Plague found in prairie dog colonies near C-470 in Jeffco
Jefferson County health officials have confirmed an outbreak of bubonic plague among prairie dog colonies at C-470 and West Quincy Avenue in the Green Mountain area.
There were no reports of human cases in the area, but precautions were advised.
Pet owners also were advised to avoid contact with any species of wild rodents, especially those appearing sick or dead.
The best way to prevent plague is to control the presence of rodents and fleas in and around the home, health officials said.
Dogs and cats should be confined so they cannot prey on infected rodents.
If precautions are taken, the probability of contracting plague is extremely low, health officials said.
Jefferson County Environmental Health officials will continue to monitor the situation.
For further information, contact the department at 303-271-5755 or visit www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/info.htm.
EAGLE COUNTY
2 shootings probed; Gypsum woman dies
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office are investigating two separate shootings that occurred Friday night, one of them fatal.
The first incident happened at a Dotsero campsite during an argument between two parties sharing the site. Officials say a 30- to-45-year-old man shot and fatally wounded a 38-year-old Gypsum woman as she and the man she was camping with fled the scene by car. The suspect is white, approximately 6 feet tall, has blondish-brown hair and a mustache, and was wearing a checkered jacket, police said.
He abandoned his vehicle nearby and is still at large. He has at least a handgun and is to be considered dangerous, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
In a second incident, a 19-year- old Gypsum man was taken to Vail Valley Medical center and then transferred to a Denver hospital after being shot in the abdomen by someone with a handgun who drove by in a gray car, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
PARK COUNTY
Three acres burned near town of Bailey
A fire Saturday afternoon burned about 3 acres near the town of Bailey.
The fire was first reported at 12:50 p.m. and was fought by firefighters from the Platte Canyon Fire Department, North Fork and U.S. Forest Service who responded by foot and by air.
No evacuations were reported, and no homes or businesses were destroyed.
COLORADO SPRINGS
220 soldiers, airmen headed to Mideast
Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base will send 220 soldiers and airmen to duty in the Middle East over the next few weeks.
Fort Carson’s 10th Combat Support Hospital will send 200 soldiers to Iraq. The unit, which will deploy in stages through November, can run an 84-bed hospital capable of surgery and intensive care.
Today, 20 airmen from the 302nd Airlift Wing, a Reserve unit, will leave for Qatar. The wing has 200 airmen in the Middle East and Europe, managing airports and piloting C-130 transport planes carrying supplies and troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army’s 3,600-soldier 3rd Brigade is scheduled to deploy from Fort Carson this fall, but the military has not said when or where it will go.
Fort Carson now has more than 6,000 soldiers in Iraq, including the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 43rd Area Support Group.
GREELEY
Ex-banker pleads guilty to felony theft
A former Greeley banker, 41- year-old Frederick Allison, pleaded guilty to felony theft Friday in Weld County District Court in a deal that could get him a two-year prison sentence.
Allison pleaded guilty to theft of between $500 and $15,000. While employed at New Frontier Bank in Greeley in early 2003, Allison obtained a private loan from a Greeley resident using property that he did not own as collateral, said district attorney spokeswoman Thea Mustari.
Allison has been in custody at the Weld County Jail since June 24. He was arrested June 8 in California.
COLORADO
8 firms win $600,000 contracts from NASA
Eight small Colorado companies have won about $600,000 each from NASA to pursue space-related research projects. The grants, under the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research program, are designed to stimulate innovation and the involvement of small business in NASA’s endeavors.
Colorado’s recipients are TDA Research Inc. in Wheat Ridge (two grants); Mesoscopic Devices LLC in Broomfield; ITN Energy Systems Inc. in Littleton; Pioneer Astronautics in Lakewood; and four Boulder companies, Radiometrics Corp., Extreme Diagnostics Inc., Tech-X Corp. and Starsys Research Corp.
