March 6, 2015 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 1 8
ParkerChronicle.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
Snow days explained by district Team process toward schools’ closure or delay begins in wee hours By Jane Reuter
jreuter @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Mayor Mike Waid encouraged attendees at the State of the Town Feb. 24 to take selfies and post them with the hashtag #ParkerGreat. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Mayor: Town’s state is great Parker’s departments compared to cars in museum By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com Following a “perfectly Parker” theme, Mayor Mike Waid touched on the area’s positive attributes during his annual State of the Town address. Waid likened Parker’s glowing qualities to the shimmering classic cars that surrounded hundreds of guests at the Feb. 24 event at Vehicle Vault, a new museum and storage facility for high-end cars and trucks. The mayor brought up his first car, a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle that encapsulates innovation, performance, reliability, history, beauty, experience and excitement. It was one that gave him “lasting memories and experiences,” he said, much like a town like Parker is supposed to do. When talking about growth, Waid rhetorically asked: “How should we grow? What does growth look like? What is best for our citizens?” The town “could have grown fast and recklessly,” Waid said, before pointing to a nearby 1954 Kaiser Darrin that was designed and
produced in a rush to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette. He said the designers failed to see the flaws that doomed the auto. “Many communities similar to Parker have tried to create the history and uniqueness we have here, but they will probably follow a similar path of the 1954 Kaiser,” he said. “Perfectly Parker...we have it all.” Waid compared the town’s parks and recreation department to a 2009 Ferrari Scudaria in the corner of the museum. He spoke about 2014 successes, including approximately 200 scholarships given to help people with disabilities succeed; a rise in rec center membership and check-ins; more involvement in programs geared toward seniors; recordbreaking numbers for its 5K race series; and the continuing popularity of Barker Days, an annual event that lets dogs have free run of the H2O’Brien Pool. The arts and culture department has increased offerings because elected leaders made the decision to embrace arts and culture in an innovative manner. Waid compared that move to the creation of the 1937 Cord, an automobile with technical innovations like a super-charged engine and front-wheel drive that placed it among the most sought-after vehicles of its time. Waid praised the public works department, an often-overlooked entity that keeps
Against a backdrop of his own face, Mayor Mike Waid takes a selfie while giving the State of the Town address. the town functioning, safe and accessible. He said the department’s reliability is much like that of a 1935 Hudson in the museum’s showroom. Mayor continues on Page 10
Iditarod event celebrates dog lineage Live wolves to be part of event at CU South Denver By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia. com How often does one have the chance to meet a friendly wolf? A pair of wolves will stop by the Liniger Building at CU South Denver from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 7 to mark the beginning of the Iditarod, the “last great race on Earth,” said Christopher Goetz, special events coordinator for CU South Denver, formerly The Wildlife Experience conservation education museum. It’s the fourth annual event
Kaya, one of two wolves brought to The Wildlife Experience last spring by the Colorado Wolf Adventures, spies an admirer from a distance. File photo highlighting the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile dog-sled race across the Alaskan tundra. Visitors can catch a live feed of the start of the race on a 53-foot screen
and cheer on Colorado resident Lachlan Clarke as he embarks on his ninth Iditarod. It’s all part of a celebration of dogs and their lineage. Guests
will receive a history lesson in how canines came to be man and woman’s best friend, Goetz says. Kids and adults alike have the opportunity to pet the wolves and have their picture taken with them. Experts will talk about how modern dogs descended from wolves and became integrated into society, not only as family pets, but as rescuers, trackers, herders, suspect-takedown specialists and therapy companions, to name a few canine careers. “It’s tracing that history from these wolves all the way to what is going on nowadays,” Goetz said. “They’re just such amazing creatures.” Last year, 5-year-old Jordan Usdrowski, of Larkspur, had Dogs continues on Page 10
The Douglas County School District’s Facebook page flamed with angry messages the snowy morning of Feb. 26. “I thought safety was a priority for DCSD; guess not!” “DCSD = Don’t Call Snow Days.” “Valor and Regis are closed. I guess we don’t pay enough to keep our kids safe.” Almost all the 135 posts were from parents, all but a handful upset the district had not canceled or delayed classes. Jeffco and Denver public and several private schools canceled. Two rural Douglas County elementary schools were on 90-minute delays, but all other district schools were on a normal schedule. In Douglas County, consideration about whether or not to cancel or delay classes began about 3 a.m., when most parents and students were sound asleep. That’s when the district sends teams of drivers from the maintenance and transportation departments out to test the roads. Some are in cars, other in school buses. “They crisscross the county and determine if it’s safe to drive on the roads,” said Thomas Tsai, the district’s chief operation officer. At 4 a.m., the district holds a conference call that includes drivers, representatives from Douglas County and the sheriff’s office. In all, more than 35 people have input in the decision. On Feb. 26, the team concluded most of the snow accumulation was on the west side of the metro area and the roads were safe for district employees and students. “Almost any decision we make, you’re guaranteed to have somebody frustrated,” Tsai said, “and we recognize that.” Complicating the weighty decision is Douglas County’s size. “This is a county of about 846 square miles — well over half the size of Rhode Island,” Tsai said. “The storm (of Feb. 25) didn’t hit the county uniformly. Few storms do. I’d love to say everything looks the same from Larkspur to Highlands Ranch, but we did the best with the data we saw at 4 a.m. in terms of our recommendation.” Snow continues on Page 10
Vincent Rickard, right, helps keep girlfriend Julia Kramer warm as the ninth-graders walk home from Highlands Ranch’s STEM Academy on Feb. 26. Photo by Jane Reuter