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Briefs: Local teen recovering from crash

Daily Staff ReportVail, CO Colorado

EAGLE COUNTY Eagle Valley High School junior Jessie Santoro is recovering from serious injuries suffered when she rolled her car as she was driving east on Interstate 70, near Gypsum, May 16. She lost control of the 1996 Honda Accord, which skidded into the grass median and rolled twice at about 2 p.m., authorities said.The vehicle stopped on its wheels in the right lane of westbound Interstate 70.Santoro was airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver. Santoro was wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident.She suffered numerous scratches and bruises, a broken wrist, and a head injury. At last report, she was walking with assistance, but having some difficulty with speech. Her doctors are working on a rehab strategy.Santoro is the daughter of Robyn and Jerry Santoro. Robyn is the counselor at Eagle Valley Middle School, and Jerry is the principal. Eagle Valley Enterprise

EAGLE COUNTY Sheriffs Deputy Kyle Hall and police dog Fantom won top honors at the a United States Police Canine Association regional competition.

Hall and Fantom were named the regions 14 Top Dog K-9 team after their performance in Cheyenne, Wyo. on May 12-13. Deputy Tim Comroe and canine Tucker made a successful debut performance, earning a recertification after their first year working together.K-9 teams must certify annually at the event.Part of our training as K-9 officers is knowing what we need to do to keep our dogs proficient in drug detection, said Hall, who has been a K-9 officer since 1991.Hall and Fantom, a nine-year old Dutch Shepherd, have been working together since 1999 and previously earned the title of Top Dog in 2004. Hall was first recognized as a Top Dog canine handler in 1993 with his K-9 partner at the time, a German shepherd named Nicky. Although there is no set workload for a canine, Hall says that Fantom is sometimes deployed as often as four times in one week. Dogs are a law enforcement tool to assist in locating illegal substance, and tracking and apprehending criminal offenders, Hall said.



EAGLE COUNTY Beginning this holiday weekend, law enforcement agencies around the state say they will begin aggressive drunk driving patrols that will last through the summer. Memorial Day Weekend enforcement begins at 6 p.m. Friday and ends at 3 a.m. Tuesday.Unfortunately, we are entering the deadliest time of year on our highways, said Pamela Hutton, the Colorado Department of Transportations governors representative for highway safety. Thirty-eight percent of fatal alcohol-related crashes in Colorado occur in the months of June, July, August and September.According to preliminary data, 41 percent of all traffic fatalities in Colorado last year involved alcohol, resulting in the deaths of 217 people. Nearly 76 percent of those fatalities were men, and 17 percent were under age 21. The following counties had the most alcohol-related fatalities in 2006: Jefferson (28), Arapahoe (22), Adams (18), Denver (14), Larimer (12), Mesa (12, Weld (12), El Paso (9), Douglas (8), La Plata (6) and Pueblo (6). The Colorado State Patrol will have every uniformed officer on duty this weekend, said the agencys chief, Col. Mark Trostel.

BEAVER CREEK Beaver Creek Mountain opens for the summer Saturday with the fourth annual Blues, Brews & BBQ festival, which runs through Sunday. The Centennial Express chairlift will be open Saturday through Monday. It also will be open the following two weekends and be open daily from June 16 to Sept. 2. The festival is free. Tickets to Saturdays Colorado Microbrewery Beer Tasting hosted by The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek are available for $35 per person in advance or $40 per person at the door. Call 949-1234 for ticket information.


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