Rafter, 14, feared drowned along Pueblo’s river course
Pueblo – A 14-year-old boy was missing and feared drowned Monday after a lightweight inflatable raft he and two other boys were navigating down the city’s new kayak course on the Arkansas River burst on the rocks.
The missing teen, Andrew McDaniel; his brother, Ben McDaniel, 12; and friend Christian Milberger, 9, were halfway down the course when the raft hit rocks, said Pueblo police Sgt. Eric Bravo.
“As soon as they hit the rocks, the raft blew up,” Bravo said.
An unidentified kayaker pulled one boy from the rapids, while another managed to make it to the river’s edge on his own. Both boys were examined and appeared to be OK, Bravo said.
None of the boys was wearing a life jacket or helmet, which are required in the park, Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Rosolini said.
A search for Andrew after the 4:30 p.m. accident lasted four hours and was to resume early today.
The kayak park opened last month and has drawn hundreds of visitors.
DENVER
Council OKs parade bills, alcohol for park
The Denver City Council on Monday night gave initial approval to a measure that would allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages in Sloan’s Lake Park during the Dragon Boat Festival.
The council also passed two bills intended to curtail protesters from blocking the Columbus Day parade.
The alcohol amendment adds Sloan’s Lake to the list of parks that are able to obtain a special- event liquor permit. The measure is separate from a more sweeping proposal before the City Council to substantially expand the number of parks where alcohol would be allowed during special events and private parties.
BOULDER
Detectives pursue leads on “Jane Doe”
Detectives are pursuing about 20 leads in their renewed quest to identify “Jane Doe,” a young woman who was beaten and left to die along Boulder Creek in 1954.
Among them: a Nebraska woman whose sister ran away from home and was never heard from again.
Jane Doe’s nude body was found near the creek west of the city in April 1954. Her identity remains a mystery, but last week the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office unveiled a sculptured likeness of the victim based on her skull.
Sheriff’s Detective Steven Ainsworth said an investigator traveled to Nebraska last week to meet with the sister of the missing runaway. Investigators are awaiting the results of DNA testing to determine whether she is related to Jane Doe.
Ainsworth said other tips have come from New York, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Washington state.
STATEWIDE
Judicial group has too many members
A partisan dispute over appointments made by lame-duck GOP lawmakers last year has left four people claiming to be the rightful holders of two seats on a panel that reviews the performance of state judges.
Lawmakers said Monday that they may ask the state Supreme Court to sort it out.
In the meantime, the Judicial Performance Commission, which has only minor housekeeping duties until next year, will try to stay afloat with 12 people instead of the normal 10 and will proceed only with decisions that are unanimous.
The legislature’s executive council voted Monday to hire a private attorney to draft a resolution asking the state Supreme Court to resolve the dispute.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Dillon Reservoir fills, spills into Lower Blue
As anticipated, Dillon Reservoir filled to capacity early Monday, brimming with about 254,000 acre-feet of water.
“We started spilling at 3 a.m.,” said reservoir caretaker Dave Fernandez, indicating the time that the water started flowing into the giant drain that can accommodate up to 10,000 cubic feet of water a second.
As of Monday morning, about 50 cubic feet a second were flowing down the spillway and into the Lower Blue River.
Fernandez said he expects flows of up to 400 cubic feet a second below the dam in the next few days – potentially enough water to capture the attention of rafters and kayakers who have had only rare opportunity to run the Lower Blue in the past several years.
DENVER
Senate panel pushing for one security chief
State lawmakers – frustrated by ongoing delays in building a comprehensive emergency radio communications system – on Monday repeated their call for a single homeland security authority to handle the job.
“We need to tighten up the chain of command on this thing,” Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction, said during a meeting of the state Senate’s Select Committee on Homeland Security.
The committee has been meeting since January to investigate how the administration of Republican Gov. Bill Owens has managed more than $100 million in federal funding and whether enough money has been distributed to communities to enable them to upgrade their radio systems to communicate with one another.
The committee plans to release a report this week.
