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Local Newscast for October 31st

KDNK's Local Newscast airs weekday mornings at 6:41 and 7:41 during Morning Edition. 

Let’s start off with updates from Carbondale Town Manager Jay Harrington. The Police Department collected 26 pounds of prescription drugs on Drug Take Back day, helping to ensure a more efficient wastewater system. The Carbondale ditch remains on for the golf course. A water outage is scheduled for this week from Cooper Place and Garfield Avenue to Main street, and from the west end of Main Court to Cooper Place. The water lines which conflict with the Cooper Place development will be worked on. Two outages scheduled for this week will be necessary to abandon a section of 4 inch pipe line, and to install a new section of 8 inch pipe. The Town Arborist wrapped trees downtown with lights and limbed Elm over Main Street between Snowmass and 2nd. Leaf Days continue in the parking lot east of Carbondale Town Hall. Reminder: Leaves and tree branches must be removed from bags for composting. No garbage bags or plastic bags! The street crew is still performing preparation work on the Barber Drive sidewalk next to Miner’s Park.  The crew also performed some pothole maintenance and cleaned leaves from gutters and catch basins, hauling several loads of leaves to the Thompson Park permaculture garden site. Town staff met with Hendrick Community Garden plot owners to discuss operations of the garden, including approving rules and regulations, and appointing officers and volunteers to handle community garden business. Town staff last week submitted a final grant closeout report to the Garfield County Federal Mineral Lease District to seek reimbursement funding of $25,000 the Town spent to build the Bonnie Fischer Park bread oven shelter behind the Third Street Center. Planning staff, Police officers and Public Works staff participated in a Safe Routes Home work session last week. Topics included location of lighting and routes most traveled at night and planning for the November 7th public trustees meeting. We’ll continue to follow their progress here on KDNK Local News.

 
Mary Kent, a Glenwood Springs woman shot in what police suspect was a homicide-suicide incident with her husband earlier this month, was taken off life support Friday, according to the Post Independent. Friends of the couple discovered 79-year-old Joseph Llewellyn, dead in their Glenwood Springs home on October 18th. Autopsy reports later confirmed that he died of a gunshot wound to the head. Kent, 73, was found in the home alive but also with a gunshot wound to the head. She was airlifted to Denver from Valley View Hospital later that day. Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said that investigators do not believe she or her husband were shot by a third party.

 

This year’s race for Garfield County Commissioner for District 2, which includes east and north Glenwood Springs as well as New Castle and Silt, has turned muddy. KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh talks to citizens from Glenwood Springs, Rifle, and Parachute to find out their thoughts about the contest.

 
Today from 9:30 to 11:30 AM at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, the Colorado Gerontological Society is sponsoring Medicare Monday, an annual workshop designed to help individuals stay better informed and make necessary changes. The program includes information on the changes, updates and requirements for Medicare Parts A, B, C and D. Open enrollment to change Medicare Advantage Plans and prescription drug coverage started on October 15th and ends December 7th. Changes made during this time will be effective January 1, 2017.
 
Roaring Fork School District wants public input on attendance boundaries for the new combined elementary and middle school south of Glenwood Springs on the site referred to as Eastbank. District officials are hosting community meetings to present different boundaries being considered. You can make your voice heard and get your questions answered, coming up November 3rd at Glenwood Middle School from 6 to 7, and on November 7th at Glenwood Elementary from 5 to 6. A Spanish interpreter will be at each meeting. If you’re unable to attend you can provide feedback through an online survey on the school district’s website, rfsd.k12.co.us/.
 
The White River National Forest has announced what they are calling a first-of-its-kind partnership in the nation with Colorado Mountain College that will prepare students for natural resource and ski area management jobs within the Forest Service. The two year program called “Pathways to Public Service - Land Management” will begin next fall with about ten students. While gaining college credit, students will receive hands-on training in the field. Particularly exciting for jobseekers who complete the program, in addition to receiving a stipend, college credit and field experience, upon completion students will be able to compete for jobs with the Forest Service and other agencies with a special hiring status that allows graduates to apply as existing federal employees. CMC is designing the curriculum, and will publicize the application requirements and deadlines early next year.
 
The northbound right-turn to Sixth Street at the north end of the Grand Avenue Bridge in Glenwood Springs remains closed this week through Friday.
 
CDOT is planning to close Independence Pass for the winter season on November 7th. So this could be your last week to get up there for the views. That closure could be postponed for another week, depending on the weather.
 
Speaking of CDOT, they are teaming up with the State Patrol and local police departments to increase DUI enforcement tonight. They’re calling their campaign “The Heat is On.” CDOT reminds us that in addition to accidents and tickets, drivers can lose their license, face jail time and be summoned to community service. In the U.S., 45 percent of all traffic fatalities on Halloween between 2011 and 2015 involved a drunk driving related crash, and 23 percent of all pedestrian fatalities on Halloween involved a drunk driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
The new underpass construction project in Basalt is underway. Basalt Avenue at Highway 82 will face the greatest traffic impacts. A temporary traffic signal is scheduled for installation on the north side of 82 this Wednesday. From 6pm Wednesday until 5am Thursday, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Then Thursday a signal will be installed on Basalt Ave south, so from 6pm Thursday until 5am Friday traffic will be reduced to one lane each direction again. The bus shelters on both sides of the highway will be shifted about 200 feet upvalley and stay that way throughout ski season. As the Aspen Times reports, the underpass of Highway 82 will make crossing safer for pedestrians traveling between Old Town and the South Side neighborhood. It’s expected to help the flow of traffic because pedestrians won’t be crossing at the signals.
A new report calls for a moratorium on charter schools. Eric Galatas reports.

Gavin became one of the youngest station managers in public radio on February 1, 2017. He is a writer and producer with a passion for community media. Prior to starting at KDNK as news director in 2016, Gavin worked for national radio programs Alternative Radio with David Barsamian and Nonprofit Radio with Tony Martignetti along with local stations KGNU Boulder, KYRS Spokane, KRBX Boise, KAOS Olympia, and Air America Radio affiliate KPTK Seattle. His nonprofit management experience includes Open Media Foundation, where he led a government transparency team, and Common Frequency, where his policy advocacy supported dozens of noncommercial radio startups. Boulder Weekly, Raw Story, Austin American-Statesman, Boise Weekly, and The Sopris Sun have published his reporting. His TV credits include directing teams at Colorado Channel, crewing for Democracy Now!, and hosting on Free Speech TV. He graduated from the Evergreen State College in 2008 with a BA in media production and community organizing.