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December 12, 2013
75 cents Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 125, Issue 21 A publication of
littletonindependent.net
Coach out at Heritage High School Community urges Griebel’s reinstatement By Tom Munds and Jennifer Smith Staff writers
Heritage High School has decided to take its football team in a different direction, one that does not include longtime head coach Mike Griebel. A letter was sent to “Heritage Football Families” on Dec. 5 stating that Griebel “is no longer coaching” for the school. No reason for his dismissal was given. “It is not much fun,” Griebel said by phone Dec. 6. “The school told me their decision earlier this week. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I want the kids to know I did not leave them, that I did not resign or
retire from coaching.” He said he already had put in the papers to retire from teaching in May. “I am retiring from teaching, but I had planned to stay on as a coach for the next three years while my son Mikey is here at Heritage,” he said. “It was not my decision to leave the position as Eagles head football coach.” The community is rallying behind Griebel, who coached the Eagles to the Class 4A state championship in 2009. As of the afternoon of Dec. 6, more than 1,100 people had signed a petition on change.org asking that he be reinstated. “Coach Griebel has taught more than football to these boys,” reads the petition. “Coach Griebel has given valuable life les Coach continues on Page 10
Mike Griebel learned last week that he will no longer be the head coach of Heritage High School football. File photo
THE WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Smile, you’re on cupola cam Anyone can see Littleton live, anytime, from anywhere By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
Sebastian Perez, 2, expresses fascination with Santa Claus as his brother Manuel, 8, watches with a smile during Santa’s annual visit to Arapahoe Community College on Dec. 6. Dozens of children donned in attire for a long winter’s nap turned out to Arapahoe Community College Dec. 6 to visit with Santa. The jolly old elf was on campus to read “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Families enjoyed a holiday meal with all the fixings, and the kids enjoyed making picture frames to hold their photos with Santa. Every child got a few moments to cuddle up with St. Nick, and he listened intently as each one of them whispered their Christmas wishes.
Jimmy Torres helps 2-year-old Lauren Pierce piece together a festive picture frame for Lauren’s photo with Santa Claus Dec. 6 at Arapahoe Community College.
PHOTOS BY JENNIFER SMITH
Littleton has a brand-new “cupola cam,” and it’s four times bigger and brighter than ever. The “cam,” a camera mounted on top of the Littleton Courthouse, sends a live feed that can be accessed and controlled from anywhere in the world. It was out of commission for several weeks while Cathy Weaver, the city’s webmaster, researched and replaced the original one with the new model. She explained that the old one was actually a security camera, so it could only be updated by the vendor. “A few months after the (first) camera was installed, the vendor went out of business,” she said. “Because we could not update the camera’s software, we had no choice but to just let it run until advances in software technologies made it obsolete. We knew that day would come, and felt fortunate that it took more than 10 years to happen.” She said finding a system with privacyprotection features similar to the original camera was a bit tricky, but she settled on the one the city uses to detect vehicles stopped at intersections. “These cameras have an excellent picture, zoom and auto-focus controls, a weatherproof housing, a viewer timer and the ability to lock in preset views,” she said. “Also, just like the traffic detection cameras, Cupola Cam does not record the video that it sees.” The camera went live Nov. 26, just in time for the Candlelight Walk in downtown Littleton the day after Thanksgiving. Visitors to the site can, with a click of their mouse, aim the camera at preset views like Bega Park, Goddard Middle School, Colorado Center for the Blind, downtown Denver and more. If there is more than one person on the site, however, visitors
Cam continues on Page 10 POSTAL ADDRESS
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 315-780) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 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 advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal advertising: Thurs. 11 a.m. Classified advertising: Mon. 12 p.m.
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