Wake up to panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, bright sunny days, natural beauty and wildlife. Great neighborhoods with a small-town feel and the conveniences of city living. An easy commute with only 30 minutes north to downtown Denver or south to Colorado Springs.

Life here is fantastic – Let us help make it your home.

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astle Rock may be a bedroom community of approximately 45,000, but it’s brimming with all the cultural experiences you would find in much larger cities like Denver or Colorado Springs.

The Castle Rock Players offer high-quality community theater productions, dinner theaters, murder mysteries and theater classes, while the Castle Rock Orchestra presents musical concerts of 20th-century styles such as Impressionism, Americana, pops and film music. And twice a year, Castle Rock residents and visitors gather to celebrate two important cultural entities – art and wine.

A tradition for 20 years, Castle Rock Artfest happens downtown in September and draws more than 25,000 visitors. The festival showcases the artwork of 180 artists from all over the country and includes live entertainment, a Children’s Imagination Zone, food vendors, locally brewed beer and more.

“The Chamber has done an awesome job – they put their heart and soul into Artfest. It takes a great deal of planning,”

says Katherine McNeill, a landscape artist who has shown her work at Artfest for 10 years. “It gives people a chance to see what Colorado artists can do. There’s a lot of talent out there. Artfest has grown a lot over the years, and the quality of the art continues to increase as well.”

In addition to painting Colorado landscapes, McNeill paints portraits and large flowers.

“I’ve been accused of being another Georgia O’Keeffe, which is a huge compliment,” she says.

In 2007, McNeill was chosen to be the Artfest Commemorative Print artist, for which she painted the rock of Castle Rock from a distance with the Aspens in the foreground. A resident of Larkspur, McNeill has been a professional painter for 30 years and says she loves participating in Artfest because it allows her to meet the people who buy her work.

“I demonstrate at all the shows I do because seeing artists at work gives people an appreciation for what we do,” she says.

“I also love to teach, and if I sense a child’s interest in my painting, I’ll let them come up and work on my canvas. I love to see them sparkle when they see what they can do – it’s a great way to pass on what you know.”

In July, Castle Rock hosts its annual WineFest celebration, which brings together more than 20 of Colorado’s top wineries for wine seminars, tastings and demonstrations. The event also includes vendors, entertainment and cuisine from local restaurants.

The Old Stone Church Restaurant has participated in WineFest for several years, serving extraordinary cuisine such as Lobster Pies, or New Orleans-style pastries stuffed with lobster, crawfish and cheese.

“People seem to really enjoy WineFest, and it lets them see

what Colorado is capable of producing in terms of food and wine,” says Jeryn Richard, who owns The Old Stone Church Restaurant with her husband, Jeff. “It’s a great way to experience local Colorado businesses by eating and drinking for the day.”

The Old Stone Church Restaurant is housed in an 1888 building that was the area’s first Catholic church. It was con-verted to a restaurant in 1975 and serves eclectic American fare.

“We have a lot of fresh seafood, including a popular mixed grill with New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp and butter for dipping,” Richard says. “We also make our own homemade ice cream and crème brûlée, and we have several f lavors of cheesecake and a nice wine list that includes between 60 and 70 varieties.”

hen in Castle Rock, eat what the locals eat – and that means mouthwatering pan-fried chicken at Castle Café, Lobster Risotto at Uniscali and wood-fired handmade pizzas

at Siena at the Courtyard.Open for 12 years, Castle Café is perched on a high-profile

corner in downtown Castle Rock inside the historic Castle Hotel and Bar, which was the place to be and be seen for quarry workers, ranchers and travelers during the 1890s. Today, the restaurant is famous for its pan-fried chicken, buffalo meatloaf and Yuppie-I-O Dip.

“Our world-famous pan-fried chicken is cooked to order like grandma would have made it in a big cast-iron skillet, and we serve it with homemade mashed potatoes, Cracklin’ Gravy, veggies and rolls,” says Dave Doty, general manager at Castle Café. “Our buffalo meatloaf is also very popular, and it comes with mashed potatoes and brown onion gravy and vegetables. And our Yuppie-I-O Dip is so good, it’s been written about in magazines. It’s a spinach, artichoke and Parmesan cheese dip served with our homemade tortilla chips.”

