Parker Chronicle 0508

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MAY 8, 2020

THE SOUND OF HOPE First responders play bagpipes amid COVID-19 crisis P18

DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

SPECIAL REPORT

‘EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS DIFFERENT’ Hero’s parents urge community to remember STEM tragedy Page 4

STORES OPEN DOORS

TOWN TAKES A HIT

Merchants greet customers as rules relax P2

Parker expects steep revenue decline from virus P3

PITCHING IN

Senior hurler keeps working with eye toward college

P24

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INSIDE

VOICES: PAGE 16 | LIFE: PAGE 18 | SPORTS: PAGE 24

ParkerChronicle.net

VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 25

2 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

Parker stores see huge support on reopening Douglas County retail open with social distancing, mask guidelines

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Some Parker retail stores partially reopened May 1, allowing customers to shop indoors for the first time since the state-issued stay-at-home order began March 26.

The Tri-County Health Department extended its stay-at-home order for Arapahoe and Adams counties. But the regional health agency exempted Douglas County from the order due to the county’s slower rate of COVID-19 cases.

Parker Shoppes, a boutique retail at 10685 Parker Road, is among the merchants that reopened May 1. Owner JoDee Dean said the store does not require shoppers to wear cloth face coverings, but most have been wearing masks anyway.

Prominently displayed near the front door is a selection of masks with different designs. Dean said they have sold out of the $8 disposable cloth face coverings since they started selling.

Retail stores in Douglas County can operate at about 50% of the building’s capacity. Six-foot social distancing guidelines must be enforced, and employees must wear face coverings.

Despite the new rules, Dean said business on May 1 was up 41% from the previous year. One loyal customer of hers, she said, took the day off work just to come visit the store.

“We’re part of their community, their tribe, their people,” Dean said.

Even before May 1, Parker Shoppes was deemed essential for its sale of propane and remained open a few hours a day, four days a week.

Dean usually counts on Mother’s Day and springtime, one of the most lucrative seasons of the year. To be able to open, Dean “quadrupled” her staff ’s cleaning and disinfecting efforts, implementing guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to remain 6 feet apart.

“We’ve been surviving,” Dean said.

Parker Shoppes owner JoDee Dean, left, and marketing manager Karen Carter exhibit how they remind themselves to keep six feet of distance while at work.

NICK PUCKETT “It’s been hard and it’s been scary because we have people who are not working now for us. We’re very conscious getting them back as soon as we can.”

On the first day stores could open, Mainstreet in downtown Parker was abuzz. With the sun shining and a high of 84 degrees that day, folks strolled Mainstreet and enjoyed the ability to shop where they could.

Parker Panache owner Brenda Zdanowicz said business was the best it had been all year.

“People almost fall into two camps,” Zdanowicz said. “They’re staying home and not having any part of it, or they’re just like, ‘I’m getting on with my life. I’m not going to worry about it.’ They’re just going to live life how they did. That’s how (May 1) felt.

People were still cautious and respectful of one another, but it was almost like ‘I’ll wear the mask out of respect of you not because I really feel I need to.’”

The Parker Shoppes opened again May 1, now selling fashionable, disposable face shields. The owners encourage customers to wear masks while shopping but they are not required to do so.

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Parker Chronicle 3

May 8, 2020

Parker expects steep revenue decline from virus Town plans to furlough 500 part-time workers, trim costs

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Parker Town Council gave preliminary approval May 4 to an ordinance trimming the town’s budget by $13 million, anticipating a hit to its year-end revenue of 25% as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown.

The ordinance to officially revise the town’s budget was passed on first reading. The second, or final, reading is scheduled for May 18.

The town on May 5 released details of its plan, under which the town will furlough 500 part-time employees and institute a hiring freeze. All town facilities will be closed for five days, intermittently, throughout the rest of 2020.

Town employees will be furloughed while facilities are closed, except for commissioned police officers and employees in public safety or emergency related positions, according to the town’s May 4 staff report.

Also, non-required employee training has been canceled, and eco-

nomic development incentives have be reduced.

Closures to the town’s cultural facilities are expected to cost the department $600,000. The town is offsetting that loss by canceling the Discovery Park summer concert series and reduced the budget for nationally touring acts.

The Parker Stars and Stripes Fourth of July Celebration and the Cattle Crossing Race have officially been canceled, according to the town’s May 5 release. The Mainstreet holiday lights will be scaled back.

The recreation fund will be reduced by $1.2 million.

The town suspended publication of its Talk of the Town newsletter and recreation season brochure and will provide digital delivery for the remainder of 2020.

Parker has postponed major street resurfacing projects. The O’Brien Park playground renovation, Parker Road Corridor Plan, and Parker Road Mainstreet concept design have been put on hold.

The Chambers Road/Stroh Road sub-area plan has been eliminated, as has the town’s retail demand study.

The town also budgeted $1 million in “unplanned” COVID-19 response expenses.

Douglas County offices begin phased reopening New remote and in-person services increase choices STAFF REPORT

Thousands of residents and businesses seeking services from Douglas County over the past several weeks discovered what could be achieved without leaving their homes, businesses or job sites.

“Leveraging the combination of the county’s and our customers’ investment in technology, as well as the devotion of our employees, resulted in time saved, efficiencies realized and made it possible to quickly transition to online and other remote services delivery,” Douglas County Board of Commissioners Chair Roger Partridge said in a news release.

Recognizing that there are those who prefer a face-to-face transaction and some services that do require a visit to county facilities, the county’s Human Services and Philip S. Miller County Administration buildings are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to

Friday, effective May 4, the release said.

“With ongoing public safety among our top priorities, we will open and appropriately staff these facilities to provide another layer of access to needed county services,” Partridge said in the release.

Additionally, beginning May 4, paperwork drop boxes are available at the county’s Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, and Castle Rock motor vehicle offices. The drop boxes will serve Motor Vehicle and Recording Division customers, the Veteran’s Affairs Office and the Assessor’s Office (including remote appeals).

In-person appointments will be made available for critical services in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office beginning May 11. Appointments will be scheduled when a transaction cannot be completed online, by phone, MVExpress kiosk, or by paperwork drop box.

In-person appointments for driver’s licenses and passports will begin in the coming weeks as full staff resumes work on-site and as other services are restored over time.

COVID-19 Community Response Assistance is as close as your phone or computer. We understand that this is a difficult time for many in our community. Douglas County is ready to help you find support. Call 303.688.4825 for information about human services countywide including: *Food, shelter and childcare emergency assistance *Aging, employment and disability resources *Physical and mental healthcare The call center is staffed 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday to answer your questions and provide assistance. Call to speak with department staff or visit DouglasCOVID19.com

May is Mental Health Month Everyone face challenges in life that can impact their mental health. The Douglas County Mental Health Initiative has resources to help you navigate these challenging times. For more information visit douglas.co.us/mental-health-initiative

It’s Wildfire Season It only takes one spark to change your life forever. Thankfully, it takes only seconds to sign up for free emergency notifications at douglas.co.us/CodeRed/ ensuring that you will be in the know if a wildfire is happening near you.

What’s happening with your County government?

Our commitment to open and transparent government includes online posting of information about all public meetings at which the business of government is conducted. To view agendas for various public meetings, visit douglas.co.us and search for Meetings and Agendas.

DoItOnlineDouglas.com

4 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

For grieving parents, ‘everything in life is different’ One year later, Kendrick Castillo’s parents urge community to remember STEM

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

By April 24, John Castillo had begun struggling to sleep. May 7 was approaching — the day he and his wife, Maria, lost their only child. With each passing day, anxiety built up a little more.

“I didn’t know what my emotional realm would be,” he said by Zoom interview that afternoon.

John began thinking about his son, 18-year-old Kendrick, more and more as the one-year mark of Kendrick’s death drew near.

Kendrick was fatally shot May 7, 2019 while he and fellow students Brendan Bialy and Josh Jones rushed a student who is set to face trial for his alleged role in the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch last year.

A second shooter pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Eight students were injured in the attack.

Kendrick, Brendan and Josh are credited with saving lives that day.

Kendrick is remembered as a hero.

One year later, John and Maria tearfully reflected on a tumultuous 12 months. John hopes his words will help people and keep Kendrick’s memory alive.

As time goes on, he fears people’s memories of his son will fade. Or, that they will think less often of STEM, particularly now as a global pandemic consumes the world’s attention.

That’s why he still tells his story, difficult as it is.

“Everywhere you turn, everything in life is different after an event like this. Nothing is as easy as it was before,” John said.

‘One of a kind’ On April 30, John and Maria sat in front of Kendrick’s grave, as they do every afternoon. The couple has not missed a day visiting Kendrick since his death. The only exceptions were a couple out-of-state trips for speaking engagements. For those, Maria packed pictures of Kendrick to take along.

When they returned, they drove straight from the airport to see Kendrick, as they put it.

Maria gently tended to the roses by his headstone and straightened little gifts left for him. A small cow, for Kendrick’s favorite, Chick-fil-A, where he loved to eat with friends. A columbine flower left by a survivor of the Columbine High School mass shooting. Tools from technology students Kendrick mentored.

May 7, then one week away, now had John reflecting on the days leading up to the shooting. If he could have known what his son would face that day, maybe he could have helped.

John and Maria Castillo sit beside the grave of their son, Kendrick, who was shot and killed during the STEM School shooting a year ago. They are reflected on the polished surface of another nearby headstone.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA GIBBS

A number of items at Kendrick Castillo’s grave honor things he loved — a small cow to remember his times eating Chick-fil-A with friends, a columbine flower left by a Columbine survivor, tools from technology students he mentored and more.

He could have kept him home from school, he thought.

The Castillos quietly looked at Kendrick’s grave as the sun hung over Douglas County’s foothills, shining across Kendrick’s headstone. Birds sang nearby, bringing a lighter mood to the scene. The soothing sound of running water from nearby fountains filtered around them.

Sometimes, deer gather by the cemetery and eye them, John said. The deer enjoy munching on roses they bring Kendrick, particularly in the winter. John and Maria come back to find only stems, he said, chuckling.

The botanical-gardens cemetery in Douglas County where Kendrick rests, Seven Stones, focuses on healing

through nature, director of customer care Becky Holm said. She quickly became friends of the Castillos, having seen them nearly every day this past year. The couple brought “a sense of peace to the gardens,” she said.

Sometimes John and Maria see someone they know at the cemetery, which is near Chatfield State Park.

Other times people recognize them while visiting. Either way, the Castillos are open with everyone, she said.

“Last week another family lost their son too young to cancer, and they prayed with them after the service,” Holm said. “That’s a very common occurrence, that the Castillos will pray with other families that have just lost their loved ones, and it’s very welcome

all around.”

Not far from Kendrick’s grave is the resting place of Zackari Parrish, the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office deputy fatally shot on Dec. 31, 2017, while trying to assist a mentally ill man from Highlands Ranch. The Castillos’ victim’s advocate was a friend of Parrish, John said, who told them about Seven Stones.

Holm said it did not take the Castillos long to find the perfect spot for Kendrick — right next to a trio of column sculptures made of Colorado basalt. The memorial reminded John and Maria of their family of three.

Being in Kendrick’s presence while surrounded by nature is comforting, John said. The shift to springtime brought an added sense of peace as the world came to life. Plants began to grow. He liked listening to the birds chirp.

When people get too busy, they do not always notice the changing of the seasons, John said. Going to Seven Stones gave him a renewed appreciation for that. Maria thinks Seven Stones is less scary than other cemeteries, John said as she smiled.

John remembers Kendrick as a calming presence in his life.

Kendrick never hated or got angry, he said. If John got upset at a driver on the road, Kendrick was the one to talk him down. When Kendrick was a child, he once put himself in timeout after his parents scolded him.

Kendrick was not afraid to show his faith. He quietly prayed over a Taco Bell meal when eating out, and never did it so people would see him, John said. That was “just his demeanor. He was brave that way.”

SEE STEM, P5

Parker Chronicle 5

May 8, 2020

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

STEM FROM PAGE 4

Kendrick loved the outdoors, space and robotics. He set goals and worked toward them. When friends fought, he tried to bring them together. He stood up for what was right, and ultimately died living by that standard, John said.

“He truly was one of a kind,” John said.

Pain persists amid new crisis The family’s grief and anxiety has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. John, a diabetic, is at risk for the pneumonia-like disease that is more lethal for people with underlying conditions.

The pandemic also prompted many governments, including Colorado, to ban gatherings and issue a stay-athome order that recently expired in Douglas County, creating more challenges in the Castillos’ grief process.

“The support that we probably normally would have isn’t there right now. That’s been a very difficult thing,” John said when the order was in place. “There is a big distraction.

We know that they’re concerned for their families.”

COVID-19 spurred a painful drawing out of the open case against the older suspect, who pleaded not guilty in January. The suspect’s trial was rescheduled from May to September.

The second teenager is scheduled to be sentenced in May, but it’s possible the pandemic will delay that hearing as well.

