Fort Collins Coloradoan from Fort Collins, Colorado • Page 2

State A2, The Coloradoan, Saturday, January 2, 2010 www.coloradoan.com Greeley girl's disappearance still a mystery after 25 years Man killed after driving into bus 'We occasionally get a tip on the case, but that usually involves a body that was. recovered Lt. Brad Goldschmidt Police said Tomczyk was alone and that none of the six people aboard the bus were hurt. Authorities said Tomczyk had been drinking and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Tomczyk didn't appear to stop before hitting the bus, suggesting he didn't notice it.

By The Associated Press AURORA A New Year's Eve reveler from Aurora is dead after driving into a public bus. John Tomczyk, 51, was killed when he slammed his 1989 Honda CRX into a parked bus less than two hours before midnight. New years marks start of dialed-down services friends said goodbye. But in recent years, little has happened with the Matthews case. It's still considered an open case in the Greeley Police Department.

"We occasionally get a tip on the case, but that usually involves a body that was recovered somewhere," Lt. Brad Goldschmidt said. "If the body was old enough, they might contact us because Jonelle is still considered a missing person. But we haven't had anything for a few years." Goldschmidt said Jonelle's DNA is on the national database now, in case something turns up, but they had no DNA from a suspect at the scene of her abduction. Her photo and an "age progressed" photo of what she would look like at 37 years old can be found on the Web site for The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On the night she disappeared, Jonelle was driven home from a middle school concert by a friend and her mother. They dropped Jonelle in front of the house in the 300 block of 43rd Avenue in the Pheasant Run subdivision and noted that the garage door already was open. The friends watched her walk into the house. They were the last people known to have seen the girl. While she was home, she took a teacher's message for her father, who was the principal at Platte Valley Elementary School in Kersey.

Jim Matthews came home about an hour later, after attending a basketball game for his older daughter, Jennifer. He found Jonelle's shoes and a shawl near a space heater in the family room. Usually, when she watched TV, Jonelle would sit close to the heater. When he couldn't locate his daughter, Jim Matthews called police. They stayed at the house most of the night, finding no signs of a struggle.

There were footprints in the snow around the house. The girl's disappearance exploded into one of the biggest mysteries in Greeley history. Hundreds of volunteers showed up to search all around Greeley for her body or any evidence. At a time when child abductions seemed prevalent, the story of Jonelle Matthews made headlines around the country. i By The Associated Press IGNACIO The western Colorado town of Ignacio is losing a police officer for the new year.

Libraries are going dark in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Fewer buses are running in Colorado Springs. Across the state, municipal governments are ringing in a skimpy new year as budget woes force deep cuts. City officials blame declining tax revenue. Some towns have fur-loughed or laid off employees.

Others have cut back on city services. Workers are forgoing raises. Many of the cuts take effect Friday. Here are some examples: The La Plata County town of Ignacio has cut a police officer after it lost a state grant worth about $138,000 when a gaming-impact program was cut. Ignacio had been receiving the grant since 1991.

The town also saw smaller sales tax receipts. "It's not something we set out to do just to be mean-spirited or something," town manager Baity Quintana told the Durago Herald. "The funds just weren't there." Four of seven libraries have closed in Aurora, a city of 310,000 people. The closures came after Aurora voters rejected a property-tax hike last fall. Thousands celebrate By The Associated Press DENVER Thousands of revelers who gathered in downtown Denver rang in the new year with a rousing cheer as the clock struck midnight.

The crowd began gathering amid chilly weather earlier in the evening to watch a Suspect Continued from Page A1 Valley Hospital. However, Laramie Police Commander Mitchell Cushman confirmed to 9News that the man shot was Cox. On Friday night, law enforcement officials confirmed Cox had died from his injuries. The three Fort Collins police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation a standard procedure in police-related shoot BY MIKE PETERS The Greeley Tribune GREELEY Two and a half decades later, there are still no answers. The 12-year-old girl who disappeared during Christmas week in 1984 is still gone, and there is no real hope she will ever be seen again.

On the night of Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews sang Christmas carols with her school choir and was taken home by a friend. When her father came home an hour later, she was gone. No trace has ever been found of Jonelle; no arrests, no evidential DNA, no answers. This year, police have made arrests in two of Greeley's longtime mysteries: the Mary Pierce slaying and the Tina Tournai Sandoval disappearance.

Those two cases will likely go to trial next year. But not the Jonelle Matthews case. There are still too many unanswered questions. Her parents, Jim and Gloria Matthews, had Jonelle officially declared dead in 1994, 10 years after her disappearance. There was a funeral service, and dozens of family i if Ana Elliott, 11, of Fort Collins skates City Continued from Page A1 the city's budgeting process and making budget cuts since 2005, Hutchinson said.

Cuts have included eliminating more than 100 city jobs in 2005 and a long "stop-doing" list of projects and services in subsequent years. More jobs were eliminated in 2009. Maintenance projects in transportation and parks have been deferred to save money, Hutchinson said. Revenue options other than a tax hike include imposing fees dedicated to funding areas such as road and parks maintenance, City Manager Darin River Continued from Page A1 rafting companies. Colorado law isn't clear on whether landowners can block river use.

A 1979 Colorado Supreme Court decision said rafters who touch a private bank or riverbed are trespassing. Some lawyers say that case affects even those who merely float through. A group of private landowners called Creekside Coalition are expected to fight Curry's measure. But the Colorado River Outfitters Association said jobs are at stake and that river rights need to be settled. "We're not trying to take away the landowner's rights, but rafting is a $142 million business in Colorado, and it 'To me, a library is not just having books.

