed by Polis. Passing SB23-303 allows the state to place what is known as Proposition HH on the November ballot. e measure asks voters to approve taking a portion of the TABOR surplus, or the state tax refunds citizens receive, and divert it for at least 10 years to homeowners and commercial property owners to keep property taxes lower.

Before Polis could even put ink to paper to sign the bill, legal challenges were led. e lawsuit challenging the proposition was led by Advance Colorado and by Steven Ward, who also serves as a member of the Englewood City Council.

e county announced on May 24 that it would be joining the original lawsuit. e primary focus of the legal challenge is the subject of the ballot measure, which plainti s claim violates the state’s single subject and “clear title” statutes.

According to the Douglas County announcement, commissioners believe the bill should be declared void and unconstitutional, precluding its implementation and enforcement; or, as an alternative, that the ballot title should be corrected “to provide a clear, detailed, and politically neutral explanation of its contents.”

“Any way you slice it, SB23-303 and Proposition HH do not prevent residential property owners in Douglas County from experiencing what will be the largest property tax increase in state history,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Abe Laydon.

e commissioners believe the title of the bill is misleading and does not clearly express the subject of the ballot measure.

At question is what exactly residents are voting on in November. While Democrats say the 10-year pause on TABOR will provide property tax relief, opponents say it will decrease the mandated state tax refund residents receive from revenue surpluses.

Commissioner George Teal said selling this ballot item as “property

tax relief” while sending TABOR refunds to fund state government and making long-term changes to the TABOR formula while failing to specify that the state surplus is being used to “unnecessarily”  back ll local taxing authorities is “misleading.”

Commissioner Lora omas said pushing Proposition HH in the “11th hour” of the legislative session without the contribution or approval from the local governments it directly a ects does not x the property tax issues.

omas said it simply takes away TABOR refunds, which are the “last remaining bit of tax relief” citizens have.

“Speci cally, the bill and ballot titles both fail to include any num-

bers concerning the property tax assessment rates and do not clearly inform voters that the property tax assessment reduction is minimal,” commissioners said in the provided statement.

Douglas County commissioners agree that Colorado law and precedent require that voters be informed of signi cant changes to law and of relevant numbers when they are asked to vote on a ballot measure.

To keep citizens informed, the county is planning to hold a series of town hall meetings. With the dates to be determined, residents can learn more about upcoming events by visiting the website at douglas.co.us and search live town halls; or call the board at 303-660-7401.

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County approves first read of camping ban ordinance

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

With little discussion and uni ed agreement, the Douglas County Commission approved the rst reading of an ordinance to limit public camping and prohibit temporary structures on public property.

With the initial approval, Garcia said the ordinance will now proceed to a second reading on June 20 where the commission is expected to take a nal vote. At that point, Garcia said it will become law 30 days later.

County Attorney Je Garcia said, “ e goal of the ordinance as it’s been presented is to prohibit camping on public property without written permission by the county unless no other shelter is available. In addition, it limits the erection of temporary structures on county property without written permission from the county.”

ose in violation of the ordinance can face a $1,000 ne.

“ e goal of the ordinance is to provide for public health, safety, and wellbeing. Especially for those using our county property and to assist those seeking shelter to nd safe and appropriate shelter,” Garcia said. Garcia is con dent the camping ban will hold up to possible legal challenges given court rulings in a case involving the City of Boulder.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, led a lawsuit against the City of Boulder, claiming the city’s camping ban, which had been in place since 1980, violates

provisions of the Colorado Constitution.

ose opposed to camping bans say they are cruel and unusual punishment because the homeless being cited do not always have access to indoor shelters.

Garcia said the ordinance, which was developed through the Douglas County Homeless Initiative, addresses many of the issues raised in the Boulder lawsuit, including the constitutional right to access public property and whether there is an unalienable right to rest in public places.

“We have crafted the ordinance to avoid those areas that have been found and treated negatively by the (Boulder lawsuit),” Garcia said. “We are already doing exactly what the court has asked us to do and we are following the court’s direction to provide for our community’s safety.”

Commissioner Abe Laydon, who spoke in favor of the bill, said, the ordinance will continue to build on the hard work of the Douglas County Homeless initiative.

“When you look at cities like Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco where rampant camping is allowed to persist at the expense of taxpayers and the business community – there is sort of a blind eye that’s turned to those sorts of encampments,” he said. “I’m really proud of the elected o cials in Douglas County, my colleagues and mayors and council members in municipalities that have uniformly supported this campaign.”

More discussion will be held on June 20.

Are you prepared for wildfires?

It only takes one spark to change your life forever. Thankfully, it takes only seconds to sign up for free emergency notifications, ensuring that you will be in the know if a wildfire is happening near you. Sign up today at douglas.co.us/CodeRed

Is yard work on your to-do list?

Warmer weather is ahead, and you can drop off any tree limbs, shrubs or brush that you need to dispose of for free every Saturday through October at Douglas County’s Slash-Mulch site. For more information, visit douglas.co.us and search for Slash Mulch.

Skip the trip!

Motor vehicle services just a click away

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 six local grocery store MVExpress kiosk locations. Find information at DouglasDrives.com

CSU Extension is helping Douglas County residents learn to grow vegetable gardens while planting extra to share with local food banks and community members in need. Longtime gardeners or first-time planters can get info at GrowandGiveColorado.org

Live Town Hall meetings

Did you know Douglas County offers Live Town Hall meetings, inviting you to engage in the local issues of importance to you and your neighbors? Register at douglas.co.us/townhall about all future Live Town Halls. Join online or by phone and listen to community conversations, ask questions and hear responses from experts.

2023 Bike to Work Day

Wednesday, June 28

Put some joy back into your commute! Join Way to Go and thousands of Denver-region residents for Bike to Work Day. Register to swap a ride in your car for a ride on two wheels on Wednesday, June 28, and help improve air quality. Sign up and be automatically entered into a drawing to win prizes. Visit biketoworkday.co for more information

Douglas County hosted a town hall about homelessness last year. FILE PHOTO

An example of a roadway sign in Douglas County sits at a Feb. 9 news

‘It’s time for me to speak up’

Sitting in her home in Centennial, surrounded by photos of her daughter, Lujan described Lauren’s many talents, from her beautiful singing voice to her athletic skills.

“People always say, you know, someone lit up a room. She really did,” Lujan said. “I feel blessed that she was in my life, even for a short time. She taught me a lot.”

Lauren lived with the mentality that she could accomplish whatever she put her mind to, her mom said.

“One of the greatest things about Lauren is she just — she had such a big heart,” Lujan said. “She was amazing because she found the beauty in everything.”

On March 29, 2020, Lauren was on spring break and staying at her father’s house, according to the lawsuit. She left the house for a few hours, which is when her parents thought she met up with someone, whom she communicated with via Snapchat, to get the painkiller Percocet.

The next morning, on March 30, Lujan was working in her office, which is near Lauren’s father’s house. She remembered getting a phone call from Lauren’s father, who said he did not think Lauren was breathing and that she was dead.

Lujan went to the house, where she saw paramedics and an ambulance.

“They wouldn’t let me in. So, I’m trying to, like, storm into the house to get to her and they wouldn’t let me in, which was horrible. And then I followed the ambulance to the hospital,” she said.

“Supposedly, she was alive when she went to the hospital,” Lujan recalled. “They kept coming in and telling me, ‘OK, well, we got a heartbeat.’ And it was like, ‘It’s really faint.’ And yeah — nightmare.”

According to the lawsuit, the Percocet that Lauren took was a pill laced with fentanyl. Lauren died from fentanyl poisoning on March 30.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains on its website that when people overdose on fentanyl, their breathing can slow or stop, which decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the brain and can lead to death.

Song for Charlie is a national nonprofit that raises awareness about fake pills made of fentanyl. It argues that when someone dies after taking a fake pill made of fentanyl, these deaths should be classified as “poisoning” rather than “overdose” because the person did not know what they were ingesting.

It took Lujan a long time to find out what had happened, she said.

“I don’t know if it was six months later, or nine months, or a year

later, really, when I finally read the autopsy report and realized it was fentanyl, and that she took one Percocet and it was laced,” Lujan said.

“I didn’t really think much more about it because the grief and the sorrow is overwhelming. And for me, not thinking about it, not dealing with it, was my defense mechanism,” she said. “I was just trying to deal with, you know, coping with the loss of my daughter.”

A year ago, Lujan began wondering what happened with the police investigation. She contacted the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and spoke with someone who essentially said, “‘Once we realized it was (Snapchat), there was nothing more we could do,’” she recalled. At that moment, she felt emotionally overwhelmed and was unable to think straight, she said.

“And so, I just let it go,” she said.

But then a friend told her it was time “to get angry about this,” Lujan recalled

One day, Lujan’s friend mentioned she heard on the news about the Social Media Victims Law Center and a lawsuit against Snapchat. Lujan did some research and reached out to the center

“I feel like it’s just time for me to not sit back anymore,” Lujan said. “It’s time for me to speak up.”

“I kind of look at it like she was murdered. And I’m upset because Snapchat doesn’t seem to do anything,” she said. “I almost feel like these drug dealers are protected behind Snapchat.”

The fight against Snapchat

The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Snapchat created an environment that allows drug dealers to “operate in a manner that directly contributed to the deaths of nine minors and young adults,” according to a Social Media Victims Law Center news release.

The nine minors and young adults are Lauren Lujan, Moses “Malik” Majekodunmi, Juan Jiménez Trujillo, Cole Brown, Michael Leonardi, Dylan Moore, Kevin Andrew Hutchings, Jaylen Penix and Allie Higdon.

