DURANGO

Bear cub burned in Colorado fire released into wild

An orphaned bear cub  burned by a Colorado wildfire has been released back into the wild.

The cub was placed in the mountains west of Durango on Jan. 25, asleep inside a man-made den along with a second orphaned cub. Officials hope they will not wake up until spring when food is more available.

The injured cub’s feet were severely burned in a wildfire that raged north of Durango last summer.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said the cub weighed only 10 pounds when she came to a wildlife rehabilitation center but gained 80 pounds. Once the cub was able to walk, she was moved to a pen with other cubs.

DURANGO HERALD

NEDERLAND

Man gets 27 years in prison for failed bomb outside police station

A man who left a homemade bomb outside the Nederland police station was sentenced to 27 years in prison after a judge found  it was an act of terrorism intended to avenge the killing of a friend by the town marshal in 1971 even though it never exploded.

David Ansberry pleaded guilty to leaving the device containing the unstable chemical compound HMDT, a peroxide-based compound that has been used by al Qaida terrorists, in a duffel bag outside the station in a strip mall in Nederland on Oct. 11, 2016.

U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello said the device was not a hoax and people could have died had Ansberry been successful in his attempts to detonate it remotely using a cellphone.

“It was fortuitous that that bomb did not go off,” said Arguello, who said that apparently the compound had degraded, losing potency.

Ansberry’s lawyers had argued that he should only face up to over 2 years in prison, about the time he has already served since his arrest.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Bankrupt coal company auction draws no bids

An auction of assets from a bankrupt Colorado-based coal company has been cancelled after no new offers were submitted for its mines and other holdings.

Douglas County-based Westmoreland Coal Co. said in a court filing that with no other bids received, the company has selected as the successful bidder a group of creditors who had earlier submitted an offer.

Whether the creditors accept Westmoreland’s assets as payment could hinge on whether the company can separate them from its pension and retirement obligations to its employees. A Feb. 4 hearing is scheduled in the matter in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas.

Westmoreland operates mines across the U.S. and Canada. In October it became the fourth major U.S. coal company to file for bankruptcy amid declining demand for the fuel.

BILLINGS GAZETTE

ERIE

Town extends moratorium on new oil, gas drilling

Erie has extended its moratorium on new oil and gas drilling, expecting lawmakers to address statewide regulations this year.

The Erie Board of Trustees approved the six-month extension, preventing a lapse in the freeze that was set to expire in February.

The town north of Denver has approved other regulations on the industry over last year, including mapping requirements and odor mitigation.

The nearby towns of Lafayette and Superior also have drilling moratoriums. Both towns aim to wait and see what the state Legislature decides before moving forward with their own regulations on the industry.

The city of Boulder approved over the summer a drilling moratorium that lasts through June 2020.

BOULDER DAILY CAMERA

PARACHUTE

Cleanup underway after oil & gas leaks

Cleanup efforts are underway following two recent leaks from oil and gas facilities in western Colorado.

A buried natural gas gathering line owned by Bargath, a subsidiary of the energy company Williams, ruptured north of Parachute.

Williams says its surface water monitoring results indicate it has stopped contaminants from continuing to reach Parachute Creek.

Reports from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission indicate an unknown amount of produced water containing benzene and other contaminants leaked form a Caerus Oil and Gas pipeline facility earlier this month.

According to the reports, the leak occurred in area along the Colorado River southwest of Parachute.

The commission says it has environmental staff on the ground overseeing cleanup efforts and response.

GRAND JUNCTION DAILY SENTINEL

COLORADO SPRINGS

Fighter planes scramble to escort Russian jets

Military authorities say U.S. Air Force and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to escort two Russian bombers that were traveling in the Arctic region near the North American coastline.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Colorado Springs, says two F-22 and two CF-18 fighter jets identified two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers that were entering an area patrolled by the Royal Canadian Air Force on Jan. 26.

There were no reports of conflict between the Russian and the U.S. and Canadian jets.

NORAD uses radar, satellites and fighter aircraft to patrol the skies and monitor aircraft entering U.S. or Canadian airspace.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER

Champion steer sets stock show auction record of $150,000

A prize-winning steer was been auctioned for a record-setting amount at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

Ames Construction Co. made a winning bid of $150,000 for the Grand Champion Steer at the Jan. 25 auction of junior competitors’ livestock.

Kutter Bland, a 17-year-old from Slaton, Texas, showed the 1,339-pound steer.

The auction sales of eight champion animals totaled $480,000.

Stock show officials say the auction proceeds support young exhibitors as they plan for college and future agricultural work.

The stock show ended its two-week run Jan. 27.

ASSOCIATED PRESS