The Daily Sentinel from Grand Junction, Colorado • 2

2A Wednesday, August 11, 2021 THE GRAND 4-DAY OUTLOOK NATIONAL FORECAST AND TEMPERATURES AREA FORECAST COLORADO TEMPERATURES WEATHER in store today High 99, Low 62 Smoky skies Sunset today 8:13 p.m. Sunrise Thursday 6:25 a.m. Temperature High 97 at 3:54 p.m. Low 62 at 5 a.m. Average high 92 Average low 63 Record high 101 in 1964 Record low 50 in 1974 High this date last year 98 Low this date last year 63 Precipitation For the period ending at 5 p.m.

0.00 in. Total this month 0.00 in. Average month to date 0.27 in. Total for year 2.64 in. Average year to date 5.02 in.

Relative humidity High Low High 99, Low 61, partly cloudy Rifle High 96, Low 57, partly cloudy Glenwood Springs High 90, Low 58, partly cloudy Grand Mesa High 81, Low 55, sunny Southeastern Utah High 100, Low 66, partly cloudy Denver area High 96, Low 66, partly cloudy UV index: 10 (very high) Forecast High Low Precip UV Alamosa 86 47 9 Aspen 85 50 10 Burlington 97 66 10 Colorado Springs 93 63 10 Cortez 77 56 6 Craig 90 42 10 Denver 96 65 10 Denver Centennial 94 63 10 Durango 88 55 7 Eagle 90 48 10 Fort Collins 95 65 9 Greeley 94 56 9 Gunnison 85 47 10 La Junta 101 64 10 Leadville 74 40 11 Limon 95 54 10 Meeker 88 47 10 Montrose 93 60 10 Pueblo 99 62 10 Rifle 96 57 10 Springfield 96 64 10 Sunlight Mountain 87 54 10 Telluride 74 53 10 Trinidad 92 63 10 Wolf Creek Pass 61 46 7 City Yesterday Today High Low High Low Albuquerque, NM 88 67 91 68 Anchorage, AK 64 52 60 53 Atlanta, GA 91 73 90 72 Baltimore, MD 94 76 96 77 Bismarck, ND 90 60 90 63 Boise, ID 91 63 95 67 Boston, MA 78 74 89 76 Charleston, SC 87 76 86 74 Cheyenne, WY 90 60 91 61 Chicago, IL 90 72 87 76 Cleveland, OH 87 77 87 78 Columbia, SC 92 75 91 75 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 97 78 98 79 Des Moines, IA 91 75 94 73 Detroit, MI 90 76 85 76 El Paso, TX 95 74 92 72 Fairbanks, AK 64 52 68 52 Fargo, ND 86 61 82 60 Honolulu, HI 89 77 89 76 Houston, TX 94 80 95 80 Indianapolis, IN 90 75 93 78 Kansas City, MO 95 80 98 80 Las Vegas, NV 107 83 102 84 Los Angeles, CA 84 66 89 69 Memphis, TN 94 79 96 79 Miami, FL 89 83 89 82 Milwaukee, WI 88 74 89 71 Minneapolis, MN 88 70 85 67 Mobile, AL 93 77 91 76 Nashville, TN 95 77 98 75 New Orleans, LA 92 80 91 79 New York, NY 84 74 90 78 Oklahoma City, OK 96 77 95 77 Olympia, WA 85 58 91 61 Orlando, FL 91 76 91 76 Philadelphia, PA 91 76 95 77 Phoenix, AZ 95 80 94 80 Pittsburgh, PA 82 75 86 74 Portland, OR 92 66 98 70 Reno, NV 94 62 98 63 Richmond, VA 92 77 94 79 Roswell, NM 98 71 93 69 Salt Lake City, UT 91 64 94 67 San Antonio, TX 95 77 95 78 San Diego, CA 77 67 79 68 San Francisco, CA 72 59 70 61 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 84 63 87 66 Spokane, WA 88 64 97 65 St. Louis, MO 91 77 98 77 Tampa, FL 94 76 91 77 Tucson, AZ 88 74 90 72 Washington, DC 94 77 97 77 TUESDAY IN GRAND JUNCTION THURSDAY High 99, Low 68 SATURDAY High 99, Low 67 FRIDAY High 99, Low 68 SUNDAY High 96, Low 67 Get instant weather information at GJSentinel.com WATER LEVELS AND FLOWS Lake Powell 3,553 ft. Blue Mesa Reservoir 7,456 ft. Colorado River at Cameo 1,940 cfs Gunnison River in Grand Junction 1,320 cfs Gunnison River below Gunnison tunnel 597 cfs LOCAL By SENTINEL STAFF COVID-19 vaccine boosters are not yet rec- ommended and are not be- ing offered in Mesa Coun- ty, according to Mesa County Public Health.

