Chronicle Parker
Parker 9-20-2013
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 47
September 20, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourparkernews.com
Convoy brings stranded students home Youths from Pine Grove Elementary were stuck in Estes Park amid flooding By Virginia Grantier
vgrantier@ourcoloradonews.com If someone wondered about a caravan of 15 white Chevy Suburbans, two small buses and a service truck, led by a Douglas County sheriff’s car, leaving the Parker area the afternoon of Sept. 13 — it was just a school principal and school district personnel trying to get their kids back. And they did it. Eighty-seven Pine Grove Elementary School sixth-graders and six adults were supposed to come home Sept. 12 from a 2½-day outdoor education experience at the Estes Park YMCA. But midweek the weather changed, the rains started — and eventually the power went out, and the en-
trance to the camp was flooding, the camp’s bridge was being compromised, and the couple-mile mountain road to the camp was in danger of being washed out. Molly Gnaegy, the school’s principal, and district personnel determined the kids needed to stay up there an extra night, and then on Sept. 13, after making a plan, the decision was made to seize the moment. There was a small window of clear weather and the National Park Service was going to let them travel the only way in — Trail Ridge Road, which was closed to the public so it could used as an emergency access just for situations like theirs. “It was a little risky,” Gnaegy said. But if they didn’t get the kids out that day, there was the possibility with colder weather in the mountains on Sept. 15 that there could be snow conditions on Trail Ridge Road — and then what, they thought. Convoy continues on Page 16
On the afternoon of Sept. 13, Douglas County School District sent a convoy of 15 Chevy Suburbans, two small buses and a service truck, all led by a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy, on a journey to pick up students stranded in Estes Park. Courtesy photo
Gun-rights supporters make point Two recall elections show which side had more passion By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Rueter-Hess Reservoir and Dam, as seen from Hess Road east of Interstate 25. The 72,000-acre-foot reservoir now has around 6,300 acre-feet in storage. A treatment plant to process the water will open in early 2015. Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Water treatment plant taking shape Facility near reservoir to be operational by early 2015 By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com Motorists driving along the western extension of Hess Road have likely noticed a flurry of construction activity near Rueter-Hess Reservoir. The Parker Water and Sanitation District is one year into construction of a $50 million water treatment plant that’s expected to open in the first part of 2015. Beginning in August 2012, crews installed pipelines and other infrastructure and heavily graded the land. Now, they are finishing the foundation, reinforcing the structure with rebar and putting in place key components to the treatment process. By November, passersby will see masonry work and a steel frame over the plant. The finished product will occupy nearly an acre of land and contain some of the most high-tech filtration equipment in the world. Representatives from the Parker Water and Sanitation District have traveled to Japan and France to view state-of-the-art systems in operation. The district has honed in on what it believes are the most efficient active-flow processes, backwash cycles and chemical processes, among many other steps in the quest to produce potable water.
Doug Voss, right, project superintendent for Weaver General Construction, talks about the water treatment plant being built off Hess Road near Rueter-Hess Reservoir on Sept. 5. “There’s a tremendous amount of chemistry involved,” said James Roche, operations manager for the PWSD. Six ceramic membrane filters — at a cost of $1.2 million each — were shipped in from Japan and sit guarded under a wooden frame and heavy-duty shrink wrap. The rest of the building must be constructed around them. The components are costly, but durable, and there
is intent to spend the necessary money now so the plant is well prepared for the long haul. It will eventually have the capacity to churn out 40 million gallons of water per day to meet peak summer demands. Building to spec is a must with such
Plant continues on Page 16
The message that was sent by Pueblo and Colorado Springs voters who turned out to defeat two Democratic state lawmakers in separate recall elections was clear: Don’t mess with our guns. There’s no question which side of the gun-control debate was more energized when the votes were cast Sept. 10. The day marked the defeats of Senate President John Morse and Sen. Angela Giron, in historic recall elections that were spurred by their votes on bills aimed at tougher guncontrol laws. “I think we simply did not realize the extent to which those who support less firearm regulation... were motivated to get to the polls,” said Bob Loevy, a political scientist at Colorado College. “Those who opposed less firearm regulation felt more strongly than those seeking more firearm regulation.” Morse, of Colorado Springs, lost his Senate District 11 seat by 255 votes, in an election that drew about 18,000 voters. Morse’s race was close; Giron’s wasn’t. The Pueblo lawmaker lost by more than 4,000 votes, from more than 34,000 that were cast in the Senate District 3 election. “Giron being recalled in a safe Democratic seat — I’ll say the word, shocking,” said Loevy. “I think the size of her defeat and the fact that the president of the Colorado Senate — somebody who has served in that body for seven years, who is widely respected in the state — sends a powerful message.” State Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, said Morse has only himself to blame for the election loss, for insisting on pursuing “citizen-control” gun bills. Gun continues on Page 16
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