John worries trial jurors will feel uncomfortable serving during the pandemic and won’t focus.

“It’s been difficult. The COVID-19 situation has thrown an interesting twist on a lot of things that we just, I guess, never thought of before,” John said. “From a survivor standpoint, it does play heavy on our minds, what justice will look like going forward with this new twist of a pandemic.”

COVID-19 also ruined original plans to honor Kendrick on May 7.

John wanted to hold a candlelight vigil to speak about his faith and the importance of family values. The pandemic rendered that impossible.

Instead, he and Maria will have a small gathering of friends and family at Seven Stones with a prayer service and bagpipes.

When there, he and Maria read kind notes left at Kendrick’s grave by friends. That uplifts them. They think of his friends around the one-year mark, too.

“It also hurts our hearts that they’re suffering the loss that we are. They are suffering the pain as well,” John said. “We think and wonder about those kids every day and how they are making it through.”

Being tested John and Maria thought seriously about moving closer to Kendrick.

There are too many memories in their Denver home, he said, which sits 17 miles from Seven Stones. The couple

Among the gifts John and Maria bring Kendrick is a small Bronco figurine from John, and a small Jeep, like the one Kendrick drove.

JESSICA GIBBS Kendrick Castillo is shown before his last prom at STEM School.

COURTESY PHOTO looked at some properties before COVID-19 geared up and made selling their home, in their view, impossible.

For now, they are working on home improvement projects to make their property more sellable.

The pandemic changed their work plans, too.

Maria, a chef, and John, an engineer in the hotel industry, are both on sabbatical and have been since May 7, 2019. John expected his employer to reevaluate his work status in June or July before COVID-19 hit but doubts he can return to work under the pandemic.

The couple’s grief symptoms worsened as they weathered both crises.

After losing their son, John and Maria battled sleep deprivation. During the pandemic that grew worse.

They stay up, restless, until 12:30 a.m., 1 a.m., 2 a.m., and wake up by 4:30 or 5 a.m.

Each morning John puts on coffee.

They drink their cups next to a wall covered in photos of Kendrick — prom photos, senior photos and one signed by his senior class — while thinking about ways to occupy their time. John does yardwork, waters plants and grows vegetables.

John and Maria typically visit Kendrick in the afternoons. On especially hard days, the Castillos skip coffee at home, grab a Starbucks and drive to Seven Stones, where they sit in the gardens. They often return again on those days to spend more time with him.

An added challenge during the pandemic was losing the ability to leave the house. Like most people, John said, the couple is limiting time away from home, only getting groceries every three to four weeks.

They mostly leave to fuel their vehicle at Costco so they can go to and from the cemetery, which feels safe because they are often alone there.

Before COVID, John spent time at the state Capitol, but work under the dome came to “a screeching halt.”

“I will say that it doesn’t matter what we’re involved in,” John said.

“There always comes a point at the end of the day when we’re having dinner. There is just a calm, empty time where we eat, we think about

Kendrick, and it’s difficult, extremely difficult, for about an hour.”

This experience has tested them in many ways they didn’t expect, John said.

Significantly, it tested their faith.

The couple wanted 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler to pursue the death penalty in the older suspect’s case, but they are devout Catholics and John knows capital punishment is against their doctrine, he said.

Brauchler announced through court documents filed in March he would not seek the death penalty, noting jurors would have to consider the 19-year-old suspect’s age and lack of serious prior offenses.

John said at the time he believes justice for Kendrick means the suspect giving up his life. John hopes people will not judge him and Maria for their stance on the death penalty. No one could understand unless also in their place, he said.

“It pits our loss against our spiritual beliefs,” John said.

The experience also sharpened his views on the importance of strong family systems, and the need to be informed community members. He urged people to understand local laws and get involved in shaping policy.

If people want to support survivors of mass violence, they should pay attention to how the criminal justice system works, he said. He stressed victim impact statements in the STEM case will have influence years into the future if the convicted shooter seeks parole.

John is eager for solutions to school safety and believes it starts with strong families. Court hearings revealed the younger suspect grew up amid abuse and neglect, and is accused of masterminding the shooting, then coercing the older suspect into aiding him.

Washington Post reporter Robert Klemko tweeted that March 2020 was the first March without a school shooting in the U.S. since 2002. John called that profound.

“I thought, how ironic,” he said. “Is this what it takes to end the cycle of terror and violence that takes place in our schools?”

Crushing clarity Talking about Kendrick often

overwhelms Maria.

For most of the past year, she let John take the lead during news interviews at court hearings and serve as their spokesman in other situations.

She’s never far from John’s side, though, usually listening with a tearstricken face and quiet sobs.

When she does speak, Maria moves people deeply. She left a packed courtroom weeping in November 2019 after she testified during a hearing that decided the 16-year-old suspect would be tried as an adult, not a juvenile, if his case had progressed to trial.

Kendrick, she said, was her life.

As John spoke on April 24, Maria sat nearby listening and overcome with emotion. She later wrote her thoughts down in an email, describing the past year as a personal hell. She is angry and in pain. She usually stays home, sometimes sitting at her computer searching for answers and information.

“Even going to church is extremely difficult, seeing other families together,” she said, “and mine is not complete anymore.”

Maria misses Kendrick’s hugs, “his beautiful smile,” his jokes and everything they used to do together, all stolen “by one evil day.” She would trade places with him if she could.

Kendrick had too much to live for, she said.

“He was not only my only child, he was my best friend, my life, everything that we did was for him and with him,” Maria said.

John said time failed to lessen their pain.

“I wish I could say that things have gotten better, or seem like we have, but honestly, it doesn’t feel much different than this time last year. I guess the only difference is there’s a sense of clarity now,” John said.

That clarity makes the grief stronger. For months after the tragedy, John and Maria felt a sense of denial. They lived in a fog. Now, the shock and disbelief of Kendrick’s death has worn off. His loss feels more real.

“I never knew a person could be in shock for many months,” John said.

‘A really bad nightmare’ The Castillos frequently close down Seven Stones.

Holm, the director of customer care, doesn’t mind if they come in late at night, such as after a long court hearing, or leave after she does. John and Maria fasten the gate when they leave and make sure the grounds are locked up.

“They can come and go as they please, whatever they need,” Holm said. “They’re family. There’s no other way to describe it. We’re sad that they have to be there, but we love having them.”

John said Holm is special. He and Maria will keep seeing her around as they visit Kendrick, taking each day as it comes.

“It seems like just a really bad nightmare that you’re never going to wake up from,” he said. “We made it through one year. What’s the next year going to be like?”

6 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

A year toward recovery complicated by virus STEM School Highlands Ranch weathers back-to-back crises

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For Penny Eucker, executive director of STEM School Highlands Ranch, one of the more challenging aspects of preparing for May 7 was finding the right words for that day.

“We really don’t have a word in the English language to use for a tragedy’s coming around,” she said. “I don’t want to use the word ‘anniversary.’ I don’t want to use the word ‘commemorate.’ We don’t want to use a word that has any hint of celebration. We just use ‘one-year mark,’ because there isn’t a word that’s appropriate.”

On May 7, 2019, a shooting left eight STEM students injured and 18-yearold senior Kendrick Castillo dead.

The behavioral health disaster response team at AllHealth Network immediately activated. A crisis center opened the following morning. Disaster response evolved into the longerterm effort of disaster recovery.

That summer, the school started discussing how best to address the one-year mark once it came about.

Knowing how each person will react on that date is impossible, Eucker said. With 1,800 students and 2,800 parents, the school had to prepare for vastly diverse reactions to trauma.

That sentiment was echoed among numerous school and mental health leaders who shepherded STEM’s recovery this past year. Grief is as unique as the person. Managing disaster recovery is a day-by-day, person-byperson journey.

Then enter the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered schools across the state to in-person learning. Suddenly, the STEM community was weathering two school years in a row disrupted by crisis.

“Nothing prepares you for a tragedy of this magnitude,” Eucker said. “We had trained extensively for emergencies, for lockdowns, but just like a global pandemic, nothing prepares you for the magnitude of events that are unthinkable.”

‘The year of firsts’ Hannah Reese, STEM’s recovery coordinator, spent this school year connecting students with care and coordinating mental health education.

“Often we refer to the first year as the year of firsts, and for everyone, you have to get through the first day of school, and the first winter break,” Reese said.

Marina Altmann Godoy, 13, decided before COVID-19 she would not go to school on May 7. The seventh grader now attends Cresthill Middle School in Highlands Ranch but was a STEM School student last year.

Her plan was to get away from the scenery of school and grab doughnuts

STEM School Highlands Ranch is weathering back-to-back crises, between last year’s shooting and this year’s global pandemic.

JESSICA GIBBS with family on the one-year date.

That’s what she did during the first lockdown drill this school year.

Marina was home sick during the second drill. By the third, she felt relieved. It went easier than expected.

Marina participated from a room without a speaker, so she did not have to hear announcements. That helped.

Still, she got frustrated seeing some students mess around during the exercise.

“It might be a day where it’s not a drill,” she said. “To them it’s probably like that same old drill that you do. To people like me, it’s like, oh yeah, we could be in danger.”

Evan Forster is a behavioral health clinician with AllHealth who embedded in STEM for the year. Many students transitioned back well, he said.

“But there were definitely kids that were more responsive to unexpected loud noises in the hallway happening and experiencing heightened anxiety related to being in different areas of the school,” he said. “Especially surrounding drills.”

To help, Forster scheduled student meetings during fire drills. When alarms sounded, he walked students through “grounding techniques,” like deep breathing and identifying the situation as a drill.

During lockdown drills, Forster sat in classrooms to be a reassuring presence. If students experienced “heightened emotions,” Forster reminded

them it was practice and they were safe.

Eucker said STEM tried to alert parents about drills beforehand and immediately posted to social media when a drill was underway. Instead of the PA system blaring an alarm, staff spoke announcements in a calming voice.

“We are going to have a drill,” the announcements would say. “This is just a drill.”

STEM took numerous steps to help students ease back into the year. The school reconfigured classrooms in a different orientation and redecorated.

The school also reconfigured classrooms 107 and 109, the scene of the shooting. Walls came down. Access to those rooms changed. Every room in the area now has a different number.

The numbers 107 and 109 no longer exist.

A year of challenges Other obstacles arose as the community searched for answers following the tragedy.

Families including John and Maria Castillo, whose son, Kendrick, was fatally shot that day; and Brendan Bialy sued the school for injuries and wrongful death. Bialy rushed a gun-wielding student at the onset of the shooting with Kendrick and fellow student Josh Jones.

The suits alleged STEM missed warning signs that the suspects could

become violent and mishandled threats to STEM’s safety.

Kendrick’s mother, Maria, said by email she spends hours researching the school. The family’s suit remains open.

“I have discovered many things that we did not know about the school where our precious child, Kendrick, was murdered,” she said. “I did my job as a mother, unfortunately, I trusted the wrong people with everything I had.”

COVID-19 has also drawn out the two ensuing criminal cases involving the shooting suspects.

The younger attacker, Alec McKinney, pleaded guilty in February and awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled this month. The hearing could be delayed. The older suspect, Devon Erickson, was supposed to begin trial this month after pleading not guilty in January. That was pushed back to September.

A term-limited 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler wanted nothing more than to finish both cases before he leaves office this year, he said.

Victims need closure, and the criminal cases are the last formal reminder of the tragedy, he said, except only for the civil suits. Brauchler is not sure he can deliver that amid the pandemic.

COVID-19 further creates uncertainty around holding court hearings.

Large gatherings are banned. Will people be forced to view hearings remotely? How does that affect transparency? Brauchler is waiting for answers to those questions and more.

“As we approach May the 7th, I really thought we’d be in a different position,” Brauchler said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

‘STEM is trying its best’ Throughout this experience, Reese focused on the unity she sees among STEM’s children, their empathy for one another and is “continuously astounded” by how quickly the community can rally together.

Forster hoped the community would find creative ways to connect during the isolation of COVID-19.

“We were definitely anticipating being able to be together in person as we approached this one-year mark,” Reese said.

While the pandemic forces isolation on the community as a whole — through stay-at-home orders and the banning of gatherings — there have been positives, Lakshmi Ganapaneni said.

The 14-year-old sophomore at STEM said COVID-19 brought her family closer. They see each other more, and she was grateful to be home with them as the one-year mark approached. She planned to spend time that day with her brother doing arts and crafts.

“I don’t know how exactly I’m going to react on the day,” she said on May 1.

“I’m basically helping myself by helping others.”

SEE VIRUS, P8

Parker Chronicle 7

May 8, 2020

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

New center provides support for STEM School community STEM Center for Strength opens virtually amid COVID-19 pandemic

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Suzi McKay wishes she could have known in 2013 what she knows now.

That year, her daughter was a 15-year-old sophomore at Arapahoe High School in Centennial when a shooting rocked the community. In the years since, she’s learned more about helping her daughter handle stress and anxiety “in a more purposeful way,” and how to self-advocate.

