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PAGE 6 | THE VILLAGER • July 9, 2020
Judge sends doctor to jail for choking Lone Tree nurse gulation. The message here is clear: Teacher, electrician, attorney or doctor … viciously attack a coworker and go to jail.” Judge Slade chose to sentence Ryan to 30 days in jail, citing his lack of empathy and the lasting damage choking can have on a victim. “This happened in front of other patients and in front of other professionals,” Slade told Ryan. “When you did this to (the nurse), she couldn’t care for other patients, and you put
them at risk. You don’t get to act this way, ever.” Ryan was working as a contract anesthesiologist at Sky Ridge Medical Center on Oct. 8, 2018, when he and the charge nurse in the recovery room had a disagreement about him turning off the vital-sign machines of patients recovering from surgery. A 51-year-old female nurse reminded Ryan not to turn off the machines. He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed her neck so that she felt pain and saw stars, she told Lone Tree police officers. “Mark Ryan strangled me in a recovery room filled with patients and staff in a selfish act of violence,” the nurse told
Judge Slade during sentencing June 22. “I was assaulted by a man who took an oath to do no harm. I feel he might have killed me if no one else would have been around.” The nurse reported the incident to officials at the hospital. Later that night she contacted police, who arrested Ryan. “A doctor is supposed to be in the hospital helping others, not hurting someone who was there to help him,” Deputy District Attorney Dan Warhola told the judge as he asked her to impose jail time. “He grossly abused his position of authority.”
Denver Botanic Gardens receives funds to continue urban agriculture outreach during covid-19
was the first offered by a botanic garden. The CSA provides more than 300 subscriber families with fresh, local produce. Addition-
ally, several tons of vegetables have been donated to community organizations since establishment.
156 Colorado Arts Organizations receive more than $850,000 in COVID-19 relief funding
Prosperity and the Arts Report, creative industries are an agile industry cluster that was an engine of growth following the last recession and is a proven asset for rural as well as urban economic development. A complete list of CO CARES Act grant recipients by county is available online at http://coloradocreativeindustries.org/opportunities/cocares-act-grant/ A complete list of COVID-19 CO Creatives Relief Fund grant recipients is available online at http:// coloradocreativeindustries.org/ opportunities/covid-19-co-creatives-relief-grant/
A doctor who choked a nurse at Sky Ridge Medical Center will spend 30 days in jail as part of his sentence. Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade on Monday sentenced Mark Randle Ryan, 58, to 30 days in jail. The hearing was via Webex. Ryan pleaded guilty March 9, 2020, to one count of second-degree assault by strangulation, a Class 4 felony, and one count of third-degree assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor. The sentence includes a three-year deferred judgment on the felony count and three years probation on the misdemeanor count, as well as 100 hours of community service, mental health
The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) and American Public Gardens Association have partnered to offer immediate support to established urban agriculture and other urban food-growing programs at U.S. public gardens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Urban Agriculture Resilience Program awarded $378,000 to 28 public gardens – including Denver Botanic Gardens – to help sustain urban
treatment and anger management therapy. Ryan has relinquished his medical license. “Few people in society have as much responsibility as the medical professionals we trust to treat us in the hospital. This defendant was an anesthesiologist, who worked in stressful situations every day to monitor patients during surgery,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “No occupation, regardless of stress, provides an excuse for assault, especially stran-
agriculture and community food growing during this challenging time. Beyond providing immediate support, the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program will provide insight into successful approaches and future opportunities for public gardens—though varying program models—to improve food access and advance food and agriculture education in urban communities, particularly
during times of crisis. Denver Botanic Gardens is committed to increasing access to fresh, healthy food through many community-based projects and education programs within our Urban Food Initiatives including:
Community Supporting Agriculture (CSA)
The CSA program at Chatfield Farms, launched in 2010,
Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) announced that 156 Colorado arts organizations received $887,900 in COVID-19 economic relief funding through the CO Cares Act and COVID-19 CO Creatives Relief Fund. The COVID-19 CO Creatives Relief Grant is a onetime payment to nonprofit arts organizations in Colorado with an annual operating budget of less than $1 million. Grants are for general operating support and award amounts are tiered
from $4,000-$8,500, based on annual operating budget. Priority was given to small and mid-size organizations, particularly those working in underserved communities. The CO CARES Act grant distributes federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts to nonprofit arts organizations in Colorado to help these entities and their employees endure the economic hardships caused
by the forced closure of their operations due to the spread of COVID-19. These funds are intended to help save jobs in the arts sector and keep the doors open to the hundreds of organizations that add value to Colorado’s economy and the creative life of our communities. The award amount for each grant is $5,300. As a designated state arts agency, Colorado Creative Industries is an essential partner in distributing federal COVID-19 relief and sustaining the creative
Republican breakfast
you did it in private industry, you’d be in prison. Despite our numbers, (41 Democrats to 24 Republicans in the state House), the Republican caucus is much more aggressive than it was previously. We have found a way to represent the citizens of Colorado.” Other candidates for election this year attending the ACRBC were Steve House, running for Colorado Congressional District 6, John Kellner, who hopes to be the next 18th Judicial District Attorney, Bob Roth, seeking to represent state senate district 26, Bob Andrews, candidate for an open seat in state house district 41. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
Bob Andrews, who has been a teacher and real estate appraiser, is running for an open seat in HD41 against Iman Jodeh. According to her website, Jodeh’s parents moved to Aurora from Palestine in 1974, where she visited summers, Rod Bockenfeld is running for a second term in HD56 gaining exposure “to war, to violence, and against Dr. Maria-Vittoria “Giugi” Carminati. Jeff Baker to oppression at a very early age.” She is is running for a second four-year term as Arapahoe a spokesperson and executive committee Country Commissioner for district three against member of the Colorado Muslim Society. attorney Idris Keith. Photos by Freda Miklin
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senior citizens’ property tax exemption, which has been forecast to cost the state $164 million in FY 2020. Regarding the oft-discussed $3 billion projected revenue shortfall for FY 2021, Bockenfeld said, “It’s really about half that amount.” Of the pandemic’s effect on the state budget, he said, “We finally have the opportunity to right-size the state government. I was a financial crimes investigator in the financial services industry. What you do in government, if
economy. “Arts and cultural production accounts for $15.6B annually, and 4.5% of the Colorado economy, contributing 103,401 jobs,” said director of Colorado Creative Industries Margaret Hunt. “Research shows the arts and culture are an economic recovery asset and these investments are critical in order for Colorado’s creative sector to weather the storm of the recession.” According to the National Governors Association’s Rural
