Archived June 25, 2003
I-70: WESTBOUND TUNNEL TO CLOSE SUNDAY Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews will close the westbound bore of the Eisenhower Tunnel at 9 p.m. Sunday so workers can begin repair work on a culvert that runs underneath the interstate. Wide loads will be detoured to Highway 285 from Denver to Fairplay, over Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge and back to Interstate 70 at Frisco. (Jane Stebbins, Summit Daily News, June 21, 2003)

ALMA PIONEER PASSES Doris A. Cole attended high school in Alma, Colorado. She and her husband, Harvey Hill, lived in the Colorado area during World War II and, like so many other women during this time, Doris helped with the war effort by taking a job at the South London Mine in Alma. Her picture appears in a 1941 edition of The Colorado Mining Journal. (Black Hills Pioneer Obituaries, June 19, 2003)

(Link expired) O'SHEA RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL - Newly ordained priest Father John O’Shea is out of the hospital and resting at home. (Susan Wells, 9News, June 19, 2003)
Related: O'Shea Eager to Leave Hospital (Link expired) (June 13, 2003)

(Link expired) TWO CHILDREN DROWN IN SWIFT WATER - Another drowning over the weekend has prompted several warnings to children and adults to stay out of the water if they don’t have the right training or equipment. This is the biggest spring runoff in years and rescue teams are warning people about the fast moving water. (Amanda Martin, 9News, June 16, 2003)

(Link expired) FIRE READINESS CHANGES - Changes in legislation, policy, and training have resulted from the devastating 2002 wildfires. The Gazette has a survey and some interesting updates. (Jeremy Meyer, The Gazette, June 9, 2003)

LIFE RETURNS TO HAYMAN Spurred by copious spring rains, plants and animals are returning to this blasted slope and other severely burned portions of the 137,526-acre Hayman Fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado's history. (Jim Erickson, Rocky Mountain News, June 7, 2003)

HAYMAN BURN SALVAGE SLASHED The Forest Service has decided to reduce the amount of timber to be salvaged and focus the work near existing roads to minimize soil disturbance and avoid steep slopes, endangered mouse habitat and areas that had been hydromulched in the wake of last year's fire. (Theo Stein, Denver Post Environment Writer, June 3, 2003)

CITIZENS FLOCK TO GUN SAFETY Many schools and shops that train people in handgun safety are expanding their classes and schedules to acCommodate the increase in interest since new gun laws were passed by the Colorado legislature. (John J. Sanko, Rocky Mountain News, June 3, 2003)

Archived June 16, 2003
ARIZONA WILDFIRE (Link expired) A wildfire burning in eastern Arizona grew to 6,900 acres Friday, largely due to burnout operations intended to deprive the fire of fuel, a spokesman said. The "Thomas" Fire was 20 percent contained, but there was no estimate when the fire would be fully contained, and a spokesman said it would likely be several weeks before the blaze is extinguished. (Associated Press, June 14, 2003)

Archived June 13, 2003
FORMER PRESIDENT OF RESCUE SERVICE DIES - A former Bailey woman. who was the heart of Rescue Service for 14 years, passed away in Grand Junction on Monday. Lynn Wadleigh died from complications of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Lynn was instrumental in the expansion, training, and operation of the Rescue Service for more than a decade, until she moved to Grand Junction in 1994. She is remembered fondly and with appreciation by long-time Platte Canyon residents. In keeping with her wishes, Lynn will be buried in Horn Cemetery near Bailey. A short graveside service will be held at 11 am on Friday, June 13. (Park County Bulletin, June 10, 2003)

FATHER JOHN O'SHEA IMPROVES - John O'Shea's medical condition was upgraded Wednesday from critical to serious. He was taken off a ventilator at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital and was breathing on his own. Father John O'Shea, the 69-year-old former deputy Denver police chief and former Park County mental health worker who was ordained as a priest last Saturday, suffered a heart attack on Monday. (June 12, 2003)
Related:
Father O'Shea Remains Critical
Father O'Shea Suffers Coronary
'Father' John O'Shea's New Family