It’s a skillset she better developed over time and needed when the incident happened, she said. But one of the most important lessons she learned is that no two tragedies are the same.

She does not know firsthand what the past year was like for the STEM School Highlands Ranch community, but her experience with Arapahoe High School gives her a little insight, McKay said. She hopes to use it to give back as she works at a new resiliency center opened to support STEM. “Having been part of a community that’s been through an act of school violence and being the parent of a child that has been affected, I know that the event never goes away,” she said.

The new center is virtually open to provide mental health support for anyone affected by the tragedy at STEM School Highlands Ranch last year. STEM Center for Strength, at 640 Plaza Drive, Highlands Ranch, will open to in-person services as soon as is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic pushed back its in-person opening date, which was supposed to be in March, forcing the center to operate virtually. McKay is the center’s activity coordinator.

The center also has planned a variety of services that will be virtually available on May 7, the one-year mark of the shooting that injured eight STEM students and left 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo dead.

“Knowing that you’re not alone, that you have a community of people you can connect with,” Cynthia Grant, chief clinical officer at AllHealth Network said, “even if it’s an online community, is I think really helpful and healing.”

The services are free to the public and available to anyone affected by the May 7 incident. That could be a first responder, school employee, student, alumni, parent or other community member. More information is available at stemcenterforstrength.com.

STEM student Logan Cooper came up with the center’s name, which was voted on by the school. Student Grace Triplett designed the center’s logo.

The facility is operated by AllHealth Network, which handled the behavioral health disaster response when the

The STEM Center for Strength planned to open in March but was forced to operate virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Still in the works is signage, art and more details to the facility.

Students designed the center’s logo and chose the name.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA GIBBS

“The chill room” is filled with a comfy couch and seating for students to do homework, lounge and enjoy time relaxing at the STEM Center for Strength.

STEM School incident occurred and continues to provide disaster recovery with a network of stakeholders.

Everything is grant funded through August 2022, Grant said.

Grant said without resiliency centers, informal support groups often form among survivors of mass violence and victims individually sift through an ocean of resources or information about recovery.

“Without having a place to go, each individual deals with their own grief and trauma in their own setting,” she said. “But it doesn’t bring together sort of the shared experience that people have until you have a place with a clear purpose.”

Resiliency centers provide a centralized location for mental health support, she said. The staff have clinical expertise and vet resources about trauma and recovery before providing it to survivors, “so that people aren’t going to try and find this on their own.”

Grant said as the one-year mark draws near, people may experience intrusive thoughts or memories.

Anxiety and stress may increase and struggling to sleep is common.

“That’s very normal,” she said. “We really want people to know that what they’re experiencing is normal.”

Grant encouraged people to avoid bottling feelings up. People can use humor to talk through issues, she said. Focus on sleep. STEM Center for Strength has tips online for meditation and breathing techniques. There is yoga instruction for anxiety attacks and a video on coping skills.

Resources on the center’s website vary based on age group and a person’s connection to the school, such as whether he or she is a student, staff member or parent.

One of the most important ways for survivors to stay well is to know what crisis resources are available, Grant said.

Hannah Reese, the recovery coor-

dinator for STEM School Highlands Ranch, oversees recovery within the school and worked closely with AllHealth in setting the center up.

She hopes the center will be a place where students can connect, de-stress and make new friends. Having a place to bring everyone involved together is an ideal situation, she said. From a survey sent to the STEM community, Reese said there was one universal request people agreed on: therapy dogs.

The center will be sure to bring those in, she said.

The center is located next to the school, within walking distance for students.

“Having that location for healing is wonderful and honestly any time students can connect with each other and relax is wonderful,” Reese said.

McKay is Reese’s counterpart within the center. The center worked closely with the school in developing its operations, she said, and she was glad students were behind its logo and name.

“We want the kids not only to tap their talents,” she said, “but also that gives them more ownership of the space.”

McKay said the center has four support groups right now and is starting up a fifth for alumni.

Their biggest challenge in opening the center has been reaching community members who moved on after the shooting, like students or teachers who left for other schools. She hopes word of mouth can help them reach everyone who may need the center’s resources.

While the mission is to ensure people have mental health support if they need it, the center is also meant to be a gathering place for people to spend time, socialize and unwind.

“It’s not only about the availability of the clinicians and support services,” she said.

Grant wanted the community to know “we all remember what happened.”

“It has changed the community, and yet we have seen incredible strength and recovery that have come from people,” Grant said. “We can continue to heal from it and support one another.”

8 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

STEM SCHOOL TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR LATER

VIRUS FROM PAGE 6

Ganapaneni serves on the advisory board for the new STEM Center for Strength. The center was supposed to open in March but is operating virtually during COVID-19. It provides mental health resources for anyone who needs support because of the incident, like counseling and therapy groups.

That work has been good for her, she said.

“STEM is trying its best. We are all trying to reach out to everybody who is being affected,” she said. “Everybody was hit.”

Ganapaneni was in the high school section of STEM as the shooting unfolded in the middle school. She did not know how to react, she said, but she remembers her first thought was her then 7-year-old brother, a secondgrade STEM student at the time.

“More than myself I was worried about him,” she said. “Am I going to see him or not the next minute?”

Her brother now attends a different school. Ganapaneni still attends STEM. She never considered switching schools. She believes the incident was beyond STEM’s control. Ganapaneni is doing well this year, she said, but she knows not everyone can say the same.

Eucker, the STEM School’s executive director, said for some staff and students, returning to STEM was too painful.

Last year the school employed 163 people, of which 53 left. A spokeswoman said that is not an unusual amount of turnover for STEM in a given year, and the school did not ask departing staff if the shooting influenced their decision to leave.

The employees did fill out a standard exit survey. Nearly half said they decided not to return, 11 left teaching, 11 left for what they considered better offers, five moved out of the region and five said they were dissatisfied with the school. The spokeswoman said she did not have a breakdown of turnover by position type.

Eucker noticed “quite a bit of turnover” at the elementary school level, which she thinks was because elementary teachers have high empathy.

Enrollment dropped from 1,844 students in the 2018-19 school year to 1,749 in the 2019-20 school year.

Nara Altmann, Marina’s mother, said she moved Marina to a different school mostly for concern about STEM’s rigorous academics.

She worries too much focus on grades can hinder students. Through research and word of mouth, she heard Cresthill excels at fostering development of the whole child, she said, including social-emotional learning.

Marina felt apprehensive about leaving STEM but both she and Nara said the move to Cresthill turned out to be the right choice.

For many, returning to STEM was the right choice, Eucker said. It meant being with people who endured what they endured. STEM represented to them a shared experience and people who understood the significance of

John and Maria Castillo stand among students, teachers and community members of STEM school Highlands Ranch during Run For the Fallen on Sept. 15. Many in the crowd raised a closed fist after an attendee shouted a common saying following the shooting: “STEM strong.”

ELLIOTT WENZLER

ABOUT THE REPORTER Jessica Gibbs, a Colorado Community Media reporter since 2016, was part of the CCM team that covered the 2019 STEM School Highlands Ranch tragedy. That coverage recently received first place for breaking-news reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists in its four-state Top of the Rockies awards.

Like most area schools, STEM School Highlands Ranch is closed to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global crisis affected the school’s preparation and response to the one-year mark of 2019’s shooting incident.

JESSICA GIBBS

Hannah Reese is the recovery coordinator for STEM School Highlands Ranch.

COURTESY PHOTO

May 7 firsthand.

“That was something that I didn’t really think about until so many had voiced that sentiment, even at the very young ages,” Eucker said.

‘A day of strength’ If there is one thing Ganapaneni

wants the community to know, it’s that “STEM is still a great school, and we’ve always been a great school.”

STEM planned to complete service projects on May 7 in an effort called “STEMShares,” but again had to pivot plans during COVID-19.

Families are now encouraged to do good acts — donating to a food bank, helping a neighbor — at the family level instead of the classroom level, Eucker said.

“My personal hope is that we can redefine this from a day of fear to a

day of strength,” Eucker said.

Nara listened to her daughter reflect on the tragedy — for the first time to someone outside the family — with a patient smile on April 28.

For Marina, May 7 taught her a tragic lesson that helped her walk into the COVID-19 crisis with confidence.

She more fully understands people can reach rock bottom, she said, but still move forward.

“Everyone is going to fall down and crumble under pressure,” Marina said, “but then you build yourself up.”

Parker Chronicle 9

May 8, 2020

Parker Adventist reports COVID-19 numbers are down Coronavirus patient count hit peak in early April, officials say

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Parker Adventist Hospital reports that it has seen a decline in COVID-19 patients since early April and is slowly ramping up its regular services.

Dr. Devin Bateman, chief medical officer at Parker Adventist, said the goal now is to balance the reintroduction of elective surgeries while maintaining safety precautions.

“The focus has been ‘How do we continue to keep an eye on COVID within our community?’ to now providing the services that the community relies upon and do so safely,” Bateman said. “We’re able to do that. We’ve reopened operations, but are doing so in a way that continues to monitor our inpatient capacity, personal protective equipment, medications and other resources.”

Parker Adventist, a Centura Health hospital, separates patients with COVID-19 from non-COVID patients. Visiting hours are still limited.

“Our next steps are to continue to safely ramp up to full operations over the course of a few weeks,” Bateman said. “We want to do so thoughtfully and cautiously. We

want to keep our community safe, so we’re committed to doing that. With it, we’ll see, eventually, the loosening of visitor restrictions and an increase of traffic in and around the hospital.”

Centura Health officials declined to reveal the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 at Parker Adventist. Sky Ridge Medical Center, a HealthONE hospital in Lone Tree, had about 100 patients being treated as of April 23, more than a third of the hospital’s bed capacity.

Bateman recommended that people continue following the guidance from the governor as well as the Tri-County Health Department.

“Coronavirus is going to be around for some period of time. It’s not going to go away quickly. We just need to be aware of it,” Bateman said. “I would recommend people continue to be patient with it, continue diligence around hand washing, coughing and sneezing precautions, continue to wear a mask, continue to physically distance from others, to some extent.

“As time goes on, it becomes more and more fatiguing and challenging,” Bateman said. “People will be anxious to get back to normal life, but normal life is not going to be back for some time. We’re going to see modifications for the foreseeable future and I think maintaining those connections and social relationships is important while trying to maintain the other precautions.”

Testing expanded for health workers, first responders State health department, Kaiser team up to increase capacity STAFF REPORT

COVID-19 testing of symptomatic health care workers and first responders has been increased through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

According to a news release, Kaiser is testing both members and non-members who have been deemed essential to public welfare who have been referred by the state health department.

Kaiser has provided testing at eight tent site locations across the Front Range for non-member health care workers and first responders since March 27.

It recently announced the ability to increase testing capacity at each location for non-members. Testing is available by ap-

pointment only and is intended for symptomatic individuals.

Testing locations can be found at the Kaiser Permanente Loveland, Rock Creek (in Lafayette), Westminster, Lakewood, Aurora Centrepoint, Lone Tree, Parkside (in Colorado Springs), and Acero (in Pueblo) medical offices in Colorado.

Hours of operation for the eight tents are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Rock Creek, Westminster, and Acero tents are not open on weekends.

Health care workers and first responders from any part of the state who are not members of Kaiser Permanente must contact the state health department at 303-692-2700 for initial screening. The department will coordinate appointments for individuals who meet testing criteria.

All samples will be processed by the department state lab, and results will be reported directly to each individual.

Kaiser Permanente members experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can kp.org/coronavirus or call our 24/7 advice line at 303-338-4545 or 1-800-218-1059 (TTY 711).

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10 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

After COVID-19 recovery, sufferers fear stigma ‘People may be reticent to tell others they’ve had it’

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Three Parker residents who say they were sick with COVID-19 around the same time in late-March and early April report varying symptoms and durations of the disease.

One said felt so weak she couldn’t get to the hospital. Another said she did not feel fully functional again after almost a month. A third reported recovring in about two weeks.

All three women agreded to speak with Colorado Community Media on condition that their names not be published, saying they anticipated possible backlash from some people if they were identified.

Reluctance to be linked to the global pandemic doesn’t surprise Dr. Devin Bateman, chief medical officer at Parker Adventist Hospital.

“I think there’s a certain level of respect for the virus where people really want to avoid exposure and people want to avoid letting others know they’ve had it in some instances,” Bateman said. “This is an illness that can last for some period of time.

That may be one reason people may be reticent to tell others they’ve had it.”

The novel coronavirus has been in

A digital rendering of Coronavirus.

Colorado since early March. The first confirmed cases were reported in Douglas and Summit counties March 5. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported more than 16,000 cases of COVID-19

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statewide as of April 29.

However, testing is generally limited to those who need hospitalization, health care workers and first responders, meaning thousands more could have it or had it and recovered without knowing.

“People are well aware of the common symptoms,” Bateman said.

