850 KOA Colorado's Morning News

Details about Duane Morrison continue to come in… Each is sicker than the last. What he did to Emily Keyes, Platte Canyon High School and the small town of Bailey is horrible but this guy was an ass well before. Cops telling me he may have had a predatory history long before he took six students hostage this week. More details still coming!

Today, I heard his hateful voice rant in a phone message left in November 2004. Morrison made the call to employees at the Rocky Mountain Harley Davidson shop threatening to visit them “with an assault rifle.”

HIS VOICE BEFORE KILLING

Duane Morrison was an angry hateful man. His voice from the grave is filled with slurs and -- as we know now -- death. As we learn more about his 53 years it appears his legacy will be nothing but pain.

Roger Hudson

You knew a pic like this was coming sooner or later.

And the campsite is on KOA drive. Nice.

12:30 PM at the "Grizzly Gulch Adventure Golf." Pic taken in honor of the grizzly bear story I heard on CMN this morning.

Loving the gas prices! $2.43! Not bad for a road trip.

Taking a small vacation....using some old vacation days to create a 4-day weekend. So I'm headed up to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore, mainly because it's just one of those things I've never done.

So while I'm on the road, I hope to post a pic or two of the journey.

Headed North out of town early Friday morning, had to stop and have a huge breakfast at Johnson's corner.


Thanks to assistant manager Ron Mock for taking the pic!

And yes, the girlfriend and I got a couple of cinammon rolls to go.

See you down the road!

I’ve often asked reporters who covered the shootings at Columbine High School about that day. I asked about the response, the coverage and the sadness. I thought I understood – But was wrong. It CAN be that bad and that painful.

At one point I held a mom who shook with fear. Along with a hundred other parents, she waited and hoped to hear news of a crazed gunman holding an entire school hostage. She told me through the tears, “I wished I had told my son I loved him one more time before he left for school.” I fought back the tears…

Driving home after the last live report was done -- I did cry. I cried for the girl who lost her life, the students who will have to return to their school and for the innocence lost. For God sake, when did it become deadly to attend a high school English class?

I’ve heard lots of rumors about the killer and what went on inside this AP English class. Many, if true, are horrific and terrifying. Things like THIS aren’t supposed to happen. We’ll look for reasons… But I believe few will come.

I long for the days when the only thing you were at risk of being hit by at school was a spitball.

Roger Hudson

I don't know how well he could pick up a 7-10 split, but Mike Anderson and bowling are the keys to this year's season for the Broncos....not Jake Plummer.

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Bell isn't a starting back, whichever Bell you pick.

And don't get me wrong, you won't find many bigger Tatum Bell fans than me. Although you aren't reading this to learn more about me, let me just say I grew up in a small town about 60 miles South of Oklahoma State University. As a kid, I had season tickets and watched every collegiate home game Barry Sanders ever played. So how Cowboy alums perform is, yeah, a small matter of pride for me; whether it's Tatum Bell, Darrent Williams, Keith Burns, or even Matt Holliday for the Rockies, I like to see OSU products do well.

But as we get ready for New England, the Broncos offense is sputtering, and I think we miss Mike Anderson desperately.....we just don't know it yet. And this is where the bowling comes in.

Sequencing.

I don't want to say sequencing is underestimated in pro football, but if we let big Mike go, and we did this with the assumption that two scat-backs the likes of Tatum or Mike Bell were going to get the job done, well then, we underestimated sequencing.

Sequencing together plays of positve yardage is the one statistic that's almost impossible to find, but matters as much as third-down conversions. And Mike Bell and Tatum are simply too suceptible to carries of no-gain or negative yards.

You may not score football like bowling, but look at these different bowling scores. Each bowler rolled the same number of strikes, and each bowler had an identical number of frames where the first roll took down five pins, and the second ball gets none. But the second bowler sequenced his strikes together, and because of that, beats the other bowler by 30%.





What Mike Anderson could do better than Tatum or Mike Bell, is move the pile for positive yards. Moving the pile gets you the bowling score you see on the bottom. Getting a no-gain carry will get you the bowling score you see on top. Take a first-and-ten situation. Handoff up the middle. Big Mike gets you three yards and a cloud of dust. Tatum and Mike Bell, while they might get the occasional big play, are still more likely to be taken down with no positive yards. It's a killer.

So much has been written about the Broncos running game over the past few years detailing how ANY back can rush for one thousand yards. Look at this article from last year by Jim Armstrong.

