Week of April 20, 2023
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastlePinesNewsPress.net
VOLUME 10 | ISSUE 35
Restaurateur reflects on quarter-century Wise hopes Angie’s still serving settlement Italian, Mexican favorites in Castle Rock puts students before politics BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
While Castle Rock has changed a lot in the last 25 years, Angie’s Restaurant on the corner of Fourth and Jerry has not. “I like to call us the OG Italian and Mexican of Castle Rock,” said April McCaffrey, who runs the eatery with her husband, Mike McCaffrey Jr. The full-service family restaurant, which has been serving the two disparate but delicious cuisines in Douglas County since Bill Clinton was in the White House, marked its silver anniversary in March. Other than a fresh coat of paint, new carpet and a little bit of upholstery, the dining area is the same as ever, McCaffrey told Colorado Community Media. Antique radios ring the room above walls paneled SEE REFLECTS, P5
Districts settles lawsuit for $800K BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The county started contracting for helicopter use for wildfire suppression in 2011, according to Mike Alexander, the deputy director of emergency management for the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office. At that point, county officials contracted for helicopter use on a “call when needed” basis. “In March 2011, we utilized our CWN contract with Rampart Helicopter to suppress the Burning Tree fire near Franktown, to great success,” Alexander said.
Douglas County School District will pay former superintendent Corey Wise more than $800,000 to settle claims that Wise’s firing amounted to discrimination. Wise filed a complaint with the Colorado Office of Civil Rights against the school district and four school board members — Becky Myers, Mike Peterson, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar — in April 2022 after he was fired without cause, claiming he was dismissed for advocating for marginalized students by favoring a mask policy in schools and working to implement an equity policy. Under the settlement, the school district will pay Wise $270,733 for the remainder of his superintendent contract, as well as $562,000 to resolve the lawsuit. According to a news release from Wise’s attorneys, the money will come from the district’s insurance policies, so no money will be diverted from students. Wise told Colorado Community Media the settlement is vindicating for him, adding that he hopes it will deter politicization and discrimination in Douglas County moving forward.
SEE WILDFIRES, P7
SEE SETTLEMENT, P7
April McCaffrey holds a tray of uncooked, freshly-made spaghetti noodles in the PHOTO BY RACHEL LORENZ kitchen of Angie’s Restaurant in Castle Rock on April 7.
County pays for helicopter to fight wildfires Residents urged to sign up for alerts BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As wildfire risk continues to cause concern in Colorado, Douglas County approved spending on aerial wildfire-fighting resources, including helicopter use. Outlining why the county needs the helicopter resource, a county staff memorandum noted “increas-
ing annual fire occurrence coupled with warmer and drier than average climate forecasts for 2023.” Douglas County’s commissioners at their April 11 meeting voted to approve $1.1 million for this year’s helicopter use contract, lasting from June 1 to Oct. 31 to cover what are historically the months of highest fire frequency and severity in the county, according to the memo. “We know the biggest natural hazard threat to Douglas County is a wildfire,” Commissioner Abe Laydon said in a news release. Helicopter use goes back years
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
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