7 minute read
Moving at a snail’s pace
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To subscribe call 303-566-4100 is a snail and snails aren’t equipped to move any faster, so they have to settle for the slow pace at which they move. It took the snail ve minute or so to cross the pavement and move into the grass. Just ve minutes, which for us could now feel like an eternity.
So in that moment I re ected on my own need for speed. Although I can’t slow down advancements in technology that are designed to speed things up, nor can I or should I worry about others and their need for speed, I can decide when it’s time to slow things down for myself. Can my walks along the shoreline be a little slower so I can appreciate the sounds of the waves
LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com
MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com
SCOTT TAYLOR Metro North Editor staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com
BELEN WARD Community Editor bward@coloradocommunitymedia.com lapping against the sand, taking in the salt air, and maybe nding a unique shell or piece of sea glass? Can my hikes in the mountains be slowed down just a bit so I can take in the wild owers, watch the streams rushing down the mountainside, or look out at the amazing vistas from the openings through the trees? We are de nitely a society on the go. We want the speed limits to be higher, our ights to get us to our destination faster. We want our meals delivered to our homes or tables in unreasonably fast times. We expect the elevator to show up as soon as we press the button. It’s the pace of the race these days that we are
STEVE SMITH Sports Editor ssmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com
TERESA ALEXIS Marketing Consultant Classified Sales talexis@coloradocommunitymedia.com
AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com trying to keep up with and the pace is getting quicker and quicker each day.
I thought about the snail again. And as I did, I was reminded that moving at a snail’s pace is okay sometimes. I enjoy a slow brewing pot of co ee as it lls the kitchen with that beautiful co ee aroma. I love reading and spending time slowly letting the story develop and not racing to nish the book. I nd it so much more meaningful to pray slowly as it connects me at a deeper level to those I am praying for and to my faith. And when I can slow down enough before rushing out of the house to write notes to my family and
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Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper. To opt in or out of delivery please email us at circulation@ coloradocommunitymedia.com leave them around the house, it makes everyone feel so loved and appreciated. Is it time to slow down a bit for you? Are you running a race that just gets faster and faster all the time? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can move at a snail’s pace sometimes, it really will be a better than good life.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
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“We knew that there would be a challenge to this law because the opponents of the measure made it clear they intended to sue,” said Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and prime sponsor of the bill. “We still had the obligation to do the right thing and try to stand up for the people who were abused as children.” e opponents included public schools and the Catholic Church, who warned that Senate Bill 88 posed a major nancial burden because of the legal costs stemming from how many lawsuits they would have to defend against. ey also argued the measure was plainly unconstitutional.
Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Commerce City Democrat and another lead sponsor of Senate Bill 88, said there were always concerns a court would toss out the policy. “It’s disappointing that it came out this way. However, clearly the way the vote went — 7-0 — they absolutely feel it is unconstitutional.”
Several other states, including New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and California, have passed laws giving victims of child sex assault from decades past a window to sue. e measures were inspired by the worldwide Catholic Church abuse scandal and the fact that survivors often wait decades before they reveal their victimization, including a man pro led by e Colorado Sun in 2020 who waited more than three decades to tell his family that he had been abused as a child by a priest who was a constant gure in their lives. e push to create a so-called lookback window in Colorado was so erce that it led to the demise in 2020 of a measure that would have ended Colorado’s statute of limitations for lawsuits solely in future child sexual assault cases or in cases where the statute of limitations hadn’t already run out. e sponsor of that legislation, Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, killed the measure in a dramatic committee hearing because she said it didn’t do enough to help victims of child sex abuse in decades past.
“I’m not willing to pass a bill that lets perpetrators o the hook,” Gonzales said at the time. “I will not settle for watered-down justice. I believe we have to do better. All victims of sexual assault deserve to see their abusers held accountable.”
Proponents split the two proposals into two measures in 2021, and Senate Bill 73, eliminating the statute of limitations, passed and was signed into law. ( e statute of limitations gave child sex abuse survivors six years after they turned 18 to le a legal action.)
Senate Bill 88 tried to get around the constitutional prohibition on re- viving a claim for which the statute of limitations has run out by creating an entirely new civil cause of action. e Colorado Supreme Court said that despite the careful legal maneuvering, the law was still deemed unconstitutional.
“For the same reason that the legislature cannot revive timebarred claims, it cannot create a new cause of action that covers the same conduct and apply it retroactively,” the court’s ruling said. “We certainly understand the General Assembly’s desire to right the wrongs of past decades by permitting such victims to hold abusers and their enablers accountable. But the General Assembly may accomplish its ends only through constitutional means.” e Supreme Court’s decision came in a case led by a woman who sued Aurora Public Schools. She said she was sexually abused by a coach at Rangeview High School in the early 2000s, alleging that the coach made her perform oral sex on him over 100 times during her four years at the school, starting when she was 14. She said it wasn’t until 2007 that she began to fully understand what had happened to her, but when she reported the abuse to police, authorities told her the statute of limitations had run out. e case was tossed out by a lower court on grounds that Senate BIll 88 was unconstitutional, which prompted the woman to le an appeal with the state’s highest court. e court’s 40-page ruling may have policy implications far beyond Senate Bill 88. e Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, one of the main proponents of Senate Bill 88, said more than half of child sex abuse survivors don’t disclose what happened to them until after they turn 50 years old.
“ is is probably a bill that will go down in history as one that Colorado law students will study,” said Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican and attorney who also was a lead sponsor of Senate Bill 88.
“While the Supreme Court’s decision … takes away their opportunity for justice and accountability in Colorado, it does not invalidate the harm they experienced nor their strength in telling their story,” Brie Franklin, executive director of the nonpro t, said in a written statement. “CCASA remains committed to changing laws and systems to promote safety, justice and healing for all survivors. Regardless of when the sexual abuse happened, survivors can still get help and support from community-based programs and through healing services.”
Michaelson Jenet, Danielson and Soper said they will work to nd another avenue to give victims of historic child sex abuse their day in court, but admitted their options appear both unclear and limited.
How to take up running, from starting out to marathons
BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Roxane Geisler started running in high school as a new challenge — somebody told her she should run cross country.
“I didn’t even know how to run a mile,” said Geisler, who is now president of the Highlands Ranch Running Club.
Getting into running “just gradually happened for me,” said Geisler, who is 54. “Suddenly, I was like, ‘Oh, I really do enjoy it, and I love getting out and seeing the views.’”
For people who are inexperienced at running but want to improve, it’s key not to be intimidated, Geisler said.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, I can’t join the running club because I’m not a real runner.’ And that’s totally silly,” Geisler said. “If you run, you’re a runner.”
Ryan Marker, an assistant professor who teaches exercise physiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, said it’s important for beginners to start slow. “Setting appropriate expectations, I think, is really important,” Geisler said. “So if someone’s never run before, you’re not going to get o the couch and do a marathon.”
But with the right plan, even beginners can work their way up to a marathon within months. (Here’s a tip: You don’t have to run the whole thing.)
Here’s some advice on how to start running or take your training to the next level.
Part of the group
One thing that can help you get into running: nding a group of runners to keep you moving.
When Geisler moved to Highlands Ranch in 2003, she noted how many people were out running by themselves.
She learned about the Highlands Ranch Race Series, and part of the idea behind starting her running club was to get some runners to train together.
“It makes running so much easier, training so much easier, when you have people to train with,” Geisler said.
And the people she’s met through her club “were a tremendous in uence on me — just people who really push themselves and try to get the best out of themselves,” said Geisler, who has run marathons.
e club provides a communal atmosphere:
