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MAY 7, 2020

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‘EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS DIFFERENT’ Hero’s parents urge community to remember STEM tragedy Page 4

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VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 13

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May 7, 2020M

Anchor stores open first at Park Meadows Meanwhile, mall’s inside corridors remain closed

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Park Meadows stores are opening on an individual basis as the mall awaits the go-ahead from the health department to open its interior corridors once again.

Mall stores with exterior entrances, like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom and the Vistas area, are eligible to open first, said Park Meadows officials.

Dick’s was the first to open May 1.

Dillard’s reopened May 5 and Macy’s is scheduled to open May 11.

“A lot of businesses are taking this very seriously and a lot are preparing their own stores for gradual reopening,” said Whitney Miller, director of the mall’s business improvement district.

Masks to help protect against COVID-19 transmission are a requirement for Park Meadows shoppers, Miller said. Individual stores are responsible for enforcing social distancing, personal protective equipment and capacity requirements.

As for Park Meadows’ interior, the mall in Lone Tree is not classified as a retail business in the eyes of the Tri-County Health Department. Park Meadows instead is considered an

Jane and Jerry Greenwald, of Castle Rock, shop at Dick’s Sporting Goods May 2. entertainment center, and therefore cannot allow customers inside the dining hall and interior corridors.

But individual stores are considered retail and can open under certain conditions, such as keeping people 6 feet apart and allowing half

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as many customers as their capacity allows.

Dick’s Sporting Goods had few people trickling in and around the entrance on May 1. Some poked their heads in the door, wondering if they were even allowed in, despite the sign above the entrance that read “Now Open” in bold, red letters.

“It feels weird walking in a store for the first time (since the coronavirus struck). It’s strange,” said Jerry Greenwald, who went shopping with his wife, Jane, on May 2.

Meanwhile, the mall has stepped up its cleaning and disinfecting efforts, Miller said. Soft-cushioned seating has been temporarily removed. The dining hall closed its seating, though restaurants can still sell take-out.

As the larger retail stores ease into reopening their sales floors, interior stores are preparing to provide curbside pick-up. A makeshift curbside pick-up lane is set up by the dining hall.

Dick’s has been providing curbside pick-up for several weeks. Customers wait outside the store, place a request on the phone or online and wait for an employee inside the store to get the items and bring them to the car. That option is still available for customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing public health orders have caused some permanent changes to the mall, Miller said. For one thing, staff are far more conscious of disinfecting hightouch areas. Also, the mall may create

PHOTOS BY NICK PUCKETT

A woman tests out a bicycle outside Dick’s Sporting Goods May 2. Dick’s was the first store at the Park Meadows mall to allow customers inside since the start of the stay-at-home order in March. The sporting goods outlet has been providing curbside pickup since it closed, where people can request items to be delivered to their car by employees.

a more permanent system for curbside pick-up, particularly for businesses that already offer those services, like Macy’s and Dick’s, and restaurants at the mall.

There is no date for when the mall corridors will open, Miller said.

CORRECTION In the April 30 edition of Love Tree Voice, on Page 4, a story headlined “Sky Ridge Medical Center in a ‘groove’” contained incorrect information about the number of COVID-19 patients being treated at the hospital at one time. Hospital officials said they were treating 16 people for the disease as of May 4.

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May 7, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

For grieving parents, ‘everything in life is different’ One year later, Kendrick Castillo’s parents urge community to remember STEM

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

By April 24, John Castillo had begun struggling to sleep. May 7 was approaching — the day he and his wife, Maria, lost their only child. With each passing day, anxiety built up a little more.

“I didn’t know what my emotional realm would be,” he said by Zoom interview that afternoon.

John began thinking about his son, 18-year-old Kendrick, more and more as the one-year mark of Kendrick’s death drew near.

Kendrick was fatally shot May 7, 2019 while he and fellow students Brendan Bialy and Josh Jones rushed a student who is set to face trial for his alleged role in the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch last year.

A second shooter pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Eight students were injured in the attack.

Kendrick, Brendan and Josh are credited with saving lives that day.

Kendrick is remembered as a hero.

One year later, John and Maria tearfully reflected on a tumultuous 12 months. John hopes his words will help people and keep Kendrick’s memory alive.

As time goes on, he fears people’s memories of his son will fade. Or, that they will think less often of STEM, particularly now as a global pandemic consumes the world’s attention.

That’s why he still tells his story, difficult as it is.

“Everywhere you turn, everything in life is different after an event like this. Nothing is as easy as it was before,” John said.

‘One of a kind’ On April 30, John and Maria sat in front of Kendrick’s grave, as they do every afternoon. The couple has not missed a day visiting Kendrick since his death. The only exceptions were a couple out-of-state trips for speaking engagements. For those, Maria packed pictures of Kendrick to take along.

When they returned, they drove straight from the airport to see Kendrick, as they put it.

Maria gently tended to the roses by his headstone and straightened little gifts left for him. A small cow, for Kendrick’s favorite, Chick-fil-A, where he loved to eat with friends. A columbine flower left by a survivor of the Columbine High School mass shooting. Tools from technology students Kendrick mentored.

May 7, then one week away, now had John reflecting on the days leading up to the shooting. If he could have known what his son would face that day, maybe he could have helped.

John and Maria Castillo sit beside the grave of their son, Kendrick, who was shot and killed during the STEM School shooting a year ago. They are reflected on the polished surface of another nearby headstone.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA GIBBS

A number of items at Kendrick Castillo’s grave honor things he loved — a small cow to remember his times eating Chick-fil-A with friends, a columbine flower left by a Columbine survivor, tools from technology students he mentored and more.

He could have kept him home from school, he thought.

The Castillos quietly looked at Kendrick’s grave as the sun hung over Douglas County’s foothills, shining across Kendrick’s headstone. Birds sang nearby, bringing a lighter mood to the scene. The soothing sound of running water from nearby fountains filtered around them.

Sometimes, deer gather by the cemetery and eye them, John said. The deer enjoy munching on roses they bring Kendrick, particularly in the winter. John and Maria come back to find only stems, he said, chuckling.

The botanical-gardens cemetery in Douglas County where Kendrick rests, Seven Stones, focuses on healing

through nature, director of customer care Becky Holm said. She quickly became friends of the Castillos, having seen them nearly every day this past year. The couple brought “a sense of peace to the gardens,” she said.

Sometimes John and Maria see someone they know at the cemetery, which is near Chatfield State Park.

Other times people recognize them while visiting. Either way, the Castillos are open with everyone, she said.

“Last week another family lost their son too young to cancer, and they prayed with them after the service,” Holm said. “That’s a very common occurrence, that the Castillos will pray with other families that have just lost their loved ones, and it’s very welcome

all around.”

Not far from Kendrick’s grave is the resting place of Zackari Parrish, the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office deputy fatally shot on Dec. 31, 2017, while trying to assist a mentally ill man from Highlands Ranch. The Castillos’ victim’s advocate was a friend of Parrish, John said, who told them about Seven Stones.

Holm said it did not take the Castillos long to find the perfect spot for Kendrick — right next to a trio of column sculptures made of Colorado basalt. The memorial reminded John and Maria of their family of three.

Being in Kendrick’s presence while surrounded by nature is comforting, John said. The shift to springtime brought an added sense of peace as the world came to life. Plants began to grow. He liked listening to the birds chirp.

When people get too busy, they do not always notice the changing of the seasons, John said. Going to Seven Stones gave him a renewed appreciation for that. Maria thinks Seven Stones is less scary than other cemeteries, John said as she smiled.

John remembers Kendrick as a calming presence in his life.

Kendrick never hated or got angry, he said. If John got upset at a driver on the road, Kendrick was the one to talk him down. When Kendrick was a child, he once put himself in timeout after his parents scolded him.

Kendrick was not afraid to show his faith. He quietly prayed over a Taco Bell meal when eating out, and never did it so people would see him, John said. That was “just his demeanor. He was brave that way.”

SEE STEM, P5

Lone Tree Voice 5

May 7, 2020

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

STEM FROM PAGE 4

Kendrick loved the outdoors, space and robotics. He set goals and worked toward them. When friends fought, he tried to bring them together. He stood up for what was right, and ultimately died living by that standard, John said.

“He truly was one of a kind,” John said.

Pain persists amid new crisis The family’s grief and anxiety has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. John, a diabetic, is at risk for the pneumonia-like disease that is more lethal for people with underlying conditions.

The pandemic also prompted many governments, including Colorado, to ban gatherings and issue a stay-athome order that recently expired in Douglas County, creating more challenges in the Castillos’ grief process.

“The support that we probably normally would have isn’t there right now. That’s been a very difficult thing,” John said when the order was in place. “There is a big distraction.

We know that they’re concerned for their families.”

COVID-19 spurred a painful drawing out of the open case against the older suspect, who pleaded not guilty in January. The suspect’s trial was rescheduled from May to September.

The second teenager is scheduled to be sentenced in May, but it’s possible the pandemic will delay that hearing as well.

John worries trial jurors will feel uncomfortable serving during the pandemic and won’t focus.

“It’s been difficult. The COVID-19 situation has thrown an interesting twist on a lot of things that we just, I guess, never thought of before,” John said. “From a survivor standpoint, it does play heavy on our minds, what justice will look like going forward with this new twist of a pandemic.”

COVID-19 also ruined original plans to honor Kendrick on May 7.

John wanted to hold a candlelight vigil to speak about his faith and the importance of family values. The pandemic rendered that impossible.

Instead, he and Maria will have a small gathering of friends and family at Seven Stones with a prayer service and bagpipes.

When there, he and Maria read kind notes left at Kendrick’s grave by friends. That uplifts them. They think of his friends around the one-year mark, too.

“It also hurts our hearts that they’re suffering the loss that we are. They are suffering the pain as well,” John said. “We think and wonder about those kids every day and how they are making it through.”

Being tested John and Maria thought seriously about moving closer to Kendrick.

There are too many memories in their Denver home, he said, which sits 17 miles from Seven Stones. The couple

Among the gifts John and Maria bring Kendrick is a small Bronco figurine from John, and a small Jeep, like the one Kendrick drove.

JESSICA GIBBS Kendrick Castillo is shown before his last prom at STEM School.

COURTESY PHOTO looked at some properties before COVID-19 geared up and made selling their home, in their view, impossible.

For now, they are working on home improvement projects to make their property more sellable.

The pandemic changed their work plans, too.

