By Shannon Lukens.

 

 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has received a report of three wolves that were shot and killed within ten miles of the border of Wyoming, north of Jackson County. CPW has followed up with the individual and Wyoming Game and Fish. They aren’t releasing any other details right now, as to whether the wolves are part of the North Park pack. Lethal management against wolves is allowed in Wyoming. In 2021, Wyoming Game and Fish reported 314 wolves in at least 40 packs across the state of Wyoming.  In the annual report, there were 107 wolf mortalities in the state, of which 90 were human-caused.

 

Two women from Craig were arrested Monday on felony charges related to drug distribution. 58-year-old Paula Hall and 55-year-old Kristy Nielson were arrested during a traffic stop. The Moffat County Sheriff’s Office K9 named Odin alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Task Force Commander Bryan Gonzales with the All Crimes Enforcement Team has more on what was found.

“Approximately two pounds of methamphetamine, approximately10 grams of cocaine, and approximately 580 pills containing fentanyl.”

Gonzales says getting the drugs off the street has a potential to save many lives, especially the fentanyl.

“Studies have shown that four out of every ten fentanyl pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. So potentially lots of lives saved because of this investigation.”

Bond was set for $100,000 for Paula Hall because of previous convictions which would rank her as an habitual criminal. That’s according to Matthew Tjosvold from the District Attorney’s office. He added, “She is an extreme danger to the community.” Bond for Kristy Nielson was set at $1,000 personal recognizance bond because she was a passenger in the vehicle and it was not her vehicle. But the affidavit says she admitted to having a meth pipe and drugs on her. Both women are not allowed to have any contact with any witnesses in the case. And they are not allowed to have possession of or use any illegal controlled substances or use alcohol. They are both next in court on Oct. 27.

 

The Whitehaven Mobile Home Park is under contract to be purchased by Yampa Valley Housing Authority. The price of $3.125 million dollars was accepted on behalf of the Whitehaven residents. Closing is set for Nov. 30.

In a press release from the YVHA:

“We are so fortunate to work in a community that loves to solve its own problems and stepped up in this instance to make sure that we can maintain Whitehaven Mobile Home Park as safe, stable and affordable housing for Steamboat,” said Jason Peasley, executive director of YVHA. “YVHA intends to own the park for an interim period of time to stabilize lot rents, invest in infrastructure upgrades and work with the mobile homeowners to create a resident owned cooperative that can take over ownership of the park.”

YVHA made an offer for the Whitehaven Mobile Park in September after receiving two anonymous donations totaling $750,000 and favorable loans. In addition, the Yampa Valley Community Foundation committed to helping with this effort by setting up the Routt County Workforce Housing Preservation Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to preserve workforce housing for residents in Routt County, Colorado. Funds will be used for (1) the purchase of Whitehaven Mobile Home Park or emergency capital improvements at Whitehaven Mobile Home Park; or (2) if Whitehaven Mobile Home Park is sold, then funds will be used for purchase, preservation or emergency capital improvements of other mobile home parks or low-income housing in Routt County, Colorado.  Donations can be made at https://yvcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3376

The board for Yampa Valley Housing Authority meets at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. The agenda includes updates on Whitehaven, Brown Ranch, and Mid Valley.

 

In football, the game for the Moffat County Bulldogs has been moved to Thursday night, instead of this Friday. It’s an away game against Grand Valley in Parachute. The schedule change is due to the current referee shortage in the state. The Bulldogs are 6-2. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and you can listen to the game on KRAI and through KRAIRadio.com

 

And remember, the Stanley Cup will be at Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat Springs from 2:30-4:30 Thursday afternoon. The public is invited for pictures. Curtis McElhinney made the arrangements for the Stanley Cup to visit Steamboat. He was the goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning, which won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.