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MONTROSEPRESS.COM SATURDAY
MONTROSE
January 8 2011
VOL 128, NO. 197 75 cents MONTROSE, CO 81401 www.montrosepress.com
A rush of adrenaline
Police: Paonia woman murdered BY KATHARHYNN HEIDELBERG DAILY PRESS SENIOR WRITER
PAONIA — One Paonia resident is dead, and another is being held in her death Friday afternoon. A Paonia Police officer responding to a trespass complaint at a Delta Avenue address was notified of a possible homicide victim inside, said Mayor Neal Schwieterman, acting public information officer for the Paonia Police Department. The officer then found a woman dead inside the home. Her name wasn’t released Friday, pending notification of her next of kin. Investigators are still determining her cause of death, Schwieterman said Friday. “We don’t know the cause of death yet. We know we have a crime; we don’t know how (the manner). We do have a suspect,” he said. The suspect, Nathan Yager, 39, turned himself in to the Montrose Police a few hours after the murder was discovered, and is being held in the Delta County Jail, where invesSEE MURDER, PAGE A2
Judge cancels DA appointment Serra’s resignation lands ball in governor’s court BY KATHARHYNN HEIDELBERG DAILY PRESS SENIOR WRITER
JOEL BLOCKER / DAILY PRESS
Sam Elias of Boulder works his way up one of the many climbing routes in the Ouray Ice Park on the eve of the annual Ouray Ice Festival competition climb Friday afternoon. The 2011 Ouray Ice Festival Competition begins at 9 a.m. and continues through 3 p.m. today.
MONTROSE — Since outgoing District Attorney Myrl Serra’s arrest on sex charges, upheaval in his office’s organization has been something of a constant. The latest: the cancelation Friday of a District Court order appointing local attorney Dan Hotsenpiller to discharge Serra’s duties. Hotsenpiller’s appointment was made when Serra was still the elected DA. When Serra resigned Jan. 4, it created a vacancy that the constitution requires the governor to fill. The shakeup began with Serra’s Sept. 30, 2010 arrest on suspicion of unlawful
sexual contact and other offenses. (He’s free on bond.) The Colorado Attorney General was appointed to oversee the office, and all prosecutors there were sworn in as special attorneys general to effect such oversight. In December, because Serra was barred from his offices and thus could not perform his duties, District Judge Steven Patrick appointed Hotsenpiller to take them over. Hotsenpiller was to begin Tuesday — but Serra’s resignation put the kibosh on that. Patrick issued an order Friday, vacating the appointment. “Because of Myrl’s resignation, the appointment would have become ineffective or null at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, anyway, because the resignation creates a vacancy, which creates the efSEE JUDGE, PAGE A2
Community Foundation gives out much needed grants BY KATI O’HARE DAILY PRESS WRITER
MONTROSE — The Montrose Community Foundation gave several local organizations a financial boost — more than $12,000 total — to start off the new year. And in an economy where money is tight, the organizations are putting it to good use. Hilltop’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, which launched in July 2009 and is a first-time foundation recipient, got $1,000. “Part of the program requires that we have a youth leadership team — it gives teens a voice,” said Program Coordinator Katie Donahue. The program works with youth ages 12 to 21, as well as their families, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, and this includes “couch
surfers.” The team is comprised of local youth who meet once a month. They attend state meetings and talk with local government to tackle local issues such as transportation and community awareness. “A big part of the grant is to help us continue to support that team,” Donahue said. The Center for Mental Health, also a new grant recipient, is combining its $1,100 from the foundation with an undisclosed amount from the Colorado Garden Show Foundation in Denver to build a greenhouse at Johnson Elementary School. The greenhouse will facilitate a horticultural therapy program, said Janey Sorensen, with the mental health center. She said she expects the greenhouse to be in place by early summer, so when school starts in the fall, “kids will have a wonderful
INSIDE TODAY Published for the Uncompahgre Valley and Lane Schmidt of Olathe
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Sports: MHS’ Chris Sandoval aims for special senior season Page A8
way to experience therapy that is natural in a way.” The community foundation’s contribution came from proceeds of its June golf tournament at Cornerstone, said Melanie Hall, foundation executive director. The $1,000 the foundation gave Voices for Children (CASA) is invaluable, said Executive Director Karen Tuttle. CASA is using the money to send staff to the national CASA conference in Chicago this spring. The national conference brings CASA volunteers, and their programs, from all over the United States together to discuss what works and what doesn’t. And it provides training that is brought back to volun-
TODAY’S WEATHER It will be partly sunny with patchy fog in the morning. High 35, Low 15 See details, Page A13
SEE FOUNDATION, PAGE A3
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