Maria, a chef, and John, an engineer in the hotel industry, are both on sabbatical and have been since May 7, 2019. John expected his employer to reevaluate his work status in June or July before COVID-19 hit but doubts he can return to work under the pandemic.

The couple’s grief symptoms worsened as they weathered both crises.

After losing their son, John and Maria battled sleep deprivation. During the pandemic that grew worse.

They stay up, restless, until 12:30 a.m., 1 a.m., 2 a.m., and wake up by 4:30 or 5 a.m.

Each morning John puts on coffee.

They drink their cups next to a wall covered in photos of Kendrick — prom photos, senior photos and one signed by his senior class — while thinking about ways to occupy their time. John does yardwork, waters plants and grows vegetables.

John and Maria typically visit Kendrick in the afternoons. On especially hard days, the Castillos skip coffee at home, grab a Starbucks and drive to Seven Stones, where they sit in the gardens. They often return again on those days to spend more time with him.

An added challenge during the pandemic was losing the ability to leave the house. Like most people, John said, the couple is limiting time away from home, only getting groceries every three to four weeks.

They mostly leave to fuel their vehicle at Costco so they can go to and from the cemetery, which feels safe because they are often alone there.

Before COVID, John spent time at the state Capitol, but work under the dome came to “a screeching halt.”

“I will say that it doesn’t matter what we’re involved in,” John said.

“There always comes a point at the end of the day when we’re having dinner. There is just a calm, empty time where we eat, we think about

Kendrick, and it’s difficult, extremely difficult, for about an hour.”

This experience has tested them in many ways they didn’t expect, John said.

Significantly, it tested their faith.

The couple wanted 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler to pursue the death penalty in the older suspect’s case, but they are devout Catholics and John knows capital punishment is against their doctrine, he said.

Brauchler announced through court documents filed in March he would not seek the death penalty, noting jurors would have to consider the 19-year-old suspect’s age and lack of serious prior offenses.

John said at the time he believes justice for Kendrick means the suspect giving up his life. John hopes people will not judge him and Maria for their stance on the death penalty. No one could understand unless also in their place, he said.

“It pits our loss against our spiritual beliefs,” John said.

The experience also sharpened his views on the importance of strong family systems, and the need to be informed community members. He urged people to understand local laws and get involved in shaping policy.

If people want to support survivors of mass violence, they should pay attention to how the criminal justice system works, he said. He stressed victim impact statements in the STEM case will have influence years into the future if the convicted shooter seeks parole.

John is eager for solutions to school safety and believes it starts with strong families. Court hearings revealed the younger suspect grew up amid abuse and neglect, and is accused of masterminding the shooting, then coercing the older suspect into aiding him.

Washington Post reporter Robert Klemko tweeted that March 2020 was the first March without a school shooting in the U.S. since 2002. John called that profound.

“I thought, how ironic,” he said. “Is this what it takes to end the cycle of terror and violence that takes place in our schools?”

Crushing clarity Talking about Kendrick often

overwhelms Maria.

For most of the past year, she let John take the lead during news interviews at court hearings and serve as their spokesman in other situations.

She’s never far from John’s side, though, usually listening with a tearstricken face and quiet sobs.

When she does speak, Maria moves people deeply. She left a packed courtroom weeping in November 2019 after she testified during a hearing that decided the 16-year-old suspect would be tried as an adult, not a juvenile, if his case had progressed to trial.

Kendrick, she said, was her life.

As John spoke on April 24, Maria sat nearby listening and overcome with emotion. She later wrote her thoughts down in an email, describing the past year as a personal hell. She is angry and in pain. She usually stays home, sometimes sitting at her computer searching for answers and information.

“Even going to church is extremely difficult, seeing other families together,” she said, “and mine is not complete anymore.”

Maria misses Kendrick’s hugs, “his beautiful smile,” his jokes and everything they used to do together, all stolen “by one evil day.” She would trade places with him if she could.

Kendrick had too much to live for, she said.

“He was not only my only child, he was my best friend, my life, everything that we did was for him and with him,” Maria said.

John said time failed to lessen their pain.

“I wish I could say that things have gotten better, or seem like we have, but honestly, it doesn’t feel much different than this time last year. I guess the only difference is there’s a sense of clarity now,” John said.

That clarity makes the grief stronger. For months after the tragedy, John and Maria felt a sense of denial. They lived in a fog. Now, the shock and disbelief of Kendrick’s death has worn off. His loss feels more real.

“I never knew a person could be in shock for many months,” John said.

‘A really bad nightmare’ The Castillos frequently close down Seven Stones.

Holm, the director of customer care, doesn’t mind if they come in late at night, such as after a long court hearing, or leave after she does. John and Maria fasten the gate when they leave and make sure the grounds are locked up.

“They can come and go as they please, whatever they need,” Holm said. “They’re family. There’s no other way to describe it. We’re sad that they have to be there, but we love having them.”

John said Holm is special. He and Maria will keep seeing her around as they visit Kendrick, taking each day as it comes.

“It seems like just a really bad nightmare that you’re never going to wake up from,” he said. “We made it through one year. What’s the next year going to be like?”

6 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

A year toward recovery complicated by virus STEM School Highlands Ranch weathers back-to-back crises

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For Penny Eucker, executive director of STEM School Highlands Ranch, one of the more challenging aspects of preparing for May 7 was finding the right words for that day.

“We really don’t have a word in the English language to use for a tragedy’s coming around,” she said. “I don’t want to use the word ‘anniversary.’ I don’t want to use the word ‘commemorate.’ We don’t want to use a word that has any hint of celebration. We just use ‘one-year mark,’ because there isn’t a word that’s appropriate.”

On May 7, 2019, a shooting left eight STEM students injured and 18-yearold senior Kendrick Castillo dead.

The behavioral health disaster response team at AllHealth Network immediately activated. A crisis center opened the following morning. Disaster response evolved into the longerterm effort of disaster recovery.

That summer, the school started discussing how best to address the one-year mark once it came about.

Knowing how each person will react on that date is impossible, Eucker said. With 1,800 students and 2,800 parents, the school had to prepare for vastly diverse reactions to trauma.

That sentiment was echoed among numerous school and mental health leaders who shepherded STEM’s recovery this past year. Grief is as unique as the person. Managing disaster recovery is a day-by-day, person-byperson journey.

Then enter the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered schools across the state to in-person learning. Suddenly, the STEM community was weathering two school years in a row disrupted by crisis.

“Nothing prepares you for a tragedy of this magnitude,” Eucker said. “We had trained extensively for emergencies, for lockdowns, but just like a global pandemic, nothing prepares you for the magnitude of events that are unthinkable.”

‘The year of firsts’ Hannah Reese, STEM’s recovery coordinator, spent this school year connecting students with care and coordinating mental health education.

“Often we refer to the first year as the year of firsts, and for everyone, you have to get through the first day of school, and the first winter break,” Reese said.

Marina Altmann Godoy, 13, decided before COVID-19 she would not go to school on May 7. The seventh grader now attends Cresthill Middle School in Highlands Ranch but was a STEM School student last year.

Her plan was to get away from the scenery of school and grab doughnuts

STEM School Highlands Ranch is weathering back-to-back crises, between last year’s shooting and this year’s global pandemic.

JESSICA GIBBS with family on the one-year date.

That’s what she did during the first lockdown drill this school year.

Marina was home sick during the second drill. By the third, she felt relieved. It went easier than expected.

Marina participated from a room without a speaker, so she did not have to hear announcements. That helped.

Still, she got frustrated seeing some students mess around during the exercise.

“It might be a day where it’s not a drill,” she said. “To them it’s probably like that same old drill that you do. To people like me, it’s like, oh yeah, we could be in danger.”

Evan Forster is a behavioral health clinician with AllHealth who embedded in STEM for the year. Many students transitioned back well, he said.

“But there were definitely kids that were more responsive to unexpected loud noises in the hallway happening and experiencing heightened anxiety related to being in different areas of the school,” he said. “Especially surrounding drills.”

To help, Forster scheduled student meetings during fire drills. When alarms sounded, he walked students through “grounding techniques,” like deep breathing and identifying the situation as a drill.

During lockdown drills, Forster sat in classrooms to be a reassuring presence. If students experienced “heightened emotions,” Forster reminded

them it was practice and they were safe.

Eucker said STEM tried to alert parents about drills beforehand and immediately posted to social media when a drill was underway. Instead of the PA system blaring an alarm, staff spoke announcements in a calming voice.

“We are going to have a drill,” the announcements would say. “This is just a drill.”

STEM took numerous steps to help students ease back into the year. The school reconfigured classrooms in a different orientation and redecorated.

The school also reconfigured classrooms 107 and 109, the scene of the shooting. Walls came down. Access to those rooms changed. Every room in the area now has a different number.

The numbers 107 and 109 no longer exist.

A year of challenges Other obstacles arose as the community searched for answers following the tragedy.

Families including John and Maria Castillo, whose son, Kendrick, was fatally shot that day; and Brendan Bialy sued the school for injuries and wrongful death. Bialy rushed a gun-wielding student at the onset of the shooting with Kendrick and fellow student Josh Jones.

The suits alleged STEM missed warning signs that the suspects could

become violent and mishandled threats to STEM’s safety.

Kendrick’s mother, Maria, said by email she spends hours researching the school. The family’s suit remains open.

“I have discovered many things that we did not know about the school where our precious child, Kendrick, was murdered,” she said. “I did my job as a mother, unfortunately, I trusted the wrong people with everything I had.”

COVID-19 has also drawn out the two ensuing criminal cases involving the shooting suspects.

The younger attacker, Alec McKinney, pleaded guilty in February and awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled this month. The hearing could be delayed. The older suspect, Devon Erickson, was supposed to begin trial this month after pleading not guilty in January. That was pushed back to September.

A term-limited 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler wanted nothing more than to finish both cases before he leaves office this year, he said.

Victims need closure, and the criminal cases are the last formal reminder of the tragedy, he said, except only for the civil suits. Brauchler is not sure he can deliver that amid the pandemic.

COVID-19 further creates uncertainty around holding court hearings.

Large gatherings are banned. Will people be forced to view hearings remotely? How does that affect transparency? Brauchler is waiting for answers to those questions and more.

“As we approach May the 7th, I really thought we’d be in a different position,” Brauchler said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

‘STEM is trying its best’ Throughout this experience, Reese focused on the unity she sees among STEM’s children, their empathy for one another and is “continuously astounded” by how quickly the community can rally together.

Forster hoped the community would find creative ways to connect during the isolation of COVID-19.

