parker chronicle

Parker 10.25.12

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October 26, 2012 A Colorado Community Media Publication

Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 52

Printed on recycled newsprint. Pleaserecycle this copy.

Cops seek man who tried to lure girlSuspect’s vehicle described as teal Chevy Astro Van

By Chris [email protected]

The possible attempted abduction of a 4-year-old Parker girl has police scouring for clues and child safety classes filling within hours.

The Parker Police Department issued a warning Oct. 17 about what it called a “suspicious occurrence” days earlier in the Clarke Farms neighborhood. A mother of three children was placing two of the kids in her vehicle in her driveway around 3:30 p.m. Oct. 14 when she heard a vehicle pull up, then a man’s voice. When she looked around to the other side of her vehicle, a male passenger in a teal-colored Chevrolet Astro Van was “signaling with his hands” for the 4-year-old girl to come toward him.

When the suspect saw the mother, he ducked down and the van sped off. The mother and a handful of witnesses were unable to describe either the passenger or driver in any detail, and did not get a license plate number. The van was said to have a “high gloss paint job.”

Police officers and detectives have since canvassed the area near where the incident took place and interviewed homeowners in the area to determine whether anyone had seen a van matching the description of the suspect vehicle. The Parker police have is-sued a statewide “Be On the Lookout” bul-letin, or BOLO, and are in touch with the Westminster police to see if there are any similarities or connections to the case of Jessica Ridgeway, whose body was found more than a week after her disappearance from a residential street.

The suspect in the van never exited the vehicle and the incident has not officially been called an abduction attempt, but the man raised suspicions through his actions, including ducking and “trying to hide his face,” said Dawn Cashman, public informa-tion officer for the Parker police.

“We don’t know what his intent was, but that’s not normal behavior,” she said.

Shortly after the report was made, the Parker police stopped a vehicle that closely matched the description of the Astro Van and took witnesses to the area, but they did not positively identify it as the suspect ve-hicle.

The mother was initially not planning to report the incident. However, increased awareness of child predators and media stories about other possible abduction at-tempts in the Denver area prompted her to come forward.

Residents have become “hyper-vigilant” about child abductions and law enforce-ment agencies across Colorado are receiv-ing an increased number of tips about sus-picious activity. Hundreds of people have

Rob Mies, scientist and renowned bat expert for the Organization for Bat Conservation, shows of a Malayan lying fox, the largest bat species in the world, during a

presentation at The Wildlife Experience Oct. 18. Mies taught children and parents alike about bat behavior while showing of three diferent species, all of which had been injured at some point in their lives. Photo by Chris Michlewicz

A REAL BAT MAN

Event to honor county philanthropistsDave and Gail Liniger founded RE/MAX


Chances are most Doug-las County residents have indirectly benefitted from the generosity of two local philanthropists. Chances are just as good that those resi-dents don’t even know the names of those contributors.

Dave and Gail Liniger, of Castle Rock, have quietly set about improving the com-munity around them one donation, one project, one organization at a time. They are the founders of The Wild-life Experience, a nonprofit museum on Lincoln Avenue east of Interstate 25 that pro-motes an appreciation and respect for wildlife and the outdoors through adven-

ture, experience and educa-tion.

The Linigers, whose wealth is tied to their tire-less efforts to build RE/MAX from the ground up, also es-tablished the highly regard-ed Sanctuary golf course, the use of which is donated each year to a handful of nonprof-its for money-raising golf tournaments.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is among the organizations that have been able to raise money via the Linigers’ benevolence.

“Dave and Gail Liniger have been the pillars of the

community for their philan-thropic efforts,” said Sheriff Dave Weaver. “Many people have benefited from their vast compassion and gener-osity.”

Colorado’s top dignitar-ies, including Gov. John Hickenlooper, are gathering Nov. 3 at The Wildlife Expe-rience for Expedition 10, an event that both honors the Linigers for their kindness and marks the museum’s ac-complishments over its first 10 years.

Gary Debus, president and chief executive officer of The Wildlife Experience, said Expedition 10 will be the first time the couple has been publicly recognized for their gifts to the com-munity. The primary reason why they might not be well-known among the general Douglas County population is because the Linigers have never made being in the spotlight a priority.

“They care deeply about the place they live,” Debus said. “Douglas County is their home.”

The Linigers have been instrumental in the success of nonprofit groups that help, among other causes, education, veterans, the arts, culture and health. The latter category includes donating and helping to raise about $117 million for the Children’s Miracle Net-work. They have also taken stands on issues that affect the county, such as the 2011 proposal to create a munici-pal landfill near the Back-country Wilderness Area in Highlands Ranch.

Debus says there are few areas in which the Linigers are not involved, and Weaver listed off the organizations that have connections to the sheriff’s office that have been helped, including the

Dave Liniger Gail Liniger

Expedition continues on 3

Abduction continues on Page 13

2 Parker Chronicle October 26, 20122-Color

No charges for officer in shootingParker man died in July incident


A Denver police officer will not face criminal charges for shooting and killing a Parker man who reportedly was reach-ing for another officer’s gun.

Denver District Attorney Mitch Mor-rissey issued a “police shooting decision letter” early last month that commended the officer who fired the shots in July that killed 22-year-old Kevin Ryberg, a Pon-derosa High School graduate.

Investigators said shortly after the shooting that Ryberg attacked a police officer while in custody, despite hav-ing been handcuffed in the rear seat of a moving patrol car.

Morrissey’s findings and report shed

more light on the inci-dent.

An employee of the Niagara House Motel in Denver tried to wake Ryberg on July 31 to de-termine whether he was going to pay for another night or check out. The employee could not wake him and saw a 9mm semi-automatic handgun next to him, leading to a call to police.

Officers moved the gun and roused Ryberg from his sleep. After a brief strug-gle, they placed him into custody and found a baggie with suspected metham-phetamine in his pants pocket, accord-ing to the report. Officers discovered that Ryberg had a felony warrant out of Den-ver for menacing, third-degree assault and false imprisonment. He had alleg-edly threatened a person with a knife and crowbar in June.

Before he was placed in the rear seat of the police car, officer Tim Luke grant-ed Ryberg’s request to loosen one of his cuffs.

Luke drove Ryberg toward a substa-tion, with Officer Randall Krouse follow-ing, and a Plexiglas partition separating Luke and Ryberg was left open.

During the drive, Ryberg came head-first through the open partition, grabbed a Taser from the center console and struck the officer repeatedly in the face during a struggle over the weapon, Luke reported. Luke deployed the Taser toward Ryberg, but both men were affected by the weapon because of their proximity.

That was when Luke says Ryberg be-gan reaching for his police-issued Glock in his holster, leading Luke to use his baton to break out two car windows so Krouse could come to his aid.

Luke heard Krouse fire two gunshots and said Ryberg stopped fighting. He lat-er died at a hospital.

An autopsy report said preliminary

toxicology tests indicated that Ryberg

had methamphetamine and cocaine in

his system.

When reached by phone Oct. 22, Ry-

berg’s mother, Brenda, said she could not

comment on the case because the fam-

ily has not decided on future actions. She

disagrees with the decision not to crimi-

nally charge the officer.

“They say it’s final. I say it isn’t,” she

said.

“I don’t agree with any of (the report),”

she added.

Four witnesses said they saw Ryberg

attacking Luke in the front seat and saw

the subsequent shooting. One reported

that Ryberg’s left hand was free from the

cuff, as Luke and Krouse reported. Luke

suffered a few scrapes and had glass in

his eye from the broken windows, but

was otherwise unharmed.

Ryberg

SO MUCH INSIDE THE CHRONICLE THIS WEEK

Not quite right.

A crime-reporting

website raised fears

by listing a homicide

in Douglas County

that didn’t occur.

Page 7

Net gain. Chaparral volleyball gets

revenge on Highlands Ranch. 8

On the diamond. Local softball teams

battle at state. Page 29

Pole to pole.

We’re bufeted

between the Bad

and the Good, with

a lot of territory

in between, says

columnist Craig

Marshall Smith.

Page 10 Ballet at PACE. Music by Italian compos-

ers Tartini and Vivaldi will be featured

when Ballet Nouveau Colorado brings

“Dangerous Liaisons” to Parker’s PACE

Center. Page 27

School issues. Parent

Led Reform, a group

urging big changes

in Douglas County

schools, aims to expand

statewide. Page 4

Bright outlook.

KEZW has become

the second radio

station in the

country to harvest

its energy from

solar power.

Page 16

Parker Chronicle 3 October 26, 20123-Color

Union, district to ofer separate teacher classesGroups will provide ongoing education

By Jane [email protected]

The Douglas County teachers’ union will con-tinue to offers its profes-sional development classes to teachers, despite the ex-piration of its collective bar-gaining agreement with the school district.

Until this year, the classes were offered free to all teach-ers through the district. But the Douglas County Federa-tion now will offer them for an as-yet-undetermined fee through Adams State Uni-versity’s teacher profession-al development division.

Meanwhile, the school district is creating its own set of teacher classes, designed to tie into its strategic plan, pay-for-performance net-work and evaluation system.

Both the union and dis-trict believe their courses of-fer teachers unique benefits.

“We’ve provided this re-search-based professional development since 1999,

and we felt they were critical enough we should continue to offer them,” said Joanne Slanovich, president of the Douglas County Federation of Retirees, part of the union. “It’s part of who we are as an organization. Why would we want to take it away from people simply because the district said they were going in a different direction?”

Pat McGraw, the district’s development and innova-tion officer, didn’t disagree.

“We’ve encouraged the union to continue to offer the courses in an outside venue,” he said. “I think they’re not overlapping.”

Sometime in November, the union hopes to hold its first classes, most of which will run five weeks for a total of 18 hours. All told, it will of-fer 15 classes, ranging from Foundations of Effective Teaching to Thinking Math-ematics.

The district’s online cata-log includes 26 courses, among them Backward Planning and Transforma-tional Geometry. Some of the classes are designed for specific schools, such as the Hope Online K-12 school,

and others - like the STEM Institute and iPad Training — aimed at 21st-century learning skills.

District officials are calling on staff at various schools to help guide them.

“Because we are a choice district, we have different programming at different schools,” McGraw said. “It’s not one size fits all. We’re tailoring the development in the schools, dependent upon the program that’s of-fered.”

The internationally of-fered union classes are based on the Educational Research and Dissemination Program created by its national orga-nization, the American Fed-eration of Teachers.

Teachers who take the union’s ER&D classes are re-quired to apply the methods in the classroom and report those outcomes. That makes the education an ongoing process, Slanovich said, en-suring the information is ingrained in the individual teacher.

“It’s not just research-based,” Slanovich said. “It’s research that has been vali-dated by other researchers. It

works with different groups of students. I’ve seen it work in very small districts. I’ve seen it work in large dis-tricts.”

The district’s also is based on national research, Mc-Graw said, tailored “to meet the needs of our district.” Doing so is hard work, he ad-mitted. “It’s incredible work, though.”

Teachers are not required to take any of the classes, though the district offers teachers a small financial incentive in exchange for a specific investment of time.

The union is still working with Adams State to gain fi-nal approval on its classes. That approval will extend for three years, and Slanovich said classes will be offered “as long as there is a request for them.”

Information on the union’s classes is available at www.douglascountyclass-rooms.com.

A list of district-offered courses is available on the DCSD Web site www.dc-sdk12.org/centerforprofes-sionaldevelopment/index.htm

Union extends classes to parentsFree sessions begin this month


Parents seeking to help young children sharpen their reading skills can choose from a series of ongoing evening classes. The Douglas County teachers’ union this month kicked off what will be a continuous series of free workshops designed for parents.

The classes focus on phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, and are of-fered this fall at elementary schools in Park-er and Castle Rock.

Douglas County School District teach-ers will lead the classes, using research from the national Educational Research and Dis-semination program originally created for teachers.

“Parents have asked about these class-es,” said Joanne Slanovich, president of the Douglas County Federation of Retirees, part of the union. “We felt the courses were so good and teachers were learning so much we should open it up to parents.”

Two evening classes are planned in Cas-tle Rock on Oct. 24 and 25, and two more in Parker on Nov. 7 and 14.

For more information and to register, visit www.douglascountyclassrooms.com. Each class is limited to 30 participants.

4 Parker Chronicle October 26, 20124-COLOR

Parent Led Reform has aim of expansionDouglas-based group

wants to go statewide


Parent Led Reform aims to grow

into a statewide organization, and

its founder doesn’t rule out the idea

of someday going national. The pro-

education reform group, founded in

Douglas County by a Parker wom-

an, recently expanded to Jefferson

County.

“Right now, our focus is state-

wide,” said founder Karin Piper.

“That’s a dream on its own. But I

have to admit, I’m already being

contacted by parents in other states

that are asking how long it will be

until we come there.”

