Multi-day red flag warning in effect

A multi-day red flag warning is in effect for a large area covering western Colorado and eastern Utah, with gusty winds, hot temperatures, low humidity and dry fuels combining to boost fire danger this week. The warning is in effect from noon today until 10 p.m. Thursday, as a large area of low pressure along the Pacific Northwest coast will expand inland to the northern Rockies by Wednesday. That will trigger a breakdown in a ridge of high pressure over the central Rockies and bring in ...

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Dangerous fire conditions in place again today

A second straight day of hot, windy weather in the Grand Valley has created ripe fire conditions. More than half of the state of Colorado, including Mesa County, is under a red flag warning today until 8 p.m. Meanwhile, a fire weather watch is in effect for Grand Junction and other areas until Thursday afternoon. Forecasters with the National Weather Service say southwest winds will remain gusty — possibly as high as 40 mph — through early this evening as a weak cold front ...

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UPDATE: Body found in search for missing dirt biker

Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey said that search and rescue crews looking in the desert and Bookcliffs north of Grand Junction for a missing dirt biker have found a body. Hilkey stopped short of saying that it is 34-year-old Nolus Xavier Sunoon of Denver, who Mesa County Search and Rescue volunteers have been looking for since 9 p.m. Monday. Sunoon’s friends reported him overdue after he drove to the Grand Valley on Saturday by himself and didn’t return to Denver by Monday ...

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Local real estate market continues slow rebound

Home sales in Mesa County plateaued in the first quarter of 2013, but a bump in the median sales price and a drop in foreclosure filings and sales suggest the real estate market is continuing its climb out of the hole. There were 577 single-family residential sales in January, February and March in Mesa County, four fewer than the same time last year, and the 700 sales of all types were three more than the first quarter of 2012, according to Real Data LLC, a Grand Junction company that ...

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Power outage near Whitewater

Nearly 270 people are without power this afternoon east of Whitewater, according to Grand Valley Power. The rural cooperative posted on Facebook around 3:40 p.m. that crews are on scene and replacing a failed pole. Due to terrain and weather conditions, it may be late afternoon or early evening before service is restored, according to Grand Valley Power spokesman Bill Byers. The affected areas include Kannah Creek, Reeder Mesa, Land’s End Road and Blair Road.  ...

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Snow in store for West Slope higher elevations

The calendar says May, but winter is stubbornly hanging on in the higher elevations of western Colorado. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has issued a winter weather advisory for Grand Mesa and other mountainous areas, effective from midnight tonight through 6 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters are calling for 3 to 6 inches of snow, mainly above 9,000 feet, though the snow level should drop to 8,000 feet by Thursday morning. In addition to the mesa, the advisory area includes ...

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Passenger traffic dips 
slightly at GJ airport

Commercial passenger traffic at Grand Junction Regional Airport slipped in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time last year, a drop attributed almost solely to Allegiant Airlines extending the suspension of its service to Los Angeles. A total of 47,562 passengers boarded flights heading out of Grand Junction in January, February and March, a 4 percent decline from the 49,622 who flew out of the airport in the first three months of 2012. The numbers come amid mixed ...

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Freeze warning in place again tonight

It’ll be another nervous night for Western Slope growers and gardeners, as a freeze warning is in effect from midnight tonight until 8 a.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction is forecasting an overnight low in the city of 29 degrees. Tender vegetation, including blooming fruit trees, will be threatened for several hours. There is a chance that downvalley winds will remain strong enough to keep temperatures near the freezing mark in the Palisade area and along ...

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Sudden spring snowstorm is season’s biggest

The biggest snowstorm of the season Wednesday layered the Grand Valley with a thick, wet blanket of flakes that triggered accidents across the region, the closure of the school in De Beque and anxiety among peach farmers whose trees have already flowered. The storm dumped as much as 7 inches of snow in some areas of the valley and more in the higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service. Officially, 4.6 inches accumulated at Grand Junction Regional Airport between Tuesday ...

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Spring snowstorm blankets valley

Snow is tapering off in the Grand Valley this morning, but not before several inches of heavy, wet flakes coated leafing trees and shrubs, closed school in De Beque and triggered several accidents around western Colorado, including a semi tractor-trailer that jackknifed on U.S. Highway 50. A week after a storm that was forecast to bring as much as 4 inches of snow to Grand Junction never materialized, the largest storm of the 2012-13 snow season moved into the Western Slope overnight and ...

