Beetles’ fatal fungus infects record 425,000 forest acres
Mountain pine beetles infested a record 425,000 acres of Colorado forests last year, a state report says.
The Colorado State Forest Service report, given to state legislators Wednesday, attributed the epidemic to “the combination of aging lodgepole pine forests and several years of severe drought.”
The infestation spread mainly through north-central forests, from Vail and Dillon to Grand Lake, in 2005.
The beetle kills mature trees, 80 years and older, by spreading a fungus through them while its larvae eat the bark. In the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests, where the infestation is heaviest, nearly all the lodgepole pines are at least that old.
Foresters worry that stands of dead pines will increase wildfire risks to people living in towns nearby. They say there is no practical way to stop the epidemic, but they advise cutting dead trees near homes.
ENGLEWOOD
Man, 47, arrested in fatal shooting
A 47-year-old Englewood man was arrested Wednesday morning in connection with the fatal shooting of another man at an apartment complex at 3726 S. Acoma St., police spokesman Jim Ulrich said.
Paul Cropper was arrested without incident, he said.
Officers and paramedics were called to the complex at 5:50 a.m. and found the victim, identified by 9News as Gregg Miller, 39, lying in the courtyard, not breathing and with no pulse. He was taken to Swedish Medical Center, where he reportedly died.
Ulrich reported that neighbors said there was a loud argument outside the apartments, followed by six or seven gunshots. The victim received multiple gunshot wounds to his chest.
AURORA
New police chief plans reorganization
Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates announced a series of organizational moves he’s planning to make in the next few weeks, and hinted more are on the way.
Oates, who came from Ann Arbor, Mich., three months ago, told a City Council subcommittee on public safety he intends for the moves to make Aurora a safer community.
He’s creating a full-time criminal apprehension team with a sergeant, four detectives and two officers. He’s beefing up the Special Victims Investigative Section to handle all sex crimes under one unit. The major crimes unit will investigate all shootings, not just homicides. And the District 3 substation will be staffed 24 hours a day. Previously, the district was covered overnight by officers from District 2.
Oates said next week he will announce a series of “significant personnel changes” for the department.
DENVER
3rd Brents victim files civil suit against DA
A woman who was severely beaten by serial rapist Brent J. Brents a year ago is the third victim to file a civil lawsuit against the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, alleging negligence.
Tiffany Engle, who surprised Brents in a Denver apartment she managed, filed suit on Friday against the DA’s office, former DA Jim Peters, current DA Carol Chambers, Deputy District Attorney Bob Chappell and administrative secretary Jennifer Tracey.
Engle, 34, seeks unspecified damages. She was one of four victims to settle with the city of Aurora, whose officials paid the victims $60,000 apiece.
Engle wasn’t raped by Brents, but he beat her with a 2-by-4 piece of wood and left her for dead after tying her up and beating and choking her in a vacant Denver apartment on Feb. 18, 2005. She endured numerous surgeries and still has residual pain from the attacks.
GOLDEN
Ex-Owens aide Eid seeks CU regents seat
Troy Eid, former chief administrative officer for Gov. Bill Owens, announced Wednesday he is seeking an at-large seat on the University of Colorado board of regents.
Eid, a Golden attorney, said he wants to help restore public confidence in CU.
“We can continue to watch as parents and students become more alienated from the University of Colorado or we can take a stand,” he said. “No more Ward Churchills.”
Eid was named “outstanding government official of the year” for the western United States by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Chicago Law School.
U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard is honorary chair of Eid’s campaign.
BOULDER
Another audit of CU diversity funds sought
The conservative Independence Institute said Wednesday it wants another state audit of the University of Colorado unless it provides specifics on how it spends $21.7 million tagged for diversity.
Jessica Peck Corry, one of 60 members of CU’s Blue Ribbon Commission on diversity and director of the institute’s campus accountability project, said the Boulder campus should examine programs aimed at supporting minority students and possibly combine them before throwing more money into diversity.
CU-Boulder gave Corry several spreadsheets showing how much it spends on personnel, operating costs and scholarships for diversity-related programs. The $21.7 million includes funding for departments such as ethnic studies, disability services and counseling.
Corry said CU should find a way to further specify diversity spending, prove diversity programs are working and show they are run efficiently.
Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said he would consider requesting a state audit if the university does not cooperate with Corry’s requests.
DENVER
Election commission shifts to Webb center
The Denver Election Commission has moved to the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building.
Early this month, the commission left its former offices in the Minoru Yasui Building for the city’s municipal center. Residents needing services from the commission should go to the Webb building.
The new address is: Denver Election Commission, 303 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 101, Denver, CO 80204.
For more information call 720-913-VOTE (8683).
FORT CARSON
Ex-soldier missing 2 weeks found dead
A former soldier from Oklahoma who has been missing for two weeks was found dead at this Colorado Springs post, Army officials said Wednesday.
The body of Joseph Barker, 21, of Tulsa, Okla., was discovered Tuesday near a sewage treatment plant, Army spokeswoman Dee McNutt said.
The cause of death was not released. An autopsy was planned, McNutt said. Barker had been missing since Feb. 8.
