DRIVERS GETTING TICKETS FOR TAKING CATTLE CREEK TURN OFF
Glenwood Springs—Colorado State Troopers are writing a lot of expensive tickets to motorists trying to take the Cattle Creek exit off of Highway 82. Drivers hoping to take the Cottonwood Pass detour during the two-day Glenwood Canyon closure are brazenly going through the Cattle Creek road construction project. They’re being pulled over and issued a citation that will cost them points on their license and a fine of over 300 dollars. The temporary canyon closure is allowing C-DOT crews to finish up rockfall mitigation work.
GARCO AUTHORITIES LOOKING FOR WANTED MAN
Rifle—A registered sex offender is being sought by Garfield County authorities around Mamm Creek. According to reports from the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, 51 year old Leonard Hendricks is wanted on a nationwide warrant for failing to comply with the regulations required of a registered sex offender. He is also considered a “person of interest” in a recent incident in the Mamm Creek area. Hendricks’ vehicle was found abandoned at the end of West Mamm Creek two weeks ago and is now in the hands of family members. If you see Hendricks or know of his whereabouts, call 9-1-1 or the Sheriff’s Office immediately.
GARCO COMMISSIONERS WORRIED ABOUT OIL AND GAS BALLOT INITIATIVES
Glenwood Springs—Economic devastation would befall Garfield County if a pair of oil and gas initiatives are approved by voters this November according to the Board of Commissioners. Initiatives 75 and 78 were approved by the Secretary of State to appear on the November 8th ballot with the necessary 98 thousand signatures. Initiative 75 would shift authority in oil and gas drilling decisions from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to local governments. Initiative 78 aims to increase the buffer zone around drilling sites from 500 to 25-hundred feet. Garfield County Commissioners and Oil and Gas Liaison Kirby Wynn talked recently about the ramifications of the initiatives and how to carefully state their opposition. Wynn says if passed by voters, 90 percent of Garfield County would be off limits to drilling. Statewide, officials say Colorado stands to lose over seven billion dollars in oil and gas revenue over the next five years. Supporters of the citizen initiatives say they are intended to improve and protect the health and safety of citizens living near drilling sites.