But this year, the Broncos still have backs as capable as those who came before, it's just that their compass doesn't work quite as well. North is a little bit harder to find.

This takes on a new dimension when the Broncos are in the red zone as well. The Bells just have that tendency to want to bounce to the outside, string out the defense sideline to sideline. But inside the 20, and in particular on goal-line plays, linebackers have less responsibiltiy behind them, they can defer more to the corners and safetys. Bad news for the Bells. And it may not have been a "red zone" play, but the last interception Plummer threw against St. Louis in week one, it's the kind of play you try and force when you don't have faith of positive yards in your running backs.

"Football Outsiders" has some interesting ways of digesting statistics...they get downright actuarial about it. I'll be curious to watch these stats over the season.

And it will always make for a fun bar debate.....who's the best running back of all time? But take me back to 1989, and make me the general manager of an NFL team.....I'd take a pass on Barry, and wait a year for Emmitt. I think Barry Sanders is the most exciting and entertaining player to ever set foot on the professional field. But Emmitt could give you better sequencing.

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I know I'm only the morning reporter here at KOA, not the sports guy. So thanks for humoring me a little with this post.

Go Broncos!

I’ve been speaking with officers from the Aurora Police Department about next weeks planned funeral services of Detective Mike Thomas. Already they believe the turn out will not only be emotional but immense. As I heard the details all I could think of was how much I dread attending the memorial. The sight of weeping officers from all over the state is nothing I want to cover.

Since being in Denver these last two years, I’ve reported on two tragic deaths of law enforcement. The first was Detective Donnie Young. I covered that murder from the beginning… Doing live shots from outside the club were he was shot and killed. I remember so clearly, watching from outside, as officers helped put black tape across each others badges. It broke my heart.

The second was the large funeral of Lt. Montoya. I sat with his buddies at Station Number 9 and cried with them over his loss and memory. The sound of these grown men’s whispers as they spoke of the Denver Fire veteran still echoes in my ears. I was pained the day we took Montoya’s body to his grave while thousands lined Denver’s streets in respect.

Now… Detective Thomas. It’s not heartless or uncaring but I dread it. How do you say enough things about a public servant who died on duty? I’m not sure I have any words left to do him or his department justice.

Roger Hudson

I believed Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates when he said that. I could tell by his curved posture and how his usually strong shoulders slid forward that this WAS the most difficult part of his job. At one point -- The Chief's eyes watered up when he asked that everyone "bear with him during these days." He later added -- "It's not how these officers died that makes them heroes. It's how they lived."

From all I've learned in the last 20 hours... Detective Michael Thomas did live like a hero. He worked hard to do good and make his community safer.

Driving away from yesterdays press conference it struck me... What would it be like to hear that one of my co workers had been shot and killed? Someone I know... Someone doing a similar job to mine? We accept the danger that cops confront each day but maybe too cavalierly. What must cops all over the Metro Area be feeling today? How do you explain to your kids that an officer was murdered yesterday but you're STILL going to put your uniform on today?

Before I walked away from the Aurora Fallen Police Memorial , I made it a point to look each of the remaining officers in the eye or shake their hands. I wanted them each to know I get it -- They've lost a friend and coworker in a terrible on duty shooting and it hurts. We so often give lip service supporting our troops or police officers. But in the coming difficult weeks we need to pony up and let our actions speak for us. Walk up to an officer and thank them for making us safer today.


Roger Hudson

Less than 50 days from the November elections and I’m already sick and tired of hearing Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter in my head!

For the last week, I’ve been listening to more than 10 hours of interviews and speeches as part of a feature. Both are nice men but… At this point – JEEEPEERS -- I’d rather listen to bagpipes then hear the sound of either of them!

Hear -- Bob

I followed both men for a day and got an insight into their campaigns and how difficult it is to run for office. I couldn’t tell you who will be our next governor... But I will say it takes A LOT of passion to shake thousands of hands and kiss thousands of babies.

Hear -- Bill

Hopefully, I will wrap this feature up this weekend and have it one the air next week. (CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR MY SAKE!) On an up note -- There will be lots of personal things about each man you will NEVER hear in a campaign ad!

Roger Hudson

It dawned on me while going home from work today just how much news we've covered in a short time. Consider, in the last 6 weeks:

• August 7th, Elias Santisteven took the life of his five year-old son Deion, then killed himself after a standoff with Denver police.

• August 10th, a terror plot was uncovered in London involving the use of liquid explosives. New rules are implemented by the T-S-A regarding liquids and carry-on items.

