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January 15, 2015 VOLU M E 2 8 | I S S UE 8
HighlandsRanchHerald.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Residents can serve as reserve deputies Sheriff ’s office hopes to accept 20 candidates for new program By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando @coloradocommunitymedia.com
First-grade teacher Carol Robbins works with her students on a math lesson. Mile High Academy will be closing the doors at its location on Yale Avenue in Denver to open its doors in August at its new location on Dad Clark Drive in Highlands Ranch. Photos by Christy Steadman
Mile High Academy set to move in Christian school established 100 years ago to open in August in Highlands Ranch By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com Students of a 100-year-old school will once again fill the halls of the empty schoolhouse on Dad Clark Drive in Highlands Ranch. Mile High Academy, a Christian school serving preschool through high school students, will open its doors in August at 1733 Dad Clark Drive for the 2015-2016 school year. “This location has worked well so far, but we need to move on,” marketing director Agape Hammond said of the school at Mile High continues on Page 11
Fourth-graders learn a song on their Suzuki string instruments from instructor Andrea Dobbs. Mile High Academy, a Christian school serving preschool- through high-school students, will open its doors in August at 1733 Dad Clark Drive for the 2015-2016 school year.
A new program will give Douglas County residents a chance to serve, protect and volunteer. The Reserve Deputy Academy will train local volunteers to be sheriff’s officers. The academy program will last about five and a half months and meet two nights a week, Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6 to 10 p.m., as well as every other Saturday and a few Sundays. The program is open to anyone who has a valid Colorado driver’s license and has not had a DUI in the past seven years or a felony. This is not a paid position. “It’s going to take them quite a while to get through it,” said Sgt. Max Young, who is in charge of the training program. “There is going to be 300 hours of instruction and the big issues that will be covered are law enforcement driving, arrest control tactics and firearms training.” Following the completion of the academy training and necessary tests, reserve deputies will be able to choose where they would like to volunteer. “(The options for service) would be the same as a full-time deputy,” said sheriff’s Lt. Glenn Peiczmeier, who is in charge of the reserve program. “They can be assigned to detentions, investigations, if some of these individuals have a background in say corporate fraud, they may want to take that expertise and volunteer their time working in investigations working on financial crimes. Some Deputies continues on Page 11
Area leaders put face on pro-fracking effort Douglas County residents tout controversial practice By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Some south metro-area residents are lending their faces and voices to the fracking debate, appearing on pro-fracking fliers published by Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development. CRED, a nonprofit formed in August 2013 by publicly traded Texas-based companies Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Noble Energy, describes the fliers as part of a broader education effort on the widely debated practice. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique that uses pressurized liquid to fracture rock and release natural gas and oil from deep in the earth. Among the Douglas County faces featured on the glossy mailers are Douglas County School Board member Meghann Silverthorn, Lone Tree City Councilmember Kim Monson and Colorado Business Roundtable president Jeff Wasden. “The mission and focus is to help folks get the facts on fracking — what it is, what it isn’t, and in this case, how it benefits them,” CRED spokesperson Jon Haubert said. “We find so many people have no idea that the vibrant oil-andgas-driven economy here in Colorado does benefit them.” Fracking continues on Page 23
Colorado Business Roundtable president Jeff Wasden and Douglas County school board member Meghann Silverthorn are among those lending support for fracking in a campaign by Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development. Staff photo