$1.00
March 26, 2020
GET OUTDOORS You don’t have to go far for an escape from boredom P12
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Council OKs emergency declaration COVID-19 pandemic is making its impact felt in Englewood BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Children can visit the schools from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and receive breakfast and lunch combined in one package throughout the time schools are closed. Cossette said the food stations are offering yogurt, granola, breakfast bars, sandwiches, low-fat milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. For now, the school district has enough food, but it may take donations at some point. “It is awesome to do this for our kids and be able to act when they really need us. It is also really rewarding to see us interacting with the community and getting the opportunity to show what nutrition
It was a meeting unlike any other for Englewood City Council on March 17. Englewood Mayor Linda Olson called the meeting to order with councilmembers around her outdoors — in the upper-level parking lot on the south side of the Englewood Civic Center. Councilmembers Cheryl Wink, Othoniel Sierra and Rita Russell opted to participate in the meeting while seated in their respective cars. Residents could watch, but only from a distance as a few Englewood police officers, along with cones and barricades, blocked them from getting too close to councilmembers. COVID-19’s impact is being felt around the world, and it forced Englewood to be innovative in its approach toward what might be council’s final in person meeting for a while. Englewood City Council passed an emergency declaration and an emergency preparedness/city council meeting participation policy at the March 17 outdoor meeting. The meeting lasted a little over 20 minutes and saw both ordinances pass unanimously. The emergency declaration’s intent is to provide the necessary organization, powers and authority to enable city resources to prepare for the public health emergency around COVID-19 — the technical name of the novel coronavirus illness spreading around the planet. The declaration allows
SEE SCHOOLS, P8
SEE COUNCIL, P8
Kahlesi Johnson, left, and Rose Johnson receive food at Cherrelyn Elementary from Kendra Schappaugh, kitchen manager at Colorado’s Finest High School of Choice. Englewood Schools has been providing free food to students at sites at Cherrelyn Elementary and Bishop Elementary. JOSEPH RIOS
Englewood schools adapt to life in limbo Food stations pop up; online learning will begin April 1 BY JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Englewood Schools Director of Nutrition Services Katie Cossette called school cafeteria workers unsung heroes, whether they get recognized or not. Those heroes in Englewood Schools are the ones who provide the only nutritious meals some Englewood students receive, Cossette said. Data from the school district shows 57% of Engle-
wood Schools students receive free school lunch while an additional 8% get lunch at a reduced price. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Englewood Schools will be closed through at least April 17 per orders from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, and those students who rely on food from school can’t get it in cafeterias for the time being. Instead, school cafeteria workers are leaving the kitchen and providing food outside Cherrelyn Elementary, 4500 S. Lincoln St., and Bishop Elementary, 3100 S. Elati St. Englewood Schools is providing grab-and-go meals outside the two schools for any child under the age of 18 as the school district contemplates what is next for learning operations.
PERIODICAL
DID YOU KNOW INSIDE
Unemployment claims in Colorado rose by more than 6,000 during a 10-day period earlier this month. Find out more on page 2.
VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 100 | ISSUE 5