Author: Carlyn Ray Mitchell
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Colorado Springs residents weigh in on police and fire cuts
Closing a substation and further reducing staff through attrition are cards on the table for the Colorado Springs Police Department’s 2011 budget, police officials said Tuesday night. About a dozen people came to the Deerfield Hills Community Center to hear presentations by police and the Fire Department in the first of four community meetings to…
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City sells second police helicopter
Colorado Springs police are now completely grounded and almost $350,000 richer for it. The second and final police helicopter sold March 11 at an online government auction for $179,200 to Michael Kratz of Fullerton, N.D., said Carol Rallo, spokeswoman for Colorado Springs Utilities. The utility handles property disposal for the city. The 1970 Bell OH58-C fetched…
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A year after crash, couple still dealing with loss
Having lost four family members, including their 10-year-old son, in an instant on a Missouri highway a year ago, Linda and Kevin Calegar are one step into a never-ending journey of loss and the bittersweet beauty that has come from it.In the weeks after the March 22, 2009, crash when the family’s SUV went off…
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Forged prescriptions an ‘epidemic,’ drug counselor says
Drug addicts desperate to get pain medication have turned increasingly to forging prescriptions, local drug counselors said Tuesday, the day after a break-in at a south Colorado Springs doctors’ office. “It has increased in recent years at such an alarming rate. It has become an epidemic,” said Dr. Mary Zesiewicz, clinical psychiatrist at Lighthouse, Pikes…
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Bar owner finds long-sought smoking ban loophole
When Bruce Hicks started selling cigarettes from behind the bar at Murray Street Darts last year, it had nothing to do with diversifying revenue streams and everything to do with getting the cops off his back. A fierce opponent to the statewide smoking ban from its impetus in 2006, Hicks racked up a series of…
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Employee found dead at tailor’s shop
A woman who worked at Yong’s tailor shop/cleaners in the 3800 block of Maizeland Road (at North Academy Boulevard) was found dead this afternoon by a customer, police said. Colorado Springs police were called to the scene about 3 p.m. The woman, whose name and age is not being released pending notification of relatives, appeared…
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Fire danger rises in Springs area
Low humidity and higher temperatures caused the Colorado Springs Fire Department today raised the fire danger from low to moderate. Several fires, including a 2,000-acre blaze at Fort Carson this week, factored into the decision to raise the alert, said Lt. J.J. Hallsy. “Things are just ripe and ready to burn,” Hallsy said. The cause…
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PPCC cop charged with misusing badge
Police on Monday arrested a man on suspicion of using his Pikes Peak Community College Police badge to impersonate a Colorado Springs Police officer while acting as a process server. Willie Hamilton, 52, is facing the misdemeanor charge of first degree official misconduct after allegedly knocking on the Briargate door of Victoria Ewell on Saturday,…
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Police to get savvy on transgender issues, policies
Last week, Colorado Springs police joined a small number of departments in the nation in educating officers about the transgender community, a surprising move in a conservative city home to religious groups that have fiercely opposed transgender-inclusive legislation. All Colorado Springs police officers are undergoing training on how the department expects them to behave when…
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Retiring cop commanded colleagues’ respect
One of Colorado Springs’ most tenured foot soldiers in the war against drugs was honored Friday at his retirement ceremony attended by a long line of current and former brass. Cmdr. Rick Millwright is leaving the Colorado Springs Police Department after a 35-year career. The last remaining member of the Police Training Academy’s class of…