• August 16th, authorities in Larimer County say they want to file felony child abuse charges against Gil Smith for the disappearance of his 2 year-old son, Shay. They say he was pulling Shay on an inner tube on Carter Lake.

• August 16th, news breaks that an arrest has been made in Thailand...the first arrest in the decade-old murder case of Jon Benet Ramsey.

• August 28th, the Boulder County District Attorney's office drops the case against Karr.

• August 29th, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

• August 29th-30th, the Boulder County Sheriff's office begins a search in Eldorado Canyon for a missing Marine, Lance Corporal Lance Hering, who is on leave from duty.

• September 6th, the Boulder Sheriff's office charges Steve Powers with falsely reporting the circumstances under which Lance Hering went missing.

• September 11th....the five-year anniversary.

Noticeably absent from the list....wildland fires the likes of which California and Montana have seen recently. Thank goodness. Everyone was so prepared for this to be a disastrous fire season. I don't think anyone has a full understanding of what happened that allowed us to escape, but certainly the monsoon moisture arrived in a timely manner and gave us much of the relief we needed.

September 11th, 2001 is a date that will forever be seared in our collective brains as one of the most terrifying, devastating and yet unifying in American history. You could argue the entire world felt the effects of that day, yet nowhere is the emotion still so raw five years later as in New York City. Steffan and I did our show, Colorado's Morning News, from the 55th floor of the Millenium Hilton on the anniversary. The hotel is adjacent to the ground zero site, so we were able to get a bird's eye perspective of the commemorances and memorials below.

I was on the ground at ground zero the night before the anniversary and talked with a number of people who had come from around the globe to show their support for New Yorkers on the anniversary. Chris drove all the way from Seattle after reading a poll that he said showed 20-percent of the respondents could remember what year the 9-11 attacks happened. Juan was from Chile hadn't been to New York for ten years. He said ground zero looked "so wrong" without it's two prominent towers that he took dozens of photos of back in 1996. Bill, a retiree from North Carolina told me he and his wife were sick of seeing ground zero on TV and just wanted to see it for themselves. He told me it was so much bigger than he had pictured. And Sarah, a social worker from New Jersey says she changed her life becuase of what happened on 9-11. She says she changed jobs, volunteers more of her time now and values her family more than ever.

See our photos from ground zero

If you ever get to New York City, try Colors restaurant. It has an incredibly diverse menu because of the 24 different nationalities represented on its staff. Some of the employees also worked at "Windows on the World" at the top of the World Trade Center. After the tragedy, they got together and decided their co-workers should be honored and remembered through a new co-op restaurant. Five years and much fund-raising later, the restaurant is up and running and truly a delight. The bartender, Patricio (who is from Ecuador) makes the world's best Mojitos.

I went to New York a few days prior to the 9-11 anniversary to see the final matches at the US Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows, NY. Swiss-born Roger Federer beat American Andy Roddick in four nail-biting sets. Before the match started, there was a wonderful tribute to those who lost their lives on 9-11 that included a fighter jet fly-over and soldiers unfurling the American flag on the tennis court.

The event was star-studded. The biggest name was Tiger Woods who sat in Federer's box with his wife, Roger's girlfriend, and others. I also saw Donald Trump with his wife and new baby, Ivana Trump was also there, Regis Philbin, actresses Eva Mendes and Elizabeth Shue, Jimmy Fallon, Star Jones, Chevy Chase, on Lovitz, Christie Brinkley, etc...

See my photos of the US Open

I received a call yesterday from a listener with a comment that I haven’t been able to shake. After doing the on-air story of the tragic murder-suicide of the Blecha family, I answered the phone to hear a woman’s voice ask about the family pet. I said, “I believe they had a dog but it is being taken care of by a family friend.”

Her answer surprised me, “I believe people want to know about the dog and whether or not it was killed. THAT’s more important.” I was a little dumbfounded. Again, this is a story about a father killing his wife and step daughter, taking their bodies onto the Colorado Plains, setting them on fire and then shooting himself in the head. No offense -- but I think the story is more tragic than what happened to the dog.

Usually I enjoy hearing listener comments or concerns but every once in awhile I receive a call that baffles me. So I ask you… Was I wrong? Should the dog – who wasn’t even at the home – be part of this story?

LET ME KNOW!

Help raise the last couple of hundred of dollars needed to make repairs to the monument before Veterans Day.

Contact Tim Drago at www.ColoradoVetransMonument.org or by phone at (303) 756-0338.

