Local News

Ricky Lee Harnish, 54, received the maximum sentence of 24 years in prison for the 1976 rape and murder of South Jeffco resident Holly Marie Andrews, under the terms of a plea agreement.

The sentencing was handed out Monday in a Georgetown court in front of members of Andrews’ family.

Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger said he felt relieved the case was finally over after so many years. He added that Harnish had been in county custody for more than a year.

County Administrator Jim Moore testified in a federal lawsuit last week that, in 2005, the Jeffco commissioners actively tried to silence longtime county critic Mike Zinna.

“They were very displeased. They wanted him to stop,” Moore said, referring to the former commission’s reaction to stories posted on Zinna’s websites. “They generally talked about ways to shut him up, shut him down. … There was discussion about evicting him from the airport.”

About 500 students, parents and teachers hoping to keep their schools open packed Summit Ridge Middle School on Nov. 16 to give their two cents and listen to a horde of proposals from others.

Jeffco Public Schools faces an $18 million to $20 million budget shortfall for the 2010-11 school year, and bridges to the gap include possible school closures, merging or sharing of facilities, and staff layoffs.

As much of the nation was recovering from the gastronomic surfeit of Thanksgiving, many Americans eagerly partook in a less sedate pastime by pitching tents outside Best Buys and Walmarts.

Veritable hordes waited during the wee hours Friday for early openings at big-box stores that were offering deep discounts on plasma TVs, small appliances and other consumer goods.

“It’s been a very good day for us,” said Ben Delong, a PC sales manager at Ultimate Electronics on West Bowles Avenue.