South Platte Independent 0428

Page 1

April 28, 2016

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A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

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SouthPlatteIndependent.net

Seniors forced to find new homes Fire prevents residents from moving back to Southview Place Towers

By Kyle Harding and Chris Rotar Staff writers Jim and Carolyn Stubbert hadn’t spent the night in their apartment in nearly two weeks when they heard the news. The couple would not be going home — other than to pack their possessions. The situation reminded Jim Stubbert of the first night

after the fire that forced them from their apartment. It felt, he said, like he and his wife were “homeless again.” On April 6, as smoke filled hallways, residents were evacuated from Southview Place Towers, a senior-living community just east of downtown Littleton. More than a dozen seniors spent 10 nights in a Red Cross shelter, while others, like the Stubberts, found temporary homes with family or friends. Then on April 19, the building’s 132 residents learned their leases had been terminated.

Damage from the lunchtime fire was extensive enough to make the building uninhabitable for at least six months, a spokesman for Southview’s owners said. The Stubberts have been staying with their daughter in south Jefferson County. “We don’t know how much longer she is going to put up with us,” Jim Stubbert said. By the end of last week, as volunteers put boxes in moving trucks, the cause of the fire remained under investigation. Fire continues on Page 5

Volunteers and movers help remove the belongings of some residents of Southview Place Towers on April 21. Photo by Kyle Harding

TREASURE HUNT Learn from the experts on how to set up a successful garage sale. PAGE 12

IT’S A HIT Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Ralph DeQuebec, right, thanks Vacations for Warriors for sending him and his wife, Katie, left, on a vacation to Hawaii. Vacations for Warriors founder Bob DeMonbrun is in the center. Photo by Kyle Harding

Home run provides Heritage a boost in ThunderRidge game. PAGE 20

Group sends injured Marine on vacation Highlands Ranch man’s nonprofit sending four veterans on trips this year By Kyle Harding kharding@coloradocommunitymedia.com Gunnery Sgt. Ralph DeQuebec and his wife, Katie, haven’t had a chance to take a honeymoon in the nearly four years they’ve

been married. The Marine Corps explosive ordnance disposal specialist had both of his legs amputated after he was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012. He and Katie were married soon after.

But the DeQuebecs are traveling to Hawaii this summer thanks to the nonprofit group Vacations for Warriors. They joined Vacations for Warriors and supporters on April 23 at the Littleton Elks Lodge for a Hawaiian luau-themed fundraiser. Veterans continues on Page 5

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