From Channel 9 in Denver, this is 9 News, Colorado's news leader.
With Ward Lucas, Sylvia Jennings, Damie Haston, and Tom Green.
Nine News, number one in Colorado.
Good evening.
Thanks for joining us.
Denver school bus drivers using and possibly selling drugs.
Those allegations have shocked a lot of people.
Denver police say they don't think the problem is widespread, but their undercover investigation
was stopped.
Kim Christensen has more from the newsroom.
Kim, why did that investigation stop and how long did it last?
Well Sylvia and Ward, it really didn't last very long.
It only lasted a couple of months.
Unfortunately, the undercover officers were identified and the investigation was then
called off.
The allegations of drug use only involve a few former bus drivers, but there is concern
that these cases aren't isolated.
Police are discussing what information they did obtain from their investigation with school
administrators.
More than 400 bus drivers work for the Denver Public Schools.
Some are part time, some full time.
Concern about the drivers and possible drug use first arose about a year ago.
That's when Denver police arrested three people for cocaine possession.
All were Denver bus drivers.
A fourth person was also arrested a few months ago.
She was a former Denver bus driver.
All were fired by the school district and it was those cases that led to the undercover
investigation.
We have a lot of lives that is in our care and we have to provide the kind of safety
that we need and we'll clean it up as fast as we can.
While working undercover, police did make contact and buy some marijuana from three
drivers, but no charges have been filed yet.
Drivers were hoping to get more evidence, but then their cover was blown.
School administration admits there should be a strict drug policy.
Some of those people are part time people.
Some of them we hire and they're not there very long, but we need some kind of pre-screening
and some kind of guarantee other than just the driver's license.
Denver school superintendent, Evie Dennis, says ironically just this last week she began
looking over a newly proposed drug policy.
She says administrators have talked about random drug testing in the school system and
pre-employment testing.
She says she knows this is all a legal nightmare, but she does hope to present a drug policy
to the school board soon.
Dr. Dennis also says she'll be spending her spring vacation looking into all of these
allegations and determining how serious this problem is.
Warden Sylvia.
Alright, thank you very much Kim.
Allegations of police brutality in Alamosa.
Two teenagers and their mothers are accusing three officers of using excessive force during
separate arrests last week.
One teenager was arrested for shoplifting, the other for fighting.
They were taken to the police department where the teens allege officers threw them to the
floor and beat them up.
Police chief Ray Orton says a solution like Mace was used to subdue one of the teens and
he says the officers received cuts and bruises trying to hand cut the teenagers.
The department has launched an internal investigation to see if criminal charges should be filed.
The shelter's largest homeless shelter is shutting down and residents will have to live
in temporary housing.
The Volunteers of America York Street shelter has 160 beds.
It's been ordered to close April 1st because of PCB contamination.
The VOA wants to relocate to a building at West Alameda Avenue in South Santa Fe, but
it will take months to get federal approval for the site.
There are also potential environmental problems at the new site.
Groundwater under the building is contaminated.
Over the next two weeks, residents at the York Street shelter will be relocated to other
shelters and nursing homes for the time being.
It's difficult for many family farms to stay in business these days, but it's especially
tough in the dairy business.
Recently dairy farmers suffered a 25% cut in the amount of money they get from milk
production.
Smaller dairies are calling it quits.
Even the larger ones are barely staying afloat right now.
A Western Slope photographer Kenny Hamilton takes us to the climber dairy in Grand Junction.
My family moved here in 1921 in this house and we've been here in the dairy operation
since that time.
We basically cut out three jobs and the reason for that was because of the decrease in the
price of milk.
Now this man has milk by himself instead of having another man in here.
For every 100 pounds of milk we have, today we receive $11 approximately $11.50.
A year ago now we were receiving about $14.50 a hundredweight.
And the amount of milk that we sell daily, that costs us about $600 per day, which equates
to over $200,000 in a year.
