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Local News Briefs

Post Independent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

Carbondale Police received reports Thursday morning of a mountain lion being spotted on the north side of town.

The sightings occurred around 8 a.m. Thursday, according to Carbondale Police Chief Gene Schilling.

The initial sighting was in the parking lot at Heritage Park Care Center on Village Road, then along Eighth Street and on Merrill Avenue. At that point, the mountain lion was seen heading toward the Carbondale Nature Park area, Schilling said.



Police notified the local Colorado Parks of Wildlife officer.

Officials at Ross Montessori School on Merrill Avenue were also alerted, as the sightings were about the time students were on their way to school.



Police referred the public to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website, http://wildlife.state.co.us/NewsMedia/Videos/Pages/mountainlionsafety.aspx, for safety tips on what to do when encountering a mountain lion.

The top executive at the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority received the Transit Administrator of the Year award from the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies earlier this month.

Dan Blankenship, CEO of RFTA, won the award for providing outstanding contributions the transit industry in the state and for dedicating wisdom and experience to the industry, according to the state transit association. Blankenship also won the award in 2009.

A statement from the state transit agency said Blankenship’s accomplishments include: receiving $24 million from the Federal Transit Administration for the expansion of RFTA and “managing both upvalley in Aspen, which has started to rebound from the recession, and downvalley from Glenwood Springs and the I-70 corridor, which are still struggling to recover.”

Blankenship has been with RFTA since 1989 and has served as CEO and executive director.

CARBONDALE, Colorado – Authorities have identified the man whose body was found lying in the roadway of Highway 133 early the morning of Sept. 17 as 29-year-old Carlos Alberto Garcia-Cortez.

An El Salvadorian national, Garcia-Cortez was a resident of Carbondale at the time of his death, according to Carbondale Police Chief Gene Schilling.

His body was discovered around 3 a.m. Sept. 17 on Highway 133 in Carbondale near the intersection with Weant Boulevard. A motorist reported coming upon the body in the roadway, but not knowing what it was. The motorist reportedly attempted to swerve to avoid it, but couldn’t turn in time.

The motorist and passengers in his vehicle tried to resuscitate the man, who was unresponsive, and called 911. Carbondale police and fire responded and found Garcia-Cortez to be deceased.

Carbondale Police are awaiting toxicology reports on the victim. Colorado State Patrol, Garfield County Sheriff, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and the Garfield County Coroner responded to assist in the investigation.

Anyone with information about the man or how he might have ended up in the roadway is asked to contact the Carbondale Police Department at 963-2662.


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