Fort Collins Coloradoan from Fort Collins, Colorado • Page 13

The Coloradoan, Sunday, February 16, 2003, REGIONSTATE, B3 WWW Little known about murder victim Man slain outside club; suspect remains at large armed and dangerous, Lopez said. He is 5-foot-7, weighs 180 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Lopez said after the two men argued, Arvizu-Ortiz and others drove about 15 blocks, where Arvizu-Ortiz got out of the vehicle. He was shot as he walked toward a house, Lopez said. A vehicle driven by the attacker was found abandoned seven blocks from the Body of woman found in Weld County field By The Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glide is providing few details about the recent murder of a mother of two. The body of Shawny Smith, 32, was found just south of the Colorado line in Weld County last weekend. Results of an autopsy were still pending as of "Homicide doesn't gravitate toward a specific area," he said. Residents near Smith's home said they are frustrated and worried by the lack of information on the crime. "We're very upset about this," said Delia Benson, whose mobile home is next door to Smith's.

"And we don't know anything." Benson said she has been questioned but was not able to tell sheriffs deputies anything. Benson and Chandra Kemer-er, who lives across the street, said they knew little about Smith. Smith moved into the neighborhood about a year ago and mostly kept to herself, Benson said. Kemerer's husband, Doug Ke-merer, said he saw a lot of people going in and out of Smith's house late at night, especially during the past few weeks. He said he only noticed it because his dog barked more than usual.

Another neighbor, Sylvia Diaz, said her children played with Smith's during the summer. "I tried to talk to Shawny a couple of times but it seemed she didn't want to talk," she said. "She kept to herself." Friday. Glick did say Smith might have been sexually assaulted. Smith lived in a mobile home in the West Winds Trailer Park.

Residents there say they are worried that a killer is on the loose. The trailer park has been the scene of domestic violence, stabbings, arson, gun threats, attempted murder and drug arrests. Glick said that when 400 people live in a small area, more crime is likely than in an area where the population is more dispersed. More housing, fewer employees leads to resort vacancies Still, rentals are not cheap if WW 6 i i 3t By ROBERT WELLER The Associated Press DENVER The days of sleeping in a van or camping in the forest while holding down two jobs might be past at some Colorado ski resorts. The construction of affordable housing by ski areas and local governments, staff reductions, lower interest rates, and the departure of construction workers as development dwindled in the face of recession, has created vacancy rates not seen in decades.

From Winter Park to Aspen rental units are available. Some Eagle County-owned rental units are even vacant in the middle of ski season, said Jack Ingstad, county manager. "It is a whole different scenario than it was five or six years ago. You can find anything in the Vail area right now. A couple of years ago, you didn't have a prayer," said Bart Cuomo of Vail Realty in Eagle County.

"It is a much better situation than the past few years. Workers are able to live closer to the resort. The resort has sold a handful of housing units that were rentals because the demand just The Associated Press A PLACE TO LIVE: More construction projects like ing in Colorado mountain resort areas, which in turn this one in 1 997 in Avon have provided more hous- has led to more vacancies for ski area employees. By The Associated Press DENVER A 26-year-old man died after he was hit by several shotgun blasts early Saturday, and police were seeking a suspect. Alfredo Arvizu-Ortiz was shot at about 2:10 a.m.

after he and another man argued in the street near a dance club, Detective Virginia Lopez said. A warrant listing first-degree murder was issued for Julio Castillo-Arvizu, 19, and he should be considered A mmiib, I Mi 1 few" tf workers to leave the resort valleys. Lest anyone depart too far from reality, however, Victoria Giannola of the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority advises that homes in Aspen still start at about $1.3 millioa The best chance a working person has to buy an Aspen home is to win the right to buy a home in the town's affordable housing lottery. the skies. "We had almost no pinto bean crop last year because of the drought," Superintendent Don Davis said.

"Because of the drought, we had some people who were forced to seek employment elsewhere." Not all districts are shrinking. In Cherry Creek, growth along highway E-470 fueled a 3.4 percent enrollment increase. Aspen, which built a new high school and started an International Baccalaureate program, grew by 9 percent. In the southeastern part of the state, enrollment in Vilas rose 54 percent thanks to Internet education and interdistrict transfers. More than half the district's 258 students are enrolled in an online school that accepts students from all across the state.

Of 102 students who attend the school, half live in other districts. iHfW ICWH0U.AW V06 IN. iKf si II I Mi I J'-A -y i w1" 1 r-. 1 tance programs that have helped more than 200 households purchase homes. According to the 2000 Census, there were about 22,000 housing units in the county.

David Carter, of the Eagle County Housing Authority, said that even with the improvement a state survey shows rental rates in the county remain among the highest in the state. A one-bedroom apartment average was $808, including utilities, in a Girl, 10, steers car to safety after driver passes out By The Associated Press DENVER Firefighters are planning to honor a fourth-grader who steered a car to safety on a freeway after her teacher passed out while taking students on a field trip. Sarah Harmon, 10, was on her way to the Air Force Academy with three classmates and her teacher, Rodney Booth, on Friday when Booth passed out, sending the car crashing into a guardrail on Interstate 25. Sarah, who had been playing with her Game Boy in the front passenger seat, poked Booth with one arm and took the steering wheel with the other. She steered the 1999 Infiniti to a rest area and Booth, 62, regained consciousness enough to help stop the car.

Sarah urged the other youngsters, crying in the back seat, to wake him up. Then she grabbed a cell phone from Booth's pocket and called 911. "I was shaking," she said. "I was trying not to freak out. I thought real quick so we won't crash." School officials said doctors were unable to determine what caused Booth to collapse, but after undergoing tests he was allowed to go home.

