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September 11, 2009
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Rancher guilty in dog attack Mountain bike racer mauled during 2008 Camp Hale event By Randy Wyrick Mountaineer Staff Writer The dogs that attacked a mountain bike racer in 2008 were dangerous, and the owner knew it, a jury found Thursday. Life-long area rancher Sam Robinson was found guilty on one misdemeanor count of owning a dangerous dog. Two of Robinson’s Great Pyrenees sheep dogs attacked Renee Legro during a July 9, 2008 Vail Town Race Series event at Camp Hale. Robinson faces up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $5,000. More importantly, he might also face restitution for Legro’s
medical expenses and lost wages, said Robinson’s attorney Ted Hess. Robinson, who has a U.S. Forest Service permit to graze sheep on Camp Hale, did not know the race had been scheduled. If he had known, his sheep could easily have been moved away from the race site, his attorney said. Hess argued that the dogs might not have been Robinson’s, since there were hundreds of people in Camp Hale for the event, and many brought their dogs. Even if they were, there was no reason for Robinson to believe his dogs were dangerous. The dogs were both about 16 years old, and there had been no previ-
THE UPDATE
ous incidents with them, Hess said. A few days earlier, on July 4, 2008, a different Robinson dog bit someone else while she was riding a mountain bike in Camp Hale. Robinson and his wife drove down from their Rio Blanco County home, located that victim and provided her with their insurance information, then had that dog impounded. “This is an urban/rural collision, a terrible, terrible accident,” Hess said during his closing arguments. “He has to have his dogs to protect his sheep against predators, and she is entitled to a reasonable expectation that she would be safe during a sanctioned event. These are two
people doing two lawful acts, and had a horrible outcome.” The jury saw it differently. “It was an unfortunate chain of events, but we followed the letter of the law,” said juror Lisa Dillon after court was adjourned. The day it happened Hundreds of racers, family and friends descended on Camp Hale for the race. Robinson testified that he didn’t know anything about the race until he stopped by on his way back home from a trip. He said he checked with his hired hand, [See DOG ATTACK CASE, page 21]
Lionshead Oktoberfest begins tonight ...
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Investors poured money into stocks for a fifth day after a drop in weekly unemployment claims and a spike in oil raised hopes for the economy. The gains have come even as analysts say the market is overdue for a retreat. The Labor Department said that jobless claims fell more than expected to 550,000 last week. A jump in oil lifted energy companies and an upbeat forecast from consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co. added to enthusiasm about an economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.26, or 0.8 percent, to 9,627.48. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.77, or 1.0 percent, to 1,044.14. The Nasdaq composite index rose 23.63, or 1.2 percent, to 2,084.02.
Vail Oktoberfest kicks off today in Lionshead at 5 p.m. and continues through Sunday. Tonight, attendees will enjoy an array of Germaninspired food and drinks with the music of the Rhinelanders Band and Vail’s own German legend Helmut Fricker. See complete schedule and story inside. Photo from last year’s event courtesy Nevada Lee of VailPM.com.
In next life Berlusconi should be a governor
Premier Silvio Berlusconi brushed off questions about any possible resignation Production Artwork over his sex scandal Thursday, saying he has been Italy’s best premier ever. Berlusconi also said he was considerProduction Artwork [See THE UPDATE, pages 10-11]
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