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Week of March 31, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
SouthPlatteIndependent.net
VOLUME 77 | ISSUE 21
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
Littleton City Council considers lodging tax to pay for arts, tourism Issue may be on November ballot BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Littleton’s City Council debated the prospect of
Jonas Harberger says hello to unofficial store mascot Pickles the cat, held by manager Chris Ibsen.
PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN
O’Toole’s Garden Center was ‘lifeblood’ for many Plans to close decades-old business in Littleton send shockwaves for patrons, partners BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
There is much that patrons and community members love about O’Toole’s Garden Center in Littleton beyond just the rows of eye-popping, verdant vegetation. There’s Pickles the cat, the store’s unofficial mascot, who can be seen lounging in plastic growing trays atop wooden, soildusted shelves. There’s the fact that it’s a family-owned business with more than 30 years of stories and legacy. But maybe most importantly, it’s a place where people gather, where you’re treated as a friend and where community thrives. It’s why when store owner Adele O’Toole announced March 22 that the business would be closing Aug. 31 after selling its
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property to a developer, shockwaves could be felt throughout the Littleton community and beyond. North Carolina-based developer Lennar Multifamily Communities, which bought the property from O’Toole, had been eyeing the neighboring site at Columbine Square for a new mixed-use development for years. O’Toole said the store had been on “borrowed time.” “That will leave a hole,” said Rick Townsend, who helped found the Columbine Memorial in Clement Park following the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School. “I believe those are the places that become kind of the lifeblood of the community,” Townsend said. “O’Toole’s has really been invaluable to us … we always knew they were there to help us when something came up.” A legacy of community Much of the store’s character is embodied by manager Chris Ibsen, who for years has SEE LIFEBLOOD, P6
SEE PROPOSAL, P9
Small grass fire may have been related to fireworks Flames burned for just minutes on night of March 24 BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A small grass fire in Jackass Hill Park that began around 9:40 p.m. March 24 may have been caused by fireworks, said South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Eric Hurst. “Neighbors only heard fireworks, they didn’t see anyone shooting them off and there was no one in the area of the fire when our firefighters arrived,” Hurst said. Hurst said the fire was extinguished just after 10 p.m. with the last officer leaving the scene around 10:20 p.m. The fire posed
20 22 SPECIAL SECTION
creating a lodging tax for hotels that could provide money for the city’s arts, culture and tourism programs during a meeting March 22. The issue could appear on the November ballot for
no threat to residents or structures, Hurst said. Firefighters found a single, unexploded bottle rocket near the fire, Hurst said, but there was no other evidence as to what started it. “The official cause is undetermined but possibly related to fireworks,” Hurst said. Littleton resident David Sprunt, who lives on Sunset Drive just 50 yards from where the fire burned, said neighbors used a fire extinguisher and stamped on flames to put out the fire, which burned several hundred square feet. “We often hear illegal fireworks fired on the hill during the summer, especially around the Fourth of July, it’s a miracle we haven’t seen a fire before now,” Sprunt said.
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