I-70 CLOSED BOTH DIRECTIONS - An overturned tanker has closed I-70 in both directions. The highway between Rifle and Parachute has been re-opened, but is still closed from Parachute to DeBeque. Traffic detours onto US 6. (June 12, 2003, 17:22)

Archived June 10, 2003
'FATHER' JOHN O'SHEA John O'Shea is remembered in Park County for running a mental health program and serving as a school psychologist. Now, at age 69 and a widower, he will be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and become Father John on June 7. (Marilyn Robinson, Special to The Denver Post, May 26, 2003)

FIRST FIRE, THEN FLOOD The heavy rains that swelled rivers and filled them with ash from the Hayman burn area may be repeated today. Bridges and causeways serving homes along West Creek near Deckers took the most punishment. (Deborah Frazier And Owen S. Good, Rocky Mountain News, May 31, 2003)

COFFEE CREAMER CUB CAUTION (Link expired) It may be the cub of the Coffee Creamer Junkie Bear that was finally trapped and destroyed in 2000. And she may be following the lessons learned from Momma Bear. (Gary Gerhardt, Rocky Mountain News, May 28, 2003)

(Link expired) I-70 - THE REVOLVING HIGHWAY - After re-opening for a few hours this morning, I-70 was again closed and predicted repair time was as much as a month. Now, after reconsideration, lanes have been re-opened to limited access. (Paola Farer, 9News, June 4, 2003)

EDITH TETER SCORES HIGH (Link expired) February 2003 scores for third-grade reading tests from the Colorado Student Assessment Program show that 94 percent of the Park County RE-2 Edith Teter Elementary third graders are proficient or advanced-level readers.
(Linda Balough, Summit Daily News, May 18, 2003)

INVASION OF THE MOTH HORDES No, it isn't a new Sci-Fi flick. Entomologists are predicting a bumper crop of moths in Colorado this year, bringing back memories of 1991. (Gary Gerhardt, Rocky Mountain News, May 17, 2003)

(Link expired) MORE THAN $27 MILLION IN RESTITUTION ORDERED - Terry Lynn Barton owes $27,552,557.11, according to a court document filed Monday. The amount represents restitution for costs of the Hayman Fire she was convicted of starting last year. (Bill Hethcock - The Gazette, June 3, 2003)

PURPLE HEARTS "Every time I look at this from now on, I'll think, we didn't get them for us," said Carroll Quinn, a thrice-decorated Marine veteran from Fairplay. "We got them for the young men that didn't make it. This symbol reminds me of them." (Jane Stebbins, Summit Daily News, May 31, 2003)

Archived June 5, 2003
(Link expired) AMBER ALERT: A 2 week old boy was abducted in a store parking lot in Denver. He was found the following day in good condition.

Archived June 4, 2003
I-70 MAY RE-OPEN TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY Crews are working feverishly after a sinkhole under I-70 near Vail has closed the highway in both directions. Motorists heading to Vail are being sent on a 54-mile detour through Leadville along Highway 24 to Highway 91. Truckers are being encouraged to head north to I-80 in Wyoming. (Deb Frazier, Mike Patty And Ellen Miller, Rocky Mountain News, June 3, 2003)

Archived June 2, 2003
I-70 CLOSURE WILL CONTINUE A sinkhole under I-70 near Vail has closed the highway in both directions. Motorists heading to Vail are being sent on a 54-mile detour through Leadville along Highway 24 to Highway 91. Truckers are being encouraged to head north to I-80 in Wyoming. (John C. Ensslin and Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News, June 2, 2003)