Each of these individuals died after taking fentanyl-laced pills and/or edibles purchased from drug dealers connected to them by Snapchat, according to the news release.

“I want to be really clear — we don’t condone the sale of prescription drugs outside of a doctor’s prescription. We also understand that young people make bad decisions. They don’t deserve to die for it,” said Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center.

A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that a person lost their life as the result of the misconduct of another, Bergman said.

“In this case, the negligent and

Lauren Lujan smiling with her mother, Patti Lujan.

Lauren Lujan as a young child with her mother, Patti Lujan. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PATTI LUJAN

unreasonably dangerous design of the Snapchat platform,” he said.

He noted that it does not mean there are no other factors at play, and while he acknowledges people should not use prescription drugs without a prescription, “that doesn’t mean that they needed to die for it.”

“And that doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate to absolve Snapchat of its responsibility for contributing to the situation that led to the child’s death,” he said.

The lawsuit alleges that Snapchat’s platform “purposefully obstructs parental supervision” and “enables (drug) dealers to locate and access nearby minors and young adults,” per the news release.

Bergman said Snapchat provides people the opportunity to commit a crime knowing that the evidence is destroyed after the crime is committed, since Snapchat automatically deletes messages.

“The disappearing message feature allows drug dealers to actually put a menu or a smorgasbord of drugs online, knowing that the evidence of their crime will … disappear,” Bergman said. “The only benefit of the disappearing messages is to perpetrate crimes.”

Bergman noted Snapchat also has a geolocating feature, also called a “Snap map,” that allows users to share their location with one another. This feature allows for drugs to be delivered “like DoorDash or Uber Eats,” he said.

A third feature that Bergman said “unnecessarily facilitates young people hiding, forever, evidence of their solicitation of drug dealers” is Snapchat’s “my eyes only” feature, which allows for users to hide content behind a passcode on the app.

“They have made (an) intentional decision to not change the architecture of their platform, presumably because one of the appeals of the platform is to encourage kids to evade parental responsibility,” he said about Snapchat. “They’ve decided to not implement readily available design modifications because it reduces engagement, and their profits are tied to engagement.”

The lawsuit’s prayer for relief, meaning the damages and other remedies it is seeking, includes requests for punitive damages, loss of future income and earning capacity of each of the nine people, and monetary and emotional damages suffered by plaintiffs.

“This is not a case that is about the money. These families have suffered the worst loss that anybody can imagine,” Bergman said. “If through these efforts, we can prevent one family from going through this loss … then it’s worth it.”

The relationship between fentanyl and social media

At least every other day, the Social Media Victims Law Center hears from another parent who lost a child to fentanyl, Bergman said.

“I can’t tell you how horrible it is to get all of these calls,” he said.

“We have 70 cases filed involving children who have died of fentanyl.”

Bergman urges parents to have open discussions with their children about the risk of fentanyllaced drugs.

“It’s a hard discussion to have because no kid is ever gonna want to admit to their parent that they might be tempted to use Oxy or Percocet or something like that,” he said. “But I think you need to have the kind of discussion and

relationship with your kids so that they understand that they can die from this … and that the prospect of getting drugs online from a stranger is not worth the risk.”

“As opposed to just saying, ‘Don’t ever do this,’ saying, ‘If you — I hope you never do it, but if you do, don’t do it this way,’” he added.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl is involved in more deaths of U.S. citizens under the age of 50 than any other cause of death.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that the state’s total number of drug overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids mentioning fentanyl increased from 540 deaths in 2020 to 912 deaths in 2021, repre-

senting an increase of nearly 69%.

As reported by Bloomberg in January, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining Snapchat’s role in fentanyl poisoning deaths.

Bergman said the Social Media Victims Law Center only has one case where Snapchat was not the conduit through which the fentanyl-contaminated drugs were obtained.

“The fentanyl phenomenon appears to be a Snapchat-only problem, arising from the unique design of the Snapchat platform,” he said.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser released a report in March highlighting how social media platforms are used for illicit drug activity.

In the report, it notes that online access to illicit drugs is a “wholeof-Internet” challenge, as drug sellers are often active on multiple social media platforms.

The report describes the challenges that social media platforms like Snapchat may present to law enforcement investigations, given the “disappearing content.”

“When platforms intentionally tout features like near-immediate deletion of communication exchanges and short retention periods of data held on the platforms’ servers, it puts law enforcement at an extreme disadvantage when investigating those using the platforms for illegal activities like selling drugs,” said Cmdr. Nick Goldberger of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office in a news release.

The report also mentions the Social Media Victims Law Center’s civil lawsuits against Snap Inc.

“This is, by any fair estimation, cutting-edge litigation. And it is unclear how this is all going to come out because we’re the first firm to do it,” Bergman said. “We have no illusions that this is an easy fight. And we have every expectation that Snapchat is going to fight every step of the way.”

Snapchat’s response

In an emailed statement to Colorado Community Media, a Snap Inc. spokesperson wrote, “While we can’t comment specifically on active litigation, we can share all the progress we have made in this area.

“We use cutting-edge technology to help us proactively find and shut down drug dealers’ accounts. We block search results for drug-related terms, redirecting Snapchatters to resources from experts about the dangers of fentanyl.

“We continually expand our support for law enforcement investigations helping them bring dealers to justice, and we work closely with experts to share patterns of dealers’ activities across platforms to more quickly identify and stop illegal behavior.

“We will continue to do every-

Lauren Lujan was a senior at Littleton High School in 2020.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PATTI LUJAN

thing we can to tackle this epidemic, including by working with other tech companies, public health agencies, law enforcement, families and nonpro ts.”

According to the statement from Snap Inc., Snapchat has a new in-app parental tool, called Family Center, so parents can see all the friends their teens are communicating with on Snapchat and report any accounts for investigation.

ere has also been a decline in community-reported content related to drug sales, per the statement.

Snap Inc. said in September 2021, more than 23% of drug-related reports from Snapchat users contained content speci cally related to sales. As of December 2022, it was 3.3%.

In the statement, Snap Inc. said it preserves and discloses data in response to valid legal requests. e company published a statement in January on how it works with law enforcement authorities.

On May 9, which was National Fentanyl Awareness Day, the company said on its website that it has been working with senators on legislation, speci cally the Cooper

Davis Act, that would create a legal framework for tech companies to share information about drugs with law enforcement.

Hoping for change

Bergman said the Social Media Victims Law Center’s purpose is to “address the carnage that social media has in icted on young people, not only in the United States but around the world.”

He pointed to the increased rates of mental health issues and suicide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rates of depression and anxiety among young people have increased over time.

Suicide rates increased roughly 36% between 2000 and 2021, and suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34 in 2021, per the CDC.   e National Alliance on Mental Illness said on its website that research has shown people who spend more time on social media and less time interacting with others have an increased risk of feeling anxious and depressed. It notes, however, that it is di cult to know if spending time online actually causes anxiety and depression.

One of the allegations in the lawsuit is that Snapchat is designed to be addictive to minors.

“Social media is not going to go away. It’s going to be part of our lives for generations, but it doesn’t have to be as dangerous as it is,” Bergman said. “What I hope is that the companies will change how they design their platforms, and that they’re safer.”

Patti Lujan hopes that with this lawsuit, Snapchat will change its ways, if not go away completely. She said the platform allows criminals to hide, and she wants it to change so that messages and posts do not disappear.

“I’m hoping that they change their platform completely so these things are not hidden, and that if something happens, at least we can nd the person responsible,” she said.  She wants parents to talk with their kids about what can happen on Snapchat.

“I really want to make parents aware of what’s happening, because … I was just so naive to all of it,” she said. “It just never even entered my mind that this could be going on.”

Lujan hopes to educate people about the fentanyl crisis and the importance of not taking substances that came from unknown places.

“I’m just hoping some other parents … see this and maybe it can save someone else’s life,” she said. “It’s what Lauren would want me to do.”

Lauren Lujan had many talents, from her beautiful singing voice to her athletic skills, her mother said.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY PATTI LUJAN

MAYOR

Mrs. Claus during the holidays and time working with the Chamber of Commerce, Breitenbach started a rotary satellite club dedicated to and consists of adults who are developmentally disabled.

In addition to being a member of multiple nonpro t organizations and in the Mountain Pine Women’s Club, Breitenbach was active with Marshall re victims following the devastating re in in Boulder County.

“ at’s not Parker, but that’s Kam,” said O’Neill.

Parker Youth Commission

One year ago, the Town of Parker approved the Parker Youth Commission. Since then, nine high schoolers have worked with leaders in the community to represent, engage and advocate for local youth.

Iris Pixler, chairperson of the youth commission and recent Legend High School graduate, spoke about opportunities the commission created, such as a mural project, as well as a partnership with the Parker Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Alliance to communicate internship opportunities.

e commission also toured Douglas County voting center to learn more about ballot counting and local elections. ey even took what they learned to three middle schools to encourage students to get involved in local government.

Another accomplishment is the creation of two awards. e Pride of Parker award, which will gift a $100 gift card to ve middle school students who express what Parker means to them through a visual art piece. e Spirit of Parker award will be a $1,000 scholarship presented to two high school students who have made signi cant contributions to the town.

“I learned that even as a young member of the community, I have the power to make a di erence and enact positive change,” said Pixler. “I hope to continue inspiring young people to recognize the power their voices hold.”

