Name: Shelly Tokerud

Position: State Senator for District 30

Age: 52 - born and raised in Montana. After I graduated from high school in Opheim, Mont., I moved to Colorado where I first worked at a dude ranch in Durango - Colorado Trails. That was way back in 1972.

Family: Husband, Dave Akers, retired after 28 years with Hewlett Packard; daughters Anna, 10, and Lexi, 7; kitties Sophie, 19, and Sammie, 18;birds Joe, Princess, Beau and Rozie; and a fish named Ella.

Our daughter, Anna, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes - in an ambulance in Seattle on April 30. That was very unexpected. It certainly has not slowed her down one bit - she loves math and can predict the amount of insulin she needs. Anna and Lexi are both very spirited and love making up games to play - whether it's bouncing off the walls inside or playing outside.

We were so lucky to be able to adopt Miss Lexi from China. Before saying good morning or giving any kisses she always asks, "Where are we going today, Mommy?" She jumps right into life and demands to be involved.

What I do: Dave and I are partners in raising (or keeping up with) our daughters - now that he is retired. I have been researching and meeting with people to discover what is and is not happening here in regards to global warming, education, transportation, medical, etc. Orchestrating a campaign is new to me - as I am not a "political person!"

My favorite place in Douglas County to hang out: Our home - a place where our girls are giggling incessantly and my husband is home - after traveling for the past 10 years.

What I like most about living in Douglas County: Our neighbors and the new people I have been meeting. I love looking out our window and seeing the hummingbirds darting about, with the misty mountains in the background. It's nice to have the time to explore Douglas County - we are blessed with open space, parks and many activities for families.

My interests and hobbies: I like to travel and have adventures. We wereso fortunate to live in Belgium the past five years while Dave was working for Hewlett Packard. When the girls were off school we would go to different countries and places to see castles, the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, General Patton's grave in Luxemburg, the churches and Vatican in Rome, the tulips in Keukenhof, Holland and on and on.

Now we get to adventure here in Colorado and the rest of the states. Besides traveling I love to spend time with my family and friends, reading and researching.

My favorite thing to cook: Salmon with a praline mix and butter.

People who inspire me:
-My father, Harold "Toke" Tokerud, inpires me because he is funny, curious, straight with people, loving and dedicated.
-My husband, Dave, because he is like my dad.
-Our daughters Anna and Lexi inspire me because they, like most children, are just funny and wise beyond their years.
- Earl Woods, Tiger's father, because you could see the love in his eyes for his son.
- Harvey Mackay because he is passionate -yet low-key about it - he walks his talk.
-My friends Scott, Mandy and Kris, because even though they are very sick, they perservere.
-People who laugh. Hearing people laugh is so fun.
-People who are loving - seeing love around you is grand and makes me feel lucky.
-People who really care about our world - our environment - that inspires me because then I feel hope.

How I have contributed to the community: Prior to leaving, I was involved in our homeowner's association, and we were active down at the Parker Town Council and at the county commissioner's meetings.

While in Belgium, I was very involved in the girl's school (Int'l. School of Brussels - ISB). ISB is an English-based school with French being the second language taught (starting in kindergarten). The school was based on the U.S.'s curriculum, however the arts and sciences seemed to be incorporated much more so into their programs. I have bins of the girl's artwork from each year there - massive quantities!

Parents were encouraged to be involved in many activities at school - especially in their children's classrooms. Besides that they were fortunate to have a facility on campus that had many classes for parents.

The biggest issues facing Douglas County right now:
Education: Wouldn't it be great if developers/planners would be more responsible regarding our schools - and not put the schools in the position of having to stretch beyond their means to accommodate more and more students? When schools are jam-packed we pay the price - not the homebuilders! Children, teachers and administrators are thrown into chaos while builders sit back and make the bucks.

Wouldn't it be great if, at any given day, a taxpayer could look on their computer and do a school comparison as far as: the number of students in each class, the number of assistants being utilized in classrooms, the number of assistants helping in the office, , the dossier of each teacher and assistant, number of busses, number of students on each bus, the time schedule of busses, the bus routes, the number and age of mobiles, the number of students in each mobile (there are two per mobile), show which mobiles have running water (i.e., toilet, fountain, sinks) and air conditions or swamp coolers, the extra programs at each school (i.e., languages, special music or art classes, etc.), etc.

We certainly have the technology to do this, and if this was done I strongly believe there would be equality across the board for all schools. Steve Herzog has started on this path - and anything we could do to help get there would be grand!

Environment: Wouldn't it be great if developers were innovative and built "green" homes (energy-efficient homes)? That would save homeowners A LOT of money!

Water: Wouldn't it be great if developers and planners were realistic about the finite resources of water?

Zoning: Wouldn't it be great if when a property was rezoned from agricultural to residential or commercial that the developer would be required to purchase another property not yet developed within a three-mile radius and donate it to a land trust so it would be open space forever? The land trust could, in turn, put the property "on loan" to the town or county as open space. The town or county would be able to utilize it for parks and recreation as long as 70 percentof the property was kept as open space.

Responsibility: Wouldn't it be great if developers were responsible for the "mistakes" made by subcontractors and had to fix each home before another could be built?

What are the biggest issues facing the state right now:
We have many, many problems that need to be tackled.
-Taking care of our veterans - all of them. It is unbelievable that we ask people to make a huge sacrifice for our country, then they come home and are not treated well.
-Water resources - our system is ancient and does not work. We need to make changes so we know what is actually happening.
-Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are hijacking medical care.
-Renewable resources.

Renewable resources is one that we could easily tackle. First, we need to rein in the oil industry's ability to drill wherever they want. Next we need to put our hearts and souls into renewable energy at every level. As citizens I know we can recycle (in the beginning it is a bit annoying - but after a while, one becomes proud of contributing to the cause) what we use. We need to change the law wherein homeowners receive 30 percent credit towards the use of renewable energy with a cap of $2,000 and businesses receive a 30 percent credit with no cap. That law makes no sense.

All of us are capable of recycling! Many people in the states and around our planet are doing it already - why aren't we? Yes, it is a pain when you start to recycle and it can be a bit confusing. Waste Management does recycle in a few places - but not where I live.

I was "blessed" to have Madame Rosine as my neighbor in Hoeilaart, Belgium - because when I had not separated our trash correctly she would come over, knock on the door, pour all of my trash out onto the ground and show me how to do it correctly. No language barrier there. Yes, it did happen on a few occasions ... but I learned quickly.

We need to look at other states such as California and Washington who are on the fast track of making changes - Colorado is the state with the most sun - we should be leading this revolution.

These are but a few of the problems we need to address. What are your concerns? Let me know on my Web site, www.tokerud.org, and let's get things taken care of. Feel free to call me at 303 840-2624.

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