“We were definitely anticipating being able to be together in person as we approached this one-year mark,” Reese said.

While the pandemic forces isolation on the community as a whole — through stay-at-home orders and the banning of gatherings — there have been positives, Lakshmi Ganapaneni said.

The 14-year-old sophomore at STEM said COVID-19 brought her family closer. They see each other more, and she was grateful to be home with them as the one-year mark approached. She planned to spend time that day with her brother doing arts and crafts.

“I don’t know how exactly I’m going to react on the day,” she said on May 1.

“I’m basically helping myself by helping others.”

SEE VIRUS, P8

Lone Tree Voice 7

May 7, 2020

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

New center provides support for STEM School community STEM Center for Strength opens virtually amid COVID-19 pandemic

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Suzi McKay wishes she could have known in 2013 what she knows now.

That year, her daughter was a 15-year-old sophomore at Arapahoe High School in Centennial when a shooting rocked the community. In the years since, she’s learned more about helping her daughter handle stress and anxiety “in a more purposeful way,” and how to self-advocate.

It’s a skillset she better developed over time and needed when the incident happened, she said. But one of the most important lessons she learned is that no two tragedies are the same.

She does not know firsthand what the past year was like for the STEM School Highlands Ranch community, but her experience with Arapahoe High School gives her a little insight, McKay said. She hopes to use it to give back as she works at a new resiliency center opened to support STEM. “Having been part of a community that’s been through an act of school violence and being the parent of a child that has been affected, I know that the event never goes away,” she said.

The new center is virtually open to provide mental health support for anyone affected by the tragedy at STEM School Highlands Ranch last year. STEM Center for Strength, at 640 Plaza Drive, Highlands Ranch, will open to in-person services as soon as is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic pushed back its in-person opening date, which was supposed to be in March, forcing the center to operate virtually. McKay is the center’s activity coordinator.

The center also has planned a variety of services that will be virtually available on May 7, the one-year mark of the shooting that injured eight STEM students and left 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo dead.

“Knowing that you’re not alone, that you have a community of people you can connect with,” Cynthia Grant, chief clinical officer at AllHealth Network said, “even if it’s an online community, is I think really helpful and healing.”

The services are free to the public and available to anyone affected by the May 7 incident. That could be a first responder, school employee, student, alumni, parent or other community member. More information is available at stemcenterforstrength.com.

STEM student Logan Cooper came up with the center’s name, which was voted on by the school. Student Grace Triplett designed the center’s logo.

The facility is operated by AllHealth Network, which handled the behavioral health disaster response when the

The STEM Center for Strength planned to open in March but was forced to operate virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Still in the works is signage, art and more details to the facility.

Students designed the center’s logo and chose the name.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA GIBBS

“The chill room” is filled with a comfy couch and seating for students to do homework, lounge and enjoy time relaxing at the STEM Center for Strength.

STEM School incident occurred and continues to provide disaster recovery with a network of stakeholders.

Everything is grant funded through August 2022, Grant said.

Grant said without resiliency centers, informal support groups often form among survivors of mass violence and victims individually sift through an ocean of resources or information about recovery.

“Without having a place to go, each individual deals with their own grief and trauma in their own setting,” she said. “But it doesn’t bring together sort of the shared experience that people have until you have a place with a clear purpose.”

Resiliency centers provide a centralized location for mental health support, she said. The staff have clinical expertise and vet resources about trauma and recovery before providing it to survivors, “so that people aren’t going to try and find this on their own.”

Grant said as the one-year mark draws near, people may experience intrusive thoughts or memories.

Anxiety and stress may increase and struggling to sleep is common.

“That’s very normal,” she said. “We really want people to know that what they’re experiencing is normal.”

Grant encouraged people to avoid bottling feelings up. People can use humor to talk through issues, she said. Focus on sleep. STEM Center for Strength has tips online for meditation and breathing techniques. There is yoga instruction for anxiety attacks and a video on coping skills.

Resources on the center’s website vary based on age group and a person’s connection to the school, such as whether he or she is a student, staff member or parent.

One of the most important ways for survivors to stay well is to know what crisis resources are available, Grant said.

Hannah Reese, the recovery coor-

dinator for STEM School Highlands Ranch, oversees recovery within the school and worked closely with AllHealth in setting the center up.

She hopes the center will be a place where students can connect, de-stress and make new friends. Having a place to bring everyone involved together is an ideal situation, she said. From a survey sent to the STEM community, Reese said there was one universal request people agreed on: therapy dogs.

The center will be sure to bring those in, she said.

The center is located next to the school, within walking distance for students.

“Having that location for healing is wonderful and honestly any time students can connect with each other and relax is wonderful,” Reese said.

McKay is Reese’s counterpart within the center. The center worked closely with the school in developing its operations, she said, and she was glad students were behind its logo and name.

“We want the kids not only to tap their talents,” she said, “but also that gives them more ownership of the space.”

McKay said the center has four support groups right now and is starting up a fifth for alumni.

Their biggest challenge in opening the center has been reaching community members who moved on after the shooting, like students or teachers who left for other schools. She hopes word of mouth can help them reach everyone who may need the center’s resources.

While the mission is to ensure people have mental health support if they need it, the center is also meant to be a gathering place for people to spend time, socialize and unwind.

“It’s not only about the availability of the clinicians and support services,” she said.

Grant wanted the community to know “we all remember what happened.”

“It has changed the community, and yet we have seen incredible strength and recovery that have come from people,” Grant said. “We can continue to heal from it and support one another.”

8 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

VIRUS

ABOUT THE REPORTER

FROM PAGE 6

Ganapaneni serves on the advisory board for the new STEM Center for Strength. The center was supposed to open in March but is operating virtually during COVID-19. It provides mental health resources for anyone who needs support because of the incident, like counseling and therapy groups.

That work has been good for her, she said.

“STEM is trying its best. We are all trying to reach out to everybody who is being affected,” she said. “Everybody was hit.”

Ganapaneni was in the high school section of STEM as the shooting unfolded in the middle school. She did not know how to react, she said, but she remembers her first thought was her then 7-year-old brother, a secondgrade STEM student at the time.

“More than myself I was worried about him,” she said. “Am I going to see him or not the next minute?”

Her brother now attends a different school. Ganapaneni still attends STEM. She never considered switching schools. She believes the incident was beyond STEM’s control. Ganapaneni is doing well this year, she said, but she knows not everyone can say the same.

Eucker, the STEM School’s executive director, said for some staff and students, returning to STEM was too

Jessica Gibbs, a Colorado Community Media reporter since 2016, was part of the CCM team that covered the 2019 STEM School Highlands Ranch tragedy. That coverage recently received first place for breaking-news reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists in its four-state Top of the Rockies awards. painful.

Last year the school employed 163 people, of which 53 left. A spokeswoman said that is not an unusual amount of turnover for STEM in a given year, and the school did not ask departing staff if the shooting influenced their decision to leave.

The employees did fill out a standard exit survey. Nearly half said they decided not to return, 11 left teaching, 11 left for what they considered better offers, five moved out of the region and five said they were dissatisfied with the school. The spokeswoman said she did not have a breakdown of turnover by position type.

Eucker noticed “quite a bit of turnover” at the elementary school level, which she thinks was because elementary teachers have high empathy.

Enrollment dropped from 1,844 students in the 2018-19 school year to 1,749 in the 2019-20 school year.

Nara Altmann, Marina’s mother, said she moved Marina to a different school mostly for concern about STEM’s rigorous academics.

She worries too much focus on

John and Maria Castillo stand among students, teachers and community members of STEM school Highlands Ranch during Run For the Fallen on Sept.

15. Many in the crowd raised a closed fist after an attendee shouted a common saying following the shooting: “STEM strong.”

ELLIOTT WENZLER

grades can hinder students. Through research and word of mouth, she heard Cresthill excels at fostering development of the whole child, she said, including social-emotional learning.

Marina felt apprehensive about leaving STEM but both she and Nara said the move to Cresthill turned out to be the right choice.

For many, returning to STEM was the right choice, Eucker said. It meant being with people who endured what they endured. STEM represented to them a shared experience and people who understood the significance of May 7 firsthand.

“That was something that I didn’t really think about until so many had voiced that sentiment, even at the very young ages,” Eucker said.

‘A day of strength’ If there is one thing Ganapaneni wants the community to know, it’s that “STEM is still a great school, and

we’ve always been a great school.”

STEM planned to complete service projects on May 7 in an effort called “STEMShares,” but again had to pivot plans during COVID-19. Families are now encouraged to do good acts — donating to a food bank, helping a neighbor — at the family level instead of the classroom level, Eucker said.

“My personal hope is that we can redefine this from a day of fear to a day of strength,” Eucker said.

Nara listened to her daughter reflect on the tragedy — for the first time to someone outside the family — with a patient smile on April 28.

For Marina, May 7 taught her a tragic lesson that helped her walk into the COVID-19 crisis with confidence.

She more fully understands people can reach rock bottom, she said, but still move forward.

“Everyone is going to fall down and crumble under pressure,” Marina said, “but then you build yourself up.”

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Lone Tree Voice 9

May 7, 2020

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Lone Tree requires shoppers to wear face coverings COVID-19 Community Response Assistance is as close as your phone or computer. We understand that this is a difficult time for many in our community. Douglas County is ready to help you find support. Call 303.688.4825 for information about human services countywide including: *Food, shelter and childcare emergency assistance *Aging, employment and disability resources Shoppers wearing masks.

Mayor Jackie Millet issues executive order

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Lone Tree Mayor Jackie Millet has issued an executive order temporarily requiring people to wear face coverings in its indoor retail spaces.

The order came a day after City Council held an emergency meeting to publicly discuss the city’s approach to reopening its economy.

Douglas County has been exempt from the Tri-County Health Department’s May 8 extension of the stayat-home order, barring non-essential businesses to remain closed to inperson shopping.

Council did not take any official action on the matter at its April 30 virtual meeting, although it reached consensus that the order would be necessary. Millet made the order the evening of May 1.

Some Lone Tree stores, including locations at Park Meadows mall and Costco, already required the use of face masks in their stores.

Since May 1, retailers in Lone Tree and Douglas County are allowed to let customers shop in-store, provided the business follows social distancing guidelines. Employees are required to wear cloth face coverings. Customers are strongly encouraged to do the same.

Lone Tree’s temporary order requires customers to wear cloth face coverings inside retail stores.

“Our No. 1 goal is to safely reopen the economy,” Hoffman said. “Any tool we have to help get people back to work is a tool we should be using.”

