By Shannon Lukens.
Routt County Search and Rescue helped rescue seven snowmobilers from the Leadville area in a 19-hour mission starting Friday night. The men were stuck up between Lost Lake and the second bridge in the Fish Creek Falls area. They were all safely rescued by the local search and rescue teams shortly after noon on Saturday, via Buff Pass. Jay Bowman with Routt County Search and Rescue says if you are recreating in the back country right now, be prepared to spend the night.
“That means lots of extra warm clothes, food, water, and the ability to build a fire, stay warm, and also make sure your cell phones are charged.”
The deep snow is affecting wildlife. A Nordic skier came upon a herd of pronghorn that had been attacked in the snow in Routt County in mid-January. They say 20 to 25 of them were dead in a field. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it is possible they were scavenged on by coyotes when they were stuck in the snow. CPW says there is a higher mortality rate for wildlife when there is a winter with heavy snow like we are having in Routt and Moffat counties because animals gather closer to the roads. Earlier this month in Moffat County, 53 pronghorn were killed in two separate accidents on the roads. A semi-ran into 35 pronghorn on the highway near Dinosaur. A pickup hit and killed 18 pronghorn on a county road near Craig.
Courtesy photo
Skiers and riders enjoyed plenty of powder on the slopes of Steamboat over the weekend. As of Sunday morning, January has seen 114 inches of snow at mid-mountain. That’s back-to-back months with over 100 inches recorded there. The summit at Steamboat Resort has had over 28 feet of snow (345 inches) at the summit so far this season.
The search begins Monday for a new Police Chief in Steamboat Springs. Police Chief Sherry Burlingame announced her resignation late Friday, after heading up the local force for just over a year. Her resignation letter says she plans to retire after 26 years in law enforcement. City Manager Gary Suiter says it is a “personnel issue,” so no other details are being released. Suiter is meeting with the interim chief today. That’s Commander Mark Beckett. Suiter will meet with everyone in the Steamboat Springs Police Department on Wednesday in an effort to move forward.
The head coach of the Hayden High School Boys Basketball team is currently out of the district. It was the first season of coaching the team for Casey Schaeffel. Hayden School District Superintendent Christy Sinner says a return date for Schaeffel is unknown. She says it is a personnel issue that no other details can be given. The Hayden boys basketball team will be coached by previous coach Bryan Richards in the interim.
William Scholle was acquitted of three charges in Routt County Court Friday evening. Scholle was on trial for 1st degree assault, menacing, and prohibited use of a weapon in connection with the shooting of an intoxicated trespasser in the stomach, on his 150-acre home-ranch in January last year.
District Attorney Matt Karzen told Steamboat Radio News: “Mr. Scholle raised the defenses of self-defense/defense of others, defense of premises and choice of evils, each of which would need to be disproved beyond a reasonable doubt in order to authorize a conviction.”
Karzen added, “The law of justified gun violence in Colorado is ultimately a question of whether that level of violence is objectively ‘reasonable’ under the circumstances, so it is very fact specific. This case revealed the difference between the protocols of responsible gun ownership as taught in safety classes like the concealed carry class, and Colorado statutes addressing justified violence. Those two concepts are not the same thing, and they conflict on the question of how a person should behave with a gun. An unarmed, intoxicated man was shot in the stomach and permanently injured, so it was important that 12 Routt County citizens have the opportunity to help define where the balance should be between what we teach people in gun safety classes, and what may be legally justified. The District Attorney’s Office is extremely grateful for the jurors’ dedicated and thoughtful attention to the evidence throughout the week.”
The District Attorney’s Office said they are grateful for the 12 jurors, and one alternate, who served on the jury for the week-long case.
Stan Garnett is the attorney for Mr. Scholle. He is with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, out of Denver. He adds, “Routt County rancher Bill Scholle, 40, who has never committed any crime, was unanimously found not guilty by a Routt County jury for firing one shot to protect his wife and young family from an intruder at their rural home on January 29, 2022. Bill, and his family, thank the jury for their attentiveness during the long trial and their understanding of the concept of self-defense, which is deeply rooted in Colorado law.”
Moffat County Libraries would like your opinion on how to serve the community better. The QR Code is on the flyer. Link for the survey
Bud Werner Memorial Library in Steamboat Springs invites you to Winter Jazz with The Cat Pack. It’s live jazz from local musicians, at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Check out upcoming events in the Yampa Valley on the Community Calendar on our website.
For the KRAI Time, Temp, and Weather Hotline, call 970-824-1918.