Law enforcement accomplishments

Parker in the past year hired a new school resource o cer to help protect children and teachers.

e town also added a new unit to the Community Response Team to assist in taking care of cases where mental health is a primary concern.

Parker received $75,000 in funding from the Douglas County Commissioners for a new CRT vehicle and $168,000 for sta ng.

According to Toborg, the town’s police o cers also received an increase in compensation this spring, to stay competitive in regional pay. Pay levels helped recruit nine ofcers last year, the mayor said, with four about to graduate from the

academy and one o cer sworn in on May 24.

Economic, business and finance development

Late last year, the town took a step to make Parker a hub for activity through an agreement with Conuence Companies to develop six vacant parcels known as the My Mainstreet Project.

e project is a $275-million public-private partnership and is the largest economic development project in downtown Parker history, according to o cials.

“More than 140,000 square feet of commercial o ce space and an estimated 574 residential spaces, including for-sale condos,” said Toborg.

In addition, plans include a parking garage with 250 spaces as well as an outdoor community plaza, a new public park and art installation.

To grow employment opportunities, on the north side of town there will be an industrial space anticipated to bring more than 200 engineering, development, manufacturing and technology jobs.

e town created the Parker Economic Playbook to guide economic e orts by creating policies and programs to help expand employment opportunities and promote economic resiliency.

Several new businesses have opened and more are expected to.

e town council has modi ed the municipal code to no longer require a payment for a business license.

As new businesses like Black Rock Cafe have opened, stores, food chains and other businesses such as Whole Foods, In-N-Out and Chicken N Pickle will be making their way into the town.

“ e stories of local businesses are amazing and as you enter a shop here in Parker, everyone of them has a story to tell,” said Toborg. “Everyone of them has a story of why they chose Parker, why they chose their business and again, why they’re thriving. Nothing fails in Parker.”

Community development and infrastructure

Since the town was incorporated in 1981, the town has undergone its rst modi cation to land development ordinances. According to Toborg, this process provides consistent and predictable ability to the development community.

Following will be an update to the 2035 Master Plan.

With houses being built in the southwest area of town, other projects include several roadway projects meant to provide better connectivity in the community, such as the extension of Chambers Road from Hess to Stroh Road and an extension to Dransfeldt Road.

Engineering and public works are also in the process of updating lighting and sidewalks throughout the town.

“When you see the vacant land being developed and you say ‘remember when Parker’,” said Toborg. “When you see that, what you have

to recognize is probably 40% to 50% of what that developer could have built on has been carved out for parks, for open space, for undevelopable land. e town protects what you love.”

Parks, recreation and open space

“For the rst time ever, we have a parks, recreation and open space commission,” said Toborg. “To advise the council on just that, on parks, programs, open space and recreation programs. We’re excited to work with these commission members to continue o ering the very best recreation programs and amenities that our residents have come to expect.”

In light of the renovations to O’Brien Park, the recreation department has been re-accredited for the amenities as it is American with Disabilities Act and sensory compliant.

e town recently opened a new 15-acre park for residents at the trails of Crowfoot and has planned a 90-acre expansion of Salisbury Park and the 72-acre Harvey Open Space is planned to be open by the end of the year.

In addition to the High Plains Regional Trail, Toborg thanked other partnerships like the Rueter-Hess Advisory Board and the Parker Water and Sanitation District as they create recreation for the reservoir.

“I am always surprised at what a relatively small group of people, dedicated, can accomplish in a year,” said Toborg.

Fox31 news anchor Jeremy Hubbard served as master of ceremonies at the Parker State of the Town event.

PHOTO BY HALEY LENA

Thu 6/08

Morning Wave: Beginner to Inter‐mediate and Club Athletes 11-13s @ 8am / $80

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

Afternoon Wave: 14-18u Club Team

Athletes @ 11:30am / $80

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

Kids’ Zone: How Does Your Garden Grow? (3-7 yrs) June @ 3pm Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

Featured

Featured

Younger Than Neil @ 7pm

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Dirty Side Down Band: Dirty Side Down @ Q's Pub @ 7pm Q's Pub and Grill, 10133 W Chat�eld Ave, Littleton

Sun 6/11

SMARTER Goal Setting Class @ 2pm

Jun 11th - Jun 18th

Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr, Parker

High 'N' Dry: A Tribute to Def Leppard @ 6pm

Moe's Original BBQ, 3295 S Broadway, Englewood

Sat 6/10

Featured

Featured

Tue 6/13

Intro to CAD (STEM Camp for middle school students) @ 7am / $125

Jun 13th - Jun 15th

Valor - Academic Building Basement, 3775 Grace Blvd, Highlands Ranch. 303-4713000

Featured

Ghostland Observatory @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Neil Z @ Earls Kitchen @ 6pm

Earls Kitchen + Bar, 8335 Park Meadows Center Dr, Lone Tree

Fri 6/09

Featured

Eric Golden @ 2pm

Downtown Parker, 19501 Main‐street, Parker

Featured

Matt Skinner Band @ 3pm Private Event, Highlands Ranch

Featured

Anavrin's Day: Tailgate Tavern during Parker Days @ 3:30pm

Tailgate Tavern & Grill, 19552 Mainstreet, Parker

Hot Like Wasabi: HLW at Viewhouse @ 7:30pm

ViewHouse Centennial, 7101 S Clinton St, Centennial

Five Iron Frenzy @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Dwight Yoakam: Levitt Pavilion Denver @ 6pm

Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 W Florida Ave, Denver

Mon 6/12

Football Skill Positions Speciality Camp @ 7:30am / $179

Jun 12th - Jun 13th

Valor Athletic Stadium, Fields, and Courts, 3775 Grace Blvd, Highlands Ranch. 303471-3000

Featured

DJ Rockstar Aaron: Forbidden Bingo Wednesdays - 'Bout Time Pub & Grub @ 7pm

Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan

Wed 6/14 Thu 6/15

Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts: Lone Tree Summer Concert @ 5pm Sweetwater Park, 8300-1/2 Sweet Water Rd, Lone Tree

Fuego en Concierto @ 8pm / Free Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

powered by

This week, our newspaper featured a story reporter Tayler Shaw worked on over several months. is story tells the heartbreaking story of a teenager who died after allegedly buying drugs laced with fentanyl through Snapchat.

No real control FROM

THE EDITOR

Let’s get past the quick-reaction stu right away. No, the 18-year-old should not have been online looking for opioids. No one is saying she should have. What this story delves into is the fact that she DID NOT deserve to die from it.

Now, a pilot national case is moving forward — a program has taken the heartbreaking stories of nine families and led a lawsuit against Snapchat.

Snapchat is the perfect example of how sneaky social platforms can be. When posts expire and are deleted not long after you post — how can anyone not think this is not an invitation for the bad guys?

As a parent of a teenage girl and growing boys — I am constantly living in a reality that you never really gain control.

While they protest — my children are told they are not allowed on either Snapchat or TikTok. I am not excited about Facebook or Instagram, but I do feel a little more secure in my abilities to monitor my daughter’s behavior and teach my 9-year-old son who is now dabbling in the two approved platforms in our house.

ere are programs for parents out there such as Bark. is service helps a parent track a child’s behavior on their phones and tablets. Using it, I have been noti ed when my daughter is doing or saying questionable things.

When I interviewed the director of Bark earlier this year, I was told besides helping parents head o possible sexual predators, the services have also proven helpful in tipping o parents when their child is having suicidal thoughts.

But like most, Bark is not perfect. No service to police what your children are doing online is.

My daughter thinks I do not know but she does have or has had a Snapchat account. Our daughter has an editor/journalist for a mom and a cybersecurity expert for a dad. She had a bit of a disadvantage to other kids.

Humor aside — even with our skills, I know she skirts the rules. e temptation is too strong. When her friends are on TikTok and Snapchat – I can’t hold it against her that she wants to be.

But then I read the stories that are out there, including this week’s in-depth look from Tayler Shaw. Her story shows how easy it is to make shady deals on social media platforms. Her story shows just how little control our local authorities have.

After all, when a social platform has headquarters in New York or California — How can the Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce do anything? I am a little concerned with how little they have attempted to do in this case, but I do understand the obstacles.

Our own Attorney General Phil Weiser has said things are getting out of control with crime taking place through legal social platforms.

e problem, however, is until money become a focal point and these companies are having to pay a lot in legal fees and settlements — they really have no reason to do better for our kids, adults, and society.

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

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Question about cost

It has come to my attention that Abe Laydon, Douglas County commissioner, has registered for a seminar entitled “Senior Executives in State and Local Government” at the Harvard Ken-

nedy School. e cost of this seminar is $17,400, which is being charged to the General Fund.

Isn’t there a better use for this money?

Barbara Chapman Highlands Ranch

A return to grace

WINNING

Listening to the conversation around a business dinner table, I found myself trying to stay away from the conversation as it began to center around what was wrong with society and basically the world in general. If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I try and remove myself as quickly as possible from anything I perceive as negativity, and this conversation was devolving quickly in that direction.

Remaining quiet and checking my phone to try and avoid being drawn into the discussion didn’t quite work out the way I had hoped. Before I knew it, the group turned their attention to me and asked me what I thought. e good news is that I was already prepared with my

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

response, it’s my same response whenever I nd the people around me focusing on what is wrong with the world instead of what is right.

After placing my phone on the table, I looked around the table and one by one, I made eye contact with everyone before saying, “A return to grace.” I will share that whenever I give that response the rst reaction is usually confusion, followed by cynicism, and then possibly a little mocking, questioning my sincerity. Standing my ground, I made it a point to once again making eye contact with everyone before restating my position, “Yes, you all heard me correctly, a return to grace.”

