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Saturday, June 24th - Woman Missing From Estes Park...

Estes Park Police are asking area residents to be on the look out for a 20 year old exchange student, who has been missing since Sunday.

Pratistha Budhathoki from Nepal was reported missing on Sunday when she failed to show up at her job at the Munchin' House in Estes Park.

Friends, coworkers and police have all stated that not showing up or calling is very out of character for the woman, who is known to be a very responsible person.

Budhathoki is described as 5’3” tall, 130 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Jim Kenney of the Estes Park Police Department at: 970-586-4000.

Friday, June 23rd - County Smoking Ordinance Replaced...

In light of the new SmokeFree Colorado law, which goes into effect July 1st, Larimer County Commissioners voted to replace the county’s current smoking ordinance with the new state law when it goes into effect on July 1st.  The action was taken at the Commissioner’s Administrative Matters weekly meeting on Tuesday, June 20th.

"Now that the smoking regulations for the county and the state are one and the same, we can avoid considerable confusion,” said County Commissioner Karen Wagner.  “I'm pleased the day has come when our state and county have both recognized the health risks of secondhand smoke."

The new state law, which offers protection to all workers, visitors and residents statewide from exposure to secondhand smoke, a known carcinogen, pre-empts the former County law which has been in effect since 1994.  This means that unincorporated communities throughout Larimer County, though no longer under the county smoking ordinance, will have to abide by the new state law when it takes effect.

 “Secondhand smoke is a serious public health issue,” said Dr. Adrienne LeBailly, director of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment. LeBailly says that studies have shown a strong association between secondhand smoke and the deaths of thousands of nonsmokers each year from heart disease, respiratory disease, and lung cancer. “We will all be healthier with this new law.” 

Local law enforcement agencies, including the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, will be responsible for enforcing the law.  However, according to according to Nancy Grove, Larimer County’s Tobacco Education and Prevention Program Supervisor, “Experience in other communities that have passed similar local laws demonstrates that the majority of businesses and their customers will comply with the law and that enforcement will be minimal.  In the nearly 3 years that Fort Collins has been smoke-free, only two tickets have been issued.” 

In communities that currently have comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws, the law which offers greater protection from secondhand smoke exposure takes precedence. 

Colorado becomes the 13th state to pass a statewide smoke-free law that includes restaurants and bars, joining California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington, as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.  Hundreds of cities and counties across the United States have also taken action, as have whole countries including Ireland, England, Uruguay, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden and Italy.

For more information on SmokeFree Colorado, call 1-888-701-2006 or visit www.SmokeFreeColorado.org.

Thursday, June 22nd - Governor Imposes Fire Restrictions...

On Wednesday, Governor Bill Owens ordered a ban on fireworks and open fires on all State owned lands including all State Parks and State Forests. 

The Governor made this decision based on the dangerous fire conditions and numerous recent fires across the state, after visiting the site of the 11,800 acre fire burning near Fort Garland.

In addition, penalties for violating the fire ban were increased with offenders now facing up to twelve years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels have temporarily lessened the fire danger in our immediate area, but many other areas across the state are still facing extreme fire danger.

The fire conditions this year have been likened to the disastrous fire season in 2002, when 235 homes and countless acres of land were destroyed by wildfires.

Wednesday, June 21st - Summer Begins Today...

The Summer Solstice occurred today at 6:26AM MDT, officially beginning our summer season here in the northern hemisphere, and the winter season for those in the southern hemisphere.

The Summer Solstice occurs when the sun is at it's farthest point north in it's seasonal movement. This apparent movement of the sun is actually due to a wobble in the Earth's orbit.

The Earth will now start to tilt back giving the appearance of the Sun moving further southward in our skies. This tilt and resulting apparent southern movement of the Sun in our sky will continue until the Winter Solstice on December 21st.

Today, the day of the Summer Solstice, also has the the longest daylight period of any day in the year, with the day of the Winter Solstice having the shortest amount of daylight.

Tuesday, June 20th - Lights, Camera, Freeze...

An independent film crew, Twelve Monkeys Dancing Films from Denver, was surprised on Saturday afternoon when the Larimer County Sheriff's SWAT team swarmed their shoot.

Crews were reportedly filming a hostage scene in North Pines Campground near Carter Lake when a passing motorist saw what they felt was a real hostage situation, alerting the authorities.

SWAT officers arrived on the scene at approximately 3:30pm with weapons drawn, including automatic M16 rifles, ordering everyone onto the ground. Crew members and actors tried to explain, but were told to shut up by the officers. After a 30 minute investigation, the crew and actors were released.

While the film crew claimed to have a park permit and to have been filming for hours prior to the incident, sheriff's deputies stated that they did not have a commercial permit and failed to notify the proper authorities. The film from the shoot was confiscated and is currently being held by the Larimer County Sheriff's Department.

Director Eileen Agosta and lead actor Chris Borden were subsequently cited for disorderly conduct and both are scheduled to appear in court in August.

Monday, June 19th - Red Flag Warning Until 8PM...

The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Red Flag Warning for much of the northern mountains and foothills, including the Drake, Glen Haven and Storm Mountain areas, in effect until 8PM MDT tonight.

Moderate winds, low humidity and high afternoon temperatures are expected to create conditions favorable for the start and rapid growth of wildfires.

Residents are advised to use extreme caution with any outdoor flame and to stay alert for potential wildfires in the area.

The complete text of this official warning can be found via the link provided below.

Red Flag Warning

Sunday, June 18th - Photo Of The Week...

In June many species of wildflowers cover the local hillsides, like this Prairie Wild Rose featured in this week's photo of the week.

The Prairie Wild Rose (Rosa arkansana) is common from Canada to Texas and is found at altitudes up to 9000 feet.

Prairie Wild Rose is a small shrub. Plants spring from stout horizontal roots and are usually less than a foot tall in our area, dying back to the ground each winter. However, some plants persist as obvious shrubs up to three feet tall. Stems are beset with reddish prickles. The alternate leaves are odd-pinnate with 7-11 leaflets toothed on the upper half. The five-petalled flowers are about two inches wide, and vary from pink to white or rarely deep rose. Three or more flowers are borne on new-growth branches that are unarmed with prickles.

Prairie Wild Rose can be found in prairies, sandy tame pastures, roadsides, and at the edges of woods. Plants seem to be slightly more abundant in heavily and moderately grazed pastures in cool moist soils of eastern and central North Dakota, but decrease under heavy grazing in the warm dry soils to the west. Roses are used as foods (preserves, candies, sauces), drinks (teas, wines), flavorings, and perfumes, and the essential oils have been used as medicines.

The genus Rosa contains over 100 species, all found in the northern hemisphere. The specific plant, arkansana, was named for the Arkansas River of Colorado.

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