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August 19, 2021
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
SouthPlatteIndependent.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
LITTLETON CELEBRATES COMMUNITY
VOLUME 76 | ISSUE 41
Speakers urge mask mandate in Littleton Schools Academic year gets underway without mask requirement BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Teresa Burden, principal at Ford. “We had people lined up at 7:30 and doors didn’t open until 7:45. When we went out, it was like they were waiting for Disneyland.” Ford started its school year over capacity with 660 students. It pulled enrollment from four schools: Franklin, Highland, Peabody and Lenski. “But a lot of the kids live in the
Littleton Public Schools launched the new school year without a face mask requirement, though that didn’t sit well with some parents who spoke at a school board meeting Aug. 12. The district’s current health and safety protocols are not enough now that the new delta variant is the dominant COVID-19 strain in Colorado, several community members who spoke at the meeting said. “Given how delta has changed the game, I think having a low school infection rate over the last year is like saying we didn’t get any wildfires while it was raining,” one man who gave public comment by phone said. With classrooms at full capacity, he said the two best lines of defense are masks and vaccines. Vaccines are not available for children under 12 years of age, but a mask mandate for elementary children would ensure in-person learning for as many days as possible, he said. “I wonder what the acceptable number of infections is for those who can’t choose vaccines yet,” he said, taking a jab at the district’s oftstated goal of having 100% of LPS students ready for post-secondary education by graduation. Earlier in the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Melissa Cooper gave
SEE SCHOOLS, P4
SEE MASKS, P13
Western Welcome Week returns with lots of in-person activities. Take a look on Page 18.
Littleton district opens two new schools Newton Middle School, Ford Elementary welcome students BY SHANNA MAXCY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Two new school buildings welcomed students Aug. 12 in Littleton Public Schools — the first in
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40 years. A new Newton Middle School building and a brand new school, Dr. Justina Ford Elementary School, both located in the west Centennial part of the district, were projects that stemmed from the bond passed by taxpayers in 2018. “It’s always fun on the first day of school, but it’s crazy when no one has been to the school before on their first day of school,” said
FINDING NEW OLD PLACES
Lesser-known historical sites abound across area
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