More lynx kittens found in Colorado, raising total to 16
DENVER (AP) - Two more healthy lynx kittens were found in a secluded den in the high country of southwestern Colorado, raising the number of the cats born in the state this spring to at least 16, researchers said Friday.

The kittens, a male and female, were found in a den at 11,000 feet. Their mother was brought from Canada and released in Colorado in 2000 in the state's reintroduction program. (Star Tribune)

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06.20.03 @ 08:04 PM MST [link]

First Fireworks Summons Of Season Issued To 11-Year-Old
An 11-year-old girl has become the first person cited for using illegal fireworks in the West Metro Fire District. Authorities said Thursday that the girl was setting off bottle rockets and was stopped before causing any damage.

Authorities expect to issue many more summons for fireworks violations this Fourth of July season and warned that the penalties have stiffened. Lakewood and Jefferson counties have increased their recommended fines for fireworks violations from $250 to $300.

Any fireworks that leave the ground are illegal in Colorado and it's illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to use or possess fireworks without adult supervision, firefighters reminded. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.20.03 @ 08:01 PM MST [link]

Remains Positively Identified As Missing Montrose Woman
The Montrose County Coroner has positively identified human remains found earlier this week as those of a missing woman.

Irene Trujillo, 47, disappeared April 9 after a friend dropped her off at her rented home in Montrose.

Two workers installing a water hydrant on Monday found the woman's remains in a hole they were excavating at Montrose Stone. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.20.03 @ 08:00 PM MST [link]

Jeffco sheriff enters treatment facility
GOLDEN - Jefferson County Sheriff Russ Cook checked into a residential alcoholism treatment facility Thursday.

"The sheriff has picked a treatment center and will be checking himself in about 2 p.m.," said Jacki Tallman, sheriff's office spokeswoman.

It is Cook's second time to undergo treatment for his drinking problem. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.20.03 @ 07:54 PM MST [link]

Tragedy strikes cross-country bike race
Vail cyclist Brett Malin, 30, was struck and killed by an 18-wheel trailer rig early Wednesday in Western New Mexico during a bicycle race, the annual Race Across America.

Relay-racing with teammates Zach Bingham, Toph Leonard, Adam Palmer as Team Vail/Go Fast, Malin was pedaling back to the team's support vehicle after a 30-minute stint, having handed a baton symbolizing the team's place in the race to Bingham, who continued racing over a nearby crest of U.S. Highway 60 between the towns of Quemado and Omega, N.M. (Vail Daily News)

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06.19.03 @ 06:47 AM MST [link]

Disaster declared in East Vail
VAIL -- A disaster has been declared in East Vail more than two weeks after water spilling from a busted freeway drain flooded streets and homes.

Stretches of Spruce Way and Columbine Drive were ruined when Bighorn Creek overflowed June 1. The surging creek also destroyed a culvert running under Interstate 70, causing a sinkhole the closed the freeway for about four days. (Vail Daily News)

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06.19.03 @ 06:44 AM MST [link]

State's population forecast to surge to 7 million by 2030
Thousands more families will pour into Colorado over the next two decades than experts previously thought, with the state's population spiking to 7.156 million by 2030, according to a forecast unveiled Wednesday by the state demographer's office.

"The majority of that number are coming to the Front Range," demographer Cindy DeGroen said. She notes that the fastest-growing areas will include the Western Slope and Weld County. (Denver Post)

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06.19.03 @ 06:40 AM MST [link]

Springs man survives 1st lightning bolt, not 2nd
A Colorado Springs man survived one lightning strike while climbing a western Wyoming mountain Monday, only to be killed an hour later when he was hit again. Ryan Sayers, 20, was climbing with a companion, who survived both strikes. (Denver Post)

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06.19.03 @ 06:38 AM MST [link]

Body in Montrose quarry may be missing woman
MONTROSE - The body discovered in a quarry west of Montrose is probably the estranged wife of the quarry owner, a woman who has been missing for two months, authorities said Wednesday.

