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Show snnmminmiiu: ttn KnDmnnnmntt Caught in a web of intrigue THE ASPEN TIMES spen Every newspaper gets requests to help find lost items, but this was a first for the "Aspen Times." In a letter let-ter to the editor, a woman asked for help to find her black lace bra, "last seen draped on an aspen tree on the right of the Bell Mountain Moun-tain Ski Lift." The letter writer, Cynthy Lou Bloggins, blamed the whole problem on an insect. She had just sat down on the Bell Mountain lift, she said, when the young man next to her declared in great alarm that a large black spider was on her ski jacket at the back of her neck. She took off her jacket, with the young man's help, but by then the spider had made its way into her T shirt. The cooperative fellow helped take off her shirt too, she said, but now the spider was in her bra. "Abandoning all maidenly modesty I quickly unhooked this and tossed it and the spider onto the nearest tree and resumed my clothing." Since then, she noticed, the bra has been removed from the tree. "Will the present possessor of my precious garment kindly deliver it to me at the Hotel Jerome," the letter concluded. The whereabouts of the spider is also not known. Terry Quirk announced the top five finishers would go to the world races. Quirk says he made no such statement. The rules, he said, called for the fastest team of three, and two others from the top five to be the U.S. team. Ironically, the "Five fastest" guideline is in force for this year's race, and an Aspen Times writer suggested it be called "The Minneapolis rule." Msgii Hole Guide Jackson Hole St. John's Hospital in Jackson has hired the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) as management for the hospital. A hospital trustee said HCA was the most expensive ex-pensive choice, but the decision was based on what the firm offered for the price. HCA was also the popular choice with hospital staff. Teton County officials aren't happy about the state's recent inspection of their landfill mainly because they didn't know about the inspection until they got their report card in the mail. Commissioner Bob LaLonde said the Department Depart-ment of Environmental Quality routinely makes inspections in-spections without any prior notice. The state report recommended recom-mended the county should Local liquor-license owners have protested the receptions, and gallery owner John Cogswell said they have a point. Cogswell vowed not to advertise the receptions. 'We'll probably continue doing it with punch or something like that," he said. As if this wasn't bad enough, freebie-lovers, the cheese plate may be illegal too. Ruth Cogan, Vail's environmental en-vironmental health officer, said that if an establishment serves food more than twice a year, it needs a food service ser-vice license. Nighttime road maintenance main-tenance on 1-70 over Vail Pass is negligent, and probably led to the highway death of a man in early February. That's the conclusion con-clusion of George Hopper, a Denver attorney, in a letter he wrote to Colorado state legislators and Vail-area newspapers. Hopper, who has often traveled over Vail Pass, said motorists have to dodge maintenance vehicles on the highway that operate with dim lights after dark. As an example, he cited the case of a Colorado man who died on the pass Feb. 2 after colliding with a front-end loader. Hopper said he came liquor as a "lure or enticement" en-ticement" to attract customers. upon the accident and himself him-self had narrowly missed hitting the loader. Hopper said flares and other warnings should be set on the road. Highway engineer Pat McOllouch said the incident is being investigated, in-vestigated, and added this is the first complaint about road maintenance he has heard. Vail officials say an employee-housing project, Valli High, is violating an agreement with the city by renting short-term units. City Hall gave the project a density increase in 1979, stipulating that units would be rented only to employees of businesses in the upper Eagle Valley for 20 years. But Gordon Coon, a part-owner part-owner of the project, said the city agreed in 1979 that the units could be rented short-term short-term if they could not be filled up by employees. It was not a written promise, but a verbal committment made during negotiations, he said. He contended the employee em-ployee pool has shrunk in four years. There are fewer construction workers, and other employees have moved down valley. He consistently con-sistently has about 30 empty units, he said. The city attempted to get a federal injunction against the rentals, but the judge refused. Town officials accuse ac-cuse Coon of being uncooperative. un-cooperative. Coon says that he has been "treated rotten" by the town. The Avon police department depart-ment has been beset by firings of officers and arguments over police