The Lee Maxwell Washing Machine Museum is seen on July 31. Maxwell has a collection of nearly 1,700 machines at his museum in Eaton. (Jessica Gibbs, Special to The Colorado Sun) Lee Maxwell has spent a lot of quality time inside junkyards. What was trash to someone else could have been just the trinket he […]
Jessica Gibbs
Colorado Community Media
Email: jessthejourno@gmail.com Twitter: @JesstheJourno
Posted inCulture, Equity, News
How should history be told? Rising Colorado voices are pushing museums to rethink their approach
Long before the height of the civil rights movement, something rare was starting in the Colorado mountains. Nestled in Gilpin County, “a Black utopia” thrived for nearly four decades in the form of a mountain resort built by African Americans, for African Americans — the only of its kind west of the Mississippi. Operating between […]
Posted inEquity, Health, News, Politics and Government
Breast milk donations and goat milk: How Coloradans are battling through the baby formula shortage
Audra McNicholas went about her usual Monday routine on May 16, dropping her two daughters off at school before stopping at a store for her weekly grocery haul. Her shopping list typically includes infant formula for her son. The Greenwood Village mother nursed her girls, but that was not an option with her 11-month-old baby […]
Posted inEducation, News
Former Douglas County Superintendent Corey Wise sues school district, alleging retaliation and discrimination
Corey Wise has broken his silence — and the ousted superintendent is suing his former employers alleging retaliation, discrimination and that his infamous firing was illegal. The former Douglas County School District superintendent filed a lawsuit April 13 with the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He claims the Douglas County […]
Posted inEducation, News
Douglas County Superintendent Erin Kane steps into new role under spotlight
Erin Kane sat down at her desk on her last day of work at American Academy and looked around the room. Dozens of photos from her career, framed diplomas on the wall, a stack of books about state education law, all sat untouched. The packing hadn’t begun yet. It was March 30 and Kane was […]
Posted inEducation, News
Douglas County School District board hires more lawyers in lawsuit alleging its majority violated open meetings laws
The Douglas County School District board has retained a second law firm in its defense against a lawsuit alleging the four board-majority members violated Colorado’s open meetings laws. The board’s debate about whether to bring on more counsel also broached the majority’s desire to appeal a judge’s order that prohibits serial meetings, as the four […]
Posted inEducation, News
Douglas County School District board names sole superintendent finalist
In a divided 4-3 vote, and with one board director participating remotely from a hospital bed, the Douglas County School District board named Erin Kane as the sole finalist to become the next superintendent of Douglas County schools. The board listened to more than two and a half hours of public comment in its Tuesday […]
Posted inNews
Community rallies as roughly 1,500 Douglas County teachers call out sick following school board controversies
Protesters gather after allegations of open meeting law violations, equity debates
Posted inEducation, News
Douglas County schools cancel classes Thursday ahead of teacher rally
Hundreds of people, including Douglas County School District staff, are expected to rally outside district headquarters on Thursday after bombshell allegations that the conservative school board majority asked the superintendent to resign or be fired in a closed-door meeting. In anticipation of large-scale staff absences, the district announced a “no student contact” day for Thursday. […]
Posted inEducation, News
New Douglas County School Board directors plotted to oust superintendent, fellow directors say
Three Douglas County School Board members are alleging the four new board directors gave the superintendent an ultimatum — resign or be fired — without formal board approval and without the full board’s knowledge. Directors David Ray, Susan Meek and Elizabeth Hanson made the allegations at a Jan. 31 meeting, where they also discussed concerns […]