Piper, whose interest in school

choice sprang from the diverse edu-

cational needs of her three children,

is no longer the group’s volunteer

leader. Earlier this year, the board

raised funds and hired her as its ex-

ecutive director.

She declined to provide her sal-

ary or the identities of those who are

funding PLR, saying only that they

are local. The group is a nonprofit

corporation registered in Piper’s

name with the Colorado secretary of

state.

PLR now is governed by a board

of directors, including Washington,

D.C.-based charter school advocate

Mark Hyatt, Colorado State Sen. Tim

Neville, former Douglas County Re-

publican Party chairman John Ran-

som and financial consultant Tyler

Hart.

While the board members have

strong Republican political lean-

ings, Piper describes PLR as “a

multi-issue parent network” with no

political affiliation.

“I am politically unaffiliated and

I still remain that, to this day,” she

said. Politics “is not my focus and

it’s certainly not the organization’s

focus either. Our focus is to project

parental power into education re-

form. We do not and cannot have an

educational bias.

“We believe in homeschool-

ing, neighborhood schools, charter

schools, online schools and private

schools alike. Our group does not

have a preference one way or an-

other, but we think those choices

belong with parents.”

The group shares many of the

Douglas County School Board’s

pro-reform ideas. It proposed the

idea of open negotiations with the

union to the board in early 2012, to

which the board and union agreed.

In September, it requested the board

investigate emails sent through the

district’s system that PLR suspected

were political, and therefore inap-

propriate. The district has not re-

sponded yet to those concerns.

But PLR board director Ransom

said it does not work hand-in-hand

with the school board.

“We’re not connected to any-

body, including the Douglas County

School Board,” said Ransom, whose

son attends Mountain Vista High

School. “There’s certainly some like-

mindedness going on here. But I

can tell you from the time they got

elected until now, I’ve maybe had a

half-dozen conversations with those

guys.

“We are concerned about things

at the local level. We’re not part of

a bigger organization, but a small,

grassroots organization that is hav-

ing some success.”

Ransom believes the need for

education reform crosses not only

the political aisle, but spans demo-

graphic divides.

“I don’t think anybody would say

K-12 education is adequate here in

the United States,” he said. “We have

to do something. The thing we’re

saying is, if we can’t take these real

simple steps in a place like Douglas

County in order to improve public

education, what hope does a place

like Denver have?”

Parker Chronicle 5 October 26, 20125-COLOR

xpansions system that PLR suspected

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A frog and mallard swapped heads to encourage residents at the Parker Farmers Market to swap out their old

sprinkler heads for water-conserving low-low heads this fall as they are having their systems serviced. The two

“species” — an “amphibillard” (amphibian/mallard) and “mallian” (mallard/amphibian) — were part of the

90 By 20 campaign, a nonproit initiative to encourage utilities using Colorado River water (which is pumped

over the Continental Divide to the Front Range) to hold residential use to 90 gallons per capita per day by 2020.

Current rates in Parker exceed 120, according to the marketing irm running the campaign. Courtesy photo

HEADS UP, WATER USERS


Participants in last year’s Trick or Treat on Mainstreet line up for candy at a downtown Parker shop. Thousands of

people are expected at the sixth annual event from 4:30-8 p.m. on Halloween. Entertainment includes goodies,

Halloween-themed activities and costumed cartoon characters and superheroes. Courtesy photo

GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD CAci

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Parker Chronicle 7 October 26, 20127

Crime reporting site can cause confusionAttempted homicide categorized as slaying in Highlands Ranch

By Ryan [email protected]

An attempted homicide in Highlands

Ranch this July has caused confusion to

some residents over whether an actual

murder took place in a Cedarcrest Circle

home.

The incident, a stabbing that occurred

the morning of July 17 in the Hearth

subdivision, is coded as a homicide on

the public website, crimereports.com.

According to both the Douglas County

Sheriff’s Office and Coroner Lora Thom-

as, no death occurred at the scene or as a

result of the incident.

The red “H” — the only one of its kind

on the site in Highlands Ranch over the

past six months — raised a definite red

flag for Hugh Whitmore, a resident who

had been considering moving into the

subdivision.

Not knowing where to turn for more

information, Whitmore knocked on some

doors, asking residents of the neighbor-

hood what they knew. The only resident

who had heard anything had been incor-

rectly informed by an alarm company

salesperson who was using the crimere-

ports.com information as a sales tactic,

telling people that someone had been

killed in the neighborhood and encour-

aging residents to buy an alarm system

because of it.

Not to fault the salesperson, though,

anyone who goes to that site and search-

es for homicides in Highlands Ranch

over the summer would see one pop up

on the 10600 block of Cedarcrest Circle.

And why would anyone think a homicide

didn’t occur?

According to sheriff’s spokesman Sgt.

Ron Hanavan, one issue with the site,

in addition to providing a very limited

amount of information on a single inci-

dent, is that it does not pull the word “at-

tempted” from their report when it posts

an incident.

“It pulls information from our records

system based on the `occurred incident

type,’ without regard to whether the

crime was attempted or completed,”

Hanavan said. “In this case, the ̀ occurred

incident type’ was appropriate for the cir-

cumstances, but because of limitations

in the way crimereports.com pulls sum-

mary data, the word `attempted’ does

not appear in the search result.

“We make every effort to ensure that

information put out for public consump-

tion is accurate, and in this case it was

accurate, albeit incomplete. Like any in-

formational tool, crimereports.com may

provide information that is not com-

pletely fleshed out.”

Standard practice for law enforcement

agencies is to not release any informa-

tion on investigations that are open, but

certain crime reporting websites, such

as crimereports.com, allow the public to

see incidents that have occurred and may

still be under investigation.

“The information provided on cri-

mereports.com is a resource and conve-

nience tool for the general public,” Hana-

van said. “We ask that if someone has a

specific question about an incident that

they inquire through an open records re-

quest, or by calling. The department will

always be happy to provide any informa-

tion it can.”

The sheriff’s office can be contacted at

303-660-7544.

If an investigation is still open the de-

partment may not be able to provide any

information, or only a limited amount.

Hanavan said the case on Cedarcrest Cir-

cle is still open and no charges have been

filed at this time.

E l e c t i o n D a y v o t i n g a v a il a b l e a t 26 locationsRegistered voters may vote at one of

26 voter-assigned locations throughout

Douglas County on Election Day, Nov.

6. Voters are assigned a voting location

based on the voter’s precinct number.

Visit www.DouglasVotes.com for a list of

Election Day voting locations and pre-

cinct assignments in Douglas County.

All registered voters who vote at the

polls must provide identification. Visit

www.DouglasVotes.com for a list of ac-

ceptable forms of identification. Polls

open at 7 a.m. Nov. 6 and close at 7 p.m.

Douglas County tax lien sale is Nov. 1The Douglas County tax lien sale on

Nov. 1 will be an Internet auction via

www.realauction.com. Visit the web site

for bidding rules, guideline and registra-

tion information. All properties available

for bidding at the tax lien sale are those

that have 2011 or prior year property

taxes owed to Douglas County. Douglas

County’s average collection rate on prop-

erty taxes is 99.9 percent annually; there-

fore, only a small percentage of taxes are

available at the sale. The statutory inter-

est for the 2012 tax lien sale is 10 percent.

“Tax liens are not risk free but can be

a stable long-term investment, similar

to a certificate of deposit,” said Doug-

las County Treasurer Diane Holbert. “I

strongly encourage researching the prop-

erty in question by visiting the website,

www.douglas.co.us/treasurer/Tax_Lien_

Sale_Information.html or the assessor’s

website, http://www.douglas.co.us/as-

sessor.index.html.

An individual or a business can bid on

the delinquent taxes at the sale. If a pre-

mium is offered, the highest bidder will

be awarded the tax lien.

The winning bidder is responsible for

paying Douglas County all taxes, fees,

and any premium bid. Premiums do not

earn interest.

In preparation for the annual tax lien

sale, the treasurer’s office will publish an

online listing of delinquent properties.

For information on the sale, visit www.

douglas.co.us/treasurer/Tax_Lien_Sale_

Information.html or call the treasurer’s

office at 303-660-7455.

DC H APPEN IN GS

MILESTONES

Education

Kelly Mason, a 2007 Ponderosa High graduate

and a 2012 Colorado State University graduate, was

honored among 17 other CSU alumni Oct. 4. She

received the Albert C. Yates Student Leadership

Award. Mason earned bachelor’s degrees in biol-

ogy and languages, literatures and cultures, with

an emphasis in Spanish. Each year the Colorado

State Alumni Association honors distinguished

alumni for their service to their communities, their

professions, and the university.

Mason earned the Distinguished Service Key

from her coed fraternity Alpha Phi Omega for her

hard work and excellence in service. While attend-

ing CSU, Mason completed more than 350 hours

of community service while earning two degrees

and working for the university. She will also be

honored in a separate ceremony for being on the

dean’s list for the College of Natural Sciences.

Mason plans to continue her education in neuro-

science.

Quincy Anna Benton, of Parker, graduated with

honors with a bachelor’s degree in English from

the University of Iowa.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

If you would like to share your opinion, go to www.ourcoloradonews.com or write a letter to

the editor. Please send letters to [email protected].

HAVE A STORY IDEA?

Email your ideas to Parker Community Editor Chris Mi-

chlewicz at [email protected] or call

him at 303-566-4086.

8 Parker Chronicle October 26, 20128

A glimpse at who’s running for councilBackground information on

Parker’s eight candidates

Compiled by Chris [email protected]

Parker residents can learn plenty

about town council candidates through

campaign websites, but the following of-

fers a brief glimpse into who is running.

Question-and-answer sessions with the

candidates, in which they divulge their

positions on various issues, are posted

online at www.ourparkernews.com.

John DiakJohn Diak, a Parker resident since

1983, has been involved in the commu-

nity, from participating in the 1988 “Stay

Alive on Highway 83” campaign as a high

school senior to the 2012 Smokin’ Brew

BBQ that raised funds for charitable

causes.

Diak attended Colorado State Uni-

versity, where he earned a dual degree

in finance and human development

and family studies. Upon graduation, he

came home to Parker and began work-

ing for Western States Surveying, a lo-

cally owned and operated land surveying

company

He and his wife of 13 years, Noelle, are

raising their three children in the Brad-

bury Hills subdivision.

Ron Fraker Jr.Ron Fraker Jr. has lived in Parker for

eight years. He attended the University

of Denver, where he received a degree in

finance/marketing and a degree in statis-

tics with a minor in economics. He later

earned a master’s in business administra-

tion and a master’s in science of finance

with a minor in business-to-business

marketing. Fraker works in his family’s

business as a manufacturers’ represen-

tative selling hardware, automotive and

farm products in the Rocky Mountain

and Great Lakes regions. He is married to

his wife, Lindsey, and they have two sons.

Robert KronRobert Kron is originally from a small

Minnesota farming community “where

everyone knew each other.” He has been

involved with youth sports in Parker and

served in various capacities with the Boy

Scouts of America.

He says he is not a career politician.

Kron has spent most of his life in the pri-

vate sector, providing him with knowl-

edge of how the economy works. He has

a bachelor’s degree in science from the

University of Phoenix and a master’s of

business administration in finance and

accounting from Keller Graduate School

of Management. Kron moved to Parker

four years ago with his wife, three sons

and one daughter.

Mark LaneMark Lane lives off Mainstreet, runs a

pedestrian taxi company on Mainstreet

and is actively involved in the commu-

nity as a resident and business owner.

He says his work allows him to meet

many of the residents of Parker, listen to

their concerns and to see areas that need

focus. He is a Parker Chamber of Com-

merce member who volunteers as an

ambassador to help new members “learn

the ropes.”

Lane attended the 2012 Parker Civic

Academy and learned about planning,

police and public works departments to

understand how they function within the

Town of Parker. He has lived in Parker for

three years with his wife, Tia.

Debbie LewisDebbie Lewis is a 30-year resident of

Parker and former Town Council mem-

ber. Lewis has a bachelor of science in

education and has been a Parker small

business owner for more than 30 years.

She has been the award recipient of the

prestigious Citizen of the Year O’Brien

Award and has been a Parker Chamber of

Commerce member for many years.

As a Parker Town Council member for

eight years (1996-2000 and 2004-2008),

Lewis was a part of many special com-

mittees and legislative groups. She has

raised two children in Parker and is a

grandmother of three.

Joshua RiveroJoshua Rivero owns a coffee shop in

downtown Parker and is an active com-

munity member.

He served as president for two years

of the now-absorbed Downtown Devel-

opment Council shortly after purchas-

ing his business in 2008. While at the

DDC, Rivero was involved in bringing the

Farmers Market back to Mainstreet and

in creating downtown events organized

by the Parker Chamber of Commerce.