Undersheriff Dick Deinas said there was a "good likelihood" that dental records would provide a positive identification of the remains as those of Irene Trujillo, 47, a former Littleton resident. (Rocky Mtn News)

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Longer story in Montrose Daily Press
06.19.03 @ 06:33 AM MST [link]

Former public-lands chief says 'land' part of homeland security
ASPEN - For Mike Dombeck, the former chief of the Bureau of Land Management and later the Forest Service in the Clinton administration, the nation's focus on homeland security ought to put more emphasis on the land itself.

"My hope is that we would broaden our dialogue on homeland security to include more than threats to our lives from terrorism and chemical warfare and those kinds of things to really take a look at some of the long-term issues pertaining to the health of the land," he said. (Aspen Daily News)

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06.18.03 @ 07:12 AM MST [link]

Fire academy to come to Glenwood for Storm King anniversary
GLENWOOD SPRINGS - The Colorado Wildfire Academy is bringing its regimen of classroom learning and in-the-field training to Glenwood Springs next year in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the deadly wildfire on Storm King Mountain, a fire that has become a defining moment for wildland firefighting and, in many fire classes, a textbook example of fire's dangers.

About 900 students and another 100 instructors are expected to set up at Colorado Mountain College's Spring Valley campus over one week next June for firefighter training that ranges from the basics to advanced firefighting techniques. (Aspen Daily News)

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06.18.03 @ 07:09 AM MST [link]

Workshop reveals the secrets to baking in the mountains
DILLON - Baking at high altitudes can be challenging - to put it mildly. Cakes fall flat. Cookies don't rise. Breads feel like bricks. And other baked goods come out of the oven looking good but tasting funny.

Altitude changes everything when baking, and most cooks in Summit County have had their share of frustration in front of the oven. Even Debbie Lengel, who cooks as a profession, has struggled with baking since moving here from the San Francisco area four years ago. (Summit Daily News)

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06.18.03 @ 07:03 AM MST [link]

Eco Pass conflict continues
DENVER - A group backing the Eco Pass discount program for bus commuters is "not even close" to coming to an agreement with the Regional Transportation District about the program's future, meaning commuters could pay extra for regional or express routes.

While RTD staff members are proposing restructuring the pass, Eco Pass supporters are hoping instead that a 12 percent price increase for 2004 will be enough to keep the pass as it is. (Boulder Daily Camera)

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06.18.03 @ 07:01 AM MST [link]

Moguls buying mountain radio stations
VAIL - Two Colorado heavyweights are viewing the purchase of nine high country radio stations with a keen eye.

Billionaire Phillip Anschutz, and Boulder radio mogul, Bob Greenlee, have a financial interest in what the new company, NCR, does with the stations, stretching from Aspen to Summit County and include Vail's KSKE. (Vail Daily News)

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06.17.03 @ 06:04 AM MST [link]

Two explore effort to oust Jeffco sheriff
GOLDEN - Jefferson County Sheriff Russ Cook, who pledges he will enter an alcohol treatment program by the end of the week, faces possible recall efforts by two people.

Rich Wyatt, who in May 2002 came in second to Cook in the race to be the Republican nominee for sheriff, and former Cook campaign manager Angela D'Aurio have picked up packets of recall papers from the county clerk's office. (Denver Post)

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06.17.03 @ 05:52 AM MST [link]

Charges eyed in boy's death while hiking
FORT COLLINS - Prosecutors will decide whether to file criminal negligence charges against members of a church singles group entrusted with the care of 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero.

Sheriff Jim Alderden said an inquiry into criminal negligence is being considered at the request of the boy's father, Allyn Atadero, now of Douglas County. (Rocky Mtn News)

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06.17.03 @ 05:47 AM MST [link]

Former Service Ranger Questions Fire Prevention Near Homes
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The Forest Service is not paying enough attention to preventing fires near homes around the Rocky Mountain region, a former Park Service ranger says.

Phil Cafaro pointed to Forest Service statistics detailing how much underbrush and trees were thinned through prescribed burns. Last year, just 38 percent of the acres thinned in the Rocky Mountain region were in the "red zone" where communities abut forests.

