Colorado State University Wants Pudgy Puppies for Clinical Trial on Obesity and Diet Changes

FORT COLLINS – Dogs with a New Year’s resolution to lose weight can try a new diet, thanks to a Colorado State University study. CSU’s Animal Cancer Center is recruiting overweight or obese dogs for a clinical trial that looks at how newly formulated food may improve Fido’s overall health and help him keep a girlish figure.

The clinical trial will evaluate if a new food is more easily digested and how effective it is at curbing hunger, while also evaluating regular blood tests for signs of whether it may help prevent cancer and be an alternative for dogs with allergies.

To participate, dogs must be:

- otherwise in generally good health
- between 2 and 7 years old
- weigh more than 22 pounds
- have a body condition score between 6 and 9.

Dogs in the study will receive the specially-formulated food for one month as well as three free but required blood draws during the course of the study. Dogs will be required to visit the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for the blood tests and physical exams. In addition to bringing their dog to the hospital for these tests, owners will be required to measure their pet’s food intake and collect fecal samples. Owners will receive complementary food, exams and tests and a $50 credit toward any services or product offered at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

“Dogs who carry around extra weight or who are obese benefit in many ways when they slim down,” said Dr. Elizabeth Ryan, the veterinarian in charge of the study. “Putting an overweight dog on a diet will improve his quality of life, increase his life span, decrease chronic inflammation and decrease his risk for some cancers, arthritis, diabetes and some respiratory and urinary tract infections.”

To participate or receive more information, call (970) 297-4144 or e-mail cadie. ollila@colostate.edu.

More information also is available at http://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/dietary-obese-dogs.

Attorney General announces guilty verdict for Loveland man who ran a $5.7 million investment-fraud scheme

DENVER — Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that a Larimer County jury has convicted Phillip R. Trujillo (DOB: 7/21/1949) of Loveland of six felonies for his role in a running $5.7 million investment-fraud scheme.

According to the indictment, filed against Trujillo in June 2010, Trujillo’s scheme defrauded 70 investors with promises that their investments in entities named PTV 22, PTV 33 and PTV 44 would be free from risk and would generate generous returns. Trujillo did not disclose to their investors what their investments were actually being used to fund unsecured promissory notes and to then help pay legal fees related to those notes once they were in default. Trujillo also failed to disclose commissions paid to himself and personal loans he issued to himself using investors’ funds.

Trujillo’s codefendants, David M. Piatt (DOB: 9/8/1969) and Timothy B. Burk (DOB: 1/23/1962) each pleaded guilty to securities fraud, a class-three felony, on March 23, 2011 and received one-year deferred sentences. As part of the sentences, Piatt and Burk agreed to pay about $1.2 million in restitution.

Trujillo could face up to 12 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines on each of the six class-three felonies. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.

Consumers who believe they have been defrauded in a securities fraud scheme can files complaints with the Office of the Attorney General viawww.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/securitiesfraud.

Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators have determined the report of a sexual assault by a police impersonator is false and did not happen.

Heather Speicher

As a result, Heather Speicher, DOB: 08/19/84, of Fort Collins has been arrested for Attempting to Influence a Public Official (F4). Plans to seek restitution for the misdirection of valuable, limited law enforcement resources are being discussed with the District Attorney’s office.

Ms. Speicher is being held at the Larimer County Jail on a $2500 bond.

Ms. Speicher reported that on the evening of January 5, 2012 she was stopped by a man portraying himself as a police officer and subsequently sexually assaulted. An extensive investigation ensued. Six investigators and two lab personnel were assigned to the case and reviewed approximately 40 tips, that were generated by the public, for four consecutive days after the initial report. Ms. Speicher also assisted investigators in developing a composite sketch of the fictitious suspect.

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said it is important to fully investigate any allegation of sexual assault as well as police impersonation; however, false reports of this nature redirect very limited resources that are needed for other important investigations.

While this report proved to be false, incidents of this nature do occur. Motorists are still reminded to be cautious when stopped by an unmarked or uneasily identified vehicle.  They are encouraged to turn their flashers on and drive safely to a well-lit populated area and/or call 911 to verify the identity and location of officers. Motorists are further encouraged to stay in their vehicle until an additional officer in a marked vehicle arrives. Law enforcement vehicles are typically later models with significant emergency light systems.

