Senate OKs bill boosting Rocky Flats, Pueblo depot
Legislation by Colorado’s senators to finalize the cleanup at Rocky Flats and bring millions of dollars to the Pueblo Chemical Depot passed the Senate on Tuesday as part of a defense funding bill.
The Rocky Flats provision, by Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar, gives the Department of Energy $10 million to buy mineral drilling rights at the former nuclear-weapons plant. It’s the last step before Rocky Flats can become a wildlife refuge.
“The site has been returned to the way it was before plutonium production at Rocky Flats began,” Allard said.
Salazar added a provision to the bill calling for $51 million to accelerate the destruction of chemical weapons at depots in Pueblo and Richmond, Ky. He also added language to provide mental-health screenings for armed-forces members.
Lawmakers now will work out differences between Senate and House versions of the bill before voting on it again.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Driver dies after crash into creek
A woman died after her 1996 Ford Bronco tumbled off U.S. 6 and landed in Clear Creek late Wednesday, despite the efforts of two Colorado State Patrol troopers who jumped into the icy waters and held her head above water until she could be pulled from the vehicle, said Trooper Eric Wynn.
The woman, whose name wasn’t released pending notification of next of kin, was westbound in Clear Creek Canyon when the Bronco went off the left side of the highway just before 11 p.m., rolled down an embankment and became submerged in the creek, Wynn said.
Cpl. Gary Striewski and Trooper Jesse Reyes went into the creek to rescue the driver, who was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital, where she died at 1:16 a.m., Wynn said.
CANON CITY
Mill spills contained, but 17 geese killed
Nonradioactive spills last month from a uranium mill resulted in the death of 17 geese, but otherwise did not harm the environment, state officials discovered during a surprise inspection of the mill.
The system set up at the Cotter Corp. mill was effective in keeping the spilled material from seeping into the soil, according to Marion Gallant, a coordinator with the hazardous materials division of the Colorado Department of Public Heath.
Gallant and other health officials conducted an inspection of the mill Friday.
In three separate incidents during October, 5,000 gallons of a thickener liquid spilled from storage drums, more than 6,700 gallons of kerosene spilled and 4,500 gallons of mildly contaminated water spilled.
ASPEN
Decision due Friday on recall-ballot issue
Interested parties in the upcoming recall election in the 9th Judicial District will have to wait until Friday to know if a challenger’s name will appear on the ballot.
Deputy Secretary of State Wil liam Hobbs held a hearing Tuesday on the matter and indicated he will take the 72 hours he is allotted to make a decision.
Hobbs heard arguments from lawyer Martin Beeson, who is attempting to have his name placed on the ballot as a challenger to District Attorney Colleen Truden if she is recalled. Beeson came up short by 19 of a necessary 1,000 signatures when the secretary of state’s office certified his petitions. Beeson said this week he is confident that enough of the rejected signatures will be reinstated to place him on the ballot.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Business alliance backs roadless areas
More than 30 local businesses and organizations endorsed protection for the state’s roadless areas Tuesday, saying that the economy depends on preserving its surrounding forests.
“This town is built around its scenic mountains. Steamboat would be shooting itself in the foot if it allowed the beauty of its surrounding forests to decay,” John Spezia of the Yampa Valley Community Alliance said at a news conference.
The gathering of business owners comes in anticipation of the Nov. 30 meeting in Steamboat of the state roadless task force, which will make recommendations to Gov. Bill Owens on which lands should be kept free of roads.
REGION
Full moon will lessen so-so Leonids show
The Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak quietly Thursday evening, with only a fraction of the brilliant shooting stars the shower created from 1999 to 2002, astronomers said.
The 2005 Leonids may send 20 or so meteors through the night sky, but even those may be difficult to see because of a full moon, which can wash out other light.
Enthusiastic sky watchers who go outside before sunrise Thursday may see a few meteors, alongside Saturn and the full moon.
TRINIDAD
College’s interim chief is new president
Trinidad State Junior College has a new president.
Ruth Ann Woods, interim chief administrative officer for the college, was named president Tuesday, said Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community College System.
Woods previously was vice president of the Valley Campus in Alamosa and a professor and administrator for more than 20 years at Texarkana College in Texarkana, Texas.
GOLDEN
Critics: Bill threatens alternative-fuel study
Alternative-energy proponents worry that a bill heading to President Bush for signature contains so much “pork barrel” spending, little will be left for ongoing energy-research projects, such as some at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.
Ron Larson, director of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society in Boulder, said the Department of Energy’s research into biomass energy, an alternative for vehicle fuels, is most at risk.
An NREL official said it’s not yet clear if there will be job cuts at the federal facility in Golden.
