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January 29, 2015 VOLU M E 2 | I SS UE 25 | F R E E
CastlePinesNewsPress.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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WHAT’S INSIDE
Guiding light: A victim advocate has helped many during her 30 years on the job. See Page 2
Biker Brad’s: Area shop caters to biker population. See Page 14
Dancers of all ages competed at the 2015 Colorado Winterfeis in Castle Rock Jan. 23 and 24 at the Douglas County Events Center. Photos by Mike DiFerdinando
Irish dance steps into town
Join the club: Is specializing in one sport good for high school athletes? See Page 21
2015 Colorado Winterfeis sees hundreds of competitors By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando @coloradocommunitymedia.com
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The curls come in all colors. They’re long and short, in ponytails and buns — a ubiquitous symbol of the Irish dance community. At the 2015 Colorado Winterfeis on Jan. 23 and 24 at the Douglas County Events Center in Castle Rock, the curls, sequined dresses and click and clack of dance shoes provided the backdrop. “Originally the competitions would take place on Sunday and it would be after mass, so the girls would have their hair curled for mass, so that’s why the curls,” said Jordan Kelly, who was selling wigs at the competition. According to Kelly, wigs take about 15 minutes to fasten on for an experienced competitor and longer for the novices. “A lot of bobby pins and hairspray,” said Ava Wi-
esenmeyer, 12, of Castle Rock. Wiesnmeyer has been competing in Irish Dance for four years after leaving gymnastics for it. “It’s really unique compared to other dances. You can add your own style to it and just show yourself and be yourself when you’re dancing,” Wiesenmeyer said. Though she has only been competing for four years, she has moved up the ranks quickly, competing at the world championships in London last year. She will again compete at World’s in 2015, this time in Montreal. The world championships are always the same week as Easter. Wiesnmeyer is an outlier, though. Most beginning dance at 3 or 4 years old. It is usually a family or cultural tradition that is passed down. “I Irish danced when I was younger,” Wiesnmeyer’s mother Nancy said. “I’m part Irish. Most people here are of some sort.” Hundreds of girls and a handful of boys competed at the Castle Rock event. Irish continues on Page 31
Nancy Wiesenmeyer and her daughter Ava, 12, have been competing in Irish dance for four years. Ava will be competing in the world competition in Montreal in April. Ava trains at the Wick School of Irish Dance in Denver.
Castle Rock looks at redistricting Growth has thrown voter numbers off balance in town By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando @coloradocommunitymedia.com
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Castle Rock has gained 10,000 new registered voters since 2010 when the current voter districts were drawn (pictured here). Courtesy image
Castle Rock’s growing population, especially in the Meadows area near Founders Parkway, has caused the town’s election districts to be thrown off balance and will require redistricting by the election commission. The town has 38,000 registered voters. The largest district is District 3 in the Meadows area, with a total of 6,492, and the smallest is District 7 in the Castlewood Ranch area, with 4,446 voters. Redistricting was last implemented by the town in 2010. Since then, Castle Rock has gained 10,000 new registered voters. “We are clearly out of compliance with our charter, so the charter requires that we make changes to the boundaries in order to make sure the district with the lowest number of registered voters is at least 85 per-
cent of the district with the highest number of registered voters,” Castle Rock Town Clerk Sally Misare said. It will be the task of the town election commission to sift through the district map and find the areas where voters can be moved from one district to another in order to create balance. While some districts will be able to be adjusted by incorporating small swatches of highly populated areas, others like District 4 will need to incorporate more area. “District 4 has 4,840 voters and needs to have voters added to it,” Misare said. “That’s the downtown district for the most part. It’s not growing population-wise, so it clearly has to grow geographically.” The commission said they try and keep “communities of interest,” such as subdivisions, in the same district. The redistricting will not affect town elected officials who are currently serving. They will serve out their terms. If an elected official is moved into a new district, he or she would need to run for election in that new district during the next election. Districts continues on Page 31