Voice
LONE TREE 3/14/13
Lone Tree
March 14, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 9
Summit focuses on city’s future Lone Tree’s plans delight metro-area real estate agents By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com With up to 40,000 more residents planned in undeveloped portions of Lone Tree, the area’s real estate agents have ample reason to smile. Lone Tree city officials gave them several more during a March 12 Realtor Summit held at the Lone Tree Arts Center. About 130 real estate agents came for the lunch and address from Mayor Jim Gunning, who prefaced his talk by introducing fellow councilmembers and city staff. “Our job is to suck up to you and I’m going to do the best I can,” he said. The mayor’s talk about ongoing and future development included the expansion of Colorado 470, extension of light rail and construction in RidgeGate. Gunning’s slide presentation featured a depiction of the Lone Tree of tomorrow
looking south from the Lincoln Avenue and Interstate 25 overpass. Large buildings flank I-25, a light rail train passes from east to west over I-25 and, in the distance, is the completed Cabela’s store now under construction at the RidgeGate interchange. “This is a vision of what Lone Tree will look like in the future,” Gunning said. “It’s a lot like the (Denver) Tech Center.” Lone Tree is working on a public/private partnership to ensure the light rail extension from its current Lincoln Avenue stopping point to RidgeGate Parkway happens sooner than currently projected by FasTracks. “We feel very comfortable we will actually get this done,” Gunning said. Planners predict an additional 10 million square feet of commercial development within walking distance of the three additional light rail stops the extension would include. “It’s going to make the price of that land for the developer worth a lot more,” Gunning said. Cabela’s plans an Aug. 15 opening, and while the mayor said the retailer was sold on Lone Tree, that wasn’t always the case Realtor continues on Page 7
Lone Tree Mayor Jim Gunning addresses a crowd of about 130 real estate agents during the March 12 Realtor Summit at the Lone Tree Arts Center. Photo by Jane Reuter
Some Dems doubt gun legislation Questions focus on rights, realism By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Trainer Jimmy Vanhove works with dogs Feb. 27 for law enforcement officers from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Commerce City police. Photos by Courtney Kuhlen
Police dogs get special training World-renowned handler visits Highlands Ranch By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews. com Jimmy Vanhove has been involved with training attack dogs his entire life. After growing up watching his father ply the trade, the Frenchman has made a life for himself as one of the world’s most renowned trainers of police and military dogs. Vanhove, who moved to the United States just a little over two years ago, is the lead decoy trainer for i-K9 in Alabama and travels the country working with police dogs. One look at his
Loki, Douglas County deputy Greg Black’s K-9 patrol dog, waits attentively during a training exercise Feb. 27 in Highlands Ranch. black and blue, scratched-up biceps and you know his is not the normal line of work.
“I’ve been bitten lots,” he said. “For the dog, it’s just fun. It’s not like they want to hurt
people. But once a dog bites, I want him to stay on the bite. I don’t want 20 bites. I want one bite in one place.” Vanhove wears a bite suit when training the dogs in order to not get bitten too badly, but he doesn’t seem to mind when the dogs get the best of him. His technique, which has won numerous European competitions, involves distracting the dog to the best of his ability, all while teaching the dog to stay on the bite. He spent three days this past week at Warriors Youth Sports in Highlands Ranch, working with five members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, two from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office unit and one dog from Commerce City. Dogs continues on Page 21
Democrats on March 11 went five-forfive on their surviving pieces of gun-control legislation, including victories on a bill that places limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines and one that institutes universal background checks on all gun sales and transfers. But three of the bills passed the Senate without unified Democratic support — and those votes came after two other lawmakers killed their own controversial bills last week, before they were ever debated. The recent activity on all Report five gun bills spanned two days, beginning on March 8, following lengthy and often emotional debate that took place on the Senate floor. While Democrats by and large feel like they have struck a balance between respecting Second Amendment rights and trying to curb gun violence, at least one elected official wonders if her party may have overreached in its gun-control efforts. “I’m concerned that this may have woken up people,” Sen. Lois Tochtrop, a Thornton Democrat, told Colorado Community Media. Tochtrop voted against limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds and requiring that all gun sales and transfers be subject to background checks. Tochtrop voted for the three other bills: One prohibiting domestic violence offenders from having access to guns; one requir-
Capitol
Guns continues on Page 6
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