Some countries have begun offering third doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to immuno-compromised people. However, the fed- eral government has not recommended booster doses for Americans at this time. are still learning how long COVID-19 vac- cines can protect a release from Mesa Coun- ty Public Health stated. is ongoing at the federal level. In-depth studies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate the necessity of boosters, primarily for immuno-compromised in- According to a press re- lease from Mesa County Public Health, the CDC and FDA said they were prepared to authorize booster doses if the sci- ence is clear that they are needed.

At this time, no federal authorization for a third shot or booster has been authorized. The three vaccines whose use has been ap- proved by the federal government are effective in preventing severe ill- ness and hospitalization due to COVID-19, accord- ing to the release. That protection includes the delta variant and all cir- culating variants. Full protection is achieved two weeks after receiving the second vaccine dose, or two weeks after the single dose vaccine. is important to dis- tinguish between the sec- ond dose in a two dose series and a the release stated.

a booster is not recom- mended at this time, com- pleting your vaccination series and getting both shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine is critical to ensure full protection from If you are unvaccinated or yet completed the full vaccination series you are not fully vaccinat- ed and should keep taking all precautions. The Mesa Community Vaccination Site, located at 510 29 Road, accepts walk-ins. The Power the Comeback vaccine bus makes rou- tine stops at densely popu- lated locations across the Western Slope, and Mesa County Public Health offers a mobile clinic, as well as scheduling for a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at workplaces or events. Visit health.mesacoun- ty.us for information. Mesa Health: Vaccine boosters not yet advised By DENNIS WEBB Dennis.Webb@gjsentinel.com Momentum appears to be growing around the idea of improving the Cottonwood Pass route southeast of Glenwood Springs so it could serve as a better detour route when Interstate 70 closes in Glenwood Canyon, but its viability as a region- al-level detour may get hung up over concerns about possibly opening it to commercial traffic.

Garfield and Eagle county commissioners met Tuesday to discuss the idea of upgrades to the county roads along the route, and heard from a Colorado Department of Transportation official about that inter- est in joining them in con- sidering and participating in possible improvements. think we are very interested in partnering with both said Steve Harelson, chief engineer. Not only is CDOT inter- ested, but it is potentially looking to put as much as $50 million into studying and pursuing upgrades there. This week CDOT asked for $116 million in emergency federal aid re- lated to debris flows that have kept I-70 in the can- yon closed since July 29. That included $50 million for studying and building safety improvements to alternate routes to I-70.

the back of our mind that was targeted at Cottonwood Pass or some alternative Har- elson said at meeting. yes, we have requested $50 million to work on Cottonwood The big question is what that work ultimately would consist of, however. The route currently con- sists of county roads in Eagle and Garfield coun- ties. unpaved, narrow and steep in sections, and is open only seasonally. While Harelson would like to see things like pav- ing of the road occur, he said the use of the federal funds would require com- pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act review process, which would steer the project planning.

