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December 25, 2014 VOLU M E 2 8 | I S S UE 6
HighlandsRanchHerald.net A publication of
D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
McNulty poised for next chapter Highlands Ranch resident reflects on his political career By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Pictured is the first-place winner of the House Decorating Contest: 2400 block of East Lansdowne Court. For Andrew Johnson, it’s all about spreading the Christmas spirit and seeing the “sheer joy on the children’s faces.” Photo by Andrew Johnson
Lights bring cheer to Ranch Homeowners get festive for holiday decoration contest By Christy Steadman
csteadman @coloradocommunitymedia.com “Is your house on fire, Clark?” “No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.” Twenty-one Highlands Ranch homeowners entered the annual House Decorating Contest this holiday season — and luckily, none of them caused a citywide power outage like the Griswold household did in the 1989 National Lampoon comedy film “Christmas Vacation.” However, Ron DePoty decorated his house to his “best Griswold impression,” he said, a tradition that began with him and his father when he was a child. “It’s turning into a family affair,” said DePoty, who has two sons, ages 4 and 2. “The boys are already very much into it when it comes to decorating.” The Highlands Ranch Community Association has done the event since 2001, said Valerie Miller, HRCA’s marketing and special projects coordinator. There are two rewarding aspects to entering the contest, DePoty said. The first is the actual competition, and the second is the feeling of pride and community. “It creates the atmosphere of a small town,” Miller said, which also contributes to Highlands Ranch being “a close-knit community.” This is the second year DePoty entered the contest, but the first year with this house, which backs up to Quebec Street and can be seen from all four sides. It was a lot of fun to decorate, he said, because he and his family got to go crazy with all four dimensions of it. The way the contest works is, homeowners fill out a form and submit a picture of their house, with the decorations in place, to the HRCA by a deadline date in early December. The contestants’ addresses are posted on the HRCA’s website with a map to each house’s location. Homeowners are required to have the lights and decorations on for a couple of hours each night, for about a week, for public viewing and voting. Viewers then log on to the community association’s website, and vote for their favorite decorated house. “The community picks the winners. It’s
Pictured is the second-place winner of the House Decorating Contest: 9900 block of Blackbird Place. There are two rewarding aspects to entering the contest, Ron DePoty said. The first is the actual competition, and the second is the feeling of pride and community. Photo by Ron DePoty
Pictured is the third-place winner of the House Decorating Contest: 10200 block of Bentwood Circle. Twelve-year-old Hunter Bogle always wanted to enter the contest, his mother, Tina Henwood said. And he deserves all the credit for the win, she added. “We only helped with the lights around the windows because we didn’t want him crawling around on the roof.” Photo by Hunter Bogle not a big organization doing the judging,” Miller said, adding that in future years, she would like to see more of the community get involved with the voting. This year’s winners were announced Dec. 16, and include first place, Andrew Johnson in the 2400 block of East Lansdowne Court; Holiday lights continues on Page 19
GO SEE ‘EM THE CONTEST and voting period may be over, but it is not too late to pile in the car and take a drive around the Ranch to see the lights of the decorated houses. A LINK to a list of all contestants, along with the physical address and map of the locations, is available on the homepage of the Highlands Ranch Community Association’s website: www.hrcaonline.org.
Between his job as an attorney, his legislative duties and keeping up with a toddler, state Rep. Frank McNulty did not have a lot of time for hobbies. “Time is at a premium,” he said. “I figure it’s best spent with family.” And come January, McNulty, 41, will have a lot more time to spend with his wife, Shannon, or chasing around their 20-month-old daughter. He is leaving his office as state representative for District 43, which consists McNulty of Highlands Ranch, because of term limits. In the eight years he served, McNulty, a Republican, recognizes three accomplishments as his greatest. The first was bringing in-state tuition to veterans and active-duty military, including National Guard soldiers, and their families, who were recruited to Colorado, he said. “It’s to recognize the contributions those men and women made to our country,” McNulty said. The second accomplishment is the passing of the 2012 state budget by a 64-1 vote. “That’s a remarkable testament to what we can do,” McNulty said. “There are 10,000 reasons for people to vote against a budget.” Lastly, McNulty got regulations passed on mandatory testing for discovery in sexual assault cases to “help rape survivors find justice,” he said. Although pleased with the accomplishments, McNulty is leaving office with one disappointment that occurred in 2007 or 2008, he said. McNulty advocated for a mandatory sentence for perpetrators of sexual assaults against children, but it did not pass the Legislature. McNulty believes offenders of this type of crime should be “locked up for a long time, the first time.” “Repeat offenders should not be out on the streets,” he said. Despite efforts, McNulty attributes the fact that it didn’t pass to two reasons — some people believe all sentencing should be left to the discretion of the judge, and others believe offenders can be healed and rehabilitated, he said. In 2010, McNulty was elected to be speaker of the House. It was “remarkably humbling” to be elected unanimously, he said. McNulty enjoyed both positions, he said, but sometimes being speaker of the House caused some conflict for his role as a state representative. For example, conflicts arose concerning health care. “Protecting Colorado from federal (health-care mandates),” McNulty said. “Sometimes, what was best for the state didn’t always align.” McNulty always looked out for the state, McNulty continues on Page 19