August 20, 2015
TEACHERS PREPARE
VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 1
Although school officially started this week for most students, teachers began working in their classrooms the week before — decorating classrooms and hallways, developing lesson plans and brainstorming ways to provide the best learning environments for their students. To see what teachers were doing behind the scenes last week, turn to pages 6 and 7 for more stories and photos.
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Innovation marks scientific, technical businesses State-of-the-art operations visited by congressman By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Students at Belmar Elementary visited with teachers old and new before starting the school year on Aug. 17. Photo by Clarke Reader
Vikings set sail
New year of school begins By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com
There is a whole new horde of Vikings to contend with at Belmar Elementary, and teachers and parents couldn’t be happier about it. Students and their families were greeted with orange juice, bagels and a balloon archway on the first day of class, and everyone had a chance to greet friends, meet teachers and get a dozen photos or so taken. “Everyone is excited to be here,” said Principal Meredith Leighty as the crowds numbers quickly swelled. In the background Disney classics like (the very appropriate) “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” provided the perfect soundtrack for the event. — Students As the children snacked on bagels, parents were busy — Staff combing their child’s hair one more time, adjusting — Teachers their collars and tucking in their shirts, all the while — Schools on ... marveling at how fast the time has passed. — Campuses “It’s kind of exciting, but I can’t believe he’s already in kindergarten,” said Phyllis Allen, who was there with grandson Degan, and her daughter Ashley Cummins. Degan said he was excited for school to start, and he wasn’t the only one — children eagerly asked to see their classrooms, and teachers were quickly surrounded by their new students as they held up signs with names and grades.
JEFFCO SCHOOL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERS
86,000 14,000 5,200 155 185
FIVE NEW PROGRAMS IN LAKEWOOD SCHOOLS Here are five of the many new programs in Lakewood schools for the 2015-16 school year: 1. Green Mountain High School now features an agriculture pathway, focusing on the growing field of urban agriculture. 2. Lakewood High School has a brand new band director, Bryce Melaragno, who wants to continue pushing a competitive group to new heights. 3. Bear Creek High School is launching its first lacrosse program. The first year will mainly be junior varsity, with the program expanding into varsity next year. 4. Belmar Elementary is refining its first watchdog program, in which parent volunteers help keep an eye on students and schoolgrounds. 5. South Lakewood Elementary is getting new choir classes through its vocal music program.
The teachers hugged students they’ve had in previous years, made them promise to come and visit, and caught up with their students’ favorite stories from the summer. Parents took the chance to ask some last minute questions and get to know the people who will be working so closely with their children for the next nine months. And in many cases, the parents hugged the teachers as well. As nine-o-clock drew near, parents moved over to the balloon archway, under which their students would pass before entering school for the first time of the year. “We gotta have some fun — this is it!” said third grade teacher Sue Becker, as she led her students through the arch. Parents had the chance to get one more hug and kiss from their children, and then stand and cheer as they passed into the building. And then the bell rang.
Council considers regulations for residential marijuana grows Goal to protect residents and stay constitutional By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com Lakewood City Council will consider two ordinances about residential marijuana grows after a study session on Aug. 17. The first of the two proposed ordi-
nances is an update that brings Lakewood’s criminal code to the same level as the state’s in several areas, including alcohol possession and marijuana. As city attorney Tim Cox explained it, the changes no longer cite possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia by a person older than 21. The second — and more substantive — ordinance specifically focuses on residential grows and would propose the follow: marijuana plants would have to
be “cultivated, produced, processed and maintained” at a person’s primary residence and not outdoors or in detached structures (garages will be allowed, as long as they are attached); marijuana growing must be the secondary use of the home; the plants must be grown in an enclosed and locked space; each person in the residence (older than 21) may have up to six plants, but the total Council continues on Page 14
Wind power. Blood work. Infusion systems for interventional radiology and 3D metal printing — four radically different businesses in scientific and technical fields. But they share a common thread of innovation. Congressman Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado, recently spent two days visiting four of his district’s most state-of-the-art companies to see how they work, the kinds of challenges they’re facing and what help they could Perlmutter benefit from. “The innovative piece of this is what I really wanted to focus on. There are a lot of really smart people here with some new ideas out there,” Perlmutter said. “We’re visiting an interesting group that has applications from medical and astronomy to energy and military.” PerlmutHeidi Hostetter, ter’s district vice president covers the west of Faustson and north metro areas, including Golden, Lakewood, Northglenn and Thornton. On Aug. 10 and 11, he visited Lakewood’s Primus Aerospace and Windpower and Terumo BCT, Arvada’s Faustson Tools and Westminster’s Surefire Medical. The businesses specialize in different fields — wind power systems, blood work, 3D metal printing and infusion systems for interventional radiology, respectively — but all are facing challenges related to employee attraction and retention, growth and public awareness. “This business is so competitive,” said Randy Brodsky, president of Primus Aerospace. “Our building here has a 42,000-square-foot capacity, and we’re going to need to find additional space.” Primus and Surefire employees spoke about challenges of competition with China. Surefire is also potentially facing some high taxes as part of the Affordable Care Act’s medical device tax. Alicia Svaldi, co-founder of Faustson, highlighted the benefit of Colorado Helps
“We’re hoping the state will be able to help in some way with apprenticeship programs. Right now we’re doing all the participation we can.”
Innovation continues on Page 5