Good Earth – The Durango Herald

Stress from heat, drought on fish spurs push to reduce kills

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Drought and record hot weather are producing lethal conditions for salmon and trout in rivers across the West. A recent survey of the lower reaches of 54 river...

DATE: Jul 8, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

‘Roaming Wild’ looks at wild horses in the West

Film, fundraiser hope to raise awareness of their struggle

DATE: Jul 8, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Hike to explore Cascade Creek San Juan Mountains Association and San Juan National Forest will offer a hike along Cascade Creek from 9:30 a.m. to noon July 25. Particip...

DATE: Jul 8, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

1,035 acres go into conservation status

Three new easements preserve farms, wildlife habitat

DATE: Jul 1, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Justices rule against EPA power plant mercury limits

WASHINGTON – A divided Supreme Court on Monday ruled against federal regulators’ attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The rules be...

DATE: Jun 29, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Festival to feature fungi in Telluride The 35th annual Telluride Mushroom Festival will celebrate “The Future of Fungi” from Aug. 13 to 16. Pre-festival workshops will be held Au...

DATE: Jun 24, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Durango Botanical Society tour to feature fabulous gardens

Gates to open on collection of county’s best Saturday

DATE: Jun 24, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Top doctors’ prescription for feverish planet: Cut out coal

WASHINGTON – Some top international doctors and public-health experts have issued an urgent prescription for a feverish planet Earth: Get off coal as soon as possible. Substitutin...

DATE: Jun 22, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Damaged toilet closed at Andrews Lake The Columbine Ranger District reports that the composting vault for the toilet at the upper parking lot at Andrews Lake on Molas Pass has bee...

DATE: Jun 17, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Cover-crop research protects farmers’ assets

Test plots in Colorado and Utah

DATE: Jun 17, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

New NASA studies show how the world is running out of water

WASHINGTON – Drought-stricken California is not the only place draining underground aquifers in the hunt for fresh water. It’s happening across the world, according to two new stu...

DATE: Jun 16, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

World is off course to prevent 2 degrees Celsius of warming, report says

In a major report scheduled to be released on Monday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency – which provides independent analysis and has 29 member countries, including the United Stat...

DATE: Jun 15, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Photos: Parade launches 2024 Connie Mack World Series in FarmingtonFans line street as players march on Main Damp, overcast weather cooled off the crowd lining Main Street on Friday morning for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series Parade. The hourlong parade began shortly after 10 a.m. in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Fans line street as players march on Main

Photos: ‘Mini Takes the States’ tour stops in DurangoHundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Hundreds of Mini Cooper vehicles occupy Fort Lewis College on Sunday; Participants began the journey in Albuquerque and will finish in Seattle

Photos: Boxing returns to DurangoAnimus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Animus on the Animas: 1st Annual Durango Boxing Classic at the Durango Main Mall on Saturday

Photos and video: Going for the gold by devouring piesContestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Contestants try their best to win the Oscar’s Pie Eating Contest on Friday in Durango

Photo: Fireworks light the sky in DurangoDurango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Durango celebrates Independence Day on Thursday night

Photos: Working with woodLocal craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

Local craftsman uses wood joinery, rather than nails or screws to construct homes and other structures

2024 Fourth of July Parade draws crowd Thursday in downtown Durango

Photos: Downtown Durango hosts Fourth of July ParadeDowntown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Downtown sidewalks were full for Thursday’s celebration

Durango Rotary Club, Parks and Recreation department host Independence Day events

Law enforcement conducts active threat training at Park Elementary SchoolResidents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Law enforcement agencies across Southwest Colorado sent officers to participate in active threat training this week at Park Elementary School in Durango. Those in the neighborhood can expect police vehicles parked on the premises, officers in tactical gear conducting exercises inside and outside the school, and signs advising that training is in progress. The sounds of shouting, airsoft weapons and the popping of a starter pistol will also be audible near the school, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District 9-R.Sluis said that members of the school district’s safety department have gone door-to-door with flyers notifying residents around Park Elementary School about the training.

Hosted by the Durango Police Department and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, this week’s voluntary training invited officers from law enforcement agencies across a five-county region of Southwest Colorado encompassing La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Montezuma and Dolores counties.

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputy Durango Police Department Deputy Mike Latham, lead instructor for this week's training, said Wednesday and the first half of Thursday were mostly preparatory, teaching officers the school’s layout and devising scenarios, whereas the latter half of Thursday and Friday residents should anticipate some noise as active threat scenarios play out.

Latham said active threat training teaches officers proper protocol during active threat scenarios, especially in densely populated areas where they have become increasingly common.Park Elementary School is not the only Durango School District facility law enforcement has conducted active threat training. Latham said schools lend themselves well to this sort of training because, “It gives us all kinds of doors to work on, different rooms, different scenarios we can run. We can pretend it’s a mall with nice big corridors, we can even pretend it’s an outdoor area in the gymnasium.”Latham has participated in active threat training multiple times in the past and described the drills as exhilarating and nerve-wracking. He said one of the training’s main goals is teaching officers how to manage stress and remain calm with lives on the line.

“I take a pulse oximeter in the morning and get a baseline on their heart rates,” Latham said. “And sometimes, just before they’re about to engage a threat, I say ‘Timeout.’ Put it (the oximeter) on there, and their heart rate’s skyrocketed to 140, 150, 160 just in training.”

Latham said throughout his career active threat training has evolved to become safer for officers and fall in line with increasingly professional police standards.“When I first started we were just running into halls and rooms hoping for the best,” Latham said. “Now the tactic is still to get there, still stop the taking of lives, but tactics are much better than they were 20 years ago.”

Residents may see and hear police activity Thursday and Friday

Stress from heat, drought on fish spurs push to reduce kills

‘Roaming Wild’ looks at wild horses in the West

Earth Briefs

1,035 acres go into conservation status

Justices rule against EPA power plant mercury limits

Earth Briefs

Durango Botanical Society tour to feature fabulous gardens

Top doctors’ prescription for feverish planet: Cut out coal

Earth Briefs

Cover-crop research protects farmers’ assets

New NASA studies show how the world is running out of water

World is off course to prevent 2 degrees Celsius of warming, report says

Videos & Photos

Search Directory Plus

Most Popular

Most Recent

Ballantine Communications, Inc.

Contact Us

Find Us

Log In

Videos & Photos

Search Directory Plus

Most Popular

Most Recent

Ballantine Communications, Inc.

Contact Us

Find Us

Subscribe

Newsletter Signup