Skier at Breckenridge dies after slamming into tree
Breckenridge Ski Resort saw its first skier death of the year when a 43-year-old Monument man skied into a tree on the Sawmill trail Wednesday morning, officials said.
The victim was identified as Stephan K. Kajah, a major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve who flew for a commercial freight service.
The ski patrol was called to the scene at 11:46 a.m., administered life support and transported Kajah to the Breckenridge Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, said Nicky DeFord, spokeswoman for the resort. Kajah wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, she said.
Kajah was skiing with friends and appears to have made a turn too wide, striking the tree, said Summit County Coroner Joanne Richardson.
The investigation continues into the cause and manner of death, “but it does appear cause of death is due to blunt-force trauma to the chest,” Richardson said.
DENVER
GOP ’08 convention could go Mile High
Denver is among the cities that the Republican National Committee is courting as a possible site for its 2008 convention.
Thirty-one cities, including Denver, have received a request for a proposal, according to a GOP announcement Wednesday. The party is seeking a city with at least 20,000 hotel rooms and a convention hall that seats more than 20,000.
The interest came as a welcome surprise to many in the state party.
“It would be wonderful to have this happen in Denver,” spokeswoman Rachel Sunbarger said. “We have a strong conservative base here.”
Aaron McLear with the national GOP said Denver was selected as a possible site either because its facilities were capable of handling the huge influx or because people in the city have expressed an interest in hosting the convention.
Mayor John Hickenlooper sent a letter last month to the Democratic National Committee expressing Denver’s interest in hosting that party’s convention in 2008. A group will meet this month to create a proposal.
LAKEWOOD
Blaze guts tire store, evacuates vet clinic
A two-alarm fire consumed a Discount Tire Store at 2000 S. Kip ling Parkway and forced the evacuation of animals from the Kipling Veterinary Clinic next door Wednesday night, said West Metro Fire spokeswoman Cindy Matthews.
The alarm came in at 7:40 p.m. and the first firefighters on the scene saw flames coming through the roof before they got there and called for additional firefighters, Matthews said.
The store was closed for business and nobody was inside, but the store contained 4,700 tires, which sent thick, black smoke into the night sky, she said.
The roof collapsed fairly early in the fire, which actually helped firefighters get water inside the burning building, she said.
BROOMFIELD
Pot, hash, mushrooms discovered in home
Police found nearly 50 pot plants in a Broomfield home, along with 22 bags of suspected marijuana, hashish, hashish oil and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The North Metro Drug Task Force obtained a search warrant for a home in the 3500 block of West 130th Place after officers on a routine call Sunday night smelled what they believed to be marijuana coming from inside the house.
The Broomfield Police Department SWAT team executed the warrant Tuesday about 6 p.m. No one was inside the home, police said.
Police have been unable to find the resident, and the case remains under investigation.
SUMMIT COUNTY
Wood-frame house explodes, burns
A two-story home exploded and burned Wednesday in the community of Blue River south of Breckenridge, but it wasn’t known if anyone was inside at the time, said Lt. Kim Scott of the Red, White and Blue Fire District.
The wood-frame house was in flames, and smoke curled about 100 feet into the air when the first firefighters arrived about 3 p.m., she said. Blue River has no fire hydrants and is served by propane in residential tanks rather than natural gas, Scott said.
“There was no hope of saving it,” Scott said of the home.
DELTA
Fire scorches home, injures 2 firefighters
A wind-whipped range fire burned across a mesa near Delta on Wednesday, singeing the siding of one home, forcing the evacuation of 19 others and injuring two firefighters.
The fire was reported on Ash Mesa, 3 miles southwest of Delta, about 11:30 a.m. It brought out about 60 firefighters from Delta, Olathe, Cedaredge and Montrose. Before the fire was contained, the residents of 20 homes were evacuated to a recreation center in Delta. Firefighters were also concerned about a herd of about 500 horses near the fire.
“We had real erratic fire behavior,” said Rob Fiedler with the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.
Fiedler said he did not know the extent of the firefighters’ injuries.
DENVER
Man charged with using Taser on teen
A 24-year-old man was charged Wednesday with using a Taser to hurt a Denver middle- school student. Shaun Ellis was charged with second-degree assault in connection with the Jan. 11 incident.
The charge alleges that Ellis, who was working at the school in connection with an after- school program, took a 13-year- old student out of class for disciplinary reasons and assaulted him with a Taser.
The student reported the incident to a parent, who reported it the next day to the Denver Police Department.
Ellis has been released from custody on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court in early March.
DENVER
Research monkeys going to N. Carolina
A controversial colony of research monkeys kept at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center will be moved to North Carolina in the next few months, university officials said Wednesday.
Activists have argued that the 48 animals – part of a long-term behavior study – should be released to a sanctuary, given that some have been living in laboratories since the 1980s and have never been outside.
In a statement, university officials wrote that the research project involving the primates – bonnet macaques – will continue, although most of the animals will be moved to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.
CU researchers continue to work with other primates in various medical-research projects in labs accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, the university reported.