In the past, Castle Café was open for dinner only, but the restaurant began serving lunch in 2008 due to popular demand. The Mission Bay Fish Tacos were an instant hit with the growing lunch crowd.

“They’re cornmeal-breaded cod with fresh Pico de Gallo, f lour tortillas, lettuce and rice,” Doty says. “People always say they’re really good.”

For classic Italian fare, Uniscali is the newest hot spot in town. It was opened in September 2008 by five business partners who wanted to give Castle Rock citizens a new and different place to dine.

“We looked at what Castle Rock didn’t already have, and we took a trip to San Francisco and checked out 30 restaurants in three days,” says Dennis Dickey, one of the partners who owns Uniscali. “We decided on a modern Italian theme with a wide-open display kitchen, a great wine list, Italian beers and aperitifs.”

Uniscali’s signature dish is Cioppino, a spicy broth full of shrimp, crab, clams, mussels and fish that’s served with saffron-roasted Yukon potatoes and crostini.

“We also offer a great selection of little plates, both hot and cold, and a selection of noodles, gnocchi, risotto and such,” Dickey says.

The little plates feature crab claws, local and international cheeses, mussels and clams, veal meatballs, spicy fried calamari and citrus grilled shrimp. Other options include Lobster Risotto, Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Tenderloin Rigatoni.

Siena at the Courtyard in historic downtown Castle Rock also offers Italian dishes, including brick oven-baked pizzas, steaks, seafood and pastas in a warm atmosphere with a fireplace and outdoor patio.

The pizza menu alone is enough to bring diners back again and again, offering unusual options such as shrimp scampi pizza with garlic butter and olive oil, mozzarella and provolone cheeses and San Marzano tomatoes. There’s also a Mediterranean pizza with spinach, garlic, tomatoes, olives, peppers, feta and mozzarella cheese.

For dessert, Siena features chocolate tiramisu – a rum and Kahlua-soaked chocolate cake iced in coffee ganache and layered with mascarpone sabayon – as well as creamy cheesecake topped with strawberries and sugared almond crisp. Meal endings don’t get much sweeter than that.

ant to sample the best Douglas County has to offer, food-wise? Then don’t miss the Taste of Douglas County,

where the area’s best restaurateurs offer up bite-sized morsels of their culinary creations.

More than 40 vendors take part in the annual event, which is set for Aug. 20, 2009, at the Events Center at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The success of the previous six years promises there will be some very contented foodies at the end of the day, says John DeLay, one of the event’s coordinators.

“We had more than 2,000 very happy people in 2008,” DeLay says. He, his brother, Jim, and their business partner, Mike Boyle, operate the event.

“People come from Denver, from Colorado Springs, from all over. We feel like we have the best food event on the Front Range.”

The DeLays bring a solid background to this regional food event. The brothers have a catering company, Flying Horse, while John and his wife, Janie, own and operate Pegasus Restaurant. The combination of restaurant savvy and a love of food results in an affair that is focused on great dining, John DeLay says.

The event allows restaurant owners and chefs the chance to meet potential customers and promote their food with samples and coupons.

“So many food festivals require people to stand in line to buy the tickets, then buy the food. At ours, you pay once, and then go back and forth with no lines. It just clicks,” DeLay says.

The event also has live entertainment, as well as mojito and margarita bars and more, so it has a complete festival feel, says DeLay, who also works to introduce environmental awareness to the proceedings.

“We’re trying to recycle everything that comes in the door at the restaurant and the catering business,” he says. “We’re very proud of everything we’ve put together here, and now we’re working to make both of our businesses as green as possible.”

Margaret T. Halern, bsn, jd

arly morning business breakfasts aren’t for everyone, and are

sometimes especially unpopular with the up-and-coming young business community.

No worries, as the Castle Rock Stars have plenty of ways to help each other grow business anytime.

