Local News - The Journal

Animas High School, Fort Lewis College agree to land lease for new school

Legal structure in place to build on college campus

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado Supreme Court revises ‘common-law marriage’ to include LGBTQ couples

Rulings address situations where couples don’t agree on marriage status

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Incoming Colorado lawmaker joined crowd on day of Capitol riot

Fremont County representative went around back to meet up with group

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Navajo Nation calendar highlights work of mystery photographer

A mysterious box of century-old photographs depicting Navajo culture and Western pioneers has been brought to life by two old friends from Dolores. A calendar project called “Hogb...

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

New commissioners, DA take oath of office

New year starts off with leadership change

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

COVID-19 outbreak confirmed at La Plata County nursing home

Eight residents, three employees test positive as of Monday

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango church leader accused of molesting young men avoids jail

Preston Pitcher worked at First Baptist Church of Durango for 10 years

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

2 fires extinguished at Purple Cliffs homeless camp

Many residents have makeshift fireplaces inside living structures

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Elected Montezuma County officials take oath of office today

Meet and greet candidates today at noon

DATE: Jan 12, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Head-on crash reported on U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango

Highway fully open as of 4:20 p.m. Monday

DATE: Jan 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado appeals court upholds waivers, protecting ski areas

Language on back of passes release resorts from ‘any and all liability’

DATE: Jan 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado lawmakers will get access to vaccine ahead of others

Republicans are wary of plan; one says he will wait

DATE: Jan 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Hearing set in DWI case of San Juan County DASpecial prosecutor and Sierra County judge handling the case

A pretrial hearing is set in the case of a San Juan County District Attorney charged with drunken driving.Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien, 53, was charged with aggravated DWI and failure to give immediate notice of accidents in connection to a crash in the 900 block of Gladeview Drive. Both charges are petty misdemeanors. he was put on leave pending the investigation.The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7, starting at 9 a.m.Farmington police were called to the one-vehicle, hit-and-run crash about 1:26 p.m. Sept. 15, where they reportedly found a 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 with a camper shell crashed into a retaining wall, according to the statement of probable cause.

According to the statement, there was “heavy damage to the driver-side and passenger-side front bumpers,” and the driver-side rear bumper was against the wall.The homeowner told police he had a Ring camera with video of the crash and the person reportedly driving the truck walking away from the scene, court records state.When police watched the video, they identified the alleged driver as O’Brien and sent out an “attempt to locate” notice.O’Brien was found 30 minutes later near the Speedway at the intersection of North Dustin Avenue and East 20th Street. He was described by police as having a “slow, slurred speech and the odor of an intoxicating beverage on his person and exhaled breath,” according to the statement of probable cause.

O’Brien reportedly admitted to drinking one or two alcoholic beverages at 8 a.m. Sept. 15 and allegedly stated, “he felt he was safe to drive,” court records state.O’Brien reportedly declined a breath test and did not want to participate in a field sobriety test, but then submitted to a horizontal gaze test, a walk-and-turn test and a one-legged stand test, all of which “he failed” and reportedly “struggled to maintain his balance,” according to the probable cause statement.O’Brien allegedly stated he “was not ‘feeling good’ to drive,” but refused medical attention, according to the probable cause statement.Police also wrote in the report that there were “two 375ml bottles of Canadian Mist whiskey under the driver’s seat,” and one was empty, while the second had “half its contents consumed.”The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office assigned Taos District Attorney Marcus Montoya to handle the case. Montoya appointed Senior Trial Prosecutor Harvey Means to prosecute O’Brien.Sierra County Judge Thomas Pestak is hearing the case. Farmington attorney Mitchel Burns is representing O’Brien.

Special prosecutor and Sierra County judge handling the case

Photos: Durango plays Montezuma-Cortez in boys, girls high school basketballDurango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Durango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Montezuma County DA pleads not guilty to DWISan Juan County magistrates recuse themselves from case

Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield waived his arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty on misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence alcohol or drugs and of possessing an open container.Hatfield, 59, was set to be arraigned Jan. 8 in San Juan County Magistrate Court, but his attorney, Arlon Stoker, filed the motion to waive the court date. Every magistrate in San Juan County recused themselves from the case.The recusals led to the cancellation of a Jan. 16 pretrial hearing. The hearing was rescheduled for Feb. 12, and canceled again.Because of the recusals, the case “will get assigned to a judge from out of the county,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker.Hatfield headed up the San Juan County Public Defender’s Office in New Mexico for a number of years and practices law in the state.

He remains in his position of Montezuma County District Attorney until Jan. 14, when District Attorney-elect Jeremy Reed will be sworn into office.Hatfield was formally charged Dec. 20, 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield on Aug. 30.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office awaited filing charges until it received results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory that showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.

Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.After unredacted records were released, the Tri-City Record learned that the Bloomfield Police Department was the first to respond to the crash. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office turned over records and video evidence pertaining to the case on Dec. 19, after New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Legal Director Amanda Lavin made a legal argument for unredacted information.The Tri-City Record made an Inspection of Public Records Act request to the Bloomfield Police Department on Dec. 30, requesting all copies of lapel cam video, dashcam video and photographs pertaining to Hatfield’s Aug. 30 crash.Bloomfield Police Administrative Assistant Ruth Montoya stated in an email Dec. 30 that “the videos will need to be redacted” and should be received no later than Jan. 28.

San Juan County magistrates recuse themselves from case

Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWICharges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New MexicoMontezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico

Cortez hosts its 32nd Community Christmas Dinner Wintry conditions might have slightly impacted turnout On Christmas Day, the Montezuma County Annex Building in downtown Cortez hosted hundreds of people as they enjoyed a hearty holiday meal, together. Community members filled plates with ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, salad and pie, and gathered around long, rectangular tables dressed in green cloths and gold garland for the occasion.

“This, to me, is what Christmas should look like,” said Jennifer Essary, who’s on the Community Christmas Dinner Committee. “One of the highlights from today was getting to watch our community come together in friendships and fellowship while sharing a meal.”Leading up to the big day, organizers expected to feed 500 people. Around 200 showed up to eat at the annex building, and another 150 meals were packaged to go.

For those in the community who were unable to make it to the in-person meal from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers delivered a meal to them. Essary said they delivered 78 meals. It’s “hard to say,” the “weather might have contributed to a bit smaller turnout than we had expected,” though the white Christmas was undoubtedly dreamy.Essary underscored how she values and enjoys working with volunteers of “all ages and backgrounds.” “This dinner would not be possible without the hard work and support of our community,” said Essary. “We are blessed to live in an area that makes this event possible.”

Wintry conditions might have slightly impacted turnout

Colorado doctor finds hobby in photographing snowflakesEach flake that tumbles from the sky this time of year is a one-of-a-kind

At his home in Aurora, Jason Persoff peers out the window of his back porch overlooking a field and a small pond. “I always love it when there's fresh fallen snow,” he said.December finally delivered weather that was cold and moist enough to deposit a dusting on the porch railing.He opens a sliding-glass door. In his hand, he has a camera with a long lens. “The secret of my operation is here,” Persoff said, with a grin.On a table, there’s an LED light and a fluffy black sock. Against that unusual backdrop, snowflakes pop.

He carefully maneuvers the tiny frozen structures with a toothpick. The camera shutter registers each image.Click, click, click.“You can see they're incredibly fragile. They're microscopic glass, essentially. And actually, glass would be even more solid than these snowflakes,” Persoff said, rattling off dozens of images, in quick succession.Click, click, click.So, I cover the health beat – why am I telling you about pictures of snowflakes? Let me take you back a few years to early 2020.The pandemic hits, with the governor announcing Colorado’s first case. Soon news coverage tells of fresh cases, hospitalizations and deaths.I was scrambling to explain how the virus was affecting Coloradans. By phone or Zoom, I talked to a lot of people, including doctors in hospitals.One source was Dr. Persoff, a hospitalist at the UCHealth University of Colorado hospital. He helped it manage emergency preparedness, dealing with things like PPE and staffing.As the crisis grew and evolved, Persoff helped explain the trends, including when the early surge eased and Colorado could breathe an initial sigh of relief.I started following him on Facebook, where he posted about his passion – not related to medicine or health – but photography of weather and snowflakes.He manages to capture unreal images of bright, intricate crystals on a black background.At his kitchen table, Persoff, looking out over his eyeglasses, shows snowflake photos captured over the years.“It looks like this thing was handcrafted, which is what's spectacular. And this is what's possible when it gets cold enough to get these incredible snowflakes,” Persoff said.Some have broad arms, others delicate branches. Some have bubbles, others look like flowers. “And all snowflakes because of the way that water crystallizes will end up being hexagonal. Always.”

Each is maybe 2 millimeters in width, each with its own ethereal design, due to the way changing weather shapes it. “It would be almost impossible to have two snowflakes that are alike because of that. Even across the snowflake, there's no symmetry.”Like people? I ask.“Like people. Most people are asymmetrical!” he said with a hearty laugh.And one of a kind!As we chat, his cats wander around, occasionally jumping in his lap. Their names are, of course, science-related: Thunder, Helix and Meso, short for mesocyclone. (If you didn’t know, that’s a column of air quickly rotating air that forms in a thunderstorm, often a precursor to a real tornado. I had to look it up.)Above a living room mantle, he’s hung a series of enlarged snowflake images. On other walls, there are big prints of tornadoes and spectacular cloud formations.