"She averted disaster," Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Craig Le-Vere said of Sarah. Sarah and the other three stu dents still wanted to see the academy with their classmates. So as Principal Linda Gordon drove to pick them up, the kids shot hoops with Larkspur firefighters. They also decided to pitch in to buy their teacher a shirt, a drink holder, a model airplane and sticker.

All day long, the fourth-grader managed to keep her cool. When her parents arrived to pick her up at the end of an eventful day, though, she allowed a few tears. "This is the best Valentine's Day, just having her OK," said her red-eyed dad, Steve Harmon, 31, a Qwest lineman. The firefighters were so impressed they plan to present Sarah with a plaque. "I was very proud of her," her father said.

COMPACT TRACTOR Of CHOICE SOLD Your Small Farm Headquarters See Ron Lonneman Today Hwy. 28 lll-ZVb ES8ESS9( Falling enrollment might force school districts to close some sites Police search for semi-truck after suspicious fueling stop A wasn't there," said Joan Chris-tensen, spokeswoman for Winter Park. She said labor-saving technology has reduced the number of staff needed at many resorts. The decline in housing costs also is being seen in Summit County, home to four resorts. "We've had to decrease rental rates to get properties rented.

In some cases, we've rolled back prices 10 or 15 percent," Mike Garver, chief executive of Managers, a property management company, told the Vail Daily newspaper. "I think it is a good thing for several reasons. The landlords had the upper hand. Some of them were slumlords. They could charge anything they wanted for anything," Cuomo said.

"Things have really improved. We have had politicians giving lip service to the need for housing since 1970. Now, it is really here," said K.T. Gazunis of Habitat for Humanity in Eagle County. The county, towns and Vail Resorts have built about 1,000 housing units in the past decade.

The county has mortgage assis- stopped at a gas station Thursday in this small town off of Interstate 70, about 30 miles east of Denver. After the clerk alerted the men to their mistake, they fueled the truck with diesel, paid with cash and headed east on U.S. Highway 36. "It was kind of out of place, to make that kind of mistake," LaVere said. "A professional truck driver is not going to put that kind of fuel in their truck.

"Because of the heightened awareness, people are noticing things that don't seem right," he said. The white truck has the words "Real Transport" painted on the side. Police want to question the men about the registration. B. Sue Wood Sue Wood and Assoc.

50 -inn nn ton i -4 i i I- A .1 Tom Livingston Everttt Commercial By The Associated Press DENVER Slowing enrollment increases at the state's public schools might result in the closure of some schools to save money. Enrollment rose by 1.3 percent last year, the smallest increase since 1999. Officials say fewer families are moving to Colorado after the state lost 43,000 jobs last year. "There have been very significant job losses," state demographer Jim Westkott said. "Moving van companies are telling us they have more people going out than going in." According to statistics released this week by the Colorado Department of Education, enrollment last year rose 1.31 percent to 751,862.

That's an increase of 9,717 students. In Boulder, school board members are considering closing Vehicle had expired plates; drivers were confused about gas By The Associated Press BYERS Police were on the lookout for a tractor-trailer with expired Canadian plates after two men attempted to fill its tank with unleaded gasoline instead of diesel fuel, the Colorado State Patrol said Friday. The report is one of many law enforcement officials have received in the past week since the federal government increased its terrorism alert to orange, or high, the second-highest level, said Sgt. Craig LaVere, a patrol spokesman. The men, who appeared to be of Mideastern descent, SERVICE a REMODEL nilPSOTO county whose average wage is $31,583.

Surveys show that each resident older than 16 works 1.2 jobs. Officials say lower interest rates also have played a major part in the improved housing market, making it possible for people to buy homes normally beyond their income. A decline in construction activity, because some projects are completed and because of the recession, has caused some as many as six schools. In Jefferson County, where declining enrollment has fueled a $20 million budget deficit, spokesman Rick Kaufman said officials were considering closing schools during the 2004-05 school year. "Jefferson County is pretty landlocked in terms of ability to grow," Kaufman said, echoing school officials in Westminster, Sheridan, Littleton and Engle-wood, where enrollment also declined.

"Jefferson County as a whole is an aging community." Rural areas also are hurting. The Dolores RE-2 school district in Southwestern Colorado lost 77 students this year, or 17 percent of its student body. Next year, the district is considering eliminating two or three jobs a big cut for a staff of 31. Unlike Denver districts, Dolores is waiting for relief not from the stock market, but from 1 Carl Maxey Maxey Companies 1 A Centennial leaders and 3 mmmiim Fort Collins Senior Center, Tuesday, Feb. 18 Find out what hydrogen is and isn't.

Learn about the current state of technology fuel cells, vehicles, infrastructure and where it's going. Speakers include experts Frank Lynch, Hydrogen Components, and Jim Ohi, NREL. Visit www.fcgov.comutilities, call (970) 221-6395 or TDD (970) 224-6003 for more details. FIRST OF NINE SESSIONS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM SERIES Len Micah Jones, Owners Electrical Plumbing Heating Ait conditioning 3 5 Aletha Langham-Godwin Scott Thomas Mark Twain Homes Pinnacle Orthopaedic Surgery Centers Partners is privileged to have this talented and diverse group of local business to provide us with valuable insight and direction. Stop by, get acquainted see why so many of your business associates, friends and neighbors are choosing the benefits of banking with our locally owned independent bank.

Join "the best in the west" at Centenniai! www.centennialbanks.com it I I '4 Rick Allium Allnutt Funeral Service B. A Ron Walling Unisyn Capital Corporation LAoU LA Larry Edwards The Light Center Shirley Watson Coldwell Banker Ben Connell Connell Resources, Inc. CENTENNIAL BANK of the West Jl Western OriginaC Ft Collins Advisory Board Haw.