Week of December 15, 2022
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An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 4
Residents demand changes at Centennial Airport FAA to review issues with noise, lead, fuel BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
she’s the winner,” Fort said, referring to Cottingham. “Today, she is shining a bright light on Centennial, Colorado.” The Colorado Music Institute offers lessons on any instrument to people of all ages, Cottingham said. Its students range in age from 18 months, taking lessons as part of the school’s preschool program, to people in their 90s. “We really do believe music is for everyone,” Cottingham said. “One of the things that I love is that we’re a very multicultural, diverse place of business.” In one of the school’s hallways, visitors can find a large world map marked with dots showing where students are from, she said.
Paul Cucci has lived in the Sundance Hills neighborhood of Greenwood Village for 32 years, and for most of that time, living near the Centennial Airport was OK. However, things changed over a year ago, Cucci said, describing the volume of planes and flight patterns as incessant. “I can rarely step outside and not hear a plane,” Cucci said. Now, he and other residents are actively working to demand changes be made to address safety concerns and reduce air traffic and noise. On Dec. 7, Cucci and a large group of residents gathered at the airport to express concerns to the Centennial Airport Community Noise Roundtable. An additional 30 residents attended the meeting virtually. The Centennial Airport, located at 7565 S. Peoria St., is a general aviation airport. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it is one of the 25 busiest airports in the U.S. and averages 1,000 takeoffs and landings per day. The noise roundtable, created in 2009, aims to work with the airport to reduce and mitigate the impact of aircraft noise on surrounding communities, according to Centennial Airport’s website. Members of the roundtable include local elected officials in Arapahoe and
SEE SCHOOL, P18
SEE AIRPORT, P20
The Colorado Music Institute celebrated its ribbon-cutting ceremony in Centennial on Dec. 7.
PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW
Centennial-based music school wins national award Musicians, local leaders celebrate BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Cheers, laughter and applause erupted from the crowd as Wendy Cottingham cut the blue ribbon outside of Colorado Music Institute’s new location in Centennial. The day was filled with celebration, as just before the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 7, the music school was awarded the “National Music School of the Year 2022” award by the Music Academy Success System, an international business coaching organization for music studio owners.
“Thank you. I’m so grateful to have all of you here today,” said Cottingham, the school’s managing director, as she accepted the award. In March, the Colorado Music Institute announced it was nominated for the award along with seven other schools. The eight schools competed at the Music Academy Success System’s conference held in April at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Competitors included schools from California, New Jersey and Canada, said Marty Fort, the CEO of the Music Academy Success System, which has nearly 300 members. “What’s so important about this award is it’s not voted on by me. It’s voted on by her peers, and
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Colorado plays host to USA Climbing’s national championship P14