News-Press Douglas/Castle Rock 4/11/13
Castle Rock
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 3
April 11, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcastlerocknews.com
Measure rankles school board County taxpayers could be hit hard if legislation passes By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
Jackie Carioscia of Castle Rock is a semifinalist in the 2013 Pillsbury Bake-Off with her original recipe, marmalade crab crusted salmon. Photos by Rhonda Moore
Local woman makes bake-off finals Castle Rock cook turns her hobby into lifelong passion By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com Castle Rock’s Jackie Carioscia was not a fan of cooking until about the time she got married. Her first experiments in the kitchen began when she was 22 years old, living in Chicago and on her way to a career as a chemical engineer. In the 10 years that have passed since then, Carioscia has entered countless contests, created a host of original dishes and become the go-to cook among her circle of friends. Her efforts earned her a coveted spot on the 2013 Pillsbury Bake-Off list of finalists, who aim for a chance at Pillsbury’s $1 million grand prize. She and her husband aren’t spending the
grand prize money yet, but they are looking forward to the finalists’ trip to Las Vegas. Carioscia has entered the Pillsbury BakeOff each year for the last decade. Each time, she enters dishes in a variety of categories. This year she entered a dish in the Amazing Doable Dinners category, a marmalade crab crusted salmon recipe that was among the semi-final entries posted on Pillsbury’s website. Visitors to the site reviewed and tested the dishes, casting their votes for the finalists. “This is the furthest I’ve made it,” Carioscia said. “I think I have a good chance. I only have to make the top 55 percent of that category.” Carioscia’s winning dish was among four she submitted, abiding by instructions to limit the dish to seven ingredients, prep time to 30 minutes and include two of Pillsbury’s listed ingredient categories. Her ingredients were Pillsbury’s best all-purpose flour and Smucker’s sweet orange marmalade. Combined with salmon, canned crab, onions and spices, the dish Cook continues on Page 14
Jackie Carioscia submitted four recipes to the Pillsbury Bake-Off competition. She has entered the contest each year for the past decade.
2011 death played role in legislation Lawmakers pass bill launched by coroner By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com When Douglas County Coroner Lora Thomas helped draft legislation to tighten Colorado’s coroner law, she called on Laura Couillard for support. Couillard and her husband, Ernie Couillard, were more than willing to help. The Castle Rock family in 2011 had a firsthand look at the coroner’s protocol when their 15-year-old son Christopher was found unresponsive in the basement of their home. The coroner determined he died of asphyxiation in the aftermath of a
party that went wrong. What the coroner could never tell them was when he died. “We’ll never know if an earlier phone call to 911 would have saved him,” Laura Couillard said. “For the other four survivors who were in the house that day, they’ll have to go through life never knowing if an earlier 911 call could Thomas have saved Christopher.” The coroner was unable to determine time of death because sheriff’s investigators said a search warrant was needed before coroner’s staffers could enter the house. The elapsed time between the 911 call and the time death investiga-
tors were able to view the body was more than eight hours. It was too late to obtain time-sensitive information such as rigor and livor mortis and body temperature — all pivotal to determining time of death, Thomas said. “There was nothing in statute that spoke to the importance of collecting time-sensitive information,” Thomas said. “The wording I used in the Legislature puts the traffic lines on the road. We now know who belongs in which lane. It’s given us better direction.” Thomas in 2012 worked with the Colorado Coroners Association to draft legislation that ensures timely access to death scenes and spells out which types of cases require an investigation. Bill continues on Page 14
The Douglas County School Board long has urged a revision of the state’s schoolfunding formula. That wish is now coming to fruition, but not in the way members had hoped. Board member Kevin Larsen said the current proposal in the Colorado General Assembly only would increase the disparity among districts, and make matters much worse for DCSD students and taxpayers. “The cure is worse than the sickness,” Larsen said. “When we further compare that to the taxes that are going to be paid, I think people are going to be astounded. The net for us would always be to put more into the state than we’re getting back.” The Democratic-controlled Colorado Senate approved the bill April 2 on a party-line vote. If Senate Bill 213 passes the General Assembly, the state’s voters would then be asked to approve an income-tax inLarsen crease of about $1 billion to fund the plan. Therein lies the rub. While DCSD would get more funding under the changes to the base calculations, Douglas County’s high per-capita income means taxpayers here would be hit hard by the proposed income-tax increase. “The candy that’s going to be used to entice people here is that everyone’s funding is going to go up (under the new formula),” Larsen said. Supporters maintain the change is long overdue. The state’s Public School Finance Act last was updated in 1994. “It was crafted before any of us used Internet, email, or cell phones,” said Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, sponsor of the bill. “Within the past five years, K-12 education suffered nearly $2.5 billion in cuts. Now is the time to reinvest and achieve greater adequacy, equity, and sustainability in our education system.” As proposed, it would bring an additional $43 million to DCSD, but about $16 million of that would go to fund additional early childhood education. “The cost to the taxpayers to get that $43 million, through a new change in incometax rate, would be in our estimation probably $95 (million) to $100 million,” Larsen said. “This is going to be essentially a 20 percent increase in income taxes.” The plan also would give more money to districts with high concentrations of lowincome students and English-language learners. Douglas County has relatively few students who fall into those categories. Board continues on Page 14