Herald HRH 9-5-2013
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 42
September 5, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Bridge to cross C-470
Pedestrian crossing will benefit motorists By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office’s new Dragon Runner bomb robot, unlike its 500-pound predecessor, has the ability to climb stairs and rough terrain, and a remotecontrol feature enables the operator to remain out of sight. Photos by Ryan Boldrey
Sheriff’s office gets new bomb robot Federal grant pays for Dragon Runner By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office recently upgraded its resources with the addition of a Dragon Runner bomb robot. The robot, pack and remote included, weighs just 75 pounds, much smaller than its 500-pound predecessor, allowing it to get into harder-to-reach places as it keeps officers out of harm’s way while the bomb squad is deployed. Purchased for $110,397, the robot — designed by the Marine Corps for use in Afghanistan and Iraq — was fully funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The appropriation of the grant money was approved by the county commissioners July 30 and the robot arrived in Castle Rock in early August. So far, officers have been thrilled at its capabilities. “It’s lightweight and portable and hooks right on the backpack,” said Lt. Tommy Barrella. “We needed a small platform robot that we could deploy quickly. We can carry it with us into a school or neighborhood. You can’t do that with the big robot.” The big robot, which the department is keeping to conduct heavier, more time-consuming work, is used mainly for bomb disposal, Barrella said. However, it is clumsy and can’t climb steep terrain or stairs, and if something breaks on it, it takes at least a half a day just to take the robot apart. The new robot requires just five minutes to take apart, but perhaps more importantly in a SWAT situation, can approach a house within minutes while the officers keep their distance and Robot continues on Page 20
Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Tommy Barrella demonstrates the various capabilities of the department’s new Dragon Runner bomb robot, which was purchased with federal grant money for $110,397.
A new pedestrian bridge to be constructed on the west side of Quebec Street over C-470 is in the final stages of design, and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2014. The walkway, which will be built in a similar fashion to the bridge that runs along the east side of Quebec over the highway, is being funded in part by federal grant money. The project, with the help of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, will receive $500,000 in federal funding, while Douglas County will pick up the remainder of the tab — estimated to be in the ballpark of an additional $600,000. The project is expected to go out to bid in late December or early January. “Once it gets underway, a lot of the work will occur off site, including the building of all of the girders,” said Art Griffith, the county’s capital improvements projects manager. “After on-site construction begins, all of the major work will occur at night, and we will take traffic up the ramp and onto the on-ramps, keeping traffic flowing.” The bridge, being built along the northern border between Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch, will provide benefits for drivers as well as cyclists and pedestrians in the area. “When someone pushes that button to cross the C-470 Trail across Yosemite, for example, it can take 15 minutes before the signals sync back up,” Griffith said. “So, in addition to making the free flow on the trails a lot safer, there is an added benefit to the driving public as it allows the timing of the signals to stay in sync and limits congestion, especially during hightraffic times like the weekends and holidays.” Douglas County commissioners unanimously approved the allocation of funds for the pedestrian bridge at their Aug. 27 business meeting.
Trips translate code of history Navajo veterans honored by area Young Marines By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Every August since 2006, Brenda McNulty has been taking a group of Young Marines to Window Rock, Ariz., to participate in Navajo Code Talkers Day. McNulty, who is the battalion commander overseeing Young Marines units in Highlands Ranch, Douglas County, Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
Aurora and Monument, as well as a unit in Kansas, met her first four World War II code talkers earlier that year when she was on a trip to Iwo Jima with some of the local Young Marines, including one of her sons. After striking up a friendship with the veterans, the Young Marines were invited to Arizona that year to participate in the Aug. 14 annual celebration, becoming the only non-Navajos to partake in the parade. Since then, the trip has become a rite of summer for McNulty, who said she would rather give up Christmas or her birthday than forgo spending Navajo Code Talkers Day with some of the youngest and oldest service-minded Americans around. Navajo continues on Page 23
Cody Johnson of the Mountain View Young Marines of Highlands Ranch, right, marches in the Aug. 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day Parade in Window Rock, Ariz., behind Navajo code talker Samuel Holiday. Courtesy photo