Remaining silent once again, I waited for someone to ask me what it means to return to grace. And it never fails, someone will always ask me to elaborate on that statement.

Columnists & Guest Commentaries

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

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

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

Phone: 303-566-4100

Web: ParkerChronicle.net

To subscribe call 303-566-4100

THELMA GRIMES South Metro Editor tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com

HALEY LENA Community Editor hlena@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN FRANKS Production Manager efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

To opt in or out of delivery please email us at circulation@ coloradocommunitymedia.com

SEE NORTON, P13

Parker Chronicle

A legal newspaper of general circulation in Parker, Colorado, the Chronicle is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124.. Send address change to: Parker Chronicle, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110

Thelma Grimes

Equity policy approved in split vote

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County school board members approved changes to the district’s equity policy in a marathon nine-hour meeting on May 23.

e meeting started with a protest and board member Elizabeth Hanson resigning over concerns with the board’s direction.

e equity policy changes, mostly drafted by board president Mike Peterson and board member Christy Williams, passed by a 4-2 vote with Susan Meek and David Ray dissenting.

e updated policy includes an expanded de nition of diversity that includes identity, cognitive and instrumental diversities, as well as language outlining the purposes of the policy.

Expanding the de nition of diversity was the most contentious change to the equity policy with Meek and Ray arguing that it dilutes the original intent of the policy to address racism and bigotry in the district.

“Where do you stop,” Ray asked. “Let’s talk about social diversity, physical diversity, athletic diversity. I mean we could go on and on, but we’re losing sight of the reason for this policy. e reason for this policy is that we are in a system that

NORTON

FROM PAGE 12

Returning to grace means that we give everyone the same grace that we would expect when we screw up. I haven’t met the person, the company, the politician, or anyone else who hasn’t screwed up royally. And I include myself among the elite when it comes to making mistakes, I am pretty sure I am close to the top, if not at the top, when it comes to screwing up.

Are society and the world at large teetering on the precipice of total chaos and anarchy? OK, maybe that is a little dramatic, but then again maybe not. Are there people whose actions and words are driving us crazy? Absolutely. Do we sit stunned as we read or watch the news, wondering, “What idiot thought that was a good idea?” Or maybe we just let the anger and resentment fester inside of us until it reaches a boiling point or creates an ulcer. And then we share our outrage with anyone who will listen. And even if there is no one to listen, we go on a rant on social media, posting our anger and frustration, continuing to carrying the weight of what’s wrong with the world on our shoulders.

A return to grace means that instead of playing the blame game, we play the love and forgiveness game. I

continues to marginalize those who have been historically marginalized and that’s the problem.”

Meek noted that data from the 2021 Healthy Kids Colorado survey found 56% of Black students agreed they belong in schools compared to 71% of white students. District data on discipline practices indicate 41% of Black students in Douglas County schools were disciplined in 2021-22 compared to 16% of white students. However, the other boards members didn’t agree that adding to the de nition diluted the intention.

“I struggle to nd a reason why not to add more diversity if we’re including all students,” Williams said.

Board member Kaylee Winegar said she originally wanted to repeal and replace the policy because she doesn’t feel it’s necessary, but agreed the proposed changes are a good compromise after hearing from community members that it’s important to them.

“I think the revisions in place keep the good and bring clarity and certainty to the concept that we, as a district, do not intend to elevate certain ideals and beliefs over others,” Winegar said.

Public commenters were split between those advocating to keep the original policy and those who wanted to repeal the policy but would settle for the proposed changes.

know, I know, I have heard it before that this is not a realistic approach in dealing with the nonsense and idiotic decisions being made and the ridiculous actions of those who we do not agree with. And everyone is entitled to their own opinions. My opinion and position are that I would rather live under the spirit of love and forgiveness as opposed to harboring anger, resentment, and frustration relative to the things that I have absolutely no control over. And if you still disagree with me, or think I am a bit too naïve, then maybe this can be your rst attempt at o ering me some grace. Will society ever be perfect? No. Will people ever be without fault? No. Will the world ever get back to what the majority of us would call normal? Maybe, maybe not. But wouldn’t it be a better place if we all gured how to o er love and forgiveness instead of spite and hostility? As always, I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@ gmail.com, and when we can truly make that leap towards a return to grace, it really will be a better than good life.

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.

Peterson reiterated that the changes are mostly adding to the policy, not removing original language. He said that diversity, equity, inclusion policies may have good intent, but can be misimplemented, so his revisions are intended to prevent that.

“I think we’ve got (equity) pretty right in Douglas County, but we want to codify what ‘right’ means for Douglas County,” Peterson said.  e board was able to compromise on keeping language about the district implementing an “unbiased, culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining learning environment,” and not including elements of diversity such as learning preference or personality.

Board members agreed on outlining purposes of the policy, such as inclusive access to programs,

di erentiation of resources to help students acheive their potential and creating safe learning environments for all.

Denouncements of bullying, harassment, the promotion of speci c characteristics as superior or inferior and lowering standards or expectations for students were also added without issue. ough the board worked to nd common ground on the revisions, Ray and Meek also took issue with the process, saying they felt there was a lack of transparency and not enough input from equity experts.  Meek noted the District Accountability Committee approved a resolution asking the board to delay the changes and seek more feedback.

Private dog park site gaining pup-ularity

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Since Elle Ritt started renting her Wheat Ridge yard to fellow dog owners in November, she’s hosted birthday parties for pups, pooch photoshoots and doggie play groups almost every weekend.

Ritt is one of dozens of renters in the Denver metro area on a website called Sni Spot, which links people interested in sharing their yard with local dog owners who want a private fenced area to let their pups o -leash. rough Sni Spot, renters set an hourly rate per dog and time slot availability for users to book.

With two older dogs who need less exercise, Ritt said she wanted to let other dogs take advantage of her large yard and, so far, there has been no shortage of demand.

“It’s just mindblowing how frequently it’s used,” she said.

Ritt said a majority of her visitors don’t have their own yards and prefer to avoid public dog parks because of reactive or sensitive pups. e site allows users to tailor their search to t needs like a taller fence height or not having other dogs or animals visible.

Dr. Rebecca Ruch-Gallie, a 23-year veterinarian at Colorado State University’s Community Practice clinic, said the uncontrolled nature of dog parks leads to risks like ghts and disease transmission, which is why she typically recommends other ways to exercise dogs, such as daycare or private yard time.

In addition to walks and playtime, RuchGallie said some dogs need to run and all dogs bene t from exploring new routes and places.

Ruch-Gallie said she will sometimes take her pups on what she calls a “sni -ari.”

“ ey take in the world much di erently than we do, so give them those di erent scents to pick up and opportunities to see and smell di erent things,” she said. “Sometimes they just want to go, go, go and get their energy out and other times they just want to meander and take the sni s in.”

Mike Rieber, who has been renting his fenced pasture in Parker since October, said one of the best perks of sharing his yard is seeing how excited pups get to check out new scents and release their energy.

“ ey call it a Sni Spot and I never really understood how important that was to a dog, but that’s the rst thing they all do when they get here is smell everything,” Rieber said. “Especially with the repeat dogs, as soon as their paws hit the ground, boy, they’re o .”

Ritt’s experience has been similar, she said, adding that Sni Spot has been mutually bene cial, not just for the dogs, but also the humans. She’s received multiple thank you notes from visitors and attests that catching glimpses of visitors always makes her smile.

“It’s so cute to peek in the backyard and see grown men laying on their stomachs taking pictures of their puppies,” Ritt said.

Another Sni Spot user, Lyndsey Leach, who

rents her Lakewood backyard, agreed. Leach lost her own pooch three years ago but remains an avid dog-lover.

“It’s so nice when they’re comfortable and running around,” she said. “I’m always happy when they’re happy.” None of the three renters report issues with destroyed yards, rude users, neighbor complaints or unruly animals.

In addition to the positive mental health benefits, Leach said renting her yard is a convenient passive income and gives her the flexibility to be away from home if needed. Leach estimates that since she started in January, she’s had about 50 visitors and made around $400.

“I don’t really have any expenses associated with it, other than eaten tennis balls,” she joked.

Rieber said he didn’t originally think he would make much money from the app but has been happy with the extra cash. He noted the demand is only picking up in the warmer months, though he got a fair share of visitors during the winter as well.

“We’re not trying to maximize our revenue, we’re doing this more as a service for young people that have dogs and need a place that’s private,” he said.

For Ritt, her most recent month was her most successful, cashing in over $1,000, and before that, she averaged a few hundred dollars monthly.

“One of our dogs has had a ton of health issues, so it’s like SniffSpot funds her care,” Ritt said. “It truly has been a notable supplemental income.”

To learn more, visit sniffspot.com.

DOG PARK PHOTOS

Furry friends Finn and Mellie enjoy a sunny afternoon at a Sni Spot in Aurora. Dog owners can rent yards by the hour to let their canines release their energy in a safe and controlled environment.

Bailey, an Australian Cattle Dog, runs around Mike Rieber’s pasture in Parker. Rieber joined Sni Spot to provide a service to dog owners who don’t have yards or want to avoid dog parks.

A doggie play group poses in Elle Ritt’s Lakewood yard, which she rents to other dog owners through a website and app called Sni Spot. Ritt said sharing her yard benefits everyone involved.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SNIFFSPOT

Water Garden Society holds its annual sale

SSouth Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, on

the sale was over before noon, so plan an early arrival. See the online calendar at hudsongardens.org.

