Glenwood Springs–A former Valley View Hospital financial officer suspected of stealing over 225 thousand dollars from the hospital is in jail. Lisa Dawn Mack surrendered to authorities early yesterday. She was denied a personal recognizance bond.
Carbondale–The town of Carbondale is going to have to do less next year to keep the budget under control. Town trustees will discuss the 2012 budget at tonight’s meeting.
Aspen–C-DOT is being sued by the family of young man who fell off the Maroon Creek Bridge nearly a year ago and died. The body of George Aldrich Jr. wasn’t found for two weeks. The family says C-DOT failed to maintain the old bridge.
Silverthorne–The Thanksgiving holiday wasn’t a record-breaker for traffic through the Eisenhower Tunnel but it was busy. C-DOT officials say over 170 thousand vehicles passed through the twin tunnels last week. That’s about eight thousand more than last year.
In other news…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Hobbs
woman who died in September after eating contaminated fruit says
food safety auditors gave a Colorado cantaloupe farm a “superior”
rating for safety and quality just weeks before health officials
identified it as the source of a deadly bacterial outbreak.
A Seattle law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of 96-year-old
Florence Wilcox. She’s one of five New Mexicans who died this fall
after eating listeria-contaminated cantaloupe. The outbreak
sickened 15 others in New Mexico.
Colorado grower Jensen Farms and two food-safety firms hired to
audit the cantaloupe grower in July were named in the suit.
Seattle attorney Bill Marler says the lawsuit is the first filed
in New Mexico on behalf of a victim of the listeria outbreak.
OIL SPILL
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) – Emergency response crews are working
to keep oily muck in Sand Creek from reaching the South Platte
River near Commerce City. EPA duty officer Craig Myers says the muck is seeping out of a creek bank. Investigators say Suncor Energy emergency response crews are working on the cleanup because the company has a refinery in the area.
XEROX JOBS
Xerox company planning to hire 225 workers
COLORDO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – A Xerox company says it will hire
225 people for a call center in Colorado Springs.
ACS said Tuesday it is expanding its workforce in the region to
provide customer support for a Fortune 500 client. The client was
not identified. ACS and Xerox already employ about 1,600 people in Colorado.
DENVER POLICE CHIEF
New Denver chief expected to start in 2 weeks
DENVER (AP) – Louisville, Ky. police chief Robert White is
expected to take over as Denver’s top police officer in two weeks.
The Denver City Council gave final approval to White’s contract
on Monday night. The 59-year-old will earn about $167,000 a year,
including nearly $6,000 in longevity pay for his 39 years in law
enforcement.
White will be the first African-American to serve as Denver’s
chief and the second person from outside the department picked to
be chief. A charter change in 2003 requires that any outsiders picked as police chief must have a contract that’s approved by the city council. No other
mayoral appointee has that requirement.
TOYS RECOVERED
Police recover Christmas toys following chase
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – A Colorado Springs family has its
Christmas presents back after police recovered them following a car
chase and crash early Tuesday. Authorities say police saw a speeding car and gave chase. The vehicle crashed into a fence and police arrested two men who tried to flee. Police said they found about $600 worth of toys that were
reported stolen. Police say Vincente Romero is facing charges of trespassing and
possession of burglary tools. They later arrested Jagmeet Singh,
who faces charges the same charges along with multiple traffic
offenses.
