Poll says majority in Colorado firmly support president
Now that Saddam Hussein has been pulled from his "spider hole," Colorado is standing solidly behind President Bush and the decision to go to war in Iraq, according to the latest Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll. Full story
12.20.03 @ 07:17 AM MST [link]

Cabins and Yurts Still Available for the Holidays
The brand new cabins at Navajo State Park and the yurts at Mancos State Park are still available for rent for the holidays. This is a wonderful time to visit both parks. There are few visitors and wildlife is abundant.

The yurts at Mancos State Park are located in a beautiful ponderosa pine forest near Jackson Gulch Reservoir. They have futons, bunk beds, microwave, refrigerator and a propane stove. This is a great place to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing and the views are breathtaking. The West Mancos snowmobile trailhead is also close and is especially beautiful in the winter.

posted on Fri, 12.19.03 @ 05:06 PM MST [more..]

Message from Jeffco School Superintendent
As 2003 comes to a close, we in Jeffco Public Schools thank you, the Jefferson County community, for your support in helping to make us one of Colorado’s premier school districts.

Business leaders, elected officials, volunteers, faith-based leaders, educators and parents are all part of Jeffco Public Schools greatness. Together, we take pride in our 87,000 students who will take the lessons learned today in our classrooms to create a better tomorrow. Our teachers and staff members are the catalysts for building brighter futures…Jefferson County is fortunate that we have the best educators in the state. They deserve a huge thank you. You can be proud of your Jeffco Public Schools, and of these recent reports that clearly show we are an efficient, effective and excellence organization:

posted on Fri, 12.19.03 @ 03:19 PM MST [more..]

Alma celebrates 130th birthday
ALMA - Residents of the highest incorporated town in North America plan to throw themselves a birthday celebration along with their traditional Christmas Party Saturday.

The town was incorporated by an order of the county commissioners on Dec. 2, 1873, with the first meeting of its town council convened two days later.

You can attend, if you're cool. Full story
12.19.03 @ 11:20 AM MST [link]

Birding takes flight in Colorado
The mid-September sighting of a rare Antarctic kelp gull in Colorado stirred a buzz over a possible state record and seemed to confirm the findings of a recent federal birding report: Bird watching has become a popular and lucrative segment of wildlife watching in the United States.

According to the report-the first of its kind in U.S. history-bird watchers spent $32 billion on equipment, travel, and other wildlife watching related expenses in 2001. In Colorado, where two-thirds of wildlife watchers are birders, the total economic impact of birding was an estimated $800 million the same year, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service economist Richard Aiken.

posted on Thu, 12.18.03 @ 02:22 PM MST [more..]

Want To Help Troops During The Holidays?
This time of year, many people want to help make the holiday season better for those in the military serving overseas. But because of security issues, you can no longer send care packages to U.S. troops in general. You must send it to a specific service man or woman, whether it be a friend or family member.

But there is a way to help many troops overseas and give them something much more useful than cookies -- your frequent flier miles. Full story

12.18.03 @ 01:34 PM MST [link]

Officials' interests merge on I-70 transit options
Officials of several Colorado mountain communities signed an agreement Wednesday aimed at keeping alive transit and other transportation options along Interstate 70.

Participants include Clear Creek, Eagle, Garfield and Summit counties and the town of Idaho Springs. Full story

12.18.03 @ 09:43 AM MST [link]

Alcohol deaths rising on Colorado roads
The rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the state increased 14.52 percent between 1998 and 2002, giving Colorado the sixth-highest increase in the country, according to national statistics. Full story
12.18.03 @ 09:42 AM MST [link]

Seasonal Population Boom Coming To Aspen
Population to mushroom soon in Aspen
By Thomas Watkins/Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

The seasonal boom in Aspen’s population is well under way, with employee housing full, hotels near capacity and city works departments putting in extra hours to deal with the surge in people.

The year-round, static population of Aspen is 5,914, according to the 2000 general census. This figure is dwarfed by the seasonal influx of ski industry employees, second-home owners and holidaymakers who come to Aspen in December and stay for the winter.

More at The Aspen Daily News

12.17.03 @ 02:25 PM MST [link]

Morrison man electrocuted while hanging holiday lights
MORRISON, Colo. -- A Morrison man hanging holiday lights died after he came in contact with a high-voltage power line. Full story
12.17.03 @ 09:41 AM MST [link]

Some Mountain Towns Ban Magnesium Chloride
FRISCO, Colo. (News 4) Magnesium chloride is the state's most popular de-icer, but there is a growing list of towns that are asking the state not to use the popular product within their limits, News 4 reports.

Magnesium chloride, a liquid, is used to keep ice from forming and snow from bonding to the roads.

Studies show it has reduced accidents in places by as much as 75 percent. Full story

12.17.03 @ 09:16 AM MST [link]

The mystery of the Christmas Pickle
At 66 years old, Windsor resident Marge Straube thought she had a good handle on Christmas traditions.

Until someone told her she should hang a pickle on her tree.

"I heard from several people about this pickle tradition and thought they were pulling my leg," Straube said with a laugh. Full story
12.17.03 @ 09:13 AM MST [link]

DOW on high alert for big-game poachers
RIDGWAY — The Colorado Division of Wildlife is hunting for a poacher who killed a deer on Loghill Mesa north of Ridgway last month.

