Creede – A fire destroyed two buildings built in 1892 in this small historical mining town about 256 miles southwest of Denver.
Mineral County Sheriff Bill Leggitt said the fire may have started near a hot-water heater in the southeast corner of Journey’s, a coffee shop popular with bicyclists. “It looks like it started there, then spread to the First National Bank,” Leggitt said.
The fire was reported at 11:55 p.m. after the sheriff’s department received a bank security alarm call. More than 27 volunteer firefighters from Mineral and South Fork counties battled the blaze, and by 3:30 a.m., the fire was under control, Leggitt said.
One sheriff’s deputy was slightly injured after he slipped on ice. He required several stitches in the back of his head, but no other injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
LARIMER COUNTY
Ft. Collins man jailed in death of boy, 2
A Fort Collins man was arrested Friday on charges of child abuse resulting in the death of a 2-year-old boy.
Andrew C. Jones, 27, is suspected in the death of Dartanian Whelan, whose mother Jones lives with.
Jones called 911 in June to say Whelan had fallen in a shower and hurt himself. Medical personnel found the boy unconscious in a bathtub.
The boy was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital, then airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Denver. He was taken off life support two weeks later on July 1.
Adams County coroner Dr. Michael Arnall ruled Oct. 13 that the child’s death was a homicide, listing blunt-force trauma to the head as the cause of death.
The Larimer County district attorney charged Jones with child abuse resulting in death, a Class 2 felony. He is being held on $250,000 bail.
The boy’s mother, Darlene Clark, 29, was at work at the time of the 911 call, authorities said.
DENVER
Order blocking man’s deportation revoked
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has revoked a Nov. 20 order that temporarily blocked deportation of a Pakistani-American resident of Denver once targeted by the FBI as a terrorist.
Jailed for more than two years, Haroon Rashid faces deportation for a misdemeanor assault against a gang member who hassled his family. All federal charges against him have been dropped.
Rashid has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a misdemeanor assault should not be grounds for deportation. Federal prosecutors in Washington had asked for the revocation, and the federal appeals court in Denver on Thursday granted it, saying Rashid could seek a stay of deportation directly from the Supreme Court.
DENVER
SUV driver dies after hitting trash truck
A driver was killed and another man was critically injured early Friday morning when the SUV they were in crashed into a garbage truck, officials say.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene on Colfax Avenue and Ivanhoe Street and the passenger was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, said John White, Denver police spokesman.
The identities of the two men have not been released pending notification of family members, White said.
The SUV was speeding east on Colfax about 2:20 a.m. when it hit the right side of the truck, which was blocking two lanes of traffic, White said.
KIOWA
Panel OKs scaled back 3,000-home project
Developer Ron Heggemeier is scaling back plans for the largest planned community in Elbert County in the face of opposition from neighbors.
Heggemeier had hoped to put 5,466 homes on the 2,371-acre Spring Valley Vista development in northwest Elbert County, a 70 percent increase in the current number of homes.
Thursday night, Heggemeier offered the county planning board a 3,249-home development, and the board compromised and approved 3,000.
The Elbert County Commission is scheduled to debate the recommendation Wednesday.
Hundreds of residents have railed against the plan at public meetings the past two months. The compromise has not allayed their concerns about the plan’s density and water use, opponent John Dornan said.
“I think if he came in and said 2,000, most people would be OK with it,” he said.
