Centennial Citizen 0425

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April 25, 2014 Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 22 A publication of

centennialcitizen.net

Business booming in Centennial Mayor shares recent success stories in annual address By Chris Rotar

crotar@colorado communitymedia.com One of Colorado’s newest municipalities continues to be one of its most thriving cities. That was the obvious takeaway from Centennial’s annual “State of Our City Address” on April 17. “One of the most unique things about Centennial is that major capital projects are funded with the use of cash, and as a re-

sult, the city is debt-free,” Mayor Cathy Noon said during her address before about 300 people at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Centennial. “While other cities struggled through the recession, Centennial continues to do very well because we never over-extended ourselves, and as a result, have the necessary funds to spend when needed.” Noon pointed out that the city’s 2013 revenues of $77.1 million were 10 percent higher than expected, which she attributed largely to a better-than-anticipated sales tax haul. To that end, the mayor detailed numerous recent retail additions at a pair of prominent shopping centers, the Streets at

SouthGlenn and the Centennial Promenade. “And for quenching your thirst,” as Noon put it, the 13-year-old city recently added its first two craft brewers, Blue Spruce Brewing Company and Two22 Brew. The mayor also noted the emergence of a “corporate recreation corridor along Arapahoe Road.” Celebrity Lanes and the recently expanded Centennial Gun Club could soon have company if the development of TopGolf — a computerized driving range with an array of amenities — gets final approval from the Business continues on Page 19

Centennial Mayor Cathy Noon delivers the state of the city address April 17 at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Photo by Chris Rotar

Higher-ed changes discussed

SCRAMBLING FOR EGGS

Goal of legislation is to increase graduation rates By Jennifer Smith

jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Eggs-cited children rush centerfield at the South Suburban Family Sports Dome in Centennial on April 19 for the annual egg hunt. Hundreds of brightly-colored empty plastic eggs were up for grabs and later traded for a variety of prizes, including healthy snacks, stuffed toys and even an autographed sports merchandise. Hundreds of local kids hit center field at the Family Sports Dome on April 19 in search of some egg-cellent treasure. More than 500 empty eggs were hidden around the field and tracked down by 150 happy hunters who could then trade the empty eggs in for healthy treats, toys and other age-appropriate items.

PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY SMITH

Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia visited Arapahoe Community College in Littleton on April 14 to address educators gathered to discuss changes in higher education stemming from HB 12-1155, which was designed to raise graduation rates for students who enter college less than prepared. “Leaving college with debt but no degree, that’s the worst of all possible worlds,” he said. “We need to graduate more students, and graduate more diverse students. That’s our goal.” It’s not just good for the students, it’s good for the state’s economy, he added. By the year 2020, 74 percent of all jobs will require some form of higher education. But 40 percent of students who enrolled at a Colorado college in 2011 needed some form of remedial education in math or English, and the number goes up to 66 percent for those in community college. Of those, only about 22 percent graduate. “We are losing students every step of the way,” said Garcia, who at one time was president of Colorado State University at Pueblo. According to its author, HB 12-1155 offers colleges more flexibility in how they offer remedial coursework in an attempt to retain more of those students. “We needed to create flexibility, and we needed to allow the institutions to have more control over this,” said Dr. Matt Gianneschi, director of the Postsecondary and Workforce Development Institute. The institute is an arm of the Denver-based Education Commission of the States, a nonpartisan education-policy agency largely funded by the states it serves. Prior to the bill’s passage, the Colorado Graduation continues on Page 19

Local eggs-pert, Eve Dustin, 8, center, is joined by siblings, Camille, 6, right, and Ian, 5, left, at the South Suburban Family Sports Dome’s annual egg hunt. Eve found the sought-after golden egg which not only named her the winner of the 7- to 9- year old category, but yielded a large basket of goodies.

Personal fitness trainer Sharise Plescia creates an eggs-plosion of color as she scatters hundreds of plastic eggs as part of the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District’s annual egg hunt April 19 at the Family Sports Dome in Centennial.

Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.


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