1-Color
January 16, 2014
50 cents Adams County, Colorado | Volume 50, Issue 23 A publication of
northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com
Hickenlooper: State of state is strong Governor touts economy during annual address By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Gov. John Hickenlooper sounded like a man running for re-election during his annual State of the State address inside the Capitol on Jan. 9, as he touted Colorado’s economic rebound and called on lawmakers to “ignore divisive politics.” The governor sounded themes of unity throughout his speech, but particularly when he lauded Coloradans’ resilience during times of tragedy last year — which led to one of the most enthusiastically-received lines of the day. “Colorado does not shutdown. Colorado does not quit. Colorado does not break,” he said, to a standing ovation inside the House chamber, where all 100 state lawmakers were gathered. Hickenlooper hyped Colorado as a magnet for businesses and a state where job numbers continue to grow. And, for the most part, he stayed away from contentious issues that dominated the Legislature last year. While Democrats walked away glowingly from the governor’s speech, many Republicans voiced a “wait and see” response. “Well it felt good, but let’s see if those feelings continue for the rest of the year,” said Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock. “When he talked about not wanting parties to lock down, I hope he holds to that with his own party.” Much of the governor’s speech focused on the state’s improving economic numbers. Hickenlooper said that the state has experienced a significant rebound in job numbers since 2010, when the state was ranked 40th in the nation in job growth. State continues on Page 15
Students at Monterey Community School divvy up supplies for a class lesson on the first day of school. Mapleton Public Schools kicked off its Attendance Campaign at the beginning of the school year, and has engaged parents in conversations about the importance of attendance at all parent teacher conferences, family nights and other events. Photo courtesy Mapleton Public Schools
Mapleton works to lower absenteeism
Board wants to reduce average truancy level By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@coloradocommunitymedia.com On average, students in the Mapleton district miss between four and five school days a year, and officials are working on curbing that number. Attendance is directly correlated to a student’s achievement as well as high school graduation, said Sue-Lin Toussaint,
director of Student Support Services. “Students who are chronically absent are more likely to fall behind academically and eventually drop out of school,” she said. “We want our students present so that they can connect to their school community, achieve academic success and graduate.” The Board of Education has set a goal to lower its absent average to 3.4 days per the school year, which is 170 days. The district kicked off its Attendance Campaign at the beginning of the school year, which included handing out informa-
tional flyers and discussing with parents the importance of attending school and establishing a Truancy Committee. The committee is tasked with analyzing attendance trends and setting goals to lower the truancy level. An attendance trend already identified is that there was a spike in absenteeism in first, sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th grades last year in Mapleton. “There are a variety of reasons students miss school, from illnesses and doctors’ appointments to transportation issues and Mapleton continues on Page 15
Park to get improvements By Ashley Reimers
areimers@coloradocommunitymedia. com
Gov. John Hickenlooper motions to his cabinet, seated in the House chambers in the Colorado State Capitol, during the State of the State speech in Denver on Jan. 8. Photo by Hannah Garcia POSTAL ADDRESS
With the help of grant funding, Bell Roth Park in Thornton will receive a needed upgrade. The park at Milky Way and Pecos Street, is also in the Hyland Hills Park and Recreation District boundaries and is managed by the district. Joann Cortez, communications director for Hyland Hills, said the district received 47 percent of the funding from Adams County Open Space and the rest of the funding will be contributed by Hyland Hills. The total cost of the park improvement is $350,800 and will include an eight-foot wide concrete trail that will connect to existing trails, new volleyball courts and playground equipment. Picnic tables will be added to the area as
Bell Roth Park in the Hyland Hills Park and Recreation District at Pecos Street and Milky Way will be getting an update in the next few weeks to include new park equipment, picnic tables and barbecue grills. Photo by Ashley Reimers well as barbecue grills and improved ADA accessibility. “We are hoping to get going on this project post-haste so our residents can enjoy the improvements by summer,” Cortez said.
NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL (ISSN 1044-4254) (USPS 854-980)
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The surrounding neighborhoods in Federal Heights and Thornton are made up of high density, multi-family housing with minimal amenities. Cortez said the 11.5acre park is already very popular among
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Park continues on Page 15
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