“The common ones include fever and cough, muscle pain... loss of taste and smell is becoming better known as well, but in terms of duration of symptoms, there’s been data that shows even mild symptoms can be” undiagnosed for weeks.

The three women interviewed in this story will be referred to as Melissa, Ginger and Karen. All three say they have since recovered. Each woman is in her early to mid-40s and lives in Parker.

Karen was the only woman interviewed who said she was later confirmed to have had the virus when the Tri-County Health Department tested her to see if she would be eligible to participate in an investigational procedure to transplant plasma from a recovered patient into the blood of a sick one.

All three women said they reported symptoms to their respective doctors and were considered “presumptive positive,” at the beginning, meaning they likely had COVID-19 based on symptoms.

“From a physician’s perspective, it’s an interesting illness because there’s more and more that’s being learned every day,” Bateman said.

‘Karen’ Karen said she got March 12. She said she quickly felt “off ” and came down with a fever.

“We wanted to say it was the flu, and I thought it was the flu,” said Karen, an entrepreneur who has owned a couple businesses in Parker.

Karen said she has three autoimmune diseases and expected she would get COVID-19, but she didn’t think it would be that fast. Karen was hospitalized for H1N1, also known as swine flu, about 11 years ago, she said.

“This was something that totally was different,” she said. “I had never been slammed with a sickness that hard and it took everything to not go to the hospital, because just the severity of the pain.”

Karen said she had a fever and a cough, and lost her sense of taste and smell.

“The headache was insane. The body aches were something I had never felt,” Karen said.

Karen said she showed symptoms that were not widely known to be related to COVID-19 at the time, including body aches and lost of taste and smell. Those symptoms are now included on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

“We were very confused,” she said.

“Should I get medicine for the flu?

Should I not be out in public?”

She called her doctor, who told her to self-isolate, she said. Her husband, a former smoker, then go sick, she added, and she and her husband had to borrow an oxygen machine from her husband’s mother, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“When I talked to my doctor... she said that probably saved us from going to the hospital,” Karen said.

“The people that don’t believe this and think it’s a hoax, you can’t change their minds,” she said. “They want everything to open back up.

I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t advise that.

After having coronavirus and having felt that, it is the worst feeling I have ever felt.”

SEE RECOVERY, P11

Parker Chronicle 11

May 8, 2020

RECOVERY FROM PAGE 10

‘Ginger’ Ginger, a local business owner, said all her clients, family and friends know she had COVID-19. But nevertheless, Ginger said she is afraid her reputation could be harmed by a handful of people, she said. She’s afraid misinformation about the disease could lead to people ostracizing patients of COVID-19.

“Like a leper, basically, is the best way to describe it,” Ginger said, describing her fear of people knowing she was sick and recovered from the virus. “I’m concerned there is kind of a stigma about being sick and what we should do about staying open or staying shut down. I just don’t like to seek drama.”

Ginger said she had allergies about a week prior to when her fever hit on March 13. She also starting having body aches, congestion and a cough.

That’s when she knew something wasn’t right. She went to the doctor and ruled out the flu.

“I was really sick for two weeks, I’d say,” Ginger said.

She said she told her family and

days, and her skin “hurt to the touch,” as if she had a really bad sunburn on her entire body, she said.

In the first week, she had severe fatigue and couldn’t get out of bed to do anything, she said. Her fever ramped up to 101.4 degrees. The cough started to die down after a week, but on the eighth day, it came back with a vengeance, she said.

‘Melissa’ “I coughed so Five days after hard I would Ginger’s fever be weak in the started, Melissa’s knees,” Melissa began, she said. said. “I had never Melissa, an been fatigued like entrepreneur, described having Melissa, that in my life.”

The cough COVID-19 as the on her symptoms after eight lasted about five worst possible days of having COVID-19 more days and the version of the fever persisted for flu, cold and any two weeks, she virus she’s had said. packaged to“It felt like gether. someone was trying to chisel a piece “It comes all at once and it stomps of my skull out from my head in a you into the ground for three weeks,” very specific spot with a hammer and she said. nail,” Melissa said.

Melissa said she had a low-grade Over-the-counter acetaminophen, fever and a cough for the first three friends once she found out she was presumed positive for COVID-19.

“I never got to the point I was afraid it was bad enough I was going to have to go to the hospital,” she said. “The fear from everyone else was intoxicating.”

Ginger lives alone in Parker, but her loved ones’ fears made life a little stressful, she said.

‘I coughed so hard I would be weak in the knees. I had never been fatigued like that in my life.’

a pain reliever, had zero effect on her fever, she said. The only thing she could do to feel better was place a chilled peppermint oil rag on her forehead. She added that she had no sense of smell or taste, could not eat or hardly move from bed.

Around Day 23 (April 10) she said she felt relatively symptom-free. She could do the dishes, cook dinner and do laundry again. It took another week before she started feeling “normal” again, she said.

Melissa and Scott said they are not worried about their friends or family finding out about their illnesses so much as they were worried about the unknowns of the virus itself. Melissa said she would feel more comfortable having her identity known publicly once more is known about the virus.

“The most informed, knowledgeable and educated doctors and epidemiologists and infectious disease doctors are the ones saying it’s a mystery to them because it’s not behaving the way a normal virus does,” Melissa said. “I’m not so concerned about my immediate circles knowing what’s up, but I don’t want my brand, reputation or business or anyone affiliated with my husband’s business affected by the stigma of this virus.”

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May 8, 2020M

Community ‘adopts’ high school seniors Elbert County residents deliver gifts, surprises to Class of 2020

BY TABATHA STEWART SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Like every graduating senior, Shelby Berkenkotter, who is enrolled at Legend High School in Parker but lives in Elizabeth, was looking forward to all the festivities that come with the final days of her 13-yearslong education.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Berkenkotter won’t get to walk the halls of her school one last time, walk across the stage to receive her diploma in front of family and friends soon, or experience senior ditch day.

“It’s been super hard not to have my last day of school,” said Berkenkotter.

“And missing senior ditch day has been really hard. Seniors usually go to the lake and just all hang out. That sounds really good, especially right now.”

Students of all ages across Colorado have been learning from their homes, after Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order March 18 suspending all in-person learning until April 17. The order was later amended, declaring that in-person learning would not resume during the 2020 school year.

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Shelby Berkenkotter, a senior graduating from Legend High School who lives in Elizabeth, poses with a banner that mysteriously showed up on her front lawn, thanks to her “adoptive” sponsors from the Adopt a Senior program in Elizabeth and Kiowa.

COURTESY OF SHELBY BERKENKOTTER

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each other, and planning their senior activities. Staying home and being isolated from friends has been difficult, according to Berkenkotter, and the uncertainty of their final year has taken a mental and emotional toll on some seniors.

In an effort to give every senior in Elizabeth and Kiowa well-deserved recognition, and to lift their spirits, Elizabeth resident Sophia Byers started a Facebook page calling for community members to “Adopt a Senior.” Parents of seniors offered their seniors up for “adoption,” and requests started pouring in for the chance to help.

“We initially reached out to parents, and through the private page we started getting tons of responses from parents of seniors,” said Byers.

“The admins on the page started connecting community members who wanted to help with parents of seniors, and they coordinated with each other to surprise the seniors with different gifts, surprises and all kinds of fun things.”

Berkenkotter’s first surprise from her adoptive family was a banner that showed up on her front lawn that said “Congratulations Shelby.”

“I also got a beach basket, filled with stuff for the beach, because they knew that I plan to move to Florida after I graduate,” said Berkenkotter.

“I don’t know who adopted me, but I’ve known all the people in Elizabeth my whole life. All the parents know me from when I was little, and it’s so special to me that there are a lot of people out there rooting for us.”

Janice Richardson serves as an admin on the page, and has helped coordinate community members and parents, and said the page has not only benefited the seniors, but has been

good for community morale as well.

“To see the community response to this has been fun,” said Richardson.

“Everybody has wanted to do something rather than just set home and feel sorry for themselves, and this gives them a way to help. The seniors are loving it, and the community members are loving it as well.”

Sponsors have had a lot of fun with showering recognition on adopted seniors. Seniors don’t know what each day will entail as far as gifts showing up, banners popping up, or sponsors surprising them at home or work.

“It’s pretty exciting to wonder what might show up each day,” said Berkenkotter.

The Adopt a Senior program gained momentum quickly, with parents offering seniors up for adoption almost immediately. As seniors were posted for adoption on the page, most of them were adopted within 24 hours, according to Byers.

“As of April 28, we had 112 seniors and 520 members on our page, and it continues to grow every day,” said Byers. “And it’s not just parents who have seniors or kids in school. We have sponsors that have no connection to the students, but want to help make their senior year memorable.”

Any senior who lives in Elbert County can join the group, and parents can offer them up for adoption.

Students from Frontier High and home-schooled seniors are welcome as well. The group’s goal is to have every senior in the county be adopted before the end of the school year.

“Thank you so much for making me feel like I’m part of a community and that I’m a part of something big and special,” said Berkenkotter. “I feel like even though our class activities were forgotten, we weren’t forgotten.”

Parker Chronicle 13

May 8, 2020

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14 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

Colorado’s ‘safer at home’ order: What’s allowed, what’s open?

New COVID-19 restrictions see many businesses reopening

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Coloradans dodged the possibility of a second extension of the statewide stay-at-home order, but the new set of rules that went into effect April 27 may strike people as even more confusing.

The main difference is that staying home is now a guideline, not a requirement.

But it’s not an invitation to go back to “the way we lived our lives in January or February,” Gov. Jared Polis said at an April 22 news conference. He implored Coloradans to limit social interactions as much as possible, although seeing friends in person is allowed under the new order.

Colorado’s new safer-at-home order encourages people only to leave home for “necessary activities” that generally mirror what the stay-at-home order allowed: shopping for groceries, exercising outdoors, taking care of family members and other essentials.

Past that, the new order allows a long list of businesses and even hands-on college and trade classes to open, while still limiting Coloradans’ social gatherings. The order also

A woman wears a mask while she walks her dog along the Clear Creek trail in Golden. urges wearing non-medical masks or face coverings when in public.

Certain parts of the state — including much of the Denver metro area other than Douglas County — may be under slightly different rules.

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Visit www.IREA.coop/energy-assistance to make an online contribution, or fill out and return the form included with your monthly IREA bill.

May 8. Aside from any other local restrictions, though, they’ll be under the state’s new safer-at-home rules after that.

The new order is set to run through May 26, but it likely will see an extension, though possibly with some changes.

Here’s a look at what’s allowed and not allowed under the new rules.

Still ‘necessary’ Under the new order, Coloradans still are encouraged to stay home except for necessities — the same ones the stay-at-home order listed — such as shopping for groceries or seeking medical care. Caring for a family member or pet in another household, or for livestock at a location other than a person’s home, are other examples.

That includes taking care of other “vulnerable” people, which in this part of the order isn’t limited to older adults, or people with disabilities or serious health conditions.

Young people who have disabilities or other needs may need support, too, Mike Willis, director of the state Emergency Operations Center, has said.

Other essential actions include obtaining medication or medical supplies, collecting supplies needed to work from home, working in allowed industries, or walking, biking, or other outdoor activity. People must remain at least 6 feet apart from others.

New guidelines Travel for recreation should be limited to a person’s own community, such as their county of residence, or traveling no more than about 10 miles.

The new order urges Coloradans to wear non-medical cloth face coverings over the nose and mouth when in public.

Back on April 17, Polis announced an executive order requiring workers in critical businesses to wear face coverings when in close proximity

PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO

with others. That includes workers in grocery stores, banks, homeless shelters, nursing homes and other care facilities, and many more industries.

What’s still banned, still closed The new order allows socializing but limits all public and private gatherings to no more than 10 people, except for the purposes of necessary activities. Gatherings of members living in the same residence aren’t prohibited.

The following businesses that shuttered under a March public health order remain closed: • Restaurants, bars and clubs (delivery and take-out still available); • Movie and performance theaters, opera houses, and concert and music halls; • Casinos, horse tracks and off-track betting facilities; • Gyms, except that indoor personal training or classes are allowed for up to four people unless participants live in the same household, and those from different households cannot share equipment.

A gradual reopening of restaurants by mid-May is the goal, Polis has said.

The state will work toward a gradual reopening of bars as well.

Retail, services, tech programs “Noncritical” retail stores that shuttered under the stay-at-home order could re-open as of May 1, including those that sell clothing, cellphones, appliances, vape and tobacco products, sporting equipment, crafts, fabrics and more.

Critical and noncritical retail must take safety measures, such as providing face coverings and gloves to all employees whenever possible, holding dedicated hours for at-risk customers, and offering hand sanitizer and wipes at entrances as much as possible.

As of April 27, noncritical retail could start curbside delivery.

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Parker Chronicle 15

May 8, 2020

ALLOWED FROM PAGE 14

The months ahead

Also as of May 1, personal services — which also closed under a March public health order — could reopen.

