В Вейле полиция едва удержала контроль над пьяными толпами на праздновании Дня независимости

Time Machine: 40 years ago, Independence Day chaos in Vail 30 years ago July 5, 1996 The Surface Transportation Board accepted Union and Southern Pacific Railroad’s merger application, but formally denied its request to abandon the Tennessee Pass line, the Vail Trail reported. “Upon rendering its decision, the board cited Utah and Colorado coal producer complaints that diverting its traffic to the Moffat Tunnel route would cause congestion and delays,” the Trail reported. “The STB denied the abandonment pending an investigation into the charges.” The Eagle County Commissioners expressed both hope and disappointment in the outcome, the Trail reported. “Commissioner James Johnson was encouraged by the move, since the county would no longer have to produce the capital needed to buy the rails and corridor,” the Trail reported. “Many of the possibilities county officials have talked about in the past — like commuter transportation and other rail services — are still a possibility, he said. Support Local Journalism 40 years ago July 11, 1986 Vail police were close to being overwhelmed by crowds of drunken youths over the July Fourth weekend, reporting a record number of arrests and summonses issued for the weekend, the Vail Trail reported. Vail Police Chief Curt Ufkes told the Trail that “several times I felt it was almost out of control” and he was “on the verge” of calling county deputies and the Vail Fire Department for help with the crowd, which damaged property and threw fireworks and bottles at officers. Ufkes said thousands of young people milling around town the nights of July 4 and 5, many of them drinking and looking for trouble, nearly stretched the department’s ability to a breaking point, the Trail reported. “Police issued 33 summonses for underage drinking and cited 13 adults for violating the open container law,” the Trail reported. “Among other reports: two arrests for criminal trespass, four burglaries, eight thefts, one assault and battery, two disorderly conduct arrests, 10 arrests for criminal injury to property, a hit and run, and two DUIs.” 50 years ago July 9, 1976 Rumors that President Gerald Ford was considering vetoing the Eagles Nest Wilderness Bill were causing concern among locals who had worked for years to put a proposal together that would create a new, 133,915-acre wilderness area north of Vail. “One source who has worked for years on the Eagles Nest Wilderness reported that the Denver Water Board long ago bragged it had Ford under its thumb and he would definitely veto the bill,” the Vail Trail reported. “There is also speculation that Ford might be trying to win support from Colorado delegates.” Locals were encouraged to write Ford at the White House and ask him to sign the bill. 60 years ago July 7, 1966 The Eagle River Valley was experiencing “the warmest temperatures in several seasons,” the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported. The area experienced three straight days of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees July 4-6, 1966, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported, with a high of 93 degrees reported on July 6. 70 years ago July 5, 1956 Eagle local J.D. Burnett was witness to a double murder in Stilwell, Oklahoma, which shocked the country. “The shooting took place Tuesday in the Stilwell jail when Sheriff Chester Crittenden, 51, and Bob Alberty, 32, who had beaten Crittenden the day before in a primary election shot it out,” the Enterprise reported. “A witness stated he had riden to town with Alberty to inquire about election returns and was standing talking with two men when Crittenden came up and began cursing Alberty, claiming the latter was wrecking the Crittenden home.” Crittenden then arrested Alberty and took him to jail, the Enterprise reported. “The witness said Alberty went along with no comment and a few minutes later the sheriff came back out on the lawn and started talking, the Enterprise reported. “During the conversation, J.D. Burnett came out and said that Alberty was in jail with a gun. The witness entered the jail with Crittenden and as the sheriff passed the kitchen door the shooting started — ending up with both men dead.” 80 years ago July 5, 1946 The Eastern Slope was organizing an effort to take Western Slope water, the Eagle Valley Enterprise wrote in an editorial. “Today 11 counties in Southeastern Colorado in the area from Buena Vista down to and around Pueblo have incorporated an association which they state specifically is ‘to take water from the Western Slope to the Eastern Slope for irrigation, hydroelectric power, and manufacturing purposes in the Southeastern Slope area of Colorado,'” the Enterprise reported. Much of the water would come from Eagle County, the Enterprise reported. “The citizens of Eagle County must come alive and be diligent in making every effort to keep this water for our own land,” the Enterprise wrote, “else these Eastern Slope people are going to take it away and what more proof is desired of their intentions than the organizations they have perfected and the surveys the conservation people have made and are making right now?”