The agency is on heightened alert for poaching across western Colorado, targeting the winter range where most often big game are illegally killed during the off-season, according to Kelly Crane, district wildlife manager. Full story
12.17.03 @ 09:10 AM MST [link]

Jeffco Sheriff conducts liquor compliance checks
On December 12, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Intelligence Unit conducted numerous liquor compliance checks at retail liquor establishments within unincorporated Jefferson County.

The operation utilized "customers" who were more than eighteen years old but under the age of twenty-one. The "customers" entered the liquor-licensed establishments and attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages.

posted on Wed, 12.17.03 @ 08:36 AM MST [more..]

Colorado News Roundup
Article Published: Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Local news roundup
The latest from across Colorado

By The Associated Press

Sex-education book to stay on shelves
GREELEY — Weld County library officials have rejected a request to ban a sex education book, saying such a move would violate freedom of speech.

Jeannie McAllister of Evans had asked the library board to ban the book, “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex & Sexual Health,” after her young children brought it home. Illustrations include a couple having sex, a man putting on a condom and childbirth.

The full story at The Denver Post...

12.16.03 @ 09:02 PM MST [link]

Jeffco event focuses on kids' health
GOLDEN - Community leaders in Jefferson County gathered Monday to brainstorm about how to help families raise healthy and happy children.

"The main issue today is to focus on child abuse," said county commissioner Pat Holloway. "How do we save the babies, the Tanner Dowlers?"

Holloway was referring to a Boulder County infant who died in October 2002. Tanner's father, Joseph, recently was convicted on eight counts of child abuse in the death.

"What's causing this?" asked Holloway, one of the prime movers behind the "Stand Up 4 Kids" effort. "Why are we losing our children?" Full story
12.16.03 @ 05:52 AM MST [link]

Influenza Posting A Hasty Retreat
Colorado Flu Cases Declining
Latest Weekly Total Decreases 50 Percent

POSTED: 3:40 PM MST December 15, 2003

DENVER -- The number of new confirmed influenza cases in Colorado declined by half in the latest reporting period, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported Monday.

The agency reported 1,579 confirmed flu cases over the seven-day period ending Sunday. That compares with 2,913 over the previous seven-day reporting period and brings the total number of confirmed flu cases in the state this season to 9,179.

Much more on The Denver Channel...
12.15.03 @ 10:30 PM MST [link]

Small piece of fiber betrays Saddam's hiding place
A piece of fiber protruding from the dirt caught the eye of an American special forces soldier as he searched the courtyard of a rundown farm in northern Iraq on Saturday.

But it was this small detail -- a tuft of fiber on a rubber mat -- that ultimately betrayed Mr. Hussein's hiding place and ended the American military's hunt for the former Iraqi leader more than eight months after his ouster from power. Full story
12.15.03 @ 12:17 PM MST [link]

Promoter Victimizes 11 Vendors
Promoter of Vail Wine and Food festival arrested
From The Associated Press

VAIL – A 33-year-old event promoter has been arrested in Denver on charges he stole $81,000 that he owed vendors from this summer’s Wine and Food Festival in Vail.

Full story in The Aspen Daily News...

12.15.03 @ 11:39 AM MST [link]

Pa. Snowplow-Jeep Crash Claims 5 Lives
Five people were killed and three others injured when their Jeep Grand Cherokee struck a snowplow in Pennsylvania Sunday.

State police said the Jeep driver apparently lost control on the ice and snow, crossed the centerline and struck the oncoming snowplow. Full story

12.15.03 @ 10:41 AM MST [link]

High-altitude medical debate in RMNP
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK - This park in northern Colorado attracts more visitors than any other national park in the Rocky Mountain area, yet it does not have a paramedic on staff year-round to respond to medical emergencies.

Officials say the park is well-staffed with rangers trained as emergency medical technicians and is tops at helping injured and ailing visitors.

But the dearth of paramedics - especially those who also are expert climbers - concerns some mountaineers familiar with Colorado's largest national park. Full story
12.15.03 @ 10:34 AM MST [link]

NWS Winter Weather Message
SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE TODAY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES ESPECIALLY ON NORTH AND WEST FACING SLOPES AND ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE DIVIDE WHERE ACCUMULATIONS BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 6 INCHES. THE GREATEST ACCUMULATIONS ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE NORTHERN GORE AND PARK RANGES. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ALSO PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING OF SNOW TODAY...PARTICULARLY ON THE HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES. Full report
12.15.03 @ 06:03 AM MST [link]

200 Coloradans Sued By DirectTV
DirecTV casts wide net
Clients fight back, claim company is on a witch hunt

By John Accola, Rocky Mountain News
December 13, 2003

A take-no-prisoners attack to root out signal pirates has sent DirecTV to the courts to sue thousands of individuals across the country.

But the yearlong litigation blitz brought by the nation's leading satellite-TV company has some defense attorneys and their targeted clients crying foul. In Colorado and elsewhere, DirecTV is facing counterclaims from a growing number of defendants who say they've been wrongly nabbed in a legal dragnet more akin to a witch hunt.

More at The Rocky Mountain News...
12.14.03 @ 01:25 PM MST [link]

'The Tyrant Is A Prisoner': Saddam's Capture Confirmed
BREAKING NEWS: Saddam Hussein is now a prisoner. He was captured alive in Iraq. Full story
12.14.03 @ 08:09 AM MST [link]