Preservation Celebration

Attendance was about 88 at Historic Littleton Inc.’s “Preservation Celebration” on May 18 in the handsome third- oor space at Shift Workspaces on Main Street in downtown Littleton. HLI o cers felt it was a major step forward in connecting business people with the more than 100 years of history in Littleton through photos, games, lecture and meeting new friends who are inter-

ested. See hlinc.org.

MOA

Museum of Outdoor Arts’ sculpture collection is displayed at Marjorie Park and Fiddler’s Green: Tour times, when guides will take visitors through both locations, are 10-11 a.m. at Marjorie Park and 1-2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 adult non-members; $5 youth 5-20 years old. (SCFD Free Days: ird Monday through October.) Debut of eight new murals at Fiddler’s Green on concert dates:

July 13, 27, Aug. 10, 24, Sept. 7, 21.

June 8: Zikr Dance Ensemble (David Taylor). Food and drinks available.

June 21: UnWine Wednesday with wine, beer, Hula Hoop performance, and re dance by Ana Cruz of Elevated Circus. 6331 S. Fiddler’s Green Circle, Greenwood Village. See website for more: moaonline.org.

Butteflies

Butter ies at Chat eld. Denver Botanic Gardens at Chat eld Arboretum, open daily until 3 p.m. 11500 Roxborough Park Road, Littleton. 303-791-7275. Explore Chat eld State Park as well. Take a picnic. Entrance ticketed. See botanicgardens.org.

Indigo Exhibition

Indigo Exhibition, workshops at Denver Botanic Gardens. AugustSeptember, various dates. See website for dates, information. More later. See botanicgardens.org.

Concours d’Elegance

Reminder — June 4: “Concours d’Elegance and Exotic Sports Car Show” on June 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Arapahoe Community College

West Lawn. Admission: $10. Under 12, free. Dreams of splendor! See coloradoconcours.org.

Cherry Creek Theatre

Cherry Creek eatre performance at the Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver. Free parking. “ e Headliners” by Je rey Neuman, Directed by Nick Sugar. Music direction: David Nehls. See cherrycreektheatre.org.

Denver Art Museum

Denver Art Museum will unveil reimagined new Hamilton Building collection galleries on May 14, reopening its African Arts, Modern and Contemporary Art and Arts of Oceana collections on May 14. Gallery labels and wall text will appear in English and Spanish.

Curtis Center

Curtis Center for the Arts, 2349 E. Orchard Road, Greenwood Village, will hold the 19th Annual Pastel Exhibition through July 1. Admission free Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. See greenwoodvillage. com/curtis.

Curious Theatre

Curious eatre announces a new season: Number 26, More soon. See curioustheatre.org.

Water lilies like this beautiful Siam purple will be available at the Colorado Water Garden Society’s annual plant sale on June 4 at Hudson Gardens in Littleton.

COURTESY PHOTO

SONYA’S

SAMPLER

plants and sta , with photos of what the plants will look like when they mature. Free ad-

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Hampden Hall, on the second oor of the Englewood Civic Center, was lled on May 20 with fans of classical guitar who came to hear internationally recognized artist Ana Vidović perform works by Bach, Giuliani, Mangore, Scarlatti and Sor. e Peabody Institute graduate, who lives in Baltimore, is from the small town of Karlovac in Croatia, where her father was a bass guitarist who performed nationwide with his band in his youth.

Vidović started playing guitar at age 5 in her hometown near the capital of Zagreb. She was in a local music show at 7 and began performing internationally at 11. She was admitted to Zagreb’s Academy of Music and studied with Istvan Roner until she graduated. Her reputation grew quickly in Europe and she was then invited by internationally famous Manuel Barrueccos to study at Baltimore’s famed Peabody Conservatory, where she graduated in 2003. She continues to make her home in Baltimore.

Vidović has performed throughout the U.S. and at major international performance venues in Austin, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Dayton, NYC, San Francisco, Australia, Japan, London, Brussels, Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Santa Fe and many more locations and has

PRESENTS

recorded six CDs. Summer performances include the Colorado Music Festival and Lake Tahoe.

She is teaching online master classes from Athens, Greece, where she will perform and teach through 2023. Live performances were important in the 2021-22 season, as well as the current year. ere is a Vidović DVD, called “Guitar Artistry in Concert,” which includes music by Torroba, Piazolla and Pierre Bensusan Sergiio Assad, Stanley Myers, Villa-Lobos and Agustin Barrios Mangore, and “Guitar Virtuoso,” a performance of works by Bach, Torroba, Paganini and Walton.

Englewood Arts Presents is o ering three more summer concerts at 2 p.m. on Saturdays:

June 3: Piano duets by Jennie Liu and Kevin Rojas: (Bach: English Suite; Rimsky-Korsakov: “Sherezade: e Young Prince and Young Princess” and Beethoven: “Piano Sonata No. 21, “Waldstein.”)

June 24: Saxophone and piano. (Sergie Govorox, saxophone and Britta De Groot, piano.)

July 18: Violin sonatas: Susan Paik, violin, and Teddy Niedermaier, piano.

Planning for the next season is underway and we will list it when received. ese matinees are a really magical way to spend a Saturday afternoon. See Englewood Arts Presents at englewoodarts.org for information. Tickets are reasonably priced.

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Croatian-born classical guitarist Ana Vidović, shown in a photo from her online media packet, performed on May 20 in Englewood’s Hampden Hall. COURTESY PHOTO

Honoring the lives of artists and creators

Indigenous comic and arts festival comes to Denver June 9-11

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Marcos Garibay fondly remembers his grandmother’s ofrenda. It was a traditional ofrenda permanently in the home — his grandmother kept it on her bedroom dresser. e ofrenda was covered with pictures of Catholic gures, dozens of candles and countless colorful plastic owers.

An ofrenda is an ornate altar often found in Catholic, Mexican and Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures. It honors loved ones who have died.

Even as a child, Garibay knew he would one day make his own ofrenda. And now an adult, Garibay has put his own, modern twist on the traditional ofrenda — he has an entire wall in his Denver home dedicated to the memorial. Honoring his mother who he lost at a young age, Garibay’s ofrenda has photos of passed loved ones surrounded by vibrant, colorful frames. Silk and plastic owers also dot the wall and bright lights are strung throughout. He also has framed newspaper clippings that have detailed some of his most tragic losses.

As he grew to further embrace his Indigenous cultural traditions, Garibay cultivated a love for art and creativity. He now dedicates his life to art and to making positive changes within his community as the program director for the Denverbased after school lm production company, Tomorrow Maker Studios.

“Celebrating Indigenous art is very important to me and my work because it’s a way to reclaim and honor something that was lost and taken from me,” Garibay said. “I grew up in a very culturally rich environment, but for the most part, most of the aspects of that culture

are things that are a result of Spanish colonization.”

Spanish isn’t the language his ancestors spoke, and Catholicism isn’t the religion they practiced, Garibay said.

“ e architecture people typically associate with Mexico is that of European design, likely constructed out of my ancestors’ demolished buildings,” Garibay said. “Celebrating Indigenous art is one of the few ways that I have left to reclaim this missing piece of my culture.”

is June, the McNichols Civic Center Building will be host to an elaborate ofrenda created by Garibay and his creative partner, Adrianna Baez.

“We are using EVA foam, cardboard, real moss, plastic owers, several di erent lights, paint, a few di erent textiles and PVC piping to construct our ofrenda,” said Baez.

“

e design work took about a week, and we are hoping to construct it in about two weeks. We have already begun constructing some of the components so that assembly will be easier, and we will have a larger crew to help with construction at the McNichols Civic Center Building.”

e ofrenda will be on display June 9-15 and honor the lives of artists and creators who were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Garibay and Baez’s ofrenda is in uenced by Mayan architecture and is topped with a skull inspired by Cizin, the Mayan god of death and earthquakes. In conjunction with Garibay and Baez’s ofrenda, the public is invited to bring photos of people they have recently lost and place them on a community altar.

e ofrenda is a part of Denver’s Indigenous comic and art festival called áyA Con, which takes place June 9-11. It is a celebration of indigeneity, hosted by and highlighting North American Indigenous creators. is all-inclusive familyfriendly festival features comic creators, bead artists, musicians, digital illustrators, drag ashion performance, designers, Indigenous

dancers and more. áyA Con is a collaborative festival with events taking place at several locations in Denver. e ofrenda, art and select performances will take place at the McNichols Civic Center Building. Panels, art making and community booths with interactive activities will take place at the Denver Art Museum. e Levitt Pavilion will also be hosting Rez Metal night, a free concert with a lineup of ve Indigenous heavy metal bands.

“Come to áyA Con to build connections, celebrate the di erences in all cultures and bond over fandoms,” said Kristina Maldonado Bad Hand, one of the organizers for the áyA Con event. “ ere is something for everyone. Our show is very eclectic. We have a wide range of artistic practices, music and stories, all centered around the things we love.”

Garibay and Baez’s áyA Con Ofren-

To learn more about the áyA Con Ofrenda at the McNichols Civic Center Building, visit mcnicholsbuilding.com/ exhibitions. For more information and a full schedule of áyA Con events, visit ayacondenver.art.

da is also something not-to-miss, Garibay said, adding it’s important to honor the lives of artists and creators because of their artistic struggle.

“ is is something that all true artists can relate to. It’s what connects us. ey will never have a chance to nish the projects they were in the process of bringing to life,” said Garibay. “My hope is that when people see the altar, they will discover some of these amazing artists and look into their body of work. is will allow the artists and their work to continue inspiring the living and lling their lives with beauty.”

