June 25, 2015 VO LUM E 28 | IS S U E 31 | FREE
2015 WINNERS
INSIDE! 2015 WINNERS GUIDE HighlandsRanchHerald.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Graffiti leaves a mark Warm weather brings rise in vandalism at parks, trails By Taryn Walker
twalker@colorado communitymedia.com
Colorful engines were on display as dozens of cars had their hoods popped at the Highlands Ranch Community Association’s Classic Car Show on June 20. Photos by Taryn Walker
Car show revs up crowd By Taryn Walker
twalker@colorado communitymedia.com About 3,500 people crowded around 149 classic, collectible vehicles at the Highlands Ranch Community Association-sponsored Classic Car Show on June 20. Cars from all over the map were on display in the Cherry Hills Community Church south parking lot for several hours that Saturday. At noon, engines roared. “Every year at noon, we have a rev-off, where anyone who wants to participate can rev up their engines for the crowd,” said Jamie Noebel, HRCA community relations manager. “Some people come specifically to hear that.” The event was a showcase sponsored by the HRCA’s Culture Affairs Association with help from Highlands Ranch Hot Rodders. Noebel said the event wasn’t held for fundraising purposes, but that it will generate some money for the Cultural Affairs Association’s overall budget. “We’re kind of a well-known show in the south metro area. Every year we see a good handful of cars that we haven’t seen before, which makes for more of a variety for all of our attendees. The show brings in a different kind of demographic, and we love that,” Noebel said.
In less than 10 years, South Suburban Parks and Recreation District has seen more than 1,200 incidents of graffiti at its parks, trails and facilities, racking up $301,145 in damage. It’s a difficult problem to tackle and one that isn’t going away, said Dan Scheuerman, senior park ranger for South Suburban. “About 95 percent of this is just stupid stuff done by kids,” Scheuerman said. “I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but people have been doing this forever.” With summer’s warmer weather and longer days, incidents of graffiti are likely to rise, Scheuerman said. Highlands Ranch Metro District park ranger Kat Wentworth said she sees some sort of graffiti just about every other day. In the last year, she and her full-time staff of four have had to report at least 100 incidents to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Cleaning up
Joe Unrein of Littleton revs up his ‘59 Cadillac ambulance during the noon “rev-off ’ at the Highlands Ranch Community Association classic car show on June 20.
CAR SHOW WINNERS European/Imports 1st Place- Joe and Cathy Gunderson, 1936 MG PPB
Classic ‘50s 1st Place- Mike Barrett, 1957 Chevrolet Belair
Muscle ‘60s 1st Place- Samantha Nelson, 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle
Sport Car 1st Place- Mike and Erie Devlin, 1954 Kaiser Darrin
Vintage ‘49 and older 1st Place- Larry Whitman, 1930 Ford A
Classic ‘60s 1st Place- Tim Wieser, 1964 Dodge Custom 880
Muscle ‘70s & ‘80s 1st Place- Greg Osborn, 1970 Dodge Charger
Trucks 1st Place- Jim Hungerford, 1934 Ford Pickup
Hot Rods/Street Rods 1st Place- Steve Loose, 1933 Ford 3 window coupe
Classic ‘70’s & ‘80s 1st Place- Jeffrey Kerridge, 1970 Ford Bronco
All Late Models- 1990 to Current 1st Place- Jay Martin, 2009 Dodge Challenger
Motorcycles 1st Place- Patrick Horan, 1997 Harley Davidson Sportster
About 3,500 people attended the Highlands Ranch Community Association-sponsored classic car show on June 20 at the Cherry Hills Community Church south parking lot.
Scheuerman has created a formula to determine the cost of graffiti removal, which sometimes has to be done on monument signs that cost $2,000. “It depends on the surface,” he said. “If it’s paintable, it’s 50 cents a square foot, if it’s worse, it can be up to $5 a square foot.” Often, a chemical application has to be used or a high-pressure power washer is needed, and with limited resources, it’s not easy, Scheuerman said. Metro district park rangers carry graffitiremoval packs in their trucks every day and have been trained to use a pressure washer, sandblaster and paint-removal chemicals, Wentworth said. “Our goal is to remove it immediately and not publicize it, because that’s what they want and we’re not going to let them win in the end,” she said. Playground equipment requires chemical use, and because of its porous texture, new paint won’t adhere. Eventually
Graffiti continues on Page 9
Photo illustration/ Images by Metro Creative Graphics