Two of six officers at the Olathe police department have been placed on unpaid leave during what is being called an administrative investigation. An administrative staff member was placed on leave too. Town Administrator Rob Smith told the Montrose Press he could not explain why or share the names of the officers. However, it appears Olathe police chief Rogelio Pacheco is one of them as Montrose police commander Tim Cox is now acting chief of the Olathe police. Montrose PD and the Montrose County Sheriff’s office are reportedly assisting with coverage for now. Blaine Hall, chief of the Montrose police department, would not comment on the Olathe personnel situation but told the Montrose Press, quote, “we are always interested in trying to help out our neighbors. We were able to assign commander Cox by contract and on loan to the Town of Olathe, where commander Cox was sworn in as interim police chief.”
Since Pueblo County declined the necessary permits for Arise Festival just before Memorial Day weekend and it was abruptly canceled, ranch owner Luke Comer has shifted his focus to neighboring Crowley County. The Pueblo Chieftain reports about a third of the land he purchased, known as The Cradle, is in Crowley County, including about 150 acres of irrigated grass fields as well as access to the Arkansas River. He tells the paper so far his conversations with Crowley County officials have been casual.
Proposed changes to statewide guidelines used by Colorado teachers to develop curriculum for history and civics classes would include fewer mentions of people of color and the LGBTQ community. A committee tasked with reviewing teaching standards was formed following the passage of a bill at the statehouse back in 2019, requiring public schools to teach the experiences and perspectives of Black, Latino, and Native American people; as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people. However, the committee is apparently moving in the opposite direction. The Denver Post reports the committeetold the state Board of Education it planned to strip many references to people of color, religious minorities, and LGBT minorities it had just added to the standards last November. The committee is made up of school social studies teachers from across Colorado. It has received pushback from reactionary members of the public, and also Carbondale based Republican member of the state school board Joyce Rankin. Her husband is Republican state senator Bob Rankin. The final round of revisions to state teaching guidelines will be presented to the board of education soon.
Ballots for Colorado’s upcoming primary election are being mailed out starting today. As Scott Franz reports for Capitol Coverage, voters also face a deadline today to switch their party affiliation.
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Some states will quickly restrict abortion if Roe versus Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Robyn Vincent reports the fight to preserve abortion access in our region reflects a divided nation.
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