WELD POISED FOR RECORD YEAR IN OIL
GREELEY» Weld County is poised to see a record for oil production. For 2017, production through November is sitting at more than 105 million barrels of oil. When December numbers are counted, that could go up to 116 million barrels of oil produced in the county, an all-time high.
The Greeley Tribune reports the current record of 109 million barrels of oil was set in 2015.
Don Warden, county finance director, says 2017’s oil and gas production probably will boost Weld’s assessed valuation by 5 percent to 6 percent for the 2019 budget.
Weld’s largest oil and gas operator, Anadarko Petroleum, plans to spend $950 million this year in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which essentially covers all of Weld County.
Man found shot in Green Valley Ranch King Soopers; suspect arrested.
Denver police arrested a man Sunday afternoon in connection with shooting earlier in the day either inside the King Soopers store in Green Valley Ranch or in its parking lot.
Officers were dispatched to the store, near East 48th Avenue and Tower Road, on reports of a shooting just after 10:45 a.m., a Denver police spokesman said. They found a man inside the store who had been shot. He was taken to a hospital with “survivable” but serious injuries, police say.
Officers spotted a vehicle nearby that matched a description of a car that may have been involved in the shooting, When an officer tried to stop the car, the driver, who matched the description of the suspect, got out and fled into the neighborhood near East 56th Avenue and Crown Boulevard.
A short time later, a neighborhood resident called to say a man had entered his home “by deception,” police say. Officers responded to the address with a SWAT team. The suspect gave himself up peacefully, police say.
Police did not release the identity of the suspect.
Two houses struck by gunfire in possible driveby shootings.
Police are asking for tips from the public after two homes in Loveland were struck by gunfire Saturday night in what are being investigated as drive-by shootings.
The first incident was reported at 9:18 p.m. A resident of a home in the 800 block of North Garfield Avenue told police a bullet struck the front of the house, shattering the front door.
Fifteen minutes later, a second report of shots fired came in, police say. This time a home and a car parked in the 4100 block of North Garfield were hit by gunfire.
The second shooting site is 6 miles north of the first, along a stretch of Garfield Avenue that also serves as U.S. 287, a main thoroughfare.
No one was injured in the shootings. There does not appear to be any connection between the homes or the people living in them, according to Loveland police. In both cases, a red Jeep was seen in the area around the time shots were fired.
Rescuers climb into high country west of Boulder, help injured skier.
Rescuers from two counties mobilized Sunday to help a backcountry skier who was injured above Rollinsville. “We have one injured skier, and we have his friend who was back there with him who is coming out as well,” a Gilpin County dispatcher said.
The skiers apparently set out from the heavily used Forest Lakes Trailhead. Boulder County deputies also were assisting in the rescue.
Bridge hits a bump in the road.
An inadvertent speed bump has prompted Manitou Springs officials to shut down a newly repaired bridge toward the end of the city’s main strip.
The Park Avenue bridge, which opened Friday after about six months of construction, features a bump that cars and other vehicles had trouble driving over. On Saturday, Mayor Ken Jaray ordered the bridge closed until officials figure out what to do next.
It is unknown when the road — next to Soda Springs Park on the north end of Manitou Springs — will reopen. Detours in the area have been set up.
“It didn’t seem to be designed properly,” said Jaray, adding he will meet with other city officials Monday to discuss the issue.
Texas man held in slaying near Rollinsville set to appear in court.
A Texas man is accused of murdering a man who had been camping in the Rollinsville foothills before driving all the way to Idaho in the dead man’s van.
Jeffrey Mason Maynard, 26, is charged with firstdegree murder, felony murder, aggravated robbery, two counts of identity theft, aggravated motor vehicle theft and misdemeanor theft in connection with the death of John Henry Cumby Jr., 62.
Maynard is scheduled for a status conference on Monday in Golden and is being held at the Gilpin County Jail without bail. Since the murder is alleged to have taken place in Rollinsville, the case falls under the jurisdiction of the 1st Judicial District, which encompasses Jefferson and Gilpin counties.
According to an affidavit, Maynard was pulled over on Sept. 10, 2017, in Ada County, Idaho, after a deputy reportedly saw Maynard weaving and not allowing a semi truck to pass on Interstate 82.