Rivero met his future wife, Anna, in

2001. When starting a family, they moved

to Parker to be near Rivero’s family.

They found an old coffee shop for sale

on Mainstreet and decided it would be

a perfect fit. They live in Idyllwilde with

their two children.

Bob RobertsBob Roberts has lived in Parker for

seven years and is the owner of a small

general-practice law firm on Mainstreet.

Roberts holds a bachelor of arts de-

gree, a bachelor of science degree, and a

juris doctor degree from the University of

Denver. He works regularly with local and

county agencies as part of his law prac-

tice. He also volunteers with the Doug-

las/Elbert Task Force charity and Habitat

for Humanity.

In his free time, Roberts enjoys hunt-

ing, fishing, biking, running, and hiking

with his girlfriend and their two big dogs.

Bill WrightBill Wright is a longtime Parker resi-

dent, businessman and community vol-

unteer. Wright, who is retired from the

energy industry, has lived in Parker for 13

years and “knows just how good we have

it here.”

He grew up in Colorado and gradu-

ated from Colorado State University

with bachelor’s degrees in science and

business. He went on to earn a master’s

in business administration from the

University of Texas-Austin. He has also

served on various commissions, includ-

ing a stint as a board member for the

Colorado Council on Economic Educa-

tion. Wright has been married to his wife,

Carol, for five years.

Fraker Kron Lane Rivero Diak Lewis Roberts Wright

New park steeped in history Staf report

Arapahoe County cel-ebrated the opening of the 17 Mile House Farm Park, the newest gem in its open space crown, with a dedi-cation, ribbon-cutting and fall festival on Oct. 20.

The 70-acre park, lo-cated at 8181 South Parker Road, adjacent to Cherry Creek and the boundary of Arapahoe and Douglas counties, features a re-stored farmhouse, silo and two replica windmills, as well as a trailhead linked to the Cherry Creek Re-gional Trail system.

Named for the 120-year-old home on the property, the park was once part of the historic Cherokee Trail stagecoach route to Denver.

Former tenants of the 17 Mile House, Jack Race and Ruth Race-Dolan, at-tended the ceremony and entertained visitors with childhood stories.

Purchased for about $12,000 in the 1930s, Race-Dolan said the property, as she remembers, came with 640 acres of land and she and her siblings attended a one-room schoolhouse located a few miles away.

Accidental gas leak destroyed Castle Rock homeBy Rhonda [email protected]

Fire investigators determined the gas leak that leveled a Castle Rock home originated in the basement room holding the fur-nace and water heater.

The home at 6942 Sulfur Lane in Sapphire Pointe was destroyed in a natural gas explosion around 7:15 a.m. Oct. 12.

The five family members in the home, Lisa Martinez and her four children, survived the explo-sion with minor injuries, in an event Castle Rock Fire Chief Art Morales described as a “miracle.”

Morales shared the findings of the investigation Oct. 17 with about 160 residents who attend-ed an open house at Fire Station 155, near the entrance to the Sap-phire Pointe subdivision. He was joined by representatives from

Black Hills Energy and the Castle Rock Police Department, who aided in the investigation until officials were certain the incident was not a criminal investigation.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families,” said Wes Ashton, with Black Hills Energy external affairs. “We’re so grate-ful for the outcome, it could have been so different.”

By the time officials were ready to announce their findings, in-

vestigators were sure the gas leak was unintentional, Morales said.

Based on witness accounts and the findings on scene, inves-tigators believe the natural gas built up so that the point of igni-tion instantly consumed the fuel that had gathered, Morales said.

The ignition caused the house to shatter out and pull back into itself as the oxygen was con-sumed by the explosion in the basement, Morales said.


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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER

OPINIONS / YOURS AND OURS

The Bad, the Good, and in betweenWe just get through — if not over —

one Bad thing in the news and another

one comes right along, on its heels, and

clobbers our heads and hearts. In be-

tween something Good makes us feel OK

again. For a while.

We get buffeted from the Aurora the-

ater massacre to Missy to Jessica Ridge-

way to the Broncos miracle to five people

murdered in a Denver bar.

And that’s just us: metro Denver. Every

other city in America and in the world

goes through this.

Try bookmarking The Los Angeles

Times to get some idea of what hap-

pens in a larger city, in Los Angeles and

the suburbs.

“I don’t read the news, or watch it,” a

nurse said to me recently. But for some

reason he knew about Malala Yousufzai

(The Good), the 14-year old Pakistani girl

who was shot in the head on a school bus

by members of the Taliban (The Bad).

There are statistics for absolutely

everything.

Except this: How many of us are Good

and how many of us are Bad?

I know: “Good” and “Bad” are very

broad generalizations, and that some of

us are both Good and Bad. Or more Good

than Bad, or more Bad than Good. But

some of us are always Good, and some of

us are always Bad.

Can you picture Missy Franklin EVER

being Bad? Even a little Bad? Me either.

When I was sitting in Miss Frobischer’s

first-grade class in Uniontown, Pa., I am

sure I thought that all 18 of my class-

mates were Good, and would be Good

forever.

In reality one of them probably opened

a puppy mill (The Bad) and one of them

smacked his wife around (The Bad). One

of them served in Vietnam (The Good)

and one of them became an honest poli-

tician* (The Non Sequitur).

I have had my moments in both

camps, but in general I think I am The

Good. I am not as Good as my sister. She

is The Good beyond my comprehension.

It’s always disappointing when The

Good turn out to be The Bad. Lance,

Lance, Lance. You break my heart. Joe

Paterno. His Bad was adjunctive, howev-

er, and I because of that I will always have

compassion for him.

Some of us have no choice. We are

born under a Bad sign, whether it is in-

different parenting, or squalor, or the

proximity to gangs, illegal drugs, or gun-

related mayhem.

I am sure that one of my classmates

looked over the shoulder of another one

when we were tested on fruits and stole

an answer, and years later he stole a

fruit truck.

We can be scammed partly because

we believe or want to believe that people

are basically Good.

Then we see our doctor on “60 Min-

utes” and it’s not because she has donat-

ed a kidney.

She’s sitting there with re-used syring-

es, and a candy dish of Oxycodone, Per-

cocet, and Dexedrine.

Back to the nurse. I know a number of

people who don’t read or watch the news.

The nurse said, “I can’t do anything about

it anyhow.”

Neither can I, but I need to know. I

want to stay informed for one thing, and

for another, Bad news — I have to say

this carefully — is a part of my general

humbug with life, and contributes to the

instruction of my thoughts, my writing,

and even my painting.

Everything isn’t festooned with

sunflowers.

Finally, now and then Bad news might

give us a Good Laugh: “Other than that,

how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”

*Quote: “If I were two-faced, would I

be wearing this one?” Abraham Lincoln

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, edu-

cator and Highlands Ranch resident. He

can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@

comcast.net

Dragon slayers never quitDid you ever notice that in almost

every movie, if not every movie that in-

cludes a dragon slayer, the hero is going

solo?

It’s true, man or woman, adult or child,

wizard or warlock, at some point the de-

fender of our safety ends up fighting the

fire-breathing beast alone.

Pushed backwards to the edge of a

precipice or cliff, our valiant dragon slay-

er is down to just their sword and shield

and in some cases, just his or her sword.

I have even seen in some movies where

they may have no weaponry at all, they

are in the final throes of battle with just

their bare hands, just like Harry Potter

who lost his wand.

As viewers of a movie or readers of the

book, we are caught up in this intense

moment with the character, our hands

get sweaty and our hearts race as if we

are the ones in battle and quite possibly

about to die.

With all of our hearts and might, we

“will” the hero to succeed. We so very

much want them to win.

I mean really, who ever really roots for

the dragon?

Let’s fast-forward to the present day

and our careers, our workplace, our rela-

tionships, and our world.

The dragons still exist, but I believe

they are metaphorical dragons who we

allow to frighten us, intimidate us, and

threaten our success.

We might feel like the dragons are

our competitors, our difficult custom-

ers, the economy, or even people in our

lives who for whatever reason seem to be

against us.

The truth is that the biggest dragons

we face are self-imposed and come in the

shape of bad attitudes, lack of work ethic,

compromised personal character, and

wrong behaviors.

So many people I coach and speak

with completely understand their com-

petitive landscape, they know who their

enemies are and how they behave, they

recognize the impact that the economy

has and real-world environment that

they work and play in.

But what they fight most often, the

dragons that frustrate them beyond

any other, are the self-imposed belief

systems or habits that they themselves

have created.

Journey back with me to the movie

scene, our hero or heroine is backed up

to a cliff, the dragon is furiously breath-

ing fire and attacking with claws and

spiked tail, and the dragon slayer has two

choices and two choices only…they can

accept defeat and be killed by the dragon,

or they can fight back, finding the drag-

ons weak spot, and thrusting their sword

into that spot to claim victory.

Even the dragon slayer who has lost

sword and shield and whose demise

seems imminent, somehow in the cli-

mactic moment a new sword appears

and a sun shines behind the dragon cast-

ing the dragon in a silhouette, and our

hero/heroine emerges victorious. This is

you, you are a dragon slayer, no matter

what battle you are facing, no matter how

close to the edge you are, you can fight

back, that relationship is yours if you re-

ally want it, that job is yours, that promo-

tion is yours, that goal is yours, and even

that addiction you are struggling with is

yours to defeat.

Here we are in October, we have a few

months to go, and we may still have some

dragons we need to defeat.

I would love to hear all about how you

plan on fighting back or even how you

have defeated those dragons of yesterday

to achieve your success at gotonorton@

gmail.com.

Become a dragon slayer this week and

I guarantee it will be a better than good

week for you.

Michael Norton, a resident of High-

lands Ranch, is the former president of

the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and

founder of www.candogo.com


Lasater wants

seat at RTD tableDistrict pays more than others, former Parker mayor says

By Tom [email protected]

Gary Lasater tossed his hat in the

ring as a candidate to represent Dis-

trict G as one of the 15 members of

the board of directors of the Regional

Transportation District.

“I became a candidate because I

felt District G needs better represen-

tation on the board of directors,” La-

sater said. “I don’t feel it is right that

RTD has consistently cut services or

threatened to cut services for the Parker area.”

He said he was a member of the Metro Mayors

Caucus that supported the 2004 FasTracks proposal

to expand mass transit by adding 119 of rail transit

and 18 miles of bus rapid transit in the metro area.

“No one could have seen the change in the eco-

nomic climate we have gone through that has creat-

ed financial challenges for FasTracks,” he said. “But

I feel FasTracks should be completed for the entire

metro area before any line extensions are done.”

Lasater was born in Utah and raised in Florida.

The family moved to Colorado in 1968 and he gradu-

ated from Bear Creek High School

Lasater and his family moved to the Parker area

in 1994. He served as Parker mayor from 1996 until

2004. He was then term-limited as mayor, but he be-

came a candidate and was elected to the town coun-

cil in 2004 and again in 2008.

He said he had done some research and it appears

the fees and taxes District G paid to RTD are higher

than those paid by any of the other 14 districts.

“I feel the residents of District G are paying more

and receiving less service,” he said.

Lasater owns and operates an online financial

services platform that is used by other agencies. He

said his company was similar to cloud computing

before cloud was introduced.

He and his wife of 31 years live in the Park-

er area. They have two daughters, two sons and

two granddaughters.

Lasater

O’Boyle seeks second term with RTDFormer Lone Tree mayor wants to continue work

By Tom [email protected]

Jack O’Boyle is seeking to be re-elected to be the District G repre-sentative on the 15-member board of directors of the Regional Transpor-tation District.

“I want to con-tinue the work I started in my first term on the board,” he said. “I will again make it my prior-ity to seek to make sure RTD continues along the road to fiscal sustainabil-ity.”

For the last four years, O’Boyle has represented District G, which includes Lone Tree, Parker, por-tions of Centennial and parts of unincorporated Douglas and Arapahoe counties.

The incumbent said he remains a supporter of the FasTracks mass transit improvement project. The initial plan was funded by the 2004 voter approval of raising the sales tax rate for RTD, and the proposal was to add 119 miles of rail transit as well as improved bus service throughout the metro area in 12 years.

Higher construction and mate-rial costs, coupled with a decline in revenues, have created financial challenges for FasTracks so, without additional funding, it won’t be com-pleted until 2042.

“FasTracks is important to help-ing Denver make the transition from a cow town to a global city,”

said O’Boyle, who is now retired. “However, finances are a problem and there could be modifications to plans for some of the corridors. Local residents need to know the Southeast and Southwest line ex-tension are scheduled in the future; they are still in the FasTracks plans.”

O’Boyle was born in Georgia and raised in California. He came to Colorado in 1994 when his position with Lockheed-Martin moved to the metro area.

He was elected mayor of Lone Tree in 1996 and served three four-year terms in that position.

