January 1, 2016
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A publication of
PARKER THROUGH THE AGES
Proposal for new school debated It would serve students in grades K-8 with emotional and behavioral needs By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Townspeople gather for a horse race with a $10,000 purse. The race’s conclusion, in which the winning horse broke the finish tape with its tongue, still lives on in Parker lore. Courtesy photos
Book captures town’s history Longtime resident compiles photos from town’s past
School continues on Page 9
By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com
WHAT’S INSIDE
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andy Whelchel had only a few months to gather enough photographs to tell the story of Parker’s 150-year history. Every year for five years, the book publisher Arcadia pleaded with Whelchel to compile a fresh installment for its “Images of America” series, which encapsulates the history of small towns in pictures, Whelchel said. And every year, she refused. That is, until June 2014, when she was struck by a sense of responsibility to make sure history lives on — and accurately. With a whirlwind deadline, the process was “labor-intensive” and “stressful,” Whelchel says, but the result was an engrossing compilation of more than 240 photos, some of which have never been publicly released. “Parker (Images of America),” which came out last April, takes residents on a sepia-toned journey through the town’s earliest days all the way up to today, with narratives shedding light on the photo subjects. Book continues on Page 4
The Douglas County School District has proposed a new K-8 school that will be modeled after Plum Creek Academy — which caters to high school students with significant emotional and behavioral needs — to service the same population of children at the elementary and middleschool levels. The proposed school is expected to have a maximum enrollment of about 120 students, depending on the size and space of the facility. District officials said they would like to find a location near the I-25 corridor, but a potential site has not yet been found. Plum Creek Academy, in Highlands Ranch, serves about 50 high school students from throughout the district with severe emotional and behavioral needs. But for younger students, the district
THE TOP FIVE SOUTH METRO STORIES OF THE YEAR
Above, part of the Rowley clan, the family for which the Rowley Downs neighborhood was named, in an undated photo. At left, James Sample Parker, who lived from 1841 to 1910. The town was originally named Parkers’ for the area’s two largest landholders, James and his brother, George.
A look back at
2015 See Page 5
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