There's a lot of little guys that have a large land payment and they're not going to make
it.
They're going to be gone.
We can't operate under free enterprise because we have a perishable product and we have to
move it.
We milk it today, we've got to move it today.
We can't dicker on our price.
We can't say well we're not going to sell it if we don't get $14.
It's got to go.
Now I'm optimistic.
If I wasn't optimistic I'd already be gone.
We've been here for 70 years and I don't want to have to change.
I can change but I just as soon stay in the dairy business.
Sure, if we can't make it and if we can't pay ourselves decent wages then we should
go do something else.
And if the price of milk stays down, that will probably happen.
We'll have to find something else to do.
Duane Clymer says he's trying to keep his business afloat.
He says he hopes to make it through the summer.
Negotiations for relocating Elych's Amusement Park are in the final stages.
The 101-year-old park in northwest Denver is cramped for space.
Owners want to move to a new site in the Platte River Valley.
The land purchase is expected to wrap up next week.
The sale price is reportedly in the five.
We have food drives for people around the Denver area but the smaller communities that
also have people that are having problems, they need help too.
So since we're an aviation fraternity we might as well help them out by flying it out
to them.
The pilots say they're happy to help.
They enjoy using their private planes for a good cause.
Today was a day for Easter egg hunts and one of the most enthusiastic in the area was at
the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.
Dozens of youngsters scrambled to grab as many eggs as they could and speaking of scrambled,
that's what happened to a lot of the eggs as the throng of excited youngsters surged
forward.
He's a squishy one.
The most prized possessions of the day however weren't the real eggs, they were plastic ones.
The kids were able to trade the plastic eggs in for chocolate bunnies.
President Bush is taking an Easter break.
He leaves tomorrow for a fishing vacation in Florida.
Vice President and Mrs. Quail will fill in for the President Monday at the White House
Easter egg roll.
Hundreds of children and visitors will join them for the traditional celebration.
Easter services are scheduled at hundreds of churches across the Denver area tomorrow
morning.
One of the largest will be at Fiddler's Green in Arapahoe County and workmen spent the day
getting ready for the service.
Last year 10,000 people showed up.
It's sponsored by Cherry Hills Community Church and is scheduled to begin at 10 o'clock tomorrow
morning.
Perhaps the most famous service locally is the one at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
It begins at dawn tomorrow, that's at 546 we are told, but it's best to get there early
because the service is usually very well attended.
An unusual display at the Denver Botanic Gardens, prickly plants in different shapes and sizes.
The show is sponsored by the Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society.
They displayed hundreds of cactus blooms, some were very beautiful blooms.
That's because they're so unique looking, you can get a variety of different shapes
and colors and sizes and easy to take care of.
You don't have to water them very often.
Cactus plants are great for conserving water, they don't require much care either.
They're the right plant for me.
Jimmy Buffett will play at Fiddler's Green on June 18th and tickets are still available.
The people lined up early this morning anyway with their friends and their breakfast to
get good seats.
Fiddler's Green uses the random number procedure to stop people from camping out in ticket
lines.
Here's how the system works.
At 9 a.m. everyone draws a number from a hat and lines up according to their number.
Anyone arriving after the drawing must wait until everyone with a number has been served.
I got 99 I guess.
I'm waiting for mine to fade off.
You got 93?
We'll trade around and see what we can do with this.
Fiddler's Green officials say most people like the system, there's no reward for arriving
early and a penalty for arriving late.
Drawing numbers isn't allowed if they catch you, your number won't be honored.
Coming up next, a look at the sweet science as pro boxing comes to Denver.
Charlie, the Johnsons are having something delivered.
It's a new air conditioner.
That's nice dear.
What system?
So great, they'd buy it this early.
Must be a Lennox.
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Hi I'm Montell Williams.
