Crested Butte News - eType Services

8 | November 2, 2012 NEWSCrested Butte NewsLocated in the Majestic Plaza • 349-5709Open Monday - Saturday 9 am - 9 pmSunday 9 am - 7 pmFEATURINGORGANIC ANDNATURALLYGOOD FOOD!The Caféat guNNisoN vitamiNNEW MENU ITEMS!• Noodle Bowls• specialty salads & saNdwichesFresh real Food! every day! Open 8 A.M. to 7 P.M.(970) 641-5928 • 804 North Main Street GunnisonINTERNET COLORADO• High Speed Internet• DSL Now Available in Riverland withQwest and Internet Colorado601 6th StreetCreS ted Butte, CO 81224970 349 5252h r S 6:30am-6pm mOn.-Fri.7am-6pm Sat.&Sun.treat yOurSelF tO a pumpkin pie latte Or milk ShakeGunnison 970.641.0555 • Crested Butte 970.349.8960We’ve Moved!www.bighornrealty.com | 970-349-5313L.E.I.- Residential - Commercial - Competitive rates- Call for free estimateLET US CLEAR YOUR WAYlei@crestedbutte.netLook ForUs in OurNew YellowBuildingat 305 SixthStreet at the4 Way StopBighOrN reaLtYeach Office is independently Owned and Operated.SNOWPLOWING970-275-5313Serving the upper valley since 1988K-9 COSTUME: Spike the dog dressed up like Harley the cat, complete with a formal tie for Halloween.photo by Lydia SternCBCS searching for bus driverDistrict still searching for permanent fixto driver shortage BY SETH MENSING Big fines possible BY MARK REAMAN Three local men are facinga series of charges for a huntingincident gone awry on Wednesday,October 17, across from theCrested Butte Country Club golfcourse. Two sets of charges arebeing considered through ColoradoParks and Wildlife and theMt. Crested Butte Police department.CPW issued tickets lastweek to Gary Schaffer, SteveSnyder and Tom Dill, all ofCrested Butte. All three receivedtickets for “Hunting in a carelessmanner” and “Illegal possessionwith special circumstances involvingthree or more animals.”The fine for the illegal possessioncharge ranges from$1,370 to $10,000 per animal andcould include one year in prisonif levied to the maximum. Huntingand fishing privileges couldalso be suspended for life. Thehunting in a careless mannercharge could result in a potentialfine of $100 to $1,000 if themen are convicted.Snyder and Dill, who didthe actual shooting in the incident,were also charged with“Failure to pursue wounded animal/wasteof edible game” thatcomes with a $300 fine and “Notwearing required fluorescentorange,” which has a $50 fine.Shaffer did not shoot a gun duringthe incident but was chargedwith “Failure to tag an animal”for shooting an elk earlier inthe week and failure to void alicense. Both of those have $50fines.Mt. Crested Butte policechief Hank Smith said the CPWis handling all the charges connectedto wildlife violationswhile his department is followingup with the DUI and the“Prohibited use of a weaponunder the influence of alcohol ordrugs” charges against Schaffer.According to a CPW notice,the district attorney has also requestedthe forfeiture of the defendants’rifles. A court arraignmenthas been set for November27 in Gunnison on the CPWcharges. None of the charges arefelonies.“Unfortunately, this is givingall hunters a black eye,”commented CPW spokespersonJoe Lewandowski. “Sometimespeople get pumped up whenthey see a bunch of animals butthese guys all seem to be experiencedhunters. They aren’trookies. But they were shootingtoward houses and towardHighway 135. It happenedabout 4 o’clock in the afternoonwhen traffic was picking up. WeTransportation to and from Crested ButteCommunity School has been a challenge for somebus-riding students so far this year, as well as forthe Gunnison Watershed school district, which hasbeen scrambling to fill several open bus-drivingpositions.And the struggle isn’t over, as some of thosedrivers who came to the rescue have wintertimecommitments elsewhere. The district is working tofill the resulting vacancies just as more kids need aride to school.“As the weather has gotten colder, some ofthe kids who live in Riverbend and Skyland, we’renow starting to pick up,” superintendent Jon Nelsonsaid.After starting the school year two bus driversshort in the wake of budget cuts that reduced fundingfor transportation, Nelson tried to find qualifiedpeople living in the upper Gunnison Valley todrive routes in Crested Butte South as well as onethrough town, instead of paying drivers from Gunnisonto cover the routes.Slowly but surely, enough drivers stepped upto cover bus routes for this fall. Nelson says thedistrict was happy to have a commercial driver’slicense (CDL) wielding former schoolteacher comeout of retirement to drive a bus route in CrestedButte South and an educational assistant at CrestedButte Community School willing to drive a minibus until he earns his CDL and takes the wheel of aschool bus this winter.But as winter approaches, one of the remainingdrivers has another employment obligationand has to bow out. “He will stay on and substitutefor us but he has other employment for the winter,”Nelson said. The replacement will need to be readyright after Christmas break.If anyone with a commercial driver’s licenseand an hour and a half free at either end of theschool day is interested in becoming a bus driver,contact the superintendent’s office at 641-7760.Charges filed against local huntersurge hunters to be more careful.Safety has to be the first priority.One moment of carelessnesscan result in a lifetime of consequences.Fortunately no one washurt in this incident but it was abad situation.”Lewandowski said it appearsthe men were shootinginto or near a herd of elk andthat is where the most serious,“illegal possession” ticket camefrom. “There were multiple animalsinvolved,” Lewandowskiexplained. “When multiple animalsare on the ground, it showsthe hunters weren’t really payingattention to what they wereshooting at. That led to the specialcircumstances aspect of thecharge. This was an egregiousact. Most hunters don’t behavelike this and unfortunately itleaves a bad impression with thegeneral public. This was a veryrare incident. Fortunately wehave good wildlife protectionlaws in effect and there will bepunishment for this.”The men involved havesaid they felt the situation wassafe and they were followingsafe hunting protocol. However,they admit, in hindsight, giventhe location of the property, itwas not very sensitive to thenon-hunters in the area and theywould not take the same actionagain.