She’s now 8 years old and 600-pounds, and she’s coming back from the Memphis Zoo, where she was moved in 2006. She is moving back because of a plan to promote and insure genetic diversity and good health among zoo animals. Zookeepers are hoping to pair her with Frosty, the zoo’s male polar bear.

Cranbeary is playful and active, and she will be a great fit in the zoo’s program.  It should also be noted that Cranbeary is the daughter of Voda, who passed away in April at the Denver Zoo. Welcome home bear!

A man in his 20s or 30s approached the school just as students were being let out of classes and shot two students. One has been identified as Regan Weber, a seventh grade student at the school. The other is a male eighth grader who has yet to be identified. Both students were transfered to Littleton Hospital.

Before the shooter (who has yet to be identified) could fire a third shot, math teacher Dr. David Benke tackled him. The suspect was disarmed and taken into custody by school teachers and administrators before Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies could arrive on the scene.

Students were transfered to nearby Stony Creek Elementary School, where parents could pick them up.

Coincidentally, Deer Creek is located just three miles from Columbine High School, which is, of course, the location of the devastating 1999 shooting that caused schools across the country, but especially within Jefferson County to take a serious look at student and teacher safety. Because of the tragedy 11 years ago, both Jefferson County Public Schools and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are well equipped and prepared for similar events.

More information can be found online at http://jeffcopublicschools.org and on the district’s Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/jeffcoschoolsco

Richard and Mayumi Heene just after sentencing. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

     The Heenes, a family from Boulder famous for their appearances on ABC’s Wife Swap, were sent to jail for their balloon boy hoax. Richard, father of the balloon boy, was sentenced to 90 days of jail time while Mayumi, the mother, recieved 20.

     “I’m very, very sorry. And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community,” Richard lamented, near tears.

     Basically, the two hour long scare that Falcon, the Heenes’ six-year-old son, had taken flight in their homemade helium balloon caused Denver International Airport to temporarily shut down while military helicopters searched for him. When people started asking questions (read http://www.rvhsnews.com/rachelbrown/follow-up-falcon-heene) Richard denied accusations of the event being staged, calling them “extremely pathetic.”

     “What this case is about is deception, exploitation—exploitation of the children of the Heenes, exploitation of the media and exploitation of people’s emotions—and money,” commented Judge Stephen Schapanski.

     Richard’s sentence includes 60 days of work release that will allow him to continue working as a construction contractor, granted he is in jail at night. Both of the Heenes have been put on a four year probation, during which time they cannot earn money in any way related to their hoax, be it in the form of books, television appearances, or movies.

     At the request of prosecutors, Richard is serving the maximum punishment available in an attempt to impress that a stern message needs to be sent to people who stage hoaxes for publicity. The Heenes may also have to pay the exact amout of money they wasted—possibly over $50,000—back to authorities for chasing their balloon and investigating the case.

     Prosecutor Andrew Lewis commented that “people around the world were watching this unfold. Mr. Heene wasted a lot of manpower and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity.”

     Starting on January 11th, Richard will be expected to be in jail, and Mayumi will be expected to serve her 20 days after her husband completes his 90. Mrs. Heene pleaded guilty to knowingly filing a false report with emergency services, a misdemeanor, while Mr. Heene pleaded guilty to falsely influencing authorities, a felony.

     The Federal Aviation Administration intends to fine the Heenes $11,000 for stopping air traffic, although their spokesman, Les Dorr, could not confirm that.

     David Lane, Richard Heene’s attorney, joked about the matter, ”I don’t know if they’re done with reality television. Is reality television done with them?”

While small donations do come in every day, it’s still not enough.  The root cause of the lack of donations this year has yet to be discovered, what’s important now is donating to this wonderful cause. These families are counting on the Colorado community to pull through. The organization has extended the deadline for delivery of toys from December 16^th to the 23^rd. To help or donate, call 303-801-0168 or to reach our local chapter and see what you can do visit http://www.macs23toysfortots.50megs.com/.

This male deer will get the Christmas lights off his antlers eventually, but he may have to wait for the spring when he sheds what he has now. Photo courtesy of kdvr.com.

     Yesterday, residents of Colorado Springs reported a deer with Christmas lights tangled in its antlers. They’ve tried to get close enough to remove them, but to no avail. Colorado wildlife authorities say that it isn’t uncommon for deer to get caught in outdoor decorations.

     Apparently the same thing happened two weeks ago, also in Colorado Springs. Deer with such afflictions are usually left alone unless they are reported to have said decorations wrapped around their throats or mouths.

     As the result of this problem, folks have been asked to use shorter strings of lights and to keep them off trees and bushes.

Written all over his face: Siebers's handiwork is very much visible.

Obviously, no one likes to go to work everyday, expecially on a Monday.  However, Aaron Siebers of Edgewater, Colorado, opted to stab himself instead of going to work at a Blockbuster video rental on Sheridan.

On the evening of November 2nd, Siebers stabbed himself in the leg in order to disguise a rip in his uniform pants caused by an earlier skateboarding accident.  He also lacerated his abdomen and face.  He then proceeded to go into work.  The police were called in and questioned Siebers, who stated that he had been attacked by three men wearing black.  The attack allegedly took place near a Target.

He was admitted to the hospital whilst police men from five different departments and police dogs searched for the attackers.  Upon reviewing Target security tapes, the police concluded the “victim” had falsified his story as there was no attack to be seen.

Siebers admitted to making up the violence so he wouldn’t have to attend work with a hole in his uniform or go without the pants and possibly be fired.  (Obviously he would wear different pants.)  He was charged with false reporting, which can be defined simply as lying to a police officer, and obstructing the police, as in the police could have been doing something important like pulling over speeders.

Teen unemployment rates are at record highs. It is currently extremely difficult to find a job, especially for teenagers.

“I have submitted an application to over ten businesses, but it seems like that nobody is hiring,” says Danny Zimmermann, 11.

Zimmermann is not the only one being turned away. Today’s economy is forcing businesses to hire fewer and fewer people, and there is no end in sight.

Adult unemployment rates are at record highs as well, and as a result, adults are competing for jobs that have normally gone to teenagers in the past.

“It seems that the businesses would rather hire an experienced adult over an inexperienced teenager, especially in today’s economy,” says self-proclaimed business expert Max Yousee.

With all of the competition that this economy has brought, teenagers serious about finding a job should be sure to make a good impression by doing the following:

Submitting the application early. Businesses want to hire summer help as early in the year as possible. Do not wait until June and July to try and get a summer job.

It is important that teens learn responsibility that only a job can teach, but in today’s economy that rite-of-passage is getting harder and harder to achieve.

Call the business a couple of days after submitting the application. Ask to check the status of the submitted application. This will force the business to look at you before everybody else.

Dress nice to the interview. It is more important than ever to make a good impression and dressing nice lets the business know that you are serious about getting a job and will work hard.