City Utility Rates Headed Lower

Fort Morgan residents could soon see their utility bills lowered. City Clerk John Brennan says rates for electricity and natural gas could get slashed and that's good news for local families...






TAG: Brennan says the city's fuel costs are about half of what they were three years ago and that means as early as this winter, electric rate could fall by about 40-percent and natural gas rates could go down by as much as 60-percent.

Governor says Denver protesters' camp is illegal

DENVER (AP) - Colorado State Patrol troopers say they're ready to enforce curfew laws near the state Capitol if hundreds of Occupy Denver protesters are there overnight, but there appeared to be no immediate action after an 11 p.m. deadline to clear the park passed Thursday.

State Patrol Chief James Wolfinbarger had said troopers could issue citations or make arrests between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Earlier, Gov. John Hickenlooper told protesters they could demonstrate on state property during the day but had to tear down their tent camp.

Hickenlooper, Attorney General John Suthers and Mayor Michael Hancock say camping on state property is illegal.

All said they want to guarantee the protesters' First Amendment rights but said plans were being devised to close the camp if needed for security and sanitary reasons.

Public Hearing Notice - Gas and/or Electric Service Rates

A Public Hearing will be convened by City Council on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, at 7:00 pm. The Public Hearing will take place at Historic City Hall, 110 Main St. Any utility customer receiving service may appear at the hearing, personally or through counsel, for the purpose of providing testimony or comment regarding the proposed new rate schedule(s) for gas/electric service. Rule of procedure governing the Public Hearing will be made available to affected customers at City Hall, 110 Main St.

Ballots Mailed

The ballots are now in the mail in Logan County for the November first coordinated election. They've been mailed this week, so if you don't get yours by October 24, contact the clerk's office. The mail out/mail in ballots replace going to the polls on Election Day. Only active voters are receiving ballots. So when you receive your ballot, vote it and return it to the clerk's office before the close of business on November first. Here are some tips to get your voted counted:


1. Receive ballot, secrecy sleeve and return envelope in the mail.

2. Use a blue or black pen to vote your ballot. Make sure the ink will not bleed through the paper.

3. Make selection of candidates and questions you wish to vote on by completely filling in the box provided to the left of your choice. Example: n John Doe

4. If you do not want to vote the entire ballot, simply mark your selections and leave the others blank.

5. Place the ballot inside of the secrecy sleeve in your return envelope addressed to Logan County Clerk and Recorder, 315 Main Street, Suite 3, Sterling.

6. Before sealing the envelope, please sign the signature affidavit. This is required in order for your ballot to be processed.

7. Mail or hand-carry the ballot to the Clerk and Recorder's Office at 315 Main Street, Sterling, CO 80751, or place adequate postage on your ballot return envelope and mail it back.

8. Remember to allow enough time for mail delivery of your voted ballot. All ballots must be returned to the Clerk and Recorder's office by election day, Nov. 1, by 7 p.m. in order to be counted, whether by hand delivery or mail delivery.

GE to build large solar panel factory in Colorado

NEW YORK (AP) — General Electric Co. will build the largest solar factory in the U.S. near Denver.

The company, which had announced in April it would build the factory, said Thursday it had selected Aurora, Colo., a suburb east of Denver, for the location.

The factory will have an annual capacity of 400 megawatts, enough to supply electricity to about 80,000 homes.

GE is entering the solar business at a brutal time for makers of solar panels. Solar installations are growing fast, but panel prices are falling precipitously.

This has led to the bankruptcies of three solar panel makers in the last two months, including Solyndra, a panel maker that collapsed despite receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the federal government.

GE says the factory will employ 355 people in Colorado.

State patrol: 5 kids, 1 man dead in Colo. crash

KIT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — A sheriff's deputy who ran a group home for adopted and foster children was killed along with five children when his van collided with a livestock trailer Thursday morning.

Howard Mitchell was taking 12 children from the group home in the community of Kit Carson to Eads, about 15 miles away.

Kiowa County Sheriff's office spokesman Chris Sorensen said the children who died ranged in age from 4 to 17. Seven other children in the van were hospitalized, as well as the driver of the truck.

Mitchell worked as a Cheyenne County sheriff's deputy and also ran the Mitchell House Children's Home. A neighbor described the family as "good people with good hearts."

The accident happened in a construction zone on U.S. 287, about 130 miles southeast of Denver.