For the last three years I've been traveling all over this country speaking to students
about taking control of their lives and there are a lot of factors out there that are affecting
America's youth from dropping out to drugging out to teen pregnancy to violence to gangs
and all those things can be nothing more than impediments to your success.
If you want to know how to make a difference in your life and turn your life around, join
me April 8th right here on Channel 9.
Montell Williams delivers his inspirational message live from South High School at 10am
and again at 7pm April 8th on Channel 9.
Honey, we're talking grounds for divorce.
It's so bad you can taste it.
The sticky pasty film inside your mouth.
It's pretty bad.
You wake up with every morning of your life.
Morning Breath.
I'll be right back.
Fight morning breath with scope.
Adeseptic scope kills on contact 90% of the bacteria that cause morning breath.
Common kid.
I'm all yours.
Hucker up, sweetie pie.
Adeseptic scope.
It's the best thing first thing in the morning.
Your kiss is ready.
Maybe we get to box on a duvet on the boxing matches that take place elsewhere.
Yeah, but here we get to, well we don't get to bet on this.
That's illegal.
You'd have to go to our stakes.
Well, maybe a small.
Did we just discover something about you?
A dark side to Sylvia?
Only nickels.
Yeah, okay.
Wooden nickels.
Anyway, we're going to talk about a little bit of pugilism.
Professional boxing returns to Denver next Saturday night.
A five bout card at the Regency Hotel.
Two of Denver's top boxers had the card.
Donnie Jerome, there's no place like home.
You got that home court advantage, you know, just like basketball, anything.
You got that, you know, the crowds behind you all the time, you know what I mean?
So it helps out a lot.
And that's still important to Donnie Jerome, even though he's already had 16 pro fights.
He's preparing for a bout with Efren Brown, a boxer from Indiana.
He really doesn't know a whole lot about.
He did spar once, but Donnie was a different fighter then.
I used to be a brawler.
I used to be.
When I was an amateur, then I started getting hit a little bit harder.
I said, no more.
It's time to learn how to box.
So I can do a little bit of both.
For Earl Jackson, just having a guy like Donnie around is a big advantage.
He supports me, you know.
He's got me little dibs and dabs here and little jibs and jabs here and just keep me
up and keep me going, keep me pressure, keep me pushing, keep my mind working.
Earl is unbeaten in six pro fights, so he's not lacking in confidence.
He's still eager, though, to prove he's gotten better with every fight.
I'm the new generation.
I want to bring on a new breed of boxing, a new breed of technique, a new breed of just,
you know, not just brawling, but boxing, but boxing with power and finesse and to the point,
direct and take them out.
And taking them out in Denver will make it all the sweetest.
Kevin Cork, Nine Sports.
And Earl and Donnie and the rest of the fighters will go at it at 7 o'clock next Saturday night
at the Regency out on I-25.
Tickets are 15 bucks.
If you'd like to call for more information, call 295-1267.
That's 295-1267 for more information on next Saturday night's fights at the Regency out
on I-25.
Betting is not allowed.
It's illegal.
And who do you like next Saturday night?
I know very little about boxing, so I'm not going to lay my, I'm not going to say.
It's okay.
We'll just wait and see how it goes.
I think people believe you.
I'm going to slip of the tongue and people believe you don't bet on boxing.
Thank you, Tom.
Will you have something a little bit later?
Coming up, we're going to talk about boxing, kind of a downer today.
Sugar Ray Leonard admitted to a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
We're going to hear about that as well as all the rest of today's sports in just a couple
of minutes.
Okay.
Thank you.
Sure.
Amy Haston will be here in just a moment with the forecast for Easter.
But first, a salute to the sun.
Stay with us.
Education gives you the tools you need to enter the game of life.
But without a high school education, you're always going to be on the wrong side of the
fence, crying out for acceptance by giving into temptations.
If you have an opportunity to be cool and stay in school, take the ball and run with
it.
A high school education gets you into the game.
Hey, I'm cool.
I'm in school.