Formed with an eye on Castle Rock’s younger business owners and other self-starters, the new, under-40 offshoot of the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce held its first networking event in summer 2008 and has been growing steadily ever since. The group’s motto? “Network like a rock star,” says Susan Thayer, co-chair. “We want to appeal to people between 21 and 40 who live, work or do both in the Castle Rock area.”

Research by chamber staffers indicated that young-professional organ-i zations were doing well in other areas of the country. Meanwhile, Thayer and others noted that younger people in the Castle Rock area had an interest in business-friendly activities.

“We’re seeing a lot of younger professionals coming into town as it is growing, and a lot of them are working

out of their homes,” Thayer says. “We wanted to create something that would give them opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with people in their peer group.”

The Castle Rock Stars launched with an August 2008 event that included live entertainment. The feedback was extraordinarily positive, Thayer says.

“People told us they met more people in two hours than they had at much larger events that lasted longer,” she says. “So we knew we were on the right track.”

That was followed by a “buzz net-working” mixer, which is sort of like speed dating but with business cards. Held at a local coffee shop, the mixer was another big hit, so much so that it’s going to be repeated every other month for the foreseeable future, with other events scheduled during and around it.

“What we’re doing is definitely business oriented, but it’s less hard core and more social,” Thayer says. “And everybody in this age group is extremely comfortable with that.”

Visit for more information about the young leaders group.

s planned communities go, The Meadows is definitely a cut above the rest.

The 4,000-acre complex includes neighborhoods, a 300-acre, mixed-use area with shops, offices and dining, and amenities that include the Grange Cultural Arts Center and a community center with learning stations

that tell of the land’s history and more.The community, which is about 25 percent complete,

will max out at around 10,869 homes when it’s finished in about 15 years. In the meantime, it will become home to a new Centura hospital, schools and more, says Jim Riley, president of Castle Rock Development Company.

“There’s a period of time for master-plan communities when they hit their critical mass, and once that occurs, things become easier to accomplish,” Riley says. “The Meadows is right at that point, and so is the town of Castle Rock. We’ve got a really good land plan, a great community in terms of amenities, the things that make it a great place to live. And it doesn’t hurt that we’re only three minutes from downtown Castle Rock.”

Riley says The Meadows’ first set of commercial buildings will be constructed in its town center in late 2009, if all goes according to plan, and with the new hospital and other major developments, home building should continue on schedule.

“We’ve got around 4,000 homes finished now, mostly single family, with between 10,000 and 12,000 residents,” he says. “We’re No. 3 in communities in the Denver region in terms of sales, and we’ve been at that number for the last three to five years. That’s nothing to sneeze at.”

In addition to its amenities, The Meadows also offers plenty of open space, with hiking and outdoor centers factored into the master plan.

ince its November 2007 opening, the new garage in downtown Castle

Rock has been a resounding success.That’s no surprise for city and

Douglas County officials, who part-nered to build the $6.7 million facility. Downtown merchants had expressed a need for additional parking spaces for shoppers, while the city and county both needed additional spaces for employees.

With $1.4 million from the city and $5.3 million from the county, the new garage was constructed on Third Street, just west of Wilcox.

The garage’s exterior is designed to resemble storefronts, so it blends seam-lessly into its surroundings, and it offers 79 additional public-parking spaces on its first level, says Karen McGrath, senior community relations specialist.

“We’re getting great feedback from

residents and visitors,” McGrath says. “It’s been a wonderful addition to the downtown core. It’s got a gorgeous exterior, looking like a historic building, so it adds to the streetscape, and it’s got all those spaces on the first f loor that anyone can use. It’s made it much easier for people to come and shop or just be downtown.”

The garage’s upper levels are used for government employee parking, which frees more street spots and spaces in the city’s ground-level public parking lots, she adds.

And with a vibrant downtown with activities year-round, look for the garage to play a part in ongoing efforts to get more visitors downtown during the holidays and at other times of the year, as it will be used in marketing and promotions going forward, according to officials.

ith on-site facilities that can handle groups as large as several

thousand or as small as a half-dozen, the Douglas County Fairgrounds is, literally, the place to meet.