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Power companies balk at renewable mandate for rural areas

Colorado rural cooperatives assailed a bill Friday that would more than double their renewable-energy mandate, claiming the legislation was crafted in secret without their input, would impose billions of dollars in costs that would be passed on to ratepayers and benefit “multibillionaire” developers. In an interview with The Daily Sentinel’s editorial board, Grand Valley Power General Manager Thomas Walch, Colorado Rural Electric Association Executive Director Kent Singer ...

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Suspect nabbed after motel standoff

A nearly six-hour standoff at a Horizon Drive motel ended peacefully just before midnight Thursday with the arrest of an armed robbery suspect, according to Grand Junction police. Skylar Kesterson, 23, was arrested just after 11:30 p.m. at the Mesa Inn, 704 Horizon Drive, after Grand Junction Police Department SWAT team officers deployed tear gas into his motel room. The incident began around 5:45 p.m. when detectives learned Kesterson, who was suspected of robbing Check Into Cash, 2546 ...

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Standoff ends with arrest of robbery suspect

A nearly six-hour standoff at a Horizon Drive motel ended peacefully just before midnight Thursday night with the arrest of an armed robbery suspect, according to Grand Junction police. Skylar Kesterson, 23, was arrested just after 11:30 p.m. at the Mesa Inn, 704 Horizon Drive, after Grand Junction Police Department SWAT team officers deployed tear gas into his motel room. The incident began around 5:45 p.m. when detectives learned Kesterson, who was suspected of robbing Check Into Cash, ...

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3rd phase of highway 
work starts Monday

The next phase of construction to widen and improve U.S. Highway 6&50 between the downtown Grand Junction area and Mesa Mall will begin Monday, meaning the thousands of motorists who travel the highway each day should expect some traffic delays and reduced speed limits for the next several months. The work will cover the stretch of U.S. 6&50 between 25 Road and roughly 1,000 feet east of Rimrock Avenue where the highway splits off toward North Avenue and First Street. The project ...

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Construction starts Monday to continue widening U.S. 6&50

The next phase of construction to widen and improve U.S. Highway 6&50 between the downtown Grand Junction area and Mesa Mall will begin Monday, meaning the thousands of motorists who travel the highway each day should expect some traffic delays and reduced speed limits for the next several months. The work will cover the stretch of U.S. 6&50 between 25 Road and roughly 1,000 feet east of Rimrock Avenue where the highway splits off toward North Avenue and First Street. The project ...

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Williams ordered by EPA 
to take action in leak cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency has joined state regulators in taking formal enforcement action against an energy company in conjunction with a subsurface leak of thousands of gallons of a liquid hydrocarbon northwest of Parachute. Meanwhile, the amount of liquid being recovered continues to dissipate, so much so that officials said no measurable amount of hydrocarbon was collected Thursday. In documents made public Thursday, the EPA issued an administrative order outlining a litany ...

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UPDATE: More residents allowed back home; evacuations still in place for some

Update 2:38 p.m. Authorities told evacuees this afternoon that some of them will be able to return to their homes today, while others will have to stay out at least one more day. The evacuation order for homes on Seventh Street south of Mesa Avenue has been lifted. Homes facing Seventh Street between Orchard Avenue and Mesa Avenue, however, remain evacuated. Anyone returning to their homes today needs to check in at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 730 Mesa Ave., prior to entering their ...

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Gas leak triggers house explosion; schools evacuated

Update 6:15 p.m. Residents living south of Elm Avenue in previously evacuated areas near today’s explosion will be allowed back in their homes, effective immediately, Police Chief John Camper told a press conference tonight. Moreover, those living north of Elm Avenue up to Orchard Avenue, and between Cannell Avenue to the alley behind Seventh Street, will also be allowed back in homes although they are likely to be without power, Camper said. “We’re certainly willing to ...

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Fugitive faces host of charges

A fugitive accused of leading law enforcement on a vehicle and foot chase in north Grand Junction stole a woman’s vehicle by forcibly taking her keys from her after she refused to give him something to drink, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday. The affidavit indicates that Thomas Aaron Krasowsky, 35, was wanted in New Mexico for assault on a peace officer with a motor vehicle and in Adams County on a 15-year-old felony theft case. He also had an outstanding Grand ...