Three people submitted public comment at the April 30 council meeting, two of whom did not live in Lone Tree.

All three expressed concern over a municipality requiring the use of face masks. One Parker woman said she would boycott the city if the order were enacted.

During the discussion, council

SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE

and staff alluded to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding face coverings. The CDC has said that while a mask may not keep the wearer from getting sick, it is more effective in preventing transmission to another person, especially in an indoor space.

“There has been a lot of confusion about the pandemic in general,” Millet said. “Part of the confusion has been that guidance continues to change on what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t be doing as a city. We, as a community and a country, certainly prize our personal freedom and the idea of limiting anybody’s access or opportunities is something we do not want to do.”

The city’s daytime population usually doubles during the day thanks to the myriad office spaces and retail options. The city is heavily reliant on sales tax, more so than Parker, Castle Rock or Highlands Ranch.

City officials recently reported it expects the city’s projected year-end general fund revenue total to decline by about 9%.

Prior to the masks discussion, council passed an emergency ordinance giving local enforcement authority over violations of orders made by the state or outside agency, like the statewide stay-at-home order that recently lifted and now the county-wide saferat-home order from the Tri-County Health Department.

The state has issued guidance regarding wearing face coverings in office spaces. Large office spaces are allowed to operate at 50% capacity, by state order.

“We sit in a very unique situation here, like very few of our compatriots, where we’re in a situation where the influx of people coming into our city looks different than other folks’, especially from a shopping perspective,” Councilmember Cathie Brunnick said. “It’s really incumbent on us, as we move forward, to look at the ways in which we can start to ensure we don’t spike to the degree that would be dangerous to the community.”

*Physical and mental healthcare The call center is staffed 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday to answer your questions and provide assistance. Call to speak with department staff or visit DouglasCOVID19.com

May is Mental Health Month Everyone face challenges in life that can impact their mental health. The Douglas County Mental Health Initiative has resources to help you navigate these challenging times. For more information visit douglas.co.us/mental-health-initiative

It’s Wildfire Season It only takes one spark to change your life forever. Thankfully, it takes only seconds to sign up for free emergency notifications at douglas.co.us/CodeRed/ ensuring that you will be in the know if a wildfire is happening near you.

What’s happening with your County government?

Our commitment to open and transparent government includes online posting of information about all public meetings at which the business of government is conducted. To view agendas for various public meetings, visit douglas.co.us and search for Meetings and Agendas.

DoItOnlineDouglas.com

10 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

New light shed on 2009 Centennial murder Affidavit lays out case against alleged shooter

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

More than a decade after the body of a 23-year-old Centennial man was found early one morning in a suburban neighborhood, with a single bullet wound to the back, authorities have arrested a man they allege was the shooter.

And, unlike other suspects in the killing, whose cases were long kept out of public view, the case against the alleged shooter is proceeding publicly.

Those details provide a closer look at a murder that had been shrouded in mystery for years.

Andrew Graham, a University of Colorado graduate who was headed to grad school, was found shot dead at about 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2009, in the front yard of a home in the Willow Creek neighborhood of Centennial near East County Line Road and South Yosemite Street, Jones an area that sees little violent crime.

A few hours earlier, just before midnight, video surveillance captured Graham riding an RTD light rail train and exiting at the station near

Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree.

Graham had been making living arrangements in Boulder that day and would often walk from the station to his parents’ house in nearby Willow Creek a couple miles away, his mother told Colorado Community Media at the time.

Statements to authorities from other suspects in the case going back to 2009 have pointed to Terrell O’Neil Jones as the shooter, according to a March 10 affidavit that an Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office investigator submitted to request a warrant for his arrest.

Jones was arrested that day, KCNCCBS4 reported.

Jones has repeatedly denied to investigators that he was involved in Graham’s death.

But four other suspects who admitted to being at the crime scene that night told investigators that Jones shot Graham, the affidavit said. They all described a plot to rob Graham, whom they saw as “a white male who might have money,” the affidavit says. Jones and three other suspects are African-American. One suspect, Joseph Martin, is listed as American Indian on the state Department of Corrections website.

Jones “pulled out a pistol and tried to rob the guy but the guy wouldn’t let him so Terrell Jones shot him,” investigators quoted one of the co-suspects as saying in the affidavit.

A 2016 Arapahoe County grand jury in the case of Graham’s death indicted

On May 7, 2019, you answered the call when we needed you the most.

From all of us at STEM School Highlands Ranch, we Thank You for your commitment to serve, protect and care for others.

THANK YOU • Our Entire STEM School Highlands Ranch Community (current and former students, families and staff) • First Responders from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Lone Tree Police Department, Littleton Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, National Parks Service Rangers, Parker Police Department, Centennial Police Department, Paramedics, South Metro Fire District Station 18, and so many more • Douglas County School District Security and Administrators • Doctors and nurses from Littleton Adventist and Children’s Hospital • Staff and volunteers from the Highlands Ranch Community Association • Members of the Highlands Ranch Community and surrounding areas • Businesses surrounding STEM School Highlands Ranch and in our community

We will forever be #STEMStrong together.

Clarissa Jae Lockhart, Allen Deshawn Ford, Kendall Adam Austin and Martin. The four were arrested in January 2017 in connection with Graham’s death.

That came after a previous grand jury called in 2011 stated that it lacked enough evidence to recommend trial of any suspects in the case after about 18 months that saw testimony from 63 witnesses and more than 100 exhibits of evidence, including photos, transcripts and recordings.

Of those four suspects, three agreed to testify regarding Graham’s death and pleaded guilty to related charges, while the fourth had charges against him dismissed, according to the affidavit.

String of Denver crimes Ford, Lockhart and Austin had been linked to a string of race-motivated robberies and assaults in downtown Denver in 2009, according to the affidavit and court proceedings in the Graham case. Suspects in that rash of crimes told police they targeted white males because they assumed they had money and wouldn’t fight back or present a threat.

Lockhart and Austin pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in September 2009 incidents, and Ford pleaded guilty to a bias-motivated crime involving “bodily injury” and pleaded guilty to assault in August 2009 incidents, according to online court records.

Neil Silver, a defense attorney for one of the defendants, has said in court that prosecutors opted for charges in the Graham case under an organized-crime law for some of the defendants based on suspicion of involvement in black-youth gangs targeting white people.

Cases against the four suspects other than Jones were suppressed until recently, meaning no documents in the cases were available to the public.

For all four, the prosecution requested the case files be made public on March 12, and Judge Michael Spear ordered the files unsuppressed April 14.

Because Jones’ case was not brought by a grand jury, documents in his case weren’t suppressed. Grand juries are sometimes used to decide if authorities have enough evidence to charge a suspect.

Jones was charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and firstdegree felony murder, according to court records. He had a status conference hearing scheduled April 30, but it was rescheduled to June 10 amid delays due to COVID-19 precautions, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Jones’ arrest affidavit filled in blanks that had persisted for years in the account of what happened to Graham on Nov. 5, 2009. Here’s a look at the events, according to the March 10 affidavit.

Graham got a ride from his father to the light rail station near Dry Creek Road and Interstate 25 in the afternoon. According to his father, Graham planned to ride the train to downtown Denver and transfer to a bus to Boulder to meet with a former roommate to discuss living with him again.

Andrew Graham, a 23-year-old who was planning to start graduate school soon, was found dead after being shot in November 2009 in Centennial.

COURTESY PHOTO

After eating with his then-current roommates at a Boulder restaurant, Graham got dropped off at a nearby park-and-ride location to catch a bus to Denver.

At about 11:40 p.m., video surveillance captured Graham riding the light rail and exiting at the station near Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree, near Centennial. Nearby parking lot surveillance footage shows him walking west through the lot and down County Line Road until he was out of sight on the recordings. He walked with a satchel that authorities later found. A police dog later tracked Graham’s path a short distance into the Willow Creek neighborhood nearby, north of County Line, the affidavit said.

Implicating Jones As for Jones’ alleged role, his four co-suspects spoke with Arapahoe sheriff ’s deputies, a Denver police detective and an 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office investigator, and in grand jury testimony, and had this to say, according to the March 10 affidavit: • Martin said in the 2016 grand jury proceedings that he went to the area of Park Meadows with Ford, Lockhart, Austin and Jones to rob someone since there were too many police on the 16th Street Mall.

• Martin told authorities in 2017 he was with Ford, Jones, Lockhart and Austin when they approached Graham to rob him. He said they saw he had a bag and thought he might have a laptop. Martin said that Jones shot Graham and then took the bag, according to the affidavit.

• Ford told authorities in 2015 that he, Lockhart, Jones and Martin were present during the homicide. Ford said they followed Graham, asked him for money, somebody hit him and then Jones shot him, the affidavit said.

• Lockhart told authorities that she was with Ford and Jones near Park Meadows mall and approached Graham, and Jones shot him, according to SEE MURDER, P11

Lone Tree Voice 11

May 7, 2020

MURDER FROM PAGE 10

the affidavit. It said that in 2015, she said Ford called out to Graham, Graham began to run and they chased him, and Jones shot him.

• Austin testified in the 2011 grand jury that Ford told him that he, Lockhart and Jones were in Centennial and Jones pulled out a pistol and tried to rob Graham, but Graham wouldn’t let Jones, so Jones shot him, the affidavit said.

Austin later said he ran into the others near Park Meadows mall after he took the light rail there with his cousin.

• Ford and Jones pulled the satchel from Graham, and it was later thrown out the window of the suspects’ car, Martin told authorities, as relayed in the affidavit.

Graham’s body was found about a block south of some of his belongings. Credit cards and a cell phone were found in his satchel there, according to authorities. His money was still in his wallet when his body was discovered. His glasses lay a few steps away from him, and his hat lay a short distance away.

Physical evidence lacking Jones — who apparently first spoke to authorities in 2010 — has acknowledged to investigators that he knew the co-defendants but has denied involvement in Graham’s death on multiple occasions.

Jones said Ford was his best

friend but that they had a falling out recently. He also said Lockhart “doesn’t like him,” the affidavit says.

Jones has several criminal convictions resulting from guilty pleas since 2013, according to the affidavit.

They include possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, distributing a drug, theft of between $750 and $2,000, possession of a defaced firearm and possession of a Schedule 1 controlled substance, a classification that includes hard drugs.

Despite the years it took to arrest Jones, the affidavit does not mention any physical evidence that points to any of the defendants.

