Plan To Name Mountain Peak For John Denver Hits Snag

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- A movement to name an eastern Colorado mountain peak after the late John Denver has hit a snag.

The effort has gained momentum in recent weeks as thousands of people signed a petition to recognize the singer with a mountain near where he wrote his hit, "Rocky Mountain High." Denver is a revered figure in Colorado -- so much that it made "Rocky Mountain High" an official state song.

The unnamed peak in question is on Mount Sopris, named after a man who led a prospecting expedition near the mountain. It's also in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, which poses a problem for the proposal, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

The board's executive secretary, Lou Yost, said renaming the peak could be forbidden under a federal wilderness law.

He said that based on the board's interpretation of the Wilderness Act of 1964, applying any more new names to features in wilderness areas detracts from the wilderness experience. Exceptions could be made for safety or educational purposes, he added.

J.P. McDaniel, of Littleton, Colo., said she has received thousands of signatures supporting the plan and that she's sending application documents to the board. Yost said he has yet to receive McDaniel's proposal.

Denver was killed in 1997 when the Long-EZ experimental aircraft he was piloting crashed into Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, Calif.

McDaniel said she wants the new name because it's near the place he wrote "Rocky Mountain High." It also overlooks nearly 1,000 acres of land that Denver donated to the public.

Colorado Considering NCLB Waiver

The Denver Post is reporting this morning that the US Department of Education is granting waivers to No Child Left Behind, and Colorado is considering it. The newspaper said that first, the state needs to see what's required to get the waiver from the program that requires 100 percent student proficiency in math and reading by 2014. The waiver-program details will be released in September. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the requirements will be centered on proving the state is making progress toward reform.

MCC PV Band Plays CO Community Band Fest

Morgan Community College Platte Valley Band will play at the second annual Colorado Community Band Festival on Saturday, August 27 around noon. The event takes place at Citizen’s Park, at 24th and Benton Street in Edgewater, CO from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you want to join the band, come to weekly practices on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the
Fort Morgan Senior Citizen Center, 110 Sherman Street. The Platte Valley Band is open to any musician, and there's no audition required. For more, go to: http://pvband.webchuckhosting.com.

Man Pleads Not Guilty to DIA Rape

The man accused of sexually assaulting a women at Denver International Airport pleaded not guilty yesterday. Former Marine Noel Bertrand is facing kidnapping and sexual assault charges. He said the sex was consensual. Bertrand will be back in court on September 26.

CSU Gets $2M For Endowed Chair From Shell Oil

(Fort Collins, CO) -- Colorado State University officials say Shell Oil Company has donated two-million dollars to create an endowed chair for research of repairing land damaged by energy development. The chair will be held by Mark Paschke, associate professor of restoration ecology. Paschke has been at the university since 1993 and became a faculty member in 2005.

Longmont Cops Arrest Eight In 'Operation Bad Cowboy' Drug Bust

(Longmont, CO) -- Longmont police arrested eight people in a drug bust code-named "Operation Bad Cowboy." A key suspect, David Keith "Cowboy" McCoy, was taken into custody Saturday afternoon. Handguns, rifles, drug paraphernalia and various quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana were confiscated during the sweep.

Texas Billionaire Investor Dies In Colorado Crash

(Pitkin County, CO) -- A Texas billionaire is dead after suffering injuries in a traffic crash in Colorado. Charles Wyly's vehicle was broadsided by an SUV yesterday near Aspen. Wyly's attorney and long-time friend William Brewer, the Third, calls the 77-year-old a role model and an inspiration. Brewer says Wyly's contributions in business, philanthropy and civic leadership will be remembered forever.

Wyly co-founded the arts and crafts retail chain Michael Stores, and his 20-million-dollar donation helped build Dallas' performing arts center. He leaves behind a wife, four children and seven grandchildren. He was 77.

Auction Of Ted Kaczynski's Possessions Go To Victims

(Sacramento, CA) -- The recent auction of possessions from the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski netted more than 225-thousand-dollars. Now, the proceeds are being mailed out to the victims and their families. The "Sacramento Bee" says a federal judge ordered the disbursement of the funds last week. Kaczynski pleaded guilty to 16 explosions that killed three, and injured 23, and remains in a Colorado federal prison serving a life sentence. The money raised will be given to four of the victims or their families, including the widows of Thomas Mosser and Gilbert Murray, both killed by mail bombs in the mid-90's.

USDA expanding emergency grazing in 5 states

DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to help ranchers affected by drought by allowing extended grazing on land set aside for conservation under a federal program.

The government gives ranchers in the Conservation Reserve Program rental payments for setting aside land for conservation, but officials can authorize emergency grazing there after natural disasters.

Typically emergency grazing runs through Sept. 30. This year, people approved for emergency grazing in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas can do so through Oct. 31, without extra reductions in their rental payments. Permission from the Farm Service Agency is required.

Ranchers nationwide also can use mechanically harvested hay from program acres being prepared for fall seeded crops instead of having to destroy it, but their rental payments will be 25 percent lower.

NAACP, ministers chide Lamborn for remark

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Some Democrats and civil-rights activists are expressing outrage over Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn's use of the phrase "tar baby."

Members of the Colorado Springs Branch NAACP and the El Paso County Ministerial Union visited Lamborn's Colorado Springs office Monday to express outrage at Lamborn's remark on a radio show last month.

Lamborn had said he thought voters would blame the president for actions on the nation's debt ceiling when he said he didn't want to be associated with him, and that it's like touching a tar baby. Lamborn's spokeswoman said Lamborn meant to say it's a sticky situation. Some consider the term "tar baby" to be a racial epithet.

KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs reports Lamborn's assistant told the group Lamborn would gladly speak to them when he returns to Colorado.

Colorado Guard member killed in Afghan crash

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia says a Colorado Army National Guard member was among 38 people killed when a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan.

Garcia didn't identify the person but called for a moment of silence during a news conference Monday about state commemorations of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

KUSA-TV in Denver reports Buckley Air Force Base Installation Commander Col. Daniel Dant said during a ceremony at the base honoring Sept. 11 victims that the helicopter's pilot was a 10-year veteran of Buckley.

About 70 Colorado Guard members left for a one-year deployment in Afghanistan in May.

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says the 30 U.S. troops and eight Afghans who died were on a mission to assist forces pursuing a Taliban leader.