“A 16-year-old girl arrested in connection with the death of a 7-year-old Montbello boy is being held without bond after a Thursday detention hearing in juvenile court. The teen’s appearance was waived during the equivalent of a first advisement hearing in adult court, said Ken Lane, Denver District Attorney spokesman,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “The teen, who has not been identified, is a suspect in the death of Jordan Vong, 7, whose body was found ‘intentionally concealed’ in the boy’s family home Tuesday night. Vong was reported missing late Monday afternoon.”
“A Hill-N-Park man feared to have taken a lethal dose of medication over the weekend is alive today thanks to the memory and quick recall of a neighborhood teenager,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Weld County Sheriff’s Office deputy Warren Sitzman received a report about 1 p.m. Saturday of a man who had taken an intentional overdose of his prescription drugs. In addition to the man’s name — which is not being published in accordance with Greeley Tribune policy not to identify victims of suicide attempts — all Sitzman had to go on was that the man was white, in his mid-30s, was wearing blue jeans and a white tank top, and that he liked to wander an area of open space in the neighborhood when he was upset. The swath of open space is located between Mesa Verde Drive to the west and an irrigation ditch for a cornfield to the east. When Sitzman pulled up and saw the massive field of tall grass and Sunflowers before him, the veteran officer with almost three decades with the Weld County Sheriff’s Office feared the worst. The man Sitzman was looking for had attempted to give himself lethal overdoses in the past. Unless he got lucky, there was almost no chance Sitzman could search the field himself in time to save the man’s life.”
“Longmont police are hiring at least nine new officers over the next few months as part of a three-year plan to boost staffing levels,” reports The Longmont Times-Call. “The department created the plan after voters passed a public safety sales and use tax increase in November 2017, which raised the tax to 0.58 percent. The deadline to apply for the current open police officer positions is Aug. 24. The vetting process takes months, and final job offers won’t be made until Dec. 3, according to the department’s website. By the time the new hires start in January, the department could be filling up to 12 positions, according to Deputy Chief Jeff Satur.”
“What do you get when you combine amusement park rides, Colorado slope-style transportation, and flying by the seat of your pants?” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “Or should we call it a high-wire act? If you guessed a network of gondolas with a two-mile radius that will transport 4,500 people per hour between the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, The Ranch and The Brands West, congratulations. Because that is exactly the vision developer Martin Lind, CEO and president of Water Valley Co., has for the northeast corner of Loveland. Lind shared his plans at a meeting Thursday with staff from the city of Loveland, the Colorado Department of Transportation and from the United States Department of Transportation. Also present were Loveland city councilors Leah Johnson, Dave Clark and Mayor Jacki Marsh, and mayor of Fort Collins Wade Troxell.”
“The Carlson brothers stole the show at the 2018 Logan County Fair Junior Goat Show on Wednesday,” reports The Sterling Journal-Advocate. “Beau Carlson took home the Grand Champion Market Goat award and his older brother, Cooper, was named Reserve Champion. This year’s goat show, which featured approximately 160 goats, was judged by Casseday Marshall, who also judged the sheep show earlier in the morning. She is from Sundance, Wyo., where she ranches with her husband, Lance, and three children. They own 30 cows and also have a small sheep farm, where they sell club lambs.”
“Western Sugar Cooperative is in its final stages of preparing for this year’s sugar beet processing campaign,” reports The Fort Morgan Times. “Even after tornadoes struck the area over a week ago forced many farmers to give up on their crops, Western Sugar was able to keep its crops growing for this year’s harvest. Western Sugar Vice President of Agriculture Jerry Darnell was very confident with this year’s crop statewide after seeing the results from their most recent testing. “We pulled samples from every 300 acres of land we grow on for a quality analysis,” Darnell said. “And we came back with great results.” Before the tornadoes, Western Sugar had estimated 2018 to be a record-making year with 36.3 tons of sugar being produced per acre of farmland used. When the tornadoes hit, 8 percent of the crops were damaged, but proper testing was needed to understand the full cost of the damage.”
“The cause of death for missing Steamboat Springs resident Matthew Shelters remains a mystery,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. ‘”Everything we have so far is indicative of this just being an accident,’ Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins said Thursday. ‘We have no evidence at this point that gives us any thought of foul play.’ Shelters was reported missing April 27. He was last seen leaving Back Door Grill on Oak Street at about 12:20 a.m. April 24. On July 4, his body was discovered badly decomposed next to Soda Creek on private land just outside city limits.”
“Come November, property owners who reside within the boundaries of Pueblo City Schools (D60) will be asked to pay more in taxes in the name of better education,” reports The Pueblo Chieftain. “During a Thursday afternoon special meeting, the D60 board of education agreed, by a 3-2 vote, to place a mill levy override (property tax increase) question on the ballot. Voting in favor were President Barb Clementi, Vice President Frank Latino and board member Bobby Gonzales, with board members Taylor Voss and Dennis Maes casting dissenting votes.”
“In February, the death by suicide by a local teen stunned the Eagle Valley community,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “As adults and kids alike grappled with the aftermath of this trauma, their conversations brought renewed vigor to local mental health awareness work. And now, the Eagle County results from the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey reinforce those efforts.”
“A federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a preliminary injunction filed by numerous groups seeking to keep the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge closed until more study on the possible risks associated with opening trails on land surrounding the notorious former nuclear weapons plant,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “Court records indicate the judge also dismissed four of the six claims made in a lawsuit filed in May by the Boulder-based Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and numerous other plaintiffs against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service alleging that the service broke numerous federal laws when it decided to open up trails in the refuge to the public.”
“A slew of approved and potential tax measures for Denver’s November ballot are poised to test the tax tolerance of one of the state’s friendliest counties for spending measures,” reports The Denver Post. “Campaigns are gearing up to pitch sales tax increases in support of several causes that, on their own, each sound noble. Already approved for the ballot are a City Council-referred sales tax increase to support more parks and an initiative by education, nonprofit and business leaders to fund college scholarships for the city’s youth. Initiative petitions for another tax that would support mental health and drug treatment programs now are under review, and on deck is the filing, in coming days, of petitions for a fourth tax that would raise money for healthy food programs serving at-risk children.”
“The Republican challenger in the La Plata County treasurer’s race has filed a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office against his opponent, Allison Aichele, asking for a complete investigation into her campaign spending dating back to 2014,” reports The Durango Herald. “Aichele, first elected in 2014, is running for re-election in November as the Democratic candidate for county treasurer. The complaint was filed by her only challenger, Colton Black, a Republican.”