He could not seek re-election to the council in 2008 because of term limits and successfully ran to be the District G representative on the RTD board.

O’Boyle and his wife have been married 48 years and have three children.

O’Boyle

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Gorman keeps her focus on educationBy Rhonda [email protected]

Holly Gorman, the Democratic candidate for state Senate District 4, lives in Castle Rock and has lived in the district for six years. She is a native of Colorado and is married to Mark Gorman. The cou-ple has three girls, Jordan,

Amaris and Sabriya.

G o r m a n f a c i l i t a t e s online learn-ing at Den-ver Public Schools and has been a restorative jus-tice coordinator and CU adjunct faculty member.

Colorado Community Media asked the following

questions of the can-didates in the race for Colorado Senate, Dis-trict 4. Below are Gor-man’s answers.

What makes you the best candidate for this office? My style of leadership.

As a Colorado educator and civic-engaged leader, I’m all about our com-munity. I will absolutely

put the interests of people ahead of partisan politics and work with all Colora-dans to implement solu-tions to make Colorado a better place to live, work, play, and raise our fami-lies. I connect and unite people around common goals to strengthen and improve community. This will be the same approach I will bring to the Senate.

Our communities can-not stay strong if we don’t rebuild our economy and expand job opportunities. Additionally, our children cannot be successful and competitive in a global

economy without access to world-class education.

My opponent closely follows an extreme par-tisan ideology, without regard for the whole com-munity. The consequenc-es of that style of leader-ship can be found in the bitter division and par-tisanship rearing its ugly head in our schools.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing your constituents and what would you do to meet that challenge?

Education. As I have been reaching out to vot-ers several issues have

been brought to my at-tention to include fore-closures, jobs, healthcare, fracking, and most sadly drug-induced teen deaths. However, education rises to the top. In my district, folks with children are concerned about the qual-ity and quantity of educa-tion their children are receiving; they are con-cerned about the bitter division and partisanship rearing its ugly head in our schools. And folks without children are concerned about their home values and the consequences to the community as a result of the district unrest. They understand the value of a great education.

What should be done to improve Colorado’s K-12 educational system?

We first need to deter-mine if public education is a priority. I see talk about this but as a parent and educator I see major cuts occurring in the class-room. That said, we must strengthen P-20 public education across the state, ensuring all students have access to early interven-tion programming, pre-school, full-day kinder-garten, and affordable post-secondary options.

In addition, we must ensure all students learn in 21st-century (STEM) classrooms that prepare for careers, today unde-fined.


STATE SENATE DISTRICT 4 CANDIDATES

Schefel says his values reflect districtBy Rhonda [email protected]

Mark Scheffel, the Republican incum-bent in state Senate District 4, lives in Parker and has lived in the district for 39 years. He has been married for 19 years and is the father of three daughters and one son.

Scheffel graduated from the Univer-sity of Denver with a degree in finance and has a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School and a master of laws degree in taxation from New York University School of Law. He is a prin-cipal/owner of Reid and Scheffel P.C., a Parker law firm emphasizing business and taxation issues.

Scheffel’s previous public experience includes membership on the citizen ad-visory board for The Wildlife Experience; he is an active member of the Parker

Rotary; an active board member of Skycliff Stroke Center of Castle Rock; and the former chairman of the Douglas County Re-publican Party.

Colorado Community Media asked the following

questions of the candidates in the race for Colorado Senate, District 4. Below are Scheffel’s answers.

What makes you the best candidate for this office?

One of the greatest privileges I have experienced was to be asked to run for the state Senate four years ago and to successfully be elected to serve the citi-zens of Senate District 4 at the State Cap-itol where I currently serve as the Senate Assistant Minority Leader.

I believe I am the best candidate for this office because my conservative, pro-

family, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-business values represent the district and I have worked faithfully to sponsor and sup-port legislation that advances liberty and freedom while limiting the size of gov-ernment, lowering taxes and reducing burdensome regulations.

What do you see as the biggest chal-lenge facing your constituents and what would you do to meet that challenge?

Our economy continues to struggle. Every day I hear from constituents who are working to raise their families and make ends meet. Many people are look-ing for work while others struggle with chronic underemployment, or the devas-tating news of losing their job.

Over the last four years I worked with business leaders and citizens on legisla-tion that allows business to flourish and rekindles the entrepreneurial spirit that built this community, state, and nation.

I am dedicated to limiting government and strengthening our economy with a free market economic agenda and will continue to advocate for businesses, so they may thrive.

What should be done to improve Col-orado’s K-12 educational system?

Our children and their education are critically important as they are our fu-ture. Colorado’s K-12 educational sys-tem will continue to improve as long as it promotes school choice, parental in-volvement, and accountability. Douglas County schools are at the forefront of the education reform movement, which I en-thusiastically support. I support expand-ing educational options and empowering parents to make education choices for their children. I support raising student achievement, teacher accountability, and empowering local school boards instead of federal and state bureaucrats.

Grundemann ofers options to votersBy Rhonda [email protected]

Chris Grundemann, the Libertarian candidate for state Senate District 4, lives in Castle Rock and has lived in the district for 26 years.

He is the father of two sons, ages 5 and 10.

He attended Douglas County High School and is self-educated. He regards learning as a lifelong and daily pursuit.

Grundemann is a network engineer who focuses on technical leadership and innovation. He has written two nonfic-tion books and various standards, speci-fications and industry papers.

His past public service experience in-cludes work as the founding chair of the Colorado chapter of the Internet Society, a board member of the Rocky Mountain

IPv6 Task Force, an elect-ed member of the ARIN Advisory Council and a number of volunteer positions in prominent industry organizations.

Colorado Community Media asked the follow-

ing questions of the can-didates in the race for Colorado Senate, District 4. Below are Grundemann’s an-swers.

What makes you the best candidate for this office?

I am offering a fresh perspective and a fresh start. At all levels of government the dominant two parties are beholden to the special interests that pay for their campaigns. These donors very often back both Republicans and Democrats, ensur-ing that they always win and the voting people always lose. I offer an alternative

to that false dichotomy. As a Libertar-ian I believe in individual liberty and in the ability for each man and woman to govern themselves, with government’s role simply to facilitate that self-gov-ernance. I will only support policy that opens opportunities, and never laws that are unnecessary.

What do you see as the biggest chal-lenge facing your constituents and what would you do to meet that challenge?

There are many distinct issues facing District 4, but many of them surround unconstitutional federal expansion of power. I plan to meet this challenge by ensuring the Colorado State Senate ad-dresses all state problems directly. I be-lieve that we must also fight against fur-ther expansion of federal power, and do our level best to restrain existing over-steps. To accomplish this, I will build re-lationships with Colorado’s U.S. senators

and representatives to ensure that they understand that District 4 can speak for itself, through me. To make this happen, my door, phone, and mailbox will always be open to all constituents.

What should be done to improve Col-orado’s K-12 educational system?

Our primary problem in education today is that we are using a decades-old system. We are teaching digital children in analog schools. This must change. We need to take a hard look at how and what we are teaching our kids and how that facilitates the future. Critical think-ing, problem-solving, and creativity must trump rote memorization in nearly all cases. We must shift our focus from pre-serving the status quo to shaping the next generation of innovators and leaders. Once we make that shift, we must mea-sure and manage the system, providing incentives appropriately.

Gorman

Grundemann

Schefel


sheriff’s office that have been helped, including the Women’s Crisis & Family Outreach Center, Douglas County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Sheriff’s Of-fice Scholarship Program, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Program, victim assistance, Deputy Ron King Memorial Schol-arship, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Fallen Offi-cer Program, Race-A-Cop and Christmas for Kids.

Aside from monetary donations, the Linigers’ financial latitude enables them to create platforms for others to raise funds on a broader scale. The Sanctuary, for example, has helped raise $65 mil-lion over the years for vari-ous groups in need, and The Wildlife Experience,

which has 501(c)(3) sta-

tus, helps other charitable

organizations by offering

deep discounts to rent out

its Great Hall for fundrais-

ing events. The museum is

the ideal spot to present

an award to the Linigers.

“People finally have a

chance to honor and rec-

ognize and thank them for

the things they’ve done,”

Debus said.

Expedition 10 starts at

6 p.m. and is open to the

public. Tickets are $250

for the general public and

$200 for members, and, of

course, the money goes

to a great cause: museum

programs. For more in-

formation or tickets, call

Lynn Howes at 720-488-

3379.

Expedition continues from Page 1

Abduction continues from Page 1

Expedition: Couple

honored at event

Abduction: Mom creates

group following incident

Humane Society board ires directorShelter has struggled for inancial viability

By Jennifer [email protected]

The Humane Society of the South Platte Valley’s board has fired executive director Nick Fisher and replaced him with an in-terim director, Leslie Mai-sonneuve.

Board member Margie Munoz and Maisonneuve briefed Littleton City Council on the situation on Oct. 16.

“We’ve taken steps within the last week to implement a dynamic growth plan,” said Munoz.

She thanked Fisher for his time and energy, but said the board is excited to explore permanent op-tions.

Council unanimously approved an agreement Sept. 18 to work with Arapahoe County, Centen-nial, Cherry Hills Village, Bow Mar, Columbine Val-ley, Sheridan, Englewood, Lone Tree and Parker to explore options for hous-

ing lost or abandoned crit-

ters throughout the south

metro region.

The agreement does

not specifically say the

joint committee will

look for ways to keep the

HSSPV viable, just that it

will explore a variety of

options ranging from a re-

gional full-service animal

shelter to using a combi-

nation of private kennels.

The shelter has strug-

gled to become financially

stable since the state at-

torney general’s office

closed the Colorado Hu-

mane Society. Littleton

and Englewood each pro-

vided $100,000 to kick-

start HSSPV to replace

CHS in 2009, and agreed

to pay $50,000 a year for

animal-sheltering servic-

es. HSSPV has asked for

$25,000 advances each of

the last two years.

Both councils gave

HSSPV an extra $41,000

for 2012 — for a total of

$91,000 each. Littleton

City Manager Michael

Penny warned he expect-

ed it to be the last time.

“The timing of last re-

sort is the 2013 budget,”

he said last spring. “We’re

not continuing to do this.”

Council agreed and

tossed the extra out of the

2013 budget that they ap-

proved during the Oct. 16

meeting.

Maisonneuve said she’s

“super excited” about

the direction the board is

heading, and added that

the community is becom-

ing more involved through

volunteering and dona-

tions.

She said her primary

focus will be making the

shelter more efficient by

providing the right ser-

vices and using the space

better. She’ll also look at

ways to increase cash flow,

perhaps by charging for

animal behavior training.

packed into Parker police meetings about child safety, including 175 peo-ple over three classes last weekend.

“We look at this as a teachable mo-ment,” Cashman said.

Demand is so high, the Parker police built a waiting list of interested par-ents and eventually asked the Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center if the department could host a meeting that would educate a larger number of peo-ple. That meeting was scheduled for Oct. 24. Two meetings on Oct. 22 and 23 were expected to be at capacity.

“They filled up immediately, some-times before people even got emails about them from their HOA,” Cashman said. “People are paying attention a little more now. We’re teaching them to

be our eyes and ears because we obvi-ously can’t be everywhere.”

More free child safety seminars are scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Nov. 1-3 at the Parker Police Department, 18600 Lin-coln Meadows Parkway.

Stand Out for Kids, a campaign or-ganized by the mother of the 4-year-old girl, was created after the Clarke Farms incident and is intended to increase the visibility of responsible adults and keep kids safe while walking to and from school. The Facebook page had 125 likes by the afternoon of Oct. 22.

Anyone with information about the suspicious incident in Clarke Farms should call Detective Michael Buoni-conti at 303-805-6524. For more infor-mation about child safety lessons, visit www.parkerpolice.org.


Families carry flame for lost loved onesWomen organize walks to battle pancreatic cancerBy Chris [email protected]

A cancer diagnosis by a doctor is often followed by a

list of treatment options and a positive look at how med-

ical advancements have improved survivability. That’s

not the case with pancreatic cancer.

Perhaps the most devastating of the cancers, it is

known as the one that’s typically too advanced for in-

tervention. The survivor rate for late-stage patients is a

meager 6 percent.

The available information and statistics didn’t pro-

vide much hope for Parker resident Rich Phillips, who

was diagnosed in 2004 with stage-4 pancreatic cancer.

He knew he was dying, and instead of flowers, asked

friends and family to put their money toward research

in the hopes that no one else would have to endure the

pain of the disease.

His wife, Meg, and their daughters have followed

through with his wish, and then some, by creating the

Denver version of the Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic

Cancer Research Walk, one of Colorado’s most promi-

nent memorial run/walks and fundraisers for research.

