Families of two boys who drowned in drainage ditches in Colorado Springs and Longmont can sue the cities because government immunity did not apply at the time of the accidents, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The court, in a unanimous ruling, said a 2003 law that extended government immunity to sanitation facilities including storm water drainage ditches applied only to accidents after July 1, 2003, the date the law went into effect.
The ruling immediately affects one other case, allowing a separate lawsuit against Colorado Springs and El Paso County to go forward.
In the Longmont case, Judith Henry-Hobbs sued the city after her 10-year-old son, Michael Henry, drowned while riding an inner tube down an drainage ditch.
In the Colorado Springs case, Valerie Powell sued the city after her 5-year-old son, Steven Powell, drowned in a rain-swollen drainage ditch. Her 12-year-old son, James Powell, was injured by the fast-moving water but was able to pull himself to safety.
Both drownings occurred in August 1997.
The third case stemmed from a lawsuit against Colorado Springs and El Paso County filed by property owners along Fountain Creek who claimed damage from flooding in 1999 was caused in part by the governments’ drainage systems.
STATEWIDE
Weak runoff to keep Western Slope dry
River runoff is likely to be sluggish this spring and summer, according to the latest state forecast by snowpack experts.
“It doesn’t look good. For most of the state, it’s 70 to 90 percent of average,” said snow survey expert Mike Gillespie, of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Colorado’s Western Slope is likely to be the driest region this summer, Gillespie said, with some streams and rivers predicted to run at about 50 to 70 percent of average flows.
Any problems from a weak runoff season could be eased by healthy reservoir storage across the state, Gillespie said.
Since a low in 2002, the state’s reservoirs have slowly grown more full, with volume today at about 103 percent of average, Gillespie said.
DENVER
Governor vetoes gym-teacher licensing
Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday vetoed a bill that would set licensing requirements for physical-education teachers in districts with more than 1,500 students.
On the campaign trail last year, Ritter had said he supported Republican Gov. Bill Owens’ veto of a similar measure.
In his second veto message, Ritter said he is preventing House Bill 1122 from becoming law because it didn’t exempt “small schools found in larger districts.” He cited Archuleta High School, with 54students, as an example.
“In the end, my decision is founded on the likelihood that, though well-intentioned, HB 1122 could further restrict rather than expand physical-education courses in our schools,” Ritter wrote.
METRO DENVER
Payroll problems, sick days plague CDOT
Orange flu?
A dozen Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance workers in the Denver area called in sick Sunday, apparently because of ongoing dissatisfaction with a new payroll system that has delayed some payments to employees.
CDOT had scheduled about 80 maintenance workers in the metro area for an expanded “snow shift” on Sunday, said spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
“We’re trying to work through any pay issues,” Stegman said.
After the new payroll system was launched late last year, CDOT had to resolve at least 3,200 time-sheet errors in November, Stegman said. As a sign of improvement, in March, officials had to resolve fewer than 100, she added.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Jailed man dies after ingested bags rupture
A 34-year-old man who apparently swallowed three bags of a dangerous drug was found dead Sunday at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.
Dustin Elbert was found unresponsive at 5:05 p.m. Sunday by a deputy. An autopsy showed Elbert died of a drug overdose after two of the bags ruptured.
Elbert was taken to jail Saturday after a deputy stopped him for a traffic violation and found he had an outstanding felony parole violation warrant for escape and dangerous drugs. A deputy also found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
FORT CARSON
Two soldiers killed in Baghdad explosion
Two Fort Carson soldiers died Wednesday when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations.
Killed were Pfc. Walter Freeman Jr., 20, of Lancaster, Calif., and Pfc. Derek A. Gibson, 20, of Eustis, Fla.
The men were killed in Baghdad while fighting with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
So far, 193 Fort Carson soldiers have died since the war in Iraq started in March 2003.
CRAIG
Effort falls short to recall prosecutor
A Craig woman who disagrees with the way 14th Judicial District Attorney Bonnie Roesink handled the prosecution of a driver who killed her brother did not turn in a sufficient number of signatures Monday to force a recall election.
Kathy Oberwitte launched a petition drive in Grand, Routt and Moffat counties after a driver who was allegedly on methamphetamine and fell asleep crashed into her brother’s vehicle and was charged with a misdemeanor.
Roesink said she filed the misdemeanor charge of careless driving resulting in death because blood evidence seized by the Colorado State Patrol was illegally seized and would not be admissable in court. Several attorneys who did independent reviews of the case reached the same conclusion.
RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF.
Betty Ford leaves hospital after surgery
Former first lady Betty Ford has been released from a hospital after undergoing surgery last week, her office said in a statement Monday.
“Mrs. Ford is resting comfortably at her home. She is recovering well,” the statement said.
It did not say when Ford, who turned 89 on Sunday, was released from Eisenhower Medical Center.
The Ford office has not disclosed the nature of the surgery, and a call to the office was not immediately returned.
“Mrs. Ford and the Ford family extend thanks to everyone for their prayers, well wishes, cards and flowers,” the statement said.
Ford’s husband, former President Gerald Ford, died in December at age 93.
The Ford family has been part-time residents of the Vail Valley since the 1970s.
