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News in Brief

Fiery crash on Highway 82A fiery crash sent one woman to the hospital with minor injuries and closed Highway 82 for a short time at about 3 p.m. Monday.Anne Sheppard Cooke, 59, of Carbondale was headed upvalley when she ran a red light at the stoplight on Highway 82 at Catherine Store, according to a report by the Colorado State Patrol.Cooke was in the left lane and swerved to avoid a car turning onto Catherine Road from the highway. She avoided the vehicle, swerved back into the left lane, lost control and rolled once. Her 2005 Subaru Outback landed on its wheels in the left side of the upvalley-bound lanes.Cooke was able to get out of her car with the help of people passing by before it caught fire. A witness driving by the scene shortly after the accident said flames were shooting at least three feet above the car. Black smoke billowed up and was visible throughout the midvalley.The witness said there were small explosions as Carbondale firefighters cautiously approached the vehicle. They sprayed foam that immediately extinguished the blaze.Carbondale Fire Chief Ron Leach said the explosions occurred as tires and air bags heated up and popped. The gas tank remained intact in the crash, so there wasn’t a risk of it exploding, he said.Cooke was taken to Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs with aches and pains, according to Trooper Robert Varner. He cited her for failing to observe a traffic-control device. Alcohol was not suspected in the accident.The eastbound lanes of Highway 82 were closed for 90 minutes, and traffic was detoured onto old Highway 82. One westbound lane of the highway was closed for about one hour.School board candidate slate setSix individuals have filed the necessary petitions to run for a seat on the Aspen School District board. The deadline was Friday.The candidates are Ernie Fyrwald, Bob Langley, David Beirne, Andrew Kole, Charla Belinski and Elizabeth Parker. A seventh individual had taken out a petition but didn’t return it to the district office.Three at-large seats on the school board are up for election in November. Board members Alice Davis, Fred Peirce and Jon Seigle have all reached the limit of their terms of office. Board members are elected to four-year terms.Former Pueblo lawmaker named secretary of stateDENVER (AP) – Making his third high-level appointment in nine months, Gov. Bill Owens named former Pueblo lawmaker Gigi Dennis as secretary of state Monday.She replaces Donetta Davidson, who resigned to join a federal election panel.Dennis, like Owens a Republican, represented Pueblo in the state Senate from 1995 to 2001. She spent the past five years as Colorado director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”She brings valuable management experience as well as a proven record of public service to the citizens of Colorado,” Owens said. He cited her good relationship with the Legislature and praised her understanding of both urban and rural areas.