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November 20, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I S S UE 44
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District’s ranking moves up Board president proud, but community member says academic progress remains flat By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Author Lemony Snicket pauses from signing a book for Lone Tree resident Parker Genuario to tease Parker’s sister Keeley. Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, made a sold-out Nov. 17 appearance at the Lone Tree Art Center. Photo by Jane Reuter
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU
L E M O N Y
C-470 brew crew gets crafty together Eight businesses to debut co-created beer in December
DCSD continues on Page 25
Mayor honored for transit work
By Jane Reuter jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Eight south metro breweries will release a winter beer they co-created on Dec. 5. Beer lovers who sample the weizenbock at each of the businesses will earn a commemorative glass. “The point is to get people out and visit the local breweries; it’s not specifically to try the beer,” said Carrie Knose, co-owner of Highlands Ranch’s Living the Dream. “We’re all pretty new down here, and we wanted to do a community-building event to get everyone together and brew beer. “We’re (brewers) a very friendly community; ours is one of those business communities where we’re all actually rooting for each other. And this is another way to get together and be supportive in the craft beer community.” The C470 Collaboration, as the group has dubbed itself, includes Blue Spruce, CB & Potts, Grist, Living the Dream, Lone Tree, 38 State, Three Freaks and Rock Bottom breweries. Brewers from all eight businesses came up with the idea and met to create a common recipe. Laws regulating the distribution of alcohol require each business to brew its own batch of the mutually agreed-upon beer. But Blue Spruce owner Rick Kane thinks that will make the experience more interesting for consumers. “Every brewery could be a little different depending on how they brew,” said the Centennial brew pub owner. “There’ll probably be little nuances. You’ll taste just a subtle difference between some breweries because we all have different water sources and that does change the profile a little bit. And then obvi-
The Douglas County School District made a successful bid to elevate its state performance rating. For the first time since the 2009-10 academic year, DCSD ranks as “Accredited with Distinction” — the highest of the Colorado Department of Education’s five tiers. DCSD was among several districts that requested the state reconsider its ranking. By excluding the performance of the district’s highest-risk students and factoring in improved ACT scores and graduation rates, the CDE agreed Douglas County merited its top rating. District leaders are delighted. Those critical of its education reforms say the ranking is misleading. “Certainly to move up into that top echelon speaks wonderful volumes about our teachers, our district and our students,” school board president Kevin Larsen said. “I and the rest of the board have been confident all along this time would come, and here we are. It means we’re doing good things for kids. So let’s celebrate it, but keep pushing all of our schools to help our kids learn at an even higher level.” Strong Schools Coalition president Laura Mutton noted that while the district’s ACT composite score increased slightly from 2013 to 2014 — from 21.8 to 22.1 — scores on the last Transitional Colorado Assessment Program were flat.
Gunning says state group takes a more holistic view By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Beer lovers who drink a weizenbock at each of the eight Highlands Ranch breweries that collaborated on its creation will receive this commemorative glass. The beer is set for a Dec. 5 release. Courtesy photo ously how we brew (is different).” A weizenbock is a strong version of an unfiltered hefeweizen, fermented with a yeast that gives the brew a slightly spicy flavor. Lone Tree head brewer Jason Wiedmaier said their version is ready to go. “I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and I’m really looking forward to us tapping them all at once,” he said. “Each brewery gets to kind of put their own twist on it, so you get a little bit of play. I’m curious to see what each brewery’s brew house imparts to the beer.” Each brewery will provide customers with a beer map of the eight businesses. Once all eight sites are stamped, the customer can
exchange the map for the commemorative glass. The brewers ordered 300 glasses, but Knose doesn’t know how long the beer will last. If the beer runs out before the glasses, however, Knose said breweries will still honor beer tourists with a stamp. December may not be the last time the brewers collaborate. “We’ve talked loosely about doing one during the summer also,” Kane said. “We all get along well. We help each other out with ingredients. We see our customers at Grist and Living the Dream and vice versa. I think people just enjoy bouncing between all of us. It’s bringing our communities closer together.”
Lone Tree Mayor Jim Gunning is “hopelessly positive” in his quest to find ways to fund transportation in Colorado, according to Colorado Department of Transportation executive director Don Hunt. That optimism and determination are among the traits that put Gunning on a Denver stage at the EXDO Event Center Nov. 14, where he received the Transit Alliance’s Carla Madison Award for Outstanding Leadership by an Individual. He was honored for his work with MPACT 64, a group created in 2013 to Gunning study statewide transit solutions. “I was very surprised,” Gunning said. “When I looked at my partners that were also nominated, I really didn’t think I had any chance of winning.” The other two nominees for outstanding individual leadership included Tom Clark, CEO of the Metro Denver Economic Gunning continues on Page 25