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February 6, 2014
75 cents Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 125, Issue 29 A publication of
littletonindependent.net
He likes attention, but not this kind Littleton officials want Reinke to clean up his act By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com At what point does disassembling the Turkey Leg and Wine Hoedown become outdoor storage? It’s a question Littleton City Council will address, now that the planning board has recommended approval of an ordinance written just for Reinke Bros. Halloween and Costume Store. Reinke Bros. is known for hosting myriad events not just in October but throughout the year, and they often involve elaborate sets built in the store’s parking lot. Often this means there is stuff outside that wouldn’t normally belong in a parking lot, like tree houses and old tires used to build a paddle-boat pond. “Now it’s almost getting to be a yearlong deal that things are getting stored outside,” said Glen Van Nimwegen, director of community development.
While acknowledging the events help energize downtown, Van Nimwegen said some merchants are less enthusiastic than others about them and the resultant clutter. The ordinance was written as a way to find a compromise, and to allow everyone to be heard in the formal setting of a council meeting. It would require any downtown property owner who wanted to utilize outdoor storage to apply for a permit that initially would be good for one year. If approved, the items would have to be screened from view, and the planning board could require site improvements as a condition of approval. Greg Reinke believes this basically came about because of the five trailers and two delivery trucks he keeps in his parking lot, all licensed and insured. Three of the trailers belong to the Historic Downtown Merchants Association, of which he is president, and he’s agreed to move them to city property he’s been offered in an attempt to compromise. “As long as we have access to them,” he Reinke continues on Page 11
Greg Reinke points out that his delivery truck is licensed, which he says gives him the right to park it in his own parking lot. Photo by Jennifer Smith
LPS wants share of state funds Restore negative factor, says superintendent By Jennifer Smith
jsmith @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Tatiana Klamo ran a small business, American Stitch Factory, in Littleton. Her business partner, Brian McCoy, said she was “just amazing.” “She was the only truly honest person I’ve ever met,” McCoy said Feb. 1, fighting back tears while standing just yards from Klamo’s home. American Stitch, located near the intersection of Broadway and Mineral,
Littleton Public Schools has a message for the state Legislature: Give us back our money, and give us back our control. “LPS continues to lose $17.3 million in state aid every year due to what’s called the `negative factor’ in the Colorado School Finance Act,” writes Superintendent Scott Murphy in an open letter. “Now that the state’s economy is recovering and additional funds are available for K-12 education, bills are being introduced that would regulate how those restored funds must be spent.” Amendment 23 mandates that the state pay a base amount per child to school districts, which must rise in accordance to the rate of inflation. It applies a formula based on variables such as size, local cost of living and the number of at-risk kids, in an effort to more equitably distribute the funds. But in 2009, the Legislature decided the amount each district gets based on those factors does not have to increase, just the base. “The Legislature took these funds directly out of our classrooms,” writes
Shooting continues on Page 11
Funds continues on Page 5
A memorial was formed outside American Stitch Factory in Littleton in honor of part-owner Tatiana Klamo, who was killed Jan. 31 at her Highlands Ranch home. Photo by Chris Rotar
Littleton business owner, son die in murder-suicide Woman injured fleeing scene of standoff By Chris Rotar
crotar@coloradocommunitymedia.com Motorists slowly passed the home on Fox Hunt Circle in Highlands Ranch, shaking their heads, or in the case of one passenger, cupping her mouth in apparent disbelief or shock. On the bitterly cold morning of Feb. 1, crime-scene tape and law enforcement vehicles were evidence of the suburb-shaking events of the night before. POSTAL ADDRESS
A teenager had killed his mother, then himself. Tatiana Klamo, 46, died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Douglas County Coroner’s Office. Her son, Robert Klamo, a 15-year-old Mountain Vista High School student, died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. As investigators removed items from the home the morning after the shooting, a pair of second-floor windows remained open. Those were the routes a woman and a teenaged girl, the shooter’s sisters, used to escape the deadly situation, authorities said. The older sister was seriously injured as she fled. She remained in a local hospital
as of Feb. 1, Douglas County Undersheriff Tony Spurlock said.
The mother
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 Englewood, Colorado, the Littleton Independent is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. | Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Tues. 12 p.m.
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