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Community remembers Jessica Ridgeway at memorial service

ARVADA, Colo. — A memorial service is planned Tuesday night to remember 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway.

The service at Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada is open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m.

Watch live streaming coverage by clicking here.

The church at W. 62nd Ave. and Ward Rd. was chosen because it can hold 3,600 people.

Associate Pastor John Malito talked about what the church hopes comes out of the memorial for Jessica’s family. “That we’re sorry. That we ask the Lord to comfort them in this difficult time, that we just want to be there to talk with them, to be of any of assistance, mostly to listen.”

People who attend the service are asked to wear purple… Jessica’s favorite color.

Second Public CNG Station to Open in Weld County on Thursday

Second Public CNG Station to Open in Weld County on Thursday

A new public Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station is scheduled to open on Thursday, October 18, in Greeley. The SkyBlu CNG fueling station opening celebration begins at 2:00 p.m. at their new fueling site located in the Agfinity station, 1607 2nd Avenue (16th Street and Highway 85 Bypass).

The Greeley SkyBlu station is the second public CNG station to open in Weld County this year. On June 29, SkyBlu opened the first Weld County public CNG station in Firestone near the Highway 119 and I-25 intersection.

“We are excited about the Greeley CNG fueling station,” said Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, who formed the Weld County Natural Gas Coalition – a group of government and industry officials working to create an alternative fuel corridor between Colorado and Wyoming. “The more CNG stations that are open to the public, the better.

Softball-sized eyeball washes ashore Florida beach

(CNN) — When Gino Covacci walks on the beach, he always keeps his eyes peeled for shells, fish and whatever else washes up.

But it’s not every day that he comes across something that seemingly looks right back at him — as happened this week.

Covacci’s discovery: a blue-tinged softball-size eyeball. Even scientists don’t know quite where it came from, beyond the sands of Pompano Beach.

“I find many different things,” he said of his daily walks by the sea, “but not something like this.”

On Wednesday, Covacci said, he was walking along the southeastern Florida beach with a friend visiting from Greece when he spotted something protruding from the sand.

He picked it up, cleaned it off, turned it around and realized he was staring into a giant eyeball.

Endeavour rolls through L.A. streets on last trip home

Los Angeles (CNN) — Move over, Oscars. Take a seat, Disney. And forget the televised car chase.

The space shuttle Endeavour is conquering a new frontier — the entertainment capital of the world — and it’s getting royal parade treatment.

Like a king carried in a chariot, the Endeavour is lumbering through the streets of Los Angeles on its way to retirement in a local museum.

Earthlings are taking their first close-up view of the shuttle’s heft and girth as it saunters 12 miles over two days at 2 mph (most humans walk 3 mph), with several rests.

That slow movement has allowed a festival of gawkers to line the streets and express awe as the hulking orbiter barely clears utility poles and trees.

Its five-story-high tail passes the corner glass suites of office buildings, and the vehicle has attracted thousands of admirers during stops outside unlikely destinations such as Bed Bath & Beyond.

Police: Body found in Arvada park, can’t confirm if it’s Jessica Ridgeway

WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Police announced Wednesday night a body was found in an open space in Arvada.

Police spokesman Trevor Materasso made the announcement at a 7:30 p.m. news briefing. He said investigators could not confirm if the body was Jessica Ridgeway.

“At this time we’re unable to make any connection to the disappearance of Jessica Ridgeway,” Materasso says.

The FBI and police had been combing Pattridge Park Open Space late Wednesday afternoon when the discovery was made at about 5 p.m. near an abandoned mining shack. There are many of the shacks in the area.

Police from Westminster and Arvada along with additional agencies secured the crime scene and said they would be working through the night into Thursday at that location. The scene was very active late Wednesday night.

CDC: 7 dead as meningitis outbreak grows

Atlanta (CNN) — The death toll from an outbreak of meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections has risen to seven, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.

The total number of cases has also grown to 64 people in nine states, the CDC said. That is 17 more cases and two more states than the day before.

Patients contracted the deadly meningitis after being injected in their spine with a preservative-free steroid called methylprednisolone acetate that was contaminated by a fungus. The steroid is used to treat pain and inflammation.

Health officials say around 75 medical facilities in 23 states received the contaminated products, which were manufactured by New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Colorado faces shortage of home appraisers

Across the nation, and right here in Colorado, the number of home appraisers is in decline. Before the mortgage bust five years ago, there were upwards of 6,000 appraisers, now the number is down to about 3,200.

The average age is between 50 and 64, with fewer than 12% under the age of 35. Since new federal regulations have gone into effect, the amount appraisers can charge for a home inspection has dropped as well.

“New appraisal management companies have been formed by the feds, which have been set up to avoid any conflicts of interest between mortgage brokers and appraisers,” said JoAnn Apostol, a certified appraiser.

“We no longer deal directly with banks or brokers, only with the middle man of sorts, which means we have to share fees with the AMCs, and that is driving people out of the business,” Apostol said.