Week of December 22, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
CastleRockNewsPress.net
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 36
School board heads to trial over alleged open meeting violations Battle is costly
ings about firing Wise to evade the Colorado Open Meetings Law, which requires any meeting of a board quorum, or three members of a board, where public business is discussed or formal action taken to be open to the public. School district financial reports show the district has paid around $27,000 this year to Gessler Blue, but school board member David Ray indicated at the Nov. 15 board
meeting that the cost of the lawsuit was closer to $90,000. Myers, Peterson, Williams and Winegar maintain that they did not break the open meetings law. In a preliminary order issued in March, Douglas County District Court Judge Jeffrey Holmes agreed that the board members’ serial meetings had violated the law and
Colorado lawmakers address Centennial Airport concerns
Castle Rock swears in council members
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Douglas County School District is still on track to go to trial next month over alleged violations of the Colorado Open Meetings Law regarding the firing of former superintendent Corey Wise.
The lawsuit brought by Representative-elect Bob Marshall against the school district’s Board of Education and members Becky Myers, Board President Mike Peterson, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Jan. 20, with a three-day trial starting on Jan. 30. Marshall sued the board members in February, alleging they held a series of one-on-one meet-
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Johnson honored BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Noise and a busy airport has created controversy for the Centennial Airport, which has oversight from representatives in Arapahoe COURTESY PHOTO and Douglas counties.
FAA pushed to attend meetings BY TAYLOR SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address concerns pertaining to
the Centennial Airport. On Dec. 14, the three lawmakers signed a letter to FAA’s Acting Administrator Billy Nolen, requesting the administration engage with the community more and in a “good faith discussion on revisiting changes made by the FAA to the air traffic pattern,” the letter states. The Centennial Airport, located at 7565 S. Peoria St., is a general aviation airport. According to the FAA, it is one of the 25 busiest airports in
Dream Big Dreams...
the U.S. and averages 1,000 takeoffs and landings per day. Some residents have been demanding action be taken at the airport to address safety concerns and reduce air traffic and noise, even forming a group, “Quiet Skies Over Arapahoe County.” The group has a website, bit.ly/quietskies. In an interview with Colorado Community Media on Dec. 15,
Castle Rock’s council swore in its new and re-elected members on Dec. 6 at the town hall. Voters re-elected Mayor Jason Gray and District 3 representative Kevin Bracken, and chose Max Brooks to represent District 5. Gray, Bracken and Brooks were sworn in during the first council meeting of the 2022-2026 council. Gray, Brooks and Bracken thanked voters for their support in council comments. “I’m looking forward to working with y’all and serving the residents of Castle Rock,” Brooks told the council. The town also honored council member Caryn Johnson, the outgoing representative of District 5, for her four years of service with a proclamation of commendation. The proclamation noted Johnson’s work
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