2006 graduates’ scores less than peers’ on ACT exams
The high school class of 2006 in Colorado trailed peers across the nation in performance on the ACT college entrance exam, according to the latest test results prepared for release today.
Overall scores rose slightly for Colorado students, but the results showed low levels of college preparation in science education and large gaps in performance between white students and minorities.
Since 2001, all Colorado high school juniors have been required to take the ACT at the state’s expense under the state’s assessment testing program. For the 2006 graduating class, 47,105 students took the test.
Nineteen percent of Colorado students met benchmark scores in all sections of the ACT: English, math, science and reading, compared with 21 percent of students nationally.
In English, 63 percent of Colorado students met the benchmark; 35 percent met the math benchmark; 49 percent met the reading benchmark; and 25 percent met the science benchmark.
CENTENNIAL
Woman charged after baby’s body found
A woman who authorities said put her newborn in a trash bag and left the baby in the bed of a pickup truck where the child died was charged Monday with first-degree murder.
Christie Cole, 23, is being held without bail in the Arapahoe County Detention Center, said Kathleen Walsh, director of communications for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s office.
Cole was arrested Thursday by Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies after a bag containing a box with the remains of a child inside was discovered in the bed of a truck formerly owned by Cole’s boyfriend, police said.
Authorities said Cole gave birth to a child in October. Walsh would not say if the baby was related to Cole’s boyfriend.
Cole will appear in court Oct. 13 for a preliminary hearing.
GRAND JUNCTION
W. Colorado fire ban on public lands lifted
A 2-month-old fire ban for much of western Colorado’s public lands was lifted Tuesday based on recent rainfall.
The federal Bureau of Land Management has ended the prohibition on open fires on its lands around Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs. Fire restrictions also were lifted in Mesa County.
“The public has done an excellent job of being careful this fire season,” said Grand Junction Interagency Air Center operations specialist Chris Farinetti. “There have been some minor (incidents) but no major human-caused fires, and we appreciate the public’s diligence in preventing catastrophic wildfires.”
Authorities with the White River and the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests lifted restrictions for those areas on Aug. 1.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Deputy police chief to serve as interim chief
Dave Felice, deputy chief of the Colorado Springs Police Department, will serve as interim chief until a permanent chief is hired.
Felice became a police officer in September 1980 and was sworn in as deputy chief of the operations unit in June 2002.
“The department is in very capable hands and the process for hiring a new leader is underway,” said City Manager Lorne Kramer. “Dave Felice’s leadership during this transition will allow us to carry out a thorough search to identify and hire the most qualified candidate for this key position.”
Chief Luis Velez will retire from the department on Sept. 1.
YUMA
Officials set hearing on diesel fuel supply
Two rural state lawmakers will hold an emergency meeting Thursday in Yuma to discuss the recent shortage of diesel fuel and the impact on the upcoming harvest.
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, have asked representatives from the agriculture, transportation and fuel industries to come together.
“We must find out if there is going to be enough fuel available for the critical harvest season and what the options are if the anticipated shortage occurs,” Gardner said in a news release.
The meeting will seek to find solutions to the problem.
AURORA
Man listed as critical after being stabbed
A man was in extremely critical condition Tuesday after being stabbed multiple times and knocking on the door of a home early Tuesday looking for help, police said.
The stabbing victim’s name was not released, and police continue to investigate the incident, said Marcus Dudley, police spokesman.
At about 2:45 a.m., dispatchers received an emergency call from a home on the 1300 block of Kingston Street, Dudley said. The home owner said a man who was bleeding heavily had come to the door.
The injured man was immediately taken to University Hospital in Denver for treatment, Dudley said.
The man was in surgery and was in extremely critical condition, he said.
The victim was with another man who also knocked on the door. That man is being interviewed, but he has not offered much assistance to the detectives, Dudley said.
DENVER
Beauprez will host immigration hearings
U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, the Republican Party’s nominee for governor, plans to hold town hall meetings on immigration and border security on Thursday.
The meetings will include representatives from the Colorado Department of Labor, the U.S. Social Security Administration and other agencies.
The meetings, scheduled to last 90 minutes each, are at 10 a.m. in the Lakewood City Council Chambers, 480 S. Allison Parkway, and at 2:15 p.m. in the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.
GEORGETOWN
Loop railroad suffers temporary shutdown
The Georgetown Loop railroad, a popular tourist attraction 50 miles west of Denver, has been shut down after the line’s sole backup engine ran into mechanical difficulties.
Officials at the corkscrewing narrow-gauge railroad hope to be back up and running by Thursday with a refurbished steam engine, No. 9, assuming that it passes today’s planned boiler inspection.
The troubles began last week when the 80-year-old No. 12 steam engine snapped its axle.
Then, over the weekend, the diesel-electric engine used as a backup blew a traction motor, spokesman Tom Hill said.
Repairs are underway, and tourists with reservations are being rescheduled or are receiving refunds.