“We might have 15,000 people over three days of the county fair, which is one of our biggest events and uses every building we have,” says Jonna Negus-Pemberton, fairgrounds manager. “Then, we might have just 10 people in one of our smaller conference rooms – and everything in between.”

The facility is in the midst of a beautification project, upgrading the midway so that it’s more park-like in appearance. A playground area and small amphitheater also are being installed to create a greener ambiance. The project is in response to user requests, and also will help the fair-grounds fill in the few missing gaps on its calendar.

“We have a lot of availability during the week, but our weekends are pretty much booked,” she says. “We still want to work to bring in those corporate activities during the week, so that’s a focus now.”

As the fairgrounds has become more popular, Negus-Pemberton and her staff have found themselves helping to boost attendance for a wide variety of activities.

“We are shifting our marketing to help those events be more successful,” she says. “We put our calendar in the local print media to make sure that there’s information out there about what’s going on here, so that people in Castle Rock and the county can attend. In the past, we’ve always worked more on finding people to have their events here, and we still do that, but now we’re working more on focusing on the events themselves and growing them.”

– Stories by Joe Morris

hoppers in Castle Rock don’t have to choose between big-name outlet retailers and cozy, more intimate boutique style

shops. This city has the best of both worlds when it comes to shopping, from the Outlets at Castle Rock just off Interstate 25 to the many one-of-a-kind, locally owned shops that make down-town a favorite destination.

Laura Li opened her downtown shop, Irresistibles, 10 years ago and offers women’s clothing and accessories such as handbags, jewelry, scarves and belts.

“We have mostly casual, everyday clothes, whether it’s a hoodie for running errands with the kids or a nice skirt and top that’s also comfortable,” Li says. “The things in my store have a unique look – they aren’t things you could find at Kohl’s or Target.”

Irresistibles hosts special events nearly every month, including spring and fall Top Extravaganzas, semiannual clearance sales in January and July, jewelry events and pajama parties. Li says she loves her store being located in downtown Castle Rock because of the comfortable atmosphere and the camaraderie among downtown merchants.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere but downtown – it’s more homelike and comfortable than being in a mall. We are like family,” she says. “People know they can find good customer service, friendliness and unique items down-town. The Barn is another very popular downtown store, and there’s also a cute place called Scadoodles. And the Little White Dress is a wonderful bridal boutique with beautiful pieces that are truly one-of-a-kind.”

To find brand names at outlet prices, shoppers can head for the Outlets at Castle Rock, which is home to popular brands such as Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Nine West, Lane Bryant, GUESS,

Carter’s and more.“It’s a great gathering place for both

locals and tourists because of the large number of great brands,” says Lisa Yamaguchi, marketing director for the Outlets at Castle Rock. “We just added Lucky Jeans and Restoration Hardware, and we have J. Crew, The Children’s Place, and the list goes on.”

While the Outlets at Castle Rock does offer stores you would find elsewhere in the country, it still enjoys an atmosphere all its own.

“We’re situated in a nice outdoor setting with wonderful views of the Rocky Mountains, so the scenery makes it a destination in itself,” Yamaguchi

says. “There’s not really anything like it in the area. We also have a food court, so you can really make a whole day of it.”

Another unusual thing about the Outlets at Castle Rock is its welcoming attitude toward pets.

“Outlets at Castle Rock is very pet friendly, and we encourage shoppers to bring their dogs,” Yamaguchi says. “All we ask is that you clean up after your pet, and there are doggy bags available in the center. Just check with individual stores to make sure they let pets in, but many of them do. The outlet center also has beautiful landscaping and benches where you can take a break and just enjoy the scenery.”

Nestled in the East Plum Creek Valley at the base of the Rocky Mountains, you’ll discover the friendly town

of Castle Rock, named for the prominent rock formation overlooking the town. Midway between Denver and Colorado Springs, our Castle Rock hotel is the perfect retreat for resting and relaxing. With more than 300 days of sunshine a year, we offer the ideal climate for enjoying golfing, swimming, hiking and much more. Plus, you’ll find more than 400 acres of parks, as well as the expansive Hidden Mesa Open Space.