The charge(s) are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

No additional information will be released.

Press Release

GREELEY (Jan. 16, 2012) – Banner Health’s focus on quality patient care has earned the system a ranking among the top five large health systems in the nation according to a Thomson Reuters announcement released Monday.

Banner Health owns or operates four hospitals in Northern Colorado: North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling and East Morgan Community Hospital in Brush.

The Thomson Reuters’ 15 Top Health Systems divided the health system into three groups based on overall operating expenses. Banner Health was among the large system group with operating expenses of more than $1.5 billion.

As a Top 5 Large Health System, Banner was recognized for having superior survival rates, fewer patient complications, better long-term outcomes, better adherence to accepted care protocols and patient-safety standards, shorter hospital stays and higher patient-satisfaction scores. Another key distinguishing factor was Banner Health’s use of health information technologies to implement electronic medical records at every Banner facility.

According to Thomson Reuters, among the key findings in the study were the following:

• • Lower 30-Day Mortality Rates: 15 Top Health Systems held post-discharge 30 day mortality rates steady, while peer health systems demonstrated a significant increase in post discharge mortality.
• • Better Survival Rates: Winning hospitals had 17 percent fewer deaths than expected considering patient severity, while non-winning hospitals had 4 percent more deaths than expected.
• • Fewer Complications: Patients of the winning health systems had 19 percent fewer complications.
• • Shorter Hospital Stays: Patients treated in the winning system hospitals have a median average length of stay of 4.7 days, nearly half a day shorter than their peers’ median of 5.1 days.
• • Better Patient Safety and Core Measure Adherence: Top health systems had 23 percent fewer adverse patient safety events than expected and had better adherence to core measures of care than their peers.

ABOUT BANNER HEALTH

Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the country’s largest nonprofit health care systems. Located in seven states, Banner Health owns or manages 23 health care facilities as well as physician practices and nationally recognized research centers. To learn more go to www.BannerHealth.com.

Former Thompson Board of Education member and small business owner, Karen Stockley, has announced her candidacy for the Larimer County Board of Commissioners representing District 3.

Karen has lived most of her life in Colorado, and in her district in Berthoud for over 13 years. She is married to Jay Stockley and is the mother of five children, all of whom have attended Berthoud schools.

Stockley has an extensive history of community service. She recently completed four years as Treasurer on the Thompson R2J Board of Education. She has also served on Berthoud’s Planning and Zoning Commission, the School Board’s Legislative Coalition, has volunteered at her children’s schools and with her daughters at the Berthoud History Museum. Karen enjoys owning and running her own successful small business in south Fort Collins.

Karen cites her priorities as high-performance and cost-effective county government, job creation, support for small businesses and rural farms, excellence in education, quality county services, new-energy technologies, safe family-friendly neighborhoods, and open and responsive representation.

“I’m passionate about protecting and improving our quality of life in Larimer County,” said Karen. “I believe my active involvement in business, community service, and our local schools has given me the knowledge and experience to meet the challenges facing Larimer County today. I’d be honored to be the next representative for District 3.”

Commissioners must live in the district they represent, but they run at-large and are voted into office by all voters countywide.

For more information, go to www.karenstockley.com 

U.S. Senator Mark Udall will hold a Town Hall Meeting in Fort Collins next Wednesday, January 18. He will be here  to discuss how he can partner with business and community leaders on policies that will help create jobs and spur the economy. He wishes to talk to community members about issues important to the region and his role in helping to bolster the local economy. Please note that seating is limited, and admittance will be first come, first served.

The meeting will be in the East Ballroom at the Lory Student Center on the CSU campus from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wheelchair accessibility is available at the west entrance (through the bookstore) or the south entrance.

Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, has decided that he will run against Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat representing the 2nd Congressional District, Larimer County’s new district in 2013.

“Based on strong support from citizens of the Second Congressional District Kevin has decided to move forward with a campaign,” said Lundberg’s campaign website,www.kevinlundberg2012.com.

