Littleton – A 7-year-old boy nearly drowned at Ben Franklin Pool and Waterslide in Littleton on Sunday afternoon while swimming with his mother and little sister.
Authorities say it appeared the boy was snorkeling at the time. Two teenage girls pulled him out of the water when they noticed he was lying at the pool’s bottom. His mother was not in the pool at the time. Lifeguards immediately began CPR until authorities arrived.
He was transported to a Littleton hospital and then flown to Children’s Hospital in critical condition, said Arapahoe County sheriff’s Sgt. David Thompson.
Authorities have not released the boy’s name.
“He had a good pulse when he left the pool,” said Chief Ray Rahne of Littleton Fire and Rescue.
The boy was not wearing a life preserver, and authorities believe he knew how to swim.
LARIMER COUNTY
Remains believed to be missing man’s
The remains of a man found about 1 p.m. Sunday a mile east of U.S. 287 and Larimer County Road 80 are believed to be those of a man missing since May 30, said Eloise Campanella of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
Alexander David Sipes, 23, has been the subject of a search in that area since his disappearance, Campanella said.
Positive identification and the cause and manner of death are to be determined by the Larimer County coroner in an autopsy today, she said.
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE
Air Force units labor to ease budget woes
Air Force personnel are dealing with a $3.7 billion shortfall in their $96 billion budget while working to make sure their combat readiness isn’t impaired.
“Our leadership is not sacrificing our combat capability, but we’re taking risks just about everywhere else,” said Brian Shimel, comptroller at the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base. The unit provides missile warning and space control services to unified commanders and combat forces worldwide.
“We’re forcing ourselves to think in new ways,” Shimel said. “We’re making it actually break before we fix it.”
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper issued a directive to save money because of the cost of Operation Noble Eagle, in which fighter planes patrol over the United States; the diversion of $967 million for operations and maintenance in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and the service having more people than authorized.
The downhold means up to 120 civilian jobs at the Air Force Academy may not be filled until next fiscal year, forcing officials to cover some duties with existing personnel or not at all.
Service members aren’t traveling as much from base to base to discuss their missions, plan projects and train aren’t going anywhere these days.
Jumper and acting Air Force Secretary Michael Dominguez approved nine areas last month for cutbacks.
Commanders were told to eliminate noncrucial travel and supplies and equipment purchases, limit facility projects to safety items, delay hiring, reduce contractor logistics support to minimum levels, and curtail some flight training. The measures are in effect until Oct. 1.
The 21st Space Wing started the year $26 million short on its $300 million budget but shaved the shortage to $9 million, Shimel said.
Air Force Space Command faced almost $200 million in cuts this year, said Col. David Cannon, command spokesman.
“The missions that will enable us to win, we are still doing,” Shimel said. “Some of the other things we think we need to win, we are doing less of those.”
JACKSON, Wyo.
Wildlife plan needed to retain U.S. funds
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department must complete its plans for keeping certain wildlife and their habitat intact by this fall or pay back $2 million in federal grants.
The federal government has awarded Wyoming almost $2 million since Congress established the State Wildlife Grants program in 2001 to help states preserve species with the “greatest conservation need.”
The federal government requires the state to have a comprehensive strategy in place in order to keep receiving grants. Moreover, Wyoming would have to pay back grants already received if it does not have a strategy in place by Oct. 1, according to the state agency.
Game and Fish Department officials have crafted a draft strategy, which is available for public comment through Thursday.
Wyoming is home to more than 800 species. The state’s draft Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy identifies 278 as “species of greatest conservation need.” Those species include grizzly bears, bald eagles and boreal toads.
The strategy identifies threats and challenges to the survival of each species and proposes actions for conserving them.
Wyoming’s proposed strategy would guide wildlife management through 2010.