The event — this year’s is Nov. 4 at Sloan’s Lake Park in

Denver — started in New York and is named for the for-

mer chief executive officer of Cablevision, Marc Lustgar-

ten, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 52.

Through the inspirational event, in which partici-

pants share stories and pin photos of departed loved

ones on their shirts, Phillips has built a bond with

countless women who have lost their husbands, includ-

ing Highlands Ranch resident Karen Robinson.

Robinson’s husband, Stew, was given three months

to live after his 2004 diagnosis. The doctors “would not

touch him” and told him to quit his job and “go home

and die,” Robinson said. But with help from a Houston-

based treatment center called MD Anderson Cancer

Center, her husband lived for three years.

Meg Phillips met another friend, Carey Lejeune,

because Lejeune’s father, Bill, was undergoing treat-

ment at the same time and place as Rich Phillips. The

men established an incredible bond, and so, too, have

the women as they raise money for intensive research

through the Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer

Research Walk, which is entering its sixth year, having

raised $286,000 thus far.

Sadly, many of the survivors who participated in pre-

vious races have since passed away. Robinson said she

has met only one pancreatic cancer survivor, a man at

MD Anderson who was diagnosed nearly 15 years ago.

The deaths of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, astro-

naut Sally Ride and actor Patrick Swayze have increased

awareness about pancreatic cancer in recent years, but

Phillips, Robinson and Lejeune, who are part of the re-

search walk’s organizing team, know there is still much

work to be done.

Meanwhile, they take heart in promising innova-

tions for early detection, including a camera-scope that

reaches deeper into the recesses of internal organs than

ultrasounds do. They are also hoping scientists can fur-

ther define possible dietary factors and genetic links in

pancreatic cancer.

Robinson, whose husband’s life was prolonged

enough for him to witness the high school and college

graduations of their two sons, is an advocate of regular

screenings for relatives of patients.

All of their efforts, from the run/walk to silent auc-

tions, are made in the name of finding a means of effec-

tive early diagnosis, treatments and eventually a cure.

All proceeds from the race — there are no administrative

costs — go toward research. The Lustgarten Foundation

funds studies at 40 medical centers around world.

When asked what her husband might say about her

diligence in raising awareness and money, Phillips fights

off tears.

“I think he would be proud because we’re working

with scientists and researchers to help,” the Parker resi-

dent said. “He would say ‘good for you, but stop using

my name so much.’”

The first run/walk drew 22 walkers and raised

$42,000. The goal in 2012 is 700 walkers and $100,000

in donations. Participants are asked to contribute $50

when they register at www.lustgarten.org or call 1-866-

789-1000.

From left, Carey LeJeune, Meg Phillips and Karen Robinson are among the

organizers for the Lustgarten Foundation’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk

Nov. 4 at Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver. All three women, including Phillips, of

Parker, lost their husbands to pancreatic cancer, which is often detected too

late for doctors to intervene. Photo by Chris Michlewicz

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KEZW grows solar garden in neighborhoodStation is second in U.S. to be sun-powered

By Jennifer [email protected]

On a prairie bluff overlooking a dog

park, an enclave of high technology

looms.

It’s technology that has launched

KEZW Studio 1430 AM into historic noto-

riety as the second and largest radio sta-

tion in the United States to be powered by

solar energy.

“The thing that’s really cool to me is

that the station that plays the oldest mu-

sic has the newest technology,” said dee-

jay Rick Crandall at an Oct. 19 ceremony

to dedicate the station’s solar garden.

That, along with a transmitting station

and several antennas, is on the western

edge of David A. Lorenz Regional Park,

along East County Line Road between

Colorado Boulevard and Holly Street.

The solar project is part of parent com-

pany Entercom’s 1Thing environmental

initiative, which encourages everyone to

do just one thing every day to preserve

the environment, coming one step clos-

er to a sustainable world. The project is

designed to reduce dependency on the

power grid and showcase renewable en-

ergy.

Atop the bluff sit 12 banks of solar

panels, each one with 36 individual pan-

els generating a total of 100,000 watts of

power. In June 2011, KEZW’s energy bill

was about $1,360; today it averages $270

a month.

“The KEZW solar project has been

challenging and exciting for me,” said

Jeff Garrett, chief engineer at the station’s

parent company, Entercom Denver. “The

science that allows that production of

electricity from photons of light is cut-

ting-edge.”

Cary Hayes of REC Solar, the com-

pany that installed the system, agrees it

was a challenging project. It only took

about two months to build, he said, but

permitting and design took more than a

year. There was a lot of testing involved,

as well, to make sure the solar energy

wouldn’t interfere with the radio signal.

That resulted in a sophisticated ground-

ing system built into the Trex fencing

around the panels.

“We went above and beyond what we

normally do,” said Hayes.

Local dignitaries were on hand at the

event to welcome KEZW to the neighbor-

hood.

“It’s great for them to make this in-

vestment,” said Rick Owens, chair of

the Highlands Ranch Metro District. “It

aligns with what Highlands Ranch is do-

ing in our facilities.” He mentioned LED

holiday lights and solar locks and lights

in all the park restrooms as examples.

“It’s another great example of sensible

sustainability,” agreed Lone Tree Mayor

Pro Tem Jackie Millet. “It’s a great exam-

ple of leadership, just like our arts cen-

ter.” She noted that Lone Tree Arts Center

is the city’s first LEED-certified building

“We are excited about the future, and

I’m honored to be part of converting sun-

light into radio waves,” said Garrett.

KEZW deejay Rick Crandall and Amy Griesheimer, vice president and marketing manager at Entercom Denver, dedicate

the station’s solar garden at David A. Lorenz Regional Park Oct. 19. Courtesy Photo


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Dry means high for hay pricesAnimal owners make tough decisions amid soaring costs

By Deborah [email protected]

Extreme drought conditions across

the state have many area ranchers scur-

rying for ways to adequately feed their

animals over the long winter months.

Unusually dry weather has crippled

hay production resulting in a statewide

shortage, and rising fuel costs are adding

to already historic high prices.

According to reports from the Colora-

do Department of Agriculture, hay prices

have more than doubled over the past 24

months.

“Two years ago, we were paying about

$125 per ton,” said Pat Miller, one of the

founding directors of the Ruby Ranch

Horse Rescue in Ramah. “For what we

bought last week, we paid nearly $350

per ton.”

Miller said she had to buy the hay from

Wyoming, as local hay is becoming more

difficult to find.

Ranchers continue to search for al-

ternative feed sources, cheaper hay and

other ways to reduce costs. However, ac-

cording to the CDA, fuel prices are rising

and freight costs to ship hay are also pre-

dicted to increase.

Poor pasture and rangeland condi-

tions have also limited the potential for

grazing.

So as cold weather approaches, many

livestock owners who can’t sustain their

animals will be forced to make tough de-

cisions to stretch strained food supplies.

“In cases of extreme drought like we

have now, some ranchers will cull the

herd of weaker animals and others may

take them to auction,” said Ben Ber-

linger, rangeland management specialist

with the National Resources Conserva-

tion Service in La Junta. “There’s always a

top end of the herd, and always a bottom

end.”

And for others, the decision often

comes on the heels of other tough deci-

sions.

“I’m probably going to lose every-

thing this year,” said Jim, a rancher from

Calhan, who asked to be identified by

only his first name. “It’s only a matter of

time. My wife has medical problems and

I’m just at a point where I can’t even af-

ford myself, much less all these animals.

There’s just no way I can feed us all over

the winter. I’m gonna have to get rid of

them.”

Miller said she’s extremely familiar

with cases like Jim’s.

The Ruby Ranch is nonprofit organi-

zation that provides shelter, care and re-

habilitation for abused, neglected, aban-

doned and unwanted horses, including

those that can no longer be cared for by

their owners and those at risk of going to

slaughter.

She said her group has seen a signifi-

cant increase in calls within the past six

weeks and that winter is a particularly

challenging time to feed animals, made

even more difficult with high hay prices.

“An average size horse of about 1,000

pounds will eat about 15 pounds of food

per day,” Miller said. “But when the tem-

perature drops below 15 degrees, that

same horse can eat as much as 40 pounds

per day.”

Miller said the price of hay has even

forced the ranch to make tough decisions

by limiting the number of animals it can

hold for the winter.

“But we’ve branched out and started

to network more,” she said. “While we

can’t take every animal this winter, we are

working to find foster homes and other to

help these owners in distress.”

Barn supervisor Adam Owens stacks bales of hay at the Big R Feed Store in Elizabeth. Drought conditions across the

state have contributed to a shortage of hay. Many ranchers are now scambling to store enough to sustain their animals

through spring. Those who can’t face some very tough decisions. Photo by Deborah Grigsby

Bales of hay await ranchers at Big R Feed Store in Elizabeth. Drought has driven hay prices up sharply, and some herds

will be culled while others will go to auction. Some ranchers could lose everything, in cases where feed prices add one

more cost to operations already inancially stressed. Photo by Deborah Grigsby

HAVE AN EVENT?

To submit a calendar list-ing, send information by noon Friday to [email protected] or by fax to 303-425-8757.

OCT. 26

CITIZEN ACADEMY. The Douglas County Sherif’s Oice is accepting applications for its annual citizen academy, a one-day class from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Douglas County Sherif’s Oice, 4000 Justice Way, Castle Rock, with a visit to the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility. Space is limited and a background check will be conducted on all applicants. Applications are due by Oct. 7. Those that are accepted will be notiied prior to the class. Applica-tions are available online at www.dcsherif.net. For information, call Deputy Jack Newton at 303-663-7702.

WINE WALKS, presented by the Parker Chamber of Commerce, are planned for the last Friday of the month, from May to October. The cost is $10 per adult, ages 21 and older. Tickets can be purchased at the event, or discount season passes are available on the chamber website at www.parkerchamber.com. Dates are Sept. 28 and Oct. 26.

OCT. 26

HALLOWEEN AT the library. Scare up some family-friendly holiday fun with Douglas County Libraries. Family Fall Fest means stories, treats, crafts and more. Event is at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Parker Library, 10851 S. Crossroads Drive.

OCT. 26-27

WORKFORCE TRAINING. Learn how to become a wedding planner at an Arapahoe Community College workforce training program Oct. 26-27 at the college’s Parker campus. The Oct. 26 session runs from 5:30-9:30 p.m. and the Oct. 27 session runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The class will cover the roles and responsibilities of a wedding planner and details about the wedding industry such as budget, wedding etiquette/protocol, supervis-

ing a ceremony and how to put on a great reception. Cost for this two-day event is $199. For information, or to RSVP, contact Meredith Toield at [email protected] or 303-734-3701.

THROUGH OCT. 27

LITTLE SHOP. Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center presents “Little Shop of Horrors” from Oct. 19-27. Directed by Paul Dwyer and presented in partner-ship with Starkey Productions, “Little Shop” is a comedy horror rock about a lorist shop worker who raise a plant that feeds on human blood. Tickets start at $18 and can be purchased at www.PACEcenteronline.org, by calling 303-805-6800, or at the box oice, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker.

OCT. 27-28

QUILT SALE. The Mission Quilters of Ave Maria Church are having a quilt sale and boutique from 3-7 p.m. Oct. 27 and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28. Handmade quilts, throws, kids’ and baby items, table toppers and decorative accessories for the home will be available for sale. We are also raling a colorful queen sized quilt. Rale tickets are $2 and 3 for $5. The proceeds from the sale enable the quilters to make and donate quilts to nursing homes, hospitals and children’s ministries. We also donate money to help needy families with housing. The church address is at 9056 E. Parker Road, Parker.

OCT. 28

FALL FUNDRAISER. The Parker Arts Council presents “The Grapes of Death: A Vintage Murder Mystery,” its fall fun-draiser, at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Clavin’s Bar & Grill. The cost is $42 per person, which includes the bufet dinner, show, tax and tip. Bar bill is separate. Go to www.parkerartscouncil.org for tickets and information.

OCT. 29

DEDICATION CEREMONY. The Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center will dedicate its signature sculpture “Nucleus” at a ceremony from 5-6 p.m. Oct. 29 at the center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave. Visit www.PACEcenteronline.org.

OCT. 30

WRITE A novel in a month. Help Douglas County Libraries kick of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) with activities, prizes and snacks. This event for ages 11-18 will be at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Parker Library, 10851 S. Crossroads Drive. Registration is required at 303-791-7323 or DouglasCountyLibraries.org.

NOV. 1-30

DRIVER SAFETY. AARP is ofering a free drivers safety classroom course from Nov. 1-30 to veterans. The class is open to all veterans regardless of age who serve or have served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard/Reserves or Coast Guard. Their spouses, widows/widow-ers and children may also take the free class. The AARP driver safety course is the nation’s irst and largest course for drivers ages 50 and older. Classes are available all over Colorado. To register, call 303-764-5995 or go online at www.aarp.org/drive.

