July 16, 2020
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 23
Pace picks up on I-25 Gap construction CDOT capitalizes on warm, dry months for massive project BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
From left: Douglas County commissioners Roger Partridge, Lora Thomas and Abe Laydon.
COURTESY PHOTO VIA COLORADO SUN
Douglas County wants divorce from health agency Health chief calls potential move ‘extraordinarily disruptive’ BY NICK PUCKETT AND JESSICA GIBBS COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Douglas County’s top elected officials say they want to end the county’s 54-year affiliation with the
Tri-County Health Department after the agency’s board issued an order requiring the wearing of masks in public. Tri-County’s executive director, Dr. John Douglas, later told Colorado Community Media that the proposed withdrawal is “extraordinarily disruptive to our staff and planning in the middle of a pandemic.” He said that “to whatever extent we are working with the transition, we’re not working with schools to get
reopened, not working with statisticians, not working with testing teams.” The Douglas County move is the latest chapter in its sometimesfraught relationship with the health agency, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, with some voices in the county objecting to some of Tri-County’s more stringent safety orders. SEE COUNTY, P2
Businesses told to refuse customers without masks Tri-County will attempt to seek voluntary compliance BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The public health agency for Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties will require masks in public indoor spaces, and outdoors where people can’t remain 6 feet away from others, beginning July 24, but the order includes a long list of exceptions. It also requires businesses to refuse customers who aren’t wearing masks, and those who don’t comply could have their business licenses suspended or revoked. The order in response to COVID-19
MORE ON MASKS More coverage of the debate over wearing masks on Pages 6, 7, and 9. was approved July 8 by the TriCounty Health Department Board of Health, the agency that oversees Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties. Counties and municipalities can opt out of the order by July 23, and Douglas County’s elected leaders announced plans on July 9 to do so. Where order applies Under the order, people must wear a face covering if they are: • Outdoors and unable to maintain a distance of 6 feet from those who are not members of their household.
• In any indoor location where members of the public are generally allowed. • Waiting for, riding on, driving or operating public transportation or while in a taxi, private car service or ride-sharing vehicle. • Obtaining health care services in settings such as a hospital, pharmacy, medical clinic, laboratory, physician or dental office, veterinary clinic, or blood bank. It also applies when people are working — whether at a workplace or off-site — in the following contexts: • Interacting with any member of the public. • Working in a space visited by members of the public. SEE BUSINESSES, P23
The longest work zone in the state is preparing residents for a surge in construction as the Colorado Department of Transportation increases its weather-dependent tasks on the I-25 Gap — the stretch of busy highway that for many years offered just two travel lanes in each direction. The 18-mile corridor, between Castle Rock and Monument, has been under construction since September 2018 and is planned to wrap up in 2022. “We’re in the warm months of the year and this will allow us to work very long days,” said Bob Wilson, statewide communications manager for CDOT. “Drivers can expect a lot of changes. It will be a very busy construction season this summer and in the fall.” While some parts of the project can be completed in winter, all paving must be done while the temperature is above a certain level, Wilson said. During these warm, dry months, CDOT will build a 4-mile-long truck climbing lane between Greenland and Monument, construct bridges and pave along the interstate. “The biggest thing people will run into generally is single-lane closures,” Wilson said. The southbound I-25 on and off ramps at Greenland Road will be closed through roughly Aug. 10. SEE GAP, P24
POOLS REOPEN AMID PANDEMIC
But COVID-19 concerns limit pool capacities and have delayed some improvement projects P14