Lone Tree Voice 1203

Page 1

December 3, 2020

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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LoneTreeVoice.net

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 35 | CALENDAR: PAGE 37 | SPORTS: PAGE 38

VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 43

Commissioners ask to reopen restaurants The county officials said they would go ahead with the plan if they don’t hear back BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

the specific site they want to go to before driving there. “That’s going to lessen the amount of time they spend at the site,” she said. All county sites have a test result turnaround of four days or fewer, Carrell said.

In a letter to Gov. Jared Polis sent Nov. 25, Douglas County commissioners requested that the county be allowed to start a variance program that would keep qualifying restaurants open for indoor dining. The program commissioners referred to, called the “5-Star Variance Protection Program,” is currently being utilized in Mesa County and allows qualifying restaurants to be open with limited capacity, according to The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction. Thomas “It is not fair that a restaurant in Mesa County… is allowed to operate while businesses here can’t,” Commissioner Lora Thomas said in a Nov. 24 work session. “That is not right” In the letter, commissioners said that if the governor did not engage in a conversation with them by Dec. 4, they would implement the program on their own. Commissioners are not in control of whether or not restaurants are allowed to open. Commissioners also directed the county attorney in the work session to look into whether there was possible legal action that they could take against the state of Colorado for the way level red, the latest level of COVID-19 restrictions handed down from the state, was implemented. The new level prohibits indoor dining. After county staff informed commissioners of differences between Mesa and Douglas counties’ case numbers, they entered into an executive session during the meeting to discuss the possibility of legal action against the state with their attorney.

SEE TESTING, P8

SEE RESTAURANTS, P8

Jordan Green, a Highlands Ranch resident, gets a COVID-19 test at a Lone Tree facility.

PHOTOS BY ELLIOTT WENZLER

Testing facilities abound Preregistration is recommended to make visits go more quickly BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

People wishing to get tested for COVID-19 visited facilities across Douglas County the day before Thanksgiving, with some locations having long, winding lines and others having no wait at all. The county funds multiple testing centers, including in Parker, Castle Rock, Sterling Ranch, Larkspur, Sedalia, Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch. While some county testing sites have had days in which they run out of tests and must close early, many still have plenty of remaining capacity, said Holly Carrell, special projects manager with the county. “This week, no one has run out,”

Cars line up at a COVID-19 testing site at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch Nov. 25. she said the week of Nov. 23. One new testing site, at Canvas Credit Union in Lone Tree, had hardly any visitors Nov. 25, while a testing site at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch had a line throughout its parking lot. Carrell encourages those looking to get a test to preregister at

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON

Many holiday attractions in the metro area carry on despite pandemic P35

NEXT UP: CHERRY CREEK

Valor Christian’s semifinal win sets up date with Bruins for state title P38


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