Voice
Lone Tree 11.21.13
Lone Tree
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 45
November 21, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Mayor leading transit effort Group urges sales tax to fill transportation funding gap By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
Cabela’s employee Brandon McElroy, right, answers a question for Sierra Middle School student Marya Ross during the Douglas County School District’s Career Connect 8th Grade Expo. McElroy spoke to Marya about what goes in to running a business and surpassing sales goals.
Students glimpse potential futures More than 5,000 Douglas County School District eighth-graders were bused into the Douglas County Fairgrounds Nov. 13 for the annual “Career Connect 8th Grade Expo” as representatives from just about every business imaginable were on hand waiting to talk to the youngsters about a day in the life of their respective field. From school district electricians to librarians, firefighters and Denver Nuggets employees, students had the opportunity to interview workers about what it takes to get the job and what their job is really like. Franktown Fire Protection District firefighter Kim Spuhler talks with two of the more than 5,000 Douglas County middle school students who attended the Nov. 13 Career Connect 8th Grade Expo at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
PHOTOS BY RYAN BOLDREY
SkyView students step up for others Young people collect gifts, make blankets for homeless By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com From recycling projects to writing letters to deployed troops to collecting Christmas gifts for those less fortunate, SkyView Academy’s new service learning program is teaching students how to make a difference in their community. Most recently, middle and high school students from the Highlands Ranch charter school teamed up with 40 pre-kindergarten students to make fleece blankets, which were then given to 10 women staying at a Volunteers of America homeless shelter in Denver. The morning and afternoon pre-kindergarten classes spent three days each this October working for a half-hour with the older students cutting fleece, tying it off and making cards for the women, something that allowed the different grade levels to work together for the greater good, one of the keys to the program, said SVA board president Lorrie Grove. “I liked (making blankets) because I liked the cutting, and I liked having the high school kids here because I liked talking to nice, new people,” said preschooler Dylan Knudston. When asked what he thought the women would say when they
SkyView Academy high school and pre-kindergarten students make fleece blankets that were recently donated to the Women’s Homeless Shelter run by Volunteers of America in downtown Denver. Courtesy photo received the blankets, he said, “I think they will say, ‘thank you, I like those blankets.’” Dylan wasn’t too far off, either, as his lead teacher, Patti Ward — one of five teachers involved with overseeing the project — said she was greeted with shouts of “Blankets!” when she dropped them off at the shelter early this month. “It was more than I expected,” Ward said. “They were excited. The ones that were there early got to pick out which pattern they wanted and were excited to get the cards we made. ... It made me feel very blessed, very lucky, and I want to know what more we could do for them.
I’m hoping we can figure out some way to work something else into the plans for later in the year.” The school has plans to paint murals, pick up trash in business parking lots, conduct a coat drive, and do a book and game collection for Children’s Hospital already on the agenda for this year, and Grove sees the program taking off in years to come. “It is important for us that service is learning is more about doing and less about having parents open up the pocketbook,” she said. “We want the kids to learn what it means to participate and actually give back, not just give money.”
Buffeted by growth and time, Colorado’s highway infrastructure rapidly is wearing down. The estimated cost to fix it is $772 million short of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s annual budget. That gap means Coloradans may be asked to vote on a sales tax in November 2014. The 0.7 percent tax, which would generate seven cents on each $10 spent, would be designated solely for transportation improvements. Already chairman of the Metro Mayors Caucus, Lone Gunning Tree mayor Jim Gunning has emerged as a key figure in the effort. The caucus is part of MPACT 64, which Gunning also chairs. The transportationfocused collaboration of four agencies — the Metro Mayors Caucus, Action 22, Club 20 and Progressive 15 — represents all 64 Colorado counties. That statewide representation is important, Gunning said, because the transportation issues are not limited to a specific region. Likewise, the solution can’t be found or implemented regionally. “It’s a system,” Gunning said. “We all need the transportation system to work cohesively.” In 18 months of broad-based conversation, study and polling on potential solutions, Gunning said a sales tax emerged as the funding source most likely to gain voter approval. Another poll planned in December will determine whether the idea makes it to the 2014 ballot. Polls already conducted on other potential solutions were not promising. While more than 60 percent of those surveyed agreed transit deficits are a serious issue, most rejected the idea of increasing the fuel tax. Not only is the idea unpopular, Gunning said, but increasingly fuel-efficient and electric cars mean it’s a fast-fading source of reliable revenue. Colorado today relies on fuel taxes and license fees for construction and maintenance of its transportation infrastructure. The fuel tax hasn’t increased since 1991, when it represented about 20 percent of the cost of a gallon of gas. Today, as the cost of gas has increased, the tax represents just 6 percent of the pergallon cost. Meanwhile, both the state’s population and the annual amount vehicles travel have jumped more than 50 percent. The sales tax also is not a long-term solution, and would likely sunset in 15 years.
Transit continues on Page 8
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