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Douglas County schools raise $650,000 for wishes

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ree-year-old Titus, who has lymphoma, has a wish. He wants to meet Lightning McQueen, the smiling red stock car from the animated lm, “Cars.”

So, students and sta at Ponderosa High School decided to spend a week “Racing to Titus’ Wish.”

e highlight was when a spotlight shined on Titus riding into an assembly hall on Lightning McQueen with his family behind him.

It was part of Wish Week for the school and nine other Douglas County School District schools that participated in making dreams of everything from seeing the wonders of Hawaii to celebrating basketball heroes come true. Over the course of the last ve months, the schools raised a combined $650,000 for Make-A-Wish Colorado. at’s enough funds to grant 87 wishes for children like Titus with critical illnesses.

Ponderosa’s tally was $42,000, which can grant six wishes.

Each of the schools gave a child and their family a week they will never forget lled with love and support.

At Chaparral High School, participating for a 10th year, 7-year-old Aria, who has congenital heart disease, wanted to meet Princess Jasmine from Disney’s “Aladdin.” Aria wore her own purple princess dress as she met a handful of princesses in front of a make-shift princess castle at the school.

Students and sta of Chaparral High School donated $115,000.

Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch donated $198,000. Mountain Vista turned the assembly into a fashion show for their wish kid, 8-year-old Lucy, who has been diagnosed with kidney disease. Lucy was given the fashion show experience with hair and makeup, out t changes and a runway.

Highlands Ranch High School helped 9-year-old Becket’s wish of going to Lake Powell come true. Students and sta donated a total of $37,000.

With his own throne to sit on and a golden crown to wear, Douglas County High School students celebrated 11-year-old Carlos, whose wish is to go to the Virgin Islands. e school donated $35,000.

Legend High School put on a memorable week for 10-year-old Andrew who attends a Legend High School feeder school. Andrew has neuromuscular disorder and his wish is to go to Disney World. e school donated $132,000.

STEM Highlands Ranch donated $11,500 and also helped their featured wish kid, Colton, an 8-year-old with a nervous system disorder go to Disney World.

As Fidel, the 7-year-old feature wish kid for Rock Canyon High School is a fan of the Charlotte Hornets and wants to meet his favorite NBA player, the popular “RC” letters were painted to represent the NBA team. rough wish week events, the school donated $61,000.

Sky View Academy was able to make the wish of 13-year-old Angel - who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor - of having an Xbox come true during the closing ceremony. Sky View Academy donated $15,000.  Renaissance Secondary School donated $4,000 to help Matthew, a 15-year-old with leukemia, reach his wish of going to Hawaii.

Mountain Vista’s featured wish kid Lucy under an “I Love Lucy” sign.

COURTESY OF MAKE-A-WISH COLORADO

Legend High School’s featured wish kid, Andrew, walks through a tunnel.

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Vista lacrosse beats Valor for state crown

have something going pretty well here at Mountain Vista.”

BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

In recent years and matchups, the Mountain Vista boys lacrosse team has been at its best when the moment has been bigger, the stakes higher and the odds unfavorable.

On May 22, on the state’s biggest stage — at a packed Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at the University of Denver, the site of the Class 5A state championship game — Vista reached into its bag one last time for 2023 and pulled out yet another gem.

Despite being kicked into a three-goal hole in the early moments of the second quarter, Mountain Vista’s Golden Eagles rallied behind masterful goalie play and a collective grit to beat Valor Christian 10-8 in what was an all-Highlands Ranch title bout.

Never mind that Vista was the 5-seed in the tournament and going up against Colorado’s top-ranked squad and the second-best team in America.

Never mind that Vista lost 10-4 to the Valor Eagles less than two months ago in the

regular season.

Never mind that the Golden Eagles nished in fourth place out of nine teams in 5A League #3.

Do mind that Vista paid no attention to all the pregame stats and storylines and delivered a big performance in

the biggest of moments.

“Two (state championships) in three years. Not too bad,” Vista coach Matthew Plitnick said of his Golden Eagles, who as a 4-seed upset No. 2 Valor in an overtime thriller for the 2021 state title as well. “I think we

When asked if the win means a little more since it came at the expense of Valor, which is located less than three miles up the road from Vista, Plitnick said: “(Beating a school) that has a bunch of kids in district who went there as opposed to here?

Yeah, we’re the kings of Highlands Ranch.”

After a state tournament that spanned 12 days and began with 24 teams, the Golden Eagles are now the kings of Colorado, too.

But securing the scepter and sash didn’t come easy — Vista had to get past fourth-seeded Legend (6-5 Golden Eagles win) and No. 1 seed and seven-time state champion Cherry Creek (1211 Vista win) to reach the title game. rough it all, the Golden Eagles found a way to win — and keep winning.

“We put in so much work since the fall,” senior goalie Brant Ward said. “We knew we were the best team in the

SEE LACROSSE, P23

Drone soccer players compete in South Korea

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In Incheon, South Korea, ying orbs whistle, buzz and clash in the air in an e ort to glide through hoops for points. If you’ve ever seen Harry Potter, it’s a lot like a remote-controlled, electric version of Quidditch.

e increasingly popular sport is drone soccer. Students representing Westminster High School traveled for an international battle of aerospace skill in the FIDA World Drone Soccer Championships, which hosted more than a dozen international teams between May 17-20.

Four students from WHS paired up with four SkyBlazers from Cherry Creek —who nished second nationally in 2023. ey make up the U.S. National Team. e hybrid team ofColoradans nished thirdin Incheon in what is essentially the World Cup of drone soccer.

Recently, the team hosted South Korean players for a friendly competition at the Colorado Convention Center. But when the championships kicked o in South Korea, the friendliness faded and things got real.

“As you’re preparing for the matches, it’s kind of friendly because everyone is trying to help each other out, especially if you don’t have the right supplies at the right time,” said Helen Tran, a WHS junior and keeper for the U.S. National Team. “But once you’re on that oor, and about to face them, it’s really competitive and it’s like ‘We’re on opposite sides right now. You’re my enemy.’”

Drone soccer is the only educational robotics competition that is also an internationally sanctioned team sport by the World Air Sports Federation.

Here’s how it works: two teams of ve players compete against one another at the same time. Each team

has a keeper, a striker, and three defenders. e idea is to protect your own goal and y the striker into the other team’s hoop to score.

But students don’t just y the drones. ey must build, repair, and maintain them. ere are three three-minute sets, two out of three seals a victory. Between sets, there is a three-to- ve-minute period for modifying and repairing any potential damage.

the international stage, and WHS has been growing its program for three years.

“ e goal is to build aerospace programs and career pathways using this fun sport as an introduction program,” Sanders said.

ing. “I’m interested in doing aerospace engineering [also]. I never expected to go to South Korea, I just wanted to get involved in ying drones.”

“

ey’re kind of like a Formula 1 team working really well together,” Kyle Sanders, vice president of development for U.S. Drone Soccer, said. “It’s really the communication and teamwork that you see in professional aviation, working on airplanes or preparing for operations.”

e sport is just now gaining traction outside of South Korea, Sanders said, where it’s been popular since 2015. But slowly, other countries are coming along. e U.S. National Team is only in its rst competitive year on

Lottie Wilson, the career and technical education advisor at WHS, called it the gami cation of aerospace education.“ ey’re building them. ey’re programming them. ey’re engineering them. ey’re doing it all,” Wilson said. “It’s denitely getting kids hooked into aerospace education through gami cation.”

It’s been a surreal experience for the students, who can polish their skills and meet new people in a fun, brand new environment that’s loved drone soccer for years.

“I hope I get to keep doing this. It’s really fun,” said senior Luis Lechuga, who is attending Metropolitan State University in the fall to study mechanical engineer-

Lechuga and the other seniors in Incheon opted to miss their own graduation to make the trip. Being able to share this experience with like-minded students from all over the world has opened new ways of thinking about aviation and aerospace science, Tran said, and they’ve picked up some tricks from the Korean players along the way.

“I’m able to learn how to communicate, especially with a language barrier. We’re still able to communicate and share ideas with each other, and basically improve together,” Tran said. “It’s a really good and bene cial way to network. I’ve been able to befriend them through this shared passion, and so it’s just really cool.”

The Mountain Vista boys lacrosse team hoists the championship plaque after beating Valor Christian 10-8 in the Class 5A state title game May 22 at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

PHOTO BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ

‘Kings of Highlands Ranch’ is coach’s claim for team

LACROSSE

state, and we proved it tonight.”

Ward’s nine-save night was a big reason why the Golden Eagles (16-3) came out on top. After letting four shots sneak past him in the opening quarter, which put Vista at a quick 4-1 disadvantage, Ward was a completely di erent shot blocker the rest of the way.

Valor (17-2) scored just once in the second quarter and Ward pitched a shutout in the third. Meanwhile, Vista scored seven times over the second and third periods — three goals from Joel Palasz, two from Ethan Pearson, and one each from Dawson Long and Brady Brown — to turn a three-goal de cit into an 8-5 lead.

“He was the player of the game for us,” Plitnick said of Ward, who will take his lacrosse talents to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. “He was seeing the ball beautifully — the low shots, the high shots, everything.

DRONES

FROM PAGE 22

Since the program’s inception at WHS, interest has been through the roof, Robbie Ferguson said. Ferguson is the aerospace teacher and drone soccer coach at WHS.

