River Claims Victims
The summer of 2014 has seen multiple fatalities on the Arkansas River, including the death of a Vernal, Utah woman who disappeared after a raft she was a passenger on went over a spillway just north of Salida during an evening float trip on June 28.
Amanda Taylor, 31, was found four days later by her brother just below the confluence of the South Arkansas and Arkansas rivers, where he clung to her body until emergency workers arrived.
A kayaker died July 11 while paddling the Pine Creek Rapid north of Buena Vista. Johnathan Kennedy, 40, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was pronounced dead at the scene. The following day another boater, Eric Summers, 43, of Brighton, Colorado, drowned after becoming lodged on a rock near Fisherman’s Bridge. On July 24, a Texas woman lost her life after being thrown from a raft near the Pine Creek Rapid.
No Horse Roundup in Colorado
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has decided not to gather wild horses in Colorado this summer, according to an article in the Denver Post.
Over the past decade, the BLM has removed nearly 100,000 wild horses from Western rangelands and estimates nearly 40,600 wild horses still remain. BLM spokesman Steven Hall says although the agency will be rounding up wild mustangs in other Western states, they consider Colorado close to its targeted population on public lands.
16 Teams in Pro Bike Race
USA Pro Bicycle Challenge officials have announced the 16-team lineup for this year’s race, which will be held Aug. 18-24 in Colorado.
Beginning in Aspen, the 550-mile tour will pass through Crested Butte, Gunnison, Salida, Monarch Mountain, Woodland Park, Breckenridge, Vail and Boulder, with a finish in Denver.
Taunting Robber Drowns
A bank robber who dove into the Arkansas River to escape capture near Runyon Lake in Pueblo was found floating dead in the river along with the stolen money on July 21.
Jeffrey Cathcart, 40, had taunted police officers before vanishing below the water. His body was recovered by Pueblo police and fire crews not far from where he was last spotted.
A “Valiant” Effort
A gang of motorcyclists allegedly attacked a motorist and his family traveling on Hwy. 96 in Custer County on July 5.
The attack on the family from Lakewood, who were heading to Westcliffe for the holiday, began west of Wetmore by a dozen motorcyclists and five SUVs belonging to a gang known as “Valiant,” according to the Wet Mountain Tribune. After being forced off the highway, members began attacking the vehicle and driver and harassing the occupants. The Custer County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the assault and State Patrol is investigating the accident.
Howard Man Charged With
Animal Cruelty
A Fremont County man was charged with 23 counts of aggravated animal cruelty after authorities confiscated 23 cats and dogs from his home in Howard on July 11, according to The Mountain Mail.
William Kevin Goode, 58, had refused to cooperate with an eviction attempt, leading to his arrest. Deputies then discovered the animals throughout the house, some locked in cabinets and closets. Most did not have food or water available and one dog was dead.
Shorts …
• A $45,000 grant has been awarded for the Buena Vista Square Optimist Park by Great Outdoors Colorado. The park will be located at the intersection of East Main and South Railroad Street.
• Gunnison County Commissioners adopted regulations on July 1 to license and monitor the cultivation, manufacture and testing of recreational marijuana products in unincorporated portions of the county.
• The Browns Canyon Bridge, also known as Stone Bridge, north of Salida, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in a ceremony held on July 10.
• A segment of the Colorado Trail is being re-routed until at least mid-August to protect Accipitrine nesting habitat. Trail segment 13 is near Buena Vista, south of C.R. 365.
• Shannon Byerly won his race to become the next sheriff of Custer County. Bob Kattnig will run uncontested in the November election for county commissioner.
• A poll released on July 22 by Conservation Colorado showed 77% of Coloradans supporting national monument designation for Browns Canyon in Chaffee County.
• Jason Lengerich is the new warden at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex.
• Greg Ralph, marketing director for Monarch Mountain, is stepping down to take a position at Durango Mountain Resort. His wife April, director of the Chaffee County Visitors Bureau, will join him after her replacement is found.
• The Bluff Park parcels in Westcliffe, totaling 5.3 acres, have been donated to San Isabel Land Protection Trust.
• The Gunnison Valley has seen five accidents in one month involving off-highway vehicles – an increasing trend, according to law enforcement officials.
• Leadville has reported 11 dog bite incidents over the first six months of 2014. There were 10 reported bites by canines in all of 2013, and eight each in 2011 and 2012.
“Notable Quotes”
“It caused harm to me. … I had a whole bunch of stuff in my store I had to figure out how to get rid of. I had a $36,000 bill I could have sent to (Gov.) Hickenlooper worth of guns and magazines I couldn’t sell.” – Gunnison gun store owner Brad Tutor, reacting to a District Court ruling affirming gun-control legislation passed last year by the Colorado legislature. – Gunnison Country Times, July 3, 2014.
“This epidemic is pretty unprecedented.” – Colorado State Forest Service forester Sam Pankraatz, discussing the impacts of the spruce beetle on the La Garita region of the southern Gunnison Basin. – Gunnison Country Times, July 17, 2014.
“I shot the bear once and it reared up, then I shot it two more times with the shotgun loaded with buckshot.” – Bailey teenager Rose Hill, describing how she took out an intruding 300- to 400-pound bear on the family porch. – The Fairplay Flume, July 24, 2014.
“If we don’t (save the hospital) people are going to die. People are going to die going down the hill (to Summit County).” – St. Vincent Hospital CEO Joyce Beck, during a public meeting in Leadville about the hospital’s viability. – Leadville Herald Democrat, July 25, 2014.
“Inner-city girls, even with access to free birth control, can’t help but get pregnant.” – Former Republican Senate majority leader Mark Hillman, in a guest editorial about a recent Supreme Court decision concerning whether a company (Hobby Lobby) must provide employees access to birth control under the Affordable Care Act.
– The Mountain Mail, July 10, 2014.