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Fugitive nabbed after wild car chase

A fugitive reportedly wanted for assaulting a police officer in New Mexico was arrested in Grand Junction on Wednesday after a melee in which he allegedly fled from sheriff’s deputies, crashed his vehicle, stole another vehicle and crashed that vehicle. Deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department’s Street Crimes Unit performed a traffic stop on a vehicle around 4:50 p.m. at the C&F Food Store, 596 25 Road, Deputy Ben Carnes said. They identified the driver as ...

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Fugitive arrested after stealing, crashing vehicle

A wanted man was arrested in Grand Junction late this afternoon after a melee in which he allegedly fled from sheriff’s deputies, crashed his vehicle, stole another vehicle and crashed that vehicle. Deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department’s Street Crimes Unit performed a traffic stop on a vehicle around 4:50 p.m. at the C&F Food Store, 596 25 Road, Deputy Ben Carnes said. They identified the driver as Thomas Krasowsky, 35, learned he had warrants out for ...

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UPDATE: Dozen homes remain without water following line break

Ute Water Conservancy District crews are working to repair a 12-inch water line accidentally breached this morning by a contractor. Ute Water spokesman Joe Burtard said around noon that only a dozen homes or so remain without water in the west end of the Grand Valley. Water service has been restored to Fruita Monument High School, Fruita 8-9 School and Rim Rock Elementary School. The break happened at 10 a.m. when Accurate Construction & Excavation Inc crews working on an irrigation ...

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Horse hockey! Meth in manure doesn’t fool K-9

The odor of horse manure may be strong enough to block out other smells, but methamphetamine apparently isn’t one of them. A 39-year-old man allegedly learned this Tuesday when he was arrested after Western Colorado Drug Task Force officers uncovered two pounds of meth in a horse trailer’s hidden compartment buried under horse manure and sawdust. Carlos Perez-Romero was booked into the Mesa County Jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, failing to drive in a ...

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Sequester National Weather Service

The outlook for what impact federal spending cuts might have on the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service remains cloudy, but at the national level officials are issuing warnings for employee furloughs, unfilled positions and potentially diminished forecast quality. The National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the U.S. Department of Commerce umbrella, employs roughly 25 people at its Grand Junction office at 2844 ...

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School bus rolls over on U.S. Highway 50

A school bus has rolled over on U.S. Highway 50 near the Mesa County-Delta County line this morning, although it appears no children are on board. Initial police dispatch reports indicate that one person was aboard the bus and complaining of back pain. The accident happened around 8:45 a.m. on U.S. 50 around mile marker 53 or 54. It wasn’t immediately clear to which school district the bus belonged. This morning’s snow on the Western Slope has triggered several accidents as ...

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Four wounded in armed clash

A man suspected in a Grand Junction shooting and assault that hospitalized four people was arrested several hours later Saturday after police surrounded a home and pulled out a 2-month-old child. The incident, which tied up all of the Grand Junction Police Department’s resources for much of the day, may have been triggered by a child-custody dispute, police spokeswoman Kate Porras said. MichaelI Joseph Renteria, 21,  Grand Junction, has been booked into the Mesa County Jail on ...

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Man reportedly shot in face

Police and emergency crews are responding to a report of a shooting in Fruitvale this evening. Police scanner reports indicate a man was shot in the face in the area of 29 Road and Pinyon Avenue around 8 p.m. Early reports indicate the man was conscious and breathing. Authorities have shut down 29 Road and Pinyon Avenue in all directions. A Daily Sentinel reporter is en route to the scene. Read the full story in Sunday’s Daily Sentinel.  ...

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Gas station robbed early this morning

Grand Junction police are looking for a man who robbed a North Avenue gas station at gunpoint early this morning. Officers responded to Bradley Sinclair, 233 North Ave., at 12:35 a.m. on a report of a robbery and learned a man threatened a clerk with a black handgun and ordered the clerk to give him money from the register. The robber left the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, police said. The gunman was described as a black male in his early 30s, 5-foot-5, with a medium ...

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UPDATE: Police arrest suspect in shooting, assault

Police this afternoon arrested a man believed to have been involved in a shooting and assault that sent four people to the hospital earlier today. Grand Junction police spokeswoman Kate Porras said officers responded to 476 Glen Road around 11 a.m. on a report of a shooting. One person at the home sustained gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital along with three others who suffered injuries inflicted with a different weapon. Porras said she didn’t know the kind of a weapon used ...

