Briefs BICYCLIST DIES IN COLLISION WITH SUV

LOVELAND» A 71-year old man on a bicycle was killed Monday afternoon after he collided with a sport utility vehicle while attempting to change lanes, police said.

The Loveland man was traveling north on his bike on North Taft Avenue a little after 2:20 p.m. when he attempted to move into the left-hand turn lane to turn onto West 50th Street, police said. The cyclist didn’t see a Ford Escape in the passing lane to his left and struck the vehicle in the right front passenger side, according to authorities.

The bicyclist, whose name has not been released, was transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies, where he died from his injuries.

The Escape was driven by a 26-year-old man from Fort Collins, police said. Speed, alcohol and drugs are not suspected.

Witnesses are asked to call Loveland police Officer Justin Lorenzen at 970-667- 2151.

Jury deliberating fate of former sheriff Maketa. COLORADO

SPRINGS» A jury is deliberating the fate of a former sheriff charged with extortion and witness tampering.

The Gazette reports jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon in the case involving former El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.

The 52-year-old former lawman is accused of trying to undermine the credibility of three deputies and threatening to terminate a $5.3 million contract with the jail’s health provider if it did not fire an employee who refused to support then-Undersheriff Paula Presley’s candidacy to succeed him.

Prosecutors also say Maketa and others coerced a woman involved in a domestic dispute with a deputy to recant her story so the deputy could keep his job.

Maketa declined to take the stand in his own defense.

In-town deer hunt proposed to thin urban herd. CAÑON CITY»

The in-town deer herd is growing — as is the number of calls from people complaining about the animals.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers Zach Holder and Bob Carochi told Cañon City’s council that thinning the herd may be the only way to slow the conflicts between deer and dogs and reduce the hazard deer pose to motorists.

“The best way for our agency to manage the wildlife population is through hunting practices,” Holder said. “We need to do a harvest on those animals. Otherwise you’re going to see an exponential growth every year.”

He said the deer have no natural predators in town, they face no hunting pressure and the winters are light and minimal. Most of the deer mortalities are from vehicle collisions, Carochi said. Tracking collars have been placed on some deer to see if they are staying in town or leaving. One doe has wandered only about a mile outside town before coming back in recent years. Staff and wire reports