WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2025
VOLUME 123 | ISSUE 18
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Douglas County pursues home rule charter Commissioners will send question to voters BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Douglas County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution to pursue a home rule county charter which will be brought to voters as a ballot initiative. Colorado statute determines the form and function of county government. A home rule charter would allow Douglas County government to be more flexible in addressing certain local challenges. “We will no longer sit back while the state government dictates policies that undermine our values, jeopardize our safety and make it harder for hardworking families to afford to live and thrive here,” said County Commissioner Abe Laydon. Douglas County would not be the first in the state to have a home rule charter. Broomfield, Denver, Pitkin and Weld counties
Douglas County Community Resource Deputy Jeff Pelle suffered life-threatening injuries while in the line of duty in 2017 and received a massive blood transPHOTO BY HALEY LENA fusion in the hospital. When the sheriff’s office partnered with Vitalant, he knew he had to give back.
First responders bleed for their community Police take top spot in two-day Battle of the Badges blood drive
SEE CHARTER, P4 BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITY
2025
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Whether they’re used for a surgery, severe injury, medical treatments or long-term health conditions, blood donations are vital for millions of people each and every day. “The truth of the matter is, despite all efforts that have gone into it, there really is no substitute for blood,” said Dr. Ben Usatch, emergency department medical director at UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital. That’s why Vitalant, a nonprofit blood service provider, partnered with the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office, Castle Rock Fire
and Rescue, South Metro Fire Rescue and the Castle Rock, Lone Tree and Parker police departments to see if law enforcement or fire rescue could bring in the most units of blood for patients in need. It may have been team fire against team law at the Douglas County Fairgrounds and the Parker Field House on March 26 and 27, but those two days also drew over 100 community members to come together for a live-saving cause. For Sgt. Mark Mithuen, who has been with the sheriff ’s office since 2011 and oversees the school resource officers, giving blood is another way to help save a life.
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“(Blood) is used to save lives and that’s what we do,” Mithuen said. There are three components to blood. Red cells carry oxygen throughout the body, platelets form clots to help stop bleeding and plasma helps the clot become more stable and provides antibodies for immunity. “All these things are incredibly important to the body’s ability to function,” Usatch said, adding that blood is broken down into these three components so doctors “are able to give patients what they need.” SEE BLOOD DRIVE, P9
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