A FRIEND INDEED
September 1, 2016 VO LUM E 29 | IS S U E 41 | FREE
Therapy animals help bring comfort for those in need. PAGE 12
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Park Meadows — ‘a magnet’ for growth Mall reaches 20th anniversary as major destination for retail By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com When Park Meadows mall was being built in the mid-1990s, some in the fledgling city of Lone Tree didn’t favor it — some didn’t even know what the massive structure near I-25 and County Line Road was going to be. “When I first moved here, I was signing my kids up for soccer and I was telling one of the other parents how I moved here for Park Meadows. She said, ‘It’s so beautiful. I love that building. How many seniors is
it going to house?’ ” said Pamela SchenckKelly, Park Meadows’ general manager for its 20-year existence. “I came back to the construction trailer the next day and said, ‘Folks, we have our work cut out for us.’ ” Sharon Van Ramshorst, one of Lone Tree’s first residents in the early 1980s, remembers that not everyone welcomed Park Meadows with open arms. “Despite the fact that there were huge signs on the site that said ‘future mall,’ people would say, ‘I didn’t know there was a mall there’ and ‘We don’t want that mall,’ ”said Van Ramshorst, who served on city council from 2004 to 2012. “It was a small number of people, but they were very vocal.” Mall continues on Page 6
Park Meadows attracts more than 50,000 visitors on a typical day, and more during the holidays. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando
Mother continues daughter’s legacy Sept. 10 fundraiser will benefit CURE International By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Heritage Elementary School students cheer for Mallory Pugh at a special Hometown Heroes assembly on Aug. 29. Pugh, who recently played with the U.S. women’s soccer team in Rio, went to the elementary school as a child. Photos by Alex DeWind
Soccer star visits old stomping grounds Olympian Mallory Pugh speaks at Heritage Elementary School
Margie Schoedel’s daughter, Rebecca Yarberry, had proposed the idea of the two of them going on a volunteer trip with CURE International, a nonprofit organization that operates hospitals and programs in 29 developing countries around the world. Schoedel was skeptical at first — the trip was to Honduras, a Central American country with high rates of crime and violence. CURE continues on Page 11
REF ROAD AHEAD
By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Heritage Elementary School staff circle the gym sporting capes and masks as part of the assembly.
Heritage Elementary School students spent a morning with hometown heroes, including firefighters, police officers, Rocky the Mountain Lion — mascot of the Denver Nuggets — teachers dressed in capes and masks, and Highlands Ranch’s very own Olympian, Mallory Pugh. Pugh continues on Page 11
Once plentiful, officials are harder to find for football games. PAGE 25
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