News, November 19th

TRACTOR DRIVER TO BE CITED IN RAFTA BUS ACCIDENT

Carbondale—-A traffic citation will be issued in connection with last month’s RAFTA bus accident on Highway 82 that sent 11 passengers to the hospital, but not the bus driver. According to reports from the Colorado State Patrol, the driver of the slow-moving, poorly-marked tractor that caused the bus to suddenly swerve and tip over will be ticketed.  36 year old Travis Wingfield of Old Snowmass will be fined for going too slow and for not having the tractor flagged.  The RAFTA driver, Jaime Nunez was one of 12 people on the bus when it crashed.  State Troopers say the tractor was traveling around 20 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. 

GARCO COMMISSIONERS MOVING FORWARD IN SAGE GROUSE DISPUTE WITH FEDS

Glenwood Springs—-Despite sharp public criticism, Garfield County Commissioners are sticking to their guns in challenging the federal government’s sage grouse protection plan.  County Commission Chairman John Martin says restrictive federal regulations are having a negative impact on nearly two-thirds of private land in Garfield County.  Commissioner Mike Samson says the BLM plan to protect a bird that doesn’t exist  in the proposed areas makes no sense.  He says if it’s approved, it will cause widespread economic damage. 

NEW REGS PROPOSED FOR DRILLING, AIR QUALITY

Denver—Colorado’s long-awaited new regulations on oil and gas drilling and air quality were unveiled by Governor John Hickenlooper.  The rules, if approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, would be the first statewide standards for methane emissions in the nation.

%d bloggers like this: