March 6, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 7 A publication of
lonetreevoice.net
CU plans to offer classes in area
A wild time
Expansion to change higher learning in Douglas County By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ coloradocommunitymedia.com
From left, Mason Manula, 7, and Caleb Manula, 9, of Castle Rock, get their picture taken with Ghost and Waya, two wolves brought to The Wildlife Experience March 1 by Colorado Wolf Adventures. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
Rock Canyon again shatters Wish Week record Money raised will make nine childhood dreams come true By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Rock Canyon High School set another Make-A-Wish Foundation record Feb. 28, raising more than $72,500 in a week of fundraisers both on and off campus. The money will make real the dreams of nine children. It’s the fourth year in a row RCHS has set a state, and likely a national, record for the foundation. In 2013, the school raised about $60,500. Isaac Lucero, the Lakewood eighth grader featured during Wish Week 2014, was ill and unable to attend Friday’s check unveiling and final rally in the RCHS gymnasium. But he was there for the week’s other events, and already is planning a summer trip to New York City — the wish RCHS students ensured he’ll realize. “There are always the stereotypes about high school students, that they have a bad attitude about everything and are self-centered,” Isaac’s mother Desiree said. “But these students do an incredible thing. “It was more than Isaac could ever have dreamed of, so much more than I had ever imagined. He’d get home at night and couldn’t sleep because he was so amped up from the events. He was on cloud nine all last week.” Isaac, diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 10, has suffered through years of seizures and the effects of chemotherapy. His long-term prognosis is
good, but his mother said, “He had to grow up very fast. He didn’t get to be a kid.” In Isaac’s absence, some students held sticks on which large photos of his smiling face were mounted, waving them throughout the closing event. Delighted as students, staff and Make-A-Wish representatives were by the new record, the ceremony grew somber as they listened to a letter from the parents of the late Taylor Easterberg. The 2010 RCHS Make-A-Wish recipient died in March 2013 at the age of 11. Taylor realized his wish of visiting Australia before his death, a trip his parents said was “the break we all so desperately needed” and a gift that was “beyond amazing.” Student council advisor Kate Hartline urged students to carry the spirit of the week forward, and strive to be “kinder than necessary.” Make-A-Wish Colorado CEO Joan Mazak had high praise for RCHS. “This school, and the attitude of the kids, just gets more awesome every year,” she said. “I think it’s started a competition among the schools.” The week of fundraising included head shaving, sporting events, dinners at restaurants that donated to the cause and a Miracle Minute during which students raised just shy of $13,000 during 60 seconds of dumping change into buckets. In its first year of fundraising in 2010, Rock Canyon raised $15,300 — an amount more than twice its initial goal. Make-A-Wish said then that the school had set a new record. It has easily eclipsed that record every year since. In four years, RCHS has raised more than $161,000 and
The University of Colorado has announced an expansion plan that will transform The Wildlife Experience and higher education in Douglas County. More than 7,400 square feet of exhibit space on the second floor of The Wildlife Experience, an education-and-conservation-focused museum on Lincoln Avenue east of Interstate 25, will be turned into classroom space. Nearly 4,000 square feet in the basement will house a simulation lab for nursing students. The university, with assistance from its Denver and Anschutz campuses, is planning to offer a broad range of programs in business, addiction counseling, computer forensics, nursing and engineering. Classes are set to begin this fall and, at least in the beginning, will be aimed at professional audiences. There will be a balance of undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Don Elliman, chancellor of CU-Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus, said museum officials proposed the idea of expansion to the university more than a year Classes continues on Page 10
Rock Canyon High School seniors, with Wish Week 2013’s featured child Mara Dawkins (in pink), wipe their eyes after hearing about a former Wish Week beneficiary who has since died. Photos by Jane Reuter
Citizen’s academy spots open Eight-week course offers realistic glimpse into officers’ worlds By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ coloradocommunitymedia.com For some, the most memorable experience is clearing rooms and firing fake rounds in the shoot house. For others, it’s driving a police car or learning handcuffing techniques. Every participant in Lone Tree’s Citizen’s Police Academy leaves with a favorite memory from the multi-week event. And some, including four of 14 participants from last year’s event, don’t leave at all. Those four all became police volunteers. Lone Tree Police is seeking a few curious, adventurous people to explore their professional world during the free spring 2014 Citizen’s Police Academy. The eight-
From left, students Riley Hayes, Tori Pavillard, Caroline Skibness and Morgan Harrison display Rock Canyon High School’s record-setting Wish Week 2014 check. granted 21 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. “More than the money, what amazes me is how our kids
come together for a common cause,” RCHS principal Andy Abner said. “There’s no freshman, there’s no senior — that’s the greatest.”
Academy continues on Page 10
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