The Daily Sentinel from Grand Junction, Colorado • 1

I 1 i I Vol. 107, No. 123 24 pages 354 newsstand WESTERN COLORADOS CHRONICLE OF RECORD SINCE 1893 GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO MARCH 21, 2000 Verdict culminates 4-year investigation Brother remembers Dodson as kind, gende against Hall that was filed by life-insurance providers. Hall apologized to Dodsons family and her current husband, Bart Hall. She fainted as the court went mto recess.

She will likely appeal the verdict. Defense attorney Matt Daymon declined comment. Jurors came to the decision after three days of deliberation. Jury selection started Feb. 22, and testimony began two days later.

The verdict is the culmination of more than four years of investigation By ZACK BARNETT Die Daily Sentinel Janice Hall was sentenced to life in prison minutes after a jury found her guilty Monday evening of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband during a 1995 deer and elk hunting trip on the Uncompahgre Plateau. The case hinged on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors didnt have an and never recovered the murder weapon a .308 rifle that belonged to Halls ex husband, C. Lee. Lee was camped less than a mile from Hall and John Bruce Dodson the weekend of the shooting.

After the verdict, Hall told District Judge Nick Massaro that he was sentencing the wrong person. "The real person is out there free, Hall told the judge. May God have mercy on your soul." Under Colorado law, a first murder conviction automatically carries a life sentence unless the death penalty was sought. Hall, a 48-year-old grandmother of four and mother of two, stood to gam $464,000 in life insurance benefits, cash and property from Dodsons death. There is a civil case pending Hall guilty of shooting John Bruce Dodson during a 1995 hunting trip, Hall's wide eyes scanned the courtroom until she found those of the elder Dodson.

I didnt do this, Hall said to him. There have been times I wish 1 was the one dead. This is one of them. I loved him -from the bottom of By ZACK BARNETT Die Daily Sentinel Michael Dodson finally locked eyes with the woman who shot his younger brother. Throughout Janice Halls lSday first-degree murder trial Dodson sat in the back row of the courtroom and tried to avoid Halls glances.

But Monday, minutes after a jury found Convicted of first-degree murder in the 1995 shooting death of her then husband John Bruce Dodson. See DODSON, page 9A See GUILTY, page 9A More snow, rain may fall today i Panel: U.S. wildlife agency misuses funds By SCR1PPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service improperly used federal taxes paid by anglers and hunters to finance junkets to Paris, Florence, Italy, and Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and to give grants to favored programs, a probe by the House Resources Committee has concluded "The USFW has violated the trust of the American people, said Rep, Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. The panel's chairman, Rep.

Don Young, Alaska, says the agencys mismanagement of the $550 million raised annually from excise taxes on sporting gear, boating fuel and fishing equipment is so bad that he is pushing Congress to adopt administrative controls specifying that the funds are earmarked for only wildlife conservation efforts He also would limit how much the federal government can take from the fund to pay administrative costs. Young said the fish and wildlife service used almost $31 million of the tax money as "slush funds. Among the irregularities: $100,000 was spent on programs benefiting Africa's rhinoceros, although the fishing taxes are supposed to be spent only In the United States. More than $600,000 was used to pay bonuses to federal employees. The funds financed foreign travel, including 71 trips taken by Robert J.

Sousa, assistant regional director of the federal aid division, between Qrtober 1995 and June 1999 at a cost of $68,000 Half of those trips were approved by Sousas subordinates violation of government rules requiring a superior's approval of all travel requests Sousa still See FUNDS, page 9A By SHANNON JOYCE the Dally Sentinel More than 7 inches of fresh powder greeted skiers at Powder-horn Ski Resort on Monday, a snowy welcome for the first day of spring. "It's a beautiful day warm, no wind," said Powderhoms Marketing Director Kathy Dirks. "I heard a lot of hoots and hollers on the lift this morning." The snow continued during the day, with another 2 to 3 inches falling by the time the lifts closed in the afternoon. While the spring snowfall will make Powderhom's last two weeks blissfiil for skiers. Dirks said it won't keep the resort open any longer.