“My students ask to come to practice. ey ask for extra practices all the time,” Ferguson said. “ ey really enjoy being a part of the team and everything that comes with it.”

Much of the program is graduating this year, Ferguson said, but fortunately the middle school interest is already signi cant, and continues to grow. Orchard Park Academy in Westminster is in its rst year of its drone soccer program.

e Pumas didn’t waste any time.

He was the player of the game, no question about it. It was impressive.”

Palasz scored twice more in the fourth quarter to put the nishing touches on a ve-goal night.

In the game’s nal seven minutes, Valor’s Blake Ham scored two goals and Baden Brown added another, but the damage done by Vista in the third period was simply too much for the Eagles to overcome.

“We stayed composed. at’s what it’s all about,” Palaz, who is also set to play lacrosse at Sacred Heart, said of what it took for Vista to come back after Valor had seized all the early momentum. “We knew what we were capable of doing and we did it. We just had to play the ball that we know how to play and that we’ve been coached to play. We did and it worked out.”

Long scored Vista’s lone goal in the rst quarter.

For Valor, Ham scored a team-high three goals, Brown had two, and Luke Alread, Christian Eframo and Rush LaSelle each tallied one. Star goalie Buck Cunningham recorded four saves while Kyle Green had one.

Orchard Park nished rst among middle school programs in nationals this past season, and nished fourth overall, beating even the WHS team. Recently, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis visited Orchard Park for a visit and lesson in aerospace acrobatics.

e future of drone soccer is bright, particularly along the Front Range. Experienced middle school students will be ready to step in and contribute right away at the high school level. e natural interest in the sport sparks a furious work ethic, and the results show it.

“I’m super proud of them. ey work really hard. ey work really well together, so that’s amazing. ey’ve just come a long way in the last couple weeks,” Ferguson said.

“ e interest level is just huge. Once you get them in, they’re hooked.”

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Has an opening for Staff Systems Engineer (multiple openings) (REF59908M) in Highlands Ranch, CO. Job duties include: Design, develop and maintain scalable, distributed, multi-threaded applications. Build automated tests and enable continuous delivery of the platform components. Position reports to the Highlands Ranch, Colorado office and may allow for partial telecommuting. The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $139,984.00 USD to $177,800.00 USD. Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position is eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Program, FSH/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time off and Wellness Programs. Qualified applicants should apply by emailing resume to careersus@visa.com. Must reference job code: REF59908M

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Visa USA Inc., a Visa Inc Company, currently has an opening for Software Engineer – Sr. Consultant level (multiple openings) (REF59339U) in Highlands Ranch, CO. Job duties include: design and develop API based applications using Java, utilizing spring framework. Design, develop, document, and implement new functionality, as well as build enhancements, modifications, and corrections to existing software. Position reports to the Employer’s Highlands Ranch, CO office and may allow for partial telecommuting. The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is $139,984.00 USD to $193,500.00 USD. Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position is eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Program, FSH/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time off and Wellness Programs. Qualified applicants should apply by emailing resume to careersus@visa.com. Must reference job code: REF59339U

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at the St. Andrews at Plum Creek community, located in Castle Rock, CO. The sale will be held on Friday and Saturday 16 and 17 of June 2023, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm each day. Follow your GPS to 3123 Newport Circle for the center of the community. The homes are located on Mount Royal Drive, Newport Circle and Compass Circle. From Exit 181 (Plum Creek Parkway) off of I-25 follow the signs to Mount Royal Drive. A full range of items will be on sale from appliances to baby clothes.

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HIGHLANDS 460 NEIGHBORHOOD

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Centennial 80122

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Friday & Saturday, June 9th and 10th 8am-4pm

Numerous homeowners in the Pradera community will be participating in this event

Major cross streets into Pradera are Bayou Gulch and Parker Road, Parker 80134 Call Dotson Skaggs, Kentwood Company, 303-909-9350 for more information.

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County Line Road widening project stays on track

Design phase continues

BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a regional e ort to widen a high-tra c, highvolume roadway near Highlands Ranch, the Douglas County commissioners approved a $226,418 amended contract to complete the nal designs.

e $25 million project will widen the segment of County Line Road from University Boulevard to Broadway.

is project will include a new tra c signal at the Clarkson Street / County Line Road intersection, a mill and overlay for the portion of the road within the City of Littleton located between Phillips Avenue and Broadway, as well as adding sidewalks.

On May 23, Benjamin Pierce, the county’s capital improvements project supervisor, said the amended contract is needed to allow

Felsburg Holt & Ullevig Inc. to complete the nal design stages and keep the project on track.

Currently, Pierce said, the county is on track to get construction bids by late 2023, pending the completion of right-of-way acquisitions, coordination of necessary utility relocations, and obtaining necessary clearances from the Colorado Department of Transportation.

In voting in favor of the amendment, Commissioners Lora omas and George Teal agreed that it wouldn’t be possible without the regional partnerships that have made it possible to fund the entire project.

Teal said, “It’s the child that no one knew they wanted that suddenly everyone wants.”

In the fall of 2019, the Denver Regional Council of Government selected this project to receive $10 million in federal funds through the Transportation Improvement Program. Besides the federal funds, other entities have also kicked in contributions, including $7 million

from the City of Centennial and $1 million from the City of Littleton.

Commissioner Abe Laydon said it is a high-tra c roadway that serves more

than Highlands Ranch as commuters from Douglas and Arapahoe counties use County Line Road regularly.

Douglas County has committed to spending $7 mil-

lion on the project.

Pierce said if all goes as planned, construction will start by early 2024 and the widening project will be completed in late 2025.

DOUGLAS COUNTY IMAGE

Public Notices call Sheree 303.566.4088

Legals

No. 2023-0056

To Whom It May Concern: On 3/21/2023 12:53:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: THOMAS G. NEDDENRIEP

Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. ACTING SOLELY AS NOMINEE FOR UNITED WHOLESALE MORTGAGE

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC

Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 1/5/2018

Recording Date of DOT: 1/11/2018

Reception No. of DOT: 2018002660

DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt:

$313,600.00

Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $300,380.25

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations of the terms thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property:

LOT 8, BLOCK 1, STROH RANCH FILING NO. 9G, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO.

Which has the address of:

12541 Prince Creek Dr, Parker, CO 80134

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 5/18/2023

Last Publication: 6/15/2023

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

Dated: 3/21/2023

DAVID GILL

DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

RYAN BOURGEOIS

Colorado Registration #: 51088 1391 Speer Boulevard, Suite 700 , DENVER, COLORADO 80204

Phone #: (303) 350-3711

Fax #: Attorney File #: 00000009747080

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE

DATES on the Public Trustee website: https:// www.douglas.co.us/public-trustee/

Legal Notice No. 2023-0056

First Publication: 5/18/2023

Last Publication: 6/15/2023

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

NOTICE RENOTICED AND REPUBLISHED PURSUANT TO CRS 38-38-109(2)(b)(II)

caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: TERESA M CHAVEZ-KRUMLAND

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: failure to pay pursuant to the Settlement Agreement

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 30, VILLAGES OF PARKER FILING NO.

22, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO **SCRIVENER’S AFFIDAVIT DATED

JUNE 24, 2022, RECORDED ON JUNE 27, 2022 AT RECEPTION NO. 2022045107 TO CORRECT LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

Which has the address of: 11346 South Lost Creek Circle, Parker, CO 80138

The Deed of Trust was modified by a document recorded in Douglas County on 7/28/2022, Reception number 2022051945. Reason modified and any other modifications: to correct the date of Settlement Agreement in DOT.

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 5/25/2023

Last Publication: 6/22/2023

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

Dated: 3/28/2023

DAVID GILL DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

K. JAMIE BUECHLER Colorado Registration #: 30906 999 18TH STREET, SUITE 1230-S , DENVER, COLORADO 80202

To Whom It May Concern: On 4/5/2023 11:42:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: LISA DEEL AND MARK DEEL

Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC., ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, as trustee of Spruce Hill Mortgage Loan Trust A Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 12/30/2021

Recording Date of DOT: 1/6/2022

Reception No. of DOT: 2022001602

DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $1,072,000.00

Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $1,056,637.82

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower's failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 65, THE PINERY FILING 24B, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO.

Which has the address of: 9120 Sunshine Meadow Place, Parker, CO 80134

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 6/1/2023

Last Publication: 6/29/2023

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

Dated: 4/5/2023

DAVID GILL

DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

DAVID R DOUGHTY

Colorado Registration #: 40042 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990

Fax #: (303) 706-9994

Attorney File #: 23-029579

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: https:// www.douglas.co.us/public-trustee/

Legal Notice No. 2023-0064

First Publication: 6/1/2023

Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS OF COLORADO, LLC., ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: Onslow Bay Financial LLC

Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 9/30/2015

Recording Date of DOT: 10/8/2015

Reception No. of DOT: 2015072977

DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt:

$224,000.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $200,641.24

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower’s failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property:

LOT 52,, BLOCK 2, STROH RANCH, FILING NO. 3, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO

Which has the address of: 19211 E. Legend Ave, Parker, CO 80134

NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the Public Trustee’s office, Philip S Miller Building Hearing Room, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 6/1/2023

Last Publication: 6/29/2023

Publisher: Douglas County News Press

Dated: 4/5/2023

DAVID GILL

DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is:

DAVID R DOUGHTY

Colorado Registration #: 40042 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112

Phone #: (303) 706-9990

Fax #: (303) 706-9994

Attorney File #: 23-029643

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: https:// www.douglas.co.us/public-trustee/

Legal Notice No. 2023-0065 First Publication:

Legal Notice No.: 945402

First Publication: May 18, 2023

Last Publication: June 8, 2023

Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

Bids and Settlements

Public Notice

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #024-23 RETIREMENT PLAN CONSULTING SERVICES

The Department of Human Resources in conjunction with the County Manager, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests proposals from responsible and qualified firms for the provision of retirement plan consulting services on the County’s 401(a) money purchase plans and 457 defined contribution plan.