In 2009, Graham’s satchel was submitted for testing, and DNA profiles were found on the handle, the flaps and the shoulder strap, all of which contain a mixture of DNA. Authorities said they also found a DNA mixture on the pocket of Graham’s jeans.

Authorities took swabs from the five defendants, and all were excluded as potential contributors to the DNA mixture found on Graham’s satchel as well as on his clothes. Numerous other suspects were investigated, and their potential involvement could not be corroborated.

Authorities completed numerous forensic tests on the evidence between 2009 and 2017, and there was no conclusive forensic testing that led to Jones or any other suspect.

Graham was killed by a single bullet wound to his back, and no bullet, bullet fragment or shell casing was located.

Graham murder: Other suspects’ outcomes

Martin

Austin

Ford

Lockhart

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12 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

Sheriff reads to preschoolers over video connection

Douglas County offices begin phased reopening

Douglas County’s Spurlock also answered children’s questions

New remote and in-person services increase choices

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

STAFF REPORT

As part of an effort to keep up a relationship between law enforcement and Douglas County children, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, in partnership with Council for a Strong America, participated in a virtual book reading April 14 and 15.

By remote video conference, Spurlock read the children’s book “Officer Buckle and Gloria” to two groups of preschoolers at Coyote Creek Elementary School in Highlands Ranch.

He also introduced one of the sheriff ’s office K-9’s to the children and answered their questions in sessions lasting about 40 minutes, according to a release from Council For a Strong America, or CSA. CSA is a nonprofit made up of law enforcement officers, retired admirals and generals, business and community leaders, faith-based leaders and athletes and coaches. The goal of the nonprofit is to help prepare children for successful lives.

QUALITY & VA

Sheriff Tony Spurlock read “Officer Buckle and Gloria” to groups of Douglas County preschoolers April 14 and 15 over a video conference. He also introduced one of the sheriff’s office K-9’s.

COURTESY PHOTO Spurlock is a member of the nonprofit’s group, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

“The kids loved it and Sheriff Spurlock did as well,” according to the release. “In the environment in which we now find ourselves, it is important that we give kids great opportunities like out Cops & Tots program, even if done virtually.”

Thousands of residents and businesses seeking services from Douglas County over the past several weeks discovered what could be achieved without leaving their homes, businesses or job sites.

“Leveraging the combination of the county’s and our customers’ investment in technology, as well as the devotion of our employees, resulted in time saved, efficiencies realized and made it possible to quickly transition to online and other remote services delivery,” Douglas County Board of Commissioners Chair Roger Partridge said in a news release.

Recognizing that there are those who prefer a face-to-face transaction and some services that do require a visit to county facilities, the county’s Human Services and Philip S. Miller County Administration buildings are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday to Friday, effective May 4, the release said.

“With ongoing public safety among our top priorities, we will open and appropriately staff these facilities to provide another layer of access to needed county services,” Partridge said in the release.

Additionally, beginning May 4, paperwork drop boxes are available at the county’s Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, and Castle Rock motor vehicle offices. The drop boxes will serve Motor Vehicle and Recording Division customers, the Veteran’s Affairs Office and the Assessor’s Office (including remote appeals).

In-person appointments will be made available for critical services in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office beginning May 11.

Appointments will be scheduled when a transaction cannot be completed online, by phone, MVExpress kiosk, or by paperwork drop box.

In-person appointments for driver’s licenses and passports will begin in the coming weeks as full staff resumes work on-site and as other services are restored over time.

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Lone Tree Voice 13

May 7, 2020

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Stephanie Bodie of Highlands Ranch surprised her daughter, Aspen, with a shopping trip to the oulets on Aspen’s 16th birthday.

JESSICA GIBBS

Some stores in Outlets at Castle Rock reopen

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For her daughter’s 16th birthday on May 1, Stephanie Bodie wanted to do something special amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Highlands Ranch woman told her daughter Aspen they were going window shopping in Castle Rock. Once there, Aspen learned the surprise was that the Outlets at Castle Rock had reopened to in-person shopping that day.

The mother and daughter enjoyed a small sense of normalcy, they said, as they shopped for a backpack at Fjallraven. And they were happy to do whatever necessary to stay safe, Stephanie said as each wore masks

and followed walking paths taped out by the store manager.

“It’s just a total breath of fresh air,” Stephanie said.

Store manager Favian Saenz said staffers taped arrows on the floor to guide people through social distancing and to keep them from crossing paths as much as possible. He thinks reopening is important for the economy if it’s done right with proper safety measures, he said.

“For us as a company it’s crucial, being that we are a small brand in the outdoor industry in North America,” he said.

As Dave Sappington and Giovanni Gieco walked around they center, they noticed most of the few businesses that reopened seemed to be those smaller or independent companies.

Gieco noted there were few shoppers around as well.

“About a 96% closure rate at this point,” Sappington said. “The bigger brands seem to be closed.”

Answers

Solution © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Small businesses greet customers; many bigger brands stay shuttered

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14 Lone Tree Voice

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LOCAL

May 7, 2020M

VOICES

Unleash your kindness and let it run wild

ots of conversations going on these days are about unlocking or unleashing our potential.

There are so many podcasts, WINNING webinars, columns, WORDS and blogs speaking to the need for us to focus on our mindset so that we can keep our heads and attitude in a good place right now. As a matter of fact, I am one of those voices and faces on those podcasts and Michael Norton webinars and authoring many of those columns and blogs, just like this one.

Kindness is a mindset or attitude,

but it is also an emotion and an action.

How awesome would it be if we could unleash our human potential and also unleash our kindness at the same time? Powerful. During this time, we are seeing so many examples of kindness being lived out. After last week’s column where I shared the story of an owner of an awning company repairing an awning at no charge for a shop on Main Street, I received so many emails from people sharing their experiences and observations of other people and businesses demonstrating kindness.

When we live with the attitude or mindset of kindness it means we are actively thinking about ways that we can show kindness, and our kindness radar is always on. When we live with kindness in our hearts, we get to expe-

rience firsthand the emotions that are stirred as acts of kindness play out in front of us. I don’t know about you, but it brings absolute joy to my heart when I see kindness in action. And when we live with the attitude of kindness and with the emotion of kindness it’s impossible not to demonstrate kindness in everything we do and in everything we say.

My brother-in-law Dylan is a perfect example of this. He and my sister-inlaw Caroline have this awesome dog, Ziggy. As Dylan was walking Ziggy the other day, there was a woman in their neighborhood walking her dog.

She was using one of those retractable leashes and as her dog maxed out the length of the leash, the leash snapped and recoiled all the way back into the handle. As the woman tried to gain

control of her dog, she realized that the leash had broken. As she was still quite far from her home, she became a little distressed. Dylan quickly came up with a solution. Since he was close to his own home, he offered the woman his leash so that she could get her dog home. He unleashed his kindness. Hence the origin of this week’s column. Thanks Dylan.

Kindness costs us nothing, but it returns to us everything.

That old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished,” is absolutely a falsehood. Some may say that they attempted to do something nice for others or show kindness in some way only to be on the receiving end of anger or hurtful words.

SEE NORTON, P15

This seems like dreams and weird extremes

D

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thankful for kindness In a time of so much uncertainty, where all we hear is the negative side of what is going on in the world, it is important to highlight positivity and true acts of kindness. Over the last month, our grandfather has been battling the COVID-19 virus. On April 19, he unfortunately passed away due to complications from

A publication of

Call first: 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124 Mailing Address: 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225 Englewood, CO 80110 Phone: 303-566-4100 Web: LoneTreeVoice.net To subscribe call 303-566-4100

this horrible virus.

During this difficult time, it was an absolute blessing to see the way the health care workers and police officers took care of and honored our grandfather in his last days and even hours. In times like these, where everyone is worried about their own health and SEE LETTERS, P24

ickens memorably began “A Tale of Two Cities” with a perfect description of 2020, especially the first twelve

words.

It sums up, at least in my lifetime, the current world, where extraordinarily good people are doing extraordinarily good things, and where extraordiQUIET narily bad people are doing extraorDESPERATION dinarily bad things.

It seems where there are challenges and tragedies and vulnerabilities, some of us crawl out from the Grimpen Mire, look around, and seize the opportunity to Craig Marshall take advantage of the situation.

Smith I am old enough to know it comes as no surprise.

Ask Sartre.

I am one of the lucky ones.

Retired, a safe home to live in, sufficient paper products, and an enviable roommate.

My roommate has no idea what is

going on. That helps.

Not much has changed around here. We just go on fewer car trips.

When was the last time you filled your car’s gas tank?

Half the news is heartwarming and the other half is inconceivable.

Conspiracy theorists blame a U.S. Army reservist and mother of two for starting the pandemic. The false claims about her are spreading like the virus itself.

Lewis Carroll said, “What I tell you three times is true.”

Is there anything worse than being wrongly accused?

I was blamed for things I didn’t do when I was a kid. My sister was an angel and could do no wrong.

But if she did, she cruised, because little Craig was seen as an impish lad, more capable of spilling the milk.

Alfred Hitchcock understood the effect false accusations have on someone: therefore, his films often featured someone trying to prove his or her innocence.

Best: “North by Northwest,” but also “The 39 Steps,” “The Wrong

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SEE SMITH, P15

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Lone Tree Voice 15

May 7, 2020

T

Shelter your body but let your mind run free

o embrace a positive balanced approach to health and aging, the importance of keeping our minds as active as our bodies is essential. This article provides some great tools to keep your LIVING & mind active espeAGING WELL cially during this season.

Older adults have been instructed to limit face-to-face interactions with individuals outside their immediate household to protect themselves from the - novel coronavirus.

Juliana Young This has forced many family members to avoid visits to parents and grandparents or stop visiting older loved ones at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and in their homes for fear of spreading the virus.

In a world where social distanc-

SMITH FROM PAGE 14

Man,” “Strangers on a Train,” and “Saboteur.”

I anticipate a 21st-century retelling of “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Small business owners who have lost everything and have to find something else to do with their lives.

There will be documentaries and coffee-table books filled with haunting photographs.

And there will be humor. There already has been.

(Some of it, unfortunately, has been unintentional. Take your pick.)

The mystery, of course, is not knowing when it will be safe again to move around and commingle like always.

Some are ready to resume now.

Maybe you have noticed the protests and rallies.

A woman in my birth state held up a sign that conjoined the governor’s name with Adolf Hitler’s.

Hand-lettered words beyond

NORTON FROM PAGE 14

I do know how that feels, it feels like a gut punch, it is awful. However, when I look back at what I might have done with the attitude, emotion, and act of kindness to help someone else, I let that sink in and remember that I can’t control how others react, I can only control how I choose to respond.

