Centennial Citizen 0123

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January 23, 2015 VOLU M E 1 4 | I SS UE 9

CentennialCitizen.net A publication of

A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

Park undergoing makeover Willow Creek project includes new equipment By Jane Reuter

jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com A popular Centennial park is undergoing a dramatic winter makeover. Crews placed a new pedestrian bridge Jan. 13 as part of a $640,000 project at Willow Creek Park. Willow Creek Park is a large South Suburban Parks-managed site in the Willow Creek neighborhood, on Mineral Drive off Quebec Street. South Suburban, the City of Centennial and Arapahoe County Open Space are jointly funding the work. Old playground equipment already has been removed to make way for new, which likely will be ready for play in April. Sadly, that included removal of the popular caterpillar, said senior parks planner Melissa Reese-Thacker. For years, children crawled along the caterpillar’s curving yellow, metal back to its purple head. Its unique look and function gave the area the informal name of Caterpillar Park. Aware of its popularity, SSPR staffers wanted to retain the piece. “We tried long and hard to figure out a way to keep it,” Reese-Thacker said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t meet current playground standards. So we’re salvaging the head, and are going to turn it into a piece of artistic signage for the park.” The new equipment, with a price tag of $129,000, will come in two sets — one for kids aged 2-5 and the other for those aged 5-12. “The current playground standards suggest you have separate play areas for those two different age groups,” Reese-Thacker said. “The area for (younger kids) has lower decks, fewer upper-body-strength-type components, since that’s not really developed yet, and opportunities for more imaginative play. The other area has more upper body and physical play and offers more challenge.” A combination of rubber tile and engi-

A crane was used Jan. 13 to help crews place a new pedestrian bridge at Willow Creek Park on the Willow Creek Trail in Centennial as part of a larger South Suburban Parks project there. Courtesy photo neered wood chips will be installed underneath the equipment, giving children a softer surface on which to play. The project also calls for pavement of the soft surface portion of Willow Creek Trail that

leads from the bridge southeast from the park toward County Line Road and into Lone Tree, and construction of a smaller, soft-surface trail that will parallel the paved one. A small, 80-foot portion of trail near Bo-

zarth Chevrolet on Parkway Drive will remain unpaved. South Suburban does not have the property rights to convert that small stretch to concrete, Reese-Thacker said, though the long-term plan calls for it to be paved as well.

Threat assessments rise in school district Increase began before Arapahoe High tragedy, data shows By Jennifer Smith

jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Officials with the Littleton Public Schools security team review best practices with members of the district’s new Safety and Mental Health Advisory Committee. Photo by Jennifer Smith

Committee takes hard look at LPS security District seeks help finding gaps after Arapahoe High tragedy By Jennifer Smith jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Littleton Public Schools Safety and Mental Health Advisory Committee, formed to tackle questions raised in the aftermath of the 2013 Arapahoe High School

shooting, heard from the district’s director of security and emergency planning during its second meeting, held Jan. 14. “It takes a community to keep the schools safe,” Guy Grace told the 30 or so members of the committee, who will spend the next six months looking for gaps in systems already in place. Planned new projects include a massnotification messaging system that can Security continues on Page 4

The Littleton Public Schools Board of Education got a look at some startling numbers on Jan. 15 that indicate the district’s recent focus on the mental health of its students is sorely needed. “The needs in mental health have really been rising over the last four to five years,” said Melissa Cooper, director of special education and student support services. “We reached the point last year that we needed to reach out and deal with it.” That point came after the shooting on Dec. 13, 2013 at Arapahoe High School left two students dead. Karl Pierson, who mortally wounded Claire Davis before killing himself, had been evaluated by a school psychologist and an outside therapist, who determined that he was a narcissist but not a threat to himself or others. Data maintained by LPS shows dramatic increases in threat assessments, suicide interventions, and referrals to behavior specialists during the 2013-14 school year over 2012-13. Bryan Jesse, coordinator of student support, noted that the numbers were on track to be high even before the shoot-

ing, and are heading down a similar path already this year. “Arapahoe High School heightened sensitivity and concern, but there was no change in procedure as to how they were handled,” said Nate Thompson, director of social, emotional and behavior services for the district. “Some if it is just the nature of how this stuff happens.” In 2012-13, there were about 10 threat assessments. The number jumped to 60 last year and is already at 35 this year. The 2012-13 school year saw nearly 120 suicide interventions, rising from around 80 last year and around 50 the year before. So far this year there have been 72, with at least 11 of those resulting in some type of hospitalization. “And that’s just the ones we know about,” said Jesse. Referrals to the behavior team are up 11 over this time last year, when there were a total of 63 for the whole year. The year before, there were about 50. Thompson said it might be a reflection of more of the burden being placed on schools to handle such issues, and parents being more comfortable asking them to help. “It’s become more and more that that’s what schools do,” he said. School board member Jack Reutzel said he’d like to see more family involvement. “We need to be engaging parents on LPS continues on Page 4


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