BUILDING EVACUATES BECAUSE OF BEAR SPRAY
BOULDER» Police say a substance that made people sick inside the Mesa Vista assisted-living facility and prompted a partial evacuation of the building on Wednesday afternoon was bear repellent.
Police spokeswoman Shannon Aulabaugh said one person asked to be taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Boulder police and fire departments responded to the four-story building about 3:30 p.m. and ordered that the HVAC system be shut down. They checked every room to make sure no bear spray residue remained in the vents, Aulabaugh said.
While 18 people on the first floor were taken out of the building, the people on the remaining three floors sheltered in place.
School district defends keeping mum in fraud case.
BOULDER» Boulder Valley School District officials are defending originally not releasing information about last year’s $850,000 fraud case, citing ongoing legal concerns.
They’re also talking to committees and other groups about the case, providing assurances that the school district has added safeguards to protect from scammers.
A year ago, a scammer posing as a contractor stole about $850,000 of bond construction money. The district has recovered all but $172,000 of that amount.
The theft came to the district’s attention when contractor Adolfson and Peterson Construction asked for a payment on a past-due account, even though the district had been sending payments.
Adolfson and Peterson’s work was part of the district’s $576 million bond issue. District officials said they didn’t release information about the case at the advice of investigators concerned about tipping off the suspect.
Suspect in Arvada DUI crash that killed three also dies.
A man suspected of driving under the influence and causing a seven-vehicle crash in Arvada, which killed three people, died Wednesday at a hospital.
Christopher Farr, 43, of Arvada, was driving a Cadillac SUV on Sunday night when it collided with a Ford F150 pickup, Arvada police said.
After the initial crash, the SUV collided head-on with a Hyundai, driven by 73-year-old Judith Peterson. Peterson and her husband, Alan, 79, died at the scene.
Also killed was Lorene Hicks, 59, a passenger on a motorcycle that was involved in the collision.
The deadly crash closed Ward Road in both directions from 58th Avenue to 64th Avenue.
Lightning strike forces Los Angeles-bound flight to return to Denver.
A Delta Airlines flight en route from Denver to Los Angeles was struck by lightning Wednesday afternoon, and the plane circled back to Denver International Airport.
Flight 4490 took off from DIA at 1:29 p.m. and landed safely about and hour later, said Daria Serna, an airport spokeswoman.
The pilot routed the plane back as a safety precuation, Serna said.
Passengers on the flight took various alternate flights to Los Angeles.
Woman admits voting on her deceased mother’s ballot.
A Colorado woman has