Talk about Town - The Durango Herald

Steamworks Half nearing cap

If you’re wanting to join in on the always-popular Steamworks Half Marathon, best not to delay. Registration opened Sunday for this year’s June 13 run, and the race cap of 300 is...

DATE: Feb 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Will that be cash, credit or love?

McDonald’s chains nationwide are allowing 100 customers to pay for their meals with love instead of money over the next 10 days. The fast-food chain is promoting its “Pay with Lov...

DATE: Feb 4, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Cover story, major exhibit

After sorting through 8,000 photos and researching the trials and tribulations of the men who brought electricity to remote areas on the Western Slope, author Esther Greenfield and Jay Harri...

DATE: Jan 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Donations help mend a puppy’s heart

The community helped save a puppy named Sugar this week, after the La Plata County Humane Society and Lisa Parker’s Puppies put out the call. Dog lovers donated about $4,650 for S...

DATE: Jan 29, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mancos teen’s robotic arm is what’s buzzing

Easton LaChappelle, the young Mancos man who has drawn attention for building a robotic arm, continues to get the buzz. Last week, he was written about on a viral website, UPROXX,...

DATE: Jan 20, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Playing the last note

“Rock of Ages,” “Amazing Grace,” “Silent Night.” After almost 45 years and thousands of hymns, organist and pianist Mary Downey will play her final note Sunday at the end of the...

DATE: Jan 16, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Local bounty hunters to be on Animal Planet

Animal Planet’s series “Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters” will return Sunday for a second season, and many local viewers might recognize the scenery. The series filmed on location in Durango a...

DATE: Jan 5, 2015 | CATEGORY: Local News

Quest leads to Smithsonian magazine

Many people research their family histories. One Durango woman’s quest led her to a relative whose experience is included in a story about post-traumatic stress disorder in Civil War soldier...

DATE: Dec 30, 2014 | CATEGORY: Local News

From a doodle to QVC

The journey has been quick and quirky, and now it’s headed to QVC, the online and cable shopping network. Zymbol was designed by Sally Short by stacking the letters from “Love Is ...

DATE: Dec 9, 2014 | CATEGORY: Local News

New York Times reviews book on weeds

Having a book mentioned by The New York Times would be triumph enough for most authors. Getting a positive review in the Times’ Sunday Book Review? Total victory. That’s what happ...

DATE: Dec 8, 2014 | CATEGORY: Local News

‘Walking Durango’ makes a splash

It’s not just Durangoans and tourists who have enjoyed learning more about our town from taking a stroll with Peggy Winkworth’s Walking Durango: History, Stories and Sights. History Colorado...

DATE: Dec 3, 2014 | CATEGORY: Local News

From unheralded hero to star

For three years, Zeke quietly did his work as a therapy dog at the Durango Cancer Center, bringing comfort to patients and health-care workers alike. In July, his work made front ...

DATE: Dec 1, 2014 | CATEGORY: Local News

Photos: Where there's smoke there's firefightersDurango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Durango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

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

Year in photos: A look back at Southwest Colorado in 2024Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is the people, their emotions, different cultures and varied forms of entertainment that make for impactful images. Add to that Southwest Colorado’s gorgeous scenery, abundant wildlife and range of weather events, and you have the makings for stunning photos. We hope you enjoy Photo Editor Jerry McBride’s photos from 2024.

Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is...

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