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October 17, 2014 VOLU M E 1 2 | I SS UE 50
ParkerChronicle.net A publication of
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D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Riders fight for Call-n-Ride shuttle Parker pays $7.9 million annually for RTD services By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com One after another, audience members stood and described how a proposed change in local bus service would affect their day-to-day lives. Approximately 40 people packed into a room at the Parker Fieldhouse Oct. 9 for a meeting with RTD staff members to discuss the possible elimination of the Call-nRide shuttle in Parker. The service has long struggled with low ridership and has been the subject of proposed cuts in the past. RTD’s board of directors is scheduled to make a decision on Call-n-Ride discontinuances in Parker, Highlands Ranch and Federal Heights during a meeting Oct. 28. Parker’s Call-n-Ride service area covers only about 25 percent of the town, and those fighting for its life suggested expanding the boundaries to include the Clarke Farms and Stroh Ranch neighborhoods
to increase the number of riders. There is an average of two riders per hour, and the minimum threshold for RTD to maintain service is three. Call-n-Ride was already expanded to Cottonwood, and stretching the boundaries further won’t solve any issues because the “service only works with short rides,” said Brian Matthews, bus operations group manager for RTD. Matthews, however, encouraged users to be vocal in their opposition. “People always want to know, do we really listen? Yes,” Matthews said, before noting that he has been in Parker three times before for the proposed elimination of Call-n-Ride and it’s still in existence. The curb-to-curb shuttle began operations in Parker in November 2006. It is mostly used by seniors who are unable to drive, disabled citizens and schoolchildren. Tricia Hennessy, whose kids use Call-nRide to get home from their charter school, said the service not only saves families money but is a “Godsend for working parents.” Bus continues on Page 9
The Call-n-Ride bus waits outside of the Parker Fieldhouse during a meeting Oct. 9 to determine whether there is enough community support to save the curb-to-curb RTD service. About 40 people came out to voice their opposition to the proposed cut. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
It still takes a community to deliver the news
With help from a small team of volunteers, Cassidy Veenstra, of Centennial, looked radiant before going to Ponderosa High School’s homecoming dance last month. Photos by Eric Raum
Boutique primps the Bellas of the ball Girls with spina bifida surprised with party By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @colorado communitymedia.com The four teens didn’t know what to expect when they entered Bonne Bella Boutique & Consignment before going to the homecoming dance. Neither did Christina Harris, the mother of one of the girls, who walked into the store on Pikes Peak Drive for the first time one day earlier. That was Sept. 18, and within 24 hours, Harris and the shop’s owners would assemble a pre-homecoming party that included tiaras, jewelry, hors d’oeuvres, a make-up artist and a professional photographer, culminating in an unforgettable night. It started when Harris stopped to shop for accessories for her daughter’s homecoming dress. She got into conversation with Floyd Bruns, whose wife, Bonnie, opened the boutique on Pikes Peak Drive in April. When Bruns suggested a sparkling
From left, Maddie Teagarden, Cassidy Veenstra and Hannah Stofac, who have spina bifida, were surprised with a full beauty makeover at Bonne Bella Boutique in downtown Parker before Ponderosa’s homecoming dance. piece of “bling” that would look good when the girls were dancing, Harris told him that the girls wouldn’t be dancing because they were in wheelchairs. Bruns learned that the girls have spina bifida and were going as each other’s dates to Ponderosa High
School’s homecoming dance. “It struck my heart,” Bruns said. Harris, who only recently moved to Parker from Glenwood Springs, noticed Boutique continues on Page 9
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