JOB FAIR
May 19, 2016 VO LUM E 29 | IS S U E 26 | FREE
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HIGHLANDS RANCH SCHOOLS
Highlands Ranch High School students attend their last assembly of the school year on May 12. The National Wildlife Federation honored the school with a Green Flag Award, which recognizes achievement of sustainability and conservation of natural resources. The school was one of six in the nation to receive the honor. Photo by Alex DeWind
High school ‘Citizens can count on us’ goes green Medicolegal death investigator C.J. Lay weighs a heart while assisting on an autopsy. Photo by Shanna Fortier
Douglas County morgue works to become nationally accredited
By Shanna Fortier sfortier@colorado communitymedia.com For Douglas County Coroner Jill Romann, national accreditation of
DRIVE THROUGH Longtime family dealership moves to Highlands Ranch area on PAGE 2.
MEET THE CLASS OF 2016 Local graduates highlighted on PAGE 17.
her office is about accountability and transparency to taxpayers who depend on her staff to explain why people have died. “It means citizens can count on us,” Romann said. “We are very invested that when something does go to litigation we are ready, or when telling a woman her husband’s cause of death, we can explain it extensively.”
Romann’s office is on its way to that national distinction. Of Colorado’s nine board-certified fellows with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators — the highest certification possible — two are in the Douglas County coroner’s office. Jill Romann is one,
Morgue continues on Page 24
Foster parents fill need Collaborative program matches homes with kids By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com Kelly Mayr has five birth children, three adopted children and one foster child. So the month of May, which is National Foster Care month, resonates with her. She’s been a foster parent for about five years and, in that time, some 15 children have passed through her home. “Once you know there’s a need, it’s hard not to foster,” the Highlands Ranch resident said. “And there is a need all over.” Mayr fosters through the Collaborative Foster Care Program, a joint effort to help children in the departments of human services of Arapahoe, Douglas
and Jefferson counties. On average, 1,100 children in the three counties are in out-of-home care on any given day, according to the program. Forty percent are teenagers. All have experienced trauma and almost all have special needs, including emotional, behavioral, medical or developmental. The Collaborative Foster Care Program started with Arapahoe and Jefferson counties in 2008 to maximize staff and reach a broader range of potential foster families, said Ruby Richards, the Douglas County child welfare administrator. “By joining the collaborative, we had a team of people that did the recruiting, training and monthly contact with all of our foster homes,” she said. Today, “we have a staff of about 15 to 20 that manage everything.” Foster continues on Page 11
School one of only six in nation to receive sustainability award By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com One group of Highlands Ranch High School students sorted through 400 pounds of trash to implement new recycling guidelines. Another worked on putting a solar-powered cellphone station in the school. Still another adopted a falcon. The students in Heather Berry’s AP environmental science class designed projects that demonstrated sustainability for the school or community. “The whole idea seemed daunting at first,” said Lyssa Giorgi, a senior. “There are so many little things, as individuals, we can do to make our community more sustainable.” Because of their eco-friendly diligence, Highlands Ranch received a Green Flag Award — a prestigious honor from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) that recognizes achievement in sustainability. Highlands Ranch is the first Green Flag high school in Colorado and one of six in the nation. “They are reducing energy and waste,” said Brian Kurzel, regional executive Green continues on Page 4
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See page 5 for Dr. Kim Neyman’s column on acne.