Colorado Humane Society Reforms With New Staff

The Colorado Humane Society is operating again, but the people in charge say the only thing in common with the organization shut down last year is the name.

The Colorado attorney general's office sued the Humane Society last year, alleging the former operators mismanaged funds and euthanized animals to make room for more adoptable pets. Denver's KMGH-TV began investigating the organization in 2007 and reported euthanized pets that were supposed to be cremated were discarded in a trash bin.

The state settled the lawsuit in an agreement that barred the former managers from opening a shelter for five years.

Duane Adams is the associate director of the new Colorado Humane Society. He says the group's three investigators will look into reports of animal cruelty.

25,000 Could Lose Benefits

About 25,000 jobless Coloradans will lose their unemployment benefits before the holidays if Congress doesn't extend the aid.

State officials tell KUSA-TV that the aid will stop for another 6,000 people per week for the next few weeks if Congress doesn't act. Nationwide, more than 800,000 people out of work for at least six months face being cut off immediately.

An extension of jobless benefits approved this summer expires this week.

State Department of Labor and Employment Director Don Mares says the agency is getting calls from people concerned about what's going to happen.

Kids Get Gifts from Caring Ministries

Those in need in Morgan County may get a gift from the guy in the red suit, but some kids got a gift from the ladies in the red hats! Red Hat Society members at Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center held a toy drive to collect gifts for kids and 100 dollars to buy a few more. They then wrapped the toys and gave them to Caring Ministries of Morgan County for their Christmas shop. Caring Ministries will see to it that each family member who needs it will get a gift and the entire family gets a box of groceries.

Eban Ezer Lutheran Care Helps Carring Ministries

Those in need in Morgan County may get a gift from the guy in the red suit, but some kids got a gift from the ladies in the red hats! Red Hat Society members at Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center held a toy drive to collect gifts for kids and 100 dollars to buy a few more. They then wrapped the toys and gave them to Caring Ministries of Morgan County for their Christmas shop. Caring Ministries will see to it that each family member who needs it will get a gift and the entire family gets a box of groceries.

Ag Tax Exemption to be Reconsidered

They figure the state's losing some dollars to neighboring states when farmers and ranchers cross state lines to buy what they need for their businesses. That's why lawmakers will again consider the sales tax break that Colorado farmers and ranchers had but lost when it was suspended. The exemption on ag products was cut last spring when Governor Bill Ritter cut several tax exemptions. Legislators are back in session next month.

Grad Student Injured In CU Lab Explosion

One student suffered a minor injury in a chemical explosion yesterday in a University of Colorado laboratory. The explosion at the Engineering Center left a 28-year-old graduate student with a cut on his head when an experiment he was working on became volatile. The student was treated and decontaminated at a campus facility. Officials also evacuated the building temporarily.

16 Charged with Bilking Banks

Sixteen immigrants from Russia and Tajikistan accused with running a scheme that bilked major banks out of over 300-thousand dollars have been slammed with an indictment in Denver. Yesterday, a Denver grand jury handed up the 41-count indictment that accuses the immigrants of a plot where they opened bank accounts and made withdrawals before the banks realized the accounts were had insufficient funds or were closed. Fifteen of the defendants were arrested in Denver and Philadelphia but one remains at-large. The banks involved are Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, US Bank and Key Bank.

CO Could Consider AZ Immigration

An Arizona-style immigration law may soon be introduced in the Colorado Legislature. One Colorado Springs Republican lawmaker gathered supporters in Denver to discuss the legislation he plans to sponsor, saying it would be very similar to Arizona's 1070 law. Democratic Denver Mayor and governor-elect John Hickenlooper has expressed his concerns over such a law, calling it troubling.