June 17, 2016
NOT HIS FIRST RODEO
VO LUM E 1 4 | IS S U E 33 | FREE
Take a glimpse into a day in the life of a rodeo cowboy. PAGE 12
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Texas board confirms Fagen Superintendent will take reins in Humble district in July By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Emily Sloan, 2, left, and her sister Kalynn, 5, enjoy a funnel cake at the Parker Days Festival on June 11. Photos by Tom Skelley
Parker Days is fair with flair By Tom Skelley tskelley@colorado communitymedia.com
Kerry Green fails to live up to his name as he prepares for the parade at the Parker Days festival on June 11. Green, dressed as the “Mile-High Monster,” walked with the Alzheimer’s Association.
Warm weather and big-name attractions made for four days of packed sidewalks and smiling faces at Parker Days 2016. “It was a great year,” said Sara Crowe, special events director for the Parker Area Chamber of Commerce. “Watching kids interact with Captain Jack Sparrow, the little kids in the tractors and equipment on Mainstreet, it’s just fun to see all of those little pieces add up to the big picture.” Classic rockers 38 Special kicked off Festival continues on Page 27
‘Getting together is a life-saving thing’ Invisible Disabilities Association supports those with ailments that aren’t readily apparent By Tom Skelley tskelley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Sherri and Wayne Connell founded the Invisible Disabilities Association to support people with health problems that aren’t apparent to others. Courtesy photo
W
ayne Connell knew his wife, Sherri, was ill, but nobody else could tell. “We would park in disabled parking and people would yell at us for parking there,” Connell says.
“We’d have people follow us all the way into the store, then my wife would sit in the scooter and they’d say ‘Oh.’” Connell’s wife, Sherri, has Lyme disease and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The conditions forced her to quit working and left her fatigued and in pain, but without visible symptoms. Experiences the couple shared led Sherri to coin the term “invisible disabilities,” and the couple decided to share their story. Invisible continues on Page 23
Douglas County School District Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen is expected to turn in her resignation this week after a school district in Texas confirmed her as its new superintendent. Fagen — whose sixyear tenure in Douglas County has been marked by controversy as she worked to enact numerous reforms in the high-achieving district — recently said she planned to turn in Fagen her resignation letter on June 15 if events go as planned. On June 14, Fagen was approved by a 6-0 vote of the Humble Independent School District’s board. Humble will hold a series of town halls to introduce her to the community. “It is our hope that through these town halls you will be able to see what we saw in Dr. Fagen throughout the hiring process and be as excited as we are about the future of Humble ISD,” board member Keith Lapeze said. Several parents in Humble, near Houston, protested Fagen’s hiring during the public comment portion of the meeting. A petition with 1,900 signatures from within the Humble district was presented to the board. Guy Sconzo, retiring Humble superintendent, asked the community to Fagen continues on Page 9
BIG LEAGUE
Local players slide into Coors Field for the Colorado Rockies’ All-Star/Futures Game. PAGE 21
Treat Veins with NO Downtime and NO Stockings 303-945-2080 Dr. Dave Verebelyi
See page 3 for Dr. Dave Verebelyi’s column on veins.