FORT COLLINS

Investigators: Cow's owner not negligent in crash

A cattle rancher was not criminally negligent in the deaths of three people whose car struck one of his cows that had wandered onto Interstate 25, the Colorado State Patrol said.

The cow apparently got through a fence by damaging a gate, Master Trooper Ron Watkins said Tuesday. It was owned by rancher Hersel Schnug.

The three people, a Cheyenne, Wyo., couple and a friend, died at the scene of the crash early Monday on I-25 about 14 miles north of Fort Collins. Two other people in the car suffered minor injuries.

DENVER

Truck spills 6,000 gallons of tar on I-70

A tar spill on Interstate 70 closed eastbound lanes between Peoria and Chambers in the northeast part of the city for almost four hours Tuesday.

A truck carrying 6,000 gallons of tar began leaking shortly before noon, Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Jordon said. The driver pulled over, but the entire contents of the truck spilled onto the highway.

The spill forced drivers heading from downtown to find a detour to Denver International Airport until I-70 reopened around 3:30 p.m.

LAKEWOOD

Firefighters plan ride to Colorado Springs

A motorcycle club composed of Colorado firefighters will expand its annual trip to a memorial service for those who died in the line of duty to include New York firefighters.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of Wind & Fire will head to New York on Sept. 5 to escort that state's club on its cross-country trip to the Sept. 21 Colorado Springs ceremony.

The Colorado group normally organizes a 70-mile trip between the Colorado Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Lakewood to Colorado Springs' International Association of Fire Fighters' Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial. This year, riders from across the West, Hawaii, Canada and Europe will travel a 1,829 mile route to New York.

Three hundred forty-seven New York Fire Department firefighters lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers' collapse on Sept. 11.

Wind & Fire has 72 chapters in 14 nations.

The Colorado Springs memorial for 17 years has been the site of annual observances marking the deaths of U.S. and Canadian firefighters. Those listed there have died since 1976.

Teacher helps author 'bully proofing' program

Kids who are punched or shoved at school or called fat and dumb by classmates have a plan to deal with the abuse, thanks in part to Nancy Sager.

The 54-year-old special education teacher and behavioral consultant for the Cherry Creek School District helped author the "How to Bully Proof Your School" program with four other educators more than 10 years ago.

Their work has since been adopted in school districts around the world. It has earned endorsements from the U.S. departments of Education and Justice and the National Crime Prevention Council.

"Bully Proofing," which is to be adopted by 11 Colorado schools next year, asks the silent majority of non-bullied students to strip bullies of their prestige by speaking out against taunting and physical threats, Sager said.

It is based on programs developed in Europe in the late 1970s.

Camera wire services contributed to this report.

May 29, 2002

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