By April, the locals decide to do other things," Dirks said. People want to enjoy the warm weather." But Monday, between and 4 inches of snow blanketed various areas of the Grand Valley. Many School District 51 and private-school students pit to spend their first day of spring break tossing snowballs, building snowmen and sledding through their front yards. National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Avery said more snow was expected Monday CHRISTOPHER TOMUNSONThe Daily Sentinel A WILLOW TREE SPUT INTO THREE SECTIONS and came down on a car parked along Dtt Road in Clifton after a heavy, wet snow on Monday. Between 1 and 4 inches of snow blanketed various areas of the Grand Valley.

Many School District 51 students got to spend their first day of spring break tossing snowballs, building snowmen and sledding through their front yards. li the Colorado State University's extension office on Orchard Mesa. As long as it stays above 24 degrees, Larsen said, the fruit trees will not be harmed. The cold weather will probably delay the blossoms a few days, putting the harvest back on schedule, but the moisture from the snow could have buds peaking out early. The snow also boosted snow-pack numbers on Grand Mesa.

Snowpack levels Monday morning were 94 percent of average at Mesa Lakes and 82 percent of average at Parker Reservoir, said George Begay ith the Natural Resources Conservation Service. night, turning to a mix of snow and ram today. Temperatures were expected to be in the upper 40s today, reaching 50 by mid week. The snow and cool temperatures wont jeopardize the fruit trees in the eastern end of the' Grand Valley, said Harold Larsen, fruit program leader at In January, snowpack levels had dipped to a 30-year low across the state. The higher numbers mean more runoff for irrigators and municipal water suppliers.

This will make a big difference, Begay said. Shannon Joyce can be reached eta mail al yoyceugjds com. Growth bill clears state House House Bill 1101 would use pert of the state surplus to subsidize services such as health care, child care and affordable housing. Mass Suicide An armed police officer watches prisoners ggrng a mass grave on Monday in Kanurgu, Uganda. The g-ave II be the final resting place for hundreds of members of a re1 ous cut that ded in what is believed to be a mass suicide.

An mtenof mm.ster has put the to'al number of dead at 330. For more on the cuft, tee 9A. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS County commissioner. Under George's bill poorer counties that don't have strong commercial tax revenues could enter mto agreements ith other counties and cities to fund specific projects such as day-care centers. health elm ics or bus systems.

Sales tax increases to fund the projrets would go before a vote of the people, and then the state of Colorado would fewer the state sales tax in those areas by the same amount effectively ensuring the tax rate remains the same. No more than 20 partnerships could be entered into in any one year under the bill and the amount of state surplus tapped would be limited to $40 mil wn per year. An ongoing regional program that took chJd-care facility licensing (By CHIBS BARKER The Dt Sentnd A persistent effort to address the 1 human cost of growth in Colorado's i booming resorts got a boost from the Colorado House of Representatives on Monday. House Rill 1101. sponsored by Speaker of the House Russell George, Rifle, cleared the House 41 23 on final reading The which died on 1 the House floor in 1999 and has been long sought by several counties, would use part of the state surplus to subsidize sen ires such as health care, chJd care and aff Triable bousing 1 With all of the demands on county I government it becomes critical to find wavs to meet some of these needs," said Margaret Long.

of the Garfield County rial Services We just cant raise that kind of money If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Bill Owens, the measure would attempt to spread tax wealth collect rd in Colorado resorts with neighboring counties and cities that have become lrtual bedroom communities, Those count its off dont have the tax base to address growth related problems Evervbndv knows in government that residential growth doesnt piv its own way, said Mick Ireland, a Pitkin See GROWTH pagt SA Tides forest til 44, bw 33 Comp fcreraS on 2A Nuggets coicA st-egg1 -gto keep emetons check. s5iiulCJ5.