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Your Morning News - December 5th, 2014

Krabloonik to Get New Owners

There are officially new owners of the Valley’s troubled dog sled operation. Danny and Gina Phillips have completed paperwork for buying Krabloonik Fine Dining and Dogsledding, based in Snowmass Village.

The couple, also in Snowmass, is taking over the operation. It’s been on unsteady ground since the founder, Dan MacEachen was charged with animal cruelty. That was late last year and MacEachen is expected to stand trial in May.

Leigh Vogel is President with the advocacy group Voices for the Krabloonik dogs. She believes moving towards new ownership is a good step.

“I don’t think all the problems are solved, there’s a lot of details about the dog and the business that in my opinion and in Voices opinion needs to be addressed, and it is a step in the right direction.”

The group also wants to make sure new ownership comes with legal language protecting the sled dogs… in case the deal falls through.  Since taking control, the new owners of Krabloonik have helped coordinate adoptions for some of the dogs from the operation.

Absolute final approval of the deal still requires review by Snowmass Town Council.

Snowmass Village Takes Public Comment on Council Replacement

The Town of Snowmass Village is taking public comment on its effort to fill a fifth town council seat. Voters last month elected Markey Butler as Snowmass Village mayor, so the council seat she previously held became available. On Monday, town council members interviewed eight citizens interested in filling the seat. Now it’s up to the community to narrow the pool before the council votes for a candidate on December 8th. Butler said in a statement the council is calling on the community to help identify which candidate is a good fit on council and a good representative for the community. The interviews with the eight candidates can be seen online at tosv.com. Feedback must be submitted to the town via email before Monday’s meeting.

Bad Flu Circulating in Colorado

Colorado’s health department is warning the flu season could be especially bad this winter. That’s because a certain strain has been showing up more often. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Employment says influenza A is more likely to send someone to the hospital and it’s been the culprit for most cases this year.

There’s been a bump in people getting sick from the strain at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In other years, Influenza A has caused more hospitalizations and deaths.

The Health Department is recommending signing up the flu vaccine to best avoid it, although officials also admit about half of the flu viruses showing up are not in this winter’s flu shot.

New Fire Systems Comes to the Twin Tunnels

New fire suppression is coming to the twin tunnels on I-70. The Denver Post reports 20-million dollars will be spent to improve firefighting capabilities inside the Eisenhower – Johnson Memorial Tunnels. The Colorado Department of Transportation says the new system will be in addition to fire suppression efforts and will feature state of the art water deluge and heat detection and water drainage. The goal is to be able to control and keep any tunnel fires from spreading. CDOT officials say keeping the tunnel open is key to the health of traffic along the I-70 mountain corridor. Construction is expected to start in the spring and be completed by the end of next year.

Pro Challenge Back in Aspen… But, Starts Elsewhere

The USA Pro Challenge will not start in Aspen next year. The five year old cycling race will instead start in Steamboat Springs.  Organizers announced this morning that Steamboat will host the first and second days, with a circuit race and then a stage heading to Arapahoe Basin. The race started in Aspen the last two years, a first for the race. In 2015, pro riders will arrive in the Upper Valley mid-week, before moving on to Breckenridge. The race takes place in the second half of August, and will finish in Denver, like years past. Fans will again be able to help determine the route for one day during the race. Organizers will be taking comments through next Friday.

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