July 23, 2020
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastlePinesNewsPress.net
VOLUME 7 | ISSUE 50
School district grapples with reopening Dougco delays start amid uncertainty about reentry plans SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Imagining Douglas County without Tri-County Health Commissioners, health chief address planned split at public meetings BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With Douglas County and the TriCounty Health Department headed for a breakup, triggered by the health
agency’s recent order on wearing masks in response to the COVID-19 crisis, leaders explained themselves and addressed the public over the issue at a pair of meetings. The sessions came just before Gov. Jared Polis issued his own statewide order requiring mask wearing indoors on July 16. Still, at press time, Douglas County commissioners had not veered from their path, announced July 9, of ending ties with Tri-County Health in a year’s time
for Tri-County. Tri-County Health on July 8 approved an order by a 5-4 vote to require masks in public indoor spaces and outdoors where people can’t remain 6 feet away from others. The order includes a long list of exceptions, including for disabilities and medical or mental health conditions. More than half the state’s population had a mask-wearing
The Douglas County School District has delayed the start to its school year by roughly a week as district staff and board members grapple with forming a reentry plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools will open on Aug. 17 as opposed to the previous start date of Aug. 12. Superintendent Thomas Tucker announced the delay on July 14, one day after an hours-long board meeting offered few answers about how the district plans to usher students back in the fall. The district at this time intends to return with in-person learning, five days a week. Board directors on June 23 approved general concepts for reopening and contingency plans if in-person learning proves impossible. But on July 13, board directors pressed Tucker and district staff for more details in the plan to reopen schools. “We are at a point where parents need to have an exact understanding of what their child’s day is going to look like,” Director Elizabeth Hanson said. Some directors including Hanson and Krista Holtzmann said they had hundreds of unanswered questions. Teachers had expressed panic and terror at the thought of returning on
SEE TRI-COUNTY, P4
SEE SCHOOLS, P8
and making other arrangements for administering public-health services in the county. On July 14, the commissioners — Roger Partridge, Lora Thomas and Abe Laydon — addressed the public on the matter, with each explaining their reasoning. About a dozen people submitted public comments at the virtual meeting. SEE COUNTY, P10
Tri-County mask order still stands alongside statewide rule Unlike the state, health agency requires masks outdoors BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Those who refuse to wear masks in public could technically face up to a $5,000 fine and up to 18 months in jail
once an order by the health agency for Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties goes into effect July 24. But that’s the standard maximum penalty set by state law for any violation of a local public health order in general, according to the Tri-County Health Department. “If enforcement action needed to be taken through legal means, our recommendation to the court would be no more than a $25 fine for a first violation,” said Gary Sky, spokesman
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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