Here's the latest about what we're learning regarding the Lance Hering disappearance, and the Steve Powers confession to Boulder Police.

Lance and Steve were involved in a burglary attempt on August 7th, 2004. They were trying to pry open a hatch on top of the "Savers" thrift store located on Broadway Street in Boulder. Boulder Police used a ladder from a fire truck to access the rooftop, and while the cops were clearing the roof, they came upon Hering and Powers, both of them in ski masks. The two ran to a lower rooftop, then jumped to the ground....Hering gave up quickly, but Powers continued to run and initially escaped the perimeter that had been set up. When Hering gave up, he said the first name of the guy he was with was Steve.

Powers was taken into custody about an hour and a half, maybe two hours after they ran from the rooftop of Savers. So cops didn't exactly catch Powers red-handed. But they knew they were looking for a guy named Steve, and they had a good physical description for whom they were looking.

But here's the main point I wanted to get out here on the blog:

Although he hasn't used the same words when talking with us, Commander West with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office is quoted as saying Powers is a "polished" liar. . Here's the two-paged voluntary statement Powers made to police after he was taken into custody. (It looks like I've posted them out-of-order, but they're not....you're seeing them as page 1 then page 2.) You should be able to click on them and get a bigger, more readable image.


On the first reading of this, you're probably saying to yourself, "What a stupid lie." That's certainly what I was thinking. But when you've basically been caught trying to bust into a thrift store while wearing a ski mask, ask yourself, what does a good lie sound like? Once you look at it from that angle, the "statement" up above isn't all that ridiculous. In other words, given the fact that there is NO good explanation.....that's not a half-bad explanation! And he was trying to keep from throwing Hering under the bus in this statement.

What is hard to figure out about the whole thing is why Powers continued to walk the streets after he initially eluded police. He had a remarkable chance to avoid further contact with officers, as long as Hering doesn't rat him out.

But, I offer all of that up to you so you can decide for yourself if you agree with Commander West as to whether or not Powers is a "polished" liar.

And in case you haven't seen it, here's the mug-shot of Powers from the Boulder County Sheriff's office following his arrest on the misdemeanor charges filed this past week.


* * * * * * * * * *

Another item of interest here:

Boulder cops called Lloyd Hering on the morning of the arrests. Here's a quote from one of the other police reports regarding the burglary attempt.

While en route to the P.D. I received another call from Lloyd. He advised that he had been talking with his other son and learned that Lance "has a habit of climbing buildings" and he was hoping that this was just a stunt and they were not actually trying to gain access. I advised him that the initial response was for alarms and that they were activated in response to attempts to enter the building.

And one last point....

In case you read the "statement" above and wonder if it's actually possible that Hering and Powers somehow did NOT know each other prior to this event......no. It's clear from the reports that Lloyd Hering acknowledges a relationship between the two young men.

April is back Thursday morning… It’s always nice filling in for either of the anchors on Colorado’s Morning News, but it’s even nicer to give the hot seat back to them. April, Steffan and the entire morning team have a real rhythm and I sometimes feel like the odd man out.

Reporter vs. Anchor. Which is better? You would think it’s an easy choice to pick between the two, but it isn’t. Sitting in the “big boy chair” is the glamour gig with control of the big picture. There’s coffee, heat, restrooms and a comfortable chair - but you also lose a lot of creative control of the story telling. There is something so cool about shaping and molding a story from the beginning. An excitement in picking the adjectives that will paint the picture. And, of course, there is the additional adrenaline high of waiting on hold seconds before you go on. Then * a deep breath * the rush of listening to your lead, your name and then the toss - "We now go live to Roger with more…" SWEET!

I’ll miss the chatter with Steffan, and free breakfast on Fridays, but I look forward being the reporter again next week and leaving the anchor chair to Tubbs and Zesbaugh. With that said… This one’s for you April!

Listen to my little ditty

No, Really.... Welcome back, April!

Roger Hudson

posted by Roger Hudson  # 10:02 AM 0 comments  

This morning (Tuesday) we had Lance Hering's father, Lloyd, on-air for about three or four minutes. While he spoke, he called out to Lance personally, asking him to call 9-1-1 wherever he might be.

You can listen to it here on our podcast & audio page.

When the interview was finished, I called Lloyd back just to tell him he did a great job with every question, and in particular, I wanted him to know we were taking some of the audio and it would be airing on the FM stations in the Clear Channel cluster here in Denver. When I told him the last part, he broke out sobbing, saying "Thank you," over and over. It was humbling and emotional.