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February 14, 2014 Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 13 A publication of
centennialcitizen.net
To feed or not to feed?
RAISING THE ROOF
Centennial council considers wildlife ordinance By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Workers install sections of metal roofing on Feb. 10 at MorningStar at Jordan, a new assisted living and memory care facility being built on the northwest corner of Arapahoe and Jordan roads. The facility is scheduled to open in June and will feature 55 assisted living suites and 29 individual memory care apartments. Cenetennialbased Haselden Construction is the general contractor on the project. Photo by George Lurie
Woman thrives with new cancer drug Ellen Smith, a Centennial resident, is a ‘pioneer’ in groundbreaking clinical trials By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com In March 2008, Willow Creek resident Ellen Smith developed a nasty cough. “My doctor treated it as pneumonia but it just wouldn’t go away,” Smith says. “Finally, he sent me to the emergency room, where they discovered a large mass on one of my lungs. I never was a smoker so it was a big shock.” After Smith had a lung removed in August 2008 and then spent the following year battling lung cancer, her doctor told her the disease had progressed to Stage 4 and nothing more could be done. During a trip to Italy, Ellen Smith said she was drawn to this tree, which is missing a portion of its trunk but is other“It was a death sentence,” says Smith, wise healthy. As part of her cancer treatment, Smith had one of her lungs removed. Courtesy photo 64, a former Douglas County kindergarten teacher. “But my family and I just didn’t acIn June 2009, Smith was accepted into Smith took full advantage of her new cept it.” the CU Center’s program and became one lease on life: She got married again, So Smith sought a second opinion, makof the first people in the world to receive watched her daughter get married, traveled ing an appointment at the Anschutz Mediwith her husband to Europe and welcomed the experimental drug. cal Campus of the University of Colorado three new grandchildren to the world. “It was exciting, but it was also frightHospital’s Cancer Center. She had heard “I’ve had a fantastic support system,” doctors there were doing clinical trials on ening,” Smith says. “There were no prec- she says. “There’s a reason I need to be edents.” an experimental lung cancer drug. Almost immediately after starting the here. There’s a lot to live for.” Made by the drug company Pfizer, the Smith’s remarkable story of survival is experimental drug, Crizotinib, was some- drug regimen, Smith began to feel better. inspiring — and encompasses many “firsts what controversial when it was introduced While the Crizotinib did have a number of in 2009, in part because of its cost — nearly side effects, it kept her cancer in remission 6x1.75_BringAppetite_Layout 1 2/3/14 11:15 AM Page 1 Woman continues on Page 10 $10,000 for a month’s worth of treatment. for two years.
At a Feb. 10 study session, the city council reviewed a report by Deputy City Attorney Maureen Juran that looked at the possibility of creating an ordinance to prohibit the “unreasonable feeding” of certain wildlife. After receiving complaints about the overfeeding of certain wildlife — and the resulting public health threats — councilors had directed the city attorney’s office to look at how other local jurisdictions dealt with the issue. “It is said that one person’s nuisance is another Noon person’s joy,” Juran said. “Centennial is simultaneously lucky and cursed enough to [have] an abundance of wildlife.” Mayor Cathy Noon said the council’s consideration of a wildlife feeding ordinance “is not related to one specific complaint.” “A few years back, before I was on the council, the coyote issue was a big problem,” Noon said. “The city actually heard somebody was luring coyotes to their property just because they liked to see the puppies.” While state law prohibits the feeding or luring of “big game” including bears, moose, deer, mountain lions and coyotes, Juran reported that only Lone Tree, Greenwood Village and Englewood have ordinances on the books regulating the feeding of wildlife; Littleton, Cherry Hills Village, Parker and Aurora do not. The Centennial Municipal Code “does not clearly limit or restrict the manner by which persons can engage” with wildlife within Centennial, said Juran, who characterized the proposed ordinance as “a proactive step.” “Wildlife conflicts can be difficult,” she told councilors, “because, while some people habitually feed and perhaps inadvertently shelter wildlife, neighbors may not want wildlife around at all.” Juran suggested “responsible feeding” of birds and squirrels should be allowed in Centennial as long as “you don’t hurt your neighbor’s right to quiet enjoyment of their property.” Mayor Noon said that sometimes “folks can take things a little too far with their bird feeders, not realizing that all of the increased bird activity can affect the people living around them” — and draw “lots of pigeons,” an issue that Noon said she has experienced at her own residence. “Pigeons can definitely become a Feed continues on Page 10
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