Pet Respirators

KSIR 021612 Pet Respirators - BOTH

Several local fire departments received free pet respirators from an organization known as FUR-ever friends. Founder Betty Eubanks says the idea is for all of the fire vehicles in the plains to have th equipment necessary to revive a pet that's been overcome by smoke, or almost drowned. Fort Morgan, Brush, and Sterling are among the fire companies receiving the equipment.

Local Child Welfare Advocates React to Colorado Reforms

The Colorado Department of Human Services has unveiled a number of reforms aimed at improving the state's child welfare system. Deborah Beck-Massey is the executive director for Caring Ministries of Morgan County. She says the biggest problem for the state is too many cases and not enough case workers...






TAG: Beck-Massey admits the issue isn't as simple as hiring more people. She says too many new child welfare caseworkers aren't adequately trained to handle the realities of real child abuse.

Log Lane Village Passes Abandoned, Junk Vehicle Ordinances

If you thought Log Lane Village had an ordinance covering junk or inoperable cars, it didn't, but does now. The Board of Trustees passed a couple of ordinances that cover those vehicles. One of them is for those vehicles that have been parked on the towns streets for some time, with no known owner. Town Marshal Fred Cook said before he takes legal action, which the ordinance now gives him, he'll try to find the owner and find out what's up. The other ordnance has to do with those vehicles that are on the streets, and don't run. Again, Cook said he'd talk with the owners to see what can be done before any legal action is taken.

Governor Signs Teacher Evaluations Bill Into Law

(Denver, CO) -- Colorado teachers and principals will be evaluated differently, now that Governor John Hickenlooper has signed House Bill 1001 into law. The new rules were passed Tuesday, and the signing took place yesterday morning. Fifty-percent of teacher evaluations will be based on student test scores. The Colorado Department of Education is currently testing the model evaluation system in certain districts.

Dog Who Bit TV Anchor To Go Home

(Denver, CO) -- The Argentine Mastiff who bit a Denver TV anchor is expected to go home Saturday. "Max" bit 9News Anchor Kyle Dyer last week, when she tried to nuzzle up to the dog during a segment about his rescue from an icy pond. Max is being held on ten-day quarantine at the Denver Animal Shelter. Dyer was released from Denver Health Medical Center last week after reconstructive surgery.

Denver airport official loses security privileges

DENVER (AP) - The Denver airport's director of government affairs has had her security privileges suspended for 180 days after trying to bypass a security checkpoint to board a flight.

Airport employees get badges they can use to gain access beyond security checkpoints, strictly for business purposes. Denver International Airport spokesman Jeff Green says mayoral appointee Heather Barry tried to use her badge Feb. 3 to bypass a checkpoint to board a plane with her daughter.

Green says U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials stopped Barry before she boarded the flight and sent her and her daughter through the security checkpoint, then confiscated her badge.

Barry called her use of the badge a mistake.

Green says that over the past three years, 42 employees have violated airport safety protocols of varying degrees.

3,000 Fort Carson troops heading for Afghanistan

FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — About 3,000 Fort Carson soldiers are preparing for a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The troops are from the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division.

The brigade is holding a color-casing ceremony at Fort Carson on Thursday. The casing of unit colors is a military tradition signifying the unit's readiness for deployment.

Soldiers will depart over the next several weeks.

Their mission will be to train and develop Afghan security forces as the U.S. and its allies draw down their troops there.

The 4th Brigade's previous deployment ended in June 2010 when the troops returned to Fort Carson after a yearlong stay in Afghanistan.

Post-Columbine school discipline rules revisited

DENVER (AP) — School discipline policies adopted after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings are getting a second look in Colorado.

Lawmakers will consider a bill Thursday aimed at giving education officials more discretion over expulsions and police referrals. The goal is to eliminate zero-tolerance policies that lawmakers say have led to mandatory expulsions for bringing a fake gun to school or getting into a minor scuffle.

Supporters of the legislation say the Columbine shootings and other high-profile cases of youth violence caused lawmakers and school administrators to overreact. About 100,000 students in Colorado have been referred to police during the last decade.

Republican Sen. Keith King says he supports the idea of eliminating zero-tolerance policies but opposes the bill because he says it's too prescriptive.

A Senate committee is hearing the bill.

Colorado civil union bill advances toward showdown

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Senate has given first approval to civil union legislation that would grant gay couples rights similar to married couples, joining several other states in taking up the issue this year.

The vote Wednesday brings gay couples a step closer to a showdown in the Republican-controlled House, which is likely to determine the bill's outcome. A Senate committee approved the legislation on a 5-2 vote with one Republican joining Democrats.

A similar bill failed last year. It's expected to clear the full Senate for votes in the House.

More than a dozen states allow either civil unions or same-sex marriage.

The governor of Washington state signed a bill legalizing gay marriage Monday, and the New Jersey Senate passed a similar measure the same day. Both face challenges.

Also, civil union laws took effect this month in Hawaii and Delaware.