Herald Englewood
December 14, 2012
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourenglewoodnews.com
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 92, Issue 44
January to bring Clarkson closure Hospital expansion shuts down block permanently By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com
Rebekah Lambert hands her wish list to Santa before getting on his knee during the Dec. 8 Breakfast with Santa event at Malley Senior Recreation Center. The annual event drew a crowd for pancakes and to meet the jolly old elf. Photo by Tom Munds
Crowd joins Santa for breakfast Englewood event includes pancakes, visit with St. Nick By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com Red and white seemed to be the favorite colors Dec. 8 as families gathered at the Malley Senior Recreation Center to have a pancake breakfast and take children to see Santa. Dozens of young volunteers wearing Santa hats made sure there were place settings, butter and syrup at every seat and quickly moved in to clear the space when a family left. Older volunteer were on hand to help people get their drinks, while in the kitchen the cooks were kept busy flipping hot cakes and preparing the scrambled eggs
and ham to quickly serve families in order to keep the line moving. The holiday spirit was reflected in the songs on the public address system and in the music played by the members of the Colorado Flute Association. At the tables, parents urged their children to eat, but most children were less interested in food and more interested in heading down the hall to visit with Santa. “This is a great event,” Sandra Pollock said as she and her daughter waited to see Santa. “My daughter takes dance classes at the recreation center and I read about this event. I’m so glad we came. Alice is 5 and wanted to see Santa, and this is so much better than fighting the crowds at the mall.” The family got a number as they checked in at the gym where Santa and his helpers were set up. There were Christmas videos on a big screen, as well as the opportunity to make a green and red paper chain or color a picture, to keep the children busy until
it was time to get in line to visit Santa. Santa greeted each child and posed for a picture that was printed and given to the child’s parents. Sometimes he posed with two or three children. But each child had a chance to talk to Santa. On the way off the platform they received a gift bag with a toy, candy cane and some other gifts. Sarah Hopkins, 7, held tightly to her sister Tina’s hand as they left after seeing Santa. “It was fun,” the Sheridan girl said. “Mom brought us this morning and she’s excited because this is Tina’s first visit to Santa. She wouldn’t get on his lap unless I held her hand. But she told Santa what she wanted and so did I. Santa was really nice and we had a good time. Tina was too excited to eat when we came in so we came to see Santa first. I don’t know about her but I am hungry and ready to eat.”
Middle school renovation explained Alternative facility will relocate into site on Chenango By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com
An artist’s rendering shows Colorado’s Finest Alternative High School’s planned main entrance.The entrance will be built as part of the remodeling of Englewood Middle School. Courtesy image POSTAL ADDRESS
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Plans for transforming Englewood Middle School into the new campus for Colorado’s Finest Alternative High School were outlined at a Dec. 4 meeting for middle school neighbors. The renovation is part of the major school district project that includes creating a seventh- through 12th-grade campus on the Englewood High School site. When that project is completed in 2014, Englewood Middle School students will move into the new campus and Colorado’s Finest Alternative High School will relocate to the remodeled middle school building at 300 W. Chenango Ave. Creating the new campus will use $40 million from in voter-approved bonds. The middle school project will use $8 million in bond money as matching funds for a state Renovation continues on Page 22
Street closure notices will likely go up Jan. 6, and the 3400 block of South Clarkson Street is proposed to be closed to through traffic by Jan. 21. Craig Hospital requested the closure for its $90 million remodeling and expansion plans, so the ground can be leveled and the east and west buildings can be connected. Part of the project will increase patient space. The additional space will only add a few beds and is being done primarily so all patients will be in private rooms, instead of two or three to a room. Following meetings and a public hearing where concerns were raised about the proposal, the city council approved the street closure. Rick Kahm, public works director, explained the proposed timeline at the Dec. 3 city council study session. He said plans call for a temporary traffic turnaround to be built on Clarkson south of the Craig bridges over the street. The turnaround is scheduled to be completed and construction safety fencing erected around the north end of Clarkson by Feb. 11. Demolition for work on the north addition is scheduled to begin Feb. 18 and the remodeling and expansion project is scheduled to begin March 4. Kahm said Craig is anxious to get the project started. He said issues that must be addressed prior to the closure include getting signs in place, rerouting the Art Shuttle and establishing routes vehicle routes to the Swedish Medical Center emergency room. Kahm said plans are to make the portion of Old Hampden Avenue between Clarkson and Logan a hospital zone with a 20 mph limit. He said the new speed limit signs will be installed and there will be pedestriantriggered flashing lights at all the hospital zone intersections. The city also wants to install radar signs informing drivers of their speed, but the cost is about $20,000 and the city is working with Craig and Swedish, seeking assistance in covering the cost. About 7,000 feet of fiber optic cable for city traffic cameras will be installed and the cable order could take four to six weeks to be delivered. The city and hospital representatives also are working on rerouting the Art Shuttle. The proposal is for the eastbound shuttle to go north on Logan then east on Girard, where it will join the existing route at Clarkson and Girard. Tentatively, the stop on Hampden between Pennsylvania and Pearl will be moved to the southwest corner of Girard and Pennsylvania. Also, the Clarkson stop will be moved to the southwest corner of Clarkson and Girard. Kahm said Craig Hospital will pay for moving the stops and printing new route maps. Also, there will be advance notices of the changes posted on the shuttle buses and at the affected stops. Kahm said plans are to have everything done except the speed limit signs installed before Clarkson is closed. Council Member Jill Wilson said she was excited about the project, but she wanted to make sure the promise was kept to monitor traffic, with mitigating steps taken if there is increased traffic on streets in the neighborhoods surrounding the project.