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October 8, 2015 VOLUM E 127 | IS S U E 1 1 | 75¢
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LittletonIndependent.net
ZOMBIES LIVE IT UP IN LITTLETON
High Line Canal: Conservancy seeks ways to save path. See Page 3
Espresso to latte: A guide to coffee culture in the south metro area. See Page 13
Rivalry: Arapahoe beats Heritage for Brookridge Trophy. See Page 23
Kristina Peterson, of Littleton, travels with a roving pack of zombies through historic downtown Littleton Oct. 3 for the Zombie Crawl. This is the fifth year for the annual undead event, which is sponsored by Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants Association, Rocky Mountain Haunted House Guild and Scared.com. See more photos of the Zombie Crawl on page 12. Photo by Shanna Fortier
Parks director starts new path POSTAL ADDRESS
South Suburban chief Hanna hopes to turn good into great By Jennifer Smith jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT
(ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 7315 S. Revere Pkwy., Ste. 603 Centennial, CO 80112 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, 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT LITTLETON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 7315 S. Revere Pkwy., Ste. 603 Centennial, CO 80112 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legals: Fri. 11 a.m. Classifieds: Mon. 5 p.m.
PL E ASE RECYCLE
Rob Hanna might be considered a bit of an oddity among staff and board members of South Suburban Parks and Recreation District: He’s bad at golf. “I’m a terrible golfer,” laughs the district’s new executive director. “I’ve managed courses for 20 years, but I can’t break 100.” He now oversees four of them, plus a disc-golf course, along with all the district’s facilities, parks, trails and open space. And though he and his family are active — two teenage boys keep them busy with baseball, football and lacrosse — his career arose more out of a love of planning than for recreation. “I was on the city-manager track,” he said. “There just really wasn’t an opportunity on the Front Range that interested me. … Then when I read the article about Dave Lorenz retiring, I thought this would be the best of both worlds. It’s a perfect fit.” Hanna was the director of parks, recreation and golf for the town of Castle Rock before the SSPR board of directors voted unanimously to hire him on June 17. “We are excited that Rob will be leading South Suburban
‘If you don’t try new things, you’ll never push that envelope to stand out.’ Rob Hanna, South Suburban executive director to the next level of greatness,” said John Ostermiller, board president. “Rob is a solid performer and has proven himself to be a dedicated leader who works exceptionally well with partners and agencies. He’s a collaborator and is responsible for creating an open environment that has contributed to high levels of community engagement.” Hanna has 17 years of park and recreation experience. He is a certified parks and recreation professional and a registered landscape architect. Hanna continues on Page 4
Jim Bisetti, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Littleton, helps Kiera, Jadon and Joe, third-graders at Centennial Academy of Fine Arts Education, look up the word “dictionary” in their new dictionaries. Photo by Jennifer Smith
Rotary has words for third-graders Dictionary, thesaurus giveaway helps kids By Jennifer Smith jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com The first thing three third-graders did upon receiving brand-new dictionaries from the Rotary Club of Littleton was look up the word “dictionary,” because none of them knew what one was. But they were very excited to get them Sept. 22, asking excitedly if they could write their names on them and if they really got to keep them forever. “Yes indeed,” said Rotarian Jim Bisetti, showing them the sticker inside made for their names. “We use words to think, and the more we learn about words and how to arrange them to express
ideas, the better our thinking becomes,” reads the sticker. “Mastering and understanding language is fundamental to education. It is essential to living.” Bisetti helped them figure out that the book was alphabetized and that it tells them what words mean. He also helped them through the definition of “dictionary,” which contained a couple more words they would need to look up — “typically” and “equivalent,” for starters. “I have no idea what that means,” giggled little Kierra. Rotary has taken Centennial Academy of Fine Arts Education under its wing for the last several years. Every year, the club donates a dictionary to each third-grader, and a thesaurus to each fourthRotary continues on Page 4