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JUNE 19, 2014 VOLU M E 27 | I S S UE 31
HighlandsRanchHerald.net A publication of
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D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Director changes HRCA role Board member steps down to become new head of finance By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office Sgt. Shawn Cronce heads up DCSO’s Internet Crimes Against Children program. A typical day for the detective includes swapping files with online predators as she builds evidence against offenders. Photo by Ryan Boldrey
Predators caught in the Net Law enforcement patrols a dark, online world in the name of child safety By Hannah Garcia
Special to Colorado Community Media Although it’s no secret that the Internet provides plenty of dark corners that harbor new ways to commit old crimes, Sgt. Shawn
Cronce said there is a misconception about a certain series of online crimes. “People like to think, `oh, it doesn’t happen here.’ It does, it happens everywhere,” Cronce said, citing a pile of seven case reports still waiting to be written. “I could work (on these cases) 24/7 and never make a dent.” Cronce heads the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children program. A typical day for the detective may include chatting as a 13-year-old girl or downloading child pornography as
she builds evidence against online offenders, parts of sting operations that are the crux of these types of investigations. DCSO tallied 15 ICAC arrests in 2013 and has made at least eight arrests so far this year. The majority of the arrests center on Internet luring charges, a Class-4 felony, and the manufacture, possession or distribution of child pornography, a Class-3 felony. Net Safety continues on Page 13
Wind Crest turns red, white and blue D-Day survivor shares story as community honors Flag Day By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey @coloradocommunitymedia.com Oh say, can you sing? In celebration of a one-week span that encompassed the 70th anniversary of DDay and Flag Day, Wind Crest and three of its sister retirement communities in Michigan, Maryland and Kansas set out to set a patriotic record — singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” in four states at the same time in unison. An estimated 3,000 people from generations young and old came together June 13 at the four retirement communities, including more than 400 people at Wind Crest who donned their red, white and blue to celebrate in song. A video that will be compiled of the four communities singing in unison will be sent to Fort McHenry (where Francis Scott Key penned the song’s words), the Maryland Historical Society, the National Archives, the Guinness Book of World Records, the Smithsonian and President Barack Obama. At the conclusion of the singing at Wind Crest — which was led by Wind Crest’s Resident Chorale — resident Jack Liggett gave a special reading of the three oft-forgotten
Jim Hrbek wore his blue shirt, while his wife, Shirley, to his left, wore her red shirt and white sweater on June 13 at Wind Crest as more than 400 residents, friends and family members joined up with sister communities in Michigan, Maryland and Kansas to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the same time. Photo by Ryan Boldrey stanzas of Key’s famous poem that aren’t sung as part of the national anthem. Wind Crest employee Patrick Colette accompanied him quietly on guitar. The ceremony was an emotional one for many and even brought some to tears. For 89-year-old Shelton Bosley, it was also a time to reflect on his own personal memo-
ries serving as a gunner’s mate on a PT boat for the U.S. Navy in World War II, and what it was like to witness D-Day firsthand on June 6, 1944 in Normandy. While more than 5,000 allied ships and D-Day continues on Page 12
Highlands Ranch Community Association director Christina Caputo resigned from the board at the association’s June 17 meeting. Caputo, who has been employed by Jefferson County’s finance department for the past 13 years — currently as the director of budget and risk management — has accepted a job offer to become the HRCA’s new finance director, starting June 23. Caputo will take over for Harry Daughters, who retired after spending the last eight years as the financial controller for the HRCA. Daughters announced his retirement two months ago, giving the association ample time to find his replacement. Over the last eight years, Caputo has served on the HRCA’s finance committee, as a district delegate, and for the past two-plus years, on the HRCA board of directors. She was reelected in March to her Caputo position on the board and will be replaced by way of a special election, to be conducted by the delegate body at either the August or September board meeting. While she said, “it’s hard to step down from the board of directors,” the transition for Caputo is a welcome one. With a rich expertise in finance, as well as an inside working knowledge of how the HRCA operates, she’s more than happy to take a job working for the community she has called home for the last 14 years. “It’s thrilling to be able to live and work in a place that I feel so passionate about,” she said. “I think I have a head start in that I’ve been around for so long, but I still have a lot to learn in terms of the interworking of the organization. I’m excited to work with staff and be on the other side of things.” Caputo, who has a bachelors of science in business administration from the University of Nebraska and a MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver, hopes that she will be able to fix some of the “trust issues with delegates.” “I want to be able to keep them informed, let them know that their voices are being heard and that we are listening to their ideas,” the mother of three said. One way she said she hopes to accomplish that is by allowing for back-and-forth to take place on budget issues sooner along in the process, as opposed to waiting to ask for input from delegates once the budget has been fully prepared and staff is up against a tight timeline to get it passed. “For us, I think it is fortuitous to have somebody of her skill level, familiar with
HRCA continues on Page 11
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