September 4, 2020
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 6 | LIFE: PAGE 8 | SPORTS: PAGE 15
Fire agencies pitch in on Colo. blazes, hurricane First responders deploy to locations in need of extra assistance BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Firefighters from across the metro area were deployed to assist at the scene of Colorado wildfires and with the aftermath of Hurricane Laura on the Gulf Coast. South Metro Fire Rescue and the Castle Rock and Denver fire departments each sent first responders to assist with the blazes raging in the state. Also called into service were members of the West Metro Fire Protection District, which covers significant portions of Jefferson and Douglas counties, and the Arvada and Thornton fire agencies. Among the blazes where local fire agencies have been assisting is the Pine Gulch Fire, centered 18 miles north of Grand Junction, which had engulfed more than 139,000 acres as of Aug. 30, making it the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history. The fire was about 77% contained as of that date, with 646 people working to douse the blaze, according to the federal National Wildfire Coordinating Group. SEE AGENCIES, P10
BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Three years since her appearance
E-learning teachers express frustration, anxiety One Douglas County educator cites crying by colleagues, high stress BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Firefighters from South Metro Fire Rescue Brush 33, based in Centennial, push back against the Cameron Peak Fire in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt national forests in northern Colorado on Aug. 24. COURTESY PHOTO
Parker native, ‘Voice’ contestant unveiling new music National exposure was ‘a rare opportunity’ for Hoopes
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 42
on NBC’s singing competition TV show “The Voice,” Parker native Kristi Hoopes is preparing to release her debut EP in the coming months. Hoopes, 22, released her debut single “Don’t Worry Mama” Aug. 21, her first piece of original music since 2014, when she released personal recordings of her music. The Legend High School graduate plans to release her first EP sometime this
fall, Hoopes said. Hoopes participated on Season 13 of “The Voice” in 2017. Hoopes began a fundraising effort for the EP in 2018. Hoopes lives near Nashville in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with her fiancé. Hoopes studied at Middle Tennessee State University. SEE HOOPES, P4
As Douglas County e-learning teachers geared up for their first week of classes, starting Aug. 31 after a weeklong delay, some expressed frustration and anxiety over the coming weeks, saying their student rosters continued to change, technology presented challenges and expectations from administrators remained unclear. In the preceding two weeks, the Douglas County district had pivoted to a new model for high school e-learners, and in middle and elementary schools, some teachers still didn’t have final rosters for their students or direction on how to grade their assessments as of Friday, Aug. 28, according to district teachers. Now, some teachers interviewed by Colorado Community Media are describing themselves and their colleagues as -- in the words of one -- “at a breaking point.” “I’ve never seen my colleagues under the amount of stress they’re under right now,” one district high school teacher for e-learning said. SEE TEACHERS, P13