H1N1 INFLUENZA CLAIMED THE LIFE OF 17 YEAR OLD RIFLE HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR AUSTIN BOOTH MONDAY. THE HEALTHY STUDENT-ATHLETE WAS FLOWN TO SAINT MARY’S HOSPITAL LAST WEEK WITH SEVERE
FLU SYMPTOMS. MONDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN WORD SPREAD THAT BOOTH HAD DIED, COUNSELORS WERE MADE AVAILABLE AT RIFLE HIGH SCHOOL. GARFIELD COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIRECTOR JIM RADA SAYS IT’S A TRAGIC REMINDER THAT H-1-N1 IS
PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY AND WILL BE FOR MONTHS TO COME. THE NIGHT BEFORE BEING FLOWN TO SAINT MARY’S, BOOTH PLAYED IN THE BASKETBALL GAME AGAINST GLENWOOD SPRINGS. RADA SAYS HE’S NOT SURE HOW SOON AFTER GAME AUSTIN BEGAN FEELING
SICK BUT WARNS THAT WHEN FLU-SYMPTOMS COME ON, PAY ATTENTION. RIFLE’S BASKETBALL GAMES AGAINST EAGLE VALLEY WERE POSTPONED LAST NIGHT IN GYPSUM. OFFICIALS SAY COUNSELORS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT RIFLE HIGH SCHOOL FOR AS LONG AS NECESSARY. SERVICES FOR AUSTIN BOOTH ARE PENDING.
RIFLE SEARCH AND RESCUE/SUICIDAL MAN
THE MAN POLICE AND SEARCH AND RESCUE CREWS WERE LOOKING AROUND RIFLE FOR WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. AUTHORITIES SAY THE REASON 37 YEAR OLD STEVEN DONALD GRIFFIN WAS SAID TO
BE ENDANGERED WAS BECAUSE HE HAD REPORTEDLY TOLD A RELATIVE THAT HE CUT HIS WRIST AND GAVE A VAGUE DESCRIPTION ABOUT WHERE HE WAS. GARFIELD COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES
SAY GRIFFIN TRIED TO RUN WHEN THEY CONTACTED HIM YESTERDAY ON COUNTY ROAD 233 IN RIFLE BUT HE DIDN’T GET FAR. DEPUTIES DISCOVERED GRIFFIN HAD AN ARREST WARRANT OUT OF ANOTHER
COUNTY FOR MENACING.
RUSSELL GEORGE GOING BACK TO COLLEGE
RUSSELL GEORGE IS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL. THE HARVARD LAW GRADUATE HAS BEEN NAMED THE NEW PRESIDENT OF NORTHWESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN RANGELY. COLORADO COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT NANCY McCALLIN SAYS GEORGE’S WEALTH AND BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WAS TOUGH TO OVERLOOK. SHE SAYS THE FORMER COLORADO HOUSE SPEAKER WOWED THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY DURING MEETINGS WHERE HE PRESENTED HIS IDEAS AND GOALS FOR THE SCHOOL AND ANSWERED QUESTIONS. IN ADDITION TO HIS TIME AS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE, THE RIFLE NATIVE SERVED AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE AND MOST RECENTLY AS THE HEAD OF C-DOT UNDER FORMER GOVERNOR BILL RITTER. RUSS GEORGE STARTS HIS NEW JOB
AT C-N-C-C MONDAY.
TODAY, CONGRESS WILL CONSIDER REPEALING AND REPLACING THE FEDERAL HEALTH CARE LAW. COLORADO WESTERN SLOPE CONGRESSMAN SCOTT TIPTON SAYS HEALTH CARE NEEDS TO BE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE.
IN OTHER NEWS…
DENVER (AP) – Immigration bills expected to come before Colorado
lawmakers this year have been introduced, starting what promises to
be a contentious debate.
Two dozen Republican lawmakers have proposed an Arizona-style
immigration crackdown. Senate Bill 54 would allow police officers
to arrest someone they suspect may be an illegal immigrant. The
bill does not include another divisive aspect of Arizona’s law, a
requirement that immigrants obtain or carry immigration
registration papers.
Two of the Republican sponsors have also introduced another bill
that would require prospective voters to show proof of citizenship.
Democrats who control the Senate have warned that the
immigration crackdown faces an uphill battle.
DENVER (AP) – A Colorado Supreme Court justice who inadvertently
derailed the hopes of a Republican gubernatorial candidate last
year gave lawmakers the real deal in a briefing on water law.
Gregory Hobbs is the jurist whose 1984 essay on water was
plagiarized by GOP governor hopeful Scott McInnis. After the
plagiarism was reported last summer, McInnis was defeated in a
Republican primary.
Hobbs now serves on the state’s highest court. Hobbs briefed
lawmakers on agriculture committees Wednesday about Colorado water
laws and water courts.
McInnis apologized for the plagiarism but called it a
“nonissue” before GOP voters ended his gubernatorial campaign in
an August primary. Lawmakers didn’t ask the justice about the
plagiarism.
