January 14, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS 17
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 49
Substitute teachers’ ranks grow in DCSD Hiring push during pandemic does not eliminate need, will continue, officials say BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Donna Reed, co-owner of Reeds Tavern, is optimistic about the future of the restaurant through the pandemic based on their experience and the innovations they’ve made to their business since it started. PHOTOS BY NICK PUCKETT
Entertaining new ideas Lone Tree businesses adapt while attractions remain closed BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On her commute home Jan. 6, Donna Reed, with her husband Brian and brother-in-law Scott, paused to appreciate a moment she had not felt in almost a year: leaving work before sunset. Throughout the pandemic, the three Reeds Southside Tavern co-owners worked from dawn until midnight, finishing tasks left SEE BUSINESS, P7
iFly, an indoor skydiving facility in Lone Tree, has been able to operate as a retail business under the state’s COVID-19 guidelines, weathering the pandemic by allowing smaller class sizes and enhancing sanitation measures.
‘PREPARED TO FIGHT’
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow recounts harrowing siege at Capitol P6
Amanda Thompson, chief human resources officer for the Douglas County School District, estimated the district’s substitute teacher pool sat around 600, maybe 700 people in recent years. Going into the second semester of the 2020-21 school year, that number has reached roughly 900. About 150 of those people became substitutes since the fall. The district launched a hiring push as an existing substitute teacher shortage clashed with the COVID-19 pandemic while schools conducted hybrid learning during the first semester. State quarantine protocols took exposed educators out of the classroom for days. Numerous schools were forced to take on full remote learning temporarily when they could not supply enough substitutes for the classrooms of sick or exposed teachers. Thompson said the district is grateful community members answered the call. SEE TEACHERS, P6
JUST SHOE IT! Learn about a simple, inexpensive way to get your winter outdoor fix
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