Chronicle Parker
Parker 6-7-13
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 32
Horsepower
June 7, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourparkernews.com
Town seeks land’s return
Council reverses course on task force facility after getting complaints By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com
Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Robert Rotherham sits atop “Admiral,” who receives a gentle petting from a young admirer at Challenger Regional Park on May 31 after the annual Torch Run/Walk benefiting the Colorado Special Olympics. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
Pressure from Rowley Downs homeowners prompted town council to reconsider a plan to build a new Parker Task Force facility near the entrance of their neighborhood. Town council announced a decision May 28 to ask the nonprofit task force to return the property that the Town of Parker donated for the new building in December. The 8,000-square-foot facility was proposed near Mainstreet and Stonehenge Way, on the east side of town hall. “Although it was the town council’s decision to resolve the disputed issue in this manner, the council is committed to assisting the task force in identifying and acquiring a new site in order to meet its current and future demands for services,” a statement from the town says. The homeowners said they believe there are more appropriate town-owned properties that could be donated to the Parker Task Force, which provides underprivileged Douglas and Elbert county residents with food and support services to help them become self-sufficient. The town says the task force agreed to comply with council’s request to return the one-acre property. Diane Roth, volunteer spokeswoman for the task force, said the move puts the organization “back at square one.” “Of course we’re disappointed by the decision because it’s a setback for the Parker Task Force,” she said. Residents of Rowley Downs sent emails Council continues on Page 9
Armed marshals to patrol county schools Security program will start this fall By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, armed officers will circulate through all Douglas County School District elementary and middle schools and early childhood centers. Armed officers are already present in the district’s high schools. Flanked by Douglas County law enforcement officers, with about 20 Soaring Hawk Elementary fifth-graders seated in front of her, Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen announced the new security program during a May 30 press conference at the Castle Rock school.
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The partnership among DCSD, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Parker, Castle Rock and Lone Tree police departments was created in response to December’s mass shooting in a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. “Our whole school district was brokenhearted over that event,” Fagen said. “We were committed to taking that brokenheartedness and turning it into something better.” Modeled after the airline marshal program, Douglas County deputies and police officers in plain clothes will circulate among schools in close geographic proximity to ensure daily visits to all DCSD schools. It “will create safety and security like we’ve never had before,” Fagen said. “We’re not aware of any other program like this in the country.” Each of Douglas County’s nine high schools already has an armed, uniformed school resource officer. The marshal program expands on that idea, encompassing all schools. DCSD confirmed that its investment is more than $500,000, with the partner law Marshals continues on Page 12
Douglas County Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen, surrounded by local law enforcement officers and Soaring Hawk Elementary fifth-graders, talks to reporters on May 30 about the Douglas County School District’s new armed marshal program. Photo by Jane Reuter