Skinned Coyotes Found In Colorado

Larimer County has resolved its lawsuit with the designers, manufacturers and builders of the metal buildings at The Ranch, Larimer County’s Fairgrounds. Larimer County will receive $14.8 million for a full release of all claims. The lawsuit stemmed from the December 2006 snowstorms that damaged the roof structures in the buildings. Subsequent forensic engineering studies of the buildings revealed that the buildings were under-designed and could not withstand the planned snow loads. The building defects did not include the Budweiser Events Center or the McKee 4H Youth & Community Building.

The Neenan Company LLLP, was the general contractor for the project and was a named defendant because of its responsibilities as general contractor. Other defendants included: Eaglespan Steel Structures, Inc., the manufacturer and designer of the defective buildings; Bullock Smith & Partners, Inc, the overall project architect; Kenney and Associates, the local architect; KL&A, the structural engineer; and, Delta Construction Inc., the subcontractor which built the metal buildings. Also included as defendants were the erectors of the buildings and the outside inspectors. All defendants contributed towards the final payment and settlement. The settlement was reached after an intensive mediation effort on the eve of trial, which was set to begin January 10, 2012. Throughout the litigation, Larimer County and Neenan, in the lead role for the defendants, worked diligently together to resolve the dispute and arrive at an outcome that would ensure the proper design and performance of the buildings.

The Exhibition Building was previously rebuilt with funds provided by the County’s property insurer. The other metal buildings have not yet been repaired or replaced. The original construction cost of the remaining metal buildings was $11,551,191. Larimer County still has pending a suit against its property insurer for failure to cover the snow damage. That case remains unresolved at this time.

Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson says what is most important to him is getting what the taxpayers paid for as well as functional and safe buildings, “The settlement is a good deal for both parties because it gets the buildings rebuilt and avoids what would be a long and costly series of lawsuits.” Commissioner Lew Gaiter III echoes those sentiments, “The settlement provides the resources to rebuild the facilities at ‘The Ranch’ now as opposed to being tied up in legal processes for the next several years.” Commissioner Tom Donnelly also believes the settlement is good for taxpayers, “The taxpayers of Larimer County paid for these buildings and deserve to get what they paid for.”

All three commissioners praised The Neenan Company’s leadership in working with the various entities to achieve a resolution. According to Commissioner Johnson, “Larimer County appreciates The Neenan Company’s willingness to stand behind its work and facilitate the positive result achieved in this litigation.”

Randy Myers, president of The Neenan Company, said he is glad to put the litigation to rest. “Although The Neenan Company inherited the issues with the buildings from the original contractor for the Fairgrounds project, we felt it was important to the citizens of Larimer County to achieve the most favorable resolution possible. We look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Larimer County.”

Larimer County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a sexual assault last night by a suspect described as a police impersonator. At approximately 10:00 p.m. last night (January 5), a woman in her 20′s reported she had been stopped by a man in a dark sedan with a red light in the area of West 32nd Street and Glade Road in Loveland, Colorado who represented himself to be a police officer. Subsequently, the police impersonator is alleged to have sexually assaulted the woman. No weapons were involved and the woman was not physically injured.

The suspect is described as being a white male of medium height and build, longer graying hair cut above the ears with blue eyes and wearing dark uniform-style clothing with some kind of a patch on one of the shoulders. The man did not show a badge and was not wearing a gun belt.

The vehicle is described as a dark-colored, older-model, police-style sedan, possibly a Chevy Impala, with spotlights on both the driver and passenger sides.

A BOLO (Be on the Lookout) notification went out immediately to area law enforcement agencies with a description of both the suspect and the vehicle.

The public is being asked to call the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office at 970-498-5176 or Crime Stoppers at 970-221-6868, where you will remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a cash reward, if they have any information regarding the suspect or this incident.

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith has assigned a team of investigators to this case and an active investigation is underway. Due to the on-going investigation, no additional information will be released.

Motorists are reminded to be cautious when stopped by an unmarked or not easily identified vehicle. They are encouraged to turn their flashers on and drive safely to a well-lit populated area and/or call 911 to verify the identity and location of officers. Motorists are further encouraged to stay in their vehicle until an additional officer in a marked vehicle arrives. Law enforcement vehicles are typically later models with significant emergency light systems.

Following is a composite sketch of the suspect:

Police impersonator – sketch