If you’re looking for a comfortable hotel in Castle Rock while you’re here on business or vacation, you’ve come to the right place. The Hampton Inn® Castle Rock hotel is conveniently located off Interstate 25, just a short distance from the Outlets at Castle Rock. Whether you’re bagging a great deal on designer merchandise, exploring historic downtown Castle Rock or simply enjoying the breathtaking views, you’ll find it all near our comfortable Castle Rock hotel.

Enjoy natural beauty in a friendly place … Welcome to the Hampton Inn Castle Rock.

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ny good business knows never to stray far from the basics. At the Castle Rock Chamber of

Commerce, that means sticking to several specific functions that have spelled suc-cess for the organization throughout its long and rich history.

“We have five core competencies,” says Pam Ridler, president. “We’re focusing a lot on those areas, which include creating a strong local economy, advocating political action, representing our businesses to government, promoting our community and creating networking events for our members.”

By targeting each of these areas and then tying it all together, the 53-year-old chamber finds that it can be a strong advocate for its members without spreading itself too thin. That’s key when there’s activity on several fronts, most notably growing the local economy, Ridler says.

“We have what we call a Castle Rock economic-gardening program, which can assist our small or home-based businesses and connect them with services that help them grow,” she says. “Different professionals from areas like financial planning and banking, mar-keting and other areas do one-on-one counseling with these individuals.”

This approach, along with the newly launched www.castlerockeg.com, allows the chamber’s 700 member businesses to interact with each other, which in turn keeps the local economy on a steady-growth track. It also ties into another of the chamber’s strong suits, which is political advocacy on the local, state and federal levels.

“We’ve created a program that is made up of six business organizations in Douglas County,” Ridler says. “It’s three chambers of commerce and three economic-development organizations, and through this partnership, we focus on having a voice at every level. We have a lobbyist who focuses on the issues that

affect Douglas County businesses at the state level, so we can take informed positions and issue policy statements.”

The chamber also works to represent businesses to the city and county gov-ern ments, making sure local officials know its position on everything from transportation issues and more.

In addition to promoting its interests at the state capitol, the chamber also is adept at promoting Castle Rock itself. When something occurs like Family Circle magazine’s recent designation of the city as its No. 1 Place to Raise a Family, the chamber wastes no time getting that good news out. These days, that’s involving everything from creating marketing pieces to streaming video online, Ridler says.

“We have begun a tourism partner-

ship, Castle Rock Hospitality and Tourism, to investigate new ways to promote our-selves as a destination location,” Ridler says. “What we’re doing now is working with people within our tourism and hospitality sector and focusing on that industry base.”

Networking events provide the opportunity for members to learn and share experiences in a social setting.

“We’re noted for our business net-working success, and we do everything from five-minute networking, which is like speed dating, to having our typical breakfasts and after-hours events,” Ridler says. “We have quite a partnership with our town, and we’re always working to do more to promote our town while serving our members.”

– Joe Morris

MORE ONLINE

n Castle Rock, it’s easy to get into the swing of things, thanks to a handful of the state’s most beautiful golf courses.

None are finer than Red Hawk Ridge, Castle Rock’s public course that feels and looks like an exclusive country club.

Opened in 1999, Red Hawk Ridge is the centerpiece of outdoor leisure in Castle Rock. The course was designed by award-winning golf course architect Jim Engh, who was the 2006 Golf Digest Architect of the Year. Engh’s reputation draws people from across the country to play this beautiful course.

“It certainly helps to have a big name,” says Red Hawk Ridge head golf pro Matt Lodwick. “For a city-owned course, that is pretty rare.”

As a result, the nearly 7,000-yard course with its blue-grass fairways and well-manicured greens has been recognized by golf experts as one of the best public golf courses in Colorado.

