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October 20, 2016 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 40
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LoneTreeVoice.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Administrative exits mount in school district Several top-level officials have left since departure of Elizabeth Fagen
LEAVING THE DISTRICT
By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com Since former Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen announced in June she would leave for a similar position in Texas, five members of the district’s upper-administration team have also left or announced impending departures. Chief Academic Officer Dana Johnson-Strother left in June. Chief Oper-
Donna Johnson-Strother, chief academic officer
Tom Tsai, chief operating officer
Jason Germain, chief student advocacy officer
Hired: July 15, 2012 Left: June 17, 2016 Ending salary: $129,860
Hired: May 19, 2014 Left: July 22, 2016 Ending salary: $154,500
Hired: July 1, 2010 Left: July 29, 2016 Ending salary: $129,335
ating Officer Thomas Tsai and Chief Student Advocacy Officer Jason Germain left in July. The district’s attorney, Rob Ross, departed in August. And in September, Director of Human Resources
Robert Ross, attorney Hired: Oct. 1, 2010 Left: Aug. 3, 2016 Ending salary: $178,289
Brian Cesare announced his last day will be Nov. 2. “It’s not surprising to have some turnover any time there is a major shift in leadership,” interim Superintendent
FIRST TO FINISH
Brian Cesare, director of human resources Hired: July 1, 2011 Leaving: Nov. 2, 2016 Ending salary: $180,553
Erin Kane said. “We are absolutely working to fill those positions and mapping what I am hearing from schools to be
District continues on Page 9
LONE TREE POLICE
Search for new chief continues Interviews for position set for end of the month Staff report
Rock Canyon’s Bailey Timmons raises his hands in the air as he is the first runner across the finish line in the boys varsity race at the Oct. 13 Continental League Cross Country Championship Meet. Timmons led his teammates across the finish line as the Jaguars took top team honors in the race that was held at the Lowry Sports Park. For more coverage, turn to page 34. Photo by Tom Munds
Firefighter buys truck he sat in as a child
The City of Lone tree is continuing the search for a new police chief following Jeffrey Streeter’s retirement in June. City officials said they had received about 70 applications for the position as of the recent deadline to apply. A consultant team will help to narrow down the pool of applicants. On-site, first-round interviews with top candidates are scheduled to take place at the end of this month. Candidates will face a rigorous selection process, including a series of interviews and panels with city staff and elected officials, according to a city spokeswoman. Streeter served the Lakewood Police Department for 24 years before he was hired as the Lone Tree chief in March 2013, replacing the department’s first police chief, Stephen Hasler, who departed in August 2012 and is now the police chief in Elizabeth. Cmdr. Ron Pinson is filling the role as interim police chief for the second time in recent years.
Vehicle is ‘time capsule’ for South Metro Fire Rescue By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunity
Then-and-now photos feature South Metro’s Michael Porter (left in each photo) and Eric Hurst. Hurst is now public safety answering point (PSAP) operations manager and public information officer of South Metro Fire Rescue and Porter is an EMS supervisor. Courtesy photo
Eric Hurst remembers his first time sitting in a particular red firetruck. He was 5 or 6 years old and he was infatuated. Today, that very same truck is parked in his garage. “It’s amazing,” Hurst, now 32, said. “I can’t believe I found it.” Hurst, public information officer for South Metro Fire Rescue and operations manager of the 9-1-1 dispatch call center, was born and raised in south metro Denver. He grew up attending the Littleton Fire Muster and parade every year, and he frequented the Castlewood Fire truck continues on Page 9
ELECTION DAY IS ON THE WAY And we’ve got the rundown on all the races you need to know about as part of our election guide on PAGES 17-24.