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November 27, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 45
LoneTreeVoice.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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DCSD rejoins state group School district’s membership in CASB can be mutually beneficial, director says By Jane Reuter
jreuter @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Jeff Pearce offers cookies to the more than 500 people waiting in line for the opening of the Park Meadows’ LL Bean store Nov. 21. Photos by Jane Reuter
L.L. Bean opens to warm welcome Lone Tree store’s debut draws more than 500 for grand opening By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Teri Robinson set up camp in front of L.L. Bean at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 20, slept outside and waited more than 14 hours to be first in line for the Park Meadows’ store’s 9 a.m. Nov. 21 grand opening. All in the hope of winning one of five $500 gift cards. “It would help pay for Christmas presents,” said Robinson, an Aurora resident who’s on permanent disability. Robinson drew a $10 gift card. She grimaced, but then smiled and shrugged. “It was entertaining,” she said of her night on the sidewalk, which she spent in a sleeping bag on a foam mat. “It was better than staying home. I slept well until reporters woke me up at 5:30 a.m.” Robinson was the first of more than 500 people who lined up for the opening of the Maine-based outdoor clothing and equipment company’s westernmost store. The Lone Tree site is L.L. Bean’s 22nd retail store in the United States, and a location company board chairman Shawn Gorman said is ideal. “With a population that embraces the outdoors, I can’t think of a better place or a better fit for us,” Gorman said. “ Gorman is the great-grandson of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean, an avid outdoorsman who founded the company in 1912 with the Maine hunting boot he designed. The family-owned business recorded sales of more than $1.56 billion in 2013. “The values of our founder are still consistent,” Gorman said. “We don’t answer to Wall Street. We answer to Casco Street, where our office is. “We’re a company that loves the outdoors but also does everything to install that love in its customers.” The long line of waiting Lone Tree customers, many of whom wore L.L. Bean jackets, suggested the company had succeeded with them. The first 200 people in line drew gift cards ranging from $10 to $500. MJ Schloff and Leslie Jones, both of Littleton, were among the lucky five who L.L. Bean continues on Page 17
The Colorado Association of School Boards’ director successfully appealed to the Douglas County School Board to rejoin his organization. The board voted 5-2 during its Nov. 18 meeting to renew membership with CASB, a relationship it severed in 2010. Board members then said DCSD’s inhouse staff already provided the services offered by CASB, without the $23,000 membership fee. But several said they now believe CASB can help Douglas County with school financing and other issues that likely will be debated during the next Colorado legislative session. “I think the benefits of membership could be summarized (in the words) of Benjamin Franklin: ‘If we don’t hang together, we’ll hang separately’,” said board member Craig Richardson, citing concerns about state education funding. Board members Judi Reynolds and Meghann Silverthorn voted against the idea, saying they’re not certain CASB membership will benefit the district. Reynolds’ and Silverthorn’s hesitation, initially expressed during the board’s Oct. 21 meeting, prompted the board to invite CASB director Ken DeLay to the November meeting. DeLay said he sees mutual benefit to DCSD rejoining the association, noting that the two entities are working toward common goals that including waivers from some state requirements. DeLay also said that other member districts could benefit from learning about Douglas County’s education initiatives. DCSD continues on Page 17
From left, Lone Tree Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Millet, Mayor Jim Gunning and economic development director Jeff Holwell talk with LL Bean senior vice president Ken Kacere and LL Bean board chair Shawn Gorman in the Park Meadows store.
Leslie Jones, left, and MJ Schloff, both of Littleton, each won one of a handful a $500 LL Bean gift cards at the store’s grand opening.
School board member Meghann Silverthorn talks with CASB director Ken DeLay during a break in the Douglas County School Board’s Nov. 18 meeting. Photo by Jane Reuter