Nine AFA freshmen treated for ailments after training
Air Force Academy – Nine freshmen were treated for dehydration and other ailments suffered during a training exercise, prompting commanders to end the planned two-day session after the first day, the school said.
None of the injuries was serious, academy spokesman Johnny Whitaker told The Gazette of Colorado Springs in Monday’s editions.
The eight men and one woman were treated at a hospital emergency room Friday, and one was kept overnight for observation, Whitaker said.
Their names were not released.
Whitaker said two suffered minor knee injuries, five suffered minor dehydration, one slipped on a curb and suffered bruised ribs and one had leg cramps related to dehydration.
The training, led by upperclassmen and supervised by academy officials, included running, push-ups, sit-ups and stairwell climbs, he said.
“It’s difficult. It’s strenuous. I wouldn’t consider it extreme,” Whitaker said. “It’s a military school. We do stuff like this all the time.”
The training also included tests of military knowledge.
Whitaker said that each injury would be reviewed but that it was too early to say if anyone involved with the training would face discipline.
DENVER
41 arrested in raids on clubs’ poker games
State gambling investigators and Denver police arrested 41 people in connection with illegal gambling and seized almost $9,000 in cash at raids on poker games at two social clubs, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced Monday.
A three-month investigation conducted by the CBI led to the arrests Saturday at Hop Sing Tong, 4130 E. Colfax Ave., and Asian International, 7520 E. Colfax Ave.
The Colorado Division of Gaming learned that licensed dealers were involved in illegal poker games and notified the CBI in November, according to Bob Brown, agent in charge.
It is illegal for licensed gaming professionals to engage in poker games at nonlicensed locations, he said.
MINERAL COUNTY
Ski-village foes say county withheld info
Opponents of a plan to build a 2,100-unit ski village atop Wolf Creek Pass accused Texas billionaire B.J. “Red” McCombs’ development team Monday of secretly influencing Mineral County officials to obtain needed approvals.
“A series of communications between McCombs’ attorneys and Mineral County staff shows extensive behind-the-scenes participation in the entire land-use approval process before the county,” project opponent Colorado Wild said in a statement released late Monday.
The communications, obtained from court filings, appear to have been deliberately and unethically excluded from documents requested from the county under the Colorado Open Records Act, Colorado Wild attorney Jeff Parsons said.
The attorney for Mineral County, John S. Wilder, said Monday that he was “tired of all the conspiracy theories,” but he did not comment further.
Colorado Wild also has accused the developers and the U.S. Forest Service of collusion.
The Durango-based group has said that McCombs’ staff “ghost-authored” Forest Service comments and that McCombs has used his ties to top agency officials to pressure local foresters working on the environmental study.
DENVER
Council OKs contract for parking garage
The Denver City Council on Monday granted initial approval to a $1.3 million contract with local architects to design a new parking garage and post office in conjunction with the new justice center.
The council gave preliminary approval in a 11-1 vote, with Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz dissenting. Faatz said she feared the 633-space parking garage would not have enough room for the public.
The garage will have 230 parking spaces for the public. City staffers said there is room for an additional 100-space surface lot nearby. The city also is eyeing additional parking along 14th Street.
Also Monday, the council initially approved requiring sex offenders to pay a $75 registration fee.
Denver has about 1,300 registered sex offenders.
Registration is required under state law and helps local law enforcement track the whereabouts of sex offenders when they are released from prison.
Councilman Doug Linkhart said he feared the fee could discourage registration and make it harder for the city to track where sex offenders are living.
AURORA
Goodwill robbery suspect held in Utah
The suspect in a robbery and shooting at a Goodwill store Jan. 26 was arrested in Utah over the weekend, said Aurora police officer Marcus Dudley.
Dudley identified the man as Adam Paul Brannon, 30, an escapee from the Colorado Department of Corrections. Brannon has an extensive record – including arrests for possession of burglary tools and drug-related incidents.
Brannon is suspected of shooting an employee of the store, who happened to be a relative of an Aurora police officer, in the face during the robbery at the store, 14400 E. Belleview Ave.
Aurora detectives identified the suspect and traced him to Talorsville, Utah, where he is believed to have friends.
Utah police arrested him without incident Saturday, Dudley said.
The victim has been released from the hospital but faces reconstructive surgery, he said.
