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February 28, 2014 Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 14 A publication of
centennialcitizen.net
Website to track major road project Visitors to get up-to-theminute news on Arapahoe widening work in Centennial By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com The City of Centennial has contracted with a PR firm to provide “public outreach” services for the $15 million project to widen Arapahoe Road from Waco Street to Himalaya Way. Bachman PR will oversee the project website, which will be accessible at http:// arapahoeroad.com. The website is scheduled to go live on March 7. Lisa Bachman, whose Colorado Springsbased public relations agency has been involved in promoting a number of high-profile road projects in the metro area in recent
years, said the new website will include work schedules, notices of public meetings related to the project, project photos, public comments and FAQs. “The website will be the place for people to go to get all of the latest details and information” about the project, said Bachman. Centennial Engineering Manager Travis Greiman said one of the main goals for the website is “to communicate the impacts the project will have on adjacent properties, to engage the public during the final design phase and obtain input from residents on a prioritized list of enhancements” related to the project, including new berms, fencing and landscaping. While formal roadwork is not scheduled to begin until March 2015, Mayor Cathy Noon said city officials are making a concerted effort to educate and involve the public during “every step of the process.” Project continues on Page 15
Three signalized intersections, including this one at Arapahoe Road and Waco Street, will be redesigned as part of a $15 million project to widen Arapahoe Road in east Centennial. Photo by George Lurie
Mock trial offers real experience Arapahoe team takes on texting-and-driving case By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
South metro leaders laid out a rosy picture of the area during the FirstBank Community Leaders Forum at Arapahoe Community College on Feb. 20. Courtesy photo
Local leaders share success stories South metro area thriving and growing, they say at ACC event By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com It was a virtual love fest at Arapahoe Community College on the morning of Feb. 20, with community leaders from Centennial, Douglas County, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Littleton and Lone Tree praising each other and touting their own recent accomplishments. “Government gets a lot of knocks … but you will not find a better group of people to govern than the group you have right now,” Greenwood Village Mayor Ron Rakowsky said after reading a long list of names, many of whom were in the room for the FirstBank Community Leaders Forum. Littleton Mayor Phil Cernanec kicked things off by noting an influx of development activity such as Breckenridge Brewery, a large mixed-use project at Broadway and Dry Creek Road, two apartment complexes, a host of automotive dealership improvements, the King Soopers remodel and the proposed construction of an events center. “Littleton itself is mostly built out, and certainly not sleepy,” he said. Lone Tree Mayor Jim Gunning said the Charles Schwab campus that’s under way
will add about 4,000 jobs to his city. The health-care industry is burgeoning in and around Sky Ridge Hospital, as well, with a new Kaiser Permanente facility. Add Cabela’s, Embassy Suites and the new arts center to the mix, and Gunning says the city is thriving. Upcoming things to watch for in Lone Tree are the planned light-rail extension, a pitch to CSU for its first metro-area campus, and possibly a new library and a circulator bus. “These things come together and they form a very powerful magnet for business,” he said. Centennial Mayor Cathy Noon noted her city just became a teenager and is experiencing the accompanying growth spurts. “Things are getting better,” she said. “People are willing to reinvest in our community and their businesses.” On the horizon are more national chains for the Streets at SouthGlenn, some small breweries, 42 acres of mixed use north of Ikea and improvements to Arapahoe Road. ViewHouse restaurant will open a second location in Centennial, with sweeping views for rooftop diners, games and water features. TopGolf, which Noon described as a combination of golf and bowling, is planning a facility that will also feature food and drinks. Englewood Mayor Randy Penn de-
scribed his city as the “elder stateman” of the group. “Englewood is old, but we are not dead,” he said. New apartments will replace the demolished Flood Middle School on South Broadway soon, there’s a new Sprouts grocery store, and Swedish Hospital is expanding to seven stories. A mixed-use redevelopment will rise at Broadway and Englewood Parkway, and the Belleview corridor will likely be designated for urban renewal, said Penn. Additionally, he’s excited about improvements to the South Platte River that will result in more recreational opportunities. Douglas County Commissioner Jill Repella said her board has focused lately on transportation, safety, economic foundations, natural resources and community service. “It is our responsibility to make sure the conditions exist to be successful in all five of those areas,” she said. “When you put the right conditions in place, economic development happens on its own.” Notable projects have included the new Children’s Hospital, and work toward finding a solution for the congested C-470 corridor. “We have to solve these problems on a local level,” she said.
Although the trial was mock, the lessons were very real for the students who battled it out in the courtroom over a case of texting and driving on Feb. 21. “This stuff really is real, and one minute of distraction can change a life forever,” warned Arapahoe County Judge Darren Vahle. He’d heard a real case earlier in the day that involved a 19-year-old woman, barely older than the kids on the mock-trial team. She unexpectedly hit her brakes to check the GPS on her phone, causing a man on a motorcycle behind her to slide under her car. “The worst thing is, she killed a father of three,” said Vahle, who graduated from Arapahoe High School just as one team who went before him that day will do this spring. The AHS team went up against Regis during the final round of the two-day regional tournament, and it was clear that their preparation had made them aware of the dangers of texting and driving. Their case involved a 17-year-old boy who claimed he could “blind text” who hit a 22-year-old female cyclist who was talking to a client on a hands-free device. “With new power comes great responsibility, and with that responsibility can come great consequences,” said Lindsey Connor in her opening statement. While the judge doesn’t render an opinion on the mock case, there were three tournament judges to score the kids’ legal maneuverings — everything from addressing Vahle as “your honor” to making the right objection at the right time (even the judge laughed when one Regis student objected on the grounds that opposing counsel was “bolstering the witness” instead of “badgering” him) to their impeachment skills. Mock continues on Page 15
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