Author: STEPHANIE EARLS stephanie.earls@gazette.com
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Wanted in Canada, alleged child sex offender eludes Colorado safety net to become foster parent
When El Paso County Department of Human Services removed Marina Flake’s son from her care last summer, she was told it was because the then-10-year-old boy needed to be in a safer environment — an environment the state promised to provide in the foster care system. The foster father with whom Flake says her son…
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Chaos hit on 9/11, exposing critical gaps in security and changing NORAD forever
Nine minutes before the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, national guardsmen in upstate New York received word the FAA believed an aircraft had been hijacked. “They did not know what flight had been hijacked. They didn’t know where the aircraft was. They didn’t know where…
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Colorado Springs tattoo expo is a sensuous feast of ink and art
The Villain Arts Tattoo Festival is a mosh pit romp down the rabbit hole of how far humans are willing to go to adorn the blank canvas of a birthday suit. “Twelve sessions, over a hundred hours” so far, said Colorado Springs resident Robert Valencia, as tattoo artist Carlos Piedrahita prepared to return to work…
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Public health alert: Sewage spill contaminates Arkansas River downstream of Pueblo
Health officials are warning the public to avoid the Arkansas River downstream of Pueblo – until further notice – after a “significant accidental release” of untreated sewage from the city of Pueblo’s wastewater treatment plant last week was found to have contaminated the water with high levels of E.coli. “The contaminated water will move downstream,…
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Judge sets 2027 trial date for accused murderer Kimberlee Singler
Arraignment for Kimberlee Singler, the Colorado Springs woman accused of killing two of her children and attempting to kill a third, was postponed until November after the defense successfully argued that more time is needed for discovery and the completion of forensic testing. Singler, 37, had been scheduled to face formal charges at a hearing…
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Aspen Acres fire: Residents returning to lost homes to salvage what they can, say goodbye
Tara and Tom Stosek returned to Beulah last Thursday to pick through the charred ruins of the mountain oasis where they’d raised a family, and to finish flash-processing a lifetime’s worth of loss. In less than 24 hours, volunteers with Christian Aid Ministries Rapid Response Team were scheduled to begin demolishing what remained of their…
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UCHealth Memorial dominates ‘best of’ list for southern Colorado
A list of the nation’s best hospitals released this week by U.S. News & World Report dealt a minor blow to University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, but again confirmed the UCHealth system’s Colorado Springs flagship as the top-ranked destination for patients in the region. For the fifth year in a row, UCHealth Memorial Hospital…
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‘I thought it was our last goodbye’: Aspen Acres fire evacuee returns to site of father’s last stand with inferno
The Aspen Acres fire was rampaging north through the Wet Mountains, glowing on the horizon like an unwelcome sunrise, but 82-year-old Bill Peyton had a plan — and what he figured was a fighting chance. His daughter, Daisy Weeks, rushed around their ridge-top property getting cellphone videos of their homes, their belongings, everything she could…
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The firefighter and the baby: 911 call leads to lifelong bond for two Colorado Springs families
Colorado Springs firefighter Alan Kent was just doing his job when he responded to an emergency call at the home of Stacy and Todd Huddle on Feb. 15, 2004. What came next — a lifelong bond between Kent and the family of the child he helped deliver that Sunday morning — may have been born…
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Aspen Acres fire: Nonstop fight and minimal growth overnight – with containment increased
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information on the timing of containment changes. Windy conditions and hot weather on Wednesday afternoon led to an increase in activity on the southwest side of the Aspen Acres fire, which as of Thursday morning had burned 99,820 acres, gaining 291 acres from the previous day.…