April 29, 2021
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
DouglasCountyNewsPress.net
VOLUME 119 | ISSUE 26
County board chair removed in dispute The incident began with a national media request BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Gov. Jared Polis, center, visits a mobile vaccine clinic, an effort supported by state officials to bring vaccinations sites to locations COURTESY OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE VIA FACEBOOK around Colorado. The state has two bus routes and was to announce a third soon.
State’s vaccine effort hopes to close gaps Colorado targets residents who face barriers to accessing vaccine shots BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Even with Colorado’s six mass vaccination sites around the state up and running — and with local health providers also putting shots in arms — state officials knew they needed to go further to reach Coloradans who can’t drive to appointments or set them up online. That’s why Colorado started organizing what it calls “equity clin-
ics” — and as of mid-April, state officials had worked with more than 100 community organizations in the effort to reach low-income areas, people of color and rural residents, too. For some communities, barriers to coronavirus vaccination aren’t just economic but can also stem from distrust, Gov. Jared Polis said. “It is important that people understand some of the legitimate roots of that skepticism, where, inexcusably, Black Americans were experimented on without their permission,” Polis told Colorado Community Media. That’s a reference to what became known as the Tuskegee syphilis study: In 1972, the Associated Press
broke news that the federal government had let hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama go untreated for syphilis for 40 years for research purposes. A public outcry ensued, and the study ended three months later, according to the AP. The effects of the study still linger — it’s routinely cited as a reason some Black Americans are reluctant to participate in medical research, or even go to the doctor for routine check-ups, the AP reported. But other communities also experience “vaccine hesitancy,” and making vaccination quick and easy is crucial for the state to be able to SEE VACCINE, P6
Dream Big Dreams...
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 8 | SPORTS: PAGE 14
Infighting broke out among Douglas County commissioners after the board chair was stripped of that title and the members began lobbing accusations at each other. Commissioner Lora Thomas was removed from the chair position after her fellow board members — Abe Laydon and George Teal — accused her of lying and using her title “for personal gain politically,” according to a resolution posted to the Douglas County website April 23. That resolution, which was set to be voted on in an April 27 meeting, also states that the former board chair sent emails to members in the business community that were interpreted by some — who have active land use applications in the county — as intimidation. “Commissioner Thomas’ actions have brought a sad day upon the people of Douglas County,” according to the resolution. Interview requested The incident began April 16 when the board received a media request from a national media outlet for an interview with a board member, SEE BOARD CHAIR, P7
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