Alward makes initial court appearance

A man who escaped from the Sterling Correctional Facility made his first court appearance.

48-year-old Douglas Alward was led into the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles.

A device was duct taped to his leg that would shock him if he tried to escape.

Alward waived the formal reading of charges, which include escape, second-degree kidnapping and holding a hostage.

Alward escaped the Sterling Correctional Facility on August 22nd and was recaptured three days later while holding a woman hostage inside her home.

FM Budget Read Tonight

Fort Morgan City Council considers the 2011 budget tonight. It'll be the first reading of the budget that's due for final approval in early December. The budget will set the mill levy which is part of property taxes and those taxes help to fund the city's spending. The mill levy is not expected to change, but stays at 13.254 per 100 dollars of assessed valuation. Its been at that rate for 20 years. The meeting tonight starts at 7.

Commission Gives Exemption to Rule 804

The Oil and Gas Commission has granted Logan County an exemption to Rule 804. County Commissioner Debbie Zwim said that the Northeast Colorado Oil and Gas Association asked the commissioners to get them the exemption to the rule that requires oil producing facilities be painted with the same uniform color by September of this year. That would cost the company as much as ten thousand dollars per tank, so the savings, allowing the company to continue giving 80 thousand dollars in scholarships to local students.

SmartCo Stores Close Five Months After Opening

About 500 employees of a brand new supermarket in Colorado will be out of jobs by Christmas time. That's because the parent company of SmartCo Foods said yesterday it would close its five locations in Colorado just five months after opening the first one here. The SmartCo stores are a combination of grocery and warehouse store but they don't require a membership. Parent company Smart and Final operates almost 300 locations nationwide but slow sales at the Colorado stores made continuing impossible.

Sexual Assault Trial Involving Greeley Man Is Postponed

The public defender representing Robert Montoya in his sexual assault trial in Greeley has requested a postponement. The request for additional time to review new information was granted yesterday for the trial originally scheduled to begin Monday. The 18-year-old Montoya is accused of having a relationship with Kayleah Wilson, a 12-year-old who was found dead in a drainage ditch two months after she disappeared. Montoya has not been charged in Wilson's death. His trial has been rescheduled for March 21.