The best-known components of the course are the elevation changes that occur naturally throughout the property. From the rolling foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Red Hawk Ridge offers views of the town of Castle Rock, as well as the Colorado Rockies. From the highest point on the course, at 6,300 feet, players can see some of the area’s most recognized mountain peaks.

“I would put our views up against any place,” Lodwick says. “Plus, we have first-class course conditioning and great amenities.”

Thanks to a strong team of managers that includes experienced golf professionals, Red Hawk Ridge is a great venue to learn the game of golf.

Red Hawk Ridge offers an instruction program for women on Wednesday nights, as well as a transitional league for new female golfers. As a result, Golf For Women Magazine recognized the course for the last three years on its list of the Top 50 Female-Friendly Courses in the country. In addition, a senior league plays on Tuesdays and a large junior program draws nearly 400 children from the area each year. The five sets of tees at each hole allow golfers of all skill levels an opportunity to enjoy the course. Local residents receive a playing discount.

“We pride ourselves in treating everyone well,” Lodwick says. “We’ll take really good care of you.”

Elsewhere in Castle Rock, two highly rated bent-grass courses make golfing in the area even more inviting. The Plum Creek course at the Plum Creek Golf & Country Club is a par-72 that opened in 1984 and was designed by Pete Dye. The Jack Nicklaus-designed, 18-hole Castle Pines course at the Country Club at Castle Pines opened in 1986.

Other Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce member courses are the Golf Club at Bear Dance in Larkspur and the Club at Pradera in Parker.

– Brandon Lowe

ealth care in Castle Rock has been getting progressively easier in recent years, thanks to new

facilities and services. With the announcement of a new hospital, residents may seldom, if ever, have to leave home for care.

Centura Health has purchased 50 acres of land in The Meadows at Historic Castle Rock, land on which it plans to develop a $120 million phased-in campus. First up will be an emergency facility, set to be completed by late 2009, followed by imaging and laboratory services, outpatient and medical office buildings.

When this first phase wraps up, construction will begin on a full-service hospital, according to Centura officials, who say their research indicated a strong need for more medical services in Castle Rock and Douglas County.

“Our goal is to provide a valuable breadth and depth of services, which includes providing quality health care to Douglas County,” says Randy Safady, executive vice president and chief finan-cial officer. “Centura Health is the largest health-care system in Colorado, and the new facility will provide greater access to our system-wide expertise in tertiary care, oncology, trauma and cardiology, among many others.”

The new facilities will provide quicker and easier access to health care for Douglas County and surrounding areas, he says, while also providing access to Centura’s expansive depth of expertise. “A new facility in Castle Rock will allow Centura to further its tradition to share best practices and offer the latest in medical advances, technology and equip-ment throughout the state,” says Safady.

All this comes on top of the opening of Sky Ridge Medical Center in 2003, a facility that was the inaugural full-service hospital in the county, and one that has been adding services at a steady pace over the years.

In 2007, the Sky Ridge Imaging Center at Castle Rock opened, offering X-rays, ultrasound, CT scans and more, as well as the Sally Jobe Breast Center for mammography and related procedures. The hospital, which is part of the

HealthONE Care Network, the largest health-care system in metropolitan Denver, marked its fifth anniversary in Castle Rock by expanding its cardiac-care program. Sky Ridge opened a 29-bed cardiac-care f loor, expanded the number of intensive-care beds and began a cardiac-rehab program.

“We are proud that we were able to bring much needed imaging services and physician specialists closer to home in Castle Rock,” says Maureen Tarrant, chief executive officer of Sky Ridge

Medical Center. “Our Castle Rock site now offers education classes for expecting parents, providing added convenience for busy families. And, based on feed-back from our communi ties, we now have pediatricians in our Sky Ridge Emergency Department 24/7.”

Next up for Sky Ridge Medical Center will be a new entrance from Interstate 25, set to open in April 2009, and the new Spine & Total Joint Center, which will come online in fall 2009.

– Joe Morris

Douglas County’s Locally Owned and Operated Skilled Nursing Facility

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f a city’s cultural health can be judged by its artistic endeavors, then the arts in Castle Rock are in fine shape.

