Voice
LONE TREE 2.21.13
Lone Tree
February 21, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 6
Union suing school district Legal claims focus on hiring, sick-leave bank By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
Attendees of the Highlands Ranch Library sensory-enhanced storytime enjoy a tale on Feb. 14. Patrice Scheck, pictured at left with her sons Simon, 4, and Christopher, 15, said the storytime has been a valuable resource. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen
Storytime can work wonders Library program benefits differently-abled children By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com The thought of squeezing parachutes, bubbles, songs, stories and a slew of surprises into 20-30 minutes twice a week may seem like a challenge but it is one Douglas County youth librarians have been pulling off consistently since September. The sensory-enhanced storytimes, held twice every Thursday at the Highlands Ranch Library, are specialized for children with autism and other sensory-processing disorders. Each session is filled with handson learning activities, starts and ends with song and features a friendly caterpillar that provides a visual list of daily events. “Our objective with the (exercises) is
to provide them with sensory input that tends to calm down your nervous system and help you focus on what is happening in the moment,” said Youth Librarian Laura Baldassari-Hackstaff, who runs one of the two storytimes each week. “Children on the autism spectrum will do that for themselves with the rocking and the twirling, etc. … so this is a different way for them to focus.” All children are required to be accompanied by a parent. There is a lead storyteller at and at least two library volunteers present who join in on the fun, assist the storyteller and supervise. “There have not been any negatives,” said Patrice Scheck, whose sons Simon, 4, and Christopher, 15, both have Prader-Willi Syndrome and attend the storytime regularly. “It’s really a valuable resource for people like us that the kids can come and they
don’t have to try and fit in,” she said. “No one minds their little issues or idiosyncrasies, it’s very welcoming and we can just relax and be ourselves.” The “being themselves” aspect is a huge factor for those who attend, said Baldassari-Hackstaff. “This is very much about these children and young adults and their families being able to come here and know that the doors are closed and they can enjoy the storytime. That’s the most important part to us.” Many parents of differently-abled children are afraid to take their child to a traditional storytime, she said, as they are concerned about being disruptive and that other people don’t always understand what their child is going through. “Here they are totally free to be who they are and there is no wrong answer,” she said. “We have something in each storytime for each child who is attending.”
The Douglas County Federation of Teachers filed two lawsuits Feb. 15 against the Douglas County School District on claims related to teacher hiring and the teachers’ sick-leave bank. School board President John Carson, in a statement issued by the school district, called the lawsuits frivolous. A news release from the teachers’ union says the school district “illegally refused to consider teachers for job openings after their positions had been eliminated,” and asked the district to reimburse teachers for sick-leave days donated to a sick-leave bank that the district reportedly terminated. The district’s longstanding collective bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union, under which such issues were outlined, expired in 2012 after more than 100 hours of fruitless negotiation. “This is about treating teachers fairly and professionally and acting within the law,” union President Brenda Smith said. “The school district is set on demonizing teachers, disregarding the importance of experience, and ‘nickel and diming’ them instead of focusing on our children succeeding in the classroom.” As evidence of its support for teachers, DCSD pointed in its release to a 3 percent raise it gave them in 2012. “This is a union that has tried to flood the community with misinformation and political spin in an effort to tear down the excellent reputation of our schools and our teachers,” Carson said in the release. Smith said teachers laid off during several years of budget cuts were supposed to be put into a hiring pool and given priorUnion continues on Page 14
New chief brings variety of experience to Lone Tree Streeter excited for challenges of a growing police department By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Incoming Lone Tree Police Chief Jeffrey Streeter held all but three positions during his 24 years with the Lakewood Police Department. “I can name on one hand the (positions) I did not have,” he said. “I was never a K-9 officer. I was never a narcotics officer. I was never a chief of police.” On March 4, he’ll add the
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chief’s title to that lengthy resume. Streeter fills the post vacated by Lone Tree’s first chief Steve Hasler, who was dismissed without cause in August 2012. The 50-year-old inherited a passion for police work he already has passed to another generation. Streeter is the son of a police officer, and two of his three sons are college students majoring in criminal justice. “I had a strong admiration for my dad, and saw the love and passion he had for this job,” he said. Streeter aims to take the Lone Tree Police Department’s already solid reputation a notch or two higher. The department got a 91 percent approval rating from residents in a recent city survey, an indication of support Streeter said is rare. “Our whole objective is quality service,” he said. “I’m walking into
a department that clearly is doing it very, very well. “Certainly what Chief Hasler put into place I view as a building block. Now, I’ve got to move this department forward and serve this community, bringing more and different ideas.” The Denver native attended Denver Public Schools, graduating from Metropolitan State College in 1984 with majors in criminal justice and sociology. He spent three years with the Broomfield Police Department before coming to Lakewood, where his many hats included that of detective, sergeant, patrol commander, SWAT commander, interim division chief and most recently professional standards commander. Lakewood’s force of 280 sworn officers is nearly six times larger than Lone Tree’s department, but the city is rapidly changing. An
Jeffrey Streeter will take over as Lone Tree’s police chief on March 4. Photo by Jane Reuter estimated 40,000 people someday will live in the RidgeGate develop-
ment alone. Streeter sees his expeStreeter continues on Page 14