{"id":1310441,"date":"2019-05-18T23:32:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics\/"},"modified":"2019-05-18T23:32:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T05:32:00","slug":"garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Garfield County celebrates First Responders Day with Special Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.7693282636248\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-978607-263\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent | Rob Klimek, Care Flight parmedic, shows Henry Colmenares, 8, and his brother Kevin, 5, both of Silt around the the Care Flight helicopter Saturday during GARCO First Responders Day at Stoney Ridge Park.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>Rob Klimek, Care Flight parmedic, shows Henry Colmenares, 8, and his brother Kevin, 5, both of Silt around the the Care Flight helicopter Saturday during GARCO First Responders Day at Stoney Ridge Park.<\/strong><br \/>Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1.jpg\" alt=\"Rob Klimek, Care Flight parmedic, shows Henry Colmenares, 8, and his brother Kevin, 5, both of Silt around the the Care Flight helicopter Saturday during GARCO First Responders Day at Stoney Ridge Park.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent | Special Olympian Chris Guay of Glenwood Springs carries the torch for the final leg up Sixth Street to Stoney Ridge Park in Silt Saturday.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Special Olympian Chris Guay of Glenwood Springs carries the torch for the final leg up Sixth Street to Stoney Ridge Park in Silt Saturday.<\/strong><br \/>Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Special Olympian Chris Guay of Glenwood Springs carries the torch for the final leg up Sixth Street to Stoney Ridge Park in Silt Saturday.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent | A team works together to pull the Garfield County Sheriff's Office BearCat, an 18,000-pound armored vehicle, during Saturday\u2019s event.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>A team works together to pull the Garfield County Sheriff&#8217;s Office BearCat, an 18,000-pound armored vehicle, during Saturday\u2019s event.<\/strong><br \/>Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"A team works together to pull the Garfield County Sheriff's Office BearCat, an 18,000-pound armored vehicle, during Saturday\u2019s event.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent | Country musician Tyler Barham, an and up-and -coming Nashville recording artist and singer-songwriter, sings during Saturday\u2019s First Responders Day event in Silt.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Country musician Tyler Barham, an and up-and -coming Nashville recording artist and singer-songwriter, sings during Saturday\u2019s First Responders Day event in Silt.<\/strong><br \/>Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/TorchRun-gpi-051919-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"Country musician Tyler Barham, an and up-and -coming Nashville recording artist and singer-songwriter, sings during Saturday\u2019s First Responders Day event in Silt.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Occasionally, Garfield County Sheriff\u2019s deputies may confront someone barricaded in a house, and the BearCat comes in handy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou roll [the BearCat] up to their front door, you call them up and say, \u2018look out your window. You have two choices.\u2019 Usually they make the right choice,\u201d Garfield Sheriff Lou Vallario said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not many people know how frequently the BearCat is used in law enforcement operations, according to Vallario.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe roll it out around something between 24 and 26 times a year,\u201d Vallario said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Anytime the All Hazards Response Team is called up, or deputies are called in for a drug enforcement task force operation, Garfield County brings out the BearCat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt truly is nothing more than additional protective gear for the guys on the All Hazards Response Team,\u201d Vallario said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On Saturday, the BearCat rolled out as part of the Garfield County First Responders Day in Silt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Emergency response and law enforcement agencies from the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys came out to host a barbecue, concert featuring country musician Tyler Barnham, and the BearCat pull contest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Teams of between five and 10 people lined up to try to drag the 18,000-pound armored car, in neutral gear, for 100 yards. All the proceeds from the entry fees will go to benefit the Colorado Special Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Garfield County combines National Law Enforcement Memorial Week with the support for Special Olympics athletes, who ran alongside first responders in a torch relay from Glenwood Springs to Silt Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Carrying the torch the final stretch, from Coal Ridge High School to Stoney Ridge Pavilion, was Special Olympics hall of famer and Glenwood Springs resident Chris Guay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s great that they\u2019re out here supporting Special Olympics,\u201d Guay said of the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are great supporters of the special Olympians. We love them,\u201d Vallario said. \u201cThose really guys put their heart into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Though somewhat rainy in Silt for the event, Vallario said First Responder\u2019s Day is an opportunity for law enforcement to give back to the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAnytime we do an event, it\u2019s about giving back to the community. We don\u2019t want people to think we\u2019re like the Robocop guy, with sunglasses behind tinted windows. We are part of the community,\u201d Vallario said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But the event is also about remembering law enforcement personnel who have been killed on the job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFirst and foremost, it\u2019s about recognizing first responders and those that have fallen in the line of duty,\u201d Vallario said. A memorial at the event honored three Colorado sheriff\u2019s deputies killed in the line of duty in 2018: Heath Gumm of Adams County, Micah Flick of El Paso County, and Matthew Moreno of Las Animas County.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe would like to thank the first responders for getting up every day, putting your life on the line to serve and protect our community,\u201d said Jay Rickstrew, regional president for Alpine Bank, a sponsor of the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:tphippen@postindependent.com\">tphippen@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/garfield-county-celebrates-first-responders-day-with-special-olympics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rob Klimek, Care Flight parmedic, shows Henry Colmenares, 8, and his brother Kevin, 5, both of Silt around the the Care Flight helicopter Saturday during GARCO First Responders Day at Stoney Ridge Park.Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent Special Olympian Chris Guay of Glenwood Springs carries the torch for the final leg up Sixth Street to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 17:10:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}