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August 8, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 37
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
Fracking initiatives dropped Gov. Hickenlooper and Polis reach deal — task force created By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
South Metro Fire Chief Dan Qualman talks about the irony of Bob Marlin, center, being saved by an AED he helped get installed at The Meadows Golf Club, where his heart went into an abnormal rhythm. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Helpers honored for heroic actions South Metro Fire honors citizens who stepped up to help out in times of need
Fracking continues on Page 12
By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@colorado communitymedia.com When a bystander steps in to save a life, victim and rescuer are usually complete strangers. Yet it turns out that Bob Marlin knew those who rushed to his aid on the first tee box at The Meadows Golf Club in south Jefferson County. In fact, he had trained them to use the automated external defibrillator that brought his heart back to a normal rhythm. Marlin, believe it or not, had been a driving force behind the installation of that very AED when he worked for the West Metro Fire Protection District — the department that serves the golf course. Marlin is now with neighboring South Metro Fire Rescue, the agency that presented a lifesaving award to the employees of The Meadows and West Metro responders during a standing-room-only ceremony July 28 at the authority’s headquarters in Centennial. His daughter, Cameron Marlin, made it a point to attend the awards ceremony, where she delivered an appreciative hug to each of the people who made sure her father survived his scare. “It’s nice to meet them outside of a hospital setting,” she said. Coincidentally, Marlin also knew the doctor who was standing over him when he awoke at the hospital. He greeted the doc enthusiastically until Marlin realized why he was there. The recognition for Marlin’s rescuers was far from the only feel-good moment of the night. The other heroes recognized during South Metro Fire Rescue’s annual citizen awards event were each met with thunderous applause for their actions. Fire Chief Dan Qualman said they each went “over and above what’s reasonably expected.” That includes Castle Rock resident Brian Lindeman, a trained EMT who works for Lockheed Martin’s emergency services division. Lindeman was a few vehicles away from a horrific crash in which a cement truck
Voters will not be weighing in on hydraulic fracturing this November after all. Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis announced an 11th hour deal on Aug. 4 to create a special task force to address issues surrounding fracking — the very day that signatures to put fracking on the November ballot were due for submission to the Secretary of State’s Office. The task force is part of a deal that the two Democrats reached in the days leading up to the announcement that will also end efforts by Polis to place two antifracking ballot initiatives on the November ballot. Later in the day, pro-fracking groups said they too will drop their own ballot initiative efforts, suddenly ending what was gearing up to be a ballot box fight that was expected to be costly — both in terms of campaign advertising dollars and potentially in political price for other candidates seeking office this fall.
I-25 project set to start this month South Metro Fire Chief Dan Qualman shakes hands with Art Cales, who was saved at Lifetime Fitness in Parker by Kate Jureller, center. Jureller and three others were honored July 28 for coming to the aid of Cales, who suffered cardiac arrest.
‘Lane balancing’ will widen highway By Jane Reuter
Other citizen award recipients include: • Robert Rinne, a South Metro firefighter who was off duty when he administered CPR on a woman who was eating at Maggiano’s. He also cleared her obstructed airway before medics arrived. • Joseph W. Ratcliff II, Bryan Schoff, Deborah Hall, David Tegtmeyer and Chris Sharp, who helped residents escape a burning apartment building in Centennial when the stairwell leading outside was blocked by flames. They pitched in by putting mattresses in the bed of a pickup truck so residents on higher floors could jump safely. • Joseph Sprague, Jackson Bishop and Troy Seim, who attempted to save a Castle Pines boy who was run over in June by a vehicle he had been playing in.
pulled in front of a woman on a motorcycle at U.S. 85 and Airport Road, just north of Sedalia. The victim was in bad condition; her throat had been punctured, and Lindeman held her in such a way that she could
Qualman said not every attempt to save a life has a happy ending, but he noted that the men gave paramedics a fighting chance when there otherwise would not have been one. • Mike Keefover, who administered CPR and used an AED to save a man who went into cardiac arrest at Centennial Airport. • The team of Safety Shepherds at Lincoln Meadows Senior Living, who are responsible for assisting with emergency situations, including nighttime evacuations. • Kate Jureller, Kate Tillman and Mike Staheli, who all stepped in to save Parker resident Art Cales, 51, when he went into sudden cardiac arrest at Lifetime Fitness in January.
continue to breathe. “There is no doubt about it,” said Marcos Mocine-McQueen, the South Metro Helpers continues on Page 10
jreuter@colorado communitymedia.com Two and a half years might sound like a long time to add two, three-mile-long lanes to Interstate 25, but state officials said the lengthy construction period was created in deference to the traveling public. The $32 million to $35 million “lanebalancing” project, which will add a lane to I-25 in both directions between Lincoln Avenue and County Line Road, will begin by Aug 20. It’s set for completion in December 2016. Why so long? “Because it’s I-25,” Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Crystal Morgan said. “We can’t do a lot of work on I-25 during the day, so almost all of the work has to be done at night and on weekends. “You’ll see a lot of work being done during the day, but we are required to maintain those lanes. We will have reduced speed limits, and that does cause backups. So you will see some disruption.” Project continues on Page 10