Regional News – The Durango Herald

The Blotter, Feb. 14-15

Thursday 12:28 p.m. A man found inside Kroeger Hardware store, 8 Town Plaza, was arrested for trespassing. 3:11 p.m. A man at Walmart, 1155 South Camino del Rio, was arrested for the...

DATE: Feb 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Bill to protect the use of students’ chosen names in Colorado schools brings heated debate to state Capitol

Should K-12 schools in Colorado be required to use students’ chosen names on unofficial documents such as rosters and student IDs, without a legal name change or parental notification? That ...

DATE: Feb 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Local union files labor practice charges against Kroger and Albertsons over ‘no poaching agreement’

A union representing workers at local grocery stores filed unfair labor practice charges against grocery store chains Kroger and Albertsons on Thursday because of an alleged illegal “no poac...

DATE: Feb 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Bipartisan conservation poll shows increasing concern over environmental issues in Western States

An annual bipartisan survey on conservation in Western states found an increase in voter concerns over climate issues from land and water use to wildlife populations and wildfires. The 14th ...

DATE: Feb 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Camp Amache is now officially part of the National Park system

Colorado can now claim the country’s newest national park: Amache National Historic Site. Almost two years after President Joe Biden signed the bill that would turn the former World War II J...

DATE: Feb 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

The Blotter, Feb. 12-13

Tuesday 3:05 a.m. A man who allegedly got in a fight with another man on the 400 block of East First Street was arrested for disturbing the peace. 12:27 p.m. A man at Manna soup kitc...

DATE: Feb 15, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado Attorney General files lawsuit to stop Kroger-Albertsons merger

The potential $24.6 billion merger between the companies that own King Soopers and Safeway faces a legal challenge from the Colorado attorney general. Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a ...

DATE: Feb 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Guns would be banned in variety of places in Colorado under new Democratic bill

Colorado gun owners would be barred from carrying firearms in a wide array of public places in the state, under a Democratic bill recently introduced at the state Capitol. Senate Bill 131 wo...

DATE: Feb 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Stricter ban on cellphone use while driving advances at the Colorado legislature

Colorado drivers better get ready to put away their cellphones while behind the wheel. The state legislature is moving forward with a bill that would ban the use of handheld electronic devic...

DATE: Feb 13, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado Democrats push for ban on new oil and gas drilling in the state

Sen. Jaquez Lewis says she will push for total ban by 2030 and requiring oil and gas companies to pay more for abandoned wells

DATE: Feb 13, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

The Blotter, Feb. 9-12

Monday 2:34 a.m. A person in the 1000 block of East Second Avenue was arrested on a warrant. 3:04 a.m. A person at Iris Park, 1235 Camino del Rio, was arrested for trespassing. 3...

DATE: Feb 12, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

How Ouray’s ice farmers nurture a frozen crop that is beautiful and climbable

The ice axes make a satisfying “thwack” every time a bundled-up climber, one tool in each hand, swings them into the frozen wall. Shattered bits fly off as the line of climbers inches up fro...

DATE: Feb 12, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

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

The Blotter, Feb. 14-15

Bill to protect the use of students’ chosen names in Colorado schools brings heated debate to state Capitol

Local union files labor practice charges against Kroger and Albertsons over ‘no poaching agreement’

Bipartisan conservation poll shows increasing concern over environmental issues in Western States

Camp Amache is now officially part of the National Park system

The Blotter, Feb. 12-13

Colorado Attorney General files lawsuit to stop Kroger-Albertsons merger

Guns would be banned in variety of places in Colorado under new Democratic bill

Stricter ban on cellphone use while driving advances at the Colorado legislature

Colorado Democrats push for ban on new oil and gas drilling in the state

The Blotter, Feb. 9-12

How Ouray’s ice farmers nurture a frozen crop that is beautiful and climbable

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