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

RFP documents are not available for purchase from Douglas County Government and can only be accessed from the above-mentioned website. While the RFP documents are available electronically, Douglas County cannot accept electronic proposal responses.

RFP responses will be received until 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 by Douglas County Government, Finance Department, Purchasing Division, 100 Third Street, Suite 130, Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. Six (6) copies of your proposal response must be submitted in a sealed envelope, plainly marked “Request for Proposal (RFP) #024-23, Retirement Plan Consulting Services”. Proposal responses will not be considered which are received after the time stated and any proposals so received will be returned unopened.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in a said proposal and furthermore, to award a contract for items herein, either in whole or in part, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the County to do so. Additionally, we reserve the right to negotiate optional items/services with the successful vendor.

Please direct any questions concerning this RFP 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.

Legal Notice No. 945516

First Publication: June 1, 2023

Last Publication: June 1, 2023

Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

Public Notice

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #018-23 VOLUNTARY ACCIDENT AND CRITICAL ILLNESS

The Department of Human Resources of Douglas County Government, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests proposals from responsible and highly-qualified insurance companies offering voluntary accident and critical illness policies.

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

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

All RFP responses are due on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at 4:00pm. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to see that their proposal response is received on time. Proposals will not be considered which are received after the time stated.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in a said proposal 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

Arapahoe County donates money to support migrants

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Denver is experiencing a new surge of migrants coming to Denver, with hundreds arriving each day.

is new uptick aligns closely with the expiration of Title 42, which allowed U.S. o cials to turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in the name of protecting public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since its expiration, more immigrants who are seeking asylum can enter the country.

To help support those arriving in the metro area, the Arapahoe County Commission donated $10,000 to the Newcomers Fund, a fund philanthropy organization, Rose Community Foundation.

County commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the donation, with Commissioner Je Baker absent during the recent meeting.

“ e city of Denver has really carried the burden of this issue, in excess of several million dollars,” said District 5 Commissioner Bill Holen. “I would propose that we authorize this disbursement of $10,000 directly to the fund to help in terms of the humanitarian needs of these immi-

SCHOOLS

Ray tried to postpone the changes by one year, but his motion failed 4-2.  Superintendent Erin Kane presented her implementation plan for the equity policy in April, which outlines how equity will apply to academics, student wellness, resource allocation, human resources and parent engagement.

Protest before meeting

Leading up to the board meeting, around 50 students, parents and community members gathered outside the district building to protest the district’s response to reported racism happening at Castle Rock Middle School, where eighth grader Jeramiah Ganzy has been a victim of racial slurs in school and through social media.

Douglas County mom Melissa Sutherland organized the protest

grants, many of whom barely have the clothes on their back.”

Rose Community Foundation started the Newcomers Fund in December 2022 to address the needs of migrants arriving in Denver. Since then, over 10,000 people have come to the area, seeking asylum and safety.

“( e fund is) really meant to just mobilize philanthropic dollars for people who want to support incoming newcomers and migrant arrivals,” said Katie Peshek, communications director at Rose Community Foundation. “To deploy that money as e ciently and quickly as we can to the local nonpro ts on the ground who are doing this work, day in and day out.”

Rose Community Foundation makes grant decisions with a steering committee including representatives from the City and County of Denver, the State of Colorado, e Denver Foundation, Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, and Mile High United Way, according to its website.

Speci cally, they o er funding to nonpro ts that provide access to shelter, food and clothing, medical care, workforce and employment,

with her son Glenn, a sophomore at Douglas County High School, after hearing Jeramiah’s story.

Outside the district building, Sutherland called on the district and school board to condemn and act on discrimination happening in schools.

“If the school district doesn’t start stepping up, then we’ll be out here every time,” Sutherland said.

Jeramiah and his family rallied alongside Sutherland, saying they appreciated seeing the support and hopes the district will begin taking steps to educate students about diversity and enforce consequences for discrimination.

During the board meeting, Kane made a statement addressing the protest, apologizing for the Ganzy family having to experience racial slurs. She said multiple students were suspended in response to the reports.

“Racism in any form is unacceptable at DCSD and a direct policy violation,” Kane said.

Public Notices

to do so. Additionally, we reserve the right to negotiate optional items/services with the successful vendor.

Please direct any questions concerning this RFP 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.

Legal Notice No. 945514

First Publication: June 1, 2023

Last Publication: June 1, 2023

Publisher: Douglas County News-Press

translation, transportation, and childcare for newcomers.

To date, the fund has raised about half a million dollars and has granted most of it to nonpro t organizations that address these needs.

Peshek said the latest spike in arrivals has shown that the city and state funding is not enough to meet the needs of everyone who is arriving.

“I think it really does take a community approach to support these newcomers,” she said. “It really does require all government, foundations and philanthropy, nonpro ts that all really (work) together — that it’s not an issue that can be well-addressed by one without the others.”

e Arapahoe County commissioners’ donation came from their social services fund balance, where they are keeping some money in case the county later realizes more local needs as the migrant crisis continues.

In the meantime, however, they decided to contribute what they could to support Denver.

“ is feels like what we can responsibly do right now, although nothing feels like it’s enough,” said District 2 Commissioner Jessica

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Campbell-Swanson. “ is gives us some exibility in case we need to respond here in the county.”

Holen said he hopes the county’s action will also inspire support from other metro counties.

“Allowing these funds to go forward, we could be an example or a leader that may have an impact on convincing some of the other metropolitan counties to contribute to this program,” he said.

Peshek said the fund has received donations from across Colorado — and even across the country. She encourages and appreciates everyone who has supported them thus far.

“As Denver has continued to grow, more issues faced by the metro are really regional issues and are faced by surrounding counties, municipalities as well,” she said. “So, seeing the support from a neighboring county to engage on this e ort and help support these nonpro ts that are on the ground, I mean, I think it’s incredible.”

Donors and nonpro t organizations can learn more about the fund, how to donate and how to apply for a grant at https://rcfdenver.org/nonpro ts-and-grants/what-we-fund/ newcomers-fund/.

• Publication of any given letter is at our discretion. Letters are published as space is available.

• We will edit letters for clarity, grammar, punctuation and length and write headlines (titles) for letters at our discretion.

• Please don’t send us more than one letter per month. First priority for publication will be given to writers who have not submitted letters to us recently.

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• Include your full name, address and phone number. We will publish only your name and city or town of residence, but all of the information requested is needed for us to verify you are who you say you are.

• Letters will be considered only from people living in Colorado Community Media’s circulation area in Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Je erson and Weld counties.

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• Keep it polite: No name calling or “mudslinging.”

Public Notice INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) #021-23 COMMERCIAL CONVEYOR DISHWASHER

The Department of Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support Services of Douglas County Government, hereinafter referred to as the County, respectfully requests bids from responsible and qualified companies for the purchase and installation of a new commercial conveyor dishwasher.

The IFB documents may be reviewed and/or printed from the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing

System website at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com.

IFB documents are not available for purchase from Douglas County Government and can only be accessed from the above-mentioned website. While the IFB documents are available electronically, Douglas County cannot accept electronic bid responses.

Bid responses shall be submitted in a sealed envelope plainly marked “IFB No. 021-23, Commercial Conveyor Dishwasher” and mailed or hand-carried to the address shown below prior to the due date and time. Electronic and/or faxed bid responses will not be accepted. Bids will be received until

3:00pm on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 by the Douglas County Finance Department, Purchasing Division, 100 Third Street, Suite 130, Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. Bids will not be considered which are received after the time stated, and any bids so received will be returned unopened.

Douglas County Government reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive formalities, informalities, or irregularities contained in a said bid and furthermore, to award a contract for items herein, either in whole or in part, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the County to do so. Additionally, we reserve the right to negotiate optional items/services with the successful bidder.

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

Legal Notice No. 945515

First Publication: June 1, 2023

Last Publication: June 1,

JUNE

8-11,

Carnival Rides: Open Thursday, June 8 from 4:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Festival and Carnival Rides: Friday 4 pm – 10:30 pm

Saturday 10 am – 10:30 pm

Sunday 10 am – 8:30 pm

PARKER’S FAVORITE WEEKEND!

Shopping

Groove Mazda MAIN STAGE

– Live Music ALL Day

HEADLINERS:

Friday, June 9 presented by 8:15 pm: Still They Ride (Journey Tribute Band)

Saturday, June 10 presented by 8:30 pm: Chris Daniels and The Kings

Sunday, June 11 presented by 5:15 pm: That Eighties Band

THANK

BUY DISCOUNTED UNLIMITED CARNIVAL RIDE WRISTBANDS ONLINE

Thursday Friends & Family Special

4 wristbands for $99

Only available for use on Thursday, June 8

Sold online through 12 noon Wed. May 31

Single-Day Unlimited Carnival Rides: $35 each

Good any one day during the festival

Sold online through 12 noon Wed. June 7

4-Day MEGA Unlimited Carnival Rides: $89 each

Good all 4 days of the festival

PURCHASE DURING THE FESTIVAL

Single-Day Unlimited Carnival Rides: $40 each

TICKETS FOR INDIVIDUAL RIDES