Strict smoking ban goes into effect
Eagle County on Saturday imposed one of the nation’s toughest anti-smoking bans, but don’t expect to see deputies cracking down.
Sheriff Joe Hoy said his deputies won’t get involved unless there is a confrontation such as a smoker refusing to leave a nonsmoking area.
The ordinance bans smoking within 25 feet of any public place. At the moment, the county hasn’t developed a ticket that could be issued for such a violation but if there is a confrontation the offender could be cited for disturbing the peace or trespassing, Hoy said.
Smoking will still be permitted in two towns, Vail and Minturn. Avon has decided to adopt the county ordinance.
Vail Resorts has banned smoking in its on-mountain facilities for 10 years, spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said. Although the new ordinance would apply to a chairlift rider, Ladyga said, lift operators won’t be challenging smokers. She said they have to focus on lift safety.
Snowboarder found dead in deep snow
A juvenile snowboarder riding out-of-bounds at Loveland Basin Ski Area died Friday when he apparently suffocated in deep snow, said Lt. Rick Albers of the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.
The youth, Chris Toukan, was part of a church group from Central City, Neb., Albers said. The boy’s identity was confirmed by Nebraska Christian School Superintendent Daniel Woods. Officials withheld his age Saturday.
The victim was reported missing by two companions about 4:30 p.m. Friday. He was found by Loveland Basin Ski patrol at 6:45 p.m. below a cliff area.
“He got into snow he couldn’t get out of,” Albers said.
The three snowboarders took the No. 1 lift to the top of Loveland Basin and climbed a ridge with the intention of skiing from Loveland Basin to Loveland Valley. Two of the ‘boarders emerged on U.S. 6 but the victim did not. The friends said they had split up around the cliff area.
It’s impossible to ski from one ski area to the other because they are divided by the highway, Albers said. “Ski area boundary” and “Danger” signs were posted, Albers said.
Boy survives plunge from hotel’s 3rd story
A 5-year-old boy survived a fall from a third-story hotel window Saturday.
Aurora police were called at 6:25 p.m. to the Best Western Gateway Inn and Suites at 800 S. Abilene St.
The boy was playing near the window with another child when he leaned on the window and the screen gave way, police said.
“It’s remarkable nothing seriously happened to him,” said Aurora Police Lt. Dave Williams.
The boy was being cared for by his grandfather, who was visiting from South Dakota.
Crimes Against Children investigated the accident and no charges were brought against the grandfather, officials said.
The boy, whose name was not released by police, received several abrasions and was treated and released from the Medical Center of Aurora.
S.D., Tenn. officials finalists for UW post
Campus leaders from North Dakota State University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville are the finalists for the University of Wyoming presidency, UW announced Friday.
Joseph A. Chapman, president of NDSU, and Loren Crabtree, chancellor at UT, will visit Laramie in late March or early April for interviews with UW faculty, staff and students.
The university didn’t name a third finalist, saying that person withdrew rather than participate in public interviews.
Interim president Tom Buchanan was among those who applied, but David Palmerlee, who led the search committee, would not say whether Buchanan was the third finalist.
Chapman earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Oregon State University and worked as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist .
He was dean of the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University from 1983 to 1996 and senior vice president and provost at Montana State University before becoming president at NDSU in 1999.
Crabtree was an administrator at Colorado State University for a decade, as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1991 through 1997, then as provost and academic vice president until 2001, when he moved to UT.
Snows warm hearts of skiers, farmers
Spring may be only a week and a half away, but it still seems like January in the Sierra Nevada. A string of powerful March storms boosted the hopes of skiers, farmers and others who count on the Sierra snowpack for recreation or livelihood.
At Alpine Meadows ski resort’s base lodge, just north of Lake Tahoe, this month’s storms have left 8 feet of snow, compared with the 35-year average of 5 1/2 feet for all of March, spokeswoman Rachael Woods said.
Higher up, at the resort’s mid-mountain, March storms so far have dumped 11 feet of snow, compared with the month’s average of 7 1/2 feet.
The latest storm had brought up to another 21 inches of snow to the region by Friday morning. The National Weather Service was calling for a chance of snow every day through at least Thursday around Lake Tahoe.
“I’m baffled by how phenomenal the conditions are right now,” Woods said Friday.
“Since March 1, we’ve had only three half-day breaks in the snowfall. This is one of the snowiest periods that I can recall up here in March.”
The storms have set the stage for a long, above-average spring skiing season in the Sierra, resort officials said.
