Volume 54, Issue No. 8
A Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. Publication
August 2015
The Aftermath Of the Devastation of June 24 A Call To Readers: Tell Us What Happens To You When It Rains By Cara DeGette GPHN Editor
The deluge of June 24 dropped two inches of rain and hail in parts of Park Hill, in just 35 minutes. The flooding in some areas of the neighborhood was horrendous – inches and feet of water filling up basements, leaving cars drenched and floating, sweeping gardens away. For many property owners, it was the latest destructive storm in what has become a routine occurrence. Most homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover flooding, meaning people are forced to incur the costs of damage and loss. As a result, it is nearly impossible to determine the overall pricetag on the collective destruction to people’s homes and property. Many property owners have begun raising questions about what the city should do to improve stormwater drainage infrastructure, and other measures that can be taken to protect our neighborhood. Readers, we are calling on you to help us document the widespread flooding that has occurred in Park Hill this spring and summer, including the storm of June 24. Please
Joy Warner and Richard Kruch, drying out in front of their home near 16th Avenue and Cherry Street after the June 24 storm. Nearly everything they owned was submerged when several feet of water flooded their home. Read details of what happened, and additional coverage of a history of flooding in Park Hill, on pages 4-5. Photo courtesy Joy Warner
share your personal stories, including what type of damage you incurred – including to your homes, your cars and your gardens, the estimate of the depth of the floodwaters in various parts of the neighborhood.
Running In Reverse For Heather and Tracey, A Wedding, At Last
In months to come, we plan to continue to document the destruction of ongoing flooding and stormwater issues in Park Hill. Send your stories, including photos and videos, to GPHN Editor Cara DeGette at editor@
greaterparkhill.org., and to our resident stormwater expert, Brian Hyde, at westerly_connect_brian@comcast.net.
– which ultimately led them both to take on top leadership roles on the Greater Park Hill Community Board of Directors. They recounted their decision to join, along with eight other couples, in a legal challenge to Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage. They described the harrowing day that bumper-to-bumper traffic and bad information nearly thwarted them from getting to a government office on time to become the second same sex couple to marry that day in Colorado. And yes, sometimes they complete each other’s thoughts.
point highlighted during the telephone exchange. (Note: MacDermott did call back, after she calmed down, and apologized.) When Shockey transferred to Denver, in September, 1992, she was dating women, and MacDermott was dating men. They became friends. MacDermott, knowing Shockey would be alone for the holidays, invited her home for Christmas dinner. There, Shockey held court, telling the orange shoes story to MacDermott’s delighted family. MacDermott was not as amused.
‘I can’t sell these’
By Cara DeGette Editor, GPHN
Tracey MacDermott and Heather Shockey have been through sickness and health. They’ve shared joy, and sorrow. They’ve been poorer, and richer. For 20 years, they’ve been constant friends, and faithful partners. They got married last year. And now, two months after the U.S. Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, MacDermott, 47, and Shockey, 46,
Celebration Of Life Planned For Phil Yarter
Page 14
Foot Chase Leads to Shooting; Peace Mob Arrives
Page 12
Inside This Issue
Page 11
August 2015
are getting ready to have their wedding. “So it’s all backwards,” MacDermott starts. “But it’s us. It’s us!” Shockey finishes. Recently, the women described their initial friendship and romance, and the medical emergency that proved to be Tracey’s moment of outing to her family. They shared the very real episodes that could have left them without legal protections as a couple. They described their particularly fiery battle to stop a bad development from moving forward in their beloved neighborhood
Their first encounter occurred in the early 90s. At the time, Colorado’s Amendment 2 was kicking into high gear. The anti-gay ballot measure, which prohibited local governments from enacting anti-discrimination ordinances to protect gays and lesbians, passed by a majority vote. Though Amendment 2 was ultimately struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, its passage resulted in an immediate backlash, a national boycott against the “Hate State” of Colorado. There was nothing gay about the first conversation between MacDermott and Shockey. At the time, both worked for a national retailer. MacDermott, who had grown up in Parker, was working at a branch in the old Cinderella City Mall, in Englewood. Shockey, originally from Kentucky, was in the Billings, Montana store. Her supervisor had a bright idea to ship boxes and boxes of orange shoes to the Englewood store. Surely the Broncos-loving masses in Colorado would love them, the manager insisted. Pretty soon Shockey found herself getting a long-distance earful from a “very, very vocal” and not very pleased MacDermott. “I can’t sell these,” was maybe the most polite
See pages 4-5 for additional flood coverage
‘OK, what’s going on?’
Within a few years, the two became a serious couple. They moved to a one-bedroom in the Mayfair neighborhood, but still, Maccontinued on page 16
Mark Your Calendars! For The 37th Annual
Park Hill Home Tour & Street Fair Sunday, Sept. 27
Seven Homes, Live Music, Food & Fun
Denver’s Uke Community Makes Sweet Melodies
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
parkhillhometour.org
Next GPHC Meeting Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. 2823 Fairfax St., Denver
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