Unleashing kindness is never a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it is one of the greatest things we can do for each other.

“Do things for other people, not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you

ing and shelter-in-place orders are the new norm, now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we do whatever we can to reduce isolation among people of all ages.

With decreased social engagement and stimulation comes decreased mood and overall well-being, and in some cases, this results in depression. Some older adults may also be at higher risk of isolation because their social world becomes smaller and their opportunity to socially connect decreases.

The fact of the matter is that the basic principles of healthy living remain the same, so we should look for alternative ways to meet those needs. People need to remain physically active, eat healthy foods, remain connected to family, friends and their community, and maintain good mental health.

Staying physically active can mean getting out for a walk every day for 20-30 minutes while waving at neighbors at a distance. If you

comprehension provided the woman with her legacy. No apology accepted.

Television commercials are outdoing themselves with soothing words instead of self-promotions.

Nice, isn’t it, not to have someone blasting deep dish car and truck discounts at you?

I look forward to the day when I can go back to doing what I do best: namely, find fault in irrelevancies such as the broken English the newest National Football League millionaires gargled and tweeted when they were drafted.

And Christmas music in November.

And sitting on an airplane next to someone who talks too much. Won’t it feel good to sit on an airplane again?

ESPN and others have been showing replays of football, basketball and baseball games. Stadiums are filled with people. It looks very normal. And it looks very strange.

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net. are.” - Harold S. Kushner So how about you? Are you seeing amazing acts of kindness in your home, neighborhood, and on your virtual meetings? Are you living with the attitude and emotion of kindness that puts your kindness muscles to work? I’ll bet you are, and I would love to hear your kindness story at mnorton@tramazing.com. And when we all learn how to unlock our human potential and at the same time unleash our kindness, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is the grateful CEO of Tramazing.com, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

were used to going to the gym or recreation center to work out, look online for exercise programs from your local senior centers, SilverSneakers.com and go4life.nia.nih. gov.

If you need assistance with your computer or smartphone and your family can’t come over to show you at this juncture, try to connect with companies that specialize in helping seniors. Senior Planet is a Denverbased company that assists older adults on how to use technology.

They have some great “how to” videos on their website called “While Stuck at Home.” You can also learn how to set up a “Zoom” video call to connect with your family and friends. Find them at SeniorPlanet. org.

Google Arts & Culture (type in search bar) teamed up with more than 2,500 museums and galleries to provide virtual tours and online

exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world, including Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, London’s National Gallery and the Guggenheim in New York City.

If you want to connect with creatures, big and small, several aquariums and zoos that are temporarily closed still offer virtual visits. The Denver Zoo provides a “Zoo to You” online experience that includes a virtual safari, daily videos, and wildlife-themed activities to keep you informed and entertained. The Monterey Bay Aquarium features creatures ranging from jellyfish to penguins.

As “Champions of Aging Well,” Home Care Assistance of Douglas County created a comprehensive “Life Enrichment Guide,” full of meaningful activities to keep the mind and body active from the SEE YOUNG, P24

In Loving Memory Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. Private 303-566-4100 Obituaries@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Funeral Homes Visit: www.memoriams.com

16 Lone Tree Voice

LOCAL

LIFE

May 7, 2020M

The Colorado Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band, which includes 75 first responders throughout Colorado, began playing bagpipes at sunset every night as part of an international movement.

Locally, it’s called Pipers for Sundown Solidarity.

Dave Carrigan, of South Metro Fire Rescue, plays his Great Highland bagpipe every evening as the sun sets in solidarity with pipers around the globe in a movement to spread hope.

IPHOTOS BY NCK PUCKETT

First responders play at dusk amid COVID-19 crisis

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A

lone in a field at the edge of the Cottonwood subdivision in Parker, firefighter Dave Carrigan stood tall and stiff as he played his bagpipes.

The sun started to set April 22 at about 7:46 p.m. As sunlight disappeared, Carrigan’s few regular fans gathered to hear him play. A handful of neighbors ventured to the slight overlook at the foot of Carrigan’s driveway. Some driving by on Parker Road across the field to the east pulled off, listening to the notes slice through the droning of passing cars.

Carrigan, a firefighter for South Metro Fire Rescue for 29 years, has marched out to the field bordering his house every evening since March 29, three days after the stay-at-home order began, to play traditional marches and songs until the sun sets.

“It’s to show solidarity not only for everybody who’s fighting the disease, but all our brothers and sisters, firefighters, police officers, paramedics. … They’re kind of taking a beating out there,” Carrigan said. “It’s to show we’re all in this together and we have each other’s back.”

Carrigan is one of many first responders regionwide playing bagpipes at dusk to inspire hope amid the stayat-home orders and COVID-19 crisis.

First responders throughout Colorado are participating in Pipers

Dave Carrigan has played his bagpipes at dusk every night since the start of the stayat-home orders in Colorado. “It’s to show we’re all in this together and we have each other’s back,” he said. for Sundown Solidarity, a movement organized by the Colorado Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Band, a bagpipe band made up of 75 firefighters and police officers throughout the state.

Thousands of pipers play songs from their respective homes at the same time each night as the sun sets in an ongoing effort to encourage strength and resolve in the community.

‘Next phases of normalcy’ Mike West, fire chief for Front

Range Fire Rescue, is the Pipe Major for the Colorado Emerald Society. He helped start the pipe band at South Metro Fire in 2002. He resigned from South Metro in June 2019. Front Range Fire covers Johnstown, Milliken, Larimer and Weld counties.

“Our guys and gals are working every day at their police stations and precincts and firehouses dealing with the pandemic face-to-face,” West said.

“It was a great way to wind down from the day spread a little hope to the neighbors and make sure they still know we’re still out there fighting the

good fight every day.”

Carrigan does not always deck himself out in his kilt and uniform. He said he plays because it brings a smile to his neighbor’s faces and connects people when they’re more isolated than ever.

Pipers in the group play every day and play whatever they want, except on Sundays, when the group collectively decides on a single song to play at the same time together.

The Colorado Emerald Society announced on its Facebook page April 24 that members would stop playing bagpipes nightly beginning May 3.

Pipers still play on Sundays “until the state moves to the next phases of normalcy,” the post reads.

“We can’t express our gratitude enough for your cheers, posts, shares and love. When we get through these social distancing steps and back to holding events, we’re looking forward to seeing you all at a big celebration,” the post reads.

West said the Colorado Emerald Society plans on holding a celebration to make up for losing the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

‘A droning feeling’ The movement, which started shortly after the stay-at-home order began, is steeped in tradition.

Soldiers began marching to the sound of bagpipes in Scotland in the 1400s. The instrument is used often as a morale booster for the military.

South Metro Fire Rescue and Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department each have Pipe and Drum bands.

Carrigan has been playing pipes for about 11 years, around the time South Metro Rescue’s pipe and drum band started.

West, who has been playing bagpipes on and off for 30 years, noted the way the vibrations from the drones blaring from the player’s shoulder hits you.

“It runs through you,” West said.

“A lot of people, prior to this, the only time they hear bagpipes is at a funeral, so they associate that droning note with an emotional event. … To me, it’s that kind of droning feeling. It kind of gets down to your soul sometimes.”

Lone Tree Voice 17

May 7, 2020

Colorado Renaissance Festival delayed Coronavirus concerns postpone bawdy event in Douglas County

BY MARK HARDEN MHARDEN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Colorado Renaissance Festival — a popular summer attraction that draws throngs to south Douglas County — has been postponed for several weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic and will now start Aug. 1, organizers said.

The festival in Larkspur, midway between Denver and Colorado Springs west of Interstate 25, had been scheduled to open its 43rd anniversary season on June 13.

“Due to the current health concerns and taking into consideration the safety of our patrons and Renaissance community the Colorado Renaissance Festival will be postponing its 2020 opening day,” says a notice on the festival’s website.

“The new dates will be Saturday August 1st, 2020 for 8 weekends with a closing day of Sunday, September

Entertainers greet people from above as they pass through the gates of the Colorado Renaissance Festival castle in July 2019.

JESSICA GIBBS

20th, 2020. Dates will be posted publicly on both our website and announced through our social media outlets,” the

Keep your fingers crossed and your eyes open

W

e will assume, optimistically, that summer drama classes and performances for kids will happen, because registration has been ongoing. Some organizations are not on a regular track due to the current otherworldly, ongoing upset, so one will have to keep searching the internet … Also, classes in visual arts, crafts and more are scheduled as of this SONYA’S writing …

SAMPLER

Plans underway We communicated with Town Hall Arts Center education director Robert Michael Sanders at the Littleton venue, and he says classes for “Kokonut Island,” “Shrek” and Sonya Ellingboe “Performing the Song” are “moving forward” and may still have some available space. Each involves classes and a performance. Townhallartscens ter.com.

Town Hall possibility Also re: Town Hall Arts Center — we are told that they still hope to present “Almost Heaven,” the John Denver musical program, if only … Stay tuned if you have tickets — or if not…

“We are following state mandates and applying a powerful disinfectant, Perisept 62 …”

Happenings in Parker Parker Performing Arts, PACE Center, has a full schedule of classes and performances, geared to different age groups. See Parkerarts.org. Look also for visual arts offerings here …

notice says. “Please stay safe during these unsettling times and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!”

The festival, set in a faux-16th century Tudor village, celebrates Renaissance culture with a bawdy mix of shows and music, jousting matches, animals, costumed characters, games, food and drinks. It’s one of dozens of similarly themed events staged across the country each summer.

The festival typically draws about 200,000 attendees during its run, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports.

The announcement comes as “stay at home” orders are being gradually relaxed across Douglas County and most other parts of Colorado, but people are still being urged to practice social distancing and to avoid crowds larger than 10 people to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

FIND WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST.

Check into Englewood Englewood Parks and Recreation offered a strong summer drama program and production in past years.

I am not finding a listing yet, but assume this will again be offered when the world starts up again …

Wonderbound Dance Company Wonderbound Dance Company has been offering “Dance Along,” a series of dance classes, at wonderbound.com.

Writing class Local Theater Company offers a class for adults: “Writing for Stage and Screen” offered on Zoom, May 7, 14, 21, 28 — Thursdays at 6-7 p.m. $125. (Two scholarships available.) See localtheaterco.org.

Stay up to date Watch for more communications from your local park and recreation districts, as well as school districts as we head towards summer---the corona virus will dictate/limit what programs are possible. There will no doubt be a number of creative projects at home from backyard drama to basement murals to original books and prints. We’d be interested to learn about them!

