Week of January 5, 2023
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
HighlandsRanchHerald.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15
VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 5
Douglas County Health beats Jan. 1 deadline Commission, staff celebrate a year of progress BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Douglas County Health Department is officially a go. Not that there was any concern in meeting
the Jan. 1 deadline in a split last year from Tri-County Health, as officials have been either ahead or on time in the project timeline throughout 2022. As the Jan. 1 deadline for the complete split came, Health Director Mike Hill continues to be confident in the work done in 2022 and going forward in 2023 and the future. Jan. 1 marks the official disband-
ment of Tri-County Health, which served Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties for more than seven decades. Douglas County started the disbandment, with Adams and Arapahoe counties later following suit. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020, Douglas County officials fought the pressure to wear masks in public, which
became the tipping point to push for separation. As Tri-County Health ordered mask mandates, Douglas County rejected it and moved forward in 2022 to create its own health department. With what seemed like an uphill battle to complete in just a year, Hill, who came to Colorado from SEE HEALTH, P2
School board advocates for more funding, local control 2023 priorities outlined BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
affected. In the U.S. there are fewer than 50,000 diagnosed in total. Madison’s mom, Monica Woodall, said when Madison was born she was diagnosed with Moebius immediately. Among other symptoms, Monica said Madison had club feet, which surgery has since corrected, no lateral eye movements and limited facial movements.
Local control, school safety and increasing educational funding are a few main themes of the legislative priorities approved by the Douglas County school board ahead of the 2023 General Assembly. School board members spent hours across multiple meetings and in the winter retreat discussing the district’s legislative priorities before approving them on Dec. 13. The legislative priorities document is updated annually and used to inform lawmakers on the district’s position relative to potential policies. “It’s really for us to convey, as a board of seven, to our elected legislators things that we are particularly interested in policies that we would advocate for, things we want to see, but it’s also certain statements or positions that we disagree with,” Board President Mike Peterson said. Throughout the discussions, the board was able to compromise on legislative priorities around school safety by highlighting the need to address both gun violence and mental health of students. Language was also added to advocate for more law enforcement training, as well as specifying that the district opposes allowing guns on school
SEE MOEBIUS, P4
SEE SCHOOLS, P5
Castle Rock resident Madison Woodall
COURTESY PHOTO
Overcoming the challenges of Moebius syndrome Local woman succeeds without facial expression BY THELMA GRIMES TGRIMES@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For the majority of people, feelings are shown through expressions whether it be a smile, a frown or a look in one’s eye. However, for Madi-
son Woodall, the ability to smile, frown or show emotion through facial expressions is impossible due to a rare condition known as Moebius syndrome. Moebius syndrome is a rare neurological condition that primarily affects the muscles that control facial expression and eye movement, which is essentially facial paralysis. The condition is rare, with estimates saying only 20 people per million are