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Numbers show steady recovery of real estate

If 2011 represented the bottom for the real estate market in Mesa County, 2012 was a year of recovery, and observers believe 2013 will show continued signs of improvement. The 2,800 single-family residential sales in the county last year represented a 15 percent increase over 2011, and they were the most since there were 3,445 sales in 2008. There were 654 residential sales in the fourth quarter of 2012, a 19 percent jump over the same time in 2011. Residential sales have increased year ...

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Storm zeroing in on Western Slope

A potent winter storm is taking aim at western Colorado, with forecasters predicting a foot of snow or more in the higher elevations this weekend and a mixture of rain and snow in the Grand Valley. A winter storm warning is in effect from from 6 p.m. today until noon Monday for most of the mountains of the Western Slope, including Grand Mesa and the Uncompahgre Plateau, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. Strong winds will move into western Colorado tonight ahead ...

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Fire displaces Redlands family

A family was forced out of its Redlands home by a fire this morning that caused about $20,000 damage, according to the Grand Junction Fire Department. Firefighters responded to 116 Glade Park Road just before 4 a.m. and found smoke coming from the attic area. Crews were able to access the fire by removing the ceiling in a bedroom and working through the exterior attic vents. They quickly contained the blaze, according to Battalion Chief Doug Walsh. One resident of the home awoke to smoke ...

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BLM drops controversial North Fork Valley parcels from lease sale

The Bureau of Land Management announced this morning it will remove from its February oil and gas lease sale 20,000 acres in the North Fork Valley in response to protests and criticism from residents. The BLM received nearly 200 protests from ranchers, wineries, real estate professionals, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and others that listing 20 parcels totaling 20,555 acres could harm the valley’s economy and wildlife. A Delta County citizens’ group, Citizens for a Healthy ...

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Jensen on way to Grand Junction 
lockup

A Palisade woman accused in the overheating deaths of her two children was released from a Florida jail Wednesday morning so she could be returned to Mesa County to face charges here. Heather Jensen, who was booked into the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers, Fla., on Jan. 16 under her maiden name Heather Holesapple, was released at 4:30 a.m. MDT, according to jail records. She had not been booked into the Mesa County Jail as of 9 p.m. Mesa County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Heather ...

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Mom accused in sons’ deaths returning to Mesa County

A Palisade woman accused in the overheating deaths of her two children was released from a Florida jail this morning so she could be returned to Mesa County to face charges here. Heather Jensen, who was booked into the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers, Fla., on Jan. 16 under her maiden name Heather Holesapple, was released at 4:30 a.m. MDT, according to jail records. She had not been booked into the Mesa County Jail as of 6:30 p.m. Mesa County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Heather ...

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Maintaining altitude in service at Grand Junction Regional Airport

For the second year in a row, commercial passenger traffic at Grand Junction Regional Airport held steady in 2012, a fact celebrated by airport operators focused on retaining service during what remains a turbulent time for the airline industry. A total of 219,643 passengers flew out of the airport last year, about 2,400 fewer than 2011. It was the lowest total since 2008. “We were very pleased to only see a decline of just over 1 percent as far as passenger enplanements go,” ...

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GJ under dense fog advisory

The Grand Valley is under a dense fog advisory until Sunday morning, as a relatively warm winter storm has socked in the area with thick clouds and rain. The advisory, which also covers Interstate 70 in eastern Utah and Moab, is in effect until 9 a.m. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction say wet and icy roadways and low visibility — it’ll drop to less than a quarter-mile for several hours — will create hazardous driving conditions. The forecast ...

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Valley locked in record cold

The steal-your-breath Arctic chill that has gripped the Grand Valley for the better part of a month has established another meteorological landmark, and the deep freeze may not be done rewriting the record books. Tuesday morning’s low temperature of 3 below zero at Grand Junction Regional Airport marked the 22nd time this winter season the daily low dropped below zero, the most since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1893. There were four winters in which the low ...

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SPROUTING UP

When the announcement came more than a year ago, the news was that Boulder-based Sunflower Farmers Market would open a grocery store in Grand Junction in the fall of 2012. The business’ debut ultimately was delayed, and it’s now Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market whose name appears above the entrance. The end result, however, is unchanged: Grand Valley residents are days away from having another option for natural and organic food and products. Hundreds of people are ...

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Flu cases escalate, likely to get worse

Like the fever that often accompanies them, flu cases in Colorado and Mesa County spiked during the holidays, and health officials say the peak season for the illness is likely yet to come. Four Mesa County residents were hospitalized with the flu during the week of Dec. 23-29, the dates for which the most recent data were available, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Those four cases accounted for nearly half of the flu-related hospitalizations ...