SUMMER BREAK CAMPS

Arts, Co Video a oking, nd Film , y g o l o n ch eater e T , c i s Mu e, and Th Scienc PARKER ARTS.ORG/EDUCATION

18 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

STUDENT-ATHLETE STUDENT ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Pitcher stays in shape Kyle Kahn keeps working with eye on college future

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

T

hunderRidge senior baseball pitcher Kyle Kahn wasn’t surprised when he heard on April 21 that the Colorado High School Activities Association had canceled the 2020 spring season because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been keeping up with the news and what is going on so I kind of figured we weren’t going to have a season and it’s just something that we can’t control,” said Kahn, who will be heading to play baseball at Central

Q&A with Kahn

Missouri this fall. “It is something we are going to have to deal with in a positive way. That’s my way of looking at the whole situation.”

Kahn has been completing his school work, trying to stay in baseball shape and hanging out with his family to fill the void created by the absence of baseball practices and games.

“I’ve been throwing long toss like every other day and working out to stay in baseball shape just in case,” he said. “That’s a good way for me to cope with it, just going out and throwing ball with my dad.

“I do a bunch of throwing, working out and hanging out with my family, doing movie nights and still getting all my school work done. It’s frustrating but it (COVID-19) is also something I can’t control or do anything about. So it is just figuring out how to deal with it in a positive way.”

What is the hardest thing about missing your senior season?

The hardest thing for me was just not going out to practices with all of my best friends and being able to spend every day after school with them. It’s a big deal for me and a kind of relaxing place for me to be on the baseball field with all my friends.

What would have been your goals if you had played this season?

To lead the league in ERA. My goal every time I got out to pitch is give it my all and give 110 percent every time I touch the field.

COACH’S TAKE: ‘Kyle is a great pitcher, but more importantly he is an amazing young man. He is the sort of young man that people gravitate to, he has tremendous leadership skills and genuinely cares about his community. I’ve never heard Kyle speak a negative word about his classmates on the team.’

Brad Johnson, ThunderRidge head baseball coach

How does missing the season affect your college plans, if at all?

My coach (at Central Missouri) reached out to me when he found out we weren’t playing, so I asked him if there was anything I needed to be doing. The answer I got was to do long toss to strengthen my arm and be able to do whatever workouts I could to stay in shape.

And over the summer to figure out mechanical stuff and not worry about games or anything.

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Lone Tree Voice 19

May 7, 2020

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Lone Tree Voice 21

May 7, 2020

www.ColoradoServiceDirectory.com

To Advertise call Karen 303.566.4091 kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100 Fireplaces

Heating/ Air Conditioning

GAS FIREPLACE SERVICE, REPAIR, CERTIFICATION

Serving the the Front Serving Front Range Rangesince since1955 1955 Furnaces Water Heaters Furnaces •• Boilers • Water Heaters Rooftop HVAC • Mobile Furnaces Rooftop HVAC • Commercial Commercial Residential • Install •• Residential Repair • Replace InstallInspections • Repair • Replace Free Furnace & A/C Startups

THE ORIGINAL FAMILY OWNED COMPANY - 27 YEARS IN BUSINESS Selling Your Home Soon? Home Inspection Problems? We Have The Solutions!

OUR Techs are NFI Certified and Experienced In All Types Of Real Estate Transactions!

If Your Fireplace Has Quit Working, Why Wait? Enjoy It Now And Know It’s Ready For Fall!

Call Now! Don’t Wait Until October – Enjoy Your Fireplace Year Around! $10.00 OFF Service!

Working on real estate transactions during COVID-19

303-946-6535 The Original and Only Name You Need For Gas Fireplaces!

Handyman

Handyman

Free Estimates Free Estimates •• 720-327-9214 720-327-9214

!

’s DeSpain HOME SOLUTIONS

Solving All your Remodeling & Repair Problems – Just Ask!

DEPENDABLE, RELIABLE SERVICE Over 30 Years Experience Licensed & Insured

Eric DeSpain 303-840-1874

Robert Pencak

General Construction Handyman

JIM 303.818.6319

“HONEY-DO’S DONE… THAT YOUR HONEY DON’T DO.” — SMALL JOBS INSIDE AND OUT —

Hauling Service

Cut Rate Hauling

Landscaping/Nurseries

Serving Castle Rock and surrounding areas

Quality*Integrity*Honesty

A&M Lawn Service • Sprinkler & Lanscape Design & Installation • Lawn Aeration (Average $40, 5,000sq. ft.)

• Power Raking & Vacuuming (Average $95, 5,000sq. ft.)

• Spring Fertilization (Average $40-$60) • Sprinkler Systen Start-up & Repairs (From $60-$80) • Weekly Mowing: Sign Up For 4, Get 1 FREE! (Average $30-$45)

www.amlawnandlandscape.com amlandscaping@gmail.com

Landscape & Concrete Landscaping • Yard Cleanup • Sod Concrete • Sprinklers • Fertilization Tree Trimming/Cutting • Planting Retaining Walls • Flagstone Fencing • Gutter Cleaning Power Raking • Aerating

720-436-6158 RON’S LANDSCAPING Yard Clean-up, Raking, Weeding, Flower Bed Maintenance, Shrubbery Trimming Soil Prep - Sod Work Trees & Shrub Replacement also Small Tree & Bush Removal Bark, Rock Walls & Flagstone Work FREE Estimates Family owned business with over 35 yrs. exp.

Call or email Ron 303-758-5473

vandergang@comcast.net

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS THAT WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS. TM

HOME REPAIRS & REMODELING • Drywall • Painting • Tile • Trim • Doors • Painting • Decks • Bath Remodel • Kitchen Remodels • Basements & Much More!

Call Today for a FREE ESTIMATE 303-427-2955

303-791-5551 720-209-5594

Professional and Reliable Year Round Service Rubin (720)434-8042 Kerwin (720) 519-5559

303-883-2461

Interior and Exterior Construction Services Deck Fence Outbuildings Siding Basements Remodels Interior Trim Cabinets Douglas County Licensed Contractor

FRFINISHCARPENTRY.COM Call Dave for a FREE estimate

303-324-3896

Fences: pressure washing / Drywall patch Free Estimates • Great Winter Rates

Highlands Ranch resident

Colorado Lawn Care, LLC SPRING/SUMMER:

Landscaping – Tree/Hedge Trimming Shrub Removal – Aeration – Sod Edging – Weekly Mowing – Power Washing – Deck/Fence Install/Repair coloadolawncareoflittleton@gmail.com Commercial – Residential 720-202-9975

Licensed/Insured

303-523-6372

L.S. PAINTING, Inc.

SPRING SPECIALS

Lawn/Garden Services

Home Improvement

Lawn/Garden Services

Landscaping & Lawn Care Services

Trash / Rubbish / Debris and Junk Removal

Framing-Finish Carpentry-Plumbing Doors-Windows-Drywall Decks-Tile-Paint

Painting

Interior • Exterior Residential Specialist Woodworking, Decks

Call Joseph

Licensed & Insured • Family Owned & Operated Serving Littleton and Jeffco for 39 years

INSURED

Painting

Alpine Landscape Management

Weekly Mowing, Aerate, Fertilize, Spring Clean Up, Power Raking, Trim Bushes & Small Trees, Senior Discounts

720-329-9732

PROFESSIONAL OUTDOOR SERVICES TREES/ SHRUBS TRIMMED

Littleton Based & Family Owned

303-948-9287

• Stain and Renew Custom Handrails • Custom Interior & Exterior • Residential & Commercial Painting • Paint Kitchen Cabinets • Free Estimates - Insured • 30 Years Serving Metro Denver • Satisfaction Guaranteed

A+

Rating BBB

LS@LSPaintinginc.com www.lspaintinginc.com

Planted, Trimmed & Removal • Sod Work • Rock & Block Walls • Sprinklers • Aeration • Stumps Ground • Mulch

Licensed / Insured

DICK 303-783-9000 Lighting Robert Dudley Lighting LLC For all your indoor & outdoor lighting needs, plus…

• Internet/TV Cable & Outlets •Ceiling Fans •Thermostats •Wall-Mounted TV’s • And many more services Free Estimates All Work Guaranteed

Call 720-456-8196

Misc. Services

Residential Experts

Residential Experts We paint over 800 Homes Per Year No Deposit Ever Satisfaction Guaranteed 5 year, 7 year and 9 year Exterior Warranties 2 Yr. Interior Warranty Licensed & Insured up to $2 Million Locally Owned and Operated In business for 29 years Free Color Consulting & Samples

35% Off

All Int. & Ext. CALL TODAY FOR YOUR FREE QUOTE

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Scrap Metal, Batteries, Appliances, Wiring, Scrap Plumbing/Heating, Cars/Parts, Clean out Garages/Yards, Rake, Yard work done w/chainsaw, Certified Auto Mechanical / Body Work & paint available Also can do inside or outside cleaning 303-647-2475 / 720-323-2173

The

Master Painter Interior/Exterior Specialist COVID-19 Free (document to prove)

Mask friendly FREE ESTIMATES! Call with questions

Jeff States • 720-628-2895 Please Recycle this Publication when Finished

22 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

www.ColoradoServiceDirectory.com

To Advertise call Karen 303.566.4091 kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100 Plumbing

Lawn/Garden Services

CONTINENTAL INC. Commercial and Residential Lawn Maintenance Mow – Edge - Trim Call for a Aeration & Fertilization FREE quote Sprinkler Repair

720-283-2155 Continental8270@yahoo.com

Plumbing

(303) 961-3485 Licenced & Insured

We are open and operating on normal schedule!

Call Dirty Jobs 720-308-6696 Over 35 yrs experience• Free Estimates www.askdirtyjobs.com

Thomas Flooring & Tile • All Types of Tile • • Granite-Ceramic • • Porcelain • • Natural Stone •Vinyl • •Bathroom Remodel•

32 Years Experience • Work Warranty

303-781-4919

Roofing/Gutters

FREE Estimates

All Types of Roofing New Roofs, Reroofs, Repairs & Roof Certifications Aluminum Seamless Gutters Family owned/operated since 1980 Call Today for a FREE Estimate • Senior Discounts

(303) 234-1539

Remodeling is my specialty!

Call now for free estimate

(303) 646-0140

www.AnyWeatherRoofing.com • Sales@AnyWEatherRoofing.com

Tree Service

Sprinklers Professional Installations & Repairs Sod Installations

Plumb-Crazy, LLC.

