Former after-school director facing 11 child-sex charges
The former director of a before- and after-school care program at Eldorado Elementary School in Highlands Ranch has been arrested on a warrant charging him with 11 counts of sexual assault on a child, Douglas County sheriff’s Lt. Alan Stanton said in a prepared statement.
Paul J. Arriola, 30, was arrested at his Aurora home Tuesday on two charges of sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust and nine counts of sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust – pattern of abuse, Stanton said.
Arriola posted $100,000 bond Wednesday, he said.
The charges relate to an incident or incidents dating to September.
The court records are sealed, and no further information is available, Stanton said.
LARIMER COUNTY
Official: Girl’s heart had signs of drug use
The heart of a 12-year-old Loveland girl who died in January hours after being cited for underage drinking was similar to that of someone with a history of drug use, Larimer County Deputy Coroner Dean Beers said in a statement.
Nikole Berthoud died from cardiomyopathy, an inflamed heart, but the manner of death is “undetermined,” Beers said.
The final autopsy report showed some alcohol in the form of ethanol in the girl’s blood, but no illicit drugs were in her system at the time of her death, he said.
In the opinion of Dr. Michael Arnall, a deputy coroner who performed the autopsy, Berthoud’s heart was “consistent with those seen in patients that were known to have a history of use/or exposure to stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine,” the statement said.
The doctor suggested that the ethanol in her system could have exacerbated the changes in her heart, it said.
BOULDER
CU prof Churchill, foe plan debate in D.C.
University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill and Students for Academic Freedom chairman David Horowitz will face off in a series of debates beginning April 6 at George Washington University in Washington, the Young America’s Foundation said.
The topic for debate will be “Can Politics Be Taken Out of the Classroom, and Should It Be?” Other dates have not been scheduled, but Jason Mattera with Young America’s Foundation said one debate will take place at CU-Boulder.
Horowitz is an outspoken critic of Churchill and other professors he accuses of spewing leftist rhetoric to college students. He is the author of “101 Most Dangerous Academics in America,” which stars the CU-Boulder ethnic studies professor.
Churchill’s essay comparing Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center victims to a Nazi bureaucrat triggered a national uproar and led to an investigation of his scholarship. CU expects to finish the investigation in May.
CHEYENNE
Man cited in crash that killed Auroran
A local man was cited for failing to yield while making a left turn, causing a crash that killed a truck driver from Colorado.
Police said Wednesday that a citation had been issued to James R. Russell, 79, of Cheyenne, who sustained minor injuries in the Feb. 28 crash at one of the city’s busiest intersections.
Daniel Queen, of Aurora, was driving the semi that collided with Russell’s car. Queen’s truck left the road and the cab caught fire, killing Queen.
Police said they still don’t know what caused the fire.
FARMINGTON, N.M.
Coloradan arrested after bomb found
San Juan County sheriffs deputies arrested a Colorado man after an officer discovered a homemade bomb containing bullets inside his broken-down vehicle when the man called for help because he was stranded.
Ryan Matthew Bowler, 24, of Montrose has been charged with possession of explosives, a misdemeanor.
Bowler had called the Sheriff’s Office from U.S. 550 south of Bloomfield on Tuesday.
A deputy who arrived to help him discovered an outstanding arrest warrant for Bowler and took him into custody.
His vehicle was towed, but police who searched it beforehand discovered a glass bottle containing gunpowder, something that looked like paper and live .22-caliber bullets.
DENVER
Clinic workers press for renewed talks
Workers at the Mental Health Corp. of Denver, who have been fighting with management over sick leave and health insurance since November, took their case Wednesday to the organization’s board of directors.
Union representatives presented a petition containing 200 signatures – from a membership at the agency of 291 – asking the board to force Dr. Carl Clark, the chief executive, back to the bargaining table.
However, Clark said he and representatives of the Service Employees International Union had been discussing since Monday a possible return to negotiations.
Employees of the corporation, a private, nonprofit organization that contracts with the city to provide mental health treatment, especially to those who can’t afford it, have been working without a contract since rejecting an offer in January.
WOLF CREEK
Forest Service road decision due April 3
U.S. Forest Service officials said the agency will roll out on April 3 its long-awaited Environmental Impact Statement and decision on access to the proposed Village at Wolf Creek. The development is proposed on 288 acres owned by Texas billionaire B.J. “Red” McCombs and partners, but the land is surrounded by national forest and the Wolf Creek Ski Area, whose owners oppose full build-out at the site.
The development plans call for up to 2,100 residences and 222,000 square feet of commercial space just off U.S. 160.
This story has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editor’s error, it included an outdated item about the Denver Election Commission’s move to the Webb building. The commission has moved to the Minoru Yasui Building at 303 W. Colfax Avenue.
