News from neighbors
Officer-involved shooting leaves suspect dead
STERLING JOURNAL-ADVOCATE, May 5 — An officer-involved shooting resulted in the death of a suspect in a shooting incident Sunday.
According to a release from Sterling Police Department, an SPD officer attempted to pull over a vehicle near Highway 6 and Atwood at 5:45 p.m. Sunday evening after recognizing the driver as the suspect in a shooting that occurred Thursday in Sterling. Sterling Police Chief Tyson Kerr said the officer was en route to work when he spotted the suspect, who was identified Monday afternoon as Tyler Wayne Kracht, 28, of Fort Collins. Kracht formerly lived in Sterling and has ties to the community.
In the shooting incident Thursday, a male shot a handgun into the side of an occupied vehicle; none of the three people inside were injured.
The SPD said the suspect also had a failure to appear warrant out of Loveland on weapons and drug charges, and was wanted by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office in a domestic violence related case.
When the officer attempted to make the stop, according to the SPD, the suspect “fled at a high rate of speed,” heading west on Highway 6 to Merino. The SPD pursued the suspect’s vehicle as it traveled from Merino south to Interstate 76, west on I-76 in the wrong lane, then back north to Highway 6 near Hillrose. The chase ended in a crash at 6:08 p.m. on Highway 6 just west of Hillrose when officers with the SPD and Logan County Sheriff’s Office conducted a high risk stop.
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Flyover honors COVID-19 workers
STERLING JOURNAL-ADVOCATE, May 7 — A crowd gathered behind the Ramada Inn in Sterling Wednesday to wait and watch as four F-16 Fighting Falcon approached from near Sterling Correctional Facility, then banked and headed west.
The pilots from the 140th Wing followed a route that started from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora at 4:30 p.m., had them overhead in Sterling just minutes later and was slated to include appearances over Greeley, Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park, Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Winter Park, Longmont, Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo before returning home.
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Former mayor picketed City Hall
YUMA PIONEER, May 7 — A former Yuma mayor briefly picketed in front of City Hall early last week. Gene Seward was seen carrying a sign while walking back and forth in front of City Hall.
He said his sign read “America’s lost and now we’re in a police state.”
Seward said he had opened his barbershop on Sunday, April 26, as Gov. Jared Polis’ “Safer-at-Home” executive order went into effect. Seward said he thought it allowed him to reopen. However, Yuma police came by and told him he was not allowed to be open yet. The officer left to get verification, Seward said, then returned and said he could not open until May 1.
Though he disagreed, Seward complied.
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Drive-thru testing for Yuma County in Wray has plenty of tests
YUMA PIONEER, May 7 — Free drive-thru testing has been available for Yuma County residents, and others who have been patients at the Yuma or Wray hospitals.
The drive-thru tests are available in the Wray Community District Hospital parking lot Monday through Friday from 8-9 a.m. A physician’s order is not required, but one must be showing viral infections, such as a fever, shortness of breath, a new cough, or have been exposed to a person who has been confirmed to have COVID-19.
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Antibody test coming soon to Sterling Banner Health Clinic
STERLING JOURNAL-ADVOCATE, May 8 — Northern Colorado residents will soon have a way to tell if they’ve been exposed to COVID-19, according to an announcement from Banner Health this week. The health care system announced it has partnered with Horizon Laboratories and Sonora Quest Laboratories to provide antibody testing for COVID-19 and is now testing all employees and medical staff working in high-risk locations.
Banner said it will expand testing to additional groups in the coming days, and Horizon expects to offer consumers the blood test at its eight locations in northern Colorado, including the Banner Health Clinic on West Main in Sterling.
The test can determine if a person has been exposed to SARS-COV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and developed antibodies against the disease. Having antibodies may provide a level of immunity from the disease, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that is still being researched.
The antibody tests cannot determine if you have an active infection, as it takes time to develop antibodies. Anyone coming in to a lab for the antibody test must be symptom- and fever-free for at least 10 days to have the most reliable test results, as it typically takes 10-14 days after symptom onset to develop antibodies. No appointment or physician order is needed.
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