Archived May 31, 2003
SEARCH AND RESCUE LOOK FOR TWO MEN - Park and Teller County Search and Rescue crews have been searching since last night for two Pueblo men reported lost in the Hayman burn area. Other SAR teams and dogs will join the effort today. More storms and possible flooding are expected to hit the area this afternoon. (Bulletin, May 31, 2003)

(Link expired) FREMONT COUNTY FIRES The Rice Mountain Fire had consumed two acres about 10 miles northwest of Canon City. It started around 1 p.m. Thursday and was still active and torching in the evening. Also, a grassland fire was burning about 1/4 mile northeast of Mount Pisgah. The grassland fire was first reported around 3 p.m. Thursday and has consumed about 1/10 of an acre. (Jeannie Piper, 9News, May 30, 2003)

SMALL FIRE, BIG FEARS The second fire in Clear Creek County in a week reminds firefighters and campers that fire danger isn't gone. (Sean Kelly, Denver Post Staff Writer, May 26, 2003)

BARTON WANTS SENTENCE REPEALED, JUDGE TOSSED (Link expired) Terry Lynn Barton, convicted of starting Colorado's Hayman wildfire, has asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to vacate her state sentence and have the judge who imposed it thrown off the case. (Associated Press, May 23, 2003)

HOUSE CONSIDERS FOREST BILL The president praised the House for its expected passage later in the day of a bill that would streamline environmental studies and limit appeals on proposed work to cut trees and brush on as many as 20 million acres of forest land. (Deb Riechmann, Associated Press, May 20, 2003)

SACRE BLEU, GOVERNOR! Colorado's Governor Bill Owens chose not to meet with Jean-Luc Sibiude, consul general of France in Los Angeles, to discuss business ties between France and Colorado. Barbs were the only thing traded in the exchange. (John J. Sanko, Rocky Mountain News, May 17, 2003)

FLOOD FEARS RISE (Link expired) Flood experts continue to warn that above-average snowpacks along the Front Range could trigger serious flooding from Colorado Springs up to Fort Collins, particularly in locales such as the Hayman Fire burn area. (Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News, May 15, 2003)

FROM SOUTH PARK TO IRAQ AND BACK (Link expired) Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Bren Derringer shipped out to Operation Iraqi Freedom four months ago and returned to his wife, Stephanie, in Colorado on Wednesday. Today he gets a wonderful homecoming gift. The couple's first child will be born. (Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News, May 15, 2003)

AUTO INSURANCE RATES WILL DROP Consumers will no longer have to pay for costly "personal injury protection," or PIP, which offered a rich medical benefit of up to $130,000 worth of care, and which was largely blamed for making Colorado's auto insurance as much as the ninth-costliest in the country, according to some industry analysts. (Rachel Brand, Rocky Mountain News, May 15, 2003)

Archived May 17, 2003
WEST NILE COST HORSE OWNERS MORE THAN $4 MILLION The West Nile virus cost equine owners in Colorado and Nebraska more than $4 million last year, according to study released Tuesday. (Associated Press, May 6, 2003)

(Link expired) CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING GOES TO FULL SENATE After passing out of committee, redrawn congressional districts go to full senate for debate. Salazar promises a legal challenge. (9News.com, May 6, 2003)

(Link expired) OFFICIALS: COLORADO IS PREPARED Colorado hospitals are prepared to treat everyone with a cough and fever, who has traveled to Asia or Toronto, as if they possibly have SARS. (9News.com, May 5, 2003)

SNAKING FIRE SENTENCE PASSED Eric Alderfer, 16, and Tyler Hancock, 15, will serve two years' probation, continue substance-abuse counseling and work 40 hours a month in community service for 960 hours. (Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News, April 30, 2003)

FORMER PARK COUNTY DEPUTY DIES IN CRASH Jason Dec, 30, started his career with the Park County Sheriff's Department. Early Monday, he lost control of his motorcycle, police in his new home of Michigan said. (Christine MacDonald, Lansing State Journal, April 29, 2003)

FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR LOST - Long time local resident, Don Webster, passed away Tuesday, April 22, after a battle with cancer. Hospice supported the family at home. The services will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery, 3698 S. Sheridan at 1:00 pm on Monday April 28, 2003. The Webster family requests that contributions to the Cancer Society or your own favorite charity be made instead of sending flowers. (April 23, 2003)

FRONT RANGE STORM DAMAGE (Link Expired) A spring storm dumped several inches of heavy, wet snow on Wyoming and Colorado Saturday, snapping branches of trees that had bloomed for the season and causing several accidents on slick roads. (P. Solomon Banda, Associated Press Writer, May 11, 2003)

LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AFFECT MANY Among the state legislative changes for the 2003 session are higher court fees, closed offices, lower insurance, gun carry permit process, state tax amnesty, and cell phone no-call options. (John J. Sanko And Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News, May 9, 2003)

Archived May 5, 2003
NEW SUSPECTED SARS CASES IN COLORADO Three new suspected cases of SARS have been reported, bringing the total of number of cases in Colorado to 11. (AP, Rocky Mountain News, April 25, 2003)

SPINNEY OPEN; RUNOFF COULD BE BETTER Spinney Mountain Reservoir opened for fishing, complete with transplants from Antero. But the March blizzard didn't drop as much on the South Park area headwaters as it did at lower elevations. (Ed Dentry, Rocky Mountain News, April 25, 2003)

WOW WATER RESCUE This story's happy ending was made possible by Great Outdoors Colorado, the program funded by the Colorado Lottery (Editorial, Denver Post, April 26, 2003)

SHAKEDOWN AT PARK COUNTY DETENTION CENTER Inmates at Park County Detention Center were surprised by a K-9 assisted search team looking for weapons and other contraband in Cell Block C. Since improving security to allow the local jail to house inmates from other districts, Capt. Monte Gore and the staff have faced new challenges. (Linda Balough, Summit Daily News, April 23, 2003)

MORE DROUGHT RELIEF (Link expired) "Colorado's water situation has improved again this week in several areas with heavy snows in the central and north mountains and drenching rain along the northern Front Range." (AP, Casper Star Tribune, April 24, 2003)

COLORADO'S WILD HORSES The BLM is encouraging stepped up adoptions of wild horses. The drought has caused them to round up more than in prior years.   (Deborah Frazier - Rocky Mountain News)

(Link expired) TASK FORCE HELPS LAGGING BUSINESSES Small businesses affected by the Hayman Fire last summer are receiving help from the Forest Fire Victims Task Force.  (Jeremy Meyer - The Gazette)

"SITE OF SHAME" FOR DELINQUENT TAXPAYERS A Colorado House committee approved a bill Friday that would allow the state to post some delinquent taxpayers' names on the Internet.   (By Steven K. Paulson - Associated Press)

RED ROCKS RECEIVES FEDERAL GRANT - Red Rocks Community College has been awarded a No Child Left Behind Grant to help coordinate the development of the Statewide Early Childhood Teacher Education Transfer Agreement. (Press Release)

DID CLOUD-SEEDING HELP? State and local officials are beginning to assess the effectiveness of a winter-long cloud-seeding effort that ended in mid-April. (Bob Berwyn, Special to The Denver Post, April 24, 2003)

PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS MAY SURPRISE Assessors in several Colorado counties said residential values determined in the latest two-year reassessment cycle are actually climbing - in some cases by as much as 39 percent.
(Kristi Arellano, Denver Post Business Writer, April 24, 2003)

SNAKING FIRE "NOTORIETY" The Snaking Fire, which forced the evacuation of 1,000 Bailey-area homes for up to a week, was the season's first in Colorado to warrant calling in one of the nation's top fire-management teams.
(Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News, April 23, 2003)
Editorial note: The Rocky Mountain News writer describes his interview with Michael and Helene Boyd. We locals know them better as Mike and Helene Burns.

