LOCAL
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A Super Bowl trip of a lifetime for Englewood framer
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FLEURISH
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Sweet Hearts Ball raises funds for AEDs in schools Sweet Hearts Ball brings together those with a mission to provide portable defibrillators in schools where there are students with cardiac needs.
Brian Hart, the proprietor of Englewood’s Frame de Art, has his own a distinctive memories he will share for a lifetime.
Volume 32 • Number 12 • February 13, 2014
www.villagerpublishing.com
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ENTERTAINMENT
‘The Calling’ examines choice of life in a convent
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The Calling screens Feb. 19 at The Landmark Theatre in Greenwood Village with a Q&A with the writer and director afterwards.
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Index Page 5..............................................Opinion Page 8.........................................Classifieds Pages 10-15....................................Fleurish Pages 17-21......................................Legals TheVillagerNewspaper
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Creek Poms place 5th at nationals
Cherry Creek High School Bruins varsity poms pose after winning fifth place in the UDA National Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Fla. Photo courtesy of Penny Malloy
By Tom Barry While most people were focused upon the Super Bowl hype, several poms teams from Colorado were in Orlando, Fla., competing for the national championship
at Disney World. More than 20 high school schools from Colorado sent varsity teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center for the UDA National Dance Team Championship.
Cherry Creek High School Poms placed fifth in the nation, which is their highest placement in more than 10 years and were the highest ranked team from Colorado. ThunderRidge High
finished 14th and Evergreen took 16th place in the national competition. Cherry Creek High School Poms made it through three rounds of rigorous competition to
qualify for the small varsity competition. The team performed the two-minute routine of synchronized dancing moves with poms Continued on page 4
Centennial OKs Arapahoe Road expansions Long-awaited project will eventually expand 2 lanes to 6
By Peter Jones It has been a long road to the reconstruction of East Arapahoe, but the Centennial City Council has given the green light – and the “green” – to finally hit the pavement. Last week, the council allocated the final $6 million needed to fund the $15 million expansion of Arapahoe Road from Waco Street to Himalaya Way. About $9 million had already been allotted by the city and its funding partners at Arapahoe County, the City of Aurora and the Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority. Travis Greiman, Centennial’s engineering manager, says the
long-awaited reconstruction of Arapahoe’s two-lane stretch – a project that has been on and off the drawing board since the 1990s – is long overdue. “If you’ve driven that section, you’re aware it’s quite a bottleneck. The two-lane road does not have enough capacity to handle the traffic that’s there now,” he said. It is a problem that would only get worse over time. The two-lane roadway was designed to handle 20,000 vehicles per day, but currently sees about 23,900 on average. Traffic is expected to increase even more in coming decades. Beginning next year, about 1.5 miles will be widened to four lanes and three signalized intersections will be redesigned with safety in mind. Several
drainage outfalls will also be redesigned with the help of SEMSWA. Additionally, overhead electric lines on both sides will be moved underground to accommodate eventual plans to expand the roadway to six lanes in 10 to 20 years. Arapahoe County will pay for the reconstruction on the incorporated sections of the road. “It’s pretty hilly out there,” Greiman said. “Moving a lot of dirt is very expensive so we’re looking at a way to move as little dirt as possible while still making a safe roadway in the end. That was certainly a challenge.” The city is likely to exercise powers of eminent domain to facilitate parts of the project, though Centennial hopes to quell any possible controversy by meeting individually with all af-
fected homeowners on the frontend of the venture. “We’re going to explain the impact this project is going to have,” Greiman said. “Part of the education is going to be that the process is set up to protect the property owner – and beyond that, to establish the need for the project.” The city will likewise reach out to ease frustration over the inevitable traffic delays that are to be expected during the roughly 12-month endeavor. “We’re going to adjust expectations. It’s going to be slow. Our goal is to prepare commuters for that reality,” Greiman said. Although the project is not expected to begin in earnest until spring 2015, some preliminary construction may take place this summer, Greiman said.