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March 6, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 27, Issue 16 A publication of
highlandsranchherald.net
Former Marine earns Purple Heart Highlands Ranch High security worker injured in Iraq in 2004 By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia@coloradocommunitymedia. com It’s been almost a decade since an improvised explosive device knocked Brandon Davis unconscious in Fallujah, imparting a brain injury that would eventually lead to a medical discharge. A little more than nine years later, the Highlands Ranch High School security staffer was finally awarded a Purple Heart that he has been seeking for years. “I had to jump through a few hoops to get this,” Davis said. The lance corporal said he worked with his former colonel with the Wounded Warrior Regiment to apply for the award. “It means a lot.” The Purple Heart is awarded to military members who are injured or killed while
serving. It is the oldest military decoration awarded by the U.S. military. Davis, 30, said he grew up dreaming of enlisting with the Marines, like his father. He joined when he was 19 in 2003, bypassing an opportunity to go to school. “I gave up wrestling scholarships to enlist,” Davis said. “After 9/11, I knew I was going to join. It just didn’t seem like there was another option for me.” The former Marine was deployed to Iraq from June 24, 2004 to Feb. 17, 2005. On Oct. 17, 2004, Davis was driving a Hummer near a military base in Fallujah when the IED launched by insurgents hit the back of the vehicle. The resulting blast damaged the left side of his head and he sustained a traumatic brain injury. After a few minutes of being unconscious, Davis’ platoon mates shook him awake before they tended to others who were wounded, including some who lost limbs, he said. There were 180 people Marine continues on Page 7
Brandon Davis, an Iraq veteran, was awarded the Purple Heart in February 2014. Photos by Hannah Garcia
Highlands Ranch High School security guard Brandon Davis.
HRCA studies surplus Formal policy being developed to handle overages By Hannah Garcia
hgarcia@coloradocommunitymedia. com
Rock Canyon High School seniors, with Wish Week 2013’s featured child Mara Dawkins (in pink), wipe their eyes after hearing about a former Wish Week beneficiary who has since died. Photos by Jane Reuter
Rock Canyon again shatters Wish Week record Money raised will make nine childhood dreams come true By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
From left, students Riley Hayes, Tori Pavillard, Caroline Skibness and Morgan Harrison display Rock Canyon High School’s record-setting Wish Week 2014 check.
Rock Canyon High School set another Make-A-Wish Foundation record Feb. 28, raising more than $72,500 in a week of fundraisers both on and off campus. The money will make real the dreams of nine children. It’s the fourth year in a row RCHS has set a state, and likely a national, record for the foundation. In 2013, the school raised about $60,500. Isaac Lucero, the Lakewood eighth grader featured during Wish Week 2014, was ill and unable to attend Friday’s check unveiling and final rally in the RCHS gymnasium. But he was there for the week’s other events, and already is planning a summer trip to New York City — the wish RCHS students en-
sured he’ll realize. “There are always the stereotypes about high school students, that they have a bad attitude about everything and are self-centered,” Isaac’s mother Desiree said. “But these students do an incredible thing. “It was more than Isaac could ever have dreamed of, so much more than I had ever imagined. He’d get home at night and couldn’t sleep because he was so amped up from the events. He was on cloud nine all last week.” Isaac, diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 10, has suffered through years of seizures and the effects of chemotherapy. His long-term prognosis is good, but his mother said, “He had to grow up very fast. He didn’t get to be a kid.” In Isaac’s absence, some students held sticks on which large photos of his smiling face were mounted, waving them throughout the closing event. Delighted as students, staff and representatives from MakeWish continues on Page 7
After some minor disagreement over budget issues last year, the Highlands Ranch Community Association is working on developing a formal policy on how to handle surpluses. At the conclusion of 2013, the HRCA’s operating fund within the recreation budget had an unaudited surplus of $539,034.86, according to director Jeff Sunkten, who acts as the board’s treasurer and heads the finance committee. There is an “extensive process to develop a budget that meets the Suntken needs of the organization and balances our revenue and expenses” every year, he said. “As a not-for-profit organization, our goal is to break even, however, in reality, we sometimes end the year with surplus funds and sometimes at a deficit as compared to our budget,” he said. “Over the years, these surpluses and deficits have simply been used to offset each other.” During an election question-and-answer session at a Feb. 18 meeting, director candidates alluded to strains between the delegate body and the board over the budgeting process. “I think it can be frustrating at times to see the back and forth and the mistrust between the two, and I think that can drive people away,” director Christina Caputo said when asked about ideas to get delegates more involved. The organization also increased dues by $32 last year, a move that was supported by a majority of the delegate body. The fee Surplus continues on Page 7
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