NOV. 2, Nov. 16

BLOOD DRIVE. PACE Community Cen-ter Community Blood Drive is from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. inside Bonils’ mobile bus at 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the Bonils’ Appointment Center at 303-363-2300 or visit www.bonils.org.

NOV. 3

ENROLLMENT EVENT. Arapahoe Community College will ofer an opportunity for anyone to begin the process of enrolling in spring 2013 classes with the Start Now event from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 3 at all three ACC campuses (Littleton, Parker, Castle Rock). For information, or to apply for admission, contact the admission and records oice at [email protected] or 303-797-6521. Visit www.arapahoe.edu.

NOV. 10

TOY RUN. EC Riders plan its 9th annual toy run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 10. Registrationo is from 8-10 a.m. at Stagecoach in Franktown with breakfast available for a small fee. An

8-mile parade of vehicles, including Marines, motorcycles, old cars, and the Elizabeth Fire Department, will start at 10 a.m. in Franktown and parade through Elizabeth ending at Casey Jones Park for everyone to enjoy door prizes, a 50/50 rale, live auction, food and fun. The cost of admission is a new unwrapped toy or cash donation for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign. All monies and toys stay in and support the children of Elbert County. If you cannot make the run, and wish to donate a new, unwrapped toy you can come by the pavilion at Casey Jones after 11 a.m. the day of the ride, or do so at area businesses throughout the county marked with an oicial U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots drop box and Poster. Contact 303-435-2793 or www.ecriders.org.

NOV. 13

CONSERVATION AUCTION. The Cut-throat Chapter of Trout Unlimited will have its annual conservation auction from 6-9 p.m. Nov. 13 at the historic Highlands Ranch Mansion, 9900 S. Ranch Road, Highlands Ranch. The event includes a silent and live auc-tion, door prizes, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. Auction items include vacations, guided ishing trips, ly ishing equipment, signed Broncos and Rockies memorabilia, outdoor apparel, etc. Proceeds from the auction are used to support CCTU’s local area conservation projects and youth and community education programs. Visit http://www.cutthroatctu.org or con-tact Cam Chandler at 303-956-5140.

NOV. 23

BLOOD DRIVE. Walmart Community Blood Drive is from 12:30-5 p.m. Nov. 23 inside Bonils’ mobile bus at 11101 S. Parker Road, Parker. For informa-tion or to schedule an appointment, contact the Bonils’ Appointment Center at 303-363-2300 or visit www.bonils.org.

DEC. 7-9, DEC. 14-16

PLAY. THE Parker Arts Council presents “It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play” at 7 p.m. Dec. 7, 8, 14, and at 3 p.m. Dec. 8, 9, 15, 16, at the Mainstreet Center, 19650 E. Mainstreet, Parker. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for children. Visit www.parkerartscouncil.org for tickets and information.

DEC. 31

NEW YEAR’S Eve. The PACE Renais-sance Guild plans New Year’s Eve, New York Style starting at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31 at the PACE Center. A live theater production of “The Jerseys” will start at 9 p.m., followed by the Mainstage Theater being transformed to Times Square for the ball drop live from New York City. Ring in the new year at mid-night with champagne, followed by ireworks. Dancing continues through the evening. Tickets are available through Oct. 15 at a discounted rate. Go to www.PACEcenteronline.org or call 303-805-6800.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Calendar submis-sions must be received by noon Wednesday for publication the following week. Send information to [email protected], attn: Parker Chronicle. No attachments. Listings are free and run on a space-available basis.


THINGS TO DO


25-L IFE

South MetroLIFE

Award brings gratitude, tears

I’m honored to be honored.Sense of Security, a Colorado-based

breast cancer charity that helps patients with non-medical expenses, has been a favorite charity of mine since I was diag-nosed seven years ago.

In my own small way — with a ton of help from my friends — I have raised money for this unsung charity that lost some of its funding last year — a casu-alty of budget cuts.

On Saturday night, being given an award for my efforts during the annual Champagne and Diamonds fundraiser humbled me. The award reads: “With gratitude, Penny Parker. Thank you for your continued support and commit-ment to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients.”

Yes, I’m a survivor, but there are so many of us in this sorority that we never wanted to join. As I write this, tears are running down my face. It seems that Oc-tober — Breast Cancer Awareness Month — is the one time a year that my journey comes flooding back.

I was truly blessed to have such supportive people in my corner during that time — my darling husband, Greg Henry, and my BFF, Devany McNeill, who also accompanied me to the event.

I want to thank Rita McCoy, executive director of Sense of Security, Vicki Tosh-er, founder of the charity, and Regional Emmy Award winning doll face Chris Parente, co-host of FOX-31’s “Everyday,” who emceed.

I also want to give a shout-out to the Embassy Suites in downtown Denver, which blew me away with their banquet service of perfectly cooked beef tender-loin (like buttah), crisp asparagus and a potato dish. Amazing.

Thanks to all who deemed me worth of such an honor. If you’d like to con-tribute to such a deserving organization, go to www.senseofsecurity.org. Since its inception in 2000, Sense of Security has provided more than $1.4 million in financial assistance to more than 860 breast cancer patients in Colorado.

Think pink for charityThe 9th Door, the sexy tapas bar on

Blake Street in LoDo, is donating pro-ceeds from its Pink Coyote cocktail to Sense of Security during October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This could be the most fun you’ll ever have while donating to a worthy cause. See you there! For more informa-tion, go to www.senseofsecurity.org.

Historic Landmark statusSecretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

designated Denver’s Civic Center as a National Historic Landmark on Wednes-day, marking it as the City and County of Denver’s first NHL and one of two Civic Centers in the country to achieve this prestigious recognition, announced His-toric Denver Inc., the Denver nonprofit that submitted the NHL nomination.

Celebrations to honor this historic moment will take place in Denver’s Civic Center in 2013.

Four Seasons GM jammin’Thierry Kennel, general manager of

COSTUMED CRUSADERS

PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY

Hollywood seemed to be the trendy costume theme this

year at the South Suburban Spooktacular on Oct. 19.

Superheroes, vintage stars and a few from modern

animated ilms were out and about with a mission

to haunt. The annual Halloween event ofered a safe,

supervised alternative to traditional trick-or-treating for

children up to 11 years of age and featured a haunted

house, carnival games, tattoos, video games, hula hoops

and a cookie walk. More than 600 visitors came through

the doors of the Goodson Center, 6315 S. University Blvd.,

emptying the carnival of about 125 pounds of candy.

Chloe Palmer, 9, of Centennial is a blur of activity as she takes on the jump rope in full costume. Palmer was among more than 600 visitors to the annual Halloween Spooktacular,

which was held on Oct. 19 at South Suburban Parks and Recreation’s Goodson Center in Centennial.

Vintage Hollywood comes alive in 4-year-old Kimberly

Brito’s interpretation of Audrey Hepburn’s classic role in

“Breakfast at Tifany’s.” Kimberly was one of close to 600

visitors to South Suburban’s Halloween Spooktacular, at

Centennial’s Goodson Center.

Dressed as Mr. Fredrickson from the animated comedy “Up,” 2-year-old Hunter Brito is all smiles at the South

Suburban Halloween Spooktacular Oct. 19 at the Goodson Center in Centennial. The annual event provides a safe

and supervised alternative to traditional trick-or-treating. Parker continues on Page 26


Whole World Market returns to Pax Christi

The Whole World Market will be open, for the 12th year, on Nov. 3-4 at Pax Christi Church, 5761 McAr-thur Ranch Road, Highlands Ranch.

There will be 33 vendors, with work by artisans from around the world. Proceeds go to individual art-ists and to nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Women’s Crisis and Family Out-reach Center.

There will be a cafe with pastries, drinks and soup on Saturday and pizza on Sunday for a free will offer-ing. Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 3; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 4. See: wholeworld-market.org.

`Harry the Great’ makes magicCreede Repertory Theatre brings

its world premiere production of “Harry the Great” by actor/play-wright John DiAntonio to Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., for 10 performances, Nov. 1-11. The comic story is set against the back-ground of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Director is Larry Hecht. Tickets start at $29. 720-509-1000, lonetree-artscenter.org.

New ragtime venueThe Ragtime Society of Colorado

will present “Something Doing, the Big Little Ragtime Band” at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 in a new venue: Schmitt Mu-sic, 155 W. Hampden Ave., Engle-wood. Quartet members are all members of Queen City Jazz: John Bredenberg, banjo and clarinet; Bill Clark, tuba; Hank Troy, piano; Mau-rie Walker, leader/arranger. Tickets: $20/$15 (members). 303-979-4353 or send a check to president Colleen Vander Hoek, 8360 S. Zephyr St., Lit-tleton, 80128.

Evergreen artists featuredThe Alliance of Artists of Ever-

green will be featured during Great Western Art Gallery’s Denver Arts Week show, opening Nov. 2, First Fri-day, with a reception. Gale Gatto, Jes-sica Wicken, Rodgers Naglor, Cathy Jones, Gail Posner, Pixie Glore, Jean Widman and Gayle MacDougall will exhibit, according to gallery owner Hilliard Moore of Highlands Ranch. The gallery is at 1455 Curtis St., in Brooks Tower. 303-396-2787.

MS suferer’s book availableSinger/author Bonnie Ellison

of Littleton attended the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Annual Meeting Oct. 20 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westminster. Ellison, who has lived with multiple sclerosis for a number of years, introduced her book, “MS entertainer” and a related tribute CD by the FAB Co. Both are available from Amazon.com. Infor-mation at MSEntertainer.com.

‘The Seafarer’ auditionsDirector/actor/producer John

Ashton has tried for several years to get rights to “The Seafarer” by Conor McPherson and has announced au-ditions at 1 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Au-rora Fox Studio, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. Director will be Michael Stricker. Needed: four men ages 40-65 (the role of Sharky is cast). Irish

dialect required. Prepare to read from the script — sides available from [email protected]. Indicate role(s) you are interested in. Rehearsals begin Jan. 2. Call for appointment, 303-739-1970. Perfor-mances: Feb. 8 to March 3.

Linda Lowry work exhibited“Water Nymphs” by Linda Low-

ry is exhibited through Nov. 10 at Goodwin Fine Art, 1255 Delaware St., Denver. Lowry, who was chair of Arapahoe Community College’s art department, says she will return there to teach figure drawing in Jan-uary. Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays.

Festival ongoing at MizelThe Jewish Arts, Authors, Movies,

Music Festival is ongoing through Nov. 6 at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, with a keynote speech by Rabbi Har-old S. Kushner at 4 p.m. Nov. 6. For information on programs and tick-ets: maccjcc.org.

Orchestra plays at churchThe Castle Rock Orchestra pres-

ents “The Lord of the Rings Experi-ence” at 3 p.m. Oct. 28. The concert will be at First United Methodist Church of Castle Rock, 1200 South Street, Castle Rock. The concert will feature music from all three “Lord of the Rings” movies as well as the theme from “Game of Thrones” and the Berceuse and Finale from Stravinsky’ “Firebird Suite.” A $5 per person, $20 per family donation is suggested. Attendees are welcome to attend in fantasy costume. Cas-tlerockorchestra.org.

The Four Seasons Hotel Denver, has been pro-moted to regional vice president, effective this week.Kennel will continue to serve as general manager of The Four Seasons Hotel Denver while assuming additional responsibilities as a Regional Vice Presi-dent for three additional Four Seasons properties.

Kennel will oversee Four Seasons Hotel Palo Alto (my home town), Four Seasons Hotel Mexi-co City and Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis in addition to the Denver property.

Conde Nast readers voteConde Nast Traveler

readers have spoken and they have chosen the top 10 hotels in the West —

meaning in Colorado and Utah.

No. 1 is The Oxford Hotel in LoDo.

No. 3 is the St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder.

No. 4 is the Hotel Teatro downtown.

No. 5 is The Brown Palace.

No. 6 is The Four Sea-sons Hotel Denver.

No. 7 is The Ritz-Carl-ton Denver

No. 9 if The JW Marriott Denver

and No. 10 is The Curtis — a Doubletree by Hilton.

In the same survey, The Westin Riverfront was named the No. 1 resort in the “Top 40 Resorts in the West” category. For more information, go to www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/united-states/top-40-resorts-west-usa

or www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/united-states/top-10-ho-tels-west-usa.

“We’re so excited to once again see the JW Marriott Denver, The Ox-ford and the Curtis earn a spot on this prestigious list,” said Walter Isenberg, president and CEO of Denver’s Sage Hospitality.

Get your grrrr onThis year’s ninth an-

nual Denver Gorilla Run will be held on Oct. 27 in an attempt to hold onto its Guinness World Re-cord title of most people dressed as gorillas in one location with 1,069 par-ticipants in 2009.

