July 22, 2016 VO LUM E 1 4 | IS S U E 38 | FREE
JUMPING FOR HOPS Brewery Boot Camp combines fitness with craft beer. PAGE 12
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DOUGLAS COUNTY
New rules would limit growing of marijuana Ordinance would set cap of 12 plants per home By Shanna Fortier sfortier@coloradocommunitymedia.com An ordinance being considered by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners would limit the number of marijuana plants being grown at a primary residence. The three commissioners voted unanimously July 12 to put regulations on growing, cultivating and processing marijuana in unincorporated Douglas County. The ordinance will go to second reading Aug. 9 at the 2:30 p.m. public hearing. “I think we’ve come up with a great solution … considering the failure of the Legislature to deal with this issue,” Commissioner Jill Repella said. “(The ordinance) does not strip the rights of people who have the right to use marijuana according to our state constitution, but it puts some reasonable parameters around what people do.” Douglas County has already prohibited commercial marijuana operations, but per state law, the county cannot prohibit noncommercial individual grow operations. The ordinance, which was presented to the board by Chief Deputy Steve Johnson of the Douglas County Sheriffs Office, focuses on several key areas: where marijuana can be grown; plant limits per home; a ban on compressed, flammable gas and flammable liquids; the smell or odor produced; and growing at a rental property. Limit continues on Page 7
LIFE LESSONS
Children learn to care for animals before taking them to market. PAGE 16
Jesse Smith, chair of the Builders’ Board at Parker Valley Hope, is surrounded by hundreds of coffee mugs at the Parker Valley Hope residential treatment facility. Each client in treatment receives and decorates a mug that they keep throughout their time at Valley Hope. When they leave the program, they hang the cup on the wall, then return to claim it after reaching one year of sobriety. Photo by Tom Skelley
Marking 20 years of hope Addiction treatment center celebrates two decades in Denver area By Tom Skelley tskelley@coloradocommunitymedia.com More than 80 people from all walks of life recently rubbed elbows
in a packed conference room at the Parker Valley Hope residential treatment facility, celebrating 20 years of treating individuals battling substance abuse in the Denver area. The cramped space was a testament to the many lives the small facility has saved. “Who woulda thunk we would all be here together,” said CEO Pat
George, to a round of laughter from staff and guests at the July 12 ceremony. George, who checked himself into a Kansas branch of the facility in 1991 to work through issues with alcoholism, said the group helps more than just people with dependency issues. Hope continues on Page 7
Caddies take the road less traveled Carrying a golf bag for money often a labor of love By Jim Benton jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com Carmen Garcia is enjoying her second year as a caddie. “The opportunity was offered to me... and I thought it was interesting and different,” said Garcia, a sophomore-to-be at St. Mary’s Academy in Cherry Hills Village. “I never played golf but I’m getting the hang of caddying.” Garcia is among the dozens of youths taking part in the Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. The academy is part of an effort by the Colorado Golf Association to keep caddies in the game. Caddies, while very visible on the
professional tours, seem to belong to a bygone era when it comes to amateur golf, where most players opt to traverse the course in a cart. But in the Denver metro area, the trade of carrying a golf bag for money is amid something of a resurgence. Jake Pendergast, who will be a junior at Regis Jesuit, is a caddie at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. “I picked up caddying because I love golf and learning about the game,” he said. “There’s not too many ways to make money and have fun. Caddying is fun.”
The evolution Caddies go back to the beginning of golf. Historians believe that Mary, Queen of Scots, came up with the term caddying in the late 16th century. She grew up in France, where military cadets carried golf clubs for royalty.
The game began to rise in popularity in the United States in the 1900s and caddies were a fixture on public and private courses alike — for at least the first
Caddies continues on Page 24
Molly Lucas, a Cherry Creek High School graduate, is a caddie at Cherry Hills Country Club. Photo by Jim Benton
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