They include, but are not limited to, dog grooming, body art, hair and nail salons, and massage therapists.

The services only may be performed with 10 or fewer people in a location or up to 50% occupancy for the location, whichever is less — for example, five hairstylists serving five customers.

Employees and customers must wear cloth face coverings or medicalgrade masks at all times. Only services that can be performed without customers removing their masks are permitted.

Regarding education beyond high school, the order also allows programs that cannot be conducted remotely, due to the equipment they require, to be held in person on a limited basis.

That includes technical and vocational programs.

Offices, real estate, health As of May 4, noncritical office businesses could re-open with up to 50% of their employees for in-person work.

They must take many precautions, including minimizing in-person meetings, maintaining 6-foot distancing and allowing working from home to the greatest extent possible.

Real estate home showings can resume with cleaning and disinfection between each showing, but open

houses may not be held.

As with the stay-at-home order, critical businesses — which had already been allowed to operate — must still adopt work-from-home policies for operations that can be done remotely, and use other strategies, such as staggered schedules or redesigning workplaces, to create more distance between workers.

Nonemergency — or “elective” —

Baby Cafe offers virtual lactation help for new moms Families can connect with specialists, others in similar situations STAFF REPORT

Although many of life’s usual occurrences have been suspended during these turbulent times, babies are still being born and moms still want to breastfeed. However, because it is difficult to meet with a lactation specialist in person, some new mothers may not be getting the breastfeeding support they need.

Mothers’ Milk Bank Baby Café now offers a virtual way by which new moms can get free breastfeeding guidance from a lactation specialist using remote video technology. Moms can also share their experiences and hear from others in similar situations. This virtual community provides support and encouragement during a time a woman may be discouraged and alone.

“Motherhood can be a very isolating time, especially now, and Baby

Café helps provide a shared space where moms and dads too can meet with other families and talk about this season of parenthood, the joys and challenges,” Abby Malman Case, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and manager of donor relations at Mothers’ Milk Bank, said in a news release.

Mothers’ Milk Bank Baby Café is available to families from 10-11 a.m. and noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays. Families who would like to participate are asked to complete a form, which can be found at https://rmchildren. org/mothers-milk-bank/baby-cafe.

Additional information also can be found on the website.

Mothers’ Milk Bank also offers a Welcome Home Baby kit for mothers who need to bridge the gap of feeding until her milk comes in. The kit is shipped directly to the family and includes giveaways, five bottles of pasteurized donor human milk, and additional resources to educate families about what to expect in the first few weeks of their baby’s life.

For information on the Baby Café or the Welcome Home Baby Kit, call 303-869-1888.

health and dental services resumed April 27 based on an executive order by the governor. “Elective” means a surgery or procedure can be delayed for a minimum of three months without undue risk to health, according to the order.

Guidelines, protections for vulnerable For those at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the safer-at-

home order urges staying home except to seek medical care — just like the stay-at-home order did. “Vulnerable individuals” in the new order include adults 65 and older, people with serious underlying health conditions, and those deemed to be at high risk by a health care provider. Pregnant women also are considered vulnerable.

Those groups cannot be compelled to work for any business or government function during the pandemic emergency, the order says. People who are sick must stay home except to seek medical care and must not go to work.

Employers must provide work accommodations for vulnerable individuals, prioritizing working from home.

New safety practices Generally, businesses allowed to reopen must take many precautions to prevent spreading COVID-19.

Broadly, those include: • Maintaining 6-foot separation between employees; • Disinfecting all high touch areas (“high touch” is a term for things people touch often, such as rails or tables); • Avoiding gatherings (meetings, waiting rooms and so on) of more than 10 people; • Conducting daily temperature checks and monitoring symptoms in employees. A sample monitoring form is located at tinyurl.com/ybrbwmk5.

Additional requirements for specific industries are located in the appendices to the order at tinyurl.com/ ybl42bvg.

On May 7, 2019, you answered the call when we needed you the most.

From all of us at STEM School Highlands Ranch, we Thank You for your commitment to serve, protect and care for others.

THANK YOU • Our Entire STEM School Highlands Ranch Community (current and former students, families and staff) • First Responders from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Lone Tree Police Department, Littleton Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, National Parks Service Rangers, Parker Police Department, Centennial Police Department, Paramedics, South Metro Fire District Station 18, and so many more • Douglas County School District Security and Administrators • Doctors and nurses from Littleton Adventist and Children’s Hospital • Staff and volunteers from the Highlands Ranch Community Association • Members of the Highlands Ranch Community and surrounding areas • Businesses surrounding STEM School Highlands Ranch and in our community

We will forever be #STEMStrong together.

16 Parker Chronicle

L

LOCAL

May 8, 2020M

VOICES

Unleash your kindness and let it run wild

ots of conversations going on these days are about unlocking or unleashing our potential.

There are so many podcasts, WINNING webinars, columns, WORDS and blogs speaking to the need for us to focus on our mindset so that we can keep our heads and attitude in a good place right now. As a matter of fact, I am one of those voices and faces on those podcasts and Michael Norton webinars and authoring many of those columns and blogs, just like this one.

Kindness is a mindset or attitude,

but it is also an emotion and an action.

How awesome would it be if we could unleash our human potential and also unleash our kindness at the same time? Powerful. During this time, we are seeing so many examples of kindness being lived out. After last week’s column where I shared the story of an owner of an awning company repairing an awning at no charge for a shop on Main Street, I received so many emails from people sharing their experiences and observations of other people and businesses demonstrating kindness.

When we live with the attitude or mindset of kindness it means we are actively thinking about ways that we can show kindness, and our kindness radar is always on. When we live with kindness in our hearts, we get to expe-

rience firsthand the emotions that are stirred as acts of kindness play out in front of us. I don’t know about you, but it brings absolute joy to my heart when I see kindness in action. And when we live with the attitude of kindness and with the emotion of kindness it’s impossible not to demonstrate kindness in everything we do and in everything we say.

My brother-in-law Dylan is a perfect example of this. He and my sister-inlaw Caroline have this awesome dog, Ziggy. As Dylan was walking Ziggy the other day, there was a woman in their neighborhood walking her dog.

She was using one of those retractable leashes and as her dog maxed out the length of the leash, the leash snapped and recoiled all the way back into the handle. As the woman tried to gain

control of her dog, she realized that the leash had broken. As she was still quite far from her home, she became a little distressed. Dylan quickly came up with a solution. Since he was close to his own home, he offered the woman his leash so that she could get her dog home. He unleashed his kindness. Hence the origin of this week’s column. Thanks Dylan.

Kindness costs us nothing, but it returns to us everything.

That old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished,” is absolutely a falsehood. Some may say that they attempted to do something nice for others or show kindness in some way only to be on the receiving end of anger or hurtful words.

SEE NORTON, P32

This seems like dreams and weird extremes

D

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thankful for kindness In a time of so much uncertainty, where all we hear is the negative side of what is going on in the world, it is important to highlight positivity and true acts of kindness. Over the last month, our grandfather has been battling the COVID-19 virus. On April 19, he unfortunately passed away due to complications from

A publication of

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this horrible virus.

During this difficult time, it was an absolute blessing to see the way the health care workers and police officers took care of and honored our grandfather in his last days and even hours. In times like these, where everyone is worried about their own health and SEE LETTERS, P32

ickens memorably began “A Tale of Two Cities” with a perfect description of 2020, especially the first twelve

words.

It sums up, at least in my lifetime, the current world, where extraordinarily good people are doing extraordinarily good things, and where extraordiQUIET narily bad people are doing extraorDESPERATION dinarily bad things.

It seems where there are challenges and tragedies and vulnerabilities, some of us crawl out from the Grimpen Mire, look around, and seize the opportunity to Craig Marshall take advantage of the situation.

Smith I am old enough to know it comes as no surprise.

Ask Sartre.

I am one of the lucky ones.

Retired, a safe home to live in, sufficient paper products, and an enviable roommate.

My roommate has no idea what is

going on. That helps.

Not much has changed around here. We just go on fewer car trips.

When was the last time you filled your car’s gas tank?

Half the news is heartwarming and the other half is inconceivable.

Conspiracy theorists blame a U.S. Army reservist and mother of two for starting the pandemic. The false claims about her are spreading like the virus itself.

Lewis Carroll said, “What I tell you three times is true.”

Is there anything worse than being wrongly accused?

I was blamed for things I didn’t do when I was a kid. My sister was an angel and could do no wrong.

But if she did, she cruised, because little Craig was seen as an impish lad, more capable of spilling the milk.

Alfred Hitchcock understood the effect false accusations have on someone: therefore, his films often featured someone trying to prove his or her innocence.

Best: “North by Northwest,” but also “The 39 Steps,” “The Wrong

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SEE SMITH, P32

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Parker Chronicle 17

May 8, 2020

T

Shelter your body but let your mind run free

o embrace a positive balanced approach to health and aging, the importance of keeping our minds as active as our bodies is essential. This article provides some great tools to keep your mind active especially during this season.

Older adults have been instructed to limit face-to-face interactions with LIVING & individuals outside AGING WELL their immediate household to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus. This has forced many family - members to avoid visits to parents and grandparents or stop visiting older loved ones at nursJuliana Young ing homes, assisted living facilities, and in their homes for fear of spreading the virus.

In a world where social distancing and shelter-in-place orders are the new norm, now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we do whatever we can to reduce isolation among people of all ages.

With decreased social engagement and stimulation comes decreased mood and overall well-being, and in some cases, this results in depression. Some older adults may also be

at higher risk of isolation because their social world becomes smaller and their opportunity to socially connect decreases.

The fact of the matter is that the basic principles of healthy living remain the same, so we should look for alternative ways to meet those needs. People need to remain physically active, eat healthy foods, remain connected to family, friends and their community, and maintain good mental health.

Staying physically active can mean getting out for a walk every day for 20-30 minutes while waving at neighbors at a distance. If you were used to going to the gym or recreation center to work out, look online for exercise programs from your local senior centers, SilverSneakers.com and go4life.nia.nih. gov.

If you need assistance with your computer or smartphone and your family can’t come over to show you at this juncture, try to connect with companies that specialize in helping seniors. Senior Planet is a Denver-based company that assists older adults on how to use technology. They have some great “how to” videos on their website called “While Stuck at Home.” You can also learn how to set up a “Zoom” video call to connect with your family and friends. Find them at

SeniorPlanet.org.

Google Arts & Culture (type in search bar) teamed up with more than 2,500 museums and galleries to provide virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world, including Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, London’s National Gallery and the Guggenheim in New York City.

If you want to connect with creatures, big and small, several aquariums and zoos that are temporarily closed still offer virtual visits. The Denver Zoo provides a “Zoo to You” online experience that includes a virtual safari, daily videos, and wildlife-themed activities to keep you informed and entertained. The Monterey Bay Aquarium features creatures ranging from jellyfish to penguins.

As “Champions of Aging Well,” Home Care Assistance of Douglas County created a comprehensive

“Life Enrichment Guide,” full of meaningful activities to keep the mind and body active from the comfort and safety of your home. All of these activities can be accessed through a smartphone or a computer, and will open your eyes to a virtual world of possibility. To view the “Life Enrichment Guide” go to HCADouglasCounty.com and click on Resources to download a free copy. Have fun, learn new things, and go on some adventures!

Juliana Young is the business development manager with Home Care Assistance of Douglas County.

For more information, visit www.

HCADouglasCounty.com, or call 720-287-1685. This column is hosted by the Seniors’ Council of Douglas County. For more information, please visit www.MyDougCoSeniorLife.com, email DCSeniorLife@douglas.co.us or call 303-663-7681.

PARKER AND ELIZABETH FUNERAL HOMES

& CREMATORY

Parker Funeral Home was entrusted with the care of these loved ones.

Maureen Ellen Edelmann, 92, of Parker, CO, passed away on April 15, 2020. She resided at Morningstar of Parker. She was born to Daniel and Anastasia (Fitsmaurice) Harnett on October 21, 1927 in New York. A small, private service was held with family. Please visit www.pfh-co.com to leave condolences for the family. Parker Funeral Home was honored to make arrangements with the family.

Annette North, 75, of Parker, CO, passed away on April 16, 2020. She was born Annette Elizabeth Pankavich to Anthony and Helen (Sinkivich) on June 13, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York. At this time, there are no services planned, but you may leave condolences at www.pfh-co.com. Parker Funeral Home was entrusted with her care.

John Arthur Weitzman, 67, of Elizabeth, CO passed away on April 16, 2020. He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Frank and Genevieve (Sonnergren) Weitzman on December 20, 1952. Parker Funeral Home walked alongside this family to assist in arrangments. Please visit www.pfh-co.com to leave condolences for the family.

Paul David Pospeck, 59, of Elizabeth, CO, passed away on April 17, 2020. He was born to Henry and Mary (Gormley) Pospeck on May 14, 1960. No services are planned at this

time, however, there will be a celebration of life scheduled at a later date. Please visit www.pfh-co.com to leave condolences for the family. Parker and Elizabeth Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements.

