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June 26, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 23 A publication of
lonetreevoice.net
County’s jobless rate hits 6-year low Douglas employment gains rank third nationally in 2013 By Ryan Boldrey “The Seed” is the base piece of the five-element work John King created for Kaiser Permanente’s Lone Tree medical office building. Photos by Jane Reuter
Art out of adversity Sculptures installed at Kaiser a metaphor for survival By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Lyons artist John King and his wife Sally were celebrating the completion of his massive Lone Tree work, “Tree of Life,” last September as floodwaters rose outside their home and art studio. Hours later, the studio was destroyed, the couple’s home badly damaged and their community was devastated. All that remained of the “Tree of Life” was the brilliantly colored seed pod, “The Seed,” the base piece of the five-element work King created for Kaiser Permanente’s Lone Tree medical office building. “We walked back in the next day and I saw it,” King said. “Here’s this seed pod, standing upright in the water. It was really uplifting, very emotional. The metaphor became literal.” King’s work includes five interactive pieces, each representing a phase of life and nature. The 80-foot-tall complete work was designed to fill the glass, five-level staircase of Kaiser’s Park Meadows Drive building. Only “The Seed” was installed for the building’s December grand opening. The remainder of the rebuilt work was unveiled during a special June 23 ceremony. “The Seed” sculpture standing outside the Kings’ Apple Valley home became a symbol of hope and inspiration for the community of Lyons. As the Kings began the restoration of their home, rebuilding of the studio and started anew on the four lost elements of “Tree of Life,” the seed pod was visible to passers-by. Lyons still is rebuilding in the wake of floods that affected 2,000 square miles in northern Colorado between Sept. 11 and 15, 2013. In Lyons, located at the confluence of
two creeks, lives, businesses and homes were lost. The Kings don’t view the floods’ impact with bitterness; they consider living next to a moving body of water a choice, a privilege and a risk. Even as the creek swelled Sept. 11 to devastating levels, the Kings saw the amazing beauty in the moment. Just before they evacuated the area, the couple sat in their car and witnessed a large cottonwood careening toward the bridge that connects their home to the artist’s studio. “We were there looking at it in the headlights; a cottonwood tree snapped it in half,” King remembered. “We love rivers. We go on vacations and go down rivers in a boat. This little creek became as big as the Grand Canyon. It was fantastic. “We’re over the shock at this point. What hasn’t left us is the beauty.” He hopes the beauty of nature, represented in “Tree of Life,” also inspires those who come to the Kaiser building. “There’s a lot of adversity that comes through the doors here,” King said. “Everyone has their story and challenge. This is one of many.” Each piece of “Tree of Life,” which includes the seed pod sculpture, a set of six leaves, trees, a work of overlapping circles and the flower, is designed to be touched and to move independently. It’s intended not only to provide aesthetic value, but as a health incentive that encourages people to use the stairs. Kaiser Permanente officials would not say how much the piece, or the other numerous works of art included in the Lone Tree building, cost the company.
rboldrey @coloradocommunitymedia.com Douglas County’s employment numbers continue to draw closer to prerecession levels at a quicker pace than others, something that can be directly attributed to a fresh mindset, says county Commissioner Jill Repella. When the Great Recession hit “we really intentionally put forth efforts to make sure that we were listening to the business community, understanding their concerns, streamlining our Repella regulatory process, shortening our permit process and really supporting their efforts in getting their businesses open,” she said. The result has been company after company moving into Douglas County, which has helped to bring the unemployment rate down to 4.4 percent, the lowest it has been since it was 4.3 in October 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the Great Recession, it got as high as 7.6, up from a pre-recession low of 2.7 in April 2007. But along with changing how the county conducted business, and partnering more effectively with local municipalities, Douglas County wasn’t affected as much as other areas and things just continue to get better, Repella said. A report from the bureau released June 19, showed that the county’s employment gains were up 5.2 percent from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013. The data placed the county in a tie with California’s Sonoma County for the third greatest gains over that timeframe nationwide, trailing only Lee County in Florida (5.5 percent) and nearby Weld County (6 percent). Weld and Douglas were the only Colorado counties in the top 10, and while Jobless continues on Page 9
PERCENT INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT IN 2013 Weld County, Colo. 6.0 Lee, Fla. 5.5 Sonoma, Calif. 5.2 Douglas, Colo. 5.2 Sarasota, Fla. 4.9 Ocean, N.J. 4.8 Fort Bend, Texas 4.8 Midland, Texas 4.8 Placer, Calif. 4.7 Williamson, Texas 4.7
In “Glimmer,” all three trees move independently of one another, rocking back and forth.
Lyons artist John King stands next to the final element in his five-piece, interactive work, “The Tree of Life,” on the top floor of Kaiser Permanente’s Lone Tree building.
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