Brief by Martha Quillen
Regional News – February 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine –
Mad Cows
In Colorado thus far, worry about mad cow disease seems more prevalent among ranchers, who are apprehensive about their future, than among consumers.
The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association says that U.S. beef is heavily regulated, and safe. Nation-wide cattlemen and beef producers have maintained that U.S procedures for stockgrowing and meat production are sound, while pointing out that the scare was caused by a Canadian cow.
But beef industry critics claim that this display of confidence in American beef is dangerous. According to them, the industry opposes the changes necessary to make American beef truly safe. Critics of the status quo, point out that no one has any idea how many cases of BSE there really are in the U.S., since so few cattle are tested. Many critics believe that every cow slaughtered should be tested for mad cow disease, in order to safeguard the public against BSE and protect the industry against future scares.
Meanwhile, many ordinary Americans were more shaken by a recent ban on “downer” cattle, than reassured. They’d had no idea that grievously sick cattle were being processed into burgers.
There was some good news for our region, though. Natural beef, which is commonly grown here, has consistently been lauded as an alternative for those who distrust the safety of the U.S. beef supply. And Mel Colemen Jr. of Saguache, a leading producer of natural beef, was prominently pictured in a Newsweek article.
Branding Salida Style
Despite Ed Quillen’s recent diatribes against Chaffee County’s new advertising campaign, the 2004 Chaffee County Visitors’ Guide features “the new Chaffee County brand” — Headwaters of Adventure, and soon there will be a new website, too, at www.coloradoheadwaters.com.
According to a recent Mountain Mail story, Lee Hart of the Chaffee County Visitors’ Bureau said that even though “Headwaters of Adventure” conjures up ideas of rafting and recreation, she believes the brand is “capable of going beyond tourism.” She went on the say that artists didn’t like it at first, but: “Now they’re really embracing (the brand).”
Getting in Hot Water
The Gunnison Country Times reported on a sad phenomena connected with the recent cold snap. It seems that several local homeowners got a little too enthusiastic about thawing their frozen water pipes, and several home fires resulted, including a serious one in Almont.
As a result, Jo Ann Stone of Gunnison County Emergency Services warned against using blowtorches and open-flame heaters near wood or other combustible materials. “Use some common sense when you’re trying to thaw your pipes,” she said. “And remember, things are frozen, so if you start a fire you have no water to put it out with.”
Stunning Incident
A Salida High School student was expelled for a year because he reportedly zapped a Salida Middle School student with a stun gun. According to The Mountain Mail, the high school student “allegedly returned to school with the device” the next day and was suspended for three days.
All of that happened in late October, and the police were notified. The police subsequently charged the juvenile with third-degree assault and possession of a hand gun. And the school eventually expelled him.
The boy’s case finally went to court in early January, but that’s when we went to press, so….
Pricked in Park County
The Park County Board of Commissioners launched an investigation after a 13-month-old girl was pricked by a needle at the Park County Public Health Department in Bailey.
The girl was playing with some blocks on the floor in the infant examination room, when she suddenly cried out. The child had put her hand in a biohazard receptacle containing used needles.
The youngster was treated, but her mother was told that she would need to have her blood tested over scheduled intervals to assure that she didn’t contract hepatitis or HIV. An internal investigation was launched to determine exactly what happened and what action should be taken.
It’s the Pits for Pit Bulls
The news went to the dogs last month.
After three pit bulls killed a 40-year old woman and injured two other people in Elbert County, Salida’s Mountain Mail reported that Salida and Chaffee County had clearly written laws regarding vicious dogs, but no regulations regarding pit bulls.
Leadville’s Herald Democrat, however, revealed a county that was considerably more worried about pit bulls because of problems in the past.
In December, Lake County considered a resolution to euthanize all pit bulls and pit bull mixes brought into their shelter. But the measure was finally decided on January 6, and pit bulls got a second lease on life.
The resolution that passed didn’t single out pit bulls. Instead, it merely said that based on viciousness, age, or condition of health, unadoptable animals could be euthanized after being confined for five days to give owners a chance to reclaim them. Death penalties for unadoptable dogs were not made mandatory.
Because Lake County has had numerous incidents involving pit bulls (which are allegedly being bred there for dog fighting), there’s been talk of establishing breeding regulations to help alleviate any risk.
Death Unusual, But Not Unnatural
Last month we reported that the bodies of two women had been found in Custer County, and both deaths were under investigation. But by late December one case seemed to have been solved — or at least resolved.
According to a pathologist in Colorado Springs, Natalee Driscoll, 20, apparently died of complications resulting from bulimia. Although Driscoll’s weight was normal, she was known to have suffered from the eating disorder. Friends and family related a history of binging, purging, and laxative abuse, and at the time of her death, the young woman had reportedly been fasting for several days.
The pathologist’s conclusions, however, seem to be based more on what he didn’t find than what he did. Driscoll’s nude body was found outdoors on the grounds of the Horn Creek Conference Center where she’d been staying. But an autopsy showed that she didn’t die of hypothermia; she wasn’t sexually assaulted; and there were no alcohol or drugs in her system.
Although the woman’s death was assumed to be linked to bulimia, the exact cause remained unknown. But according to The Wet Mountain Tribune, the pathologist told Sheriff Fred Jobe that in 2 percent of natural deaths no exact cause can be pinpointed. Serious heart arrhythmia was a possible cause, however, because it can cause death and leave no trace.
At that point, the murder of Diane Mercer, 38, was still under investigation, but Sheriff Jobe announced that an arrest was forthcoming. Mercer’s decomposing body was found at an illegal dumpsite in May.
Running Just As Fast As He Could
When Chaffee County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported domestic dispute at a house on U.S. 50 in late December, they saw a couple leave the home. Deputies stopped their fleeing vehicle, and the women got out to speak with them. But the man took off.
With officers in pursuit, the man sped into Poncha Springs then returned to Salida and raced down F Street, where he reportedly reached a speed of 70 to 75 miles per hour. Then, at Sackett and E Streets, a local resident reportedly hit the speeding vehicle on purpose, ending the car chase.
But the suspect subsequently fled on foot. He ran down to the river and across the ice along the riverbank, but fell through. At that point, officers ordered him out of the river at gunpoint and arrested him. And the reason for his flight quickly became clear. Darek Ordaz was wearing a home detention monitor on his ankle due to a parole violation.
According to The Mountain Mail, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department reported that Ordaz was convicted of aggravated motor vehicle theft, illegal possession of alcohol, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to report an accident there in 1997. Then he was convicted of a parole violation there in 1998, and also served 60 days in the Chaffee County jail for vehicle theft that year.
Looking Up
City sales tax reports were just arriving as we went to press, but the stats we’ve seen were looking good. Tax revenue for the City of Salida was up 5.99 per cent in 2003. And Mayor Chet Gaede of Leadville told his city council that Leadville’s 2003 city sales tax revenues were higher than they’d ever been. Apparently 2003 was a much better year than many businesses believed, and this recent economic revival is expected to continue into 2004.
Pop makes Gunnison kids sick
Pop may not be good for you, but it’s not supposed to make you sick, either, and that has inspired an investigation in Gunnison.
There was a 4-H dance on the night of Jan. 10, and cans of soda were handed out, unopened. Some of the kids, aged 9 to 12, later opened their sodas and went off to dance, then returned to finish their drinks.
Not long afterward, a dozen of them were taken to the hospital with vomiting and headaches. They were treated and released within a few hours.
The sodas are suspected, according to Police Chief Jim Keehne. Police detected no alcohol or drugs, but a sample was sent to the state health department. Test results could take up to two weeks, though.
