Dog search leads to suspensions

Durango School District 9-R is seeing quick results from its placement of search dogs in several area schools. Two Durango High School students were suspended earlier this month after administrators confiscated marijuana and alcohol that search dogs had detected in the students' possessions during a random search of the campus April 5.

The district has employed Canine Associates International to use dogs to conduct random searches for illegal drugs, alcohol and firearms at Durango High School, Miller Middle School and Escalante Middle School as part of a plan to improve school safety. Parents were informed in March that the searches would be conducted following Spring Break, and students were introduced to the dogs and search methods at assemblies Mon., April 4. The first unannounced searches were conducted the following day.

Explaining the rationale for the searches, DHS Assistant Principal John Marchino commented, "The idea is to keep these things off campus. If we never catch anyone else, it will show that the program is working."

Dogs search student lockers, cars and possessions but not the students themselves. If dogs detect an odor that indicates presence of contraband in a student's possessions, school administrators search the student's belongings, then call the student's parents or guardians.

At Durango High School, the search dogs discovered traces of marijuana, alcohol and another unspecified drug in four different locations. Inspections subsequently revealed that two students had marijuana and alcohol in their possession. They were suspended and referred to drug and alcohol counseling.

At Miller, dogs reacted to four lockers, but no illegal substances were found. Dogs reacted to three locations in the boys locker room at Escalante, including one seventh-grader's backpack that the student had used to carry ammunition and firearms to the firing range for target practice as part of a gun-club activity. No illegal substances or firearms were found at Escalante.

While the district is calling the searches a success, many are questioning their value. DHS Spanish teacher Dot Larson said that she found the search to be disruptive.

"I felt a huge intrusion into the classroom environment," she said. "I think this is a bigger problem than dogs can solve. They were mostly false alerts, but everyone was really shaken up."

DHS senior Ryan Grenoble commented, "It's counter productive if they pull kids out of class to search them, particularly in the name of education."

Taking it one step further, senior Elizabeth Leake noted, "The drug dogs are an assault on our personal liberties despite the Supreme Court's ridiculous ruling. We should consider how these actions will alienate today's youth."

Marchino countered that the real disruption and alienation comes from having contraband in public school.

"Some feel that it is an invasion of privacy and rights and a disruption," he said. "But having dogs search the campus is not nearly as disruptive as having drugs, alcohol or weapons on campus."

One additional random search will be conducted before the end of the year, and the district is expected to use Canine Associates for searches during the 2005-06 academic year.

General manager leaves ski resort

One of Durango Mountain Resort's top executives has announced his resignation. General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Bill Rock announced he is leaving DMR to become vice-president and general manager of Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia.

"I love the people and the town of Durango, but I can't pass up this opportunity to join the industry leader," he said. "And now that we have children, my wife and I are also excited to be closer to our families on the East Coast."

Rock and his wife, Jennifer, had twins Tyler and Paige last month.Rock spent two years at Durango Mountain Resort and saw improvements in skier days and revenues both years. He worked previously for five years at Intrawest at Stratton Mountain and started in the industry at Bristol Mountain.

DMR CEO Gary Derck said, "We're sorry to see Bill go but wish him luck in his new venture. He was a credit to the resort and the community and will be missed."

Rock's last day at the resort will be May 13, and the resort has started its search for his replacement.

DMR nominated for green awards

On the flip side, Durango Mountain Resort was recently honored for its environmental excellence. DMR has been named as a finalist in three separate categories for the industry's annual Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence. The resort has been nominated for the Silver Eagle Award for Water Conservation, the Silver Eagle Award for Visual Impact, and the Golden Eagle Award for Overall Environmental Excellence. "We're proud and pleased to receive recognition for our environmental programs," said resort Vice-President of Operations Mike McCormack. "Purgatory keeps pace with state-of-the-art technologies and policies, and we strive to lead Southwest Colorado, and the resort industry, into the environmental future."

First, DMR installed an air-quality monitoring system in 2002 to monitor and maintain the local air. Second, the resort saved nearly 1.5 million gallons of water over the past year through improved operations, including a substantial 3 percent savings in snowmaking water usage alone. Third, Purgatory is one of only two Colorado resorts using biodiesel in on-mountain machinery and recently donated a conservation easement to the Animas Conservancy.

The Golden Eagle Awards were established in 1993 by the Times Mirror Co. and are the winter sports industry's top program for honoring environmental excellence in resort management. Award winners will be announced at the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) annual meeting May 20.

Students win top music scholarships

Two local students are off to high places this summer. Excel Charter School students Cameron Phillips and Nate Williams were each awarded the first place and third place (respectively) scholarships to attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music's Summer Session. The Berklee School of Music is located in Boston, Mass., and is known internationally for its music program.

The Jazz Celebration brought seven jazz greats as well as more than 1,200 students from 70 middle and high schools to the Auraria Campus in Denver. Steve Dejka, Excel music teacher, said, "The judges were so impressed that, of the 70 schools attending the event, we were the one group invited back that evening to open for the headliner concert."

Sixth-grader Phillips and 10th-grader Williams won two of the eight scholarships awarded for outstanding musicianship. The entire band was given high marks from Dave Hammond, director of bands at the Denver School of the Arts, who said the band, "exemplifies the excitement, the passion and the spirit of what we want the festival to be for all students and instructors This group shows what music can do for kids."

Local tests positive for pertussis

In spite of the onset of spring weather, pertussis (whooping cough) is still lingering locally. The San Juan Basin Health Department was recently notified of a confirmed case of pertussis in a La Plata County adult.

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that has been on the rise over the past several years. Symptoms may include repeated episodes of uncontrolled coughing so severe that they result in vomiting, difficulty inhaling (which produces a whooping sound) or periods of not being able to breathe at all. Pertussis is most severe in infants and young children, with a fatality rate of up to 1 percent in infants. The disease lasts six to 10 weeks and passes person to person through close contact with an infected person.

For more information on Pertussis and immunizations, call San Juan Basin Health Department at 247-5702.

- compiled by Will Sands