Chronicle Parker 6-21-13
Parker
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 34
June 21, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourparkernews.com
Jewelry thief gets 48 years 53-year-old is ‘career criminal,’ judge says By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com
A group of teens enjoys the thrill of the “Freak Out” carnival ride. There were more rides at this year’s Parker Days Festival than in years past. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Festival generates fun, funds Parker Days attracts at least 120,000 By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcolorado news.com Almost as soon as the hustle and bustle arrives for the Parker Days Festival, it moves on to the next town. The work involved with creating the temporary village of stages, booths and carnival rides is staggering. Structures tower over downtown Parker, making for an odd, albeit shortlived, skyline. Joyful noises and a collective of wonderful smells pour from Mainstreet and O’Brien Park. The time and effort involved in making sure everything goes according to plan is no easy feat either. Events Etc., an event planning firm hired by the Parker Chamber of Commerce, made a few minor tweaks to the configuration that helped foot traffic flow more smoothly for
this year’s festival, with rides starting June 13 and the threeday event running June 14-16. Delightful weather also was part of the recipe for success in 2013. Attendance at this year’s Parker Days Festival closely matched numbers from 2012. Dan Rodriguez, president of the Parker chamber, said 120,000 to 140,000 people attended the three-day festival and sales figures closely matched those seen in 2012. Organizers saw a “substantial increase” in traffic on Friday after scheduling the headlining music act then instead of Saturday, but Saturday remained the busiest day, Rodriguez said. Sunday attendance was down roughly 10-20 percent, partly because of light early afternoon rain showers and the fact that it was Father’s Day. More carnival rides, an improved sound system, and a change to the VIP tent were the Fun continues on Page 12
Former Parker resident Taylor Crawford, who has been a regular at the Parker Days Festival for 10 years, teaches his 15-month-old son Keaton how to wave at the parade participants on the morning of June 15.
A Douglas County District Court judge showed no leniency to a man who showed no remorse for committing his 13th felony. Prosecutors for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Thomas Hild’s criminal record speaks for itself. Prior to his latest indiscretion, Hild had been convicted of 12 felonies — forgery, third-degree burglary, repeated driving infractions, leaving the scene of an accident and escape among them — and has been in and out of prison since 1978. Hild’s latest felony conviction — this one for a brazen, four-hour-long heist that netted $480,000 Hild in jewelry — was the final straw for Douglas County District Court Judge Paul A. King, who referred to the defendant as a “career criminal” before handing down a 48-year prison sentence June 14. Hild, 53, was arrested in May 2012 after the Parker Police Department identified him as one of three suspects in a burglary at Apex Jewelers two months earlier. Detective Penny VanDenBerg said Hild was recruited for his ability to drill through the wall of an adjacent vacant store and break into a safe using heavy-duty construction tools. Hild’s alleged co-conspirators, Charles Williams and Daniel Delgado, face separate trials. Laura Wilson, deputy district attorney, said the men would have gotten away with the crime if not for good detective work by VanDenBerg, who spotted Delgado on surveillance video going through a nearby McDonald’s drive-thru while the alleged burglary was taking place. VanDenBerg said Delgado was supposed to be the “lookout.” Hild was found guilty on all eight charges he faced after a four-day jury trial in late February. Three of Hild’s relatives attended the June 14 sentencing hearing, in which Hild continues on Page 12
Market deals in fresh food, air Farmers offer goods on Sundays in Parker By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcolorado news.com One Sunday morning trip to downtown Parker is enough to show why families have turned regular visits into a summer-long ritual. The town’s most recognized corridor — the section of Mainstreet east of South Parker Road — is the idyllic venue for the Parker Farmers’ Market, which this year
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
has a record 80 vendors. Booths stacked with fresh breads, jars of exotic jellies, just-picked veggies, locally grown produce and other wares line Mainstreet between Pikes Peak Drive and the eastern end of Victorian Drive. The farmers’ market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday from Mother’s Day through October. Although it has changed locations over the years, market organizers seem to have found a permanent home on Mainstreet. It was only six years ago that 40 vendors were forced to squeeze into a small church parking lot. Extra space has increased visibility and made the market more accessible. The crowd is a mix of young families, empty-nesters and retirees, all of whom enjoy the vast selection of natural foods and friendly chatter with the vendors. Many of the booth-minders have
personally overseen the crops, or, in the case of Boulder-based Wild Alaska Salmon, pulled the product from the sea. “The fisherman was there himself selling the salmon,” said Jason Williams, who purchased the Parker Farmers’ Market with his wife, Jillane, back in April. “It’s things like that that we want at the market.” Williams said he has every intention of maintaining the charm of the market and sensibly building on its 13-year tradition. That’s good news for people like Kayte Quinn, a married mother of a 13-month-old. She lives in the nearby Town & Country Townhomes and has become a frequent customer at the Parker Farmers’ Market. “I like having all of the vendors in one place, and they’re mostly local vendors who always have fresh fruit and produce,” Quinn
A customer loads a bag with fresh vegetables at the Parker Farmers’ Market. Courtesy photo said. “Since we have a child now, we’re trying to get more organic, locally grown food.” The market attracts an estimated 4,000 to 7,000 people each week, said Nanci Simmons, who
owned and expanded the market in recent years and has stayed on as a consultant. Even after rattling off some of the goods that can be Market continues on Page 12