In the last decade, the city has seen the creation of the Public Art Commission, composed of seven community members appointed by the town council, and the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild, which has grown to more than 200 member artists.

And in 2007, the town council approved a master plan for public art, channeling all the interest that had been building up to that point to establish a series of goals and objectives.

With this history of common goals and lots of teamwork, the various entities already are seeing success, most notably the November 2008 installation of a $70,000 bronze statue at the Craig & Gould entry to the city at Fifth and Gilbert streets.

“One of the goals of the master plan is to provide public art at each gateway to Castle Rock, and the Craig & Gould entry is certainly a main gateway,” says Dix G. Morris, president of the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild, who notes that thanks to funding from the Philip S. Miller Trust Fund, Castle Rock Chamber and the P.S. Miller Library Foundation, no tax funds are being used for public-art projects. “A call for entry was sent to a list of sculptors, including an explanation of the location, the history of the area, the size of the site and the themes the commission recommended for this particular site.”

The style of art was a factor in the process as well, with tradition carrying the day for the first major project.

“Because of the historical nature of that area, the com-mission recommended that the sculpture be something that would honor that history, something in a more traditional theme as opposed to something modern,” Morris says. “The commission made the final choice based on the expertise, the appeal of the theme and the way the sculpture would fit on the site.”

Cooling the Dogs, a seated cowboy shaking out his boot along with his horse by sculptor Craig Bergsgaard, was chosen. Bergsgaard had been in contact with various public-art backers for a couple of years.

The seated cowboy weighs in at around 500 pounds, while the 15-hand horse tips the scale at approximately 800 pounds. Bergsgaard says the size and scope of the sculpture says something about Castle Rock’s initial foray into permanent public statuary.

“It really shows the mark of a progressive community when they start bringing art in, especially a town with such a rich history,” he says. “This brings a real cosmopolitan aspect into what has been a ranching community, and does it in a diverse way that brings everything together.”

– Joe Morris

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rom virtual emergency rooms to drafting and carving, if there’s a technology aspect to a job then Castle View High School is ready to teach students how it’s done.

The 3-year-old high school is broken into specific academies, or areas of training, that prepare students to go into targeted fields after graduation, or to give them a leg up on their college studies in a particular major. A signif icant part of the school’s focus since opening has been technology, and the need to have the best and most broad array possible.

“For our math, science and engi neering academy we use SolidWorks, which is the industry standard software,” says Chris Bell, the school’s library media specialist, head of technology and director of the e-Media & Business Academy. “It’s like the old CAD programs, where the kids can develop a project from scratch or use some templates to create their own detailed project. Then they send those to our 3-D printer. We have an entire engineering lab set up within that academy, including sign-making tools, and a laser mill with a sandblaster attachment that can carve into bricks.”

The other fields of study on campus receive the same atten-tion. The academy boasts one computer for every 2.5 students, as well as Promethean boards in the math classes, with plans to enhance more classrooms as funds become available.

“We’re always looking to improve the existing programs

and tools we have, and we work to stay on top of what’s up and coming,” Bell says.

Coming next is a med-tech academy, which will fall under the biotechnical and human sciences academy launched in 2007. As a part of those studies the school is working with the Community College of Aurora and other higher-education partners to create a classroom that will double as an emergency room for training purposes.

“For this project, or anything we do, we try to make it as relevant for the kids as we possibly can,” Bell says. “We want it to not just be a classroom, but to look like the actual work site when they go there. The hope is that our kids are better prepared to go directly to college and start into some of these programs.”

To make that happen, the school has devoted a significant portion of its budget to technology and on-site tech training, going so far as to set aside those funds at the beginning of the budget process, says Dr. Lisle Gates, principal.

“We have to allocate the resources, and also make sure that they’re used appropriately,” Gates says. “We work really hard to give our staff the tech nology they need, and to make sure they have all the help to make the best possible use of it. We’ve been very successful so far, but it remains a challenge.”

– Joe Morris

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