A former Olathe police officer will serve jail time and probation after attempted unlawful sexual contact, reports the Montrose Daily Press. Montrose County Judge Laura Harvell said she could not spare David Pearson jail, despite his lack of criminal history prior to pleading to four misdemeanors. That includes three counts of misdemeanor harassment of three other people. Three of the people worked for WestCO Dispatch; the fourth was a trainee officer in Olathe at the time. Harvell imposed 60 days in county jail for each of the four counts, with 30 suspended that could be imposed if Pearson fails at his deferred judgment. All jail time is to be served concurrently.
Former aide for Mesa County’s Tina Peters was sentenced to jail time, reports the Daily Sentinel. The fired Elections Manager Sandra Brown was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and two years of probation Wednesday for the role she played in helping former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in her attempts to prove something was amiss with the 2020 presidential and 2021 city elections. Brown is to pay a $2,000 fine and serve 100 hours of community service, and she must complete this within a year. In handing down that sentence, District Judge Matthew Barrett reprimanded Brown for failing to uphold her oath of office, saying she placed keeping her job over actually doing it.
Elections are taking place around Colorado today for special districts, which oversee numerous services in their communities. Ann Terry, the Executive Director of the Special District Association of Colorado, says there are thousands of these local government agencies around the state. Several Colorado communities have special districts for health services including hospitals, ambulance services and mental health care. Voter eligibility is wider for these elections, so it's not just the voters who live in the district who can participate. Terry says this is because the funding of special districts is tied closely to property taxes. Terry says it's important that voters pay attention to special district elections as they concern issues that impact people's daily lives.
Since 2018 the Western Slope Conservation Center has provided a series of hikes throughout the spring, summer and fall on our nearby public lands. KVNF’s Lisa Young spoke with Ben Katz and Michael Burkley about the adventures known as Mike’s Hikes.
