PARACHUTE MAN COPS PLEA IN BABY’S DEATH
Glenwood Springs—Matthew Ogden, the Parachute man who killed his one month old daughter in the summer of 2015, agreed to a plea bargain. The 31 year old man pled guilty to child abuse resulting in the death. Ogden entered his plea last week for the June 20, 2015, death of Sarah Ogden, who had a bruised liver and a fractured skull. He faces between 30 and 40 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 3.
FELLOW OFFICERS MOURN TROOPER’S DEATH
ENGLEWOOD (AP) – Law enforcement representatives from around Colorado said goodbye today to a state trooper hit and killed by a truck while investigating a crash. They joined family and friends at the funeral of Trooper Cody Donahue in Englewood following a long procession. Flags across the state have also been lowered in his honor. Donahue was killed Nov. 25 after a truck driver allegedly drifted onto the shoulder of Interstate 25 near Castle Rock. He’s the third member of the state patrol to be killed by a driver in 18 months. His family issued a statement Thursday urging anyone who’s been touched by his death to slow down and move over when they see emergency personnel stopped on the road, saying “there’s just no good reason” that Donahue’s two young daughters will grow up without their father.
WEST SLOPE PSYCH HOSPITAL EXPANDING
GRAND JUNCTION (AP) – Western Colorado’s only psychiatric hospital is raising money in hopes of building a new, larger facility. West Springs Hospital, in Grand Junction, is looking to raise roughly $7 million by next summer before breaking ground on a new 48-bed facility. With an additional $8 million in funding, West Springs will be able to add an additional 16-bed unit in the future. Currently West Springs has 32 beds which are almost always full. The hospital also often has an additional 10 to 22 people on the wait list each day. West Springs’ parent company Mind Springs Health CEO Sharon Raggio says the larger facility will help get more Western Colorado residents out of jails and into treatment.
