News-Press DOUGLAS CO 3/14/13
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 10, Issue 51
March 14, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Council resurrects quiet zone Castle Rock aims to stop train whistles downtown By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com
Trainer Jimmy Vanhove works with dogs Feb. 27 for law enforcement officers from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Commerce City police. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen
Police dogs get special training World-renowned handler visits Highlands Ranch By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews. com Jimmy Vanhove has been involved with training attack dogs his entire life. After growing up watching his father ply the trade, the Frenchman has made a life for himself as one of the world’s most renowned trainers of police and military dogs. Vanhove, who moved to the United States just a little over two years ago, is the lead decoy trainer for i-K9 in Alabama and travels the country working with police dogs. One look at his black and blue, scratched-up biceps and you know his is not the normal line of work. “I’ve been bitten lots,” he said. “For the dog, it’s just fun. It’s not like they want to hurt people. But once a dog bites, I want him to stay on the bite. I don’t want 20 bites. I want one bite in one place.” Vanhove wears a bite suit when training the dogs in order to not get bitten too badly, but he doesn’t seem to mind when the dogs get the best of him. His technique, which has won numerous European competitions, involves distracting the dog to the best of his ability, all while teaching the dog to stay on the bite. He spent three days this past
Thor, an Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office K-9 patrol dog, leaps over a tall obstacle to take down trainer Jimmy Vanhove on Feb. 27. The indoor three-day training exercise at Warriors Field House in Highlands Ranch honed the skills of police dogs, their trainers and training decoys. week at Warriors Youth Sports in Highlands Ranch, working with five members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, two from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office unit and one dog from Commerce City. “He is here for two purposes:
One is to teach our people how to decoy properly and two is to problem-solve any problems we have with our dogs, to teach them to bite correctly,” said Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Tucker. Tucker, who has been with
the department for 10 years, formerly working in undercover narcotics, just started working in the K-9 Unit in January. His dog, Zoos, is one of five in Douglas County’s unit. Each of the dogs goes through a 15week training process before being allowed in the field. Zoos just started that training. “No one has really taught him what to do yet,” Tucker said. “He knows he is supposed to bite, but he may not be doing it correctly. Jimmy makes sure all the dogs are biting in the right places. You want them to be equal-opportunity biters. A lot of dogs will just bite legs, because that’s what they like, but they need to bite high as well.” The dogs, all shepherds and milanese, can apply between 800 and 1,200 pounds of pressure with one bite. Aside from proper aggression training, they are also taught how to track and sniff out drugs. Each of the Douglas County dogs is selected from Von Liche Kennels in Denver, Ind., where more than 5,000 agencies get their dogs. As members of the K-9 Unit they get to go out on all of the “cool calls,” says Deputy John Glassburner, who has been involved with Douglas County K-9 since 1998, and like the other officers lives with his partner, 5-year-old KOA. “I tell everybody I have a take-home car and a take-home dog,” Glassburner said. “All the dogs we get from Von Liche are very sociable. They have great temperament. My kids, they Dogs continues on Page 9
Councilmembers revived an effort to stop the noise that disrupts downtown Castle Rock. Town council on March 5 got an update on the downtown quiet zone, a year-long goal to stop passing trains from whistling as they pass through downtown. The town considered a quiet zone in 2009, opting for modifications at Fifth Street and medians on both sides of the tracks where they intersect Second and Third streets. The cost of the crossing improvements for the quiet zone exceeded $752,000, prompting councilmembers to table the plan. Councilmembers budgeted for another look at the cost in 2013 in hopes of having a quiet zone in place by 2014. The original bid expired after six months and one of the first steps will be to get an update on the cost, said Bob Watts, transportation planning and engineering manager. The Union Pacific Railroad provides construction estimates and also performs all construction of the quiet zones, Watts said. The use of the train whistle is written into federal law, which was amended in 1996 to allow for quiet zones if the applicant can show the crossing will be equally safe, whether the whistle is sounded or not. The railroad deals with dozens of applications across the country and in recent years installed quiet zones in Monument, Arvada, Winter Park and Commerce City, Zone continues on Page 10
Town opposes gun measures Formal resolution could go to governor By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com Castle Rock councilmembers want to send a message to Colorado’s lawmakers: Steer clear of the Second Amendment. They might have to send their message to Gov. John Hickenlooper instead. Mayor Paul Donahue on March 5 asked Town Attorney Bob Slentz to draft a formal message to state legislators who were preparing to vote on gun-control measures. “I recommend our lawyer create a resolution that town council could get behind in support of the Constitution and in support of our Second Amendment rights,” Donahue said. “I would like to include some of the descriptions in some of the House bills Guns continues on Page 11