Herald HRH 11.7.2013
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 51
November 7, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Reform slate takes race Tough battle for schools ends with voters’ decision Staff report Candidates favoring the current direction of the reform-oriented Douglas County School Board won all four races, after months of heated electioneering on both sides. Unofficial results released at 11 p.m. Election Day showed the closest race was in District E, where incumbent Doug Benevento led challenger Bill Hodges 51.9
Benevento
Geddes
Reynolds
percent to 48.1 percent, with a margin of 3,615 votes separating them. In District B, Jim Geddes led 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent over Barbra Chase. In District D, Judi Reynolds held a 52
Silverthorn
percent to 48 percent lead over Julie Keim. In District G, incumbent Meghann Silverthorn held a 53.5 percent lead over Ronda Scholting’s 46.5 percent. In each race, about 95,000 votes were counted, with a possibility of a few thousand more remaining to
be tallied. Reynolds, who was at a vote-watch gathering at the Fowl Line sports bar in Castle Rock, was looking forward to serving her four-year term. “The majority of people like
the way things are headed and want to see them implemented,” she said. Benevento saw a mandate in the results. “The voters elected a slate of candidates who have articulated a clear point of view of where it is we want to go. So we are going to move in that direction and talk to people and listen. Clearly there are a lot of voters who feel the other way and we need to understand that,” he said. “The voters have elected four candidates who believe in parental choice and who believe in performance pay. It’s a very clear mandate about the direction we are going.” Race continues on Page 7
Utility pole banners get holiday ban Metro District would need to have agreements with Xcel By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Marine Corps veteran Lou Seago, left, and Air Force and Army veteran Cliff Butler share a laugh together recently. The two Wind Crest residents are both participating in the Veterans History Project, sponsored locally by Douglas County Libraries and nationally by the Library of Congress. Photo by Ryan Boldrey
Despite the March reversal from Xcel Energy to allow the Highlands Ranch Metro District to continue to hang holiday banners on utility poles, there will be no festive colors flying from the poles in the community this year. The 16-year-old banner program will be on hold through at least the next two holiday seasons, and will be revisited by the Metro District staff and board of directors in 2015. The HRMD, according to public works director Jeff Case, traditionally hangs banners at all nine major entry points into the community, utilizing 60 Xcel poles annually. The program began with Highlands Ranch’s “Sweet 16” celebration in 1997 and quickly morphed into holiday celebrations and more, becoming limited to the holiday season sometime in the early 2000s. Banners continues on Page 15
Stories preserve veterans’ histories Library of Congress stores photos, letters By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Former Marine Corps Sgt. Lou Seago had so many close calls in World War II that he almost didn’t make it home alive. And if it weren’t for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, his tales of fortitude might have been forever lost. The project, initiated in 2000, now showcases more than 70,000 oral histories — soon to include Seago’s stories of Saipan and Iwo Jima — along with photographs, letters, journals, artwork, military documents and other original war-related items from veterans of numerous wars throughout American history. With help from local institutions across the country — such as Douglas County Libraries — those oral histories and original materials are being collected before time runs out for older veterans such as Seago. Before shipping the documents and interviews away to D.C., the library district also retains copies of all area veterans’ histories at the Philip S. Miller Branch in Castle Rock, and visitors can make an
appointment to view them at any time. One can also listen or read the transcripts of close to half of the 100 veteran interviews already done by visiting www.douglascountyhistory.org. “We try to play the role of facilitator,” said DCL archivist Adam Speirs. “We create the space where these things can happen, but it’s a volunteer-driven project, we have volunteer transcribers, we have volunteer interviewers, the people being interviewed are volunteering to participate in the project, and what we do is make sure all the paperwork gets filled out and everything is preserved correctly.” Since the start of the project, Speirs said, the library was getting about one or two veterans coming forward per month. However, with special thanks to Wind Crest resident and former Air Force Maj. Cliff Butler, that number is climbing fast. Butler, who has made his home at the Highlands Ranch community for just two months, has already rounded up 25 willing veterans from his new home to participate and plans on getting as many people involved as possible. “We need to preserve these stories for the sake of history,” said Butler, whose familial military lines are traced back all the way to the Civil and Revolutionary wars.
“Kids nowadays don’t realize when they look at people like Lou that if it weren’t for them they would be speaking German or Japanese. It’s a way of honoring these guys. A lot of them don’t even realize how valuable their story is to our history.” “A lot of people say, `I didn’t do anything, you don’t want to hear my story,’ but we want to hear everyone’s stories,” Speirs said. “I can’t tell you how much we’ve gained from it. The more stories I listen to the more I realize how totally alien that reality is from my personal reality. This depth of human experience would be inaccessible to me if it hadn’t been for this project. ... You don’t just stop people in the street and say, `Hey tell me about your story.’ You need a place for this to happen.” The library will celebrate its 10th year of involvement in the project from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16, at the Philip S. Miller Library, 100 S. Wilcox St. in Castle Rock. Local veterans who have participated will share their experiences, while a group called Remembering Our Veterans will demonstrate how they share stories. For more information on the project, please visit www.loc.gov/vets. To volunteer or share your personal story if you are a veteran, please contact Speirs at 303688-7733 or aspeirs@dclibraries.org.
The Highlands Ranch Metro District won’t be flying holiday banners this year at its nine major entry points for the first time since 1996. File photo
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