The 51st edition of Ice Capades is coming to McNichols Sports Arena Tuesday, April 9th
through Sunday, April 14th.
Register at all Blockbuster video locations for your chance to win tickets to see the
world's greatest skater.
That is a spectacular service up there at Red Rocks.
546 tomorrow morning is when it gets started.
That's right.
And it should be a fairly nice stay for it.
Mostly clear skies statewide.
It might be a little bit nippy, temperatures in the mid-30s probably, but then by tomorrow
afternoon you can shed the jacket.
It's going to be a great Easter Sunday.
Fantastic.
You're going to love it.
And today was a great day statewide.
It was gorgeous.
It really was.
Yeah, it really was.
We have a great picture to show you of the mountains.
Lots of sunshine and some fresh snow up there.
Lots of happy skiers for today.
Our high day in Denver, 54 degrees.
Our low this morning, 24 degrees.
We're right where we should be for this time of year.
Right now at Stapleton we have 52 degrees.
Our relative humidity is 22 percent.
Air pressure is on the way up at 30.16 inches of mercury and our winds are from the east
at seven miles per hour.
Now temperatures at the top of the hour around the state range basically from the low 40s
to the upper 50s.
45 degrees right now in Craig, 53 in Grand Junction, 51 in Montrose, 42 degrees in Gunnison,
49 in Colorado Springs, 50 in Pueblo with 49 at Trinidad and 52 degrees right now in
Akron.
Our satellite view is showing basically clear skies over the western third of the country
this evening.
We do have some clouds popping up though over portions of New Mexico and Texas.
That's where that storm system that moved through Colorado in the last 24 hours has
ended up.
We have a national radar today, you can see they're getting some light rain and some
snow mixed moving in from eastern New Mexico into west Texas from about Odessa on up to
just north of Amarillo.
We also have a storm system over the northern plains producing some light rain and snow
mixed in through the Dakota's portions of Minnesota as well.
And we have a cold front moving through Florida producing lots of thunderstorm activity there
at this hour.
Let's take you back 20 hours now, show you some satellite images from the last day or
so.
You can see how that spring storm system that moved from the north down through Colorado
moved very quickly to the south.
We've color enhanced the tops of the clouds to show you the coldest cloud tops there in
blue and notice how they kind of fizzle out as they move into New Mexico and Texas.
That means that the storm has actually weakened quite a bit as it's tracked to the south of
us.
We also have this large area of clear skies to the west of us and that indicates that
we're going to have some very nice conditions in Colorado for the next several days.
Let's go back to the surface map now and you can see why with our current surface features
there high pressure over the northwestern U.S. and it's going to keep us clear in Colorado.
It looks like at least through Monday before this next batch of moisture over the west
coast moves our way.
For tomorrow though clear skies in Colorado and we should see that low moving on shore
into western and central sections of California producing some wet conditions for them.
Also tomorrow some snow over the Great Lakes with some rain in the portions of southeast
Texas and Louisiana.
There are also some rain and thunderstorms mixed in through most of Florida.
Tomorrow's highs around the nation a very nice day overall.
Look at these 60 degree readings extending all the way up to Seattle, Washington and
into portions of Montana.
That large ridge of high pressure producing lots of sunshine and that's going to make
those temperatures warm very nicely.
We'll see 70s and 80s throughout the southwestern U.S. 80s especially down around Tucson and
Yuma Arizona 70s down around Brownsville Texas 70s and 80s through south Florida 50s through
the nation's heartland there with 40s across the Great Lakes and we'll reserve those colder
temperatures for the northeastern U.S.
Our forecast for nine country for tomorrow is calling for a beautiful Easter Sunday overall.
Clear skies sunny conditions we'll see mid 50s to mid 60s over the front range and through
the plains for tomorrow with even a few 70 degree readings right here in the southeastern
section of the state.
Upper 40s to low 50s through the high country with mid 50s to low 60s over the west slope.