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January 16, 2015 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 1 1
ParkerChronicle.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
Man guilty in dragging of officer Justin Lamb convicted on 11 of 12 counts By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com
and Cottonwood Drive, Oltmann said. Now situated on the southwest corner of the intersection, Oltmann is proud to extoll the virtues of the new digs, previously
A Douglas County jury handed down a guilty verdict against a man who dragged a Parker police officer while trying to flee. Justin Wayne Lamb, 30, of Salida, was found guilty on 11 of 12 counts after a threeday trial at the Douglas County Justice Center in Castle Rock. The jury — nine men and three women — deliberated for roughly three hours before reaching its verdict Jan. 7. Lamb was found guilty of attempted first-degree assault with extreme indifference, second-degree assault on a peace officer and vehicular eluding with injury, among other charges. He was found not guilty of a Lamb felony charge of kidnapping. Lamb hid for 20 minutes in the back seat of a vehicle that was pulled over in May on South Parker Road near Valley Hi Drive on May 1. The driver was arrested on an outstanding warrant. When Lamb was discovered hiding under items in the back, he was confronted by Parker police officer Glenna Villers. He then jumped into the front seat of the vehicle, and Villers ran around to the driver’s side window and tried to pull the keys from the ignition. Lamb drove for a quarter-mile with Villers hanging onto the steering wheel. The Toyota sedan went over a median, across oncoming traffic, down an embankment and through a fence before coming to a stop. Lamb was found hiding in a tree hours later. Villers did not suffer any serious injuries. Parker Police Chief David King and more than a dozen Parker officers attended the closing arguments Jan. 7 to show support for Villers, who joined the department in 2012. Brian Eckhardt, deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, said the only reason the car stopped was because a fence post went through the radiator, disabling the vehicle. Lamb’s defense attorney, Matt Mulch, denied that Lamb acted with extreme indifference to the value of human life, saying the term “describes a psychopath or a serial killer.” “That does not fit Mr. Lamb. That doesn’t describe what happened that night,” he said.
Funugyz continues on Page 4
Lamb continues on Page 4
Members of the Funugyz team, including co-owners Joe Oltmann, fourth from right, Tim Gibson, second from right, and Andrew Malkoski, far left. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Funugyz makes best of move New location, atmosphere sparks uptick in business By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com Funugyz, a longtime fixture of the Parker bar scene, is making the most of an involuntary move across the street. It was a year and a half ago when the owners of Funugyz were told that the abandoned King Soopers in the Cottonwood Plaza Shopping Center would be rebuilt. The project meant that Funugyz and roughly a dozen tenants in outlying buildings on the opposite side of the parking lot would have to find another place to do business. People weren’t happy about being “pushed out,” but Funugyz used the opportunity to revamp its image, menu and atmosphere, says co-owner Joe Oltmann. The bar officially re-opened Dec. 5 and business has increased dramatically ever since. Natural lighting is the dominant theme in an open layout that’s inarguably more inviting than the subdued, dark environment of the old location. One-hundred-year-old reclaimed bowling lanes from Chicago have
Funugyz moved last month to the south side of Cottonwood Drive, across from its longtime home in the old King Soopers shopping center in Cottonwood. new lives as bar tops. Panels of wood from an old barn demolished in Steamboat Springs last summer were treated and serve as a backdrop in the dining area. It’s a distant cry from the “dive bar mentality” of the former space on the northwest corner of South Parker Road
Stage veteran opening kids’ theater academy Front & Center Theatre Academy opens Jan. 20 By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com Jordan Sommervold remembers exactly what she was thinking at age 12 when she watched her talented older sister singing and performing on a stage. “‘That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be involved in that,’” she recalls. “It made me want to just go for it, and I never looked back.” It was a defining moment, one that guided her down a path that she falls in love with at every turn. Now 28, Sommervold has reached yet another defining point in her life: opening her own musical theater academy in Parker.
She does so with hopes of sharing the joy she felt — and feels — with a new generation kids. The self-described “theater nerd” has spent the past seven years instructing children on the finer points of musicals, all-thewhile maintaining an environment where fun and the idea just being yourself (or someone else entirely) reign supreme. Front & Center Theatre Academy will officially open Jan. 20, with rehearsals at Joy Lutheran Church on Pine Drive near Lincoln Avenue and performances at Parker United Methodist Church near South Parker Road and Pine Drive. The first productions will be selections from “Mary Poppins” for children ages 4-7 and “Annie” for children ages 8-12. The classes will meet once a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with a final performance at the end of the six-week session. Sommervold is also planning a camp for “The Lion King” over
spring break, and is considering “Frozen” as a candidate for the summer sessions. The Colorado native is utilizing not only her knowledge from seven years of teaching, but is applying what she learned in college and the tips she picked up from her older sister, Amy, who inspired her love for performing. “She’s definitely pushed me to be more than I think I can be,” said Sommervold, an actress, singer and dancer. At various times — and sometimes all at once — Sommervold has been in charge of casting, directing, writing, set design, costumes, make-up and choreography. It’s a lot of work, but every time she has the chance to instruct children and enable them to have a good time, “the light goes on for me,” she says. Each child gets a solo and speaking lines, and there is no prior experience required. Theatre continues on Page 4
Jordan Sommervold, owner of Front & Center Theatre Academy, which opens Jan. 20 in Parker. Photo by Chris Michlewicz