performance. per-formance. But two of the fired officers still kept busy, by serving as bodyguards for Jordanian King Hussein during his recent trip to Vail. The two policemen, Keith McAdams and Lee Wilson were checked out by Jordanian Jor-danian security and the U.S. Secret Service. Meanwhile, the two cops have appealed their firings to Vail's personnel per-sonnel merit commission. Vail received the first shipment of its new official flag. The town abandoned its old design last December, feeling it was too lackluster. The town felt a little outclassed out-classed after exchanging flags with its sister city, St. Moritz, and seeing the Europeans' flag was much more stylish. The new flag has Vail's traditional logo surrounded by a wreath of gold, the gold color representing the aspen yellow of the mountains in the fall. This design is set against three different-colored different-colored stripes a blue one, representing the sky; white, for Vail's snow; and green for the forests. Almost half of Aspen's police force is set to quit within a few months. And one reason may be discontent discon-tent with Police Chief Rich Rianoshek, in office for less than a year. Two officers have quit in as many months, three more have submitted letters of resignation, and six others are making plans to leave soon. Rianoshek has aroused comment because his training relies on psychological principles and psychodrama sessions. But some have sniped at the "mind games" and one source said working in the department was like being analyzed every day. Chief Rianoshek, on the other hand, said officers have told , him they are leaving for other reasons. Another gripe could be a short-lived cost-of-living increase in-crease given to Aspen officers. of-ficers. It took effect in January, but was rescinded later that month by the city council. Mascara and hot tubs have made litigation news in the Aspen area. An Aspen woman has sued Mary Kay Cosmetics for a quarter of a million dollars, claiming she suffered physical and mental men-tal injuries after a certain mascara and eyeliner were applied to her face. She was wearing contact lenses at the time, the suit alleges, and the cosmetics failed to use substances that would not harm the eyes of people with contacts. A construction worker has also sued his former employer em-ployer for a million dollars for a 1982 accident in which he fell head-first into an empty emp-ty hot tub while working on a renovation project in Old Snowmass. The worker has suffered permanent, severe and disabling injuries, the suit claimed, due . to company com-pany negligence. The Minneapolis Police Department is boycotting this year's National Peace Officers (NPO) ski race in Aspen. It contends that a Minneapolis policeman who competed last year was unfairly un-fairly excluded from going on to represent the U.S. at the World Ski Championships Champion-ships for State and Municipal Police. At issue is Officer Craig Nofdby, who finished fifth in ' NPO races last year. The Minneapolis team claims that Aspen's Assistant Chief make a better effort to keep trash covered. (One commissioner com-missioner said that was ridiculous when the ground is frozen.) Another suggestion called for removing trash from trenches, trench-es, lest toxic material leach into the ground water. Meanwhile, the county is soliciting proposals from contractors to take over operations at the site. A group of FBI agents from the Intermountain area came to Jackson recently to practice security techniques in adverse weather conditions. con-ditions. County Sheriff Roger Millward said many of the agents are usually assigned to protect dignitaries at ski areas. Local lawmen also benefitted, benefit-ted, he said, from a mock-hostage mock-hostage situation staged at a local guest ranch. Mammoth Lakes Mammoth restaurants and other businesses lost thousands of dollars when a power outage hit town during one of their busiest tourist weekends. The blackout, caused by a falling power line, knocked out most Main Street restaurants on a Saturday night, from 6:05 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The owner of the Whiskey Creek restaurant said he lost about $6,000 in potential customers. Another restaurant restau-rant lost up to $4,000. Five employees of Southern California Edison responded to the blackout, but had difficulty getting to the trouble spot because they had to fight their way past clogged Main Street traffic. At the local Safeway, doors were locked for security reasons and an auxiliary electrical system kicked in, while customers stripped food off the shelves. THEL TRAIL Vail Wine and cheese tables are a common offering at gallery openings. But in Vail, they may be illegal too. Town Clerk Pam Brand-meyer Brand-meyer has been notifying galleries that selling or giving away liquor without a license is illegal. Receptions can't be advertised, as many galleries do in the Vail Trail. State law forbids using |