FILM ABOUT COLUMBINE SHOOTINGS STARS SSHS ALUMNA | ROUTT C OUNTY 1D
THROWING SOME LOVE
$1.00
CONCERNS DIMINISH
Graham volunteers as track coach SPORTS 1C
Recession allows Ski Corp. to rely less on visas for foreign workers BUSINESS 3A
SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2009
VOLUME 122, NUMBER 39 • STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO • www.steamboatpilot.com
Extra roles to fill
CMC in talks for Inn City, college may reach deal to use Iron Horse as dorm Zach Fridell
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
The Iron Horse Inn may find new life as student housing for Colorado Mountain College’s Alpine Campus. College leaders are in negotiations with city planning officials to use one of the two buildings in the city-owned hotel for student housing during the next school year.
Although no contract has been agreed upon, CMC Assistant Campus Dean of Student Services Brian Hoza said he hopes to negotiate a deal that will allow the price for housing at Iron Horse to remain about the same as regular student rates on campus. Students pay between $400 and $450 a month on campus. “We’re continuing conversations. ... We think it’s highly likely that we’re going to be
able to use the facility,” he said. “We have a number of things to work through, in terms of details, to make sure we’re thinking ahead of the kinds of things to have in place.” Hoza said the college would not be able to charge enough in rent to cover the cost of renovations and staffing at the dorm. CMC would cover the remainder of the costs, he said.
JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF
Kerry Lofy, resident adviser at Hill Hall, visits with fellow students inside the dorm on the Colorado Mountain College Alpine Campus.
See CMC, page 8A
Welcoming the babies Cold, wet calving season picks up at Routt County ranches
M
ary Kay Monger backed up the fourwheeler, preparing to gain speed to splash through deep tractor grooves full of springtime slop. She’d gotten the vehicle STORY BY stuck in BLYTHE TERRELL the mud a couple of days before and wasn’t interested in trying to heave it out again. Mary Kay accelerated. The machine ground through the gate, but the weight of an extra person left the tires spinning in the pasture’s muck. Her husband, Larry, jammed the all-terrain vehicle out of its quagmire. It’s calving season across Routt County, and Larry and Mary Kay are enjoying the work at High Tide Ranch. “You tell the people in town when they talk about mud season, they ain’t seen nothing yet,” Larry said. It’s true: The black mud, manure and hay mix is thick as wet concrete at their ranch on Routt County Road 44 west of Steamboat Springs. The couple had 33 new calves hobbling around as of Thursday morning. Changing weather has thrown a few curves, however, and they’ve lost three
SUNDAY FOCUS
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Larry and Mary Kay Monger consider the calving season a rewarding and special time. They are expecting about 160 new calves this spring. See photo gallery online at www.steamboatpilot.com.
calves so far. Frosty weather April 4 claimed one of the tiny victims. “It was cold and windy, and it chilled (the calf) so fast, it couldn’t get dry,” Larry said.
“It didn’t make it.” The Mongers have had to take a few calves into the house to warm them up. “It starts in the kitchen and goes to the porch and then here,” Mary Kay said, gestur-
ing around the barn. The weather has been tough all around, said CJ Mucklow, Routt County extension agent. The first calf at his ranch was born Thursday. “We calf in April typi-
cally because we’re under the assumption, which is wrong half the time, that weather’s better in April than it is in February,” Mucklow said. See Calving, page 8A
Obama moves fast to occupy positions in administration Nancy Benac
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama doesn’t have time for a victory lap now that his Cabinet finally is largely in place. One level down, he faces gaping holes in the ranks he needs to fill if there is to be any hope of turning his ambitious agenda into action on health care, the environment and much more. Obama After a spurt of recent activity that followed a problem-plagued start, Obama is outpacing George W. Bush and Bill Clinton on appointments. But Obama, like his two immediate predecessors, is bogged down in a system that has grown increasingly cumbersome during the years. And he’s added tougher-than-ever background checks and ethics rules. “Obama will be faster than Clinton and Bush when all is said and done, but it’s still a slow process,” said New York University professor Paul Light, an expert on the federal government. “A turtle is a turtle is a turtle. The Obama administration is a pretty fast turtle, but it’s no hare.” What’s at stake is much more than bragging rights for how quickly Obama can fill in an organizational chart with names for undersecretary of this and deputy assistant secretary of that. These are the people Obama needs to carry out all sorts of promised initiatives and policy shifts, and to assure that the nation stays safe along the way. At a recent congressional See Jobs, page 9A
Democrats honor Abbott at dinner Bernie Buescher pushes Pinnacol plan for Colorado budget Brandon Gee
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Secretary of State Bernie Buescher pledged to restore confidence in Colorado’s elections, and Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien discussed $500 million in federal education funds that could be coming to the state. But the moment that drew the most spirited reaction from
PAGE DESIGNED BY STEVEN RECKINGER
the audience at the Routt County Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson/Jackson Dinner fundraiser Saturday night was the announcement that longtime party advocate and Routt County native Lynn Abbott had won the party’s Volunteer of the Year award. Abbott drew a standing ovation when last year’s winner, Bob Steele, thanked her “for her hard work in making Routt County
a blue county.” Abbott, who is recovering from a double knee replacement, was not present but listened to Steele’s speech via speakerphone. Throughout the years, Steele said Abbott served the party as a recruiter, a spokeswoman, a writer of newspaper commentaries, a host of party meetings and more. “Lynn not only canvasses, but she enjoys it,” Steele joked. “It’s not just something on the back
INSIDE Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . Business . . . . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . Comics . . . . . . . . . Crossword . . . . . . .
ROUTT
2A 3A 2B 5D 6D
Horoscope . . . . . . . Obituaries . . . . . . . Outdoors . . . . . . . . Viewpoints . . . . . . . Weather . . . . . . . . .
COUNTY’S
6D 6A 6C 4A 2A
❄
of her T-shirt. … Most importantly, she likes to convey the Democratic message to people who haven’t heard it from her before.” Buescher and O’Brien were the keynote speakers at Saturday’s fundraiser. In addition to discussing state elections, Buescher, a former state representative from Grand Junction, also lent See Dinner, back page
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher speaks to Routt County Democrats on Saturday during the Jefferson/Jackson Potluck Dinner.
DELIVERY PROBLEM?
SKI TOWN USA SNOW REPORT Steamboat Ski Area
New snow — Mid-mountain* New snow — Summit Base — Mid-mountain Base — Summit
0 in. 0 in. 67 in. 99 in.
Total snow† Trails open Lifts open Conditions
403.5 in. 165/165 12/18 Spring-like
*24-hour snowfall as of 12:30 p.m. previous day; † total snow beginning Oct. 21 as measured at mid-mountain FOR UP-TO-DATE ROAD CONDITIONS, INCLUDING RABBIT EARS PASS, call 511 or visit: www.cotrip.org
NEWSPAPER
OF
RECORD
SINCE
1885
To report home delivery problems, please call 970-871-4250 on Sunday from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Missed papers will be delivered by 10:30 a.m.
www.steamboatpilot.com
��������������� �����������������