John Paul Clopton, 84, of Parker, CO, passed away on April 18, 2020. He was boron in Tennessee to John and Maxine (Criswell) Clopton on August 29, 1035. At this time there are no services planned, however you may leave condolences for the family at www.pfhco.com. Parker Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Deborah Markkanen Stidham, 69, of Denver, CO passed away on April 20, 2020. She was born on December 12, 1950 to Karl and Laura (Cartwright) Markkanen in Denver, CO. She had resided at the Rowan Community Center in Denver. No services are planned at this time, although you may visit www.pfh-co. com to leave condolences for the family.

Kasey Marie Morgan, 46, of Parker, CO, passed away on April 15, 2020. She was born on June 15, 1973 to Roger and Jackie (Cadwell) Wakelam in Ontonagon, Michigan.

Parker Funeral home was in charge of the arrangements; no services are planned for now, however you may visit www.pfh-co.com to leave condolences for the family.

Please visit us online at www.pfh-co.com for full obituaries and more.

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In Loving Memory Place an Obituary for Your Loved One. Private 303-566-4100 Obituaries@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

Funeral Homes Visit: www.memoriams.com

18 Parker Chronicle

LOCAL

LIFE

May 8, 2020M

The Colorado Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band, which includes 75 first responders throughout Colorado, began playing bagpipes at sunset every night as part of an international movement.

Locally, it’s called Pipers for Sundown Solidarity.

Dave Carrigan, of South Metro Fire Rescue, plays his Great Highland bagpipe every evening as the sun sets in solidarity with pipers around the globe in a movement to spread hope.

IPHOTOS BY NCK PUCKETT

First responders play at dusk amid COVID-19 crisis

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A

lone in a field at the edge of the Cottonwood subdivision in Parker, firefighter Dave Carrigan stood tall and stiff as he played his bagpipes.

The sun started to set April 22 at about 7:46 p.m. As sunlight disappeared, Carrigan’s few regular fans gathered to hear him play. A handful of neighbors ventured to the slight overlook at the foot of Carrigan’s driveway. Some driving by on Parker Road across the field to the east pulled off, listening to the notes slice through the droning of passing cars.

Carrigan, a firefighter for South Metro Fire Rescue for 29 years, has marched out to the field bordering his house every evening since March 29, three days after the stay-at-home order began, to play traditional marches and songs until the sun sets.

“It’s to show solidarity not only for everybody who’s fighting the disease, but all our brothers and sisters, firefighters, police officers, paramedics. … They’re kind of taking a beating out there,” Carrigan said. “It’s to show we’re all in this together and we have each other’s back.”

Carrigan is one of many first responders regionwide playing bagpipes at dusk to inspire hope amid the stayat-home orders and COVID-19 crisis.

First responders throughout Colorado are participating in Pipers

Dave Carrigan has played his bagpipes at dusk every night since the start of the stayat-home orders in Colorado. “It’s to show we’re all in this together and we have each other’s back,” he said. for Sundown Solidarity, a movement organized by the Colorado Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Band, a bagpipe band made up of 75 firefighters and police officers throughout the state.

Thousands of pipers play songs from their respective homes at the same time each night as the sun sets in an ongoing effort to encourage strength and resolve in the community.

‘Next phases or normalcy’ Mike West, fire chief for Front

Range Fire Rescue, is the Pipe Major for the Colorado Emerald Society. He helped start the pipe band at South Metro Fire in 2002. He resigned from South Metro in June 2019. Front Range Fire covers Johnstown, Milliken, Larimer and Weld counties.

“Our guys and gals are working every day at their police stations and precincts and firehouses dealing with the pandemic face-to-face,” West said.

“It was a great way to wind down from the day spread a little hope to the neighbors and make sure they still know we’re still out there fighting the

good fight every day.”

Carrigan does not always deck himself out in his kilt and uniform. He said he plays because it brings a smile to his neighbor’s faces and connects people when they’re more isolated than ever.

Pipers in the group play every day and play whatever they want, except on Sundays, when the group collectively decides on a single song to play at the same time together.

The Colorado Emerald Society announced on its Facebook page April 24 that members would stop playing bagpipes nightly beginning May 3.

Pipers still play on Sundays “until the state moves to the next phases of normalcy,” the post reads.

“We can’t express our gratitude enough for your cheers, posts, shares and love. When we get through these social distancing steps and back to holding events, we’re looking forward to seeing you all at a big celebration,” the post reads.

West said the Colorado Emerald Society plans on holding a celebration to make up for losing the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

‘A droning feeling’ The movement, which started shortly after the stay-at-home order began, is steeped in tradition.

Soldiers began marching to the sound of bagpipes in Scotland in the 1400s. The instrument is used often as a morale booster for the military.

South Metro Fire Rescue and Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department each have Pipe and Drum bands.

Carrigan has been playing pipes for about 11 years, around the time South Metro Rescue’s pipe and drum band started.

West, who has been playing bagpipes on and off for 30 years, noted the way the vibrations from the drones blaring from the player’s shoulder hits you.

“It runs through you,” West said.

“A lot of people, prior to this, the only time they hear bagpipes is at a funeral, so they associate that droning note with an emotional event. … To me, it’s that kind of droning feeling. It kind of gets down to your soul sometimes.”

Parker Chronicle 19

May 8, 2020

Colorado Renaissance Festival delayed Coronavirus concerns postpone bawdy event in Douglas County

BY MARK HARDEN MHARDEN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Colorado Renaissance Festival — a popular summer attraction that draws throngs to south Douglas County — has been postponed for several weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic and will now start Aug. 1, organizers said.

The festival in Larkspur, midway between Denver and Colorado Springs west of Interstate 25, had been scheduled to open its 43rd anniversary season on June 13.

“Due to the current health concerns and taking into consideration the safety of our patrons and Renaissance community the Colorado Renaissance Festival will be postponing its 2020 opening day,” says a notice on the festival’s website.

“The new dates will be Saturday August 1st, 2020 for 8 weekends with a closing day of Sunday, September 20th, 2020. Dates will be posted publicly on both our website and announced through our social media outlets,” the notice says. “Please stay safe during these unsettling times

Entertainers greet people from above as they pass through the gates of the Colorado Renaissance Festival castle in July 2019.

JESSICA GIBBS

and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!”

The festival, set in a faux-16th century Tudor village, celebrates Renaissance culture with a bawdy mix of shows and music, jousting matches, animals, costumed characters, games,

food and drinks. It’s one of dozens of similarly themed events staged across the country each summer.

The festival typically draws about 200,000 attendees during its run, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports.

The announcement comes as “stay

Keep your fingers crossed and your eyes open

W

e will assume, optimistically, that summer drama classes and performances for kids will happen, because registration has been ongoing. Some organizations are not on a regular track due to the current otherworldly, SONYA’S ongoing upSAMPLER set, so one will have to keep searching the internet … Also, classes in visual arts, crafts and more are scheduled Sonya Ellingboe sas of this writing …

Plans underway We communicated with Town Hall Arts Center education director Robert Michael Sanders at the Littleton venue, and he says classes for “Kokonut Island,” “Shrek” and “Performing the Song”

are “moving forward” and may still have some available space. Each involves classes and a performance. Townhallartscenter.com.

Town Hall possibility Also re: Town Hall Arts Center — we are told that they still hope to present “Almost Heaven,” the John Denver musical program, if only … Stay tuned if you have tickets — or if not… “We are following state mandates and applying a powerful disinfectant, Perisept 62 …”

Happenings in Parker Parker Performing Arts, PACE Center, has a full schedule of classes and performances, geared to different age groups. See Parkerarts. org. Look also for visual arts offerings here …

Check into Englewood Englewood Parks and Recreation offered a strong summer drama program and production in past years. I am not finding a listing yet, but assume this will again

be offered when the world starts up again …

Wonderbound Dance Company Wonderbound Dance Company has been offering “Dance Along,” a series of dance classes, at wonderbound.com.

Writing class Local Theater Company offers a class for adults: “Writing for Stage and Screen” offered on Zoom, May 7, 14, 21, 28 — Thursdays at 6-7 p.m. $125. (Two scholarships available.) See localtheaterco.org.

Stay up to date Watch for more communications from your local park and recreation districts, as well as school districts as we head towards summer---the corona virus will dictate/ limit what programs are possible. There will no doubt be a number of creative projects at home from backyard drama to basement murals to original books and prints.

We’d be interested to learn about them!

at home” orders are being gradually relaxed across Douglas County and most other parts of Colorado, but people are still being urged to practice social distancing and to avoid crowds larger than 10 people to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

Veterans Writing Workshops now offered online Veterans, family members and caregivers get support while writing STAFF REPORT

Veterans Writing Workshops offer a safe place for veterans, their adult family members and caregivers to write and talk about their experiences. To help connect veterans with each other and continue providing these workshops, Colorado Humanities is offering three types of online writing workshops in May. The Writing for Publication and Lunch & Learn workshops provide participants the opportunity to create, share and receive feedback on their writing. Expressive writing provides support for a deeply private journaling process proven to reduce stress.

All are led by veterans who are professional writers, and all are free, thanks to part-

ners and sponsors Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, Arts in Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Steamboat Creates.

• Expressive Writing with Cindy Skaggs is from 3-4:30 p.m. Sundays.

• Lunch and Learn with Cindy Skaggs is from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays. May 13 is Life Writing for publication: personal essay and memoir; May 20 is Fiction Foundations for publication: elements of the writing craft; and May 27 is The Business of Writing (who, where, and how to submit your writing).

To register for Expressive Writing or Lunch and Learn, offered via the online platform Discord, email Cindy Skaggs at cindy@cskaggs. com • Writing for Publication or to share, with Jorge Arroyo and Juan Morales, is at 1 p.m. Thursdays.

To register for Writing for Publication workshops, email Jorge Arroyo at bdpaperworks@gmail.com.

To learn more about the workshops, visit coloradohumanities.org.

20 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

New light shed on 2009 Centennial murder Affidavit lays out case against alleged shooter

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

More than a decade after the body of a 23-year-old Centennial man was found early one morning in a suburban neighborhood, with a single bullet wound to the back, authorities have arrested a man they allege was the shooter.

And, unlike other suspects in the killing, whose cases were long kept out of public view, the case against the alleged shooter is proceeding publicly.

Those details provide a closer look at a murder that had been shrouded in mystery for years.

Andrew Graham, a University of Colorado graduate who was headed to grad school, was found shot dead at about 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2009, in the front yard of a home in the Willow Creek neighborhood of Centennial near East County Line Road and South Yosemite Street, Jones an area that sees little violent crime.

A few hours earlier, just before midnight, video surveillance captured Graham riding an RTD light rail train and exiting at the station near

Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree.

Graham had been making living arrangements in Boulder that day and would often walk from the station to his parents’ house in nearby Willow Creek a couple miles away, his mother told Colorado Community Media at the time.

Statements to authorities from other suspects in the case going back to 2009 have pointed to Terrell O’Neil Jones as the shooter, according to a March 10 affidavit that an Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office investigator submitted to request a warrant for his arrest.

Jones was arrested that day, KCNCCBS4 reported.

Jones has repeatedly denied to investigators that he was involved in Graham’s death.

But four other suspects who admitted to being at the crime scene that night told investigators that Jones shot Graham, the affidavit said. They all described a plot to rob Graham, whom they saw as “a white male who might have money,” the affidavit says. Jones and three other suspects are African-American. One suspect, Joseph Martin, is listed as American Indian on the state Department of Corrections website.

Jones “pulled out a pistol and tried to rob the guy but the guy wouldn’t let him so Terrell Jones shot him,” investigators quoted one of the co-suspects as saying in the affidavit.

A 2016 Arapahoe County grand jury in the case of Graham’s death indicted

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Andrew Graham, a 23-year-old who was planning to start graduate school soon, was found dead after being shot in November 2009 in Centennial.

COURTESY PHOTO Clarissa Jae Lockhart, Allen Deshawn Ford, Kendall Adam Austin and Martin. The four were arrested in January 2017 in connection with Graham’s death.

That came after a previous grand jury called in 2011 stated that it lacked enough evidence to recommend trial of any suspects in the case after about 18 months that saw testimony from 63 witnesses and more than 100 exhibits of evidence, including photos, transcripts and recordings.

Of those four suspects, three agreed to testify regarding Graham’s death and pleaded guilty to related charges, while the fourth had charges against him dismissed, according to the affidavit.

String of Denver crimes Ford, Lockhart and Austin had been linked to a string of race-motivated robberies and assaults in downtown Denver in 2009, according to the affidavit and court proceedings in the Graham case. Suspects in that rash of crimes told police they targeted white males because they assumed they had money and wouldn’t fight back or present a threat.

Lockhart and Austin pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in September 2009 incidents, and Ford pleaded guilty to a bias-motivated crime involving “bodily injury” and pleaded guilty to assault in August 2009 incidents, according to online court records.

