Transcript Wheat Ridge
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 30, Issue 10
August 29, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Stabber on the loose Wilson suspected of attacking woman, child By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Gertrude, a bulldog, enjoys the water at the Morse Pool Park children’s pool. Dogs from the region enjoyed the pool at 8180 W. 20th Ave.
Bark and
SplaSh Photos by Clarke reader
The fall tradition of Lakewood outdoor pools giving the last days of summer to area dogs – not only from Lakewood, but from Arvada, Wheat Ridge and Golden – was alive and well Aug. 24-25 at the Morse Pool Park, 8180 W. 20th Ave. Many breeds showed up to enjoy the water, play a game of fetch and meet other dogs. Vendors like Carbon Pawprint were also on hand to sell their wares to dog owners.
Dogs take to the water at the Morse Park Pool as part of the Bark and Splash event.
A man suspected of stabbing a mother and her child near the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt Aug. 22 was still on the loose earlier this week as police urged caution to those who may come across him. Meanwhile, new details from investigators indicate that the attack was personal. The 21-year-old female victim was a material witness in a 2007 Wheat Ridge case that involved Marvin Gean Wilson — the Greenbelt stabbing suspect — and the alleged sexual assault of a child, according to Wheat Ridge police Cmdr. Dave Pickett. Wilson “This was never thought to be a random act,” Pickett said. Pickett said that police are continuing to look into any prior personal relationships the two may have shared, which may help the investigation. Wilson, 44, had been wanted on two arrest warrants for separate cases, prior to the Greenbelt stabbing, according to Pickett. One of those was the Wheat Ridge case from six years ago, the other was a case out of Park County, for failing to register as a sex offender. Police have been trying to track down Wilson since the woman identified him as the one who attacked her in the Greenbelt, a popular recreational area. The woman told police that as she was walking along a trail near 48th and Otis on the morning of Aug. 22, a man jumped out from behind a bush and stabbed her Stabbing continues on Page 24
inbloom debate blossoms over new student data program Parents vocal in concern about pros and cons of data system By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Parents packed a feisty Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education meeting Aug. 22 to hear the pros and cons of a student data gathering system that
the district is expected to pilot sometime next year. Supporters hailed the system, called inBloom, as a long-timecoming classroom enhancement intended to help teachers better tailor instruction through a centralized student database. But inBloom detractors are concerned primarily about the privacy and security of children’s school records and personal information, and how the new system might end up mining and utilizing
POSTAL ADDRESS
that data. It was clear which side of the issue the majority of the audience was on, judging from their often boisterous reacStevenson tions to comments that were made by a panel of education experts. “If this is a great idea, and there are really are no privacy concerns, give the parents the right to choose whether their children take part,” said Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, through audience applause. Nassirian participated in the panel via video from Washington D.C. He was one of several panelists to give their opinions of inBloom, a $100 million system that is being funded primarily by the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-
tion. inBloom will provide the “middleware” in a data dashboard system that will collect student information in a single database that supporters believe will better assist teachers in developing a specific curricula for individuals in the classroom. Colorado is one of only three states to pilot inBloom, with Jeffco being the lone district in the state expected to try it out, beginning in the 2014-2015 school year. The program will not cost Jeffco anything until 2015, if it chooses to continue using the system after the pilot project. After that, the cost to the 86,000 student district will be $3 to $5 per student. The system has been the subject of controversy across the U.S., as some states that initially had committed to pilot the system ended up backing out because of privacy and security concerns. inBloom is capable of storing
demographic information, such as race, economic status and other metrics. However, the district is adamant that the dashboard will only include data fields that are relevant to academics.
‘Critical’ need or ‘too few safeguards?’
Panelists that included David Millard, a fifth-grade teacher at Jeffco’s Webber Elementary School, touted the dashboard’s capability of allowing teachers to better personalize instruction through a more efficient data storage program. inBloom continues on Page 24
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