March 3, 2016
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A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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LittletonIndependent.net
Special Olympian moves toward goals Atkinson’s life features many activities, including competitive skiing
By Kyle Harding kharding@colorado communitymedia.com Like many 21-year-olds, Hanna Atkinson has a busy schedule. The Littleton resident works part-time at Olive Garden, volunteers at her church and skis every weekend. Hanna, who has Down syndrome, has competed in skiing in the Special Olympics since she was 13. She also cycles, and
played unified Special Olympics basketball at Heritage High School, where she used to swim and play basketball. “Skiing is my all-time favorite,” the 2014 Heritage graduate said. Hanna and her teammates practice every Saturday. “We ski until our bones are no longer able to ski,” she said. “It’s really fun, everybody’s there cheering each other on.” Hanna hopes to ski in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria next year. She inherited her love of skiing from her dad, Tim, a former high school state champion in Wisconsin and college skier who
now helps coach his daughter on the Cherry Creek Alpine Ski team. The arm amputee was also a U.S. Paralympic champion. Tim began teaching Hanna how to ski when she was just 5. “Since then, I’ve been a skier, and never went to the dark side of snowboarding,” Hanna said with a laugh. Tim’s involvement in teaching athletics to both physically and developmentally disabled people dates back to before Hanna’s birth. He began instructing skiing at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in the late 1970s. “The fact that Hanna came Olympian continues on Page 26
Special Olympics skier Hanna Atkinson and her dad and coach, Tim, show off the new jackets their team got for the Special Olympics Colorado Winter Games. Photo by Kyle Harding
WHAT’S INSIDE
Good as gold: Olympic swimming champ Missy Franklin talks about her life and career. See Page 6
“Night Train” by Chuck Rascoe of Arvada won Best of Show/Color in the 2016 “Eye of the Camera” exhibit at the Littleton Museum. It offers his perspective on the much-photographed Union Station in Denver. Courtesy photo
‘Eye of Camera’ includes variety of images Littleton Museum is home of exhibit for 50th time
By Sonya Ellingboe sellingboe@coloradocommunitymedia.com Photographers mingled with viewers at the crowded Feb. 18 opening of the 50th annual “Through the Eye of the Camera”
exhibit, presented at the Littleton Museum by the Littleton Fine Arts Board. The late Gene Kramer of Littleton, an original art committee member-and art director for a Denver company, with numerous contacts in the local arts community, proposed the photography exhibit soon after Bemis Library was opened with display space for art — a feature the committee had
A matter of taste: Cupcakes have become increasingly trendy confections. See Page 12
IF YOU GO “Through the Eye of the Camera” is exhibited through March 27 at the Littleton Museum, 6028 S. Gallup St., Littleton. Open during museum hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. 303795-3950. Admission is free.
Camera continues on Page 26
Hoop dreams: Local high school teams compete in state tournament. See Page 21
How much sun protection does the make-up or moisturizer I use every day provide? 303-945-2080 Kimberly Neyman, MD - Chief of Dermatology
See page 5 for answers to this and other frequently asked questions regarding sunscreen. LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120 | PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Littleton, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT LITTLETON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 5 p.m. | Classifieds: Tue. 8 a.m. | Obits: Tue. 11 a.m. | Legals: Thurs. 11 a.m.