Rifle–Graham Mesa Elementary School in Rifle had to be evacuated for the second time in two months. The school was cleared out this morning due to smell of smoke in the building. Officials with the Rifle Fire Department determined the smoke was coming from prescribed burns in the area and was trapped by an inversion layer.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) – The search continues for two
hunters missing in different parts of western Colorado.
Jim McCarthy of Garfield County has been missing on Grand Mesa
since Tuesday night. Volunteers and deputies found one elderly man but they have not been able to locate the other man, Jim McCarthy of a Garfield County.
Two Colorado Army National Guard said two of its helicopters
were helping search for McCarthy on Thursday. Bad weather had
grounded the Kiowa and Black Hawk the day before.
In Delta County, authorities are looking near Hotchkiss for
75-year-old Terry Baughn of Howard, Ohio, who was reported overdue
early Wednesday morning. A helicopter normally used to spray fields
is helping. Sheriff Mark Taylor says Baughn has hunted in the area for more
than 40 years.
DENVER (AP) – A former prosecutor who became a judge experienced
in presiding over juvenile cases is Gov. John Hickenlooper’s first
appointment to Colorado’s Supreme Court.
The governor said in announcing the appointment Thursday that
Judge Brian Boatright is a good listener who understands the
implications of his decisions.
“He brings certain intangibles,” said Hickenlooper, a
Democrat. “Again, that ability to really hear people and listen
and then respond in a very constructive way to their concerns.”
Boatright might get one of his first chances to make his
presence felt on the bench when justices weigh new proposed
district maps for the Legislature, a process undertaken every 10
years to reflect population changes. The state Supreme Court will
issue a decision on the maps by Dec. 14. The court could also hear
arguments later in a congressional redistricting lawsuit pending in
district court.
DENVER (AP) – Secretary of State Scott Gessler is slashing fees
on business filings to boost jobs.
Gessler said Thursday the state already has some of the lowest
fees in the nation. The new fees will be effective Nov. 1.
The biggest cut will be for nonprofit organizations, which are
being cut from $50 to $20. Several other fees will be cut to $20.
The Secretary of State’s office is almost exclusively funded
through business filing fees. Gessler says his office can absorb
these fee reductions and continue to meet the department’s budget
obligations.