This year’s event is expected to attract 1,300-plus participants in their gorilla costumes to enjoy

a scenic and fun 5K run/walk or ride through Lower Downtown and the Platte River Valley.

The Denver Gorilla Run, which benefits the Denver-based Mountain Gorilla Conservations Fund, offers a costume contest and three starting waves.

The Wheels will go first, runners go second and walkers go third.

The race is followed by an extravagant post-race party featuring a live performance by Under the Radar Band, and food from the Wynkoop Hold-ings family of restaurants including Lodo’s Bar and Grill and the Breckenridge Craft Brewery.

The run’s start/finish line and post-race party takes place outside of Wynkoop Brewing Co. at 18th and Wynkoop streets. Runners and spectators are invited to attend the celebratory Silverback Block Party.

More info at www.den-vergorillarun.com or by calling 720-524-0272.

Penny Parker’s “Mile High Life” column gives insights into the best events, restaurants, busi-nesses, parties and people throughout the metro area. Parker also writes for Blacktie-Colorado.com. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 303-619-5209.

Parker: Denver Gorilla Run coming soonParker continues from Page 25


Ballet gets a move on at PACE“A lot of collaborations

start with a conversation over

coffee,” said Garrett Ammons,

Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s

artistic director, when asked

about where/how he begins

on a new program with a live

music component. “We discuss

whether we enter into the world

in a similar fashion.”

Conversation with the Ba-

roque Chamber Orchestra of

Colorado’s Frank Nowell result-

ed in the choice of music by Ital-

ian composers Tartini and Viv-

aldi for two new ballets by BNC:

“Dangerous Liaisons.” Perfor-

mances are set for Parker’s PACE

Center and the ballet’s home

turf in Federal Heights.

“D a n c e r / c h o re o g ra p h e r

Sarah Tallman has created a

work to Vivaldi’s music and I am

working now with Tartini,” Am-

mons said recently. “Every cho-

reographer has different ways of

working — what is represented

in those composers — not a de-

finitive storyline — we leave that

to viewers.

“We’ve embraced music that

is complex, textured, with virtu-

oso playing. There’s humor and

it’s sensual.”

The recorded music with

which they are rehearsing in-

cludes harpsichord and violin.

Dancers won’t hear entire or-

chestrations until final rehears-

als in the PACE Center theater,

when the orchestra “fleshes out

the sound.” This will happen a

week before performances.

“It’s a wonderful adventure —

a great way to create work. There

are some adjustments. Baroque

music is very improvisational —

soloists are free to interpret in

their work, as in jazz.”

This is Ammons’ first experi-

ence with a Baroque orchestra,

although he has worked with

jazz musicians. He sees a natural

synergy between contemporary

dance and Baroque.

Ammons started his career

in music, choir, musical theater,

dance. “I fell in love with dance

and focused.” He attended

Houston Ballet Academy, joined

that company, next moving to

Oregon and Ballet Memphis. He

and his wife, Associate Execu-

tive Director Dawn Fay, moved

to Colorado in 2007 and start-

ed Ballet Nouveau Colorado,

which is headquartered, with its

school, at 3001 Industrial Lane

in Broomfield.

It’s home performance venue

is the Performing Arts Complex

at Pinnacle Charter School, 1001

w. 84th Ave., Denver, where this

production will repeat on Nov.

10, 11.

The Baroque Chamber Or-

chestra of Colorado debuted in

2005, it’s a professional period-

instrument ensemble focused

on the “musical riches and spirit

of improvisation of the 17th and

18th centuries.” Artistic Director

Frank Nowell founded the or-

chestra.

Sets for “A Dangerous Liai-

son” will be minimal, Ammons

said. “The production is focused

on dancing…full of surprises,

whether audience members are

music lovers or dance lovers. It’s

a good opportunity to see both.”

IF YOU GO

PACE Center is at

20000 Pikes Peak Ave.,

Parker.

Performances: 7:30 p.m. Nov.

3; 2 p.m. Nov. 4. Tickets: $18-$28,

pacecenteronline.org, 303-805-

6800.

Pinnacle Charter

School is at 1001 W.

84th Ave., Federal

Heights.

Performances: 7:30 p.m. Nov.

9, Nov. 10; 2 p.m. Nov. 11. Tickets

$19-$27, bncdance.com, 303-

HAVE A QUES-

TION?

Let us answer it. Submit

any questions or

comments and send your

feedback to Colorado

Community Media,

9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd.,

Suite 210, Highlands

Ranch, CO 80129.

?

ParkerSPORTS28 Parker ChronicleOctober 26, 2012

OUT OF

BOUNDS

BY THE NUMBERS

Combined points scored by T h u n d e r -Ridge and Chaparral

in last Thursday’s 14-7 wiin by the top-ranked Grizzlies. The point to-tal was 48.4 points less than the combined 69.4 points per game the teams were averaging before the contest.

Yards per carry aver-aged this s e a s o n by Doug-las Coun-

ty running back Trey Smith. Smith ran for a school record 448 yards in a 38-14 Continen-tal League victory over Highlands Ranch last Friday night.

Total points allowed by Valor C h r i s t i a n f o o t b a l l during the

Eagles’ current six-game winning streak. Valor Christian has outscored its foes 289-14 during that stretch.

GAME OF THE WEEK

CROSS COUNTRY

State championshipSaturday, Oct. 27

Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado

Springs

The cross country season comes to a close with the state champi-onship meet. The event kicks off with 2A girls at 9:30 a.m., with other races beginning every 30 minutes until the 5A boys take off at 1 p.m.

THEY SAID IT

“I think we can go far because when the pres-sure is on, we perform really well.”

Ponderosa linebacker Drew Stephon

21

14

9.6

Chaparral clips Falcons in rematchBy Criag [email protected]

Rubber match, anyone?It could happen but would have to

wait until the postseason. Two of the best teams in the state’s best league squared off last Thursday, and two-time defend-ing Class 5A champion Chaparral ex-acted a measure of revenge for one of its two losses. The third-ranked Wolverines prevailed in the rematch with a 3-1 (28-26, 25-21, 14-25, 25-18) victory at No. 8 Highlands Ranch.

The operative word is “measure,’’ as the Falcons’ 3-0 win in the Regis Jam on Sept. 1 was a fleeting memory.

“We came into it not really thinking about the last time because we’re con-cerned more about our own side,’’ said Chaparral co-captain Abby Shelton. “And we’re definitely a different team than when we played them early.’’

“That was at the beginning of the year, and we have a completely new rotation,’’ added Morgan Stanley.

Indeed, Stanley was on a recruiting trip to California when the first match was played - a visit that resulted in the outside hitter committing to Sacramento State.

“The big difference between the be-ginning of the season when we played them was they didn’t have Stanley,’’ said Highlands Ranch coach Lou Krauss. “She’s worth four or five points a set, and that’s about how much we beat them by.’’

Chaparral (17-2, 10-1 Continental) had clinched a third-straight league title with a 3-1 victory over No. 6 Legend on

Tuesday, but coach T.R. Ellis wanted her team to believe they had only secured a tie. “I didn’t tell the girls this game didn’t matter. I think they thought they were playing for the title,’’ she said.

Despite that and the revenge factor, “We should have played a lot more in-spired,’’ Ellis said. “We played a great game against Legend. Tonight was OK, but not a great match. It’s tough to play a team that’s tipping the ball like they do. They play small ball; they camp out in the middle and go tip-tip-tip. But we played during the fall break on their court and won.’’

Chaparral led for most of the first, sec-ond and fourth sets against the Falcons (14-5, 7-4), but had to survive two set points for the Falcons before taking the first set.

“I actually thought we had it because we got a nice pass and I thought we were going to side out,’’ Krauss said. “Then we made a little error that was very unchar-acteristic, and that tied it back up again. I think if we would’ve won the first set it might have been a longer match.’’

“We buckled down,’’ Ellis said.Highlands Ranch dominated the third

set, but Chaparral pulled away late in the fourth behind Shelton (15 kills) and Stan-ley (16 kills).

“They run a pretty simple offense,’’ Krauss said of Chaparral. “They don’t have to do a lot well. They just have to get it to the outside, and they’ve got two girls (Shelton and Stanley) who don’t error too much and hit the ball really hard -- that’s one thing we don’t really have.

“We had the defense set up for that. We

dug a lot of balls, but, still … I mean, it’s not a high-risk (offense). If I had some-one to do it, I would do it, too. But we need to score points by running a whole lot of different things. And we made too many unforced errors.’’

“We have two of the best hitters in the state,’’ Ellis said. “That’s our bread and butter.’’

After losing the third set, “We thought it was important to end this one playing Chaparral volleyball going into the fourth game because next weekend we have the Cheyenne Mountain tournament,’’ Shel-ton said. “We’re going to save some fire going into next week.’’

Highlands Ranch got 15 kills from Ra-chel Saczepanski to go with 10 for Brit-tanie Tannenbaum and 9 for Natalie Brunstein. Shayli Siegfried had 26 digs and Kristin Conor 38 assists for the Fal-cons.

Under a new format implemented for 2012, district tournaments have been re-placed with non-qualifying tournaments. Following those, teams will be seeded, with the top 12 hosting three-team re-gionals where only the winner qualifies for state.

Chaparral most assuredly will host a regional, and has been virtually un-beatable at home. But Highlands Ranch might not be so fortunate.

“We still have seeding committee, so I’m not sure if they’re going straight top 12, and I’m not sure how much we’ll drop after losing today,’’ Krauss said. “The tournament we’re playing, they’re all 4A and 3A teams, so that’s not going to help us with the (points) formula.’’

Chaparral’s Abby Shelton returns serve Oct. 18 with Hayley Ferguson backing her up. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen | [email protected]

DtT

Bspor

appointing first day for Douglas CPClass 5A state softball tourAer will call it a disappointing season. After all, they wwho r

goings against Eaglecrhind 8-0 after four inningsjumped rwas tors Rsettled the matter

for Hwould add two mordouble b


Day One devastating to local teamsTitans, Mustangs make early exit at state

By Scott [email protected]

AURORA - It turned out to be a dis-appointing first day for Douglas County, Ponderosa and Legend in last Friday’s Class 5A state softball tournament at the Aurora Sports Park. But no coach or play-er will call it a disappointing season. After all, they were all part of the successful few who reached state.

Douglas County struggled in the early goings against Eaglecrest, falling be-hind 8-0 after four innings. The Raptors jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on a home run by Mikayla Faulkner. But the killer was the grand slam home run by the Rap-tors Rayle Glover in the fourth that really settled the matter.

Laramie Rewerts hit a two run homer for Douglas County in the fifth for the Huskies first runs of the game. They would add two more in sixth on an RBI double by Ashlee Kim.

“We went in with confidence, but I

think we became frustrated after their home run in the first inning,” Rewerts said. “Mentally, we didn’t come back. It was a good season, better than we thought. I think we can only be better next season.”

Douglas County coach Brian Stebbins was disappointed with the loss, but not the season.

“We had a slow start today and we didn’t take advantage of our situations when we had opportunities,” Stebbins said. “But we battled in the end and I couldn’t be more pleased with the girls. But I think we got hit by nerves. Overall, we enjoyed our regular season.”

It turned out to be a short day for Leg-end as the Titans were defeated by Dakota Ridge, 10-0 in six innings on a three-hit-ter. Two Titan hits were by Robyn Leigh-ton and the third by pitcher Madi Hunter.

“We came in as an underdog and not many expected us to even be here,” said Legend coach Shelly Boyd. “I’m just so proud of the girls. There has been a lot of surprising moments, but it just didn’t go

our way today. The girls have given a lot

of heart and certainly proud to have got-

ten this far.”

There are only two seniors on the Leg-

end team this season, Hunter and Karlee

Deaver.

“We did play the best we could today,

but we lost to a really good team,” Hunter

said. “It was a good season. We knew that

it would be hard coming in and we just

wanted to make sure we gave it our best.”

Added Deaver, “We came in with a lot

of heart and played the best we could. It

just didn’t go our way against a very good

team. No one is upset with our season, it

was fun and worth all our efforts.”

In the Class 4A tournament, Pondero-

sa opened with a 4-3 win over Frederick

but was sent home after a 6-1 set back to

Erie in the quarterfinals.

Amanda Ochoa hit two doubles to

pace the No. 4 Tigers.

Ponderosa had defeated Erie in last

week’s districts 4-3 behind the Mustangs’

four-run rally in the sixth.

In the rematch, Ponderosa pitcher Ally

Power struck out 10, but was touched for

two runs in the first, and the Mustangs

struggled offensively against Erie’s Carrie

Clarke, who tossed a three-hitter.

Ponderosa’s Kendra Dunham, No. 4, congratulates Mackenzie Mattey, No. 8, for making the last out of the Mustangs

irst round win.

Legend’s Kaley Garcia, No. 15, narrowly avoids Brooke Doumer, No. 5, as Doumer catches a lyball. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen | [email protected]

Stephon, Mustangs get defensive in low-scoring victoryPonderosa stay’s perfect, kicks Pine Creek

By Jim [email protected]

PARKER - Ponderosa linebacker Drew

Stephon called them fun but Mustangs

coach Jamie Woodruff indicated he was

getting too old to watch.

What they were referring to was the

close games that Ponderosa has been

playing the past two weeks.

The Mustangs, the second ranked

Class 4A team in Colorado, remained un-

beaten with a 13-10 Pikes Peak League

victory over Pine Creek last Friday at

Sports Authority Stadium.

Ponderosa, which edged Falcon 3-0 on

Oct. 2, is now 8-0 this season and 5-0 in

league play.

“I’m getting too old for this,” said

Woodruff. “I think when you win the

close games, they do help because we

know we can hang in there with our de-

fense and still win.”

Stephon was involved in several key

defensive plays for the Mustangs.

“Close games are exciting,” he said.

“It doesn’t get any better. It makes it fun.

It helps us with the toughness to finish.

I think we can go far because when the

pressure is on, we perform really well.”

The teams scored on the game’s first

three possessions and it appeared that

the contest was going to be high scoring,

but neither team scored in the second

half.

Ponderosa started the game by putting

together a 51-yard, 12-play scoring drive

that included one fourth down conver-

sion to grab a 7-0 lead after Corry Wil-

liams’ 5-yard TD run.

Pine Creek retaliated with a 67-yard

touchdown march on the Eagles first

possession to tie the game.

Then it was Ponderosa’s turn as Tan-

ner Augustine scored on a quarterback

sneak to cap a 67-yard drive.

The Mustangs extra point kick was

blocked as Ponderosa went ahead 13-7

with 9:47 left in the second period.

Late in the first half, Ponderosa made

one of its several good defensive plays

with Pine Creek on the Mustang 12-yard

line.

Chris Fox, Ponderosa’s 300-pound

lineman, rushed Eagles quarterback

Scott Savage and forced an incomplete

third down pass. Pine Creek had to settle

for a 29-yard field goal by Ian Fletcher

which trimmed Ponderosa’s lead to 13-10

with 38 seconds left before intermission.

“They were a good team,” said Ste-

phon said. “We knew they were. It was a

game circled at the beginning of the sea-

son.”

Stephon intercepted a Savage pass

early in the third quarter in the second-

half defensive standoff.

Pine Creek was driving late in the

game at the Ponderosa 49-yard line when

Stephon and Kelton Good combined to

throw Pine Creek fullback Lavanson Cof-

fey for a yard loss to set up a fourth and

three. The Eagles pass fell incomplete

with 2:33 remaining in the game.

“That stop there was huge,” Woodruff

said. “We finally got it figured out what

they were doing. The kids usually do. We

just keep it simple and they started figur-

ing it out.”

After taking over on downs, the Mus-

tangs ran out the clock thanks to first

down runs by Dylan Spradling and Au-

gustine.

Augustine finished with four comple-

tions on nine attempts for 82 yards and

rushed for 36 yards on eight carries.

Williams was the game’s leading rush-

er with 128 yards on 19 carries to help

Ponderosa pile up 242 yards rushing.

Ponderosa quarterback Tanner Augustine scored on a quarterback sneak to cap a 67-yard drive as the Mustangs scored

a 13-10 Pikes Peak League victory over Pine Creek last Friday at Sports Authority Stadium. File photo


Lutheran tops D’Evelyn in elimination gameBy Craig [email protected]

PARKER — Lutheran wanted a statement game last Friday against D’Evelyn, and got it in more ways than one.

Most notably:•TheLions’sophomorepassingtandemofquarter-

back James Willis and receiver Joshua Clausen won the battleovertheJaguars’morehighly-toutedseniorduoofCodyMarvelandConnorSkelton.Willispassedfor191yardsandfourtouchdowns-threeofthemtoClausen.Marvelthrewfor248yardsandatouchdown-butwasharassedandsackedfourtimesintheirsthalf,includ-ing a safety - and Skelton did not reach the end zonedespitecatching10ballsfor80yards.

•Moreimportantly,theLionswonthewar,rollingtoa36-14winatSportsAuthorityStadiumthatLutherancoach Daryl Moe believes is the signature win in the pro-gram’s history.

“Itwasahugewinforus,’’Moesaidaftertheyouth-fulLionsimprovedto6-2andclinchedsecondplaceinMetroWestLeaguelessthanayearaftermovingupfrom1Ato3A.“Wesolditallweektoourguys(thatthiswas)the biggest game in our program. We made that jump, and (D’Evelyn is) one of the better teams year in andyear out in our league. So it was good to come out and take it to them.’’

Lutheran(4-1MetroWest)canonlyclaimtheleaguetitle if ninth-ranked Conifer (3-1) loses one of its inaltwogamesandtheLionsbeatAlamedatheinalweekoftheregularseason.ConiferownswinsoverbothLu-theranandD’Evelyn,whichfellto3-2intheleagueand5-4overall.

ButthewinsetsupLutheranforahighseedinthe16-team3Aplayoffield,especiallyifitcanclosewithwinsoverSteamboatSprings(non-leagueroadgamethisFri-day)andArvada.

AsforD’Evelyn’splayoffhopes,“Oh,we’redone,’’saidcoachJeremyHubbard,whose2011squadreachedthesemiinals.“This was a playoff game for us. If we hadwon and win out, we’re 7-3 and we’re in.’’

Lutheran,whichlostninekeyseniorsfromlastyear’s1A quarterinalist team and plays mostly sophomoresand juniors this year, sent D’Evelyn a message early. It beganwithDarianPerez’95-yardpuntreturnlessthanhalfwaythroughtheirstquarterandsnowballedfromthere.

Marvel was sacked twice on the next possession, and followingapunt,WillishookedupwithDerekHizerona 35-yard scoring strike.The fourth sack of Marvel re-sultedinasecond-quartersafety,followedbya12-play,40-yardscoringdriveinwhichLutheranconvertedfourthird downs - the inal one the irst of threeWillis-to-Clausen connections, a 14-yarder for a 23-0 lead with16.7secondsleftinthehalf.

Thetwohookeduptwiceinthefourthquarterfor48-

and36-yardtouchdowns,quellingapotentialD’Evelyncomeback.Obviouslylustered in theirsthalf,Marveldirecteddrivesof80and77yards inthethirdquarter.He scored on a 4-yard run on fourth down to cap theirstone,thenhitAnthonyPorrecofor23yardstomakeit23-14.

Then,“The big play hurt us.The big play hurt us,’’Hubbard said.

Marvel inished 22-of-34 for 248 yards passing, butclearly was affected by Lutheran’s defensive pressureupfront.Hewassackedonceinthesecondhalf,scram-blingfornogain,buttheirst-halfpassrushandtheLi-ons’abilitytocontainhimasarusherweresigniicant.D’Evelyn’s leading rusher with 812 yards coming intothegame,Marvelnettedjust16yardson13carriesandhadtworunningplaysotherthanthesacksfornegativeyards.

“Wehaven’tseenanybodyreallygetafterhimmuch,’’Moesaid.“Theyplayalotofzone(blocking)andweig-uredwe’dgoafterhimbecausehe’ssuchagoodquar-terback.Ithinkwefrustratedhimalittlebit,buthestillmade his plays.’’

HubbardsaidMarvelgotbangeduponhisirstrunofthegame.“IfCodydoesn’thaveadeepthighbruise,

hetakesoffonacoupleofthose(sacks).I’mnotsayingthatwewinthegame.Butitdoesn’tturnoutlikethatforsure.’’

Moe challenged the Willis-Clausen duo - particularly Clausen - to outplay Marvel and Clausen.

“They’re getting a little rhythm going between thetwo,’’ Moe said.“Skelton is a heck of a receiver, and Itold(Clausen),`Hey,goshoweverybodyherethatyoushould be considered the best in the league. He an-sweredthebell,forsure.’’

Willis, who was 9-of-13 , could feel for Marvel. Itwasn’t until Game 7 that Lutheran played with a fullcomplementofrunningbacks.Withnoseriousrunninggame during that stretch - which included the loss to Conifer -Will saidopponents“wererushingguyskindoflikewhatMarvelwaslookingattodayandIwasjusttrying to get through it.’’

But with backs like sophomore Christian Versteeg back, Lutheran complemented Willis’ passing with a solidrunninggame.Versteedran26timesfor109yardsandtheLionsinishedwith217yardsontheground.

Lutheran quarterback James Willis passes Oct. 20. Lutheran’s Joshua Claussen makes a reception Oct. 20 during his team’s 36-14 victory against D’Evelyn at Sports Authority Stadium. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen | [email protected]

Sports roundup: Smith leads DC past Highlands RanchJunior running back runs for school-record 448 yards

By Jim [email protected]

DouglasCountyjuniorrunningbackTreySmithsetaschoolrecordlastFridaynightwhenherushedfor448yardsina38-14ContinentalLeaguevictoryoverHigh-lands Ranch.

Smith carried the ball 26 times and scored fourtouchdownsastheHuskies(2-2,5-3)overcamea14-10halftimedeicittooutscoretheFalcons28-0inthesec-ondhalf.

Fortheseason,Smithhasrunfor1,527yardson158carries and is averaging 190.9 yards per game. He isthesecondleadingClass5Arusherinthestate,trailingThornton’sKeynanHuguleywhohasgained1,636yards.

“Hedidagreatjob,”saidDouglasCountycoachJeffKetron of Smith. “The offensive line obviously playeda big role as did our wide receivers and other running backs.

“Treyhasgreatspeedwithlongstrides.Itdoesn’tlooklike he’s going fast but he is. He has great break awayspeed but I think the best thing is he has unbelivable vi-sion and real good hips, real good balance.”

ROCK CANYON SECOND - Rock Canyon moved intosecondplaceinthePioneerLeagueafternotchinga23-13winoverLegendatSheaStadium.

QuarterbackRyanHommelpassedfor200yardsandatouchdownfortheJaguars(4-2,6-2).Legend(3-2,4-4)droppedintoatieforthirdplace.

Running back Eric Williams ran for 152 yards andthree touchdowns for Rock Canyon and increased hisseasonrushingtotalto1,217yards.

Legend’sNicholasEvdosscoredtwiceandrushedfor74yards.

EIGHT ADVANCE - Eight Contintenal League soc-certeamswereseededinthestateplayoffswhichbeganearlier this week.

LeaguechampionHeritage(9-1-1,12-1-2)wasseed-ed third.

Ponderosa inished second in the league and theMustangs(8-3-0,9-4-2)wereseededifthintheClass4Atournament.

Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon, Highlands Ranch and RegisJesuittiedforthirdintheinalContinentalstand-ingswith7-4-0records.

TheGoldenEagles(9-6-0)enteredthestateplayoffsasaNo.16seed.RockCanyon(8-6-1)wasseeded19th,HighlandsRanch(8-6-1)15thandRegis(8-6-1)20th.

ThunderRidge (7-7-1)drewaNo.24seedandLeg-end(7-5-3)wasaNo.25seedinthestatetournament

bracket.CROSS COUNTRY-MountainVista`sboyswonthe

Class 5A Region 5 cross country meet and the GoldenEagles girls were second.

Thetopivefullteamsandallathleteswhoinishedinthetop15qualiiedforSaturday’sstatecrosscountrychampionships which will be held at Cheyenne Moun-tain’s Stampede cross country course.

Chaparral inished third in the Region 5 boys meetandRockCanyonwasfourth.

Mountain Vista’s Connor Weaver (15:59) inishedthirdintheindividualboysracefollowedbyteammatesAndrewWalton(16:03)infourthandEricSteiner(16:06)inifth.

OtherContinentialLeaguerunnersinthetop15wereRockCanyon’sLucasWest(16:16)ineighth,Chaparral’sDominic Compoz (16:19) tenth, Jacob Lucero (16:21)of Douglas County 11th, Mountain Vista’s Blake Graf(16:22)12th,SethParker(16:23)ofMountainVista13th,the Golden Eagles Noel Wagner (16:25) 14th and Ste-phenGeisler(16:28)ofMountainVista15th.

MacyKreutz(19:02)ofHighlandsRanchcameinsev-enth,CastleView’sMorganNeher(19:05)wasninth,So-lanaQuistorff(19:13)ofDouglasCounty14thandRockCanyon’sMorganCooney(19:13)ran15th.

Ponderosa’sboyswerethirdintheRegion1Class4AqualifyingmeetandtheMustangsgirlswereifth.

parker chronicle

Documents

suspect vehicle

parker police department

police officers

westminster police

girlsuspects vehicle

yearold parker girl

bat conservation

possible abduction