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Thursday December 24, 2009
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Vol. 21, No. 307
RO U T T
C O U N T Y ’ S
DA I LY
N E W S PA P E R
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S t e a m b o at s p r i n g s
Car crashes in area Snowy conditions cause wrecks; 4 hospitalized Wednesday night Page 4
S t e a m b o at s p r i n g s
John F. Russell/staff
Steamboat Springs Nordic combined skier Johnny Spillane acknowledges the crowd as he crosses the finish line of the 2010 U.S. Winter Olympic Team Trials Nordic combined race at Howelsen Hill on Wednesday. The Olympic Trials continue today with the aerials event at Steamboat Ski Area. The first run is at 10 a.m.
Revolving carousel Yampa Valley Regional Airport staff gets ready for full flights, busy Saturday Page 3
Correction The Sheraton Steamboat Resort has earned gold certification in the Sustain able Business Program. The article “Make it an Ever-Green Holiday” on page 20 of Wednesday’s Steamboat Today incorrectly stated the certification.
■ Index Briefs . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . 24 Comics . . . . . . . 22 Crossword . . . . . 23 Happenings . . . . . 7 Horoscope . . . . . 22
The Record . . . .10 Scoreboard . . . . 21 Sports . . . . . . . . 17 Sudoku . . . . . . . 23 ViewPoints . . . . . 8 Weather . . . . . . . 31
Hometown skier wins
Spillane tops Lodwick, Demong for Olympic Trials win John F. Russell STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
By the time Johnny Spillane crossed the finish line of Wednesday’s 10-kilometer cross-country race, the hometown crowd filling the grandstands at Brent Romick Rodeo Arena had reached a fevered pitch. Just moments before, Steamboat’s Spillane and Todd Lodwick were streaking toward the finish line in a sprint, and
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Bill Demong, who lived and Kearney, trained here Deneen win until 2003, was moguls event just a few secSee page 17 onds back. “We are all Learn about so close that today’s aerials for sure anyevent one could have See page 19 won,” Spillane said. But it was Spillane who crossed the finish line first, and a few minutes later, the Steamboat Springs skier was
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Pilot & Today
ski town usa snow report Steamboat Ski Area
New snow — Mid-mountain* 1 in. New snow — Summit 0.5 in. Base — Mid-mountain 22 in. Base — Summit 23 in.
Total snow Trails open Lifts open Conditions
†
64.25 in. 95/165 14/18 Packed powder
*24-hour snowfall as of 12:30 p.m. previous day; † total snow beginning Oct. 1 as measured at mid-mountain FOR UP-TO-DATE ROAD CONDITIONS, including Rabbit Ears Pass, call 511 or visit www.cotrip.org
surrounded by a sea of reporters asking him about a frustrating summer on the sidelines and his subsequent return to the form that earned him a gold medal at the World Championships in 2003. Spillane, who spent two months this summer recovering from a pair of knee surgeries, showed no signs that the injury had slowed him down as he secured a spot in the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning See Nordic, page 21
More to this story online Watch a video of Johnny Spillane’s . cross-country finish at the 2010 U.S. Winter Olympic Team Trials and see more photos from the event. Visit this story online at www.steamboatpilot.com
■ There’s more online For around-the-clock updates, breaking local news and sports scores, videos, photos and an interactive community forum, visit www.steamboatpilot.com.