Mitigation seminar

The Friends of Florissant Fossil Beds is hosting a seminar on forest health, property mitigation and wildfire behavior at Florissant Library, Aug. 1 at 11 a.m.

The seminar will be presented by Clara Peterson, watershed coordinator with the Coalition for the Upper South Platte. Join her as she discusses general forest health, property mitigation, the Rocky Mountain pine beetle and wildfire behavior.

Peterson has a background as a wildland firefighter, structure firefighter and educator, which gives her a unique perspective when talking with property owners about mitigation and home hardening.

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School supplies

The Woodland Park Police Department and the Teller County Sheriff’s Office will be collecting donated school supplies for back to school at the National Night Out event in Memorial Park. The event will be on Aug. 4 from 5-8 p.m.

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Man accused of impersonating officer

A man is in custody after the authorities allege he directed traffic along U.S. 24 in El Paso County while impersonating a peace officer.

Reports of the alleged impersonation came in to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office the morning of July 8. A caller told dispatch that someone was impersonating a peace officer near mile marker 296 on U.S. 24 in western unincorporated El Paso County.

The person, driving a black Dodge pickup truck, was allegedly presenting himself as a peace officer while directing traffic in the area.

Further investigation revealed the owner of the Dodge was 51-year-old Garrett Duffy, who the Sheriff’s Office said was known to be armed and aggressive toward law enforcement.

Investigators learned Duffy had been arrested by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office in a separate incident later on July 8.

Duffy faces several charges, including impersonating a peace officer and violation of a protection order.

He is being held at the Teller County jail on a $22,800 bond. According to the Sheriff’s Office, he will be extradited to El Paso County, where he will be held on an additional $10,000 bond.

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Pikes Peak Challenge

What started 41 years ago as the “Walk Through the Clouds” when six hikers made it to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,100 feet has grown into the biggest fundraiser for the Brain Injury Association of Colorado (BIAC), biacolorado.org.

Now known as the Pikes Peak Challenge, it will be held on Saturday, September 12. Registration is open at pikespeakchallenge.com.

Several hundred hikers will make the 13-mile climb with an elevation gain of 7,500 feet while others hike halfway up to Barr Camp and back and still more, including many brain injury survivors, walk several miles around Manitou Springs. For those who cannot make it in person, there also is a virtual challenge.

The event helps provide support to brain injury survivors, including stroke victims, in Colorado, the second state in the country to have a brain injury organization.

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Aggressive driving

A recent national analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fatality crash data placed Colorado in the top five states for the highest shares of fatal crashes involving aggressive or careless driving.

Of the 642 fatal crashes on Colorado roadways last year, 288 involved aggressive or careless driving, according to the analysis. These crashes contained at least one unsafe driving behavior, including aggressive driving, careless driving, inattentive operation, improper driving and/or driving without due care.

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Jersey and Hawaii were the top four states.