Deputy accused of harassing woman
Adams County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested one of their own in a case involving alleged harassing of an ex-girlfriend.
Deputy Michael Jones of the patrol division was taken into custody Friday. He is being held in the Adams County jail on suspicion of harassing an ex-girlfriend, who also works for the Sheriff’s Office, as well as checking the messages on her cellphone without her permission and breaking into another person’s vehicle.
He could face charges of criminal trespass, wiretapping and domestic violence, as well as internal Sheriff’s Office discipline.
Jones, 41, has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2002. He is on leave pending the results of the investigation.
Carnegie Mellon prof to lead music festival
Alan Fletcher, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music in Pittsburgh and a respected composer, has been appointed president and chief executive of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the organization announced Thursday.
He replaces Don Roth, who came to Aspen in 2001. In March, the board renewed Roth’s contract for one final year, with his title changing to president and executive consultant in May.
Before going to Carnegie Mellon, where he also serves as a professor of music, Fletcher, 49, was provost and senior vice president of the New England Conservatory in Boston.
The 57-year-old Aspen organization is one of the largest and most prestigious classical-music festivals in the United States.
N.W. Colorado hopes for wildlife board seat
With Colorado’s two biggest elk herds and more than 25 percent of the state’s big game living in the area, some residents of northwestern Colorado say they should have more influence in wildlife-management decisions.
Nobody from the region has served on the policymaking Colorado Wildlife Commission since 2003.
“We have the largest herd and no voice,” said Annette Gianinetti, executive director of the Craig Chamber of Commerce.
She said the 11-member commission should have an open seat within the next several months, and she and other community leaders in the area want one of their neighbors to fill it.
The commission is appointed by the governor. The board is required to have a mix of Republicans and Democrats and unaffiliated voters, but the law allows the sitting governor’s party to have one more member than the other parties.
Area business leaders last fall criticized commissioners for changing the way hunting licenses are allocated. The new rules mean more licenses for in-state hunters at the expense of out-of-state hunters, an important part of the area’s economy.
‘Boarder found after night lost in forest
Rescue crews found a missing 20-year-old Texas snowboarder alive Saturday morning in an out-of-bounds ski area west of Keystone Resort after he spent the night outside.
Crews found Sam Mason of Allen, Texas, about 10:30 a.m. Saturday west of Keystone’s Diamond Back ski trail. He was reported missing at 4:45 p.m. Friday.
Rescuers from Summit County Search and Rescue Group were told that Mason had last been seen snowboarding at 2 p.m. Friday on the Diamond Back Trail, which is an expert run on the backside of Dercum Mountain.
Joben Slivka, mission coordinator for the rescue group, said about 30 rescuers joined in the search for Mason.
Mason apparently survived the night by punching out an area in the snow and sleeping on top of his snowboard, Slivka said.
Woman killed when car hits casino bus
A woman died Friday night on U.S. 6 when her 2002 Ford Mustang crashed into an MCI Casino Bus, according to the State Patrol.
The woman’s name isn’t being released until after her relatives are told of her death. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor, the State Patrol said in a news release.
The crash occurred about 9:20 p.m. at Milepost 262 in Clear Creek Canyon.
The State Patrol says the Mustang was heading east when it crossed into the westbound lane, smashing head-on into the bus. The seven passengers on the bus weren’t injured.
U.S. 6 was closed for about five hours.
