Headlines — October 6, 2022

October 6, 2022

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A $3.2 Million Research Grant To Support Colorado’s National Water Reuse Efforts 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced a $3.2 million research grant to support national water reuse efforts in Colorado. 

The research grant will go to Colorado’s Water Research Foundation (WRF) which plans to use wastewater-based epidemiology and surveillance to reduce chemical health risks. The WRF will 

Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, stated in a press release the, “research projects will help advance water reuse and applications so communities, local and state governments, and Tribes can provide alternatives to existing water resources.”

Colorado.gov State Web Portal Homepage Currently Offline

The Colorado.gov State Web Portal homepage was taken offline yesterday. The Governor’s Office of Information Technology says a coordinated cyber attack is responsible. 

An anonymous suspected foreign actor allegedly took responsibility for targeting multiple state government services and websites across the United States, according to a press release from the state government.

As of this morning, the official home page of the state government remains offline, but a substitute page with shortcut links to most common is now available at the colorado dot gov domain. While the Colorado.gov State Web Portal is offline, all other State of Colorado websites and essential state government services are online and available. 

Boulder Fraternity Member Arrested For Sexual Assault

Boulder police, have arrested a nineteen year old fraternity member in relation to a sexual assault reported in August. The arrest affidavit reports that Ethan Hirsh sexually assaulted a woman he had known since the seventh-grade on the morning of August 18 2022. 

The victim told police she went to the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house at 2 AM. She told police she and her friend were drinking and listening to music when Hirsch joined them. The victim told officers she has no memory of entering Hirsch’s room, but recalls a hand placed around her neck and being thrown down and then waking up in the morning. 

According to the affidavit, the woman’s friend sent her text messages to check up on her. Hirsch later told a fraternity brother that he responded to the friend saying she was “good”. According to the DailyCamera One Kappa Sigma Fraternity brother reached out to law enforcement on August 28 saying Hirsch “couldn’t keep a straight story” and thinks Hirsch was lying about the incident. 

Hirsch is not currently enrolled on the CU Boulder campus. He was arrested this week on suspicion of sexual assault and posted a $1,000 cash option on his $10,000 secured bond, according to online court records. 

Man Arrested For Stealing Fire-Truck 

Boulder Police responded to a report of a suspect stealing a Boulder Fire-Rescue truck this weekend while the Fire-Rescue personnel were responding to a medical call nearby. 

Around 1 AM Sunday, according to the Daily Camera, they saw the truck moving down the street. One firefighter jumped in, pulled the emergency brake and then detained 28-year old Kirill A. Keifel until police arrived. They charged the suspect of second-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft and a felony parole for violation for robbery. 

National Parks Service Expands Sand Creek Massacre Memorial Site

The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was approved for expansion.

Federal officials announced Wednesday that the Department of Interior and National Park Service has acquired nearly 35 hundred acres of land to expand the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. 

The site commemorates the lives of over 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho murdered by U.S. soldiers on November 29th of 1864. Over half of the dead were women and children.

The announcement of the expansion of the site came at a ceremony attended by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera.

Site Superintendent Janet Frederick said the newly-acquired land, “have significant archaeological remains of the massacre, including evidence of the village where Cheyenne and Arapaho families were camped, and an intact viewshed that is key to the historical integrity of the National Historic Site.”  

The Sand Creek massacre was a defining moment of a decades-long U.S. government backed campaign to violently displace Native people from their homelands in Colorado. 

Clear Creek County Will Create A Mental Health Team After June Shooting

Clear Creek County will create a mental health team following a police shooting that killed a 22-year-old man in June. 

On Wednesday, Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office announced at a press conference that they would partner with the County Commissioners to create a team to help with mental health calls. Many cities have implemented this team in their police force, including the Denver Police Department. 

Christian Glass, the man that was killed, called 911 after he crashed his car while experiencing paranoia. After Police arrived on the scene, officers instructed Glass to get out of the vehicle for an hour, but Glass refused, saying he was afraid. 

Police then tased and shot glass– killing him. 

Clear Creek County considered adding a mental health crisis team in 2020, but county officials failed to create it despite a grand jury recommendation.

Siddhartha Rathod, the attorney representing the Glass family, said that if the county had created the team earlier, Christian would’ve been alive. According to Rathod, the officers involved in the shooting still work for the department.

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