(Link expired) FARMER'S UNION SPEECH CONTEST - First place high school students from Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado will compete in Bailey on June 25.
(The Fort Morgan Times)

GOOD NEWS...BAD NEWS EARLY WILDFIRES UNLIKELY The March blizzard may have cooled off the threat of an early wildfire season.
(Theo Stein, Denver Post Environment Writer) EMERGENCY FUNDS RELEASED FOR WILDFIRE THREAT Declaring a disaster emergency "due to the imminent threat of wildfires," Gov. Bill Owens freed $1.6 million Thursday to help assure the state is prepared for this year's fire season.
(Kit Miniclier, Denver Post Staff Writer)

Archived April 25, 2003
HANTAVIRUS SEASON WARNING Already this year, a 22-year-old Adams County construction worker has died from hantavirus.   (Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News)

TAXPAYERS NEED RELIEF "As Americans prepare their tax forms and write checks to the Uncle Sam again this year, I want to remind each tax payer that the tax code itself is inherently burdensome and complicated, costing Americans an estimated 6.4 billion hours to comply with the tax code. To put this amount of time in perspective, 6.4 billion hours ago was 734,645 B.C. In all, it cost American taxpayers $194 billion in 2002 to comply with the tax code, and it is estimated that compliance costs for 2003 will be $203.4 billion. The average American taxpaying household bears $1,839 of these compliance costs."  (Representative Tom Tancredo)

Archived April 20, 2003
HAYMAN LOGGING OK'D The U.S. Forest Service intends to let timber companies log 17,500 acres of trees burned in the Hayman fire.   (Theo Stein - Denver Post Environment Writer)

WILDERNESS ON WHEELS IS DRY Without some help for well-drilling, WOW may be unable to open.   (Denver Post)

Archived April 16, 2003
SEVEN FOUND! 13-Apr-2003: Seven American soldiers have been found alive in Iraq, north of Baghdad. An Iraqi citizen notified troops that seven Americans were seen near the Town of Samarrah, 35 miles south of Tikrit, alive. The rescue helicopter manifest is confirming that all 7 were those listed as POWs; Five are from the 507th Maintenance Company and two are Apache pilots who were captured the day after the 507th personnel were taken prisoner. (The 507th captured included Pfc Jessica Lynch who was rescued by Special Ops earlier this week.)
RESCUED!
USA Spc. Edgar Adan Hernandez, 21, of Mission, Texas
USA Spc. Joseph Neal Hudson, 23, of Alamogordo, N.M.
USA Spc. Shoshana Nyree Johnson, 30, of El Paso, Texas
USA Pfc. Patrick Wayne Miller, 23, of Walter, Kan.
USA Sgt. James Joseph Riley, 31, of Pennsauken, N.J.
USA Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams
USA Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr. Welcome Home, Troops!

NO TANKERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD In the event of fire, the closest slurry bomber will be at least an hour away.  

Archived April 3, 2003
FT. CARSON FAREWELL The Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment began shipping out this week.   (Eileen Kelley - Denver Post)

BLIZZARD BRINGS SNOWPACK NEAR NORMAL Colorado has a "50-50 chance" of seeing its statewide snowpack hit 100 percent of average, something that hasn't happened for five years.   (Jerd Smith - Rocky Mountain News)

FAIRPLAY MAN INJURED IN AVALANCHE Russel Sikorsky, 31, of Fairplay is in fair condition after surgery Friday at Vail Valley Medical Center. Kenneth Carl Ratcliff, 30, of Montezuma, was pronounced dead later Thursday night at Keystone Medical Center.   (Reid Williams - Summit Daily News)

(Link expired) BARTON BEGINS SENTENCE IN TEXAS Terry Barton, the former U.S. Forest Service worker who started the Hayman fire in Colorado, began serving her federal sentence Monday in a Texas women’s prison.   (Jeannie Piper - 9News)

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