1-Color
January 30, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 27, Issue 11 A publication of
highlandsranchherald.net
Wildfire legislation rolled out Key recommendations by governor’s task force absent By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
The home crowd cheers after Bailey Roby makes a layup.
Bailey Roby makes a layup late in the fourth quarter in Highlands Ranch on Jan. 24.
Bailey Roby practices shooting three-pointers during halftime. The Roby family had to pick up the special blue padding on his prosthetics the same day as the game “otherwise he wouldn’t be able to play,” according to his mother. Photos by Hannah Garcia
Down, but not out
Player with prosthetic legs ruled ineligible to play By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia@coloradocommunitymedia.com
W
ith the last few minutes trickling off the clock, it was a layup by Mountain Vista senior Bailey Roby that made the crowd erupt in cheers. “I’m usually a three-man,” said Roby, referencing his prolific ability to make his shots beyond the perimeter. A bittersweet moment, and possibly the last chance the teen will have to score in his high school career. Born with just three toes on each foot, Roby had both legs amputated as a baby. He was fit with his first pair of prosthetic legs at age 3. Now, wearing a pair of Ossur Flex-Run legs — similar to those of South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius — Roby is caught up in a tangle of red tape that will likely bar his entrance into another game this year. The Golden Eagles improved to 14-1 after routing the Littleton Lions 80-49. And although Roby’s two points may not have won the Jan. 24 game, he still earned the loudest applause of the night following his entrance into the game with mere
minutes left in the last quarter. Supporters hugged and patted Roby on the back, offering congratulations and condolences. “Bailey has been involved in Mountain Vista basketball one way or another for the last four years,” said Pat McCabe, Mountain Vista’s athletic director. Last year, as a junior, Roby made the junior varsity basketball team, fulfilling a dream. Since then, Roby has been a fourth-quarter favorite, with fans chanting his name and thundering with applause. This year, Roby made the varsity team, playing in eight games and scoring 11 points. Midway through the season and after calls from officials, the Colorado High School Activities Association stepped in, claiming that it could not authorize Roby to play because of his disability. “There was no way we could get an authorization letter for Bailey to play,” McCabe said. “We got a one-time official authorization (from CHSAA) for the game tonight against Littleton. After this, he won’t be able to get in the game.” Although he was authorized to play last year on the junior varsity team, McCabe said the “speed and physicality” of varsity basketball poses more risk with Roby in the game. But Roby’s parents, Kim and Scott, said they do not understand why the decision was enacted halfway through the season.
“It’s actually kind of confusing for us,” Scott Roby said. “We were told that it was an issue with the officiating, that the officials were not comfortable letting Bailey play without a waiver.” With Mountain Vista’s .933 win rate so far this season, and eyes on the state championship, Bailey Roby said it would be hard to watch from the bench. “It is my senior year, and it’s hard to play in my last game,” he said, expressing hope that CHSAA may reverse the decision. “They just need to work it out so that they’ll understand how to make sure prosthetics are OK in sports.” When asked for the reasoning behind the decision, CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann pointed to National Federation of State High School Association rule 3-5-1, which says that state associations can “provide reasonable accommodations” to individuals with “disabilities and/or special needs” and “extenuation circumstances” as long as those accommodations do not “fundamentally alter the sport, heighten risk to the athlete/others or place opponents at a disadvantage.” “Nobody wants to tell anybody no, but we can’t authorize him to play, not only for other players but for him as well,” Borgmann said. “The rules are meant to Roby continues on Page 12
Gov. John Hickenlooper and state lawmakers unveiled a package of bills on Jan. 23 that is “aimed at improving Colorado’s ability to mitigate and fight wildfires.” However, Hickenlooper and legislators spent most of a Capitol press conference answering questions having to do with wildfire mitigation options that are not part of the eight bills that were introduced. The bills do not include key recommendations made by the governor’s own wildfire task force committee, including ones that place fees and building code mandates on homeowners who reside in areas where a high potential for wildfires exists. And the package does not address the creation of a state firefighting fleet. The governor’s office says the issue needs more work. But a Republican lawmaker who is sponsoring his own air tanker legislation said at the same press conference that the time for a wildfire fleet is now. “I believe that wildfire is a clear and present danger to Colorado and we need to take action,” said Sen. Steve King, RGrand Junction. The governor insists that the bipartisan pieces of wildfire legislation that were introduced on Jan. 23 will go a long way in combatting a growing threat facing the state. “I think with this year we will continue to raise the ante and try to dedicate more resources up front to try to get to these fires sooner,” Hickenlooper said. The bills deal with a variety of areas aimed at wildfire prevention. They include giving the governor the ability to provide financial assistance without a federal disaster declaration; and allowing county governments more autonomy in putting bans on agricultural burning during periods of high fire danger and to clamp down on summer fireworks. Bills also deal with the creation of the wildfire information and resource center and a grant program that seeks to increase local firefighter safety. Another bill would allow firefighters who are killed while combatting wildfires to collect death benefits. The governor’s office also touted Hickenlooper’s role in launching a pilot program that allows agencies across the West to work collaboratively to reduce wildfire risks. The governor is also calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide federal dollars for tree-thinning efforts in Western forests. But the bills that were introduced on Jan. 23 will not include key recommendations that were made by the governor’s wildfire task force, prior to the state of the legislative session. They included recommendations that lawmakers take up measures that would impose fees on properties that reside in the Wildland Urban Interface, where
WIldfire continues on Page 12
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