Price of school meals going up

Fort Morgan students will pay a little more for their school meals starting next fall. The board of education has approved raising the price from breakfast from a dollar to a dollar-50, and bumping lunch prices up by a quarter. The head of food services for the district tells the Fort Morgan Times this is the first price hike she’s seen for meals in her 10 years on the job.

Man arrested after standoff

The Logan County Sheriff’s office has arrested a 22 year old man he allegedly attacked his father, then barricaded himself in an attic. William D. Ramey of Atwood is being held in the Logan County Jail five charges, including assault and resisting arrest. Deputies were called to a residence on Highway 6 Monday afternoon at about 5:30. When they arrived they found a 52 year old man with head injuries. He told them his attacker was still in the house and might be armed. Because Ramey might have a weapon, the Special Response Team was called to the scene. The suspect refused to response to the first two attempts at communication – including the deployment of pepper spray – but he did leave the attic when the SRT moved in closer.

Mental Health Hosp Audit

(Denver, CO) -- State auditors are revealing some disturbing evidence found inside Colorado's mental hospitals. The audit shows hospitals do not carefully monitor patient medications, a practice which results in a high rate of errors. The inquiry began in response to the 2007 death of a 21-year-old patient from the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo. His blood had such a high level of the powerful anti-psychotic drug Haldol that he died when his bowels actually burst. The auditors recommend more testing of drug levels in patients and closer monitoring by pharmacists and nurses.

Snowmass Diggers Uncover New Info On Mastadons

(Snowmass, CO) -- A breakthrough discovery in Snowmass could shed new light on a prehistoric mammal. Researchers found the remains of several male and female mastadons, ranging from babies to adults. The discovery could help determine more information about life during the Ice Age. A mastadon is a large-tusked mammal similar to an elephant or mammoth.

Colorado Under Flood Advisories

(Denver, CO) -- Statewide flood advisories are in effect due to melting snow in the high country. The National Weather Service yesterday extended a flood advisory to the northern Front Range for the first time this season. A flood advisory will last until 3 p.m. Wednesday in Larimer and Weld counties. The Western Slope has an advisory in effect until noon that day.

Colleges, Historic Preservation Groups To Lose Money

(Denver, CO) -- Community colleges and historic preservation groups are going to lose money as the tax rate on casinos is going to be reduced. Colorado gaming regulators are chopping the tax rate by five-percent, which will bring back millions of dollars to the gaming industry. The state Community College System and History Colorado predict they might lost almost three-million dollars a year. They say budgets are already tight.

Governor signs parks-wildlife merger into law

EAGLE, Colo. (AP) - A money-saving bill to merge the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks has been signed into law.

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill at a ceremony Monday afternoon at Sylvan Lake State Park in Eagle.

Hickenlooper suggested the merger to save the state some $3 million to $4 million a year. The change is due to take effect in July.

Some hunters and anglers have raised issues with the merger, but the head of the state Department of Natural Resources has backed it.

A member of the Colorado State Parks Board resigned in April, citing concerns that the focus on parks will be diminished.

Signs of pine beetles moving to lower elevations

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado State Forest Service forest entomologist says Front Range residents don't have to drive as far anymore to find patches of trees killed by mountain pine beetles.

Sky Stephens says the increased beetle activity can be seen in infested lodgepole pine with reddish needles and ponderosa pine with yellowish needles in the Poudre (POO'-der) and Big Thompson canyons, along the Peak to Peak Highway and near U.S. 287 north of Fort Collins.

Aerial surveys by the Colorado State Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service last year showed mountain pine beetle activity in lower-elevation ponderosa pine on the Front Range increased more than tenfold from the previous year.

About 3.2 million acres in Colorado have been affected since 1996.

Stephens says landowners can apply preventive treatments to protect uninfected trees.

Hearing held for boy accused in parents' killing

BURLINGTON, Colo. (AP) — A preliminary hearing was held behind closed doors for a 12-year-old boy accused of killing his parents and wounding his two younger siblings at their Burlington home.

KUSA-TV reports that the hearing lasted two hours Monday morning at the Kit Carson County Courthouse and another hearing is set for July 12.

The boy faces several charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder. He's accused of killing his parents, Charles and Marilyn Long. They were found March 1 in their eastern Colorado home after 911 dispatchers received a call about a shooting.

Two of the couple's children were injured.

District Attorney Bob Watson hasn't decided whether to charge the boy as an adult.

Guide Dog Forced To Ride In Trunk Of Denver Taxi

(Denver, CO) -- A Denver cabbie is jobless after he forces a blind passenger to keep her guide dog in the trunk of his taxi. KMGH-TV reports passenger Julie Brown reluctantly agreed to keep her black lab named Alberto in the trunk, which the diver from Union Taxi told her she must do if she wanted a ride. Under Colorado law, guide dogs are permitted to ride in taxis. Brown said the driver insisted since he is allergic to dogs.

Suspects Allegedly Steal Synthetic Pot, Cigs in Business Break in

Fort Morgan Police are looking for three suspects who broke into a business on South Sherman Street last Thursday. Police said when they arrived on the scene around 3:40 a.m., the front door glass had been broken, and the suspects had fled. Surveillance video showed the suspects had broken a window to get in, and two of the three went for a synthetic marijuana display, taking several packages of the drug. The third suspect took cigarettes. Police said all three were wearing dark clothing, hoodies and gloves. If you know anything, call police