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August 1, 2014 VOLU M E 1 2 | I SS UE 39
ParkerChronicle.net A publication of
D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Judge hears power line arguments Parker-area residents resist Xcel proposal By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com For more than two hours, Parker residents listed reasons why Xcel Energy should not be allowed to install a highpower transmission line through town. The proposal to add the Pawnee-Daniels Park 345-kilovolt line to an existing utility easement has been met with resistance in the form of grassroots groups and displeased homeowners living nearby. The uproar drew enough attention for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission — the regulatory agency that approves or denies such projects — to send Harris Adams, an administrative law judge, to hear public testimony at the Parker Arts, Culture and
Events Center July 23. More than 100 people attended the hearing. While the majority who spoke were against the transmission line — for reasons ranging from possible decreased home values to the impact of electromagnetic fields on health to the potential for excessive noise — some came out in favor. Kevin Hougen, president of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, said power is an “absolute necessity” to ensure the success of economic development. “The time to upgrade the grid is now,” he said. Even George Arellano, who said he lives a half-mile away from the utility alignment, said he doesn’t see any problem with the plan. But several homeowners from Rowley Downs, Hidden River and Canterberry
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Curt Dale, right, a resident of the Hidden River subdivision in Parker, lists his concerns with a proposed transmission line to Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Harris Adams during a meeting July 23 at the PACE Center. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
District rejects federal lunches County high schools won’t adopt what nutrition chief calls ‘strict standards’ By Jane Reuter
jreuter@colorado communitymedia.com
From left, Patrick Zimmerman, Ian Malcolm, Bella Kirshner, volunteer Carlos Castro Robinson and Alison Halula hang out with one of the horses they saved from slaughter. Photo by Christine Robinson
Special-needs group saves horses Cookies sold help to raise money for horse auction By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@colorado communitymedia.com There is nothing more pure in the world than the selfless act of saving a life. An idea for such noble work can come from anyone, and in one recent case, it was the brains behind “Drifter’s Hearts of Hope.” The group of special-needs teens from Parker devised a plan to sell oatand-molasses cookies for horses at local businesses to benefit a rescue in Golden, and that soon morphed into a plan to personally become involved in rescuing equines. With help from Elbert County resident Jacqui Avis, the group raised $1,500 from cookie sales, private donations and
a silent auction July 12. It was enough to save three horses from slaughter at an auction in Fort Collins. Bella Kirshner, a Parker teen with special needs, was the lone member of the group to attend the auction. While walking around the viewing pens, she and her mother, Jean, noticed an old mare being repeatedly kicked by a dominant male horse. They had the mare removed and decided that would be the first horse they would rescue. Drifter’s Hearts of Hope named the horse “Hope,” and it has since become a loving companion, laying its head on the shoulders of special needs children who pay a visit. “I think she knows she was rescued,” Jean Kirshner said. They also picked up a 5-year-old Appaloosa they named “Spirit,” and thanks to a last-minute push by Avis, they wound up with a third horse they did not originally plan on taking home. That one, a paint horse, was later dubbed “Clarity,”
and it has since drawn interest from people who want to adopt it. Through the organization’s Facebook page, they also found separate homes for a miniature horse, donkey and quarter horse, bringing their total rescue tally for the day to six animals. Before the auction, the group put out a plea on its Facebook page for a donation of land. Avis’s neighbor volunteered the land — “the one piece we didn’t have,” Kirshner said — and the special needs kids and their parents repaired fences and got the pasture ready for its grateful new occupants, Hope and Spirit. The group responsible for saving them got a chance to say hello July 24, and everything suddenly became real. “They were just overjoyed and surprised,” Kirshner said of the meeting. Drifter’s Hearts of Hope got its name Horses continues on Page 11
The Douglas County School District is opting its high schools out of the 201415 National School Lunch Program, citing concerns about the stringent level of the program’s newest nutritional requirements. By not accepting the federal funds provided through the program, DCSD does not have to adhere to the standards. The recommendation to leave the program for a year was based on student needs, said Brent Craig, director of DCSD’s Nutrition Services. “I support the USDA and what they’re doing; it’s the right thing to do to help teach kids to eat better,” Craig said. “We’re still committed to healthy food for the high school kids. But we can’t live by those strict standards of sodium and calories.” The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 funds free and reduced-price lunch programs and sets nutrition standards, a key part of first lady Michelle Obama’s fight against child obesity. The latest round of regulations, which went into effect July 1, set nutritional standards that limit the sodium, fat and caloric content of items sold in school vending machines, a la carte lunch lines, in student stores and fundraisers. District continues on Page 11
NUTRITION STANDARDS LIMITS ON calories, sodium, fat and sugar as established in the National School Lunch Program: CALORIE LIMITS ENTRÉES: 350 calories or less SNACKS/SIDES: 200 calories or less SODIUM LIMITS ENTRÉES: 480 mg or less SNACKS/SIDES: 230 mg or less *FAT LIMITS TOTAL FAT: 35 percent of total calories or less SATURATED FAT: 10 percent of total calories or less TRANS FAT: 0 grams *SUGAR LIMITS TOTAL SUGAR: 35 percent of weight or less from total
sugars
*WITH LIMITED exemptions SOURCE: USDA