“We’re Crazy About Plumbing” CUSTOM HOMES • REMODEL FINISHED BASEMENTS SERVICE AND REPAIR Licensed • Insured

PH: 303-472-8217 FX: 303-688-8821

SAVE MONEY AND WATER Fast, friendly service Lifetime Warranty!

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Time to winterize

Tree Service

Tree and Shrub Trimming CALL FOR FREE QUOTE

720-283-2155 Windows

● Marble ● Repairs ● Granite Counter Tops

TOP WINDOW CLEANING #1 in Customer Satisfactions

10% OFF to NEW CUSTOMERS Over 20 Years Experience Insured / Bonded Call Today For A FREE Estimate Quality work guaranteed Gutter, Tree Trimming/Removal

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Sprinkler Solutions

ALAN ATTWOOD, Master Plumber

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Drain Clearing & Plumbing Repair • Garbage disposal • Leaking pipe • Water Heater • Sump pumps

ANYTHING TILE

Residential: Hot Water Heat • Forced Air Water Heaters • Kitchens • Baths Service Repair • Sprinkler Repair

Free Instant Phone Quote Repair or Replace: Faucets, Sprinklers, Toilets, Sinks, Disposals, Water Heaters, Gas Lines, Broken Pipes, Spigots/ Hosebibs, Water Pressure Regulator, Ice Maker, Drain Cleaning, Dishwasher Instl., for coupons go to vertecservices.com CALL Vertec 303-371-3828

Handy Man Screwed up your plumbing?

Plumbing

ANCHOR PLUMBING

PLUMBING & SPRINKLERS

Tile

ABE’S TREE & SHRUB CARE Abraham Spilsbury Owner/Operator

www.sprinklersolutionscolorado.com

303-523-5859

• Pruning • Removals • Shrub Maintenance • FreeEstimates Certified Arborist,Insured, Littleton Resident 720.283.8226 • C:720.979.3888 aspilsbury@msn.com

Local ads, coupons & deals are just one click away!

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CHECK IT OUT AT:

ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Advertise your business here Call us at 303-566-4100

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Lone Tree Voice 23

May 7, 2020

P L A C E A D S O N L I N E 2 4/ 7 AT

www.ColoradoCommunityClassifieds.com

To Advertise call Karen 303.566.4091 kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100

Adopt Me Ragu is an adorable 6-month-old kitten who is looking for her forever family. Although shy at first, her affectionate personality will blossom with a quiet and patient home.

Ragu would do best in a home with children over 12 and without dogs. ID# A0808726 Louie is a happy and affectionate 4-year-old pit bull. This handsome man has a big personality making him the perfect companion for an active owner. Leash walks, gentle pets and cuddles are the name of the game for sweet Louie.ID# A0812486

Colorado Statewide Classified Advertising Network To place a 25-word COSCAN Network ad in 91 Colorado newspapers for only $300, contact your local newspaper or call Colorado Press Association Network at 303-571-5117.

WANTED

COLORADO PRESS ASSOCIATION NETWORK

Cash for Mineral Rights Free, no-risk, cash offer. Contact us with the details: Call: 720-988-5617 Write: Minerals, PO BOX 3668, Littleton, CO 80161 Email: opportunity@ecmresourcesinc.com

Buy a 25-word statewide classified line ad in newspapers across the state of Colorado for just $300 per week. Ask about our frequency discounts!

Contact this newspaper or call Colorado Press Association Network 303-571-5117

Miscellaneous Farm Products & Produce

Firewood

Grain Finished Buffalo quartered, halves and whole

719-771-8742

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Split & Delivered $300 a cord Stacking available extra $35 Call 303-647-2475 or 720-323-2173

Wanted to Buy Want To Purchase minerals and other oil/gas interests. Send details to: P.O. Box 13557 Denver, CO 80201

TRANSPORTATION

Wanted

Cash for all Vehicles!

Mount Olivet in Wheat Ridge - Niche # 119 for two Cremains in the Circle Mausoleum; The first mausoleum built at Mt. Olivet In an open & peaceful area with easy access. Asking $4900/or best offer Call 303-422-3318 ME.

Cars, Trucks, Vans, SUV’s

Powa Caddy golf cart with 2 batteries, golf clubs and balls for sale. $250. Call John at 303-985-3209

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Any condition • Running or not No title OK • Free towing

(303)741-0762

Cell: (303)918-2185 for texting

Bestcashforcarsco.com

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For Local News Anytime To Advertise call of the Day Visit OurColoradoNews.com

For Local News Anytime TO ADVERTISE CALL 303-566-4100 Karen 303.566.4091 kearhart@coloradocommunitymedia.com of the Day Visit OurColoradoNews.com

REAL ESTATE

RENTALS

Office Rent/Lease VARIOUS OFFICES 100-2,311 sq.ft. Rents from $200-$1750/month.

Full service.

405-409 S Wilcox

Castle Rock

Wasson Properties 719-520-1730

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24 Lone Tree Voice

May 7, 2020M

Sterling Ranch opens new village for home sales Ascent Village will eventually have more than 1,500 homes

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Sterling Ranch has opened a new neighborhood, which now has homes available for presale.

The process of opening the community has been unique, as the pandemic pushed all permitting and associated paperwork, normally completed in an office, into a virtual setting, said Harold Smethills, president of Sterling Ranch’s board of directors.

“It’s different because it’s all remote,” he said. “It’s been a challenge.”

Many of the required steps for opening the community were completed through Douglas County, which has all of its offices open virtually.

“The county hasn’t missed a beat,” Smethills said.

Sterling Ranch is a master-planned community in northwest Douglas

County that is projected to eventually be home to more than 30,000 people.

The first homes broke ground in 2016 and the community is expected to be built out over a 20-year span.

The Ascent Village, which makes up 584 acres, is planned to eventually hold more than 1,500 homes.

The community will also include the first townhomes offered in Sterling Ranch.

While the community has the same amenities as the primary neighborhood, called Providence Village, the architecture style and models will be unique.

The new village will include multiple small parks and a regional trail.

“A cultural trail is also planned where local art exhibits will be periodically staged along the trail,” according to a release from the community.

Eleven homes in the village are under construction, with eight of them having already been sold, Smethills said. The first residents will be able to move in this summer, he said.

“We’re moving right along,” he said.

The homes will be priced similarly to the already existing property, with prices ranging from about $400,000 to more than $1 million.

LETTERS FROM PAGE 14

the health of their family, it would be very easy to do the bare minimum when working in uncertain conditions. However, the health care workers at the Highlands Ranch hospital went above and beyond their duties. They held his hand and comforted him in his last days and sat by his bedside to talk to him. Additionally, sheriff ’s deputies took time to come down to the hospital to perform a funeral procession in honor of his dedicated service with the New York Police Department.

It is everyday heroes like these that really show the true definition of humanity. We will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for our family as we mourn our grandfather, but we want you to know that it will never be forgotten. Thank you for treating

YOUNG FROM PAGE 15

comfort and safety of your home.

All of these activities can be accessed through a smartphone or a computer, and will open your eyes to a virtual world of possibility. To view the “Life Enrichment Guide” go to HCADouglasCounty.com and click on Resources to download

him with the respect and care that we all hope for and thank you for honoring his service. I know he is smiling down and grateful for your many acts of kindness.

Bobby Cusick Highlands Ranch Hoping for new normal Recently, Paul Albani-Burgio wrote a piece highlighting the finding of significantly cleaner air across the Denver area, according to measurements taken in late March.

Those with respiratory conditions must be especially thankful for this brief respite from our increasing issue with declining air quality along the Front Range.

As we regroup from the multifaceted trauma brought on by the pandemic, I hope that we as individuals and as businesses, with the necessary smart bipartisan government leadership in support, will make this part of our “new normal.”

Lois McLauchlan Sedalia a free copy. Have fun, learn new things, and go on some adventures!

Juliana Young is the business development manager with Home Care Assistance of Douglas County.

For more information, visit www.

HCADouglasCounty.com, or call 720-287-1685. This column is hosted by the Seniors’ Council of Douglas County. For more information, please visit www.MyDougCoSeniorLife.com, email DCSeniorLife@douglas.co.us or call 303-663-7681.

C Mo #1 olora rtg Rev do ag ers ’s eB e rok er

Taking Giant Innovative Leaps

by Kathy Muni

A

s our great state of Colorado takes small steps to reopen and get our lives back to normal, Silver Leaf Mortgage is taking giant innovative leaps.

Leaps we believe are needed to ensure the health and safety of our clients while continuing to do business today and in the future. deployed our Mobile Clean Room Office that includes two mobile workspaces, separated by a sealed glass wall. We will come to your home or any location where you choose to meet. You will have your own separate entrance to a 99.999% germfree area in which to go over documents at our mobile “kitchen table.” Your loan officer will be on the other side of the glass wall and you will communicate via audio and visual. A copier and fax will be in your space for your use so you can provide supporting documents without difficulty.

This will allow us to conduct business with you while keeping everyone safe from Covid-19 infection.

After each use, the Mobile Clean Room Office is disinfected with commercialgrade electrostatic foggers, the same type

used in hospitals, to ensure a 99.999% germ-free environment.

With home values remaining high and interest rates at near record lows, the time to act is now. The proceeds from a reverse mortgage are tax-free money that may be used in any way you choose. For some, it’s the instant lifesaving help you need today.

For others, it’s the safety net for your future or the unplanned life events like medical emergencies that may arise.

Call TODAY for more information.

No Upfront Appraisal Fee. Offer Code 0508CCM

Kathy Muni, NMLS #1368981, is Senior Vice President and Reverse Mortgage Specialist at Silver Leaf Mortgage in Centennial.

Kathy Muni

Contact me at: (720) 458-4034, or you can email me at: KathyM@SilverLeafMortgage.com

720-458-4034

720-458-4034

Located in The Streets at SouthGlenn 6972 South Vine Street | Suite 366 | Centennial, CO 80122

NMLS #1368981 Reverse Mortgage Specialist

Kathy Muni: Re ve Mortgage Expe rse rt!

KathyM@SilverLeafMortgage.com Listen to Muni for Your Money – The Reverse Mortgage Show weekly on Legends 810 and 94.3FM, 670 KLTT, 100.7FM KLZ and 560 KLZ or see us live on Colorado’s Best KWGN CW2 & Fox-31, or Colorado & Company KUSA 9News.

SLM NMLS #1394377 is an Equal Housing Lender. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Regulated by the Department of Real Estate.