July 30, 2020
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
HighlandsRanchHerald.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12
VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 36
SPECIAL REPORT
Colorado’s public health officials are under attack Workers face threats, vandalism, job loss amid COVID-19 crisis
Douglas County district chooses ‘hybrid’ model of in-person, online learning
BY JESSICA GIBBS | COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA AND JESSE PAUL | THE COLORADO SUN
Joni Reynolds, the head of Gunnison County’s public health department, entered kind of a routine as the coronavirus crisis descended on Colorado earlier this year: Long hours. Sleepless nights. A police escort home. A wave of threats over her efforts to keep her community safe amid the pandemic made her fear for her safety. There were also suspicious packages left outside her house and sent to her office, both of which were unsettling but weren’t dangerous. “References to Nazism. Calling me Mrs. Hitler,” Reynolds said, recounting the contents of the hate mail she received. “Calling me vile names — curse words. Threatening harm to me, my family, my home. Assuring they would remove me from my job and take ‘all my worldly possessions.’” SEE OFFICIALS, P4
BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Health workers collect patient information from people waiting to be tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, outside the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s lab in Denver’s Lowry neighborhood on March 11. PHOTO BY JOHN INGOLD/THE COLORADO SUN
STEM School Highlands Ranch shooter sentenced McKinney: ‘I do not deserve leniency or forgiveness’ BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Sitting in her literature class on May 7, 2019, Nui Giasolli noticed her friend Alec McKinney standing just behind her. McKinney was not enrolled in that class and was supposed to be in the classroom next door. But because
Schools offer reopening choice
she considered McKinney one of her best friends, his presence did not raise alarms for her. She learned later through court hearings and statements McKinney made to investigators that McKinney targeted her that day, she said, as he helped carry out a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. “He had a gun aimed at the back
FIREFIGHTERS ADJUST TO COVID
There’s added stress and new procedures, but their vital work goes on P12
of my head and he was ready to shoot me knowing full well that I didn’t consider him a threat,” she said. Giasolli was one of numerous students, teachers and community members who gave tear-stricken victim impact statements during a July 24 sentencing hearing for McKinney at a Castle Rock courtroom. SEE SHOOTER, P2
The Douglas County School District’s board voted unanimously July 25 to reopen its schools on a “hybrid” learning model, with the option for students to attend school completely online if they feel unsafe attending in-person amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The action came at a marathon weekend board meeting. Superintendent Thomas Tucker cautioned that the district could still pivot to full “e-learning” after the school year begins, depending on how COVID-19 data shapes up in coming weeks. “This has been a really tough decision,” Tucker said. Until the board’s special meeting, the district planned to reopen schools with 100% in-person learning, five days a week. Local COVID-19 data trends played heavily in the decision to shift toward hybrid learning, Tucker said. Dr. John Douglas, director of the Tri-County Health Department, which sets public-health policy for Douglas County, made a presentation to the board July 25, noting that COVID-19 rates in the county had risen from roughly 2% to 3% a couple weeks ago to roughly 6% now. Board directors pointed to the worsening COVID-19 data trends before voting and said a hybrid model allows the district to more easily pivot to SEE SCHOOLS, P23
WHO’S THE BEST? Here’s our annual look at the region’s best businesses, services, attractions and more, as chosen by our readers.
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