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November 20, 2014 VOLU M E 1 1 9 | I S S UE 42 | 7 5 ¢
ElbertCountyNews.net E L B E R T C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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School board honored Statewide group salutes local teamwork, initiative By Rick Gustafson
Special to Colorado Community Media The Colorado Association of School Boards recognized the Elizabeth Board of Education as a 2014 Board of Distinction at the Elizabeth board’s regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 10. Randy Black, CASB director of member relations, presented the award to the board and praised its teamwork, encouraging the members to continue to show initiative. “The judges have a definition of excellence,” Black told the board as he presented it with the certificate. “And we will only honor that.” Black also told board members that they set a standard for rural communities in Colorado, and School board continues on Page 20
LEFT: Damien Garvey, an Elizabeth High freshman, takes an off balance shot on Nov. 11. CENTER: Colten Cline, a junior at Elizabeth High, takes a jump shot for the White Team on Nov. 11. RIGHT: Scott Neelley, Hunter’s father, took to the court Nov. 11 as an estimated $1,800 was raised for his late son’s medical bills. Photos by Rick Gustafson
Event honors student’s memory Hunter Neelley was freshman at Elizabeth High School By Rick Gustafson
Special to Colorado Community Media POSTAL ADDRESS
ELBERT COUNTY NEWS (USPS 171-100)
OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
More than 200 cheering fans, 13 basketball teams, and a cup of java on the line. That is what was on tap at the Elizabeth High School gym for the Hunter’s Legacy Basketball Tournament on Nov. 11. The event, complete with the Elizabeth High School cheerleaders, was all part of a fundraiser in honor of Elizabeth High School freshman Hunter Neelley, who died in early October following a four-year battle with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer that eventually spread to his lungs. The tournament, organized by the Elizabeth High School Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), is an example of how the community in and around Elizabeth has rallied to the Neelley family. In February, Creekside Community Church also held a fundraiser to help the Neelley family
with medical expenses and to allow them to visit friends in Hawaii. “This was all done by the kids,” said Melanie Darter, department chair for the FCCLA at Elizabeth High School. “It’s their fall community service project to help the Neelley family defray the medical expenses that they accumulated during Hunter’s illness.” Thirteen teams made up of students, faculty and public-safety workers took to the court for an all-play, double-elimination tournament. Each game lasted five minutes, and teams not suffering two losses in round one moved on to compete in a single-elimination bracket for the grand prize, a hot beverage compliments of the Coffee Coop. Big Mouth Pizza, also a sponsor, donated pizzas for the concession stand. Prior to the first tipoff, the crowd took a moment to recognize Veterans Day, and at halftime, the cheers fell silent as Scott Neelley expressed his gratitude for all the support and prayers the family has received from the community. “Thank you so much, we love that you guys are all here tonight,” Neelley said.
By the end of the night, the students had raised an estimated $1,800 for Hunter’s medical bills, and the high school faculty’s LightBlue team savored victory with a little help from Scott Neelley, whom the team drafted as its special-guest player. FCCLA is a nonprofit national career and technical student organization for young men and women in family and consumer sciences education in both public and private schools. The organization emphasizes community service and leadership development. “The projects that we do are integrated with the standards for the FCCLA programs,” Darter said. FCCLA informed Scott Neelley this week that the organization is hoping to make the tournament an annual event to support the Hunter’s HOPE Legacy Scholarship Award. “Robin and I were just talking last week about how to pay tribute to Hunter in a payit-forward kind of way and think this might just hit the nail on the head. His (Hunter’s) best friend Nicole, he called her Coley, is in FCCLA,” Neelley said. “I know he would be proud.”
PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Elizabeth, Colorado, the Elbert County News is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ELIZABETH, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Say howdy to Pines & Plains Libraries Nov. 13 was a big day for your local libraries. We launched a new online catalog, a new website, a new name, and a new logo. I want to introduce you to all of these new elements and tell you a little bit about what these changes mean to you. First — our new name is Pines & Plains Libraries. We feel like these two elements are representative of where we are, and give us a distinct identity from Elbert County government. While both of us serve all of Elbert County, we are governed separately, with distinct revenue collected for both. Occasion-
ally I buy a product at the grocery store that has been repackaged, and somewhere on the box it says “New logo, same great taste!” I often wonder why they had to change the logo if they are just going to reassure us that what is inside is the same old stuff. Now that we have done the same thing, I understand why — sometimes, you just need to update your image. Our new logo is simpler than our former one, reflects the Pines & Plains name,
and reintroduces your libraries to you. Since we changed our name, our old web address is no longer logical, so we have a new website at pplibraries.org. We have upgraded the look, made searching easier, and hopefully made navigation more intuitive. Take it for a spin, and let us know how we can make it even better. And last but not least, we have a new online catalog. We have joined the AspenCat consortium, which gives you the ability to search for materials at over 60 libraries across the state and place holds directly on over 900,000 items! Compared to the 55,000 we have locally in our four branches, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities for you, and we are excited to bring you access to more content. We have also increased access to more digital content — in addition to our Overdrive collection, we now have more Library continues on Page 20