Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

News Bites – June 2, 2022

By: Amber McIver-Traywick | The Surveyor | June 02, 2022 | Local News

Sky View Campground is officially open at Carter Lake. The 6-acre recreational development opened to reserved campers officially for the first time, on May 20. The project is the first campground catering to large groups in Larimer County.

Durable paved infrastructure (asphalt road and parking lot) allow Larimer County Natural Resources to better serve the public, especially those individuals with limited mobility, and is a strategy for more efficient and effective long-term maintenance of the campground.

Included in the 2007 Reservoir Parks Master Plan, and again in the 2017 Reservoir Parks Master Plan, Sky View Campground was unanimously approved in 2017 by the Board of County Commissioners. Extensive community input was sought and received, which was considered in the development of Sky View’s features and design.

The campground has 15 sites that can host up to 8 people each. At full capacity, the campground can accommodate 120 people.

Amenities include 15 campsites that can accommodate tents or RVs with electrical hookups, potable water, a large pavilion, a group fire ring area, two vault toilets and a viewing area. The campground is designed to accommodate larger group reservations as well as those with more limited mobility.

Visit larimercamping.com for the latest reservation availability.

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On May 27, 2022, the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force (NCDTF) and Larimer County Jail deputies dismantled a drug trafficking organization that was introducing and distributing narcotics to inmates in the jail. In all, 12 people have been arrested on multiple felony and misdemeanor warrants including inmates in the jail and those sending the narcotics to the jail through the mail.

Jail staff had seen an increase in narcotics being introduced into the jail that were not being detected by usual methods at the end of 2021. A jail deputy began investigating and noticed suspicious activity involving an inmate’s incoming mail, phone calls, and text messages via the inmate communications system (tablet). The deputy believed the phone calls and text messages contained coded language about narcotics, how to send them to inmates in the jail, and how inmates would pay those on the outside for the narcotics. In March 2022, the deputy intercepted a letter mailed to an inmate and the paper tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Jail staff contacted the NCDTF in April and “Operation Arts and Crafts” was initiated.

The NCDTF and jail deputies worked together further monitoring communications and intercepted mail sent to the jail. Fentanyl, methamphetamine, and Suboxone strips were found in mail sent to various inmates. The methods of introduction included paper soaked in narcotics, narcotics infused into the ink on paper, and narcotics hidden in the seams of commercially available envelopes.

The investigation allowed NCDTF detectives to obtain a search warrant for a home in the 400 block of E. 57th Street, Loveland/unincorporated Larimer County. That warrant was executed on May 27 and resulted in evidence seizures and arrests. Jail deputies also searched the housing areas of the suspected involved inmates and found additional contraband.

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Colorado voters in all 64 counties will have the opportunity to track their ballot for the 2022 Primary Election using BallotTrax, a program that was implemented statewide by Secretary of State Jena Griswold in 2020.

“Initiatives like BallotTrax increase transparency and confidence in our elections by allowing Colorado voters to track their ballot from when they are sent, received, and counted,” said Secretary Griswold. “I encourage all Colorado voters to take advantage of this easy to use service during the Primary Election this June.”

BallotTrax enables voters to receive notifications by phone, email, or text about the status of their mail ballot, from the time it is mailed to the voter, to when it is received, and counted. In 2020, over 1.6 million voters used BallotTrax to follow their ballots. This year, nearly 2 million active voters are enrolled in the program.

This year, messages about the status of voter ballots will begin after ballots are mailed out by counties. Ballots were mailed to military and overseas voters on Friday, May 14th and the earliest date ballots can be mailed to other voters is June 6th.

While previously the City and County of Denver used BallotTrace, a separate but similar system, this year all voters including Denver voters will use BallotTrax.

Colorado voters can enroll themselves in BallotTrax by going to www.GoVoteColorado.gov and clicking on “Sign up for BallotTrax.”

For more information on Colorado’s 2022 Primary Election, to register to vote, or update your voter registration, please visit www.GoVoteColorado.gov.

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