Week of October 27, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
HighlandsRanchHerald.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 47
Teachers across the metro area describe pay rates Douglas County looks to voters for 9% bump BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lucy Squire just marked her 18th year as a teacher at Copper Mesa Elementary School in Douglas County.
One of the things she has that many teachers here and around Colorado don’t is a home. Squire looks at what Douglas County School District teachers earn and doubts she and her partner today could afford the same home. That’s even considering her current salary as a veteran educator. “When I started interviewing and looking as a brand new teacher,
all of the (school) districts were so comparable with pay,” said Squire, a third-grade teacher. “It didn’t matter where you ended up because they were so similar.” That was in 2004. Fast forward to today, and differences in teacher pay across Denver metro school districts are often stark. While teachers in many districts across the state say they are strug-
Hops n Drops opens in Highlands Ranch Casual eatery is famed for its ice-cold beer BY RACHEL LORENZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Highlands Ranch is the next community Hops n Drops is calling home in Colorado. The casual eatery, known for its ice cold beer and cocktails, opened its third location in the state between Chipotle and Panera off of South University Boulevard on Oct. 20. “We look for neighborhoods,” and Highlands Ranch is an “awesome community,” said Kevin Eggen, CEO and co-owner of the Washington-based restaurant chain. Hops n Drops offers burgers, sandwiches, salads and mac and cheese dishes for lunch and dinner at all of its 22 locations. It serves beer at a chilly 34 degrees and cocktails, called icy drops, in conical cups made of ice. “The cup’s designed so it melts from the outside in,” Eggen told Colorado Community Media. “So it doesn’t dilute your drink, but it keeps it really cold for 20 minutes or so.” Hops n Drops came to the Centennial State in 2017 when it SEE HOPS, P2
gling to keep up — particularly amid rising inflation — in Douglas County, south of Denver, teachers say voters have an opportunity to help them. Squire and others are supporting Ballot Issue 5A on the November ballot to boost pay for teachers and other district staff. SEE TEACHERS, P8
County clerks report death threats amid election fraud claims Still fighting uproar after 2 years BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For the clerks and other people trusted to oversee elections in Colorado, these are tense times. Some face hostility, even violent threats, a trend that continues in Colorado two years after the 2020 election, when former President Trump and his supporters alleged widespread voter fraud. Those claims, which fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection, remain unfounded. Yet in Arapahoe County, Joan Lopez, the clerk and recorder in charge of elections, says an atmosphere of intimidation lingers. She tells Colorado Community Media she has received a threatening, handwritten letter with profanity and referring to her race. The letter writer also claimed to know where she lives. Kevin Eggen, CEO of Hops n Drops, serves up an “icy drop,” one of the establishment’s signature cocktails. PHOTO COURTESY OF HOPS N DROPS
SEE THREATS, P4
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