WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2025
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 49
FREE
What Dougco law enforcement agencies say about deportation policy BY MCKENNA HARFORD, ELLIS ARNOLD AND HALEY LENA MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
To celebrate the money raised to get filtered water refill stations installed in their school, students participated in a chalk run.
COURTESY OF JENNIFER SWANSON
Students at Cresthill Middle School raise money for filtered water refill stations BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As talk about the quality of water buzzed through the hallways of Cresthill Middle School in Highlands Ranch, and on online parent chat forums, a “grassroots” effort emerged: to raise money for filtered refillable water stations to be put in the school. “It does seem a little odd that we would need to fundraise for something like that,” said Principal Francesca Pappalarado. “But unfortunately, it’s just kind of the reality of education right now.” Pappalarado and other administration continuously heard from students that the water was warm and “a little
funky” and asked if they could get better drinking water. Parents, like Michele Bennet, were also hearing about the issue from their kids. Bennet, who is an active parent with the school, heard from her sons about the poor quality and wondered why Cresthill didn’t have filtered water refill stations like other schools in Highlands Ranch. ‘On our radar’
Cresthill Middle School was one of the remaining schools in the Douglas County School District that did not have refillable water stations. The water fountains throughout the schools had been there since the building opened in 1992.
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | CALENDAR: 17
Bennet spoke with Highlands Ranch Water, formerly known as Centennial Water & Sanitation, and learned tests showed there was nothing wrong with the water. There was one water station outside of the cafeteria, but that resulted in kids having to leave class to refill their water bottles. “It was on our radar, but the kids were really advocating for themselves and they did it in a very mature way,” said Pappalarado. “It was almost like a movement, starting from the ground up.” At the beginning of the 20242025 school year, student council and other student leadership got involved, sharing with their peers the importance of the
project and creating the advertising for various fundraising events. Always trying to find new ways to improve the school, parents and staff hold a fundraiser every year to fund various things. However, a lot of the time when schools hold fundraisers, a company is used and it takes anywhere from 30%-50% of the funds raised, said Pappalarado. Knowing the water refill stations are expensive, Pappalarado said they searched for a way to ensure that every dollar raised goes to the school for this specific need because they are items not earmarked as something the school district would fund. SEE GRASSROOTS, P6
With public attention focused on President Donald Trump’s anticipated push to deport immigrants, politicians are fielding questions about immigration enforcement, including in Douglas County. At an event in front of news media, Sheriff Darren Weekly spoke about communicating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His comments touched on what are called “immigration detainers.” A detainer is, in part, a request from ICE that asks a law enforcement agency to communicate before releasing someone whom federal officials may want to deport, according to ICE’s definition. “We’re still obeying the law — we are not violating the law, but we are communicating with ICE within the law,” Weekly said in Douglas County Jan. 29. “If you go to our website, DCSheriff.net, you can see exactly how many immigration ICE detainers people we have in our custody, and ICE is coming to pick those folks up.” “Nobody is in my jail being held on ICE detainers — they are being held in jail because there’s probable cause to believe they have committed a crime in my jurisdiction,” Weekly added. People may have questions about what local law enforcement will and won’t do regarding immigration enforcement. Colorado Community SEE POLICY, P8
2025
VOTING STARTS
MARCH 1!
LONETREEVOICE.NET • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA