November 20, 2020
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | SPORTS: PAGE 18 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 1
Schools moving to remote learning COVID-19 cases rising, prompting decision to make switch after Thanksgiving break BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Gus Velez, co-owner of Chicken Shack in Parker and Aurora, is a retired U.S. Marine who served from 1985-89. Velez and his wife, Molly, keep their doors open to new military recruits needing work. Finding work for the few months before shipping out can be difficult for recruits, Velez said. The Velezes have a partnership with the local Marine recruitment office for new recruits who need a job. PHOTO BY NICK PUCKETT
Shack feeling unfazed by the changes ahead. COVID-19 cases are surging throughout the metro area. Douglas County moved to stricter Safer at Home orders Nov. 13, requiring restaurants operate at 25% maximum capacity, or 25 people, according to the Tri-County Health Department. “The transition from dine-in to carry-out and delivery wasn’t a difficult one because we already had that,” Velez said. “We are ready for it because we understand what we’re getting into, compared to last time. We understand that if everything gets shut down, we’ll have to move to 100% curbside, delivery and stuff like that.” Before the pandemic, the Chicken
With COVID-19 cases mounting, the Douglas County School District has decided to switch entirely to remote learning after Thanksgiving break. “We want our families to know that our teachers and staff very much wanted to continue with in-person learning,” states a Nov. 12 letter addressed to families and staff signed by interim Suprintendent Corey Wise. “Making the Wise decision to transition to remote learning, yet again, has been absolutely heartbreaking.” The district cited surges in COVID-19 cases and quarantines for their reasoning for switching to remote learning, adding that the situation makes staffing shortages impossible to overcome. As of Nov. 13, there had been 540 positive cases in the district since the start of the pandemic in March, according to a data dashboard from the district.
SEE SHACK, P10
SEE REMOTE, P7
‘It’s helping my brother’ Chicken Shack owner seeks Marine recruits for hire BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM>
Before young Marine recruits in Parker ship out to bootcamp, a lot of them find jobs at The Chicken Shack. Co-owner Gus Velez has a partnership with the local Marine recruiting center, and any new recruits in need of work go to him. The Chicken Shack has three employees going into service currently. “It’s helping my brother,” Velez said. “That’s what I tell them when they leave. `When you come back, you’re going to be my brother, and
you’re going to be brother forever because we’re both Marines.’” Velez was a lance corporal in the Marine Corps from 1985-89. Velez said, from his experience, recruits are often turned away from hourly jobs in the months prior to leaving for bootcamp. “Once the employer finds out they’re getting ready to go to bootcamp, they don’t hire them because they’re going to be gone,” he said. Gus and Molly Velez opened The Chicken Shack in Parker in 2015. It has since become a mini-pipeline for recruits to work before beginning their service. On Nov. 12, one day before the county moved to stricter safer-at-home orders, Gus Velez sat at one of the few unoccupied tables at the Chicken
WHERE TO GET TESTED?
There are free COVID-19 testing locations across the metro area P12
STUDIO QUALITY Options abound for those looking to record music, podcasts, poetry and more P16