A Craig man was arrested earlier this month, and jailed on multiple charges. 36-year-old Clinton David Ginther was charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree assault, violation of bail bonds, violation of bail bond conditions, violation of a restraining order, and domestic violence. It had to do with a disturbance call at a home on Russell Street, and he wasn’t supposed to be there. An arrest affidavit says Ginther left the area, but police found him in an alley, and his eyes were closed. He had been sprayed in the face with some sort of self-defense spray, after a woman in the house found him hiding in the basement. There were also four restraining orders in place against Ginther. He is still in jail on $20,000 in total bonds. He has a court date today.
Vanessa Jenkins is out on bond. The 26-year-old was charged and jailed in the death of her 3-year-old son on Christmas Eve, in a house fire. Her bond had been set at $10,000. Jenkins will next appear in Moffat County Court at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 23.
Colorado Highway 13 north of Craig is getting widened, with some reconstruction work. The 70-year-old drainage structures are being replaced, and rumble strips will be added. The road will have 12-foot drive lanes with eight-foot paved shoulders. Colorado Department of Transportation and Elam Construction are doing the $11 million project. Expect one lane with alternating traffic with speeds reduced to 35 miles per hour. Work crews will be there Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Work starts next week. The Highway 13 project should be finished by July 2020.
Results are in for the Craig municipal election. Jarrod Ogden will be the new mayor of Craig with 760 votes to 728 votes for incumbent John Ponikvar. The three open seats on Craig City Council will be filled by Paul James, Brian MacKenzie, and Steven Mazzuca.
Today is municipal election day. About 1,000 residents have turned in their ballots as of Monday. Election officials in Craig hope to have all votes counted and recorded by 8 p.m. today.
A controlled burn near Hayden. Photo by Shannon Lukens.
The Bureau of Land Management will be having some managed burns as soon as conditions are just right. They’ll be on Douglas Mountain about five miles southeast of Greystone, and the in the Browns Peak area along BLM road 166. About 1,300 acres will be designated for controlled burns in Moffat, Eagle, and Grand Counties.
Production is down at Twentymile Coal Company’s Foidel Creek Mine. It dropped by 20 percent last year, producing 3 million tons of coal, as opposed to 3.8 in 2017. The number of employees working at the mine has also dropped, according to the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. In December of 2012, the mine employed 451 people. Last December, that number had dropped to 266. Peabody Energy owns Twentymile.
The Craig Police department is getting a new police dog. The issue was brought up at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. More than five years’ worth of drug enforcement data shows a steady rise in drug felonies and distribution cases. Corporal Grant Laehr says 2019 is shaping up to be one of Craig’s worst years yet for drug charges. The dog is expected to cost $4,000 and training would take about a year. Then add on equipment and care and it totals about $10,000. Craig Mayor John Ponikvar is in favor of the new drug canine. The new police dog should be at work on the streets of Craig in 2020.
Geoffrey Duzik is still in the Moffat County Jail. The Craig man has been found incompetent to face trail on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder of a detention deputy. He is still waiting for transfer to the state psychiatric hospital in Pueblo for further evaluation. Duzik was supposed to be in court Tuesday for a review hearing but he refused to get dressed or leave his cell. 130 people are on the waiting list to be evaluated at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.
Buckle up. CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol are in the middle of a Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign. It is targeting areas of rural Colorado, which typically have the lowest seat belt use in the state. Last year, 215 unbuckled drivers and passengers were killed in crashes in Colorado. If you don’t buckle up and you get caught, the fine starts at $65, and for kids not restrained properly, that penalty starts at $82. Continue reading →
Roads around Northwest Colorado have been slippery, especially last night, with blinding snow blowing on top of Rabbit Ears Pass. Tom Kreimier with the Rabbit Ears CDOT Patrol said it came on quickly.
Kreimier says it was very scary and very slick, with several cars sliding into snowbanks. 17-year-old Jordan Belley crashed and rolled his car on its side in the middle of Hwy 40 as he was coming up the pass from Steamboat, and around a corner.
A car rolled on its side on Rabbit Ears Pass Sunday night. Photo courtesy Shannon Lukens.
Belley is OK, but the car isn’t. While it may be spring, winter driving conditions aren’t over yet.
After Sunday night’s snow, it should be pretty nice this week… clear and sunny. We may get some showers and thunderstorms Thursday, with snow Thursday night and Friday.
One person died and another has severe burns after an explosion and fire at a house early Sunday, near Grand Lake. The house was on Mad Moose Lane. No word on the cause but investigators think it might be because of a natural gas explosion.
The Economic Development Committee for the City of Craig meets at 2 p.m. today, in the lower level of city hall. The new business grant program will be discussed along with other economic opportunities for residents and businesses.
Tuesday morning, the Moffat County Board of County Commissioners will show their support for a major natural gas pipeline that will stretch from Colorado to Oregon’s coast. They’ll meet at 8:30 tomorrow to sign a resolution that says Moffat County wants an “active role” in helping state agencies and Native American tribes in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado bring natural gas to the west coast for shipment abroad.
A new Craig Soccer Club is being formed. It is an extension of the Steamboat Springs Soccer Club, but with kids from Craig. Now Craig players don’t have to drive to Steamboat to play, but can instead be part of the Craig Soccer Club which is aligned with the Colorado Soccer Association. The program is also being launched with the help of Doug Siegel, the coach of the CNCC men’s team. Local coaches will be hired in Craig to run practices and coach the games. Two four-week sessions will be in May and in June for players ages 9-14. An informational meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at CNCC in room 175. For more information, visit http://www.steamboat-soccer.com or call 970-870-1520.
Jasen Kettle of Craig recently won the Jack Robinson Lifting Classic in Greeley, for the fourth straight year. It was in the bench press, where he lifted 345 pounds.
Bernie Weber of Rifle turns 101 on Thursday. The Colorado resident is one of Garfield County’s oldest residents, now living at the Veterans Nursing Home in Rifle. Weber was on the USS Oklahoma when it was attacked in Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941.
For the weather, don’t forget to call the KRAI Time, Temp, and Weather Hotline at 970-824-1918.
Kelly Hatten has announced that he will be a write-in candidate for the mayoral race In Craig. The Craig Press reports Hatten officially filed his affidavit Thursday to run for Mayor of Craig. Those also running for mayor are Councilman Jarrod Ogden and incumbent Mayor John Ponikvar.