In warmer months, he chases storms, taking photos and videos as he roams the plains. A video he shared with me captures the moment a twister forms on the horizon. “Look at that thing!” he shouts, with someone nearby cheering. “Woo hoo!”“The thing that I really love about weather from a photographic standpoint is trying to capture the wonder that I feel sitting in the face of either storms or snowflakes about how just amazing the world is,” Persoff said.News outlets, like the Washington Post, have reported on his photos. He has a website, where folks can see and buy them and posts instructional videos on YouTube. But for Persoff, the joy comes in a spiritual connection to the natural world.“It’s a place where I get to experience true serenity,” said Persoff.

It’s a respite from working in a hospital, which he loves, but where it can be hectic and stressful.“Every now and again, I need to be reminded that the world is very broad and beautiful, and especially during wintertime,” Persoff said.That's one of the things the snowflakes give him.To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org.

Each flake that tumbles from the sky this time of year is a one-of-a-kind

Photos: Dolores falls in season opener against Ignacio

Four months after their capture, Durango bear cubs return to the wildTriplets were orphaned after sow was euthanized following a home break-in

SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST – With a bound, a tumble and not a second of hesitation, three bear cubs fled the open crate and disappeared from the clearing. Two of the triplets paused for a moment, exploring the trunk of pine tree, before the trio scuttled down the hillside.“As soon as we’re gone, they vocalize, they’ll call to each other, and they’ll get back together,” said Michael Sirochman, the manager of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility in Del Norte.

The black bear cubs spent the better part of four months at the rehab center, where they were brought in July after they were orphaned. The sow broke into a home near Durango – a serious threat to human health and safety – and had to be euthanized. However, the 9-month-old cubs did not enter the home, said Area 15 Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta, and were given a second chance and sent off to Frisco Creek, where they would receive ample calories.

It was a busy year for CPW officials in Area 15, which covers the southwest corner of state. Bear reports nearly doubled over last year – 842 encounters or sightings were documented, up from 426 in 2023 and 274 in 2022. Sirochman hosted 25 bears at the state’s rehab facility, seven of which were captured in the Durango office’s jurisdiction. Five of those seven were released Wednesday on national forest land near Pagosa Springs. In captivity, Sirochman makes a concerted effort not to habituate the bears with humans. They are kept in a pen with blinds, shielded from the sight of humans. Staff members are careful not to speak near the pen, lest they train the bears to be comfortable with humans or associate voices with food.

“We don’t want them getting comfortable seeing people or hearing human voices,” he said. “So, when they encounter people in the wild, starting today, they will act like a wild bear and respond appropriately, retreat (and) leave the area.”The cubs are fed a mixture of whatever available forage they might naturally encounter in the wild and a protein-rich commercial feed. “Throughout their time there, we tried to introduce them to some natural foods,” Sirochman said. “We have gooseberries and currants and choke cherries nearby.” All of this is in keeping with the goal of raising bears that are not likely to engage in the kind of conflict behavior that led to the orphaning of these three cubs in the first place.

As winter nears, Sirochman starts to taper the cubs off a high-protein diet and replace it with produce in order to mimic the natural transition bears would experience in the wild. The decline in protein, paired with changing daylight and temperatures, signals to the cubs that winter is near, and triggers an instinct to find a den. The other pair of bears released Wednesday were given their last apple on a Friday, Sirochman said, and by Monday the pair was gathering material to build a den. In some circumstances, CPW will hold onto bears until they are large enough for release and situate them in a human-made den. About 25% of those bears will abandon that den, Sirochman said. “In some ways, I’d rather do a fall release where they have the advantage of dry ground right now to find a place and settle down,” he said. The triplet female cubs released Wednesday weighed somewhere between 80 pounds and 100 pounds, although in the wild they would likely weigh in the 50- to 75-pound range.

Given their good health, wildlife officials say the survival of the cubs through the winter is all but guaranteed. On average, cubs take six days to find a den after release from captivity. CPW has conducted many successful releases in that same location in the past, chosen in part because the surrounding aspens host understory vegetation that will bear springtime nutrients. And given the suitability of the habitat and past experiences, officials say these bears are unlikely to cause conflict with landowners or homeowners in the future. And to see the three bears, happy and healthy, bound out into the woods? That’s a win for CPW.“It’s definitely gratifying to know that we did some good and gave these bears a chance,” Archuleta said. rschafir@durangoherald.com

Triplets were orphaned after sow was euthanized following a home break-in