December 26, 2013 Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 90, Issue 20 A publication of
lakewoodsentinel.com
Hodgson named to CML board Looking forward to serving as voice for city By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com Caring about Lakewood is the top priority for City Manager Kathy Hodgson and she will have the chance to work toward representing the city’s voice on the Colorado Municipal League’s executive board. “Our board is made up of 19 municipal and elected officials from a variety of city sizes,” Lisa White, membership services manager with the CML said. “The executive board oversees what we’re doing,
makes sure we’re serving the communities, and makes sure the big picture stuff is getting done.” Hodgson has served as the city manager in Lakewood since 2009, and has worked for the city since 1980. “This is a huge learning opportunity for me,” she said. “I’m one of the few administrative people on the board, but I think a Hodgson little diversity adds to the conversation.” According to White, board members are appointed by the membership during an annual business meeting, and usually
serve around two years. “We represent 267 cities and towns from around the state, and we want to make sure we are serving our members,” White said. According to Hodgson, the work that the CML does is advocating for cities and their own rules during the legislative session. “There are a lot of home-rule cities in Colorado, and every city has the right to flourish and define for themselves what flourish means,” Hodgson said. “CML works to fortify the idea of local representative government.” The organization takes a look at bills that are going through the legislature, and examines the impact they will have on lo-
cal municipalities. It gets impute from its members about the issues, and has lobbyists to advocate on their behalf. “The group also offers a lot of training for elected officials to teach them what their job is and isn’t” Hodgson said. “They also do ethics work for members.” Hodgson said she excited to work for a group that she calls a real and important asset. “I think Lakewood is a pretty important voice and the area, and being represented here is a big deal,” she said. “I’m looking to represent the membership and maintain local control of the city.” For more information on the CML, visit www.cml.org.
Jeffco board raises eyebrows Hiring process of lawyer leaves unanswered questions By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com It only took until the first full meeting of the new Jefferson County School Board for fears to be renewed about changes the new board will make. New board president Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams outvoted Lesley Dahlkemper and Jill Fellman to hire Brad Miller of Miller Sparks LLC, a Colorado Springs law firm, to represent the board — not the district. Allen Taggart, the district’s in-house legal counsel, retired on Dec. 19. Miller represents the Falcon School District, which is east of Colorado Springs, and has done work for several Colorado charter schools. Questions are being asked about this action, however, because Dahlkemper and Fellman were only notified about the potential hire two days before the vote via e-mail, and there was no public interview process. “I voted ‘no’ because we had so little time before the hiring was brought up, and we don’t know anything about cost,” Fellman said. “The charge for Mr. Miller is going to be around $90,000 a year, which is around $7,500 a month. That is the cost of two new teachers, and I’m not sure we need this new lawyer.” The board was booed twice during the meeting, both times about the hiring of Miller. The move was also a break with tradition, since normally the district does the hiring, with the board approving those hires. Fellman said that she was left with a lot of questions, including how Miller will communicate with the rest of the board. Board continues on Page 10
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
Director Angela Astle and the cast and crew of “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof” win the award for best overall production at the third annual Edgy Awards. Photos by Clarke Reader
Edgy Awards celebrate big year for theater
‘Cat’ dominates awards By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com The 2013 Edgy Awards at The Edge Theatre was the biggest yet, and an opportunity for the theater to celebrate a banner year. “I live for this all year. I’m really proud of the season, and glad you were all a part of it. Tonight is all about recognition, and these were all tough races,” Rick Yaconis, executive artistic director said, during the awards on Dec. 16. “We’ve done some great things this year with sound, set and directing.” The winners in all the categories were voted on by people who had attended all seven of the theater’s shows this season. During his introduction, Yaconis touched on some of the themes covered in this year’s shows, including death and loss, mental disorders, power struggles and battles with God. “This year we moved from our old location, and it was a bit of a trying time,” he
Angela Astle accepts her second best director award for “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.” said. “I really want to thank our partners at 40 West (Arts District) because we wouldn’t be here without them.” The best supporting actor category was
the biggest of the night, with 24 nominees, and three winners Joe Von Bokern from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Kevin Lowry from “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” and Marc Stith from “The Shadow Box.” In the race for best supporting actress there was also a tie for two out of the 12 nominees, Emma Messenger from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and Haley Johnson from “The Shadow Box.” “After three years of working at the Edge, its exciting to get one of these,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I want to thank Rick for letting me take on this role.” In the best set design category, Remy Velez took the award for his work on “The Shadow Box.” “Building something like this helps me take reality and put it aside for a little while,” he said. “Art and theater is what makes people thrive and survive.” Price Johnson and Andy Killion from “Bengal Tiger” took the award for best lighting, Kenny Storm from “Cat” won for Edgy continues on Page 10