A proclamation in recognition of Dale Coski upon the occasion of her retirement. A proclamation in recognition of Dale Coski upon the occasion of her retirement.
We have two proclamations. This evening. I would like to call on Councilwoman Fox to read proclamation number 498. Thank you, Madam President. Proclamation number 14 498 in recognition of Dale Carnegie upon the occasion of her retirement. Whereas Dale Caskey was hired by the Denver Police Department as a patrol officer on January 1st, 1982. And. Whereas, Dale served for three years as a Denver police officer and during her tenure was severely injured in the line of duty in September 1983. And. Whereas, Dale was hired by the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations on January three, 1985, as a community relations consultant and worked as Dale Service Dog Perseverance, also known as Percy, has the distinction of being the first service animal in the state of Colorado in 1984. And. Whereas, in 1985, Dale, with Percy on her side, testified before the state legislature to create laws for service dog access. And that year the legislation was created, passed and signed into law by Governor Richard D Lamm. And where whereas I worked with the former manager of safety. Beth McCann to create the Denver Disability Parking Enforcement Program in 1993, helping to ensure disabled parking access and enforcement for people living with disabilities and where it has since the program's inception. Dale Caskey, as the coordinator of the Disability Parking Enforcement Program, has trained and supervised 40 volunteers advocating for the rights of people living with disabilities. And. Whereas, on June 30th, 2014, Dale Caskey will retire as a full time employee from the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships, fulfilling 32 years of dedicated service. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Denver City Council recognizes Dale remarkable and inspirational. Constant contributions over the years and on behalf of Denver residents wishes her well in retirement. Section two that the clerk of the city and county of Denver shall test and fix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and that a copy be transmitted to Dale Caskey. Thank you, Councilwoman, for your motion to adopt. I move that the proclamation be adopted. Thank you. It's been moved and multiply. Seconded comments. Councilwoman Fox. Thank you very much. I am extremely proud that Dale is both a constituent and a friend. She has been a role model to me showing how you can overcome adversity and certainly in developing new areas of leadership. The handicapped parking regulation was really, I think, just a brainchild of Dale Caskey, and her goal has always been to help those who truly need the spaces be able to handle them. Not only did she deal with the with service dogs at the state legislature, there was a change in the state law that also regulated who and under what circumstances were able to get the handicapped parking stickers. And Dale was a true leader in that. I worked with her on that issue. And I feel that we made some some valuable changes at the state level because of her insight on this issue. It pains me to say that I wish her well in retirement because that means she's retiring. She is going to be used as a full time resource for me to rely on, as I have for so many years. But Dale, I know we won't be saying goodbye, and I truly hope you'll stay active with the Denver Denver's handicapped parking enforcement community. You cannot be replaced. Thank you very much, Councilwoman Pat's Councilwoman Lehman. Thank you, Madam President. Dale, I just like to say it has been an incredible experience working with you. And every time we need to walk and talk, it is just. Enlightening. To me. And I would like to thank you for all you've done and know that you will continue doing it in so. Thanks so much. Okay. Councilwoman One Chair. Thank you, Madam President. I also want to say hi, Dale. I remember the first time we met when I was a council aide, and I learned all about the commission from people with disabilities. And I truly believe that you and your leadership have really taken the level of community support. It's gone up. I just want to say that every time I've ever seen you, I always get so happy and you've just brought a light into the city, and I wish you all the very best. It's been my honor to be able to know you and call you when I have questions about handicapped parking or we have some problems that we need to resolve. One thing that's always been very, very important to me is that you've always been an advocate. And if people were parking where they weren't supposed to or they had somehow they had obtained a handicapped tag that they should know of, you were always just such an advocate, and you always did it in such a great way. So thank you so much and I wish you all the very best. And then to Percy, to I want to know if he's going to be sitting back in. Having a go with that? Yeah. Oh. Oh. Okay. Well, I want to hear about it when you come to the microphone. Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Kennish. Thank you very much, Madam President. I haven't worked with Dale as long as some of my colleagues have. But I know you through sending developers your way to think about public spaces and how we can make public spaces more accessible and think beyond just minimum ADA recommendations, which is how architects think and think more about serving people , which is how you think and you think on behalf of the city. So I appreciate those folks that you've met with on those issues. And also, I just wanted to thank your your partner behind every great woman. It's a support network and so really appreciate that you've you've had such a supportive family and hope that you get to enjoy them in your retirement. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Madam President. Dale, I've known you a very, very long time. Back to when you were a Denver police officer. And I just want to say thank you for all your years of service to the citizens of the city of Denver, both as a police officer and in your work at the Commission on Disabilities. I think lots of lives have benefited from your hard work, and I wish you Godspeed in your retirement. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. And it looks like we're ready for roll call, Madam Secretary. Fox. Hi, Herndon. I can eat Lemon Lopez. ALL Monteiro. Hi, Nevitt. Hi, Ortega. Rob Shepherd Brown, I. Madam President. I. And we have Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Carlos, close the voting. Announce the results. 12 eyes. 12 eyes. The proclamation is adopted. Councilwoman Fox. Is there somebody you'd like to ask up to the podium? I would very much like to hear from Dale Kosky. We've got a portable microphone here. And they are some might not have been able to hear about Kokomo. So if you'd also introduce Kokomo. Okay. This is Kokomo. She's my fourth dog. They don't live as long as I do. So but and all of them have just been so valuable to me. First of all, I want to thank career service for 29 years that they took a risk on me. I really didn't know what I was doing when I was coming into human rights community partnership. And they they dared to go and take that risk with me. And I couldn't do this all alone. I just had great support. My partners in human rights, community partnerships, my church community, all the coworkers that have dealt with me and with the departments that I work with, and that's traffic engineering right away, enforcement and the court system. They've been great. And I want to give thanks to the legislation, the state legislators, for going in the service dog bill. And that's where I first met Councilwoman Robb, Councilwoman Ford is that I'm sitting at the head of that that committee and I didn't even know that she was my city council or my state legislature then and then later became my city councilwoman. I'd give her a hard time because I tell her I'm her something Democrat. And. So and then I've got to give recognition to the organizations that go and train people that train puppies and then get advanced training for the service dogs, because they've really been a lifeline to me and to so many other people . You know, in when I was first injured about 31 years ago, it'll be 31 years in September. I really lost a lot and I didn't know the amount that I lost. But the first time that I ever cried was when the police department came and forced me to retire. And it wasn't from losing a leg. It wasn't from losing independence. It was from losing that. And. Since that time. I'll tell you, God and I have gotten into it. I mean, we've gone round and round and and with the whys and everything else, and we've gotten in wrestling matches. And, you know, sometimes God, even you think I win on the whole thing. And sometimes we're on we're not on speaking terms. And and, you know, I think the things that I think that's okay. But the one thing that I have never stopped talking to God about or never stopped thanking God and thanking God and thanking God , and that has been for the public support. I mean, it is just I've seen a side of the public that a lot of police don't see, and that was just people coming out of the woodwork and they still do. And that support has meant everything. And I have been extremely lucky to have worked with the public, to have worked for the public, and that has been an extreme blessing to me. And is it awesome, right. And responsibility. And it's one that all of us have everybody on council gets to do it and to to great public, to everybody here, to the police here, that they get to work for the public. And I feel truly blessed. And like I said, I continuously thank God for that and I thank you for allowing me to work with the city that way. Thank you. Thank you very much. Very moving. We have another proclamation, and I'd like to call on Councilwoman Shepard to read proclamation number 527.