MISSING GARCO SNOWMOBILERS FOUND SAFE
Glenwood Springs—The three snowmobilers reported missing on the Flat Tops Sunday night are safe. The men were spotted by a National Guard Helicopter standing around a fire just after 11 o’clock Monday morning. They were first reported missing Sunday night around 7:30 and crews searched for them until 2am Monday. The search resumed six hours later. According to reports from the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, two of their snowmobiles broke down. Their names have not been released.
GLENN FREY MOURNED LOCALLY
Aspen—Glenn Frey’s death has prompted a lot of Eagles fans to break out their favorite album and reminisce, especially in the Roaring Fork Valley. The worldwide success of the legendary and iconic rock group can be traced back to The Gallery, a one time popular night club at the base of Little Nell in Aspen in 1971. Jimmy Buffet’s manager, Irving Azoff, brought them to Aspen to develop and perfect their live show. In an interview six years ago, Frey recalled how the first show attracted a small crowd of about 40 people. Word of the talented group that also included co-founder Don Henley, spread fast and by the time they played their fourth set that night, the Gallery was packed. Frey wrote or co-wrote several of the Eagles’ enormous hit songs including, Tequila Sunrise, Take it Easy, Lyin’ Eyes, Hotel California and Desperado. Glenn Frey was 67.
PILOT OF DOWNED PLANE NEAR MEEKER, THE LONE OCCUPANT
Meeker—The pilot killed in last week’s small plane crash near Meeker was the only person on board according to investigators. The Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office says 62 year old William Ray Hiler of Tabernash, Colorado died when his single-engine Bonanza 35 crashed in a remote area about 15 miles west of Meeker last Thursday night. Authorities say Hiler was on his way to Granby from Utah when witnesses say they heard the plane rev it’s engines before the explosion. The aircraft disappeared from radar but searchers found the wreckage using the coordinates from it’s last known location. The sheriff’s office says someone in Provo, Utah reported seeing Hiler refueling his plane but didn’t see anyone else with him. The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
HICKENLOOPER SUPPORTS WEST SLOPE COAL MINING
Grand Junction—To the chagrin of environmentalists, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper supports coal mining in the North Fork Valley of Gunnison County. The Hickenlooper administration is urging the U.S. Forest Service to reinstate an exemption that would allow Arch Coal to do underground mining. The forest service previously agreed to let the company mine coal on about 20 thousand acres as long as methane vents were built to do it safely. The mining project came to a halt when a judge said the forest service didn’t take account the environmental impacts of coal mining. Conservation groups say allowing coal mining will hamper Colorado’s work to reduce methane and carbon emissions. However the forest service and the Hickenlooper administration says coal from the North Fork Valley is among the cleanest available and is a critical part of the local economy.