Neil Silver, a defense attorney for one of the defendants, has said in court that prosecutors opted for charges in the Graham case under an organized-crime law for some of the defendants based on suspicion of involvement in black-youth gangs targeting white people.

Cases against the four suspects other than Jones were suppressed until recently, meaning no documents in the cases were available to the public. For all four, the prosecution requested the case files be made public on March 12, and Judge Michael

Spear ordered the files unsuppressed April 14.

Because Jones’ case was not brought by a grand jury, documents in his case weren’t suppressed. Grand juries are sometimes used to decide if authorities have enough evidence to charge a suspect.

Jones was charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and firstdegree felony murder, according to court records. He had a status conference hearing scheduled April 30, but it was rescheduled to June 10 amid delays due to COVID-19 precautions, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Jones’ arrest affidavit filled in blanks that had persisted for years in the account of what happened to Graham on Nov. 5, 2009. Here’s a look at the events, according to the March 10 affidavit.

Graham got a ride from his father to the light rail station near Dry Creek Road and Interstate 25 in the afternoon. According to his father, Graham planned to ride the train to downtown Denver and transfer to a bus to Boulder to meet with a former roommate to discuss living with him again.

After eating with his then-current roommates at a Boulder restaurant, Graham got dropped off at a nearby park-and-ride location to catch a bus to Denver.

At about 11:40 p.m., video surveillance captured Graham riding the light rail and exiting at the station near Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree, near Centennial. Nearby parking lot surveillance footage shows him walking west through the lot and down County Line Road until he was out of sight on the recordings. He walked with a satchel that authorities later found. A police dog later tracked Graham’s path a short distance into the Willow Creek neighborhood nearby, north of County Line, the affidavit said.

SEE MURDER, P22

Parker Chronicle 21

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MURDER FROM PAGE 20

Implicating Jones As for Jones’ alleged role, his four co-suspects spoke with Arapahoe sheriff ’s deputies, a Denver police detective and an 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office investigator, and in grand jury testimony, and had this to say, according to the March 10 affidavit: • Martin said in the 2016 grand jury proceedings that he went to the area of Park Meadows with Ford, Lockhart, Austin and Jones to rob someone since there were too many police on the 16th Street Mall.

• Martin told authorities in 2017 he was with Ford, Jones, Lockhart and Austin when they approached Graham to rob him. He said they saw he had a bag and thought he might have a laptop. Martin said that Jones shot Graham and then took the bag, according to the affidavit.

• Ford told authorities in 2015 that he, Lockhart, Jones and Martin were present during the homicide. Ford said they followed Graham, asked him for money, somebody hit him and then Jones shot him, the affidavit said.

• Lockhart told authorities that she was with Ford and Jones near Park Meadows mall and approached Graham, and Jones shot him, according to the affidavit. It said that in 2015, she said Ford called out to Graham,

May 8, 2020M

REMEMBERING ANDREW GRAHAM Andrew Graham, a Cherry Creek High School graduate, is remembered as a compassionate young man with a knack for helping strangers.

At a taekwondo competition at 8 years old, when Graham won a first-place medal, he instead gave it to his opponent, whom Graham felt was the true winner because his skills were sharper and Graham had won on a technicality, Cyndi Gelston Graham, his mother, said during a recent court hearing.

The night Graham died, he had stopped to buy sandwiches to share with a homeless man — something he did often, his friends told his mother.

At the time, he was a recent University of Colorado graduate who planned to pursue graduate studies in math and civil engineering.

“Usually, in a group, if there’s a bad apple, everyone’s brought down to their level,” Gelston Graham said in 2018. “Andrew brought everybody up.”

On the news that a suspected shooter — Terrell O’Neil Jones — now has been arrested in her son’s death, Gelston Graham told Colorado Community Media that “it’s been a long time coming.”

“It’s been so long that it’s still hard to believe it has actually happened,” she said.

Given the time it took for other defendants’ cases to arrive at outcomes, it will likely take years for a result in Jones’ case too, Gelston Graham said.

“I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she said.

Graham began to run and they chased him, and Jones shot him.

• Austin testified in the 2011 grand jury that Ford told him that he, Lockhart and Jones were in Centennial and Jones pulled out a pistol and tried to rob Graham, but Graham wouldn’t let Jones, so Jones shot him, the affidavit said. Austin later said he ran into the others near Park Meadows mall after he took the light rail there with his cousin.

• Ford and Jones pulled the satchel from Graham, and it was later thrown out the window of the suspects’ car, Martin told authorities, as relayed in the affidavit.

Graham’s body was found about a

block south of some of his belongings.

Credit cards and a cell phone were found in his satchel there, according to authorities. His money was still in his wallet when his body was discovered. His glasses lay a few steps away from him, and his hat lay a short distance away.

Physical evidence lacking Jones — who apparently first spoke to authorities in 2010 — has acknowledged to investigators that he knew the co-defendants but has denied involvement in Graham’s death on multiple occasions.

Jones said Ford was his best friend but that they had a falling out recently.

He also said Lockhart “doesn’t like him,” the affidavit says.

Jones has several criminal convictions resulting from guilty pleas since 2013, according to the affidavit. They include possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, distributing a drug, theft of between $750 and $2,000, possession of a defaced firearm and possession of a Schedule 1 controlled substance, a classification that includes hard drugs.

Despite the years it took to arrest Jones, the affidavit does not mention any physical evidence that points to any of the defendants.

In 2009, Graham’s satchel was submitted for testing, and DNA profiles were found on the handle, the flaps and the shoulder strap, all of which contain a mixture of DNA. Authorities said they also found a DNA mixture on the pocket of Graham’s jeans.

Authorities took swabs from the five defendants, and all were excluded as potential contributors to the DNA mixture found on Graham’s satchel as well as on his clothes. Numerous other suspects were investigated, and their potential involvement could not be corroborated.

Authorities completed numerous forensic tests on the evidence between 2009 and 2017, and there was no conclusive forensic testing that led to Jones or any other suspect.

Graham was killed by a single bullet wound to his back, and no bullet, bullet fragment or shell casing was located.

Graham murder: Other suspects’ outcomes

Martin

Austin

Ford

Lockhart

Parker Chronicle 23

May 8, 2020

Town unsure when, if H2O’Brien Pool will open in 2020 Social distancing measures may make opening for season impossible

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Parks and recreation officials statewide do not know when or if public pools will open this summer.

Parker Parks and Recreation remains in a “holding pattern” regarding the opening of its pools this year, wrote acting director Mary Colton in an April 28 email. Even if health experts were to eventually allow pools to open, some pools may be forced to remain closed.

“With the recent updates to the safer-at-home order, the social distancing requirements and gatherings of 10 people or fewer remain in place until further notice,” Colton said. Since H2O’Brien Pool attracts thousands of visitors each summer, it would be extremely challenging to manage social distancing requirements to prevent

the spread of COVID-19.”

The target date to open H2O’Brien Pool is June 15. That date is subject to change depending on whether the town decides it is financially viable to operate the pool with significantly fewer admissions and the town’s ability to satisfy social distancing guidelines.

H2O’Brien Pool is considered a water park. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against using hot tubs, spas, water playgrounds or water parks under its initial guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“With these restrictions in place, along with the need to recruit, hire and train lifeguards and staff, conduct all of the required inspections and incorporate strict sanitizing protocols, logistically, it will be difficult for us to open before mid-June at the very earliest. Additionally, finding appropriate (personal protective equipment) and sanitizing products at this time has been difficult,” Colton said.

“Ultimately, the safety of our employees and patrons is our top priority.”

Rotary donates $25,000 to Parker Task Force STAFF REPORT

With so many people’s lives upended by COVID-19, the Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker stepped forward to award a $25,000 grant to the Parker Task Force for Human Services.

The money will be used to prevent homelessness during the pandemic, according to a news release.

“The club reflected on what was going on and decided it had to make a substantial difference to help people in our hometown of Parker,” Joshua Rivero, president of Cherry Creek Valley Rotary, said in a news release.

When the Parker Task Force told him of its plan to use the unrestricted funds to prevent homelessness due to COVID-19, Rivero said, “If we can keep just one family from being evicted through our partnership with the Parker Task Force, we will have succeeded. But of course, we know we will be helping a multitude of people with this grant at a time when help is truly needed,” the release said.

The Parker Task Force, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, has assisted people in Parker for more than 33 years providing food and limited financial assistance.

Steve Budnack, director of the

organization, said the grant was the funding solution he needed because he had been concerned about the number of requests for rent and utility assistance coming to the agency that he projects will increase over the next several months, the release said.

“The grant will keep families in their homes and relieve some of the stress in their lives,” he said in the release.

Budnack shared the story of a single mother who lost her job because of the pandemic, applied for unemployment but had not yet received it.

She received her child support, but the amount was insufficient to cover the rent, so she turned to the task force, which paid the remainder of her rent.

“We will be able to help so many more families because of this grant,” he said in the release. “We can’t thank CCV Rotary of Parker enough for providing the financial means to keep families under their roofs and our community intact.”

Cherry Creek Valley Rotary of Parker was founded in 2006 and has a membership of 60 community-minded individuals. They look forward to being able to resume their Wednesday lunch meetings and continuing to serve.

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May 8, 2020M

STUDENT-ATHLETE STUDENT ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Pitcher stays in shape Kyle Kahn keeps working with eye on college future

BY JIM BENTON JBENTON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

T

hunderRidge senior baseball pitcher Kyle Kahn wasn’t surprised when he heard on April 21 that the Colorado High School Activities Association had canceled the 2020 spring season because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been keeping up with the news and what is going on so I kind of figured we weren’t going to have a season and it’s just something that we can’t control,” said Kahn, who will be heading to play baseball at Central

Q&A with Kahn

Missouri this fall. “It is something we are going to have to deal with in a positive way. That’s my way of looking at the whole situation.”

Kahn has been completing his school work, trying to stay in baseball shape and hanging out with his family to fill the void created by the absence of baseball practices and games.

“I’ve been throwing long toss like every other day and working out to stay in baseball shape just in case,” he said. “That’s a good way for me to cope with it, just going out and throwing ball with my dad.

“I do a bunch of throwing, working out and hanging out with my family, doing movie nights and still getting all my school work done. It’s frustrating but it (COVID-19) is also something I can’t control or do anything about. So it is just figuring out how to deal with it in a positive way.”

What is the hardest thing about missing your senior season?

The hardest thing for me was just not going out to practices with all of my best friends and being able to spend every day after school with them. It’s a big deal for me and a kind of relaxing place for me to be on the baseball field with all my friends.

What would have been your goals if you had played this season?

To lead the league in ERA. My goal every time I got out to pitch is give it my all and give 110 percent every time I touch the field.

COACH’S TAKE: ‘Kyle is a great pitcher, but more importantly he is an amazing young man. He is the sort of young man that people gravitate to, he has tremendous leadership skills and genuinely cares about his community. I’ve never heard Kyle speak a negative word about his classmates on the team.’

Brad Johnson, ThunderRidge head baseball coach

QUALITY & VA

COURTESY PHOTO

How does missing the season affect your college plans, if at all?

My coach (at Central Missouri) reached out to me when he found out we weren’t playing, so I asked him if there was anything I needed to be doing. The answer I got was to do long toss to strengthen my arm and be able to do whatever workouts I could to stay in shape.

And over the summer to figure out mechanical stuff and not worry about games or anything.

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May 8, 2020

Sheriff Tony Spurlock read “Officer Buckle and Gloria” to groups of Douglas County preschoolers April 14 and 15 over a video conference. He also introduced one of the sheriff’s office K-9s.

COURTESY PHOTO

Sheriff reads to preschoolers over video connection

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

As part of an effort to keep up a relationship between law enforcement and Douglas County children, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, in partnership with Council for a Strong America, participated in a virtual book reading April 14 and 15.

By remote video conference, Spurlock read the children’s book “Officer Buckle and Gloria” to two groups of preschoolers at Coyote Creek Elementary School in Highlands Ranch.

He also introduced one of the sheriff ’s office K-9’s to the children and answered their questions in sessions lasting about 40 minutes, according to a release from Council For a Strong America, or CSA. CSA is a nonprofit made up of law enforcement officers, retired admirals and generals, business and community leaders, faith-based leaders and athletes and coaches. The goal of the nonprofit is to help prepare children for successful lives.

Spurlock is a member of the nonprofit’s group, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

“The kids loved it and Sheriff Spurlock did as well,” according to the release. “In the environment in which we now find ourselves, it is important that we give kids great opportunities like out Cops & Tots program, even if done virtually.”