"They're trying to fireproof the whole forest, rather than just the areas around homes," said Cafaro, now a philosophy professor at Colorado State University. "It's not possible to fireproof the forest." (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.16.03 @ 01:35 PM MST [link]

Jeffco Sheriff Says He's Entering Rehab
GOLDEN, Colo. -- Jefferson County Sheriff Russ Cook said Monday that he will start in-patient treatment soon to combat the alcoholism that has forced him to take a leave of absence.

Cook said he expects to enter an in-patient treatment center in Colorado this week. (TheDenverChannel.com)

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06.16.03 @ 12:15 PM MST [link]

Dead birds in Jeffco being tested for West Nile
GOLDEN - Experts are predicting that the West Nile Virus outbreak will be worse this year than last.

“Typically the second year is worse than the first year,” said Craig Sanders, environmental protection supervisor with the Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment.

Last year, a few horses and sheep contracted the virus in Jeffco. One human case also was reported, but it turned out that the person contracted the virus elsewhere, according to Sanders. (Jeffco Sentinel and TRanscript)

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06.16.03 @ 06:05 AM MST [link]

Four lanes now open on I-70 at Vail
VAIL - State patrol said Sunday traffic on Interstate 70 in East Vail is now moving smoothly after state transportation officials opened four lanes on the westbound lane of the highway.

The highway has been under repairs for two weeks after a culvert under I-70 broke creating a 22-foot-wide sinkhole, paralyzing traffic on the highway for several days and flooding parts of East Vail. (Vail Daily)

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06.16.03 @ 05:58 AM MST [link]

Jeffco hopes catchy signs cool off fire risk
GOLDEN - Recent rains have delayed the fire season, but they have not dampened Jefferson County's attempts to educate residents and visitors about the threat of forest fires.

Borrowing from the roadside Burma Shave ad campaign popular from the 1920s to the 1960s, the county has spent about $10,000 on several series of signs that offer catchy phrases to remind people about wildfire potential. (Denver Post)

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06.16.03 @ 05:55 AM MST [link]

Drownings spur authorities to urge caution near water
The rising water level of Colorado rivers, so good for drought relief, poses serious safety concerns - as the drowning deaths of two children last week brought home.

As rain falls and warm temperatures melt mountain snow, area waterways are experiencing the most dangerous runoff conditions in years. At least four people, including the children, are dead or presumed dead after recent encounters with fast-moving waters. (Denver Post)

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06.16.03 @ 05:53 AM MST [link]

Cover up - It's time for tick season
We may not have it as bad as the east coast or other regions of the United States, but ticks can still be dangerous in Summit County.

Tick activity peaks in the mountains by the end of May and early June, putting hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts at risk for illness.

The most common tick-bourne disease in the state is Colorado tick fever. Symptoms include fever, chills, severe headache, muscle pain and fatigue that begins three to five days after a tick bite. (Summit Daily News)

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06.15.03 @ 08:08 AM MST [link]

Jeffco recall effort eyed over sheriff's alcoholism
GOLDEN - As Jefferson County Sheriff Russ Cook hesitates to commit to treatment for alcohol addiction, many are calling for him to resign or face a recall election.

"He refuses to get any help, and he truly has had a lot of time to do this, a lot of time," said Angie D'Aurio, who managed his successful campaign last year. Cook took office in January.

"If he doesn't resign, our only recourse is to go forward with the recall," she said. (Denver Post)

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06.15.03 @ 08:03 AM MST [link]

Forest-thinning efforts face funding gaps, public concern
DENVER - One of the biggest forest experiments in Colorado history is now underway as state and federal land agencies size up huge swaths of the Front Range for timber-cutting programs to reduce fire danger and restore forest health.

Forest managers are evaluating virtually every tract of the foothills from Colorado Springs to the Wyoming line as they try to protect homes and watersheds from devastating blazes like those that tore through the region last summer. (Denver Post)

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06.15.03 @ 08:00 AM MST [link]

Boy, 7, dies after fall in raging Clear Creek
CLEAR CREEK CANYON - A 7- year-old Adams County boy throwing stones into Clear Creek with his younger brother slipped into a nasty rapid along the torrent Saturday afternoon. Rescuers pulled Johnathan Gonzalez from the rushing river four miles from where he fell in and began CPR. (Denver Post)

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06.15.03 @ 07:58 AM MST [link]