That would in- clude opportunities for input from the public, including from residents who already are being af- fected by the use by detouring motorists now and are unlikely to favor upgrading the route for use by commercial traffic. Garfield Commission- er John Martin said Cot- tonwood Pass might be a solution for smaller vehi- cles but be a com- mercial route. He said affected resi- dents are but still up in arms that their peace and quiet has been disturbed. And you put commercial (traf- fic) up there, semis, going to be in NOT SUITED FOR LARGE TRUCK TRAFFIC While the route cur- rently is not navigable by larger trucks and recommended by CDOT as a detour route, it is seeing a lot of use, par- ticularly involving local residents trying to pass between Garfield and Ea- gle counties to get to jobs and other things such as medical appointments. Mesa County Commis- sioner Cody Davis attend- ed meeting, hoping to hear discussion about Cottonwood Pass being upgraded so it could serve as a more regional solution when I-70 closes, and usable by commercial vehicles.

He cited the impacts the current closure is having to Mesa econo- my. hitting Mesa Coun- ty he said. Bonnie Petersen, ex- ecutive director of As- sociated Governments of Northwest Colorado, said she understands how opening Cottonwood Pass to trucks could affect neighbors, but said a lot of area counties are already seeing road and traffic impacts of their own as a result of the I-70 closure. recommended detour is sending motor- ists on a northern route through communities such as Meeker, Craig and Steamboat Springs. entire region is interested in identifying a permanent to I-70 closures in the can- yon, Petersen said.

In 2010, Eagle Coun- ty staff prepared an es- timate that upgrading Cottonwood Pass to state highway standards would cost $66 million. They estimated upgrading it with narrower lanes and shoulders would cost $47 million. Eagle County has iden- tified a more moderate set up upgrades of the route in Eagle County that it estimates would cost just over $10 million, and in- volve things such as wid- ening some roadway, re- configuring tight curves and realigning steep ar- eas. certainly solve the issue of a can- yon closure but it helps us manage it on a day-to-day basis and during a clo- Ben Gerdes, Eagle engineer, told Eagle commissioners ear- lier Tuesday about that proposed work. Stakeholders impacted by I-70 closure explore Cottonwood Pass detour route DALE Daily Sentinel Cottonwood Pass, which links Gypsum to Colorado Highway 82, south of Glenwood Springs, is a lightly-trafficked area, except when Interstate 70 closes and travelers familiar with the road use as an alternate route.

the back of our mind that was targeted at Cottonwood Pass or some alternative route. yes, we have requested $50 million to work on Cottonwood STEVE chief engineer Agent reveals many dump sites SALIDA On the day his wife was reported missing, Barry Morphew traveled to suburban Denver for work and was seen throwing away items in trash containers five times there, a retired FBI agent testified Tuesday. Barry Morphew, 53, is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew, who disappeared on Day 2020. Barry Morphew had pleaded for her safe return on social media. During a court hear- ing to determine if Bar- ry Morphew will stand trial, retired FBI agent Jonathan Grusing testi- fied about data collected by truck and cellphone on May 9 and 10, 2020, The Denver Post reported.

Suzanne Mor- phew was reported miss- ing by a neighbor on May 10, which was Day. Barry Morphew left his home near the mountain communi- ty of Maysville to travel to Broomfield early on the morning of May 10, he said. Once there, he stopped at trash cans next to a bus stop, near his ho- tel, at a and near a Warehouse, Grusing said. In the af- ternoon, Morphew placed a full trash bag, a tree planter and a camouflage jacket in a trash bin near the hotel, he said. Nicks cancels Aspen concert LOS ANGELES Ste- vie Nicks canceled ap- pearances at five music festivals, citing coronavi- rus concerns, she said in a statement Tuesday.

Nicks had been sched- uled to headline one day each of BottleRock Napa Valley in California and the Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado in September. In October, she was to have played two days of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and one day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. IN BRIEF SENTINEL WIRE REPORTS.