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GJ ties record low

Grand Junction tied a 101-year-old record this morning when the thermometer plunged to 8 below zero, according to the National Weather Service. This morning’s low of minus 8, recorded at 5:01 a.m. at Grand Junction Regional Airport, tied the record set on Jan. 3, 1912. Today’s high is expected to top out at 21 degrees. It looks like it could be several days before Grand Junction reaches the freezing mark.  ...

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Suspect ‘bathed’ with his student, a 7-year-old girl

A Palisade man charged with repeatedly molesting a 7-year-old girl during music lessons in his Palisade home bathed with the girl, took nude photos and videos of her and penned a note in which he told the girl he loved her, according to an arrest affidavit. Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger called the case “simply appalling” during 59-year-old James David Tiner’s first court appearance Friday. Tiner was arrested last weekend in Garfield County, eight months ...

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Sex assault suspect held 
in GarCo jail

A man accused of repeatedly molesting an 8-year-old girl during music lessons in his Palisade home was arrested early Saturday morning in Garfield County after the FBI released his photograph and details about the case as part of a nationwide dragnet. James David Tiner, 59, was apprehended by the New Castle Police Department, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI around 1:30 a.m. He is being held without bond in the Garfield County Detention Facility pending his first ...

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Search and Rescue volunteers 
receive help to perform mission

Brent Jagger knows what it’s like to be roused from sleep at 3 a.m. to look for a missing snowshoer, to drop whatever he’s doing in the middle of an afternoon to assist an injured mountain biker. He used to volunteer for Mesa County Search and Rescue. So the vice president of Citadel Security & Investigation has no problem giving a hand to an organization whose mission is to help those in trouble. Jagger and Citadel Security on Saturday presented a $1,400 check to the ...

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Palisade sex-assault fugitive captured in Garfield County

A Palisade man wanted by the FBI for fleeing from child sexual-assault charges was captured in Garfield County early this morning, authorities announced this afternoon. James David Tiner, 59, was apprehended largely due to tips from citizens who had seen media publicity about the case earlier this week, the FBI said. New Castle police late Friday received tips from citizens regarding Tiner’s possible location. Tiner and his vehicle were identified and, after a short pursuit, New ...

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Cops investigating double stabbing in Clifton

Authorities are releasing few details about a stabbing at a Clifton home that sent two men to the hospital Wednesday night. Deputies responded to 3268 E Road, No. 62, about 9:30 p.m. and found two men with stab wounds. A woman was taken to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department to meet with investigators as a possible witness, sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said. The two men were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, but their condition is unknown. No arrests have been ...

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Palisade man wanted by FBI for alleged sex assault

The FBI announced today that a former Palisade man is wanted on allegations that he sexually assaulted a child and fled from prosecution. A state warrant was issued for the arrest of James David Tiner, 59, in April, charging him with sexual assault on a child, sexual assault on a child in a pattern of abuse and sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust. A federal arrest warrant was issued June 11 after Tiner was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Authorities ...

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Storm drops 4.6 inches in valley

The biggest snowstorm to hit the Grand Valley in nearly three years took its time getting here, but once it arrived it delivered enough of a snowy, icy blow to trigger car accidents and road closures across the Western Slope. Another system could be on its way in time for Christmas. A total of 4.6 inches fell at Grand Junction Regional Airport between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the most snow produced by one storm in Grand Junction since 5.1 inches accumulated from Jan. 26-28, ...

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Winter blasts onto scene

City and county workers fired up plows and de-icing trucks and would-be over-the-road travelers were cautioned to stay home as a major winter storm barged into western Colorado on Tuesday, dumping snow on the valleys and mountains and threatening to make a mess of this morning’s commute. A winter storm warning remains in effect for virtually all of the Western Slope until noon today before the storm moves out and temperatures plummet to near zero tonight. “There’s winter ...

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Foreclosures down, but housing still flat

Foreclosure filings and sales in November in Mesa County declined from a month and a year earlier, but the area continues to lag behind much of the rest of the state in terms of a rebound in the housing market. The Colorado Division of Housing reported last week that last month’s completed foreclosures and foreclosure filings, the latter of which is an indicator of future foreclosure activity and mortgage delinquency, in the state’s 12 metropolitan areas fell to six-year ...

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