It's like an old Katie Douglas, library patron The libraries sold off many books at bargain prices New Year's Eve. Patrons were glum. To me, a library is not just having books. It's like an old friend," library patron Katie Douglas told The Denver Post. Yvonne Vigil added, "It's extremely sad it's come to this." Colorado Springs cut bus service in half starting Friday.

The reductions came after the city slashed its 2010 funding of Mountain Metropolitan Transit from $8.7 million to $2.6 million and laid off 73 transit workers. Some residents of Colorado towns are also facing higher fees. In Larimer County, landfill fees increased Friday the first hike in the rates since 2003. "We're still the most reasonable landfill around," Larimer solid waste director Stephen Gillette told the (Loveland) Reporter-Herald. in downtown Denver fireworks show on the downtown pedestrian mall at 9 p.m.

The show was followed by another at midnight. Meanwhile, street peddlers sold flashing butterflies, roses, 2010 glasses and light sabers. Bus and light rail services were free for the night. ings. Police cordoned off approximately one square block between College Avenue and Mason Street and Maple Street and LaPorte Avenue, including the parking lot behind a city building at the location, which is also near a Transfort bus center.

Several marked and unmarked police vehicles responded to the scene, including the Interagency Command Post vehicle, which allows for coordination among law enforcement agencies. ann RGgH EHEARTDEStGNCOfltfJ Her parents appeared on national TV talk shows and programs about missing children. President Reagan mentioned Jonelle in one of his national addresses. But nothing helped. Little came in about the missing girl: Jonelle had been adopted by the Matthewses, and her birth mother was checked to see if there was any connection to the girl's disappearance.

Police do not consider her a suspect. Jim and Gloria Matthews now live in the Philippines, where Jim teaches. They could not be contacted for this story but have spoken many times about their daughter. In 1994, when they had Jonelle declared officially dead, Jim Matthews said: "People might say now that we're just giving up hope. But if you put your head and heart together, it will bring some finality.

This time, we're saying she's not coming back." Rich AbrahamsonThe Coloradoan Sheldon Lake at City Park on Dec. 22. lower-than-projected revenue. For 2010, the city cut $8.2 million from its general fund budget because of lower than projected revenue, primarily from sales taxes and building fees. Council member Aislinn Kottwitz said she supports increasing funding to police and fire, but she is not convinced more revenue is needed to provide basic city services.

But Kottwitz said she is "all for" going to the voters. Asking for a tax increase is better than imposing fees that are not subject to voter approval, she said. "Rather than saying we know what's best for Fort Collins, let's ask Fort Collins," die said. 254 ADVERTISING Classified (970) 224-4000 Retail (970 224-7701 Fax number (970) 224-7726 INFORMATION CENTER For questions concerning news or a correction, call: Sara B. Hansen senior content editor (970) 416-3967 SaraHansen9coloradoan.com Kathleen Duff community conversation editor (970)224-7733 KathleenDuff 9 coloradoan.com Kate Gannon multimedia editor (970) 224-7767 KateGannoncoloradoan.com Miles Blumhardt Lile editor (970) 224-7743 MilesBlumhardtcoloradoan.com News fax (970) 224-7899 CIRCULATION Delivery deadlines within the city limits of Fort Collins, Loveland and Windsor are 6 a.m.

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to Monday-Friday, walk-In and phone Coloradoan Information (970) 493-6397 Visit us online: www.coloradoan.com i i XT i while Josh Evans, a worker with the Atteberry said, as well as more cuts to existing programs and services. Major funding issues facing the city include: A study conducted in 2007 found that the police department needs about 44 additional officers to meet the community's needs. The cost of adding the officers would be $5 million a year. Poudre Fire Authority wants to build an additional fire station and add a battalion of firefighters to staff it to serve the southern part of the city at an additional cost of $2.5 million a year. Transportation services needs about $13 million annually to fully fund its pavement management program, which On the Internet Rep.

Kathleen Curry: www.repcurry.com Colorado River Outfitters Association: www. croa.org employs hundreds of people. We're just trying to protect jobs and people's livelihoods," association president Bob Hamel told The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel. Curry, who recently announced she would leave the Democratic party and serve as an independent, said rafting companies have a valid claim on the state's waters. "They've had permits for 20 years to run the stretch.

They employ a lot of people, and one guy comes in and shuts it down," Curry said. city of Fort Collins, runs a turbo broom at currently is underfunded by about $6 million a year. Park maintenance funding requires an additional $2 million a year to cover current and future needs. Preliminary amounts discussed for a sales tax increase have ranged from .5 cents to 1 cent, Atteberry said. A .25 percent sales tax brings in about $5 million to $6 million a year.

With a "viable" budget process and conscious effort to increase efficiency, city officials are better positioned to lay out options for voters, Hutchinson said. In late 2008, the city moved about $4.2 million into reserves as a cushion against the economic downturn and FORT COLLINS VOjORADOAN Year 136 Kim Roegner President and publisher 224-7885 KimRoegner coloradoan.com Robert Moore Executive editor (970) 224-7755 RobertMoorecoloradoan.com Jennifer Salazar Director of administration 224-7786 JenniferSalazarcoloradoan.com Kathy Jack-Romero Business development advertising director (970) 416-3989 Kathyjack0coloradoan.com Circulation customer service 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

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