Aspen police are not concerned about “creepy clowns,” according to today’s Aspen Times. “I like clowns,” Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo told the newspaper Wednesday. “I don’t even mind creepy clowns.” The Times further reported that Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn, “known of late for his tongue-in-cheek posts on the Aspen Police Department’s Facebook page, said he’s been saving a particularly creepy clown photo for just such a posting.” Linn told the paper he “would totally mock (the creepy clown phenomenon),” and, “I don’t want anybody running around scaring people, but it’s just clowns. When did clowns get so scary?” The assistant police chief later said: “I’m completely free of creepy clown concerns.”
A “hoax” report of an active shooter at the CU-Boulder campus Wednesday sparked chaos, reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “The police chief also said no clowns had been arrested,” the paper reported. But police did shoot and kill a machete-wielding man on campus.
The Routt County treasurer met with officials from Peabody Energy, trying to get them to pay $1.8 million in overdue taxes, plus interest and fees, owed by the coal mining giant. “Our conversations were cooperative and productive,” the treasurer said, according to Steamboat Today. “We had an engaging conversation that gave a pathway for good faith settlement discussions … I believe the conversations will continue in the same spirit. All parties at the table have agreed to not communicate on the substance and particulars of our discussion, and they are confidential until we all reach an agreement.” Hampered by debt, the mining company earlier filed for bankruptcy.
The Gazette in Colorado Springs published a video and details of an alleged gang-related riot and attack on teens and guards at the Spring Creek juvenile detention center. “A leaked video tells some of the story. A police report, along with a state-protected whistle-blower who has decided to disclose her identity, reveal more of what happened during a recent gang-related riot that raged for 18 minutes at a troubled juvenile detention facility in Colorado Springs.”
The Greeley Tribune has education all over its front page today with a centerpiece about a ballot measure that would expand individualized learning, and another story about the University of Northern Colorado’s approach to equity and inclusion.
“Proposals for updating Boulder County regulations about future oil and gas drilling and production in unincorporated areas of the county are intended to protect public health and the environment, according to the county staff,” The Longmont Times-Call reports. “As drafted, the Boulder County Land Use Code regulations — some of them new and others that would continue review-and-approval rules the county enacted in December 2012 — would include a requirement for a neighborhood meeting with adjacent and surrounding landowners and other interested parties.”
The Pueblo Chieftain reports how “in the 11th hour, Pueblo City Schools (D60) removed itself from the state accountability clock, but school officials say more work needs to be done.” The district’s accreditation rating has moved up.
“The Thompson school board officially endorsed a mill levy override and bond issue Wednesday that will infuse a total of $299 million into the district, but not unanimously,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “Five board members — Dave Levy, Jeff Swanty, Pam Howard, Lori Hvizda Ward and Denise Montagu — voted for a resolution that asks voters to say yes to Ballot Issue 3D (an $11 million mill levy override) and 3E (a $288 million bond). The resolution “officially endorses” the issues because of overwhelming needs across the district caused by a cut in state funding tied to the recession — $101.6 million total in the Thompson School District alone since 2009.”
The Durango Herald wonders if the Old Main Post Office is on the auction block. “As La Plata County continues to reconfigure its administrative space, officials are discussing plans to sell the Old Main Post Office, an asset worth at least $5 million.”
The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports how the emerald ash beetle, which lays waste to ash trees, hasn’t yet made it to the area, though it’s only a matter of time. “We’re just one truckload of wood away from it being here,” Ralph Zentz, assistant city forester told the paper. “We’re hoping we have five years, but there’s no way of knowing.”
Cañon City local government is considering a smoking ban for parts of downtown and Main Street, per The Daily Record. “Some downtown business owners say people smoking adjacent to their places of business is harming their businesses.”
