April 2, 2021
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 17
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 20
Colorado makes big step toward reopening Final ‘dial 3.0’ rules could mark state’s largest change since stay-at-home ended BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
seniors in both college and high school did not get to walk across the stage and accept a diploma in front of their peers and families. In the spring of 2020, Jaime Nats was in her final year of competitive swimming at Boise State. Now a college graduate, Nats said she had already been struggling with a new swim coach. When the COVID pandemic struck, she did not get the final celebrations, she did not get to breathe that sigh of relief you take in finishing a difficult task, she said.
In what may amount to Colorado’s largest step toward reopening since the statewide stay-at-home order ended, the state saw nearly half of its counties move to the lowest level on the state’s “dial” system of restrictions. The state’s color-coded COVID-19 dial is the set of restrictions counties must follow based on the local spread of the virus. The system affects capacity at restaurants, other businesses, indoor and outdoor events, and other settings. Colorado originally implemented the dial on Sept. 15. Among the dial’s six levels, green is the least restrictive. Purple, the most restrictive level, is a stay-athome order. Only a few counties had qualified for level green — also known as the “protect our neighbors” stage — in the past. But when the latest changes to Colorado’s system of restrictions — dubbed “dial 3.0” — took effect on March 24, counties scattered across the state moved to level green.
SEE COVID, P7
SEE REOPENING, P6
Mary Jane Shively continued studies abroad, working towards her master’s degree in Ireland. During a pandemic, the opportuCOURTESY PHOTO nity has posed plenty of challenges.
High school, college students reflect on a year of COVID From learning online to studying abroad, students struggled to find normalcy BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
During the year of COVID, elementary school students may remember it as the year they did not go to school and spent a lot of time at home. However, for high school and college students, it will be a year where they missed out,
COVID-19: ONE YEAR MARKER Part 2: In this report, we will talk to students about how their routines with friends and schools changed drastically to learn how they adjusted to COVID-19 limitations. Last week in Part 1, mothers shared how they navigated COVID-19 challenges and restrictions. especially the seniors. It is going to be remembered as the year where they missed prom and assemblies. It is going to be the year where they did not get to have a normal spring break or athletics. It is going to be the year where