Garfield County News

Whether or not there should be new federal oversight of the oil and gas drilling industry, partly aimed at forcing the industry to disclose exactly what chemicals it is putting into the ground, will take center stage at the Garfield County commissioners meeting on Monday.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life events in Garfield County topped the national per capita income rankings for 2009.

Town trustees remain undecided on whether to annex a 10.2-acre section of land that would include dedication of the historic Thompson family farm house for a museum, and allow zoning for up to 85 new houses.

Two Garfield County commissioners are urging state regulators to quickly clean up contamination from natural gas operations that has fouled a western Colorado landowner's spring.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - After only two people showed up to talk about the proposed 2010 Garfield County budget this week, the county commissioners decided they needed to work a little harder to get the public involved.

Initial doses of H1N1 vaccine have arrived in Garfield County, but for now are being reserved for people considered at higher risk of complications from the flu.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - A Garfield County commissioner on Monday accused the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of "not doing its job" with regard to the contamination of a spring that seems certain to have come from nearby gas drilling activities.

Two of Garfield County's elected leaders, commissioners Tresi Houpt and John Martin, are split in their feelings concerning a new film about the oil and gas industry in Colorado.

The local school district is asking Garfield County to kick in nearly $1 million toward a proposed affordablehousing project in Carbondale.

Dead lodgepole pines ring a Forest Service campground. Courtesy U.S. Forest Service GLENWOOD SPRINGS - The U.S. Forest Service's increased focus on removing dead trees along roads, trails and campgrounds won't hit Pitkin and Garfield counties nearly as hard as Eagle and Summit counties, according to the organizer of the effort.

Twenty-one vehicle crashes, mostly in Garfield County, kept the Glenwood Springs office of the Colorado State Patrol busy on Thursday.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario explained his reasoning behind the changes in the volunteer application process in an e-mail message - in the form of a newsletter - addressed to several community members, Sheriff's Office staff, Sheriff's Auxiliary members, and current volunteers.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Garfield County is asking for a little help from residents in updating its 2000 Comprehensive Plan, the document that "is the county's guide for making land use decisions," according to a statement on the county website.

Lee. E. Krauth Age: 59 Occupation: Neurosurgeon for the past 30 years, currently working at Grand River Hospital in Rifle.

Investigators wrapped up their work shortly after noon Sunday at an apple orchard where a dismembered body was discovered in June.

According to a Garfield County Sheriff's Office press release, the sheriff's office, along with Garfield County Search and Rescue and NecroSearch International, have begun an environmental assessment of the landscape and wildlife around the Janine Ann Johler crime scene in Canyon Creek, near Glenwood Springs.

Investigators will once again comb through an apple orchard near Glenwood Springs where the dismembered body of an Aurora woman was found over the summer.

The number of Garfield County properties to be sold at public auction due to unpaid property taxes has risen slightly this year, according to a county official.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - In a brief appearance Wednesday in Garfield County District Court, Vanessa Lynn Lujan was formally charged with class 4 felony theft, and faces a possible prison sentence if found guilty.

Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario has requested more than $18 million to run his department of 151 employees next year, the single biggest departmental slice of the county's proposed 2010 budget.