1-Color
February 13, 2014
75 cents Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 122, Issue 15 A publication of
douglascountynewspress.net
School safety: It takes a team Mental health training one key, say former counselor, school district officials By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com News of the Dec. 13 Arapahoe High School shooting hit former Rock Canyon High School guidance counselor Susan Young hard. “The second I heard it, I just sat down in my living room and started crying,” she said. Young didn’t know Highlands Ranch resident and shooter Karl Pierson or his victim, Claire Davis. But as a 15-year high school guidance counselor, she knows the pressures unique to teens, and the counselors who serve them. “Every one of us has had students we worked with that have taken their lives,” said Young, who retired last year and now runs an independent counseling business. “It’s devastating when that happens.” Young is equally certain the team at Rock Canyon prevented tragedies. Post-Columbine, the Douglas County School District developed “an extensive protocol” for threat assessments that included counselors, social workers, psychologists, security staff and teachers, among others, she said. No red flag was ignored. “Even if a kid made a comment, ‘I just
A train was derailed near the intersection of State Highway 67 and US 85 in the Town of Sedalia around 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6. The incident closed down the main entrance to Sedalia on Highway 67 for the next 30 hours. Photo by Hannah Garcia
Derailed train closes highway in Sedalia No one injured as 17 cars leave tracks By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia@coloradocommunitymedia.com Crews worked through the night and the following day to get a train back on track after it derailed last week in Sedalia, closing down a small stretch of State Highway 67, which serves as the main entrance point to the town. At around 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6 the train derailed near the intersection of Highway 67 and US 85. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, it took until 7:30 p.m. the next evening before the road opened back up, and the tracks were operational not long after that. “We heard a bang and thought it was a
car crash,” said Pat Norwood, an employee at Bud’s Bar, located about a block from the intersection. Some people from the bar went outside to investigate, she said. “They told us the train derailed and we found out that no one was hurt, which is a miracle if you saw the scene,” said Norwood, who is also a volunteer firefighter with the West Douglas County Fire Protection District. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, 17 train cars went off the track, all of which were empty and remained upright. There were no injuries reported and no other hazards or threats were present for those in the area. The sheriff’s office was on scene immediately after the incident, along with West Douglas Fire and representatives from CDOT. Norwood said the town sees about 40 trains in a typical 24-hour period on the
two sets of tracks that run through Sedalia. She said she was glad no one was hurt, but the traffic burdens are another story. “It is an inconvenience, because that highway is our main access to the world,” she said. Traffic wishing to go west on Highway 67 was being diverted from US 85 to Airport Road to Peterson Road to Highway 67 beyond where the train derailed. Andy Williams, spokesman for BNSF Railway Company, said the company had to delay four trains and rerouted others. “Everyone did what they needed to do,” Norwood said. “The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the West Douglas County Fire Protection District, the railway crews — they were there as quickly as anyone can possibly be.” The cause of the derailing remains under investigation, Williams said.
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Castle View wrestler seriously injured Joe Hunsaker breaks neck after ‘legal move’ in match POSTAL ADDRESS
By Jim Benton
jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com Injured Castle View wrestler Joe Hunsaker, who has lost movement in his lower body, was scheduled to be moved to Craig Hospital on Feb. 10 to begin neuro-rehabilitation. Hunsaker, a 195-pound senior who was one of the captains on the Sabercats football team,
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broke his neck Feb. 1 during a wrestling tournament at Thomas Jefferson High School. Hunsaker’s Dad, Jim, is the team photographer and was on the mat when Joe’s opponent used a double chicken wing — where a wrestler lifts his opponent from behind by hooking his arms under the opponent’s armpits — to put Hunsaker to his back in a clean wrestling move. “I believe this was an accident,” said Jim Hunsaker. “Joe’s opponent was performing a relatively common move. It is a legal move and Joe’s opponent was not trying to hurt him. Wrestler continues on Page 17
Castle View wrestler Joe Hunsaker broke his neck during competition Feb. 1. Courtesy photo
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