Answers

Solution © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Douglas County’s Spurlock also answered children’s questions

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PUBLIC NOTICES

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PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Trustees PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0041 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/7/2020 12:48:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: Vicky Hammond, Emmanuel Hammond Original Beneficiary: Bank of the West Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: Bank of the West Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 12/11/2015 Recording Date of DOT: 12/17/2015 Reception No. of DOT: 2015089676 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $75,000.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $74,971.24

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: the failure to make timely payments required under said Deed of Trust and the Evidence of Debt secured thereby.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 123, MERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CENTER FILING NO. 5, FIRST AMENDMENT, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 10315 Nottingham Dr, Parker, CO 80134 NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at the Public Trustee’s office, 402 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 4/9/2020 Last Publication: 5/7/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/10/2020 CHRISTINE DUFFY DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: ILENE DELL'ACQUA Colorado Registration #: 31755 7700 E. ARAPAHOE ROAD, SUITE 230, CENTENNIAL, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (877) 369-6122 Fax #: Attorney File #: CO-20-878245-LL

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website : http://www.douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No.: 2020-0041 First Publication: 4/9/2020 Last Publication: 5/7/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0045 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/18/2020

Public PUBLICTrustees NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0045 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/18/2020 12:06:00 PM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: Justin Fitzsimmons Original Beneficiary: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Nova Financial & Investment Corporation Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: M&T Bank Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 7/5/2017 Recording Date of DOT: 7/14/2017 Reception No. of DOT: 2017047713 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $432,030.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $416,826.57 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and/or other violations of the terms thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 13, BLOCK 2, VILLAGES OF PARKER FILING NO. 3-B, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 21820 Unbridled Ave. , Parker, CO 80138 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, 2020, at the Public Trustee’s office, 402 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 4/16/2020 Last Publication: 5/14/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/18/2020 CHRISTINE DUFFY DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: SCOTT TOEBBEN Colorado Registration #: 19011 216 16TH STREET SUITE 1210, DENVER, COLORADO 80202 Phone #: (720) 259-6710 Fax #: Attorney File #: 19CO00448-2 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website : http://www.douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No.: 2020-0045 First Publication: 4/16/2020 Last Publication: 5/14/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0047 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/24/2020 9:27:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be

Parker Public NOTICETrustees OF SALE

Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0047 To Whom It May Concern: On 2/24/2020 9:27:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: CHRIS JON HAMMERBERG Original Beneficiary: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATION, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: COLORADO HOUSING AND FINANCE AUTHORITY Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 6/1/2018 Recording Date of DOT: 6/5/2018 Reception No. of DOT: 2018033623 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $314,204.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $307,506.75 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Borrower’s failure to make timely payments as required under the Evidence of Debt and Deed of Trust.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 100, COTTONWOOD SUBDIVISION FILING NO. 1, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 17605 Ponderosa Ave, Parker, CO 80134 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 17, 2020, at the Public Trustee’s office, 402 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 4/23/2020 Last Publication: 5/21/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 2/24/2020 CHRISTINE DUFFY DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: NICHOLAS H. SANTARELLI Colorado Registration #: 46592 9800 S. MERIDIAN BLVD. SUITE 400, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112 Phone #: (303) 706-9990 Fax #: (303) 706-9994 Attorney File #: 20-024128 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www.douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No.: 2020-0047 First Publication: 4/23/2020 Last Publication: 5/21/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0057 To Whom It May Concern: On 3/2/2020 10:41:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0057

Public Trustees

Public PUBLICTrustees NOTICE

To Whom It May Concern: On 3/2/2020 10:41:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0058

Original Grantor: CHRISTOPHER S. COLEMAN AND WENDY D. COLEMAN Original Beneficiary: OPTION ONE MORTGAGE CORPORATION Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, successor by merger to Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, National Association (formerly known as Norwest Bank Minnesota, National Association), not in its individual or banking capacity, but solely in its capacity as Trustee for the Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Trust, Series 2005-HE3 Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 6/23/2005 Recording Date of DOT: 6/28/2005 Reception No. of DOT: 2005058121 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $530,488.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $496,716.43 Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations of the terms thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN. The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 17, PINERY WEST FILING NO. 1-C, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 5885 Bridle Path Ln, Parker, CO 80134 NOTICE OF SALE The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at the Public Trustee’s office, 402 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 4/30/2020 Last Publication: 5/28/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 3/2/2020 CHRISTINE DUFFY DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: ANNA JOHNSTON Colorado Registration #: 51978 1391 Speer Boulevard, Suite 700 , DENVER, COLORADO 80204 Phone #: (303) 350-3711 Fax #: Attorney File #: 00000008843906 *YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www.douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No.: 2020-0057 First Publication: 4/30/2020 Last Publication: 5/28/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press

To Whom It May Concern: On 3/2/2020 10:39:00 AM the undersigned Public Trustee caused the Notice of Election and Demand relating to the Deed of Trust described below to be recorded in Douglas County.

Original Grantor: HOWARD D. REEVES AND MADONNA L. REEVES Original Beneficiary: BOKF, NA dba Colorado State Bank and Trust Current Holder of Evidence of Debt: BOKF NA DBA BOK FINANCIAL Date of Deed of Trust (DOT): 2/27/2016 Recording Date of DOT: 3/7/2016 Reception No. of DOT: 2016013345 DOT Recorded in Douglas County.

Original Principal Amount of Evidence of Debt: $45,056.00 Outstanding Principal Amount as of the date hereof: $43,098.23

Pursuant to C.R.S. §38-38-101 (4) (i), you are hereby notified that the covenants of the deed of trust have been violated as follows: Failure to pay principal and interest when due together with all other payments provided for in the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust and other violations of the terms thereof.

THE LIEN FORECLOSED MAY NOT BE A FIRST LIEN.

The property described herein is all of the property encumbered by the lien of the deed of trust.

Legal Description of Real Property: LOT 11, BLOCK 7, CLARKE FARMS SUBDIVISION FILING NO. 4A, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO. Which has the address of: 17041 Hastings Ave, Parker, CO 80134 NOTICE OF SALE

The current holder of the Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust described herein, has filed written election and demand for sale as provided by law and in said Deed of Trust.

THEREFORE, Notice Is Hereby Given that on the first possible sale date (unless the sale is continued*) at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at the Public Trustee’s office, 402 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, I will sell at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, the said real property and all interest of said Grantor(s), Grantor(s)’ heirs and assigns therein, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness provided in said Evidence of Debt secured by the Deed of Trust, plus attorneys’ fees, the expenses of sale and other items allowed by law, and will deliver to the purchaser a Certificate of Purchase, all as provided by law. If the sale date is continued to a later date, the deadline to file a notice of intent to cure by those parties entitled to cure may also be extended.

First Publication: 4/30/2020 Last Publication: 5/28/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press Dated: 3/2/2020 CHRISTINE DUFFY DOUGLAS COUNTY Public Trustee

The name, address and telephone numbers of the attorney(s) representing the legal holder of the indebtedness is: MICHAEL J.. WEICHER Colorado Registration #: 54235 11101 WEST 120TH AVENUE #280 Eldorado Bldg 2, BROOMFIELD, COLORADO 80021 Phone #: (303) 539-8601 Fax #: (303) 265-9628 Attorney File #: 47912618

*YOU MAY TRACK FORECLOSURE SALE DATES on the Public Trustee website: http://www.douglas.co.us/publictrustee/ Legal Notice No.: 2020-0058 First Publication: 4/30/2020 Last Publication: 5/28/2020 Publisher: Douglas County News Press

PUBLIC NOTICE Parker NOTICE OF SALE Public Trustee Sale No. 2020-0058 To Whom It May Concern: On 3/2/2020

Parker Legals 5.7.20* 1

32 Parker Chronicle

May 8, 2020M

SMITH FROM PAGE 16

Man,” “Strangers on a Train,” and “Saboteur.”

I anticipate a 21st-century retelling of “The Grapes of Wrath.” Small business owners who have lost everything and have to find something else to do with their lives.

There will be documentaries and coffee-table books filled with haunting photographs.

And there will be humor. There already has been.

(Some of it, unfortunately, has been unintentional. Take your pick.)

The mystery, of course, is not knowing when it will be safe again to move around and commingle like always.

Some are ready to resume now.

Maybe you have noticed the protests and rallies.

A woman in my birth state held up a sign that conjoined the governor’s name with Adolf Hitler’s.

Hand-lettered words beyond com-

NORTON

FROM PAGE 16

I do know how that feels, it feels like a gut punch, it is awful. However, when I look back at what I might have done with the attitude, emotion, and act of kindness to help someone else,

LETTERS

prehension provided the woman with her legacy. No apology accepted.

Television commercials are outdoing themselves with soothing words instead of self-promotions. Nice, isn’t it, not to have someone blasting deep dish car and truck discounts at you?

I look forward to the day when I can go back to doing what I do best: namely, find fault in irrelevancies such as the broken English the newest National Football League millionaires gargled and tweeted when they were drafted.

And Christmas music in November.

And sitting on an airplane next to someone who talks too much. Won’t it feel good to sit on an airplane again?

ESPN and others have been showing replays of football, basketball and baseball games. Stadiums are filled with people. It looks very normal. And it looks very strange.

FROM PAGE 16

the health of their family, it would be very easy to do the bare minimum when working in uncertain conditions. However, the health care workers at the Highlands Ranch hospital went above and beyond their duties. They held his hand and comforted him in his last days and sat by his bedside to talk to him. Additionally, sheriff ’s deputies took time to come down to the hospital to perform a funeral procession in honor of his dedicated service with the New York Police Department.

It is everyday heroes like these that really show the true definition of humanity. We will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for our family as we mourn our grandfather, but we want you to know that it will never be forgotten. Thank you for treating him with the

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net.

I let that sink in and remember that I can’t control how others react, I can only control how I choose to respond.

Unleashing kindness is never a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it is one of the greatest things we can do for each other.

“Do things for other people, not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you

respect and care that we all hope for and thank you for honoring his service. I know he is smiling down and grateful for your many acts of kindness.

Bobby Cusick Highlands Ranch

are.” - Harold S. Kushner So how about you? Are you seeing amazing acts of kindness in your home, neighborhood, and on your virtual meetings? Are you living with the attitude and emotion of kindness that puts your kindness muscles to work? I’ll bet you are, and I would love to hear your kindness story at mnorton@tramazing.com. And when we all

Hoping for new normal Recently, Paul Albani-Burgio wrote a piece highlighting the finding of significantly cleaner air across the Denver area, according to measurements taken in late March. Those with respiratory conditions must be especially thankful for this brief respite from our increasing issue with declining air quality along the Front Range.

As we regroup from the multifaceted trauma brought on by the pandemic, I hope that we as individuals and as businesses, with the necessary smart bipartisan government leadership in support, will make this part of our “new normal.”

Lois McLauchlan Sedalia

learn how to unlock our human potential and at the same time unleash our kindness, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is the grateful CEO of Tramazing.com, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

C Mo #1 olora rtg Rev do ag ers ’s eB e rok er

Taking Giant Innovative Leaps

by Kathy Muni

A

s our great state of Colorado takes small steps to reopen and get our lives back to normal, Silver Leaf Mortgage is taking giant innovative leaps.

Leaps we believe are needed to ensure the health and safety of our clients while continuing to do business today and in the future. deployed our Mobile Clean Room Office that includes two mobile workspaces, separated by a sealed glass wall. We will come to your home or any location where you choose to meet. You will have your own separate entrance to a 99.999% germfree area in which to go over documents at our mobile “kitchen table.” Your loan officer will be on the other side of the glass wall and you will communicate via audio and visual. A copier and fax will be in your space for your use so you can provide supporting documents without difficulty.

This will allow us to conduct business with you while keeping everyone safe from Covid-19 infection.

After each use, the Mobile Clean Room Office is disinfected with commercialgrade electrostatic foggers, the same type

used in hospitals, to ensure a 99.999% germ-free environment.

With home values remaining high and interest rates at near record lows, the time to act is now. The proceeds from a reverse mortgage are tax-free money that may be used in any way you choose. For some, it’s the instant lifesaving help you need today.

For others, it’s the safety net for your future or the unplanned life events like medical emergencies that may arise.

Call TODAY for more information.

No Upfront Appraisal Fee. Offer Code 0508CCM

Kathy Muni, NMLS #1368981, is Senior Vice President and Reverse Mortgage Specialist at Silver Leaf Mortgage in Centennial.

Kathy Muni

Contact me at: (720) 458-4034, or you can email me at: KathyM@SilverLeafMortgage.com

720-458-4034

720-458-4034

Located in The Streets at SouthGlenn 6972 South Vine Street | Suite 366 | Centennial, CO 80122

NMLS #1368981 Reverse Mortgage Specialist

Kathy Muni: Re ve Mortgage Expe rse rt!

KathyM@SilverLeafMortgage.com Listen to Muni for Your Money – The Reverse Mortgage Show weekly on Legends 810 and 94.3FM, 670 KLTT, 100.7FM KLZ and 560 KLZ or see us live on Colorado’s Best KWGN CW2 & Fox-31, or Colorado & Company KUSA 9News.

SLM NMLS #1394377 is an Equal Housing Lender. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Regulated by the Department of Real Estate.